Gutsy title, isn't it?
Obviously, the answer to the entitled question prompts a wide variety of thoughts pertaining to one's purpose and destiny. The thought might inspire more questions than answers, however, this writer believes that God loves each and every one of us so much that he has given us more than we need to reach our destiny.
Our lives are utterly unfulfilled if our course should fail to align with our chosen purpose and the King or Queen inside oneself is denied its reign, a most undesirable consequence filled with unrest, uncertainty and unwarranted fear.
We connect to our purpose in life by the powerful momentum of passion. We writers are elated each time we read a good novel by a first time novelist because we, too, are arrested by the same passion, a kind of binary kinship propelling us to write more.
We observe life and absorb detail: expressions on people faces, the modulation in which the wind blows and the impact it has on blades of grass and what types of birds inhabit the area and the accent of local people. We are effective when life happens and deposit hints of color into the depths of the subconscious mind where it is allowed to ferment and return in a more vivid demonstration than the actual original events we previously observed - it returns one size larger than life. Art becomes life...or, we might say that creation is life. Life flows through the printed word because the writer is passionately connected to the purpose for which the writer was born; therefore, few moments are considered "work"( in the traditional sense) and every scene can leave a lasting impression exceeding the life of the writer, thus the writer reigns as emperor of the world s/he created...an endless treasure of refined ideas.
Aren't you excited that the spirit within you cannot be exhausted? We are refueled, daily by life and life surrounding us. It is constantly changing and so are we.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Does God Speak Through Writers?
A wise man once said, "an unexamined life is a life not worth living."
At the risk of stating the obvious, it's worth repeating, one of the most important rules of success is to do that which we love. We must make effective use of the two most precious human assets: good health and time, both of which shall inevitable vanish by appointment.
If we are not doing that which we love, I submit we are either mentally incapacitated, grossly ignorant of the value of life or confused, all of which lead to the same oblivious road.
During the process of character development, I challenge writers to make the character's psychological outlook known through the character's actions, much like in real life; people say one thing and do another. We hope for a particular outcome and sometimes we are disappointed. How does your character handle that one? Maybe we feel too old or too young or too something... which prevents us from having what we want. Does your character feel that way?
What we really believe is demonstrated not so much by what we say, nor are it's parameters established by who people believe we are. Who we are is manifested in many ways:
(1) How we feel about God
(2) How we feel about success and failure in general
(3) How we value the assets of good health and of time
(4 )How we deal with fear
(5) How we handle relationships
Like us, our characters are challenged by many conflicts as they try to find their way in the world. How characters deal with conflict tell us much about them no matter who they claim they are.
Observe yourself, vicariously, from a distance and ask "How do I behave when something does not go my way?"
An honest answer is best arrived at after a dialog with self. That's one of the spiritual aspects of art and of writers in particular that I so appreciate: the ability to question oneself and others regarding life changing issues.
The above question is a game changer...a life defining moment. Great men and women have grown to cherish this idea because it can inspire perfect love. How? We come to know that we are not in control of anything separate of our thoughts...or should be. The question, if pondered, truly broadens the mind, strengthens the imagination and ultimately leads to a kind of self-actualization that honors the underlying authority in an individual's life, adding credibility and exposure to the source which we honor.
If we honor decency it is because we are decent. If we honor wisdom it is because we are wise. Those who honor gain will always be in need. Those who give shall not be without.
What does your character honor?
It's important to know from a moral point of view because if you are giving life to a shady character in your story, that character must remain true to form. He or she, will honor many things indecent. The key to such a "slimy" character (and almost every fiction story needs one) is that he/she must answer to the law of compensation in the end.
To make this character work, justice must prevail in a form that vex and torment the character as it does in real life. For example, the shady character will respond to some form of fear. He may be afraid of getting old. She may fear criticism, poverty, illness...all the dark notions that are not a part of the characters reality for which he has given birth to his own demons. That reminds me of a verse in the Bible that says, "...men will be running when no one is chasing them." It is, in a higher sense God's judgement upon them.
A sense of justice permeates the end of a character's journey in much the same way it shapes the life of the writer.
At the risk of stating the obvious, it's worth repeating, one of the most important rules of success is to do that which we love. We must make effective use of the two most precious human assets: good health and time, both of which shall inevitable vanish by appointment.
If we are not doing that which we love, I submit we are either mentally incapacitated, grossly ignorant of the value of life or confused, all of which lead to the same oblivious road.
During the process of character development, I challenge writers to make the character's psychological outlook known through the character's actions, much like in real life; people say one thing and do another. We hope for a particular outcome and sometimes we are disappointed. How does your character handle that one? Maybe we feel too old or too young or too something... which prevents us from having what we want. Does your character feel that way?
What we really believe is demonstrated not so much by what we say, nor are it's parameters established by who people believe we are. Who we are is manifested in many ways:
(1) How we feel about God
(2) How we feel about success and failure in general
(3) How we value the assets of good health and of time
(4 )How we deal with fear
(5) How we handle relationships
Like us, our characters are challenged by many conflicts as they try to find their way in the world. How characters deal with conflict tell us much about them no matter who they claim they are.
Observe yourself, vicariously, from a distance and ask "How do I behave when something does not go my way?"
An honest answer is best arrived at after a dialog with self. That's one of the spiritual aspects of art and of writers in particular that I so appreciate: the ability to question oneself and others regarding life changing issues.
The above question is a game changer...a life defining moment. Great men and women have grown to cherish this idea because it can inspire perfect love. How? We come to know that we are not in control of anything separate of our thoughts...or should be. The question, if pondered, truly broadens the mind, strengthens the imagination and ultimately leads to a kind of self-actualization that honors the underlying authority in an individual's life, adding credibility and exposure to the source which we honor.
If we honor decency it is because we are decent. If we honor wisdom it is because we are wise. Those who honor gain will always be in need. Those who give shall not be without.
What does your character honor?
It's important to know from a moral point of view because if you are giving life to a shady character in your story, that character must remain true to form. He or she, will honor many things indecent. The key to such a "slimy" character (and almost every fiction story needs one) is that he/she must answer to the law of compensation in the end.
To make this character work, justice must prevail in a form that vex and torment the character as it does in real life. For example, the shady character will respond to some form of fear. He may be afraid of getting old. She may fear criticism, poverty, illness...all the dark notions that are not a part of the characters reality for which he has given birth to his own demons. That reminds me of a verse in the Bible that says, "...men will be running when no one is chasing them." It is, in a higher sense God's judgement upon them.
A sense of justice permeates the end of a character's journey in much the same way it shapes the life of the writer.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Color your Writing with Foreign Language
I would like to think that my upcoming book, Speak Spanish in 90 Days, is among the easiest methods to learn Spanish. Before I start bragging, I must applaud retired TSU Houston foreign language professor, Marcel Crespil, Ph.D, for his unyielding assistance as editor and consultant to this piece of work. Without him, the quality of this work would not have been possible.
Okay, now I can brag. The element that sets this book apart from others is based on my own experience in learning foreign languages, coupled with the common pitfalls experienced by others. For example, years ago when I first studied Spanish in High School, it was difficult to master, mainly because most teaching methods attempted to exercise the use of all verb forms - future, past and present - at once, therefore, after two years of study in high school I had not advanced.
In my last year in High School, my family moved to a predominantly Latino community and six months afterwards I was fluent in the language. Here's my point: there is a method of learning that makes the process far more efficient. We have discovered language barriers and provided a tried-and-proven method to learning.
In the book, Speak Spanish in 90 Days, readers will be excited to discover that after 15 minutes practice per day, they will have gained a grip on the language after 90 days. What does that mean to you as a writer? It means you can create colorful dialogue of Latino characters whether your setting is in Latin America or the U.S.A. and the book will enable you to do so with an immediate degree of plausibility. Foreign language allows you, the writer, to break the monotony of dialogue and color it with fresh insights.
For example, what if you were writing a romantic piece whereby an English speaking lady walked past a gentleman she found handsome and heard him say to a friend, "Como bonita es ella?"
What if she understood that he had said, "How beautiful she is." Now, you can make her smile and lead the reader into a description of the characters and the scene.
What if she responded to the gentleman by saying "thank you" in English? Where will it lead? You might put them in the market place in...let's say Cancun, Mexico. Maybe she wants to bargain but only understand a little Spanish. Maybe she may ask this same gentleman to interpret for her. Whether you write, mystery, suspense thrillers or romance, you can twist Spanish dialogue to serve your purpose; for example a suspense story may make a different twist on the same scene. "What if the man said, "Necesito hallar adonde vive." I need to know where she lives, or, "Ella no me gusta." I don't like her. Can you imagine where that might lead in a suspense story, especially, if he starts to follow her?
What if she remembered what he said and stopped by a news rack to purchase a Spanish book to look up those words? What if she felt the man was following her but never looked over her shoulders? What if she found the Spanish book, interpreted his words, looked over her shoulders and saw this same man, quickly, duck into a dark alley?
Foreign language dialog is another tool to create and magnify red herrings and elements of foreboding to your fiction.
Try it. You might like it.
Speak Spanish in 90 days (c)copyright 2012 Hamdani
Okay, now I can brag. The element that sets this book apart from others is based on my own experience in learning foreign languages, coupled with the common pitfalls experienced by others. For example, years ago when I first studied Spanish in High School, it was difficult to master, mainly because most teaching methods attempted to exercise the use of all verb forms - future, past and present - at once, therefore, after two years of study in high school I had not advanced.
In my last year in High School, my family moved to a predominantly Latino community and six months afterwards I was fluent in the language. Here's my point: there is a method of learning that makes the process far more efficient. We have discovered language barriers and provided a tried-and-proven method to learning.
In the book, Speak Spanish in 90 Days, readers will be excited to discover that after 15 minutes practice per day, they will have gained a grip on the language after 90 days. What does that mean to you as a writer? It means you can create colorful dialogue of Latino characters whether your setting is in Latin America or the U.S.A. and the book will enable you to do so with an immediate degree of plausibility. Foreign language allows you, the writer, to break the monotony of dialogue and color it with fresh insights.
For example, what if you were writing a romantic piece whereby an English speaking lady walked past a gentleman she found handsome and heard him say to a friend, "Como bonita es ella?"
What if she understood that he had said, "How beautiful she is." Now, you can make her smile and lead the reader into a description of the characters and the scene.
What if she responded to the gentleman by saying "thank you" in English? Where will it lead? You might put them in the market place in...let's say Cancun, Mexico. Maybe she wants to bargain but only understand a little Spanish. Maybe she may ask this same gentleman to interpret for her. Whether you write, mystery, suspense thrillers or romance, you can twist Spanish dialogue to serve your purpose; for example a suspense story may make a different twist on the same scene. "What if the man said, "Necesito hallar adonde vive." I need to know where she lives, or, "Ella no me gusta." I don't like her. Can you imagine where that might lead in a suspense story, especially, if he starts to follow her?
What if she remembered what he said and stopped by a news rack to purchase a Spanish book to look up those words? What if she felt the man was following her but never looked over her shoulders? What if she found the Spanish book, interpreted his words, looked over her shoulders and saw this same man, quickly, duck into a dark alley?
Foreign language dialog is another tool to create and magnify red herrings and elements of foreboding to your fiction.
Try it. You might like it.
Speak Spanish in 90 days (c)copyright 2012 Hamdani
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Barry Writes: Why I Love My Fellow Writers
Barry Writes: Why I Love My Fellow Writers: I love writers because I love words and the potential to ride them vicariously throughout the world. I am helplessly romanticized by the som...
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Write In Your Sleep
There is something beyond our mind which abides in silence within our mind. It is the supreme mystery beyond thought. Let one's mind rest on that and not rest on anything else.
-Maitvi Upanishad
I suggest we can write without use of a pen during our sleeping hours, provided we can tune in to a greater reality.
I first became familiar with Random Access Memory (RAM) and Rapid Eye movement memory (REM) when I managed a string of mattress stores and attended sleep shop seminars and conventions.
The study of sleep is a fascinating science, leading to a better understanding of how we can maintain better health through better sleep and to take it a step furhter, we can obtain a higher level of meditation and at the end of the day, we become better writers (even if we use hackneyed phrases as I just did).
Psychiatrist, psychologist and a wide variety of professionals were consulted over many arduous hours of experimentation to arrive at worthy results I am about to share with you, without hooking you up to machines to monitor your brain waves and vital signs. Assuming your mind is at least as stable as my own (probably better), I think you, too, will have favorable results.
Of course, the seminars were designed to allow mattress manufacturers to make commercial claims and manipulate a body of research to sell beds, however, I will provide you the jist of the research pertinent to good sleep, improved meditation techniques and better writing.
1) Acquisition-refers to the introduction of new information into the brain.
2) Consolidation-represents the process by which a memory becomes stable.
3) Recall-refers to the ability to access the information (whether
conciously or unconciously) after it has been stored.
Almost anything you are struggling with in your writing can be often resolved during sleep, provided the problem is known to you. For example, if you can identify the problem in your concious mind, you will be open to the process of Acquisition, step one above.
Here's how it works. Before calling it a night, write out the challenge, longhand. Maybe there is a problem with the story you are currently working on. Maybe the story is not paced properly. Is it moving too fast or too slow? Perhaps, a piece of dialog isn't working out. Maybe you aren't sure you should keep a particular scene or eliminate it.
Write it down.
Don't try to figure it out - that's the job of the unconcious mind.
Have a hot cup of tea. Read aloud what you have written and take a deep breath. Now, forget what you have written.
Pick up a favorite novel and read yourself asleep, but remember this: Don't move when you wake up. Sy it aloud, "I will not move when I wake up in the morning. I will remember the solution from my dream."
I am not ashamed of this exercise. On the other hand, of course, my family is accustom to my behavior and would be concerned if I were not running a high temperature and talking to myself. If your family members are equally understanding, then try this exercise.
Where were we? Oh, Write down the solution as soon as you get it.
It's that simple.
I alluded earlier to the two forms of sleep, REM and RAM. This research dates back to Homer. People often wake around midnight before succumbing to the second sleep. In The Haunted Mind, Nathaniel Hawthorne referred this sleep as "The Watch." He commented on this middle of the night conciousness as follows:
If you could choose an hour of wakefulness out of the whole night, it would be this. Since your sober bed time, at eleven, you have had rest enough to take the pressure off yesterday's fatigue...you have found an intermediate space, where the business of life does not intrude; where the passing moment lingers, and becomes truly present; a spot where Father Time, when he thinks nobody is watching, sits down by the wayside to take a breath.
-Maitvi Upanishad
I suggest we can write without use of a pen during our sleeping hours, provided we can tune in to a greater reality.
I first became familiar with Random Access Memory (RAM) and Rapid Eye movement memory (REM) when I managed a string of mattress stores and attended sleep shop seminars and conventions.
The study of sleep is a fascinating science, leading to a better understanding of how we can maintain better health through better sleep and to take it a step furhter, we can obtain a higher level of meditation and at the end of the day, we become better writers (even if we use hackneyed phrases as I just did).
Psychiatrist, psychologist and a wide variety of professionals were consulted over many arduous hours of experimentation to arrive at worthy results I am about to share with you, without hooking you up to machines to monitor your brain waves and vital signs. Assuming your mind is at least as stable as my own (probably better), I think you, too, will have favorable results.
Of course, the seminars were designed to allow mattress manufacturers to make commercial claims and manipulate a body of research to sell beds, however, I will provide you the jist of the research pertinent to good sleep, improved meditation techniques and better writing.
1) Acquisition-refers to the introduction of new information into the brain.
2) Consolidation-represents the process by which a memory becomes stable.
3) Recall-refers to the ability to access the information (whether
conciously or unconciously) after it has been stored.
Almost anything you are struggling with in your writing can be often resolved during sleep, provided the problem is known to you. For example, if you can identify the problem in your concious mind, you will be open to the process of Acquisition, step one above.
Here's how it works. Before calling it a night, write out the challenge, longhand. Maybe there is a problem with the story you are currently working on. Maybe the story is not paced properly. Is it moving too fast or too slow? Perhaps, a piece of dialog isn't working out. Maybe you aren't sure you should keep a particular scene or eliminate it.
Write it down.
Don't try to figure it out - that's the job of the unconcious mind.
Have a hot cup of tea. Read aloud what you have written and take a deep breath. Now, forget what you have written.
Pick up a favorite novel and read yourself asleep, but remember this: Don't move when you wake up. Sy it aloud, "I will not move when I wake up in the morning. I will remember the solution from my dream."
I am not ashamed of this exercise. On the other hand, of course, my family is accustom to my behavior and would be concerned if I were not running a high temperature and talking to myself. If your family members are equally understanding, then try this exercise.
Where were we? Oh, Write down the solution as soon as you get it.
It's that simple.
I alluded earlier to the two forms of sleep, REM and RAM. This research dates back to Homer. People often wake around midnight before succumbing to the second sleep. In The Haunted Mind, Nathaniel Hawthorne referred this sleep as "The Watch." He commented on this middle of the night conciousness as follows:
If you could choose an hour of wakefulness out of the whole night, it would be this. Since your sober bed time, at eleven, you have had rest enough to take the pressure off yesterday's fatigue...you have found an intermediate space, where the business of life does not intrude; where the passing moment lingers, and becomes truly present; a spot where Father Time, when he thinks nobody is watching, sits down by the wayside to take a breath.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Explore Your Dreams
Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset.
-Rabindranath Tagore
A #2 pencil and a dream can take you anywhere.
-Joyce A. Meyer
A rich source of new material is within us,trying to be born. Come along with me for a moment to explore this gold mine of creativity and transcendence.
In the words of my beloved nephew, Derek Irving, "Life is constantly speaking to us."
Dreams offer a a most sincere revelation, a database of knowledge pertinent to our lives and beyond. There are hidden messages in dreams, and with just a little specific knowledge we can begin to explore a rich exciting world of the unknown.
Dreams are to the individual what myths are to civilization. A world of symbols expressing a spiritual underlying reality, not an aspect of reality, but a reality more prominent than the literal truths we so embrace.
For example, Buddhist explore the knowledge of nyo ze factors which include, influence, power, latent reality and manifest reality. (I'm not Buddhist, but I'm making a point). Now, bear with me. We have become more rational and intellectual through the developments of science but I humbly submit we have lost something in the process. We have become rich in knowledge and poor in wisdom. Science surrounds that which is manifested or understood. If you are not yet published, you are yet, a writer. Your talents are neither latent or made manifest to the world. The space between the two realites is the center of our power, governed only by the individual. Our best writing happens at this point. A deeper truth resides in the dimension we dismiss as illusion, fantasy or a distorted dream.
So it is with all dreams. Extroverted thinking in the conscious world tells us about events, history, people and politics, but the intuitive self opens us up to universal forces that underlie our existence in time and space. Our dreams have little to do with us as we know our conscious selves, the lower self. Our dreams tend to relate to the the universal history of humanity, that interdepent connection that binds us, that intuitive intelligence that realizes we are all sisters and brothers.
Its not necessary that you or your character actually interpet the dream, but the act of pondering the dream reveals character. All that matters is what we felt in the dream. The dream is a way to color the emotion. Dreams are usually profound and larger than life. If we can tap into the feelings of the character in the dream and develop a sense( not an interpretation)of its symbols, we may discover a resourceful system that has enshrined wisdom in every time and culutre.
What lies latent in your character's subsconcious?
-Rabindranath Tagore
A #2 pencil and a dream can take you anywhere.
-Joyce A. Meyer
A rich source of new material is within us,trying to be born. Come along with me for a moment to explore this gold mine of creativity and transcendence.
In the words of my beloved nephew, Derek Irving, "Life is constantly speaking to us."
Dreams offer a a most sincere revelation, a database of knowledge pertinent to our lives and beyond. There are hidden messages in dreams, and with just a little specific knowledge we can begin to explore a rich exciting world of the unknown.
Dreams are to the individual what myths are to civilization. A world of symbols expressing a spiritual underlying reality, not an aspect of reality, but a reality more prominent than the literal truths we so embrace.
For example, Buddhist explore the knowledge of nyo ze factors which include, influence, power, latent reality and manifest reality. (I'm not Buddhist, but I'm making a point). Now, bear with me. We have become more rational and intellectual through the developments of science but I humbly submit we have lost something in the process. We have become rich in knowledge and poor in wisdom. Science surrounds that which is manifested or understood. If you are not yet published, you are yet, a writer. Your talents are neither latent or made manifest to the world. The space between the two realites is the center of our power, governed only by the individual. Our best writing happens at this point. A deeper truth resides in the dimension we dismiss as illusion, fantasy or a distorted dream.
So it is with all dreams. Extroverted thinking in the conscious world tells us about events, history, people and politics, but the intuitive self opens us up to universal forces that underlie our existence in time and space. Our dreams have little to do with us as we know our conscious selves, the lower self. Our dreams tend to relate to the the universal history of humanity, that interdepent connection that binds us, that intuitive intelligence that realizes we are all sisters and brothers.
Its not necessary that you or your character actually interpet the dream, but the act of pondering the dream reveals character. All that matters is what we felt in the dream. The dream is a way to color the emotion. Dreams are usually profound and larger than life. If we can tap into the feelings of the character in the dream and develop a sense( not an interpretation)of its symbols, we may discover a resourceful system that has enshrined wisdom in every time and culutre.
What lies latent in your character's subsconcious?
Friday, October 21, 2011
Devour the Scene
I absolutely love Joyce Myer. Here's a quote from her.
A #2 pencil and a dream can take you anywhere.
-Joyce A. Myer
Write wherever you are. Whether you are in a park, on a boat or at the golf course. Stop for a moment and absorb the scene. Do not try to make sense of the piece. Simply write notes, using key words to describe what you see. Later, you will recall details from the same scene to invigorate your imagination.
In a park scene for instance, you might note the following. Trees. Mostly oaks. Scattered pines. Box hedges at the far side. Children kicking soccer balls. Screams. Birds chirping. Crowded parking lot. First day of Fall.
You get the point. Scenery gives us the effect of the actual motif.
You might want to extend this exercise. For example, what kind of birds are in the park? What is the state bird...the state insect? What types of trees are indigent to your area?
Is there a pond nearby? Tell me about the ducks. Are children trying to catch them? Let's explore the smell of leaves, freshly cut grass. Let me feel moisture from the pond or hear an occasional duck flapping its wings.
A #2 pencil and a dream can take you anywhere.
-Joyce A. Myer
Write wherever you are. Whether you are in a park, on a boat or at the golf course. Stop for a moment and absorb the scene. Do not try to make sense of the piece. Simply write notes, using key words to describe what you see. Later, you will recall details from the same scene to invigorate your imagination.
In a park scene for instance, you might note the following. Trees. Mostly oaks. Scattered pines. Box hedges at the far side. Children kicking soccer balls. Screams. Birds chirping. Crowded parking lot. First day of Fall.
You get the point. Scenery gives us the effect of the actual motif.
You might want to extend this exercise. For example, what kind of birds are in the park? What is the state bird...the state insect? What types of trees are indigent to your area?
Is there a pond nearby? Tell me about the ducks. Are children trying to catch them? Let's explore the smell of leaves, freshly cut grass. Let me feel moisture from the pond or hear an occasional duck flapping its wings.
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