Hank Quense's Blog: Hank Quense's Blog, page 80

Fiction Writing Help

Does your fiction writing suffer from these problems?

Not understanding the character motivation

*Characters act as if they're working a shift.

*The characters motivation doesn't jibe with the problem being solved

Not understanding the story construction process

* Beginning as soon as an idea strikes

* Writing without understanding the ending or what motivates the characters

Poor scene design

*No emotional arc

*No conflict

*Doesn't move the story forward

Writing conversation instead of dialog

*Not the same thing

*Conversation kills a story or a scene; dialog advances the story

Help is available. Each of the above common problems are examined and treated in my ebook on fiction-writing, Build a Better Story

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Published on August 18, 2011 05:45

President Obama is in a unique and very uncomfortable position. I believe he is the only one in Washington who is interested in solving the country's problems. He has a plenty of problems to solve after the eights years of misrule by Bush and Cheney. Whether the destruction caused by them was deliberate or happened through incompetence (or a combination of both) is a mute point; Obama has to fix these problems. (see blog pos thttp://hankquense.com/blog/?p=1090 for more on this topic)

Unfortunately, the Republicans in Congress see the problems as an opportunity to discredit the President and they have no intention of helping him, no matter how desperate the situation in the country becomes. Their only interest is winning back the White House and if they have to wreck the country to do, so be it.

As for the Democrats in Congress, they have no leadership to organize a defense against the Republican onslaught. Pelosi and Reed useless as leaders and exemplify the difference between leadership and being in-charge. It's mind boggling to me that, after getting routed in the 2010 elections, the Democrats re-elected Pelosi and Reed, their "leaders" who managed to fiasco of the 2010 election.

Under these trying circumstances, Obama fights to improve the country by himself; the Republicans oppose everything he tries to do, and the Democrats are too inept to help.

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Published on August 07, 2011 08:27

Stir-fried Shrimp

I made this recipe the other night and wanted to share it.

Shrimp Stir-fry

Shrimp cooked with vegetables and spices

Ingredients

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 1/2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth

3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 teaspoon grated orange peel

1 teaspoon canola oil

1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 1/2 teaspoons peeled, minced ginger root

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 cup julienned carrots

2 1/2 cups chopped Chinese or napa cabbage

2 cups fresh pea pods

1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

Hot cooked rice

Method

1. In a bowl, combine cornstarch and broth until smooth. Stir in the soy sauce, vinegar, honey, sesame oil and orange peel; set aside.

2. In a large nonstick skillet or wok, heat canola oil; stir-fry shrimp for 30 seconds. Add ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes; stir-fry 1-2 minutes longer or until shrimp turn pink. Remove and keep warm.

3. in the same pan, stir-fry the carrot for 1 minute. Stir broth mixture and stir into pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Add the cabbage, peas, onions and shrimp mixture; heat through. Serve over rice if desired

Servings: 4

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Published on July 26, 2011 03:52

GOP= Grand Old Pledge

The pledges that Republican presidential candidates have to sign in order to get a group's endorsement reminds me of a incident from Joseph Heller's Catch-22. At one point in the novel, the squadron's intelligence office gets a loyalty bug and soon every airman has to sign a loyalty pledge before they are issued a parachute. Not to be outdone, the mess hall officers make the men sing the national anthem before they can get fed while the briefing officers make the flyers sign multiple loyalty pledges before they can attend the mission briefing.

It seems Heller's fictional world is becoming reality in the GOP presidential primaries

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Published on July 17, 2011 03:10

Ford: "Our hybrids not radioactive."

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FNN's national affairs reporter has been covering this story. She filed this report today.

Ford's announcement earlier this week that none their hybrid and electric cars are radioactive took the automotive industry by surprise. Reporters and legislators have asked pointed questions of other car makers who have been slow to respond, leading to suspicions that these manufacturers have a radioactive problem.

All of the car makers have now responded that their cars are also radioactive free, but, during the interval, Ford released a devastating new car ad. It shows a woman in a white lab coat walking around with a Geiger counter. It ticks slowly as she passes it over a park bench, a large boulder and a dog. Then she runs it over the hood of a Ford hybrid. The Geiger counter's ticking doesn't increase and she turns to the camera and says, "What about your car? Can it pass this test?

Ford car dealers have reported increasing sales since the initial statement was released.

General Motors, joined by several other manufacturers accused Ford of trying to scare buyers into purchasing a Ford product. A Ford spokesperson responded by saying, "What nonsense. We at Ford Motor Company pride ourselves on keeping our customers up to date with the latest safety news about our cars. If the other manufacturers want to be less than candid with their customers, then they have to expect to feel the heat."

Three senators have promised an investigation to determine of cars can become radioactive and under what circumstances that would occur. Another investigation will concentrate on passenger safety while riding in a radioactive vehicle.

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Published on July 12, 2011 06:16

The 2nd Annual Tour de Hoboken is underway

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This report was filed by Jock Strapper, our sports reporter:

This exciting tour is scheduled to begin its second week on Monday. Almost fifty riders from around the world are risking life and limb in this most dangerous of all bike tours.

The two week tour takes place in New Jersey across the Hudson River from Manhattan and features tough biking through the massive rush-hour traffic that clogs the entrances to the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels. In between these two hazards, the riders must negotiate the heavily populated urban landscape of Hoboken and Weehawken, no easy task, given the narrow, poorly maintained, traffic-clogged streets.

Each day, the riders put in two laps, one in the morning rush-hour and the second in the evening rush-hour. On alternate days, the starting point changes to the other tunnel. Each rider is required to travel form one tunnel to the other tunnel, negotiate across the tunnel's traffic lanes, touch the far wall of the tunnel entrance and return to the starting point. The complete circuit is 2.5 to 3 miles long depending upon the exact route since detours around jammed streets and accidents are permitted. In the first week, there were six accidents and three riders required hospitalization.

Pepi Printemps, a rider from France, said in an interview, "The weekdays are tough but are easy compared to the weekend traffic. On Friday night and Saturday morning, the tunnels are packed with cars leaving the City and heading for resorts. On Sunday night, these same cars are returning and believe me, most of the drivers don't know what they're doing. Tres dangereux."

OSC, the Obscure Sports Channel, carries both laps live each day and provides boring commentary from unknown experts.

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Published on July 09, 2011 04:17

Have an IPad?

All my books are now in the IStore and available to download into your IPad. This includes Build a Better Story, Tales From Gundarland, Zaftan Entrepreneurs, Mini-Collection and Brunnhilde's Quest. Also included are my two freebies, Humorous Yarns and Other Stuff and The Strange Worlds of Hank Quense.

After you download and read them, consider adding a review and/or a rating. The books look a little naked compared to Amazon with all the book reviews on those pages.