Marian Allen's Blog, page 432
June 18, 2012
Floyd Hyatt Stops
Oh, sorry; didn’t mean to scare you; I meant:
Floyd Hyatt – Stops
See how important punctuation is?
Today, Mr. Hyatt is talking about colons and comas. I mean commas. Including — TA DAAA! — the serial comma! ~fist pump~
Types of Stops
a post by Floyd Hyatt
There are several slight variations as to how these should be used, but the simplest guide is below:
A few reminders referencing Lynch’s Guide to Grammar and Style
Colon
A colon marks a pause to make an explanatory point, expansion, enumeration, or to prefix an elaboration, or set of elaborations. You can also use a colon to indicate a following list: thing one, thing two, and thing three. Use it to pause and explain: this sentence makes the point. Use it to give an example: this, for instance. As you can see, most of the uses are really just to indicate some sort of instances of a case follow after.
Comma
A complete guide to comma usage is beyond the scope of an article like this, but here are a few tips. Some amateur writers, for instance, seem to think sprinkling commas every few words is a good idea but it makes for difficult reading.
A few places commas should be avoided:
After the conjunctions and, but, and or, unless the comma sets off a phrase that can’t stand alone as a sentence. It’s wrong to write “But, she did get it done on time.” Use the comma only if there’s such a phrase, as in, “But, to be fair, she did get it done on time.”
Between a month and year in a date: not November, 1990, but November 1990. The comma stops two sets of numerals from running into one another, as in November 20, 1990.
Some style guides call for omitting the comma after very short prepositional phrases at the beginning of a sentence: not “On Saturday, the office is closed,” but “On Saturday the office is closed.” However, do use a comma after long prepositional phrases or dependent clauses: “Because the entire epic is concerned with justifying the ways of God to man, Milton must present free will in a positive light.” (How many words do you need before “short” turns into “long”? — trust your judgment, and think always about clarity.)
Finally, the thorniest comma-related question, whether or not to include the serial comma (also known as the Oxford comma or Harvard comma from its inclusion in their house style guides). In most the comma is preferred before the last item in a list: “the first, second, and third chapters.” Leaving it out — “the first, second and third chapters” — is a habit picked up from journalism. While it saves a teensy bit of space and effort, omitting the final comma runs the risk of suggesting the last two items (in the example above, the second and third chapters) are some sort of special pair. A famous (and perhaps apocryphal?) dedication makes the danger clear: “To my parents, Ayn Rand and God.”
The Comma Splice.
A comma splice is probably the most widespread variety of run-on sentence: it’s where two independent clauses are stuck together with just a comma. You usually need some better way to separate them one from the another: use a period or a semicolon in place of the comma; use a coordinating conjunction like and or or; or use a subordinating conjunction like because or although. Personally, I like to use as where I can.
~singing~ serial comma, serial comma, serial comma, hey-hey-hey-hey ~/singing~
A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: Two writers come to blows over punctuation.
MA
June 17, 2012
#SampleSunday – Enter the Cat
Here’s another excerpt from “Crumb”, the story I donated to DARK THINGS II: CAT CRIMES. I had another excerpt a few weeks ago, but this one has the actual cat in it.
Crumb – Excerpt
by Marian Allen
Snuffy laughed again, then had another coughing fit.
“Crap!” he said, putting his inhaler into a pocket of his trench coat. “No lie, you got a cat or what?”
“It come in out of the alley,” I said. “What kind of goddamn tea shop would this be, without a goddamn cat, you freakin’ moron?”
Right on cue, here came Baby Face, twenty pounds of lard and long red-brown hair, sashaying out of the store-room.
I thought Snuffy was too racked up to move very fast, but he showed me different. While I still had my eye on the cat, he flashed out an arm and grabbed Jake, pulling him off balance. Jake crashed into a table and ricocheted into a chair, both hands to one cheek, blood oozing between his fingers.
“Crap!” Snuffy said again. “Missed! Lock the door and close the curtains and come over here where I can reach both of you, or I cut him again. And put that cat out.”
“It’s a storm out there!”
He raked his knife across the top of Jake’s head, and hair and blood mixed together on my man’s shoulders.
I picked Baby Face up by the scruff of his neck and tossed him into the rain. When I’d locked the door and pulled the curtains, Snuffy motioned to a chair on the other side of the table from Jake, then sneezed five times. He pulled out his handkerchief, blew his nose, wiped his running eyes, and tucked it away.
“Damn cat!” His eyes were getting red and swelling, but he was still in killing form.
Everyone involved donated their services, including the authors. Proceeds go to cat rescue. If you’d like to help the cause, buy it in print or for Kindle at Amazon.com or as an ePub from Lulu.com.
A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: A character objects to a “resident cat” in an eating establishment, library, or store.
MA
June 16, 2012
Caturday – Crimes of the Kitty
A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: A kind character has to live with a Very Bad Cat.
MA
June 15, 2012
A Bible Bound To Please
My husband read BOUND TO PLEASE by Michael Dirda, which is called “Essays on Great Writers and Their Books”. After he finished, I started reading it.
Kids, do.
Dirda is a literary critic, the kind who seldom reviews the books he dislikes. He says he’s a slow reader, “still moving my lips and sounding out every word,” which makes his output all the more remarkable.
The result is that these essays are short, punchy, enthusiastic, packed with information and flavor, and great tremendous fun.
On Dirda’s say-so, my husband asked to read Terry Pratchett’s MAKING MONEY. I’m sorry to say he (Charlie, I mean, not Dirda) hated the book and didn’t finish it, which is unusual for Charlie. Charlie reads a lot of economics, and MAKING MONEY is all about economics in a fantasy world, but the fantastical outweighed the economics for Charlie.
So far, I want to read everything by everybody Dirda talks about, he makes it all sound so delicious! Since all I’ve read so far is the Old Masters section, I’m in luck: Most of it is free online.
Dirda made William Tyndale’s translation of The Bible sound like the bee’s knees, so I went looking for it. I found a PDF of it at The Wesley Center Online. Downloaded it. But who wants to read a PDF on an eReader? Not I. So know what I did? I downloaded a free Mobipocket eBook Creator and ran the PDF through that, created a Mobi file (which Kindle reads). Now I’ll transfer that puppy to my Kindle and Bob’s your jolly old uncle!
Just what I needed — MORE BOOKS! 
Speaking of books, the blog book tour for THE CORNER CAFE continues today at Chris V’s blog with an excerpt and a post about dogs (Yay, dogs!) AND at Kathy Wheeler‘s.
A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: A character recommends a beloved book to someone close to him or her who turns out to hate the book. How does this affect their relationship in the short run? In the long run?
MA
June 14, 2012
Mom’s Amazing Adventure Continues
I told you about how Mom huffed a pill and it got stuck in her lung and they had to send a team of doctors down her throat with a jackhammer and a crowbar to get it out, right?
Yesterday, I took her to the pulmonologist in charge of the expedition for a follow-up and he showed us pictures of the bits. I was going to post them here, but they’re rather ghastly, with all blood and lung goo on them, so I’ll just upload them and link to them, so view at your own discretion:
You were warned.
SO the new adventure: On the way back to Corydon, we stopped by Mom’s church so she could pick up some flyers about St. Peter’s Lutheran Dutch Fair And BBQ this Sunday 10-3 non-Lutherans heartily welcome. I’ll be there the first part of the day with some of the Southern Indiana Writers, selling our books.
ANYWAY, she started up the one step to the gazebo, where the flyers were, and her foot slipped. As I watched, she teetered, trying to regain her balance, went to one knee, pitched over on her back, and down went her head. Even though all this happened, of course, in slow motion, I was moving in slow motion, too. By the time I got to her, she was sitting up, telling me she was all right.
We went about our business, did our grocery shopping, she said nothing hurt, though her head felt a little bumped, but not bad.
On the way home from the grocery, she said, very quietly, “I can see you out of the corner of my eye.”
She had a stroke in 2005, and lost the left field of vision in both eyes. She’s regained a little of it, but not much.
Until she fell and bumped the back of her head yesterday.
No, I don’t consider it a miracle. But I do consider it amazing and very, very happy.
The blog book tour for THE CORNER CAFE CONTINUES at Helen Ginger’s blog, Straight from Hel, with Morgan Mandel, appropriately for my post here, talking about life-altering events.
And I have a post today at Echelon Explorations about my take on Suzanne Collins’ book THE HUNGER GAMES.
A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: Something unexpectedly wonderful comes out of something frightening.
MA
June 13, 2012
Stuff Yourself at the Corner Cafe and Lose Weight!
That’s because THE CORNER CAFE is a short story collection by a group of writer friends in the Blog Book Tour Cafe yahoo group.
Here’s something about some of the stories. See if anything here appeals to you:
* “The Catfish Enchantment” by Marian Allen: Cosmo’s father deserted the family and died unforgiven, his mother is sinking into depression, he’s started cutting himself to relieve the pain, and his boss suggests…a tattoo?
* In “I Wanna Get Off Here,” by Shonell Bacon, a bus driver with a dream to write must first unchain herself from a relationship and inner thoughts that keep her hopes from coming to pass.
* In “What’s Next” By Karen Casey Fitzjerrell, a young woman who sees herself drifting aimlessly through life, hires a crop dusting pilot to fly her over the Gulf of Mexico in the middle of the night and is enlightened by “What’s Next” in her life.
* “The Eyes Have It” by W.S. Gager: Crimebeat reporter Mitch Malone hates going to church, but when he gets rooked into speaking to the Bible-toting ladies, he may be facing the devil himself as he investigates the prayer group’s missing purses.
* “Gila Monster” by Helen Ginger: Neree parked her beat-up truck, Gila Monster, in the senior parking lot, hoping it’ll still be there at the end of school. Instead, she finds an unexpected possibility…
* “One Last Run” by Helen Ginger: When a couple ski a black diamond run in a blizzard, the truth of what happened is in the blood.
* In “Saturday Night Special” by Dani Greer, a jaded old codger learns it’s relationships old and new that make the Corner Cafe a treasure, not just the down-home cooking.
* Also by Dani Greer: When Mick decides to apply for “A New Job,” he discover one too many damning things about the Corner Cafe manager.
* Also by Dani Greer: Nell Crisp likes the ambiance and Wi-Fi at the Corner Cafe, but little does she know it will be her “Home Away From Home” when the police pay a visit.
* In “Since You Left” by S.B. Lerner, a young lawyer is unsettled by a phone call from an old boyfriend, and forced to make a decision.
* In “What Nice Blessings” by Morgan Mandel, tragedy strikes a young adult, testing her courage and teaching her the value of friendship.
* In “The Consequences of Breaking and Entering” by Audrey Lintner, Goldilocks gets an update and her comeuppance.”
* “The Closing of the Corner Cafe” by Morgan Mandel describes the rise and fall of a cherished eating establishment.
* “Over the Threshold” by Maryann Miller mixes a bit of Raymond Chandler noir with “The Twilight Zone.”
* “Love Song with Holsteins” by Bodie Parkhurst is about Halloween, magic, Russell the dairy bull, love, and the private memorials we make to it.
* In “A Face in the Window” by Mary Montague Sikes, can Arianna ever forget the tragic loss that changed her life, especially on the 10th anniversary spent in a museum where memories lurk in the art and later among the shadows of the Corner Cafe?
* In “Living Well,” Red Tash gently pokes fun at the Star Trek fan culture and the ups and downs of long-term love, in the fan-favored setting of This Brilliant Darkness’ Corner Cafe.
* In “You Can’t Be Too Careful” by Bob Sanchez, George prepares for the expected Y2K catastrophe.
* In “Perfect Timing” by Christine Verstraete, a rescued pup helps cafe owner Gina Mason find love and thwart a would-be robber.
Well, waddya think? Don’t forget: If you don’t have a Kindle, you can download a free app right from the Amazon page and read on your computer, your smartphone, or another electronic device. (No, not your razor. No, not your printer. BE SERIOUS!)
The blog book tour for THE CORNER CAFE is at Chris Verstraete’s today: http://candidcanine.blogspot.com
A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: Set up a brainstorm grid for a corner cafe with these headings: location o, location i, who. Location o = where the cafe is located (crossroads in the desert, inner city, small town). Location i = places or areas inside (counter, booth, table, men’s room, women’s room, kitchen, pantry, alley, upstairs storage, balcony, whatever). Who = various staff and others (cook, waitress, waiter, dishwasher, garbage collector, panhandler, regular, tourist, robber, etc.). Wow! A million stories in one little corner cafe!
June 12, 2012
Happy Thing
Happy Thing is happy.
…because…
Happy thing is packing shanks.
Can you guess what this thing is? First correct guess wins a big shiny no-prize!
Meanwhile, I’m posting today at Fatal Foodies on the subject of supermegaultralisticlocavoridocious…ness. I also have a blog post up at #amwriting about Blogging and Writing.
AND the blog book tour for THE CORNER CAFE continues at http://wsgager.blogspot.com.
A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: A character sees an inanimate object that appears to be happy. How does this make the character feel? Also happy? Angry? Jealous? Queasy?
MA
June 10, 2012
To Boldly Go…out for coffee? Cosplay on the street, at the Corner Cafe
My guest today is the fabulous Red Tash, fellow contributor to THE CORNER CAFE and fellow Star Trek fan. Like me, she particularly likes Counselor Troi from The Next Generation. Unlike me, she does NOT refer to the counselor as “Hello Kitty”. Possibly she, unlike me, didn’t first see the character with a big bow in her hair and her eyes wide and frightened. Troi will always be Hello Kitty to me.
At any rate, here is Red’s delightful post about cosplay, or playing dress-up for adults. And, if you’re going, “How childish!” or something equally fustian, remember what my dear old gray-headed Granny used to say, “If you ain’t tried it, don’t knock it.”
To Boldly Go…out for coffee? Cosplay on the street, at the Corner Cafe.
By Red Tash
“What is cosplay?” A fellow writer asked me this question recently. Despite the over 31 million results Google returns for the term “cosplay,” you’ve got to dig a little to find a strict dictionary definition. The Oxford Dictionaries define cosplay as “the practice of dressing up as a character from a film, book, or video game, especially one from the Japanese genres of manga or anime.”
That definition vexes me a little, because here in the United States where I live, manga still hasn’t really swept the nation. Sure, it has its share of fans, and its influence is broad, but when you think of people dressing up in costumes, what do you think of? Halloween? Sure. Clowns? Okay, if you must. Anything else? If you know even one nerd in your life, I’d be willing to bet you know someone with a Star Fleet uniform in his closet. Star Trek fans have been cosplaying since cosplay wasn’t cool. And, hey—maybe it still isn’t cool, but since when have Trekkers cared about that?
I’m not a cosplayer, but I admire people who are. I haven’t been to many conventions, but I envy those who have. To boldly throw oneself into the physical reenactment of one’s favorite characters? That’s going where most humans haven’t the courage to go. I think that kind of fandom is lovely.
For what it’s worth, it’s not that I’m afraid to do it. I’d dress up as Deanna Troi in a heartbeat if I could 1.) find enough reinforced Spanx in the world to contain my non-Troi-ish physique, and 2.) attend anything without children clinging to me 24/7. Chasing kids around tends to detract from the magic of reenactment, I presume. No, cosplay isn’t for me right now.
http://cosplay.paheal.net/post/view/1... - love the look on the face of that guy in the background!
So, how do cosplayers deal with real world situations while in character? I had the opportunity to explore that question when the BBT Cafe group decided to gather short stories set in the mythos of the Corner Cafe. Why, I had a place called The Corner in This Brilliant Darkness, and it was, indeed, a cafe! A cafe/bookstore, but, still. What better setting than on Halloween night, the evening of Bloomington, Indiana’s annual Star Trails parade?
Wait, what? Okay, allow me to back up a second. In my book This Brilliant Darkness, there is a Star Trek parody subplot. I decided not to be sued by Roddenberry’s people, so the show isn’t Star Trek, it’s Star Trails. My characters aren’t Vulcans, they’re FullCons. They don’t live long and prosper, either—they live well and tidily. I threw in glowing ET hearts just for good measure, because why not? FullCons aren’t the end of the story, either. They’re one of many species that populate the fictionalized version of this wacky college town for one special night each year. If you’ve visited or lived in the real Bloomington, home of Indiana University, you know the scenario isn’t all that far-fetched. It’s a magical place filled with good-humored folks, where virtually anything can and does happen, eventually.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebes-i...
Every time I visit Bloomington, I find inspiration. The same thing can be said of The Corner Cafe, fictional though it may be. I simply never know what characters will be waiting—in the case of this particular story, that was never more true! Living Well at the Corner Cafe poured out like a hot cuppa joe. The first few drafts burned, but were so sweet to write. Whether dealing with loose ears, hot coffee, interfering blondes, or jealous lovers, my cosplayers were in for a difficult walk on their way to what was supposed to be great fun—and it was fascinating to write. I hope you’ll give it a read.
Thanks once again to Marian for having me as her guest today as part of the blog tour to kick off the book. Fun! If you haven’t sampled from the menu yet, one of our reviewers says “I recommend you grab yourself a big cup of coffee, slice of pie, and dive into the tales of the Corner Cafe!” I’ll be taking that advice, how about you? See you in Ten Forward?
Red’s website: Red Tash
Read more about THIS BRILLIANT DARKNESS
Download THE CORNER CAFE!
Follow the blog book tour posts at BlogBookTours.
Thanks for the visit, Red! Enjoy Ten Forward — I’ll be on the holodeck playing Firefly! lol
A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: If you had the nerve, the money, and friends with the right attitude, what cosplay would you do? How about your main character? Your villain?
MA
#SampleSunday – More Catfish
Here’s another excerpt from “The Catfish Enchantment”, my short story in THE CORNER CAFE, which is FREE this weekend (June 9-10, 2010).
In this scene, Cosmo (real name, Alexander) tries to give his mother something to hold onto to climb out of the pit of depression she’s in. Naturally (since I wrote it), it involves food.
The Catfish Enchantment – excerpt
by Marian Allen
“Mom?” I rapped on her door. She didn’t answer. “Mom, I’m coming in.”
She was lying on the bed, on her side, staring at the night table.
“Mom, I’m going to work. You know what I’d really like? You remember that stuff you used to make with the roast beef and noodles and goopy sauce?”
After a few seconds too long, she said, “Stroganoff?”
“Maybe.”
“We don’t have any roast beef.”
“Could you maybe roast one?”
Her mouth twitched. Before Dad left, she would have laughed out loud.
“Please, Mom? I’d really like it.”
She nodded and sat up. It looked like the hardest thing she’d ever done.
We hadn’t hugged for a couple of years, because I thought I was too big to be hugging on my mommy, but we hugged then.
“I can taste that beefy goodness now,” I said. “See you later.”
He’s a nice boy.
A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: What would provide a handhold for your main character to keep from falling into the pit of depression?
MA
June 9, 2012
Hello Caturday
It’s no secret that MomGoth (that’s yours truly) is a Hello Kitty fan. Here is most of my HK stash. I’m trying to keep the collection manageable.
Sanrio http://www.sanrio.com/ says I may not use the Hello Kitty image on my personal website.
This doesn’t include my HK mermaid necklace, because I forgot to put it in the picture and I’m too lazy to do it now.
Our #4 daughter, who loathes the color pink, had to deal with a lot of Hello Kitty merch when she was growing up, and she tolerated it with great grace and fortitude. Little as she was, she understood that she was getting HK coin purses and My Little Pony dolls because MOMMY liked them. She didn’t have any HK dolls, because I couldn’t find any. Otherwise, there would have been deadly feuds (see this month’s Hot Flash).
THE CORNER CAFE is FREE this weekend (June 9-10, 2012), so go pick up a copy. Be sure to check the price, just to make certain Amazon has the price set to $0.00. If not, try again later in the day. Although the full price is a measly $0.99, and that’s going to some charity or other, so wotthehell.
A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: Write a grown-up who showers a certain kind of gift on a child because he or she (the grown-up) would love to have those gifts. Write the dynamic between the child and the grown-up.
MA
