Endings: Happy Endings, Sad Endings, Twist Endings

Problem I am trying to analyse what I like about posts by David Astbury on Facebook and famous novels. Answer They have characters and plot. The twist at the end can be either that all is bad but ends well or that all is well but ends badly or with a hint that all might not be well. Drama and Tension Drama comes from suspense. Either the journey (a train or life) is travelling to a destination where the funeral speech will sum up the life. Or the suspense can be a battle. (WWII or WWI are big world wide battles. A soldier can fight in an individual battle in wartime. Alternatively it can be an external element such as a flood, fire or earthquake. The person battle can be against an ideology, such as religious, or political. Or an internal battle, such as alcoholism, or with cancer. The hero/heroine can be battling himself / herself. Or the family can be trying to save him or her. Younger people and cinema goers apparently often like the dramatic and realistic ending (hero dies), especially in an action movie. I and most woman's magazines published in the UK see literature as an escape and like a happy ending. The same preference for a happy ending applies to me and many audiences, for non-fiction, positive thinking. Speech Competitions For example, I attend a lot of speech meetings and competitions organised by clubs, areas of under half a dozen clubs, divisions of the country into groups of areas, and districts (mainly whole countries). I have often acted as a judge, or tie-breaker judge, or simply a ballot collector and counter. Speeches About Suicide In one week I have heard two speeches about suicide. One (at Bukit Timah club) was a story telling speech in which the speaker told us how she was haunted by the death of her 19-year-old college friend, who was overweight, bullied, thought she was ugly, changed her ambition in life, no longer wanted to go to college, only wanted to get married, married a delivery boy in her father's company, seemed very happy on her wedding day, but committed suicide a month later. The speaker says with hindsight, and the wisdom of age, and the change in public knowledge, she would not be able to spot the change in her friend's personality. The purpose of that speech was to tell an emotional, moving story. The speaker was quietly spoken, and seemed quite upset. The evaluator of the speech suggested more dialogue, to bring to life contrasting change in the character of the doomed girl. I felt the joyful mood of the occasion of our meeting was dampened, and would have liked to have ended on a more upbeat note. Instead of or in addition to starting by saying that the girl's personality changed and nowadays people would understand that was significant of an internal problem (physical or mental), end by saying that. Turn it around so the speaker does not depress herself, 'I have learned ... from my experience'. Give the audience a benefit to take away. "You can learn from my experience.' Or, "I hope you have learned from my experience ..." A second speech (at Toa Payoh south) was about a home tutor whose pupil confessed to self-harming and worrying about what would happen if he failed his exams. The tutor alerted the parents and the school / 6th form college and the pupil did the year again, so that the immediate pressure and stress was removed, and the pupil had time to prepare better, be more confident of knowing the work, and be sure of a better grade. Interestingly, I would have thought that treating the exam as a 'mock' would be better. Tell the pupil that it does not matter if you fail first time. List example of people who have passed on the second attempt, or third. Or succeeded without. GCSE was brought in so that instead of a 'fail', a pupil could have a grade. Indians advertising in cvs or marriages often state that they have taken a course or an exam and failed, because the fact that they have taken a course is the first step to success and show the effort made, and that at least some knowledge has been obtained. (It occurs to me for the first time, as I write this, that besides, in India in the past and probably the present as in some countries,you might pass or fail in some exams or geographical areas or institutions if you have not bribed the right people!) What was the moral of the story? To look for the signs. As the websites about help for suicides tell you: a) You often see the warning signs or 'cry for help'. Notice them. Act. If you don't know what to do, seek out friends and relatives or professional bodies. b) Many stories end happily. People who attempt suicide (jumping off bridges but being prevented or rescued) go on to live many years, lead successful and/or happy lives, and later reunite with and thank the rescuers. c) Sometimes the professionals and strangers can't help. What the suicide wants is help from a family member. You can call the parent, the mother, somebody sympathetic. I see illness as a see-saw. Whether the illness is physical or mental, or both, or physical affecting your mind, or mind affecting your body, or both, or one then another alternation, the solution is the same. Add help to the body and mind 1 Sleep or rest 2 Food and drink (not alcohol but water) 3 Prevention and protection from outside germs (hand washing, plasters, sterility) 4 Isolation (from others who might catch germs, from copycat ideas of self harm, from depression), not seeing the news, not conveying bad news 5 Glass half full - thinking positively, watching comedy, seeing musicals, meeting new people, telling good news about yourself and others. I would sum up with the acronym SEA See - Act - Success! Angela Lansbury, CL, ACG, author and speaker.

My Achievements 2016 and 2017

1 Performed mock wedding ceremony for photos before sunset at Botanical Gardens, Singapore when the registrar was late. 2 Judge and Chief judge at Singapore Toastmasters clubs. 3 Entered my first Tall Tales competition in Harrovian Speakers in Londonand came second. 4 Discovered I had visited 49 clubs in Singapore and five different countries worldwide (UK, Singapore, Thailand, China, Hong Kong.) My Blog on travel rose over 100 clicks a day and reached over 300 on one occasion. 2017 1 Visited a toastmasters club in Prague, Czech Republic. (Acted as Grammarian and Evaluator, gave GE feedback.) 2 Was Contest Chair at a Tall Tales competition (HOD Speakers).

Wills and Spills, Therapy and Writing Novels As Therapy

One of my new year tasks is to write and publish another novel based on family history. Many people write a book on retirement, trying to come to terms with the loss of their parents, or a divorce, or a will. Will Disputes I recently met a lady I shall call Louise who was writing about her divorce and the loss of her husband and a dispute over a will. Doesn't everybody over 50 have a story of a death and a dispute over a will? I was interested to hear her account of her memoir writing. Family History and Novels Legal Issues One issue is copyright. Another is libel (the written word) and slander (spoken words). She had legal advice and was told not to mention her rival, but only publish extracts from court cases which are in public domain. Family History Of A Spouse Another friend was helping her husband write his memoir. One publisher had fallen on hard times and now sought a co-sponsor. Could the woman get financial help from her husband's family? She feels that the book would have more status if it were financed and published by an independent publishing house. Memoirs When You Are Too Tired To Write Her husband is elderly and has not got the energy to write down his stories. Even if you cannot write, you can dictate. That's what was done for weekly columns int he newspaper by the late AA Gill, who died in 2016. The wife I spoke to is trying to be her husband's copy editor and agent. Coping With Bad Memories I and others wondered whether 'Louise' was really finding the publication of her book therapeutic. She is currently worried whether the publisher will accept it, after she has made the legally required changes. After that stress is over, and the book is published, will she be able to move on? A third friend was forced, by siblings' solicitors, to leave the home she shared with her mother, within a fortnight of the mother's death. She is now a therapist. My Family Wills Now, back to my books about my family's disputes over the will, leaving money to the boys, and the second will, leaving money to the girl, and the third will, and the fraud. Must go - just got a phone call from will writers. Your Will Please leave me something in your will to remember you. Whilst I would find £100,000 extremely handy, or even £10,000, or even £10, or £1 (in new coins please), I'd be equally happy with a suit, or sweater, skirt or silk scarf, music playing puppet, or signed book, unsigned book or framed photo or unframed photo.

Cinderella Updates - good or bad?

Rewriting Cinderella and other well-known plots into modern day stories is popular with new writers and writing groups. You have a setting, characters and a plot. You update it and change it so that only the plot remains. But once you change the characters and setting, that changes the plot. So more often just the theme is left, the boy meets girls, loses girl gets girl, and/or the rags to riches story. As reported by the BBC news website, the Cinderella story has been rewritten and updated by children, encouraged by an author who asks them leading questions. In my opinion, the most important part of the Cinderella story is the midnight curfew. She catches the last bus home. She decides it's bedtime. Never mind that the Prince and his party carry on. She has work to do next morning. Now, the question is being asked, are updates a good or bad idea? Since the original still remains, no reason why assorted updates should not be tried. Angela Lansbury, author and speaker. See my books on Amazon and Lulu.com

Resurecting the Dead Voice To Cure Depression

How do you deal with depression and bereavement. Some people prefer to forget. Others cling on to everything, visiting the same places, repeating phrases and quotations, keeping a room such as a bedroom or a whole house exactly as it was. A new system allows you to create a voice which will answer questions in the sound and style of a deceased friend. Could be used to cure depression after bereavement.Can be misused. So can everything. The App store has Luka. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3826208/Would-resurrect-dead-friend-AI-Try-memorial-chatbot-app-talk-virtual-version-Prince.html Angela Lansbury, author.

How to Teach English and Find More Schools and Places

England has immigrants with high birth rates so we need more schools. What's the answer. Several solutions to consider. Build on wasteland. (Not green belt land. Unused land. Under bridges. Derelict land.) Use public libraries more, especially at evenings and weekends or days when they are normally closed. Run alternative schools in school holidays for catch up on English and activities like art and sports. Run two sittings in schools like Singapore did. One operates rom 7 am until 1pm, a second from 2 pm until 8 pm. Have a system where you can take an exam after a certain number of school day or hours of learning credits. Children who are ill or keen can take extra hours of supervised homework and take self-administered tests early to do exams early and free up places. Run a system for filling up places when pupils are away sick or on planned holidays, so children otherwise at home can go to any school which has a free place and use a token to 'buy' a day's lessons at that school. Find schools with shorter terms and run extra days at the school. Bring retired teachers back to work at schools full time. Encourage more people to teach their own children at home. They can follow set books. Allocate a weekend hour, or a weekend holiday in a school and amonthly test at home or in school to use school equipments and socialise. Have children who are sick or have poor English watching lessons on computers at home. Supplement and check on their progress with end of the day catch up lessons. Call volunteers to run English language classes in churches and mosques and synagogues for immigrants - in exchange for translation of documents into their languages. Angela Lansbury, blogger, author, speaker.

Good and evil

Good and evil always perplexes many. Why don't others see evil the way I see it? There's my country right or wrong. This explains the dictators who are good to their dogs. They also take the attitude, You are with us or against us. Alternatively, a kind of independent God's eye view of the world. How I would see matters as a judge or arbitrator, jury member, Martian. There are distinctions between nurture and nature. Some people don’t feel but think you are in their way. Other people do feel - and enjoy the pain of others, perhaps out of revenge random targets, from a sense of grievance childhood.