Author Archives: Steve Hooley

About Steve Hooley

Steve Hooley is the author of seven short stories published in four anthologies, a Vella serial fiction, and is currently working on the Mad River Magic series – a fantasy adventure series for advanced middle-grade to adults. More details available at: https://stevehooleywriter.com/mad-river-magic/

Reader/Writer Friday: Your Holiday Shopping List

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Are You On Your Holiday Shopping List?

The holiday shopping season has arrived. Black Friday has passed and we are being inundated with offers of “special” prices. You are probably making your lists and preparing yourself for the shopper’s journey, fighting the crowds in person. Or, maybe you plan to take the arm chair version of the ordeal, shopping online.

Either way, I have a question for you. Do you have yourself on your list?

What if Santa told you he had a whole new division of elves eager to be creative and invent new tools or services for you? Have your ever thought of something you would like to receive as a gift that would make your writing easier, faster, better, more enjoyable? For any of the following:

  • Planning
  • Outlining
  • Writing
  • Editing
  • Publishing
  • Marketing

Since anything is possible in this exercise, and there is no cost to you, how creative can you get? What can you invent? An AI based marketing program that does everything for you? A desktop Gutenberg self-publishing machine that allows you to put in the various papers, cardboard, and formatted Vellum/Atticus/D2D file, and out pops your paperback or hardcover?

Or maybe you have an idea for something that is not new, but is a new situation, like an editing/marketing company that locates beside your house and will provide free services to you in exchange for putting a large sign in your front yard.

You get the idea, we are brainstorming, and the sky is the limit.

Grab your coffee, put on your thinking hat, and invent something new for your writing. Pretend that it is Santa’s “Design Your Own Gift Week.”

Reader Friday: Phrasal Verbs, When an Adverb Is Not an Adverb

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JLO two cylinder, two stroke engine

Phrase verb

Phrasal verb

Preposition verb

This information was never discussed in my high school English class, or else I was sleeping that day. With our great disdain for adverbs, I find this subject particularly appealing, like discussing a forbidden topic. So, let’s dive in.

What is a phrase verb? According to Merriam-Webster, “a phrase (such as take off or look down on) that combines a verb with a preposition or adverb or both and that functions as a verb whose meaning is different from the combined meanings of the individual words.”

What is a preposition verb? A phrase verb that combines a verb with a preposition, like call on.

What is a phrasal verb? A phrase verb that combines a verb with an adverb, like call up.

Phrase verbs vs. phrasal verbs vs. preposition verbs?

Constance Hale, in her book, Vex, Hex, Smash, Smooch, Let Verbs Power Your Writing, discusses this topic in Chapter 11, “Two-Stroke Engines.”

She uses the term “phrasal verb” instead of “phrase verb,” and states that “phrasal verb” can be used to include both adverbs and prepositions. And further, distinguishing between them becomes splitting hairs. So, let’s use “phrasal verb” and include both adverbs and prepositions.

The History

The first phrasal verb recorded, 1154, was to give up. This verb form multiplied greatly in Late Middle English, and in 1755 Samuel Johnson described them in his 1755 dictionary as a “wildly irregular” form. But, it wasn’t until the mid-1920s that Logan Pearsall Smith gave them a name – Phrasal Verbs. And, as an example of how they have exploded in recent history with new creations and word combinations and new uses, in 2012 the verb set (with all its combinations) took up more space in the Oxford English Dictionary than any other word with 60,000 words.

When you start looking, you will find them everywhere, and you’ll be asking, “Is that an adverb or a phrasal verb?”

Here’s a link to an extensive list of phrasal verbs:

https://www.gingersoftware.com/content/grammar-rules/verbs/list-of-phrasal-verbs

Tell us what you think about this “wildly irregular” form.

Fire up your fingers and give a shout out to your favorite mash ups. Or, if you despise these little fast-breeding beasties, lay out your rationale for why we should put our fist down and kick them out of the English lexicon. And let us know in a year how that works out.

Other discussion questions for phrasal verbs:

  • What are some of your favorites?
  • What are some that you detest?
  • What are some that seem to be unique to your region?
  • And, finally, are there any that you would like to invent?

Reader – Writer – Friday, The Sacrifice Fly

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Allow me to use a sports analogy for today’s post. And, if you suffered through watching football games all day yesterday, let me apologize and reassure you that today’s analogy is from baseball.

A sacrifice fly occurs when a batter hits a fly-ball to the outfield or foul territory that allows a runner to score. If the ball is caught by the outfielder, the batter is out, but he has sacrificed his opportunity for a hit (and his batting average) in exchange for the greater good of his team scoring a run.

Now to the writing side of the analogy: If you travel to a relative’s house for a holiday, or have family or friends for an extended stay at your house, it may be difficult to disappear for an hour or two to get in some daily writing. If grandkids are involved, you may need to coral the wild mustangs to prevent chaos and property damage, and that may require constant supervision. That’s the sacrifice.

Now, the greater good: Maybe you’ve discovered some ways to advance your writing, even if you can’t physically write. Has cousin Clifford given you an idea for a new character? Has Uncle Harold inspired a new villain? Has the travel (if you traveled) inspired a new setting? Has a particular dinner dish given you an idea for how to poison a character? You get the idea. These new ideas to advance your writing are the greater good.

So, the questions:

  • What ways have you devised for advancing your writing when you can’t write?
  • What ideas come to mind now for hitting a sacrifice fly for your writing?
  • How do you record your ideas until you are back in your writing space?

Thanksgiving Appetizers

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Thanksgiving is next week. I thought about saving this topic until next Friday, but then a more appropriate topic would have been Post-Turkey Tryptophan Stupor.

Canada celebrates Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October (10-9-23). So, if you are Canadian, you can title this post “Thanksgiving After-Dinner Toasts.”

Our family celebrates Thanksgiving by gathering in a big circle to ask the blessing on the meal. Before the prayer, we go around the circle and each person tells something s/he is thankful for.

So, today, in this time of tumult, chaos, and conflict, I thought it would be a good idea to gather the Kill Zone family in a big cyber circle and ask each of us to:

  1. Reflect on something good in our reading/writing/publishing/marketing life. If you see fit, please share it with the rest of us so we can celebrate with you.
  2. Or, if you prefer to share a recipe for your favorite Thanksgiving appetizer, that would be great, too.

May your Thanksgiving be filled with family, gratitude, and joy!

Reader Friday: Daylight Savings Time – Love It or Leave It?

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Daylight Savings Time – Keep it or Discard it?

On Sunday, 11-5-23, daylight savings time ended in 48 states, and we returned to our regular standard time. Two states, Arizona and Hawaii, do not observe daylight savings time.

Benjamin Franklin advocated the idea in 1784. It was formally adopted during WWI in an attempt to conserve energy. There is controversy as to whether it does. And some experts believe that extending the use of daylight hours at the end of the day may actually increase the use of heating or air conditioning, thus increasing the use of electrical energy.

There are those who advocate for keeping daylight savings time in use continuously. There are those who would leave the system the way it is. And there are some who would discard daylight savings time altogether.

Besides the confusion of changing times, there are concerns for the health effects of changing back and forth.

 Many articles proclaim the adverse effects of daylight savings time. Here’s a link to an article from Johns Hopkins from March of this year.

And here are two paragraphs from the article:

LESS SLEEP MEANS MORE HEALTH RISKS.

“Moving the clocks forward in the spring results in going to sleep and waking up before our internal clocks are ready for us to. This misalignment lasts for the duration of DST,” Spira says, “and can reduce the amount of sleep we’re able to get, to the detriment of our health.”

“The consequences of insufficient sleep include decreases in cardiovascular health, increases in diabetes and obesity, poorer mental health, lower cognitive performance, and an increase in the risk of motor vehicle accidents,” he says.

So, today’s questions:

  • Does changing back and forth to daylight savings time affect your reading or writing habits, ability to focus and concentrate, or your mental well-being?
  • Are you in favor of leaving the system the way it is or staying on either standard time or daylight savings time continuously?

Reader Friday: Creative Punishment for Scammers

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Is someone trying to get into your computer or phone?

On Thursday, October 26th, Debbie Burke discussed text scams. Here’s the link to Debbie’s post. If you missed it, consider reading it now for the sake of your elderly loved ones.

I had already thought about using a tangent to this topic, appropriate punishment (or better, creative punishment), for today’s discussion. I almost axed the idea, but then I noticed how passionate some of you were with creative ideas for torture punishment for scammers. I decided that more of you may need to vent. So, here’s your chance.

I hope you’ll put on your unexpected-plot-twists writer’s hat, feel the emotion, and let it explode onto the page. Let it rip. Don’t hold back. We’re eager to see your creativity in dealing with the villain. And you’ll feel better if you do.

What creative punishment would you suggest for text scammers?

Reader Friday: Tools for the Quest

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Chris’s hands gripped mine tightly. “Promise me you’ll go.”

We sat in his tiny shack. He had “returned from the dead” after being missing for eighty days, gaunt, thinning white hair, and a scraggly beard. And no explanation. I barely recognized him, although we had seen each other weekly before his mysterious departure.

He handed me a dog-eared, well-used paperback. I struggled to make out the title. Exodus. I looked up and he riveted me with those blazing blue eyes, those eyes so fierce they could burn a hole in a retina.

Chris had given me a copy of his book, The Mythical Quest, before he left. Why this?

He pulled a carefully folded cardboard sheet from an inner pocket and handed it to me. “This is the code.” He pointed at the tattered book of Exodus. “You’ll need both.”

I shook my head. “Why?”

“Help me back into bed.”

I tried to ask again. He shook his head and pointed at the bed.

Before he closed his eyes, he pulled a bag from his pants pocket and handed it to me. It was so hot I nearly dropped it. I tipped the bag, and a huge, glowing, uncut stone rolled into my hand. I had to look away. The color was so bright. And it was unlike anything I had seen in the light spectrum of this planet.

I set the stone on the table and helped Chris to his cot. He never opened his eyes again. His lips curled into a smile. He stopped breathing.

Okay, we’re past the opening disturbance and heading for the first plot point, the doorway of no return. We’ve studied the code and the tattered copy of Exodus. We can’t get there by plane, train, or automobile. We must hike.

What tools and supplies should we take on our journey?

Fill in any details (including why we must go), and tell us what items you will include in your backpack?

Your Own Literary Agency

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Life-Seasoned Open Arms Literary Agency

My subscription to a writer’s magazine had expired, and I was flipping through the latest issue to decide if I wanted to renew. The annual agent review was in that issue. Even though I’ve decided to indie publish, I read through the agents to see how many of them might be willing to consider me.

Zero. Nada. Not a single agent listed criteria which would include me (or didn’t exclude me.) So, I decided to “create” my own agency. And today I invite you to do the same. Some of you have agents that are excellent, and I am not asking you to criticize or poke fun at your agent or agency. I’m simply giving you the opportunity to create your own brand-new agency, set the criteria, and have some fun. Here’s mine:

 

S.P. Holly Life-Seasoned Open Arms Literary Agency

Agent: S.P. Holly

Interested in: Stories by writers who have a life seasoned with a wide variety of experiences, and whose stories grab our eyeballs and steal our hearts, not letting go until the last page is turned.

Does not want: Not interested in your gender identity or sexual preference, age, or heredity and ethnicity. And please don’t list your pronouns.

Inclusivity: Everyone is welcome to submit.

Submission guidelines: Send us a great story.

 

Okay, your turn. If you wish to play creator, please establish your own agency, give it a name, and tell us what you do and don’t want.

Who knows, you might get submissions from some of us here at TKZ.

Reader Friday: Best Conditioning Programs for Characters

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Labor Day is past. Schools are in session. And with that, high school and collegiate athletic programs are in full swing. Football players gather on their field for conditioning and to practice their plays. Cross country runners pound the sidewalks of our cities and villages. Soccer and Field Hockey athletes work at conditioning and improving their skills.

But, what about our characters in our books? We are warned about two-dimensional “cardboard” characters, and are instructed to fill them out with backstory and motivation. Do we also provide them with a conditioning program to make them buff and tough and ready to take on the nasty plot twists and turns we will throw at them?

What conditioning and skill program do you enroll your characters in, so they can take on Goliath and eke out a victory?

Or

What is the best conditioning program you have seen a writer employ to prepare their character for battle with the protagonist?