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

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

Fictional histories are products of the imagination yet still based on real past events. The most famous are Dan Brown’s the Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons.

Fictional history is a section of a novel based on real facts but the storyline being an imagination of the author only. It confuses some readers but it is a good strategy to incite interest and gain a following.

It may be based on real past events yet the story itself was revised such that it is still classified as fictional. Fictional history has been made timeless and endearing to all the people. It greatly influences the beliefs formed in the minds of the readers or viewers.

It can be squeezed into a novel or any short story as a way also to inform readers of what happened before. They may be reading something fictional, yet factual at the same time. Some might not be fond of history when reading it straight from an academic book, but will enjoy it more if these facts are inserted in his favorite book.

Fictional history recounts the real events that happened in history while changing some settings or deviating from the real phenomenon to suit his writing. These stories are real but the characters of the said stories are all fictional.

One famous example is that of William Tell, a Swiss patriot. William Tell is a fictional character but his story is based on real life. There is one man who really existed at one point in time who did the things that were recounted in the tale. The author was probably inspired by William Tell that he based his story writing on the Swiss patriot.

Some of these books are turned into movies. The most popular are The Lord of the Rings and The Harry Potter Chronicles. These books are in series of stories and are bestseller books worldwide. Many people have read them and have enjoyed watching the movie versions also.

The Lord of the Rings is one long fictional history whose story has been imbibed in almost everyone’s mind. The Harry Potter may be fictional but it tries to impart real life values that children and adults like will learn from. This book simply is showing that kids can do a lot of things with their mind and power if only they use both in a wiser way.

Merlin is another fictional history which is about famous magicians. Another bestseller book that was subjected to debates is The Da Vinci Code. It was then followed by another best seller book entitled The Angels and Demons. The author Dan Brown tried to weave his own story while inciting passages from the bible. A lot of readers were confused if he was telling a factual or fictional story that he received the ire of the Catholic Church.

As stated earlier, there are many other fictional history books available in the market these days. There are actually millions of them. They have been a part of out lives for many years now. It gives reading a new flavor, and we learn more about the world around us.

Just like the two controversial books of Dan Brown, the controversy somehow did something positive if only because it stirred the people’s curiosity and made them research on their own what is true and what is not.

There are other famous fictional history authors that are famous in the world today. Some of these are Christopher Hart, Conn Iggulden and Bernard Cornwell. Christopher Hart used the pseudonym William Napier and he was famous of his story entitled The Scourge of God aka Attila. Conn Iggulden was known for his emperor series while Bernard Cornwell was famous of the 12 books of European Campaigns of Sharpe.


- David H. Urmann

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

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

How many of us have made the big mistake of adding too many characters and too many plots in a short story? Well, I actually did. That was way back in my college days and I was tasked to make a short story but I ended up making too many characters that in the end, I did not submit it. Sometimes, our strong imagination can overcome our logic and we begin to pour all of our ideas and that often is the number one mistake for aspiring short story writers.

A short story is, well, a brief fictional or non-fictional piece of literature. This is why it is very important to limit the size and content of the piece. How? Here are some important pointers for short story beginners in order to save you from the frustration that I have felt.

First rule is to set a number of characters. A short story should only have a few characters. This is not an epic play where you deal with 20 characters and side-characters. By having a small number of players in this literary piece, the conversation, plot and the entire story is made brief and this is the basic foundation for a good short story.

The next thing you need to understand is the simple plot. Of course, we all love a good mystery and sometimes we cannot help but place intricate and skillfully designed plots in order to raise the level of surprise in a story. The only problem with this is that you also lengthen the story itself and this is not a good sign. The plot should be simplified, allowing the story to reach the climax in a short span of time.

These are the basics when it comes to writing a short story. For most beginners, keeping the content ” short, but sweet ” is a sound advice. Just because the story is brief doesn’t mean you have to take away the quality of the piece. If you want to be double-sure, try using an English writing checker or have the short story checked by a pro. Besides, writing short stories are meant to be fun, not a chore.

There you have it, my ideas on how to become a great short story writer. With more practice, you might become a master in writing them and you can earn a lot because of your talents. However, keep on learning them for now so that you will learn a lot.

These are the basics when it comes to writing a short story. For most beginners, keeping the content ” short, but sweet ” is a sound advice. Just because the story is brief doesn’t mean you have to take away the quality of the piece. If you want to be double-sure, try using an English writing checker or have the short story checked by a pro. Besides, writing short stories are meant to be fun, not a chore.

Want more story writing tips? Then I suggest you wait for the next articles that I will be writing with regards to short story writing. These will indeed help you in becoming a professional writer in the future! Who knows? You might become very famous and very rich because of your stories. Happy writing!


- Mary Simmers

ok so im writing a story and so far the main character who is 16 well her parents died and her parents best friend gained custody of her and htat lady had a son.. and his best friend and the main character were worst enemys.. btu they ended up dating..and still are in the story..and now im having wirters block. and i cant think of anything. any ideas? at all!? please help! and im not expecting a story from you. just some ideas you know. things i can just have my imagination go crazy with. haha
i already st arted the story. so like what i said already happens. if you want to read it so far heres the link:

http://share.buddy4u.com/view/evrythings%5Bchanged%5D%2A
this doesnt really go into HUGE detail like if i were to ever publish i would go into more detail in the story. so yeahh haha help (:
- Criss

Does Your Theme Contain Character, Conflict, Resolution? Eight Ways To Write Better Instantly.

Creative Writing Tips –

For a theme to work and the story, which will revolve around the theme, it has to contain three things…

1. Character

2. Conflict

3. Resolution

What’s the reason for this?

If your theme doesn’t contain these three essential elements, then you won’t be writing a proper short story. It might turn out to be an essay instead.

Because without…

1) Characters

You can’t achieve emotional depth. Readers become engrossed in stories because of the characters in them. They either become the character (sympathize), or read about an interesting person (empathize).

Emotional depth is achieved when readers use their imagination and senses and/or experiences to live the story through the characters.

2) Conflict

Your story will be boring. Why? Without conflict, something to stir things up, nothing happens. And a story, in which nothing happens, is one not worth writing about.

Your characters don’t lead carefree lives. Well, not in the instance you are writing about them. In that part of their lives they are faced with a problem. They want something and can’t get it because of the conflict, which is preventing them to do so.

And it’s that conflict and the struggle the characters has to undergo that keeps us readers interested and in suspense. Will the character succeed or won’t he? And when is this all going to happen? And how is it all going to happen?

3) Resolution

Something that starts has to finish, one way or another.

Once you have created great characters, which the reader will come to care about, and you have placed them in conflict, that conflict at the end of your story has to be resolved. The characters will achieve their goals or they won’t.

That doesn’t matter.

You can end your story as you please and as it suits your story – but you have to end it. Ending the story means resolving the conflict.

Does your theme contain character, conflict, resolution?

Eight Ways To Write Better Instantly

Is it possible to improve your writing instantly? The answer, happily, is “yes.”

While researching a book on famous speeches and essays, I found eight easily correctable mistakes writers often make. Here they are…and how to correct them instantly.

1. UNFOCUSED SUBJECT – Focus on a single theme only. Every sentence and paragraph should reinforce that topic.

2. TOO LONG – Abraham Lincoln crafted his Gettysburg Address in less than 300 words. Unless I’m specifically asked to do otherwise, I try to condense my work to one double-spaced single page (about 250 words).

3. WEAK PREMISE – Can you state the major focus of your message in 20 words or less?

4. NO ATTENTION-GRABBER – The first sentence or two must quickly attract the reader. Two ways to do this: (a) ask a question or (b) reveal a discovery.

5. UNLINKED PARAGRAPHS – Each paragraph should logically lead to the next. One way some writers do this: (a) quickly write several paragraphs on a subject; ((b) prioritize them; (c) present them in descending order from most important to least important; (d) conclude by restating the two or three most important points.

6. PASSIVE VERBS – Passive verbs like is, am, was, and were simply exist. Action verbs run, jump, excite, and motivate.

7. BORE FACTOR – Some research says the average adult attention span is only eight seconds. So it’s important to make your points convincingly, and end your paper powerfully.

8. WEAK ENDING – Exit your report like an experienced stage performer…leave your audience wanting more. Two ways to do this: (a) use a famous quote to reinforce your conclusion, or (b) give details showing the reader where to get more information on the subject. (Examples: your phone, fax, e-mail, etc.)


- mantosh

Okay sooo…I need a few okay LOTS of Ideas on how a werewolf can show his human girlfriend that he’s a werewolf or give her clues so that she can figure it out. Any ideas are welcome! Please and thank you!
No I don’t ****?t it to be original. hehe sorry.
- Simple ****? complicated

People start writing books as a way of putting their thoughts or ideas into words. They might also feel the urge to let others know what they are thinking. Some might be avid readers, who might want to venture out into the field of writing. There might also be people who want their ideology to be shared or sometimes even forced down on people’s minds. Their writing is normally very aggressive and they try to turn it into an extension of their aggressive personality. Others might want to write about happy experiences in their lives or about various interesting places that they have visited.

A good writer thus has to write in such a way that while reading the book, the reader is able to paint a picture in his or her mind about the place the writer is describing. The reader should wish or feel as though he or she is right there in that place. That should be the power of the writer’s pen.

Some people write because after reading books on a particular subject, they feel that they have more knowledge about what is already written and that they can write better on that subject. This could be the case in technical or scientific books. Cookbooks are also written because someone might feel that they have better or different recipes. The ingredients in the dish might be the same, but the style of preparation and the quantity of each of the ingredients might have infinite number of combinations. Hence, books after books get published on cooking.

There are many topics which readers prefer to read. It could be an extraordinary real life adventure of someone, or a story about turning very rich within a short time, or sometimes even simple village stories. Of course, in writing fictional stories, it all depends on the writer’s imagination and the way they get projected into words. A recent example is author J. K. Rowling, whose ‘Harry Potter’ series have turned her into a multi-millionaire and her rise in the literary and financial world itself could be the topic of someone’s book. Her rise proves that it is not only essential to write a good book, but also it is equally important to market it correctly, to ensure that more people read the book. Once sufficient people like the book, it is a matter of time before word of mouth publicity ensures the book’s success.

So, books are written by people for a number of reasons. But the important factor is that once it is published, readers should read and appreciate it. That will provide inspiration and incentive to write more books. Whatever the reasons for writing books, reading a well-written book always warms the cockles of one’s heart.


- Victor Epand