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Dear all 

it’s been somewhat quiet on writerchristophfischer during the last few weeks. I had my head buried deep in the writing and re-writing of my next murder mystery:

“Over My Dead Body – Murder at Eurovision (Bebe Bollinger Murder Mystery 2)”

I feel I have rounded the story up enough to offer the book to beta readers, that is test readers who give a first opinion on the novel. 
That can be a short paragraph with what they liked and didn’t like, or more involved, naming scenes and characters that didn’t work for them, plot holes, stylistic critique, praise for what they liked most and what should feature more etc.

Beta reading is an art. I’m not very good at it, admittedly, as I get easily carried away if I like a book and then I miss plot holes or stylistic short comings that are obvious to others.
It…

No one disagrees with the importance of the visual in communicating. The problem usually is creating it. Most writers are great at wordsmithing, but not so good at matching colors, picking fonts and font sizes, and then laying everything out artistically. It’s much easier to leave the artistry for the artists. When Microsoft Publisher came out over twenty-five years ago, it was the first major desktop publishing effort to make it easy to blend layout, colors, and multimedia. Unfortunately, it was (and continues to be) an expensive piece of software not traditionally included in Microsoft’s Office Suite (though that changed with Office 365).

Say hello to Canva. It’s web-based (including apps available for iPads and Chromebooks) with a drag-and-drop functionality that makes the design process simple and intuitive. You can create professional presentations, posters, multi-page documents, marketing materials, social media graphics, and more using Canva’s more than 1 million photos…

Well, as you all know, it was the Annual Bloggers Bash Awards today.

What an amazing day!!!!!!

The start for me was trying to carry two bulging bags of cakes to the venue, via train and tube! You’d think that would be a conversation starter, wouldn’t you?

I got a comment from one of the employees at the tube station when he clocked them, and then as I was sat on the Tube, the man opposite looked at the contents of the bag,and gave me a smile… no mate, you ain’t getting none! These are for my Blogily!

I arrived, in typical Ritu fashion, an hour early, and settled in the lobby of the venue, ready to catch up on blog posts and comments, when I heard a squeal as the committee arrlved… Sacha ,His Geoffleship,Ali andHuggable Hugh!

And so the day began!

The function room…

If you haven’t heard about The Annual Bloggers Bash yet, then where have you been?

I’d like to thank everyone who came along to the event and for making it the huge success it was. Last year, just over 20 of you attended. This year it was just over 50, and boy, what a great day it was. I only wish I could have magically got everyone there who wanted to come so they could have shared the magic of the day. New friendships were formed, lots of hugs were in evidence and everybody met up with online blogging friends they’ve been wanting to meet for a long time.

There have been lots of posts all over WordPress about the event and I’ve been busy reading, tweeting and sharing them across social media. Where possible, I’ve added all the posts to my Bloggers Bash Pinterest board.

When Sacha Black first…

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I.♠Introduction:

In my previous post, I made reference to the Muses. 

Back to the most common typology, I found interesting that Tragedy and Comedy were represented among the Nine Muses. I am specifically pointing out toMelpomene and Thalia. Melpomene was the muse of Tragedy and her symbol was the tragic mask. On the other hand, Thalia was the muse of Comedy while her symbol was the comic mask.

Furthermore, as I read about them, I couldn´t avoid thinking of the well known symbol of the two masks, depicting Tragedy and Comedy.

→Now, let´s see which were the masks´purposes when it comes to The Ancient Greek drama.

The Ancient Greek term for a mask is Prosopon (literally meaning,”face”).

The classical masks had an important function in plays of tragedies and comedies as they were able to create a sense of dread in the audience creating large…

Characterization is the most important aspect of writing a book. Whether it’s a short story or a long one, you need characters, and that too strong ones. They are the building blocks of your story as they provide substance and an extra dimension to it.

Many people believe that in certain genres, such as mystery-thriller, romance and horror, the story is the main hero and not the characters, and therefore it’s okay to have even half-decent characters to play along when it comes to writing in these genres. But being a thriller writer myself, I think that it is totally wrong.
Whether it’s thriller, mystery, horror or even romance, you need strong characters to add depth to your story. And if you want to write a memorable book then characters are indeed as important to your story as the plot itself, irrespective of the genre.

I’d like to state a few…

When I revealed Musiville’s book cover the other day, you were all so sweet about it and seemed to enjoy it. However, John Howell’s comment about how he liked Pandiano made me think.

You see, that problem I’m having is that Maraceros, the protagonist, is not book cover material, as he looks like a misshapen smudge when small. That’s why I picked Trumpephant instead.

The options I have, as I see it, are:

1. Use Maraceros, ignoring the smudge factor.
2. Use any photogenic, animal for the cover –  say Trumpephant or Pandiano.
3. Use a number of animals to highlight the “village” thing.

So, please allow me to present these options in all their glory. Any feedback will be much appreciated!

To help you vote, here’s a small poll:

Friday Fantastic Flash – aliisaacstoryteller.com

Last weeks Friday Fantastic Flash Challenge was this;

Daydream. Vision. Nightmare. You close your eyes. Where do you go when you sleep?

First up is a newcomer to this blog and this challenge by the name of Bri Ollre, who has written a wonderfully evocative description of her dream experience…

The Fickleness of Dreams

My dreams are as vivid as reality. Their ebb and flow as natural as the waves of the sea cresting upon the shore. In them I am me, and someone else entirely; I can soar above the clouds, as if Icarus straining towards the sun; fall in love with the sounds of the forest, wrapping myself in its comforting embrace; feel the pain of a thousand wounds, all digging deep within my skin. My dreams are a portal to another way of life. Where I am not simply holding onto the reigns for…

The Annual Bloggers Bash Awards (ABBAS) are the brainchild of writer and blogger, Sacha Black.

At 11:00am on Saturday 1st August 2015, bloggers will meet outside the British Library, which is located between London Euston and St Pancras railway stations.  Click the link below for full details of how to get there.

http://www.bl.uk/aboutus/quickinfo/loc/stp/

More details about the British Library can be found by clicking the link below.

http://www.bl.uk/aboutus/stpancras/

We are planning to meet by the piece of artwork in the picture below, so keep a look out for it when you get there.  It is located between the main courtyard and the upper part of the library and is just off the Euston Road.  Hopefully it cannot be missed once you see it.

Picture Credit: tripadvisor.co.uk

Sacha invited Ali Isaacs, Geoff Le Pard and I to form a committee to arrange the event with her.  Here we all…

No idea where these images are from. My Aunt Liz sent them in an email.

Ah Valentine’s Day… A chance to remember love, yes? If we let go of the chocolate, diamonds, and Hallmark cards what is left? What is love beyond this day of hearts and flowers?

It is your complete awareness of your beauty alone in the dark.
It is laughter at your own jokes.
It is a willingness to be yourself despite what anyone else thinks.
It is dancing badly and singing even worse.
It is having such faith in the sacredness of all life you leave all to be who they are.
It is remembering why you fell in love with a person, a place, a song.
It is risking your former self to discover who you haven’t met within you yet.
It is making sacrifices because your inner love can’t help but spill onto all…