Finding Your Voice

It isn't easy to write. I like to tell myself that it isn't easy to write. But writing is like trying to exercise in that the more you do it the easier it gets.

Stephen King talked about writing in his book "On Writing" and the desire to write. His book still inspires me. I like to read it when I want to procrastinate on my own writing. I love how it makes me feel that I am learning something and getting pointers from a master barb. Sure, he isn't Shakespeare, but he is the master of his craft. He is still popular after 44 years of writing.

What about voice? Would I love to write like King? I would be lying if I said that I wouldn't want to be like King. I read his books in private. I try to understand his formula for writing success. I understand his voice is what makes him successful. He tells stories the way he wants to tell stories. I am sure he is still edited like any other writer in the business, but he continues to find success, unlike  most authors.

What about James Patterson? His voice is somewhat sophomoric when it comes to the way he writes. His sentences are simple but his stories sell. Patterson sells more books than Stephen King.

These two examples of writers have found their own voice. Patterson has other authors writing some of his books, so he is a different example of an author and his voice, but still a good example of an author writing in many genres.

A successful writer needs to find his or her own voice. Reading many authors will help you find hints at what might work and might not work, but the voice must still come from inside yourself.

I don't know when my own voice will take over and something good might come from the mind of this author, but it is nice to procrastinate and read the words of other successful writers and allow myself to dream big.

Thank you, Stephen King and James Patterson.

Fake News

If you don't like the news, well, just call it fake. It sounds like heaven for anyone that faced any news that wasn't in their favor. I don't like what you must report, so you know where I am going with this little spiel. 

It is hard to believe that our president could get anyone to believe that the news reports are just fake news because they are negative or unfavorable to the presidents' agenda. But it seems to work because he loves calling the news fake. 

Yes, the media and the president haven't always been chummy, but that is the way the news media is supposed to be with the president. They are a check of power that we need in our society.  When they report only favorable things about the president we all should worry about the ethics of our news. 

There are now a plethora of websites and newspapers doing fact checks of news reports. With a simple search of "fact checking" and you find several websites covering every issue in the news.  

It also seems foolish to believe that every news story is going to be perfect, and some of the false reports start with social media. Reporters rely on sources, and sometimes these sources might fit a news angle or get used because of the need to have instant news. 

We also have to remember that our president is a social media master and excels at firing up his base with outlandish Twitter rants. He uses Twitter to make random comments that probably makes his staff cringe and want to head to the local bar to have a drink or five. 

Does anyone seem shocked at what the president says or does? His supporters are going to stick with their man because only they know why they like him. We can take polls that have findings of negative ratings, but that is just fake news anyway. 

I wish I could have used the fake news ideas when I was young. Wait, I did use something like that and it didn't work because mom and dad knew the truth. I trust we as a nation know the truth and know that a little fact checking will show us that fake news is sometimes painfully truthful news. 

Donald Trump isn't a career politician and he isn't familiar with "double-speak." It might be why he just screams fake news when the news isn't good for him. He hasn't learned how to talk like a career politician and that might be why his base loves him. He seems original, but he still pushes a Republican agenda that seems unoriginal. 

Will fake news soon be replaced by something catchier and trending with the Trump base, but for now, the president seems willing to distract us from what is really going on in Washington. 

Binge Reading

I must confess, I used to binge read. I would go to the library and grab some books from my reading list. I was alone, well, not really. I was in a long distance relationship at the time, so when I wasn't talking on the phone I was reading. Binge watching television wasn't hip or even really thought about because there was a world outside. We didn't post pictures on a social media website. You took pictures with a camera that required film. This reality was a world where you couldn't drag your computer outside and your phone required a cord.  It was the pre-digital world. 

I enjoyed the physical contact of words on paper. I enjoyed the way the words fed the imagination. I never felt reading was a passive activity. I was a dreamer.

Binge watching television is the latest thing for people to do when they want to watch a lot of television. 

I came up with a way to binge read in 8 easy steps.

1. Go to the library. You might remember this building. It also has free books they will lend to you for the insane price of free. The library card is free. It only cost you some free time to read. You might even feel a sense of accomplishment. 

2. Pick books that interest you, or pick some books at random. Pause, look the book over and make sure there aren't any surprises waiting for you.

3. Check your books out, and this is probably the easiest step.

4. Pick a location where you can read in silence. This will seem strange at first. You might take many false steps because you aren't used to silence, but it does help to have the right reading environment.

5. Read the books.

6. Pause after reading those books and think about how it feels to read those books.

7. Return library books before they are due because you don't want to pay any fines for late books.

8. Don't brag to your friends about binge reading because they might interrupt you and tell you about the latest show they are binge watching. Be sociable and try to keep your sad face to a minimum--they just can't be as cool as you.