Stuart Aken's Blog, page 310

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Zariba

Image via Wikipedia
Zariba: noun (and zareba) - In Sudan and neighbouring lands; a camp fortified by a fence, often of thorn trees, as defence against enemies or wild animals; a defensive force or barrier.
'Georgiana watched men with spears drive the herd of cattle through a gap in the thorn bushes until the zariba was full of animals. They then sealed the entrance by dragging a moveable barrier of thorn bushes into the gap.'

Writing: 1900 words today.

Managed to finish Ch26 and start Ch27 this morning; a total of around 1900 words and a good deal happening. Had one of those wonderful moments, in the middle of the night, when a solution to a problem in the structure presented itself. Had to come into the study and write it down in one of my notebooks. The one I keep in the bedroom wouldn't do, as I've lost the self-illuminating pen and didn't want to wake Valerie by putting on the light. The story continues to move forward, with one of the female leads in danger and one of the male leads planning moving his homeland rebellion on a stage further.
My writing group enjoyed my short story last night, so I'll make the small changes suggested and see if I can't get that published somewhere.
Plenty of activity on LinkedIn groups, and Facebook. And a good number of emails responded to. A few more subjects for the daily word spot raised and another author interview prepared for next week. And actually managed to do some reading; still reading Robert Jordan's 'The Gathering Storm' a real blockbuster of a book.
But, enough for today. Time for some R & R I think.

The picture is of the North Yorkshire Dales.

Author Interview with Helmy Parlente Kusuma :

Helmy Parlente Kusuma was born in Palembang, Indonesia and spent 18 years there. He went to Jakarta to continue his study in IT and worked in IT industry for a decade. He is currently living in Jakarta although still looking for a place to spend the next decade.
I know you write romance; perhaps you'd you give us some insight into "Memento of Mai" in a few sentences.
I was introduced to a gorgeous lady on my trip to Vietnam. Our get-together during that ten-day trip was deeply engraved in my heart, I had to share my story or else I would run a risk of being crazy. No, it is not overstated.
How did you come to write this particular book?
Look at answer no 1.
If you have a favourite character in your novel, why that particular one?
Very obvious: Mai.
Where and when is this novel set and why did you make these specific choices?
May 2010 – October 2010. Look at answer no 1.
Where can people buy your book?
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/56911Kindle US http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YWKD3YKindle UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004YWKD3YKindle DE https://www.amazon.de/dp/B004YWKD3Y
What qualities does a writer need to be successful?
I think he/she should have a deep passion to share his/her story. Everything else will come naturally. With hard work, of course.
What's your working method?
I sketch a diagram or a concept. Then I daydream about that sketch until an ending is acquired. Afterward I write scene after scene – of the imagination video – to generate a draft. From here mundane things follow: edit, edit, and edit.
What's the single biggest mistake made by beginner writers?
Not enough editing. Usually this is a result of eagerness to publish. Please submit your work to at least five layers of editing.
To what extent are grammar and spelling important in writing?
Very important. I found out the hard way. Enough said.
How much do you revise your MS before sending it off?
Ten times or more.
As a writer of romance, to what extent do you think genre is useful in the publishing world?
Genre is supposed to be the yard stick, but I find it quite limiting sometimes, especially for contemporary work. Is it science fiction or romance? Is that fantasy or erotica?
Many authors see marketing as a bind. What's your opinion on this, and how do you deal with it?
As indie author you have to be comfortable with doing marketing or there will be no sales. I do marketing AFTER I finished my draft, not before. Because it will be too distracting.
How do you know where to begin a given story?
Once I have completed the video in my mind, I will view it from various perspectives. This enables me to pick a place to start.
What sort of displacement activities keep you from writing?
Browsing, of course.
What support, if any, do you receive from family and friends, or a writing group?
They serve as pre-release reviewers.
Do you think presentation of the MS is as important as agents and publishers suggest?
Yes.
How long does it take you to write a novel?
Six month plus.
Who or what inspires you?
Myself mostly.
If there's a single aspect of writing you find really frustrating, what is it?
Creating bridges between actions/tensions.
Is there a particular feature of writing that you really enjoy?
Describing an event or an environment.
Do you believe writing is a natural gift or an acquired skill?
Acquired skill, but, you've got to have passion.
What are you writing now?
My second novel, but not in English. I am hoping to sneak a short-story collection, in English, in between writing my second novel.
Do you have a website or blog readers can visit?
http://www.helmykusuma.comor http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4797189orhttp://www.facebook.com/EL.Publish
Given unlimited resources, where would you do your writing?
Sitting in front of my cottage somewhere in a mountain top, overseeing a vast valley ahead.
Where do you actually write?
In my room, sitting on the floor.

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Yak

Image via Wikipedia
Yak: noun – domesticated, heavy build ox covered in long shaggy hair and with a humped back, used in the uplands of central Asia as a pack animal and for its milk and soft dense underfur.
'Sammy said he'd describe Melinda as a yak, except she wasn't as pretty, couldn't carry heavy loads and had never, to his knowledge, given any milk.'

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Anagram

Image via Wikipedia
Anagram: noun - transposition of the letters of one word or phrase to form another word or phrase; transposition, mutation.
http://wordsmith.org/anagram/index.html  This link will take you to a website dedicated to the art of the anagram. It's full of fascinating facts, some of which I use here, in my own words, of course.
'Anagrams' forms an anagram of the Latin phrase 'ars magna', which translates into 'great art'.'Itself' is an anagram of stifle.The former capital of Japan was Kyoto; the current capital is Tokyo. These names are anagrams of each other.Java's former capital was Kartasura but moved to its anagram of Surakarta.Compass points; north = thorn, south = shout, east = seat, and west = stew.Clabbers is a version of Scrabble where all words must be anagrams of real words.When King John signed the Magna Carta (Anagram Act) in 1215 he appears to have conferred the right of the people to take the mickey out of royalty and politicians, by using anagrams.An anigram is an animation demonstrating an anagram at work. Have a look at the foot of this page to see the daily anigram displayed from the website noted above. You can display your own anigrams on your own Web page by using this link See here.A true anagram is an anugram.Eleven plus two = Twelve plus oneHere are a few anagrams for Stuart Aken:Karate Nuts, Karate Stun, Rankest Tau, Rake Taunts, Aunt Streak, Skater Aunt, Ask Taunter, Nature Task, Tetanus Ark, Attunes Ark, Unseat Kart, Neat Krauts, Astute Nark, Astute Rank, Statue Rank, A Rake Stunt, A Streak Nut, A Skater Nut, A Skate Runt, A Stark Tune, A Tart Nukes, Sneak At Rut, Teak Saturn, Takes a Turn, Take Saturn, Eat Ant Rusk, Tank At User, Ask An Utter, Ask At Tuner, Anus At Trek, Tsar At Nuke, Star At Nuke, Tart As Nuke

And some for Breaking Faith, my romantic thriller:
Habit Freaking, A Barking Thief, A Braking Thief, A Father Biking, A Fake Birthing, A Farthing Bike, Began Faith Irk.
The above anagrams were generated by the anagram generator on http://wordsmith.org/anagram/index.html. It really is worth a visit to this fun spot, if you're at all interested in words.

Writing: Not the Novel, but a Short Story

No writing done on the epic fantasy tonight, but a short story, using characters and locations from the novel, prepared for reading at my writing group tomorrow night.
That's it for tonight.
But I invite you to take a look at the website on this link: it's a salutary, and fascinating lesson.
http://www.breathingearth.net/

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Incomplete or Uncompleted?

Incomplete: adjective - not complete; not fully formed; unfinished; not whole or thorough; lacking something, imperfect. Uncompleted: adjective - not completed.
I display these alternatives here, as they came up in a discussion at my writers' group a short while ago. We spent a little while discussing the meanings of the two words and came away without any conclusion, so I looked them up in the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (my standard reference dictionary, and the one from which the definitions were taken: thank you to the Oxford Press). Apart from the fact that 'uncompleted' has only one, very specific, meaning, I can discern no essential difference between the two terms used in the context of the sentence we were discussing at the time. I'd still go for 'incomplete', simply because I find 'uncompleted' has an ugly sound to it. It goes to show that, in English, the chosen word can often be a matter of taste and preference without actually altering meaning in a significant way. Agreed?
The picture is just a shot I took a while ago.  Zemanta, the widget I use for illustrations, came up with nothing suitable this time.

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Birthday

Birthday: noun -  anniversary of the day of one's birth; the day of origin or commencement.
'This unusual word, rarely used, is selected today to mark a very important event in the human calendar; a happening that should be celebrated enthusiastically the world over: okay, so it's my birthday, I admit it!'
And the picture? No relevance at all.I just like it; it's one I took on a walk last weekend.

Writing: 1600 Words This Morning

Up a little later this morning; well, it is Sunday. Moved the epic fantasy on another 1600 words, with some challenging ideas besetting one of the characters and a small cliff-hanger ending the section. Needed a new name for a character who will appear only briefly, so consulted my list of made-up names and selected one that seemed suitable, after Googling, to ensure it hasn't been used by someone else and doesn't mean anything inappropriate in some other language.
I'm also working on a short stories to place in fantasy mags and edited a short story I wrote a little while ago. Will take that to my writing group on Wednesday so they can crit it before I send it off. Great feedback from the very professional group I belong to. And I managed to select most of the ten shorts I intend to place in a free anthology shortly; to be published on Smashwords as an eBook with a real variety of material for readers to sample. Everything from crime, through romance and erotica to horror and fantasy.
Had a pleasant walk along a familiar route today, as I wasn't up to walking too far after over-exerting myself in moving a couple more plants from the front garden to the back. Be glad when that particular project is done with.
Opened birthday cards and presents after tea, as tomorrow, which is the actual date, I'll be late home from the office and then we'll need to be out soon after our evening meal to attend our dance class. So, there's unlikely to be a post for tomorrow, apart from the word spot, which I've already scheduled, of course.

The picture shows the village of Goodmanham, a few miles away.

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Xebec

Image via Wikipedia
Xebec: noun - small three-masted boat with lateen (triangular) or, sometimes, square sails, once much used in the Mediterranean.
'Watching the sun, as it set over the island of Rhodes, Veronica was surprised to see a xebec enter the harbour, sailing in as if from some ancient forgotten myth.' 
8 May 1886 - Coca-Cola went on sale at Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia.