The Abridged, The Shortened, the Condensed, Part 1

A few decades back, Reader's Digest decided to put out large volumes of condensed works, where they whittled down novels to their barest minimum so that people could still read the classics without having to sit down for hours (days, months) at a time. But how do condensed/shortened/abridged versions compare with the original?

Your job right now is to read a condensed version of a book that you have never read before, but whose full, unabridged, and complete copy is within reach. The objective of this exercise is to get you to see the difference between the condensed and full version of a book, not just in how the story flows, but what apparently editors hold in higher regard. Do editors go for character development but not the actual plot, or do they go for plots and then leave you to find out the characters' lives and motivations?

Your job is to read the condensed version of the book, and, as you are reading, write your thoughts down. In particular, write how the book makes you feel, how it strikes you, and what you are looking for. What are the questions left unanswered? Which characters do you want to see more of? What assumptions should you be making about the characters or the plot? In other words: speculate.

When you are done reading and taking notes, do not write a full review yet. Keep your notes and wait for the next exercise on book reviews. Good luck and happy reading (and speculating)!

This Blog's Disclosure Policy

This policy is valid from 29 October 2009

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content.

The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

To get your own policy, go to http://www.disclosurepolicy.org

Now, for that Horror Movie You Don't Even Want to See...

Not everyone likes horror movies - and even if some people do, there are just horror movies that they avoid like the swine flu. Slasher flicks, zombie movies, vampire tales, and all sorts of creatures go bump into the cinematic night. Are you brave enough to get past your fears (or unwillingness) and watch a horror flick?

Your job is to widen your repertoire to include even films that you may be horrified or resistant to watching. This time, you need to watch a horror movie and tell your audience what you think of it, ABOVE AND BEYOND THE FRIGHT AND GORE. How was the acting? How was the plot? What did you like about the movie? What did you dislike?

This exercise should help you appreciate even the strangest types of art, and to see the redeeming points even in art that is seemingly created for the sake of awakening our basest fears. Remember, if you can awake fear - among other emotions - in your readers, you are a better writer than most. Explore how such a phenomenon can be brought about by other art forms, and you could also enrich your own writing.

Good luck, happy watching, and happy reviewing!

(And don't forget to keep your lights on!)

Is There Really, Truly One Story?

http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.html

It's time to listen to a writer, and to dig, deep into your soul, to see if you believe in a single story - or your own story to tell. Watch as Chimamanda Adichie talks about opening your heart and allowing your soul to take flight through your writing.

A Good Tool for Writers: The E-Book Search Engine

A lot of good writers are also good readers: they expose themselves to authors of varied styles, and they know which books to go to for research or improving their craft. But if you're a writer with a lot of work on your hands, can you still find time to read books?

If you're online a lot, you can still get electronic books, or e-books. However, e-books can be difficult to find online if you don't know where to go. Thankfully, you can search pdf files and books through the E-Book Search queen at http://www.ebook-search-queen.com/.

You can use your precious time to write more and read more, instead of spending hours looking for a download link that works. All you need to have is the book's author, an extract from the book, or simply the book's title.

The good thing about E-Book Search Queen is that it has books from all over the world. If you love reading fiction from a host of different countries, this is your chance to search pdf files for them. And if you haven't read books from a wider variety of cultures and expertise, now is the time to do so!

Reading books can be both enjoyable and educational. With the advent of the information age, reading books can now be as easy as searching, clicking, and downloading.

Happy reading and happy exploring!

Some posts on this blog have been sponsored by third parties. This entry is one such post. For more information, you can visit this blog's disclosure page.

A Special Halloween Triad

Your job is to make a short story out of three elements of Halloween. You should have only 1 (ONE) character. The choice of setting is yours, the plot is entirely your own, and you have only 1,000 words at your disposal.

You also need to incorporate these three things into your story:

1. a pint of blood in a really big mug
2. a tombstone with nothing written on it
3. a white sheet

Whwn you are done, post your story in the Comments section, or provide a link to it so that other readers can look at your work.

Happy Writing, and good luck with your story!

A Halloween Unblocker

Unblockers help you clear your head and get you past writer's block. They can also make you aware of things about yourself, and they can uncover a lot about what you believe in, what you know, and what you value.

Here's an unblocker that will help you dig out a few things. Start your work with the following sentence, and keep on writing, non-stop, for the next 15 minutes.

I am most afraid of....

Your goal is to simply write without checking your grammar, without editing your work, and without caring for syntax or sense. Just write and clear your mind. When you are done, relax! You've just written something that you should be proud of - something that you don't need to keep, but something that might allow you to write something else without worrying if you can get past writer's block.

Good luck and happy writing!