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| I haven't been here for a while, but I'm still writing... and reading. One of the novels I recently read had glaring discrepancies/inconsistencies in it, and it sparked me to write a post (more of a rant than anything) about it. Please check it out. Even though substack is generally a subscription-only service, everything I write I leave open to the public. Enjoy! Stupid Writers |
| I've added a new entry to my blog, "Invalid Item" : "Invalid Entry" This is for you, Asha Moonfall - Plotting Book!. Thank you for the kind review, which made me remember much of what I've gone through to get to today. >JaceCar  novelist and editor |
| Hey folks! I've added a new entry to my blog, "Invalid Item" : "Invalid Entry" Yet another explanation of what I'm going through to get my novel into a shape I can live with. >JaceCar novelist and editor ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| I've added a new entry to my blog, "Invalid Item" : "Invalid Entry" Read it! You'll get a laugh, if nothing else.  >JaceCar neophyte novelist ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| Question: I'm writing a novel in English with Russian immigrants who have learned English, but still speak some Russian at home in order to teach their children and keep oral traditions alive. What is the best way to do this? A Clockwork Orange used a hybrid of English and Russian without explanation, which forced allowed the reader to come up with his own understanding of what the author meant as they work their way through the book. As most of my book (volume one) is set in present-day USA, this isn't what I'm after. Some authors use Translit (defined as language translation to another while using the destination's alphabet and phonetics). This is what I want, for the most part, because it allows me to use the words as I type them in a pronounceable (but not necessarily immediately understood, perhaps) way. A few authors actually insert the words in Cyrillic script, which makes sense to only those who are familiar with them or who have a means to translate them quickly. I don't want to do this unless there is a sign, or book, or something that I want to obfuscate for at least that scene, but might later translate. So, my question is: Even if I use Translit for short phrases and diminutives (terms of endearment, pet names, etc.), do I need to put a translation -- perhaps in parentheses -- or should I just leave the words alone? Example: “People die all the time, Matushka.” In this case, the word Mat (Мать) means mother, and the longer word, Matushka (Матушка) is a diminutive derived from it. This one is easy to leave alone, as the reader will think it's a name -- until I show enough in other places to give them context. Another phrase, however: “Ya zol na tebya, Sinok!” (I’m angry with you, son!) he yelled in precise Moscow Russian... This one I put the translation directly following the outburst. Using native Russian (Я зол на тебя, сынок!) would (I think) have a tendency to confuse people -- especially if they can't even recognize what alphabet it's in. Is this workable? Or, is there even a better solution out there? I don't want to write in Mark Twain's style of characterization, at least not for this novel. Are there any native Russian speakers/writers out there who could give me some advice? Thanks! >JaceCar novelist and editor ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| Hon, that just punishes you! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, go back to piano and take up where you left off. I did that with my singing. All that 'shut up that singing, quit caterwauling.' I showed them! Please play again. |
| Sorry, my faulty memory there, Miss Minja. I know many people are confused between SSSR and SFRJ, language sounds similar but I don't understand a single thing Can you educate me? I've been outta the loop over a decade. What do the acronyms stand for? I cannot image a Russian speaking with a French accent Jace! But cultures are so interesting, picking up this & that from its peoples. Not to mention southern versus northern versus jersey versus california, accents wise  |
| I've added a new entry to my blog, "Invalid Item" : "Invalid Entry" >JaceCar neophyte novelist ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| OK, I've gotten some sleep... and now I'm ready to find other WDC folks to meet in person! I had such a blast yesterday, I can't stop thinking about it. The friendships I forged (by crashing the party and yet still finding myself welcome) will help me immensely, inside and outside of WDC. I hope I can reciprocate. In the middle of the madhouse environment, I sat down with my notebook and was able to finish the last few paragraphs of the first chapter (rewrite -- not just a revision) of "Invalid Item" . I'm not giving out access to everyone this time around. But, if you remember reading through what I wrote and revised in 2014 -- thank you (belatedly) for all your wonderful suggestions and reviews -- email me, and I'll consider giving you the passkey for it. So... who else lives in (or can travel to) Indiana/Michigan/Ohio? I'll twist fyn-21 wdc years and writing!'s arm (and perhaps a couple others) to join us for another meet & greet! Oh, and ~Minja~ and Charlie ~ -- attendance is mandatory for you two. We just have to figure out how to turn lead into gold so we can afford your travel expenses. Shouldn't be too tough, right? |
Even if you did drive, Jenny (and I do), it's probably still nigh on impossible since they all drive on the wrong side of the road.  I'm gonna have to arrange a NZ meetup with Osirantinous  and Fi . |
| Must be warm outside. I hear lawnmowers and dogs.  Somebody, please just shoot me. |
Don't mean to shock you, Jellyfish -STOP THE WAR!✌️  ... I'm just strange, that way. Or sick. Or both. I can't decide.  The other me can't decide either. You know that old saying: "If you love something, set it free. If it comes back to you, it's yours. If it doesn't, it never was." Well, there's a corollary: "If you hate something, run away. If it follows you, hunt it down and kill it. If you can't, or it won't die, you are truly borked." That's how I feel about people. They're a scourge on the planet and should be wiped away completely. Except maybe cute girls. They can stay. But once they learn how to nag, or can't keep quiet, then I lump them into the previous group. Isn't that right, ~Minja~  ? I'm such a misogynist. |
| Jammin' to Zendaya, Avicii, and Ellie Goulding on Pandora. I've written a whole sentence in my novel in the past hour. I'm on a roll! |
Thanks, LinnAnn-Cookie Baker  You may regret saying that. (insert evil laugh here) Doing much better today. I've almost finished the first chapter. I've even set a nice hook... |
| wih my health issues and lungs, sometimes all I can do is sit here, You would not be the only one to neefd me to vent. I'm just one of those 'helping or rescuing' people. |
| G'morning, folks! I've added a new entry to my blog, "Invalid Item" : "Invalid Entry" A worthwhile window into my thoughts about writing a novel (or, in this case, a major rewrite of one). And no, you can't see it yet, not even you, ~Minja~ . I don't want to give away the surprise. >JaceCar  novelist, editor, and publisher ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
is two years old, and I never got around to adding members or doing anything else with it. Well, I think it's time to do more than nothing. Look for good things to come out of it soon! >JaceCar novelist, editor, and publisher |
| Test (with email notification set in settings). The checkbox at the bottom of this entry form was checked when I started to write. |
| Mine is set to ON, and I got an email when you replied. So it's not reversed, it's just broken. At least as far as I can tell. Should I send a note to The StoryMaster  , or are you going to handle it? I'm guessing you have probably already done it.  |
| I don't think you can turn off notifications for your own notebook posts. It is a double notification with the left side and email. |
Announced to my wife that I was going to go out and get a couple of kittens.  Knowing how she hates them, I expected her to shoot me down. But, she didn't. All she said was, "as long as you take care of them." I can live with that! I just have to figure out how to keep them off of her new couch (not off, so much, but keep them from scratching it to pieces), or she really will explode. Thanks to all the kitty lover's who keep reminding me how much I have missed having one around. |
| I just bought a few more WDC t-shirts, and a few other miscellaneous items. I can't get enough... Does this mean I'm addicted again? |
| what do you mean by publish? Self publish, or you printed and made the book yourself with cover art? You inspire me! I stopped carrying the lap top with me to Dr.s appointments, too heavy. So type at home, and edit at therapist while he massages my arthritic joints. |
| Self-publishing. Editing, formatting, copyright submission, ISBN, description... and everything else. As I mentioned to someone else, they make it sound easy -- and to some degree it is -- but there are a lot of details (behind the scenes) that they want to charge you for. I decided to do all of those myself as a part of the learning process. I'm not sorry I did. I used CreateSpace (Amazon) for the print version and KDP (Kindle) for the ebook. Scrivener allowed me to put both together... once I figured out how to make it do what I wanted. That's part of why I created "Invalid Item" -- though I haven't added any entries to it yet. I keep getting questions, and wanted to put them all in one place so I didn't have to repeat myself. I'm a perfectionist, which is a good quality for an editor/producer, and less so for a writer -- though I still have amazing stories to tell. (I've got a scene up in Scrivener right now, trying to figure out how to transition to the next part.) >jace JaceCar novelist, editor, and publisher |
un: 
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I'm so glad you're going to get a couple! 
We have an Internet - it's not that hard to find these things out.