Book Two in the Wish Wizards series is now available for purchase from LuLu.com and coming soon to other fine stores.
This tells the story of the origins of the powers of the Wish Wizards and the cost of that power.
Now available, this first book in a Decalogue is currently able to be acquired on the following website.
I would hope that you would read it and enjoy it.
This year, by the end, my third book, Wish Wizards Book III: Sacrifice will be published.
Poetic story of a character called Destiny – Written to the background music of the loudest band on earth, MANOWAR http://manowar.com/ watch as the story unfolds over twenty entries.
Finally, not to abrogate on past unpublished titles, I will rework the following, as time permits, with a completion date over the next few months and years, I will scribe the following, in no order:
Lance Roi’ Tan: Bounty Hunter – this short series has 20 different titles in it.
Voltaire – this short trilogy weaves a tale of magic and power.
The Octosaurus – one of my first ever stories, written in the campy form of early ‘Zilla films.
Finally, various poetic titles, focusing on emotions and Christian religion.
People usually are attracted to likenesses of themselves
Including, but not limited to
Doppelgangers, those that look the same
Giving the impression of a living mirror
Erroneously confused with a changeling.
Perception is based on the
Individual weighing the scales
Determining what it right and what is wrong
Guessing at the truth
Erroneously confused by opinion
Pushing toward a goal
Independent of outside council
Destined to make their opinion reality
Giving into susceptibility
Erroneously ceding their choices
So we have a PIDGE
The story waits to be told
Waits for you to be bold
Though your feet may be cold
Be brave, do not fold
Place the words for all to see
Let them be free
So others may look and say gee
That coulda been me
The day and the night await
Your heart pounds like a horses’ gait
Your gut twists like a braid
Your mind is a checkered plaid
Take up the paper and pen
Surely then, you will win
Give your words life
Dispel your inner strife.
Wish Wizards Book II: Revelations of Power
We learn the origins of the wizards’ power and the cost of that power….
Wish Wizards Book III: Sacrifices
Will be ready shortly thereafter, where we learn the consequences of power…..
Mothers
Mothers, the ones that carry us
Others know not the burdens
Together, in their heart and souls
Heroes, unsung by the masses
Easily the most courageous
Relishing the love bonds
Shaping, showing, loving.
Most important, for life to be
Offering care and support
Tenderly, lovingly caring
Helpers, healers, our comfort
Easing the pains, so easily wrought
Rushing to our aid
Standing proud, strong.
Making the days a blessing
Overly protective at times
Trusting heart and soul
Holding the hearts
Evolving the soul
Remembering when we are weak
Silently giving love.
Mothers the world over
Only a call away
Taking the lead
Hoping for the best
Echoing our lives
Reaching forward
Sending gifts
My mother said to me
Only remember that I love you
Take my gift of life
Hold it in your heart
Ensure that you never forget
Regret not our time together
Sleep in peace
Many days will pass
Often they will be hard
Take no heed of the evil that abounds
Hear the voice within
Echo my heart for you
Relish out time together
Save our memories
Make the most of your life
Obtain nuggets of wisdom
Treat others with honor and respect
Helping those in need
Enter into life with joy
Run to happiness
Stand strong and proud
When writing a story, you create the characters, the story-line, the background, you create everything. The place where your story unfolds is just as important as the rest of the story. While this piece is mostly directed toward fiction authors, the basis can also have relevance to other genres as well.
It is important to note that the setting you create for your story be just as well established as the characters within the story itself. Fiction authors have great leeway in setting the foundation of their story and being able to adjust it to fit their needs within the story they are creating. There are multitudes of examples of creating fictional settings, some are based upon realistic settings, whereas others are entirely created, and finally you have a mix of the real and the fantasy.
Another way to think of the world your story is in, is to be able to look at it as another aspect of the characters you create. Your world determines who and what your character is, how they operate within the confines of your world. Manipulating your world allows you to advance your story telling without actually adversely changing the makeup of your character.
So how can the world created have an effect upon the character created? The world is the environment, and as such, it is a shaping force. Magical lands, bleak lands, tumultuous lands, these will shape the creation of the character and the story itself as these will add elements that the character and the story respond to as they progress through the life you give them. If there is no effect, with a justifiable explanation, your story will not have the synchronicity, that is the blending of the of the story to the world and you create an odd juxtaposition that will not be able to fully harness the reader’s interest.
You want your world to be believable and credible to the reader. A fantastic world can be created, but if you have elements that do not fit in with a plausible explanation, you are removing the ability to have the best story you can. Now this is not to say that you cannot have a changing world, as long as you are able to lay the groundwork for the transition.
Remember, your world is where your characters must live and die. Characters move the story, your world moves the character.
Happy writing.
When drafting a character, an important element to remember to add is emotion. Emotion in a character will bring the character to life and fill the pages with substance. Creating a three dimensional character with the use of emotion is the difference between having a story fall flat or a story that succeeds.
How can one put emotion into a character without it seeming to be placed there?
There is where the adage of *Show, don’t tell* comes into play. What this means is that you want to be able to present your characters in such a way as they seem natural in their environment. Showing surprise, happiness, fear, wonderment, etc., are much better than telling the reader what the character is feeling or experiencing. As stated in our earlier post about characters, the emotion is what brings the character to life for the reader.
So how exactly can you show the emotion that a character is feeling to the reader without actually telling the reader what the character is feeling? This works by being able to tap into the readers’ humanity, so to speak. You base your writing off of how you think the reader will react to what you write. The easiest way to accomplish this is to base it off of yourself. After all, what you write comes from within and the characters that you present are apart of you whether they are good or bad. An example of showing vs telling follows.
Jake felt like he was on top of the world today. The sun was shining, his career was doing extraordinarily well, his love life was beyond imaging and good prospects were forecast for the future.
In the above example, you know that Jake felt good because I told you he did. So how to show you how Jake felt is what we want to do now.
Jake bubbled with joy. Nothing could remove him from his mountain. His energy was bursting forth and he stood above all obstacles. The sunshine was warm and welcoming as it showered about him. The gratitude from his boss was another mark for him in that he was rising within his company. When he was with his wife, he was complete, two souls that were one. All of his dreams were becoming reality, his future was like a shining star twinkling in the night.
As can be seen from these two example, Jake is either two dimensional or three dimensional. The reader will be more engaged in the second example due to the liveliness of the character.
What exactly is a plot? According to the Merriam Webster online dictionary a plot is a series of events that make up a story. See the url here (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plot).
So how does one successfully create, construct and implement a plot? One would be advised to create an outline (more on that later), or rough draft of their story. Starting with a beginning then going to a middle and finally coming to an end. Some writers take notes on different things that pique their interest, others simply begin writing and finally some plan out exactly what they want to write and how to write it. No way is better than another way in most cases, though this is dependent upon what type of story one is crafting.
A master at her craft for creating intricate plots was none other than Agatha Christie. Her mystery novels show an excellence in being able to weave together numerous events to create a final plot with many sub-plots along the way. Her stories intentionally created misdirection to keep the reader guessing as to the outcome of her stories. She used deep plotting to keep her stories alive.
Others that shall remain unnamed use barely any plots to keep a story alive. This is most notably seen within the movie industry, though not always. The point is, a plot can be extremely well thought out or it can be rather shallow.
Whether one uses a thin plot or a thick plot, it is best to remember that it is the lifeblood of the story. Without a plot, the story is a random collection of events that have little to no correlation to one another. This ends up being a rather bad story. Imagine if you will, trying to have a conversation about something and the people you are speaking with keep jumping from one subject to another. This makes it extremely hard to stay focused on the conversation at hand and ends up being disjointed.
Methods that one uses to create a plot are taking notes, writing out multiple scenarios and joining them together and starting from the beginning and going through to the end. Each has their advantages and disadvantages.
Taking notes.
This is a method that perhaps allows for a wide variety of disparate events notated that can then be woven together to make a meaningful story. The key to this method is to have an idea of what one wants to write first and taking notes from sudden ideas or events that occur throughout the day or night. This is not to say that all of the notes taken will be incorporated into your story, yet it is entirely possible, depending upon how they are structured together.
Multiple scenarios.
This method actually allows for creating different stories and being able to weave them together to make a cohesive construct. A more expanded method of the taking notes method above. Rather than random thoughts and events captured, these are actually mini stories that are woven together. This is a great method to employ when one is writing a mystery story, though one must take care to be able to see the final product before it is started.
Beginning to End.
This is where the most extensive use of the creative process comes into play. Here we have a method that does not rely on notes or scenarios crafted beforehand, nor even an outline of a sorts. This is a method that actually has the most rewarding effect for the author of the piece. This is accomplished by way of being able to allow the subconscious mind to work through the conscious mind. Everything is done behind the scenes of the perception of the author. The use of this method actually increases the creativity of the author in that it allows the free flow of ideas.
Outline.
This method of writing is where the author creates a rough draft of the story, a synopsis, if you will, that lays the foundations for the plot, the character development, and the overall story in general. The way an outline works, is the author has an idea for a story, and fills in milestones of the story and the characters of the stories. Using this method allows the author to formulate the story to their liking before actually committing to a larger endeavor. This can be a great tool to create multiple stories in a series, building upon one another. Beginning with the first, it can create a direction, and as each outline is formulated for the following story, they can actually build up to a quite divergent and enthralling series of books.
While each method noted above has its pros and cons, one thing that any author must do while employing any of them is to be able to look at their work afterward critically and trim or expand it where need be. This is mostly left up to editors, though the author would be wise to look objectively at their creation and see where and how it can be improved. This is not to done to such an extent that the author immobilizes their ability to craft.
Whichever method that is utilized, once the author creates their story, it is wise to sit back and do something different then come back to their story later and polish it up. This gives a fresh outlook on the story and allows one to see how well the plot is crafted.
Remember, a good plot will keep the reader interested and keep coming back for more. A weak plot is a jumble of words on paper that end up being a waste of space and actually hurt the author in the long as they shall have less of an audience.
