Questions

Hasan Yahya, Ph.D

If you did not travel actually, and you are a  wise traveler like me who travels only in imagination. You are lucky to travel safely, without facing airplane hijacking, or boat pirating in your voyage!  You travel in you dreams, awake or sleeping. In both cases you enjoy traveling, seeing people you know, and people you never saw before, strange people, with ugly heads or huge shapes. If you face danger, like someone is running behind you to kill you, you immediately find  your way to escape. You simply, just  open your eyes.

My friend Jimmy, was one of these wise travelers. He used to travel every day and night. In the street, or in the classroom. Swimming, or eating. Jogging or play poling, He was a wise traveler all the time. His ugly face made him a wise traveler.

One day, his travel was real, he took the greyhound to California,  in the way, he knew a girl, she was in his age, she’s leaving her parents to find her way away from sisters, brothers, and away from Mom, and Dad.

He was leaving his town, people began to call him names, Mr. imagination. Dummy traveler, honey dreamer. And the last name made him decide to leave the town forever, Mr. fantasy! He hated to hear that name!

They both discovered that wanted freedom, and to begin a new life. She found that he was funny, and sincere in his talks. He found her a good listener to his jokes. In short, they found each other.

The trip was too long, and they have to stay the night at the hotel. To save some money, she suggested to have one room and divide the rate in between. He accepted the idea. At the room, there was a program show on TV. She was watching. Channel 55 broadcasting a film about James dean. The good looking guy of the 1960’s, at the end of the film, he dies in his way to meet his girl friend.  She waited for him forever, after she new the news. The girl was crying, he noticed, and gave her a handkerchief. Waited for her to come back to reality. 

He began to tell her about his visit to Tokyo, Japan in his dreams. He read once about the Geisha girls, and ever since, he dreamed as traveling to Tokyo and have a good time with these fairy tales about the Geisha girls.  She smiled, and listened to his story with dreams. Then she began to laugh on his jokes, when he discovered that the geisha girl has a boy-friend, came suddenly while he was trying to make out with the geisha girl. 

-          “poor Jimmy!, wherever you travel, you find yourself in trouble.”

-           “Yes! You are right, but not all times I was running, in fact sometimes I was hiding, for my safety.” They laughed together.

-          “Time to sleep” she said, “he suggested to sleep on the couch. She did not mind, but she said, that he may sleep on the bed beside her. If he can control himself. But he insisted to sleep away from her on the couch. In the morning he found her laying beside him and her arm over his chest.

Hasan Yahya, is an American Arab scholar, a professor of Sociology, a columnist at wfol.tv, Malaysia, and TINA International News Agency, Chicago, USA. www.hasanyahya.com


- hasan yahya

By now, you have a solid grasp of the importance of having a theme for your story, of keeping it personal and hidden (to avoid writing the dreaded Message Book), and of hanging on to the courage of your convictions in writing it the way you need to, knowing that you cannot ever please everyone, nor should you try.

That’s a good, solid foundation for writing a book that people will read, and then re-read, and then recommend to friends, and finally buy as presents for people they really like. Which is, after all, the writer’s ultimate goal—to write a story readers love so much they’ll share it with other people who will love it, too.

But you can still go deeper, and make the work richer and more compelling, by layering in subthemes.

[Brakes screech, and someone mutters, "Wait a minute. You finally sold me on themes. But SUBthemes? C'mon, already."]

Subthemes are one of the best friends novelists have. (They’re far less useful for folks who write short stories, simply because subthemes add to the length and complexity of the story.)

Subthemes do three massively useful things for the writer crafting a novel—things a single theme alone cannot do.

1) They force the world of the story into three dimensions. If the book is focused on one theme—no matter how fascinating and wonderful that theme—and all the characters are focused on that one issue, and all the action revolves around that one issue, then, no matter how skilled the writer may be, the book will feel thin. Step beyond the borders of the main action, and no character has anything to do, or say, or think, or any reason to exist. Their lives are bordered by the main theme. By adding subthemes, you fill out your characters’ lives with needs and events that are important to them outside of and separate from the main story’s focus.

2) Subthemes add length and complexity. (I mentioned this above in the negative sense, but that which is the bane of the short story writer is in this case the boon of the novelist.) I receive the following question at least once a week from beginning and intermediate writers—”How do I make my story longer without padding it (and without trying to figure out more plot, because I’m out of ideas)?”

Subthemes by their very nature give you something extra to work into your plot—the unexpected pregnancy of the heroine adding complications while she is running for her life; the villain who in the midst of working mayhem discovers the mother he truly loves is dying; the harassment of the main character by the practical joker at work whose stupid jokes later become mixed up in the life or death issues already besieging the hero.

3) Subthemes allow you an extra opportunity to…um, for lack of a better word…vent. And get something good out of the bad things that have happened in your life. This is admittedly a strange side benefit, but just about every writer I know has SOME issue that repeatedly makes its way into his (or her) novels. The trick, always, is to keep YOUR issue out of the book, and make the issue really and truly related to the character, with different events and a different resolution.

So where do you find your subthemes?

1) Pick a subtheme that is distantly related to the issue driving your novel. If your theme is “Why do bad things happen to good people?”, and your story is about a father who comes to terms with the lingering death of his oldest kid after the boy contracts some terrible disease, a related theme would be how the father finds ways to bring happiness to the kid’s life (and his own) for whatever time they have left. Or how the kid makes a friend in the middle of his personal tragedy, or learns to do something he’s always wanted to do. Or how the father makes one thing his son has always wanted come true for him.(Man, this would be a grim book.)

2) Pick an unrelated issue, and give it, in disguised form, to primary or secondary characters. Using the example above, an unrelated issue that could become a theme would be how the father hangs on to a job when he’s both the sole provider (say the kid’s mother died, or just left) and his kid’s sole source of care and support; or how the kid sets out to win the science fair before he dies, and wins the respect of a teacher he previously hated.

3) Pick some train wreck in your personal life, THOROUGHLY disguise it, give it to people totally unlike the people who were involved in YOUR train wreck, change names, locales, and events… And then work though it the way you should have, or wish you could have, the first time. Using this method, the father could be going through your horrible divorce, but HE could find the good ending you didn’t get. Or he could give up his fantastic career as a professional poker player to be with his son, and could find something good from that loss, rather than the constant regret you have from a similar situation.

In every case, your priorities in using subthemes are to:

* give yourself more story than what you’d get if you only focused on your theme,

* give your reader something extra, and different, to take away from the book.

You and your story will benefit in more ways than you can imagine.

In BRING YOUR NOVEL TO LIFE, Part VI, Interweaving Your Novel’s Themes And Subthemes, you’ll learn three of my favorite techniques for balancing themes and subthemes while writing your novel.


- Holly Lisle

The pleasure of article writing is immense, especially if you do so with exceptional competence and poise. After due time in front of the word processor, the words tend to come with greater ease than the previous days. Extraordinary ability comes with practice and a willingness to learn new things.

For all it’s benefits, there is a little imp that makes his way onto your work table when you least expect it. His name is writers block. Everyone has heard about even the best writers experiencing writers block from time to time. It is unavoidable, but you can remedy this problem if you arm yourself with some of the techniques that professional writers use when the little imp jumps between our ears!

Here are 10 of the best ways.

1. Take a stretch! Shake your head. Relax for a minute. Take a deep breath. Sometimes all it takes is to loosen yourself up a bit before moving forward.

2. Completely divert your attention. Stop. Get up and walk the dog. Brush your teeth. Cook yourself a meal. Wash the dishes. Whatever it takes to shake your mind loose from the pressure at hand.

3. Write a paragraph full of nonsense. I’m only halfway ashamed to admit it, but when I can’t pull another syllable out of my tired brain, I start writing dirty jokes and other nonsense to put a little smile on my face. After this, I’m usually ready to begin again.

4. Re-read the last two paragraphs. Sometimes going over what you just wrote can provide you with a fresh look at the concept you’re trying to communicate.

5. Break out the thesaurus. This is especially good when that doggone word is on the tip of your tongue, but you can’t seem to pluck it out. A thesaurus is an essential tool in the writers arsenal.

6. Get something to eat. Sometimes writers block is a result of brain fog. Brain fog can be the result of low energy levels. Grab something small to munch on and get those A’s connecting with those B’s in no time.

7. Call a friend to ask for help. Anyone, really, you get the idea. Enlist the help of someone who can provide a clear and fresh eye for what you are doing. Two heads are really better than one!

8. Brainstorm about three to five related concepts down before you go any further. Sometimes this small thing is all it takes to jar an idea loose from your foggy mind.

9. Write your last few sentences down on pencil and paper. Believe it or not, this is a very effective technique. Pecking away at your laptop becomes tedious and annoying at times. Writing on actual paper for a minute can help train you back into coherence.

10. If you’re a guy, kiss your wife. Women are a fantastic, if not overutilized diversion for us. Don’t go too far, cowboy, you’ve got writing to do! If you’re a gal, kiss your husband. Men are a fantastic, if not underutilized diversion for you. Don’t go too far, cowgirl, you’ve got writing to do!

These are some of the best known tactics for knocking your noggin back to life. Your writing is worth the extra effort and depends on someone who is coherent enough to carry your idea the last five yards. Mimicking what other professionals do is not only intelligent, but it’s also what THEY do to keep themselves sharp when they have to be. Before you know it, your competence as a writer will be so strong that bouts with writers block will become fewer and further between.


- Ali Baraka

hey
I was wondering if any1 can think of any major similarities and/or differences between historical fiction and realistic fiction???
NOTE: i don’t need a deffinition.
- edward cullen-eternal lover

How do you, as a layperson, decide what you think is science and what you think is pseudoscience?

Of course, there are elements in science that fit well into common technology that we prove daily (no one denies the existence of microwaves or the legitimacy of aspirin, for instance); but I’m curious about the things scientists know but can’t prove to the general public (either because it’s not applicable to technology, because the proofs require extensive educations to understand, or both).

How do you separate the astrology from the astronomy, the chemistry from the alchemy, the cutting edge from the science fiction? If someone tells you about a spectacular new medical technology, how do you decide if it’s a great breakthrough or a snake-oil health fad?

I work in physics (quantum and particle physics), and I’m curious about perspectives on this matter from people who aren’t scientists; I’m curious how everyday people decide what to trust as legitimate and what not to trust.
S A: I hope you don’t think I’m that incapable of detecting blatant plagiarism. Even if a copy-and-paste of an encyclopedia article on “pseudoscience” would answer the question (which, in this case, it doesn’t), it would be legally advisable to cite the source of such an article, like so: http://www.unprovenconcepts.com/Pseudoscience/encyclopedia.htm
- CAustin

It has started as a story about a dentist who is repulsed by people’s simple, minor flaws (like crooked or discolored teeth). I don’t know if I should leave it as a description of a lonely man or put in a conflict, climax, resolution etc. any ideas or things that might help me come up with ideas?
- j j

May be i’m bit influenced by those fictions i read, but outsiders think it is true that jews are the america’s political,moral, ethical and military advisors
- sriannai

Atop this hill is where it happened, where I lost everything and anything precious to me. It’s atop this hill where the only reason I kept moving forward stopped pushing me and ceased moving altogether. It was atop this hill that I decided to find out who did this and it is upon this very hill that I will take them and judge them for what they have done to me…for what they did to her. It all seems so unreal, so much like a dream that starts off innocent enough but quickly turns to shit right when things seem so cheerful. However, unlike a dream, I can’t seem to wake up. It’s been two years since I found her here, lying peacefully , undisturbed, and just as beautiful as those days when we used to lay in that exact stop and look at the stars. This time however she wouldn’t move when I nudged her, she would answer when I said her name, and she no longer was there to console me when the tears came. I stayed with her for several hours just knelling their chain smoking cigarette after cigarette, something I was planning on quitting with her help. I stayed their till I no longer had tears left to give, till my throat felt raw and on fire from the constant supply of smoke, till I realized what It was I had to do. Ever since that day I return to this hill. I return to this hill and I lay down in the spot where I found her. I lay and I think. “Who could have done this?”, “Why did they do this?”, and “What can I do to them when I find them that will make them suffer?” These are the questions I ask myself as I sort through a mental list of possible suspects and their motivations. It’s as I lay here upon this hill that something unexpected is about to happen. Its upon this hill that a new lead reveals itself to me and its upon this hill that I finally start down the ever twisting road of revenge.
- I Have Krabs

It goes without saying that you can learn a great deal about writing by reading the classics. Advice on writing novels is like carbon dioxide – it is free and everyone is exhaling it. Still, few will tell you that there is value in reading bad books. Well, there is and you should definitely do so.

Great books are often perfect examples of how to develop characters, plot lines and so on. I strongly believe, however, that to really grasp these concepts you have to experience it done poorly. If you don’t know bad writing, how will you know good writing? For every W. Somerset Maugham classic like Razor’s Edge, you should read something that gets poor ratings from readers on Amazon or whatever rating site you prefer.

Why would you want to suffer through a bad book? Well, the answer is found in figuring out why you don’t like it. This requires you to both take notes and suffer through the tome. The key is to uncover the details that make it painful to pursue and write them down. Is the plot to slow? Is there no apparent plot? Is it a novel with far too many storylines going on? Are the characters so undeveloped that you can find no attachment to any of them? The reasons can be numerous and often are!

Once you’ve deduced the nature of the problem or problems, the next step is not to mock that writing but to focus on yours. Do any of the problems in the book in question apply to your writing? Be honest! If not, what would you do to solve the problems in that novel? Would those steps in any way benefit your writing? You might find that they would.

Once completed, it is time to do a comparison between a quality classic novel and the bad book you’ve read. Write down your thoughts on the good and bad manner in which character development is handled in each book. Do the same for the plot and so on. By contrasting each of these elements, the difference between the good and bad aspects of writing should become clearer to you.

There is one final lesson to take from the bad book. That lesson is to recognize that it was actually published. The idea of publishing a novel is one that is often touted as being this side of discovering the cure for cancer. Well, it can’t be that hard or the bad book in your hand would never have been published!


- Thomas Ajava

Writing short stories or poetry is where most writers begin their long journey towards publication. It provides a perfect creative outlet for those who have the feint stirrings of a story to tell and wish to transfer those creative thoughts to paper. Crafting a unique and well-rounded story is not easy and there are many pitfalls but with a little help, success is only a few steps away. When writing short stories, always consider what you are trying to achieve. It is very easy for the writer to become lost in the depths of their own imagination and a 1000 word story can easily be trebled. Writing short stories is an art form and it deserves a great deal of recognition as the writer must be focussed and dedicated to the task at hand.

There are many different story lengths available, writers can choose to write flash fiction which can be anything from approximately 50 words up to 1000, although many fiction magazines seek out stories which also have had the chance to develop and grow and these can be around the 2000 word mark. Identifying a market for the story is the first step and then once this has been determined, it is time to plan the story in its entirety. Writing short stories that will sell readily requires additional planning, so extend the market research around the intended publication. For example, what do you know about the readership? A story about a teenage pregnancy is not going to be of interest to publications aimed at those in their senior years unless the writer can make it relate to them significantly.

Many writers fail at the first post by writing solely for themselves. There is of course, nothing wrong with writing for the sheer joy of creativity alone, but as many writers would like nothing more than to see their story and name in print, it is vital that those writers change their mind set from that of an amateur to a professional and this will then afford them much more opportunities and in fact, fuel that creative fire even further.

When writing a story with a minimal word count, many writers neglect to develop their characters fully but it is important that the reader begins to connect with the characters and start to care as to the outcome, otherwise the story will lack interest for them. Allow the reader to identify with a strong human interest angle and this will help keep them interested and following through to the end.

Stories are around us all the time but it is our own unique interpretation that makes the story come alive. As writers, it is important that any witnessed mannerisms, characteristics and events are all stored away for future use,  as aspects of events can be used in short stories, for example  an old creepy building that you may have observed in passing could be used when trying to picture a haunted house for a ghost story. Life produces unlimited opportunities for story tellers everywhere but when writing short stories with a serious intent, we have to make good use of this free material and then we can go from amateur to professional quickly and easily.

 

 


- annette young