Writing

Female Focus Friday: Things Men Need to Know About . . . The When and Why to Shut Up . . . During a Vent

Ronovan Writing , , , , , ,

Guys, take it from me, the man who knows . . . Women want us to Shut Up.

 

Not a major revelation, since I imagine most of us have heard those words, or close to them . . . a few times. But I’m not talking about those times when you . . .

  • Are about to announce the name you’ve picked out for your child that you promised not to mention to anyone.  (This usually is also  accompanied by a bruised shin that occurs from underneath the restaurant table.)
  • Or when you start telling that joke in front of her parents you just know is wrong. (Yes, never tell the mother-in-law the joke about the Secret Service discovering who peed the words The President Sucks in the snow outside the White House. Yes, being OJ Simpson at the time was funny, and yes it being in the First Ladies handwriting was also funny. But still . . .)
  • Or when you are about to tell your mother the truth about what your wife thinks of one of your mother’s specialty meals. (See results of the first type of shut up moment.)

No, I’m talking about the truly important times to shut up. Bruises will heal. Some scarring may occur, depending on the shoes worn or the length of the nails as they dig into your hand if a kick is not available. There are things worse, much . . .  much worse.

 

So let me give you . . .

 

Things Men Need to Know About . . . The When and Why to Shut Up . . . During a Vent

lemmon_mcclain

First you need to know that whatever the stage of the relationship, they have to let things out sometimes. If you read all those magazines and watch all those talk shows like Oprah you will know pretty quick that “They are like  Stars” and “We are like a . . .” well it rhymes with Venus. At least that’s how it seems when it comes to handling those talk times. We are insensitive. At least that’s how we’re portrayed. We’re not insensitive. We’re just not trained right.

FGdogsleep WAKE UP! This is important. Pay attention.

You know the talk times I am talking about. She’s had a bad day, and she needs to talk, and you half mindedly listen and give your advice on how to handle the situation. Before long you realize that either 1) you are alone in the room, b) you are being glared at, or the most likely 3rd) you don’t notice a thing and keep talking as you watch the game assuming you have done something amazingly helpful.

 

Men if you are reading this and you identify with the first two or believe she was happily listening as you spouted wisdom between screams at the coach on TV for his bad play calling and crunches of nachos while still advice spouting then I advise you to keep reading.

 

The scenario:

You walk into the room and your Significant One does NOT look happy. She doesn’t give you the ‘what the frilly hoohaa have you done this time’ look, so you start breathing again. Now you do the only correct thing of the next several minutes to two hours that you will do. You ask, “What’s wrong honey?”

 

She will do of two things:

  • She will say nothing is wrong, and you will either stupidly accept that, or you will rightly be sensitive and ask her what is really wrong, knowing you will probably regret it, but you love her and must continue.
  • Or she will immediately begin telling you what is wrong without any further prompting.

 

 

Now we enter the ‘Shut Up Zone’. Men, I know it’s difficult, but in time you learn. At times you will forget, but for the majority of the time you will make your life easier. Follow these basic rules of ‘Listening to your Significant One Vent’.

 

The Reasons you need to Shut Up are . . .

 

#1

. . . so you can listen. Listening accomplishes a lot of things.

  1. You need to know what is actually going on for the test later. (The test will be unannounced and at any moment within the next 2 days to 55 years.)
  2. Another reason is to know when she is actually speaking specifically to you. If she pauses and stares at you, you best be ready with, an “of course, you’re right”.

 

#2

. . . so you can remember not to give advice. Men, the Significant One does not want your advice. If they wanted advice they would call their mother or their best friend, neither of which you are. Oh, you think you are her best friend?

Men, we like to think that. We may even believe that. But the truth is, once you become the Significant One’s other  there is a change in the dynamic. There are things that can no longer be said or shared for fear of hurting our masculine pride. Don’t believe me? Okay, your significant other is thinking of Johnny Depp while kissing you. And that ‘mmm’ sound, was not meant for you. How do you feel now? Point made.

 

#3

. . . so you can remember not to try and solve the problem. Men, they don’t need us to solve their problems. In fact if you listen well enough, you may realize there is no problem. We are the ones that created the mythical problem by asking what the problem was. In reality there probably wasn’t a ‘problem’. They just need to vent. If you do not ‘Shut Up’ you will then create a . . .

Wait for it.

 

. . .  BIGGER problem . . . YOU. As for solving a problem, if they want us to help they will ask us to help. (A secret, they usually don’t need any ‘help’. Yeah, like I said, just shut up.)

 

#4

. . . so you can tell when the vent is over. Men, you’ve listened well, but have you paid attention. The vent is over and you are sitting there staring at her. This will lead to a couple of dangerous possibilities;

  1. It is assumed you were not paying attention and zoned out,
  2.  Or your opinion may be asked, although only on a rare occasion.

Do not, I repeat, do NOT give an opinion. Agree and say that you totally agree. I REPEAT, DO NOT GIVE AN OPINION!

“But DUDE, she ASKED FOR MY OPINION!”

“DUDE, SHE IS ASKING YOU TO AGREE!!!”

 

#5

. . . so you cannot ask questions. Men, shut up and just listen. Don’t ask a question because you will do one of two things;

  1. Make her mad that you interrupted
  2. Or you will send her off onto another vent before she comes back to the main vent

I repeat . . . Shut Up.

How will you know the vent is over? I will make this simple for the moment, although this could be an entire article of its own.

  1. Know the Significant One’s body language
  2. Listen to the voice for a change in pitch
  3. Finally notice the vein is no longer protruding wherever it protrudes and the shoulders are no longer up around the ears from tension and the hands have stopped waving

You may ask, “Ronovan, how do you come by these freshwater pearls of wisdom. ”

Oh young grasshopper mint cookie. Though the waters may appear calm, even this tiny grain of sand in the great ocean of the male population irritates. You either become a pearl, or you are spit out.

 

As for the Significant Ones reading this today, I ask, are there other reasons to add to the “Shut Up” list? Please advise. We really need to know.

 

The ever Needy and

Much Respectful

Ronovan

 

2014 © Copyright-All rights reserved-RonovanWrites.wordpress.com

My Writing: The What, the Why, the How, and one other thing I forget . . .

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Participating in a Blog Hop is something you can’t turn down. I guess you can, but when . . .

 

 Jenna Willett of Jen’s Pen Den

Jenna_Willett

@JensPenDen

 

. . . asked if I would participate, how could I say no? I doubt she hears no very often. She’s a great source of a lot of writing advice. She finds the articles and then posts them with her own comments from writing experience and links back to the articles she’s found. She’s not just a sharer, she’s a liver of it, and a doer of it. She’s living in our world of writing. Definitely click the Link above the top photo for her answer to the questions I’m about to answer. I mean, she’s sold a book to a studio?

 

 

Now to me. I know . . . but it’s part of the deal. Over time answers change to the same questions of life. It all depends on where you are in whatever aspect of life is being asked about. The longer I write and blog the more the answers change and mature.

1)      What am I working on?

I am a varied book of writing ideas. I continue to try and work on a YA novel revise and edit. That SHOULD be at the forefront of my priorities, followed by my New Adult/Adult Romance, then my Blog. However, with the thoughts that keep rushing to my head, my absence of impulse control and lack of filter due to a concussion the Blog tends to lead the way and is quite enjoyable.

 

The YA book is about siblings that find themselves in predicaments. I really can’t say much more than that. I believe it to be a fairly original idea. Perhaps it is no overly original but I like to think it is a good idea.

 

The Romance is actually the second in a series of a Romance trilogy I was working on. The first I began revising to put more of my voice into it, but recently realized the second is actually the better overall and that I could really throw myself into it. The main character is a man with heart and great love for the love of his life and I think I can put myself into that character and connect with him more.

 

2)      How does my work differ from other genres?

I’ll take this by threes again. My Blog is more than a hodgepodge. If it comes into my mind it comes out of my fingertips. I’ve learned that no matter what we share on a blog that someone will find it and connect with it. It may not be a hit with everyone, but one connection is all the satisfaction one needs sometimes. My site is called RonovanWrites and that’s exactly what I do. I write . . . anything and everything . . . tastefully so or at least I hope so.

 

In my YA writing I try to give the young characters more depth than perhaps people realize is there. There are more layers to young people than we think. Having been a teacher and then especially having been involved in Youth Ministry I really paid attention to and WANTED to understand what those layers were. I never assumed that ‘what you see is what you get’ with a student. You can say the same about a reader.

 

My Romance writing is, well . . . in this second book which I want to become the main book, I do more than just give you the man’s view I give you his everything. It’s a very different sort of love story, I believe in how I handle it. It is very much how I feel about love.

 

 

3)      Why do I write what I do?

On the Blog it’s a creative outlet that actually helps me with my novel writing. I’ve discovered that through all of the articles I’ve written that I have a certain voice and style that I have had trouble finding as a writer of novels. Also it allows me to release a lot of internal things that occur due to pain from illnesses and other emotional experiences.

 

I love young people so the YA is something I truly enjoy. I connect with young people and I really love them. There needs to be books that are better for them to read than a lot that are out there right now.

 

Romance and New Adult or Adult focused material is obviously something I can really get into, and this particular novel is just truly something I can become a part of because it’s already a part of me.

 

 

4)      How does my writing process work?

For the Blog I’ll be having a conversation and it starts me to thinking about an article, or just a word will lead me to a poem. Even the mistreatment of my friends begins a creation. Normally whatever comes out the fingertips is what ends up being put out there. I edit very little. I give my Friends, as I call those who read my blog, my honesty.

 

For YA I get a general idea of what I want and then start free writing. If it’s going well then I know I have something. Sometimes I’ll end up a sketch outline over future chapters, more like quick ‘To Remember’ things. I actually keep a word document up called ‘(Title of WIP) To Remember) and quickly make note of an idea or even of something that I am writing that might change something that happened previously, and also any research that I want to do.

 

Romance is a bit similar to YA but I let the heart lead the way. Outlining isn’t as much on the plate. I know you might be able to do some type of rough sketch outline of a general place you want to go, but I just think that, for me using the heart in this one, I can’t outline or tell it where to go. You can’t tell your heart what to feel and you can’t tell it where to go . . . it just goes where it wants to.

 

After I write a manuscript I then try to walk away for a bit. Recently I even had the YA novel read by a mother and teen daughter to get their thoughts. The daughter is the target audience and the mother of course is someone who might approve the purchase or even make it on her own.

The first draft went fairly well but as I said there are a few areas I need to work on and some of those areas I discovered in conversations with the woman and her daughter. They didn’t even realize they were telling me what I needed to know at this point but it was even better than the notes that I had been given, because the book just came up in conversation and wasn’t a main thought. I was able to get what they remembered and enjoyed.

I think going back and talking to readers a deal of time after they’ve read a book is actually a great way to determine if you wrote a great story, or at least what were the great parts.

Now I am taking what I learned and revising. It’s been a few months since I’ve touched the book. It’s time.

 

 

Again I want to thank Jenna for asking me to be a part of this Writing Blog Hop. Everyone, really go check out Jen’s Pen Den and you’ll find articles with great info with links to great information as well.

 

Now for the next ones for you to be on the look out for their answers to the questions are:

 

The WorldMight Cover

cyril.bussiereCyril Bussiere-You’ll recognize the name as some of you already follow his blog. This will be an opportunity to see how he writes and answers to the other questions above. The questions I SHOULD have asked. His book The WorldMight is at Amazon, click here to see it. .

 EloiseDeSousa

Eloise_De_SousaEloise De Sousa-You might know her better as Thoughts by Mello-Elo. Her books are available from amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBookstore, kindle, kobo, and lulu.com. Follow her on Twitter at .

 

+Luccia GrayAll_Hallows_at_Eyre_Hall-Many of us know her already through her blog Rereading Jane Eyre.  Her book All Hallows At Eyre Hall is available at Amazon. Click here to see.  Follower her on Twitter at .

 

 

As the three come out I will also Reblog them here on RonovanWrites so no one misses them.

 

Much Respect

Ronovan

 

2014 © Copyright-All rights reserved-RonovanWrites.wordpress.com.

How to come up with a book idea.

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How to Come up with a Book Idea

 

You want to write a novel, but you don’t know how to come up with an idea. You’re sitting there at your keyboard or notebook and it just isn’t happening. You’ve doodled Mickey Mouse several times and you’ve created som new abstract work of art that might become the next wallpaper design for your computer, but yet, zero, zilch, zippo. Welcome to The Reality World, Novel Limbo.

Yes, that was a slight homage to The Real World, the real one from way back when. Yes I saw the very first one when it was in New York. You know, back when reality TV was not as obnoxious and pardon my saying this ‘silly’. If you have been around you know I can’t say the ‘st**id’ word because I’ve taught my son ‘B’ that it’s a bad word. You never want your kid to accidentally say something just because its part of is vocabulary. Okay parenting thing over with.  I still wonder about that date the girl went on and the guy told her she had wide hips that were good for breeding. What was that about?

 

But now back to the coming up with a book idea. And actually my digression up there is part of the problem, distractions. Or is it?

 

Why couldn’t I write a book about the ‘Bad words for Boys’? I just copyrighted that in case anyone is wondering. ChuCHING! I guess that’s how you spell that. Anyway, that’s an example of how to come up with an idea. Just listen to yourself and pay attention to your world. I could have edited the whole part out about my son ‘B’ but I didn’t. I am free flow writing the article and let it happen and there it is. I’m leaving it in as an example.

 

But let’s get down to other ways of how you actually can do it. I didn’t come up with the idea for ‘Bad word for Boys’ until I started writing this article and actually wrote those words of randomness.

 

Things to do:

  • Live life-Yes, you should experience life so you have something to draw from. This isn’t to say go out and sky dive. This means live. Exist. Function.
  • Write what you know about-I know it’s an old standard but it’s true. I know about what ‘Bad words for Boys’ are, so I can write about it. I could write about living with various health problems that are out of my control.
  • Sit down and just start writing-Just write whatever comes to mind, journal if you need to, just write and an idea will come. I encourage people to do writing prompts, either from a book of them or even those posted daily through websites. I seriously wrote an article about a need for Pants Vending Machines from a prompt. I never would have come up with it if there hadn’t decided to see what the prompt of the day was, and it was about Vending Machines that were needed. I chose pants.
  • Take a favorite story and twist it 180-Look at the takes on Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, and The Wizard of Oz. These are direct twists, but you can even take a story and just twist it and make it its own.
  • Write down your thoughts-Keep a note pad handy or some recorder device to write down what comes to mind even at night. You won’t remember that great idea in the morning. I know I had a great poem idea the other night and I even remember that the lines were perfect, but I don’t remember what they are.

 

 

I’ll give you two examples of how ideas can happen. I recently interviewed two authors; Alysha Kaye of The Waiting Room, and Cyril Bussiere of The WorldMight. The books are completely different, worlds apart, but both involve love that is apart. Now let’s look how they came up with those ideas.

 

Here is Alysha Kaye from our recent interview:

Alysha Kaye Author The Waiting Room

“I had a dream about waiting for my boyfriend after death. I was in a strange room that looked a lot like an airport terminal. I wound up writing him a (very cheesy) poem about it and somehow, that became an entire novel! I couldn’t get it out of my head.”-Alysha Kaye

 

A dream that ended up as a poem that turned into a The Waiting Room, a published novel. You’ve had those dreams. You just need to write them down as quickly as possible when you wake up while they are fresh. Will those dreams be a book? Not always, but you will have them there to find out.

 

 

 

Now for Cyril Bussiere from a quote in our interview:

cyril.bussiere

“Then an idea came to me while driving a U-haul truck across Texas . . . about a princess trapped in a sleeping beast and her prince trying to free her; and he needs a word that has never been said to wake the beast up and rescue her.”-Cyril Bussiere

 

See, the monotony of driving a truck across Texas probably led him into this mindless state of wandering thoughts and there it was; his first novel, The WorldMight. It took time before it continued further but it did continue.

 

 

If you wanted to you could sit down and force yourself through a regime to develop an idea.

  • Take a topic or subject you like
  • Start researching it
  • Find some fact either known or preferably obscure, and start working with it
  • Then start either by the seat of the pants writing or outlining

 

I had an idea for a novel but had no idea how to work it. I started researching and things suddenly clicked. Now the book is so in depth that I haven’t finished it because of the complexity of what I want to do with it, but I could make it a lot simpler and just finish it. (By the way, using ‘just’ is a pet peeve of mine. I can’t stand it when I use it.)

 

But there are these little things you can find during research that will amaze you. If you are amazed then there will be others that are as well.

 

The real secret? I’ll tell you but you can’t tell anyone else. You have to keep working at it. Don’t give up on it. Writing is easy, writing well is difficult, creating a novel and publishing it is excruciating. That’s not trying to discourage you, that’s just telling you what it can be, it’s keeping it real . . . Real-no, not going to do it again.

 

So how do you come up with a novel idea? And it truly is a novel idea because you want to be a different to capture the attention of readers. You pay attention and listen to yourself and write. Write down every little dream you have, every thought you think is cool, random, or oddball, journal, just write.

 

 

Much Respect

Ronovan

 

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16th Free “Dear Lucky Agent” Contest: Middle Grade Fiction-From GLA

Ronovan Writing , , , ,

 

16th Free “Dear Lucky Agent” Contest: Middle Grade Fiction

 

Yes, it says  free. Click it and check it out. Deadline is End of Day July 30, 2014. Do it now!

 

An agent reads the first 150-200 words of your unpublished Middle Grade completed fiction book.

One previous winner was signed by that agent judge and went on to sell two books through that agent.

Much Luck

Ronovan

Author Cyril Bussiere makes a Book Trailer.

Ronovan Writing , , , , ,

In Advertising your Book, for Free I linked to an article as well as making a few suggestions of my own.

Cyril Bussiere author of  The WorldMight available for kindle here, made a Book Trailer for The WorldMight.

Check it out. He does more with it than I could.

 

Much Respect

Ronovan

 

© Copyright-All rights reserved-RonovanWrites.wordpress.com

Advertising your Book, For Free.

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You have a book. You have it coming out soon, either traditional or self-published. It’s time to get creative in the advertising game.

Advertising your Book

by: Ronovan

Oh Yes! It's Free sign

I’ve had this particular article Free Apps for making a Book Trailer starred and saved in my email for five months from The Write Life. I’ll need it some day but for now I’m sharing it with you.

Take a look at the article, but there is one that is free that I don’t think they really mention here, but they might.

Youtube.com. Yes, you can do a personal video about your book, like an interview of sorts, post it and then share it everywhere you are present in social media. Put the link on everything you have. People will get a personal connection to you. Just make sure that you test it on some people, including some internet friends and see if the right feel is coming across that you want. And think about asking people for reviews of your book. They can record their response or you can put a clip of the email message in a nice form on the screen for the people to see.

I’ve seen some really cheesy, read BAD, ones done. I couldn’t even finish them and it made me not even download the free Kindle book just as a show of support.

Agents and Publishers alike want the authors to do a lot more of the marketing and promotion these days. The article tells you some easy ways and the Youtube idea is one more.

 

And each time you get a new review you could add it as a new Youtube clip with you reading it as it appears on the screen. Basically you have your own author Youtube channel.  Remember that when naming any social media anything. Everything needs to be able to work together name wise. But that’s for another article.

 

Much Respect

Ronovan

© Copyright-All rights reserved-RonovanWrites.wordpress.com-July 05, 2014.

How To Write A Haiku Poem In English Form

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All links open in a new window unless noted as ‘you will leave this page‘.

There are various Japanese Forms of poetry based on syllable structure (see Haiku, Tanka, and Haibun. It’s all poetry to me. Learn the difference.), much like many nations and cultures of the world (see How to Write an Espinela or Décima Poem). The Japanese Haiku poem is probably the most challenging due to its low syllable constraints. (5/7/5 or 3/5/3 or 2/3/2) If you really want to be challenged, try a 1/2/1. I don’t think this is really a Haiku form, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was. Examples further down the page.

This post discusses How to write a Haiku Poem in English Form. Haiku purists in the Japanese style attempt to write a Haiku that can be read in one breath. This means it’s minimal in word choice while vivid with imagery and short at the same time. The more you write, the easier it becomes to exclude words such as the, is, and there, etc. from your thoughts while thinking of your poems and count syllables in your head in the middle of a drive to work or store. I find myself tapping with my fingers counting syllables in the strangest locations.

Six things to remember about Traditional Haiku form:

  • You have three lines of poetry.
  • 17 total syllables, some say sounds, in the 5/7/5 pattern. (The syllables of words may vary due to the country’s English you speak.)
  • You normally tell two opposing images in the poem.
  • Lines one and two should read as a complete sentence and lines two and three should read as a complete sentence. Easier than it sounds.
  • Haiku do not have titles/names.
  • You normally use mostly descriptive words and as few filler words as possible, such as the, and, there, is, etc. Note lower in the post my example 3/5/3 version of the 5/7/5 Haiku I provide as an example. You get the same message with each version.

Notice the word normally. You can have the poem be about aspects of the same thing, but normally you look at it from two different ways.

Artistic and traditional elements include kigo or words that are related to seasons: (Learn more about kigo here, a different website. The following through Kigo List T-Z are from the same site.)

  • Nature
  • Colors
  • Seasons

Kigo list A-J
Kigo List K-S
Kigo List T-Z

Noted on the site that not all words are Kigo. “Some are haiku TOPICS (keywords) to be used during the whole year.” There are several helpful links in the site’s sidebar.

You use these elements:

  • to give a visual of whatever you are attempting to relay
  • and usually include the season you write it in

Remember you can use 3/5/3 or 2/3/2 syllable structures as well as many others, but the three below are plenty to start with.

Three examples of the same haiku using the different syllable structures.

5/7/5 Example

The tree is falling,

Down among the river rocks,

Fish bring forth new life.

Lines one and two read as: The tree is falling down among the river rocks.

Lines two and three read as: Down among the river rocks, fish bring forth new life.

  1. The tree is falling and dying among the rocks of the river
  2. And fish are living and bring life among the rocks of the river
  3. Two opposite things happening.
  • Note the capitalization and punctuation in the haiku. It is important to use those wisely to convey your intended message.

3/5/3 Example

tree falling

among river rocks

fish new life

2/3/2 Example

tree falls

mid stream’s rock

new life

1/2/1 Example

tree

feeds water

life

Strangely enough, I like the 2/3/2 version the best and this is the first time I’ve tried one. This is an update on September 12, 2020. The original post is from July 02, 2014. As you can see, over six years and my first try.

Opposites are not a MUST, but are the true way of Haiku and add to the challenge. And you don’t want to reveal to much in the haiku so the reader is able to make an interpretation. Do not let that prevent you from writing. The more you write the closer you get to achieving true Haiku.

Matsuo Bashō Statue Haiku

As Matsuo Bashō put it,

“The haiku that reveals seventy to

eighty percent of its subject is good.

Those that reveal fifty to sixty percent,

we never tire of.”

 

 

My original Haiku reveals 100%.

 The tree is falling,

Down among the river rocks,

Fish bring forth new life.

 

Can I take the Haiku and make it fifty to sixty percent? 

Life splinters apart,

Down among slippery mounds,

Life brings forth new life.

In this new version, the same thing is said but also leaves some interpretation to the reader, which in a way I like to do for the reader. Give the reader something they can connect within their own way. It is easy to slip away from writing haiku this way as you begin to play around with different themes.

That is the basic way I usually like to write Haiku but often veer off into another message. It is fun, challenging, and an artform. I am not saying I am an artist, but I do believe those who can do it well, are. I am still a finger painter in this world, but I enjoy staining my skin in the ink.

To get to the point where you can consistently write like a true Haiku artist it could take years, but writing is the purpose and eventually, you get there, if that’s where you want to go. Otherwise, enjoy the way you want to write and the message you wish.

Below should be all you need to help with Haiku: Sure there are plenty of sites you’ll discover, some thatt even write the haiku for you, but why?

  • The best syllable counter is the dictionary. Others I’ve used will give different counts to the same word or the same Haiku. Stick to the dictionary. I’m deleting the syllable counter link from my poetry challenge with my next challenge, 10/12/2020. https://www.merriam-webster.com/
  • For synonyms, thesaurus.com. It also provides antonyms and the drop box where you enter your word also includes DEFINITIONS as an option.
  • The Kigo Lists

For other types of Haiku click and read-Haiku, Tanka, and Haibun. It’s all poetry to me. Learn the difference.

To learn Freku, which I came up with, click and read – NEW FORM of Haiku & Poetry.

To learn the Shi Rensa or Four Chain haiku, click and read – Four Chain | Shi Rensa Haiku.

For examples of my own Haiku offerings click here and you will leave this page.

For a list of the weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenges and the current challenge post I host, click here and you will leave this page.

Much Respect

Ronovan

Originally posted July 02, 2014.

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How I wrote a Poem or How it wrote me.

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How I wrote a Poem

by: Ronovan

 

Poetry comes from anywhere and everywhere. Not very helpful sounding is it? Let’s say you are eating cereal one morning at the breakfast table and you hear a clink in the kitchen of glasses. The sound triggers a memory, you are drawn back into childhood. A feeling comes over you of the spoon growing larger as you shrink back into childhood and become seven years old again.

 

Cold milk with floating OsWigged man reading poem

Clinking glasses in the sink

Shrinking tiny fingers

Pulling mind back to think

Oh those yesteryears

So simple way back when

They bring a smile to my face

Every now and then

 

Admittedly that’s not my best work, but as quickly as I am writing this piece today I am creating it without stopping and just letting the thoughts flow. I did not have an idea for the cereal or anything when I started typing this article. I might would go back and tweak this a bit to be better but for now I wanted you to see what can inspire a poem. And words don’t have to be beautiful stand alone words, or rhyme. By that I mean these poetically sounding words. They can just be ordinary words, which are what most of my work is.

 

Ordinary words touch everyone. You can understand one of my pieces instantly. That’s not to say mine are better than another persons, I just want you to know that just because you don’t think with those words doesn’t mean you cannot write poetry. You can write a poem in everyday words, and then look up synonyms and have fun with it.

 

Now I want to go into a recent poem I wrote and how it came about to show you the process. I dislike calling it a process because I really don’t have one. I think instead I will call it the creation of the poem. Even in my writing of this article I just let the words flow and go with it. Instead of correcting the use of ‘process’ I explained it and then created a new way of expressing my work. This is how poetry works as well.

 

The poem is Truth in a Picture. I needed a pick me up piece to do. I wanted to write something happy and full of life. For this I usually go to photos, sometimes of friends online but sometimes just wandering about the web. I wandered. I looked up some art paintings and happy did not happy.

 

This painting did.

gettyimages © Original Photo by nikkivanoostende.com
gettyimages © Original Photo by nikkivanoostende.com

 

The colors caught my eye, then sadness. There’s no doubt the woman is beautiful, but then you see more.

 

After the glimpse of color I saw the eyes and how they looked vacant and broken. It reminded me of pictures I have seen of female friends where the smile doesn’t reach the eyes.

 

That’s when the poem began, or perhaps it began as soon as I saw the eyes.

 

Thoughts came to me of what if I were the woman and knew what a man was thinking as he saw me looking beautiful but inside I didn’t even care because I knew the truth.

 

What if I knew why I looked the way I did? What if I knew this was my mask, my disguise?

 

Happy didn’t happen.

 

I’m not a long form poem writer very often, not that this is a long poem at all. I usually get my thoughts out as efficiently as they come to me. I looked at the painting and then closed my eyes and typed. I remembered the eyes, the nose and the lips. I thought of how makeup and lipstick are paints of disguise. I thought of how the paint attracts attention to disguise the harm caused by attention. I imagined her thoughts at each of his thoughts.

 

I then thought of the flip side of that and what the woman was underneath the pain and what the paint covered up. I altered the picture to show what was underneath.

Featured Image -- 2260

Sleep circles and bruises. The colorlessness a woman feels . . . the lifelessness. I took each of the previous thoughts and made them the truth from her side.

 

The reaction to the poem has been encouraging in the honesty of it. I was asked how do I know what women think. My replies never really captured my thoughts. I don’t know that I do know what women think, I just know how I feel about something and then I put it into words. Somehow in this piece I contained an anger until after I was finished. The anger would have turned it into a much different piece. I’m not sure I could have written that piece.

 

I tend to tell a story in my poems, be it my autobiography or some societal thing that plagues my mind. I do try to have fun with it at times, but that is rare. Write what comes out of your fingertips. Let your mind take over, let your heart set the tempo, and get out of the way.

 

Much Respect

Ronovan

 Copyright-All rights reserved-©RonovanWrites.wordpress.com-June 30, 2014.

How Long Should Your Chapters Be?

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How Long Should Your Chapters Be?

by: Ronovan

 

Pick up any two books you have and you’ll likely find they vary in chapter length. Each author has their own style and preference.

 

To be honest this article isn’t about telling you which length is best. The story itself tells you where the cut off points are for a chapter. Don’t listen to a teacher or whoever about that. Sure an editor can help but when you are writing, get out of the way of the story.

 

I’ve written chapters 19 pages long and there wasn’t a place to break it up because everything needed to continue in order to flow properly. But then I’ve written chapters three pages long . . . maybe even less.

 

How do you pick a length? I mean there has to be some idea, right, some method?

 

As I’ve been writing for over 20 years now, I won’t mention that includes three different decades . . . uh oh, almost four, I’ve discovered methods are like opinions, and to paraphrase an old saying; “Methods are like belly buttons, everyone’s got one.” Okay, so there is another version of that old saying but I went with this one.

 

Let’s discuss briefly how you would approach determining chapter lengths before you begin writing.

 

The way I look at it, I would say this, if the action is fast, the short ‘em. If not and perhaps a lot of emotion and all that lovey-dovey stuff, then long ‘em.

 

The thing is, you’re going to have some of both in a novel. And that is what you really want. Chapter lengths that are uniform throughout a book can lead to boredom. It’s kind of like when you write an essay, or if you write a blog, keep the lengths varied, but not too long.

 

This doesn’t mean to intentionally alternate between the two, just let the story dictate it. That would be like sing-songing it. Don’t get pitchy dog. Word.

 

In conclusion?

 

Action-Short Chapters for me. This keeps the pace quick and exciting.

Suspense/Horror-Longer Chapters to bring in all the nuances that you need to pull a person into the scene. Chapters can be shorter once you’ve established character and made the reader comfortable.

Romance and Mystery-It all depends on what you have going on in the scene. Often times you may want to pull at the heartstrings with Romance more so you may need longer chapters at times. A good writer may not need to do it, but don’t short cut it. Mystery has a lot of examination involved thus longer chapters as well.

Ultimately, the story will tell me when to stop a chapter. It almost jumps on you and says STOP! You just have to learn how to listen.

What’s my personal preference? Good question. But the real question is this; What’s your belly button on the chapter length debate? Share.

 

© Copyright-All rights reserved-RonovanWrites©.wordpress.com-June 25, 2014.

Wordless Wednesday: She said it.

Image Ronovan Writing , , , , , , , , ,

Camel and Woman

Writing Tip: What about Coke? Using Brand Names

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Writing Tip: What about Coke? Using Brand Names

by: Ronovan

 

I am a somewhat member of an online authors group of sorts and recently a discussion about using brand names came up. I read a few of the comments, but to be honest a lot of them were just a bit . . . well I’ll be honest, self important blowhards just wanting to be disagreeable or agreeing but in essay form.

 

Here are my thoughts in brief:

 

  • It is LEGAL to use brand names in your works. No problems there. Go right ahead and do it.
  • There are brand names that are what I call standard names for things now. Coke? Here in the South if you ask someone if they want a Coke it’s like asking them if they want a soda. It’s not necessarily being used as a brand name but a type name. A response might be, “Yeah, get me a Dr. Pepper.” Think the same thing with Kleenex and tissue. You don’t care if it’s a Kleenex as long as you get a tissue.
  • Use brand names when they make sense, especially to the character. I had a character in an action/thriller that smoked a particular kind of cigarette from a specific country. That was relevant to the character and was part of evidence. When the main character went to another country and rented a car I did research as to what kind of cars were there to rent. But don’t go overboard. If you can say the man rented a compact car that had his knees around his chin, do so. But if the character is flashy and seems into material things then you may specify a very expensive sports car. But always have it be relevant.

 

Use brand names if they are relevant and it’s legal to do so. End of story.

 

© Copyright-All rights reserved-RonovanWrites.wordpress.com-June 23, 2014.

Don’t ALLOW people to control YOU.

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Don’t ALLOW people to control YOU.

by: Ronovan

 

Why are you not a success? You know why, because everyone is right about you. You give up every time.

Sounds a bit harsh doesn’t it? It does when put like I just did. But that’s the way we are told or the way we think it.

I wrote recently about Female Executivea lady executive from Coca Cola that I heard at a business luncheon. In that article I wrote about doing your best at whatever you are doing at a given time. Well I mentioned she gave two pieces of advice that day. I actually typed those pieces of advice up and saved them on my computer. What? You think I remember all this stuff?

As important as doing your best always is, controlling you is even more so. What do I mean by controlling you?

You LET others cause YOU to give up.

You ever had someone make you so mad that you just decided not to do whatever it was that you wanted to do that you were going to enjoy? If you answered no, I’ll give you a few moments to think about it so you can say yes.

Kitty In Repose

Now that you had a chance to look at my cat, Kitty, I will go with a unanimous ‘Yes’ to my previous answer. And her name is Kitty, that wasn’t just a different way to call a cat. The lady executive explained that growing up she faced many people who told her she could not achieve her goals.

  • You are black and can’t get a good education.
  • You are black and female and can’t go to college.
  • You are black and female and can’t compete in business.

If she had listened to them, she would have allowed them to make her give up. By agreeing with them, she then chose to give in, if she had done so. If you choose not to do something, be it finishing a book, an art project, or a novel you have always wanted to write then YOU choose not to do it.

 

“But they made me mad.”Blame signs

 

See your words there? They didn’t make you mad. You chose to LET them make you mad by allowing their words and their opinions control you.

If they say something the ball is now in your court. Do you return the serve and let them have control or do you just let it go and laugh at their anger over not being allowed to try and win the point?

The only person to control your creative output is you. The only one to control your anger and emotions is you.

 

Overwhelmed Man“But you have no idea what I go through.”

 

And you don’t know what I go through either. But I choose to push on, and keep writing, creating, encouraging and loving those I come in contact with. Do I get all of that back in return from everyone? No, but then again I don’t go in expecting or asking it. I can only control me. If I turn out okay at the end of the day, if I accomplished my goals, if I have controlled my emotions, output and interactions then I have succeeded.

Does this work? Ask the lady millionaire who is probably retired by now with a great deal of stock in Coca Cola.

Or ask me. I wrote a 35,000-40,000 word book in one day. Would you tell me that it was not possible? Probably, and I was told I couldn’t do it. But I did and it’s in the revision stages now. I was told I couldn’t start a blog and do anything with it. I’m here. I’m told it’s physically impossible to do what I do, but I’m doing it.

You are here too, reading this and wondering if any of it makes sense. Give it a try. The next time someone cuts you off in traffic, don’t yell, don’t get angry, don’t swear, just let it go.

Be Happy Belly

© Copyright-All rights reserved-RonovanWrites.wordpress.com-May31, 2014.

10 Things Every Writer Needs But Never Thinks About

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10 Things Every Writer Needs But Never Thinks About

by: Ronovan

There are things that every writer needs that they never think about and no one will ever advise them on. Well today I will share with you those secret things that only the most experienced and dedicated writers know about and like to keep to themselves. But don’t tell anyone or my life will be endangered. And with that I give to you the first secret need:

A Fluffy Butt CushionBean Bag Chair Huge
All serious writers must use one of these. Have you ever noticed that groove that forms on your middle finger from writing for so many years, I call it my writer’s mark? That comes from the wearing away of tissue from all that writing. Well imagine what all that writing is doing to your butt. For some of us that might be a good thing, but for others . . . well I can tell you there are some that need to hang onto what the good Lord gave them or they’ll fall right through the potty seat.

 

Clock With Multiple Alarm Settings
Those writers who make words their lives forget about everything else. Now enters the need to schedule everything and set an alarm to it.
• Potty breaks
• Lunch
• Taking a drink of water
• Bathing—If not, then skip the next three
• Sex
• Wedding day—if you actually remember to go on a date
• Dates—Otherwise don’t worry about the previous three
If you are a serious writer then you will also need a portable alarm set for appropriate lengths of time after the Potty Break and Date breaks, and possibly the Wedding Day . . . Honeymoons do not require alarms, as long as they are not over 48 hours long.

NairHairy Back Man
This is for men and women writers. Shaving of anything takes too much time. Nair the hair or go super earthy. Unless you are Alan Moore you will not get away with the Sasquatch look.

 

 

See-Through Shower Door

With your imagination you will never come out of the shower for fear of what is on the other side of the curtain.

 Psycho Shower

Shamwows
You’re a writer, you know why you need this and where you need this, and I’m not talking about geographical location. Men admit it you have Butt Sweats, get the Shamwow. Women . . . I read about . . . Chest(?) Sweats today. (Sorry I just could not type the other word.) (Why is it warm in here now? Should I include a fan on this list?)

Canaries
These are just in case either; a) the alarm clock does not work, or b) you ignore the alarm clock when it alerts you to shower time. If the Canary dies, it’s time for a shower. Miners used these things for a reason.

Dog
As a writer you’ll need someone who will love you no matter what. Cats are too smart and independent to love you just because you offer them a three day old piece of left out pizza. Plus if you smell like roadkill they will NOT come near you. A dog will still think you are the greatest thing ever since . . . that piece of pizza. Then of course they will intentionally lick your face lovingly after licking their butt. Dogs are sneaky little guys.

Dead Potted PlantPlastic Flowers

Why? You need an alarm to tell

you to go Potty and have Sex

and you are asking why

Plastic Flowers?

 

A Clue
See Previous Need.

Ideas
If you are making lists of crazy things such a Canaries and Butt Sweat towels then you really need more ideas to write about.

 

Thus ends THIS list of the 10 Things Every Writer Needs But Never Thinks About. Keep them secret and take them to heart.

Much Respect

Ronovan “Fluffy Cushion” Writes

(I don’t need the cushion. Just saying.)

© Copyright-All rights reserved-RonovanWrites.wordpress.com-June 18, 2014.

Writer’s Digest: Self-Publishing to Success to Book Deal

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Writer’s Digest has many great articles to read. I’ve been saving their articles for years. Being in a community of people who want to publish some type of work, be it writing or photography, I thought this article would be a good read for those who have the time.

How Hugh Howey Turned His Self-Published Story “Wool” Into A Success (& A Book Deal)

Click to help Megan’s Author page.

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I don’t ask things for myself but we have an author in our community that has books coming out before long and sheneeds some people to click LIKE on her author page on facebook. I did it, and I even favorited it with my own page.
Most of you probably know Megan Elizabeth Morales and have enjoyed her work here on her site. Now go to her facebook page Author Megan E. Morales and support her there with a simple click.

I had the opportunity to speak with her and she is a wonderful young lady and if just half her blog followers liked her on facebook that would be a good start.

Much Respect
Ronovan

Writing Tip: A Writing Method

Ronovan Writing , , ,

Writing Tip: A Writing Method

by: Ronovan

 

Try the way Stephen King writes. No, do it the Nicholas Sparks way! Nope, James Patterson does it best.

 

 

Writers want to be successful and often times they will copy another person’s method of writing because they want to have that person’s success. Let me tell you a secret; the reason their method works for them is because it’s THEIR method.

 

“But others use it too.”

 

Others may use a similar method but they tweak it to make it their own at some point. Today I want to share a method I developed.

 

I slipped my VW Beetle onto the onramp to the express way and headed toward the city. The lights in the distance always took my breath as I thought of big city lights and movie stars. My phone rang.

 

“Hello,” I said.

 

“Phil, I need you to head over to the Peachtree office as quick as you can,” said Mike.

 

I rested my elbow on the door and sagged. “I’m headed home, Mike. This traffic is awful. It would take an hour at least.”

 

“Has to be done. We have a shipment of cable coming in and I need you there to make sure they do it right this time.”

 

“You owe me for this,” I said and hung up.

 

This is a very basic scene any of us could write from experience either our own or someone we know, but now it’s time to twist it.

 

I slipped my single capacity transporter into the draft tube for the express lanes and headed toward the metro center. The lights in the distance lit up the sky and I thought of just how big the metro area was, and how much a vid screen show set it looked like. The comm screen blinked at me.

 

“Yeah,” I said.

 

“Phil, I need you over at the Peachtree loading station as quick as you can,” said Mike, his face smiling at me.

 

I rested my elbow on the frame of the transport, hand covering my mouth, my body visibly sagging. “Mike, I’m headed home and you know it. The traffic is crazy out and the haulers are backing us up. I don’t know why they choose this time of the day to move those big transports through the most packed part of the metro. It would take me at least an hour to get there.”

 

“You know if it could be done by anyone else it would be,” he said. He leaned forward, his face closer to the screen. “I need to make sure this gets done right. There is a shipment of Dipthonian Lining coming in and it cannot be messed up like before.” There was begging in his eyes.

 

“Fine, you owe me big. Off.” The screen went blank.

 

With practice it gets better. But I use the reality based scene to create a believable SciFi or Fantasy based scene. The only differences in the genres really are a few words and the descriptions of the settings and props. People still have conversations and have emotions. You’re not trying to reinvent those things, so don’t try.

 

If you really think about it you can take the scene in Star Wars where Han Solo is in the cantina and shoots the other character at the table. It was much like you would see in a western. Everything about it could be translated over to an old western or even a Casablanca type scene with very few changes.

 

I just thought I would share my writing method. It’s not perfect for everyone. It won’t work for everyone. And if you use it you will tweak it to work for you.

 

What methods do you use?

 

© Copyright-All rights reserved-RonovanWrites.wordpress.com-June 17, 2014.

 

Writer’s Digest: How to Be a Writer That Literary Agents Want

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Writer’s Digest is a great source for all things writing. They even have one area that shows you New Literary Agents open for submissions.

This article is something you may want to take a look at.

 

How to Be a Writer That Literary Agents Want

 

RonovanWrites Week(IN)d Review

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RonovanWrites Week(IN)d Review

Writing 101 has been a breath of fresh air and a cesspool of rank fumes. On the one hand I am renewing a lighter side of my writing at times and meeting different and amazing people, while on the other…I’m wading through things I don’t want to know again.

Looking at my work over this past week there have been some ups and downs. I do like the fact that I’m not afraid with different formats and topics. Everything is a learning experience and nothing is a failure as long as you take it and move on.

Blogging Tips

Blogging Tips: Curious about where your ‘view traffic’ is coming from?

Blogging Tips: Why is no one reading my articles?

 

Fiction

Jacob: Chapter 1 Part 1

Blue Socks

Tears do Fall you Know

Questions

 

Flash Fiction

Toppings

 

Follows

My Friday Follows for Inspiration

 

Life

The Most Interesting Person I’ve Met This Year is…

Maw Maw’s Lovin’

Feline Friday: Missing Kitten

A Father Leads You Through This World…not just brings you into it.

 

Opinion Articles

I’m Not THAT Man

10 Forgotten Male Solo Artists of the 1980s

Free the Nipple? Hmm… This is an opinion piece giving my opinion of the Scout Willis publicity event recently, not her actions but the general topic itself.

 

Photography (With a touch of humor)

Wordless Wednesday: Wake me When the Editing is Done

 

Poetry

Odd One Out

Beauty Triumphant

At Your Risk

They Too Shall Pass-Mara Eastern #314 A Depressed Family

Brown Eyes

Nonsense and Such: Music Scales and Lakes Sub-Par-Nonsensical Poetry?

Could of been cut! one choice-my life

The How of the Consonant Vowels-The Block of Writers

Superstitious of a Day

My poetry Tears at Me

Three Word Wisdom

 

Video

Fixing a Hole by the Beatles

See Opinion article 10 Forgotten Male Solo Artists of the 1980s (Includes 10 videos)

Friday Night Videos Flash Back: Suzanne Vega-Luka

 

Writing Tips

Writing Tip: Observation Lounge

Writing Tip: Streamlining your Scene

Writing Tips: Getting the First 50 Pages Right

 

Awards

Very Inspiring Blogger Award

Writing Tips: Getting the First 50 Pages Right

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Getting the First 50 Pages Right

by: Ronovan

 

“Include the first 50 pages of your manuscript with your query.”

 

Does that sound familiar? If you’ve queried your book to an agent or publisher then your answer should be yes. It might be even worse than 50 pages. How about that cringing first 10 pages only one?

 

 

You don’t have long to hook an agent or publisher and to be absolutely truthful this is if you get past the query letter. Sometimes if your letter doesn’t speak to them they won’t even bother. But I’ve read of several agents who read regardless because it’s not the letter that they are going to sell to a publisher or the public.

 

What do you need in those first pages to make the person you have queried say send me more?

 

You need three things, regardless of genre:

  1. I want to know what is the important goal in this book that makes me want to read it
  2. I want to know what will happen if the protagonist doesn’t succeed, what’s on the line
  3. I need to know there a time limit to the situation

 

 

Goal

In a novel the goal might be an internal issue but is usually something outside beyond the control of the protagonist.

 

One of my novels has a goal of saving someone from being murdered. He knows when it will happen, and he knows a handful of people that it could happen to. So what’s the problem, getting people to believe him. The difficult part of it is, since he knows all of the victims so far things are a bit tough on him to get people to listen.

 

What if?

Now you have the what if the protagonist doesn’t succeed aspect. For my novel it means someone will die. In this case it will be someone he knows. Here we have two what if’s; 1) someone dies, 2) the protagonist will be one step closer to jail because he knew the person and even told people the person might be murdered.

 

Time’s Up

If there is no sense of urgency then a reader may get bored. In the case of my novel, if a murder could just happen any time then a reader wouldn’t be looking for it. Each murder happens at a full moon or a new moon. This gives the reader and the protagonist time to sweat it out trying to find the killer before that reminder in the sky goes off.

 

Can you fit all of that in 50 pages, or even 10? Yes you can. You have to do the tough things though.

  1. Cut the scenes that don’t advance the story
  2. Don’t spend a lot of time on a character that won’t be relevant to the story
  3. Don’t give a lot of character analysis or overly describe a setting, let the story and dialogue SHOW the reader who the people are

 

These are tried and true tips. But they are also more difficult than you think. If it were easy everyone would get signed. Great stories, great novels are sitting in stacks of paper in desk drawers all over the world. This isn’t a new concept. People like to say that the modern age of ease of instant gratification has changed how readers pick books to read, but the truth is that if a person is looking at a book to read they are knowingly planning on investing time to it.

 

Goal-What If-Time’s Up

 

© Copyright-All rights reserved-RonovanWrites.wordpress.com-June 12, 2014.

 

My Follows For Inspiration Friday

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My Follows For Inspiration Friday

by: Ronovan

http://maxreynolds.wordpress.com/ Great photography site. Has different shots you don’t always think of. Good for a writer wanting to get an idea of how things look.

 

http://kiwibeeblogger.wordpress.com/ Mixture of writing and nice photography. The Photography is of South Korea and things you don’t normally get to see. I really enjoy this one a lot. Can’t wait for more photos.

 

http://thafreebird.wordpress.com/ Aarya and Veda combine to bring two styles to one great site. Some of you already follow them but they give an inside look into the culture in India that I greatly enjoy. I find that there are more similarities than differences in the various societies by reading their articles. Well worth the reading. They really share emotions and are very honest in their writing.

 

http://beledbyreason.wordpress.com/ New to our WordPress family, this site brings beautiful photography of Hawaii with poetry to match. The lady behind it also opens up with feelings about various topics and gives us some history of the islands through her photos and her words. Always a nice visit.

 

 

http://serinssphere.wordpress.com/ I like this site a lot because I am always surprised at what I’ll see next but I always know it’ll be good. A great supporter and commenter for my blogs, with honest feedback which is always a plus in my book.

 

© Copyright-All rights reserved-RonovanWrites.wordpress.com-June 13, 2014.