D is for DAIKON April #IWSG and #AtoZChallenge

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group

 

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time.

Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post.
http://www.alexjcavanaugh.com/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! Our Twitter is @TheIWSG and hashtag #IWSG

Ninja Alex J. Cavanaugh's awesome co-hosts for the April posting of the IWSG are Chris @ Madness of a Modern Writer, Madeline Mora-Summonte, Fundy Blue, and Chrys Fey

 

Anyone serious about marketing their published work is advised to join in the annual blogging #AtoZChallenge. In past years, I didn't use my participation as a marketing tool for my novels, so I have no statistics to share about results of publicity for my books during that time. My main objective had always been toward networking. But now I am more aware of the advantages and potential benefits of approaching the #AtoZChallenge in terms of marketing and publicity.

This year I will study the sites that employ marketing strategies so that next year I am better prepared to follow their lead. It will be interesting to watch how others approach these objectives with their posts. All in all, I see this as an expanded learning experience for 2017. (One caveat: my other blog site is applying this approach with an #AtoZ poetry theme. http://poetryfromthelanai.blogspot.com)

 

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT

My daily #AtoZ posts combine two concepts in under-300-words per day:

an appealing food choice along with thoughts that spring to mind.

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Daikon resembles a white carrot and tastes like a mild radish. Its benefits include antioxidants to lower both cholesterol and high blood pressure. It is rich in the minerals Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium and Iron. Unfortunately, the only time I eat daikon is when it is shredded and served as a garnish (tsuma) under sashimi. Sashimi I would eat anytime.

Sashimi (raw tuna) decorated with shredded daikon

Although some folks consider it unacceptable or prefer not to eat the tsuma, it is okay to eat the daikon that decorates the plate displaying the sashimi. Considering the price of the raw fish, and the relatively small servings offered, the garnish helps to satisfy the appetite after consuming the main course.

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#AtoZChallenge Theme Reveal for 2017 FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Compiling 30 blog posts for the 30 #AtoZChallenge days of April, 2017 takes stamina and a desire for serious goal-setting. Thanks to Arlee Bird and Alex J. Cavanaugh, I've been able to sustain my interest in maintaining a blog site over the years. The April boost gives me energy for the 12 months to follow.

The theme I chose for this year is "Food For Thought." This way I can mention food (a main pastime for me, not to eat but to think about!) and to work in a thought about writing when appropriate. As I eat very little meat, and never the red kind, my thoughts usually focus on fresh fruits, bean-based meals, and quick snacks. So posting in April will have the added challenge for me of choosing foods that generate interesting and thought-provoking topics. Whether I succeed or not, April will be fun-filled as I travel from blog to blog, enjoying the entertainment of every other blogger's theme choice.

 

I'll be relaxing in a corner of my lanai, with a refreshing drink,
as I compile my #AtoZ posts for April, 2017

Look forward to visiting your blog very soon, and often!

 

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K is for KEOGH CLAN OF IRELAND #AtoZChallenge

For this year's challenge, my theme is The Fun in Writing. Each of my 26 posts for April is aimed at
illustrating fun parts of an author's day. A writer doesn't only write.
Creating a story or an essay requires research, revision, editing, and lots and lots of coffee and chocolate.

K is for KEOGH

What's in an Irish Name?

 

My relatives from Tipperary, Ireland have the name McKeough. In researching the purpose of beginning a name with the prefix Mac, Mc, or O, I learned the following:

 

In ancient Ireland the population was much smaller than today and the mass movement of people was uncommon. It was usual therefore for a person to be known only by one name. This single name system began to break down during the eleventh century as the population was growing and there was a need for a further means of identification. The solution was to adopt a prefix such as Mac (Mc is an abbreviation) or Ó.

 

Mac means 'son of' whilst Ó means 'grandson of'.

 

My relatives moved from Ireland to Lower Canada in the 1840s. No records of movement for free emigrants to Canada were required until 1865. (The USA required these records since 1773.)

 

Engaging in genealogical research and writing stories based on the information garnered during the research process are my idea of finding The Fun in Writing. It isn't climbing Mount Everest or kite boarding in Kailua on O'ahu (no, that's not me on the water!) but the "high" is still there.

 

 

 

(K is also for Kailua and for Kite.)

J is for JUSTIFIABLY EQUAL TO HOLMES?

For this year's challenge, my theme is The Fun in Writing. Each of my 26 posts for April is aimed at
illustrating fun parts of an author's day. A writer doesn't only write.
Creating a story or an essay requires research, revision, editing, and lots and lots of coffee and chocolate.



J is for JUSTIFIABLY EQUAL TO HOLMES?

 

Could my title for today's post be more cryptic? (I'll explain below.) Matching posts to alphabet letters sometime feels like trying to strike a Kama Sutra pose, lots of angling.

The Beekeeper's Apprentice is the 33rd book on my list of 71 books to read by October, 2016. Setting goals is another of those fun activities that writers enjoy.

 

During the writing process, my goal's outline looks something like this:

1. Write 2k words per day
2. Do not edit while writing
3. When falling short on words, reset goal to catch up tomorrow 

My latest reading goal, on the other hand, is much more fun. By setting the goal  to read 71 books in 12 months, I've given myself permission to spend a lot of time reading for enjoyment. The second part of this goal, to "write a review" for each book, helps me to keep writing without running out of ideas.

You won't experience writer's block if you have

several different writing projects in the works.

 

When you're at a loss for words with the novel, skip over to the book review project or the next blog post; or write a poem.

The title of this post refers to Mary Russell, a character in The Beekeeper's Apprentice. The author created Russell with the brain power and deductive reasoning of Sherlock Holmes. I believe the novel proves that Russell is justifiably equal to Holmes. Have you read the book? If so, would you more likely give a negative or an affirmative answer to the "J" question?

 

The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King

(my review for Goodreads)

Laurie R. King is scheduled to be Toastmaster at the 2017 Left Coast Crime Conference: Honolulu Havoc. During a discussion about the conference and the author, a library assistant at Makiki Community Library in Honolulu recommended The Beekeeper’s Apprentice to me. I was hooked by the “Editor’s Preface” in which King sets an inviting stage. 

The Preface gives the reader an opportunity to transition from the preconceived idea of reading the author’s story to the delightful idea of immersing ones’ self in an early 20^th century memoir. I was eager to suspend disbelief and enjoy the tale as experienced by narrator and co-protagonist, Mary Russell, during her formative years. That those formative years were spent under the tutelage of none other than the inimitable Mr. Sherlock Holmes only emphasizes the sheer pleasure presented to the reader. 

The opening sentence of the synopsis explains the book’s title:

“In 1915, Sherlock Holmes is retired and quietly engaged in the study of honeybees

when a young woman literally stumbles into him on the Sussex Downs.” 

 

The book’s contents are labeled Books One, Two, Three, and Four. The stories cover several years of Mary’s early life and describe her interaction with Mr. Holmes. They collaborate on several cases, including a through-line investigation, after he discovers and is impressed with the intellect of the fifteen-year-old “gawky, egotistical, and recently orphaned girl.” 

The feistiness of this young lady, along with her eccentric thoughts, mode of dress, and sympathetic history, endeared Mary Russell to me from the first chapter. The author’s ability to incite reaction from the reader with succinct emotional description and colorful passages had me laughing, frowning, and cringing in turns.

 

In my opinion, reading such a well-written book as The Beekeeper’s Apprentice is a better learning experience for a writer than participating in a creative writing course. And more fun!

 

E is for EASTERN EUROPEAN ANCESTORS #IWSG #AtoZChallenge

For this year's challenge, my theme is The Fun in Writing. Each of my 26 posts for April is aimed at illustrating fun parts of an author's day. A writer doesn't only write.
Creating a story or an essay requires research, revision, editing, and lots of coffee and chocolate.

This is also Insecure Writer's Support Group Day. #IWSG

What I have learned over the years from the A to Z Challenge is that composing 26 blog posts with a theme each April has done wonders for reducing my insecurity about having the ability to produce coherent sentences. (Apparently, it has done nothing to help me reduce my rambling sentences!)

E is for Eastern European Ancestors

This is the first of four Wednesday A-to-Z posts related to my research for a novel based on my ancestors: sixteen great-great grandparents who shared the experience of emigrating from (out of) Eastern Europe (and ultimately immigrating (in)to the United States.)

Those of you who have researched any of your family history know the exciting experience of discovering a new relative or a "lost" ancestor. Since the advent of internet ancestry sites, such as Ancestry.com, finding elusive elements of your family tree is exceptionally easier than when I first began my research.

The detective work involved, though, was possibly more fun back when the search involved greater effort than typing in a name and clicking on a "search" key.

Some of branches of my family tree originated in the Eastern European countries of Bohemia, Prussia, and Bavaria. Accomplishing my research in those areas required heavy dependence on library books and the internet. Closer to home, my sister and I took a "cemetery" tour I had mapped out, traveling around the Wisconsin countryside to all of the known locations where relatives were reportedly interred.

Every encounter of successfully discovering another ancestor's cemetery tombstone is an energizing event.

But writing stories about life in Eastern Europe during the early 1800s,

based on my earlier research, is equally exhilarating!

 

Here is a page from my cemetery research files:

Maternal Great-Great Grandparents, Caroline Heider & Gustave Maigatter
In 1866, Gustave immigrated with his parents from Magdeburg, an important Prussian fortress until 1912:
most of the city was destroyed in World War II (1939-1945).

B is for BREATHE DEEP #AtoZChallenge

For this year's challenge, my theme is The Fun in Writing. Each of my 26 posts for April is aimed at illustrating fun parts of an author's day. A writer doesn't only write. Creating a story or an essay requires research, revision, editing, and lots and lots of coffee and chocolate.


B is for BREATHE DEEP

 

If you've ever gotten into a bind with your story line and wondered why you ever chose to write novels in the first place, you are in good company. Most writers, at one time or other, walk away from the computer to take a few deep breaths to clear their mind.

 

A fun writing experience I encountered was totally unplanned until the idea popped full-blown into my head. If you need a change of pace from writing your latest story, why not breathe deep, and switch gears? I took a break from writing murder mysteries to create a series of poems. Once the poetry was written and edited (very lightly), I formatted the collection and published the little book as a birthday gift to myself.

How's that for discovering

The Fun in Writing?

 

With the project completed, I was eager to return to my mystery writing!

 

 

One of the more fun, and light-hearted poems in ANOTHER NEW BEGINNING is:

 

#27

Breathe Deep

 

Apple pie

baking in the oven;
 

Lilacs

in bloom;

It only takes a moment to breathe deep.
 

Ocean breezes;

L’air du Temps;

Fresh bread cooling on the rack;

Baby’s powdered skin.
 

Breathe even deeper.

Spring

after another hard winter.


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The following is the next entry in my series of Sunday posts

 

Beginning October 18, 2015, and each succeeding Sunday for 70 weeks, my internet blogsite will feature a poem from

ANOTHER NEW BEGINNING. A short observation, sometimes informative, other times humorous, will accompany the poem, along with a complementary photograph.

 

 

The sense of smell is a strong trigger for memories. Who doesn’t get a warm feeling when reminded of a special food cooking on the stove or apple pie baking in the oven as you walked in the door after school? But how did you feel about the guy in the next cubicle at the office who wore too much aftershave? Did you need an alarm clock to wake you when bacon was frying in the kitchen?

 

When someone says, “The nose knows,” everyone nods an acknowledgement. Not all “bad” odors are bad, evidenced by a newborn baby’s soiled diaper. You’re just glad the baby is so healthy! Bed wetting, on the other hand, may conjure up completely different emotions.

 

Fragrant flowers (such as: Lilacs in bloom) recall a wide variety of memories ranging from weddings and birthdays to funerals. There is the carnation fragrance of a wrist corsage from your favorite prom date; the Hawaiian plumeria lei tossed in the ocean at the end a fantastic second-honeymoon vacation; the flowers for your son’s bar mitzvah; the table bouquets at your daughter’s baby shower.

 

During the editing process of writing a story, the writer is urged to embellish scenes with greater use of the senses for description. When the reader is drawn into the scene with their senses, they become much more emotionally involved in the story rather than being a mere observer.

 

With food, smell and taste often go hand in hand. What non-food odors, aromas, or fragrances are readily recognized and generate an immediate emotional reaction in you?



 

A is for APRIL A-TO-Z CHALLENGE MONTH #AtoZChallenge

What is the April A to Z Challenge?

 

The brainchild of Arlee Bird, at Tossing it Out, the A to Z Challenge is posting every day in April except Sundays (we get those off for good behavior.) And since there are 26 days, that matches the 26 letters of the alphabet. On April 1, blog about something that begins with the letter “A.” April 2 is “B,” April 4 is “C,” and so on. You can use a theme for the month or go random – just as long as it matches the letter of the alphabet for the day.


For this year's challenge, my theme is The Fun in Writing. Each of my 26 posts for April is aimed at illustrating fun parts of an author's day. A writer doesn't only write. Creating a story or an essay requires research, revision, editing, and lots of coffee and chocolate. For me, the chocolate part keeps me going like an energizer hare (although, between hair touch-ups, a more appropriate analogy might be old grey mare!)

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One of the most fun things a writer can do is to participate in the annual April A to Z Challenge. You will accomplish a valuable goal. And, as a blogger, you encounter a new writing technique.

By blocking your inner editor, you allow thoughts to rise from your subconscious. You have a plethora of information stored in your mind that has been accumulating since before you were aware of thought processes. Allowing thoughts to flow freely onto the page/computer screen is comparable to opening a water faucet. If you stop in mid-stream, starting to write again becomes more difficult. Thoughts that only started to surface may sink and be lost forever.

As long as you don't obstruct the stream of words, more will come.

This means not editing while you are writing the first draft of your blog post, essay, short story, or novel. The story is in your head. Let it flow onto the page.

 

BUT ... BUT ... aren’t you supposed to

Edit! Edit! Edit!

Isn’t writing all about editing!?

Yes, ULTIMATELY.

But you can’t edit what’s in your head. You need to see it on paper!

 

Writing 26 posts for the month of April is a terrific way to begin writing faster, and an excellent method for developing a new habit, one that will serve you well throughout your writing career.

 

If you want to be a writer, you must write . . . regularly.

The best way to do that is to discover

The Fun in Writing

 

Davy Crochet having fun with April A to Z Blogging Challenge