Hello,

Thank you for the likes and follows. 

Last week, I was good.  Outside of the writing, life went more left than was expected. I may elaborate on that later.  But the writing went well.  The current scene I am working on has not been completed yet, but I got clarity about it that I haven’t had in a long time.  What really helped was the read-aloud feature in Microsoft Word.  In previous entries, I was promoting the virtues of the Speechify app.  For the time being, I am still using it on other online articles.  But didn’t see how to attach it to Word.   No worries, Microsoft has done it for me.  It is not Speechify, but it is good enough.  The strange thing is that I have a Read Aloud app, already but I haven’t used it in a while.  It was used most of the time during NaNoWriMo.  There is no reason why I stopped using it except for getting tired of uploading files. Microsoft Word read-aloud feature has convenience built in.  If I need to make a correction, I can do it quickly and have the voice read the revised sentence again.

Also, the Medium app on the phone has a read-aloud feature.  I didn’t notice it before. I have been traveling a lot this week and that feature came in handy.  I get nauseous attempting to read on the bus or train.  It is odd because it didn’t start until I was 27 years old.  This was also the reason I started to invest so much in audiobooks.

In writing news, as stated above, there is a new sense of direction.  Along with that clearness, research was added.  My main character’s life is on the line and will be irrevocably changed afterward.  She is tasked with finding three artifacts lost to the supernatural world.  These McGuffins are the catalyst of the story, a cup, a dagger, and a pendant. Very small items are lost in a vault buried with other things for millennia.  Possession of one artifact can give a being near cosmic phenomenal power. Or at least that was the original plan.  The uses of these items are subject to change. The key thing is that they are wanted by the powerful. But difficult for them to find.  They need special eyes, hence my main character.  This scene is supposed to convey this and establish the relationship with the characters. Wish me luck. 

In reading news, there is not much to report. As stated before, catching up on Medium articles.  Many of the articles are about how people of color navigate their lives in hostile environments.  They were put on my reading list, and I am going through them.  Other articles are on how to make money, freelance writing, or writing on Medium and other platforms.  There is poetry, short stories in every genre, and reviews of everything.  There are even articles written in other languages.  I am listening to them because I am looking for my niche.  Once a month for the last two months I post an essay on Medium.  It is like this update, but with a monthly perspective at least that is the goal. At the end of the year, there will be an evaluation of this endeavor.  Medium offers notoriety and money and I can’t say no to those things.  It is time to put up or shut up. 

The live-action Little Mermaid trailer came out, featuring Halle Bailey as Ariel.  The haters came out in droves, I am annoyed to see some of them were Black People.  I was 14 years old when Little Mermaid debuted in 1989.  I was a child of Caribbean heritage; I was happy that Sebastian the crab had a West Indian accent.  It was a bad accent but at the time I didn’t care and none of the children in my family did either.  We sang under the sea and kiss the girl with relish.  The recent trailer was reminiscent of the animated trailer, and I am very good with that too.   Halle Bailey is a beautiful woman, and she has a great voice.  There should be no complaints.

It would be great if there was an original mermaid story featuring Black people. Quiet as it is kept, there are several stories in bookstores and on library shelves right now. Black creators have been writing fantasy for years.

I am writing this to state that Disney live-action movies don’t do as well as their animated counterparts.  The only one I think did exceptionally well was Alice in Wonderland.  It garnered a sequel.  If this movie does not perform well at the box office, is this going to give haters license to puff up their chests and blame the Black actress?  I refuse to use the ‘w’ word.  I have been that way my whole life.  I am tired of diluted words that have lost their meaning in my community.  But those are thoughts for another essay.  This paragraph ends with me standing with live-action Ariel. 

That is all for now.  I hope these words find you all doing well.  Remember to be kind to all, even when they don’t deserve it.

End

Hello,

Thank you for the likes and follows.

Congratulations to Everyone who won at Camp NaNoWriMo!

Last week was supposed to be a mad scramble to get the words I needed for Camp Nanowrimo. I had already concluded that I was staying in the loser’s club. Instead, there was some research and a decent pace of writing. I am still dealing with an ear infection. I haven’t had one in a long time, so I guess I was due.

Writing news in detail.

Connection Lost is no longer in a holding pattern of sorts. The research included visual cues for characters and answered questions like what is the difference between an MD doctor and a DO doctor. How long is a flight from the east coast to the west? Do birds ruffle or preen their feathers? Important deep introspective questions for the characters’ sake. I don’t exactly have a theme for this story. I want to have a distinct beginning, middle, and end before thinking hard about the theme. However, the point of the story comes to mind often. The story has a lot to do with connections, the main character maintaining old ones and making new connections as well as breaking some. There are connections being made and revealed only to readers. Being alone or achieving on one’s own is all about perspective. The main character does not have the ability of others that surround her but she does have a distinct aptitude unlike any other. She has come to terms with it and needs to use it to save herself and possibly others. At least that is what I wanted the story to be about. The longer I live with it the more I change and the meanings change as well. Something to think about.

Reading news

But first, I’m sorry. I wanted this website to have a review day. My thoughts and pertinent information on various forms of media. But I have not been keeping up with it. I want to read smart interesting books and I want to share thoughts on them as well. I am also 77% lazy. There is so little time. Many of the books, I read are commercial genre books. I don’t have the patients for whatever people call literary books. But I do recognize their prestige. This is the second month of the 3rd quarter. I will do better.

Over the last week, I have come across the beginning of a romance book series by the Amalfi Coast Brotherhood by author Jamila Jasper. I found her on Amazon. I don’t know if she sells wide. It is a contemporary, interracial romance book. What made the book series interesting to me is that the cover of the second book caught my eye. I realized it was a series and found book 1, Forced to Surrogate. The book marketing strategy reminded me of Piper Rayne- Greene Family and Bailey Family series. They pique interest in characters by having them in the books and this continues with pre-order covers. Although I fall for it, I can also see the planning. It is possible that I am envious of all that work.

I also fell into a manhwa hole and started to read several comics. The list is long and there are 2 completed stories. I don’t have all the information not sure where I will start. Consider this a holding pattern until further notice.

This is all I have to write about last week. This week’s goals are similar to last week. Apologies again for this late edition. As usual, the work/life balance is at fault. I hope everyone has a good week. Remember to be kind.

End

Hello,

Thank you for the likes and follows. Happy Belated Father’s Day and Juneteenth.

On Sunday I thought I knew what would be written in the entry. I didn’t write an outline or anything. I’m a bit at a loss now that I am typing. I spent most of last week reviewing my various writing projects, avoiding the reviews I promised to listen to and write up, and working on an essay I started in May. It was an okay week. I started to watch YouTube videos about the Chicago Manual of Style and the Associated Press Style. I wanted to get a better understanding of both styles and possibly place an ad on a service app like Fiverr. Writing for the love and art of it is great but so is writing to keep a roof over my head. The AP style is very straightforward and easier to understand than the Chicago Style. I feel like that I should have learned some of this in High School but I can’t remember. I have also been collecting newsletters from other successful authors. They all tend to have something interesting to write about, a beautiful cover of a book to debut, and useful tips on the writing life experience. These updates are supposed to be a less formal type of newsletter. It is possible in the future I will be trying a new format. Not next week, but at the start of the 3rd quarter which is literally weeks away.

I have not exactly been writing but I have been trying to find my mind on the stories I’ve started. It probably started as a procrastination scheme but the more I look at the stories I started I want to complete them. Some I might keep just for myself and the others I will definitely share at a reasonable price. This storyteller has to live and eat.

The goal for this week is to get some writing done. There are three projects that will be in focus, a short story, an essay, and a review. There will also be research on how to improve this website. The reading goals are to complete the two audiobooks I have mentioned previously. Work-life is always changing so I have to prepare for it and adjust accordingly. I haven’t watched anything that I want to comment on yet. This includes the January 6th Hearings.

That is all for this week. I hope we are all able to be kind to each other and be open to new opportunities. Enjoy the National holiday.

End