Thursday, October 31, 2013

An Eerie Tale

Since tonight is Halloween, I feel inspired to write a quick eerie short story. It was a dreary day. It looks as though it is going to rain, but the sky currently does not seam to have tears in her eyes. I hear a noise, but do not see anyone. I then turn around and see a beautiful little girl looking at me through the window. Her blond hair rests on her shoulders. She is wearing a pink dress with a white bow across her waist. She does not smile. I run to the door to see if she is ok. As I open the door, the girl is gone. Later that day, around the 5:00 hour, I hear a noise. I open my door to see if anyone is there. On my porch standing there is the little girl. She looks at me. I look at her, but feel an eerie hill go up my spine. Behind my house is the woods. The girl starts to run in the direction of the woods. I scream, "Wait a minute. Let me help you. Don't be afraid." She continues to run. As I get close to the trees that stand tall in the woods, I don't see the little girl anymore. I stand there pondering if I should enter these dark, cold woods in search of the little girl. I turn my question to you. Should I enter these woods or not? Would the path not taken be in my best interest?

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Should all stories have a happy ending?

I was watching an episode the other day from the show Beverly Hills 90210 Season 3 Episode 16(It's A Totally Happening Life). This episode was about two guardian angels that foresee a truck colliding with the gang from 90210. The 90210 characters were on a school bus on their way to visit children in order to deliver them Christmas gifts. To sum it up, the truck collides with the bus and miraculously the bus had no scratch on it. Also, not one person was hurt. It was implied that they were saved by a higher power. Although this was a nice way to end the show, it was very unrealistic. In my opinion, the writing was awful in that episode. As a writer, I actually appreciate it when something ends accurately that depicts real life situations. Could a bus collide with another truck and realistically would everyone be alright? Other shows have been realistic. On the OC, the writers killed off a crucial, main character. They could have chosen the character, Marissa Cooper to leave the show differently, but they took a risk and were realistic about it. Look at the classic movie, Gone With The Wind. Did that movie have a happily ever after ending? No, not really. I had a conversation with a friend about this and she said that although it is nice to have a happy ending, it is sometimes unrealistic and can appear too perfect. I am definitely not saying that we can't have a story where everyone does live happily ever after. As the reader, we root for that and hope the main character is on top. However, it also does not hurt for the writer to take a chance and end something differently from what the reader expects. Don't be afraid to take risks as a writer. It only makes the story more compelling. As I am writing my blog, I am thinking about my own book that will be published soon titled, Ignition. I can only hope that my reader is surprised and affected by the ending in my story. "If you are willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary."(Jim Rohn) "I'm a writer, adventurer, and risk taker on a quest to join the top 1% of the world."(Tyler Tervooren)

Monday, October 28, 2013

What Is Halloween?

Since Halloween is around the corner, I questioned myself as to what this holiday is about? For those of you who are skeptics, you will probably answer that it is the holiday to help the the candy company business. For those of you who like to have a good time and party, Halloween is your excuse to do that. Dress up in a sexy costume, have a few drinks and laughs. For me, I always liked Halloween. Don't get me wrong, it definitely helps the candy company, and is a great excuse to get together with friends and party. However, Halloween means excitement. It's about dressing up and pretending to be someone else for the night. It's about children as well as adults using their imagination. This is the only night where a witch could fly across a full moon as she owns the sky. Ghosts roam freely in the night air. Vampires glide across a graveyard. Children get to trick or treat and gather up their candy at the end of the night. Pumpkins show off their smiles. This holiday is filled with magic and mystery. What do you think of Halloween?

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Dialogue helps

As you know, I am anxiously awaiting my book to be finalized and go to print. However, a friend of mine recently edited the manuscript and suggested that I add more dialogue within the book. She suggested that the reader will be able to identify with the characters even more and feel that they are part of the conversations taking place. I agree and feel that there is naturally always room to improve. Therefore, I will make those adjustments. Recently, I saw a movie which was an excellent flick. It was about immigrants coming to the United States illegally. In this movie, there was a couple. They were married, but the husband had relations with someone else as he mentioned that he was not excited in his relationship anymore. In the movie, there was only one scene between husband and wife. I thought about that and realized that I did not understand these two characters fully. I definitely would have liked to see them have more dialogue between them. One scene didn't do it for me. This lead me to think about my book and realized that my friend is right. I definitely need to add more dialogue between my characters. I don't want my readers to feel let down as I did after watching that movie. It's a shame because both actors were excellent, but the script screamed for more details.