Glen R. Stott's Blog
December 31, 2016
Creation - Happiness
I have seen nests in my yard built by humming birds, bushtits, sparrows, mocking birds, etc. At first glance, they don’t seem like much, but considered from the perspective that they were built twig by twig, feather by feather, for a purpose, they take on a form of creative beauty. However, from the point of pure evolution they are not the result of creativity, but the result of an improbable sequence of random mistakes in DNA. This is not intended to be a discussion about creation vs evolution. We can agree the sparrow’s nest did not come from a pregnant sparrow sitting a branch, head tilted pondering the question of how to take care of her eggs and coming up with the idea of building a nest.
Human beings are different than birds and all other animals. This may be the result of billions of improbable, random mutations of even more improbable DNA molecules or a directed act of creation by an intelligent something. Earliest humans had an ability to observe the activities of their lives and recreate them in paintings on cave walls. What motivated them? It’s hard to say, but the desire of humans to create still exists.
The human body is a factory of mood changing chemicals called endorphins. That’s right; we get high on our own drugs. We don’t purchase them on dark corners. We have to do something to stimulate our bodies to make endorphins. There are many things that work. A happy person will have several of them in their lives. Things such as hard physical labor, feeling love for a person or pet, are a couple of endorphin stimulators.
An important stimulator is creation. You see the act of creation all around you. Different people express it in different ways. Some write poetry, some sew, some make crafts, some create a business, some make music, and it goes on. Even a well cooked dinner, artistically placed on a plate, garnished for appearance, on a decorated table is an act of creation. Each person has creative gifts; find yours and create; you’ll be happier.
Human beings are different than birds and all other animals. This may be the result of billions of improbable, random mutations of even more improbable DNA molecules or a directed act of creation by an intelligent something. Earliest humans had an ability to observe the activities of their lives and recreate them in paintings on cave walls. What motivated them? It’s hard to say, but the desire of humans to create still exists.
The human body is a factory of mood changing chemicals called endorphins. That’s right; we get high on our own drugs. We don’t purchase them on dark corners. We have to do something to stimulate our bodies to make endorphins. There are many things that work. A happy person will have several of them in their lives. Things such as hard physical labor, feeling love for a person or pet, are a couple of endorphin stimulators.
An important stimulator is creation. You see the act of creation all around you. Different people express it in different ways. Some write poetry, some sew, some make crafts, some create a business, some make music, and it goes on. Even a well cooked dinner, artistically placed on a plate, garnished for appearance, on a decorated table is an act of creation. Each person has creative gifts; find yours and create; you’ll be happier.
April 21, 2015
3.6 million BCE: Hawmo Nid
Hawmo Nid jumped up from his sleep and screamed the alarm! His troop of Australopithecines (pre-humans) sprang to action. The females and children leaped to the tree they were sleeping under. The tree stood alone on the dry savannahs of East Africa. The males moved to the base of the tree in a defensive position.
A pride of hungry cats came from the tall grass. The males screamed, throwing dirt and stones in the direction of the cats, but the cats were too hungry to be dissuaded. The cats tore into the males in a frenzy of hunger. All of the males except Hawmo were slaughtered. Hawmo ran to the tree.
The cats surrounded the tree. As time went on, members of the troop began to leap from the tree trying to escape. None succeeded. Soon, only Hawmo, a female, and her cub were left.
Then, far away, a mountain that would be named Sadiman exploded, sending towers of ashes into the air. The cats ran. Four hours later, Hawmo made the call that meant follow me and left the tree. The female and the adolescent followed.
The female walked close to Hawmo’s side, brushing her shoulder against his arm as she walked. The ground was covered in volcanic ash. The first storm of the season dropped a steady, light rain. The water reacted with the ash, causing a carbonate crust to form over the top.
Walking in the soft, wet ash was difficult. The adolescent began walking in Hawmo’s footprints. The female stopped to look at the new foreboding world. She watched as Hawmo forged resolutely on. The adolescent followed, half jumping, his arms spread to maintain balance as he tried to walk in the footsteps. The female brushed a tear from her cheek and hurried after the others.
Over the next two weeks, the mountain erupted three more times, burying the tracks left in the carbonate crust. Under the ash, the carbonate gradually turned to a crystalline mineral called trona. The trona fossilized, immortalizing the footprints of the male, female, and playful adolescent.
A pride of hungry cats came from the tall grass. The males screamed, throwing dirt and stones in the direction of the cats, but the cats were too hungry to be dissuaded. The cats tore into the males in a frenzy of hunger. All of the males except Hawmo were slaughtered. Hawmo ran to the tree.
The cats surrounded the tree. As time went on, members of the troop began to leap from the tree trying to escape. None succeeded. Soon, only Hawmo, a female, and her cub were left.
Then, far away, a mountain that would be named Sadiman exploded, sending towers of ashes into the air. The cats ran. Four hours later, Hawmo made the call that meant follow me and left the tree. The female and the adolescent followed.
The female walked close to Hawmo’s side, brushing her shoulder against his arm as she walked. The ground was covered in volcanic ash. The first storm of the season dropped a steady, light rain. The water reacted with the ash, causing a carbonate crust to form over the top.
Walking in the soft, wet ash was difficult. The adolescent began walking in Hawmo’s footprints. The female stopped to look at the new foreboding world. She watched as Hawmo forged resolutely on. The adolescent followed, half jumping, his arms spread to maintain balance as he tried to walk in the footsteps. The female brushed a tear from her cheek and hurried after the others.
Over the next two weeks, the mountain erupted three more times, burying the tracks left in the carbonate crust. Under the ash, the carbonate gradually turned to a crystalline mineral called trona. The trona fossilized, immortalizing the footprints of the male, female, and playful adolescent.
April 8, 2015
Daws Tart
Daws Tart swirled crazily in super-heated water near hot lava oozing from a fissure at the bottom of a three-mile-deep ocean. The temperature was over eight hundred degrees Fahrenheit, but the water could not boil because of the extreme pressure.
In the vast emptiness of space, only the rarest of conditions exist where water can endure in a liquid state. One of those locations existed on the third planet from a minor star on the outskirts of an average galaxy. Eventually the planet would be called Earth. Without water, what happened on this day could not have happened. This story could not be told.
The water around Daws was full of complicated chains of similar molecules. The atomic building blocks for these molecules were exuded with lava from tens of thousands of miles of fissures on the bottoms of oceans all over the earth.
Above the oceans, the atmosphere consisted of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, toxic gases, and water vapor. Earth’s surface was regularly bombarded by meteors and ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
Perhaps it was inevitable, or perhaps it was just a freak accident. In a highly creative moment, a molecule similar to Daws was violently thrown from the surface of the lava. The two molecules smashed together and joined, forming a larger molecule different from any molecule on Earth. This new molecule began a series of actions so fantastic they would eventually change everything on Earth, impact the moon, and perhaps change the entire universe.
Shortly after the impact, the molecule split into two identical halves. In the energy-rich molecular soup, each half sifted through the smaller molecules and atoms and began to rebuild. In a short time, two molecules identical to Daws were formed.
The new molecules spread all along the volcanic fissures. Some did not split at all the right bonds, and most of those lost the ability to duplicate. However, in some cases, the mistake improved the molecule’s ability to split and rebuild. Eventually, the improved molecules began to replace the earlier ones. A new world was underway.
In the vast emptiness of space, only the rarest of conditions exist where water can endure in a liquid state. One of those locations existed on the third planet from a minor star on the outskirts of an average galaxy. Eventually the planet would be called Earth. Without water, what happened on this day could not have happened. This story could not be told.
The water around Daws was full of complicated chains of similar molecules. The atomic building blocks for these molecules were exuded with lava from tens of thousands of miles of fissures on the bottoms of oceans all over the earth.
Above the oceans, the atmosphere consisted of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, toxic gases, and water vapor. Earth’s surface was regularly bombarded by meteors and ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
Perhaps it was inevitable, or perhaps it was just a freak accident. In a highly creative moment, a molecule similar to Daws was violently thrown from the surface of the lava. The two molecules smashed together and joined, forming a larger molecule different from any molecule on Earth. This new molecule began a series of actions so fantastic they would eventually change everything on Earth, impact the moon, and perhaps change the entire universe.
Shortly after the impact, the molecule split into two identical halves. In the energy-rich molecular soup, each half sifted through the smaller molecules and atoms and began to rebuild. In a short time, two molecules identical to Daws were formed.
The new molecules spread all along the volcanic fissures. Some did not split at all the right bonds, and most of those lost the ability to duplicate. However, in some cases, the mistake improved the molecule’s ability to split and rebuild. Eventually, the improved molecules began to replace the earlier ones. A new world was underway.
April 1, 2015
Who were the first white poeple?
Five million years ago the most advanced primates were the great apes in Africa. Then shifting tectonic plates created the Himalayan Mountains in Asia and the Great Rift Fissure in Africa. The mountains changed the weather in eastern Africa and the fissure trapped the apes there. The jungles of East Africa dried up and were replaced by desert-like steppes. The apes in the steppes became the Hominids that developed to become variations of early man. After several million years, Homo erectus appeared.
Homo erectus spread from Africa across Europe and Asia. They evolved into more advanced forms of Homo, including; Peking Man in china and Neandertals in Europe. The existence of Neandertals in Europe goes back as early as 250,000 years ago. They were the first Homo sapiens – Homo sapiens neanderthalansis.
The first Cro-Magnons, Homo sapiens sapiens, appeared in East Africa around 100,000 to 200,000 years ago. Some of them migrated out of Africa reaching Europe around 40,000 years ago. The Cro-Magnons replaced all the decedents of Homo erectus; including Peking man, Java man, and the Neandertals.
Because of the high exposure to sun on the steppes, it is almost certain that all the human evolutionary progenitors including Homo erectus and Cro-Magnons had highly pigmented skin to protect them from damaging solar rays.
As Cro-Magnons moved to cooler climates, their skin gradually lightened, most likely because they were exposed the sun less and because their diets in the northern climates contained less vitamin D. Lightly pigmented skin produces more vitamin D in sunshine than darker skin. The further north the Cro-Magnons moved, the lighter their skin became. The transformation occurred in less than 40,000 years.
Since Neandertals lived in Europe for about 200,000 years, it is almost certain their skin color evolved to lighter shades. So when the Cro-Magnons first entered Europe, they would have still been dark-skinned and they would have encountered light-skinned Neandertals, who were, therefore, the first white people. It is probably some level of white hubris that depicts Neandertals as dark-skinned and Cro-Magnons as lighter.
We are all descendants of the African Cro-Magnons. It seems like fifty shades of stupid to differentiate ourselves based on color pigmentation.
Homo erectus spread from Africa across Europe and Asia. They evolved into more advanced forms of Homo, including; Peking Man in china and Neandertals in Europe. The existence of Neandertals in Europe goes back as early as 250,000 years ago. They were the first Homo sapiens – Homo sapiens neanderthalansis.
The first Cro-Magnons, Homo sapiens sapiens, appeared in East Africa around 100,000 to 200,000 years ago. Some of them migrated out of Africa reaching Europe around 40,000 years ago. The Cro-Magnons replaced all the decedents of Homo erectus; including Peking man, Java man, and the Neandertals.
Because of the high exposure to sun on the steppes, it is almost certain that all the human evolutionary progenitors including Homo erectus and Cro-Magnons had highly pigmented skin to protect them from damaging solar rays.
As Cro-Magnons moved to cooler climates, their skin gradually lightened, most likely because they were exposed the sun less and because their diets in the northern climates contained less vitamin D. Lightly pigmented skin produces more vitamin D in sunshine than darker skin. The further north the Cro-Magnons moved, the lighter their skin became. The transformation occurred in less than 40,000 years.
Since Neandertals lived in Europe for about 200,000 years, it is almost certain their skin color evolved to lighter shades. So when the Cro-Magnons first entered Europe, they would have still been dark-skinned and they would have encountered light-skinned Neandertals, who were, therefore, the first white people. It is probably some level of white hubris that depicts Neandertals as dark-skinned and Cro-Magnons as lighter.
We are all descendants of the African Cro-Magnons. It seems like fifty shades of stupid to differentiate ourselves based on color pigmentation.
March 17, 2015
Publishing a Paperback
Perhaps you would like to publish your book as a Paperback or Hardback instead of, or in addition to the Ebook platform. Amazon has Createspace that lets you go that route. Amazon and Createspace both use Lightning Source to print, package, and mail books directly to buyer. Lightning Source has a subsidiary called Ingram Spark to help authors publish their books. Ingram Spark distributes globally through book marketing channels including; Barnes and Noble and Amazon. I chose Ingram Spark, so the discussion below refers to them. You will have to have a full cover design (front, spine, and back), and a formatted interior; both in pdf format. If you don’t have a cover and you feel up to doing your own, Ingram Spark will help – see step 17. To begin go to; https://ingramspark.com/Portal/WhyIng... and sign up for their free account. From the Dashboard click on Add a New Title and follow the steps.
1. Select Print & Ebook or Print Only – I use the Print Only because I chose Kindle to be my sole eBook publisher.
2. Imprint – your name as publisher
3. Title
4. Subtitle
5. Language –probably English
6. Contributors – enter you as author and others if needed (coauthor, cover graphics, etc.)
7. Subjects – the system provides an extensive list to pick from.
8. Description – a synopsis
9. Trim size – select from their list (I use 6” x 9”)
10. Interior Color & Paper – select from list (I use Black and White with Creme )
11. Binding type – select from list (I use Paperback with Perfect Bound) Note; if you select hardback you will need a dust jacket cover design.
12. Laminate type – select. (I use Matte for my Neandertal series because it gives a prehistoric look, and Gloss for the others)
13. Page Count – you have to get this from the PDF version you will be downloading.
14 Print ISBN – if you don’t have an ISBN, you will be given an option to purchase one for $85.00.
15. Pricing – you can play with the different parameters to arrive at “Compensation” you decide on.
16. Publication Date
17. Upload your files; At this point, if you do not have a cover, you can get a template to help you with it. You can save and leave the book submission form to do your cover design and then come back to the form when you are ready. If you are not given the link to the cover template in the form, you can get it by going to the Ingram Spark Home page (this will require that you sign out – upper right-hand corner under your acct number). From the Home page click Help > Cover Template Generator. You fill out a form (which includes the ISBN number you will have gotten on step 14) and they will email you the template with instructions. I had my covers already designed ahead of time, so I didn’t deal with this situation. You must use PDF for the cover and interior. Some of my books had error messages with an option to let Ingram Spark make corrections at no cost. I just clicked that, and everything was fine.
After the files have been uploaded and you have previewed them, the book will ready for printing. You are given an opportunity to order the first print of your book so that you can make sure it looks like you want before it goes live. When you go live, you will be given the option of having them put your book in their catalog for $60.00. Then you release the book. On my first book, they charged me a setup fee of $12.00, but on the other ones, there was no charge.
1. Select Print & Ebook or Print Only – I use the Print Only because I chose Kindle to be my sole eBook publisher.
2. Imprint – your name as publisher
3. Title
4. Subtitle
5. Language –probably English
6. Contributors – enter you as author and others if needed (coauthor, cover graphics, etc.)
7. Subjects – the system provides an extensive list to pick from.
8. Description – a synopsis
9. Trim size – select from their list (I use 6” x 9”)
10. Interior Color & Paper – select from list (I use Black and White with Creme )
11. Binding type – select from list (I use Paperback with Perfect Bound) Note; if you select hardback you will need a dust jacket cover design.
12. Laminate type – select. (I use Matte for my Neandertal series because it gives a prehistoric look, and Gloss for the others)
13. Page Count – you have to get this from the PDF version you will be downloading.
14 Print ISBN – if you don’t have an ISBN, you will be given an option to purchase one for $85.00.
15. Pricing – you can play with the different parameters to arrive at “Compensation” you decide on.
16. Publication Date
17. Upload your files; At this point, if you do not have a cover, you can get a template to help you with it. You can save and leave the book submission form to do your cover design and then come back to the form when you are ready. If you are not given the link to the cover template in the form, you can get it by going to the Ingram Spark Home page (this will require that you sign out – upper right-hand corner under your acct number). From the Home page click Help > Cover Template Generator. You fill out a form (which includes the ISBN number you will have gotten on step 14) and they will email you the template with instructions. I had my covers already designed ahead of time, so I didn’t deal with this situation. You must use PDF for the cover and interior. Some of my books had error messages with an option to let Ingram Spark make corrections at no cost. I just clicked that, and everything was fine.
After the files have been uploaded and you have previewed them, the book will ready for printing. You are given an opportunity to order the first print of your book so that you can make sure it looks like you want before it goes live. When you go live, you will be given the option of having them put your book in their catalog for $60.00. Then you release the book. On my first book, they charged me a setup fee of $12.00, but on the other ones, there was no charge.
March 11, 2015
Publishing on Kindle
Publishing on Kindle is about the fastest, least expensive (free) way to publish. So far, I have published 5 books on Kindle. You will need a cover in gif or tiff format. The manuscript must be in mobi or ePub format. If your manuscript is in Word, it will have to be converted. There are inexpensive or free conversion apps. However, you can’t just convert a Word manuscript because the result won’t work on Kindle. Kindle will do the conversion and get it in book format, for a fee. There are instructions you can get on Google that purport to show how to do this, but I didn’t look at them. I got all my files in the proper format from my previous publisher.
When you are ready, go to https://Kdp.amazon.com and create a username and password to set up your free publisher account. You will then be taken to a dashboard where you can enter a new book. You will be prompted for the following info:
Book Name and subtitle (if needed)
You will be asked if it is part of a series and, if it is, you will be asked the number in the series
Description; This is a synopsis like you see on the back of a published book.
Contributors; There must be at least one – you as the author. You can add co-author, cover design, etc.
ISBN; That is optional. Put one if you have one.
Categories; That is like the genre – fiction, non-fiction, biography etc. Your book may be more than one.
Age Ranges; I think these apply to children’s books. I left them blank.
Keywords; These are words that people may use in a browser to find your book. You can use up to seven. Things like; serial killer, mystery, romance, sci fi, etc. Serial killer would count as one word.
Upload your cover; If you can have more than one ap open on your screen, you can drag and drop this, otherwise you can browse. It must be in gif or tiff.
Confirm you have digital rights; If you wrote it, it’s yours, and you have all the rights even if you don’t have a copyright.
Upload the content: You can drag and drop or browse. This must be in mobi or ePub format.
Verify publishing rights; Like digital rights, if you wrote the book, you have the rights.
From here you will go through a process of setting a price. You can put a price in the blank, and the last column will tell you what your royalty is. When you settle on a price you like, select it.
After that, you Save and Publish.
Your book will then go into review. The note says it will take at least 12 hours. I always waited until the next day to check. In all cases the book was online the next day. If you have all the files in the right formats, it will have cost you nothing. If the grammar is horrendous or the book is a mess, they may send it back for editing – but it has to be pretty bad.
When you are ready, go to https://Kdp.amazon.com and create a username and password to set up your free publisher account. You will then be taken to a dashboard where you can enter a new book. You will be prompted for the following info:
Book Name and subtitle (if needed)
You will be asked if it is part of a series and, if it is, you will be asked the number in the series
Description; This is a synopsis like you see on the back of a published book.
Contributors; There must be at least one – you as the author. You can add co-author, cover design, etc.
ISBN; That is optional. Put one if you have one.
Categories; That is like the genre – fiction, non-fiction, biography etc. Your book may be more than one.
Age Ranges; I think these apply to children’s books. I left them blank.
Keywords; These are words that people may use in a browser to find your book. You can use up to seven. Things like; serial killer, mystery, romance, sci fi, etc. Serial killer would count as one word.
Upload your cover; If you can have more than one ap open on your screen, you can drag and drop this, otherwise you can browse. It must be in gif or tiff.
Confirm you have digital rights; If you wrote it, it’s yours, and you have all the rights even if you don’t have a copyright.
Upload the content: You can drag and drop or browse. This must be in mobi or ePub format.
Verify publishing rights; Like digital rights, if you wrote the book, you have the rights.
From here you will go through a process of setting a price. You can put a price in the blank, and the last column will tell you what your royalty is. When you settle on a price you like, select it.
After that, you Save and Publish.
Your book will then go into review. The note says it will take at least 12 hours. I always waited until the next day to check. In all cases the book was online the next day. If you have all the files in the right formats, it will have cost you nothing. If the grammar is horrendous or the book is a mess, they may send it back for editing – but it has to be pretty bad.
March 3, 2015
Publishing a Novel
So the novel is written, polished, and ready for prime time. Now what? The traditional approach is to put together an engaging book presentation, an eye-catching letter, research publishers to find those who are publishing your type of book, and send out stacks of query letters. Another version of this is to find an agent who likes your book and will peddle it to the publishers. Finding an agent is approximately the same process as finding a publisher, but you have the added problem that you will most likely have never heard the name of the agent, so it is hard to know if he/she is reputable, though there ways to get some info. I went down this road for a couple of years. There is no indication from any of my submittals that they were ever read before landing in the trash can.
Luckily, in today’s world there are other options. You can sign on with a print on demand (POD) publisher. I worked with a company named iUniverse. They will publish any book that is sent in, with only a few censorship rules. You pay a fee and they will format your manuscript, help prepare a cover, and put your book out on the market. In addition, they provide services to polish your book if you are interested in creating a high quality book. I used iUniverse to publish my first three books as I wrote them. After the first three, I became more interested in creating a quality book and took advantage of polish services. I was very happy with the results and even pulled the first three books back for major rewrites. The problem with iUniverse is that they set the price of the book significantly higher than the market price for similar books. They are totally inflexible. Consequently, I have cancelled my contracts with iUniverse.
Another option, the one I am using now, is to publish your book yourself. I have published all of my previous books over the past three months. It seemed that it would be simple, but as I got into it, I discovered it is more complicated than I imagined. Although I struggled for the first couple of books, I am glad that I am now the publisher of all my completed books. I have been able to cut the prices of my softcover books by about 50%. More about the details of self-publishing in the next post.
Luckily, in today’s world there are other options. You can sign on with a print on demand (POD) publisher. I worked with a company named iUniverse. They will publish any book that is sent in, with only a few censorship rules. You pay a fee and they will format your manuscript, help prepare a cover, and put your book out on the market. In addition, they provide services to polish your book if you are interested in creating a high quality book. I used iUniverse to publish my first three books as I wrote them. After the first three, I became more interested in creating a quality book and took advantage of polish services. I was very happy with the results and even pulled the first three books back for major rewrites. The problem with iUniverse is that they set the price of the book significantly higher than the market price for similar books. They are totally inflexible. Consequently, I have cancelled my contracts with iUniverse.
Another option, the one I am using now, is to publish your book yourself. I have published all of my previous books over the past three months. It seemed that it would be simple, but as I got into it, I discovered it is more complicated than I imagined. Although I struggled for the first couple of books, I am glad that I am now the publisher of all my completed books. I have been able to cut the prices of my softcover books by about 50%. More about the details of self-publishing in the next post.
February 20, 2015
Why call it Islamic Terror
What difference does it make if we call it Islamic Terror or not? “A rose, by any other name …” The strategy appears to be that we must create more jobs so would-be terrorists will not be dissatisfied, we must close Gitmo so would-be terrorists will not be angry, etc. All the proposed solutions are based upon the premise that the problem is social unrest not the teachings of Islam. If that premise is mistaken, the solution is most likely wrong.
Paraphrased from the Qur’an—I read it myself: infidels (non-Muslims) have three choices. One, (the preferred) convert and become a practicing Muslim. Two, continue to practice their belief only in the privacy of their own home, submit to all the laws of Islam when outside their home, and pay a fee for not being Muslim. The third choice is to be killed. This is the basis of ISIS; they act it out every day. This is Islamic. This is not a share-the-wealth deal; it can’t be solved with community organizer skills. I submit that the vast majority of Muslims, who subject themselves to the laws of the nations where they live (instead of only to Allah as Islam requires), might just be the ones who have perverted the religion. Perhaps the Sunnah gives them cover for this contradiction. However, if their peaceful coexistence version is correct, they need to be in the forefront of convincing violent Muslims that the peaceful version of Islam overrules the Qur’an on these issues. The solution is to defeat the terrorist, Islamic version of the Qur’an or destroy the terrorists. They are acting on a faith they will gladly die for—an Islamic faith. They are not looking for jobs. They are Islamic Terrorists—just as the Crusaders were Christian Crusaders.
Paraphrased from the Qur’an—I read it myself: infidels (non-Muslims) have three choices. One, (the preferred) convert and become a practicing Muslim. Two, continue to practice their belief only in the privacy of their own home, submit to all the laws of Islam when outside their home, and pay a fee for not being Muslim. The third choice is to be killed. This is the basis of ISIS; they act it out every day. This is Islamic. This is not a share-the-wealth deal; it can’t be solved with community organizer skills. I submit that the vast majority of Muslims, who subject themselves to the laws of the nations where they live (instead of only to Allah as Islam requires), might just be the ones who have perverted the religion. Perhaps the Sunnah gives them cover for this contradiction. However, if their peaceful coexistence version is correct, they need to be in the forefront of convincing violent Muslims that the peaceful version of Islam overrules the Qur’an on these issues. The solution is to defeat the terrorist, Islamic version of the Qur’an or destroy the terrorists. They are acting on a faith they will gladly die for—an Islamic faith. They are not looking for jobs. They are Islamic Terrorists—just as the Crusaders were Christian Crusaders.
How I write;
Writing a novel: I start with an idea that consumes my interest. I begin mulling it over, researching, and asking myself “what if” questions to suggest a story. As the story develops, I pick a genre to tell the story in an interesting way. I read several novels in that genre. When I am satisfied I have the right genre, I look at the novels I have read to see what the formula for that genre is. I see what parts of the formula don’t fit my story and decide how to change the formula without alienating the readers.
I don’t outline. I begin writing the rough draft, usually by hand in theme books. Some of my first books were written on the backs of paper placemats at Burger King or Carl’s Jr. where I ate lunch at work. I redline the draft and type it into my computer, editing again as I write. Each chapter is a separate file. I print it on yellow paper. I redline it and print the revised manuscript on blue paper. I redline it and print the revised manuscript on white paper. I redline, and I then combine all the chapter files into a manuscript on the computer.
I have the manuscript evaluated by a professional. The evaluation contains:
Basics; suitable for the target audience
Title & Cover; reflect the content, clear and appropriate cover copy
Opening; grab the reader, draw the reader on
Basic Premise and Tone; interesting, believable, unique, clear, accurate, language appropriate for genre
Point of View; consistent, insightful, appropriate, convey the story
Structure, Plot, & Pace; focused, propel the reader, appropriate struggle, high point, appropriate climax, good foreshadowing
Setting; describe without slowing pace, enhance novel, provide sense of place
Characterization; clear characters, effective, image, behavior, plausible challenges, motivated, flawed, emotional connection, believable
Dialogue; easy to read, reflect speaker’s personality & background, distinguishable from character to character, sound authentic
After I have addressed all the evaluator’s concerns (this could involve several revisions) I have a professional copyedit to address grammar & punctuation.
Done—next, the publishing process, but that’s another story.
I don’t outline. I begin writing the rough draft, usually by hand in theme books. Some of my first books were written on the backs of paper placemats at Burger King or Carl’s Jr. where I ate lunch at work. I redline the draft and type it into my computer, editing again as I write. Each chapter is a separate file. I print it on yellow paper. I redline it and print the revised manuscript on blue paper. I redline it and print the revised manuscript on white paper. I redline, and I then combine all the chapter files into a manuscript on the computer.
I have the manuscript evaluated by a professional. The evaluation contains:
Basics; suitable for the target audience
Title & Cover; reflect the content, clear and appropriate cover copy
Opening; grab the reader, draw the reader on
Basic Premise and Tone; interesting, believable, unique, clear, accurate, language appropriate for genre
Point of View; consistent, insightful, appropriate, convey the story
Structure, Plot, & Pace; focused, propel the reader, appropriate struggle, high point, appropriate climax, good foreshadowing
Setting; describe without slowing pace, enhance novel, provide sense of place
Characterization; clear characters, effective, image, behavior, plausible challenges, motivated, flawed, emotional connection, believable
Dialogue; easy to read, reflect speaker’s personality & background, distinguishable from character to character, sound authentic
After I have addressed all the evaluator’s concerns (this could involve several revisions) I have a professional copyedit to address grammar & punctuation.
Done—next, the publishing process, but that’s another story.
October 16, 2014
Robyn - guidelines
Robyn is about the impact of child molestation on the victims and their families. It is not about the act of child molestation; however, in order to understand the effects, one must have some feel for their basis. I attempted to do this in chapter one. In this chapter a grown woman tells a bishop of her church about being molested as a child. In order to buffer what happened to her, I had her tell the story in second person, present tense. In addition there were some very short references to things other victims experienced.
Unfortunately, all of these references involving victims under the age of eighteen run afoul of legal bans and publisher guidelines. Together they add up to 1.07% of the book. Not much, but without them, the book loses the foundation of the impacts. I have tried to write this book, on and off, for nearly twenty years. It appeared that thousands of hours of work would end up in failure.
I could say things like; the man took her to the bedroom and they had sex, or there was inappropriate touching or oral activity. But what I wanted was for the reader to gain the deeper understanding of the details that caused the victims to feel powerless, alone, pain, unworthy, shame, fear, and all the other destructive emotions that create the lasting effects of molestation.
I worked on it all summer and finally I was able to accomplish what I wanted within the guidelines that were set. I gave the details but I didn’t give the details (?) So now I have edited the whole book again and had it professionally proofread. I have edited the comments from the proof reader and submitted the manuscript for final analysis. I hope to see Robyn published before the end of the year.
Unfortunately, all of these references involving victims under the age of eighteen run afoul of legal bans and publisher guidelines. Together they add up to 1.07% of the book. Not much, but without them, the book loses the foundation of the impacts. I have tried to write this book, on and off, for nearly twenty years. It appeared that thousands of hours of work would end up in failure.
I could say things like; the man took her to the bedroom and they had sex, or there was inappropriate touching or oral activity. But what I wanted was for the reader to gain the deeper understanding of the details that caused the victims to feel powerless, alone, pain, unworthy, shame, fear, and all the other destructive emotions that create the lasting effects of molestation.
I worked on it all summer and finally I was able to accomplish what I wanted within the guidelines that were set. I gave the details but I didn’t give the details (?) So now I have edited the whole book again and had it professionally proofread. I have edited the comments from the proof reader and submitted the manuscript for final analysis. I hope to see Robyn published before the end of the year.
