Blog: Mel's Muse - Archive for January 2009
I Am Not A Doormat! Are You?
Posted: Saturday, 31st January 2009
What do you do when you’re faced with other people’s problems, you’re expected to help, and you’re almost certainly being manipulated, or taken for granted? Do you simply fail to notice the way people are treating you and fall into line? Do you have a vague suspicion that you’re being exploited but get on with the job, anyway? Or do you realise what’s happening, but bite your tongue and conform to expectation?
See if you can relate to this.
- You are in a relationship which in some way is abusive.
- You are always being put down, verbally, both in private and in public.
- Your needs are never recognised, nor met.
Articles on related themes: Self Help; Assertiveness
Creative Writing: How To Make Your Point Without Being Pointed
Posted: Wednesday, 28th January 2009
21st December 2009: This article has been revised so that it may be reproduced. See below
Years ago, when I was a member of a Writers’ Circle, we used to read aloud to one another, and subject each reading to a critique. One woman – a successful writer – used to stop those of us who were novelists mid-stream, shouting, “Authorial! Authorial!” whenever she felt that we had injected too much of ourselves into our writing. Let me explain.
Articles on related themes: Writing & Publishing A Book
Assisted Dying For The Terminally Ill?
Posted: Monday, 26th January 2009
Revised: 15th January, 2010
Does it ever strike you as strange that medical advances, in Western civilisations, are such that we can prolong life by nearly half as much again as our allotted three-score-years-and-ten, yet the legal position of euthanasia is constantly challenged? Of course, we don’t call it euthanasia! That in itself would challenge our sensibilities, especially those of us for whom Hitler’s programme of eugenics is still uncomfortably close.
So it’s ‘assisted dying’ that we speak of, which is more in keeping with our preconceived ideas of sanitising life in the twenty-first century. And that, somehow, makes it sound more altruistic. Less sordid! More natural.
Articles on related themes: Bereavement; Life, Faith & Other Stuff
Building Sustainable Relationships For Stepfamilies
Posted: Saturday, 24th January 2009
I hope you’ll forgive me! I’m afraid I’m going to take the easy way out today and simply upload part of a chapter from my Stepfamilies book, on the topic of building effective relationships with somebody else’s children. It’s been a difficult week; as I tweeted only today: my mother has fallen and broken her pelvis. To make it worse, she’s on holiday in Spain. Worse still, she is my dad’s Carer: he has dementia. (This is beginning to sound like the plot for a novel!) Lots of obstacles to be overcome.
Articles on related themes: Relationships; Self Help; Family & Parenting; Books, Reading & Words; Stepfamilies
If You're Writing In The Passive Voice, Consider Revising
Posted: Thursday, 22nd January 2009
I wrote, yesterday, on the need to find your Voice, and illustrated how verbs may be used in the Active and Passive voice. Now I am no expert when it comes to grammar, and if there are those who know better than I, I would ask you to correct me please. However, I do know that persistent use of the passive voice in writing creates a clumsy and confusing narrative, which fails to have any impact on the reader, or to engage them in any way with the thoughts, words or deeds of the character.
Articles on related themes: Books, Reading & Words; Writing & Publishing A Book
What Does Passive Voice Mean In The Creative Writing Process?
Posted: Wednesday, 21st January 2009
I received a piece of work, recently, with a request to look it over and comment on it. It has prompted me to write on the subject of Voice, and the merits (or otherwise) of how it is used. There’s a little bit of grammar instruction necessary here, but I will illustrate my point afterwards with something more creative and interesting. First let me explain the point:
A verb may be active, or inactive (in which case it is called ‘passive’).
WHAT IS A PASSIVE VERB?
Grammar: (yawn!)
The passive voice is formed with a past
participle and the auxiliary verb to be.
Articles on related themes:
Books, Reading & Words; Writing & Publishing A Book
Why I'm Tearing My Hair Out About The Gap In Your Teeth!
Posted: Monday, 19th January 2009
Talk about early signs of senile dementia! If I’m not already a victim, I’m sure I soon shall be. I Twittered (or should it be Tweeted?) only a couple of days ago about how sad it was seeing my father so upset about being left behind (with a Carer) while my mother (his usual Carer) was booked for some much-needed respite. She was flying to Spain with a female companion, to join my sister and brother-in-law on a bridge holiday. My other half and I – being the ones who live closest and, therefore, the most involved – had left all the arrangements to them.
Articles on related themes: Life, Faith & Other Stuff
Ten Tips To Help You Avoid The Breakdown Of A Relationship
Posted: Saturday, 17th January 2009
When you look back on an argument you’ve had recently with someone close to you, do you sometimes feel it was a squabble over nothing? That what seemed like a major misunderstanding at the time was, actually, nothing more than a petty clash of opinion; or a state of affairs where the two of you have different expectations?
I wrote, a few days ago, about a situation like that, which arose between my husband and me, and I finished with some of our strategies, used to resolve conflict. I hope you found them helpful.
Articles on related themes: Self Help; Relationships
Reviewing Techniques When Resolving Conflict
Posted: Thursday, 15th January 2009
This is the first Post on my shiny new laptop. As I wrote, yesterday on my Twitter wall (I think that’s the correct jargon) setting up a new computer is a nightmare of mistakes, misunderstandings and misapprehension. Hence the lack of time to add anything to my blog for a few days.
So I thought, today, that I’d write a combi-post. As some of you may know, in addition to posting articles on Creative Writing, my aim is to “offer hope to the hurting” (Click to see What Drives You) . Quite often – as I’ve said before – the two overlap.
Articles on related themes: Self Help; Personal Growth; Relationships; Writing & Publishing A Book; Character
Writing A Synopsis For A Novel To Submit To Publishing Houses
Posted: Monday, 12th January 2009
Your book manuscript is finished. From your Writers’ & Artists’ Year Book, you’ve chosen the first publisher you’re going to send it to, written your submission proposal letter and sat back and waited. One month. Two. . .
Hang on a minute. Rewind!
A GOOD SYNOPSIS IS KEY TO SUCCESS IN WRITING & PUBLISHING A BOOK
If the book publishing agent or editor you’ve written to is interested in reading your manuscript, she will, almost certainly, require a synopsis. Consequently, as soon as you complete your novel, you should begin working on an outline, polishing it to ensure that it is the best that it can be.
Articles on related themes: Writing & Publishing A Book
Proof That God Does Not Exist? Look No Further Than A Bendy Bus!
Posted: Sunday, 11th January 2009
There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life. So says the 800 or so advertisements that now adorn London’s bendy-buses, as the result of a campaign by The British Humanist Society (BHA), funded by Prof. Richard Dawkins.
Really? Now what do you say to that?
Much has been made of that word ‘probably’. As Tony McNulty (Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform at the Department for Work and Pensions) joked on the radio, that’s so wishy-washy a declaration, it can only have been made by the Lib-Dem party.
Articles on related themes: Current Affairs; Life, Faith & Other Stuff; Occasional Silliness
Manuscript Submission Guidelines: How To Write A Publishing Proposal For Your Book
Posted: Thursday, 8th January 2009
It must be nearly twenty years, or so, since many of the major book publishing houses underwent a huge reshuffle. Secretaries suddenly found themselves elevated to the status of editors and, among certain authors, an aura of gloom and doom descended. Accompanying this sense of Last Times, was the advent of the (then un-named) hand-held digital devices which, it was said, were certain to spell The End for books.
TOO MANY BOOKS PUBLISHED?
Yet evidence shows that there are now more books published than ever before. Whether this is a Good Thing or not is debatable.
Articles on related themes: Writing & Publishing A Book
Overcoming Shame: Are We Guilty Of A Guilty Conscience?
Posted: Tuesday, 6th January 2009
I was reading about a man – Jeff Lucas – who described himself, in his younger years, as a “shame addict”. The term resonated with me and sparked a sitting-up in bed, early morning debate – though, sadly, without a cuppa to accompany it.
“That describes me years ago,” I said.
“Yes!” my husband agreed. “But what did you feel ashamed about?”
“Everything,” I replied.
It made me think.
Articles on related themes: Family & Parenting; Current Affairs; Life, Faith & Other Stuff
Thirteen Things To Boost Your Morale
Posted: Monday, 5th January 2009
On the last day of 2008, I posted a blog titled Let This New Year Be Your New Beginning, and suggested that if you’ve been having a tough time in 2008, or are facing hard times as the New Year dawns, you might try a writing exercise. Exercise is probably the wrong word to describe what I proposed. It was more of a free association of ideas that I had in mind: a cathartic experience when you indulge in an outpouring of yourself, your disappointments and angst, your hopes and aspirations.
FREE ASSOCIATION NARRATIVE
The idea is that we are all stuck in denial, to some extent or other.
Articles on related themes: Life, Faith & Other Stuff; Personal Growth
January Blues
Posted: Saturday, 3rd January 2009
I don’t know about you, but for the last couple of days I’ve been feeling vaguely depressed. Some of my feelings of malaise are undoubtedly to do with tiredness brought on by having a houseful of guests to feed, and the late nights spent sitting on hard, upright chairs, playing games like Mexican Train Double Dominoes around the kitchen table. The game, purchased for us by a chum visiting America, has been a huge success with friends and family.
Articles on related themes: Family & Parenting; Life, Faith & Other Stuff
Manuscript Formatting
Posted: Friday, 2nd January 2009
I received a manuscript, yesterday, from a friend who wants me to look it over for a client of hers (she’s a Life Coach). I have to confess that with the departure of all my visiting family after the Christmas break, bed-changing, washing and ironing have taken priority. But I did manage to take a peep – and what I saw has prompted me to write, today, about the necessary formatting of a submission. So, for those of you who are interested and don’t know, here’s how you should produce your ’scripts.
Articles on related themes: Writing & Publishing A Book
Latest Posts
- So You Want To Be A Writer? Questions & Answers
- Understanding The Drama Triangle In Personal Relationships & Fictional Characters
- One Stop Shop For Aspiring Authors & Published Writers?
- The Torn Veil by Gulshan Esther: ONLINE BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS & DISCUSSION SUMMARY
- Do Recycled Articles Increase Traffic To Website?
Subscribe to my blog Send this to a friend
Blog Archive
- August 2010 (4 entries)
- July 2010 (5 entries)
- June 2010 (9 entries)
- May 2010 (5 entries)
- April 2010 (6 entries)
- March 2010 (6 entries)
- February 2010 (5 entries)
- January 2010 (6 entries)
- December 2009 (7 entries)
- November 2009 (12 entries)
- October 2009 (9 entries)
- September 2009 (6 entries)
- August 2009 (7 entries)
- July 2009 (11 entries)
- June 2009 (6 entries)
- May 2009 (13 entries)
- April 2009 (9 entries)
- March 2009 (11 entries)
- February 2009 (14 entries)
- January 2009 (16 entries)
- December 2008 (18 entries)
- November 2008 (18 entries)
- October 2008 (21 entries)
- September 2008 (25 entries)
- August 2008 (13 entries)
- July 2008 (6 entries)
Awards
