I came across this quote last week while attending a webinar for work and was amazed at how interested I was in these six small words.

Though there is some debate as to who the quote should be attributed to, Hemingway supposedly said that he could tell a great story in only six words. His example was:

“For sale, baby carriage. Never used.”

Oh, the thoughts that sprang into my head. The story there – you can imagine your own tale for this person. Is it a husband and wife, selling the baby carriage they bought before finding out they couldn’t have children? Or did their child die? Or is it a husband selling the baby carriage because his wife died in childbirth, taking the baby with her?

On looking it up, I found a few other versions, such as the idea that he said “shoes” instead of “carriage.” Whatever noun you use, though, it’s interesting to me that he (or someone) posed the idea of telling a story in just six words.

From being trained as a journalist, I understand the need to be concise. All of the little flowery details should be left to poetry, if they’re included there at all. Write what is important. Write what needs to be said.

There’s the old saying that “less is more.” I think that also applies to writing. Let your reader’s imagination work. There’s too little of that happening these days anyway.

Here’s the description of the book off of Goodreads:

“Regime change” did not begin with the administration of George W. Bush, but has been an integral part of U.S. foreign policy for more than one hundred years. Starting with the toppling of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893, the United States has not hesitated to overthrow governments that stood in the way of its political and economic goals. The invasion of Iraq in 2003 is but the latest example of the dangers inherent in these operations.

In Overthrow, Stephen Kinzer tells the stories of the audacious politicians, spies, military commanders, and business executives who took it upon themselves to depose foreign regimes. He details the three eras of America’s regime-change century–the imperial era, which brought Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Nicaragua, and Honduras under America’s sway; the cold war era, which employed covert action against Iran, Guatemala, South Vietnam, and Chile; and the invasion era, which saw American troops toppling governments in Grenada, Panama, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

Kinzer explains why the U.S. government has pursued these operations and why so many of them have had disastrous long-term consequences, making Overthrow a cautionary tale that serves as an urgent warning as the United States seeks to define its role in the modern world.

I had the opportunity to meet Kinzer when I was in college. I was a journalism student at the time, and it was really cool to meet a journalist who had covered so much in so many places. (He has covered stories on five different continents, and was the NY Times Bureau Chief in Istanbul, Turkey.)

While I won’t go into details (it would be a REALLY long blog post if I did!) suffice it to say that I finished this book with the sense that we, as citizens of the United States of America, need to study our history. While I know we aren’t a very old country, like many of the countries of Europe or like China, we have a sort of ADD when it comes to things that have happened in the past. What’s happening now is the only thing we know about, and even then we don’t know much. Once something else catches our attention, we forget what we were doing before.

If we (or more accurately, our leaders) had studied some history and knew what happened in the past, we might have been able to avoid some of these problems we’re facing today. Kinzer makes the strong point that, had we not gotten involved in (or been smarter about how we were involved in) kicking the Soviets out of Afghanistan, the attacks on 9/11 might never have happened. (Obviously, there were other factors, but we contributed.)

This was a very good read, and anyone interested in how the U.S. has interfered in other countries, and probably hurt our safety rather than strengthening it, should check out this book or some of Kinzer’s other books.

If you want to try your hand at writing your own, go for it and let me know how it goes.

This exchange, from one of my favorite tv shows, Bones, is one that caught my attention.

Dr. Temperance ‘Bones’ Brennan: Well, anthropologically speaking, paramilitaristic organizations tend to constrain individuality.
Special Agent Seeley Booth: That’s for sure.
Dr. Temperance ‘Bones’ Brennan: But in any group, no matter how restrictive, the free thinkers, the mavericks, the rebels with leadership qualities find a way to declare their distinctiveness.

The meaning, to me, is that no matter what tries to keep you down, your true personality and creativity will always be there. It will find its way to the surface, despite anything in its way.

I like that. I like that idea that any character will “declare their distinctiveness.” To me, it means so much more than that, and I really want every character I create to show how they are different, and what their true colors are.

What quotes inspire you?

Here’s the description off of Goodreads:

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined.

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan’s life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she’s known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth – that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she’ll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

The characters, I felt, came alive in my mind as I was listening along to Khristine Hvam as she narrated. She was fantastic. The voices she used and the way she read the scenes only enhanced the story, which is what an excellent narrator is supposed to do.

I enjoyed the way the story unfolded, and I really found myself really picturing the characters, human and faery alike. Irish mythology has a special place in my heart, so I  recognized a lot of the characters in the fae world that Meghan travels through. I thought the Iron Fey a very interesting idea (you’ll have to read the book to really get what I’m talking about – I won’t give away too much of the plot!)

The romance was there between Meghan and Ash – a faery prince – and though the whole forbidden love device is widely used, I didn’t dislike the way she used it. The main, overarching story is the one of an older sister searching for her stolen younger brother, the one person who hadn’t made her sometimes feel as if she didn’t belong, and doing anything for her family. Many people can relate to this girl’s love for her younger sibling, and I was aching for Meghan to find him and bring him home.

This really was an excellent book, read very well in audiobook form, but I would recommend picking it up in any form. It’s meant for young adults (the main character turns 16 at the beginning of the book) but I still enjoyed it.

Find this book on: Amazon / Barnes & Noble

I know it’s difficult sometimes to get kids reading. Some think it’s nerdy, or they want to go do other things. I know children who hate to read. Some have problems, such as dyslexia, which hold them back. (That is a case when I suggest a wonderful thing called an audiobook. I have a friend who is dyslexic, but he listens to audiobooks all the time.) Others, though, just don’t want to do it, sometimes because of peer pressure that it’s uncool.

Reading improves the mind in more ways than can be measured in a classroom. That’s why I (and many, many other people) believe reading is so important.

Thankfully, the young adult and middle school reading levels are filled with books that should hopefully provide every child with books that interest them. More books enter those age-related categories every year.

I found this site via Pinterest that gives the 100 Best Children’s Chapter Books. I’ve read more than half of these, and here are my favorites:

A Wrinkle in Time - I loved Madeleine L’Engle‘s books when I was in middle school. A Newbery Medal winner, this book (and the series) fascinated me.

Artemis Fowl - This series is great. Not only is it about a young kid who is also an evil genius, but it involves fairies and the author seems to enjoys sarcasm as much as I do.

Harry Potter - I don’t think I need to say much about this book, or the series. Everyone should read these books, in my opinion.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – This series should also be read by everyone. The movies are amazing, but the books are even better.

The Giver - I read this book when I was in early elementary school, so I didn’t get everything out of it that someone older would have. I reread it my freshman year of high school, when my English teacher debated me on some of the points I thought I remembered. Still a good book, and worth rereading.

Julie of the Wolves - This book captivated me when I was a fifth grader.

The Hobbit – I have another post about this wonderful book, so I won’t say any more here.

Where the Red Fern Grows – As one of my husband’s favorite books, I have to list it here. (I enjoyed it, too.)

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events - This series is really about a series of unfortunate events, all which befall three orphaned siblings who merely want to be happy.

Island of Blue Dolphins – This book won a Newbery Medal, and it deserved it. I really enjoyed this book when I was younger.

Ella Enchanted – Written by an amazing author, this is another Newbery Medal winner. I would personally recommend all of Gail Carson Levine‘s novels.

If your child isn’t quite to reading chapter books yet, the site also has a list of the 100 Best Picture Books of All-Time.

I found out via Twitter that Rebecca Rogers  was giving copies of her saga out for reviews, and I signed up. I thought the descriptions sounded intriguing, and while the whole werewolf genre is a little overdone at the moment, I thought I’d give it a go.

The premise behind these books is an interesting one. Here it is, in as short a summary as I can make it:

A long time ago, in the days before indoor plumbing, gasoline-powered vehicles and electricity, a man and a woman – Ulric and Daciana – are bitten by a werewolf. They were told if they told no one about it, they would live forever, but their children would be free from the curse.

The wolf who bit them plotted to try and make others suffer as she had suffered, for being different and for practicing magic. Then, the Ulric’s brother – Alaric – is cursed for causing the woman to be tried and killed as a witch (she also curses his family, which curses Ulric and Daciana, as well) and he ends up casting Ulric and Daciana to an alternate universe. Thus started the curse of the werewolves and a family feud.

Fast forward to modern day, and Candra is sent to live with her aunt and uncle after getting into too much trouble at home. She has to graduate with good grades during her senior year, or else. Then she learns of the family curse, that she will become a werewolf on her 18th birthday, and that she – and a boy from the family bent on destroying hers – might be the key to breaking the curse.

This book is definitely aimed at the young adult in their early high school years, in my opinion. It involves time travel, magic and other bits and pieces of fantasy. There were points in the story that I found either went way too fast, or way to slow. I liked the main character, Candra, well enough. She, like many of the other characters, was a little shallow for me, but I still liked her. Ben – the main guy – and some of the other characters needed some work, in my opinion. I also don’t go for the whole anger-passion thing. At one point, he makes her kiss him by choking her until she does. I get the whole werewolf thing, and violence inherent with that, but it bothered me to read it. The idea of “marking” someone, and that they will, at some point, be your mate – sort of a soul mate twist – was an interesting concept.

The end was too quick for me. I think that’s what got me the most and left a slightly bad taste in my mouth. Things just played out, randomly, and I didn’t see how things were going to turn out the way they did. It was too much to really keep me in the suspended disbelief state that authors want you in while reading their book. It felt sort of quick and clumsy, like they just stumbled along the way and somehow fixed everything. I’m not saying that none of it belonged in the story or everything needed to change. I just think it needed a little more time and thought.

Overall, the saga was decent. It needed work, but I always enjoy a happy ending.

You can find out more about the saga  at the author’s web site. 

The first real day of the storm, when my city had sleet falling all day to coat just about everything, I saw this story on my local news station website. The first sentence caught my immediate ire: ”It looks like a war zone right now in the city of Sioux Falls.”

My thoughts: Really? It looks like an actual war zone?

A lot of analogies and metaphors made by TV news reporters and other journalists bother me. Mostly, it’s the ones that are obviously exaggerated. They pick words and phrases that make good sound bites and will catch the most people’s eyes and ears. Every time there’s some big story, they search for the best sounding phrases, analogies and metaphors to help describe it. Some are good, and some aren’t so good. Even The Wall Street Journal had an article that bemoaned the use of bad analogies during the financial crisis our country is going through.

“Is bailing out Wall Street more akin to taking your Grand Am to the mechanic or your grandma to the Mayo Clinic?” the first sentence asks.

Using metaphors and analogies is part of storytelling. Every writer uses them regularly. How else are you supposed to describe things so that your reader will see what you’re seeing in your head and understand what you’re trying to get across?

However, when we use them inappropriately, or use a cliched metaphor, or in any other way that doesn’t truly enhance your story, you end up with a bad analogy or metaphor, or worse, one that’s laughable. There’s tons of web sites and posts out there that highlight many bad metaphors and analogies, including (and these came from just a quick Google search):

Ever Use a A Metaphor, Simile or Analogy? by The Nautical Muse

Bad Metaphors and Worse Similes by EddieSnipes.com

42 Really Bad Analogies, Similes and Metaphors by Socratic Mama.

You can write really good analogies, and a lot of times when you do read a good one, you don’t always notice the phrase or sentence, really, but instead are simply drawn more into the story. Marcy Kennedy has a good post about the power of descriptive writing (the type of writing in which similes, metaphors and analogies live) and also a good post describing all the ways they can go wrong.

All I ask is that you think twice about your metaphors and analogies when you write them. Make them fit in with the story, and don’t make them outrageous.

There, I’ve written it down. I’ve posted this for the whole world to see. Maybe now people will stop telling me to create an outline for projects.

Even in school, I hated it when the teacher required an outline for a writing assigment. The outline was so final, to my way of thinking, and left no room to stretch. Chances were, I would change my mind in the middle of the assignment, and then have to go back and change the outline.

That would make me think twice about my idea, though, because isn’t the outline supposed to have everything already in it? See, I’m the kind of person who thinks of the best ideas when I’m in the middle of a project, not at the beginning. It seemed like tedious, needless work to me.

Some people need an outline. I get that. Some people even like them! (Unfathomable to me.) It’s not a bad idea to have an idea from the start where your story is supposed to go.

To me, though, writing down more than a couple sentences about the gist of the story is a waste of time that you could have spent starting your project. That’s usually what my journal that I keep on the side of my bed is for: I wake up from a dream, or have a thought before I go to sleep at night, and I write those down in my journal. I might flesh them out a little later when I go back to them, especially when I don’t have time for writing right at that moment, but for the most part, I do not worry about creating something like an outline.

I’m all for being organized, and please don’t think that I am prejudiced against people that create them for their projects. They’re just not for me.

What do you think about outlines? Helpful or not helpful?

Similar posts:

“Guidelines not outlines” from Moody Blog.

I hope you, if you’re a writer, feel the same way. (If you’re not a writer, I hope you have something in your life that makes you feel the same way.)

I came across this blog post from Rachelle Gardner back in February that I really liked. I love blog posts that make me think, and 8 Ways to Be a Happy Author made me think about the way I am as an author. As the title suggests, it’s a list of things that will hopefully make you happier as a writer and author. I narrowed it down a little for myself, but here are my favorites from that list:

• Resist comparing yourself to others. When you find yourself doing it—pull yourself back, pray, meditate, practice mindfulness or whatever you do to find calm, and remind yourself of all the reasons comparison is futile.
• When you start thinking this whole pursuit-of-publishing path is hard, give yourself a reality check. Crab fishing is hard. Neurosurgery is hard. Being a fighter pilot is hard. You can do this.
• Remember that writing is a gift and a privilege. Just the fact that you write means you are literate, you have a computer and you have something to say. Celebrate that!

I find these tips helpful just to think about for a while, which is why I’ve kept going back to this blog post. Choosing a path in life isn’t always easy, but finding something that makes you happy that you can do for the rest of your life is truly a gift.