Aegelis's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing"

Kelle also discusses planning, platforms, community, and target audience.

https://youtu.be/I4FqXaQtZtE

Video at https://youtu.be/E_M_4Cy2URE

Heroic dwarven king, a giant monster, what's not to like? Derek Prior discusses Lurker's Gate. Gained insight into audiobook production as well.

Heidi Harris, author of the "How to" guide for Vella authors Living the Dream: Writing Books One Episode at a Time. Tips in the interview and in the Vella by a writer who has written a library already.

Watch here: https://youtu.be/WzsxHzn6y40

Full video here: https://youtu.be/D2dTpU9-UQU

Although there are many reasons to learn cursive, these are the two most compelling to learning, practising, and teaching the art of cursive.

"When an injured American pilot crashes into a field in occupied Holland during WWII, one family must decide how far they're willing to go to save him."

Take a look at https://youtu.be/1ZdF7U7sNPY

Check out the story at https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/s...

Releasing a book is a tornado of emotions each and every time, as I'm sure a lot of authors will agree. Usually, this torrent spins up over one question, "What if everybody thinks the book sucks?"

A valid concern, as candidly many books do fall short in truly connecting in the eyes of various readers (myself included). But, an art is an art, so I would applaud an author's earnest attempt at a new creation.

Some may think all authors are looking to become best-sellers or are deep down seeking acceptance. Well, I think I've disproven the point by now, but if not, may I present to you my offerings? :D

Acceptance and best-sellers would be nice, surely, but the heart of motivation is the heart of motivation. To clarify, a person's passionate spirit provides joy for a work regardless of outcome. Writing is no different than anything else we place our efforts into, just has a more visible results and invites judgment because books are a form of entertainment or teaching.

My friends, be bold, be strong, for the Lord your God is with you, so that in all your labours, your work is pleasing in His eyes, a joy for you yourself to behold, and accepted by those who ultimately accept you.

In between, it's a dynamic relationship process for me. I initiate the beginning (setting, main character, starting point), but the ending tends to come into focus a bit later. Characters show up and do their thing, often going 'off script' which is fun to watch. There are a few points that must be covered, some that might be covered and a lot of details show up as they happen. I have notes, most will likely be used one way or another and have to keep moving around the order, tossing or including.

Thanks, Amarilys Rassler for posing the question!

What is 'Ramwords'?
Compounding of 'Ram' and 'words', ramwording is an invented term I use describing reducing articles (the, a, an) and rephrasing prepositions (at, to, of, for, etc.). If there's an opportunity to remove 'and', 'or', 'that', 'this', 'which' while still being understood, then, by all means, do so.

Why Ramword?
Reason is to create more interesting undiluted text, cut down overused words (how many times have we read the word "the" unnecessarily?), and value readers' time as well as ability to comprehend language.

Where does Ramwording come from?
I did not invent the style of writing, but I found I was mistaken in thinking this style was from an early elementary school assignment when a teacher took off points for excessive articles. Rather, while revising procedure worksheets at my job, I was curious to run Grammarly to see just how accurate our science documents were, and guess what? Up popped a lot of articles suggested by Grammarly, which were intentionally omitted for efficiency. I've been so used to reading process non-fiction for seventeen years resulting in my own fiction looking 'wrong' with excessive articles and started cutting. I'll even rephrase, reducing apparent redundancies as well as clarifying pronouns. For my eyes along with my opinion, this change is for the better.

Can you provide examples?
Typical sentence: She drove the car to the hospital to see the patients.
Ramworded sentence: She drove car to hospital for patient visits.

Typical: I went to the store, post office, and supermarket, and then home.
Ramworded: I went to store, post office, supermarket, then home.

Is there a difference between driving 'a' car or 'the' car? In British, one would never say 'the hospital' because there is more than one hospital in existence.

What do readers think?
I have received three responses from ramwording: 1.) Backlash in reviews both textually and docked ratings 2.) Indifference, some readers don't care or see no problem 3.) Some readers find writings to be more dynamic.

So what is this writer to do?
Accommodate reader requests as best as I can (conceding on how hyphens should function), but when style is involved (even if arguably 'wrong'), then I'm going to side with less particular folk. Apologies if I offend some eyes, and you're welcome to those who appreciate the uncommon diction.

Feel free to toss in your thoughts by commenting.

Aegelis was a character I had made on EverQuest in the early 2000s as a result of shifting around letters and considering words like Angel, Eagle, Aegean, and Aegis. I always liked the ae combo and use wherever possible.

Pronunciation is
A (like the first letter of the alphabet)
Jee (like jeep)
Liss (like list without the t)

My pronunciation can be heard on my YouTube videos and was a fun topic of discussion on the interview for X (Captain Ruik's Adventure).

My nom de plume came about after publishing when a friend could not find books under a simplified version of my name as Tony Cook. I double-backed, trying to find something more unique and unused. Having found the character name, I made transition which seems to be successful for all parties.

Once upon a time, there was an indie author who talked a lot. This is his (my) story:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ANeo...

Special thanks to Neil Benson and his Strangers In Common podcast.