Stuart Aken's Blog, page 290

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Yammer

Yammer: noun - an instance of yammering; a loudnoise, din, voluble speech.
'Jock found he couldn't hearwhat anyone else was saying because Mac was yammering on and on about nothingin particular, as usual.'

Pic: Wheat ripening in an East Yorkshire field.

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Persuade or convince?

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Persuade or convince? Persuade:verb - using a person as the object –be successful in urging someone to do, or not to do, something; lure, attract, orentice to something or in a specific direction; lead, cause, or make to believea statement, doctrine, or the truth of it; try to lead to do, urge or advisestrongly: using an idea as the object - recommend the acceptance of a statementor opinion; inculcate, advocate or recommend an action; prove, demonstrate; talkearnestly with someone to gain agreement or compliance; expostulate with, pleadwith.
Convince:verb - master in argument, confute; persuadesomeone to believe firmly in the truth of something; satisfy by evidence or argument;persuade someone to do something; bring someone to awareness of their sins orerror; prove; expose the true character; disprove or refute some idea or doctrine.
Anotherexample of the subtlety of the English language, and an illustration of why itis easier to say something precisely in this widely understood tongue.
Ingeneral terms, you motivate someone using persuasion, but you change theirminds by convincing them.
'In spite of her naturalmodesty and a certain prudery, inherited through her father's career as a minister,Prudence was persuaded by Gerald to indulge in moonlight skinny-dipping, anddiscovered the joy and freedom  ofswimming without the encumbrance of a costume.'
'You'll never convince anyman of reason that the myths of religion are anything more than stories unlessyou're able to provide some hard evidence that they're more than the words ofmere men.'

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Xenophile

Xenophile: noun - someone fond of and/or attractedto foreign people and things.
'Fascists and the moreextreme amongst the patriotic are generally not xenophiles; their distorteddistrust of everything not of their own culture and state making them afraidand driving them into unreasoned prejudice.'
'As a citizen of theworld, first and foremost, I consider myself a xenophile and love to travel andexperience all facets of the different nationalities and cultures encounteredbeyond the shores of my own country.'

Pic: Red roof of farmhouse, East Yorkshire.

Guest Blogging

Just to alert my regulars, or anyone else who's interested, I'm a guest blogger on this site - http://mesmered.wordpress.com/ and the interview there has generated quite a lot of comment. Take a wander over and see what you think. Maybe even add a comment of your own?

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: People or persons?

People or persons?  Yourchoice here is really no more than a stylistic one, since these words areessentially interchangeable. It's generally the case, however, that 'people' isnow the standard usage and 'persons' is used only for formal purposes or whenit's a substitute for 'bodies', as in; 'This lift is intended to hold no morethan 13 persons.' Or 'The scanner can be used to identify dangerous objectsheld about the persons of terrorists.'
In yourusual writing, 'people' is the preferred term.
'Peoplegathered from all quarters of the town to hear the inspirational speaker.' Ismuch more natural than; 'Persons gathered from far and wide to listen to thepreacher.'
Pic: A Red Kite flying overhead in East Riding of Yorkshire: a bird of prey re-introduced after near extinction.

Author Interview with Karen Pokras Toz

Hello Karen, please tellus about you, as a writer.
Well – I wasn't always a writer. I enjoyed reading as a child and hadmany stories floating around in my head that I wanted to write. Unfortunately,I was not very good at writing, or at least I didn't think I was very good.Math was my subject. I always believed you were either a math person or anEnglish person, and so I never pursued writing. In school I studied finance,accounting and law. My writing was always with numbers. Thirteen years ago, Iheard a news story on television and began creating a novel based around thissingle event – all in my head, of course. I'm not sure what made me decide itwas time to put pen to paper, but at some point last year I began writing. I amnow hooked!

Your middle grade book isNATE ROCKS THE WORLD; perhaps you'd you give us some insight into it in a fewsentences.
This is the first book in the NATE ROCKS series, about a quirky youngboy who draws cartoons that come to life. NATEROCKS THE WORLD uses humor and adventure to show that even kids canaccomplish great things. The book is geared toward 7-12 year olds.

How did you come to writethis particular book?
I knew I wanted to write a fun book that would encourage kids to read.The inspiration really came from my children. My oldest son is an artist, mydaughter is very creative, and my youngest loves to role-play. I sort ofcombined all three of these traits to come up with my main character, NathanRockledge.
Do you have a favouritecharacter from the book? If so, who and why this particular one?
That is such a hard question because I really love all of mycharacters. Of course I love Nate, but I think Nate's mom is my favorite. Shetries so hard to cook and sew be the perfect mom and housewife, stumbling everystep of the way. I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a little bit of me in her.
Where can people buy yourbooks?
NATE ROCKS THE WORLD is available online in both print anddigital copies from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, the Apple Store andmany more outlets.
Print copy - direct frompublisherPrint & Kindle -Amazon.comNook, Sony Reader, Apple, Kobo & others
For a complete list, please visit my website: www.karentoz.com
What qualities does awriter need to be successful?
For me, determination, focus and commitment are key. Everyone has astory to tell – I truly believe that. There are so many resources out there tohelp you along the way. Grammar, style, and technique – those are all thingsthat can be developed over time with the right guidance. It took me 13 years torealize that.
What's your working method?
I am a morning person. I like to try to get up an hour earlier than Ineed to, make my coffee, and get writing. I do write sporadically during theafternoon when it is quiet, but nothing beats that morning time for me.
What's the single biggestmistake made by beginner writers?
Well, speaking as a beginner, I would say rushing has been my biggestmistake. Also – it is worth the investment to have both a professional editorreview your manuscript, and a professional designer to create your cover.
To what extent aregrammar and spelling important in writing?
Grammar and spelling are so important! Mistakes jump off the page atreaders and can be major distractions and turn-offs. You want your reader todrift into your story without having to re-read sentences. Hopefully, betweenmy editor and myself, I won't be eating my own words!
How much do you reviseyour MS before sending it off?
I honestly lost count!
Many authors seemarketing as a bind. What's your opinion on this, and how do you deal with it?
Marketing certainly takes away from writing time. I am doing all of myown marketing. I really don't see any way around having to market your ownmaterial – especially for a debut novelist such as myself. It has definitelybeen a challenge, as I have no previous experience in this arena. However, atthe same time, I have found it quite rewarding and have developed somewonderful relationships. Trying to find the right balance between marketingtime and writing time is key.
If there's a singleaspect of writing you find frustrating, what is it?
Definitely editing – and editing – and editing some more. As a writer,I always find myself asking if my manuscript is finished. Should I addanything, should I take something out, have I caught all my typos, is the tenseconsistent, and my personal favorite: are all the commas in the right place?Even with a professional editor giving the manuscript a once over, it is anever ending and exhausting task.
Is there a particularfeature of writing that you really enjoy?
I love writing dialogue. I think it is because with dialogue, I canjust get straight to the point without worrying about setting up the scenecorrectly... or maybe it is because with three kids, I can rarely get a word inedgewise!

What are you writing now?
I'm working on two projects actually. I am revisiting my firstmanuscript, which I never published, called invisible.It is the story of a woman who finds herself suddenly famous and thrownunwittingly in front of the paparazzi. I hope to release invisible by early 2012. I am also several chapters into the nextbook of the NATE ROCKS series.
Do you have a website orblog where readers can visit?
I have both! I love to blog. I write about my daily life as a mom,writer, wife... basically it is just me rambling about whatever happens to beon my mind at any particular moment. Every week, I post a 'Friday Five' where Isum up what's been going on in my little world and can be found at http://kptoz.blogspot.com If you read something you like, let me know! Comments really make myday.
I also have an author website www.karentoz.com . Here you can find information aboutmy book, including reviews, a free chapter download, and purchase information.
Given unlimitedresources, where would you do your writing?
That's an interesting question. I think I could probably writeanywhere as long as I had a quite space, my laptop, and a large carafe ofcoffee!
Where do you actuallywrite?
I write at home – often in the living room or in the bedroom. I findthose rooms to be the most peaceful. I like quiet when I write. We are in theprocess of setting up an office in one of our spare rooms, so perhaps I willenjoy writing in there as well.
Thank you so much for having me!

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Wade

Wade: verb - move onward; of a weapon - go through something; walk inwater, liquid or other soft substance that impedes movement; pass over a river orstream on foot; tackle a laborious or tedious task, a long or uninterestingbook; go on with difficulty or by force; run over in one's mind; of the sun ormoon - appear to move through clouds or mist.Noun - something that can be waded through, a ford; wading.
'Having spent fourexhausting days travelling through the desert on foot, the party reached thewide river and had to wade across it to reach civilisation on the far bank.'
'Jonathan had promised toread the book to the end, in spite of the poor English and questionable plot,so he was forced to wade through the bad writing until he reached the finalfull stop.'
Pic: North of Dalton, East Riding of Yorkshire.

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Peak or pique?

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Peak or pique? Peak: verb – mope, shrink (in terms of movement) or slink; become droopyin health or spirits, waste away; look sickly or emaciated, as in peak andpine; stick up or rise in a peak; achieve maximum value, activity, or condition;maintain a level after reaching a peak; bring to a head or maximum; accentuate.
Pique: verb – provoke someone to action oremotion by arousing jealousy or other negative emotion; arouse someone's curiosityor interest; wound someone's pride or irritate, offend or make resentful;congratulate oneself on something, take a pride in.
A pair of homonyms, bothof which have individual different meanings, and which don' match each other inmeaning.
In most writing, you'dprobably get these right if you remember that to 'peak' is to reach the highestpoint, as in a mountain peak. If you 'pique' someone, however, you're likelypiss them off; the matching 'I' should help.
'In the peak of condition,Geraldine peaked as she ascended the Matterhorn and reached the peak before hercompanions.' (I may have overdone it with the 'peaks' here.)
'Gordon was a little piquedwhen Martha, in rather acid tones, remarked that he was not the most splendidmanifestation of the male she had ever come across.'
7 September 1992 Mydaughter, Kate was born, bringing great joy into my life. She's off toUniversity at the weekend, to study photography; clever girl.
7 September 1936 Anotherextinction: the last Tasmanian tiger died.

Review of Strike, by Gemma Rice.

If ever abook was written for a specific gender, this is it. So, what the devil is a mandoing reading fiction that was so obviously written by a woman, for women? Ican only respond that the nature of the writing was such that I was instantly engaged.The ability of this writer to sustain her sensual and sensuous narrative atsuch length without becoming either boring or repetitive was extraordinary. Asa man, I began to see through female eyes into the world of sensation and emotionin a way I haven't previously experienced in writing.A furtherbarrier to my reading this book should have been that it's in the 'Vampire (orVampyre)' genre, which isn't a subject I'm really interested in. That the talekept me reading until the end says a great deal for the quality of the writingand story-telling.I won'tdiscuss or explain the plot, which I suspect contains elements common to thegenre, as well as unique elements of its own. Charactersare what most compel me when reading and the people (and 'demons and monsters')inhabiting this novel are wonderfully drawn. They are vibrant, credible androunded beings.I could havedone without the biblical references and asides, but I imagine these are allpart of the expectations of those for whom this genre is familiar. Some of the'science' lacked the rigour that would make it credible but this didn't reallydetract from my enjoyment of the book.That theerotic element was aimed at women was clear from the start and, whilst it didnothing for me in terms of arousal, it did educate me in the ways in which somewomen respond to certain stimuli. Gemma Rice uses her skills subtly as sheweaves the various threads of the story and leads the reader to believe onething whilst something else entirely turns out to be true. As a reader, I foundI was empathising with the point of view character, as she made discoveriesabout the strange beings she encountered, and about the unsettling world shewas drawn into, but mostly about herself.I would haverejected this book out of hand, had I known its subject matter and intendedreadership at the start. I'm glad I was drawn in to the story at once andcompelled to read it through. It was a book I enjoyed for many reasons.

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Vaccinate

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Vaccinate: verb - Inoculatesomeone or some animal with a vaccine to provide protection against a disease; performvaccination; in Computing, install a vaccine program as a security device.
'After a prolonged and comprehensive campaign, it wasdecided to vaccinate everyone against smallpox, thereby removing the diseasefrom the human population.'
6 September 1936 The first solo flight from Britain to USAwas made by Beryl Markham.