Someplace to go…

March 16, 2018March 15, 2018 Zoetic WordsLeave a comment

Reading

The setting of your story can be almost as important as character and plot. The same story set in different times and places can change it completely while demonstrating that despite the advances in technology and differences in lifestyle, humans are basically the same no matter where or when we live.

Fairy Tales have always triggered the imagination of writers, becoming some of the most popular tropes like Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast. Echoes of these stories can be heard around the world in every conceivable time and place.

Jane Austen’s original classic English Regency romances have been rewritten or “updated”, set in different times and places with varying degrees of success. Even adaptations for movies based on Pride and Prejudice vary widely from the miniseries of 1995 (starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth) and the 2005 movie (starring Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen) to variations like the 2004 Bollywood movie Bride and Prejudice, or the London of Bridget Jones’ Diary. Each has a very different feel and atmosphere while telling more or less the same story.

Look at the novels of Agatha Christie. She definitely knew how to make setting work for her story. Murder is murder whether it happens on a train, a river cruise, an island or in the middle of London such as of Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile, And Then There Were None and Sparkling Cyanide.

As a reader, I am grateful to writers everywhere who can spirit me away from the dentist’s waiting room, the sickroom, a long commute or a relaxing holiday to anywhere in the world or outside it from deepest darkest space, anywhere in time or to the familiarity of my own town and time, making stories come alive.

The habit of reading

March 12, 2018March 8, 2018 Zoetic WordsLeave a comment

Refuge

How do you escape from an interminable journey or meeting you’ve lost all interest in, a boring lecture which has no relevance for you, or a yet another retelling of a long story by an Alzheimer’s sufferer?

When you don’t want to give offence or can’t get up and walk out, the habit of reading can give you a place of (mental) escape which is fresh in your mind. Puzzling over where the author is leading you and what will happen next should be able to keep your mind quite happily occupied.

When you need to take your mind off your own pain and suffering, when medication isn’t completely effective, reading a good book is a great alternative. Escape to a different time and place, a world where anything can happen and probably will and have a lovely little mental holiday.

Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not advocating a mental holiday from a conversation, meeting or lecture which has a legitimate claim on your attention.Most times we can not and should not lose concentration on what we are doing, especially if we are driving a vehicle. A fantasy world can be a dangerous place to live. Unfortunately, reality must intrude on our fantasies now and then.

Good books and their secrets

March 11, 2018March 8, 2018 Zoetic WordsLeave a comment

Secrets

There are many ways to make your book a pageturner. Here are just some.

Craft suspense whatever your genre. Make each scene and chapter a cliff-hanger, leaving the reader with questions for which they need answers.
Create a delicate balance between what your reader knows and what each character knows.
Foreshadowing what is to come creates anticipation.
Lead and mislead your reader at appropriate times.
Language and word choice create mood and atmosphere.
Lush writing involving all the senses creates an emotional response in the reader.
Dripfeed your story, allowing your reader the satisfaction of piecing most things together for themselves.
Use pacing wisely. Vary the pace at which the story moves, sentence length and structure to build to a climax or relax the reader before a shock or surprise.
Raise the stakes both external and internal for your protagonist, then set a clock ticking on a time limit.
Use twists and turns to keep the reader curious.

Books

March 10, 2018March 8, 2018 Zoetic WordsLeave a comment

Treasure

Yesterday I posted about the benefits of reading to a child. That got me thinking about reading for your own benefit. It started something like this:

It’s fun
Keep yourself entertained, reduce boredom
Exercise and strengthen your brain
Expose yourself to your endless possibilities
Become a life-long learner
Strengthen analytic skills
Stress reduction
Improve ability to focus and concentrate
Widen your horizons with travel books
Broaden your vocabulary
Develop empathy by learning to understand others
Never run out of things to think about
Develop language and writing skills
Find answers to all kinds of questions, even those you mightn’t think of otherwise
Never run out of topics of conversation
Reading hard copy books can help you sleep
Reading onscreen can help keep you awake
Encourage others to read by example
Build understanding and comprehension skills
Develop interest in a wide variety of topics making you more interesting to others
Knowledge and understanding make you a valuable person in all areas of life

How many more can you think of?

Read to a child

March 9, 2018March 8, 2018 Zoetic WordsLeave a comment

Never too old

It’s been too long since I was around little children. There’s great pleasure in sharing your love of words, story and books, especially with children. Some of the many benefits include: