%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 |  You are what you write. Illusion and Reality...I reside in between. Where are you? |
UNDERSTAND THAT REDIRECTING CIVILIZATION is a major undertaking. You can write volumes about it and who will listen? But the energy that goes for that purpose cannot be withdrawn. You know that.  |
Blog City Prompt: Have you ever had a "Goldilocks" experience? It took you three tries to get it just right? Three times would be a miracle! I lost count how many times I tried the formatting on my book in preparation for EPUB publishing. The paragraph space above and below has to be exact or the lines are too close together. And there cannot be any hard returns. They require one manual page break before each chapter so the system recognizes the chapter for the index. There are no pages in an eBook, just one 450 page-long file. Quite a trick to get it perfect! Then the printed book preparation is totally different and there you have right and left pages. Chapters must begin on the right side. After more than three times I learned that each chapter should be poured in separately with a manual page break at the end. This isolates it from any changes. Otherwise a single change can push all the chapters down a page and mess up the whole arrangement of right and left. And then paperbacks are usually tight, single lines with just a space (maybe) after a paragraph. The paragraph indent is usually the only way to see paragraph. So much for the easy to read line spaces we love for editing and reviewing. I found there are ways to bulk remove lines (hard returns) between paragraphs. To late for me, I manually deleted every return for my entire book. So you see, Goldilocks had it good! Three times a charm...>>>iggy  ** Image ID #1264233 Unavailable **   |
Blog City Prompt: Although present justice systems depend on punishment, do you think a restorative justice system--in which the criminals are healed of their ills, educated, and uplifted as to their outlooks on life--might work better for our societies? It seems that there are 2.3 Million people living behind bars in America at a cost of $55 billion per year. This is very cheap labor. Between 1990 and 2010 the number of privately owned prisons increased by 1,600%. Earning approximately $3 billion every year. Contracts go to private companies. Prisoners work in apparel, document conversions, call centers, printing and clean energy, military hardware, airplane parts, medical supplies, and much more. A single prisoner's labor is worth between $0.93 and $4 per day. Crime does pay, but for whom? Not your typical dinner conversation. It stays in the shadows. Healing and uplifting criminals is not part of the program. Without a change in the enormous annual profits, I don't see any chance for change. In late 2013, a new report from In the Public Interest (ITPI) revealed that private prison companies are striking deals with states that contain clauses guaranteeing high prison occupancy rates–sometimes 100 percent. This means that states agree to supply prison corporations with a steady flow of residents–whether or not that level of criminal activity exists. I don't know how to follow this up with an upbeat idea. We know what would work and help the folks in prison, but state legislatures have to make the changes. A restorative justice system is something to push for. Follow the $....>>>iggy ** Image ID #1264233 Unavailable ** |
John Barth said, in a Paris Review Interview, “I start every new project saying, “This one’s going to be simple, this one’s going to be simple.” It never turns out to be.” Do you find it to be true for you as well? Use it in regard to writing or any other thing that you wish. It seems like if I'm trying to write a flash fiction piece, it has to be simple, few characters, only one or two locations and a direct situation that can be resolved. I find that very difficult. My books (I'm into my third novel) always have large casts, many locations and epic sized stories. They average around forty chapters and some are quite long. I don't even think about keeping it simple. I love the complexity and overlapping story lines. The challenge is keeping it all straight, logical and easy to follow. It becomes a giant puzzle that all the pieces must fit and flow forward to support the main story line. There's a hard exercise called 'delete', which comes during the reviewing and editing phase. The most fun is the outline and drafting time when there are few rules and creativity charges ahead. But to finish a book one has to try to read it out loud and face reality. Is it a good story, does it hold together. That part, I believe, is a learned skill. I've certainly struggled with it. It does get better. Now I fear I shall have to go back and do a new edition of my first book (Tears of the Willow) because I have learned so much. The learning part never stops! Write on...>>>iggy ** Image ID #1264233 Unavailable ** |
Blog City Prompt: Do you believe the adage that bad news sells better than good news? Do you find yourself getting more response to negative posts than positive ones? On the Main Stream Media I'd have to say that BAD NEWS wins the day---everyday. The bad news sells and it keeps their jobs and the advertising. And even if it's fake bad news designed to keep you nervous, they never question the source or the credibility. (Do you?) I find that I get the most and best response from my good news or positive story. If the piece is gloomy (like today), I try to put some kind of positive wrap-up so you don't leave all bummed out. My good news today: Someone ordered another print copy of Apex Project. The royalties are lovely! And Lulu automatically sends a thank you note from me. That's cool. I think I'm becoming a blogger because I've done six blog posts this week. And I put up three chapters or my novel to WyRM for review. No bad news...>>>iggy ** Image ID #1264233 Unavailable ** |
Prompt: Do you think we are currently living in a good time for women in history? Will we look back at this time period in the future and say that there was equality? Well, that is a loaded question. It depends on where you live and whether the old men are still in control or not. Religious beliefs and traditions play a huge role in some countries. I think because of the size of populations the answer would be women are still less than equal over all. In the United States and Europe, women appear to be equally strong except in parliaments and government bodies. I'd say the level of corruption is less with women, but there are still some exceptions. There are some very strong and skilled women in the film and television industry, but few in numbers. Women seem to dominate the music star level and we're not sure who is exploiting who. Some of those hot stars are millionaires. Sports is totally male dominated except when women shine during the Olympics. The fashion industry presents women in the forefront, but how many men are in the background? Still women bear the children and dominate the world with their care and feeding. Not always acknowledged, but we know...... If they could only stop the wars! In that,they are not equal. Peace...>>>iggy ** Image ID #1264233 Unavailable ** |
Blog City Prompt: What things in life take too long? Falling asleep after a difficult day. When someone says, “I’ll be right there.” Any change to a passport status or stamp. Mail to come from the United States. Traffic in Tehran, Los Angeles, New York. Writing a book. Editing a book. Waiting for it to appear on Kindle and Amazon. Any event at a hospital emergency room. Internet access. The local bus. But for all those things, I’ve learned that acceptance is the only way to make it all go away. Patience is a learned skill and requires practice. Have you noticed that we get lots of practice? Peace, smiles and love...>>>iggy ** Image ID #1264233 Unavailable ** |
Prompt: What does "Heaven On Earth" mean to you? The perfect place to be on Earth is supposed to be just like the imaginary visions of heaven. Now that could be the Christian heaven with God surrounded by angels and lots of fluffy white clouds and rainbows. Or a wild crazy place with thousands of young, voluptuous virgins or the place for slain warriors called Valhalla. The ideas and images are different for each religion and culture. To Americans I think it means to have the 'Dream' where the scenic spot is perfect and the little house with the white picket fence is always surrounded by perfect weather. Songs and poems abound about heaven on earth. An expression of idealism. Perfection subtly tied to religion. You think? I remember my mother called the redwood forests of northern California, "A little bit of heaven, like a cathedral." And there are places on Earth of awe inspiring beauty and grandeur. Reduced to a photo or a zooming video they lose something. You have to stand out there and actually see for yourself. Then we humans are not so big or important. Think on that...>>>iggy ** Image ID #1264233 Unavailable ** |
Blog City Prompt: “Dancing in all its forms cannot be excluded from the curriculum of all noble education; dancing with the feet, with ideas, with words, and, need I add that one must also be able to dance with the pen?”― Friedrich Nietzsche In how many ways do you dance? Then I've had a noble education because I studied and was trained for many years from the age of 16. Contemporary, Ballet, Jazz, Modern. Learned from some of the old folks about dedication and discipline and being creative. Taught dance for many years and had had my own company in San Francisco and Carmel Valley. Choreographed dozens of musicals and had a wonderful time. But we get older and times change. Now I can write about dance and dancing. I used a few moments in Apex Project where the focus was a person moving as in dance. There is an indescribable joy in moving to music, and even runners experience the pleasure of moving freely. Children do it instinctively. Old folks would like to, but are often embarrassed. I love to dance! >>>iggy ** Image ID #1264233 Unavailable ** |
Blog City Prompt: Pick a fictional place (jn or out of our world) from any story, novel, or play. Imagine you are visiting that place as a tourist, and write about it as if you are a travel writer. Don’t forget to tell us your source. Very fictional, very out of our world: Here are excerpts from KNIGHTS OF SPARROW and the views of the Rivermeet Summer Fair in the country of Carfane. Our first arrival is Brezay - - - - - - - - - - Now, some days later, Brezay passed unnoticed on the trail through the orchard behind the new palace. A solitary guard in the back tower had no interest in a lone horseman who looked like a monk leading a loaded packhorse. When Brezay reached the road entering Rivermeet, he joined the crowds waiting to cross the south bridge into the rear of the expansive grounds. The main structures of the huge Arena and the walls around the Church Council Pavilion on his left were matched by the bright flags and billowing canvas roofs of the Fair Market and Horse Ring on the right. The smells of campfires and food cooking teased his senses along with the pungent scents of hundreds of animals mixed with the earthy hints of wetland swamp that bordered the rushing stream. Once beyond the bored guards, Brezay turned towards the horse ring, scanning the crowd for some friend he could trust. - - - - - - - - - - Next comes Paloo and his cousin, Jonn traveling on the main highway to the Rivermeet. For five days after leaving their stop-over at Port Bluewing, they moved their herd along the dusty road beside the river, swollen wide with the spring melt of mountain snows. Each day the crowds of families riding in carts, merchants with wagons loaded with products, soldiers on horseback, and the wealthy in carriages populated the road. Everyone seemed to be in a state of expectation and holiday exuberance. Early afternoon the old Blue River Road ended abruptly with the canvas-framed back wall of the Rivermeet Fair. The animal tracks led off to the south of the rambling structures. Some were faded, and some covered with newly stretched canvas in shades of red and orange. The herders moved their charges past a large warehouse-barn advertising 'Feed and Hay', and then a large pond with watering troughs, muddy and bright with new grass and willows around the edges. He walked toward the long line of newly white-washed pole fences of the corrals with the campsites for the horse-sellers nearby. Beyond the fences stood the sales building and the high, solid walls of the Horse Ring. Already the campground was filling with new arrivals setting up their tents and equipment. At the far end he found tighter enclosures for sheep and goats, the air around them rich with the smells of animal waste. Paloo passed where the South Road entered the grounds over a guarded bridge crossing a smaller, rushing stream that would be the source of water for the pond. Across the stream, green hills gently rose to the distant mountains. Inside the grounds, the road led him beside the campground of the Competitors, which had large, elaborate tents and horse enclosures. They were all clustered close to the tall, imposing, stone walls of the Grand Arena. High above, white and gold banners waved, proclaiming the domain of the Church of God's Light. - - - - - - - - - - - Some of this is perhaps inspired by the Wyoming State Fair in Douglas, WY from my childhood. It had this same energy and spirit. And of course, the big rodeo arena and all the exhibits. The camping came from vacations in Yellowstone Park in the 40's. Knights of Sparrow is currently being reviewed in depth by WYRM group. Lots of work for me. Write on...>>>iggy ** Image ID #1264233 Unavailable ** |
Let's have some fun and write a skit... "Tonight, on the news was a story about a man clearly identified on the video footage of buying the winning lottery ticket. The problem is, he lost the ticket and cannot claim the money." Prompt: Write keep this skit lively and funny with dialogue that has the cadence of real-life speech. I can't wait to see what tale you weave! ______________________________________________ FADE IN: INT: MCBROOM APARTMENT - NIGHT The rented apartment of Alcia Mcbroom. Living-Kitchen combination. Cluttered with books, newspapers, supper dishes on counter. The room as seen better days. Teenager, Kimberly Mcbroom, is doing homework at the end of the counter. Ten-year-old, Nathanel Mcbrooom, is on the floor in front of the television. Nigel Mcbroom is asleep on the couch. Traffic can be heard through an open window. The TV is loud with a children’s cartoon. ALCIA crosses from the kitchen sink to counter. Late forties, she is tired at the end of a long day. She starts collecting dirty dishes from counter. ALICIA: Nathanel, turn that noise down! Kimberly is trying to study. KIMBERLY, fifteen years-old, in over-large sweat shirt and baggy jeans. Slams math book shut. KIMBERLY: No one can study in this mad house! Nathanel! shut off that stupid program! NATHANEL, sits up to yell at his sister. NAT: Don’t call me that! I hate that name! My name is Nat! KIMBERLY: (Whines) Mom? ALCIA: (Angry) Na-than-ael Mc-broom! Turn the television over to the news. Right now! I’ve had it with you! NAT crawls to television and switches to the end of a news broadcast. NAT: Awww...Mom. CLOSE UP: Television screen. Male announcer is wrapping up broadcast. NEWSCASTER: Well, that just about wraps up our report on the snow damage and road closings. I’ll have that snowplow report later tonight. Oh, and here’s some good news for some lucky person out there. CLOSE UP: Television screen switches to the last ball coming out of the rolling machine as a hand places the ball into a rack with the other numbered balls. NEWSCASTER: And here it is. This month’s winning lottery number. Let’s see, it looks like the magic numbers are, twenty-one, forty-eight, seventeen, and a ninety-six to make the winning number. CLOSE UP: NIGEL, Nineteen year-old, wakes up with a start. Immediately is digging in his pockets searching for the lottery ticket. NIGEL: Oohhh...Those sound familiar. I have some of those numbers! Where? Oh, here it is. WIDE SHOT: Includes Nigel holding ticket and television screen with the numbers repeated. NEWSCASTER: Once again, those winning numbers are: twenty-one, forty-eight, seventeen, and ninety-six. If this is your lucky day, present the ticket at the down-town lottery office tomorrow morning. Hopefully a happy day for someone! Good night all. NIGEL: (simultaneous with broadcast) Oh! Oh! Yesss! And ninety-six! I’ve got them all. I won! I won the lottery! Mom! I won! ALCIA, KIMBERLY, NAT on their feet. Adlib excitement, jumping up and down. ALCIA: Let me see. (She grabs ticket) NAT: Really? I want to see! (He grabs ticket out of Alcia’s hand) NIGEL: Hey! That’s my ticket! Be careful. KIMBERLY: How much did you win! How much? (She gets ticket from Nat) ALCIA has picked up newspaper to look for lottery information. ALCIA: Here! State Lottery for month of March. Oh my God! Oh....Goooooddd! KIMBERLY: (Squeals) What does it say? Mom? ALCIA, excited, throws the paper into the air, grabs Nigel by the shoulders. ALICIA: Olllhhh! Nigel! Son...We have just won two and a half million dollars! NIGEL: Two...and a half? ALICIA AND KIMBERLY Million dollars! NAT is dancing wildly around Nigel, Alicia and Kimberly. NAT: We won! We won! We won! FADE OUT: Traffic sound is louder. Birds are singing. FADE IN: EXT: MCBROOM APARTMENT FRONT STEPS - DAY ALICIA is sweeping the steps as NIGEL walks in, dejected. NIGEL slumps down on steps, head between his hands. ALICIA: Nigel? What’s wrong? Did something happenn? What did they say at the Lottery office? NIGEL: (Groans, shaking his head) Ahhh...Mommm... ALICIA sits beside Nigel, hugging him. ALCIA: Son, what’s wrong? Tell your mama. Nigel? NIGEL: I lost it. I lost the ticket. (Groans) ALCIA: Didn’t you have it this morning? NIGEL: I don’t know. I was late. I put it in my pants last night before I went to bed. I just threw my clothes on and ran out. ALICIA stands up, shock registering on her face. ALCIA: Oh, Noooo.... NIGEL: What Mom? You know what happened to my ticket? NIGEL stands as ALICIA turns and hurries inside. We hear her say: ALCIA: Those weren’t the same pants! NIGEL: What? Mom, what have you done? NIGEL hurries into the apartment after his mother. CUT TO: APARTMENT LAUNDRY ROOM - DAY ALICIA is pulling clothes out of the dryer. It is a mix of Kimberly’s and Nat’s clothes, plus several pairs of Nigel’s jeans. NIGEL enters and starts going into all the pockets of all the jeans. ALCIA: I didn’t know. I picked up all the dirty clothes before I went to sleep. Your pants were on the floor. NIGEL: Mom! You messed with my pants! Oh, no! NIGEL very slowly pulls out a tiny white wad of washed and dried paper. He holds it up for his mother. NIGEL: (Almost in tears) You washed my lottery ticket? ALICIA: (Devastated) I didn’t know. I’m...so sorry. NIGEL: (Accusing) You washed my lottery ticket! CLOSE UP: ALICIA’S teary face. FADE OUT: There is a happy ending. It seems the stores all have a video recording of lottery purchases with embedded date and time. Nigel was able to prove he bought the ticket and the family has moved to a very nice high-rise apartment in Manhattan across from Central Park. Kimberly got a new prom dress and Nat has a hundred video games. Nigel does his own laundry now. Check your pockets...>>>iggy ** Image ID #1264233 Unavailable ** |
 Log in to Leave Feedback |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
