There's such a thing as too much information. An article released today by The Washington Post states that 30 minutes of exercise a day is not enough for heart failure reduction. The article’s source finds this number needs to quadruple what we’ve previously been told. Whether this is true or not, I believe most will take away the headline without doing further research, and that headline is damaging: “New study says 30 minutes of exercise a day is not enough. You should double or quadruple that.” I get it. The title sells newspapers and generates linkable content. But how many people will read that headline and just give up? I'm a 37-year-old male living in the United States. I’m overweight and prone to depression. “I can barely find time in my week to work out of 30 minutes a day, so what’s the point?” Instead of reaching for something attainable, one might give up because what needs to be done is unattainable. I tried making sense of The Washington Post’s source, a medical journal called Circulation, and I found an interesting fact about the study. Circulation is reporting correlations between exercise and heart failure, not causes. It could very well be that the someone who has time to exercise 2 hours a day has less stress in their life, thus reducing their risk. If you work out for 2 hours a day, what are your eating habits like? The Washington Post reports that someone who exercises twice or four times a day reduces their risk of heart failure by 20% to 35% respectively, but how can they arrive at that number based on exercise alone, especially when so many other factors are at play? The information is useful, but my biggest concern is The Washington Post is using the information just to sell advertising. So get out of bed today. Go for a walk or a bike ride, even if it’s just for a few minutes. Make a small change in your life and let that small change work itself into a larger change. Every little bit of positivity you add to your life helps.
1 Comment
After years of searching for her mother's killer, Felicia "Lucky" Fascino is finally on the right track. With the help of her family, and on-again off-again boyfriend, Kenji Zinn, Lucky is getting closer to fulfilling the unspoken promise she made to her adoptive father. As the group continues to dig deep into the assassin's network, and search for the elusive Quimby, ties to the past come back full circle, endangering everyone Lucky loves and cares for. It's only a matter of time before their secret is uncovered. This is the third book of the Lucky Series. New Release and #RomanticSuspense Series Sale!
A chance encounter with another hitman changes Lucky’s life forever. .99c Lucky's Charm - amzn.com/B008RG8V4Q 1.99 Lucky's Break - amzn.com/B00K6SYQP6 ON SALE NOW - Lucky's Promise - amzn.com/B00K6SYQP6 Science is the lifeblood flowing through every science fiction novel. You can’t have good sci-fi without a solid foundation of science in which to build. The fantasy genre is much the same, except in place of science, a much more fluid foundation exists, namely magic. Whereas science in sci-fi draws from real world techniques and practices, magic draws from the author’s imagination. However, just because magic performs differently than science, this doesn’t mean magic can act all willy-nilly. In fact, when magic acts outside a solid system of rules, it breaks the suspension in its believability within its fantasy world.
What Is Magic? Magic functions differently throughout the many fantasy worlds. It may be a rumor, or it may be a reality, possessed by only a handful or by many. The power of magic takes many shapes and forms, ranging from simple abilities that augment a person’s senses to god-like abilities of creation and destruction. What sets apart a good magic system from a bad one is the time and thought that goes into it. Because magic takes the place of science in fantasy, and because it cannot act any way it wants, an author must define the boundaries within which their magic works, and they must write within those boundaries. Developing a Magic System Figuring out how a magic system works is an exercise in imagination. Keeping track of it can be an exercise in futility, which is why making sure you have notes is important. Normally, I can go either way on note taking in writing (although I am a known plotter), but where magic systems are concerned, I firmly believe a good one must be written down rather than remembered. Unless you’re Sheldon Cooper, you aren’t going to remember all the details about your magic system. Here are some things to consider:
Evolution Time changes everything, and just like science, the power of magic can change in time. Be aware of this when developing a magic system. If a magic system draws power from belief in its use, where will it be in a hundred years? If magic can only be used by a certain race then what happens to half-breeds? These are all things to consider even if you have no plans to expand into the future of your fantasy world. Knowing where magic comes from and where it’s going is all part of a magic system. It enables the creator to understand the system on a deeper level, which in turn adds depth to the fantasy world. All Imagination Creating and maintaining a magic system all comes down to imagination, and pushing the limits of imagination. Magic should be fluid and exciting. It should take a basic idea and push it into the fantastic. Don’t let magic control the direction of a story. It should work within the story. Therein lies real magic.
Today we're celebrating the release of STIFLED, book two in the SUMMONED series by USA Today Bestselling author, Rainy Kaye. A dark twist on genie folklore, SUMMONED follows a reluctant criminal as he unravels the mystery of the paranormal bond controlling him. In STIFLED, Dimitri trails an elusive jinn and finds himself in the middle of a community keeping dark secrets. The SUMMONED series is represented by Rossano Trentin of TZLA. Scroll down to pick up your copy of STIFLED, get SUMMONED for free for a limited time, and enter to win a $10 Amazon gift card.
Promoting can be a real drag, so to spice things up a bit and break up the monotony, I sent out a post to some of the other Wild Child authors requesting blog-related support. I'm happy to say that Cassandra Ulrich, an author and poet, agreed to a blog swap. I haven't known Cassandra for very long, but I have read her young adult romance novel Love's Intensity. She's a talented author, and it's been a pleasure working with her on this blog swap. Her guest post is her take on the question: What are the benefits of writing on paper VS the computer? I smiled when I first read this question because I live this conflict on a daily basis when writing scenes for my stories. Considering how quickly the characters act out the scenes in my mind and the fact that I took a typing class in college, I find that the computer is the fastest way to go. Spelling or grammatical errors fly off the screen at me. Searches for details to ensure I’m staying on track takes only a few clicks. The first draft is ready for my beta readers a lot sooner too. You can learn more about Cassandra and her work by following the links below. Thank you for reading!
Website: http://cassandraulrich.com/ Blog Site: http://cassandraulrich.blogspot.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CassandraUlrichAuthor Twitter: @CassandraUlric1 Amazon: Author Page Buy Links for “A Beautiful Girl”: eBookstore | Amazon | B&N | Smashwords | Diesel Books | Sony Books Buy Links for “Love’s Intensity”: WildChildPublishing | Amazon | B&N | All Romance ebooks | Buy Link for “Billiard Buddies”: Amazon I’ve been bothered a lot lately about my writing. Mainly, it’s the lack of writing. It’s the lack of being a writer. At first, I thought this was just a post-holiday funk, but after looking at my writing habits for the last few months, I found my writing “block” might go much further than a mere funk.
Over the summer, I participated in a writer review group where I read and reviewed another author in exchange for a review of my own book. I read some good books and some not-so-good books, but because this was an obligation read, it sucked the fun right out of it. I was reading for the review. After the group ended, I became disinterested in reading in general. Hell, I didn’t even want to read comic books. This all happened about the time I wrapped up Soul Seekers, which marked the time from which my writing habits completely disintegrated before the holidays. Leaving me here, looking back and wondering what went wrong. Reading is a huge part of writing, a part that slipped away from me. I was reminded of this last night while reading a post on Reddit. The question was “Do you always have to be reading to be a writer?” and one of the most poignant answers was this: A musician never asks, “Do I Always Need To Be Listening to Music?” They just listen to music, always. Wow. How had I let this important lesson slip by me? I’ve always loved to read, but somehow in the last few months, my “love” for reading turned into a chore that simply vanished. But why? Perhaps because my love for books had begun to decline. Since publishing Spirit Summoner over a year ago, I’ve easily spent most of my “writing time” doing things like marketing. Blog posts take up a lot of the gaps in between, as does editing, leaving very few hours of actual writing time. Since becoming a published author, a little piece of me has become turned off to the idea of books. I’ve forgotten about the fun and adventure one can have with a book. So how do I go about changing my perceptions? Like a true Bookaholic, admitting I have a problem is the first step. The first thing I did this morning was pull a book from my shelf, one I’ve been meaning to read for a while now, as well as load a couple books on my Kindle app. Coupled with my own techniques for curing blocks (I posted about this last week), I hope to turn my funk around quickly. I’m really looking forward to reacquainting myself with my love for reading again. Please, if you have any suggestions for reading, I’m all ears! The holidays always seem to screw with my rhythm. This applies to just about every aspect of my life, but mostly with my writing. Travel and parties that take up the weekends, plus the stress of spending and obligation that comes along with the season, always make it hard for my mind to focus. This results in a loss of activity when it comes to writing, which eventually turns into...stagnation...or writer’s block as many people call it. I tend not to believe in writer’s block though. What I have is a breakdown in will. So how do I plan to beat the breakdown? Why figure out some new strategies, of course: Idea Alarms My wife and son hate them, but they do the trick for me. I set an alarm on my phone to go off every two hours, and I picked one of the most annoying ringtones I can find (I use the Prometheus siren). When the alarm goes off, it jars my consciousness away from whatever I’m doing and reminds me to come up with an idea. It could be a blog post idea or something to do with my writing. Whatever the case, it’s doing the trick. My mind and body are slowly moving back into a familiar rhythm. Handwriting Putting an ACTUAL pen against ACTUAL paper is one of those techniques that are going away in the new digital age. However, sitting down in front of a computer screen lately has become something of a bore for me. I sit. I stare. I peck at the keys. This is no fun at all. One day, I slid the laptop off my desk and whipped out a pen and paper. Sure enough, within a few minutes, the writing poured out of my head. I remember going through fits like these over the years where I’ll write for months with a pen and pad, but transcribing it all into the word processor can be a chore. Nothing beats the feeling though. Reminiscing Sifting through my old writings is also helpful in finding new rhythm. I recently came across an old story of mine that I’d long forgotten. Reading through it helped me see flaws and think of new routes in which to clean up the writing and tell the story clearer. Simply reading the story was a huge help in finding my new rhythm, which brings me to my last point... Reading Reading, while easy to dismiss, is easily one of the integral parts of good writing. Reading is usually the reason we all started writing after all. The holidays tend to screw with even our deepest set habits, and after the holidays ended, I found that reading had definitely fallen off my radar. So, I’ve lined up some books both old and new, and I’m intent on getting some reading done as my new ideas churn through my brain. If you have any ideas or suggestions for finding a new rhythm in the new year, please let me know! Fall and Winter have always been two of my favorite seasons. The smells in the air, the cold, and perhaps, because people tend to draw inward. I'm not much of a people person, so the fact that fewer people want to talk to me makes it a fun kind of year.
Perhaps the best thing about this time of year is the holiday. I don't really care what everyone else celebrates or even if you don't celebrate at all. What I do care about is the magic during the season. Sure, this magic tends to revolve around the Christmas holiday, but what matters to me is that brief reminder of magic in the real world. As a kid, I waited patiently on Christmas Eve for Santa's arrival, and on Christmas Day, I saw his magic fully revealed. It's a great feeling, one that is lost in the cynicism of adulthood. It's a feeling that's never quite lost though, one that lingers in the heart. It has grown again this year for me as I watch my son wonder and awe during this Christmas season. So I wish everyone the best. I try to do that every day of the year, but it seems to magnify during this time of the year. Perhaps the magic of goodwill will spread through the air, and grow and warm during the spring. Happy Holidays! Like Hansel and Gretel leaving a trail of breadcrumbs through the forest, I leave little markers for myself as I edit. They're not as tasty as breadcrumbs, but they serve their purpose. They help me find my way back to whatever story I was originally trying to tell.
While editing Book Two (and now Book Three) of The Chosen of the Light, I've been finding it difficult to keep the story focused and moving. I'm using the techniques I learned from while editing Spirit Summoner, but I'm throwing in a trick of my own: Breadcrumbs. This idea won't work for everyone. Maybe it only works for me. But I thought I'd share it anyway. If anything it'll give you some insight into my own writing process. That being said, I'm a planner when it comes to my writing. I like to know the story heading into it. I spend a good while sorting out many of the details in my head before I ever begin writing. I've tried to just let the story take me where it will, but the effects are often a disaster of plotholes. Now, I don't need every detail or even every character, but I must know the general direction of the story. You might be asking what this has to do with editing and here's what I've found. Even the best planner cannot always stick exactly to the plan. Writing is fluid, as if storytelling. Sometimes, when you finally get to your planned ending, little changes along the way have changed the overall story. When I begin editing, the first thing I do is run through the story, chapter by chapter. I give each chapter a quick perusal, then at the top of the page, I leave a comment indicating the POV and a light synopsis for what's happening. I can easily scan between chapters, giving myself a clear picture of the direction things need to take, and at the end of the book, I can tell what needs to be done to maintain the story. The breadcrumbs remain in place until the very end, right before I send off to my editor. You never know when you're going to find yourself lost in the woods of your own writing. Book marketing is a tricky thing. Early on in my publishing career, I surged into social media marketing, and with pretty delightful results. As a first time author, I expected to sell only a handful of books. In my first quarter, I sold over 200 copies. It may seem like a small number, but as a new author with no following, my publisher assured me this was not common at all. I believe the key to my success was to throw all caution to the wind. Try everything. Sure, it makes it incredibly difficult to tell what works, but that was the least of my concerns. Now, with my sales slowing down a bit, it's easier to see results when I try something new. Last night, I stumbled across something I knew nothing about. So naturally, I jumped in head first. It all started with a Thunderclap. Thunderclap organizes something like an online flashmob. You create your campaign, and once it's approved, you share it around. Friends and online colleagues theoretically join in, lending their own social media reach to the campaign. When your deadline hits, if you have generated the target number of followers, Thunderclap posts your campaign...using all of your followers' social media...all at once...like a thunderclap. So I'm going to try it. My book my be small, but I hope to raise it to thunderous levels. Please join me in my latest social media experiment! |
Archives
March 2019
Categories |