Tuesday Two Cents on Writing: Connie Jasperson: Tuesday Two Cents

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Connie J. Jasperson: Tuesday Two Cents' Worth

     Welcome to Tuesday 2 Cents' Worth, where authors and writers answer one question: If you could share one piece of writing advice with other writers, what would it be?

      I'm pleased to introduce you to the talented Connie J. Jasperson who has kindly agreed to share her two cents today.

      Take it away, Connie!

"The Buddha once said, “We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.” I believe this to be true, and try to live my life accordingly. I am a basically happy person.

And this is how I approach writing. It's only human nature to want to make the world to fit your idea of what is good and beautiful.

In my favorite books, good people always find themselves in bad situations, but through the drama, heartache and violence, the great authors managed to express the beauty of life, the emotions that are experienced when joys are contrasted against sorrows.

If you have never felt hunger, you can never understand what it is to have plenty. In the same context, if you have never known sorrow, how can you know joy? The contrasts of life are the flavors, the textures that give it meaning.

I would advise an author to be true to the human condition in writing, whether you write historical fiction, Sci-fi, or fantasy. Understanding humanity and the realities of both extreme poverty and an overabundance of plenty give your work a sense of solidness, and without that feeling of truth the story will never hold water. Draw from history, mash it up into alternate realities all you want, but don't turn away from the ugly truth—because in any story, small instances of kindness are all the more precious when viewed in juxtaposition to brutality.

Never forget that there is as much beauty to draw from as there is pain, for it is that contrast that makes an intense story compelling.

No work of fiction will ever be more horrific or glorious than the true history of our humanity and inhumanity. We authors will only scratch the surface, and if that small scratch makes an impact on a reader, we have done our job."

HUW THE BARD, by Connie J. Jasperson, published March 28, 2014

(new release)(mature readers)

Genre: fantasy, alternate history

Synopsis:

Smuggled out of the burning city in a reeking ale barrel, Huw the Bard is a wanted man. Starving, reduced to begging and worse, he must somehow make his way north to safety. It’s a 200-league walk to the one place he might have a friend, though the path Huw must take is anything but straight.

A lot can happen to a man on journey like that.

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Amazon Buy Links:

http://bit.ly/HuwTheBard_US

http://bit.ly/HuwTheBard_UK

http://bit.ly/HuwTheBard_AU