Who's Your Mommy?

Everyone, even the most notorious serial killer of kittens, has a mother. Some mothers bake apple pies, some program apple computers, but mothers they are. Some live next door, some live on the next continent. Some are cuddly, some are prickly. Some are people anyone would want for their best friend, some make Machiavelli look like a Boy Scout. They certainly come in all shapes, sizes and colours. But regardless, mothers play a role in all of our lives.

Take a minute to take a look at your main character and then squint to see if you can see the imprint of his/her mother. Perhaps it's in their attitudes, or their fondness for chocolate cake. Perhaps it's how they have guilt if they leave their bed unmade or abandon dirty dishes in the sink. It may make them wary of close relationships. It may make them avoid people of a certain physical type - or it may attract them to a type.

The absence of a mother is going to leave a mark too. These characters, although usually highly independent, have a tendency to not want others to get too close. Many will deal with feelings of abandonment or inadequacy.

Fun times.

You didn't grow up in a vacuum. Neither did your main character. Squint. Trust me, she's there.

Fun Friday

There's always time for trivia. Some of these were new to me, some were already known. Revel in the trivia.

A rat can last longer without water than a camel.

Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks or it will digest itself.

The dot over the letter "i" is called a tittle.

A raisin dropped in a glass of fresh champagne will bounce up and
down continuously from the bottom of the glass to the top.

Sherlock Holmes NEVER said, "Elementary, my dear Watson."

Because metal was scarce, the Oscars given out during World War II were made of wood.

The number of possible ways of playing the first four moves per
side in a game of chess is 318,979,564,000.

There are no words in the dictionary that rhyme with orange,
purple and silver.

The very first bomb dropped by the Allies on Berlin in World War II killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.

If one places a tiny amount of liquor on a scorpion, it will
instantly go mad and sting itself to death. (Who was the sadist who
discovered this??)

Bruce Lee was so fast that they actually had to s-l-o-w film down
so you could see his moves. That's the opposite of the norm.

The first CD pressed in the US was Bruce Springsteen's "Born in
the USA."

The original name for butterfly was flutterby.

The phrase "rule of thumb" is derived from an old English law which
stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.

The first product Motorola started to develop was a record player
for automobiles. At that time, the most known player on the market was Victrola, so they called themselves Motorola.

By raising your legs slowly and lying on your back, you cannot
sink into quicksand.

Celery has negative calories. It takes more calories to eat a
piece of celery than the celery has in it to begin with.

Charlie Chaplin once won third prize in a Charlie Chaplin
look-alike contest.

An old law in Bellingham, Washington, made it illegal for a woman
to take more than three steps backwards while dancing!

The Guinness Book of Records holds the record for being the book
most often stolen from public libraries.

The glue on Israeli postage is certified kosher.

Thirties Thursday

Here's a selection of 1930s travel posters; all works of art. Take a moment to enjoy them and the glamourous trips they promote. Remember, these posters came out while the Great Depression was going on. Obviously some people were doing just fine.

And They All Lived...

Sooner or later we all get to write our version of this...

or (if you're like me) it's probably more like this...

Sorry. That was shameless self-promotion of my highest-selling game.

But, the picture has a link to the game if you're interested.

Oops...Sorry again.

BACK TO OUR POST....

Sooner or later we all get to write our version of this...

Some stories end like this....

or like this...

maybe there might be a this...

with plenty of this...

Your main character might be doing this...

But you must know (hidden in the backseat) is a small this...

In my case, however...

No matter how I end any of my projects...

I know...

in my heart...

Somewhere...

a sheep is doing this.

10 of My Writing Mysteries

10. Why is everyone able to write faster than I can?

9. Why do my characters keep forgetting that I'm the one in charge?

8. Why did I write a main character who knows more about a certain subject than I do?

7. Why is it when I'm away from my computer I can write reams in my head but when I sit down at the keyboard I've got nothing to type?

6. Where did my self-confidence go?

5. Why is it the passage I was so proud of yesterday today reveals itself as being as flat and dry as week-old pancakes?

4. Where did that plot hole come from? I swear I didn't write it.

3. Why did I ever think I was capable of writing something anyone would want to read?

2. WHO DRANK ALL THE COFFEE?

1. Forget it. Where's the wine?

The Outside World

There are many questions every writer faces as they write their stories and usually one of those questions is "How big a role will the outside world play in my plot?" All of our characters live in our made-up world, but unless you write in a genre like science fiction or fantasy, real-life events have to be incorporated or ignored.

Many authors have history play a vital role - it would be difficult to find a modern-day spy thriller that doesn't take the war against terrorism into account. On the other hand, if you're the writer of lighter fiction, it's possible that the only role the real world plays in your manuscripts is that your characters carry smart phones and perhaps tweet to their friends or discover their love life is falling apart because of someone's status update on Facebook.

My manuscript's plot takes place in the past which gives me the advantage of knowing how and when events played out. Although my characters are aware of their world, I have not made them main players in it. I don't have Winston Churchill as a character (although he is mentioned in a passing conversation). All my characters, however, have attitudes coloured by the experience of living through World War I as it would be (in my opinion) impossible to write true-to-life characters without taking that into account.

However, they (like us) don't know what will happen next week, next year or tomorrow. We learn from looking backwards since we can't look ahead. A seemingly insignificant event today could be charged with meaning a year later.

If you're a writer, how big a role does the outside world play in your formulation of your plots? And if you're a reader, do you want real-time events to be echoed in your reading, or do you want simply to escape into simpler plots where the outside world plays little or no role?

Fun Friday

It's Fun Friday. In honour of the royal wedding (which I watched in the early hours this morning) here are some not-so-ordinary wedding cake toppers.

And now, wedding vows a la Dr. Seuss. I make no judgments.

Minister: Will you take her as your wife? Will you love her all your life?

Groom: Yes, I take her as my wife, Yes, I'll love her all my life.

Minister: Will you have, and also hold Just as you have at this time told?

Groom: Yes, I will have, and I will hold, Just as I have at this time told, Yes, I will love her all my life As I now take her as my wife.

Thirties Thursday

In honour of the season here in my part of the world and a certain wedding happening tomorrow, here's a selection of hats from the 1930s. It was a time when a woman wouldn't venture out the door without some sort of hat covering her head.

I'd wear a few of these!

(All images found on Google images)

Just Keep Writing

Why is there this?

Ah. You've got a new this...

It's time to do this...

And this...

and this...

If you're worried your plot is doing this...

Ignore it and just keep doing this...

Even when you're faced with this...

You've got to keep doing this...

Even when you're sure your room looks like this...

And you'd swear you're doing this...

Just keep doing this....

And even more this...

And know someday soon you'll be doing this.