THERIGHTTOBELONG.COM

Video Trailer for the Book, The Right To Belong

2012-01-27T03:31:39Z

Click on the link to watch the trailer on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wEPfbsaiqM

Review for The Right To Belong by Cy Hilterman, EzinesArticles.com Expert Author

2012-01-17T22:40:49Z

Book review for:

The Right To Belong

By Patrick A. Davy

This review is listed on other onlines websites, including on amazon.com, barnes&noble.com

Do you have the option to know your father? Thirty-eight year old Pete Mitchell had never known his father and he wanted to find him if possible and get to know him before it was too late. A short but interesting read as the author tells this story that contains good and bad parts of life and makes the reader question if they have had the privilege of knowing their parents. After all, our parents, in most cases, have gone through child birth, raised a young baby into youth, and hopefully into a successful life, all the while hoping and praying that the son or daughter will remain in heart and soul with those parents.

Pete had a wife and pre-teen sons all living together as a family should be. But Pete wanted to know his father so he started locally with other family members to find out how he could contact his father, finally getting some information from an aunt who told him she might help him locate his father through some other family members. Pete finally made the contact finding out that his father lived in England with Pete’s younger brother and sister. Pete had always been told that his father wanted no parts of him. Finally contact was made with his father, who was not in good health. His sister was also not in good health but her problem was with drugs and pot. His father paid for an airline ticket for Pete to come and see him, as he really wanted to meet his son he had never seen. His brother, Dale, met him at the airport explaining that the sister, Ella, was in the hospital.

When Pete met his father all went pretty well between them. His father rewrote his will to give Pete his property in the islands. All the while Dale had been mooching all he could from his father, thinking that he would get everything when his father died. Dale was not happy when Pete showed up. Pete came back to the United States until he heard that his dad was in very bad health. He went again to England. The rest of the story you must read. Some of the language is roughly written, not in a bad way but in a way you might have to interpret a few words and passages. The story is meaningful and its message is clear, namely that all children should know their father.

Review written by

Cy Hilterman of a book supplied by the author

January 17, 2012

cy@cyhilterman.com

Sharing an Amazon Review of The Right to Belong

2012-01-16T02:56:38Z

The review is listed below. It is listed on Amazon also.(http://www.amazon.com/review/RATYYH8GYDG6Z). Order your copy of the book on the author's website, go there now: http://www.sbpra.com/PatrickADavy.

Reviewed by Kristie I. for Readers Favorite

Growing up without his father being involved in his life, Patrick A. Davy is motivated to write his book, "The Right to Belong." Pete is a successful salesman living in New York City with his wife and two sons. He tells his sons that they are lucky to have their father and to know him. This initiates Pete's search to find his father and get to know him. Pete finds out that his family is guarded and there are many people and things he does not know. Pete's cousin Nigel reports that his father is widowed, has two other children and is in poor health, but he obviously does not really want contact with Pete. Pete finally is able to track down contact information and meets his father as well as his siblings, but the reunion that occurs is not what Pete had hoped for.

This is a very honest book, that reveals Pete's heart, emotions, frustrations and hurt about growing up without his father. This really highlights the role fathers play in their children's lives and the fact that children need to feel as if they belong and are wanted by their parents. Having been fully aware of conflict among family members over what is rightfully theirs in many families, readers will empathize and perhaps relate to Pete's struggles. Overall, it is a touching story that would be therapeutic for readers who grew up in a similar family situation.

The Right to Belong has been Published

2011-12-09T04:39:08Z

The Back Cover text of the book reads as follows:

In the powerful family story The Right to Belong, thirty-eight-year-old New Yorker Pete Mitchell declares to his sons how fortunate they are to be growing up with a father, since he didn’t have that opportunity. Pete seeks the help of his cousin, Nigel, to help him find his father, who was born in Jamaica.

Through Nigel, Pete finds out his father now lives in London. When Nigel visits relatives there, he promises to see Pete’s father. Pete anxiously waits for Nigel to send him contact information. However, when Nigel returns, Pete experiences yet another disappointment.

Pete does learn about his father’s other children, Dale and Ella. He also discovers that his seventy-two-year old father had a stroke and is now a widower. Pete finally tracks down his father on the Internet and arranges to travel to London to meet him.

What should be a happy family reunion is marred by bitterness between the siblings, who resent Pete re-entering their father’s life. When there is a struggle over inheritance, all hell breaks loose and family matters end up in court. All along, Pete was only looking for The Right to Belong.

To get more information about this book go to www.sbpra.com/PatrickADavy

The Right to Belong, a Soon to be Published Book

2011-11-15T06:27:08Z

Hello,

Thank you for visiting my blog. Please let me know about your experience perusing this blog site. Many fiction writing tips can be found on this site.

An important announcement

The publisher of the book, The Right to Belong, has informed me that a released date is near. If you would like to be notified when the book is released, leave a message on this blog or send me an e-mail at patrickdavybooks@aol.com. You will also receive a video clip about the book.

The Back Cover text of the book reads as follows:

Natural Disasters – a Good Source for Ideas to Write About

2011-09-03T04:06:11Z

by Patrick A. Davy

Hurricane Irene roared, ravaged and rolled through several states, causing damages that are estimated to cost several million or billion dollars. This natural disaster caused me to reflect on the hurricanes and storms I experienced as a child. I captured the events of one such experience in one of the stories in the book titled, The Little Big Thinkers: a Collection of Children’s Stories. To preview the book on Google Books, click on the link, http://books.google.com/books?id=QL6WlYNgjLIC. You may also cut and paste the link into your browser. The story referred to above is titled, Caught in the Storm.

Writers’ Favorites

2011-08-03T06:20:05Z

By Patrick Davy

If you ask one hundred novelists which of the writing elements (characterization, dialogue, suspense, foreshadowing, plot, theme, for example) do they like the most, chances are you might not receive the same answer in succession.

Some writers who like, for example, characterization cannot ignore dialogue, suspense, foreshadowing, plot, or theme because all the elements are necessary for to produce stories that will hook and entertain readers.

Writers reveal character traits through dialogue and delay conflicts resolutions to create suspense. They also hint of events to come by foreshadowing. They order their scenes in sequences that create clear and logical plots for the story-worlds they are creating.

Whether they are writing scenes and dialogues, creating suspense, doing foreshadowing, or sticking to the theme of the stories, writers must make sure they give readers necessary information and move their stories along.

Why we should not Start our Stories at the Beginning

2011-07-22T13:13:15Z

By Patrick Davy

When we are writing our stories, we should not start at the beginning. More times than not, there is nothing interesting going on at the start of the conflict, problem, or event we are writing about. Instead, we should start writing from the point where something – something exciting – is going on. This is necessary to ensure that we grab readers’ attention right from the start. Grabbing readers’ attention early is what writing teachers call hooking readers.

Let us examine the sample openings below. We should see why it is important to start our stories where something exciting or dramatic is taking place.

Sample event

The City Council has voted to demolish the famous Night Inn Hotel that stood for over a hundred and seventy-five years at the corner of Main and Pine Streets. The City Council decides to destroy the landmark to build an apartment complex at the same spot.

Sample opening one

It was over a hundred and seventy-five years ago when fifty masons lay the foundation for the famous Night Inn Hotel at the corner of Main and Pine Streets. They dug several one-hundred-foot holes and filled them with concrete and steel. For the next ten months, the builders lay cement blocks and mortar on one another. They also ran plumbing and electrical lines and installed windows and rooftops until the building was complete. Now, the City Council has ordered the replacement of the famous building with an apartment complex.

Sample opening two

Many people from across town heard when the Night Inn Hotel on Main and Pine Streets toppled to the ground. The City Council had ordered a demolition company to destroy the famous landmark so it can build a high-rise apartment complex. Many watched the demolition with dropped jaws and wide opened eyes. In less than an hour, the company reduced one hundred and seventy-five years worth of history to a pile of rubble.

Sample two get to the heart of the action faster than Sample one. The careful writer should work, into the story later, the information about how and when builders built the hotel – after grabbing the readers’ attention. The aim from the start should be to get readers' attention. Writing a chronological list of the beginning events of whatever we are writing about might not readily grab readers’ attention.

Therefore, we should start our stories at the places and times when something exciting or dramatic is going on. The more exciting and dramatic the actions are, the more likely we are to hook readers to our stories.

Handling your Protagonist's Many Choices

2011-07-16T06:14:14Z

By Patrick Davy

When your protagonists have too many choices, this should open up the possibilities for you to create subplots. If you are like me, you probably welcome the opportunity to create subplots since they allow for more complex and longer stories.

I am not advocating that it is better to have a three hundred-page novel instead of one with only a hundred pages. Whether a story is long or short, it must cause readers to want to turn the pages to find out more.

If you do not want to go the subplot route, look ahead in your main plot to see which of your protagonist’s present choices will provide the best payoff. This should be easy to do if you had outlined your story before you started writing it. In other words, you should foreshadow – a popular fiction element used by many writers.

If foreshadowing does not work for you, have your protagonists make choices that give the most opportunities to create suspense – another fiction element. You create suspense by prolonging the resolutions of your protagonist’s conflicts or problems.

Therefore, your protagonist having too many choices is not a bad thing. You should welcome problems like these when you are creating your fictional world. If you do, you will find yourself creating richer, deeper, and more complex stories.

Why You Should Write an Outline for your Story

2011-07-15T08:18:45Z

By Patrick Davy

In my previous works of fiction, I never write an outline to serve as a writing road map. I usually have a semblance of the plot in my head. That allowed me to write the story and tweak the plot as I go along.

I am now working on a suspense novel in which I have to keep track of many actions and important moments in the story. To make sure I do not forget any of the details of the plot, I decided to write an outline for the story.

After writing the outline, I must admit that I am now a fan of outlining. It gives me a clearer picture of the plot. I am more organized. It keeps me on track. I am recommending outlining stories before you start writing them.

You can write a story outline on continuous sheets of paper or on individual note cards. Either way you choose to outline, your stories must have three distinct sections - begin, middle, and end. During your outlining exercise, you might find yourself erasing and rewriting sections of text or moving around note cards until you are satisfied with the direction in which your story will go.

Although you will spend much time outlining your stories, you must be willing to insert and delete plot points, or go in the direction characters (especially protagonists) want you to go. In other words, ideas might come to mind, as you write, that were absent when you were outlining. If these ideas enhance or clarify the plot, do not hesitate to include them in the stories.

Therefore, this story-outlining-convert is telling you to outline your stories and have fun doing it. You will be glad you did.

What is Fictional Dialogue?

2011-07-11T03:00:23Z

By Patrick A. Davy

Fictional dialogue is more than just talk.

1. It is different from the conversation between two friends at a bus stop. It is a more

structured form of communication.

Example:

Sample conversation between two friends at a bus stop:

“Look, ah, um, I mean. The M40 is coming,” Martha said.

“No, no, wait a minute let me. I mean, let me see. If I can only get
a good look. Come on bus. Get a little closer. Ah! Now I can see
that it’s the M41,” Jim said.

"I guess, probably, I mean since you’re not the one with the

glasses, you might be right. Do you have 20/20 vision?"

"I don’t know about that ah. I mean, what I’m trying to say is. Wait,

that really looks like the M41. As I was saying, I don’t know about

20/20 vision."

"Well I guess you’re, now that it’s a little closer, I guess you’re

right. It’s the M41.”

The preceding conversation rewritten the way it might appear as

dialogue in a piece of fiction:

“Look, the M40 is coming,” Martha said.

“Let me take a look,” Jim said. “It’s the M41.”

“Since you don’t have to wear glasses, you probably have

20/20 vision.”

“I don’t if it’s 20/20, but it looks like the M41 to me.”

“Now that it’s a little closer, I can see it’s the M41.”

2. Fictional dialogue is one of the ways characters communicate with one another.

3. It is coherent and used to reveal something about a character. In other words, writers

use dialogue to build/reveal character traits.

4. It is the words that are between the open and close quotation marks.

5. It is often followed by a comma (inside the quotation marks), the name of the speaker,

and the word “said.”

Example: “Look, the M40 is coming,” she said.

6. It is used to speed up actions in scenes as opposed to narratives that slow actions.

7. It is the element writers’ used to give readers information about characters and story

plots.

8. It is used to create white space on the page by breaking up block of texts; therefore,

making it easy on the eyes.

Learn How Children Can Solve Big Problems

2011-07-04T04:07:56Z

When young Josh starts the summer holidays, he is put in charge of taking care of the family's animals. However, he never thought it would be such a big project. With a big storm on the way, can Josh and his sister, Ann, work together to rescue the animals from harm?

What happens when Rupert's friends find out that such a great soccer, cricket, and track star cannot swim? Will Stan help the police find the bully who stole from a young girl in Central Park?

Learn more from the book, The Little Big Thinkers: A Collection of Children Stories
Click on the link below.

http://www.prlog.org/10254172-learn-how-children-can-solve-big-problems.html

The Garden of Reading Book Fair and Community Expo

2011-06-28T07:48:00Z

I am looking forward to participating in The Garden of Reading Book Fair and Community Expo on July 9, 2011 from 10:00 AM – 3:30 PM at:

East New York Elementary School of Excellence

605 Shepherd Avenue

Brooklyn, New York

The Garden of Reading Book Fair is an annual event that its organizers created to give back to the community. This youth and family event is a powerful and enriched source of literature for community members. Each event features literature from which the members can gain power and more knowledge. The event also connects youths and adults to an assortment of literature, entertainment, and educational activities.

Among the scheduled activities and participants at this year's event are live entertainment, workshops for the youth, goody bags, the spoken word, raffle drawings, youth competitions, adult and youth book authors, small business vendors, face painting, and more.

Cheryl Wills, NY 1 award winning Anchor Woman, is also scheduled to attend this year’s event to introduce her new book.

Please come out and show your support for The Garden of Reading Book Fair and Community Expo.

A Scene from the Book, THE RIGHT TO BELONG

2011-06-27T07:05:00Z

By Patrick A. Davy

Pete paced back and forth in the living room while talking to his wife about his upcoming trip to meet his father. “I’m not sure what I’m going to say the first time I see him.”

“It's not you who should be worried about what to say. He’s the one who abandoned you.”

“I guess that's how I should look at it.” He sighed, looking relieved and throwing his six-foot-five-inch frame on the Davenport. “I've just six weeks left before I meet him.”

“When you get there, just be yourself, and everything else will come together.”

“Thanks for the advice.”

“Are you ready for dinner?”

“Let me wash my hands,” Pete replied while rushing to the bathroom. Thinking about it, he should hear how he’s an irresponsible no-good who ran away from his child, he thought. He stood in front of the washbasin and rubbed his soapsuds-covered hands together. He fanned the steam that rose to his face from the water gushing out of the faucet. When he finished washing his hands, he headed for the dining room. “I can’t stop thinking about what to expect.”

“I told you not to worry about it.”

“I guess I’ll just wait for him to explain.”

“That man has so much explaining to do. He’s going to need all the time he can get,” Faith said.

“At some point, I’m going to have to say something to him.”

“All you’ve to say, when he hands you what he owes you, is thank you.”

Pete pondered what his wife said. “I know he did me wrong, but I just want to know and hear what he has to say.”

“Whatever he’s giving you, make sure it’s in his will.”

“Talking about wills, I wonder if he has one,” Pete said. He glanced out the window at a speeding car. “I’m not looking for him to give me cars or clothes or anything like that.”

“There’s hardly anything he can give you to pay for all that he owes you.”

“He should be ashamed of himself if he gives me anything less than one of his properties.”

“Leave shame out of this. If he has any, he would’ve contacted you years ago.”

***

The following week Pete headed home from work on the Long Island Railroad train. I must call to get the name of the airport I’m flying to, he thought.

“Last stop, all passengers must leave the train,” the conductor said, causing Pete to look out the window.

“Shucks! I missed my stop.” He rushed out of the train, pulled out his cell phone and dialed his home number. “Honey, you’re not going to believe what happened.”

“What!”

“I was deep in thought. It caused me to miss my stop.”

“How far away are you this time?”

“Hempstead.”

“I thought you were going to say you’d dozed off again,” she said with a giggle.

“No, I was deep in thought about the trip next month.”

“I guess you want me to pick you up.”

Pete ran his finger down a train schedule that hung on the station wall. “The next train’s going west in an hour and a half. Pick me up in front of the station.”

Thirty minutes later, Pete grinned when his wife stopped her 1989 Honda Civic beside him. He slid the front passenger seat backward and crammed himself inside the car. “I can’t believe I missed my stop again.”

“The visit must be weighing on your mind, heavier than I thought.”

“It’s not like I’m not looking forward to it. I just want to get it over with.”

When he reached home, Pete dialed his father’s number.

“Who’s calling?”

His voice’s so weaker than the last time I talked to him. “It’s me, Pete.”

“So, you’re ready to come next month?”

“Yes, all I’m waiting for is the plane ticket.”

“I forgot to tell you to pick it up at the check-in counter.”

“Oh! I thought you were sending it in the mail.”

“No, it’s an electronic ticket. Just bring some form of ID.”

“Which airline?”

“British Airways. You need to get to the airport by one-thirty in the afternoon on the sixteenth.”

“Which airport I’m going to?”

“London, Heathrow.”

“Let me write down your address. I’ll be catching a taxi to your house when I get there.”

“There’ll be no need for that. I asked your brother to pick you up.”

Pete rolled his eyes. “I hope he doesn’t think it’s a bother.”

“I don’t think so. He’s looking forward to meeting you.”

“Oh yeah!”

How to Write Good Scenes

2011-06-21T07:06:13Z

by Patrick A. Davy

Bricks are to buildings as scenes are to fictional stories. If a mason lays a brick the wrong way while erecting a building, the building stands the chance of collapsing. If a writer sticks poorly written scenes in his story, such a story will crash under the pressures of reader scrutiny. Fiction writers can help their stories stand up under the weight of reader scrutiny by writing good scenes for the worlds they are creating. Scenes are necessary because you need to put your characters in them if you want to write interesting and enjoyable stories.

You might have heard or read many different explanations and descriptions of a scene, but the explanations and descriptions should have one thing in common. They should have the same three characteristics of a good scene. Various writing-craft experts use different words or phrases to describe a scene, but all the descriptions contain, in someway, the three basic components of a scene.

If when you think of a scene, the scene in a movie comes to mind, you are thinking in the right direction. In movie scenes, Actors and Actresses interact with one another in a particular place (kitchen, living room, bedroom, supermarket, doctor’s office, etc) to resolve specific issues and problems. These issues and problems are the conflicts of the scenes – every scene must have them.

Therefore, movie scenes are moments in which lead Actors and Actresses interact with other Actors and Actresses to solve specific issues and problems. When these performers achieve or not achieved the desired resolutions, the scenes must end.

The characters, in a scene written for a short story or novel, are often opposing, disagreeing, or arguing with one another. Disagreements and problems, among characters in your stories, create conflicts. The more conflicts you have in your stories, the more the stories will engage (hook) readers.

The following are the three things all good scenes should have:

1. Dialogues

2. Actions

3. Narrative Summaries

The trick is to use the scene-components to achieve a balanced and even-paced scene. However, writers should use Narrative Summaries sparingly to avoid telling instead of showing the actions of characters.

The following is the mini scene I used as an illustration in the article titled, Writings that Entertain and Involve Readers. I am using the scene here, to illustrate the components of a good scene.

When Pete returned home from Nigel’s apartment, he slammed the front door behind him.
“What’s the matter?” Faith asked. “I’ve never seen you like this.”
“I don’t know how to contact my father,” he said between his teeth. He grabbed
his cap off his head and threw it in the corner of the davenport. “I’ve it up to here,” he said, pointing to his chin and stomping his foot.

Let us check the scene for the three components listed above. See the list below.

Dialogues
“What’s the matter?”
“I’ve never seen you like this.”

“I don’t know how to contact my father,”

“I’ve it up to here,”

Actions

Faith asked

He said between his teeth.

He grabbed his cap off his head and threw it in the corner of the davenport.

He said, pointing to his chin and stomping his foot.

Narrative Summaries

When Pete returned home from Nigel’s apartment, he slammed the front door behind him.

Now you should be ready to write those good scenes for your stories.

How to Sign up for a Free Subscription to my Blog

2011-06-19T15:07:00Z

by Patrick A. Davy

If you are not already at my blog site, please go to www.therighttobelong.com. While you are there, you can sign up for a free subscription to my blog. This will take only a few minutes.

Subscription Benefits

1. You will be among the first to know when I post new articles

2. Get access to writing tips and how-to articles

3. Comment on the articles posted on the blog

Steps for Signing Up

There are two ways to sign up

1. Enter your email address in the space on the left, check the boxes beside "Blog" and "Post", and
click SUBSCRIBE.

2. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and do the following:

Scroll to the comment section at the bottom of the screen
Enter the Security Code exactly the way it is shown
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Check the box next to “Subscribe to this blog.”

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A Good Intention Went Bad

2011-06-19T03:16:43Z

by Patrick A. Davy

In a previous article that I posted on my blog, I promised I would share a story that explains my meaning of the phrase “cutting of the nose to spite the face.”

I will use, to help explain, the reason Jamaica’s sugarcane farmers brought mongooses to the island.

The farmers brought in the mongooses to rid the island’s sugarcane fields of rats. Soon after the mongooses arrived, the farmers realized the mongooses were also killing the snakes that were in the sugarcane fields. The farmers welcomed this new discovery since the snakes made the sugarcane plantations dangerous places to work.

When the snake population reduced, the mongooses start to destroy the chicken farms. Within a few months, the mongooses reduced the poultry farm also.

If the island were the face, then the nose would have been the snakes in the sugarcane fields. To cut off the nose (snakes) from the face (island), means the farmers would have rid the sugarcane fields of snakes to gain safety. However, the farmers had a new problem on their hands - the mongooses started to destroy the poultry farms.

In other words, the farmers had cut off the nose to spite the face. As I said in the other blog, “cutting off the nose to spite the face” means doing something to get a positive solution to a problem, but the solution turns out to be equal or worst than the original problem.

A Writer's Digest Judge Comments on the book, The Little Big Thinkers, at the 8th Annual Writer's Digest Published Book Awards in October 2010

2011-06-18T17:14:00Z

If you would like to preview the children's book, The Little Big Thinkers: A Collection of Children Stories," go to www.thelittlebigthinkers.com and click the the Preview Inside tab.

The following is what one Writer's Digest Published Book Awards judge said about the book:

The Little Big Thinkers is a refreshing and enjoyable book of short stories that especially shines for the one reason: It is written well. The author has a great grasp on the English language and delivers short stories with a punch that young people are sure to enjoy. The stories cover a variety of subjects—from adventures where the main character beats the bad guy to stories about overcoming personal fears and weaknesses. I really appreciated the diversity of the stories the author provided and even the formats—sometimes first person, sometimes third, sometimes fast-paced, sometimes even and touching. The illustrations were sparse, but supported the short stories well. All-in-all, a collection very well done.

Tips for Finding Ideas to Write About

2011-06-17T03:59:00Z

by Patrick A. Davy

I think long and hard about a topic or subject before I start writing about it. In addition, I must like and be interested in the topic or subject with which I am about to spend some time. My method of waiting for an idea to pop into my head before I start writing is opposite to how some people told me they generate ideas. For example, many people free write, hoping an idea will turn up in the thoughts that rushed from their minds, through their fingertips, through their pens or pencils, and on to the blank page.

Since I do not like spending time free writing, I force myself to find other ways to come up with ideas to write about. I used one or more of the tips listed below to generate ideas for the stories in The Little Big Thinkers: A Collection of Children’s Stories (preview this book at www.thelittlebigthinkers.com).

Here are the tips for finding ideas to write children’s stories:

Use Real-life Childhood Experiences
Think about how you or someone you know might have defeated a school bully who teased and took things from other children. How did you avoid a spanking, from your parents, for doing something that was wrong? For example, how did you or some you know explains arriving at school late everyday despite living a block away from school? Supposed, as a child, your family moved to another school district. How did you cope or how would you cope with leaving your friends and starting new friendships at your new school?

Read Newspapers, Listen to Radios, and Watch Television

Look out for newspaper, radio and television reporting of events and stories about children. Then play the what-if game with the stories. For example, your local newspaper reports on an elementary school boy who is the favorite to ran the fastest one-hundred meter dash, in his age group, at the state sporting event. You play the what-if game by asking yourself what if the night before the event, the boy’s parents decided he would not participate in the racing event. His parents tell him he needs to study to retake a school exam. How does he convince his parents to let him take part in the racing event?

By playing the what-if game, you create conflict. A conflict is what drives any good story. The more conflicts, problems, or obstacles you can create for your characters, the more interesting are your stories.

Talk to Children Librarians
Children librarians can let you know what kinds of books children are reading. From knowing what children are reading, you will be able to come up with stories suitable for your target audience.

Spend time with Children
Spend time studying children in the age group for which you wish to write. Observe the things they do and how they do it. Listen to how they speak (dialogue). Authentic dialogues add a sense of reality and believability to a story. Most important, listen to topics children are discussing. This can serve as the basis for children’s stories.

So there you have it. Free writing is not the only way to find ideas for children’s stories.

Cutting off the Nose to Spite the Face, an Explanation

2011-06-14T03:51:00Z

by Patrick A. Davy

Over the years, I heard and read various explanations about what the term “cutting off the nose to spite the face" means. Some of the explanations I agree with and some I do not agree with. The following are among the meanings I heard and read:

1. It means doing something you don’t want to do just to hurt other people.

2. It means don’t cut your nose off to get back at your face.

3. It means doing something that does you no good, but you are stubborn and do anyway.

4. It means you will do something not in your best interests to stop someone else from getting the benefits.

5. It means doing something spiteful to prove a point that causes you harm as well.

6. It means when you are not happy, you will go without something that you like just to prove a point.”

7. It’s like blowing up your house so your mother-in-law won’t come to visit.”

After hearing and reading the meanings listed above, I decided to come up with a meaning of my own. So here it is. I believe “cutting off the nose to spite the face” means doing something to get a positive solution to a problem, but the solution turns out to be equal or worst than the original problem.

If you are still reading this blog instead of switching to Pogo.com or another online game site to find a game to occupy your time, I would imagine that you feel I am on to something.

Now, I passed the ball to you. Take your shot. What is your position?

In a future blog I am going to share a story I believe will show you how an entire country cut off its nose to spite its face. If you are struggling to accept my meaning of this popular term (“cutting off the nose to spite the face"), the story will help you see what I mean. In the meantime, you have the ball and are wide open, so take your shot at coming up with a meaning. If you miss, rebound and try again.