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We haven't visited the Secrets and Stones universe much in this series, but we will today. Today's flash fic is set three or four years before all of the other stories in that series thus far. 
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Today’s lesson covers a very simple form of figurative language. An onomatopoeia is a word that sounds like its meaning.
Examples would include words such as boom, bang, crunch, clatter, crackle, hiss, and buzz. Comic books and comic strips have made use of enough onomatopoeia it has become rather cliche. Who hasn’t seen a panel of a superhero punching a villain with a big “pow” written out in colorful bubble letters? We're back in the Supers Universe with today's story. "Your Timing Needs Work" takes place about an hour or so after the events of "Not in the Job Description" and "Symbolic Name Fail." While it is not necessary to have read these particular flash pieces or the series as a whole to understand today's story, having done so will probably make it more enjoyable. Emma and Cameron are two of the main players in the universe as a whole, so long time readers have seen the dynamic between these two in different situations and know why Cameron is beaten to a pulp.  In a manner of speaking, many of the paintings and literary masterpieces we consider classics are fan works.
Shakespeare is well known for taking the work of other writers and improving upon it when crafting his plays. When you get right down to it, what are Paradise Lost and Dante’s Inferno but fan fiction written about the Bible? Many of the earlier novelists took inspiration from each other’s work, often borrowing heavily from one another. Aside from portraits, what are the subjects of most of the famous Renaissance paintings we learned about in school? They either featured Bible scenes or scenes from Greek or Roman mythology. Today's story takes us back to the AI Universe immediately following the events of "Unauthorized Call." While those who have read the AI series up until this point will have a deeper understanding of what is going on, the flash fiction is written from the point-of-view of a character who doesn't know what is going on. So, no prior knowledge is needed at all to understand the fic.  Alliteration is one of the less obvious forms of figurative language. It is much more about impact rather than the image produced, so it can be easy to overlook.
What exactly is alliteration? Alliterative text uses the repetition of initial consonant sounds for effect, which is to say, the author uses words that start with the same letter, or same consonant sound, in a row to make a phrase stand out. Tongue twisters are almost always alliterative. Sally sells sea shells by the sea shore. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. We're back in the Myth and Science universe today with a story set about four months after the events of "Strange Neighbors." Those who have read the series will recognize the characters and understand their backstories; however, the story can be understood perfectly well without having read any of the others.  Being both a homeschool family and a bunch of creatives, it’s no wonder summer is a busy time for the lot of us when it comes to our personal projects. During the break the kids and I all take advantage of the extra time to pour a few more hours each day into the creative pursuits we work on throughout the year. So it also tends to be a time of skill growth as well.
This is always a good thing, though both girls have found it to also be a tad frustrating. You see, they have a talent for more visual arts than me, and both have been progressing quickly. This is developmentally normal given their ages and the leaps in fine motor control and abilities to understand and think through complex sequences. However, this becomes a bit of a problem when working on large scope projects such as the comic series one is writing and the animation and game design the other is pursuing. By the time they finish a leg of the project, the art they are producing no longer looks like what they did at the beginning. Today's story ventures farther back into the past of the Yekara Universe farther than we have ever gone before. "Before the Fall" is set roughly 30 years before the events of Right of Succession. Those who have read the novel will notice a few familiar names; however, the story makes sense on its own and does not contain spoilers for the novel. I did adjust the wording of the last sentence in this dialogue prompt just a bit to fit more with the setting, but the meaning and tone remains the same.  It's the fifth Tuesday of the month, so it's time for a Blast from the Past post. The one I picked this time was part of a 30 day blogging challenge I did back in 2012. I've learned a lot about myself since then, and some things have changed. So I thought I'd have a bit of fun with it and point out where I was way off base with a few things and whatnot.
New comments will be written in green. Everything else is from the original post from January 7, 2012. |
A. B. England is a small business owner, mom of two, novelist, all around geek, and avid crafter. She loves mythology, fantasy, and all flavors of science fiction.
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Work QueYekara Series Book 2 Prewriting/Outlining 20% The Icarus Project Rough Draft Progress 77384 / 75000 Myth & Science Collection Planning Stages 38% Supers Collection
Planning Stages 23% Icarus Series Book 2 Sketched w/ Some Drafting Icarus Collection
Sketched Yekara Series Book 3
Sketched Myth & Science Collection 2
Intent Only at this Time Icarus Trilogy Book 3
Sketched Supers Collection 2
Intent Only at this Time Yekara Series Book 4
Sketched |