Marian Allen's Blog, page 473

Friday Recommends 5-6-2011

The April A-to-Z Blog Challenge is still turning up wonderful blogs for me to explore. Here are a few:

that girl from around the bay – I love her written accent, eh? She's Canadian, eh? She never goes, "Eh?", eh? Srsly, it's a blog you'll love following.

rach writes – Good stuff on "writing, children's books, and the publishing industry in general"

I Refuse To Go Quietly! – I like her Attitude!

And this video which my mother sent me under the title of "What Lutherans Do With Their Beer Bottles". Mom, don't kid a kidder. This is what they do AFTER they do what everybody else does with their beer bottles: empty them down their gullets.

WRITING PROMPT: If you have a character who hangs out with somebody, have your character explain what he/she sees in that person. If you don't have a character yet, explain to yourself why you hang out with the person/people you hang out with. a-hahahahaha!

Uncle Phineas Has His Say

Over at Killer Characters, Uncle Phineas of EEL'S REVERENCE finally got a chance to speak for himself. He's been quite put out that HE has a FaceBook page, but Aunt Libby gets all the attention. Well, Phineas, SHE NARRATED THE BOOK! If you wanted more attention, you should have been more forthcoming.

Phineas: I did not get to my present position, dear lady, by being forthcoming.

ME: Fine.

Anyway, he's open for more interviews, if anybody can stand it.

Phineas: I beg your pardon?

ME: Nothing.

In other news, Joseph Robert Lewis sent the following happy announcement:

I'm happy to announce the release of The Broken Sword, the eagerly awaited sequel to The Burning Sky!

Available at: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords

And I'm like–YAY! I love his work, you know.

WRITING PROMPT: If you're having trouble with a scene, interview the characters who are in it. You don't have to ask specifically about THAT SCENE. Maybe something will shake loose that will give the scene the context or emotional input that makes it work. Or maybe it will suggest a better scene.

Best. Egg. Ever.

I'm apozabe on Savvy Authors today, talking about Book Kits, but it isn't up yet (as of 9:41 EDT). Should be up some time today. Meanwhile, here is an AWESOME thing I found at lifehacker. Imma tell you about it here, but follow the link to find more great stuff.

Take a regular-sized mug. Not one of those big-as-your-head deals, a regular one. Spray it with cooking spray. Okay, now wash it off and spray it INSIDE. I'll wait. la-la-la-la-la…. Okay. Break an egg into the mug. Add about a Tablespoon of milk or sour cream. Mix it up, making sure to break the yellow. Add what you like–herbs, salt, pepper, cooked mushrooms, chili peppers, cheese. Put it in the microwave for one (1) minute.

It makes the nicest, fluffiest scrambled egg EVER!!! I wrapped mine in a flour tortilla and nommed it heartily.

WRITING PROMPT: Come up with a cooking time-saver for your character to use, or invent a character who likes this shortcut. Why does he/she like it? Because it's quick? Easy? Requires no cooking ability? You can eat it out of the cooking container?

MA

Stylish Bloggers

First, the organizers of the April A-to-Z Blog Challenge:

Arlee Bird (Tossing It Out)

Jeffrey Beesler's (World of the Scribe)

Alex J. Cavanaugh (Alex J. Cavanaugh)

Jen Daiker ( Unedited)

Candace Ganger (The Misadventures in Candyland)

Karen J Gowen  (Coming Down the Mountain)

Talli Roland

Stephen Tremp (Breakthrough Blogs )

Now. Yesterday, I posted my Stylish Blogger Award from Sandy Axelrod and said today I'd post a list of bloggers to whom I'm passing the award on. I found SO MANY wonderful blogs through the Challenge, even though I've only visited a small percentage of them so far, I just picked some I loved at random. I'll have some more for my Friday Recommends.

Congratulations, Stylish Bloggers!

Damyanti at Daily (w)rites
Charmaine Clancy at Wagging Tales
Ellie Garratt
Misha at My First Book
Gail Baugniet
Ann Best, Memoir Author
Michelle Mach of Beads and Books
Sarah Allen of From Sarah, With Joy (no relation)
Nate Wilson of Sometimes, The Wheel Is On Fire
All THE Freaks at Attack of the Foodies

[image error]And thanks to the awesomely awesome That Girl from Around The Bay for the Blogging Star Award.

WRITING PROMPT: A character invites a ridiculous number of people to an event, figuring only a small proportion of them will come. They all come and bring guests.

MA

P.S. It's Tuesday, so I'm blogging today at Fatal Foodies on the subject of eating the dog's dinner.

Writers' Tools – Asking Questions

The fabulous Sandy Axelrod gave me a Stylish Blogger Award. Here are the rules:

To accept the award, you have to do the following:

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Award 10-15 blogs who you think deserve this award.

4. Contact these bloggers and let them know about the award.

I've linked to her seven shares, but I encourage you to browse around her site. ALL her posts are wonderful!

I decided that, since I had already shared seven things about myself, I would give a character a chance, and here that is.

Aunt Libby is an 82-year-old priest of Micah. When I wrote EEL'S REVERENCE, I hadn't learned about interviewing characters. I had a strong feeling for who the characters are, but (except for Loach) not much feeling for who they had been. Interviews would have been very helpful. Interviews, or challenging them to tell seven things about themselves, as The Stylish Blogger Award challenges its recipients to do.

Aunt Libby, take it away!

Thank you, dear. Let me see….

I tell people I've been a priest of Micah for 68 years of my 82, and only a 10-year-old girl ever did the math and questioned me on it. The truth is, I entered the seminary at 14. Having decided to be a priest at so young an age I don't remember ever having wanted to do anything else, I had puzzled my parents and irritated my friends by acting like a priest all my life. I never wanted to wear any color but green, and never asked for anything but sand-tables and candles. I was nearly killed trying to lure a wolf pup away from its mother. So I count my priesthood as starting from the time I entered seminary.
Part of a priest's training is being goaded to anger. We're supposed to control and suppress it, though we can, if pressed, display irritation. I slapped my mentor once, when she pushed me beyond my bearing. She only smiled and left the room. For an entire year, no one said anything to me unless they spoke in as provoking a way as possible. It didn't sweeten my temper, but it did teach me to tolerate insult.
My parents are still living. They live with my youngest sister in Arledan. My family disowned me when I graduated seminary and became a true priest rather than a reiver.
My family is wealthy and influential, and have their own temple. Their priest pays them. If another comes along who offers a larger share of the tithes, they change priests.
I don't like cooked leafy greens unless they have vinegar on them.
I've always wished I could juggle. Not time or tasks–actually juggle.
I believe that the story of Micah is invented or, at best, embellished, but I believe it depicts the best of human possibility and should be followed for that reason, not because it's "true".

This post is getting super long, so I'll save the pass-along for tomorrow.

I also got a Blogging Buddies award from Pk Hrezo — Thank you, Pk! Please visit her wonderful blog. She's luverly.

WRITING PROMPT: Well, obviously. Have a character–one you've already created or one you pick out of the air–share seven random things about himself/herself.

MA

Sample Sunday, May Update, Blog Award #1

Since it's the first of the month, I've put up a new Hot Flash. Click here to read it. Scroll down that page for January's and February's, and links to previous years'.

It's Sample Sunday, so I'll let my Hot Flashes be my sample. I have all of them here on the site, one a month since January of 2002. I collected them from 2002-2007 into a wee li'l book, available on Amazon and Smashwords for a mere 99 cents. You can have more for free right here on the jolly old blog, but if you have an urge toward acquisition you can have a copy ALL YOUR OWN!!!!

I was given two blog awards this month. One was from Elizabeth Mueller for completing the Challenge of writing a blog a day (excluding Sundays) tying each to a subsequent letter of the alphabet beginning with A. Why didn't I just say "alphabetical posts"? Because I have a touch of the pedant about me, that's why. No, that isn't a dirty word, but it sure sounds like one. Try yelling it at somebody, next time you get into a fight. If he understands it, he is one.

Anyway, as long-time readers are aware (Hi, Mom!), I post every day including Sunday, anyway, so the biggest challenges were writing short and twisting my posts to the service of a particular letter. Apparently, I succeeded, and I got this nifty award. Well worth the effort!

The other award is another Stylish Blogger award, which comes with the stipulation that I tell seven things about myself. I'll post that tomorrow.

WRITING PROMPT: Have a character given an award or honor for something he/she would have done anyway. How does he/she feel about it? Write it three ways with the same character, the same action, the same award or honor, but three different reactions.

MA

And We Come To The End

Welcome to the last day of the April A-to-Z Blog Challenge! I've enjoyed it very much, and I've found it enjoyably challenging to come up with a post limited by the day's letter of the alphabet. I'll be months yet, visiting and re-visiting my fellow challenge-takers. The best part of this challenge has been all the wonderful new blogs I've found. Click here for a list of the sign-ups. Not everyone has posted every day, but Things Happen, and not posting every day doesn't make their blogs any less valuable.

As for today's post, anyone who knows me KNOWS what today's has to be. Who else but–

Ah, Guy Williams (of Lost in Space fame) will always be Zorro for me. Antonio Banderas? Pppphhhhhttttt! Guy Williams, that's the man!

And so we bid farewell to the April A-to-Z Challenge, 2011. I hope some of my new followers continue to drop in now and then. I certainly intend to continue following. Not all 1000-plus, of course, but some select precious few, as many as I can cram into my busy schedule of eating and sleeping.

WRITING PROMPT: A commitment ends for one of your characters. How does it end? What feelings or reaction does it elicit?

MA

Thing That Goes Under the Sea in a Primary Color

I don't care how many people are doing this for the letter Y, I have to do it too. It's in my blood. It's part of my youth. It's myffic, style of fing.

In addition to finding a video of the song, I was delighted to find one done in Lego. Please forgive me if everyone else in the challenge has posted the same one.

I'm not quite sure why this song is and was such a touchstone to happiness for so many people. Part of it is surely the bouncy beat, part of it is the repetitiveness, which makes it easy to sing even when one is … shall we say … chemically distracted. But there's also something in the mere combination of "yellow" and "submarine" that appeals. Maybe it's the similarity in shape of a submarine to a banana that makes a yellow submarine seem both appropriate and funny.

At any rate, here's to the dear, dead days, and to The Dear Boys who gave us such joy. I refer, of course, to The Beatles, who were not Paul McCartney's first back-up band.

WRITING PROMPT: What song from your youth makes you happy and why? Apply this to a character.

MA

Xylem, Mon Amour

I love xylem. Why do I love xylem? Well, I'll tell you: I love xylem because it's one of the few little memory fish left in the pool of my plant biology studies. Xylem and phloem. And pith. I remember pith. ~MA waves at the little memory fish~

Xylem transports moisture and some nutrients up into plants and phloem transports organic materials, and that's all I know. They always sound like moral examples in some Victorian nursery rhyme:

Xylem and phloem were two bad boys.

On Sabbath Day they made loud noise.

They dirtied their faces and tore their pants

And died and came back as parts of plants.

WRITING PROMPT: What bits of things does your main character vaguely remember from school?

MA

Wee Willie Winkie

It doesn't seem right to go into heavy breathing over this silly phrase. After all, it's a child's nursery rhyme:

Wee Willie Winkie

Runs through the town

Upstairs and downstairs

In his nightgown.

The tiresome busybody pokes in where he isn't invited, telling everybody to lock their doors and put out their lights and go to bed because he thinks it's time they did.

That isn't what raises my pulse.

It's also the title of a Shirley Temple movie, and now we're coming closer to the point. First, though, I have to say Shirley's army poem from that film:

Fear God

Honor the Queen

Shoot straight

And keep clean.

Cracks me up, for some reason.

And now we come to the part where my pupils dilate. Wee Willie Winkie also stars Cesar Romero. Children, long before he was Joker on the Adam West campy Batman show, he was … how shall I put this delicately … hot.

'Nuff said.

WRITING PROMPT: Give a character a crush on an entertainer of a bygone time. What comes of it?

MA