D is for Danger It’s day 4 of the A to Z Challenge! Otherwise known as the letter D Day for my theme Young Adult Novels and Novels with Young Adult Narrators. Danger is a common element in Young Adult fiction and so appropriate, too, as young people need to figure out how to safely navigate the world around them. One day they will be out on their own. Danger also heightens the tension in Young Adult fiction since teens are…
Blogging A to Z 2016 theme reveal It’s that time of year! Blogging A to Z 2016 is coming April 1! Just in case you need a refresher: Arlee Bird started Blogging A to Z in 2010 as a way to bring bloggers together. The rules are these: Starting April 1st, for 26 days, write a post for each letter of the alphabet. And you just know that’s a challenge for me as I keep no schedule, just sort of…
(Mountain Flare from Flickr creative commons via photopin) Z is for Zenith. Today is the zenith of the Blogging from A to Z challenge. We have arrived intact at the letter Z. Er, sort of. I didn’t quite manage the letter Y though I had a good one. Anyway, the word zenith has three definitions: 1. The point directly above the observer. 2. The highest point above the observer attained by a celestial body (hence, the photo above). 3. The…
X is for Xenophile. What is that, you say–a tropical disease? A clerical mallfunction? Actually, a xenophile is a person who is attracted to a foreign locale or foreign cultures (as opposed to a xenophobe who fears the foreign). I think at this point it will not surprise anyone to discover I am attracted to things Korean. Therefore, I am a self-professed xenophile. What is it that draws me to Korean culture? I’ll mention a few things. (image flickr creative…
(image creative commons via photopin) V is for Voice. The more I read and write, the more I find I’m drawn to voice. Voice. What does that even mean? Voice is the presence of the author that we as readers can observe. You observe voice through tone and mood and, well, I won’t bore you with any more technical aspects. It’s sort of like that old definition of pornography from Justice Stewart’s law clerk–you will know it when you see…
(image flikr/creative commons via photopin) U is for Umbrella. I was struggling for a U word, spent quite a lot of time thumbing through the dictionary. And then, I happened upon umbrella. Writers love words with more than one meaning, so I was ready to explore the world of the umbrella. The umbrella (or parasol) appeared in sculptures of ancient Mesopotamia. The first text to refer to the umbrella dates from 2400 years ago in China. The word umbrella comes…
(image creative commons via photopin) T is for Tteoljam. What is that, you ask? And no, it’s not an exotic fruit preserve for your morning toast. Tteoljam is a specific type of hair pin worn by women in ancient Korea as well as by women in modern times when they don the traditional hanbok. This hair pin is embellished with stones, jewels, jade and metals. In ancient Korea you could generally tell a woman’s social status by the type of…
(photo Aniram via Dreamstime) S is for: sex scene or no sex scene? It’s the first day of seventh grade, and I’m a hopeless loser. I mean, hopeless–just like the clichéd awkward teen you see in the movies. The one who makes you cringe. The one for whom the capital L on the forehead defines. Loser teen is I. And of course, I’m lost. I’m wandering the halls after the bell has rung looking for my biology class, frightened of my own…
(image Uwe Kils, Wiska Bodo via Wikimedia Commons) R is for Research. So, you probably know that Hemingway iceberg quote. If not, here it is: If a writer of prose knows enough of what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of an ice-berg is due…
(Field of Diamonds, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston via Wikimedia Commons) Q is for Quilt. For as long as I can remember, quilts have been a part of my life. When I was little, we had the special “sick” quilt that my grandmother had made. It was a 1930’s green and lavender quilt in the Carpenter’s Wheel pattern that Mother brought out for those sick days to make us feel better. We also had a magnificent satin quilt from the…
(image courtesy TS Sheng via Wikimedia Commons) O is for Objective Correlative. Whoa. Hold on there just a minute. At seven syllables, objective correlative sounds like some high-falutin’ scientific term you need about three Ph.D’s to decipher. Or maybe objective correlative is some nasty parasite lurking in your lower intestines. Nope. The poet T.S. Eliot defined objective correlative as “a set of objects, a situation, a chain of events which shall be the formula of…emotion” (Lit Reactor). You know what…
(image flikr creative commons via photopin) N is for Names. There’s something rather mystical about names. There are magic spells that only work if you know your intended’s name. Rumpelstiskin was one, I think. We inscribe names on walls to honor those who have died in war. We make giant quilt panels to remember the names of those who died of AIDS. (image credit Wikimedia Commons) Welcome to Day N of Blogging from A to Z. Thank you, me…
(image Wikipedia Commons) L is for Love Aside from tension and character development and all the other essential elements of a good story, I find love is right up there. So, I thought I’d highlight a few novels that speak love to me…just in case you are in need of some titles to add to your reading list. Love between siblings The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Celie sacrifices her own happiness to save her beloved sister. The God of…