A Rambling - About What is Possible in Fiction...

A Rambling 

by Author Richard Nurse

This note is for, my fans, occasional readers, and reviewers.  I am a proud member of the “Boomer” Generation.  When I was born, TV’s were rare, and radio plays were the rage.  I graduated from High School, and have three college degrees, so I am well past the era of turning in a piece of work and having it graded more for grammar than content.  I have written both fiction and poetry for most of my life, but after I had retired, I decided to cross off an item on my “Bucket List,” to have a work published.

I qualified to actually cross it off my list before I retired, as I wrote an article titled “Addicted to Glass” that was used as a feature article in what then was Collector’s Magazine.  However, I never drew the line, because I wanted to have a book published.  I have been witness to a life full of amazing changes, and one that I enjoy the most is the personal computer, and of course the World Wide Web.  While it has had a very major, and sometimes catastrophic impact on the world of publishing, it has at the same time opened the door of opportunity to many authors who either never got a work accepted, or never even bothered to submit a manuscript that they had written.

I opted for the Indie Author/Publisher route a few years back and have enjoyed moderate success to date.  For years I wrote for the fun of creating a story or poem, and to tell the truth, I still do today. When I write a story and publish it, it is done for the sole purpose of providing entertainment to my readers.  I do not follow anybody’s ordained format or formula when I write a story. My stories tend to write themselves, as I am able to let them take over and use me as a medium to get the story told.  The only constant in my writing is that normally has a happy ending, and character’s who actually get along.  I have done my best to avoid tension and strife in my personal life, and it has carried over into my writing. 

The wonderful thing about writing fiction, and creative writing, is that often comes completely from the author’s imagination.  Unless, an author is writing a work of Historical Fiction, Educational Fiction, or Spiritual/Inspirational Fiction, then I consider it to Fiction for Entertainment.  My philosophy with regards to Entertainment Fiction is that if the author can imagine it and put it into words, that the reader can understand, then it is possible.  Relationships can be stress-free, and be continually loving and caring. Characters can perform feats never thought possible, or machines can come to life; that exist only in the author’s mind.  In real life, we haven’t come close to anything that Gene Roddenberry brought to life in Star Trek, or Steven Spielberg has and is once again creating with Star Wars.  However, just last week, they landed a rocket vertically on a ship at sea, something Buck Roger’s did on a regular basis when I was a child.

I write; for the purpose of providing entertainment for both my readers and myself.  I have an editor and two different proofing programs that I now use to make my stories as error free both grammatically and spelling wise as possible.  One thing that I have learned, or actually relearned, is that there are so many exceptions to the rules in the English language, that the programs will fight each other. I have sat and watched a program go back and forth between two words for its recommendation, or delete a comma, and then suggest that you add it back in.  I do my best, but if there is an error occasionally, so be it, I find them in most books that I read, and simply read right through it, an ability that the human mind excels at. 

About my writing style, and how my stories flow, I make no apologies, for they are mine.  I actually refrain from reading stories in the genre’s that I am writing in, as I do not want to try to copy or emulate another author's work.  I am proud of my stories and equally proud to know that they are MY Stories, created from within my own highly imaginative mind.

Richard Nurse

©April 27, 2016

We Can All Learn From A Constructive Review

We Can All Learn From A Constructive Review

Back in September this post appeared on Facebook from a friend of mine.

Last weekend a fellow writer and Chili Boy Richard Nurse and I commiserated over the frustration of tracking our e-book sales. So as a personal favor to me (and I suspect to him as well), if you download one of his murder-mysteries or one of my novels, please leave a review or some comments about how much you enjoyed reading it. Novelists spend a great deal of time working in virtual solitude as a work of fiction is built, and without commentary/feedback we have no way to gauge the relative success/failure of our efforts. Thanks. Richard Finzer

Two days ago, I received a review on one of my books by a fellow author. While he liked the story and the way it was written, he took exception to the number of grammar errors within the manuscript, particularly the excessive use of commas. 

My initial reaction was of being someone upset at first, especially since this particular novel had been through three rounds of editing.  Then I thought of how my editor accuses me of having an oversized comma key on my keyboard.  So I decided to look on-line for an app that would work with MS Office, as that is my primary writing platform.  I found one that had high marks and appeared to be quite user-friendly, and even better it was free.  I downloaded it, and after going through the tutorial once, I opened the file for the book that had just been reviewed and sat back and watched as the app chewed on the file.

When it stopped checking and put up the tally at the bottom of the reviewing panel, I must admit that I utter $&%#@...for the number was 658. 5 hours later, I had gone through all 658 of the issues, and I now have a manuscript that I feel is grammatically correct.  I have to admit, that way to many of the issues dealt with the addition of unnecessary commas.

Rich, my fellow Chili Boy, and fellow author, I believe that this is exactly what we were talking about when we said, our only way to learn is from reviews.  Mark, thank you again, for your honest and constructive review.  I am now in the process of going through each and every one of my published works with this program, and the beauty of being self-published, and primarily through e-books, is that I can upload new files so that all future purchasers will receive what is truly my best.

Richard Nurse

Note - I have completed the review of three works as I write this.  You can visit http://nursesnookandbooks.net to see which have been completed.  Check out the published works page and look for a Red Star next to the title.

The Genesis of a Writing Style

The Genesis of a Writing Style

A childhood friend and fellow author today, tossed out a question on Facebook the other day. The question was about different writing styles and creativity, and which worked best. It was directed toward me, and a group of fellow writers.  I had ended my reply with the statement that I consider myself a story teller as much as an author. 

That closing statement had followed my previous comments regarding my writing style. A style that involves, no formal pre-planning, plot development, character planning, and definitely no outline of the story. Instead I let the characters, or a single character tell the story, allowing me to be the conduit through which the story comes to life. I have a phrase that I use when asked how I write. "When it flows, I let it flow.

I consider it a gift as much as a style, and a gift for which, I finally have determined its genesis.  I don't remember exactly how old my daughter was when she began to ask me to tell her a bedtime story. It was always the same routine, her mother would read her a story, and then it was my turn to tell her a story.  It was easy to begin with, for she seemed to pick a different animal or object every night. The challenge arose, when she picked an animal that I had already told a story about. I began to tell the same story I had told earlier, but she stopped me and told me she wanted a new story.

Unlike a lot of bedtime story experiences, this was not a passing fancy, as it continued well into her pre-teen years. Not always on an every night basis as she got older, but often enough that it allowed me to develop my gift.  A gift, which would later experience, both a timely and wonderful reawakening, by returning, in a updated form, at a time when I most needed it in my life. For when it returned, it came back as the gift to write a story, on the spot so to speak, inspired only by a word in my head, or an image, as my inspiration.

So please bear with me, as I take a moment to say "Thank You, Sheri Lynn, for it was you, who brought my gift to life."

Richard Nurse

**A note to the readers**

This is a classic example of why I prefer to write a story totally unplanned.  This article was essentially planned and thought out in advance, yet it took me as long to write this four hundred word pieces as it would to write 4000 words of a story that is just flowing out of me.