Writing Advice About Details

Are you the kind of reader who loves detailed  descriptions in books? Or do you hate long descriptive passages?

Chances are you're like me. You like enough details to create a visual image but not so many that they bog down a story.

WHY PUT DETAILS IN A BOOK? 

A young man asked me that once. He said he didn't like all those paragraphs of descriptions for places and people. He just wanted to jump into the story and read the action.

I suspect he was reading a book similar to one I had recently read where every noun seemed to have descriptive adjectives attached to them that it made reading the literary equivalent of  slogging through mud.    

I gave his question some thought and finally told him that details are what make books come alive for readers. It's the details about a character that make the character seem like a real person. It's the details about the setting that make the "world" those characters inhabit seem real.

WORD PICTURES

Those details about sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch—sensory details—create a picture of a person or place, and how those details are presented vary from author to author.

Anyone can say: "His eyes were blue." But to say: "His eyes were the deep blue of the ocean—the Antarctic Ocean—and just as frigid." That's a short example of a sensory detail that's attached to a bit of emotional observation from the viewpoint character.

I did tell the young man there were authors he might enjoy who used very little description—Hemingway, Cormac McCarthy, and Robert B. Parker. There are others from the classics to present day. 

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

The best kind of description elicits a reaction of some sort in the reader and does this with the appropriate amount of words.

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September Food Treats and Trends

September brings the return of those horrendously fattening pumpkin drinks to Starbucks.

To me, those are liquid cookies but have more calories tha real cookies.

If you're a fan of Pumpkin Spice Latte, Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, and Iced Pumpkin Cream  Chai, you'll want to head over to Starbucks today.

I read about a few new things you might be interested in—coming to a store near you this month.

Would you try any of these? I'll cast my vote next to each.

(1) Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins (YES)

(2) Functional Beauty Lollipops with Collagen Peptides like Lemmo Glow at Ulta (NO)

(3) CoffeeMate Kit Kat Creamer (NO)

(4) Resealable Fast Food Buckets at KFC (MAYBE)

(5) Raccon Shaped Cake Pops at Starbucks (NO)

(6) New drink from Starbucks September 19, 2024, Iced Pecan Crunch Oat Milk Latte. (NO)

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

I don't snack much when I'm out and about, but I would definitely buy the Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins. No question. What about you? Leave a comment if you'd try any of these.

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Remember the Sky 2024

Twenty-three years ago. our country was attacked. Younger Americans did not experience 9/11 as a live event.

It's up to we who lived through that awful day, when so many died, to teach those who were children too young to remember and children not yet born about this day.

Tell them how our country came together in shared grief and compassion.

Today, we commemorate that day by honoring those who lost their lives and those who responded to save others.

We commemorate and celebrate the way we all were united as Americans—not as Republican and Democrat, not as Christian, atheist, Jewish, or Muslim, not as gay or straight, not as black, white, brown, or yellow—but as Americans.

REMEMBER THE SKY

The 9/11 Memorial Museum asks you to Remember the Sky, an event created to commemorate that beautiful fall day when the world changed—not just our world, but a global change.

Today, go outside and take a photo of the sky, wherever you might be in the world—no matter what the weather may be like. 

Share your photograph on the social media of your choice.

Write a caption and tag @911Memorial and be sure to use these hashtags:

#neverforget911 and #rememberthesky

The image to the right was created by the 9/11 Memorial and Museum so use it to accompany your social media post and the photograph of the sky.

For more information, visit Remember the Sky, where you can download the commemorative at right.

Do this as a way to help the generations that follow you learn about the importance of that day so they, like their parents, will never forget.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

God bless America.

Review - The Abigail Mysteries on Prime

If you're looking for a family-friendly movie, Amazon Prime has one for you this month.

The Abigail Mysteries, a clean and wholesome movie the whole family can watch is available for Prime subscribers. You can also rent or buy it from Amazon.

BRIEF BLURB

Starring Ansley Gordon as Abigail Broukes, a mystery-story podcaster; Bret Green as her childhood best friend Matt, Brit Laree as  Abigail's sister Sophia, and Karen Abercrombie as Mrs. Weston, the movie was directed by: Brittany Goodwin.

The story opens with Abigail settling into the home she bought in her hometown. She's newly divorced and emotionally devastated by that and the miscarriage she suffered. She is suffereing a crisis of faith and feeling lost.

When her beloved senior citizen neighbor is found dead, she's convinced the woman was murdered. Enlisting the help of  her childhood best friend Matt, who is not a cop, Abigail is determined to find the truth.

BACKSTORY

Ansley Gordon who stars as Abigail actually wrote the screenplay for the film, an offering from Great American Media which specializes in family-oriented stories with faith woven into the plot. In this story, clues that Abigail follows are Bible verses the late Mrs. Weston hid.

The Abigail Mysteries is a series available on the Great American Family Channel and Pure Flix. I imagine if this movie draws a big viewership on Prime that more of the Abigail movies will be made available to Prime. 

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

If you want a movie the whole family can watch without fear of F-bombs, sex, and other elements too mature for children, try The Abigail Mysteries on Prime. 

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Monday Magic - 1Weather Free App

With another hurricane headed to the Gulf Coast, I thought I'd share a phone app that helps you monitor the weather nationally and locally.

Available for iPhone and Android devices, 1Weather is used by more than a million people globally.

ABOUT 1Weather

The app's accurate hyperlocal forecasts are designed to keep you weather-aware, every day, but especially if you live in an area prone to storms.

Of course there are paid subscriptions to this app if you want additional services, but the free version  gives you:

(1) 24/7 local and national hourly weather information

(2) To the minute and long-range local forecasts which help in planning trips or perhaps evacuation ahead of storsm

(3) alerts from National Weather Service aka NWS and Weather Decision Technologies aka WDT, a company that provides patented technology for severe weather alerts. 

DOWNLOAD INFO

The only Android device I have is a Kindle Fire, but I could not find the 1Weather app available for it. However, there are several free weather apps for the Fire tablets. If you'd like to browse these weather apps, click here for the search string I used.

To download the 1Weather App for Android devices, go to Google Play. In case you want detailed information about the app, go to 1Weather website. You can also see screenshots.

For iPhone users, join the 50 million users in the USA by downloading the 1Weather app from the App Store. To read more about the iPhone version and see screenshots, visit 1Weather for iPhone website.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

With this post finished, I now must decide whether to stay in Houston or head to the ranch. I guess I'll wait until later today to see if it looks as if the hurricane will hit here or farther east.

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Saturday Share Recipe - Mom's Baked Beans

My Mom was a great cook. I only wish I had asked her how to make her mac and cheese because mine has never been as good as hers.

I did learn how to make her baked beans though. They were the best I've ever had. Maybe it's because they were made with love because she didn't use fancy ingredients.

She also didn't slow bake the beans in the oven in a crock or casserole dish. She cooked everything in an iron skillet on top of the stove—from beginning to end.

My Mom always used Van Camp's brand. She thought they were superior and had more beans and less liquid than the other brands. 

In today's world, I sometimes have difficulty finding Van Camp's Pork and Beans in the local stores. If you also do, you can order from Amazon which is the link I included.

Mom's Stovetop Baked Beans

Ingredients

4-6 strips of bacon fried crispy

2 28-ounce cans Van Camp's Pork and Beans

1 medium onion, diced

1/2 cup diced bell pepper, any color

yellow mustard

brown sugar

Directions

My mother rarely measured anything unless she was baking a cake. I've tried to approximate measurements for the mustard and brown sugar because I don't measure them either.

1. Fry the bacon until it is crispy. Place the fried bacon on paper towels to drain, but keep the rendered fat in the frying pan or skillet. Crumble the bacon and set aside.

2. Saute the onion and bell pepper in the bacon fat until soft, not browned.

3. Dump both cans of pork and beans into the frying pan. Stir to mix well with the sauteed vegetables.

4. Start with 1/2 tablespoon of yellow mustard. Mix well into the beans. By the way, you can use any kind of mustard. Sometimes I use stone-ground dijon, but yellow mustard was what Mom used.

5. Start with 2 tablespoons brown sugar. Mix well into the beans.

6. After the beans have simmered a minute or so, taste them. They should be a little sweet with a little tang to them. If too sweet, add a little more mustard, a teaspoon at a time, stir, taste, etc. If too tangy, add a little more brown sugar a little at a time, stir, taste, etc.

7. When you have the seasoning just right, simmer about 5 minutes then turn the heat off.

8. Pour into a serving bowl or leave in the frying pan or skillet for a rustic touch. Sprinkle half of the crumbled bacon over the beans, stir into the beans. Then sprinkle the rest on top and leave it that way to serve.

Makes 8-10 hearty servings.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

From my Mom's kitchen to my kitchen, and now to yours. Let me know if you try this old-fashioned stovetop baked bean recipe. I hope you'll like it.

Joan participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, affiliate advertising designed to help websites earn advertising fees by linking to products on Amazon. If you click an Amazon link in her post, she may receive a small commision at no extra cost to you.

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National Read a Book Day

To paraphrase Mark Twain, "The person  who does not read has no advantage over the person who cannot read."

Today is National Read a Book Day. Are you a reader? Do you like to read? Or do you say, "I hate to read?"

In 2024, about 48% of the population say they have not read a book within the last year.

Ten years ago, that percentage of people who read a book in a year was 54.6%. Reading is down, but there are still people who read either as a primary form of entertainment or in addition to other forms of popular entertainment.

ADVANTAGES OF READING

In case you're in the majority group in America who doesn't read, let me give you some facts that might make you pick up a book or download an ebook. These facts are just a few based on scientific and medical research conducted into this subject.

1. Reading can help prevent Alzheimer’s. Reading is to the brain what exercise is to the body. 

2. People who vote are more likely to take care of their health, vote, and be considered by others as more cultured.

3. Reading lowers blood pressure and alleviates stress. 

4. Reading increases your ability to think analytically.

5. Reading improves your memory.

6. Reading helps expand your vocabulary.

7. Reading fiction helps you understand others who may be different from you in terms of ethnicity, religion, country of origin, culture, etc.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

Men, here's a fact for you that you may find very interesting. Men who read books are perceived by women as smarter and sexier than men who don't. If you don't have a woman in your life, maybe you should develop the reading habit.

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National Spice Blend Day

Every day of the month is some kind of National day or Celebration day for one or more things. I was interested in learning that yesterday was National Spice Blend Day.

If you're a frequent reader of SlingWords, you know that I love to cook and bake. I normally do not measure the spices I use. I sprinkle a little of this and a little of that, and it comes out delicious. I learned that method of cooking from my Mom.

It makes it a little difficult to impart a recipe to my kids when they ask how I make something they love, but I try.

One thing I use frequently that requires no blending on my part is the Fajita Seasoning shown at left. The proper name of this unique blend of spices that contains NO sale and NO MSG—which is why we like it—is Bolman's Fiesta Fajita Seasoning.

Darling Hubby uses this in his dry rub on steaks and other meats destined for the grill. I use it to sprinkle on stir-fried veggies—everything from greens to sauteed squash, onions, and peppers. Then I add salt as needed.

Seriouslly, it gives a depth of flavor that adapts to many kinds of foods.

I buy it locally at HEB, Randall's, or Kroger, and it costs under $4.00. If you don't find it in your local store, you can order from Amazon. I've included that link. Unfortunately, at Amazon it's $9 bucks and change for a 5 ounce bottle, but it may be worth it in the flavor it adds to food.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

If you're looking for a good spice blend that will season different kinds of food, you must try Bolman's Fiesta Fajita Seasoning.

Joan participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, affiliate advertising designed to help websites earn advertising fees by linking to products on Amazon. If you click an Amazon link in her post, she may receive a small commision at no extra cost to you.

Love to read? Sign up for my free Newsletter, I LOVE READING. Once a month, you'll receive exclusive content and news about giveaways, bargains, and new releases.

Make An If-Then Plan

I want to tell you how to create  an IN-THEN Plan that will make you a winner in the arena of accomplishment.

I talked about this in June when I did the June Update on my 24 for 2024 Plan.

I was frustrated back then because of all the power outages we'd had in May and June that made it impossible to keep my desktop computer on and my laptop charged. 

BEST THING I DID

Of al the things I've tried to be consistent in accomplishment, this is one of the best because it made me think outside the box.

I changed my thinking about how to take action when circumstances made it challenging.

HOW AN IF-THEN PLAN WORKS

It's easy. Think of what you want to accomplish on a daily basis and what you must have to do that. Then what are the challenges that make it hard to do that?

With those elements identified, figure out a way to accomplish your task when the ideal situation doesn't exist using this formula, if you want to call it that:

IF __________ happens, THEN I will __________.

Here's a few of the IF-THEN scenarios I created to deal with the curve balls life throws at me on a fairly regular basis.

(1) If the electricity goes off, then I will work on the short stories or chapters for a book in progress using my AlphaSmart and upload what I've written when power is restored.

(2) If I'm called away on an emergency, then I'll take a notebook and pen to draft blog posts, notes on my novel, write rough draft copy, etc.

(3) If I'm physically tired from traveling and don't feel like writing, then I'll sit in the recliner with my laptop and create graffics, transcribe notes, or do other things that may require imagination but not a lot of energy.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

We all have those curve balls in life, but they don't have as great an impact if we have a plan to deal with them. Let me know if you try this and how it works for you..

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Review - The Fall Guy on Prime

You know how it feels to look forward to seeing a movie and then feeling disappointed before you're halfway through the viewing?

That's how I felt when watching The Fall Guy on Labor Day. 

When I first saw the trailers for this romantic comedy, I thought it was a movie that pushed all my buttons. Eagerly, I waited for it to be available for home viewing.

GREAT CAST = GREAT EXPECTATIONS

This movie, directed by David Leitch and written by Drew Pearce, was based on the old TV series starring Lee Majors who makes a cameo at the end of the movie.

Released this past May, Ryan Gosling, as the titular Fall Guy, Colt Severs, and Emily Blunt, as movie director Jody Moreno, headline the cast.

Hannah Waddingham of Ted Lasso, Teresa Palmer, Stephanie Hsu, and Winston Duke fill out the other important roles. 

Universal Pictures released the movie in May. Even though it received mostly positive reviews, the movie did not perform well at the box office. I have a feeling that was for the same reason that created my disappointment.

BRIEF BLURB

Stuntman Colt Seavers quits the movie business after a tragic accident, but a year later he's lured back by a producer to ensure that his former lover's directorial debut is a success. Unfortunately, he becomes embroiled in a sinister plot that threatens his very life and the lives of others.

That's all I'm going to say about the plot since I don't want to spoil scenes that are supposed to be plot surprises. However, I will point out one thing that should have been done at the very beginning of the film that may have fixed a big problem at the beginning.

2 CENT REVIEW

Last night after watching The Fall Guy, I asked Darling Husband why he thought it wasn't that good. We kicked the subject around a bit and came to the conclusion that it was mostly flash and little substance.

On that note, I realized I felt no emotional connection to the characters even though I understood what each character was trying to evoke.

In one scene, Jody (Emily Blunt) sings a sad love song meant to make us feel her heartbreak, but I didn't feel that.

The problem with the movie begain with a charming scene that shows the backstory for Jody and Colt—lovers working together on a movie. It's cute and shows off the stunt man's chops. The scene ends with a fall from a building.

Next scene shows Colt as a parking valet who appears to be down on his luck. Gosling aka Colt continues a voiceover narration of everything. I think when you have to have constant narration explaining what a character is feeling and thinking rather than showing through action and direct dialog, it becomes intrusive. Yes, narration in some instances works, but not all the way through a film.

WHAT'S REALLY WRONG WITH THE BEGINNING

At no point in that opening scene—the high-rise fall—is there any indication that it's tragic. No one screams in horror. He doesn't show any emotion at realizing he's in an uncontrolled fall. The very next scene could probably use a bit of narration like, "I knew if I wanted to live, I needed to find another way to make a living. But parking cars wasn't what I had in mind."

Instead, the viewer is left to figure out what happened to him and why his world changed, and the viewer doesn't have any emotional response because the time to create that emotion in the viewer has passed.

A movie that begins with an event designed to create emotion from the get-go must mine the opening scene to ensure the main character is immediately likeable and sympathetic.

Otherwise, no one will care if the character falls off a high rise in a stunt and breaks his back. (This truth is the same for books.) What should have been done was to immediately make the viewer know it's an uncontrolled fall. 

How about a voiceover—yes, clue us in and create emotion right there—"Oh, my God, I knew I was going to die." 

How about a scream of horror from his girl friend and other observers when they realize his fall isn't being braked?

Surprises in films are nice, but in an opening scene, especially in a movie built around a love story which this one was supposed to be, it's crucial to gain the emotional advantage.

What follows in that movie is one action sequence after another. While well done, it amounts to too much flash, not enough substance.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

The Fall Guy is streaming on Prime and Peacock currently—maybe a few other places too. If you watch it, come back to this review and give your 2¢ in a Comment.

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Free App - Amusing, Helpful Style Analyzer

Good morning! I have a fun free app for you today. It's the updated website I WRITE LIKE.

The website has been around many years and was always amusing to find out what one's writing style resembles.

This updated and upgraded version of the website is still fun, but it's also helpful with the new full-featured Markdown text editor to help you in improve your writing.

Best of all, the tools are available from your browser. You can create new text directly into the form on the browser or open a file from your device. You can also open your last session, but to do that you will need to set up an account.

You'll find these tools in the right sidebar:

• Style Analyzer
• Markdown Preview
• Word Count
• Readability
• Edit with AI
• Word Frequency
• Keywords
• Sentence Rank
• Outline
• Links
• Comments
• Dictionary
• Read Aloud
• Export.

I WRITE LIKE can be an amusement to see which famous author your writing resembles. It can also be a useful tool to help you understand what makes writing dynamic. 

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

Caution. Do NOT use AI-edited or generated text in a book. Any text in a book should be from YOUR brain, not from Artificial Intelligence.

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Double Header - 1 Free - 1 99¢ Sale

My newsletter, I Love Reading, went out yesterday with a free book offer and a 99¢ sale offer.

Usually, this is for subscribers only, but for the Labor Day holiday I'm offering it to SlingWords readers too.

SCENTS AND SENSUALITY

"Loved the book! Two Geeks who had multiple ups and downs before they truly found each other. Lots of action and humor. I highly recommend this book to anyone who reads for pure pleasure!" —Karren Lucas Review

The ebook edition of this romantic comedy is free from now until tomorrow evening, Sept. 2, 2024, but not at Amazon Kindle. Available free at most other ebook sellers.  

Click to a free copy of Scents and Sensuality.

DECEPTIVELY YOURS

From now to Sept. 9, 2024, you can grab a copy of Deceptively Yours, a spicy romantic suspense for only 99¢.

"Deceptively Yours is full of surprises—a second chance at love for a woman and a man who should have ended up together, an intriguing mystery, and thrilling suspense that will keep you turning the pages until the very end."

Click to get Deceptively Yours for only 99¢ while offer lasts.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

If you want to subscribe to I LOVE READING, my free newsletter, to receive news each month about free books, bargains, and exclusive content, click here.