As a writer I am always seeking advice. Some advice I accept highly and other advice I don't ignore, but I put in the back of my memory. I read an article recently of 20 points of advice from a master author, Stephen King. How can anyone not listen to advice by someone whose writing has taken the world by storm. I have read many of Stephen King's novels and I have never been disappointed. He has a masterful way to make you feel like you are there in the story yourself.
I would like to relay on some of those bits of advice. I won't list all 20, but a few that I highly believe in myself.
1--First write for yourself, then worry about the audience! I believe this and when I write a short story or a novel I need to enjoy it myself. I feel if I don't get enjoyment out of it, how could I expect my readers to enjoy it. A couple of years ago, I wrote a complete novel of about 60,000 words. I read it over twice and I was disappointed in myself. The novel didn't make me happy so how could I expect others to like it. I deleted that entire novel from my computer never to be seen again.
2--Read, read, read! Now this is excellent advice. Stephen King said that no matter where he goes he has something to read with him. If a person is going to succeed as a writer then they have to be a good reader. Reading expands the mind and allows you to go to different places with your thoughts. Reading, as funny as it may sound is also a teacher.
3--Turn off the TV! When you write you want your surrounding to be quiet. The last thing you need is to be distracted. I like total quiet when I am writing. I want my mind totally focused on the words as they appear on the computer screen. Some of my best writing is done early in the morning when it is still dark, my wife and dog are both asleep and the apartment is totally quiet. I also feel after a good night's sleep the mind is at
it's best.
4--Write one word at a time! That does sound kind of funny when you read it, but it is true. An interviewer once asked Stephen King how he writes. His reply was, "One word at a time." Don't try thinking ahead of yourself. Keep you mind on the words one at a time as you write that story.
5-- Stick to your own style! Don't try to imitate another writer. That is the worst thing you can do. Write your way, if the readers like it, good. If they don't like it think about changing a little, but remember it needs to be your style of writing.
6--Writing is about getting happy! Write because you love to write. If you are starting with the intent to make a lot of money, become famous, or for any other reason than being happy it is a mistake. You write because you love to write. That is the important thing. I write because I love it, it makes me happy and from the feedback I get it makes my readers happy. If had gone into it for the money I would be homeless by now.
You can google Stephen King's 20 tips for writing and you can read the rest. He also said write every day. So I write something, on my blog, work on another novel, or just write a few paragraphs for myself that I will eventually delete. Writing needs to be a passion, something that makes you happy. If you aren't happy then what is the point in writing.
Copyright Larry W. Fish 2015
amazon.com/author/larry_w_fish
Monday, August 24, 2015
Monday, August 17, 2015
HERITAGE OR HATE
There has been a lot of news lately about flying the Confederate flag. This has led to other complaints about Confederate statues and monuments. Everyone has an opinion about this and I am no different. Finally South Carolina has removed the flag from the front of the state house. That flag never should have flown there anyway, it was totally wrong. The Civil War has been over for a long time and it is time that the only flag that should be flown is the Stars and Stripes, the flag of the United States of America.
Many people, especially people from the southern US claims that they display the Confederate flag to show heritage to their ancestors. I can see their point and I know it is a touchy subject. However it is time to make the United States of America united. I have no problem with anyone owning a Confederate flag as long as they keep it in their home out of sight of the public. There is a line between showing heritage and showing hate. There is a man in North Carolina that has about 150 Confederate flags on his property, in a mostly black neighborhood. This is not heritage, it is hate. There was recently a parade of trucks also in North Carolina that was driving around displaying the Confederate flag. This is a symbol of hate and I am ashamed of the people that do such things.
There are other people that have been vandalizing tomb stones on Confederate soldiers. This is wrong, these people fought and died for what they believed in. A grave marker should never under any circumstances be vandalized.
Other people are suggesting that all Confederate statues and memorials should be removed from public places. I am also against such actions. Approximately 620,000 people died in the Civil War. The Civil War is history of the United States. That can't be changed. Memorials and statues will keep the memory of the Civil War alive. We can't and shouldn't try to wipe the Civil War from our memory. These statues and memorials are the symbol of a terrible time in our history.
No one should hate someone because of the color of their skin. I am ashamed to admit that there is still much racism in my country. People aren't born to hate, they are taught it. If parents keep teaching their children racism it will never disappear. I have many friends that are black and they are the nicest people. Where I live there are some black men married to white women and some white men married to black women. I see nothing wrong with it. I often chat with these couples and I am proud to know them.
There is a line between heritage and hate. We just have to remember where that line is. Everyone has a right to remember and respect their heritage, but no one has the right to hate. People that hate need to be stopped. Hate does not belong in the United States of America.
Copyright Larry W. Fish 2015
amazon.com/author/larry_w_fish
Many people, especially people from the southern US claims that they display the Confederate flag to show heritage to their ancestors. I can see their point and I know it is a touchy subject. However it is time to make the United States of America united. I have no problem with anyone owning a Confederate flag as long as they keep it in their home out of sight of the public. There is a line between showing heritage and showing hate. There is a man in North Carolina that has about 150 Confederate flags on his property, in a mostly black neighborhood. This is not heritage, it is hate. There was recently a parade of trucks also in North Carolina that was driving around displaying the Confederate flag. This is a symbol of hate and I am ashamed of the people that do such things.
There are other people that have been vandalizing tomb stones on Confederate soldiers. This is wrong, these people fought and died for what they believed in. A grave marker should never under any circumstances be vandalized.
Other people are suggesting that all Confederate statues and memorials should be removed from public places. I am also against such actions. Approximately 620,000 people died in the Civil War. The Civil War is history of the United States. That can't be changed. Memorials and statues will keep the memory of the Civil War alive. We can't and shouldn't try to wipe the Civil War from our memory. These statues and memorials are the symbol of a terrible time in our history.
No one should hate someone because of the color of their skin. I am ashamed to admit that there is still much racism in my country. People aren't born to hate, they are taught it. If parents keep teaching their children racism it will never disappear. I have many friends that are black and they are the nicest people. Where I live there are some black men married to white women and some white men married to black women. I see nothing wrong with it. I often chat with these couples and I am proud to know them.
There is a line between heritage and hate. We just have to remember where that line is. Everyone has a right to remember and respect their heritage, but no one has the right to hate. People that hate need to be stopped. Hate does not belong in the United States of America.
Copyright Larry W. Fish 2015
amazon.com/author/larry_w_fish
Friday, August 14, 2015
THE SIMPLE LIFE
I grew up a country boy. That is something that I will always cherish in my thoughts. My thoughts often fly back to when I was a young boy. It was then that I learned about the simple things in life and it is something that has always stuck with me. Even today I would much rather take a pleasant walk in the forest with my wife and dog than go to a party with a large crowd of people.
My mind is in the late 1950s thinking of some of the things I used to do. My brother and I used to get in our front yard with some friends and play football with a milk carton stuffed with leaves. We would stuff that wax parer milk carton with leaves and toss it around like it was a real football. We didn't need anything else, we had so much fun. I do wonder now why we never had a real football. We had a basketball and a baseball, but no football.
I used to walk through the forest to Pup Run. It was a small mountain stream on one of our friends property. I almost always had some string in my pocket and a pocket knife. Every little boy had his pocket knife in those days. I would walk to that stream, cut a branch from a tree, tie my string on one end. On the other end of the string I would tie a fish hook that I often had in my baseball cap that I always wore. Sometimes I carried a couple of fish worms with me. I would drop that line into the little stream as I walked along it. Many times I would catch a little trout. There were no large trout in that stream that I can remember. When I got a little trout I would smile as I took the hook out, then return the trout to the cold water of the mountain stream. A simple life, a fun life, an interesting life. Nothing fancy was needed to have fun when I was young.
My uncle John had several large fields where he planted corn every summer. He was a man that could grow anything. The largest field on the back of his property he never planted any crops. That was my kite flying field. No store bought kite. I would make my own. I cut a couple of small branches from a tree, tied them together. Then I would cut a slit in the ends of the branches and thread a string all the way around. I then got a newspaper, cut it up, and glued it to my kite. I added a long string on the bottom, cut up some old rags and made my tail for the kite. I had my roll of kite string attached and off to my uncle's field I would go. I got my kite flying high and would stay there for the longest time enjoying flying my kite. I often still think of those days.
I was a tree climber when I was a young boy. I used to climb small maple trees an high as I could until the trees would bend over and I would touch the ground. I used to get more scrapes on my arms and legs, but I
never cared. I just loved to climb trees. I often climbed as high as I could in apple trees. I would climb the
tree, pick an apple, and sit on a branch and eat it. I just love trees, although I don't climb them anymore I love walking through a forest and admiring the trees.
I would get a glass jar when I was a child, poke some holes in the cap and gather fireflies at night. I would fill that jar up with as many fireflies that I could collect. I would sit in the yard and look at that glass jar as firefly after firefly would light up. It is amazing how much light they can give off and really amazing how much light you can get out of a lot of them in a glass jar. I would lie on the grass in the yard next to my jar of fireflies and stare up at the stars. At that early age I didn't realize the vastness of space, but looking at the stars and the moon have always amazed me.
Just a glimpse back on my life as a young boy and realizing that I loved the simple life and I still do. So many children now spend hour after hour in front of a computer playing video games, on a tablet, or texting on their phone. Kids of today have no idea how much fun can be loved from the simple things in life. I am glad that I grew up before the technology age. I will always be a country boy no matter how close to a city I live.
Copyright Larry W. Fish 2015
amazon.com/author/larry_w_fish
My mind is in the late 1950s thinking of some of the things I used to do. My brother and I used to get in our front yard with some friends and play football with a milk carton stuffed with leaves. We would stuff that wax parer milk carton with leaves and toss it around like it was a real football. We didn't need anything else, we had so much fun. I do wonder now why we never had a real football. We had a basketball and a baseball, but no football.
I used to walk through the forest to Pup Run. It was a small mountain stream on one of our friends property. I almost always had some string in my pocket and a pocket knife. Every little boy had his pocket knife in those days. I would walk to that stream, cut a branch from a tree, tie my string on one end. On the other end of the string I would tie a fish hook that I often had in my baseball cap that I always wore. Sometimes I carried a couple of fish worms with me. I would drop that line into the little stream as I walked along it. Many times I would catch a little trout. There were no large trout in that stream that I can remember. When I got a little trout I would smile as I took the hook out, then return the trout to the cold water of the mountain stream. A simple life, a fun life, an interesting life. Nothing fancy was needed to have fun when I was young.
My uncle John had several large fields where he planted corn every summer. He was a man that could grow anything. The largest field on the back of his property he never planted any crops. That was my kite flying field. No store bought kite. I would make my own. I cut a couple of small branches from a tree, tied them together. Then I would cut a slit in the ends of the branches and thread a string all the way around. I then got a newspaper, cut it up, and glued it to my kite. I added a long string on the bottom, cut up some old rags and made my tail for the kite. I had my roll of kite string attached and off to my uncle's field I would go. I got my kite flying high and would stay there for the longest time enjoying flying my kite. I often still think of those days.
I was a tree climber when I was a young boy. I used to climb small maple trees an high as I could until the trees would bend over and I would touch the ground. I used to get more scrapes on my arms and legs, but I
never cared. I just loved to climb trees. I often climbed as high as I could in apple trees. I would climb the
tree, pick an apple, and sit on a branch and eat it. I just love trees, although I don't climb them anymore I love walking through a forest and admiring the trees.
I would get a glass jar when I was a child, poke some holes in the cap and gather fireflies at night. I would fill that jar up with as many fireflies that I could collect. I would sit in the yard and look at that glass jar as firefly after firefly would light up. It is amazing how much light they can give off and really amazing how much light you can get out of a lot of them in a glass jar. I would lie on the grass in the yard next to my jar of fireflies and stare up at the stars. At that early age I didn't realize the vastness of space, but looking at the stars and the moon have always amazed me.
Just a glimpse back on my life as a young boy and realizing that I loved the simple life and I still do. So many children now spend hour after hour in front of a computer playing video games, on a tablet, or texting on their phone. Kids of today have no idea how much fun can be loved from the simple things in life. I am glad that I grew up before the technology age. I will always be a country boy no matter how close to a city I live.
Copyright Larry W. Fish 2015
amazon.com/author/larry_w_fish
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