Memorial Day Facts Revisited

How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes! - Maya Angelou

I hope you all are enjoying the long holiday weekend. I know that I am as I've given myself the day off…well, after a few announcements.

Recently Darcia Helle from A Word Please interviewed Edward Patterson who founded and runs a group called Operation e-Book Drop (OEBD). This group provides free e-Books to the men and women in military service. I plan to offer my novel, The Ride and thought some other authors might be interested in this organization also. If you know anyone in the coalition forces who are deployed, you might want to let them know about the opportunity to download free e-Books. Find out more by emailing Edward Patterson edwpat@att.net or visit Operation e-Book Drop.

Be sure to stop by Darcia’s blog for the full interview and more information.

On Thursday, June 3, I’ll be a guest blogger at Nancy Famolari’s Place talking about character names. I hope you’ll have the opportunity to stop by.

Now, for those who missed it last year, I am posting a rerun of Memorial Day Facts.

My family, at one time or another, has had members in every branch of the military except for the Coast Guard. Yet the only thing I knew about Memorial Day was that it was set aside to honor Americans who died in battle. That’s a bit embarrassing, so I decided to dig deeper. Here are a few things I found out:

It was originally called Decoration Day.

Proclaimed by General John Logan on May 5, 1868, it was first observed on May 30 of that year by placing flowers on Union and Confederate graves at Arlington National Cemetery.

New York was the first state to officially recognize the holiday in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all northern states.

The South refused to acknowledge the day and honored their dead at a different time until World War I. At that time, the day was changed from honoring those who died fighting in the Civil War to Americans who died fighting in any war.

There are disputes over which town first came up with the idea, but in 1966 President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, New York, the birthplace of Memorial Day.

In 1915, Moina Michael came up with the idea of wearing red poppies on Memorial Day after writing the following poem:

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.

Since the late 50's on the Thursday before Memorial Day, the 1,200 soldiers of the 3d U.S. Infantry place small American flags at each of the more than 260,000 gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery. They then patrol 24 hours a day during the weekend to ensure that each flag remains standing.

To help re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the "National Moment of Remembrance" resolution was passed in 2000 which asks that at 3 p.m. local time, all Americans "To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to Taps."

Many people today think of Memorial Day only as a chance to have a cookout and celebrate a three-day weekend. A movement, Help Restore the Traditional Day of Observance, is an effort to bring respect back to the day.

For more information visit usmemorialday.org. Also at history.com There’s also a touching video. Unfortunately, it’s preceded by a brief commercial but still worth watching as a reminder of what so many men and women have gone through for our country.

One can only hope that there will come a time when people of the world can live together in peace and future generations will only know about war from what they read in history books. In the meantime, my wish is that the men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan stay safe and return home soon.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Tags: Maya Angelou, Memorial Day, General Logan, Decoration Day, Moina Michael, poppies, operation e-bookl, Darcia Helle,

Meet Liana Metal

Good children's literature appeals not only to the child in the adult, but to the adult in the child. - Anonymous

Liana Metal, talented author and artist, lives in Corfu, Greece. I had the pleasure of "meeting" her through VBT - Writer’s on the Move. I’m delighted to be able to introduce you to Liana by giving you a glimpse into her typical day.

A typical week day starts at around 8:00 a.m. when the sun rays fall on my face and the birds’ singing from the trees just off my balcony act as a natural alarm clock. I am usually a very active sort of person, but I hate organizing all my days in advance. I never drink coffee in the morning, though on some cold days I have a cup of tea with milk; a bowl of Quaker oats with honey and banana slices is filling and sweet; and a good start for a productive day!

I turn on my computer after preparing lunch, and while it is being cooked I write an article or two; on my unlucky days though, I just have to cook a second meal because the first one has got burnt! Phone calls are a great distraction during the day, especially when some relatives enjoy a lengthy and juicy conversation! I avoid daily shopping as I won’t get everything done in time. But I enjoy roaming around the town and talking to friends every other day, taking pictures for my blog or doing interviews with local people for Coffee Time paper. Every outing seems to be a small adventure for me.

When the weather permits, I start the day painting in my balcony, and I do some typing after 11a.m. I enjoy doing different tasks as it adds variety to my day schedule. Housework has to be done in between writing and painting-so I have one or two breaks dedicated to family chores. Afternoons are more relaxing. In winter I never have a siesta; I teach some young pupils for 2-3 hours and then I return to my computer to complete the work that I have started earlier in the day. Painting has to wait till the weekend when I have more free time. I spend the evenings computer-free with family members. I love watching my favorite series or a film on TV, and I never go to bed before midnight! On hot summer days I stay up later than usual, but I have a relaxing siesta during the day that keeps me refreshed. Summer evenings are mainly spent outside, at Garitsa bay, where people stroll and chat. That is a great meeting point for friends and tourists alike and a source of inspiration as well!

"Liana has had a book presentation on Corfu channel (local TV) on Thursday 13 May and on Saturday 15 May. The event focused both on her children's books and on her current painting exhibition that will last till the 3rd of June."

Liana’s book Storytime, Three Stories for Kid’s of All Ages, has received excellent reviews, such as the following 5 out of 5 star rating on Amazon by Pauline Hager, author Memoirs of an American Housewife in Japan:

Liana Metal is a talented writer of children's stories and it shines in her latest book, Storytime. The book comprises three short stories. The first, The White Snail, is about a happy, lovable white snail who wishes his "home" was brown like all the other snails. He meets a lovely female snail, who admires his beautiful white home, and the white snail realizes that the grass always appears greener on the other side. This basic theme of self-esteem is the major factor in this charming tale.

The next story, Let's Bake a Cake, is about friends who get together to do something nice for their shy friend, Tom. His birthday is the following day, but he is staying with his elderly grandmother who is unable to throw a party for him. His faithful friends come up with an idea so that Tom can have a birthday party and gifts. Loyalty and friendship is the major theme.

The final story, Achilleas' Pet, is about a boy who loves pets. He already had four, but he wants one more, different from all the others. He finds a tortoise and keeps it against his mother's wishes. After Achilleas thinks the tortoise is lost, it eventually turns up with four little ones. Then to his surprise there appears five more, one of them "very big" and he is puzzled at the small miracles of nature.

Children of all ages, including seventy-year-old grandmas, will love these stories of universal themes and truths, and parents will enjoy reading them to their children. The illustrations, done by the author, are cleverly designed. Young children who do not read yet, will easily follow the story, looking at the lovable animals and the happy children.

Storytime is available from Amazon. Click here to go directly the Amazon page.

Find out more about Liana by visiting her blog or her website.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Tags: Liana Metal, Storytime, Corfu,

Ghostwriting Rumors

I know not, sir, whether Bacon wrote the works of Shakespeare, but if he did not it seems to me that he missed the opportunity of his life. – James Barrie

A recent article, “Denying Shakespeare” by Terry Teachout in the online Wall Street Journal once again brings up the rumor that Shakespeare didn’t write his own material. Mr. Teachout doesn’t believe it’s true. He says:

“…I am, as should be apparent, poking fun at those benighted souls who believe that someone other than William Shakespeare—the most prominent candidates being Francis Bacon and the Earl of Oxford—wrote "Hamlet," "Macbeth" and "Romeo and Juliet."

“If anything, Shakespeare's story reminds us of the existence of a different kind of democracy, the democracy of genius. Time and again, the world of art has been staggered by yet another "Mr. Nobody from Nowhere" (to borrow a phrase from "The Great Gatsby") who, like Michelangelo or Turner or Verdi, strides onto the stage of history, devoid of pedigree and seemingly lacking in culture, and proceeds to start churning out masterpieces. For mere mortals, especially those hard-working artistic craftsmen who long in vain to be touched by fire, few things are so depressing as to be reminded by such creatures of the limits of mere diligence.”

I’m not a Shakespearean scholar and I don’t have a clue if the rumors are true or not, but I hope they’re not. I can’t put my finger on why, if proven, this rumor would disappoint me. Maybe it’s because while living in London, I enjoyed watching many of his plays performed. "Merchant of Venice," with Dustin Hoffman playing Shylock is one of the more memorable ones. "Much Ado About Nothing," was also unforgettable due to our standing-room only tickets for a performance at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.

I’ve even read that Shakespeare may not have existed at all—that his name is a collective pseudonym for a group of ghost writers. Tell me it isn't so! There’s an interesting article “Ghostwriting – A History" by Julie-Ann Amos if you want to read more on this topic.

Of course Shakespeare isn’t the only famous writer “accused” of using ghostwriters. According to an article on Opening Page “Who wrote the novels of Alexandre Dumas?” by Chauncey Mabe:

“That Dumas used collaborators or ghostwriters to churn out his romantic swashbucklers is not news. Dumas scholar Claude Schoop, however, says the plot for the Musketeers trilogy — and most of the writing — are actually the work of a forgotten writer named Auguste Maquet, reports the London Telegraph.”

“…When Maquet left Dumas, neither did anything else that was really excellent. But Dumas did nothing more of any note, while Maquet went on to write a lot.”

Another article in the Telegraph.co.uk, “Now we can all believe in ghosterwriters” says:

“In the 1830s Maquet, himself a novelist and playwright, was told by a publisher: ‘You have written a masterpiece, but you're not a name and we only want names’ – nothing new there either.”

I can feel Maquet’s pain at hearing such a statement and I imagine I’m not alone.

Would the enjoyment you receive from reading a book (from classic to mass-market paperback) be less if you discovered the writing was actually done by someone else?

I’m posting an extra blog on Thursday this week in order to introduce Liana Metal. Liana lives in Corfu, Greece. She’s a teacher, book reviewer, freelance writer and artist. I hope you’ll have the opportunity to visit. Thanks for stopping by today.

Tags: Shakespeare , Dumas, Barrie, ghostwriting, Dustin Hoffman, Shylock,

Dialogue Tags

“Never use a verb other than ‘said’ to carry dialogue.” – Elmore Leonard

I know Mr. Leonard is right when he goes on to say, “The line of dialogue belongs to the character, the verb is the writer sticking his nose in. But said is far less intrusive than grumbled, gasped, cautioned, lied. I once noticed Mary McCarthy ending a line of dialogue with ‘she asseverated,’ and had to stop reading to get the dictionary.”

I also know he’s correct when he says to never use an adverb to modify the verb “said.” According to him, “To use an adverb this way (or almost any way) is a mortal sin.”

When it’s obvious which character is speaking tags are not required. However, there are many times tags are needed for clarity. Good writers show the emotion (or lack of it) by the actions or the expression of the character; they don’t need tell the reader how the speaker’s words were delivered.

These rules are ingrained in my brain. Yet when I’m revising my manuscripts, I find that I’ve not only given in to the temptation to use more descriptive tags, but that I’m also guilty of committing the mortal sin of adding an “ly” modifier. I changed many of them to “said” or removed the tag altogether. But I left a few unchanged.

I’ve decided that maybe Elmore Leonard is a bit too strict when he uses the word “never.” In surfing the web, the general consensus is that the “said” tag should be used at least 90 percent of the time. That means that it is OK to use other tag words as long as they are few and far between. It's also important to be sure that the tag is a doable action.

If, like me, you give in to the occasional use of a more descriptive tag, you may enjoy visiting “550 Alternative Words for Said” at Bukisa.com. The list also includes adverbs and phrases to use with other words for said. It’s quite an extensive, fun-to-read list even if you’re not guilty of using alternative tags.

As a writer, how do you handle tags? As a reader, do dialogue tags other than said draw you out of the story?

Before I go, I’d like to thank Carol Kilgore at Under the Tiki Hut for the Sweet Blog Award. Her posts are always entertaining. I particularly enjoy her top ten lists.

I’d also like to thank Ranya Iyer from Coffee Rings Everywhere for the Sunshine Award. She certainly brought sunshine into my day when she awarded me this special honor by saying, “for being such a wonderfully positive person- if I hadn't seen one particular post of her's several months back, I would have thought she didn't have a care in the world, except to spread happiness.” Rayna blogs from Bombay, India. Her posts are interesting not only for learning about cultural differences but for discovering our similarities as well.

I hope you’ll have an opportunity to visit both of these wonderful blogs.

Thank you for stopping by today.

Tags: Elmore Leonard, dialogue tags, alternative words for said, , Carol Kilgore,Rayna Iyer

Burnout

“Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths.” - Etty Hillesum

L. Diane Wolfe is also known as “Spunk on a Stick.” She’s an author, a speaker who conducts seminars on promoting, leadership and goal setting, and a photographer. I can tell from the comments on my last post that many of you have been looking forward to her guest blog on the topic of burnout as much as I have, so let’s get to it.

The Burnout

Passion is described as setting yourself on fire and inviting the world to watch you burn.

But what happens when we burn too hard for too long?

We get BURNOUT!

There are many forms of burnout. Writers can experience burnout and lose interest in their work. An author on tour experiences burnout after too many activities, either physical or online.

Few of us experience writing as the sole activity in our life. We have families. Many have jobs and businesses. We have friends, church, and organizations. We enjoy hobbies, pets, and other activities. And at some point, we require food and sleep!

The best option is to avoid burnout in the first place. As writers, we have several choices. Procrastination is the enemy of deadlines. If we tackle a project head-on and plan our daily goals, we avoid the pressure of a looming deadline and an incomplete task. We can keep more than one project in the works - if one loses our interest, we can switch to a new WIP. Often when we complete a large body of work, we are too burned out and tired to think of a new piece right away, but planning the next major project ahead of time will alleviate that problem.

Authors can experience burnout after a heavy tour schedule. The best way to avoid this is to maintain control of our calendar. We need to understand our limits and know when to say no. Physical appearances are draining, in terms of both the event and the travel. Don’t book too many events and weigh each new opportunity carefully. Virtual appearances also require a great deal of time and preparation. Overlapping physical and virtual appearances can really add to the stress, so it’s best to keep those two separate whenever possible. Most important, allow time for breaks.

Despite the best-laid plans, burnout can still occur. Our fire fizzles and we lose enthusiasm. It’s time to stop, drop, and roll!

Burnout occurs on many levels - physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. When our body and heart tells us we are reaching the end of our resources, we need to take a break. If we are frustrated with our writing or exhausted from appearances, we need to stop and recharge our batteries. This may be as simple as an activity at which we excel. We can take a vacation. We can try a new experience. We can read a book, insert some physical activity into our life, meditate, or spend time with family. We can seek out someone who inspires and uplifts us.

Whatever we choose, we need to remove ourselves from the stressful rut and refresh our outlook on life. It’s better to lose a little momentum than completely crash. If we set a goal before we take our break, we’ll find it’s easier to get back on track when we return, too. We still have too much to accomplish to burn out now!

Thank you for the good advice and tips, Diane.

Readers, are you suffering from burnout? If so, how do you plan to tackle it?

Heather, the fifth book in the series, The Circle of Friends, was recently released and can be found on Amazon and other online bookstores, along with Books one through four of The Circle of Friends series and her non-fiction book, Overcoming Obstacles with Spunk.

Find out more about L. Diane Wolfe and her books at http://www.spunkonastick.net/ http://www.thecircleoffriends.net/ and http://www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com/.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Tags: Etty Hillesum , L. Diane Wolfe, burnout , procrastination, stress,

Best Last Lines

“The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it.” – James Bryce

I was recently a guest at Karen Cioffi – Writing for Children where I blogged about first lines in books for children. Previously I’d written a post about Best First Lines in Novels. Talking about first lines made me wonder if there were any lists for the best last lines in novels. I’m happy to say I found several.

The following are some of my favorites. I selected them because they were fun, famous or sounded like a good first line making me want to read the book.

"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known." A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

He loved Big Brother. – 1984 by George Orwell

I don’t hate it he thought, panting in the cold air, the iron New England dark; I don’t. I don’t! I don’t hate it! I don’t hate it! - Absalom, Absalom! By William Faulkner

It was the nightmare of real things, the fallen wonder of the world. The Names by Don DeLille

Go, my book, and help destroy the world as it is. Continental Drift by Russell Banks

YOU HAVE FALLEN INTO ART – RETURN TO LIFE – Willie Masters’ Lonesome Wife by William H. Gass

The knife came down, missing him by inches, and he took off. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

P.S. Sorry I forgot to give you the mayonnaise. Trout Fishing in America by Richard Brautigan

“Terminal.” The End of the Road by John Barth

He waited for someone to tell him who to be next. The Open Curtain by Brian Evenson

This is the difference between this and that. A Novel of Thank You by Gertrude Stein

So I mean listen I got this neat idea hey, you listening? Hey? You listening…? J R by William Gaddis

I lingered round them, under that benign sky; watched the moths fluttering among the heath, and hare-bells; listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass; and wondered how anyone could ever imagine unquiet slumbers, for the sleepers in that quiet earth. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

I have to toss in one from a children’s book.

But wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the Forest, a little boy and his Bear will always be playing. The House at Pooh Corner, A.A. Milne

If you’d like to read more last lines, Best Last Line from Famous Books at docstoc.com lists lines from 100 books and lastlines at saidwhat.com are two of the best sources I found.

Does your novel have a great last line? If so, I’d love to hear it. Do you have a favorite last line from a novel you’ve read? Would a good last line make you want to read a novel you haven't read before?

I hope you can stop by next Monday (5/10) when guest blogger L. Diane Wolfe will be talking about types of burnout (writer burnout, promoting burnout), how to avoid and how to deal with it. Diane is an accomplished speaker and author. Her books are Overcoming Obstacles with Spunk! and The Circle of Friends series. The fifth book in the series, Heather was recently released, so I have a feeling this is a topic Diane has been dealing with lately. To find out more about Diane, visit Spunk on a Stick blog and website and come back next week.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Tags: James Bryce, first lines, last lines , Faulkner, Wuthering Heights, Orwell, Dickens, Gaddis, L. Diane Wolfe,