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Factual Friday  Give us an interesting fact... Tell us something real! See a great response? Send them a Factual Friday Merit Badge! ... From the left menu, "Points" --> "Merit Badges: Shop"   |
There are writing teachers who say that it's impossible to teach dialogue. What tools and tricks do you use to make dialogue in your stories appear natural? |
| I had attended a script writing workshop many years ago and our teacher told us to e e a v e s d r o p to hear real conversation and make it natural |
| I try and use or rather create a problem within a group of friends and/or two different teams that would find a solution to a problem... elephantsealer |
Time for those rare events to happen. Do you watch the skies? |
| Every time I get a chance. Probably one of the best places that I have been to see the night sky was in Dolly Sods, West Virginia. Ft. Irwin California was also a great place. Especially with night vision goggles. Afghanistan was awesome too! When I was a kid, in the early 80's, we saw the space shuttle orbiting the earth. Keep watching the skies! |
Three Word Thursday What three words best describe ferrets? See a great response? Send them a Three Word Thursday badge! from the left menu, "Points" --> "Merit Badges: Shop"  |
MagicIan  - Well, skunks don't stink unless they spray and they also are not usually brought in as house pets. Ferrets have a natural bad odor. My wife rescued a couple of ferrets who's owner abandoned so I know their stench quite well. They are a great pet, though. It is good to know how to handle them though. |
Jimminycritic  - All I know for sure is that skunks have a well-deserved reputation as the biggest stinkers in the musteloid family! |
 It's FRIDAY! Post your Weekly Goals followup in "Weekly Goals" Have a happy weekend! 
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| just got back from a trip to Seattle and Portland lots to write this week blogging my trip done blogging computer pet peeves done daily writing com writer's cramp done fan story done Flashman novels review Done Father Goriot Review TBC Inferno TBC Tenant at Winfield Hall TBC watch the Olympics poetry pea submission TBC PSH congest entry TBC |
Three Word Thursday In just three words, give us your best caption for this picture...  See a great response? Send them a Three Word Thursday badge! from the left menu, "Points" --> "Merit Badges: Shop" |
 A final reminder for our paid members: Entries into our July 2024 paid membership contest, "Rhythms & Writing: Official WDC Contest" , are due in by the end of July 31st, 2024 Writing.Com time -- that's Eastern. 
 A total of 1,750,000 Gift Points up for grabs! Good luck to all our entrants! |
Wanted Wednesday  Howdy Pardners! We've got trouble! Something just happened and we need YOU to fill out this here "Wanted" posted. Best be thorough... We need the bad guy's name, why we want 'em and what reward we're offerin'. Hop to it! Every moment this poster aint hung, errr, I mean posted, the town's in danger!  |
Keeping the reader's attention where it should be. What aspects of storytelling do you like to focus on? |
The rich, textured layers of sound, imagery, and wordplay make poems unforgettable. What's your favorite fabric texture in clothing, and why? 🧥 🧶 🔍 |
Hitting the road for a twelve-hour drive What/when was your last solo road trip? |
MY LAST SOLO ROAD TRIP My last road trip occurred not long before I had to sell my beloved teal-colored Malibu, eight years ago. At the time, although I was 78 years old, I was still a good driver; but I was moving into an Independent Living building, where parking would cost far more than I could manage. My son agreed that he would be available if and when I really had to go somewhere. Of course, he only offered the transportation to and from somewhere, not the solo road trips I so enjoyed. The place I moved into had transportation available, but specifically for doctor visits, shopping, or events planned by the management. I also had access to public transportation to the extent that I had to arrange it a day or two before I wanted to use it. It was annoying to be so restricted, but I did get used to it. Before all that, my favorite thing to do had been to drive alone, on a weekend, somewhere I hadn’t been before, and explore. As a writer, I not only used these solo drives to ponder my current WIP, but also to get ideas for new scenes, or ways to handle difficult scenes. On my last solo road trip before selling my car, I intended to drive north, from Lodi into Northern California, heading for Oregon. At the time, I was writing a trilogy in the mystery genre, and my character, too, was driving north, from her home in Novato. She and I hoped to get inspiration from the towns, rivers, lakes, scenery, and occurrences we passed, that we might incorporate into her journey. Unfortunately for my WIP, one of those dreadful Northern California fires occurred along my intended path, so I had to stop and stay over in a small town before turning and heading back home. But fortunately, this event inspired another story, one about five couples who had been invited to spend the fourth of July weekend in a good-sized cabin in Northern California. In this story, there was a murder, and a nearby fire that quarantined the couples, including the killer and an amateur sleuth, in the cabin until the fire was extinguished. The tragic outcome of this road trip was that neither book was finished, although I did manage to get several short stories out of it, including this one. |
Creating the good result in every Romance Story Attaining a good climax. |
| No matter how good the forepl--, I mean, story buildup and anticipation, sometimes those wild moments don't even leave a micro-sensation. I've noticed that a lot with the newer Lovecraft imitators. Instead of writing 'til the end, it's like they take a machete and, bobbit, it's done. No ending, just done, like it's a word count thing. The anticipation needs to be built up several times and partially delivered, then another, better, stronger buildup and the "aaaahhhh" of satisfac--, um, story satisfaction. ((Okay, who blushed?)) |
Eldritch horror Where did those creatures come from? |
| Eldritch horror is so hard to write well without becoming cheesy or just being a Lovecraft pastiche. The descriptions are key to eldritch working in written form, but not just physical descriptions. those who read it will know what needs to be described, and the concept of madness-inducing is often nowadays ignored for the gross-out. So hard to write, but when done well, it can be the creepiest of horror sub-genres. |
| It has a different sort of structure. Not predictable, which makes it interesting. |
| The torch-bearing mob of angry villagers had finally cornered their quarry. "Bring forth the kegs of brandy," ordered the burgomeister: "We'll soak the thing in alcohol to make it burn all the faster." The mob tried to follow that order. But, Hans shielded the gray-skinned alien with his body. "Nein! He has done nothing wrong. He is totally innocent of the killings." "Out of the way, Hans. Or we shall burn you, too." "Burn them! Burn them! Burn them! Burn them!" chanted the mob. As if their collective sanity had disappeared...like a re-elected politican's memory. |
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Suggestions are directive in nature, like a superior makes to an inferior, and I'm not doing that.
And now, if there was any doubt, if someone says, "I suggest you do this or that," you know what their attitude is.
It was an incredibly emotional show for Bowie. Five years earlier, he and Lennon had collaborated on a song that became Bowie’s first No. 1 hit single in the States. That night they had arranged to meet each other.
Two of those empty seats were for John and Yoko. The third was for Chapman who the night before killed John Lennon.