Letter Z

"Nothing builds self-esteem and self-confidence like accomplishment." ~Thomas Carlyle

Letter Z is the least used letter of the English alphabet, at 0.07%. That's not to say that Z is inferior to other letters. On the contrary, this little lightening bolt symbolizes accomplishment. It is the last letter of our alphabet and if you've made it to Z, you've made it all the way. 

I'd like to congratulate all those in the A to Z challenge who made it to Z. Bravo! 

This was my first year participating in the challenge and I've had a wonderful experience. I've met many kind, amazing, funny, brave and intelligent people along the way. I've learned things, smiled a lot and had fun. I've also grown as a blogger. In the past, I had difficulty figuring out what to blog about. On the rare occasions I blogged, I would spend a lot of time agonizing over my posts and wondering if they were worth anything. Not that anyone ever read them anyway. The whole affair seems easier now. Thank you to all my new followers and friends.

Blessings!
  
 

Sometimes Y

"Knowledge is indivisible. When people grow wise in one direction, they are sure to make it easier for themselves to grow wise in other directions as well. On the other hand, when they split up knowledge, concentrate on their own field, and scorn and ignore other fields, they grow less wise--even in their own field." ~Isaac Asimov

I'm currently in the process of preparing my sons first grade home school curriculum. He taught himself how to read when he was four and can read almost anything now (he'll be six in June), but he's never had any phonics training, so I decided I'll review phonetics with him to boost his confidence and skill as a reader. This brought me to the letter Y, this mysterious letter that is sometimes a vowel and sometimes a consonant.  I didn't know what made it which, so, in order to teach my son, I looked it up.

Y is a vowel when it takes the place of a regular vowel, as in system, syllable or mystery. It is also a vowel when it creates a diphthong, as in boy (oi).

Y is a consonant when it appears at the start of a syllable where there is anther vowel, as in yam, yes or player. 



Pretty simple.

Tomorrow's post - Letter Z

Letter X

"A letter does not blush." ~Marcus Tullius Cicero

Not many common words begin with the 24th letter of the English alphabet. For fun, I've added a link from Scrabble Finder that identifies words that start with X.  

http://www.scrabblefinder.com/starts-with/x/

Fun facts about letter X

1.  When typing in correct format, you use your ring finger to strike letter X. 
2. Xanthan is found in many foods today, especially gluten-free foods. It is a bacteria-produced gum typically derived from corn. 
3. In Elizabethan times, the word Xanthippe meant to yearn.  

 X marks the spot!   

Monday's post -  Sometimes Y

Writing

"You fail only if you stop writing." ~Ray Bradbury

Here is the prologue to my manuscript, Turning Red. 

Prologue

One in the morning. The ticking magnetic clock on the fridge matched the throb in Betty's head. From windowsills framing darkened glass, and from nearly every inch of counter space, a variety of plants seemed to stare at her, awaiting an explanation.

"I know, I'm not usually out this late. Anti-death penalty sit-in and then coffee with the activists. I'm really livin' it up now." She dusted a spider plant's leaf with her finger. "I promise you'll all have a drink in the morning."

Yawning, she filled a glass with water, guzzled it and then reached into her purse for her phone. Rebecca should have called.

The phone wouldn't turn on. "Battery's dead again?"

She plugged it in and checked her inbox. Rebecca had left a message: yes, she could meet Betty for lunch tomorrow.

Another call had come at quarter to ten, from her Uncle Frank. She smiled as the automated voice recited his number, something she knew by heart. She needed some of his humor after the long night of serious discussion. The moment she heard his voice, however, her chest tightened. He sounded rushed and too quiet, like he was trying to whisper. "Betty," and then a pause that lasted too long, "I think… I'm in big trouble. She's coming—oh God."

Adrenaline shaking her fingers, Betty punched in his number. She bit her lip while the phone rang.

Please, Frank, pick up.

No answer.

Probably just asleep. She's coming? Who did he mean?

She punched in his number again, chewing her fingernail while she waited.

Still no answer.

Her heart raced and a terrified sense of urgency coursed through her. If only she knew someone in Idaho who she could call to check on him. If only she lived closer. She had no one in the world if anything happened to Frank. He was more than just an uncle; he'd been her legal guardian and remained one of her best friends.

She tried his number a third time.

No answer.

Surely his ancient landline would have awakened him after three calls. Frank hated missing the phone. He always picked up. Always.

Again, she listened to his quavering voice: "Betty… I think… I'm in big trouble. She's coming—oh God." Who, Frank. Who's coming? 

Tomorrow's post - Letter X

Voice

"The voice of the intellect is a soft one, but it does not rest until it has gained a hearing." ~Sigmund Freud

Voice makes a writer recognizable, unique and special. Yet it's something many authors struggle with. It's well worth the effort to find your own personal writing voice. It's the very thing that will make your manuscript stand out among the throngs. 

Finding your voice

• Don't try to copy anyone else. Trying to mimic another author is one of the surest ways to lose your voice. Write like you, from your thoughts and the things in your head and heart.
• Keep your inner critic locked away until it's time to edit. That nagging little whisper in your head will always tell you something sounds stupid if it's allowed free during first drafts.  
• Figure out who you're telling this story to and write it as if you were actually telling them the story. If you're imagining you're telling it to your best friend, your voice will most likely be more intimate and relaxed than if you're telling it to a group of strangers. Are you telling your mother, your children? 
• Use the words you normally use. Resist the urge to sound writerly or smart by throwing in words that will send readers to a dictionary. That's a great way to pull them out of the story world. It's also a sure way to lose your voice.   
• Have confidence in your own voice. Think of your favorite authors and how unappealing it would be if they all sounded alike. They probably wouldn't be your favorite authors. You could be someones favorite author one day. You're voice is worth it.

Tomorrow's post - Writing  

Uninhibited writing

"Write a little everyday, without hope and without despair." ~Isak Dinesen

One of the best stories I've written to date came from a dream. Upon waking, I quickly jotted it down and there it sat in a notebook for a few years. Later, when I pulled it out to make a story from it, I found it needed very little editing. When I jotted it down, I wasn't trying to make it perfect, I was just letting it come out naturally. 

I wish it was always that easy. Just sit down for a few minutes and scribble out daydreams or nightdreams and viola! A wonderful story appears. Sometimes getting a story right feels like trying to bend re-bar with my hands. There are some things one can practice to help push that annoying internal editor out of the way and tap into stream of consciousness. 

1. Don't be afraid to write crap. First drafts always need a lot of work, whether you're stressing out about if it's good or not. Accept that crap will come out with the brilliance. You can always delete it later.
2. Relax. They say if you relax your face, the rest of your body will follow. In turn, a relaxed body creates a relaxed mind. A relaxed mind is more creative.
3. Write whatever comes to mind. Sometimes if you're writing from stream of consciousness,  strange and silly things appear on the paper, things that don't make sense to your internal editor. Don't delete it! Leave it there and let the piece sit for a while. When you go back to it, you might find the strange and silly parts make the story. You might decide some of them don't work at all and are ridiculous, but at least you gave them a chance.   

 Tomorrow's post - Voice 

When telling is better than showing. Is that even possible?

"Great stories happen to those who can tell them." ~Ira Glass

We've all heard the warning, no, the rule:  Show, don't tell. But, while showing should be the dominant force in writing, there are instances when telling is the best avenue.

When to tell -

• To compress time - Say your character just experienced something so extraordinary that she has to tell someone. She probably needs help, after all. Rather than having her actually rehash what readers just saw her going through, a quick summery is best. She told her sister what happened and they headed straight to the airport. In this same regard, there are times when a full-blown scene of showing would take too long because it's not that important to the story. Readers need the information, but it's not really scene worthy.
• To provide back-story - I try to only use summary for back-story as a last resort. But there are times when it's best. When the character's back-story isn't a big enough part of the plot to necessitate a flashback but is still important, summary might be the best way. But I'd say only if he doesn't have anyone he'd share it with through dialogue.
• To develop character - I think this has largely to do with pace and structure. There are times that just seem innate to telling what a character looks like, how they're feeling or what they're thinking. All showing with no telling doesn't always feel natural. Good stories are balanced and varied. 

 When not to tell - 

• Readers don't need you to explain what's going on if you've already shown it through dialogue or character actions.
•  Details matter. If your summery generalizes things too much, you probably need a full scene. 
• If your plot is moving too fast, you probably need to turn some of those summaries into scenes. 
• If beta readers are complaining that they're having trouble visualizing part of your story, does that section contain summary that you could expand into a scene with more sensory details? 

Tomorrow's post - Uninhibited writing