Some #Quarantine Time with J Lenni Dorner - April WEP winner of ANTIQUE VASE

Welcome friends, to a rather different type of guest post by J Lenni Dorner, winner of the April 2020 Challenge - Lenape Antique Vase. He gives us a glimpse into the mind/life of a very busy writer combined with the challenges of Covid-19 living.

I warn you, you have to concentrate...

• the green text is J Lenni's spouse speaking to him. 
• Orange text are his replies to someone. 
• Blue and purple text were other friends speaking. 

Got it? 

 

 J Lenni, please take it away...

A glimpse at my last few weeks:

What would be a good theme for my blog in April for the challenge? The AtoZ blog? Operation Awesome Team picked writing motivation. Doing the Self Isolation Author Interview from Michael Baker.  https://thousandscarsblog.wordpress.com/2020/04/14/self-isolation-author-interview-j-lenni-dorner/

"Raring, what if we run out of food?"
(Raring means dear.) I won't let you starve, Snookums. Hunting, fishing, foraging, we'll be fine. 
"I need another cookbook." 
My spouse can cook. I have scrounged.

Theme for AtoZ team- 2020 visions of blogging. Must write my OA posts. And the posts for my blog.

Reading books to review in April.

"Our friend thinks he has coronavirus. He has a fever and has been sick."
We can't bring soup. 

Writing posts. Visiting my usual 40 blogs. Scheduling tweets. How shall I split up this story for my blog?

"I'm leaving the Operation Awesome Team after April."
Add 'replace team member' to my list.

"When will stores reopen? I was going to get new sneakers."
I'll make moccasins if it comes to it. 

Day One of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. I have six fires to put out. If I weren't out of work because of the pandemic, I'd quit all blogging and social media right now.

"Hey! Do you know your Wordpress comments still link to your old blog?" 😳
Must fix that. I need to write my WEP entry.  I want it to be about a Lenni-Lenape vase. WriteClub? No idea. I'll split my tribal story into parts, I'll ask the audience if they want more posts or a book.

"(Nurse friend) was attacked."
I can't take her flowers or a card. 

Visiting blogs.

"Have you seen these news articles? Native American tribes without access to decent water."
Reservation, not PReservation. 😡 Adding feelings to my blog post.

I know how I want to write my WEP story now.

"We have to go to the store." 
🧻The toilet paper my cousin likes. Dropped off as an anniversary gift, along with sweets. 🍬

A friend published a book on Smashwords. Set your own price, including free? I should do that! I need to design a cover and format.

Lumber Of The Kuweakunks - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1015003

"(Nurse friend) has developed a fever."

Operation Awesome, images become ⛔. Fix that. Post on Scrivener? I'll write a counterpoint.

"Are we seeing your family in May?"
No. Doesn't look like it.

WriteClub, I'm just voting this year. I'm halfway through the #AtoZChallenge list. Visited all WEP blogs. Operation Awesome prep for Pass or Pages query contest. 😊💘📚

"#QuarantinePets. We need a dog!"
No, a cat.
🐕!
🐈!
🐕!!
🐈!!!!

Sign up for Bout of Books and SavvyReadathon. Jeremy made a digital poster for AtoZ participants.

"(Nurse friend) has coronavirus."

I won the WEP challenge! 🤩 I've visited every #AtoZChallenge blog. 😎 I published. 😊 I'm sitting on my hair. 😄

J Lenni Dorner~ Co-host of the #AtoZchallenge, Debut Author Interviewer at Operation Awesome, Reference& Speculative Fiction Author

https://jlennidorner.blogspot.com/

https://twitter.com/JLenniDorner

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13725994.J_Lenni_Dorner

https://www.facebook.com/WhatAreThey

https://www.instagram.com/jlennidorner/

Thank you J Lenni,

As we all face the challenges of writing and isolation our world has changed and continues to change dramatically. Please share your days, your concerns, or your solutions in your comments. We'd love to hear from you! How are you doing?

Another alternative to our changing world is, at least for us writers, the opportunity to put into words our frustrations, fears, and solutions in a story. 

Please consider using the next challenge prompt "Urban Nightmare"! Don't forget to check out some ideas on the 2020 Challenges Page.

Look for the announcement on June 1st. 
Post your link on June 17th.

A city where the trees are pulling up their roots, bunching them over their branches like old fashioned women's skirts and trudging away to greener pastures.

A city under the haze of volcanic ash where no birds, no airplanes can land, no living creature can breathe.

The underground city within a city where fatbergs and noxious fumes create a deathly trap for your characters.

A concrete jungle where the walls close in and collapse every morning and everyone must wait for the night to be alive again. 

Tell us, what your urban nightmare is...

Please tweet!

@JLenniDorner #Covid-19 #WEPAntiqueVase  #WEPwinner #guestpost https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2020/05/some-quarantine-time-with-j-lenni.html @DeniseCCovey, @YolandaRenee, @LGKeltner, @OlgaGodim #amwriting #writingchallenge

 Please, everyone, feel free to share how you're feeling. It is a trying time! WEP is a safe place. We welcome your input! Do you have any well-being hints? 
Here's an interesting link to a blog of helpful information on COVID-19: 

The Risks - Know Them - Avoid Them

#WEPFF - WINNER J LENNI DORNER TALKS SETTINGS & HOW IT AFFECTS CHARACTERS . . .

Hello again,

In The Dark was J Lenni Dorner's winning entry for the WEP  - October Halloween Challenge. I hope you've all had a chance to read it, if not the link will take you there. 

Today, as our guest, he's writing on settings and how it affects your characters.

Take it away J Lenni Dorner!

When asked if I'd write a guest post I thought, "Sure! What will be my topic?" I devoted myself to settings that become characters, so that seemed like the best well from which to draw. I hope to inspire you on your writing journey!

The most important function of any setting, or any item in a setting, is how it affects a character. 

There's a sunrise. It's the most beautiful sunrise ever seen. Hues of orange and yellow drift into blue as night is vanquished from the sky. You know what? That's not the quality writing publishers (or most readers) are looking to buy. Give us a character who was blind and is experiencing a sunrise for the first time. Or a kingdom that was cursed to darkness for twenty generations and let that sunrise be the first sign of freedom. That's getting closer. Do more by having your point of view character feel something because of the sunrise. Don't just tell me Jane felt happy. Show me. Make the reader feel like they're sharing the experience.

 A popular example of a great setting is the arenas in The Hunger Games series. Those of you who read the books know that those arenas are monsters. Yes, President Snow is the main antagonist. But the arena tries to kill Katniss. There are passages that discuss players who have died because of an arena. It's a person-versus-nature element.

 Now imagine if The Hunger Games didn't have an arena. Katniss and Peeta are sent to modern day New York City and have to outlive their opponents. Would the books be as popular? There are plenty of books about a NYC character figuring out how to survive and thrive there. Taking away the arena changes the story. That is a great example of a setting that is a character. The reader is presented with a place they've never imagined before, and that place offers an emotional challenge to the point of view character.

 Your writing journey might be different. Perhaps your setting is a well-known location. I'll use New York City as an example again. Rockefeller Center presents a myriad of emotions for characters. Has that location made your character reminiscent of watching the tree lighting with their family, all of whom were killed this year? Is it the place where she fell on the ice and a McHottie picked her up, held her close, and whispered, "amateurs should stick to the outside lane" before skating away? Maybe there's a bench here where his great-grandfather ate lunch every day after coming to this country to escape the concentration camps. Or the character has to go this way to get to work at NBC, but is allergic to pine and thus looks like Rudolph all winter long.

Saatchi Art

 Each of these are examples of how a setting can affect a character. It isn't about Rockefeller Center - it's about what Rockefeller Center means to your character. So go ahead and let the rain fall on that dark and stormy night, but be sure to make the reader feel like it's something they're experiencing through your point of view character. Maybe a shivering puppy who hasn't eaten properly in days, is soaked to the bone, and has been ignored by the world huddles under a massive tree for shelter. A lonely young character lost her dog and has come to the Rockefeller Center's tree to wish that Sprinkles comes home. The rain turns to fluffy flakes of snow as the two are reunited.

 I have farmed potatoes. But I've never had to grow taters to survive on Mars. Yet, while reading Andy Weir's "The Martian," I felt like I had. That's another great story with a setting that can't be swapped. Mark Watney wouldn't be as compelling if the book were "The Idahoan." A story where the majority of the population is in favor of spending billions of dollars to help one farmer out doesn't seem plausible. But put him on Mars and it works.

So I encourage you to take some time with your settings. Find the sights, smells, textures, tastes, and sounds that make this place unique to your story. Use the setting as a tool to reveal traits of your character. Let it be a challenge or a comforting friend. Give the reader a reason to care about your setting (to the point that there would be a trending Twitter riot if Hollywood tried to put your characters elsewhere). It will pay off.

I'm J Lenni Dorner, winner of the 2015 Youthful Frights and Adult Fears WEP Halloween Challenge, and author of "Preparing to Write Settings that Feel Like Characters" (Amazon, Smashwords).

 Socialize online with 
J Lenni Dorner: 

Help us Spread the Word!

We'd love if you'd Tweet one of these:

J Lenni Dorner is guest posting - the subject is settings #WEPFF Write…Edit,,,Publish @YolandaRenee & @DeniseCCovey http://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2015/11/wepff-winner-j-lenni-dorner-talks.html

Is Setting a Character in your writing? #WEPFF  @YolandaRenee & @DeniseCCovey http://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2015/11/wepff-winner-j-lenni-dorner-talks.html

J Lenni Dorner talks setting and characters at the #WEPFF Write…Edit…Publish. @YolandaRenee & @DeniseCCovey http://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2015/11/wepff-winner-j-lenni-dorner-talks.html

COMING NEXT!

A guest post by Alex J. Cavanaugh

'How to Write Science Fiction'

just in time for

December's Challenge - Sign up Dec 1st!

Holiday Celebrations

that are out of this world

#WEPFF - HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE WINNERS ANNOUNCED!

Hello everyone!

There were simply too many amazing stories to make the job of choosing a winner easy, so we gave up. Just kidding.

Annalisa took her time, reading and re-reading the 3 entries sent to her and this is the result:

Annalisa told us, "wow, that was so hard. I'm glad I only had to look at the final three - I'd never be able to make a decision otherwise." :-)

THE WINNER OF THE

2015 WEP – HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE IS

J LENNI DORNER

Annalisa said, "Because I was right there in that room, hiding under the covers and telling myself monsters aren't real!"

I think we all were! J. Lenni took us back to our childhood. A true Halloween treat!

Congratulations J. Lenni!

Please copy the badge onto your blog, brag about it, link it to your fabulous poem so your fame can spread far and wide.

An Amazon Gift Card to the value of $10 will be winging your way shortly!

THE RUNNER UP OF THE

2015 WEP – HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE

 IS THE INDOMITABLE

SAMANTHA REDSTREAKE GEARY!

  

Annalisa said, "I love the ingenuity of mixing music with the prose."

Samantha, your modern treatment for Hansel & Gretel was a feast for the eyes, ears, and imagination!

Congratulations Samantha!

 Please copy the badge onto your blog, brag about it, link it to your fabulous mix of music, prose and artwork. It's a criminal offense not to see this modern masterpiece!

THE ENCOURAGEMENT AWARD FOR THE

2015 WEP – HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE

GOES TO

NILANJANA BOSE

  

Annalisa said, "A chilling, horrific story, vividly written. So many questions..."

So true, the altruistic gift of mothers' milk from such horrific actions, unbelievable and so perfect for Halloween.

Congratulations Nila!

Please copy the badge onto your blog, brag about it, link it to your fabulous chilling flash fiction! It's  hardly fair that we were chilled to the bone, yet some remain oblivious to this horrific story lurking on the web.

CONGRATULATIONS WINNERS!

Denise and I sent Annalisa a list of 3 finalists, but before that, we went back and forth, and back and forth because the list was near impossible to cut down to 3. We love hosting the WEP and coming up with the challenges, but we HATE choosing the list of winners. It's just too damn hard!

The stories were so wonderful--how do you choose between Jeff's man-eating skunk monster, and Arpan's haunting stranger on the path home, or Bish's funny naked mermaid and Michelle's descent into madness? I tell you it's near impossible, so a huge thank you goes to Annalisa Crawford for making the process a little easier. Our previous post gives a sketch of each entry.

And our Random.org winner is:

 Jeff Whichello! 

Congratulations Jeff!  

A $5 Amazon Gift Card will arrive soon!

~~~ ~~~

Thanks everyone, for an exciting October!

As we said before we're going to be busy in November with

The NaNoWriMo challenge.

But we'll be back in December with a new challenge:

Holiday Celebrations

That are out of his world

Just add a touch of sci-fi to your entry

Tell us about the holiday celebration

of your dreams or nightmares.

December is the month of celebrations

So pick your favorite.

Extend our knowledge.

Show us something new!

Take us on a journey like no other!

Just follow this link and discover the many

Winter Holidays Around the World

And for those of you in the northern hemisphere, remember in the southern hemisphere we are sweating it out during the holiday season. Do they have beaches on Mars? Hmm...

Please take a little time to comment and wish the winners well! Maybe next time it will be you! It's been a wonderful challenge, enjoyed by so many!

Don't forget to Spread the Word

We'd love if you'd Tweet one of these:

The #WEPFF has announced the winners of the WEP Halloween Challenge.  @YolandaRenee @DeniseCCovey & http://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2015/10/wepff-halloween-challenge-winners.html

Congratulate the winners of the #WEPFF Halloween Challenge. @YolandaRenee & @DeniseCCovey http://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2015/10/wepff-halloween-challenge-winners.html

Spread the word & celebrate with the winners of #WEPFF Halloween Challenge. @YolandaRenee & @DeniseCCovey http://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2015/10/wepff-halloween-challenge-winners.html