Martin Luther King, Jr.

Henry Miller

My daughter asked me to come with her to Starbucks to help her study for the SAT. (And to help pay for the caffeine.) She gave me a pencil and a handout with six pages of vocabulary, and we sat down at a table outside.

As I drilled her on the words, it occurred to me that I could easily use most of them in a sentence, but couldn’t cough up a dictionary-type definition to save my life. Egregious. Erudite. Melancholy. Contentious. Capricious. Where had my brain cells wandered off to?

Among the symptoms of normal memory and aging, according to an article on Alzheimer’s Disease, from USNews.com (http://www.usnews.com/usnews/health/brain/alzheimers/alz.symptoms.normal.htm), is that language comprehension (understanding the rules of language) is preserved as we age, as are vocabulary and one's understanding of syntax--the way in which words are put together. But some modest decline is seen in our ability to dredge up words and in verbal fluency--one's ability to "get the words out."

That’s it. The brain cells holding all the dictionary definitions haven’t wandered off; they’ve just crashed on the cerebral cortex, propped their little feet up, and refuse to get out.

Dilettante. Provocateur. Prevaricator. I handed the sheaf of papers back to my daughter. “Now you drill me.” To oil the mental hinges and increase your vocabulary, you can sign up for a free membership at http://www.rd.com, then click Play Word Power. Or, grab a dictionary. Thumb through it to find five new words. Study their meaning. Write each one in a sentence that demonstrates its meaning. Use all five in a short, short story.

To register for the SAT, take an online SAT prep course, and more, visit http://www.collegeboard.com. (For test dates and registration deadlines, see http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/calenfees.html.)

I live in Houston, Texas. As you may have heard, we just increased our population, almost overnight, by about 240,000 people. We’ve taken in our families, friends, and neighbors from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina. (Will any of us ever again hear the word “aftermath” without immediately thinking “Katrina”?) Like all families in crisis, you do first – and deal with the analyses and consequences later.

There are a lot of things running through my head right now - spaghetti strands of thoughts, impressions, information, facts, opinions – in short, the last two weeks have resulted in a serious information overload. Who’s to blame? Who are the real heroes? Will the welcome mat wear out before everyone’s needs are addressed? Will the Gulf Coast recover, or will an entire culture be scattered to the winds?

I’ve debated with myself the virtues of objective journalism vs. advocacy journalism – in fact, I originally planned to write about truth, objectivity, and propaganda – but I’m not going to add to the glut here and now. There is something I want to share with you, though: "Invalid Entry" .

If you need a little comic relief right about now, don’t miss http://www.wwltv.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=18733&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start....

Write a novel in 30 days? Are you crazy? I am. I swore after the first one I’d never do this again. Two years ago, I gave up – swearing off NaNoWriMo has about as much chance of succeeding as swearing off making New Year’s resolutions. Once you’re hooked, there’s no going back. Registration begins on October 1. Be sure to sign up at http://www.nanowrimo.org and release your inner novelist!

Strange Wulf wrote:

This reminds me of one of the most important things I learned about writing:

Rule Number 1: Nobody does anything without a darn good reason.

Characters have to have a darn good reason for risking their neck and saving the princess from the Dark Lord of the Flock (a black sheep in his family). Otherwise, they'd be content to graze in their little patch of grass while the world falls under his iron hoof.

However, I like Stephen King's advice to forget the characters and plot and focus on the story. If they help the story along, fine. But if they get in the way, it's time to use the Behave Bar on them. I can get you one cheap; it's an iron bar with the words "BEHAVE!" engraved on the side.

One more thing: According to that "Hero's Journey" thing you linked to, the hero sets out on his journey after getting help by a helper and/or a magical talisman. But how many stories are there where the helper *is* the magical talisman?

Daddy Ziok wrote:

Wow! What an excellent newletter! LOL! This was very informative and about a subject I had been curious about for a while! Thanks for doing such a great job!

Joto-Kai wrote:

If you censor, who gets to decide? And really: if you poison my mind in public, somebody will give me the antidote, but if you poison it in private... The free exchange of ideas is the safest, best way to proceed.

shaara wrote:

This was extremely well written. I enjoyed your dialogue, mainly because of your great sense of humor. You caught me, in other words, and I did more than skim. I read EACH word. Thanks for the good input.

Smiles,
Shaara

Thanks, Shaara. -- Jessiebelle

nathzie wrote:

Hi, Jessiebelle! Thanks for the motivation article! It was a great help for me who thinks my heroines are getting away with the glory too easy! All they actually need was some goal or some motivation, but of course I didn't know that till I read this newsletter! And your talk on omnipotence reminds me I'd better scan back my heroes and heroines..maybe they went a little too extreme...heheh! Gotta fly! And thanks for getting inside my inbox..this newsletter is the most welcome one inside...
~Blanche~

PastVoices wrote:

Motivation and heroes packs a double punch. In non-fiction, I don't run across too many heroes without clay feet.

I have had a comment on my blog that pleased me in that the reader was glad I wasn't white-washing the ugly parts along the way!

Another great newsletter dear!
PastVoices

spazmom wrote:

I have to admit I wasn't inspired by the beginning of your newsletter on hero's...I mean, I usually am inspired by an actual event that leads me to want to write a story around it, develop it into something else, or elaborate on the situation. Sometimes it's as simple a thing as the people sitting in the food court at a mall. Why are they all there, what are they all thinking? Usually my characters come up with their own stuff...I have found lately though that I do like to flesh them out a little bit... so that if I get lost in what I'm trying to write I can look up the particulars about them. Anyway, good newsletter. Got me thinking.

The Ragpicker - 8 yo relic wrote:

Excellent topic. I think that the traditional hero doesn't work any more. A larger than life, all out benign and mighty hero has no one rooting for him: what's the point in rooting for someone who will win anyway? The best protagonists--the ones I find myself worrying for--tend to be anti-heroes. They're everymen who, when faced with danger, think about saving themselves before others... but then try to save the others anyway.

Chewie Kittie wrote:

Jessiebelle-Thank you for a very timely topic. It was the magical thingamabob that was tripping me up! This gave me some outside perspective and made me stop trying to shove a round peg into a square hole. Now maybe I can move the story along with out it bogging down. Thank you!

billwilcox wrote:

Jezabel,

Is there anything you don't know about writing? You are the guru of WC and I know it sounds selfish, but I'm going to hate to lose you to literary fame and fortune. When you're one of the rich and famous will you bother to write a newsletter for us hero-wannabees? I think not. The road you travel, the determination, the sheer will, I'm sure,will soon bear fruit for you. I miss you already,
W.D.

alissaameth wrote:

Hi Jessiebelle!

Great newsletter--I especially enjoyed "The Quest, or What's My Motivation"? I'm currently plotting a novel, and so far the only thing that's missing is just that: the main character's motivation. Why should he bother? Well, I'll have to figure that out. I keep waiting for him to tell me...

And thank you for using Shrek as an example to illustrate your point--I don't know what it is about that particular example, but it really opened my eyes. Thank you! --Alissa

Vivian wrote:

Thanks for an interesting and helpful newsletter, Jessie. Two newsletters today have set the stage for an Action/Adventure Newsletter that I'm doing Sept. 7 on heroes/heroines. ~~ Viv

I love getting feedback on the For Authors Newsletter – it lets me know you’re reading, and it tells me whether I’m writing about the subjects that interest you. Please keep those questions and comments coming!

Back issues. Did you miss an issue? Check here: "Invalid Item"