Joseph Legaspi's Blog, page 2
March 21, 2018
Giveaway
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
As the giveaway period is drawing to a close for A Three-Year Minute, I want to thank everyone who entered.
Good Luck!
Best,
Joseph Legaspi
As the giveaway period is drawing to a close for A Three-Year Minute, I want to thank everyone who entered.
Good Luck!
Best,
Joseph Legaspi
March 13, 2018
A Time for TIME
Time has been on my mind lately (like who isn't reminded of it?) We Americans just moved the clocks forward an hour, and after being bombarded with ad after ad for A Wrinkle in Time, I end up asking myself a question that I never really got answered in Philosophy class in college.
What is Time? On the surface, we use clocks and track the sun go round and round. But Einstein proved that there is no objectivity to it. When you try to define it, you find yourself thinking about your own Time. Everyone measures it differently, and that measurement depends upon the individual meaning we give it. If I ask you to think of a memory filled with the most energy you felt in your life, you might refer to time with an age like 18. If you feel tired, you might say "I feel like a hundred years old."
The way Time metaphorically portrays dramatic events in our lives makes for great literature. For a convict in jail, Time can "draw out a like a blade" as King wrote in The Shawshank Redemption. Or it can catch us off guard with the brevity of it, as in the immortal words of Dr. Seuss: “How did it get so late so soon?” Or maybe we stand apart from Time altogether. As Eckhart Tolle wrote in The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, "What you perceive as precious is not time but the one point that is out of time: the Now."
It is not just for the sci-fi fan. The universal themes found in The Time Machine or The Time Traveler's Wife can just as well be found in mainstream stories like A Christmas Carol or A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. Time serves as a constant reminder of all we have and don't have. It allows us to grow. It gives us perspective. It is much more than a mere tool to gauge our lives. As Faulkner wrote in The Sound and the Fury, "Only when the clock stops does time come to life.”
Yet for all its power and potential, Time is mysteriously frustrating and elusive. It is just another paradox of life: Time slows down when you want it to speed up, and speeds up when you want it to slow down. Maybe that is why it feels so good to read stories where we can control Time, or at the very least, FEEL like we have some mastery over it. Read Gustav Flaubert's Sentimental Education, and you'll see a writer play skillfully with Time. His transition of Time is so easy that at one point you won't realize that five years went by.
The beauty of reading literature is being lost in Time. This leads me, as you may expect, to my novel A Three-Year Minute, which is not really about Time travel itself. Although many who read the opening pages free on Amazon will know there is a very brief step forward for three years but that is all. It's that burst of probable future events that sparks a love story set in the present day. It is also a testament to the transitory nature of Time, the way a minute can feel like three years. Something to think about?
So here's to grasping Time (if you can)! Use it or lose it. Have a good one!
Celebrate "Time" with a chance to win free copy of A Three-Year Minute https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...
What is Time? On the surface, we use clocks and track the sun go round and round. But Einstein proved that there is no objectivity to it. When you try to define it, you find yourself thinking about your own Time. Everyone measures it differently, and that measurement depends upon the individual meaning we give it. If I ask you to think of a memory filled with the most energy you felt in your life, you might refer to time with an age like 18. If you feel tired, you might say "I feel like a hundred years old."
The way Time metaphorically portrays dramatic events in our lives makes for great literature. For a convict in jail, Time can "draw out a like a blade" as King wrote in The Shawshank Redemption. Or it can catch us off guard with the brevity of it, as in the immortal words of Dr. Seuss: “How did it get so late so soon?” Or maybe we stand apart from Time altogether. As Eckhart Tolle wrote in The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, "What you perceive as precious is not time but the one point that is out of time: the Now."
It is not just for the sci-fi fan. The universal themes found in The Time Machine or The Time Traveler's Wife can just as well be found in mainstream stories like A Christmas Carol or A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. Time serves as a constant reminder of all we have and don't have. It allows us to grow. It gives us perspective. It is much more than a mere tool to gauge our lives. As Faulkner wrote in The Sound and the Fury, "Only when the clock stops does time come to life.”
Yet for all its power and potential, Time is mysteriously frustrating and elusive. It is just another paradox of life: Time slows down when you want it to speed up, and speeds up when you want it to slow down. Maybe that is why it feels so good to read stories where we can control Time, or at the very least, FEEL like we have some mastery over it. Read Gustav Flaubert's Sentimental Education, and you'll see a writer play skillfully with Time. His transition of Time is so easy that at one point you won't realize that five years went by.
The beauty of reading literature is being lost in Time. This leads me, as you may expect, to my novel A Three-Year Minute, which is not really about Time travel itself. Although many who read the opening pages free on Amazon will know there is a very brief step forward for three years but that is all. It's that burst of probable future events that sparks a love story set in the present day. It is also a testament to the transitory nature of Time, the way a minute can feel like three years. Something to think about?
So here's to grasping Time (if you can)! Use it or lose it. Have a good one!
Celebrate "Time" with a chance to win free copy of A Three-Year Minute https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...
March 7, 2018
June 12, 2016
Writing to Your Audience
Effective writing goes beyond mere mastery of grammar and style. It calls upon superior research and interviewing skills; proper selection of tone, voice, information; solid reasoning and organizational skills -- but before any of this, you need to know your audience. Here are some considerations when identifying and determining the people to whom you write:
If you are writing persuasively, remember that you are “selling” something. So you must think as a salesperson. To influence others, you must write in the reader’s language, use a great deal of tact, and be sensitive to their background. Note that in almost every country, language and word connotations are often different within provinces, regions, villages and even neighboring towns. Words that can win over one group of people can be lethal to another.
Form a mental image of your audience. Visualization is a strong aide that evokes other emotions, language details, culture, socio-economic background and possible reactions of your target audience. Likewise, use visual words as often as you can in your writing.
Tone! Read your words out loud. Do they sound rude or curt, ramble, or overly submissive or aggressive? Do you sound angry, sad, optimistic, or even boring? The written word is very different than the spoken word, and though your writing may appear powerful on paper, most readers read aloud with their own voice or in their heads. You may be surprised at the discrepancy you notice in the two forms. When talking, you can gauge the reaction of your audience and adjust your presentation. But with writing, you only get one shot.
Follow the three C’s. Keep it clear, concise, and compelling. Break long text into as many paragraphs as you can. Most readers tend to get lost in a long block of words. If you’ve got a lot of information or data to present, choose and use the strongest one(s). Make your point and nothing more. Don’t use extra reference data when not needed. Don’t repeat phrases even when you think it needs repeating, which is a sign of a lazy writer. If a certain point needs emphasis, do so with powerful words and images instead of repetition.
Make it flow! The last thing you want to do is give the reader an opportunity to take a break from reading your awesome writing piece. Avoid sudden shifts from one thought to another. They stop your reader, and they may decide it is a good place to get off and put your paper aside, maybe forever. This is a big no-no if you’ve been saving your best writing for later on. It is a myth that you should save your best for last. Instead, put it up front. Some novices think that a powerful beginning will raise impossible expectations and the reader will get bored thereafter. It will do the opposite – it will hook them to keep reading on and on. The best books I’ve ever read were the ones I picked up after reading the first line and didn’t put down until I got to the words “The End”. Readers are busy folks. Once then pick up your masterpiece, you have to mind their time, keep them reading and don’t give them any reason to stop.
That said, this is my place to stop, and I hope that this has been helpful to you. Happy writing, my dear readers!
If you are writing persuasively, remember that you are “selling” something. So you must think as a salesperson. To influence others, you must write in the reader’s language, use a great deal of tact, and be sensitive to their background. Note that in almost every country, language and word connotations are often different within provinces, regions, villages and even neighboring towns. Words that can win over one group of people can be lethal to another.
Form a mental image of your audience. Visualization is a strong aide that evokes other emotions, language details, culture, socio-economic background and possible reactions of your target audience. Likewise, use visual words as often as you can in your writing.
Tone! Read your words out loud. Do they sound rude or curt, ramble, or overly submissive or aggressive? Do you sound angry, sad, optimistic, or even boring? The written word is very different than the spoken word, and though your writing may appear powerful on paper, most readers read aloud with their own voice or in their heads. You may be surprised at the discrepancy you notice in the two forms. When talking, you can gauge the reaction of your audience and adjust your presentation. But with writing, you only get one shot.
Follow the three C’s. Keep it clear, concise, and compelling. Break long text into as many paragraphs as you can. Most readers tend to get lost in a long block of words. If you’ve got a lot of information or data to present, choose and use the strongest one(s). Make your point and nothing more. Don’t use extra reference data when not needed. Don’t repeat phrases even when you think it needs repeating, which is a sign of a lazy writer. If a certain point needs emphasis, do so with powerful words and images instead of repetition.
Make it flow! The last thing you want to do is give the reader an opportunity to take a break from reading your awesome writing piece. Avoid sudden shifts from one thought to another. They stop your reader, and they may decide it is a good place to get off and put your paper aside, maybe forever. This is a big no-no if you’ve been saving your best writing for later on. It is a myth that you should save your best for last. Instead, put it up front. Some novices think that a powerful beginning will raise impossible expectations and the reader will get bored thereafter. It will do the opposite – it will hook them to keep reading on and on. The best books I’ve ever read were the ones I picked up after reading the first line and didn’t put down until I got to the words “The End”. Readers are busy folks. Once then pick up your masterpiece, you have to mind their time, keep them reading and don’t give them any reason to stop.
That said, this is my place to stop, and I hope that this has been helpful to you. Happy writing, my dear readers!
May 30, 2016
Memorial Day
In September 2001, I was a newspaper writer for the City University of New York and wrote an article that I never thought I'd ever write. I also didn't think I could. All journalists need a sense of detachment whenever they're emotionally involved in covering any story, and I was too shaken by the horrific images I witnessed with my own eyes in the city where I grew up. Over the course of my life, I can't recall how many times I was inside the World Trade Center, and it was only a few weeks prior to Sept 11th that I spent an entire day at the top floor for a federal grants conference. When we were attacked that day, Americans across the country in unison cried out how "they" attacked our home literally or figuratively. For me, it was both.
Prior to then, I never experienced war or seen death all around me on a massive scale. It was like a soldier came to life from the pages of my history books and said, "You read how the battles were fought. Now look around. This is how it felt." It is the same feeling caught in the many tear drops on a soldier's grave or the clenched fists of soldiers at the sight of their slaughtered comrades. But it isn't only about anger, sadness and grief. It is also the other feeling I got that day from the squads of firefighters rushing into a collapsing tower, armed without any weapons except their hope and humanity. It is the feeling I got watching fellow New Yorkers suddenly treating each other like family, where the labels black, white, yellow or brown weren't as important as the label "American".
This is the paradox of war. It strengthens our unity, nobility, and quest for peace. It makes us stand up and keep our dignity in the face of violence and not stoop down to the lower levels of those who harm us. It brings out what is benevolent in us, and in so doing, distinguishes us from our enemies who are not. It tests the principles that have kept us safe and secure, and forces us to hold tightly to our values that suddenly need protecting at all costs. It makes us give up a part of ourselves for the greater good. It is, in a word, what Memorial Day is all about -- sacrifice.
Sacrifice is teamwork taken the highest level. In a business sense, it is what transforms a good company into a great company; a good product into a great product; and good leader in a great leader - the endless hours and days going "above and beyond" your regular duties in order to perfect a project or product. It is what our founding fathers built this nation upon when they gave up the security of their homeland to create a nation with an unknown future. It was the vision for a new kind of nation - one without monarchies, oligarchies, and any ruling power based on hereditary rights or intrusive force. So it was an experiment in that sense, a country promoting equality and freedom better than any in history, one they believed in so much that they risked their livelihood and their own lives.
Vision and courage were the first steps to forming this nation. But it was sacrifice that solidified this ideal into a real and formidable sovereignty. On Memorial Day, "sacrifice" is the reason we are able to live and work in a free nation instead of continuing to dream if such a great land could exist. For all our pursuits of financial wealth, note that money didn't enable us to win the American Revolutionary War. It wasn't won by superior intelligence or by advanced technology. It was won by ordinary people with extraordinary courage and vision that they relied upon far more than any material they owned. Then when it came down to making the ultimate sacrifice, they made the decision so that we could become a better people, and from their example of selflessness, our children and their children can grow better than we ever imagined.
The spirit of Memorial Day reminds us of our own responsibility to defend the future of America and her ideals. In this year when we elect our new commander-in-chief, think of this day. What sacrifices has this person made for our country? If it came to it, would this person take the place of the last wounded soldier on the front lines? Would this person die for my country and me, as I would for them?
Yet, in all our self-reflection, remember that Memorial Day is a day about our late heroes, not us. We honor their lives, their stories, and their families. Though I imagine their selfless nature would've made them uncomfortable with too much fanfare and attention. I'd like to think they'd want their actions to speak for themselves, and that it would've been enough for them to see us complete what they've done -- taken death and transform it into our fighting chance to prosper and work even harder towards creating a more free and peaceful world.
Prior to then, I never experienced war or seen death all around me on a massive scale. It was like a soldier came to life from the pages of my history books and said, "You read how the battles were fought. Now look around. This is how it felt." It is the same feeling caught in the many tear drops on a soldier's grave or the clenched fists of soldiers at the sight of their slaughtered comrades. But it isn't only about anger, sadness and grief. It is also the other feeling I got that day from the squads of firefighters rushing into a collapsing tower, armed without any weapons except their hope and humanity. It is the feeling I got watching fellow New Yorkers suddenly treating each other like family, where the labels black, white, yellow or brown weren't as important as the label "American".
This is the paradox of war. It strengthens our unity, nobility, and quest for peace. It makes us stand up and keep our dignity in the face of violence and not stoop down to the lower levels of those who harm us. It brings out what is benevolent in us, and in so doing, distinguishes us from our enemies who are not. It tests the principles that have kept us safe and secure, and forces us to hold tightly to our values that suddenly need protecting at all costs. It makes us give up a part of ourselves for the greater good. It is, in a word, what Memorial Day is all about -- sacrifice.
Sacrifice is teamwork taken the highest level. In a business sense, it is what transforms a good company into a great company; a good product into a great product; and good leader in a great leader - the endless hours and days going "above and beyond" your regular duties in order to perfect a project or product. It is what our founding fathers built this nation upon when they gave up the security of their homeland to create a nation with an unknown future. It was the vision for a new kind of nation - one without monarchies, oligarchies, and any ruling power based on hereditary rights or intrusive force. So it was an experiment in that sense, a country promoting equality and freedom better than any in history, one they believed in so much that they risked their livelihood and their own lives.
Vision and courage were the first steps to forming this nation. But it was sacrifice that solidified this ideal into a real and formidable sovereignty. On Memorial Day, "sacrifice" is the reason we are able to live and work in a free nation instead of continuing to dream if such a great land could exist. For all our pursuits of financial wealth, note that money didn't enable us to win the American Revolutionary War. It wasn't won by superior intelligence or by advanced technology. It was won by ordinary people with extraordinary courage and vision that they relied upon far more than any material they owned. Then when it came down to making the ultimate sacrifice, they made the decision so that we could become a better people, and from their example of selflessness, our children and their children can grow better than we ever imagined.
The spirit of Memorial Day reminds us of our own responsibility to defend the future of America and her ideals. In this year when we elect our new commander-in-chief, think of this day. What sacrifices has this person made for our country? If it came to it, would this person take the place of the last wounded soldier on the front lines? Would this person die for my country and me, as I would for them?
Yet, in all our self-reflection, remember that Memorial Day is a day about our late heroes, not us. We honor their lives, their stories, and their families. Though I imagine their selfless nature would've made them uncomfortable with too much fanfare and attention. I'd like to think they'd want their actions to speak for themselves, and that it would've been enough for them to see us complete what they've done -- taken death and transform it into our fighting chance to prosper and work even harder towards creating a more free and peaceful world.
February 9, 2016
Five Myths of Good Writing
Myth #5. "Good writers need to have a special gift." No, anyone can learn to write well. You can develop it. Like all skills, it requires focus, patience and willingness to learn, as well as practice and dedication to keep sharpened.
Myth #4. "Good writing is spontaneous, fast and easy." Unless you're the next Dickens, ask any good writer - even the most prolific ones - and they'll tell you how long they took to write their masterpieces. Yes, we sometimes hear stories of how novels and screenplays are written in a few days. But ask them how much of the first draft made it into the final, and you'll see a big discrepancy. Writing is re-writing. Always.
Myth #3. "Writing is a science." No it's more like an art, highly subjective and open to interpretation. Oh there are grammar and all kinds of writing rules. However, the English language is quite flexible and an ample tool for creative expression. That said, the more you read and practice writing, the more it will appear like a "science" as your communication becomes more rigidly clear from using the most accurate words and appropriate structure.
Myth #2. "Good writing never needs editing." I bet even Shakespeare had an extra pairs of eyes on hand. Every writer is too close to his/her own work to be able to give it an unbiased proofreading. I often think of writers and editors as barbers - they're great at cutting the material of others, but naturally can't cut their own.
Myth #1 "Good writing needs inspiration to get started." Avoid this belief as much as you can. Writer's block begins once you convince yourself of this. Write what's in your head at that given moment. You'll be surprised what's in your mind and how interesting it can be if you let your ideas flow unhindered at first. Good writing can make the most mundane things sound intriguing.
Myth #4. "Good writing is spontaneous, fast and easy." Unless you're the next Dickens, ask any good writer - even the most prolific ones - and they'll tell you how long they took to write their masterpieces. Yes, we sometimes hear stories of how novels and screenplays are written in a few days. But ask them how much of the first draft made it into the final, and you'll see a big discrepancy. Writing is re-writing. Always.
Myth #3. "Writing is a science." No it's more like an art, highly subjective and open to interpretation. Oh there are grammar and all kinds of writing rules. However, the English language is quite flexible and an ample tool for creative expression. That said, the more you read and practice writing, the more it will appear like a "science" as your communication becomes more rigidly clear from using the most accurate words and appropriate structure.
Myth #2. "Good writing never needs editing." I bet even Shakespeare had an extra pairs of eyes on hand. Every writer is too close to his/her own work to be able to give it an unbiased proofreading. I often think of writers and editors as barbers - they're great at cutting the material of others, but naturally can't cut their own.
Myth #1 "Good writing needs inspiration to get started." Avoid this belief as much as you can. Writer's block begins once you convince yourself of this. Write what's in your head at that given moment. You'll be surprised what's in your mind and how interesting it can be if you let your ideas flow unhindered at first. Good writing can make the most mundane things sound intriguing.
January 1, 2016
The Genius of Mary Shelley: Arising from Dreams
Certain fiction writers know the substance of what they are writing long before they begin the mechanical process of writing it. That inspiration can be a character, a setting or a plot. For Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein it was a dream that turned into a task to transform that nocturnal ghost image into a long tale. Since most readers are already familiar with the character of Frankenstein long before they pick up the book, we can be almost like Shelley when we read it from the beginning; tracing along and enjoying or laboring, praising, or criticizing, the way she structures the novel. This letter structure evokes realism, with its source somewhere off the page. It quite likely must have come from subconscious structures of realities already perfected in her mind.
Frankenstein is astounding for its transformation from Shelley’s simple dream to the frame-like structure and incorporating several of its contemporary philosophical ideas into a whole. The authority that Shelley writes engages the reader enough to listen seriously to a fable that would otherwise not been given as much attention had that command over the character and story not been present. For instance, in the opening paragraph, the character of Robert Walter reels us in with his increasing confidence in the success of his undertaking, yet he doesn’t tell us what exactly that is first. It is a masterpiece from a writer who knew how to dig deep beyond mere suspense and dread and would ultimately play into a fear far worse than just blood and gore – the powerful desire that we mortals own for playing god despite our un-godlike capacity to fully realize what we’re doing.
Frankenstein is astounding for its transformation from Shelley’s simple dream to the frame-like structure and incorporating several of its contemporary philosophical ideas into a whole. The authority that Shelley writes engages the reader enough to listen seriously to a fable that would otherwise not been given as much attention had that command over the character and story not been present. For instance, in the opening paragraph, the character of Robert Walter reels us in with his increasing confidence in the success of his undertaking, yet he doesn’t tell us what exactly that is first. It is a masterpiece from a writer who knew how to dig deep beyond mere suspense and dread and would ultimately play into a fear far worse than just blood and gore – the powerful desire that we mortals own for playing god despite our un-godlike capacity to fully realize what we’re doing.
