Monday, February 14, 2022
The past is more familiar than we think....by Sheila Claydon
Monday, January 10, 2022
Subliminal Advertising
How many of the following products can you recognize?
1. 1. You’ll
wonder where the yellow went…
2. 2. Wake
up to _____ in your cup.
3. 3. They’re
magically delicious.
4. 4. Plop,
plop, fizz, fizz…
5. 5. I
wish I was an __________.
6. 6. Double
your pleasure, double your fun…
When television advertisers created jingles, they discovered a very important fact. Jingles were catchy, short songs easily remembered and repeated by children. Thus for every time a jingle played on TV, children would repeat it and basically gain the product “free” advertising. If you completed the six examples above, did you sing the jingle as you tried to finish it? Uh-hum. J
Another way companies brand their product is by
developing a spokesperson who is in all their ads. Recognize these? Is it
possible to say their name without adding the company they’re associated with?
Companies also get you invested in their products by
having celebrities in their commercials. State Farm is one of the best known to me as they use several football icons in their commercials. And if you’re a football
fan, you think “if it’s good enough for them maybe I should take a look.”
Back in 1967, I did a term paper on subliminal
advertising*, the art of projecting indiscernible objects onto a movie or
television screen to see if people watching would be influenced by that projection.
For example, a small picture of a popcorn box was put into the top corner of
the movie screen – flashed for only a tenth of a second – and statistics were
kept as to whether popcorn sales increased. Keep in mind sight is only one of
our senses; therefore advertisers can bombard us in any number of ways. Think
of the last time you walked through a mall (I realize that was a really long
time ago) and you smelled caramel popcorn or the rich aroma of roasted coffee.
How easily your feet moved you in that direction. * What
Is Subliminal Advertising? Definition, Types & More - ShareThis
I find this subject fascinating although I know
there can be far reaching effects from such “brainwashing”. You need to be
aware that suggestions are being made to you not only with actual commercials
(which we tend to walk away from to get our lunch or use the restroom) but
within the program itself. For those familiar with the movie “E.T.”, remember what
candy became an overnight sensation when the movie came out? Hershey agreed to spend $1 million promoting E.T. in exchange for the rights to use E.T.
in its ads. The payoff was huge—the little peanut butter candies saw a reported
65% to 85% jump in profits just two weeks after the movie's premiere.
The examples, of
course, are everywhere, but I started thinking about how much closer to home
such things were as a writer. Without consciously thinking about it, my heroine
asks for a Kleenex when she sneezes; the hero opens the door of his F-150 pick
up to take her to the local pizza joint where they have cokes and wood fire
pizza. I am certainly not getting paid to use brand names in my writing (wouldn’t
that be nice) but do I have to be concerned about saying “coke” instead of “soda”?
In some cases, the need to use a brand name helps distinguish and define the
people in the story. For example, the hero putting on a North Face jacket tells you he has good
(and more expensive) taste and enjoys outside activities. Naming a premium wine
choice at the restaurant is similar.
Rights
of Writers: Can I Mention Brand Name Products in My Fiction? Is an excellent article by Mark
Fowler about the four basic types of brand/trademark problems in writing, with
examples of each, but his bottom line is, “The use of brand names in fiction is
not a sleep-depriving issue. It would be obsessive (and stylistically
unpalatable) to use the R-in-a-circle symbol or the TM symbol every time you
refer to a brand name in your text. And, as long as you do not write
falsely and disparagingly about real brands and the companies who manufacture
them, you are unlikely ever to run into a problem.”
I had the delight
of sharing some of this discussion with my characters, JC and Charlie in “Loving
Charlie Forever”, a time travel. They were trying to figure out what they could
“invent” back in 1850s to support themselves, but were having a bit of an integrity
crisis worrying about taking away another’s invention before its time. I’ve
always liked writing time travels because of the knowledge that some characters
have given they’re from the future. Usually though, they don’t have the wherewithal
to invent a particular item. And afterall, what fun would that be for the real
inventors?
In your reading,
and perhaps your writing, you’re likely to run across brand names and chances
are, you read right over them with the intent to which they were used. If it
bothers you as an author to “promote” a brand name, (afterall, they’re not
paying you to mention their product) then use a generic form or eliminate the
reference altogether.
If you like time travels, I invite you to check out the following at Books We Love:
"Spinning Through Time"
Prospecting for Love"
"Hold on to the Paat"
"Loving Charlie Forever"
Don't forget to enter BWL's New Year, New You. Visit their website for a chance to win a delightful spa basket!
All
Best Wishes,
Barb
http://www.authorsden.com/barbarajbaldwin
https://bookswelove.net/baldwin-barbara/
Sunday, October 10, 2021
Ghosts
Ghosts
What else am I to write about in October? I watched “Casper” as a kid and the great TV show “Topper”. I loved “Medium” and “Ghost Whisperer”. If you bend the spectrum a little, shows like “Highlander” and “Forever”, which deal with immortals, could also be considered in this realm of otherworldliness.
I believe in ghosts and have gone on “haunted” cemetery tours, and “talked” with spirits on a Ouija Board. When I was maybe thirteen, I woke one night and swore I saw a ghost (or angel) at the foot of my bed. It may have been my sister, but considering I was on the top bunk, maybe not.
There was a favorite old road in Charleston, SC where we would go in high school to be on the lookout for ghosts said to haunt the swamps. (There were “sightings” which were probably just swamp gas.) I have come to realize that it was most likely a story invented by the guys because the area was very dark, very spooky and a very good place to take a girl on a Saturday night.
I’ve had ghosts appear in several of the books I’ve written, but they’re never malevolent or threatening because I don’t write horror. I can’t watch scary movies either, so my ghosts must be helpful in some way and not harmful.
My first pair of literary ghosts were Zeke and Lucky, two old prospectors in PROSPECTING FOR LOVE, a story that was such fun to write because in addition to the ghosts, the story is a time travel. That also puts it in another dimension, for who is to say whether the present as we know it is the only time plane currently evolving. In fact, perhaps our present is actually another person’s past, or future. Does that make us the ghosts to someone else’s existence? It can all get rather complicated.
Zeke and Lucky died in a mining accident 1870 and have been wandering around Peavine as ghosts until they can undo the accident that also killed their friend, Jesse Cole. When they spy Ellie, they realize the time has come because she looks exactly like Jesse’s girlfriend, Elizabeth. They can transport Ellie back to a time prior to the accident, but because she knows nothing of the 1870s, they must act as her guides and mentors to keep her out of trouble. PROSPECTING FOR LOVE is a light-hearted read and at times hilarious as Zeke and Lucky attempt to keep Ellie in line while trying to discover what went wrong the first time in history so they can prevent it from happening again.
I don’t always intentionally use ghosts as characters. In A GAME OF LOVE the ghost of an American Revolution era woman practically demanded that I tell her story. She made her presence known to my main character and no matter how much Megan didn’t want to believe in ghosts, and regardless of where I thought the story should go, Laurie McCluer was not about to be silenced. Megan leans more toward believing the ghost is trying to help her solve a mystery, but it creates friction between her and her childhood crush turned current love. Perhaps it’s because he’s a Boston detective who believes in physical evidence, not hazy green apparitions. Ghostly Laurie proved relentless and I finally had to let her story be told, which in the long run was really quite helpful.
If you like stories with ghosts but without the scares, I think you’ll enjoy A GAME OF LOVE (contemporary) and PROSPECTING FOR LOVE (historic time travel). They’re both available at https://bookswelove.net.
Also for the holiday season, Books We Love is having a give-away now through December 15. You can easily enter at https://bookswelove.net for a chance to win a free holiday eBook (my newest is included) and a chance to win an eBook reader. Books We Love knows how much you love books and we want to help spread the cheer.
Early
Best Wishes,
Barb
http://www.authorsden.com/barbarajbaldwin
https://bookswelove.net/baldwin-barbara/
Friday, September 10, 2021
Treasure Hunting
Available at www.bookswelove.net |
Can you believe it’s September already? While our world isn’t exactly all roses at the moment, let me take you back in time to September 5, 1856. On that day near Parkville, Kansas, 150 people lost all their possessions as they were tossed into the river when the Steamboat Arabia, on which they traveled, hit a tree limb and sank within minutes. (And you thought you were having a bad day.) Note that at this time there was no travel insurance, either for the people or for the 200 tons of cargo the Arabia transported. Although no lives were lost, possessions and cargo sank beneath the river and would not be rediscovered for another 130 years. Over the years since 1856, many people have searched for the Arabia as there was a reported large quantity of whiskey on board which would fetch quite a sum at market. When it was finally discovered and unearthed in 1988 in a Kansas cornfield there was no whiskey, but there was a treasure-trove of pre Civil War goods heading for the wilderness around Omaha, NE. The first intent by the salvagers was to sell the treasure but they decided to restore and preserve, thus we now have a wonderful working museum down at River Market in Kansas City. It’s not your traditional treasure of gold and silver but rather a time capsule of the 1850s. I was amazed at the amount and diversity of goods aboard the steamboat. Everything from buttons and shoes to construction tools and preserved pickles are artfully displayed in the museum. On any given day, visitors can watch preservationists diligently working on other uncovered items that tell a story not readily available in our history books. Even though the Arabia museum is a work in progress and the restoration of artifacts continues, Dave Hawley (one of the original treasure hunters) has continued searching for other steamboats. The Missouri River has an estimated 300-400 sunken riverboats, many of which are now deep beneath farm fields as the river has changed course over the years. In 2016 he finally located the Malta, a steamboat sunk in 1841, loaded with Indian trading supplies for the American Fur Company. Aboard the side-wheeler steamer was cargo for Peter Sarpy, Papin & Robidoux and other Chouteau trading posts and merchants along the Missouri River. Once metal detectors hit a strong signal they drilled for a core sample which resulted in finding 150 gold buttons, fabric, well-preserved ceramics and a large iron hook. But as of today, the Malta is still 37 feet underground as the cost of excavation is around $3 million. You can find out more at Malta | The Arabia Steamboat Museum | Kansas City (1856.com). From the time the Arabia museum opened, I have been an avid visitor anytime I’m in town. The evolving displays fascinate me; the history of the river and steamboats lure me into a past which I know was much harsher than how I romanticize it. Yet that is what fiction writing is about – taking a real event and spinning a tale of romance and intrigue. I love entwining the past with the present and especially like having the museum at my fingertips for research. I invite you to come aboard the Arabia with me on her last fateful journey by getting a copy of “Hold On To the Past” (available at www.bookswelove.net.). Sunken
steamboats on the river or storm-wrecked sailing vessels on the ocean – these are
the settings for legends, tall tales and great historical novels.
Barb Baldwin http://www.authorsden.com/barbarajbaldwin https://bookswelove.net/baldwin-barbara/ |
Saturday, April 10, 2021
Fusing Ideas
Over the years, I have dabbled in many different art forms. At one time, I made candles and wove baskets and macramé plant hangers. I learned how to quilt and to make pottery on a wheel. I tried my hand at watercolor and quilling, both of which were quickly set aside for lack of ability…and patience. For more years than I can count, I’ve had the pleasure of working with artist Kymm Hughes to learn the art of fused glass. The process of layering glass and combining colors and designs gives me a sense of accomplishment, much like when I finish writing a book.
Fused glass is different from stained glass. The temperament of the glass is different, and whereas stained glass is seamed together with foil and solder, fused glass is basically melted together in a kiln. In a nutshell, I start with a flat piece of base glass, then cut and lay out my design, gluing the pieces in place and then it is fired in a kiln. At this point it is still flat. Once cooled, it is set on a mold for slumping, which is the process of again heating it in a kiln until the glass “slumps” into the design of the mold, sometimes making a deep bowl and sometimes a dish with simple curved up corners.
What is so much fun is creating the design for a piece. Sometimes the
glass needs to be cut very specifically to fit a space or a pattern. Other times, like the fish, I used only scraps I found in the bins to design the picture I wanted. Even the smallest pieces a glass are kept in different color tubs to be used at some later point.
Since this is a writing blog, you know where this is going, right? It’s easy to see how similar creating a fused glass piece is to creating a story. Both start with a blank slate – paper, computer screen or piece of glass. Many times I start writing with no more than a basic idea for my story. Will it be straight romance like the bowl of flowers? Should I make it with overlapping colors and layers for a mystery? Are the characters intensely detailed and multifaceted like a mosaic? If you look at the multicolored abstract photo and the blue/sunflower picture, notice they both are made with rectangles but the overall finished pieces are so very different. I see that in my writing as well. I might write two contemporaries but the colorful characters, the difference in settings and the arrangement of scenes makes each story unique.
Once in a while it’s fun to try something new and totally different. I wondered if I could put a small sand dollar in-between pieces of glass – basically adding something foreign to the mix. We didn’t know what the sand dollar would do – would it hold its shape while being fired or would it explode? In writing, that something different for me is writing time travel; a combination of present and past with a twist. Will the change in some basic element in the story create a new and different pattern, or will the whole thing explode on my computer screen and leave me with a gaping hole in my plot? There’s really no way to know until I try. That’s what I love about my time travels--all are totally unique in design and format.
If you enjoy trying new things, I
encourage you to search for a fused glass studio in your area. Sometimes
classes are taught through colleges; sometimes by individual artists. If you like reading something different, I
invite you to try a time travel from my Books We Love library:
Prospecting for Love
Spinning Through Time
Loving Charlie Forever
Hold on to the Past
Here’s to trying something new.
Barb Baldwin
http://www.authorsden.com/barbarajbaldwin
https://bookswelove.net/baldwin-barbara/
Saturday, February 13, 2021
The changing style of romantic fiction...by Sheila Claydon
Wednesday, February 10, 2021
Naming February -- Creativity Month
Although
February is the birthday month of such great Americans as Abraham Lincoln,
George Washington and my son, most people tend to think of Valentine’s Day when
you mention February. And of course, Valentine’s Day makes one think of LOVE.
So just for fun, I looked up people whose last name was LOVE. Here are a few
interesting ones.
Augustus Edward Hough Love, (1863 – 1940), often known as A. E. H. Love, was a mathematician famous for his work on the mathematical theory of elasticity. He also won the Adams prize in 1911 for developing a mathematical model of surface waves known as Love waves. Love also contributed to the theory of tidal locking and introduced the parameters known as Love numbers, which are widely used today in problems related to the tidal deformation of the Earth due to the gravitational attraction of the Moon and Sun. He authored the two volume classic, A Treatise on the Mathematical Theory of Elasticity.
Harry Montagu Love (1877 --1943) was an English screen, stage and vaudeville actor. Educated in Great Britain, Love began his career as an artist, with his first important job as an illustrator for The Illustrated Daily News in London. Love's acting debut came with an American company in a production in the Isle of Wight. He honed basic stage talents in London. He was typically cast in heartless villain roles. Love was one of the more successful villains in silent films.
Kermit Ernest Hollingshead Love (1916 – 2008) was an American puppet maker, puppeteer, costume designer, and actor in children's television and on Broadway. He was best known as a designer and builder with the Muppets, in particular those on Sesame Street. Love built Oscar the Grouch and then Big Bird after a drawing was designed by Henson. Love also helped create Cookie Monster. Later, he designed Mr. Snuffleupagus.
Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Her career has spanned four decades. In 2020, NME named her "one of the most influential singers in alternative culture of the last 30 years." Love has also been active as a writer; she co-created and co-wrote three volumes of a manga, Princess Ai, between 2004 and 2006, and wrote a memoir, Dirty Blonde: The Diaries of Courtney Love (2006).
The interesting thing I noticed about these people
was they were all very creative and left their marks on the arts, including
music and writing. Even the mathematician wrote books. As a writer myself, I
love the idea of making February creativity month, especially for those of us
who write romance--the story of relationships and love.
Not all of my romance novels have the word “love” in
the title, but as I look them over, I found three different subgenres that did.
“A Game of Love” is a contemporary set in Boston with a little mystery, a lot
of passion and even a ghost. “Love in Disguise” is an historical full of hidden
identities, murder and intrigue and a very feminist heroine even though it’s
set in 1876. One of my most recent, “Loving Charlie Forever” is a great time
travel set in an old west town in South Dakota; again with mystery and a great
deal of romance and love.
All the love and romance you could want is available
in these and other books of mine available through Books We Love at https://www.bookswelove.net.
My love to you this February and throughout the
year.
Barb Baldwin
http://www.authorsden.com/barbarajbaldwin
https://bookswelove.net/baldwin-barbara/
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