Wishing you all a fabulous New Year!!
Love, Trish
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Tag: blogs
Let Others Inspire your work as a Writer (part 1)
One day I stumbled across the true story of a young entrepreneur who didn’t let his age, or nay-sayers, or haters stand in his way. I was so inspired by this young man and his courage to be different, a play script was born. Since I was writing my series of short plays/small casts, it was a perfect fit (pun intended) to write a one act play about this subject.
Knitting socks for a school business fair, he sold out and found himself with a fist-full of sock orders. The media caught hold of the story and the young man was offered a deal with a chain of department stores. Here is his story.
Synopsis: Favorite thing to wear? Orange socks. Ever since Henry was old enough to wear socks, rain or shine, he would take them off at the first opportunity…..unless they were orange. So his mother dyed all of his socks orange. Now at age fourteen, Henry has a school project in social studies. Create and market a product for the school’s business Fair. The obvious choice? Orange Socks. So he asks his mother, who is a knitter, to teach him how to knit socks. Little does Henry and his mother know but this is just the beginning of Henry’s business career. 1f. 1m.
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The History of the ’emoticon’ (8>D
One of my favorite shows on a lazy Sunday morning is (appropriately) CBS Sunday Morning. One segment was about the invention of emoticons. (8>) In the interview Dr. Fahlman stated that in the early days of inter-office email (imagine that!) none of his colleagues got “my wicked sarcastic humor. So I made up this smiley face so that they would know when I was joking.” (:-D
Since the dawn of communication between man there have been many symbols, codes and punctuation used to communicate emotions and feelings difficult to represent through text. Early examples can be seen in Morse code abbreviations from the 1850’s and print publications in the early 1900’s.
There is no clear date as to when the first emoticon was used nor is it clear who really invented the first emoticon. It is however generally accepted that the common sideways smiley face in use today was invented by Scott Fahlman in 1982.
On the morning of September 19, 1982, the use of the first smiley face and frowning face emoticons was proposed by research professor Scott E. Fahlman, from the department of computer science at the Carnegie Mellon University in the USA. In 2002, this claim was verified after the original back-up tapes containing the postings were retrieved by Jeff Baird. (8>( Continue reading “The History of the ’emoticon’ (8>D”
Charlie and I are back…with our Poetry (Charles Bukowski)
It’s Charles Bukowski month!!! No secret. I am in love with the guy’s raw, tell it like it is, writing. So here’s a work of his and a work of mine. I’m fully aware that my scribbles should not be on the same page or in the same room as this great writer…….(so please don’t write me) I am just sharing a frame of mind. I believe that if you lay down with dogs you get fleas. If you read great writers, just maybe some of their brilliance will rub off or teach you something.
Try your hand; there are no fast and hard rules to poetry anymore…at least none that I pay attention to. (and I’m in good company with this sentiment) It’s far more important that you write your thoughts down. Bukowski believed that too. He couldn’t have cared less what his critics thought….no pentameter? no rhyme? So What!!??
Mine:
Apocalypse ©
The whale sings
and I weep,
The world groans
and I ache,
The wind gusts
and I bend,
The surf sighs
and I rage,
The babe cries
and I mourn,
The mountains shift
and I flinch,
The ebony sun melts
and I rail,
The earth dies
and I wear black. T.Sugarek
Continue reading “Charlie and I are back…with our Poetry (Charles Bukowski)”
Attention! All Writers Out There!
There’s a BLOG out there that is dedicated to the art of writing and honing your craft. Yep! I’m talking about mine and this is a shameless promo. You won’t be disappointed.
For three years now I have published my posts twice a week and it’s always something about being a better writer. Once a month I interview best selling authors such as Dean Koontz, Sue Grafton, Jeffery Deaver, Sherryl Woods, Anne Gracie, 
Raymond Benson, Lee Goldberg, Charles Bukowski and dozens more. My goal is to inspire other writers to write more, tell their stories, try writing a play, or maybe some poetry.
Sign up on my home page and receive an email with each day’s post. Delete it if it doesn’t interest you. It’s that simple. Recently I have developed a series of ‘creative writing’ journals with ‘How To’ tips and famous quotes to inspire my fellow writers. https://www.writeratplay.com/category/a-writers-take/ Continue reading “Attention! All Writers Out There!”
The World Stood Still….Sheldon Kissed Amy
A few nights ago Sheldon kissed (really kissed! There were four lips involved) Amy Farrah Fowler and the world stood still….at least ours did. You could hear a universal gasp!
Have you ever paused your television in order to read Chuck Lorre’s vanity page? (that’s what he calls it) He is the head writer, creator and mastermind behind The Big Bang Theory. I think his take on life and how we all muddle through it is dryer than my morning toast and I loves my humor dry. Did I mention that he was ‘blogging’ before the word had been invented?
Now, I know that I will never write comedy and really don’t aspire to do so. It’s not my thing and if I’m funny when I write I assure you it’s an accident. In my opinion, the brilliance in the writing for The Big Bang Theory script is excelled by none in today’s culture. Finally! The geeks and ‘not-cool’ kids are fashionable and we cooler kids care about them. (lol) Continue reading “The World Stood Still….Sheldon Kissed Amy”
Suicide by Heroin…A Eulogy
![Philip_Seymour_Hoffman_2011[1]](https://i0.wp.com/www.writeratplay.com/wp-content/uploads/Philip_Seymour_Hoffman_20111.jpg?ssl=1)
Philip Seymour Hoffman died last week by his own hand. Shoving a needle into his arm, one last time and making our world a little more pale and less interesting. Why do the brilliant feel the need to destroy themselves? The heroin was just the ‘fix’ (aptly named) dulling the pain, banishing the demons…for a little while. ‘An accidental overdose’ you say? What was accidental about him sticking the bloody needle into his arm? I ask.
And what does that say about the rest of us; living and struggling on, sometimes in quiet, brave desperation. His actions were pure selfishness and I am royally pissed off at him!
And I earned the right to be angry with him….being a survivor of suicide and the horror and confusion that follows. This man was an inspiration to all artists, actors, directors, writers, painters, dancers….he made us want to be better at our chosen craft …to aspire to his brilliance. And now he’s gone.
Continue reading “Suicide by Heroin…A Eulogy”
My Interview with mystery writer, Andrew Grant (Part 2)
Q. Who or what is your “Muse” at the moment ?
A. For the book I just finished writing it was a bizarre combination of Roy Lichtenstein and Pat Benatar. Lichtenstein’s paintings ended up playing a major role in the book, but sadly Benatar’s music remained trapped on my iPod.
Q. When did you begin to write seriously?
A. When I quit my job in June 2006.
Q. How long after that were you published?
A. I finished the manuscript in June 2007, found an agent in December 2007, was offered a contract in February 2008, and my first book was published in May 2009.
Q. What makes a writer great?
A. The ability to create characters that readers care about as much – or more – as they do about real people.
Q. and the all important: What does the process of going from “no book” to “finished book” look like? Continue reading “My Interview with mystery writer, Andrew Grant (Part 2)”
Where to Find a Narrator for my Audio book? (Part 2)
Part II An Interview with VO professional and actor, Daniel Dorse (Part I, click here)
It’s Easy! I use www.acx.com. The platform is simple to use and they have a terrific ‘stable’ of professional narrators. Your book is published in audio form at amazon.com/audio, audible.com and iTunes.com. You can pay your narrator/producer a percentage of sales or a one time fee. The one time fees are on a sliding scale depending on what the narrator requires ‘per finished hour’. With acx.com you will know what you will be paying (it’s based on the number of words in your manuscript.) before you commit. Tip. Eliminate all extra words like copyright page, acknowledgements, title, etc. and count only the words of the manuscript.
My one and only complaint about acx.com is the length of time they take to do the final quality control bit. Two weeks. Now sit back and enjoy the second part of my chat with Daniel.
Q. Can you tell us about your process when you get a job to narrate a book?
A. When I’m hired to produce an audio book, I should read the entire book, making character notes, notes on pronunciation, mood, transitions, accents, etc. In fact, I like to live dangerously, reading only a few chapters ahead (to avoid too many unwelcome surprises, like , “Uh-oh! This character I’ve been voicing for 15 pages is supposed to be Irish. Now I have to re-record.”). I do this, I tell myself, because I like to retain an element of spontaneity in my read, but it’s probably also because I’m both lazy & overly cocky about my sight-reading abilities.
Continue reading “Where to Find a Narrator for my Audio book? (Part 2)”
Ready to Find that Ideal Narrator for your Audio-book??
Choose a narrator for your audio books….sounds easy doesn’t it? I’d like to share my hit and miss experience and some tips about finding those perfect narrators for your audio books. The good news is that now that I’ve learned a few things I have two wonderful reliable ‘voices’ for the production of my books. The miss (when I didn’t know what I was doing and was new to the audio book world) was the situation where I found my first narrator wasn’t willing to collaborate and work with me. She said that she was hired and paid to narrate the book that I sent, nothing more. Sigh!
You will find, as I did, that your book ‘sounds‘ far different than the written word on the page and how it sounds in your head. You, the author, will need a narrator that will allow you to make changes. You might remember my interview with my childrens’ book narrator and gifted opera singer, Carin Gilfrey. Now I thought it would be interesting for my readers to get to know, Daniel Dorse, the voice of Sergeant Detective Jack O’Roarke. (The World of Murder Series). Continue reading “Ready to Find that Ideal Narrator for your Audio-book??”