A Blogger's Nightmare - "What Do I Write About?"

Many writers maintain a blog on at least a monthly basis as a way of keeping their name out there and staying in contact with their reader audience. What is happening to me (especially since I made the commitment to blog on a weekly basis) is that I at times find myself at a loss for ideas for content. The idea for today's blog came from my writer friend Jean Maurie Puhlman. Her suggestion was to present a list of sentences with blanks at the end. I immediately felt that these could act as writing prompts, and I thought that was a great idea! So, thanks to Jean Maurie, here we go!

• John, did you see where I put _____?
• Why on earth did you _____?
• You think it was a coincidence that _____!
• They only thought the show was going to go on. The black hole that it was going to create would _____.
• Who knew that the mystery dinner was going to end up _____.
• We had no idea who he was, or that _____ was about to be set loose!
• The gun just sat there, on the table, waiting to _____.
• When the smoke cleared, there was going to be _____.
•  Little old ladies are not always _____.
• History may repeat itself, but only _____.
• As the car crested the hill, Jillian panicked as she realized that the brakes were _____.
• She had made it all happen, but the credit went to _____.
• Things that happen in the fashion business are not always _____.

Enjoy!

(c) January 2019 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author.

Editing For Flow

I was recently asked to edit the WIP for a lady who is an amazing writer. She explained what she wanted, but I asked questions, just to be sure. She had reached a point in her project where she wasn't quite sure of the flow. She didn't need spelling or grammar editing, all I had to do was look at the flow. Even though I knew approximately where in her work she was concerned, I started reading from the beginning. In that way, I could see how the entire project flowed, and not just focus on one part of it.

This is a non-fiction book, so flow is important. What exactly is flow? From my perspective, it is the movement of ideas in a manner that a reader will be able to understand and follow. No one goes down the proverbial rabbit hole when reading. I have read my share of non-fiction books that jumped around and did not hold together. IMHO, they were a waste of time. I am not talking stand-alone chapters here, I am talking about paragraphs within an individual chapter that are questionably related to each other. 

When doing this type of editing, I suggest reading the material out loud. Don't try and rush the reading, because if you do you will unconsciously fill in the "black holes" in your mind, but they will still exist on paper. Printing out the material for editing is another way to do this, but reading something out loud, in a slow manner, will give you an overall view of what is going on.

Take notes while you are reading, or you may forget what you found questionable. I am reading my friend's work in a digital file and making notes in a separate digital file as I go along.

Changes that need to be made could be very minor, or they could be major structural changes. This is one reason that I chose to read my friend's work from the beginning, to see how the whole thing was structured. Well, there is another reason, but I cannot give it here, because it has to do with the nature of the presentation.

I am looking at things such as (1) Are the ideas easily understood?, (2) Does the sequence in which they are presented make sense?, and (3) Does the work build on itself?

I am in the process of co-writing a non-fiction book, and I am sure that my writing partner and I will be editing for flow, probably even before we edit for grammar and punctuation. 

(c) January 2019 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author. 

Master Class - Online Classes

What exactly is a Master Class? It is a class, in any subject, that is taught by an expert in that subject. As writers, why do we want to take a master class? For that matter, why do we want to take classes at all? Let's discuss the last question first. As writers, we take classes to learn new skills, to bring structure into our writing (hey - I am a "pantser", so a little structure doesn't hurt!), to help to motivate us and keep us focused, and perhaps to learn from a master craftsman - a writer that we admire, and that we want to learn from/be like. 

There it is - the master craftsman teaching the master class! In my wanderings I found a class offered by Margaret Atwood on creative writing, being offered through the Master Class site. This is a site where over 45 instructors offer classes on subjects ranging from writing, to cooking, game design and theory, playing the guitar, photography, wine appreciation, and more. Other writing classes include those given by Malcolm Gladwell, Dan Brown, James Patterson, Shonda Rhimes, Aaron Sorkin, R.L. Stine, Judy Blume, and David Mamet. 

Looking at Margaret Atwood's class, this is the structure: there are 23 video lesson's (the content of each lesson is listed on the site), a downloadable class workbook, and a critique on student work.  Also included are some of Atwood's original research and notes.

Classes on this site can be taken singly, or there is an option for an all access pass for a yearly fee. Looking at what is being offered, I am inclined to purchase the all access pass.  

I can't think of a better place to grow some feet for a beginning writer, or to fine tune one's work for a more accomplished writer.

(c) January 2019 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission from the author. 

Writing Goals For The New Year

I find it much more productive to set writing goals at the beginning of the year (that are reviewed quarterly), rather than setting resolutions that fade away fast. I am in a very good place with that this year, as I am using an At-A-Glance daily planner, and each day has places to write down the first and last things done each day, the top three things to do each day, what needs to be done "right now", and what the "win" of the day was. This soothes my Cappie soul! 

When  I sit down to write our my yearly writing goals, the first thing I do is to try and make them realistic! I am still working full time, so I have to fit my writing around that. Any deadlines that I set out have to be functional. I break my goals down into smaller, achievable bites. I mean, what are the chances that I can sit down and develop character profiles for my entire book in one day? Or that I can edit my entire book in three days?

Develop some way of keeping track of where you are on your book. For me, the easiest way is by word count. I really don't care how many hours a day I write - just so that I am writing every day. I also don't care what time of day I write - I have the benefit of being able to write whenever I want to, day or night. My most productive time is usually in the oh dark thirty hours!

I push myself to define goals for each step of a writing project. The project itself must become just as important as the characters themselves. 

Stay positive, and strive to keep a work/life balance. Use insirational quotes to your advantage.

Some people may want to share their goals with a writing partner, with each partner holding the other partner accountable for achieving their goals (or understanding why they are not achieving their goals). This is not something that I would ever do, but many people find that it works for them.

Make sure that your goals are specific (or you will be wandering around in a writer's abyss forever!), that you have some way of quantifying/measuring them, and that you have a way of acting on them.

Happy writing for 2019!

(c) January 2019 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission. 

U.S. Politics - Past, Present, & Future

U.S. Politics - Past, Present, and Future

Normally I do not post political thoughts on this blog, as it is devoted to my writing. However, I am making an exception here. These are my "beginning of the year" thoughts about U.S. politics, which have been in disarray since the last election. Recently we saw the Democratic party (cyber high five to all Democrats!) take the majority in congress. When all is said and done, Nancy Pelosi, a seasoned politician, will become Majority leader in Congress come January third. We also saw women being elected in ever increasing numbers to office all across our country. IMHO, this in itself will make a major difference.

We are currently in a partial goverment shutdown (one that was in no manner necessary, and was an example of the toddler temper tantrum that our current president throws whenever he wants to). We have had two deaths of immigrant children , with many more issues being reported in immigrant holding facilities. 

Here are my thoughts on our most recent past president (Barack Obama), our current president, Donald Trump (I am with the #notmypresident people here), and someone that could possibly represent our future, Beto O'Rourke (who lost by a very small margin in the Texas senate race to incumbent Ted Cruz).

I was incredibly happy to see Barack Obama win the presidency the first time, and ecstatic to see him take office the second time. He was the first African-American president ever elected, and had to fight the battle of whether or not he had been born in America. (This is a subject that current president Trump still weighs in on, refusing to believe that Barack Obama was actually born in America.)  

Overall, I am very happy with what he accomplished, and believe that his legacy is a good one. He represented the people well, and accomplished a great deal, in spite of Republican obstacles.

Below are some of the things that came out of his presidency:

• Obama Care (not perfect, but workable)
• Strong approval ratings 
• DACA (Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals) 
• Progress towards LGBTQ rights
• No scandals 
• Had a good working relationship with Vice President Biden 
• Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act 
• Don't Ask Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 
• Ended military involvement with the Iraq war 
• Ordered the military operation that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden 
• Advocated for gun control 
• Promoted and signed the Paris Agreement on global climate change 
• Improved America's global reputation  

 

Along with many American's, I was in shock to see the election results of 2016. I was literally ill, and I was not alone in that. The backlash was immediate, with a woman's march that was larger than the audience for the presidential inaugeration. This was not only a national march, but one that spread world wide. It was the largest single day protest in U.S. history.

Many of you will think that I am rude/disrespectful  in using the baby Trump balloon (with his cell phone in his right hand) as an image here, but this to me epitomizes who he is and what he represents. 

Here are just some of the things that will be the legacy of Trump's presidency:

• Constant lying 
• Attacks on the media 
• Inability to connect with or respect other leaders 
• Withdrawing from the Paris Accord 
• The building of a wall between the US and Mexico 
• Trump's connection with Russia 
• Trump's appointments 
• Turnover in the White House
• Questionable ability to lead 
• Taking down anything related to Barack Obama 
• Attacked Social Security and Medicare 
• Trump's tariff policies 
• Scandals 
• Obstructing the Mueller investigation 
• Trump unpopular worldwide, American image suffers 
• Trump rule by Twitter 

  

Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke is a Texas businessman and former Congressman (he retired from Congress to run for Senate). He was the Democratic challanger to Republican incumbant Ted Cruz  for a Senate seat. He lost to Cruz by a narrow margin (200,000 votes). 

I am presenting Beto O'Rourke as a possibility for a run in 2020 for the presidency. (In a crunch, I might also vote for Michael Avenatti! LOL) Here are some things that we need to know about Beto O'Rourke, and why I think he is a viable candidate:

• There is already a smear campaign going on, allegedly by Bernie Sanders supporters.
• Thoughts on the border wall 
• Women's rights 
• Charismatic when dealing with people 
• Healthcare 
• Democratic support

The eight years that we had with President Barack Obama were peaceful years. I am not saying there were no issues, no wars, etc., but during this admnistrations there were no scandals, we had a gracious, well spoken president, who represented us well globally. There was positive movement with women's issues, and with LGBTQ issues. We addressed climate change, immigration, and other global issues in a sensible manner. We all miss his steady hand on the government.

The past two years with President Donald Trump have been an unmitigated disaster. The constant lies, attacks on the media, turnover in the White House, inability to relate to or get along with anyone, insulting foreign governments, refusal to make personal tax information public, money paid to his personal hotels when traveling, an inordinate amount of time spent at Mir-A-Lago, at taxpayer expense, and "rule by Twitter". No other president has fired anyone by Tweet!

Who do we want to see as a Democratic candidate in 2020? Someone with vision,  someone that relates to John Q. Public, someone that recognizes climate change as a viable issue, someone that will not pander to big business/big money, someone that has the ability to understand global issues, and forge alliances globally that are in the best interest of all parties.

To do this, we need to see major changes within the Democratic party. In this last election, we saw more women taking office, and a wider range of agenda's being addressed. The Democratic party needs to move away from domination by wealthy political insiders. It needs to encourage involvement by youth, who bring their own perspective to the table. Radical change is needed if the Democratic party intends to become strong and cohesive. One major change that I hope is made is taking away the vote of superdelegates in picking the parties nominee. 

My hope is that the Mueller investigation drains the current swamp, and that we can take our country back to the point where we can be proud of it, and proud of our place in the global worldview.

(c) January 2019 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author.