The Trouble with Misusing Words

Posted on September 28, 2022 by Charles Yallowitz

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This is one of those topics that’s been on my mind, but I’m not really sure how to fully explain it.  I don’t mean using the wrong words or typos here.  I’m thinking more about how people will take one word and use it the ‘wrong’ way.  Mostly to manipulate the emotions of others.  Let me give an example:

A person begins standing up for themselves against a controlling family member.  In response, the bossy family member takes on the role of the victim.  They begin calling the person ‘rude’, ‘disrespectful’, ‘mean’, and other phrases designed to the shame.  Pretty sure I’m talking about gaslighting here.  Yet, it’s the intentional misuse of words in an exaggerated state that gets the job done.

It isn’t always gaslighting too.  Sometimes a person will use certain words and phrases to gain attention and sympathy.  I know a few people on social media who do this.  Years ago, they were claiming to suffer from anxiety and depression when those were the big topics online.  They were really nervous about a situation or simply sad if even that.  Then, they started claiming to be introverts or ‘extroverted introverts’.  One began claiming to be bipolar with it being clear they couldn’t explain the mental illness.  As you can see, much of this comes from self-diagnosing, which is usually wrong.  Yet, people will do it and use online sources to ‘prove’ what they have to get attention.

This is all in the misuse of words.  You drop the right ones into what you’re saying and you can manipulate the emotions of others.  It’s what author’s do, but this is coming from a different source.  There’s no desire to entertain an audience for their own sake.  It’s to be in the spotlight and garner sympathy that one sees other groups get.  It’s to manipulate the mind of a person who might be trying to gain independence or become stronger.  One could even say it’s author skills from the dark side.

Really is an iffy topic here.  I can’t really connect it to writing because this was triggered by seeing it in action.  This is about life and a method of manipulation that I’ve seen far too often.  In fact, I’m pretty sure everyone has done it at some point.  Not always to a truly abusive level, but we get riled and start flinging strong words to defend ourselves.  We want to fight back and use the strongest words we know.  Not that different than the example, is it?  Maybe the difference is in what triggers us.  An abusive person doing this to keep a person down is a negative while a person doing it against abuse is more of a positive.  Guess that makes sense.

So, anybody have any thoughts on what I’m trying to say?  Am I making absolutely no sense?

Posted in Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments

Guest Post – Jaye Marie – Ghost of a Chance #newbook

Posted on September 28, 2022 by Charles Yallowitz

Today I am pleased to have Jaye Marie with me on Fiction Favorites. She has a new book titled Ghost of a Chance now available on amazon. So, Jaye, …

Guest Post – Jaye Marie – Ghost of a Chance #newbook
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Expansion Pack: Prequels

Posted on September 28, 2022 by Charles Yallowitz

Hi Gang, Craig once more to wrap up this weird series about cautionary tales for writers. You can check out the two previous posts at these links: …

Expansion Pack: Prequels
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Teaser Tuesdays: Should I Include Destiny?

Posted on September 27, 2022 by Charles Yallowitz

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A favorite topic of mine.  For those who have followed the blog since the Legends of Windemere era, you knew it would have to be in there.  A reminder that this is only part of the entry.  Enjoy.

Should I Include Destiny?

Very few tropes are as common in fantasy as the destined heroes. This motivation has existed since the days of mythology and continues to be used today. Authors find twists and variations on the concept of destiny and fate, but it tends to boil down to the same thing. The hero is on a path that was chosen for them by a greater power, which brings up the question of if they are in control of any of their actions. Needless to say, readers and authors have railed against the concept. Does that mean it should be shunned and ignored? I’d be a hypocrite if I said yes since the God of Destiny is a major player in my stories. In fact, Legends of Windemere is all about destined heroes . . . Of course, there’s more to it than that, which I will get into after we go over ‘Fate vs Free Will’.

This has been a debate for years if not decades. It shouldn’t be surprising since the concept of destiny has been overused to the point of ultra-cliché. Audiences see the use of destiny or fate or being chosen by a higher power as a cop out by the author. Why does the hero go on this dangerous adventure? Well, they don’t have a choice. More importantly, it goes against our desire for freedom, which is shown through free will. Readers want to connect to the characters and destiny can be a glaring obstacle.

After all, if destiny exists in our world, then it’s not something we’re aware of or fully grasp its influence. This is different than in fantasy where it’s stated as a known force on the characters and plot. Either the heroes are told directly or the audience knows they are reading a story about fate. Even revealing this in the middle or near the finale of a story can have negative effects. This is because we don’t live in the times of older stories where destiny was accepted. It comes with a lot of baggage now.

The biggest problem with using destiny is that it removes the sense of control a character has on their own life. Readers will question every decision and action the hero makes because they aren’t seen as having freedom.

This is extremely true when they are successful or a convenience happens. Every victory is seen with the lens of there never being any other option. Failures are considered to be destiny forcing the hero to go in the right direction instead of a legitimate mistake. Once this factor is introduced and shown to be the major motivation of a character, it leads to many inferences that revolve around there being no threat of defeat. How can a destined hero lose before the finale? It’s hard to believe even if they routinely make mistakes. In fact, I would say that makes it worse because it shows that the heroes can fail upwards. If a loss doesn’t cause them to fall off their path, even a little bit, then it’s not seen as true. Readers will see it as an empty ploy meant to make them believe that destiny isn’t at play here.

While failures in a destiny-driven story are viewed with suspicion, there is a plot event audience’s rarely see coming. That would be the death of a character, especially the one who has been chosen. Authors may do this to shake things up and shock the readers, but it isn’t an action that can be taken so casually. People will see the destined hero as untouchable from the beginning. Every dangerous situation lacks the proper tension because they won’t believe death can occur. So, you have that issue right out of the gate. This is what can drive an author to drop a flaming bowling ball into their own story by killing off the destined hero.

See? Fate can be fickle and isn’t always written in stone! Now, you have to accept that . . . I can kill . . . Uh, where did my plot go? Yup, an author can derail the entire story by killing off a chosen hero and having no explanation as to how the adventure continues.

Posted in Teaser Tuesday | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Welcome to the Magical Apple Orchard: One Bushel Per Person

Posted on September 26, 2022 by Charles Yallowitz

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Hello there.  Welcome to the orchard where all of our apples have a little bit of magic in them.  No worms in there either.  We have the same rules as all other orchards where you can eat while gathering.  Best to read the list before you go munching away though because some abilities might make it hard to continue.  Don’t worry though.  We have a resting area over there if you need a break before finishing.  By the way, we don’t have all 7,500 species of apple here, so I hope you don’t mind the limits.  Enjoy.

  • Golden Delicious–  Popular as you would expect.  Covers your body in a thin layer of gold, which dissolves over the course of an hour.
  • Gala– Good source of energy in that you can discharge lightning from your fingers.  Lasts for as long as the apple is in your stomach, but stops after it passes into the small intestine.
  • Enterprise–  Teleports you to a fantasy world where nobody else has visited.  You return after a few hours with whatever you’re holding.  This doesn’t include living things, so no hugging dragons in the hopes of bringing them home.  You’ll just be eaten.
  • Honeycrisp–  Grants an ooze form that smells of honey and is immune to all damage.  It is susceptible to cold and wears off after two hours.  Entire apple must be eaten for full effect.
  • McIntosh– Not that exciting.  Gives you immunity to cold temperatures, so it’s more popular in winter.
  • Fuji–  Shrink whatever you touch into a palm-sized form.  Does not work on living things.  Everything returns to normal after power disappears.
  • Granny Smith–  Increased speed, but only when knitting or making pies.  My grandmother made this one.
  • Liberty–  A medical apple that cures most diseases, but you need to know what you’re curing first.  Requires you write the name of the disease on the apple before ingestion.
  • Breakey–  Grants the ability to spit fiery acid.  Can hurt your throat.
  • Red June–  One of our juiciest apples.  Every bite gives you the ability to read the future using fire.
  • Parry White– This is a white apple that allows you to turn invisible.  Doesn’t affect your clothes.  People always forget that.
  • Croncel–  Increase jumping ability to that of a flea of human size.  Safe landings aren’t guaranteed.
  • York Imperial– Unbreakable equilibrium along with a body that can contort into any shape.  Everything will snap back into place once power disappears.
  • Ambrosia–  Random power once you finish the apple.  We have a list online of possibilities and you can add to it if you get a new one.  Popular with kids even though we don’t recommend it.
Posted in Olde Shoppe Stories | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Rewrites and Second Drafts: A Necessary Evil.

Posted on September 26, 2022 by Charles Yallowitz

Greetings, SE’ers! Beem Weeks here with you again. Today, I’d like to talk about rewrites and second drafts. Some writers have all the skills needed …

Rewrites and Second Drafts: A Necessary Evil.
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Happy Rosh Hashanah!

Posted on September 25, 2022 by Charles Yallowitz

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year and it starts tonight.  Figured I would post up some memes to celebrate the event.  That and I became too busy and tired to research an animal for the usual Sunday fun.  Enjoy!

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Goal Post: Where Did the Warmth Go?

Posted on September 24, 2022 by Charles Yallowitz

It’s cold today.

Yes, I know it’s now autumn, but I was still comfortably wearing shorts on Thursday.  If you wonder about yesterday, I was uncomfortably wearing shorts.  Today, I’m going to have to see how many of my jeans fit.  Not a fan of this abrupt change.  We had the mid-70’s and it’s the 40’s.  Can’t be natural or normal or acceptable.  Might be why I got 7.5 hours of sleep and feel like crap too.

It was a busy week with school and parenting.  My son had enough homework to make afternoons rather rough.  Mostly reading with annotating, which slows him down to a crawl.  He’s already a slow reader, but adding note-taking means it takes longer and he focuses on vocabulary.  Not sure how much is sticking, so we’re going to have to work on things.  We also had his ‘Meet the Teacher’ night on Thursday, which is when we follow his schedule and find out about his classes.  It was . . . Well, I know what’s going on and that’s the important part.  For one reason, it was a little stressful.  Anyone who knows my life situation can figure out why I was a little stressed.

Work was busy because it was the start of going into the community for work sites.  Life skills classes set up contracts and sites will local companies/stores for the kids to practice in real world settings.  It’s stuff like cleaning, restocking, and fixing up displays for like an hour.  Had to get back into the groove for this because I hadn’t gone out to these sites since before the pandemic.  Thankfully, the kids are great and things went smoothly.  This resulted in a good kind of tired.

There was a downside because I was standing and walking around a lot.  Not fun when you have an injured hip.  Not sure what I did to it last weekend, but it hurts.  Mostly when I finally get home, so I can function during the day.  Just not a fun evening until I pop an ibuprofen or get my hands on the heating pad.  It’s definitely slowed me down a bit, but I finished most of what I needed to.

Okay . . . Let’s get to the writing part of my life.

My goal was to write 8 chapter sections before this coming Monday.  I already got 3 done using Monday, Wednesday, and Friday night.  So, you would think I could get the rest done this weekend.  Probably not, so I’m looking at 5 instead of 8.  Could I push myself today when I’m cold, sore, and have my niece here for her birthday?  Probably, but it might be better to finish the last 2 sections of this chapter tomorrow.  Maybe I can get a 6th and 7th done.  The truth is that these two sections set up the final battle chapter and then the wrap up chapter.  I’m thinking I might want to save those for a weekend where I have nothing else going on.  That or use my non-parenting evenings and times when my son is playing with friends.

So, what will I do today?  I’ve got one more piece to build for my son’s Halloween costume, so I might take an hour to do that.  It involves iron on patches, which means moving the ironing stuff out of the basement.  Don’t want to spend an hour in the cold basement with no entertainment while doing this tedious part.  I can do some November blog posts too, which I should really hunker down on before I have to rush.  So, I won’t be bored or unproductive.  Just shifting to a few other projects given the situation.

Lets see . . . Drama was the rest of the week, but I’m never able to go into that.  Some arenas are getting messy and stressing me out.  I feel trapped there because I can’t put an end to the situations.  So, I’m stuck playing damage control whenever things flare up.  It creates a sense of helplessness and frustration.

Well, we have a 4-day weekend thanks to Rosh Hashanah, so I’m going to enjoy it.  Today goes to niece birthday, blogging, and Halloween costume.  Tomorrow will be writing and we’ll see how that goes.  Then, I have my son for Monday and Tuesday, which means video games, movies, and reading time.  Need to get him to read more often, so we’re going to have father/son reading periods.  He has a test to study for too, but we’ll get a good amount of fun in.  He has to get something done with his braces too, so that means a chocolate shake and probably a movie afterwards.

What did I watch on TV this week?  I was dozing off so quickly that it took me a while to get through things.  Week felt like a month too.  I did finish ‘Bastard!- Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy’, which is an anime inspired by heavy metal and Dungeons & Dragons.  It was fun, but the last few episodes lost a step.  Kept ‘killing’ the bad guy and then he’d be back for them to try something else.  Fun battles to watch, but it got repetitive.  I started ‘Harley Quinn’ season 3 on HBO Max too.  Fun and goofy like the previous seasons, but a little more serious at times.  I like it, but this season has different feel of it.  I’ll probably finish it today and move on to another anime called ‘Spy x Family’.  Keep seeing cosplay and clips of that one.  All I know is that a male spy and a female assassin have to pretend to be a married couple to watch and protect this little girl.  Even that might be wrong.

Goals of the week:

  1. Try out my jeans and get new ones if need be.
  2. 3 day work week!
  3. Help my son study.
  4. Write at least 2 chapter sections of Darwin & the Avenging Elf.
  5. Get through my November blog posts.
  6. Try to take a breath at some point.
  7. Finish my son’s Halloween costume.
  8. Have apples and honey for Rosh Hashanah.
Posted in Goal Posts | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Questions 3: What If You Woke Up in a New World?

Posted on September 23, 2022 by Charles Yallowitz

Labyrinth

As authors, I think we imagine ourselves in other worlds to begin with.  It might not be us exactly, but we exist in these worlds through our characters.  So, the concept of an Isekai isn’t too farfetched.  Probably why it comes off as a power fantasy for both authors and readers at times.  So, these questions might be fairly easy and fun.

  1. What kind of world would you want to wake up in?
  2. What ability/power/tech would you want to give you an edge?
  3. How would you change yourself while in that world?
Posted in Questions 3 | Tagged , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Character Development and Diversity

Posted on September 23, 2022 by Charles Yallowitz

Hello SE readers, Gwen with you today and together we’ll review and conclude the series on diversity and character development. Over the last several…

Character Development and Diversity
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments