Friday John Ku – AKA – TGIF

~ John W. Howell
Twiggy
“Hey, Twiggy. You want to play? It’s Friday.”
“One more chew on this starfish, Lucy and I’ll be ready.”

 

Yup, it is Friday, and we all are thankful for that.  We had some rain here in Parched City, which was mighty welcome.

The week has been pretty calm. It started with temperatures in the 90s and looks like it will finish in the 70s. It means fall weather has finally arrived here in Texas.

Been plugging away at the WIP. Most of my edits have been additions to the dialog sections. I’ve been adding bits of what could be called Emotional Beats. As you may know, I construct whole stories with nothing but dialog. That may be well and good with less than 1000 words, but throughout a novel, it could be tiring for the reader.

There is plenty of dialog, but I’ve added some points of interest to bring the characters alive when they are talking. I still don’t use tags (he said, she said) since I think it is pretty obvious who is talking and tags just slow the story.

We’ll see if it all works. I’m planning on asking for Beta-reader interest around mid-November. I think I won’t ask for the comments back until mid-January since there are some holidays in there. All in all, the story is still holding, so I’m pretty happy with it.

I had an interesting discussion with someone last weekend. They asked me if I was self-published, and I said, “yes.” Her response was a very patronizing, “Writing is a very good hobby.” I guess we all have had that kind of comment. Today’s John Ku talks about discouraging words. I hope you have a great weekend.

Discouraging Words by John W. Howell © 2019

Everyone should know,

If you can’t say something nice . . .

Then shut the fuck up.

69 thoughts on “Friday John Ku – AKA – TGIF”

  1. Way to shake things up on a Friday, John. 🙂 People who give their opinion, especially a negative one, when not asked, are typically jealous and insecure. I try to follow the rule of keeping my head down and ignoring the noise. Have a great weekend! Happy Friday@

    Liked by 4 people

  4. Growing up, one of my mom’s golden rules was, “if you can’t say something nice, then don’t say anything at all.” You’ve added a bit of spice to that expression and elicited my chuckles! 😀 Some people must not have had the same upbringing and feel more powerful or accomplished or whatever when they belittle another. Sad…

    Liked by 2 people

  7. It seems God didn’t give everyone common sense. I agree with your Johnku, 100%.

    You have a great style of writing, John. I found your novel, Our Justice, to be well balanced. There should be an even distribution of dialogue and narration. Also, if you’re writing a book with only a few characters where no more than two people talk in a discussion, you can omit dialogue tags. However, if you’re writing an epic story with more than ten characters and several of them are in conversation, it can get messy if you don’t use dialogue tags once in a while. Besides, he said, she said, are practically invisible and should not slow the story. 🙂 xo

    Liked by 2 people

    1. The tags I hate are the ones where the author adds more than a simple he said.)( “I love you,” she said breathlessly while throwing off her coat.). Your point about multiple discussions is very valid.

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  11. Writing is a very good hobby.

    From Two Tramps In Mud Time – Poem by Robert Frost.

    But yield who will to their separation,
    My object in living is to unite
    My avocation and my vocation

    Liked by 1 person

  12. My mom used to say, “If you can’t say something positive, then don’t say anything at all.” She was a firm believer in positive reinforcement. You’ve added a bit of spice to the saying and evoked my chuckles. 😀

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Thank you, Mae. Sometimes I have to wonder. During the same occasion one of the city commitee chairs came up and asked me if I would be willing to start and author a blog for the City’s Heritage Commitee. Just the opposite feeling of that woman’s comment. Life is funny like that. 😁

      Liked by 2 people

      1. That’s kismet. That chair for the city committee rocks. They know a good writer when they see one. I’m so glad to hear there was a flip side to that woman’s comment. (And I’m still working at smoothing my ruffled feathers on your behalf!).

        Liked by 1 person

  16. Good Johnku, John. Can’t remember you ever swearing before. People tend to look down at self-published authors. Personally, it wouldn’t bother me if I was making loads of money (or even a moderate amount) from my writing. But that’s still a fantasy at this point in time. Have a good weekend.

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  17. BOOM!
    Way to go, John. I don’t know what I hate more, the patronizing tone, the condescension… Fuck ’em if they can’t take a walk on the positive side of things.
    And, I am throwing my name into the hat, if you want…

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  19. Amen to your JohnKu! Why do some people feel they have the right to slam others, especially when it’s doubtful they could even do half what the ones they’re dissing do?! Grr! Dallas is a bit green over Twiggy being able to flatten out like that. He says it looks like a great way to get cool!

    Liked by 1 person

  23. Ouch, John! I am sure you were tempted to say that to the woman’s face but you are a gentleman! What was she thinking? Obviously she knows nothing about books. And no one ever says, “Oh, I write for a hobby.”

    Sunny. windy and cool on the coast. Nice to have a change. TGIF to you!

    Liked by 1 person

  25. I’m taking a training at work that addresses diversity and inclusion. One of the videos deals with microaggressions. I would put the patronizing comment you received in the category of microaggression. Ironically, the video ended with the same sentiment as your John Ku.

    Liked by 1 person

  26. I am soooo sorry to be late to this John Ku – I could embroider that on a sampler and hang it proudly for everyone to see! Hobby this, lady. I now lump those comments into the passive-aggressive category.

    Did I mention that beta-reading might be a hobby I take up after retirement?

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