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Victory in Europe Day
This day in history, the Nazis formally surrendered unconditionally to the Allied Forces on May 8th, 1945. Otherwise, today is a largely unremarkable Wednesday.
Still Ouch
Oh, for the love of Mercy! I was rather hoping I’d be better by now but I keep stacking on the symptoms.
Enough is enough already!
So, not only do I have the costochondritis (which isn’t so bad until I actually try to DO anything whatsoever) but I’m being checked out for randomly swelling ankles and sleep issues. It’s hell getting old…
Communication is the Key
So, last Thursday was our 27th Anniversary. We watched our recently digitized wedding video for fun and nostalgia. It reminded me of the advice I give at nearly every wedding I attend. The two most important words in any husband’s vocabulary are:
Yes, Dear
For one thing, saying “Yes, Dear” always earns me a kiss.
For another thing, it builds agreement. If you’re telling your wife, “Yes, Dear“, you are certainly giving her positive reinforcement on whatever the topic might be.
Additionally, it puts you on the same page. Women love operating on consensus. So, saying “Yes, Dear” puts you in sync with whatever she’s babbling about.
I love saying “Yes, Dear” because it comes with positive reinforcement and because I delight in being in sync with my beloved one whether I’m actually listening or not.
Chapter 8 and Counting
I really enjoy the writing process because I can do it from my house. I can create these characters and take them in the different directions that I want to take them. You have a lot of freedom as a writer. ~Ricky Schroder
Of course, there are certain strictures involved in sticking to a particular genre or historical period but with fiction, you do have a lot of freedom as a writer.
There’s a lot of power in asking “What If?“.
There’s also something to be said for asking “Can I?“. I recently asked a question regarding the use of real places and things in fiction as well as copyrighted character names.
It seems that you can use copyrighted characters in passing, but making use of them as characters in your own story without specific written permission from the holder of the copyright is a major no-no. That’s fine. I had no intention of using existing copyrighted characters. I did plan to make pop culture references to comic book characters since one of my characters is a comic book enthusiast.
It also seems that you can make mention of specific products and places without fear of repercussions as long as you don’t speak ill of the products and places in question. Just the same, you’re encouraged to use generics whenever possible. For example, someone ate a chocolate bar rather than a Hershey Bar. It’s also potentially troublesome to place stories in real places. I’m not so okay with that. I happen to know that a lot of stories take place in real locations.
Even so, I’ve taken the plunge and moved the Sentinels from New York City on our world to Empire City in a parallel dimension. This gives me a bit more creative control over the place as Empire City has eight boroughs instead of the five in our own New York. Why this matters is that there is a cabal of evil-doers who are associated with each of the eight boroughs of Empire City.
Since that’s the case, I’ve got to go back and change the pop culture references accordingly. I’m a little annoyed at having to make this move but I think that in the end, it will make more sense and (hopefully) protect me legally.
So, that’s this day in history for you. Just another random Wednesday in the life of a writer.