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COMBING VIRTUAL REALITY AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

9/29/2017

My first Science Fiction novel is about a romance author who has trouble maintaining relationships with men and a physicist, physically trapped in a futuristic video game. They must work together to win but, in the game, they are leaders on opposite sides of a war. The artificial intelligence unit controlling the game has different goals.

Since the scientist is doing research for NASA with advanced Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence technologies, I had to find out about both these scientific topics. Since I wrote this a couple of years ago, it's probably out of date by now. And the book is no longer available, but I'm working to fix that..

WHAT IS VIRTUAL REALITY?
The Virtual Reality Society defines it this way.

”The definition of virtual reality comes, naturally, from the definitions for both ‘virtual’ and ‘reality’. The definition of ‘virtual’ is near and reality is what we experience as human beings. So the term ‘virtual reality’ basically means ‘near-reality’. This could, of course, mean anything but it usually refers to a specific type of reality emulation."

We know the world, and our reality, through our senses and perception systems. In school we learned that we have five senses -- taste, touch, smell, sight and hearing -- but those are only our most obvious sense organs. The truth is, humans have many more senses than five, such as a sense of balance. These other sensory inputs, plus some special processing of sensory information by our brains, ensures that we have a rich flow of information from the environment to our minds.

Our entire experience of reality is simply a combination of sensory information and our brains sense-making mechanisms for that information. It stands to reason then, that if you can present your senses with made-up information, your perception of reality would also change in response to it. You would be presented with a version of reality that isn’t really there, but from your perspective it would be perceived as real. Something we would refer to as a virtual reality.

In summary, virtual reality entails presenting our senses with a computer generated virtual environment that we can explore in some fashion.

In technical terms "virtual reality” is straight-forward (Ha, ha, ha!.) and is the term used to describe a three-dimensional, computer generated environment which can be explored and interacted with by a person. That person becomes part of this virtual world or is immersed within this environment and, while there, is able to manipulate objects or perform a series of actions. In the last decade plus, our society has become familiar with the idea of virtual reality and getting "into" very complex, interactive video games which are very popular (to the tune of $60.4 billion dollars worldwide in 2009).

The beginnings of the concept date back to 1947 with the Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device, the earliest known interactive electronic game. The term Virtual Reality was coined by Myron Krueger and has been in use since the 1970's, although it has been traced back to the French playwright Antonin Artaud in his book The Theater and Its Double (1938).

In the 21st century, there are many other applications of virtual reality in the fields of computer science, medicine, architecture, engineering, geology, oil exploration, business, military, entertainment, and the list goes on and on.

Parachute training Airplane trainer cockpit Medical simulator at Duke Teleconferencing

Auto Design Architectural Design

Virtual reality consists of a computer-generated, multi-dimensional environment that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds, and interface tools that allow human users to: 1) immerse themselves in the environment, 2) navigate within the environment, and 3) interact with objects and other inhabitants in the environment.

While virtual reality is a highly visual computer-generated, multi-dimensional environment experience, there are simulations which include sound, motion, vibration, tactile information, and other special effects to convey the sense of reality. In the book The Metaphysics of Virtual Reality by Michael R. Heim, seven different concepts of virtual reality are identified:1) Simulation, 2) Interaction, 3) Artificiality, 4) Immersion, 5) Telepresence, 6) Full-body immersion, and 6) Network communications.

Telexistence is the name for the general technology that makes it possible for a human being to experience a real-time sensation of being at a place other than where he/she actually exists physically, and being able to interact with the remote environment, which may be real, virtual, or a combination of both. It's just like being there.

So my human characters in All In The Game exist in a simulated world. No, really. They are physically there.

WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE?
Artificial Intelligence ( or AI) isn't an idea generated by today's technology. The seeds of modern AI were planted by classical philosophers who attempted to describe the process of human thinking as the mechanical manipulation of symbols. This culminated in the invention of the programmable digital computer in the 1940s. This ultimately resulted in scientists seriously considering the possibility of a mechanical brain.

One dictionary defined Artificial Intelligence as "The ability of a computer or other machine to perform those activities that are normally thought to require intelligence. The branch of computer science concerned with the development of machines having this ability."

The Encyclopedia of Science and Religion defines Artificial Intelligence as "the field within computer science that seeks to explain and to emulate, through mechanical or computational processes, some or all aspects of human intelligence. Included among these aspects are the ability to interact with the environment through sensory means and the ability to make decisions in unforeseen circumstances without human intervention.

Typical areas of research in AI include game playing, natural language understanding and synthesis, computer vision, problem solving, learning and robotics. There is no agreed upon definition of artificial intelligence, primarily because there is little agreement as to what constitutes intelligence."

Tom Simonite, in a 2014 article in Technologyreview.com states that "Work in deep learning often focuses on images, which are easy for humans to understand but very difficult for software to decipher. Researchers at Facebook used that approach to make a system that can tell almost as well as a human whether two different photos depict the same person. Google showed off a system that can describe scenes using short sentences."

Humans have been interested in the process of thought for a long time, and the concept of artificial intelligence is based on the assumption that the process of human thought can be mechanized.The ancient Chinese, Indian, and Greek philosophers developed methods of formal deductive reasoning in the first millennium BC, and those methods were expanded further by Aristotle, Euclid, and others. The intellectual roots of AI and the concept of intelligent machines is found in Greek mythology.

While intelligent mechanical machine and robots have found their way into writing since the 13th century, it wasn't until after WWII, when modern computers became available, that it's been possible to design programs and build machine that perform difficult intellectual tasks.

Varying kinds and degrees of intelligence occur in people, many animals and some machines. There isn't a solid definition of intelligence that doesn’t depend on relating it to human intelligence because humans "cannot yet characterize in general what kinds of computational procedures we want to call intelligent. We understand some of the mechanisms of intelligence and not others."

Intelligence involves mechanisms, and AI research has discovered how to make computers carry out some of them and not others.

All of us have seen and heard about complicated robots machines that build cars, harvest crops, and so on. Or the uses of Artificial Intelligence in the space program, such as the Mars Rover.

WHAT IS NANOTECHNOLOGY?
Oh, no! There's more? Yes, but just a few words.

Nanotechnology is the science and technology of building electronic circuits and machine from single atoms and molecules. Tiny machines! And when I say tiny, try to imagine that a nanometer is one billionth of a meter, roughly the width of three or four atoms. The average human hair is about 25,000 nanometers wide.

A great deal of research is focused on the medical fields, such as the use of manufactured nano-robots to make repairs at the cellular level. Targeted heat therapy is being developed to destroy breast cancer tumors, as is Nanofibers that can stimulate the production of cartilage in damaged joints.

However, the technology is regarded now as a potential silver bullet for an array of global security challenges, concerns are also being raised as to what might happen should such technologies fall into the wrong hands.

Now, imagine what would happen if we combine artificial intelligence and nanotechnology.

Stop! You're scaring me!
□

Resources
Unfortunately, when I wrote the first version of this article, I didn't keep a list of the references. I have listed those I used to update the blog.

http://www.nanotech-now.com/current-uses.htm
http://www.crnano.org/overview.htm
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/533686/2014-in-computing-breakthroughs-in-artificial-intelligence/
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/513696/deep-learning/
http://www.2020research.com/virtual-reality/
http://news.stanford.edu/news/2011/april/virtual-reality-trees-040811.html
http://vhil.stanford.edu/
https://www.vrs.org.uk/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_artificial_intelligence
https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insight-artificial-intelligence-software
https://www.pega.com/ai-survey?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=900.Global-English.Active-Awareness&utm_term=artificial%20intelligence&gloc=9031315&utm_content=pcrid|192136514350|pkw|artificial%20intelligence|pmt|p|pdv|c|theme|rce&gclid=CMixv9

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ELEPHANT WALK

9/22/2017

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Today, September 22, is Elephant Appreciation Day. I thought it fitting to post this blog about the elephant rescue and rehabilitation projects in Africa.

ELEPHANT FACTS
Elephants, the noblest of pachyderms, are the largest land mammal on earth today. We've all seen them in zoos and perhaps at the circus, but up close and personal, they are really big. The drawing shows the comparison between an elephant and a six foot man.

Their average life span in the wild is 70 years. Their height at the shoulder is from 8 to 13 feet, and they can weight from 2.5 to 7 tons. They are slightly larger than their Asian cousins and can be identified by the larger ears. Asian elephants have smaller, rounded ears.

Elephant ears radiate heat to help keep these large animals cool, but sometimes the African heat is too much. Elephants are fond of water and enjoy showering by sucking water into their trunks and spraying it all over themselves. Afterwards, they often spray their skin with a protective coating of dust. An elephant's trunk is actually a long nose used for smelling, breathing, trumpeting, drinking, and also for grabbing things—especially a potential meal. The trunk alone contains about 100,000 different muscles.

While I was traveling in southern Africa in 2008, this mother and baby appeared out of nowhere on the road we were traveling. I'm usually not very good at taking photos, but this one came out.

Elephants are social animals and travel in herds of 6 to 12 (but can expand to 20). The family consists of the matriarchal head, her daughters, and their calves. The females will assist each other with the birth and care of their young. As the young males mature, they leave the family. They become members of an all-male pod or create their own pod. Either way, Bulls live and travel separately from the females and immature children.

AN ELEPHANT RIDE
In 2008, I visited Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa, and Namibia. There, we not only observed and photographed elephants in the wild ... but we rode them.

The photo on the left is me with my critique partner Shirley and Donald (the keeper), riding Tatu. In such close quarters Donald smelled like elephant.

In the second photo below, this couple attempts to mount on the elephants back the hazardous way. When the elephant stood, the passengers tipped back and nearly fell off. The rest of us made the smart choice and climbed steps to a wooden platform more or less level with the elephant's back. Still, the animals are so big that it wasn't easy getting into the saddle.

Donald, Shirley and Ann (me) The Livengoods On the trail Donald and Ann with Tatu

The elephants we rode are part of a program which rescues injured and "homeless" elephants. Usually, these are babies who have lost their mothers or sick elephants left behind by the herd. After they are brought back to health, and when they are old enough, some of them provide tourists with a half-hour to forty five minute thrill. This helps finance the rescue program. In the photo below, this elephant's foot was damaged in a elephant snare set by poachers.

The older elephants are not released back into the wild even though elephants are social animals and one of the few species that will take outsiders into the herd. However, they accept the outsiders on a trial basis, and if the visitor misbehaves, it may be thrown out. Donald told us he had taken care of Tatu for fifteen years.

WHY DO ELEPHANTS NEED RESCUING?
The African elephant is endangered due to poaching (for ivory) and loss of range through deforestation. In the early 1900s, there were about 10 million elephants in Africa. By 1970 there were 1.3 million; by 2007, 470,000 to 690,000. According to the 2016 census, there are only an estimated 352,000.

Botswana provides a last strongholds for savannah elephants. Botswana, Zimbabwe, and South Africa houses 60 percent of the elephants tallied in the Great Elephant Census.

The final report on the census, completed in 2016, made the following findings:

Savannah elephant populations declined by 30 percent (equal to 144,000 elephants) between 2007 and 2014.
The current rate of decline is approximately 8 percent per year, primarily due to poaching. The rate of decline has accelerated from 2007 to 2014.
352,271 elephants were counted in the 18 countries surveyed. This figure represents at least 93 percent of savanna elephants in these countries.
Eighty-four percent of the population surveyed was sighted in legally protected areas while 16 percent were in unprotected areas. However, high numbers of elephant carcasses were discovered in many protected areas, indicating that elephants are struggling both inside and outside parks.

THE ELEPHANT ORPHAN PROJECT
Elephant Orphanages exist in several locations in Africa, but the most significant is in Kenya. It exists within the Nairobi National Park under the auspices of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, and is overseen by Dr. Daphne Sheldrick who has a life-time of experience with elephants. The Trust works in partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Service and offers hope for any orphaned elephant fortunate enough to be found alive.

As with most mammals, the baby elephant's world is its mother, then the extended family. Elephants are particularly vulnerable to psychological despair if they lose their natural families. Even bulls, who separate once mature, never forget their female family.

In the orphanages, the orphaned elephants need a replacement human family i.e. enough keepers to represent a “family”. The orphan needs physical and mental care to grow up psychologically stable. If they are psychologically unstable and neurotic, they will not be welcomed into the wild herds and risk rejection. (Photos below are from the Elephant Orphan Project)

The keepers are with the young elephants 24 hours a day, traveling with them as a group during the day, sleeping with them at night. Babies need contact at all times. Keepers rotate so that a different keeper sleeps with a different elephant each night, to avoid strong attachments to just one person.

It took Daphne Sheldrick nearly three decades of trial and error to perfect the milk formula and complex husbandry necessary to rear an orphaned infant African elephant. Today, with support from many caring people world-wide, the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is proud to have saved over 150 orphaned infant calves, which would otherwise have perished.

More importantly, every one of these orphans can look forward to a quality of life in wild terms, living free in Tsavo East National Park protected by their new extended orphaned family and friends among the wild herds.

Notes:
● Pachyderms are any of various nonruminant mammals (such as elephants, rhinoceroses, or hippopotamus) of a former group (Pachydermata) that have hooves or nails resembling hooves and usually thick skin.

● Elephant Walk is also the name of a 1954 Paramount action/ adventure/ romance film directed by William Dieterle and written by Liam O'Brien and John Lee Mahin.

Resources
http://vicfallswildlifetrust.org/VFWT%20Website/Wildlife%20Rescue.html
https://www.safarious.com/en/posts/4555-elephant-rescue-at-camp-hwange
http://www.rescue.org/program/programs-zimbabwe
http://www.amanzitravel.co.uk/rhino-and-elephant-sanctuary
http://www.afrizim.com/Activities/Victoria_Falls/Elephant_Rides.asp
http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/asp/fostering.asp
http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/html/raiseorphan.htm
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/a/african-elephant/
http://www.elephantsforever.co.za/family-structure.html
http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/31/africa/great-elephant-census/index.html
http://www.greatelephantcensus.com/

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YOU NAMED ME WHAT?

9/15/2017

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WHICH FICTIONAL CHARACTERS STAND OUT IN YOUR MEMORY?
Think about it! There will be certain ones from movies, TV, books, video games and so on that always come to mind. Now, think about the names of these characters. Is the name part of the reason why you remember the character? Does the name fit the personality of the character? Would Scarlet O'Hara be as memorable if her name had been Judy Smith? [My apologies to all the Judy Smiths out there. It’s a perfectly fine name.]

CHARACTER NAMES DO MATTER
There is a plethora of advice available on naming fictional characters, and all agree that choosing names is an important part of structuring a novel. The name is an important part of the fictional person's personality just as your name is part of who you are.

Character names do matter, and bestowing them can be as stressful as naming your baby. In fact, in a way you are naming your baby. You are breathing life into your character and creating a new being.

Some perfectly good names can be poor choices for your novel, or they may be fine but not as fitting as they could be. The author really doesn't know all the ins- and-outs until the character starts to speak, take actions, and make decisions during the course of the first several chapters.

WHERE TO GET IDEAS FOR NAMES
Be observant, listen, and write ideas down. Inspiration for names is all around us. I keep a list of interesting names I've run across. Eventually, a character and circumstance will show up that is appropriate for the name.

Author Dan Schmidt suggests starting with people you know either because of their interesting names and/or characteristics. Get a map and look at names of towns, cities, rivers, streets, and so on. I love the name of a town in Arkansas: Smackover.

He also suggests authors pay attention to movie credits and products. When he wrote "Playa Perdida" he named one of the characters Charlotte Pipe after a length of PVC tubing he saw in a lumberyard in North Carolina. His approach is to write first names and last names on separate index cards, so later you want match them up for a specific fictional character.

RULES OF THUMB FOR CHOOSING CHARACTER NAMES
Most of the many articles and books I reviewed give "Rules of Thumb" for naming characters which are substantially the same. Do's and Don’ts are essentially two sides of the same coin; it all depends on how you word the sentence, and there are a lot of considerations. I've limited them to those I feel are most important.

THUMBS UP DO'S

● Keep names short and pronounceable, even in Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Historicals
Avoid character and place names that are awkward to read or pronounce. Even if readers don't say the names aloud, they still pronounce them in their heads. Some awkward names cannot be avoided because you're using them in historical context, and scenes set in one-of-a-kind locations that are vital to the story but happen to have clunky names. Give them nicknames or shortened versions.

● Think about your character's physical appearance, ethnicity, personality, profession, interests, social status, and backstory.
Names should suit the character. Unlike parents naming a new baby, authors have the advantage of making the character's features and personality whatever they want to fit the story.

● Make the name appropriate for the year and location when named.
Take into account the names used at the time in history this character was named by the parents in the context of the location and social station. Take into account the character's ethnicity and national origin.

● Speak the name aloud

● Give siblings the same style of names.
An example would be all biblical names. Another, all begin with the same letter.

● Names should suit the character
If the character is to be quite strong-willed and stubborn, strong sounds like "k" and "p" will pick up well here. On the other hand, if your character is pretty and a bit shy, soft sounds like "f" and "s" work much better.

● Determine if name is in the correct language
This is a pitfall if you have characters with foreign names. If your character is Chinese, be sure you're using a Chinese name, not Japanese. And be sure you spell it correctly.

Chinese Japanese Korean
Also, different languages put the given name (first name) and surname (last name) differently, and have different name parts. Russian names are complicated and express family relationships. Look it up if you don't know for sure.

THUMBS DOWN "WATCH-OUT-FORS"
In my opinion, there are no specific Don’ts. In fiction you will see everything in print and many of them would be characterized as "Don't" or "Never Use". Anything goes if it works. Therefore, I characterize these rules of thumb as "Watch-Out-Fors."

● Watch out for a character with many names.
Because the author knows the characters, he can read the manuscript many times without seeing any problem with multiple names. In reality, we often use different names under different circumstances, or different people refer to the same person by another name or nickname.

In real life, a person named Manfred Carlyle McDonald, who is a lieutenant in the military and is also a medical doctor, could be referred to as Mr. McDonald, Doctor MacDonald, Lieutenant McDonald, McDonald, Manny, Mac, Fred, or all of those.

In fiction, the reader tends to associate the character with the name first used to introduce him/her. When that same character shows up again, sometimes many pages later, and is referred to or addressed by another name, it can be very confusing.

● Watch out for many characters with similar names.
Authors are smart enough to figure out that two characters shouldn't have the same name. The only exception I can think of would be a child named after a parent, but that would have to be necessary for the storyline. A more frequent problem occurs when two or more characters have names that begin with the same letter [Sam and Sydney] or same sound [Craig and Greg]. This is particularly annoying to the reader if the two characters spend a lot of time together in the story.

● Avoid famous names
Unless your novel is the fictionalized version of a real event that involves a famous person, famous names are distracting and focus the reader's attention on the famous character, which pulls him out of the story. Plus, using a real name may have legal consequences. It can work as a plot device, or if the parents had a reason for naming their child after someone famous, but be careful. While Princess Diana may be a perfectly fine name for a character in a fantasy, using it will evoke images of the Princess Diana of our world and distract the reader. A body builder named Arnold? I don't think so.

● Avoid trends, overly strange names, and androgynous names.
Sometimes names are trendy, particularly those of characters in current movies, TV, video games, etc. Those become overused. You want names readers accept and feel comfortable with, even though "cute" spellings exist, particularly today. Watch out for names that could be either gender, unless there is a specific reason which is explained near the beginning of the novel.

● Watch out for the man or woman with no name
Not every character needs a name. Giving a name to a secondary character or "walk on" usually implies that this person will show up again in the novel. However, the main character's wife cannot be repeatedly referred to as "his wife" nor can an important character be referred to only as "the man." There might be some exceptions in the mystery genre where the author doesn't want the readers to know who the "bad guy" is.

Science Fiction and Fantasy
Some potential problems with names in SciFi and fantasy don't occur as often in other genres. When writers have more freedom to create character

names, they also have more potential for making mistakes. The biggest Watch-Out-For is long and/or unpronounceable names. The other trend in Sci Fi and Fantasy that annoys readers is the use of t'oo m'any ap'ostrph'es. [Author Ann Marble calls these "The Ap'ostrph'e of D'oom."]

NAMES CAN BE CHANGED
Computers make changing a character's name somewhat easy, but once an author starts using a name, it's often hard to get rid of it. If the name doesn't work, or has some unforeseen connotation you don't want, ditch it. You are not really killing your children.

The caution I would add is to use "find and replace" for all references, including nicknames. Remember our guy, Manfred Carlyle McDonald, who might be referred to as Mr. McDonald, Doctor MacDonald, Lieutenant McDonald, McDonald, Manny, Mac, or Fred. You have to catch all of the variations. Don't be afraid to change the name if it is not right, just be careful when you do it.

Resources
http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/the-7-rules-of-picking-names-for-fictional-characters
http://onceuponaword1.blogspot.com/
http://thewritepractice.com/8-tips-for-naming-characters/
http://www.wikihow.com/Name-Your-Fictional-Character
http://www.obsidianbookshelf.com/html/fantasycharacternames.html
ttp://www.theweeklings.com/golear/2013/10/08/the-50-greatest-literary-character-names-of-all-time/
http://www.writing-world.com/romance/names.shtml
http://www.writing-world.com/romance/lindo.shtml
http://www.writing-world.com/sf/crafting28.shtml
http://www.writing-world.com/fiction/namegame.shtml
http://www.namenerds.com/uucn/listofweek/nobility.html
http://characternames.com/
http://www.babynames.com/lists/character-names.php
http://www.be-a-better-writer.com/character-name-generator.html
http://www.whoisjaylamm.com/2015/06/11/stop-naming-your-kids-after-fictional-characters/
http://www.writersdigestshop.com/the-writers-idea-thesaurus-group?utm_source=writersdigestshop.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=wd-bak-fb-150827-ideathesaurus

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Writing A Book Blurb

9/8/2017

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Lately, there's been a lot of attention given on blogs and writer's loops to cover scribing; that is, writing a blurb for your novel's back cover. Maybe all the hoopla has something to do with a full moon...
Or...
Maybe, as some authors claim, it's because the cover blurb is one of your book's most important selling factors (along with the cover).

So, here's the deal. You wrote the book -- all umpteen thousand words of it -- you and others edited it; you polished it. You've read it so many times, you know it by heart. How hard can it be to write three or four paragraphs of two to three hundred words describing what it's about?

Answer: P.D.H. Pretty darn hard.

I found several different approaches to writing the all-important blurb. Some authors focus on process, others on content. All focus on the importance and choice of words. And they all overlap to one extent or another. Who knew?

PROCESS
By process I mean the steps you go through to writing the cover copy: where you start and how you approach it.

● Read other blurbs in the same genre
Nothing will give you better insight than to read other book blurbs, particularly in the genre of your novel.

First, go to the bookstore or library (or your own TBR pile) and read the back of books in the same genre as yours. Which books would you like to read? What elements of the blurb interested you and made you want to read it? What clues and buzz words did the copy use to tell you what kind of book it is?

If the book is a comedy, was this obvious in the way the blurb was written? If the book was dark, could you tell? Could using the distinctive voice of the narrator have improved the blurb?

Second, study the blurbs for books you've read and analyze how well the copy writer has condensed the content and hit the major points, as well as answering the other questions above.

● Start by asking yourself
• What's the overarching question/conflict in my book?
• If readers take away just one thing from this book, what do I want it to be?
• What's special about my plot? Why is this book different from any others?

You need to be able to articulate the answers to these questions, not just for the blurb but because they are paramount to your pitches and other promo materials. Besides, if you still don't know after finishing the book, perhaps you should reconsider publishing it.

● Consider using a Shoutline
A shoutline is bolded text at the start of a blurb, or between paragraphs, that grab readers' attention and entice them to read on. Good shoutlines are unique, short, and convey at least one hook to the story. I consider a shoutline equivalent to a tagline. Whether or not you use it in the cover copy, you'll need to write a tagline.

● Use lines from the manuscript
This gives the reader the flavor of the book and the author's voice. Amy Wilkins, copy writer for Harlequin, says she reads the first 15 pages of a book and highlights passages of the manuscript that are suitable for the cover copy. She uses this example from The Hollow House by Janis Patterson.

“I decided to use the name Geraldine Brunton. It’s not the name I was born with, nor the name
I married, but it will hide who I really am…and what I have done.”

Ms. Wilkins indicates that the text is "almost straight from the book, with some tightening. It’s perfect for copy because it sets up so much: the protagonist’s name, the fact that she’s under disguise, and she’s done something in her past she has to run from. It also conveys the voice and the fact that the book is written first person."

● Assess the Plot
You don't want too much plot. Write down the key points the reader needs to know about the book. Be tough with yourself. Don't try to explain the twists and turns. Write a hook that captures the interest of the reader. Check for spoilers. Are you telling the whole plot, including how the conflict or problem is resolved?
No, no, no!

● End with conflict
Write an ending hook. Amy Wilkins also points out that the blurb should leave the reader -- or agent, or acquiring editor -- wanting more. "The last line should leave them dying to read the book to learn how the story ends, and the best way to do this is by beefing up the conflict in your final line." There are few different ways to hook your readers:

▪ End with a question
“What will Adam do when he discovers Florentina’s deception?” – A Scandalous Proposition

▪ Hint at future danger
“When their investigation leads them to a city hall conspiracy, both their lives and their newly reignited flame could be permanently extinguished…” – Risking Trust

Remind them what’s keeping the hero/heroine apart
“But amidst rival reporters, eager fanboys and overzealous role-players, it’s Emma’s secret that may put the brakes on their sizzling attraction for good…” –Defying Convention

Resist the urge to hint at how things will work out—editors and agents will find that out in the synopses and readers will find out by reading the book!"

● Edit, Edit, Edit!
There's nothing worse than cover copy with errors. Your blurb should be clean, short, error free, and screened for spoilers. No matter what, do not give away the resolution. This is not a synopsis. Have others read the blurb and comment; use your critique group or partner, find another pair of eyes.

CONTENT
This is what to include in your three to four paragraphs. Yes, I do mean three to four.

● Hook
Whether or not you choose a shoutline or a few sentences from the opening of the book, the first sentence needs to grab the reader's attention. This is the big idea of the book.

● A hint of the plot
The premise, the initial action, the inciting incident.

● A hint of setting and time
The reader needs to know where and when the story takes place, but remember that your book is about people. Don't emphasize setting over your characters.

● Name and characterize main characters, including the antagonist.

● Goals or what the main character(s) wants
Include the stakes or a ticking time-bomb. Urgency. Show that something can be lost.

● Central conflict and end Hook
Who is keeping the main character from getting what he/she wants? Hint at a question to be answered or a mystery to be solved that draws in the reader. In establishing the conflict, hint at what could happen. Here's where the question or hint of future danger and the stakes comes in. While some authors suggest that the blurb should end with a hint at resolution, it's critical not to give away too much. At all costs, avoid spoilers. Leave the reader wanting more.

I particularly like Marilynn Byerly's article on this subject because she makes differentiations between genres in a way that made sense to me. She addresses romance, romantic suspense, mystery or suspense, science fiction and fantasy.[http://www.marilynnbyerly.com/blurb.html.] Here is what she says about romantic suspense. "If some important point fits one paragraph better than another, don't feel as if you must follow my structure. Put it where it fits."

First paragraph:
Simple plot set up, and main character's emotional involvement with it. What is the exterior conflict of the novel? (What are the hero and heroine fighting against and why?) The examples are from my THE GAME WE PLAY.
     "Schoolteacher Faith Cody thinks she has the perfect summer job as nanny to Nicholas Price's two
     visiting children, but the children are kidnapped, and she and Nick are compelled to join forces to
      steal the ransom documents incriminating vicious criminals."

Second paragraph:
More simple plot set up and hero's or second lead's emotional involvement with it.
    "An investigative journalist trained in the ways of the professional cat burglar, Nick has the skill to
    steal the hidden documents, but their dangerous owner guards the documents well since they
    prevent his death."

Third and Fourth paragraphs:
What is the interior conflict of the novel? (What tears the hero and heroine apart emotionally?) What must both must achieve or defeat and what do they have to lose? This can include plot set up, place set up, the important secondary characters, and the villain.

    "At the secluded estate of their intended victim, on the catwalks above a Las Vegas stage, and in a
    back alley at the mercy of killers, Faith and Nick face danger with a witty quip and a willingness to
    risk anything and anyone, even each other, for the sake of two children they both love.In this game of
    betrayer and betrayed, the kidnappers seem determined to destroy Nick's sanity as well as his life,
    and Faith's life and love may be their ultimate weapon against him."

Here's a different blurb which focuses on my hero. It's more suspense than romantic suspense.
    "The prize: His two kidnapped children
    The rules: Trust no one, betray anyone, win at whatever the cost
    His pawns: His lover and his best friend
    His opponent: The most dangerous catburglar in history
    The game: A game of betrayal, THE GAME WE PLAY".

CHOICE OF WORDS
It's not too difficult to understand why choice of words is important. Each one has to convey information to the reader in a clear and enticing manner. You should use the same techniques as writing a logline or tagline. You're shooting for effect, and it's not an easy task, but here are some hints to make your words count.

● Use words that evoke images and resonate with readers of the genre
It is important to know your audience, the terms and buzz words they use (or abbreviations for people who text a lot), and the images and references they understand. Ideally, that's the way your novel is written too. Imagery is very important. You can set the stage by using a word or two that your audience can envision.

● Use a descriptive adjective to give the main character depth in a word or two
For example, instead of describing the main character as "a detective", use "a cynical fifty-year-old detective" or "a young, enthusiastic detective."

Using "an ex-superhero" tells a lot more than "a superhero." "An alcoholic ex-superhero" conveys even more to the reader.

But don't get carried away with adjectives. You don't want your blurb to sound flowery and overenthusiastic.

● Use hyperbole
This is deliberate and obvious exaggeration or overstatement used for effect, e.g. "I could eat a million of these."

● Use extreme action verbs
Providers of book blurbs like to promote literature with words like "sizzling", "crackling" or "shattering".

● Use bright, compelling language
Since the purpose of a blurb is to promote your novel, write passionately about it. The question your reader will have is "Why should I read this?" Give them a convincing reason to do so.

● Stay away from clichés
Need I say more? Write a thoughtful description without resorting to other people's wording. Avoid schmoozy hype and over-blown descriptors, such as amazing, life-changing, incredible’ etc.

● Use keywords where appropriate
Keywords are words people use with search engines to find things on the Internet. There are certain words which will get better results than others when consumers are looking for offerings like yours.

I can understand using keywords as tags on Amazon and Barnes & Noble (although I don't believe people look for books this way), but I can't see the point in a cover blurb. Still, some authors recommend the use of keywords when they fit, so I'm passing that on.

CONCLUSION
To reiterate, your cover blurb is one of your books most important selling factors and will probably determine whether or not readers select your book over other choices. It is an invitation for readers to step into your book and is worthy of your best thinking, insight, and writing.

An invitation, not a demand.

So, as much as you may dislike doing it, take the time to read other cover blurbs and analyze them. Analyze your own novel with the most critical eye you've ever used. Ask for other opinions and listen to the comments, do your homework, and employ your best writing skills. You'll be pleased with the results.

AFTERWORD
After you've done the research and written the cover blurb for your completed novel, try this. Take a shot at writing the cover blurb for the novel you are working on. It will force you to focus on the big idea and the key points for the novel you intend to write. Every now and then, update it without making it longer. You'll be surprised how useful this will be for keeping yourself on track, and when you finish, your blurb will already be written.

Please share your thoughts and, also, the worst and blurbs you've ever read.
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Resources
http://www.bpsbooks.com/BPS-Books-blog/bid/24819/Writing-Tip-How-to-Write-a-Winning-Blurb
http://www.angelascottauthor.com/2/post/2013/04/are-you-having-a-difficult-time-writing-a-book-blurb-youre-not-alone.html
http://www.lightmessages.com/lmjom/writing/229-how-to-write-a-book-cover-blurb.html
http://www.bpsbooks.com/BPS-Books-blog/bid/24819/Writing-Tip-How-to-Write-a-Winning-Blurb
http://www.ehow.com/how_2074207_write-book-blurb.html
http://blog.emilysuess.com/better-book-blurb-copywriting-for-fiction/
http://www.marilynnbyerly.com/blurb.html
http://spiritauthors.com/news/how-to-write-good-blurbs-and-back-pages-for-your-book/

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Labor Day and International Worker's Day

9/1/2017

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WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON LABOR DAY?
Labor Day is most commonly known in the USA as the last of the summer holidays which is spent celebrating outdoors, usually with family and friends.
In an article on Celebritycafe.com by Danielle Costa (8/31/2012) she writes, "Labor Day is approaching fast and, with it being the last big weekend of the summer, you need to make sure you have a ton of fun with the people you care about and let summer go out with a bang."

Is that what Labor Day is all about? Just another holiday? A chance to celebrate the last days of summer? A three day weekend?

Well, yes, it's all those, but is there more? It irks me that our national holidays have become just another three day weekend and many people have forgotten what those holidays were originally intended to stand for.

HISTORY OF LABOR DAY IN THE US
There seems to be a discrepancy about who actually suggested the Labor Day holiday. Some say that in 1882, the secretary of the Central Labor Union, Matthew Maguire, came up with the idea. That's contradicted by others who argue that it was Peter J. McGuire of the American Federation of Labor who proposed it after attending Toronto's annual Labor Festival. We'll never know for sure, and most of us don't care.

Labor Day in the United States was first celebrated on September 5, 1882 in New York City. Two years later, in 1894, the US Congress proclaimed September 1 as a national holiday entitled Labor Day. Its purpose was to celebrate and value in American society of the role of our workers and their work by providing, ironically and fittingly, a day off to rest and enjoy the fruits of one’s labor. One website characterizes the day as a celebration of the American worker and his/her sacrifices and economic and social achievements.

Supposedly, the form for the celebration of Labor Day was presented in the original proposal for the holiday: A street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations", followed by a festival for the workers and their families. This became the pattern for Labor Day celebrations. A day of rest for the worker of America. I'll drink to that!

THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY
I can imagine that most Americans who celebrate this holiday have no clue what it is and how it started. That's sad.
The reasons behind declaring Labor Day a holiday stems from more than a desire to recognize the importance of American workers. At least in part, it came about as the result of the Pullman Strike, which occurred in Illinois on May 11, 1884. Without going into the gory details, three thousand railroad workers went on a wildcat strike without the authorization of their union because of the way George Mortimer Pullman, founder and president of the Pullman Palace Car Company, treated his workers.

Ultimately, in trying to subdue the riots, a number of people were killed by the US Military and US Marshalls (some sources say hundreds, other say as few as eight). President Grover Cleveland made peace with the labor people, but fearing further conflict, the US Congress voted to approve rush legislation establishing Labor Day a national holiday. It was signed into law only six days after the end of the strike.

A date in September was selected rather than May 1, which is celebrated throughout much of the world as Labor Day, for fear it would be associated with nascent Communist, Syndicalist, and Anarchist movements and would appear to celebrate the labor riots of 1884, the Haymarket Affair in 1886, and other May Day riots.

Everything is political, isn't it?

INTERNATIONAL WORKERS DAY
International Worker's Day, often called May Day, recognizes the International Labor Movement and is celebrated on May 1 in at least eighty countries in the world, including most of Europe, and particularly communist countries. The date was chosen by a pan-national organization of socialist and communist political parties to commemorate the Haymarket Affair.

The Haymarket Affair occurred on May 1, 1886, in Chicago. According to Wikipedia, "The police were trying to disperse a public assembly during a general strike for the eight-hour workday, when an unidentified person threw a bomb at them. The police reacted by firing on the workers, killing dozens of demonstrators and several of their own officers. Reliable witnesses testified that all the pistol flashes came from the center of the street, where the police were standing, and none from the crowd. Moreover, initial newspaper reports made no mention of firing by civilians. A telegraph pole at the scene was filled with bullet holes, all coming from the direction of the police."

In Europe and communist countries, May 1st has become associated with demonstrations by various socialist, communist, and anarchists groups all over the world..

London, 2002 Greece, 2015 Manila, 2015 Paris, 2017 Seattle, 2017

Subsequent protests and riots related to establishing fairer and more humane worker's rights have been scheduled for May 1. So for most of the world, May 1 isn't about the mystical or medieval pagan fertility festivals or maypoles (I doubt that any of us have ever seen a ribbon-bedecked birch maypole) but about protesting for worker's rights.

WHAT A GREAT IDEA!
Actually, the idea of a three-day weekend to have fun with your family and friends sounds pretty nice. Parades, picnics and outdoor fun are much better than dancing around a maypole or getting your head beat in by the riot squad. Enjoy yourself.

Rosie the Riveter says
"Take the day off" Go to a parade Have a cookout or picnic with the family