As writers, all of us have had those moments when we are reading a good book. I wish I could have written that! or Why can’t I ever write anything that good? So, why isn’t it a good idea to do that?

Comparing or aspiring?

One easy thing to do as a writer is to compare your work to that of another – especially an author who is more experienced than you or whom you admire. Why is this a problem? Because, by comparing, what can happen is that your own work is degraded in your eyes.

This can get discouraging when you realize that you can’t write like Louisa May Alcott, C. S. Lewis, Jane Austen, Jules Verne, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Charles Dickens, J.R.R. Tolkien, Alexandre Dumas, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, or any author whom you admire.

(I could name more, but the list would get too long.)

But that’s the wrong way to look at things.

The reason you can’t write like your favorite author is because you aren’t your favorite author. You are you and must write with your own style, realizing that you can’t be anyone else, but you are yourself.

“Well, I don’t like my writing style,” you may say. Well, that’s where the second half of this post comes in. Aspiration.

To aspire is to aim for something higher. To make a goal, to seek ambitiously. This is what we as writers must do. By studying the works of those authors, finding out what made them truly good and seeking to incorporate that into our own writing, we can improve ourselves without being discouraged.

If you still need encouragement, find a friend who is willing to read your work, give you pointers, tell you how much they like it, and be a fan. (Or, if you know someone who needs this, you give it to them.)

Keep practicing. Rather than be discouraged when reading great works of literature, aspire and be inspired. Writing is fun!

And remember, even the greatest authors had to start somewhere.

Talk to you later!

Molly

P.S. this is the 50th post on A Sparkle of Light!

A True Story. Feel free to laugh! 🙂

A few weeks ago, a few members of my family and I started watching a movie. As it was a long movie there were two things noticeable at once. (#1) one we couldn’t watch all in one sitting and (#2) it was on a double-sided DVD.

We ended up finishing the movie after a few evenings, but to our surprise, it was only about half as long as the back of the case said it would be! We realized, between laughs, that we had watched the second half first! By putting side “A” down in the player (that makes sense, right?) we had finished the movie before we’d started it. Oops.

As if that weren’t bad enough, a couple weeks later we were doing almost the exact same thing. Watching a movie that had a double-sided DVD.

After watching for a while, it got late so we stopped it about 15 minutes short of the end of the first side of the disc. Thinking about what the back of the case had said about this movie, we realized that it was nothing like what we had watched!

We’d done it again.

At least we hadn’t finished it first, though. 😛 We couldn’t believe it! And we had even put side “1” down, like the first one had been.

Oh well. I’d like to have a good talk with whoever invented double-sided DVDs.

Moral of the story: make sure you have the right side of the DVD down! 😀

Have a wonderful day!

~ Molly ~

Hello friends,

Today I’m sharing a book giveaway from Jessica Greyson! 🙂

Here’s the link. It looks pretty cool!

Well, that’s all for today.

Talk to you later,

Molly

I would like to wish all of my followers (and non-followers too!) a happy Resurrection Sunday!!

He is risen indeed!

~ Molly

This isn’t a post filled with brilliant advice.  It’s just me trying to be helpful in any way I can.  🙂

All writers have their moments when they don’t want to write.  Or maybe they want to write but they don’t know what to write.  (That is often referred to as writer’s block; I myself do not believe there is such a thing as writer’s block.  I prefer “lack of inspiration”).

So what can you do to avoid Lack of Inspiration/Writer’s Block?

There is no tried and true method, but here are a some ideas that I hope will help someone out there.

1. First, pray for inspiration.
2. Read a book or listen to a song that inspires you!
3. Try to imagine your favorite scene from your WIP.  Picture the action, or emotion that you are trying to capture.
4. Just write.  Anything that comes to mind.  It often helps to just get things down on paper!  Editing comes later. 😉
5. Take a break.  Put aside your work.  Either stop writing completely for a day or two, or work on another project.
6. Drop something surprising into your work!  Something that even you didn’t expect.  Something that will liven up the story and make you want to keep writing (and your readers keep reading).

Well, I hope you enjoyed my tips. 🙂

Happy writing!

Molly

Hello folks!  I’m back again, and since I am too lazy to write up a book review this evening, I will post a poem I wrote a few months back.

I present to you, It’s Weird to be Normal

It’s Weird to be Normal

You know, there are two kinds of folks in this world,

Those who are normal and those who are weird.

(Though the weird make up the greater number,

Don’t ask me why, it’s some reason or other)

If you’re now trembling about being called weird,

Don’t worry, it’s not quite as bad as you feared.

 

We call people “weird” whose habits are odd,

Perhaps they wear stripes or go out with feet shod,

In sparkly pink sandals, or maybe they wear,

Bluebells and seashells in their hair!

(If you say that’s not like you,

Wait to see what I’m coming to!)

 

Some people read and some people write,

They do it all day (and they do it all night!)

Some people dance and others just whistle,

Instead of a houseplant, some keep a thistle!

Some have cameras “attatched to their head”!

(What do they do when they go to bed?)

 

But to myself I am not weird at all.

Not too short and not too tall,

And now I’ll tell a secret or two,

The only one you think is normal is you!

And now you can see why most people are crazy,

Whistling tunes or just being lazy.

 

The end.

What do you think?

~ Molly

Happy February!

After theorizing about the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty for a little while the other day, I decided to combine it all into a page about him.  So instead of a book review, please enjoy reading The Myth of Humpty Dumpty.

The Myth of Humpty Dumpty

A Comedy

 

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall,

All the King’s horses and all the King’s men,

Couldn’t put Humpty together again!

Dear Reader,

In this rather cryptic rhyme, we are told of the demise of Humpty Dumpty.  We shall go over several theories and break it down to the true story of Humpty Dumpty.

1. Was Humpty Dumpty an egg?  As the rhyme never specifies what kind of creature Humpty was, we can only speculate.  Think of him as an egg if you wish.  As for me, I believe he was a sack of flour.
2. Was Humpty a boy or a girl?  The rhyme never uses personal pronouns.  This makes it very hard to determine which Humpty was.  However, I am going to assume that Humpty is a he.
3. Why was Humpty on the wall?  I shall answer that with a theory.

A theory:  Humpty Dumpty was the sworn enemy of the king.  Every day he would sit on the wall and look out over the country, thinking about how to take it over.  Then one day he fell!  The King saw him fall and sent out his horsemen to make sure he was dead.  The horsemen discovered that he was a sack of flour and told the king so.  The king felt remorse, having been the enemy of a flour sack, as he was very fond of pastries.

Because of this great remorse, the King wrote a poem commemorating Humpty, leaving out the fact that he was an enemy and making it sound as though he had sent his horsemen to help him.  This also explains the lack of doctors in the rhyme.

Sincerely,

The Author

 

P.S. Once you have read this, you probably won’t ever think of Humpty Dumpty the same way ever again.

What do you think?  Will Humpty Dumpty ever be the same again?

Do you like book reviews or stories better?

TTYL,

Molly

Twice Freed

by Patricia St. John

 

Onesimus is a slave.

Eirene is a rich merchant’s daughter.

Onesimus longs to gain his freedom and Eirene’s love. However, he doesn’t realize where true freedom lies.

He wants nothing to do with Jesus Christ. His master, Philemon, may follow the teachings of the Christ and his apostle Paul… but Onesimus has other plans.

 

 

 

Strong language – 2 (Calling on false gods mainly, other thing is saying “he swore”, or such like.)

Romance – 2

Graphic Details – 2

Magic – 0

This is a great book!  My mom read it aloud to my siblings and I several years ago, and are currently in the middle of it again!

The story, based off of the book of Philemon in the Bible, follows the life of Onesimus, Philemon’s slave.

I love the message of forgiveness and redemption.  Onesimus isn’t forgiving and when his master, mistress, mother, and the girl he loves become Christians, he doesn’t understand the love of Christ.  But as the book goes on…. I can’t tell you any more.  You’ll have to read it. 😉

You can find Twice Freed here!

~ Molly ~

 

*NOTE* Post may contain affiliate links; if you buy, I may receive money, with NO additional cost to you whatsoever.  Thank you.

Through All Things

Malachi Cyr

Loved ones must be rescued.
His brothers depend on him for survival.
The trail behind him is already stained with pain and loss.

Allen is only seventeen, but tragedy and a strong sense of duty already weigh on his shoulders. As the French and Indians wage brutal warfare on the English settlers, Allen embarks on a treacherous journey to free his captive sister and her friend.

With little hope of survival and even less for success, Allen knows he needs God to do the impossible. But if God is able to do all things, why does everything seem to be going wrong?

 

Strong language – 0

Romance – 1 ❤

Graphic Details – 4-5, (ages 12+ or parental supervision)

Magic – 0

(4.5 stars)

I follow Malachi’s blog, and had been watching his progress on Through All Things for quite a while.  I’m pleased to say that I wasn’t disappointed!

Allen’s responses to the hardships in his life felt real.  Though I felt the author could have used more emotion at times, I found the book a fun and easy read.  🙂  It had action, a touch of romance, and is set in the French and Indian War era – which is a fascinating time period!

Find Through All Things on Amazon!

 

See y’all next week,

~ Molly

*NOTE* Post may contain affiliate links; if you buy, I may receive money, with NO additional cost to you whatsoever.  Thank you.

I got tagged by Kaylee @ Kaylee’s Kind of Writes for this blog tag!  I am going to do this as a sort of get back into blogging for the year. 🙂 Hopefully I’ll be starting book reviews up again soon!

#1: How many books are too many in a series?

That’s hard.  Some series there are too many books, and the only reason is that the author seemed to be running out of ideas. (I can’t stand those!) Usually between 3 and 8 books is about right.

#2: How do you feel about cliff-hangers?

Ah yes.  Cliffhangers.  They are so awesome! XD  That is, when I’m writing not reading….

#3: Hardcover or paperback?

Probably paperback.

#4: Favorite book?

Only one???!!! In nonfiction, the favorites are probably The Count of Monte Cristo and the Wars of the Realm trilogy. (I know, that makes four total.  But anyone who likes reading won’t blame me.)

#5: Least Favorite Book?

Let me think…. Sorry.  No answer.  XD

#6: Love Triangles, yes or no?

So-so.  They’re way overused and clichéd, especially in romance movies.  I guess I don’t care either way!

#7: The most recent book you couldn’t finish?

The Railway Children by E. Nesbit is the last one I can remember and that was years ago.  I finish most books I start unless they’re super boring. XD

#8: A book you are currently reading?

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo.

#9: Last book you recommended to someone?

The Count of Monte Cristo.  Just today, actually.

#10: Oldest book you’ve read? (publication date)

A few Shakespeare plays which are from the 1500s, then the Bible (1611) and Don Quixote (1605 and 1615).

#11: Newest book you’ve read? (publication date)

Through All Things by Malachi Cyr, published June 22nd, 2018.  Next oldest is Kiera by Kate Willis, published June 20th, 2018.

#12: Favorite author?

Don’t have one, but I really like: Alexandre Dumas, Chuck Black, Jane Austen,

#13: Buying books or borrowing?

Um….. I don’t usually do either.  (The best thing to do is get books (mainly classics) free on Kindle. ;))

#14: A book you dislike that everyone seems to love?

I can’t really think of one!  I could probably think of the other way around, one I like that everyone else dislikes, would be Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott.

#15: Bookmarks or dog-ears?

Bookmarks.

#16: A book you can always reread?

Rise of the Fallen by Chuck Black.

#17: Can you read while listening to music?

I can, mainly because I can read through anything.  My family says that I am deaf when I read. 😛

#18: One POV or multiple POVs?(For anyone that doesn’t know, that is Point Of View),

If the different POVs is clearly defined, I don’t mind them.  If they blend together, switching from one character to the next in a single scene, I find that confusing and  not enjoyable to read.

#19: Do you read a book in one sitting or over multiple days?

Depends on the length.  I am a fast reader, so unless I get interrupted I can read one in a sitting.

#20: Who do you tag?

PerAnna @ Life Without a Latte!

And no one else because I’m running out of time.

See y’all Friday!

~ Molly