What a wonderful review!!! - Thank you!

When you receive reviews like this you realise that all those struggles you have been through being an author is worth it. Thank you Izzy! I am glad the book gave you and your nephews pleasure! In fact it is a real joy for me when you hear that something you created actually makes people giggle. In my opinion the world needs more laughter!

What makes it amazing is how someone on the other side of the world, who you have never met, is laughing because you wrote something... I love it and that is the joy of being an author!

5.0 out of 5 starsThe storyline of the short book is fun, exciting and imaginative

By Izzy Schwedop on September 11, 2016

Format: Paperback

The storyline of the short book is fun, exciting and imaginative. Allure does a stellar job at creating such vivd characters while letting readers 'get in' on the playing between two siblings.

The characters range from young children to grown adults. Lisa is able to execute these characters so genuinely you sometimes forget that they are all being voiced by one person. Such a true actor! My nephews absolutely loved listening to Lisa's spirited performance and were always kept on their toes wondering what was coming next. They especially loved the way Lisa said Oop Oop and continued to imitate it all day! Lisa skillfully hits all the right marks reading this audiobook and I can't wait to listen to what she comes out with next.

 

AUDIO LINK: http://www.audible.com/pd/Kids/The-Hairy-Legged-Mystery-Audiobook/B01H2HF0XU/ref=a_search_c4_1_2_srTtl?qid=1471619538&sr=1-2

Tingle Dingle & The Little Mischiefs - YIPEEEEE! MISCHIEF!!!!

Today Tingle Dingle and The Little Mischiefs arrived on audio. Tierra did a wonderful job and in all honesty it is wonderful to know that children are able to hear a funny bedtime story that popped from my random imagination....

LINK: TO TINGLE DINGLE & THE LITTLE MISCHIEFS ON AUDIO: http://www.audible.com/pd/Kids/Tingle-Dingle-and-the-Little-Mischiefs-Audiobook/B01GW55E48/ref=a_search_c4_1_8_srTtl?qid=1465848730&sr=1-8

A fun bedtime story!!!

Chapter 3 - A Short Course in Creative Writing

 

A Short Course In Creative Writing

 

CHAPTER 3

Narrative Voice and Style

The storyteller, who is the narrator, has numerous choices regarding how to narrate their story. It is better that this decision is made early on to stop confusion or constant flitting about throughout the story. 

First Person

The first person narrative is one of the most common approaches to narration whereby the author narrates by becoming a character within the story. The plot is revealed by referring to this viewpoint character as ‘I’. Usually, the first person narrative is used as a way to provide internal insight and convey the deep internal unspoken thoughts of the narrator. The narrator's story often revolves around themselves as the protagonist. This method allows this protagonist/narrator character's inner thoughts/perspective to be conveyed openly to the audience. It also enables the character to be further developed through his/her style of story telling.

Example: It wasn’t as if I could do anything. I sat there helplessly watching Russet, my dog, devour my date’s beautiful shoe. I glanced at her sleeping beside me and wondered what else I could give Russet to chew on.

Second Person View

The rarest mode in literature is the second person narrative technique whereby the narrator refers to the reader as ‘you’. Using this style of narrative the author makes the reader feel as though he or she is a character within the story. Second person narrative mode is often paired with the first person narrative mode in which the narrator makes emotional comparisons between the thoughts, actions, and feelings of ‘you’ versus ‘I’.

The second-person point of view provides an intense sense of intimacy between the narrator and the reader. That way the reader feels involved but powerless as they are escorted through the plot.

Example: You are not the kind of person who should be here. So why are you here when you were not invited? You are at this party, so maybe you are here for a reason. You must know why you have chosen this situation. Maybe it is your idea of an accident or a joke. So why do you invade this space? All eyes are on you because something isn’t reading right.

Third Person View

Third person narration is the most flexible and the most common approach within literature. I often liken it to an observer standing on a cloud who is able to view all things. In the third person narrative each character is referred to as ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘it’, or ‘they’. The third person narrative enables the narrator distance without attachment and makes it obvious that the narrator is an unspecified entity, voice of God or an uninvolved person. That entity narrates the story from an objective or subjective perspective.

Chantelle strolled into the lounge with a look of delight on her face. Admittedly there were hints of what she had been up to decorating her face. She even had pink icing on her cheek and eyebrow.

“I finally managed to achieve my goal!” She exclaimed with joy.

Chantelle had devoured thirteen pink cupcakes in a row without feeling queasy. She was ready for the village cupcake eating championship!

Subjective narrative describes one or more character's feelings and thoughts often in Italics.

Objective narration does not describe the feelings or thoughts of any of the characters. Instead, the focus is on the actions. Those actions are ‘shown’ for the reader to interpret.

An omniscient narrator has knowledge of all times, people, places, and events, including all characters' thoughts.

A limited narrator, in contrast, may know absolutely everything about a single character and every piece of knowledge in that character's mind, but the narrator's knowledge is ‘limited’ to that character. That is, the narrator cannot describe things unknown to the focal character.

Alternating Person View

The alternating point of view seems to be what often happens when students desire to reveal as much as they can about characters. They often start with first person and then add in a point of view from a new character. This is where the author has to make a definite decision about the approach because the worst thing that can happen is that the author writes the whole book and realises that multiple character viewpoints have become confusing. This is why the general rule for novels is to adopt a single point of view approach throughout a narrative. There are exceptions to this rule and some stories, especially in literature, alternate between the first and third person. This technique enables the author to move back and forth between the God view (with a third-person narrator) to a more personal first person narrator. However, bear in mind your reader and the potential for dis-engagement according to complexity and attention span.

 

The Stream of Consciousness Narration

This technique is often from a first person point of view. The intention is to provide a narrator's perspective by attempting to replicate the thought process rather than speech or actions of the narrative character. This is where interior monologues, inner desires or motivations and pieces of incomplete thoughts are expressed to the reader. The other characters within the story often remain unaware of these thoughts.

Epistolary Narrative

The epistolary narrative uses a series of letters and other documents to convey the plot of the story. Although epistolary works can be considered multiple-person narratives, they also can be classified separately, as they arguably have no narrator at all, just an author who has gathered the documents together in one place.

A bit of a fun writing break. Have a rest and look at the below prompts:

Write a piece on the following:

·         The funniest situation I can remember/imagine

·         The most awkward moment

·         An act of idiocy

Now look at what you have written. Did you automatically fall into first person or third person? You may have fallen into second person. Which point of view is most natural to you? Once you have written one piece try another one of the prompts using another point of view. Was that easy or more difficult? The reason that you are doing this is to find out your easy way before writing an epic and finding out that maybe you should have written it from a different point of view.

Before writing consider the following:

Who/what is telling the story?

·         Me?

·         Third person?

·         Voice of God?

·         Second person?

·         A specific character?

·         A journalistic - real approach?

With every piece you write it is worth answering the following questions to enable clarity:

·         What style?

·         What era?

·         What is the purpose of what I wish to write?

·         What do I wish to learn about?

·         What part of me do I wish to explore?

·         What makes me special?

·         What can I give?

·         What do I/character care about?

·         Who is my audience?

·         What do I want them to experience/feel?

·         What do I/or my character want to overcome?

·         What are my/my character’s motivations?

·         What do you want readers to take away from the story?

·         What am I specialist in?

 

The Three States of You and Your Writing

 

Now this is something worth considering prior to writing your first piece. Which part of you is writing the story? Consider this: we have you at your best, you at your worst and you at your neutral state where you simply get on with it. Obviously there are variations of those states in-between. I had never really considered the difference in my style of writing according to my mood or my state of being. Once I discovered this I purposely began to step into the state of me at my best where I considered how I would inspire and uplift through writing. When I was in my worst state, I tried writing from this point of view, writing was like mud and the writing landscape became murky. It was fascinating because even writing like that became a chore. The neutral state of writing was simply a case of not gauging a mood and writing simply to write. There is nothing wrong with this state of writing; however, the writing that I produced in my ‘best state’ was quite beautiful in comparison to the other versions. Again this relates to writing to heal and catharsis. Try writing in your three states:

 

When I write at my best I am… and I feel….

When I write in my neutral state I am and I feel…

When I write in my worst state… I am and I feel.

 

Have a read of the three pieces of writing and notice the wording you use.  Is there a difference? So with this in mind, pick one of the below prompts and see what you do with them according to the state you choose:

 

What caught my attention about him/her was…. (write from each state).

The situation I found myself in resulted in….

When I was handed the key I instantly thought…

 

BEFORE WE GO ANY FURTHER – Notice the voices in your head. Listen to what they are saying. Is one of them being negative and saying “Why are you doing this? It is just a waste of time? I will never be good enough?”

If so you are really not alone. One of the biggest struggles I witness with my students is that the inner critic comes out when they are being creative. It gains power when they are about to read out their work too. There are many ways to deal with the inner critic, however, I have learned to thank it when it starts chatting. It is there for a reason – it tries to stop you feeling ridiculed or stupid. So, it kindly sets you up to fail before you have even started. Now not only do you have an inner critic, there is also an inner coach. The coach will be excited about all the possibilities to write. When you start feeling not good enough and the critic is rife, switch to the inner coach. Listen to all the positive aspects you are experiencing through writing.

Another huge thing that I have noticed is that when the students become overwhelmed by the inner critic, they delete huge sections of good writing. So with this in mind, always write in version 1. This is your first draft and keep writing it until it is complete. It will not be perfect, no one can ever write a perfect draft – fact! So write your story or  book until complete. Save it as version 1 and every time you edit, save it as the next version, 2,3,4 however many. That means that your first draft is never lost and good writing will never disappear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

LINK TO SOUNDCLOUD

https://soundcloud.com/ruby-allure/creativewriting-edit-99-retail-sample-mastered

 

 

LINK TO BUY ON AUDIBLE:

http://www.audible.com/pd/Self-Development/A-Short-Course-In-Creative-Writing-Audiobook/B012OVUKE8/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1443260320&sr=1-1

 

LINK TO PAPERBACK ON AMAZON.COM

A Short Course in Creative Writing
by Ms Ruby Allure
Link: http://amzn.com/1517234832

 

CHAPTER 2 - A Short Course In Creative Writing

 CHAPTER 2

Ideas and Their Origins

The kiss of inspiration snuck up one evening and kissed you quite unexpectedly. From that moment an idea rattled around your brain like a pea in a can. That idea will constantly niggle you like a child tugging on your trousers. The idea must have expression - that is just how it is. 

·         The idea is growing. It will convince you that it is definitely original and no one has ever thought of such an amazing idea before. In fact this idea will slowly consume you and compel you to tell everyone about it.

·         Great – write it down. An idea is great; however, it is just an asteroid floating around space until gravity captures it and brings it into reality. It then becomes the shooting star!

·         Buy yourself a writing journal and keep a scrapbook. Capture everything related to this idea and allow the idea to germinate and grow.

·         Before we go any further – does this idea give you a sense of passion? Does it make you want to spend hours developing and refining? Does the thought of spending two hours a day making this idea reality appeal?

·         IDEAS-> MASS OF IDEAS-> FILTER-> FINAL IDEA-> BACKGROUND-> CHARACTERS-> THEME-> LOCATION-> STORY-> ERA-> GENRE-> FULL CONCEPT-> WORKING TITLE-> PREPARE TO BEGIN.

 

The Source of Inspiration

The Art of Noticing

 

Have you ever considered what you notice and why you notice it?

We all have very different ways of filtering the world around us and each of us approach situations with completely different systems of identification. Take for example a party environment. One person will notice conversations, another will notice body language and maybe another will notice aromas or outfits.

 

As an interesting exercise write down three things that you notice in any given situation. Once you have listed three usual/obvious items, I suggest you search for three less obvious traits/details. In addition, attempt to notice using different senses. That way you open up your mind to extended noticing.

 

With what you have noticed consider how you witness the world around you.

Are you primarily visual, auditory or do you notice smells?

Try sharing this idea with a friend and compare what you notice. Is it the same?

What can you learn from how other people notice the world? How can you apply this learning to your writing? How could you enable an insight into a character through the ways in which they notice?

 

 

Story Generation

 

In a world filled by stories, where do we actually originate inspiration?

Some questions you may wish to consider once you have established what you wish to write:

Why do we want to write it? One needs a ‘why’ for motivation. Is the ‘why’ to write your life story for future generations? Is it a burning desire to put on paper a story that has been floating about your mind for years?

 

Will writing this story provide us with pure enjoyment or enable us to experience life from a different perspective?

 

How will you reward yourself once you have written this story? Rewarding yourself for completion is something paramount. I ask my students to list a reward, it is usually the following: a spa day, a new handbag, pretty new shoes, track days, adventure day out or a dinner at a nice restaurant. The point of having a reward is to celebrate your success. That way you train yourself to complete what you start.

 

Back to the story: The truth is that stories are everywhere; it is just a case of noticing them. Some of the more obvious examples come from newspapers, magazines, television, history, myths, fairy tales and our own lives.

 

 

With all this in mind, have a look at the below checklist to make sure you have clarity:

·         What is it that you wish to write?

·         What is the idea?

·         What is its theme?

·         Why must you share this with the world?

·         Who would be interested?

·         What are the key components of the idea?

·         What can they be linked to?

·         What is your intended outcome? – A novel, a short story or an epic?

·         What would you like to gain from the journey of writing this?

·         What are the emotions involved?

·         What research is involved?

·         What locations do you need to visit? 

·         Who could you talk to about the idea?

·         Who will give you genuine feedback?

·         What is the location? What is the era/timeframe?

·         Who are your characters and why do they appeal?

·         What is the story really about?

·         Why is it that we wish to write the story?

·         Who will it appeal to?

·         Is it real?

·         If it is fiction, does something similar already exist?

·         What genre?

·         Whose point of view?

·         How can I make this unique?

·         What can I bring to this that is purely mine?

·         What is my reward?

Once we have an idea or a theme – how do we expand and evolve our ideas?

Some of the obvious examples are as follows:

·         Brain storms with cards. Write on cards and arrange them into a story.

·         Mind map. Draw a diagram and have arrows and boxes leading in all directions.

·         Cutting construction. Make cuttings from magazines and use these as prompts.

·         Random word prompt. Take a walk, listen out to conversations and use a word that jumps out at you to be your prompt.

·         Random theme prompt. It could be love, travel, sport – any theme can prompt you.

·         Object story generation. Take two random objects and write a story that links them.

·         Open random book/dictionary on a page. Find a theme there.

·         Internet idea generator:  http://www.seventhsanctum.com/generate.php?Genname=quickstory

 

 

Problem Solving as a Story Generator

 

One of my favourite ways to initiate a story is simply the action of solving a problem. Take for example the following:

·         Overhearing a conversation that affects a friend. How do you let them know?

·         The craving for a bacon sandwich but having no bacon in the fridge.

·         Having to shop for a gift for someone who has everything.

·         The need for a cup of sugar when you have moved into a new flat.

·         The response to a power cut.

·         A problem often initiates a journey. Take for example taking a pregnant friend to hospital.

·         Discovering someone jammed in a window.

·         Being locked out of your house.

·         Being stuck in a lift.

 

 

A Random Object as a Story Generator

 

If in doubt, find a random object and make a story for the object.

Objects often have stories of their own. Who created the object? How did the object come into the possession of the present owner? What is special about the object? By having something real in front of you it becomes easier to stimulate the mind. The Hare With The Amber Eyes is a novel that traces a family’s history based on rare objects that were collected by the family.

 

Filtering Down

 

Once we begin brainstorming, we soon realise that there is a potential story explosion. If we are not careful we can be consumed by creative chaos.  With this in mind, after expanding our creative potential, we now need to structure and narrow down all the ideas. There are a number of techniques for this.

·         Lists common themes.

·         Colour coding/circling.

·         The arrangement of cards which lists the details to generate the structure of the story.

LINK TO SOUNDCLOUD

https://soundcloud.com/ruby-allure/creativewriting-edit-99-retail-sample-mastered

 

 

LINK TO BUY ON AUDIBLE:

http://www.audible.com/pd/Self-Development/A-Short-Course-In-Creative-Writing-Audiobook/B012OVUKE8/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1443260320&sr=1-1

 

LINK TO PAPERBACK ON AMAZON.COM

A Short Course in Creative Writing
by Ms Ruby Allure
Link: http://amzn.com/1517234832