Monday, December 18, 2017

Great Story for All Dog Lovers

I just read a heartwarming story about an exceptional Australian shepherd who survived for 44 days in Yellowstone National Park. Michelle Caffrey's exciting account of Jade, a young dog who beat all the odds, is a perfect Christmas gift. Miracles do happen.

www.MichelleCaffrey.com
www.BringJadeHome.com


Just published--New book offering by Naples writer in time for Christmas: 
BRING JADE HOME: The true Story of a Dog Lost in Yellowstone and the People Who Searched for Her.

Michelle Caffrey's heartwarming recount of a family and their Australian shepherd, lost for forty-four days is a seasonally joyful tale for all ages.

BRING JADE HOME. (226 pp. $15.95, and Kindle $9.99 and free on Kindle Unlimited) To obtain a copy of the book in either paperback or PDF format to review, or for an interview, contact Michelle Caffrey at MichelleLCaffrey@gmail.com

Mary McCluskey, award-winning novelist, says, "Bring Jade Home is a true story that reads like a literary thriller. It's a page-turner of a book with a mystery at its heart and a cast of well-drawn characters. The central character, of course, is Jade herself, a beautiful, blue-eyed Australian shepherd, who, after a terrifying traffic accident--chillingly described here--runs off into the stunning wilderness that is Yellowstone National Park.

Monday, December 11, 2017

Haiku - A Taste of Poetry

One shelf of my bookcase is devoted to poetry I love to read. Whether soothing or a call to action, the cadence of the words gives me comfort. When I try to write it, however, I never get past a few stanzas. 

Then I discovered Haiku, a Japanese poetic form. I found it an exciting challenge. The verse contains 17 syllables, arranged in three lines of 5-7-5. An alternate set-up is 11 syllables, 3-5-3. These shortened poems energize my Muse. I love the challenge of creating a cohesive story within a specific cadence.


Last year I wrote a Haiku for each season, based on my life in Massachusetts. This year, I'll need new verse since I've moved to Florida!

Spring

Winter's cold caress
grudgingly suspends its reign
as spring tiptoes in.

Summer

Warm sunlight dancing
atop eager new blossoms
sings a summer tune.

Fall

Fruit of the chestnut,
adorned in a spiky coat,
heralds fall's display.

Winter - Icicles

Water trapped in time
With its too brief frozen life,
sparkling in the sun.

I'd love to see a Haiku from you. Something for the season? Leave it in the Comments section.

Enjoy your holidays and, remember, keep on writing!

Margo


Sunday, November 19, 2017

CYA – Cover Your Assets

What assets reside on your computer that you can’t possibly live without? Business? Special photos? Memorabilia? How do you have them protected? What would happen if you lost them?


Okay. You probably know what I’m going to say – Back-Up! I’ve heard the word and passed it on many times. Computers crash. But, when it happened to me, I was shocked, even a little unhinged.
In hindsight, I realize that my computer was acting weird before it died. I blamed the problems on my internet service. Perhaps if I had called for help then, I wouldn’t have lost everything. By the time I tried to do a Windows reinstall, it was too late to save not only my files, but all my programs and drivers.

Now for the good news. I had Carbonite, a cloud-based savior. Programs like this do continual back-ups of your data and store it on their servers. For a low annual fee, Carbonite saved me. I contacted them and they reinstalled the program and downloaded all my files.


I also have two other programs that use the cloud to protect me. One is Dropbox, a free program that can be installed on multiple computers. Because I had Dropbox on both computers, I was able to work on files using my notebook while my laptop recovered. (Another great idea--have an extra online device in case of trouble.) The other program that I, as a writer, absolutely love is called Scrivener. With Scrivener, I create all my work--books and short stories--on their specialized templates. My masterpieces are then saved to their servers. Scrivener is installed on both of my machines, so I was able to keep on writing while my laptop healed. I consider my writing priceless and would pay anything to keep it safe. Lucky for me that Scrivener, like other writing programs, is inexpensive.

Be prepared to download and reinstall your programs and printer drivers, but, with foresight your life can began again.

And remember, keep on writing!

Monday, October 23, 2017

Purloined Prose or Synchronicity?

This is an article I wrote for the Mostly Mystery blog in 2015. Recently the subject surfaced during a meeting, so I've dredged it up from the archives.

How many times have you read a book, seen a movie, or watched a TV show that bore an uncanny resemblance to others you've encountered? I'm not talking about those endless remakes. Nor am I talking about deja vu. 

When a story line follows another so closely that you recognize the plot, does that mean that the author has stolen the plot form someone else? Probably not. Could it be synchronicity? Google defines synchronicity as the simultaneous occurrence of events that appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection.


Although both suppositions might be true, the more reasonable explanation has to do with the reinvention of a successful formula. That's right--a formula. Okay, you may not be surprised, but I was shocked. I had no idea that most fiction writing could be boiled down to a formula. When an agent described my urban fantasy as following the typical formula--protagonist receives powers on her birthday, finds a mentor, falls in love, and battles a villain, I wanted to cry. I thought it was a bad thing. Turns out everybody does it. Why? Because it works. 

From the age of understanding, we've been influenced by every story we've ever heard, every TV program or movie we've ever seen, and everything we've ever read. Of course we've picked up on the winning formulas that make up a good story. And, the plots that go into our stories reflect the history, science, and technology of our time or the era that interests us. How often have you heard about some technological breakthrough or strange occurrence and gotten an idea for a story?

How many others do you think had the same idea? I can't even begin to guestimate--millions, billions? All those people probably aren't writers. But, of those who are, the ones who've been exposed to the same information and think it would make a good story will undoubtedly have different story ideas. We all have our own unique style of writing, our own voice, and our own sense of plot.

 
Stories like Cinderella have been told over and over again with a unique and creative twist. Look at the movie Pretty Woman. You have Cinderella/the amiable prostitute, treated like trash by "polite" and "not-so-polite" society. The prince/businessman takes his time recognizing her worth, but in the end, comes through, and she lives (one supposes) happily ever after. Julia Roberts' character was quite a different protagonist from Cinderella, but the basic formula flows through the two stories. 

Now, let's look at mysteries. Mysteries, in general, consist of a dead body or two, a sleuth, suspects, red herrings, danger, and a satisfying conclusion. Mysteries, like all genres, can be divided into sub-groups, each with its own formula. Use keywords like "mystery types" or "mystery genres" to find the various categories. Some examples:   Genres of Mystery and Crime FictionHard-Boiled to Cozy: Types of Mystery NovelsMurder by 4: Thirteen Types of Mysteries.

Some of the sub-genres can be broken down again into more specific types. One of my favorites under mystery is cozy. Cozies feature amateur sleuths who have a compelling reason to solve the crime. There is no gratuitous blood, sex or gore--think Agatha Christie. Once you decide to read a cozy, the next step is to decide what type of cozy you want. These books are often broken down into household categories having to do with hobbies, crafts, pets, or cooking. Sometimes the book is based on the sleuth's employment. Again, use your search engine to discover books based on specific criteria i.e., "knitting mysteries", "gardening mysteries", or my first choice, "psychic mysteries".

Today, the internet makes it easy to find what you want. You don't have to despair if you run out of books by your favorite author. An internet search will bring up other books, similar to those. You may find that some stories come very close to those we've previously read. Does that mean one author copied another? "Yes" and "no".


For instance, take this scenario. One author, specializing in gardening, has her protagonist find dead bodies in the gardens of homes where she works. How many other ideas might there be for our gardening detective to discover the victim? Probably not a whole lot of choices out there. Therefore, the plot might mirror others you've read. 

Check out how many books are out there with a green-thumb sleuth. It stands to reason that you will see plot overlap. The major differences will center around the author's voice and the characters. And, of course, the plant genus.



Think synchronicity, formula, overwhelming tide of writers, and underwhelming possible scenarios. The next time someone tells you that your manuscript, short story or book is suspiciously like the latest best seller or movie, lift up your head, smile and say, "Thank you." It means you've followed the formula to perfection.

And, remember, keep writing.

Saturday, March 25, 2017

Hubris

for Friday Fictioneers

They think we can't reach them from within this iron fence. 
"We're safe out here," they say. "No ghosts can get us."
And each day they come closer. Soon, someone will grab the fence to peer through the bars. We can wait.