Aspiring Author: Rachael Soderstrom

    Okay, here comes a bit of bragging...but what can I say, I'm a very proud grandma!!

May 10th - Rachael's 17th Birthday

My grand daughter, Rachael has been writing stories for quite some time and has been working on her novel for years.  She has now ventured out into the world of networking!  She joined with me and my writer "wolf-clan" over at the "Writer's Circle" - a group of awesomesauce writers on Facebook.  (You know who you are!)

And now, she's created a Writer's page on FaceBook and also started her own Blog!

It made me proud, happy, and excited to hear her squeal with joy each time another person followed her or liked her page tonight.   We were on the phone, on Facebook, and on her blog all at the same time while I helped her figure out a few of the glitchy things on each site.  We laughed together, we got excited together, and even after we hung up, I continued to watch her blog gain a few more followers! It's so cool to know she will wake up tomorrow with even more followers and comments posted on her blog.

Of course, this grandma posted links all over the place...I even sent it to my Twitter account! Can you blame me?  Look at this awesome kid!

Rachael is going to be a famous author one day...I just know it.  She has a passion for writing that not many have at such a young age. And her imagination is out of this world!

 Please take a peek at (and follow) her brand new Blog here:
 https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmask-unveiling.blogspot.com%2F&h=qAQCSBeA7

And Like her Writer's Page here:
 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rachael-Soderstrom-Writer/242824722408277 

Thanking all of you in advance!

To Thesaurus Or Not To Thesaurus

~That Is The Question~

  

*I posted this quote/question on my Writer's Page this week from stand-up comedian, Steven Wright.  It's kind of cute, and made me think about how and why I use my thesaurus. 

~ ~ ~ ~ 

A very famous author has been quoted as saying: "Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word.  There are no exceptions to this rule."  ~Stephen King~

And when I say very famous, I mean VERY famous.  Is there anyone who has not heard of him?

Many of his books have been turned into some of MY favorite movies! 

The Shawshank Redemption

The Shining

I'm sure most of you also remember The Green Mile, Firestarter, Dream Catcher and 1408.  All Stephen King stories turned into great movies.  And so many more, which proves he is a great story teller. And yet, I beg to differ with his opinion about the use of a thesaurus. 

What about finding alternative words when you've over-used a word or you just want to avoid using a cliché?  What if you just want the right effect and you know the word in your mind just won't do?

I use an online thesaurus called WordWeb that also utilizes the dictionary- so as not to accidentally throw a word into my work that is incorrect.  I am aware that some writers do that, and I am very careful to make sure I understand the definition of a (new) word before I use it.  Perhaps that is why King believes any "hunted" word would be wrong.  

Do you agree with Stephen King?       If not, which one do you use and why?

And, what do you think (believe, consider, imagine, suppose) Stephen King meant (had in mind, implied, intended, thought) when he made that comment (remark, input, statement, assertion) in the first place? 

I would LOVE  (enjoy, like, desire, want) to hear your thoughts on this!

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*The answer to Steven Wright's question: Thesaurus = word finder, word book, synonym-dictionary.  

Thanks for reading!