Stuart Aken's Blog, page 320

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Oakum

Image via Wikipedia
Oakum: noun – loose fibre obtained by untwisting old rope and used in caulking ships' seams –originally the picking of this was a job for convicts.
'Martha sneezed as she plucked the oakum from the pile of old rope, her fingers sore from constant plucking at the rough fibres.'

Edit Now on Book 2

Image via WikipediaHad a bad day yesterday (not much better, today). But it meant I did no editing yesterday and have managed only to do the first chapter corrections and amendments. There were a lot more of these for this chapter, as it was originally part of Book 1 and I had to build in hints and clues about the preceding book for those who won't have read the first one. But that first chapter is now done; another 14 to go before I can start the writing again; something I'm really looking forward to.
No editing tomorrow, as I'll be at my writing group, reading them a short story I'm hoping to place in a proposed anthology of gentle romance I intend to publish shortly. Watch this space, you lovers of love stories.

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Nacelle

Image via Wikipedia
Nacelle: noun - the basket of a balloon or car of an airship; streamlined bulge on an aircraft holding an engine; similarly shaped part of a motor vehicle.
'Gloria gasped in horror as she watched the nacelle of the hot air balloon catch fire and set alight the canopy until the whole flying device was a falling ball of flame.'
'Customising his SUV, Gordon covered the front end with multiple nacelles until it looked as if the vehicle had a bad dose of boils.'

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Macabre

Image via Wikipedia
Macabre: adjective – gruesome, grim, originally in dance macabre.
'Janet, after appearing the Rocky Horror Show with her friend, Brad, felt his jokey arrival at her flat, covered in blood and with a fake human arm in one hand, was a little macabre, so she sent him packing.'
By the way, those of you who regularly follow this series will find it interesting to click on the post tile. I usually link to a different dictionary or word site each time, though I have to circulate, as I'm running out of options.

Edit, Close to Complete.

Cover of Brian CoxWell, the final chapter of the original typescript is now edited in pen and awaiting its turn, along with the other 14,  for the typing corrections to the file. Then begins the job of continuing the writing of book 2, which is what I really want to do.
So, today, I have written and posted a review for Stacey Danson's amazing 'Empty Chairs', sending the review to all the places where people should see it. We've had our usual Sunday walk. I've been in the loft to start on the process of sorting the stuff up there. A few more posts scheduled for the blog. The census form is now complete and ready to post. Have you done yours, if you're in the UK?
And, now I shall go and watch a couple of TV programmes I've been following. The one on Western Civilisation is quite interesting and the other, Brian Cox's 'Wonders of the Universe', is so full of breathtaking images, it's worth watching for the pictures alone.

Empty Chairs by Stacey Danson, Reviewed.

Image via Wikipedia
Empty Chairs, by Stacey Danson, is a remarkable piece of writing. This autobiographical insight into the early life of a girl subject to physical and sexual abuse is honest, frank and characterised by a refusal to hide unpleasant detail. That the abuse was initiated by her mother, who acted as her pimp, when Stacey was the tender age of 3, makes the revelations all the more horrific. It is natural to expect that an account of this type would be driven by bitterness and revenge but the author manages to tell her story without undue hostility. And that, in itself, is an amazing feat. If ever a woman had just cause to resent the world into which she was born, Stacey Danson is that woman. But she simply lays out the facts; emotional, physical, mental, spiritual and rational. There are places where the text is almost too hard to read. I have been kept awake nights by some of her descriptions. This is, as you would expect, a difficult book to read. But I urge you to read it simply because it is hard.The prose style is simple, yet eloquent. She writes pretty much as you would expect her to think and spares none of the expletives that, for her, have been an integral part of her upbringing. There is no attempt to deviate from the truth for effect, no attempt to embroider or exaggerate the facts. The simple truth is enough here, and Stacey has recognised that and allowed integrity to describe her experiences.I am, by nature, an optimist and a lover of women in general. The experience of this book has caused me to question some of my beliefs about people more than any other work I've read; and I include such classics as All Quiet on the Western Front and A Town Like Alice as examples of man's inhumanity in this comparison.Men and women, authorities and victims, the respected and the reviled, all feature in this book as adults. And all are shown as flawed, many of them seriously so. There are those who simply looked the other way and thus allowed the terrible abuse to continue. There are those who worked in trusted occupations and yet tormented and harmed the vulnerable child they should have been protecting. There are those who exploited, or wished to exploit, a girl who so distrusted people that even those who might have been her friends could not win her trust. And, in the end, it was the children, the other victims, who rescued her from what might otherwise have been a violent and untimely death.There is no sentimentality, no attempt to rouse the reader's pity, in the words on these pages. What you get is the simple truth of a life damaged and abused. Yet, through it all, the spirit of the writer rises and grows to become aware of the greater world and, as the book ends, to begin to wonder if there are, after all, some good people in the world, after all.Stacey wrote this account to alert the world to the reality of child abuse; to tell those complacent souls who blind themselves to facts, by blaming victims, that sometimes children have no choice; to educate those in authority about the reality of life on the streets for the abused. But she has achieved something more than that. She has made a work of such integrity that the reader emerges from the experience both wiser and more compassionate. And she has earned the unbounded admiration of this reader for telling it exactly as it is. 

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Labial

Image via Wikipedia
Labial: adjective - of or pertaining to the lips; designating sounds that need complete or partial closure of the lips for formation, like the consonants /p/, /b/, /m/, /f/, /v/, /w/, and vowels for which the lips are rounded; associated with, of the nature of, or located on a lip or labium.
'The speech therapist insisted on the proper pronunciation of those labial consonants, emphasising the sound as she spoke each word in turn; "potty, bottom, moron, fatty, vulgar and walrus", though she insisted her chosen words were not related to her portly student.'
'Tenderly toying with her hair and moving in closer, he noted that some strands, close to the opening, were labial.'
By the way, reminder to my UK readers. Today is census day; don't forget to fill in your forms and keep those statisticians out of mischief.

Edit, Almost Done

Today, I've completed the work on Book 1. It now consists of 216,000 words, broken down into 518 pages and 53 chapters. I can let that lie now and concentrate on book 2, which consists, at present, of 15 chapters that were originally the end of book 1, some other chapters, previously written but in need of editing, and a few short sections,ready for incorporation into new chapters. of the 15 chapters, I've now edited 14. I've also, today, amended my timeline, which is an Excel spreadsheet. I've closed the timeline for book 1 onto one sheet and opened a new one on a second sheet, so that everything is easier to follow. I'm getting quite excited about finishing the current editing session and starting n some new writing. It'll be a little while before I'm at that stage, but it's a lot closer than it was.
I thought I might start giving tasters of the first book. Any of you interested in reading some of that at this stage?
Been to the library to pick up some books I ordered on line. Taken rubbish and recycling to the local recycling facility. Also, selected some short stories for an anthology I intend to publish on romance, and then sought a reasonable picture from one of the online stockists to act as a cover background. Read some more of the current read - Empty Chairs, by Stacey Danson; a harrowing but inspiring book about and by a woman who suffered physical and sexual abuse from the age of 3, initiated at the hands of her own mother, would you believe?
Had a man in today, to move the Magnolia before it comes into bloom; a job too physically demanding for me. It was in the way of the proposed turning point I need to put in at the front of the house. Once I'm done here, I shall take a short walk with Valerie and then settle down to relax for the evening. Kate is out on the town with friends.

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Kali

Image via Wikipedia
Kali: noun - plants of the genus Salsola, goosefoot family, the prickly saltwort; soda ash, alkali, vegetable alkali, potash; Hindu goddess of destruction, the most terrible and malignant aspect of the goddess Sakti, often depicted as having many arms, a fierce countenance and hands dripping with blood.
'They grew kali to produce the potash essential for making their glass and soap; a versatile plant, though prickly and difficult to pick by hand.'
'Gupta murmured softly in the ear of his bought wife, who had failed to provide his tea at the right temperature, "May Kali, destroyer of worlds, lay her many hands on your body and tear you limb from limb." Before he threw her out into the rains to fend for herself.'

Edit:Making up for Lost Time.

Image via WikipediaOn book 2, I managed 3 chapters today, so ready to start chap 12 there. On book 1, I corrected another 15 chapters of typescript, one of which needed a page and a half of hand written amendments inserting, so ready for chap 46 there. not a bad day's work all told.
Another interview, with mystery author R.S. Charles, prepared and scheduled for next Thursday, more of my Daily Word Spots completed, some comments made on various social sites I belong to - Goodreads is an excellent site for readers, allowing you to compare reading lists and read multiple reviews, and I belong to a number of the readers' groups there. Facebook,  well, everyone knows about that one, and I belong to a number of writing groups on there. I also belong to a number of groups on the excellent connection site, LinkedIn as well, so I'm kept quite busy.
Managed a couple of hours in the sun in the garden this morning and shifted a couple of plants to new locations and finally removed a couple of small evergreens from tubs that they had outgrown and planted them at the entrance to the patio; sort of guardians to the paved area. So, a pretty active day.
Now I shall retire to the sitting room and watch Mastermind and QI to see if I can answer any of the questions - keeps the brain active, you know. Mind you, whether the red wine will hinder or help is an open question in itself.