Compare to or Compare with.
To compare to is to point out resemblances between objects regarded as important but of a different order; to compare with is to point out the differences between objects regarded as of the same order. We can compare actual life to a drama, or we can compare our form of government with that of another country.
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Thursday, October 1, 2015
#Writing Tips #Grammar Tips
Disinterested. This words means "impartial." It is often confused with uninterested which means one is not interested in...
Allude is often confused with elude. You allude to a speech or point of reference. You elude someone who is pursuing you. To allude is to mention, indirectly.
Allusion. It is often confused with illusion. Allusion means "an indirect reference." Illusion is an unreal impression or image.
Allude is often confused with elude. You allude to a speech or point of reference. You elude someone who is pursuing you. To allude is to mention, indirectly.
Allusion. It is often confused with illusion. Allusion means "an indirect reference." Illusion is an unreal impression or image.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
#Writing Tips #Grammar Tips
Lay-a transitive verb with the exception of its use in slang (let her lay), do not use it in place of the intransitive verb lie. The chicken lays an egg, the man lies down. The girl went home to lay down.
Less-should not be used to mean "fewer." There wereless people. There were fewer people. Less refers to quantity and fewer refers to number.
Less-should not be used to mean "fewer." There were
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
#Writing Tips
Discover character development techniques through scenery.
In my next book, you will notice that I have truly enjoyed this novel as much as my short stories, but this is not about me, it's about improving upon your writing, assuming you believe there is always room for improvement. Unlike my non-fiction books(Ascend, How to Build a Putting Green, Overcoming) which allows one to persuade according to ideas and beliefs limited by fact, in fiction, we generously embellish upon character motivation to allow the character to persuade the reader through his/her actions.
In the below scenarios the writer has the freedom to use scenery to make abstract character implications involving three people with different dispositions. The key to this technique is to open the story in a scene that will repeat throughout the story. The reader soon learns to guess which character is doing the actions based on familiar scenery. This technique baits the reader deeper into the story.
Because people experience life differently, we have a broad canvas on which to paint the characters we know. Some are pathological, others mysterious or even romantic. Below, we have an example of a man sitting on a patio. The writer desires to show you how to describe character through the development of this single story idea. It's simple but effective. Simultaneously, we discover an emotion that moves each of the characters. At this point, the reader begins to identify with the character.
Adapt this technique to your own style and see how quickly the reader gets involved. This technique works in all genres: Thriller, Mystery, Horror, Romance, Young Adult, etc.
Try it.
Here are examples of the openings of a particular scenery that might repeat throughout a story.
(Thriller)
An early September rain fell upon Houston. Torrential waters angled and rushed into the patio from North- to- south and then directly into his face, simultaneously, as a cutting wind, attacked the porch where slept. A strong gust of wind shuffled a clay flower pot. It fell crashing to the floor. He leaped to his feet, grabbed the pistol beneath his chair and...
#
(Mystery)
It was an early September rain that awakened her or had she heard something? They say that its when you fail to trust your instincts that you're in trouble. The bedside lamp was still on from last night. She yawned, stumbled to the face bowl in the bathroom and brought herself alive with cold water that made her face cringe. That's when she remembered. She stopped. She had not checked on the baby and had not heard it. She rushed into the next room, and there sat the eight month old, in bed smiling.
She laughed when she realized she was not holding a baby bottle but rather, a bar of wet soap.
#
(Romance)
She smiled as she slept. Images of John danced at the peripheral of her consciousness and she smiled, again. And then it began to rain. She squeezed her pillow. If only John were here, she thought. She would snuggle up to him like this and the pillow disappeared beneath her blanket. Torrents of rain dribbled on her roof like hundreds of tiny basketballs and she smiled, again. John liked basketball.
#
Determine which of the three above scenes is repeating. (this technique will help you to remain sharp and precise with character development).
(1) She heard the door bell because she turned swiftly, tapping her hair in place. She rushed to the bathroom, checking her appearance in a cheval mirror as she went.
(2) He practically slept with one eye open and the other on the weapon.
(3) Suspicious and cautious by nature,Wanda looked upon the stranger with circumspect.
In my next book, you will notice that I have truly enjoyed this novel as much as my short stories, but this is not about me, it's about improving upon your writing, assuming you believe there is always room for improvement. Unlike my non-fiction books(Ascend, How to Build a Putting Green, Overcoming) which allows one to persuade according to ideas and beliefs limited by fact, in fiction, we generously embellish upon character motivation to allow the character to persuade the reader through his/her actions.
In the below scenarios the writer has the freedom to use scenery to make abstract character implications involving three people with different dispositions. The key to this technique is to open the story in a scene that will repeat throughout the story. The reader soon learns to guess which character is doing the actions based on familiar scenery. This technique baits the reader deeper into the story.
Because people experience life differently, we have a broad canvas on which to paint the characters we know. Some are pathological, others mysterious or even romantic. Below, we have an example of a man sitting on a patio. The writer desires to show you how to describe character through the development of this single story idea. It's simple but effective. Simultaneously, we discover an emotion that moves each of the characters. At this point, the reader begins to identify with the character.
Adapt this technique to your own style and see how quickly the reader gets involved. This technique works in all genres: Thriller, Mystery, Horror, Romance, Young Adult, etc.
Try it.
Here are examples of the openings of a particular scenery that might repeat throughout a story.
(Thriller)
An early September rain fell upon Houston. Torrential waters angled and rushed into the patio from North- to- south and then directly into his face, simultaneously, as a cutting wind, attacked the porch where slept. A strong gust of wind shuffled a clay flower pot. It fell crashing to the floor. He leaped to his feet, grabbed the pistol beneath his chair and...
#
(Mystery)
It was an early September rain that awakened her or had she heard something? They say that its when you fail to trust your instincts that you're in trouble. The bedside lamp was still on from last night. She yawned, stumbled to the face bowl in the bathroom and brought herself alive with cold water that made her face cringe. That's when she remembered. She stopped. She had not checked on the baby and had not heard it. She rushed into the next room, and there sat the eight month old, in bed smiling.
She laughed when she realized she was not holding a baby bottle but rather, a bar of wet soap.
#
(Romance)
She smiled as she slept. Images of John danced at the peripheral of her consciousness and she smiled, again. And then it began to rain. She squeezed her pillow. If only John were here, she thought. She would snuggle up to him like this and the pillow disappeared beneath her blanket. Torrents of rain dribbled on her roof like hundreds of tiny basketballs and she smiled, again. John liked basketball.
#
Determine which of the three above scenes is repeating. (this technique will help you to remain sharp and precise with character development).
(1) She heard the door bell because she turned swiftly, tapping her hair in place. She rushed to the bathroom, checking her appearance in a cheval mirror as she went.
(2) He practically slept with one eye open and the other on the weapon.
(3) Suspicious and cautious by nature,Wanda looked upon the stranger with circumspect.
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Let "difference" define your ficitonal characters.
Amazing things happen when we let go and follow the direction of our calling. The same thing happens to our fictional characters. This notion leads me to believe that there are destinations to which principle leads us.
This leads to another question, does your character lack character? It's not a twist on words but a real question. Before you start questioning your character's behavior and motivations, pose these questions and watch the character jump off the page as you practice these techniques.
Does s/he place more value on position and titles rather than character?
You can probably see how the above question begins to develop personality. If not keep reading. I will give you a scenario and you can allow your familiar character's to respond.
Your character is walking to the car. Your character see's a bank robbery taking place. S/he see's the license plate of the getaway car but may choose to respond or not get involved. When questioned, your character may or may not answer honestly.
Now, let this scene play out with one or more of your characters by using the exact same scenery.
For example:
Walter Ennis did not expect this excitement. He did expect he would continue to live by his own motto: mind your own business and look out for Walter. No matter what happened, Walter Ennis stuck to his convictions.
He was simply walking to the vegetable market when it happened. He could have frozen in his tracks when he saw it but common sense told him to keep walking and to look in the opposite direction.
The bank robber hurried to car. As he reached Walter, the robber hesitated.
Walter continued walking, happy that he had not stared at the license plate. Why should he get shot over someones money. Besides, banks are greedy. They wouldn't donate a penny to his funeral service if he was foolish enough to intervene and get himself killed.
Walter continued along, minding his own business.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Denise saw him. No sooner than the robber fled through the front door. Before the robber reached her, Denise crossed the busy intersection, dialing 9-1-1- as she fled. She turned to the left, made a mental note of the license plate of the robber's car and whispered into the phone. She was compelled to live by her own motto: Do your part.
"Good job," the 9-1-1 operator said.
Denise wondered how someone could not report such a crime. That's the problem, she thought, people are afraid to get involved.
When questioned by the responding police officers, she remembered more details.
"Good job," the officer said to her.
Those words rang in her ears for months: good job.
If others cared to do a good job as citizens the world would be a much better place, she thought...if only people would do their part.
This leads to another question, does your character lack character? It's not a twist on words but a real question. Before you start questioning your character's behavior and motivations, pose these questions and watch the character jump off the page as you practice these techniques.
Does s/he place more value on position and titles rather than character?
You can probably see how the above question begins to develop personality. If not keep reading. I will give you a scenario and you can allow your familiar character's to respond.
Your character is walking to the car. Your character see's a bank robbery taking place. S/he see's the license plate of the getaway car but may choose to respond or not get involved. When questioned, your character may or may not answer honestly.
Now, let this scene play out with one or more of your characters by using the exact same scenery.
For example:
Walter Ennis did not expect this excitement. He did expect he would continue to live by his own motto: mind your own business and look out for Walter. No matter what happened, Walter Ennis stuck to his convictions.
He was simply walking to the vegetable market when it happened. He could have frozen in his tracks when he saw it but common sense told him to keep walking and to look in the opposite direction.
The bank robber hurried to car. As he reached Walter, the robber hesitated.
Walter continued walking, happy that he had not stared at the license plate. Why should he get shot over someones money. Besides, banks are greedy. They wouldn't donate a penny to his funeral service if he was foolish enough to intervene and get himself killed.
Walter continued along, minding his own business.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Denise saw him. No sooner than the robber fled through the front door. Before the robber reached her, Denise crossed the busy intersection, dialing 9-1-1- as she fled. She turned to the left, made a mental note of the license plate of the robber's car and whispered into the phone. She was compelled to live by her own motto: Do your part.
"Good job," the 9-1-1 operator said.
Denise wondered how someone could not report such a crime. That's the problem, she thought, people are afraid to get involved.
When questioned by the responding police officers, she remembered more details.
"Good job," the officer said to her.
Those words rang in her ears for months: good job.
If others cared to do a good job as citizens the world would be a much better place, she thought...if only people would do their part.
Monday, July 13, 2015
#Writers, What does it mean?
Go Set a Watchman,# Harper Lee.
After the tremendous fame of #To Kill a Mockingbird, many wonder why the publisher released the title, Go Set a Watchman.
A better question is, What does this revelation really mean? Are we afraid of what it may reveal about who we really are?
As we appreciate a renown title such as #To kill a Mockingbird, a title written in a dark moment of American history, can we appreciate the totality of the times which includes the likelihood of Jim Crowism incorporated in #Go Set a Watchman, or, are we limited to the thought that Gregory Peck's character represented the personification of who we really are?
If the former is true, we should have no qualms about the contents of book we have not yet read. If the later is true, then the earlier book would not have been necessary.
The writer who causes us to question our fears has done the greatest public service possible via the pen. The writer may have revealed the dimensional personality(ies) of the individual.
Ecclesiastes 9:14 (of the Holy Bible) says it best: there was a small city, with a few men in it...
Study the passage and be enlightened.
After the tremendous fame of #To Kill a Mockingbird, many wonder why the publisher released the title, Go Set a Watchman.
A better question is, What does this revelation really mean? Are we afraid of what it may reveal about who we really are?
As we appreciate a renown title such as #To kill a Mockingbird, a title written in a dark moment of American history, can we appreciate the totality of the times which includes the likelihood of Jim Crowism incorporated in #Go Set a Watchman, or, are we limited to the thought that Gregory Peck's character represented the personification of who we really are?
If the former is true, we should have no qualms about the contents of book we have not yet read. If the later is true, then the earlier book would not have been necessary.
The writer who causes us to question our fears has done the greatest public service possible via the pen. The writer may have revealed the dimensional personality(ies) of the individual.
Ecclesiastes 9:14 (of the Holy Bible) says it best: there was a small city, with a few men in it...
Study the passage and be enlightened.
Monday, June 8, 2015
Saturday, May 16, 2015
#Am Writing from the Treasure of the Heart
The future of the writer and that of the thinker intersects at the corners of awareness and imagination, based upon the treasure within the heart of the writer/speaker. History exposes many examples of unprecedented performances of human genius following a simple question. " What if? " What if Black people and White people and Jews and Catholic and Protestants could someday hold hands in the streets of America and sing the lyrics of the old Negro spirituals, Free-at-Last, Free-at-Last; Thank God almighty...we're free at last." Those famous words are the result of a man's courage to ask, What if?
It all starts with the treasure of the heart.
Leonardo DaVinci believed that to master a problem, it is necessary to break down its form. It is often in the process of restructuring that we develop a new perspective. Our first view of circumstances leading to labeling what we see as a "problem" is biased by definition. Once the "problem" becomes restructured it becomes a new set of circumstances, and is no longer seen as a problem.
One of the greatest values in writing non-fiction rest in the writer's ability to unfold nuggets of wisdom in following the question, 'what if?" This process is also one of the greatest services thought leaders bring to the world. What if you restructured the problem before you? What value will it yield and how will the question best serve?
Jesus Christ best demonstrates this phenomenon in a parable in Luke Chapter 7 of the Holy Bible. He delineates a measure of wisdom in a way that only he can. One of the Pharisees desired that Jesus would come and dine with him which Jesus did. A woman of questionable regard understood that Jesus would be there and she, also, went to the Pharisee's house, but she brought an alabaster box of ointment with her.
In the eyes of an onlooker this unholy union presents a problem. The Pharisee, not unlike some modern day Christians who lack understanding, judged that since light has no association with darkness, why then was Jesus Christ associating with this woman? Like some modern day small minds lacking the gift of understanding, it appears that the birds of a feather theory was applicable here.
Now, what if we stop at the door of judgment and ask what if? What if there is a reason the woman entered the house with good intentions as she carried the alabaster box of ointment? Because the spirit within us cannot exist in two places at the same time, we cannot harbor judgment and wisdom at the same time and in the same space. At this point, wise individuals question what they feel but the arrogant remain in a fool's paradise. What if we suspend judgment and look further-what wisdom might we find and pass on as a great service?
This restructuring process allows us to access dimensions beyond the limits of self and far beyond the known. By postponing judgment we allow ourselves to explore the vast unknown with self-appointed receptors or with an open mind.The area of unbiased observation invites genius. Genius is often the result of a different perspective. The question, "what if?" often paves the road to new perspective. It is perspective that yields nuggets of wisdom. As writers and thinkers we have that power in our hands, that is the power to influence perspective.
Again, the first view is often biased and emanates from self, not from the observed. Such was the case with the Pharisee .( Luke 7:39) He reasoned in his mind, that if Jesus was who he said he was, he would have known what manner of woman it was who touched him.
In the following verse, Jesus answered this man with a parable, a most effective way of conveying wisdom without creating defensive behavior with the listener. Jesus said there was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed $500.00 (excusing the difference in currency at the time) and the other owed $50. When the creditor discovered they had nothing to pay, he, the creditor forgave both of them. Tell me, therefore, which of them will love him most?
Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And Jesus said unto him, Thou has rightly judged.
Can you see how Simon's judgment was changed from flawed to enlightenment from the basis of a single parable? I suggest to you, that restructuring of the problem with a loving heart, yields wisdom, for the treasure of the heart the mouth does speak.
Jesus went on to express the fact that the woman had serviced him as he, Jesus, entered the Pharisees house but the Pharisee had not serviced Jesus at all. She had loved much.
"Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little."
What is it that you judge as a problem that can be restructured from the treasure of your heart? What have you asked forgiveness for that your love may, also shine?
It all starts with the treasure of the heart.
Leonardo DaVinci believed that to master a problem, it is necessary to break down its form. It is often in the process of restructuring that we develop a new perspective. Our first view of circumstances leading to labeling what we see as a "problem" is biased by definition. Once the "problem" becomes restructured it becomes a new set of circumstances, and is no longer seen as a problem.
One of the greatest values in writing non-fiction rest in the writer's ability to unfold nuggets of wisdom in following the question, 'what if?" This process is also one of the greatest services thought leaders bring to the world. What if you restructured the problem before you? What value will it yield and how will the question best serve?
Jesus Christ best demonstrates this phenomenon in a parable in Luke Chapter 7 of the Holy Bible. He delineates a measure of wisdom in a way that only he can. One of the Pharisees desired that Jesus would come and dine with him which Jesus did. A woman of questionable regard understood that Jesus would be there and she, also, went to the Pharisee's house, but she brought an alabaster box of ointment with her.
In the eyes of an onlooker this unholy union presents a problem. The Pharisee, not unlike some modern day Christians who lack understanding, judged that since light has no association with darkness, why then was Jesus Christ associating with this woman? Like some modern day small minds lacking the gift of understanding, it appears that the birds of a feather theory was applicable here.
Now, what if we stop at the door of judgment and ask what if? What if there is a reason the woman entered the house with good intentions as she carried the alabaster box of ointment? Because the spirit within us cannot exist in two places at the same time, we cannot harbor judgment and wisdom at the same time and in the same space. At this point, wise individuals question what they feel but the arrogant remain in a fool's paradise. What if we suspend judgment and look further-what wisdom might we find and pass on as a great service?
This restructuring process allows us to access dimensions beyond the limits of self and far beyond the known. By postponing judgment we allow ourselves to explore the vast unknown with self-appointed receptors or with an open mind.The area of unbiased observation invites genius. Genius is often the result of a different perspective. The question, "what if?" often paves the road to new perspective. It is perspective that yields nuggets of wisdom. As writers and thinkers we have that power in our hands, that is the power to influence perspective.
Again, the first view is often biased and emanates from self, not from the observed. Such was the case with the Pharisee .( Luke 7:39) He reasoned in his mind, that if Jesus was who he said he was, he would have known what manner of woman it was who touched him.
In the following verse, Jesus answered this man with a parable, a most effective way of conveying wisdom without creating defensive behavior with the listener. Jesus said there was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed $500.00 (excusing the difference in currency at the time) and the other owed $50. When the creditor discovered they had nothing to pay, he, the creditor forgave both of them. Tell me, therefore, which of them will love him most?
Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And Jesus said unto him, Thou has rightly judged.
Can you see how Simon's judgment was changed from flawed to enlightenment from the basis of a single parable? I suggest to you, that restructuring of the problem with a loving heart, yields wisdom, for the treasure of the heart the mouth does speak.
Jesus went on to express the fact that the woman had serviced him as he, Jesus, entered the Pharisees house but the Pharisee had not serviced Jesus at all. She had loved much.
"Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little."
What is it that you judge as a problem that can be restructured from the treasure of your heart? What have you asked forgiveness for that your love may, also shine?
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Monday, April 27, 2015
#Writing and Living Within the Reality of Change
To state the obvious, change is inevitable. Everyone's knows that but why can't everyone make the adjustments imposed by change?
Because we do not clearly see the promise on the other side of change and because change is uncomfortable, that's why.
Whether we are writing fiction or non-fiction the reality of this dynamic (change) confronts our story, haunts the characters within it and speaks to a secondary reality: uncertainty and fear of the unknown, but on the other side of change is often the fulfillment of one's calling. A writer's ability to unfold the events leading to this change establishes great characterization of fictional characters. The notion of change tends to influence good writing and successful living. In life, one's ability to confront and accept change establishes success, as defined by one's ability to meet one's goals and live the dream envisioned.
Pay Attention
How do we begin to successfully confront change? First, listen to the voice of the inner spirit. Yes, there is a conversation going on within the community of self. Meditate and pay close attention. Breathe deeply and hear your own thoughts as well as the thoughts of your own characters. There is always a song playing in your heart, your job is to appreciate the lyrics. Pay attention.
Act
Act upon the area of your discomfort. This is the promise of living by the spirit; it is the ultimate act of faith. When we meditate and pray and come to the point where we feel our area of comfort is invaded by our own thoughts about who we really are, we have arrived; however, our first inclination is to resist...to run away. In fiction, show the resistance of your character. In real life, focus upon your own resistance. I urge you to not resist, instead, lean into the winds of change and call uncertainty and the fear of the unknown by its genuine name: Undefined Opportunity. The truth is before us at this point. This point represents an epiphany, land-marking the point to which we are propelled to higher consciousness. Paul, in the Bible, called it the second heaven. It is a place where the known self tends to let go and turn away from resistance.Carl Jung called it: the morning of awakening.
Lean Into the Wind
In establishing your fictional character in a story and in establishing your character in life, overcome fear by leaning into the wind. The force behind the wind is a sign of your readiness. You will not feel the wind in your face unless you are already equipped to make the change. At the end of the day, you will come to realize that the wind upon your face is the breath of God, reminding you to lean this way.
Let's take a quote from my book, Ascend to The Secret Place "Infinite wisdom tends to knock at the door where capacity lives."
Pay attention, act and lean into the wind.
Because we do not clearly see the promise on the other side of change and because change is uncomfortable, that's why.
Whether we are writing fiction or non-fiction the reality of this dynamic (change) confronts our story, haunts the characters within it and speaks to a secondary reality: uncertainty and fear of the unknown, but on the other side of change is often the fulfillment of one's calling. A writer's ability to unfold the events leading to this change establishes great characterization of fictional characters. The notion of change tends to influence good writing and successful living. In life, one's ability to confront and accept change establishes success, as defined by one's ability to meet one's goals and live the dream envisioned.
Pay Attention
How do we begin to successfully confront change? First, listen to the voice of the inner spirit. Yes, there is a conversation going on within the community of self. Meditate and pay close attention. Breathe deeply and hear your own thoughts as well as the thoughts of your own characters. There is always a song playing in your heart, your job is to appreciate the lyrics. Pay attention.
Act
Act upon the area of your discomfort. This is the promise of living by the spirit; it is the ultimate act of faith. When we meditate and pray and come to the point where we feel our area of comfort is invaded by our own thoughts about who we really are, we have arrived; however, our first inclination is to resist...to run away. In fiction, show the resistance of your character. In real life, focus upon your own resistance. I urge you to not resist, instead, lean into the winds of change and call uncertainty and the fear of the unknown by its genuine name: Undefined Opportunity. The truth is before us at this point. This point represents an epiphany, land-marking the point to which we are propelled to higher consciousness. Paul, in the Bible, called it the second heaven. It is a place where the known self tends to let go and turn away from resistance.Carl Jung called it: the morning of awakening.
Lean Into the Wind
In establishing your fictional character in a story and in establishing your character in life, overcome fear by leaning into the wind. The force behind the wind is a sign of your readiness. You will not feel the wind in your face unless you are already equipped to make the change. At the end of the day, you will come to realize that the wind upon your face is the breath of God, reminding you to lean this way.
Let's take a quote from my book, Ascend to The Secret Place "Infinite wisdom tends to knock at the door where capacity lives."
Pay attention, act and lean into the wind.
Friday, April 24, 2015
The Teaching Pen
Writing can be a corrective force in society. When writers connect, magic happens. Life is often much like poetry for that reason. When we allow ourselves freedom, we begin to observe our emotional connection to poetry, an observation without walls, an observation peculiar to oneself, a "permit" if you will, to experience the writer and the writer's external world of creativity. As we observe life, peculiar to our emotions, we tap into eternal truths about God, the universe and the self...all of which we so passionately flee.
Life viewed from the outskirts tend to stage events not for the living but for the onlookers to life. Life then becomes a series of events camouflaged by the theater of sensationalism. This activity numbs the mind and spirit to the greater reality, the point where the observer experiences life peculiar to oneself, untainted by sensation. We might call this experience, "freedom."
This writer is often reminded of Eccliasiates 9:"14 in the Holy Bible. I wrote, extensively, about this subject in my recent book, Ascend to The Secret Place. The passage reads, "There was a small city with a few men in it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built bulwarks against it. (15) Now there was found in it, a poor wise man, and he, by his wisdom delivered the city, but no one remembered the poor wise man. (16) Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless, the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words not heard."
I truly enjoyed writing within the parameters of this subject and found the process intensively eye-opening.
The poor wise man in the passage above, as well as the writer of the passage, were corrective forces. The wise man was labeled, poor, not because he was bereft of finances but because he was unpopular and sized up a popular king. The hand of the writer was certainly moved by the infallible hand of God as the word "poor" was effectively used to present this wise man in a spirit of humility, otherwise the rich, besieging king would have destryoed the man before the wise man was able to free the city.
"There are few things in battle as effective as the element of surprise."
If life is a battle for the mind and spirit, then notice the stratagems of the king. Those bulwarks are walls and walls are thoughts and beliefs. After all, one cannot enter the house of a strong man and rob him unless he somehow bound the strong man. We are bounded by unbelief and a poor set of false beliefs about who we are. If you believe yourself royal, you should walk with a royal stride, speak with a royal tongue, and command with the confidence and charge of royalty. Re-consider your beliefs and observe to see if there are walls or freedom. I urge my fellow writers to use the pen to help set people free.
Life viewed from the outskirts tend to stage events not for the living but for the onlookers to life. Life then becomes a series of events camouflaged by the theater of sensationalism. This activity numbs the mind and spirit to the greater reality, the point where the observer experiences life peculiar to oneself, untainted by sensation. We might call this experience, "freedom."
This writer is often reminded of Eccliasiates 9:"14 in the Holy Bible. I wrote, extensively, about this subject in my recent book, Ascend to The Secret Place. The passage reads, "There was a small city with a few men in it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built bulwarks against it. (15) Now there was found in it, a poor wise man, and he, by his wisdom delivered the city, but no one remembered the poor wise man. (16) Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless, the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words not heard."
I truly enjoyed writing within the parameters of this subject and found the process intensively eye-opening.
The poor wise man in the passage above, as well as the writer of the passage, were corrective forces. The wise man was labeled, poor, not because he was bereft of finances but because he was unpopular and sized up a popular king. The hand of the writer was certainly moved by the infallible hand of God as the word "poor" was effectively used to present this wise man in a spirit of humility, otherwise the rich, besieging king would have destryoed the man before the wise man was able to free the city.
"There are few things in battle as effective as the element of surprise."
If life is a battle for the mind and spirit, then notice the stratagems of the king. Those bulwarks are walls and walls are thoughts and beliefs. After all, one cannot enter the house of a strong man and rob him unless he somehow bound the strong man. We are bounded by unbelief and a poor set of false beliefs about who we are. If you believe yourself royal, you should walk with a royal stride, speak with a royal tongue, and command with the confidence and charge of royalty. Re-consider your beliefs and observe to see if there are walls or freedom. I urge my fellow writers to use the pen to help set people free.
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Writing Creative Non-Fiction
I have heard many good speakers who serve the public well from a platform. I have been touched by these speakers. Some are social activist who dedicate themselves to leaving the world in a better condition (safe, healthier, more peaceful) than they found it. Hooray to those individuals who understand their purpose in life.
As much as I admire them, I have noticed, many of these speakers are terrible writers. Let's fix that, here and now.
If you have a platform where you are influencing people to live a better life, as I have defined, above, then perfect your writing skills so that the information you convey may be also effective in print. Here's how. Focus upon one valuable idea at a time, poco-a-poco.
Reflect upon the genuine value that you bring to the table. For example, you may be an activist who warns us of the dangers of consuming improper foods. You may focus upon one of the adverse results of eating such foods. For example, some foods actually contribute to the creation of tumors in the body that leads to cancer. Such an activist might open a short essay with a form of the following question.
"What have you eaten lately to create cancer or prevent cancer in your body?"
Now, go ahead and present your material.
A body building activist might open a short missive with the following question, "Which exercise will you practice today to prolong your life?"
Now, present your material.
An inspirational speaker, like this writer, might ask, "Which afflictive words have you eliminated from your vocabulary, recently?" Or, "Which non-afflictive emotions are you using this week to advance your life?"
Now, I will present my material: Let us view human emotion beneath a spiritual microscope..........
All of the above listed open ended questions tend to set the stage for the information you are about to deliver. It creates curiosity. Remember, due to your passion for life, you have something to say. We want to hear it. Don't underestimate your value. Don' t make the mistake of assuming that people already know what you are designed to teach. You are a unique snowflake and the manner in which you present information is unique. Do not lose impact by failing to properly set the stage.
When you open up with a life changing theme in the way of a questions, minds open to you, allowing the essence of "you" to connect.
You only need do one thing: reflect upon a single value that you are offering the world. Think of one thing a listener can do (based upon your teaching) to improve life, today. Now, that being said, build a question around that idea.
I hope that these simple hints will help. Be blessed, be fruitful and multiply your teachings as an aid to all mankind/woman kind...people.
As much as I admire them, I have noticed, many of these speakers are terrible writers. Let's fix that, here and now.
If you have a platform where you are influencing people to live a better life, as I have defined, above, then perfect your writing skills so that the information you convey may be also effective in print. Here's how. Focus upon one valuable idea at a time, poco-a-poco.
Reflect upon the genuine value that you bring to the table. For example, you may be an activist who warns us of the dangers of consuming improper foods. You may focus upon one of the adverse results of eating such foods. For example, some foods actually contribute to the creation of tumors in the body that leads to cancer. Such an activist might open a short essay with a form of the following question.
"What have you eaten lately to create cancer or prevent cancer in your body?"
Now, go ahead and present your material.
A body building activist might open a short missive with the following question, "Which exercise will you practice today to prolong your life?"
Now, present your material.
An inspirational speaker, like this writer, might ask, "Which afflictive words have you eliminated from your vocabulary, recently?" Or, "Which non-afflictive emotions are you using this week to advance your life?"
Now, I will present my material: Let us view human emotion beneath a spiritual microscope..........
All of the above listed open ended questions tend to set the stage for the information you are about to deliver. It creates curiosity. Remember, due to your passion for life, you have something to say. We want to hear it. Don't underestimate your value. Don' t make the mistake of assuming that people already know what you are designed to teach. You are a unique snowflake and the manner in which you present information is unique. Do not lose impact by failing to properly set the stage.
When you open up with a life changing theme in the way of a questions, minds open to you, allowing the essence of "you" to connect.
You only need do one thing: reflect upon a single value that you are offering the world. Think of one thing a listener can do (based upon your teaching) to improve life, today. Now, that being said, build a question around that idea.
I hope that these simple hints will help. Be blessed, be fruitful and multiply your teachings as an aid to all mankind/woman kind...people.
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Healing Pens #am writing
Okay, writers, climb aboard with me. Let's use our pens to influence healing. You know, I never thought I would see the day that they would sell a pill designed to overcome a low IQ and promise to make people successful and rich but it is so; introducing, The Brain Pill and the American Dream Pill. These pills are marketed at $200.00 to $400.00 per pill with movies stars and corporate celebrities pushing it with plausible testimonials. It seems the snake oil salesman has refined his act, modernized his pitch and actually found a bit of respectable research to support his work...if you want to call it work.
I am not knocking the validity of the pill as the research seems to support no reason to question the veracity of the celebrity's statements. It seems the pill actually stimulates some portions of the brain to amplify clear and superior thinking while it suppresses those parts of the brain that leads to doubt, fear and procrastination, but at what cost? People seem to have more peak experiences and more measured success as a result of the pills, but at what long term risk? The devil in the bottle will admit some of its known risk in small print sometimes, but there's nothing small about the advertising budget designed to provoke your emotions and overcome the logic of the small print. After all, corporations have researched us with countless focus panels to determine what stimuli gets us going emotionally and they know that we buy based on emotions; so much for the logic of small print.
While one may believe the adage that anything that can be measured can be improved, one may prefer a different approach to improvement. I write inspirational books that I hope will make a difference in the lives of individuals as do many writers in this genre. By doing so, we would like to think that we offer a non-chemical alternative toward brain stimulation. Some writers introduce methods through inspirations from newly developed psychological studies, others through philosophical or scientific studies. I, on the other hand, offer an organic spiritual solution through spiritual considerations. After all, God did not take a pill when he made the world. Women do not take a miracle pill to create pregnancy or to deliver a baby, a miracle in itself; therefore, it seems that common sense has, once again, escaped the public and helplessly surrendered to the corporate pitch from pharmaceutical companies.
God help us.
They tell us that church is out and pills are in. People are running to the pharmacy in great numbers, shelling out $200.00 - $400.00 per pill, blindly trusting in something they know nothing about but are well warned to not trust in religious institutions for they may take your money. Don't trust in mysterious spiritual gurus and their concepts because they can be misleading and be careful to not over exercise (as if exercise ever killed someone).
Granted, some of the supplements are safer than others. Take galantamine, for instance ( see http://dreamstudies.org/galantamine-review-lucid-dreaming-pill/s), or (Narcissus pseudonarcissus) which is taken from the common daffodil, is said to have safe qualities which makes dreaming more lucid and stimulates awareness while you are asleep. But then corporate marketing becomes aggressive once they see an uninformed public is biting. A beehive of manipulative commercials began to stir on Madison avenue and ad agencies produced clever deceptions pitching intriguing phrases: Turbo Charging the Brain. Brain Boosters. Brain Pills. The Miracle Pill. CBS joined the fray, "Secret Society of the Successful", and so on.
Now here are the facts. Pharmaceutical companies enjoyed a 74% increase in the sales of Provigil. This drug was actually approved for Narcolepsy and sleep disorders but people use it, along with Adderall as a genius stimulant. It's pitch, "Niagra for the Brain." The many adverse side effects are yet unknown.
Are these ploys effective? Well, college students are already taking prescription stimulants like Ritalin. Because these kids believe the pill helps them to concentrate on their studies, the pill has growing demand.
"As more brain pills are developed, middle-aged people who want youthful memory powers and multi-tasking workers who need to keep track of multiple demands, those pill sales will increase. They will continue to buy in great numbers," says author and brain scientist Martha Farah of the University of Pennsylvania. "Almost everybody is going to want to use it."
Many of those authors and scientist consult for pharmaceutical companies. Think about that. The use of these drugs as a study stimulant is a felony but college students yet use it anyway. The approved FDA use of these drugs is for hyperactivity disorders. There are organic alternatives to these drugs. Bear with me, we're getting there.
The corporate snake oil salesman's rebuttal to the thought of potentially devastating side effects down the road is, "..but the people want it," or as a garden department manager said to Lulu Korn, a notable socialist activist regarding the product, RoundUp, "We know it's poison but the people want it." Furthermore, according to Lulu Korn, twenty years ago our children were bombarded with chocolate milk at school cafeterias when the consensus was, "they won't drink anything else," but that too has changed. Ms. Korn went on to compare the school's (belated) practice of offering sodas in vending machines with the more healthy juices now offered in place of the non nutritious drinks.
Regarding Monsanto's view that people are demanding its product, I've never seen lines of people outside chemical plants protesting the slow production of chemicals, nor have I seen people marching in the streets demanding that companies like Monsanto produce more poison, have you? ..didn't think so. We have, however, seen TV commercials, at $30 or $40,000 dollars a pop pushing those products.
What's the answer to some of these problems: be informed.
As far as the brain pill madness is concerned, we can stimulate our own minds by reading spiritual oriented material, worshiping and aligning ourselves with a fresh dose of common sense. "Engage your brain," says Mustafa Hussain, MD, director of the geriatric Psychiatry division at Duke University School of Medicine, "Walk, read inspirational materials.
"Walk thirty minutes, daily, and meditate upon new concepts. Try a Mediterranean diet, " says R. Scott Turner, MD, PhD, director of Memory Disorders Program at Georgetown University Medical Center." It helps to prevent many diseases, including high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, strokes and more. It releases the protein called BDNF, which releases health nerve cells in the brain."
Well, readers, there it is. Take the organic approach to stimulating your brain, walk and exercise, read stimulating materials, worship and consider different perspectives as to how we approach problems and consider different concepts to solving problems.
"This is the best evidence for preserving memory and mental function and overcoming adverse aging issues," says R. Scott Turner.
Well there it is, people, the only secret to success is embedded within the heart and spirit of the individual, for the kingdom of God is within you. You are already the genius and your stimulants are natural and the only people getting rich from the pills are the corporations and the pitch men who sell them.
Climb aboard, writers, use your skills to stamp out the madness.
I hope that my new book, Ascend to The Secret Place will stimulant you to discover and employ your God given talents to access your spiritual powers and to amplify your natural genius. It's coming this Spring. Look for it.
> https://soundcloud.com/barry-
I am not knocking the validity of the pill as the research seems to support no reason to question the veracity of the celebrity's statements. It seems the pill actually stimulates some portions of the brain to amplify clear and superior thinking while it suppresses those parts of the brain that leads to doubt, fear and procrastination, but at what cost? People seem to have more peak experiences and more measured success as a result of the pills, but at what long term risk? The devil in the bottle will admit some of its known risk in small print sometimes, but there's nothing small about the advertising budget designed to provoke your emotions and overcome the logic of the small print. After all, corporations have researched us with countless focus panels to determine what stimuli gets us going emotionally and they know that we buy based on emotions; so much for the logic of small print.
While one may believe the adage that anything that can be measured can be improved, one may prefer a different approach to improvement. I write inspirational books that I hope will make a difference in the lives of individuals as do many writers in this genre. By doing so, we would like to think that we offer a non-chemical alternative toward brain stimulation. Some writers introduce methods through inspirations from newly developed psychological studies, others through philosophical or scientific studies. I, on the other hand, offer an organic spiritual solution through spiritual considerations. After all, God did not take a pill when he made the world. Women do not take a miracle pill to create pregnancy or to deliver a baby, a miracle in itself; therefore, it seems that common sense has, once again, escaped the public and helplessly surrendered to the corporate pitch from pharmaceutical companies.
God help us.
They tell us that church is out and pills are in. People are running to the pharmacy in great numbers, shelling out $200.00 - $400.00 per pill, blindly trusting in something they know nothing about but are well warned to not trust in religious institutions for they may take your money. Don't trust in mysterious spiritual gurus and their concepts because they can be misleading and be careful to not over exercise (as if exercise ever killed someone).
Granted, some of the supplements are safer than others. Take galantamine, for instance ( see http://dreamstudies.org/galantamine-review-lucid-dreaming-pill/s), or (Narcissus pseudonarcissus) which is taken from the common daffodil, is said to have safe qualities which makes dreaming more lucid and stimulates awareness while you are asleep. But then corporate marketing becomes aggressive once they see an uninformed public is biting. A beehive of manipulative commercials began to stir on Madison avenue and ad agencies produced clever deceptions pitching intriguing phrases: Turbo Charging the Brain. Brain Boosters. Brain Pills. The Miracle Pill. CBS joined the fray, "Secret Society of the Successful", and so on.
Now here are the facts. Pharmaceutical companies enjoyed a 74% increase in the sales of Provigil. This drug was actually approved for Narcolepsy and sleep disorders but people use it, along with Adderall as a genius stimulant. It's pitch, "Niagra for the Brain." The many adverse side effects are yet unknown.
Are these ploys effective? Well, college students are already taking prescription stimulants like Ritalin. Because these kids believe the pill helps them to concentrate on their studies, the pill has growing demand.
"As more brain pills are developed, middle-aged people who want youthful memory powers and multi-tasking workers who need to keep track of multiple demands, those pill sales will increase. They will continue to buy in great numbers," says author and brain scientist Martha Farah of the University of Pennsylvania. "Almost everybody is going to want to use it."
Many of those authors and scientist consult for pharmaceutical companies. Think about that. The use of these drugs as a study stimulant is a felony but college students yet use it anyway. The approved FDA use of these drugs is for hyperactivity disorders. There are organic alternatives to these drugs. Bear with me, we're getting there.
The corporate snake oil salesman's rebuttal to the thought of potentially devastating side effects down the road is, "..but the people want it," or as a garden department manager said to Lulu Korn, a notable socialist activist regarding the product, RoundUp, "We know it's poison but the people want it." Furthermore, according to Lulu Korn, twenty years ago our children were bombarded with chocolate milk at school cafeterias when the consensus was, "they won't drink anything else," but that too has changed. Ms. Korn went on to compare the school's (belated) practice of offering sodas in vending machines with the more healthy juices now offered in place of the non nutritious drinks.
Regarding Monsanto's view that people are demanding its product, I've never seen lines of people outside chemical plants protesting the slow production of chemicals, nor have I seen people marching in the streets demanding that companies like Monsanto produce more poison, have you? ..didn't think so. We have, however, seen TV commercials, at $30 or $40,000 dollars a pop pushing those products.
What's the answer to some of these problems: be informed.
As far as the brain pill madness is concerned, we can stimulate our own minds by reading spiritual oriented material, worshiping and aligning ourselves with a fresh dose of common sense. "Engage your brain," says Mustafa Hussain, MD, director of the geriatric Psychiatry division at Duke University School of Medicine, "Walk, read inspirational materials.
"Walk thirty minutes, daily, and meditate upon new concepts. Try a Mediterranean diet, " says R. Scott Turner, MD, PhD, director of Memory Disorders Program at Georgetown University Medical Center." It helps to prevent many diseases, including high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, strokes and more. It releases the protein called BDNF, which releases health nerve cells in the brain."
Well, readers, there it is. Take the organic approach to stimulating your brain, walk and exercise, read stimulating materials, worship and consider different perspectives as to how we approach problems and consider different concepts to solving problems.
"This is the best evidence for preserving memory and mental function and overcoming adverse aging issues," says R. Scott Turner.
Well there it is, people, the only secret to success is embedded within the heart and spirit of the individual, for the kingdom of God is within you. You are already the genius and your stimulants are natural and the only people getting rich from the pills are the corporations and the pitch men who sell them.
Climb aboard, writers, use your skills to stamp out the madness.
I hope that my new book, Ascend to The Secret Place will stimulant you to discover and employ your God given talents to access your spiritual powers and to amplify your natural genius. It's coming this Spring. Look for it.
> https://soundcloud.com/barry-
Saturday, February 28, 2015
7 Principles That Will Change Your Life Forever
Coming this Spring, my new book, Ascend to The Secret Place, a most Transcendent Reality (c)copyright 2015 hamdani.
"If you don't believe in God, you will, after reading this book. If you believe, you will embrace your beliefs more fervently than ever."
The book encompasses seven principles that will positively change your life, forever.
Entities have character. Factors work together to purge us towards perfection. The nature of truth is absolute energy that encapsulates energy, absolutely. Once this phenomenon is observed the observer becomes...
You will no longer forget...anything because the process of forgetting is the other side of the coin of "trying" and you will no longer try to do anything. Trying is inconsistent with the laws of nature. Doing based on thinking (space and motion) combined with a single intent is consistent with nature.
Carlton Norman said it best, Ascend to The Secret Place is an unforgettable book about finding many pieces of oneself in places rarely explored but readily accessible.
Ascend to The Secret Place, (c)copyright 2015hamdani, coming this Spring to a bookstore near you.
Spring 2015
> https://soundcloud.com/barry-
"If you don't believe in God, you will, after reading this book. If you believe, you will embrace your beliefs more fervently than ever."
The book encompasses seven principles that will positively change your life, forever.
Experience teaches us that self-starters keep within reach some of the most powerful motivational material: Books.
People who practice the principles in this book have found that which was once missing. Others have re-discovered their magic. Many speak of an inner kingdom, a kingdom united with the universe. You, too, will find these dynamic universal factors a compelling force that causes an individual's strengths to become more pronounced and allows weakness a place beneath a microscope, unhampered by judgment to the extent that the perceived weakness (or cracks in the foundation, as Hamdani puts it) may also work for the individual. It is an amazing discovery.
People who practice the principles in this book have found that which was once missing. Others have re-discovered their magic. Many speak of an inner kingdom, a kingdom united with the universe. You, too, will find these dynamic universal factors a compelling force that causes an individual's strengths to become more pronounced and allows weakness a place beneath a microscope, unhampered by judgment to the extent that the perceived weakness (or cracks in the foundation, as Hamdani puts it) may also work for the individual. It is an amazing discovery.
If
there are secrets and mysteries, then know that they are not
necessarily hidden, just undiscovered. Much of the unknown is often
explained away as unfathomable secrets and mysteries but the underlying
phenomena communicates in detail to awareness. Service from these
factors and entities are at our demand. These mysteries exist in space
within and beyond and a state of enlightenment is the place where one knows the two (the community within and beyond) to become one and the place
repeats as part of the process. Through Ascend to The Secret Place, a most transcendent reality, those
entities and factors become more apparent during the process of becoming
and you, the observer shall bloom, exponentially, when you are also in
the right place.
Place is not
stagnant, just conceptual... as we know it. Its reality lives and
breathes in the mind of the believer with a demanding umbilical cord
attached to a significant force, a pull -an undefined momentum- from a
non stagnant universe.
Entities have character. Factors work together to purge us towards perfection. The nature of truth is absolute energy that encapsulates energy, absolutely. Once this phenomenon is observed the observer becomes...
Awareness of a specific state of becoming is a place of genius. Movement and timing (as we know it) in this place is excellence.
We
are most powerful, most magnetic when we are aware of the process of
becoming. That's why excellence is often effortless. In an environment
of an ego both monitored and suspended by awareness, we come to
understand the power of what makes individuals different and how
difference establishes a winning brand, a spiritual and marketable
fingerprint with a built-in personality. It is often this unique quality
-differentiation- that makes you and your product or service unique."
This most compelling magnetism cannot be owned but experienced.
The things you fear will learn to serve you.
You will no longer forget...anything because the process of forgetting is the other side of the coin of "trying" and you will no longer try to do anything. Trying is inconsistent with the laws of nature. Doing based on thinking (space and motion) combined with a single intent is consistent with nature.
Carlton Norman said it best, Ascend to The Secret Place is an unforgettable book about finding many pieces of oneself in places rarely explored but readily accessible.
Ascend to The Secret Place, (c)copyright 2015hamdani, coming this Spring to a bookstore near you.
Spring 2015
> https://soundcloud.com/barry-
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Dread Creating #Content?
Rule number one: don't take yourself too seriously.
Rule Number two: don't second guess yourself. There are people less skilled than yourself who boldly create content.
Rule number 3: know that we are vain, at heart.
Once you can accept rule 3, notice, the content flows. A deportment of vanity is necessary however, otherwise we would lack the enthusiasm to get up early and write, or play instruments or whatever the creative occupation might be. After all, in order to produce as artist, we have to believe that we have something to offer the world, something that might positively impact change, somehow, somewhere, we hope. So, you see, much of the source of our enthusiasm is the preoccupation with the illusion that what we have to say is important.
That being said, do your creative thing and know, in the back of your mind, because we are made in the image of God that we have the ability to, at some point, create something interesting. So, what are you waiting for? Do what you do.
> https://soundcloud.com/barry-
Rule Number two: don't second guess yourself. There are people less skilled than yourself who boldly create content.
Rule number 3: know that we are vain, at heart.
Once you can accept rule 3, notice, the content flows. A deportment of vanity is necessary however, otherwise we would lack the enthusiasm to get up early and write, or play instruments or whatever the creative occupation might be. After all, in order to produce as artist, we have to believe that we have something to offer the world, something that might positively impact change, somehow, somewhere, we hope. So, you see, much of the source of our enthusiasm is the preoccupation with the illusion that what we have to say is important.
That being said, do your creative thing and know, in the back of your mind, because we are made in the image of God that we have the ability to, at some point, create something interesting. So, what are you waiting for? Do what you do.
> https://soundcloud.com/barry-
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Ascend to The Secret Place (c)copyright 2015 hamdani
I believe this book will inspire you. I believe that many of us often feel the need to become closer in touch with what we already have inside. I, too, have often felt that way and many have found that secret place where wisdom, creativity and the unexplainable resides.
In writing, Ascend to The Secret Place, I felt led by the hand of God and the full power of the universe-both the external universe and the universe within, as dual spirits but an inseparable entity, elliptically expressed as yet two individual parts, a confirmation of the fact that we are wonderfully made. You, too, will discover that you are truly made in the image of God.
As you explore these pages, you will find a wealth of power. For example, as artist, we know that there is something magical in the studio that meets the magic within the artist. We know that we do not find peak experiences but that they find us. We know that the state in which we become stagnant does not represent what we are not, but rather represents the genius we have temporarily forgotten, or disconnected with. We know that there is a particular field of awareness indigenous to but not limited to artist (writers, dancers, vocalist, painters, poets, musicians, etc.). We know that this field connects us as catalyst toward a perfectly timed universal shift. We know that our gifts make room for us in life. In this space we create relevance. This creativity involves the ability to consciously employ the inner community to serve a greater cause. God works through creativity. So do we.
Coming this Spring. My best book, ever
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Leading with the Pen
By writing, we not only create what we want, but we help others to do so by the power of imagination.
All people are to some extent, imaginative, however, it is the thought and belief behind imagination that fuels activity and direction. We shape imaginative energy and give it impetus. We power the agent of imagination by stimulating belief. Ultimately, there is no imitation of life by art or otherwise; the two components (art and life) work together, as a single entity. It is our erroneous concept of time that separates the two.
excerpts from Ascend to The Secret Place, a most Transcendent Reality (c0copyright 2015 hamdani, coming this Spring.
All people are to some extent, imaginative, however, it is the thought and belief behind imagination that fuels activity and direction. We shape imaginative energy and give it impetus. We power the agent of imagination by stimulating belief. Ultimately, there is no imitation of life by art or otherwise; the two components (art and life) work together, as a single entity. It is our erroneous concept of time that separates the two.
excerpts from Ascend to The Secret Place, a most Transcendent Reality (c0copyright 2015 hamdani, coming this Spring.
Saturday, January 24, 2015
TheValue of the Writer
The very will of God is first expressed by a writer. Songs of enlightenment, romance and poetry are written before set to music. The first step toward social reform is hidden in a written speech. Minds are emancipated by the written word, and often, the escape to freedom is through the door of books, a vicarious exploration into the unknown.
Saturday, January 17, 2015
#Writing Tips
When describing a character's movement, or personality or attitude, or to create suspense, we might borrow a few techniques from writers and narrators of documentaries such as Animal Kingdom, Wild Kingdom, etc. Below are some phrases, typically used to describe movement in the wild kingdom of animals.
The dark of the night. Rules of engagement. A certain uneasiness. Lowered its head as it lurked. Shield its intentions.
I am not suggestion we plagiarize the works of others, at all. I am suggesting that we use similar techniques in our approach to story development and character description. Let's try it.
For example, a wild animal doesn't simply walk up to a water hole and drink. That would make for a terribly uncolorful and uneventful piece of writing. In suspense, we cannot simply have a lady walk to her car in the dark of the night and drive away; that too is boring; Neither can we have a man walking around a house. That being said, let's take a look at the wild kingdom of animal's and consider a narrator's approach.
You might take the lady who is walking to the car and add more suspense.
The car, in the quiet of the night seemed farther away for reasons Julie could not explain. Maybe she had drank too much. Maybe that was the cause of her uneasiness. Maybe she should have allowed one of the men from the bar to walk her to the car. Several had asked. They were nice enough. She knew them. Why had she been stubborn?
She heard something in the wooded area to her right.
It could have been a squirrel, scurrying for nuts. At this time of night? It could have been a raccoon or maybe a cat?
She held her keys tightly in the fist of her right hand. Always keep your keys handy, her hubby had warned her. Don't wait until you get to your car to start fumbling in the night.
She walked faster. She tucked her purse beneath her left arm. An inexplicable uneasiness caused her to grow tense, that's why she couldn't swallow. That's why she held the keys too tight, cutting into the flesh of her index finger: uneasiness. The act of moving toward her car began to take on the nature of a wild animal, creeping to and from a waterhole. Waterholes attract other beast-prey and predator.
She heard it again. The squirrel was following her.
#
A man does not walk around a house. Instead, we see a figure standing about six feet tall, crouching near a hedge bush. He could be innocent. Maybe he's simply looking for something he dropped. Maybe he lives there. Maybe he's checking his flower bed. At 11:00 p.m.?
And what about the instrument in his hand? It could be a gun or something burglars use to pry open windows. He did not go to the door and knock. He did not enter with a key. Instead, he lowered his head like a dark soul lurking upon the opportunity of evil, using the dark of the night to shield his intentions. He disappeared into a deeper shadow of darkness on the right sight of the ranch house, near the bedroom window, changing the rules of engagement.
#
I hope this tips will motivate you to experiment with your descriptions.
The dark of the night. Rules of engagement. A certain uneasiness. Lowered its head as it lurked. Shield its intentions.
I am not suggestion we plagiarize the works of others, at all. I am suggesting that we use similar techniques in our approach to story development and character description. Let's try it.
For example, a wild animal doesn't simply walk up to a water hole and drink. That would make for a terribly uncolorful and uneventful piece of writing. In suspense, we cannot simply have a lady walk to her car in the dark of the night and drive away; that too is boring; Neither can we have a man walking around a house. That being said, let's take a look at the wild kingdom of animal's and consider a narrator's approach.
You might take the lady who is walking to the car and add more suspense.
The car, in the quiet of the night seemed farther away for reasons Julie could not explain. Maybe she had drank too much. Maybe that was the cause of her uneasiness. Maybe she should have allowed one of the men from the bar to walk her to the car. Several had asked. They were nice enough. She knew them. Why had she been stubborn?
She heard something in the wooded area to her right.
It could have been a squirrel, scurrying for nuts. At this time of night? It could have been a raccoon or maybe a cat?
She held her keys tightly in the fist of her right hand. Always keep your keys handy, her hubby had warned her. Don't wait until you get to your car to start fumbling in the night.
She walked faster. She tucked her purse beneath her left arm. An inexplicable uneasiness caused her to grow tense, that's why she couldn't swallow. That's why she held the keys too tight, cutting into the flesh of her index finger: uneasiness. The act of moving toward her car began to take on the nature of a wild animal, creeping to and from a waterhole. Waterholes attract other beast-prey and predator.
She heard it again. The squirrel was following her.
#
A man does not walk around a house. Instead, we see a figure standing about six feet tall, crouching near a hedge bush. He could be innocent. Maybe he's simply looking for something he dropped. Maybe he lives there. Maybe he's checking his flower bed. At 11:00 p.m.?
And what about the instrument in his hand? It could be a gun or something burglars use to pry open windows. He did not go to the door and knock. He did not enter with a key. Instead, he lowered his head like a dark soul lurking upon the opportunity of evil, using the dark of the night to shield his intentions. He disappeared into a deeper shadow of darkness on the right sight of the ranch house, near the bedroom window, changing the rules of engagement.
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I hope this tips will motivate you to experiment with your descriptions.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
#Writing: Write Anyway
Most of us experience those cloudy moments better defined as writer's block but we inevitably find a way to escape to freedom. Here's another approach.
When you don't feel like writing, yet need to, you may simply express your feelings during that moment. I refer to the process as, In the Moment Self-Coaching. It helps, of course, when you use an analogy or metaphor to make your writing more colorful.
For example, when feeling overwhelmed, tired and just simply not feeling the writing inspiration, you may write something like this:
The weight of my pen sinks deeper into the sea of writer's block. I hear the voice of my soul, murmuring for me to write.
Later, when describing sadness in one of your characters, you may exploit the above feeling. For example, Chad sat on the screened porch where no one could see him. Face in hands, he re-lived the last twelve hours of his life. He lost her. Chad lost Jennie. Lost became a murmur in his soul. The weight of her love plummeted in his heart like a cold stone, sinking into the sea of memory.
I hope this exercise helps.
#writing
#writing tips
When you don't feel like writing, yet need to, you may simply express your feelings during that moment. I refer to the process as, In the Moment Self-Coaching. It helps, of course, when you use an analogy or metaphor to make your writing more colorful.
For example, when feeling overwhelmed, tired and just simply not feeling the writing inspiration, you may write something like this:
The weight of my pen sinks deeper into the sea of writer's block. I hear the voice of my soul, murmuring for me to write.
Later, when describing sadness in one of your characters, you may exploit the above feeling. For example, Chad sat on the screened porch where no one could see him. Face in hands, he re-lived the last twelve hours of his life. He lost her. Chad lost Jennie. Lost became a murmur in his soul. The weight of her love plummeted in his heart like a cold stone, sinking into the sea of memory.
I hope this exercise helps.
#writing
#writing tips
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