How to Kill Your Darlings

How to Kill Your Darlings How to Kill Your Darlings This August, Simon Woodward published his fifth book, Dead Weapons. During the writing process, Simon faced a struggle familiar to many writers: should he follow his creative instincts or tailor his novel to enhance its marketability? In this article, Simon talks about the act Faulkner’s coined â€Å"killing your darlings,†   and discerning the difference between making clever marketing decisions and self-censorship.Where do you get your ideas from?Most writers have been on the receiving end of this question; the go-to question from friends and family when discussing their writing career. I admit I've never been able to answer this because, well... I don't know.The idea for my novelMy new novel, Dead Weapons, emerged from a soup of ideas and influences that had bubbled away in the back of my brain for a year. One of the main influences was Blur's song, â€Å"Kids With Guns,† and its haunting chorus: â€Å"They're turning us into monsters.† In my mind, it evokes the frightening statistics around the rise in teenage knife and gun crime in London - quoted, adjusted and recalculated in the media, then used by some right-wing commentators to create a public image of a feral generation.  Both of these contributed to the idea for a dystopian novel based around an aging society that has collapsed into a  terminal suspicion of the youth, leading to a permanent child curfew. Finally, the book’s original title had been on my mind from the get-go: And This Boy Loved His Gun. This title was the piton I used to hammer into the rock face, and to haul myself up that 80,000-word edifice. The title is the piton that hammers into the rock face, and hauls you up the 80,000-word edifice. As soon as I had this title, I knew I wanted to write a story for this 'feral generation' of teenage boys. I wanted it to be a dark, contemporary adventure, powered by a cinematic narrative (accompanied by an imaginary thumping bass), and I wanted it to be from their viewpoint. I wanted to return society's suspicious and fearful gaze from the teenagers’ perspective.Writing for a challenging demographicFrom the outset, I felt I was taking on a challenging project: the presence of the words boy and gun in a YA book title was likely to elicit knee-jerk reactions from  some,  and although I wanted to write this story for the teen demographic, there was no guarantee they'd want to read it.Highlighting the second issue was a 2016 Neilson Book Research investigation that reported a decline in teenagers who regularly read for pleasure - in particular amongst boys.  The report identified the battle for attention with social media, YouTube, the gaming industry and even good old-f ashioned television. When interviewed, boys of all ages named video game/app integrated books as the key thing that would encourage them to read more.I don't own the rights to any video games or killer apps, and so I resolved to give them the closest thing I could. Dead Weapons’ hero is Ciaran Richards, a sixteen-year-old boy framed for murder. On the run from the police, a powerful gangster, and a secret government department, Ciaran has a malfunctioning, intelligent revolver stuck to his hand - making him the literary version of a first-person shooter from computer games.  However, the last he wants to do is use the gun. He wants to let it go so he can go back to his life, but he can’t.Determining the marketability of my bookWhen my agent approached publishers with the book, several editorial directors were keen to take it on, but in each case marketing departments squashed its chances  at the acquisitions stage. I suspect that this had something to do with the subject matter and those two words sitting close together in the title. Perhaps it wasn't self-censorship after all, but a classic case of a writer refusing to cut or change something that didn't serve the story. Maybe I'd forgotten an essential piece of writing advice. As Stephen King said in On Writing (paraphrasing William Faulkner): â€Å"Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler's heart, kill your darlings.† "Even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler's heart, kill your darlings.† - Stephen King Please share your thoughts, experiences, or any questions for Simon Woodward in the comments below!Dead Weapons is available in paperback and on Amazon Kindle.

The John Newbery Medal and Current and Past WInners

The John Newbery Medal and Current and Past WInners In the United States, the John Newbery Medal is the most prestigious childrens book award that an author can receive. The Newbery Medal is an annual children’s book award administered by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC of the American Library Association (ALA). According to the ALSC section of the ALA Web site, To be selected as the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children, the book must have been published the previous year in English by an American publisher in the United States. The John Newbery Medal, commonly referred to as the Newbery, has been awarded every year since 1922. It is named for John Newbery, an eighteenth-century British bookseller. To be eligible for a Newbery, either winning the Newbery Medal or having your book designated a Newbery Honor Book, the following terms must also be met: The author(s) must be either citizens or residents of the United States. Fiction, non-fiction, and poetry are all eligible, but reprints and compilations are not. The book must be written for children, with children defined as â€Å"persons of ages up to and including fourteen.† The book must be an original work. A book that was originally published in another country is not eligible. The 2016 Newbery Award Winners The 2016 Newbery award winners, the Medal winner, and three Honor Books  include a picture book, a graphic novel, a fairy tale with historical elements and historical fiction. Below is a brief look at the winners and reviews of the books. 2016 John Newbery Medal Winner Author Matt de la Peà ±a won the 2016 Newbery Medal for his picture book Last Stop on Market Street, which Christian Robinson illustrated. The publisher is G. P. Putnam’s Sons, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA). Matt de la Peà ±a is most well-known for his young adult novels, which include Mexican WhiteBoy, The Living, and The Hunted. He is also the author of the Infinity Ring middle-grade books and one other picture book A Nation’s Hope, The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis. 2016 Newbery Honor Books The War That Saved My Life,  by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. While featuring a historical World War II setting, the characters are products of Bradleys imagination. Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) is the publisher. For more information, read the book review of The War that Saved my Life.Roller Girl,  written and illustrated by Victoria Jamieson.  Roller Girl is Victoria Jamieson’sfirst graphic novel for middle-grade readers, and she brings to it her own experiences with the sport of roller derby.  Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) is the publisher.  For more information, read the book review of .Echo, by Pam Muà ±oz Ryan. Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc. is the publisher. Ryan, the author of more than 40 books, has received numerous awards for her writing, including winning the Pura Belprà © Medal twice, for The Dreamer and Esperanza Rising.  For more information, read the book review of E cho. If you are looking for more good books geared towards the 9- to 14-year-old age range, be sure and take a look at the following features about children’s books that have received Newbery Medals or honors: John Newbery Medal Winners: 2015 to 1922The 2014 Newbery Medal Winner and Honor BooksThe 2013 Newbery Medal Winner and Honor BooksThe 2012 Newbery Medal Winner and Honor BooksThe 2011 Newbery Medal Winner and Honor BooksThe 2010 Newbery Medal Winner and Honor BooksThe 2009 Newbery Medal Winner and Honor Books. Source: ALSC/ALA

History of Police in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

History of Police in America - Essay Example Richardson (1970) and Roger Lane (1967) set everything rolling by defining the genesis of policing in New York and Boston respectively. Henceforth, other scholars have followed the trend with the descriptions of police agencies in various parts of the United States of America. Uchida also points out that some authors have focused on issues in policing. This is evident from the study carried out in 1977by Wilbur Miller. The study attempted to examine the legitimating of police in New York and London. Robert Fogelson (1977) and Samuel walker (1977) focused mainly on reform and professionalism of delinquent police during the 1800s and 1900s. It is also reported that Erick Monkkonen (1981) took a different approach from those used by his predecessors. He applied quantitative methods to analyze the advancement of policing between 1860 and the 1920s, considering 23 cities (Uchida, 2004). Despite using different methods, all of them exemplify how policing has developed over time. The schola rs cite the origins of the concepts like authority, crime prevention, discretion and professionalism. They also reveal the causes of policing problems including brutality, inefficiencies and corruption. The main objective of the paper is to explore the origin of policing. It will also describe the impacts of Sir Robert Peel on American policing. Finally, the paper will provide an analysis of the affiliation between the government of America and policing agencies across the U.S. explaining how the relationship may affect police practices. Uchida (2004) notes that like most of the US’ common law tradition, policing as it is today can be straightforwardly be associated with English heritage. He argues that notions pertaining to community policing, the posse, constables, crime prevention, and sheriffs emerged from the enforcement of regulations in England. Beginning 900 A.D., the responsibility to enforce law was vested in civilians. As a result, every common person was accountab le for helping a neighbors who fell victim to outlaws. Since there were no police officers then, people were forced to use force as sanctioned by the state to maintain harmony. Reith once (1956) described the law enforcement model as ‘kin police’. This implies that individuals were their brothers’ keepers and therefore took responsibility for their kin. Uchida (2004) reveals that the model slowly evolved into a formal community-based or ‘communitarian’ police system. It is reported that a community model was developed immediately after the Norman Conquest of 1066, called the frankpledge. Uchida (2004) notes that the frankpledge police system required that every male who 12 years of age be part of a group comprising 10 neighbors, called tything. The responsibility of the each tything was to arrest and take to court any member who committed a crime. In essence, every individual pledged participate in the protection of fellow citizens, and would in turn enjoy similar protection from others. Uchida points out that tything was obligatory in nature and no tythingmen were to be remunerated for the work the did. Rather, they were compelled by law to perform specific tasks. It is also reported that tythingmen also had the power to keep suspects in custody awaiting trial. They would also regularly appear before the courts to report any misdeed spotted among its members. The system required that failure by a member of the tything to carry out their duties called heavy fines for the entire group. Uchida (2004) notes that ten tythings were grouped into a hundred, under the direction of a leader who was an appointee of the local nobleman. This leader became the first policeman and was therefore the first official with law enforcement to

Evaluation of tasks conducted at work placement Essay

Evaluation of tasks conducted at work placement - Essay Example Such meetings involved discussions on eating habits, exercise period, etc, which allowed the team to understand the condition of athlete in a better manner. It was an observation that athletes’ flexibility training was another key indicator in allowing the team to keep the athletes away from any injury throughout the season, and more the athletes involved themselves in the training, the more they avoided any muscular fatigue or soreness. In addition, analysis indicated that honesty was one of the major factors that played a vital role in monitoring them and managing the database, and I am glad that the players were very truthful and cooperative in submitting their information on weekly basis. Another important phase of the task was to record the data on weekly basis and monitor the RPE training loads of the athletes. The database required submission of every information regarding the athlete, which would result in their weekly rating after various calculations. Such rating helped the department in preparing rating chart of the whole team for every week, as well as the group average, which enabled us to issue a red flag to players in case of their higher rating on consistent basis. In brief, higher RPE rating of players was an indication of lack of energy, lower performance, chances of any injury, etc. Such monitoring enabled us to keep in contact with the players, and discuss with them any reasons of possible injury. In addition, it allowed the department to collaborate with the medical department to formulate a plan to ensure optimum level of fitness of the players. Moreover, this weekly process included competition of players with each other based on the coach’s ratings where the player with eight would be the lowest scorer, and ‘thirty-two’ would be the best scorer. Subsequently, both coach’s and RPE’s ratings were

Summary and Analysis of The Physicians Tale Essay example -- Canterbu

Summary and Analysis of The Physician's Tale (The Canterbury Tales) The Physician's Tale: As Titus Livius tells us, there was once a knight called Virginius who had many friends, much wealth, and a loving wife and daughter. The daughter possessed a beauty so great that even Pygmalion could not create her equal. She was also humble in speech and avoided events in which her virtue could be compromised. There was a judge, Appius who governed the town who saw the knight's daughter, and lusted after her. He believed that he could take the daughter by force. He plotted against the daughter with a churl named Claudius. In Appius' court Claudius accuses Virginius of stealing his servant (the daughter), and Appius immediately decides that Virginius must hand over his daughter to Claudius. Vir...

Film: a Form of Literature and Understanding It

Film: A Form of Literature and Understanding It The purpose of literature not only describes reality but also adds to it. It’s not merely a depiction of reality; it is rather a value-addition. Literary works are interpretations of the thinking patterns and social standards established in society. They are portrayals of the different aspects of everyday life. Literary works serve as a provision for thought and a boost for imagination and creativity. Reading and understanding literature can help someone understand life better. They help a person take a closer look at the different sides of life. In many ways, it can change one's perspective towards life. There are different forms of literature, like film. Film can be considered a form of literature. Literature is about telling a story and entertaining its readers. Film is the exact same way; it tells a story and entertains us throughout it. In film and literature they often relate to someone in some way. They can give lessons in life, and can have an influence on our behavior. This is because we often find ourselves trying to associate with what we see and search for similarities between these characters and ourselves. They can develop our progress to consider things morally. For example a movie with an anti-war theme can make a person rethink what war should be just because they portrayed the film in a particular way. This starts with reading what the film has to offer in terms of what it’s trying to portray. When trying to study what the film has to offer, it’s not just about what the movie is about and who is acting, but rather in what way the film is presented to you. There are five key elements to reading and analyzing film. These five key elements are the narrative, staging, cinematography, editing and sound. We will be analyzing the film Troy. In some films such as Troy there is narration in the beginning of the film as well as the ending of the film. It starts like this with Odysseus saying, â€Å"Men are haunted by the vastness of eternity and so we ask ourselves: Will our actions echo across the centuries? Will strangers hear our names long after we are gone, and wonder who we were, how bravely we fought, how fiercely we loved. † This foreshadows what the film is going to be about. It sets the mood for the film which you know is going to be about war and the legacy of the heroes who fought in the battle of Troy. The film ends with Odysseus narrating again. He says, â€Å"If they ever tell my story let them say that I walked with giants. Men rise and fall like the winter wheat, but these names will never die. Let them say I lived in the time of Hector, tamer of horses. Let them say I lived in the time of Achilles. † This just sums up how epic the film was in terms of showing the significance of the war and heroes. It makes you wonder about if Hector and Achilles were really that great. Staging consists of the setting, space, lighting, acting and choreography, and costume and make-up. The setting is very realistic in terms of the time period of which it supposedly happened. It’s very symbolic to the film because it creates the imagery during that time. Every scene you see brings a sense of awe because it’s so realistic in terms of getting everything right with the costumes, the make-up and props used. The atmosphere and lighting of the film are very clear and natural. The acting was amazing and it definitely made the film more believable and the strong acting could manipulate sympathies towards the characters. It created suspense and complexity within the acting such as the battle scenes and emotional scenes. For example when Hector and Achilles face off, you don’t want either of them to die but someone has to. Hector has a wife and newborn baby while Achilles is out of vengeance and avenging his cousin’s death, creating complex emotions for the viewer. Cinematography was rather frustrating in Troy. In some scenes of the movie it looks much sharper than others. The other was the zooming; to me it was just too much and didn’t match some particular parts of the story. Like when Hector opens the doors of the city to face Achilles, it didn’t really make sense in this film. It just made it look way more dramatic than it needed to be. The editing done in the film had lots of cuts throughout the film especially the battle scenes, but they are necessary. The music of this film makes the story more dramatic to look at. The music is very on key with how they portray the scenes and characters in the movie. It creates a more epic effect with the music. The foundation of the important concepts to understand the movie Troy better are noticeable. From the sound to the staging and acting it makes the story more dramatic. It creates an artistic view to the film because of what it’s trying to portray based off the narration from Odysseus.

Gp Essay Mainpoints - 24643 Words

GP NOTES 2010 (ESSAY) Content Page 1. Media a. New vs. Traditional b. New: narcissistic? c. Government Censorship d. Profit-driven Media e. Advertising f. Private life of public figures g. Celebrity as a role model h. Blame media for our problems i. Power + Responsibility of Media j. Media ethics k. New Media and Democracy 2. Science/Tech a. Science and Ethics b. Government and scientist role in science c. Rely too much on technology? d. Nuclear technology e. Genetic modification f. Right tech for wrong reasons 3. Arts/Culture a. Arts have a future in Singapore? b. Why pursue Arts? c. Arts and technology d. Uniquely Singapore: Culture 4. Environment a. Developed vs.†¦show more content†¦Cover page of economist: President Obama at oil spill (cut a lonely figure: portrays the multitude of problems faced by America and his helplessness in coming up with solutions): Photoshopped †¢ Inherent bias/political slants †¢ E.g. Fox news channel headed by Republican supporters often portray Democrats in a negative light. Fox’s anchorman compared the logo of the recent nuclear technology forums, approved by President Obama, with the Muslim crescent, accusing Obama of having Muslim inclinations. The logo, in fact, was a representation of the scientific atom and had nothing to do with religion whatsoever. †¢ Government-regulated †¢ E.g. With the tight regulations and censorship procedures on media put in place by the Iranian government in the lead-up to the 2009 Presidential elections, any news of a manipulated election process would unlikely have reached the larger global community. It was onl y with social networking sites like Twitter that Iranian activists could raise the alert as to possible discrepancies in the re-election of President Ahmadinejad. †¢ When the media has so many other motives, it can hardly be relied on to provide reliable information. The individual, on the other hand, has less hidden agendas. Mainstream GOOD: Use professional journalists (compared to