Motivational Monday

Make everybody fall out of the plane first, and then explain who they were and why they were in the plane to begin with.

Nancy Ann Dibble



The Mathematics Behind Conflict

Conflict between characters is one of the pivotal elements that keep a reader turning the pages. I was thinking about this during the week and it came to me that conflict reminded me of the fractal poster my brother had on his wall when we were kids.

If you aren't familiar with them fractals make great artwork - not only the man-made kind, but the sort nature makes as well.

As a side note - hopefully when finished our stories are also a work of art. But it's not the art work I was thinking of.


A story needs an over-reaching conflict. The *something* that keeps the hero and heroine apart. And the *something* that makes the reader wonder how it can possibly work out - and turn the page.


So how does all this relate to maths?

According to wikipedia, fractals are: a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is (at least approximately) a reduced-size copy of the whole.

In otherwords, fractals are a complicated mathematical formula.

Like fractals, the conflict between our hero and heroine is always complicated. Our story is split into parts (scenes) each of which includes (at least approximately) a small part of the conflict.

And like fractals, the conflict starts out big, but finishes as a tiny piece of nothing - the moment of the happy ever after.

So thanks to my brother's poster, I now see fractals as the mathematical answer to conflict.

Motivational Monday

Forget all the rules.

Forget about being published.

Write for yourself and celebrate writing. 

Melinda Haynes

January Word Count

23,640 words.  In one month. Even after attempting Nanowrimo for the last 3 years I've never actually managed to write so many words in 4 weeks. I just hope I can keep the pace up...

Motivational Monday

If it was easy, everyone would do it rather than going around telling you their ideas and saying how they could be a writer if they had the time.. ~ Arthur M. Jolly

Evidence Poor Typing Doesn't Matter...

To help shut out my internal editor I often write with my eyes closed - if I can't see it I can't change it *grin*. But doing that does lead to some terrible typos.

I recently stumbled across some notes from my university days and now I don't feel quite so bad about my typing:

Take a look at this paragraph. Can you read what it says? All the letters have been jumbled (mixed). Only the first and last letter of each word is in the right place.


I cnduo't bvleiee taht I culod aulaclty uesdtannrd waht I was rdnaieg. Unisg the icndeblire pweor of the hmuan mnid, aocdcrnig to rseecrah at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mttaer in waht oderr the lterets in a wrod are, the olny irpoamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rhgit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whoutit a pboerlm. Tihs is bucseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey ltteer by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Aaznmig, huh? - and I awlyas tghhuot slelinpg was ipmorantt!

Translated:
I couldn't believe that I could actually understand what I was reading. Using the incredible power of the human brain, according to research at Cambridge University, it doesn't matter in what order the letters in a word are, the only important thing is that the first and last letter be in the right place. The rest can be a total, mess and you can read it without a problem. This is because the human mind does not read every letter by itself, but the word as a whole. Amazing, huh - and I always thought spelling was important!

How did you go reading the mixed up version?

Motivational Monday

Success is the sum of small efforts,

repeated day in and day out.

You Think English is Easy?

Was writing the other day and found I'd written this:  She placed the end of the compression bandage over the wound and wound it around his leg.

At a quick glance I thought I'd repeated myself, until I read the whole sentence. It reminded me of this list I have showing how strange english is. I never thought I'd actually end up writing one myself :-)

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.

2) The farm was used to produce produce.

3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

4) We must polish the Polish furniture.

5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the Present.

8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10) I did not object to the object.

For more examples of how crazy English can be, visit here.