PayPal, Misinformation, and You

I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

As an author, I stay out of political debate as often as possible. If I were to fall on one side of the fence or the other, I would risk pissing off half my audience.

The truth is most facts are not facts but opinions. Many of these are formed by the media and those who own them.

Opinions are not facts, ergo not a debatable topic. Opinions based on feelings are IEDs just waiting to go off when you tread on one of them.

The most recent post regarding fines from PayPal for those who dare to speak their mind, engaging in free speech, was an audacious attempt to test the water regarding muzzling the populations.

The USA is one of the last bastions of free speech, and it is under attack by everyone that wishes to control the masses. That is a fact, not fiction or opinion.

PayPal, as a company, ought to know better than to engage in blatant attacks on free speech.

They have backstepped their $2500 fine for those who dare to opine regarding a non-politically correct statement.

I am not one to call for boycotts. I will not do business with companies that infringe upon my ability to speak my mind.

Whoever even considered wading into the waters of fact-checkers biased by wokeness is rather foolish where stockholders are concerned.

I was rather pleased to see that the media now tells you that the clickbait you are about to check out is ‘opinion.’

There are way too many ‘opinions’ stated by racist individuals that were published as facts.

I don’t need hate in my life. Hate is like a contagion that spreads about as easily as Covid. When we disseminate such vitriol and animus toward someone we disagree with, we perpetuate the cycle of dividing the herd.

Some think you are too stupid to think for yourself. Instead of providing the facts for you to think about, they make you angry by using hyperbole as the trigger. The political ads you see on social media and TV make you mad at someone or a group.

If I offer you facts, I will engage your logical center and critical thinking skills. If, on the other hand, I piss you off, I will promote you into action without thinking it through. Think about it.

Road rage is absolute. If someone were to cut you off, do you give them the benefit of the doubt, or are you ready to cut them off in return? If the latter, you are the person the media likes to manipulate through your emotions. Those groups are a majority, which is a sad state of affairs.

The truth is that most people are good. If they cut you off, they most probably didn’t see you. Now, there are idiots out there as well. Not only do they drive, but they vote.

Love is also contagious. I manage to infect most people I run into during my daily routines with a smile, a kind word, and, yes, love of my fellow human.

Without being sappy, we need to learn from Pollyanna and look for the good in people.

-Best

Writers are Weird

At a recent conference for writers, I overheard a young lady telling her father, ‘Writers are weird.’

I wanted to give that idea some thought, well, the thought it deserved. ‘Are we strange?’

Thinking back to one of my novels, The Girl Nextdoor, I remember an extraordinary occurrence.

My main character decided to be gay.

In my novel, I am the creator, the god of all things, and who is this bitch to derail my whole train of thought on this novel?

Some call me a pantser. I think ‘discovery writer’ is probably easier to understand but, I suppose I, too, am strange. The characters tell the story. Some nights at 3 AM, they will awaken me with dialogue. You see, the difference between a hobbyist and a true writer or author is the former will turn over and ignore the characters. Famous last words ‘I will remember that in the morning.’

I, the author, will crawl out of bed and switch on the computer.

The loss of those golden ideas is a travesty if your characters are like mine. Does that make us weird?

I know many authors who are died in the wool plotters.

Imagine that you are taking a car trip from New York to San Diego. You have your destination plugged into the GPS, your gas tank is full, and your stops for fuel, food, and sleep are all planned out. That is a plotter. You most probably have a list that contains your activities for any given day of the week.

Now take that same scenario but, you don’t own a Garmin. You have a general idea of what the major highways are and, you know that you need to head west.

Which of the two do you think will get to San Diego first, assuming you both left at the same relative time?

Which do you think will stay on budget?

Which one will have more stories to tell?

One of you made it in three days and the other in three weeks; who do you think will have had more fun?

I am the latter when it comes to car trips and writing.

I know that my main character has a goal. She has a shitty life; her father is nowhere to be found, and she must raise herself. She believes the reason he is gone all the time is she is a disappointment to him. (the lie) She is an awkward child as she grew up without a mother. Spending her free time mimicking the stars on MTV (yes, dating myself), her brush becomes her mic and her stuffed animals her audience.

Magic comes into this story as she discovers the pixies who are guiding her, unbeknown to her.

Without plotting any of this, I knew that I wanted her singing to her stuffed animals to be part of the payoff. How do I get there?

What series of events must transpire to follow the story structure and make this story enjoyable with memorable characters?

What if we add another broken person who lives not too far from her?  What if her heritage is from Scotland, and what if she not only knows of the pixies but is aware of the white witches and so on?

The story unfolds early on when the two meet while she is under a spell.

This novel is one of my early works, and I will most probably be re-writing it soon. I can do so much better now than then.

Grammarly reports that I have written over 27 million words.  During that time, I cannot tell you the number of classes, seminars, and so forth that I have attended. Yes, many were virtual thanks to the pandemic but, that is good in a way; I didn’t lose the travel time.

While the story is still wonderful as it is, I want to take another stab at it.  See, we are weird.

My current NANO project is almost finished.  Forensic Assassin will be released soon. I am actually toying with the idea of publishing it on KDP for three months to get some feedback.  You folks make sure and follow me here or on Twitter, so you are notified when it is released. @authortwscott

The young lady who told her father that writers are weird was not far off the mark. The truth that she will discover one day is that we are all a little weird.

As far as the car trips, always allow extra days to explore the world around you. With smartphones, we are dependent on step-by-step directions and we probably cannot read a map to save our lives.

Stop at the out-of-the-way shops, and take the side roads instead of the large multi-lane freeways, if you can.

I am a chatty Kathy when it comes to travel and meeting people. You would be shocked how everyone has a story to tell, and if you can get them to speak…you might have a story for your next novel.

I typically will start with their name and compliment it. If they respond I tell them I am an author and I am always looking for names. That is a half-truth, I am looking for interesting people with a name.

Jim Croce ‘I got a name’ is worth listening to. The song began rattling around my head as I wrote that last line.

I hope you all have a super weekend and are staying safe during these trying times.

Follow me here, drop me a note. I love to hear from you.

Much Love -TW

God on a Shelf or Life on a Shelf

If you are my age or close, you might think back on the holidays with warm feelings. You might also think back on them, ‘you better be good, etc.’

As a young person, I drew the parallel rather quickly between Santa and Jesus. God or holy of holy was the adult version of Santa.

Instead of stuff, if you are good, you get eternal salvation. If you will notice that in many ‘religions,’ the goal post is fluid.

“What have you done for me today?” That makes you an eternal slave to whoever is pulling the strings.

Young folks have an elf on the shelf and a host of other motivations to ‘be good.’ Parents are practicing what the early church did by placing mystical powers into a plushie toy.

Before the elf, we had an imaginary guard who kept a list. Then there is the never-ending repertoire of Christmas songs tying Santa and Jesus together in one nice package. (Compliments of the early church.)

The retail establishment is capitalizing on greed and things that charm us push the lies even further and longer. Even before Halloween, we hear the little drummer boy on the store speakers.

By the way, whatever idiot wrote that song never had babies they were trying to put to bed. I dare say if he played his drum for him, Jesus would have been beside himself, and Mary would have been asking Joseph to throw the rascal out.

I digress.   

If you, as an adult, picture heaven or hell as depicted in biblical references, even the dullest of the dull will see that they were written to appeal to your fears and greed.

Streets of Gold

Jewels in Crown

The right hand of Jesus

Lake of fire

And so on.

Carl Sagan described death as a long dreamless sleep. He was an atheist, which is almost a religion unto itself. Was Carl on to something, or was he blinded by his revulsion of the early church and their long list of atrocities committed on their fellow man?

“What do you want for Christmas?”

I am asked this question every year for both the holiday and birthdays and so on. “If I wanted it bad enough to even think that I would like it or use it, I bought it already.” With Amazon, we shop at 3 am or on the toilette.

What do you want and why?

After the last two years of losing so many to disease, one quickly realizes that ‘stuff’ is not the answer.

In legalese, they call it ‘residual.’

The bible refers to it as things that charmed us. To those left behind, those things are a burden. Why? Undoubtedly, they will have some emotional attachment to the residual, and the cycle will repeat.

After losing family and friends, I get it. My garage is unusable as a garage, thanks to residual that is too good to toss and not my style to infiltrate my personal space. You might know a collector of things or perhaps a hoarder.

Antique malls and online shops are full of residual. From clothes to photographs, everything is there. Those things that charmed us at Christmas time or other occasions are also there. From toys, tops to board games, and yes, what is left of that EZ bake oven are on a shelf waiting for someone else to enjoy it.

I enjoyed watching that show the pickers. It was the perfect personification of what I am talking about. Shit in storage sheds, or as the bible calls it, things for moths to eat or rust to ruin.

I reject organized religion for what it is, brainwashing and a control mechanism. From the early church to modern-day religion, ‘to me’ religion is just another form of control. Using guilt to beguile you into giving of your time and treasure is just evil in the purest sense of the word.

Employing fear and greed as a control mechanism might seem like a good idea, but in reality, it does nothing but teach us to be ‘good’ when someone is around to see us being good.

This is part of the reason that the creature known as man is so messed up.

If you reject that theory, think about how you slow down when you see a cop, in front of or behind you. Instead of ‘being good’ when nobody is around, which we should be doing, we want others to witness our generosity when putting money on the plate. Very sad.

Don’t misunderstand me; I know there is an ultimate creator of all things. We can’t go to heaven or hell and come back with a phone full of pictures but, we can look at the evidence at hand. From what we can examine, we can develop a hypothesis that would be convincing.

The scriptures warn us to stay away from those who practice mystical things. Why?

I won’t go into this huge dissertation on why I believe what I believe but, I will say that we have a bicameral mind. There is much more that we are capable of as humans if we will ever look past our desires for things, or sex, or other forms of personal gratification.

While I am certain that the bible is NOT the breath of God or God-breathed, there is ample evidence that its creators, to some extent, were enlightened.  

There is also abundant evidence that man, in the form of a governing body of the masses, uses this book even today as a way to control you.

The early church was the school, the church, and the government. Any research on your part will bring you face to face with the harsh reality of the ugliness of mankind and how power corrupts.

No, I am not advocating purple Kool-Aid or joining the monks or even a monastery.  There is, in fact, no physical place to escape the harsh reality of mankind. Humankind is truly a misnomer in the purest sense of the word. By nature, man is not kind.

I am not advocating leaving the church. I am suggesting you dig into its history and understand how they use your fears, wants, and desires to manipulate you.

Enlightenment is the key to a happy life.  

Even in one of my naughtiest novels, I talk about this subject. Why there?

I want to reach those who would never pick up the bible. In many of my novels is wisdom derived from life, God, and yes, the bible. Weaved into the tapestry of stories that might titillate are also fragments of reality, truth, and enlightenment.  

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I put the Gospel next to the G-spot. Why?  Because that is what and who we are. Imagine staying out of church because some asshole preaches from Leviticus telling you that you are doomed as long as you are who you are. That is simply a lie.  

I was asked not long ago why I write such a diverse spectrum of novels.

Firstly, I know who and what I am. I am an angel in the kitchen, a sexual creature in the bedroom, and a purveyor of wisdom at the keyboard.

Anyone who denies this about themselves is a fool. We were designed this way.

Once you know who and what you are, then you can tear down the lies that got you there and begin to resurrect the person you were meant to be.  

I write what I write to speak to you, or some part of you.

I write to please myself, to perfect the craft, and with time, and a little luck, earn enough of a passive income stream so I can focus on what is important to me as a person and not to my bank account.

What about you?

What’s on your shelf?

It has been said, “that the truth will set you free.”  Free from what or who?

As long as you live a lie, you are in bondage to those who know how to manipulate you through fear, hate, and bigotry. With hate for your fellow man in your heart, it’s easy for those with an agenda to control you and keep you miserable.

I said that there was no physical place to escape the realities of this world. The constant stream of lies from the MSM might be a good place to avoid.  You can control your space and what you allow into your head.

I write under the Pseudonym TWScott because of where I reside. I happen to be in a nest of heavily brainwashed trolls who go to church every time the door is open. I often feel like I am living in the perpetual movie the Pod People.

Not all are this way but, if I were to write under my name, I would have to move to LA or Hollywood.

Most, not all, are the walking dead.  They work on autopilot and often nod their heads at anything they hear from the MSM or the preacher.

I want to know where Cain’s wife came from.  

Fun fact: If the flood story was factual and the arc landed on top of the tallest mountain around, that would mean that the ARC is somewhere around 30,000 feet.

The dove went out and brought back an olive branch while floating around at 30,000 feet.

Either God is a lousy scientist or the writers of that story didn’t understand atmospheric pressure, AKA Boyles law. I would wager the latter.

Either the ARC was floating around at -30C, or because of the amount of saturated air, they were at about 350C, and the Earth looked very much like Venus does today.

In laymen’s terms, the arc, if real and not literal, was full of frozen critters or crispy critters.

In order to get to the truth, you have to be willing to accept that you might be harboring some lies. Yes, those lies were certainly placed there by those that want to use them as a cudgel in some form or fashion.

The early church was the worst of the worst. History is littered with atrocities committed in the name of religion.

Know why you believe what you believe.  Don’t allow your crap to control your life. Treat others as you want to be treated. Do the right thing when nobody is around to see it.

No, Santa or the Elf or Jesus saw you not steal that candy bar. You saw yourself do the right thing, and that’s all that matters.

Much Love -TW

Nano November

Yes, I am working on an outline for a book to create during November.

To keep your tools sharp, you need to use them. Grammarly just reported that I went over 26 million words in October. 

Think about 26 million words all typed on this Logitech k350 keyboard. I have replaced keycaps on a few of the keys. Other than paint rubbing off, been a great keyboard.

Today I entered a flash fiction contest. I don’t for the life of me understand how Word, Grammarly, and Pro-writing aid disagree on so much.

Between the AP manual and the Chicago style manual, I am just not sure which is correct.

From Dialogue tags to internal thoughts, English has changed since I was in school.

Who dreams up this stuff?

Where publishing is concerned, use an editor. I spent days trying to teach myself what they consider to be ‘good grammar.’

I used to believe the comma was my only nemesis, not even close.

The Little Brown Book has nothing on today’s style.

I will leave you with this final thought. If you are not sure, the odds are excellent that the reader will not be sure either. Go back and read some of the literary greats if you want to blow what you think you know about grammar out of the water.

My secret is this, Write the Damned Story. Please don’t get your knickers wrapped around the axle where it comes to grammar. The more you write, the fewer mistakes you will find when you finally do edit it. 

Once written, put it away. Last year’s project is still in the drawer, waiting for me to edit it with a fresh set of eyes.

Don’t rest on your laurels. Once you develop that habit of writing, stick with it. I have found that between 4 AM and 6 AM works well for me. It would shock you how you will bounce out of bed once you get into the habit.

There is a science involved with that time of day, and it involves Theta Waves. Just try it for a month.

I can do the mechanics of research or editing anytime; for the creative part, I need zero distractions. I have yet to be offered a car warranty between 4 and 6 AM.

The news is toxic to the creative type. Remove the screens from your view and don’t focus on the idiots. From clickbait to ratings, they will say and or do almost anything to get your attention.

You might notice that I have blogged about certain events in the past. That was wasted energy but, it was a vent. That leads me to my last point, expel toxic poop from your life. From the media to people, if they are unhealthy, shut them out.

As a programmer of years ago, there was a saying—garbage in equal garbage out.

I hope this gets you in the right frame of mind and hopefully excites you about NaNoWriMo.

Yes, I contribute to them every year. I believe in the mission.

-Best

TW