T.W. Kirchner's Blog, page 5

Nevada and Its Ghost Towns

Read about Nevada and its ghost towns and semi-ghost towns on the Totally Addicted to Reading blog. The guest post features the book Dagger & Brimstone: Town from Hell and the reason the story was set in Nevada. Click here to see the book trailer.[image error]

Blog Challenge

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I haven’t done many blog challenges, but this one sounded fun—possibly because I’m enjoying a beautiful 80° day outside, which always puts me in a great mood. 

Herding Cats & Burning Soup Presents – BLOG ALL ABOUT IT Blog Challenge 

This 2018 blog challenge is easy because each month has a different prompt. The prompt for March is Favorite Scent and April is Art. For the challenge, you can review books, interview authors, post pictures, share recipes, or get creative as long as you can weave the theme of the month into it. Since I only just found this challenge today and March is almost over, I’m keeping my post simple. I promise a more creative one for April. If you’d like to participate, you can sign up for the challenge here.

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MARCH Challenge  Favorite Scent: Cinnamon

 To me, no scent is more wonderful than cinnamon filling a room, especially when the spice is baking in my oven. I like to put cinnamon sticks in hot apple cider and tea as well as bake desserts with apples and cinnamon. The aroma of chocolate chip cookies baking is a close second on my favorites list. To get the two great smells of cinnamon and chocolate together, I use the Rich Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake recipe from Taste of Home.

 

 Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

1 cup butter, softened

1 – 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened

1-1/2 cups sugar (divided into batter and topping)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon soda

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ cup milk (I use almond milk)

1 cup chocolate chips (I use semi-sweet)

¼ cup chopped pecans (I don’t add these)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

 In mixing bowl, cream butter, cream cheese and 1-1/4 cups sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Add the dry and creamed mixtures alternately with milk. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour into a greased 9-inch springform pan. Combine the pecans, cinnamon, and remaining sugar and sprinkle over the top. (I also sprinkle a handful of chocolate chips).

 Bake at 350° for 50 – 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of pan to loosen and remove the side of the pan. Cool completely before cutting. (We never do that!)

Writing Tip

 As a writer, I weave scents into my writing for my protagonists and readers. For instance, in my Dagger & Brimstone series, one of the characters, Arloe, loves lavender and uses a lavender shampoo. When her boyfriend Racer smells lavender, it immediately makes him think of her. When Racer and Arloe smell sulfa, they know a demon is nearby.

Next month’s challenge – Art!

 

Welcome to the Fluffy Bunny…

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Welcome to the Fluffy Bunny, an adventurer’s bar, named after the blade used to slay the ancient dragon Thorenoak. The Fluffy Bunny is a place where tales are spun. Pull up a chair and join in on the adventure.

Among the wonderful tales about unusual names are A Pirate’s Dragon Tale. Find out what or who Puddles is and why the moniker.

Anthology available April 6, 2018.

Visit WolfSinger Publications.

 

 

Pairings That Go Well Together

The right pairings of anything can make a spectacular combination. Mouth-watering combos that prove the point include pretzels and ice cream, peanut butter and chocolate, and apples and caramel. Duets that combine musical artists of different genres, such as country singer Kenny Chesney with rocker Pink (Setting the World on Fire), can create wonderful results as well. In writing, plot points are also paired, and the combinations can make or break a story.

Winning and Losing – A Game of High Stakes

Well-defined plot points, or plot elements, are what give a story depth and stir emotions in a reader. The most important element that a character needs is a goal or problem, which must be resolved by the story’s end. A goal cannot stand alone. It is paired with another element, consequence. Failure to attain that goal or solve a problem leads to the consequence. If a character is willing to do anything to avoid failure, a story will have high-stakes tension. Life and death situations are an example of a high-stakes goal/consequence.

A Good Rollercoaster Ride

Along the way to conquering a goal, a character must have smaller successes and failures. These plot points are called requirements and forewarnings. The combination of these is what gives a story the rollercoaster effect—humps to get over, picking up speed downhill, sharp turns—the fun stuff that leaves a rider (and reader) on the edge of their seat. Requirements give readers a sense of relief that the protagonist is well on his/her way. Forewarnings are setbacks that make a reader turn the pages to see if the protagonist is going to get out of another jam.

Pairings: Dog Quiz

Now for the fun stuff. Speaking of things that go well together, some pairings in the dog world can make adorable pooches. Take the following quiz to see if you can determine what these hybrid canines are. Answers are at the bottom of the blog. No cheating, and yes, there are duplicates.

On a side note, most of the pictured dogs were rescues. Rescued does not mean damaged—it just means a wonderful dog hasn’t met the right person. Consider a rescue when you are ready to adopt. I can personally give you five good reasons why, and four of them are pictured here.

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A  Jack-A-Ranian (Jack Russell Terrier/Pomeranian)

B Aussiedor (Australian Shepherd/Labrador Retriever) looks like an Aussie

C Aussiedor (Australian Shepherd/Labrador Retriever) looks like a Lab

D Chiweenie (Chihuahua/Dachshund) Also known as the Taco Bell dog meets a Weiner Dog, no her ears aren’t Photoshopped!

E Morkie (Maltese/Yorkshire Terrier)

F Doxiepoo (Dachshund/Poodle)

G Goldendoodle (Golden Retriever/Poodle) A large, standard poodle and light golden mix

H Chiweenie (version 2) This one looks more like a dachshund

What You Love Most art

What You Love Most Art combines a furry friend and the things you love the most into a watercolor painting. Visit my website for more information WhatYouLove[image error]Most.com. Dixie is pictured with Western boots and a cowboy hat, music, softballs, and a horseshoe. Each painting is unique. T-shirts are also available.

Not Vamps this time…

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Racer finds out what’s under the step. You can, too.

Dagger & Brimstone: Town from Hell. Amazon .99 SALE.

In Time for Halloween

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Town from Hell is the first book in the Dagger & Brimstone series. It is young adult, paranormal/horror and recommended for readers 17+.

The Pot

[image error]With the arrival of fall, the 110-degree temperatures have passed in Vegas. It is time for my annual ritual of planting fall flowers to liven up the outdoors. A dozen flowers are a cheap hobby, great therapy, and make the yard pretty. If you thought this was a blog about cannabis, it’s not.

A Thought Steamrolled into a Blog, #amwriting

As I prepared the soil in a large plastic pot, I had a thought—several thoughts actually, but I frequently can’t stay on task. I’m supposed to be working on my website right now, so don’t tell my husband I’m planting and writing a blog instead. Anyway, the pot of dirt didn’t serve any purpose. It was plain, boring, and didn’t do anything.

I chose to plant three different flowers in the pot. I could’ve put only one type of flower, and the pot would’ve been pretty; however, the chrysanthemum, morning glory, and geranium are very different in shape, size, and color, and mixed together, they made the pot more interesting and beautiful.

Flowers Are Cool

The flowers do their own thing in the pot, regardless of what the other flowers do. They have plenty of room to grow to maturity and will provide a great service while they thrive. They will grow just as well in a $5 pot as they would in a $100 pot. Pots may look different on the outside, but it’s what goes on the inside that makes the difference. The flowers are what make the pot beautiful, and not the other way around.

Bees and hummingbirds will stop by the pot for food. Ladybugs, mantis, and other bugs will probably visit for shade and protection, too. The flowers will give off oxygen to benefit everyone. Of course, my friends and family will enjoy the beauty of the flowers when they visit, and I’ll take pictures of the flowers to post on ViewBug.

Fun Tip, Ceramics Idea, #OffTopicAgain

If you don’t know what to do with all those little ceramic pieces your children or friends’ children made and gave you, they add a little something extra to flower pots. They are weatherproof, so they won’t get ruined, and it makes them functional.

When the sizzling 110 temps return, it’ll fry their leaves, and they’ll shrivel up. Sometimes, they leave seeds behind, and the seedlings take over the pot. Until then, the flowers will wave in the breeze, lift their heads to the sun, and dance in the rare Vegas showers. It doesn’t matter to the flowers if some people do not see their beauty or their contribution to nature. The flowers will continue to do their own thing in their own space and make the yard a better place while they’re in it.

If you liked reading about my flower pot, you may like to read one of my books. I’d really like that. If horror and paranormal is your preference, Dagger & Brimstone: Town from Hell will be on sale for .99 on Amazon from Oct. 5 – Oct. 9. That’s a bargain you shouldn’t pass up!

The Man Behind the Beard – Writing Tips and a Bearded Men Quiz

     Writing tips and bearded men in one blog—just go with it. To make a fictional story come alive, writers need to create meaningful and memorable characters. The best characters, bearded or otherwise, are the ones that make the readers feel emotion while they read. If a protagonist is well-written, readers will want them to overcome conflict. They will feel heartbreak at a character’s misfortune. Readers will turn pages in hopes their beloved protagonist wins in the end. Unless, or course, the reader doesn’t like the protagonist.

Yin Yang

     Characters need a variety of traits. A character who is courageous and humorous could also be obnoxious and selfish. Antagonists shouldn’t be perfect, just like everyone else. Tony Stark saves the world and is likable, but he is a bit egotistical, too. However, egotistical people may not see a big ego as a flaw. Creating characters with a mixture of different traits allows readers to decide for themselves if they like a character or not.

Hunk, Babe, Troll

     Creating a great character takes a lot more effort than describing what they look like. For example, “the older man with a beard” could describe many guys, including the band ZZ Top and Santa. To add a little fun to this informational blog, here’s a history lesson that involves older men with beards. The answers will be at the end of the blog.

Men with Beards

     See if you can name all the bearded men. Getting all of them correct would be amazing. A score of five, six, or seven is impressive. Two to four correct answers is probably average. One correct answer is bad.

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     Writing that is done well takes a lot of hard work. Many people underestimate what a good writer can do to make a story come alive, sway opinions, or make a company look good. It is a craft. It takes time, effort, and multiple revisions for writers to get an article, essay, or story from an idea to a finished product. Yet, many writers get paid .01 per word for their effort. This article would be worth $4.29.

Answers:

A. President Rutherford B. Hayes

B. Edmund Gwenn (Santa from the original movie Miracle on 34th Street)

C. Bram Stoker, author of Dracula

D. President Ulysses S. Grant

E. John Harvey Kellogg inventor of Corn Flakes and other breakfast cereals

F. John C. Fremont, American explorer

G. Buffalo Bill Cody, American scout and showman

H. President James A. Garfield

 Credits for photos: Hayes – biography.com; Grant –  quotesgram.com;  the rest – Pinterest

 

A Writer’s Qualifications

Employers often compose job descriptions for a multitude of positions to include qualifications such as “You look forward to the challenge,” “You are a great communicator,” “You have strong organizational skills and attention to detail,” “You’re good at overcoming challenges,” “You are creative, self-motivated, and able to take constructive criticism.” After running those qualifications by the potential candidate, employers get to the nitty-gritty and list about a thousand things they need to be skilled in—along with several years of experience. Usually, typos are in many of the job ads. “Proficiency in using a spell checker” should be included as well as utilized.

Writers may not realize they have all these qualifications, but they do. It’s a given that successful writers self-motivate. Words won’t appear on the paper/screen unless a writer puts them there. They draw inspiration from many sources, and it’s imperative. A writer needs to find what inspires them to overcome writer’s block and procrastination. A writer’s skill set can easily match the above list.

Up for the Challenge—Ideas, Grammar, Content, Acceptance

Writing is a challenge. Coming up with ideas and finally finishing a poem, short story or novel is a challenge. Tweaking it until the writer feels it is perfect—challenging. Getting it published—greatest challenge of them all. Writers look forward to the challenge of creating something new, researching material to make their work complete and finding a new and creative way to get as well as hold a reader’s interest. They must overcome rejection of their work—tons of it, mostly in the form of agent rejection letters—or they will never succeed. Writers can’t give up if they want to become published authors one day. This is a driving force for many.

Communication—Persuade, Inform, Entertain

Whether to persuade, inform or entertain, writers need to communicate with readers. Material must be well-written to sway someone into taking a side or to teach them a concept. Even if material is purely for entertainment, a writer does their best to captivate the reader. The characters, setting and plot is communicated from the writer’s imagination to the reader through word choice and attention to detail. Writing isn’t easy, and not everyone can or wants to do it. That’s why companies hire writers.

Constructive Criticism

What exactly is constructive criticism? Definitions.net sums it up perfectly. “Constructive criticism is the process of offering valid and well-reasoned opinions about the work of others, usually involving both positive and negative comments, in a friendly manner rather than an oppositional one. The purpose of constructive criticism is to improve the outcome.” In other words, all writers need to be open to feedback to grow and improve. A first or tenth draft can be improved. Successful writers learn this. After presenting material for feedback from critique groups, agents and reviewers, writers toughen up if they want to remain writers.

Writing is an art. It takes creativity, time, patience and a lot of other skills. Writers are artists who enjoy their craft because it’s a creative release and good therapy. A side note: If someone makes an impression on a writer–good or bad–there’s a good chance they’ve just given them inspiration for more material.