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What’s In A World?

By Terry C. Misfeldt

Fiction writers are often tasked with creating a new world. A favorite fiction writer who created numerous worlds was Frank Herbert, author of Dune. Arrakis (Dune) was a sand planet known for producing the spice and sparking wars. As fiction or science fiction writers, it behooves us to read the work of others and learn about creation.

What I found interesting about our planet, Earth, was what I read in a Delta Air Lines System Route Map from1982. And I quote: “From the standpoint of its inhabitants, the earth presents a combination of features so exceptional it must be considered miraculous. Its size is just enough to hold a sufficient atmosphere but no so great as to exert too strong a gravitational effect upon life. The atmosphere contains enough oxygen to support life yet not enough to permit excessive oxidation. Our distance from the sun is almost unbelievably perfect for the exacting requirements of life. Life must have water in liquid form, a condition possible within extremely narrow temperature ranges. These temperature ranges are present in only the minutest fractions of universal space, yet they are present on earth because of our distance from our sun. This delicate balance is maintained so perfectly in the earth’s orbit that the most trivial deviation would destroy all life on the earth’s surface.”

So in building your fictitious world, remember to consider the availability of water. It is essential for human life. If you create non-human characters, some other life sustaining liquid becomes viable.

Gravity is another concern for human beings, so weigh those factors in crafting a new world for your characters.

And consider what your new world offers in terms of temperature extremes. If you have human qualities, those characters will need temperature controlled suits or some other way to survive in your planet’s atmosphere.

Possibilities, like the universe, are endless in your worlds.

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Back Roads

By Terry C. Misfeldt

Interstate highways facilitate quick travel from one location to another. Speed limits let you drive at more than a minute per mile. Scenery flashes by…just like the vehicles in a bigger hurry than you…or the slower ones in the right lane. The question: Do you get to enjoy the trip and the life you pass by?

For a pleasant change, take the back roads. The ones where the speed limit is fifty-five miles an hour. Now, if you’re going to do this, don’t be in a hurry. Take your time. Observe what’s going on around you. The farmer baling hay in his field. The vendor selling her sweet corn on the side of the road. A bald eagle soaring overhead…just remember to keep your eyes on the road, too.

Stop at the Amish general store. Visit the cemetery on a hill, even if none of your relatives reside there. Check out the country church and talk with the local residents. Enjoy a meal at the diner on main street. Watch for wildlife scattering from the swamp along the two-lane road. Slow down for cyclists or a Mennonite horse-drawn buggy. Spend some time in the small town and ingest the local culture.

Pull off that back road and watch the water flow down the river. Take a walk on a woodland trail and relish the peaceful solitude. Remember to leave it better than you found it. No one wants to pick up your trash. Listen to the birds. Spend some time observing the cows grazing in the meadow. Breathe deep the fresh country air and don’t be alarmed. Cows need to poop, too. I call it “Dairy-Air” for derriere.

Life is good on America’s back roads. Yes, people live there because they want to enjoy what you see on a random trip every day. Trees in full autumnal color. Snow drifts. The smell of fresh mowed alfalfa (hay). Sunsets over the lake. Chirping birds. Life. And, yes, it’s okay to slow down once in a while and enjoy what we have in the United States.

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A Humorous & Irreverent Look at the Elements of Writing

T.C. Misfeldt copyright 2024

Plot                                   The place to bury someone’s body in a cemetery.

Sentence                           What you must serve if you are convicted.

Comma                             What you are in if you are unconscious for some time.

Paragraphs                     Two charts used in a presentation to explain a trend.

Period                                 Part of a woman’s monthly cycle.

Story                                    One level of a building or house.

Tale                                       Something a dog, cat, or other animal wags.

Pen                                       A place where you keep an animal from escaping.

Essay                                   How you evaluate the worth of a precious metal, like gold.

Novel                                   Something unique.

Keystroke                          First sign of heart trouble.

Phrase                                What happens to children as they age.

First Person                     Adam.

Second Person             Eve.

Third Person                   Cain.

Symbolism                      One of the techniques used by drummers.

Parentheses                   A disciplinary style used by Mom and Dad.

Climax                                You know, something that’s part of intercourse.

Conflict                              What happens when a prisoner escapes from jail.

Writer                                  A person who works to correct wrongs.

Quote Marks                  Evidence that a vehicle went somewhere.

Hero                                     Sandwich you order at a deli.

Composition                  A place to put garbage and turn it into fertilizer.

Hook                                    What’s used to catch fish or hang something.

Memoir                              A piece of furniture that is usually found in a bedroom.

Copyright How to avoid stealing someone’s work the wrong way.

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Celebrate Your Uniqueness

By Terry C. Misfeldt

Every one of us is unique in our own way. You may be a Type A with variations of your other personality traits. You may be someone who just wants to do their job and go home to enjoy peace and quiet.

As a writer, that unique nature you bring to writing must be celebrated. Your writing should reflect how you feel…or how you want to feel about your characters, settings, and words in general. How do you see a forest of trees in spring? Fall? Winter? Your perspective is yours alone, so describe how you feel about what you see.’

Your eyes, your brain, and your writing style are yours alone. Sure, you may follow the style of a writer you admire but you are not them! You are you. Who is that person? Why do you write the way you do?

There are–basically–two people you write for: One is the reader you want to reach and entertain, inform, educate, scare, or merely amuse. Get to know that person as much as you can. The second person is you. You must be satisfied with the words you write. Remember, you’re the only person who can write those words. It is your thought process that brings them out and puts them into your computer, your journal, or that spiral notebook you use to craft your writing.

Just be you.

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Promotional Outlets

By Terry C. Misfeldt

Finding promotional outlets enables you to market your novel or other writing to specific markets at little to no cost. What is required is taking the time to think things through. What organizations do you belong to, or have a relationship with?

Clubs such as Rotary, Kiwanis, Zonta, Lions, and others are often looking for speakers. If you get invited, have a copy of your book as a door prize and bring more copies along to sell after the meeting and your presentation. It is a promotional outlet requiring some of your time in return for potential sales and for visibility with potential buyers.

One member of the Guild, H.G. Watts, wrote about a character related to another religious figure. She was interviewed about the story on WFRV-TV in Green Bay and recently appeared in a feature article about the book in The Compass which is a publication of the DIocese of Green Bay.

Alumni associations–either high school or college–offer publications which may afford a promotional outlet to tout your work. Craft a media release (so it looks official) and forward it to the editor for consideration. Fraternities and sororities offer another avenue for free publicity. If you have books at a book store or cafe, offer them a book signing to help bring customers in and promote sales of your book…and others.

Also, think about your favorite magazines and read about what news they consider. Again, the media release is an excellent way to make your plea look professional. Every chance to gain promotional credibility also builds your reputation as an author.

On Media Releases

Think teaser when you put together a media release. It contains enough information to tell the editor that your submission is news worthy…and teases them to want more details. At the least, it can be printed verbatim in the newspaper, magazine, newsletter, or journal.

Create a catchy headline, centered near the top of the page and in bold. Releases should be one page. At top left goes date, when it can be released, and contact information (name and phone number).

The first paragraph gives the who, what, where, why, and when with a variant being a teaser comment from a respected individual or someone who has read your book and gave you a good quote (perhaps one you wrote for them). Get the rest of the information out there in double-spaced format and end with -30- at the bottom.

These tips make your media release look professional, and gain credibility.

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Writing Exercises and Prompts

By Lawrence Wilson

Whenever I experience a lack of motivation, ideas, or energy (which sometimes occurs daily), I look over my collection of exercises and prompts to help get started.

Going back to my high school typing class, I did manage to type 40 or so words a minute without looking at the keys. Using this tool as a writing exercise, I sit quietly for a few minutes and then begin to type. Eyes closed. Letting any and everything that fires through the neurons wind up on paper.

If I don’t lose my place on the keyboard, it usually ends with a jumble of words and phrases that may or may not resemble a theme. It really doesn’t matter. It’s spontaneous, gets the mind and fingers working in synch. Most of the time, it gets deleted afterward. 

Another exercise is the six-word memoir. One of the more famous of these, “For sale, baby shoes, never worn.” (Ernest Hemingway). My own: “Hearing the call, afraid to answer.” Or “I married up, she did not.”

Word prompts are much the same kind of mental exercise for writing. These can either be timed or have a defined word count. I try to make it to 500 words.

 I have just perused through some old prompts and found some that are rather good and could be developed.

‘Pitching a Frog’, for example. I don’t even remember what the prompt was, but it has the makings of an excellent short story. Another I found, ‘The Secrete Planet’. I called it “Orangetang”, a collection of all the citrus fruit drinks the astronauts couldn’t stomach and thus, jettisoned them so NASA wouldn’t find out. All prompts do not a story make.

Others have made it into the collection of my book, ‘Catching Chickens’. ‘The Door’, ‘Friends’ (the prompt was something about seeing a man on a ledge).

There are many sources of prompts and exercises available on the Web. Here are just a couple of them.

  • ‘The Author’s Publish Compendium of Writer’s Prompts’, http://www.authorspublish.com/writing-prompts-compendium/
  • Writer’s Digest Magazine has many links to prompts. In one contest, they provide the photo, and you write the first storyline.  The winners are published in the next issue.
  • As with anything else writing, all you must do is enter the keywords, “writer prompts,” and AI will find more than you ever wanted to know.
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Cover Art

By Terry C. Misfeldt

In this day and age when naysayers believe print books are going the way of dinosaurs, it is ever more important that the cover art of your book grabs a potential reader’s attention.

Print on demand (POD) publishing today demands even more that your artwork is appealing since your book will most likely have a soft cover. That means paper instead of a stiffer, non-printable binding.

Now, if you are getting published in hard cover, there will be a wrap-around cover which will still require cover art. Even E-books have a need for cover art.

How do you create cover art that sells? I have long held the belief that copy sells while art enhances, but selling books with cover art requires both.

Romance writers know their cover art needs to show couples in a passionate embrace. Poets have more latitude in what graces their covers. Science fiction writers need “out of this world” artwork to entice potential readers.

Elements of strong cover art include: 1) Attractive color schemes; 2) Text (like your book title) that stands out from the background and uses an appropriate font; 3) Images that convey the essence of your book and entice people; 4) Catchy blurbs to garner attention; and, 5) a Professional image of you, the author.

Consider hiring a professional graphic artist to create your cover. Many publishing companies have cover artists on staff to assist you in that process…often at a steep cost. An option I employed with my first novel was contacting the local university’s graphic arts department to see if any students wanted to attack my cover. After several drafts and a few hundred dollars, I got an excellent (IMO) cover, thanks to Angela Collier. Can you guess what the novel is about?

Using Weapons in Stories II

By Terry C. Misfeldt

Last week’s blog outlined four basic categories for your characters to employ the use of weapons. We also dealt with the Provision option, so this post will cover the Protection choice that is perhaps the most common reason for your character to weaponize.

Protection: In this day and age, fiction and nonfiction characters have concerns for protecting themselves from threats. There are several options to use weapons for self protection, including firearms, knives, spray repellents, and simple physical tactics.

Let’s start with simple ones. If you carry a purse or bag of some sort, including a backpack, it can be a means of protecting yourself. The first element, of course, is being aware of your character’s surroundings and the situations they find themselves in. Walking on a dark street can be scary. If you are creating that mood with the intent of your character being assailed, a purse or bag swung with full force at the attacker can be a most effective weapon in facilitating escape. A key can also be effective, as can a kick to the groin or an elbow to the jaw. How your character departs from that scene is up to your imagination.

Carrying a firearm, whether concealed or open carry, includes the onus of being willing and able to use said weapon should the need arise. If your character only carries a firearm to “feel” safe, it may be in their best interest to get training in the consequences of shooting another person. One of the unwritten rules of firearm use is that you do not point that weapon at anything you do not intend to kill. Once the trigger is pulled, there is no retrieving the bullet. It’s on its way toc ause damage or death to whatever it hits.

If your character is concerned about protecting their home or property from invasion or attack, the best weapon to deter such action is a shotgun. The character’s choice in shotgun ammunition is either buckshot or slug.. Buckshot creates a pattern of pellets that cause a wide range of impression whereas a slug is more like a rifle bullet. Keep in mind that a shotgun is most effective at close range and pulling the trigger initiates a repercussion when the shell is discharged. That kick can hurt the shooter’s shoulder.

When it comes to knives, the weapon choices range from a large survival knife or machete to a pen or pocket knife. Blade length varies, too. Using a knife to defend oneself means the character either strikes to stab, slash, or cut the assailant. This involves some training to avoid personal injuries from defending oneself. A knife in the hands of an untrained individual can be easily pushed away by an attacker with a defensive gesture. Training in the use of knives and the correct choice for self preservation are important.

As for a home invasion, it is advisable to you, as a writer, to investigate the castle laws in the state where your work is staged. Some states have more strict regulations on how you kill or wound an intruder on your property.

This is, by no means, an exhaustive approach to protection weapons. The more you are familiar with what you plan to have your characters use, the more realistic your story will be for your readers.

Next week: Recreation Weapons

Using Weapons in Stories

By Terry C. Misfeldt

When any of your characters need a weapon of some type, keep in mind there are four basic categories for needing a weapon:

Provision

Protection

Recreation

Aggression

Let’s start with provision weaponry. If your character is responsible for providing food for their family, tribe, or themselves, a firearm is often the most effective weapon for them to use. Wild animals such as deer or bear can be slain with a rifle, but a compound or recurve bow or a crossbow can also harvest an animal.

Slingshots, traps, and smaller weapons can also harvest food but generally smaller prey such as squirrels, mourning doves, or rabbits. A BB gun or .22 rifle/pistol also provide killing power. It is not my intent to gross you out about killing animals but as your character is charged with providing food, these are tools of their trade.

Early humans, depending on the time period of your story, used spears and more primitive weapons to obtain food for their relatives, kinsfolk, or families. Of course, most people today obtain their food from shopping at a grocery store or meat market.

IMPORTANT: Any hunter charged with providing food knows that the best course of action is one shot-one kill. Pursuing or searching for a wounded animal is never good for the animal or the hunter. The distance from the hunter’s position to where the prey is situated is the critical variant in success.

My basic formula is that the length of the barrel and projection power equal accuracy over distance. If you are shooting at an elk, for example, that is 200 yards away, you need a high caliber rifle (.30-.06 for one) that can reach and kill that elk at that distance.

Next week: Protection.

What If…

By Terry C. Misfeldt

What if you wanted to create a character but didn’t know how to start?

The first step is to determine whether your character is fictional or real, human or alien, or something else. Let’s assume it’s a human of the male persuasion.

That step is done. Now it falls on you to develop details about this character and his personality. Is he a nice guy or a villainous sort? Side note: The bad character is usually considered the antagonist rather than the protagonist. That choice is yours.

As you move through the process, you can choose the character’s name, age, height, weight, general build, and athletic ability among other traits. Hair color. Hair style. Eye color. Nose, Mouth and lips. Ears. Skin complexion (keep in mind that not every teenage complexion may have acne scars,..just saying). Does your character have any physical deformities like missing fingers or toes? Does he have a limp from an old injury?

As you dig deeper, you can determine if this person is rude to strangers and tries to pick fights or if he is considerate and outgoing to a fault. So many aspects to consider but remember he is your character. You may pattern him after someone you know but keep in mind that person may recognized himself if he ever reads your work. If you do, you might want to check with that person to get their permission to pattern your character on him or her. That’s easy if it’s an alien. I don’t know too many.

I would also suggest you write down the details and keep that information handy as you develop your story. That ensures your consistency as you develop the story. Write on.

Picking Mountains

By Dorothy Seehausen

I’d just finished reading Louis Schmier’s teaching and caring, and wanting at once to share Schimer’s signature motto, “If you want to climb mountains, don’t practice on mole hills,” I said to my husband of forty-three years, “Do you want to climb mountains?”

“Say what?” he replied with a squint.

“Do you want to, you know, climb mountains in your life?”

He thought for a second, then replied, “Sure.”

Of course, he was saying what he thought I wanted to hear.

“Then don’t practice on molehills.”

I smiled smugly, like his dominant left brain would immediately grasp my meaning.

“Oh, ok, I won’t,” he answered, believing these were the magic words that would make me go away. He avoided my eyes, the TV clicker poised in his right hand as colored images of light from the football game he was watching bounced off his wire rimmed glasses.

“You don’t get it, do you?”

“Evidently not.” He grinned sheepishly.

I persisted, warming to my topic. “Let me put it this way. Think of the future. Where do you want to be in five years?”

He thought for another second, pursed his lips, lowered the clicker to his lap,

Bridges

By Terry C. Misfeldt

If you enjoy solving word puzzles, such as Wordle, try this writing exercise I call bridges.

When you’ve solved the riddle, have writing fun trying to bridge the second word to the first, third to the second, and down through the solution.

Today (June 26), I was able to solve starting with the word MEANS, then CRUDE, followed by POWER, OTHER, and the solution of OFFER.

Here’s the exercise: Some people have the means to import crude oil from other countries but they lack the power to control pricing on importing crude, so they look for other options until they can find a deal that gives them a better offer.

Have fun and expand your vocabulary at the same time.

Smack Dab in the Middle

By Terry C. Misfeldt

I was curious about my position in the grandchildren pecking order.

More on that later. This, though, is about being a middle child.

If you’re not the oldest child or the youngest of three, then you are a middle child. If your parents have completed their contributions to the population, you’re stuck — smack dab –in the middle!

The only way you’re not “the” middle child is if your folks have four children and you’re either number two or number three. Oh, you’re still stuck in the middle…but you’re not alone.

I wrote this because I have a daughter who’s caught smack dab in the middle. And, like most middle kids I’ve known, they become invisible when they want. And there’s always someone else to blame for the spilled milk or broken lamp. At least, that’s what I’ve found with the middle children of my children.

But the real reason for writing this goes back to the opening. My maternal grandparents had seventeen grandchildren. Eight were older than me. Eight younger. I’m the one smack dab in the middle! It goes even further. My paternal grandparents only had seven grandchildren. Three older than me. Three younger. Again, I’m the one smack dab in the middle.

Where are you?

Writing Prompt: Looking Out Your Back Door

By Terry C. Misfeldt

What does it look like out your back door?

Is it an alley with four-story apartment buildings on the other side?

Is it staring into the forest behind your cabin?

Look deeper. Write about it.

Example: What I see when I look our my back door is an average backyard in a smaller city. It’s a residential back yard with the building to my right. I see both bedroom windows, white siding, and an overhang with birds lining the eave trough.

There’s the typical six foot wooden bench separating our place from the northern neighbor. They’ve got an above ground pool, hence the privacy. There’s also the standard issue television satellite near the clothesline.

What intrigues me most, however, is the tree line with more than thirty tall trees. They are in line with the wooden fence and reach, on average, sixty feet tall. The under-brush is where the deer come into my backyard to feed on apples and bread. Yes, deer love bread! We won’t talk about the neighbors.

What Do You Throw Away?

By Terry C. Misfeldt

When I first transitioned from lead (graphite) pencils to ink filled writing devices, I was of the belief the pen I used would never run out of ink. It was a miracle. I couldn’t stop writing long-hand. I tried to see when that pen, probably a Bic, would dry up. I burned through a spiral notebook and the pen kept working.

Eventually, the pen dried up. Since it was non-refillable, it had to be discarded.

Fast forward to the modern era of laptops and smart phones. Pens rarely run out of ink due to be used rarely. People have mostly forgotten how to write letters, stuff them in an envelope, and put them in the mailbox to be delivered to a loved one or friend. Now it’s a text or an E-mail (getting more rare) or a post on social media.

Yet, old habits are hard to stop.

I still send cards to friends and family. I still write my daily journal long-hand in a spiral notebook with an ink-filled pen. And, yes, the purpose of this story is that I have gone through hundreds of pens. When the ink dries up, the pen is trashed. It’s thrown away!

At least with a pencil stub, there’s a little bit of eraser left…and maybe more.

What do you throw away?