Elements of Story

Years ago, in my English classes, we learned that Story = Protagonist + Antagonist resulting in Conflict.

Conflict creates rising Tension ultimately resulting in Climax and (hopefully) Resolution. With resolution comes Denouement or gradual reduction in tension.

These are all arbitrary guidelines for the beginning writer at best and in my writing, they’ve been thrown out the door a number of times.

But the antagonist can be the beginning and end of story -- one of the most important elements.  To ensure this, some writers work very hard to "plot" his or her story in order to create and maintain the kind of rising tension, initiated by a powerful antagonist and required for a really good story.

That writer would spend plenty of time in her initial structuring of the book on that particular element of story with a definitive profile and the full development of the character.

But what happens when your novel takes a side trip from your planned itinerary and you have to go back, pick up and try again?  I was not able to control that.

In my novel, “When the Eagle Flies with the Condor,” the antagonist is not a person, but a situation arising out of emotions such as feelings of abandonment, estrangement and perhaps even jealousy. 

It is unrequited love. Sound corny? Not when the love is between brother and sister. Their love is more representative of “agape” (from the Greek) than romantic, but the point is, it wasn’t planned that way. It happened and I wanted to be as honest as I knew how to be, thus allowing the antagonist to become whatever it needed to become.

I do believe that having a good idea of what your story is going to say and knowing how it will end is one way to write a novel. But I also agree with some who say that allowing the mind to soar uncontrolled into unexpected regions can be very satisfying and productive and end up perhaps being more. . . well. . . or maybe. . . less -- formulaic?  It's my understanding this is called the "panser" method rather than the "plotter" method.

I rather like the term. Perhaps I've been a panser rather than a plotter all along.  Or maybe a "plodder."   You get the idea.

A Grumpy Senior's Take on Drugs and advice to other Seniors.

I am a senior citizen.

What that means is that I've reached a certain age where I am considered to be "over the hill," over dependent, under productive and affectionately superfluous. 

It has nothing to do with my physical or mental health.

I “retired” long after the average retirement age and miss the hundred plus mile daily round trip commute to my office. Retirement, is, after all, what most of us long for most of our working lives, equating it with what is euphemistically known as “the golden years.”  But to me Retirement is a bore.

So I write.  Blogs, novels, essays and even -- occasionally a poem. I watch TV. 

When my husband and I sit down to watch a TV show at a certain time in the evening we are bombarded with commercials from pharmaceutical companies directed primarily at seniors. These ads are insidious attempts at keeping customers sick rather than trying to cure them, and often contribute to Alzheimer’s Disease, heart disease, and others. They are supported by federal agencies with major conflicts of interest.

I know.  That’s quite a statement.  But politics and greed have wormed their way into the medical/pharma communities allowing decisions by the FDA, AHA and other federal oversite agencies to help major pharmaceuticals make lots of money.      

I am not a physician, attorney, or scientist and will leave the legal and scientific findings to others as there are many well researched sites which corroborate the accuracy of this information.  I will list them and hope that individual seniors begin to listen to their bodies instead of Big Pharma and research the efficacy of the drugs they are being prescribed and sold.

 

Instead of “ask your doctor about. . .” why not do the research yourself.  You’re retired now.  You have the time. And there’s abundant information.  It is essential for you if you really want to enjoy your senior years. 

See these sites and look for more:   

https://healthimpactnews.com/2018/the-drugging-of-american-seniors-big-pharma-profits-depend-on-sick-seniors/

http://www.bemedwise.org/medication-safety/medication-therapy-management-for-seniors

https://www.cracked.com/article_24999_6-evil-af-supervillain-schemes-pulled-by-big-pharma.html

Life is a Banquet

Don't nibble on the good things.

Life is a banquet.  Devour it!

Words of wisdom, eerily relevant today.

"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." 

Martin Luther King, Jr.

JFK. I Remember . . . a reprise

Today is not a day to celebrate but to remember.  

I was very young and very idealistic.  But I have never been more in tune with or involved in government and what it was doing than those days of the Kennedy administration.  My generation believed that government could work back then; we believed in the Constitution, in equal rights, in the freedom of the press.  

We were warriors, we were involved; we were activists, we lived fervently, rebelled ostentatiously and loved freely; we fought back; we became consequential.  We did not "go along."   

We had a leader who inspired.

Kennedy's legacy through the years has been laced with a kind of blandness as though aside from his youth, his wit and charisma, his attractive young family, he really accomplished very little. This was blatantly wrong.

Now, however, appreciation of Kennedy's accomplishments grows with each passing year. And it should.  True, he allowed Khrushchev to get the upper hand (at first). Also true, that the Berlin Wall went up during his tenure. Indeed, he resided over the Bay of Pigs fiasco and we're all aware of his "indiscretions." But I believe today, that had that young president lived, he might have been one of our greatest leaders. Remember, he had only a thousand days in which to accomplish his agenda.

  

As for his accomplishments, take note: the Peace Corps, the Alliance for Progress, Civil Rights legislation, the Space Program and the introduction of the Green Berets. His major accomplishment, however, was a tight and tense little psychological drama between the USA and the USSR known as The Cuban Missile Crisis, which, without the successful maneuvering of the Kennedys, might have left the world in a state of nuclear disaster.

I guess his potential greatness will never be known which is what happens when someone takes you out before your time. But I think when all is said and done, his star will ultimately shine as one of the brightest.  

I remember and I am grateful to have learned my political abc's under your leadership. You never blamed others for your mistakes -- you took your lumps with calm and grace. You spoke decisively but with care for the feelings of your listeners, with admiration for those in the Press who covered you, with respect for those who opposed you and with dignity that matched the office you once held. 

You made us dream.

I miss you, JFK.

"Being President doesn't change who you are, it reveals who you are." Michelle Obama

This is the President of my country: 

Someone who has led a life that began with power and money, who has learned he can buy his way to anything; someone who is lazy and lacks intellectual curiosity; someone with no sense of history, who has an untrained mind and who either cannot or will not read crucial briefings but instead must be mollified on a daily basis with adulation. 

Someone who (research reveals) has a history of corruption and money laundering with foreign partners, who admires autocratic and dictatorial regimes, who supports white supremacy and neo-nazism. This man has no respect for our system of "checks and balances," for the Press or for established norms of decency.  This man thinks he is king!  

This man who has become president of our country is embarrassing us in the eyes of the world with every stupid tweet and every garbled and inarticulate utterance. 

This is someone who moves within his world of privilege without contributing anything to it. He is a taker but he gives nothing back.  

This is a man who is unfit, both morally and intellectually. 

He should be removed from office!  

Speaker Ryan, are you listening? 

When Will These Two Men Act?

 Senator McConnell and Speaker Ryan.
You are there to represent US.  When will you begin to do that?