Voices of the Ribbons©.

 Writing as Therapy "I shall eviscerate you in fiction" Chaucer; A Knight's Tale One of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite movies (because Paul Bettany's 'Chaucer' was legendary) and today, today when I finally feel I have my life back, this quote resonates even more powerfully. I'm ready to take control again. I'm ready to begin laying the past to rest, to stop permitting myself to walk naked,  and stop giving in to the needs of others before my own. " You need to be selfish in order to be selfless,"  somebody recently said to me, and this is true. "A man who can't swim can't save a drowning man."    And sometimes, it takes more courage to say no  than to say yes . Meanwhile, what does this have to do with writing and, more specifically, Chaucer's quote? Fair question. I've always been a believer in ' discretion being the better part of valor' . Instead of fighting or being reduced to pointless count...

 What to say if not 'Said'? Has the verb 'said' become obsolete? Recently, someone (on Twitter?) raised the question: "Does anybody else hate the word 'said' as much as I do?" which I took to imply that this particular person has a personal dislike of the verb in question. I asked for enlightenment, genuinely curious as to why this might be the case, but have yet to receive a  response. It did, however, raise a valid question. Is the word 'said' genuinely unnecessary or obsolete? There is a great deal of writing advice in circulation advising against over-use of this word in dialogue. But I argue that 'said', in the same way as any other word, has its place if used in the right way and in the right places. It's all about context. To my way of thinking, 'said' is a neutral speech tag. It merely defines 'who' spoke without assigning emphasis to the manner in which the content was spoken.  As an example, take the dialog...

 World-Building Or How not to assume your readers are fools. There is world-building, and then there is WORLD-BUILDING, and the two aren't necessarily the same. There is so much information, so many articles and so much advice from so many sources on the Do's and Don't's of writing. As a relative newcomer to the world of publishing, having only recently had my third novel published, I find myself constantly researching ways to do things better, seeking honest advice and critique of my work, and analyzing feedback. One of the subjects which interest me most is that of world-building. In the course of my research, (and I wish I could recall where I read or heard this), somebody made the very astute observation that we 'should not assume our readers are fools'. It took me a while to figure out exactly what this meant or how to apply this critical piece of advice. In the end, this is what I, personally, took away from it. We don't have to fill in every single bl...

 I Am The Abyss By Soldier/ The Black "Be careful when you stare into the abyss because, eventually, the abyss stares back." "I AM the abyss."          The Devil Judge TvN K-drama 2021 Push someone long enough and hard enough and one of two things will happen: they break, or they push back. Take them to the edge of the abyss and either the abyss claims them or they claim the abyss. To claim the abyss is to become the abyss. I'm not here to spout a tirade of pointless self-pitying nonsense. Fuck that. I don't do self-pity. Shit, I know there are  people who've had it far worse . I know that, on the whole, day-by-day, I've got it good in comparison to most of the rest of the world. Every day, someplace, somehow, people suffer. Shit happens. Everywhere.       But choosing not to acknowledge the bad stuff doesn't mean I have to accept it if I have the power to reject it.       And I'm rejecting it. I've always been a...

 Just Be You But. . . Who Am I? (By Tai?) There is so much advice circulating everywhere, in all forms of media and from all kinds of sources, to simply be yourself . What does this even mean? Don't have an answer to complex problems facing you in your everyday life? Just be yourself. Don't know how to respond to an ethical dilemma? Just be yourself.  As a writer, don't know what to write or how to convey your voice to your audience? Again,  just be yourself.     That's a fabulously easy piece of advice to give. Three easy words and one easy catchphrase: Just be yourself . But, what does this mean if you have no idea who yourself  even is? I've been struggling with this very dilemma for more years than I care to count. Whose voice do I consider my own? Who of all my inner voices speaks for me on any given day or under any given circumstance? Am I speaking from my own beliefs, on behalf of others who lack a voice of their own, or under a misguided pressure t...

PR15M: The Price of Freedom By Ice It should have been a relief, the burden of ten years, at last, lifted from my shoulders. It was, instead, a nightmare.  My days were filled with relentless questions alongside the equally relentless probing and examination by the medical staff. Despite the tight security, cameras frequently flashed from unexpected corners and doorways and nothing, nowhere, seemed safe.  Instead of the freedom I'd prayed and fought for, I'd somehow returned to the captivity I'd left behind and I had no idea how to voice my anxiety or my fears, and Taehyun's absence became an ever greater chasm in my heart. If it wasn't enough that my days offered no relief, my nights were little better, a muddled confusion drifting between dream and reality, nightmare and peace. It was in the night that Taehyun would return to me, holding me close, his body pressed reassuringly to mine; his scent, his touch, his warmth, his whisper in my ear.  And then I would wake...

 A Day in the Life... Phase One: The Dawn Chorus By Writer Seriously, the West Coast (as in, the wet n wild  West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand) isn't much fun in the winter if you don't handle cold and gloomy very well. I  do not handle cold and gloomy very well AT ALL, ergo, I do not handle the West Coast in the winter very well.       Don't get me wrong, it's nice on those rare days where there's a crisp frost (anywhere down to -15C in winters past) followed by pale blue skies and spectacular views to snow-capped mountains. But when it rains miserably for weeks at a time, or when the fog is so thick you can barely see your hand in front of your face, or the mist lies inside the house equally to the outdoors... winter loses its appeal pretty damn fast.      Add to that; damp and muddy dogs, sad guineapigs in houses we struggle to find windows of opportunity to clean, mud-encrusted ponies waiting for hay, soggy cats, and weep...