ABC, U for Urlaub (Holiday)

A handful U-words were on my Writing A-Z list. I even had chosen one and written the post ... only with the result, in the end the text didn't fit anymore to the headline! Well, hard luck! My problem, none of the other words didn’t inspire me in the slightest! Now, the challenge is slowly coming to its end and a solution was needed! All right, there was Easter and I think a day off is well deserved! That's why: for Urlaub (Holiday)! Enjoy your free day! Ka...

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ABC, Y for Yarn: Yo, Ho, Haul Together

o, ho, haul together, hoist the colors high.Heave ho, thieves and beggars,never shall we die. Doodled by me while watching 'Pirates Of The Caribbean' Ahoy, me hearties! Dead men tell no tales, but do ye dare to hear mine? Avast ye, come a little closer. Landlubbers, ye sit down and listen, I tell. Savvy? It was a calm, moonlit night ... too calm when you ask me, when from the sea an inscrutable fog slowly crawled onto the land. With the fog came a shadow and the shadow become a dark man entering...

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Friday-Fill-In: 2011-17

I love to see nature becoming green and alive during springtime. It fills my heart with joy and a smile. It's how you feel fresh and free and young again. It's like a young Bambi jumping around out of pure joy. I know, it's a bit childish, don't tell me! Well, would you talk otherwise, when you at least try to let this emotions fill your soul and become that young again, too. If you don't like deer, then maybe spring peepers. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to writing my last...

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ABC, X for X-beliebige Fakten (Any Random Facts)

-beliebig is one of 54 x-words in my 'Duden' dictionary and the first of another 26 utterly useless, but also quite interesting facts about books and writing in my today's A-Z post: There have been over 20,000 books written about the game of Chess. The main library at Indiana University sinks over an inch every year because when it was built, engineers failed to take into account the weight of all the books that would occupy the building. The Bible contains 3,566,480 letters, or 810,697 words. The...

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WQ-15. Admirable Writers.

30 Days Of Writing Questions 15. Midway question! Tell us about a writer you admire, whether professional or not! You can't seriously limit that question to just ONE writer, can you?!? Fact is, I adore different writers for different reasons, e.g.: J.K. Rowling: I adore her huge imagination. From book to book I was so excited to read about all those new animals, the new magical objects, the curses, the whole world of Harry Potter. In the DVD bonus material I was also impressed by the deep knowledge...

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ABC, W for Wie man... (How to...)

This was originally written for the letter U, but after finishing I had to admit, that the content didn't fit properly to the headline anymore! Fortunately there was a suitable letter left: ie man.../'How to improve your writing skills?' One of the questions, I'm asking myself all the time. So, what can be done? PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICELet's assume, someone's being blessed with some basic writing skills and also have a brilliant idea for a plot, well, that's not enough! A book, a novella,...

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Wreck This Journal: Trace The Things In Your Bag.

For this page I made negative paper-templates of things in my bag and used Blow-Pens/Airbrush-Pens for the outlin...

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ABC, T for Tiere (animals)

oo many to count! A sheer endless number of animal literature is available. In every genre, for every taste. In my little private library are quite a few to find: Starting with classical fairy tales over some Cujo by Stephen King to Frank Schaetzing's The Swarm, not to forget Warrior Cats by Erin Hunter and all those magical creatures in the world of Harry Potter. As an author I'm also very fond of writing short stories of my four-legged, purring, little feline fur balls. *meow* For today I've...

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ABC, S for Show Not Tell Crusader Challenge

oo many wonderful S-words! It's really difficult to chose one ... but then I've stumbled over Rachael's Crusader Challenge - just perfect for the S-day! THE CHALLENGEIn 300 words or less, write a passage (it can be an excerpt from your WIP, flash fiction, a poem, or any other writing) that shows (rather than tells) the following: you're scared and hungry it's dusk you think someone is following you and just for fun, see if you can involve all five senses AND include these random words: shimmer,...

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ABC, R for Resources

ituals, habits, good luck charms - my first thoughts on the letter R. BUT I've already written something similar in WQ-06. Writing Habits and also here: My Writing Journey and here: Meet A Journal Keeper No retakes, remember? So, I've landed on R for Resources! RESOURCE: EQUIPMENTI dare to say, that the equipment we chose influence our writing! It's hard to imagine myself writing my novel by hand ... I would freak out, because of the lack of speed or possibilities of spell verification or easy...

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Friday-Fill-In: 2011-16

Pardon me, it's now my turn on this week's FFI! If you continue reading, it'll be a good deal. I was surprised to find that I really like to quiz over missing gaps. Reading is one of my favorite forms of entertainment. Hi, my name is Karin and I'm a blogger and Friday-Fill-In-er. These days feel like summer afternoons. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a nice long, free Easter weekend, tomorrow my plans include hopefully a sunbath and Sunday, I want to eat out in a nice restaurant! HAPPY...

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WQ-14. Map Out Location.

30 Days Of Writing Questions 14. How do you map out locations, if needed? Do you have any to show us? Like written in my previous post WQ-12. World Building. most of my action takes place in the real world. So, Google Maps is one of my best friends to have a look at unfamiliar places. I sometimes only wished that there's a 'Time Machine Function', e.g. to see a harbor in South-East England around 1900! Besides the public places there are some fictional private places, like the home of my heroine...

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ABC, Q for Quiz

-words are limited ... so I decided to redo a quiz: Which Crazy Writer Are You? MY RESULT is (again) Tom Wolfe:Ah, the life of a wall flower. You get to hang out with the most interesting people - radio DJs, hot rodders, hippies, Hell's Angels, Wall Street tycoons, frat boys - and are completely happy putting them into the spotlight. You're completely happy hanging back with your martini and your little notebook, jotting down all your little observations, in sight but out of mind. Sure, everyone...

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ABC, P for Pilgerreise (pilgrimage)

ilgrimage wasn't originally on my Writing A-Z list, but then, just yesterday, I've caught the word somewhere on TV and got instantly inspired. A reader's pilgrimageSometimes I'm surprised by myself which books have found their way on my favorite book list. Just like 'I'm Off Then: Losing and Finding Myself on the Camino de Santiago: My Journey Along the Camino de Santiago' by HaPe Kerkeling. I love this utterly frank and engaging book. HaPe has a wonderful entertaining style to fill his travelogue...

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Wreck This Journal: Write Backwards.

I sit and waitdoes an angel contemplate my fateand do they knowthe places where we gowhen we're gray and old'cos I've been toldthat salvation lets their wings unfoldso when I’m lying in my bedthoughts running through my headand I feel that love is deadI’m loving angels instead. That's the first verse of "Angels", performed by Robbie Williams (Youtube) A short note to the design: I'd found that beautiful angels wrapping paper, but unfortunately it got completely lost under all those layers. The...

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ABC, O for Once Upon A Time

nce upon a time not so long ago two blogger started their own Journaling Challenge. On 15th February 2011 the prompt of the day was 'Once upon a time' and one of the girls created a page looking like an old book and began a fairy tale. She published the page and promised to complete the story and also translate it. Now, two months later, the selected theme is again 'Once upon a time' ... so, what's more perfect than to fulfill the promise now? Once upon a time a young woman lived alone in her little...

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ABC, N for NaNoWriMo

ational Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing on November 1. The goal is to write a 50,000 word (approximately 175 page) novel by 11:59:59, November 30. Read more on the NaNo-FAQs: I tell you, when you finally cross that 50.000 words margin, you truly experience one of that magic moments. You're so proud, that you've really made it and feel like the writing king of the world! Then you get not only rewarded with a wonderful winner...

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ABC, M for Magic Moments

agic moments, mem'ries we've been sharin' Magic moments, when two hearts are carin' Time can't erase the memory of These magic moments filled with love. It's a bit difficult to concentrate on writing, when you're rice krispies are humming Perry Como's song! All right, focus now! Magic Moments in the real worldI'm quite sure every writer has experienced that magic moments in one way or the other during his/her writing experiences: The moment, when in your brain a new idea is born. When you get...

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ABC, L for Linguistik (linguistics/language)

ord of the Rings, Extended DVDs, Bonus Material: Different takes of Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn sitting in the Golden Hall of Meduseld speaking to Theoden: "Open war is upon you whether you would risk it or not." The same words over and over again, but every take slightly different: some more emphasis here, a touch of higher voice there ... and suddenly this 12 words became a slightly different message. It's amazing, what an actor can do only with his voice, using modulation, articulation, accentuation...

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ABC, J for Journaling - Art - Writing

ournaling - Art - Writing. Three disciplines belonging together for me. A piece of art inspires to a poem. An event, a dream, noted down in a journal as inspiration for a novel or a quick doodle. The one conditions the other and at the same time they complement each other to a whole new thing. Not without cause it's called 'The Art of Writing' or 'Art Journalin...

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Friday-Fill-In: 2011-15

For me, it was the feeling of pure freedom to sit on a motor bike. Parking is never a problem at my local supermarket. Behind the sound of the wind in the trees, I heard the blood rush in my ears. Riding a motor bike is something I always wanted to do. When it was over, I still could feel the warmth of the engine and smell the fuel. You ride alone on your bike, but I never felt alone. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to nothing but a warm bed (I'm still ill!), tomorrow my plans...

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ABC, K for Kurzgeschichte (short story)

I know, I still owe you the J ... I'm working on it and as soon as I'm finished you'll be the first to know! What the hack did I think to set this rule not to collide with my other series? That post here would have been so much easier, but ... says the logical side in me ... then you would also have some repeating! *sigh* So, if you like to read some more, here are my other choices for the letter K: K for Konflikt (conflict): WE-01: Plot Fireworks K for Kreativitaet (creativity): WE-05: Clustering K...

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WQ-13. Favorite Culture.

30 Days Of Writing Questions 13. What’s your favorite culture to write, fictional or not? Nofretiri, AKA Nefertari, was one of the Great Royal Wives of pharaoh Ramses II., the Great. I've chosen my online nickname not only by accident. I love and adore EGYPT, I've lived its traditions and culture. That for I would simply love to write about that culture, too! Actually, for a couple of years now, I have a plot idea in mind, but I've never realized it ... well, that's not completely true, I've...

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Wreck This Journal: Do Some Rubbings With A Pencil.

The other day I was on the graveyard to prepare the family grave ... that's where I got the inspiration for my rubbings: some of the graves have wonderful engravings. Packed with material I moved back the next day and chose this simple cross with a beautiful rose! God bless you a...

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ABC, I for Image

mage is everything! When I say image, I'm speaking of esteem, reputation, fame ... in this case, the image of authors, poets, writers. Instantly I had two pictures in my head: 1. Carl Spitzweg: The poor poet 2. Stephenie Meyer at the ComicCon Two pictures, that couldn't be more oppositional. On the one end the poor poet, living in a shabby chamber, obviously fighting to sell some of his work to get some food. And on the other end an author, celebrated like a rockstar,...

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ABC, H for Horror

orror is subjective. I wondered, when I'd bumped into a Boggart, what would I be confronted with? What would your Boggart become? What makes the hair on your neck stand up and leave the lights on at night? Writing Tips for Scary Stories: Write about what scares you: be willing to dig deep down inside yourself and confront yourself with your own fears. Study the craft: get more acquainted with horror writing by reading horror stories and watching horror movies. Timing and pacing: Take the time...

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One-Minute-Writer: Genre

Saturday, March 12, 2011Genre: A movie is being made of your life. What genre is it? FOR "It's going to be a Masala Movie. Masala originally means 'a mixture of spices', but it's also used for Bollywood movies. Every typical Indian movie is a mixture some drama, love, action, lost, family ... just like my lif...

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Creative Blog Award

*big-cheshire-cat-smiles* What a fantastic award! THANKS DEIRDRA over at A STORYBOOK WO...

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Friday-Fill-In: 2011-14

In the near darkness the cats awake for Jellicle Ball. Macavity is the biggest rascal in the neighborhood til further notice. But this is only a matter of time when Mungo Jerrie and Rumpleteazer are going to follow. The Rum Tum Tugger always lives in the stream. It's always nice listen to Memories. Enjoy your journey on a train with all the comfort and pleasant company of Skimbleshanks. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to listen to the Musical 'Cats', tomorrow my plans include...

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ABC, G for Gefuehle (emotions)

ot your tissue box ready?! A wise word of advice in consideration of some books, like 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows'. On more than one passage I couldn't read properly, because of the tears in my eyes were blurring the lines. There are other books, where something was so funny that I couldn't help but laughing. Sometimes you could hear me shout a terrified 'Don't!' or a disgusted 'Yuck!'. Or some other super sweet nasty kitsch made me gag. If something like that happens with a reader, the...

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ABC, F for Freewriting

******** reewriting - 10 Rules: Chose term, title or theme as starting point. Set a stopwatch on 10, 15 or 20 minutes. Write, whatever comes into your head. The writing hand is always in motion. Don't read, what you've written. Continue writing. Don't delete or correct. Don't care about spelling and grammar. Debaucheries and nonsense are okay. If nothing's going on, then just write 'I have no idea.' (or something similar) until your next thought appears. When the time is up, just finish the...

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WQ-12. World Building.

30 Days Of Writing Questions 12. In what story did you feel you did the best job of world building? Any side-notes on it you’d like to share? World building then ... this makes me think of any kind of science fiction, where literally whole new worlds were created and Harry Potter with his magical world and not to forget J.R.R. Tolkien with 'Lord of the Rings'. In my opinion he's the master of world building: Middle Earth including new races, completely new languages and a detailed history. This...

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ABC, E for Einzigartigkeit (uniqueness)

inzigartigkeit, uniqueness. u-nique [yoo-neek], -adjective (Definition by dictionary.com) 1. existing as the only one or as the sole example; single; solitary in type or characteristics. 2. having no like or equal; unparalleled; incomparable. 3. limited in occurrence to a given class, situation, or area. 4. limited to a single outcome or result; without alternative possibilities. 5. not typical; unusual. 96.500 books were published in the year 2007, whereas 86.000 titles were new publications -...

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Wreck This Journal: Infuse This Page With A Smell Of Your Choosing.

This page is dedicated to my most favorite smell 'In Love' by Betty Barclay. Well, pink isn't necessarily my most favorite color, but that little bottle simply challenged it. But honestly, what's love without rose-colored glasses, right? That sculpture is called 'Eternal Spring' by Auguste Rodin. I got a postcard of it hanging above my desk. So, I see 'love' every time I look ...

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ABC, D for Drehbuch (screenplay)

rehbuecher/screenplays ... movies were made of books. In 99% my disappointment wins over my excitement to see one of my favorite books on the big screen, because nothing's better than the movie in your head. I dare to say, every writer has that great movie in his/her head. (Btw: Let me know, if there's another method!) My first go transferring a brain movie to paper ends up with something between 6 and 40 pages. Which is okay until I judge one story could have the potential of a full grown 400...

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ABC, C for Checklists

haracter, cliffhanger, checklists - my Top 3 C's. According to my own rule not to collide with one of my other serials, character has to step aside for one of the others. Well, cliffhangers are intriguing, but... So, today let's talk about checklists. Various lists cross my every day life. I check the bestseller lists for new book inspirations. I check my grocery list to bring home really every needed item. The blogger in me lately discovered '30 days of lists' as potential summer month blog challenge....

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