Betty Adams's Blog, page 126
August 21, 2016
Free and Amazing Inspiration
To celebrate 100 (official) years of operations the US National Park Service is opening the gates for free from August 25 to August 28. Of course several parks, including Crater Lake National Park pictured above, have been around for longer than that but the big party is this weekend. There will be many events, the Jr. Ranger program is open for the kids, and of course the mountains, lakes, and monuments will be existing the same as they have and as they will for a long time to come. Except the volcanoes of course, Those can change very fast. So get out there and find some inspiration!
August 19, 2016
A Fly on the Wall
One of the best things about writing or reading a story is the ability to be the proverbial fly on the wall, being able to see into occluded and intimate moments that would otherwise be unavailable anyone else from a seed blooming in the forest to a battle of rivals on a distant mountain top.
August 18, 2016
Write it Down
There must be a special graveyard for books that remain unborn because the idea slips out of the author's mind before they can write it down. Keep something on you at all times to write those ideas down!
August 17, 2016
Black Cat Appreciation Day
Today is Black Cat appreciation day. They certainly do deserve some appreciation. Who hasn't thrilled with a bit of supernatural glee when a shadow on the ground suddenly glares at you and wisps off into the night.
August 15, 2016
Books on Amazon
Sometimes we authors feel old for remembering a time before Amazon...now it is our world...
August 14, 2016
Increased Viewership
According to the analytics on the last blog post the secret to increasing viewership of a blog is not in fact excellent writing, good marketing, or insightful comment. It is cute pictures of kittens....go figure.
August 12, 2016
Who needs a thoughtful blog when you have kittens? August 11, 2016
Take A Hike
It is beautiful out there. Go take a hike and get acquainted with all the wonderful inspiration in nature.
August 10, 2016
Homes and Such
What kind of infrastructure does your alien creature require? Do they live in houses or wander the wilderness? Do they use natural materials or have they moved away from such things? Do they have a gravity based culture with everything dependent on the force of gravity to hold them to the ground? Or do they have floating houses to get them from one point to another? These are excellent questions to ask yourself when world-building for a story.
August 9, 2016
Surprise, Surprise
One of the most critical aspects of a story is the plot twist. In The Lord of the Rings Gandalf is brought back from the dead stronger and with his memories shifted about. In Treasure Island Jim's trusted friend turns out to be a pirate. Of course badly done this kind of plot twist can be awkward and harmful to the story itself. There has to be clues that point to what is going to happen. But, on the other hand, if the clues are too obvious they will ruin the surprise.What is one of your favorite plot twists from classic literature?
