Did you know...

• that there have been over 20,000 books written about the game of Chess? 


• that Lucy Maud Montgomery was abandoned as a child? Her mother died when Lucy was only two years old and her father abandoned her to her maternal grandmother because he wanted to re-marry, move away, and begin a new family with his new wife, leaving all reminders of his first marriage behind him. Lucy Maud Montgomery was famous for writing the `Anne of Green Gables' series, stories which semi-mirrored her own life, as Anne was an orphan living on Prince Edward Island. 


• that William Shakespeare invented the word "hurry"? 


• that William Faulker was a poor public speaker? When he won the 1949 Nobel Prize, his acceptance speech was greeted with only polite applause because it was virtually unintelligible to the audience. However, when it was published in the paper the next day it was universally acclaimed as one of the best acceptance speeches ever. 


• that you can help out a great writer, Alex Cavanaugh by buying his book CassaFire today? Well, yes you can. Barnes and Noble. Amazon paperback and Amazon Kindle.  

CassaFire is the sequel to Cavanaugh’s first book, CassaStar, an Amazon Top Ten Best Seller:

“…calls to mind the youthful focus of Robert Heinlein’s early military sf, as well as the excitement of space opera epitomized by the many Star Wars novels. Fast-paced military action and a youthful protagonist make this a good choice for both young adult and adult fans of space wars.” - Library Journal

You can visit the author’s site at http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/
Book trailer available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa6VINRGtyE.

Sources: http://ideasofindian.blogspot.com/2008/05/some-interesting-facts-about-books-and.html
http://www.funtrivia.com/en/People/Writers-Authors-248.html

stop spam. read books. kill a pig.

We have all recently seen the captcha debate. Should we? Shouldn't we?

Maria Zannini has posted an awesome video on her blog about the usefulness of Captchas. They actually help digitalize books and we should all love that! However, as a blogger, it DRIVES ME NUTS!

So, here is my idea: Why not make an app for it--The Captcha App! Make it a game. I'm sure there are people out there that would download an app that would just solve captchas and perhaps kill a green pig at the same time!

Come on, people! I'm just a writer but there has to be a techie out there that could think of an Angry Bird edition that combines the love of captcha solving with missile birds...

ANYONE!?

Clarissa Reads Great Books

(1) A Husband for Miss Trent by Anne Gallagher

What is it about? When a surprising invitation arrives in the post, impoverished spinster Miss Ophelia Trent wants to turn it down. With no funds for a new gown or even slippers, she’s afraid of becoming the latest laughingstock in Society. With her mother’s gentle insistence, and a borrowed antique gown, Ophelia decides to take one last chance to find a suitable husband.

The ball to which she’s been invited is everything she could have dreamed, including a marriage proposal to the "perfect" man. However, she longs to see the stableman whose easy smile and soulful eyes have etched a mark on her lonely heart.

Should she stick with "perfect" or let her heart take a chance at finding true love?

What did I think? What a lovely read. If Jane Austen wrote short love stories, it would read a lot like this.
I liked the main character Ophelia. She was so kind and lovely that you wanted her to win in the end.
It's only .99 cents on amazon, so pick up a copy.

Buy it here for $0.99

(2) The Secret World of Doing Nothing by Billy Ehn, Billy Ehn

What is it about? In this insightful and pathbreaking reflection on “doing nothing,” Billy Ehn and Orvar Löfgren take us on a fascinating tour of what is happening when, to all appearances, absolutely nothing is happening. Sifting through a wide range of examples drawn from literature, published ethnographies, and firsthand research, they probe the unobserved moments in our daily lives—waiting for a bus, daydreaming by the window, performing a routine task—and illuminate these “empty” times as full of significance. Creative, insightful, and profound, The Secret World of Doing Nothing leads us to rethink the ordinary and find meaning in today’s hypermodern reality.

What did I think?I just loved this book! Loved it.

Don't let the title fool you, this book is not filled with 'nothing'. It's packed with interesting insights into life.

The book opens up in a grocery story. A man is at the checkout counter and what ensues is typical of the average human: to avoid the mundane-ness of waiting, he creates a competition between checkout lines. Who will get done first? After an opening like that, I was hooked.

It takes to understanding why we create little competitions for ourselves on a day to day basis. The kind of "imaginative ingenuity" that "ritualizes and dramatizes daily life".

It discusses six aspects or principles behind waiting. (I won't spoil the book by listing them here.) And how the feelings towards waiting varies depending on where you live in the world.

Another section of the book--and really the reason I picked it up--is the section on daydreaming. When do most people daydream? Why do people daydream? Fascinating study.

Buy it here for $9.90

(3) Creativity 101 by James C. Kaufman

What is it about? Creativity 101 serves as a brief, engaging introduction to the field of creativity. Dr. Kaufman presents the cutting-edge research and analyzes new and emerging theories in the field. This book investigates the many definitions of creativity, as well as how it is manifested and measured in schools, the workplace, business, art, media, and more. Key topics discussed: The "Four P's" of creativity: person, product, process, and press How creativity influences personality, motivation, intelligence, and talent The dark side of creativity: the remarkable relationship between creativity and mental illness Emerging directions in creativity research, with discussions on neuroscience, the media, and literature The Psych 101 Series Short, reader-friendly introductions to cutting-edge topics in psychology. With key concepts, controversial topics, and fascinating accounts of up-to-the-minute research, The Psych 101 Series is a valuable resource for all students of psychology and anyone interested in the field.

What did I think?  This book was really inexpensive so I picked it up from Amazon (now, however, the price has gone up), it touches on the subject of Creativity (duh!) and what defines it.

What makes a person creative? What makes one creative person different from another?

I really liked some of the sections, like the one on Historiometrics, pioneered by Simonton. He defined creative people based on their biographies and factual information. In one of his studies, he divided the lives of 10 composers (Bach, Mozart, Chopin...) into five-year periods and measured each composer's productivity based on works and themes. Here's what he found: The composers who wrote the best music, wrote the most music. Quality is related to quantity.

As a writer I found that interesting. That means: the more we write, the better writer we become.

There was also discussed the correlation between creativity and mood. Does being in a bad mood make you a more creative person? The findings are still inconclusive but there are basis for both theories.

Why did I give the book only three stars?
It's not the content, it's the way the content is laid out. Instead of adding footnotes, he often places the references right in the paragraphs, leading to long, hard to read paragraphs. I found myself skipping points because of the excessive citations.

Other than that, an interesting read.

Buy it here for $14.75

CAPTCHAS and Let Go

Okay, what is up with the Captchas? I mean really, it was enough with one word and now they want us to type in two? Personally, I don't allow Captchas and my blogger spam filter catches everything. I might seriously consider letting go of some blogs that allow captchas--too much work. Am I ranting?

What does everyone else think of CAPTCHAS?

More About Clarissa

I got tagged by the lovely YA writer, Kelley Lynn at Between the Bookends, and the lovely Ashley Nixon so I'm here to answer some questions about me. Because I had 22 questions, I decided to pick my favorites and ended with .

1. If you could travel back in time, what period would you most like to see? 

Oh my, there are so many different time periods I would like to visit (I really need a good old phone box). However, I wouldn't mind the twenties...the nineteen-twenties that is, before the war. 

2. Do you prefer the sandy beach or a cabin in the mountains?

Cabin in the mountains, alone where I can write in peace and take long walks. 

3. Fill in the blank. I would never ______________________. 

I would never smoke. In fact, it drives me insane when I see mothers smoking around their children. If you want to kill yourself, fine, but don't subject your children to a painful death.

4. What is a place you've never been, but would like to visit?
Europe. I would love to visit Denmark and Greece and Italy and...

5. Who do you admire most (anyone alive or dead)?  

My grandmother. She had fourteen children and a thieving husband (I never met my grandfather but I hear he was a louse) so my dad's family spent a lot of time moving from place to place to avoid the law. Imagine doing that with little ones. Yet, she was strong and kept her family going. All of the fourteen are still alive.

6. Writing or reading, who is your favorite character and why?

Tony Hill from the Val McDermid books. He's off-the-wall and spends most of his time in his own world.

7. Your favorite book-to-movie movie?

8. Do you have a pet?

I have a female boxer. This isn't her but a close likeness, she sits by my side as I write. She's a suck.

9.What's one word you would use to describe yourself?

Strong-willed

10. What is something you have to have on you at all times?

11. What's your favorite website? (Maybe writer's resources?) 

The Writer’s Forensics Blog

(Beware: Some photos on the site are disturbing and feature dead bodies. But, it's a wonderful resource for mystery writers.) 

   

 

What are your answers to the same questions?

 

 

Picture sources: http://cdn.obsidianportal.com, flickr.com, http://www.sonypictures.com/classics/persuasion/persuasion.html, http://free-extras.com/images/dog_boxer-12812.htm, amazon.com,  

Origins Blogfest: How I started...

I didn't want to be a writer. I wanted to be a doctor or an architect...or maybe a ballerina. Nah, not a ballerina.

My mother told me I used to be an avid reader as a child, I would hide under the covers with a Nancy Drew or Babysitter's Club and a flashlight and read late into the night. Which explains why my eyes are terrible.

However, I gave up my love for reading, as my school years went on, in favor of boys and making out under the stairs. And still, I had no desire to be a writer.

Then one afternoon, my sister brought home the six-hour movie Pride and Prejudice (which I though would be a war movie) and we sat down to watch it.

That's when the voices started. (And not, it wasn't the sexy voice of Colin Firth.)

An idea for a historical love story popped into my head and immediately started writing it. It was crap. However, the voices never stopped and now, I write full time.

The end.

What is your story?

Describe with Dialogue

As part of the I'm Hearing Voices Blogfest, we are introducing characters through dialogue.

Can it be done? Can we use dialogue to describe? To show instead of tell? Let's see.

"Sharon--Sharon. It's me, Richard." 
 

"Yes. I know who you are, Richard. I have a restraining order against you. How did you find me? " 

"I--I live around here."

"No you don't, Richard, you can't." 

"No, well, no I don't, that’s true. But I was just walking down the street and here you were."

"And I think you'd better turn round and walk the other way."

"No, no I understand. Look, I just wanted to say I--I like your new great coat."

"It's not new, I've had it for ages."

"But, I saw you buy it yesterday at the Vintage Shop. You do have the best taste in clothing. I especially love how your hat matches your curls and glasses… Look, don’t ring the police. I missed you, that’s all. I miss our chats.”

“We don’t have chats. We’ve never had chats."

"You said thank you."

"I thanked you for taking my shopping trolley. One time. Over a year ago."

"Yes, but I still remember."

"Richard, you—you killed my dog!”

“That wasn’t my fault, Sharon. It bit me and I started to bleed.”

“It bloody bit you because you were standing in my bloody garden, looking through my bloody window. I’m not talking to you anymore. I can't believe it, I have to move again!”

“Whatever you do, please don’t dye your beautiful red hair black again.”

“How did you—”

Flesh Out Your Characters

As part of the I'm Hearing Voices Blogfest, we are getting to know our characters. This is something that is difficult to do especially when we write everyday. We always figure we will figure it out later.

So, today, I'm going to interview my toughest character. Her name is Crystal and she's an incredibly smart coder, however, people view her as a second class citizen because she's deaf.

Clarissa: What is your biggest vulnerability?

Crystal: I'm not sure I want to say. Doesn't that make me more vulnerable?

Clarissa: Well, who would know? Only the people who read this blog...and really, no one reads it.

Crystal: (eyes her suspiciously)

Clarissa: All right then, what do people believe about you that is false?

Crystal: That one's easy, it's that I'm stupid because I'm deaf. The truth is, I'm a great programer. In fact, I'm hacking into your iPad as we speak...

Clarissa: You are?

Crystal: No, of course not. You don't even own an iPad.

Clarissa: Oh, that's true. What would your best friend say is your fatal flaw?

Crystal: Sophia?  I guess she would say I fall for the wrong men.

Clarissa: Why?

Crystal: Because I do. Really, any man who pays any attention to me, I'm there's. Well, in the past I was, not anymore.

Clarissa: What would the same friend say is your one redeeming quality?

Crystal: I will do anything to help out anyone, even if it means breaking the law.

Clarissa: Oh, I suppose that's a good thing. What do you want most?

Crystal: What do I want most? I want recognition. Not just for me but for all the deaf out there that work hard and get abused because of the fact we're deaf. I want people to realise that we're not stupid.

This Stupid Pineapple is...

Now a stupid NYAN-PINEAPPLE!

(I want to apologize to all for having to experience the NyanCat again!) 

This has been a post for the Thinking The Lions blogfest. Check it out!

I need a few days to catch up on my blog reading. I'll see everyone around.