Tag: edit

Do You Have A Super Power?

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Yeah, that is my super power. My better half has the uncanny super power of scent (thus Lonely Author bathes regularly. Rubber ducky doesn’t mind).

Today, posting wasn’t in my plans. However, I just read the works of a writer who deeply inspires me. Need to work off some steam, so let’s go.

I am tired of going to the movies and half the choices are comic book heroes. I have always been a big fan of Batman and Ironman, but things in Hollywood are out of control. What can I say, Hollywood has never been known for great originality. Ninety five percent of the great movies were taken from novels. And many of those they screwed up.

Big James Bond fan, too. Always thought Sean Connery was the best, but that was until Daniel Craig came along. His interpretation of a less than perfect Bond, with so many flaws fascinates me.

The best books and movies are usually about flawed characters who have to overcome their fears in order to defeat their adversaries.

Please, someone, anyone, keep me company. Lonely Author needs conversation.

Do you have a super power?

If you could pick one, what super power would it be?

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for so long

Published on by thelonelyauthorblog202 Comments

I wanted to change things up. Reading the works of so many inspiring writers I have penned this.

Criticisms please.

Ladies, be gentle. This was my first time…..hehehe

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for so long

–

for so long

I have adored her through my window

far too long

I have suffered her silent tears

so unloved

this siren breathes unappreciated

too unloved

retreating in the shadows of her fears

 

for so long

 he abused her with his hatred

far too long

drowning in her love in vain

so unloved

if only she would let me adore her

too unloved

my tears could wash away her pain

 

Do You Enjoy Writing Wicked?

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Every hero needs a villain.

Remember the cardboard cutout dastardly villain who squeezed his handle bar mustache between his fingers while tying the damsel in distress to the railroad tracks. Those days are over.

If you are a writer and you have a great hero, there is one thing that you need; an even GREATER villain.

Today’s readers and audiences don’t expect a bad guy who is all brawn and no brains. They want a villain who challenges our hero and defeats him time and time again. This allows you to build tension. Readers want a cunning evil doer who is always two steps ahead of our protagonist.

Think of The Joker (the Heath Ledger version of course) in The Dark Knight, constantly outwitting everyone including Batman. Hannibal Lecter “quid pro quo” demands of Clarice Starling; before he led her to a serial killer (Buffalo Bill) she desperately needed to stop, all the while planning his bold escape from prison. Each bad guy absolutely brilliant yet controlled by their psychopathic desires.

To strengthen your story, give your villain a justified reason to be evil. In my yet to be published sci-fi novel/screenplay, Paradox, Mabus (villain) witnessed the slaughter of his family, now he will over protect his kingdom (his new family). Give the antagonist motivations and goals that conflict with your hero’s needs. Let them clash. The protagonist/antagonist opposing needs will provide conflict throughout your story building to a page turning finale.

This chimp loves writing antagonist and their evil deeds (and an occasional naughty).

Do you enjoy writing wicked?

Please note: My poetic friends, you are not off the hook. Do you enjoy writing wicked?                                                         (I mean wicked in all its evil and naughty connotations.)

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50 Shades of Black and Blue

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Friends on occasion ask me, Lonely Author do you penchant poetry? Yes, people close to me use the word penchant. That demonstrates I don’t monkey around when it comes to deciding who I let into my inner circle.

After journeying through the blogosphere and reading the intriguing works of many a poet and poetess, I am inspired to dabble in poetic verse or two.

I hope I inspire you as well. (And I don’t mean to quit writing.)

50 Shades of Black and Blue

                                                    By Lonely Author

She beat me to a pulp
that’s what sadists do
kicked me over and over
til I was 50 shades of black and blue

She hit me with a bat
slammed against the window sill
oh the excruciating pain
she showed me my cable bill

Poked me in the eye
smashed my little toe
stomped on my fingers
all to prevent me from writing prose

Have a wonderful week. Hope I made you smile.

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Jake Cross Can’t Live Another Day Without Her

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Seven billion people dead; yet his selfish heart only mourned for one.

The distraught figure dragged his body to the ledge of the mountaintop, as if he alone towed the burdens of a dying planet. He looked down on the futuristic metropolis constructed over the ashes of mankind. The alien city with its pale glass structures resembled a crystal cemetery of broken dreams.

Clutching the last remaining evidence that humans once inhabited the Earth, he groaned.

Through misty eyes, Jake Cross admired a photograph of his wife Lisa. His heart pounded against his ribs like a relentless bill collector at the door. Intolerable emptiness grew inside him like a cancerous black hole, eating away at his brittle psyche, devouring his aching soul.

He pressed the photo against his heaving chest as if her image could wipe away his pain.

Who better to console him? Lisa always neutralized his sorrows with a smile or warm embrace. Wiping the moisture from his eyes, a warm breeze caressed his skin reminding him of her gentle touch. He trembled like a virgin relishing her first kiss. Would he eventually forget the sound of her soft voice?

Jake couldn’t live like this. Earth without Lisa would be as cold and desolate as Pluto. He vowed to search for her. He needed to know if she survived. A horrifying thought crept into his mind like a swarm of stampeding centipedes. What if she suffered the same fate as the seven billion others?

He rubbed the photo against his chest with violent motions like an irritated student hoping to erase an error from a page. He preferred to cling to diminishing hope because the alternative…..

Jake shut his moist brown eyes.

It would be easier to stop breathing than to live another day without her.

  • – Jake Cross is the main character of my manuscript/screenplay Paradox.

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Do Fiction Writers Live Vicariously Through Their Characters?

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Yes, I do.

Remember the last time someone acted a bit snarky with you at the supermarket or on line at the local bank. Have you replayed a moment like that in your mind wishing you had said something clever? Well, one of my secondary characters in my manuscript Paradox, his name is Razor, always has a wry remark ready. Yes, and I grit my teeth and shake my fist every time he says the clever line that’s never discharged from my mouth.

Do I Live vicariously through my characters?

YES, yes, yes. I admit it. With no shame or guilt. My characters accomplish all the things that I never could. They lead exciting lives traveling the world, sipping on the finest champagne, making love to the most beautiful women, and most importantly; overcoming every obstacle. And trust me, I make it hard for them!

Andrew Duran the mysterious fugitive with the secretive past; skilled in combat and in bed. Veyda the unselfish warrior determined to save mankind, ready to sacrifice her own happiness to save the world. These guys are filled with such passion. Theirs lives are extraordinary.

So, I admit my characters bring excitement to my life. And why not? They are the most interesting people I know.

Do you live through vicariously through your characters?

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Melinda Gordon Conversing With The Dead

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From September 2005 until May 2010 CBS produced and aired five seasons of the supernatural drama Ghost Whisperer. Jennifer Love Hewitt played Melinda Gordon a young lady with a special gift; the ability to see and speak to Earth bound spirits (ghosts). She helped these lost souls and their grieving families resolve unfinished business in order for the ghosts to eventually cross into the light. Thanks to Hulu, my wife and I have spent valuable (yes, honey I said valuable and typed it in italics) time watching the life of Melinda Gordon.

Figured October would be the perfect time to discuss death. We will be discussing ghost dead not zombie dead (Ha ha, you see I know zombies are in and vampires are out).

Of all the gifts in the world to receive, conversing with the dead is pretty low on my list. Probably comes right after the gift of tooth decay and mental illness.

My apologies to Mitch Albom author of One More Day and The Five People You Meet In Heaven, but other than my parents, I don’t wish to speak to anyone from beyond unless its Bed, Bath, and Beyond. (My wife just bought these wonderful leaf shaped place mats for Thanksgiving. You have to see them). Every week the dead waste their time fighting and complaining with Melinda like Walmart shoppers on Black Friday. And if you believe courtesy and politeness are out of style, the dead don’t bother with any formalities. They are selfish, unforgiving, and cold. Well, maybe we shouldn’t be surprised by the cold part.

The dead don’t talk about sports, politics, or the weather. Even the ghosts of the elderly act strange. No mention of their hip replacement surgery, their rheumatoid arthritis, or cholesterol. And wouldn’t you know it; I have yet to see a smoking ghost. I guess they finally learned that cigarettes kill when they arrived on the other side. At that point, you may as well continue smoking, it won’t kill you again. Hey, Surgeon General we don’t need to see those disgusting commercials that ruin my late night snacking. Trust me, all smokers are going to quit.

On a positive note, if I received the gift of talking to the dead, I can talk to my parents again. My mom would complain about my poor diet. My father would snicker, still writing stupid crap? I told you to study accounting.

Yeah right, talking to the dead. This is one present I will definitely re-gift.

What are your thoughts? Would you like to talk to the dead?

Please note: asking for directions doesn’t count.

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The Baby Said, “Oh Shit.”

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My day started like any other day cursing the literary Gods for not publishing my brilliant novel while standing in the kitchen adding sweetener to my morning coffee. Knocking the jar over, the delicious whiteness spilled onto the counter. Before I could fret over the sudden delay in my morning fix or over the rising cost of sugar, the baby said, “Oh shit.”

The child looked at me and smiled.

The thought “don’t laugh” echoed in my skull like an obnoxious car alarm screeching in the freakin’ middle of the night. Where did she learn such an appropriate phrase? And I say appropriate only because she used it in all its contextual glory with perfect pronunciation and intonation; all this from a two year old who to this day won’t say her own name.

Did she learn this language watching Peppa Pig? Or has SpongeBob gotten his Square Pants in a bunch? Where in the world could she haven’t learned this language?

Taking the low road as any respectful male adult would do, I chose to ignore her choice of words as if this mere act could strike the phrase from her memory. After making a mental note to advise my wife of the baby’s newest vocabulary word, I started cleaning up the mess.

As fate would have it, I stubbed my big toe and a thousand thunder bolts attacked my aching appendage like Walmart shoppers on Black Friday. Before I could bite my lip I uttered, “Oh shit.”

Baby looked at me. She raised her thick brows and smiled.

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Top Ten Disadvantages To Marrying a Writer

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Top Ten Disadvantages to Marrying A Writer

10- He encourages you to find your voice even when you don’t have laryngitis

   9- You will be expected to critique the first draft of the Dear John letter he is writing for you.

   8- Writer’s block prevents her from completing the grocery list.

   7- During disagreements your spouse will always take the omniscient point of view.

   6- He provides vivid descriptions of what he did in the bathroom.

   5- The only time he will throw out the garbage if you refer to it as the slush pile.

   4- During the middle of an argument your spouse stops to search for a thesaurus in order to avoid word repetition.

   3- You go to a sex counselor and realize your spouse’s definition of climax is different from yours.

   2- Your spouse will inform you the threatening tone in an IRS letter is an example of foreshadowing.

   1- He reads your private diary at his weekly writing workshop.

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Support Systems: My Number One Fan

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There are many support systems a writer can turn to and some of them may be as close as the next room. A few years ago when i wrote my first science fiction screenplay Paradox, I received great motivation and insight from my poetry writing, movie going thirteen year old daughter Catherine. You wouldn’t expect that from a young teen, but her suggestions were invaluable.

After reading my script, Catherine recommended changes in dialogue responses that added conflict and foreshadowing to many scenes. Her observations about my characters helped me build better secondary characters, a delicious antagonist that everyone will love to hate, and kept my protagonist always in character. Later when I adapted Paradox to novel format, she suggested tweaks to dialogue that improved characterization. Her poetry writing habit of always searching for the right word improved my manuscript with a few minor words changes.

My arduous journey to publication may be a lonely one, but at least I had my number one fan in my corner.

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