Stuart Woods Books

As mentioned above, there is an amplitude of genres when it comes to books and literature, the two major groups however are fiction and nonfiction. How about getting started with them, and going over each of them in a fair bit of detail…

Fiction
The first major genre that is also perhaps one of the most popularly known genres is fiction. Literary works belonging to this category are probably amongst the more commonly found. Fiction books are all about imaginary or make-believe writing. The thing about fiction though is that it could often be partially inspired by a real-life situation, but that’s about as far as it could go. Another characteristic about fiction is that it is a very large genre on the whole, and has a lot of subdivisions to it. Some of the more popular kinds of fiction are:

► Romance: For anyone that is a stranger to this genre, all I can say is Mills & Boons. Do you still feel like a stranger to the concept of romance novels now? There are only two ways to describe this genre… 1.) People who love it & 2.) People who don’t!! Fiction of this kind mainly revolves around love, relationships and anything that resembles anything sappy! (No, I’m not a fan!). Even if it’s filled with emotional turmoil throughout the novel, books like these inevitably have a happy ending, and everything is all hunky-dory by the time you’re done reading books like these.

Popular works: Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen), Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë), Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë), Gone With the Wind (Margaret Mitchell), and more recently, Twilight series (Stephanie Meyer).

► Science Fiction: This type of writing is most often made up of time travel, stories set in space, aliens, intense technology and all such characteristics. At times it could well qualify as fantasy too. An important feature of this kind of writing is that even though the major set up may be fictional, there could be elements of scientific truth in them too. Elements such as scientific principles or laws are often stressed on, all while combining it with other highly make-believe instances.

Popular works: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams), 2001: A Space Odyssey (Arthur C Clarke), The War of the Worlds (H G Wells), Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury), Jurassic Park (Michael Crichton).

These are probably the easiest ones to make – all you have to do is cut and paste! It is as easy as that. Paper puppets give you enough room to make mistakes – especially if you are a first-timer. Also it is possible to add details very easily. All you have to do is draw them on the paper! If you are making a cat, for example, you can use a dark colored sketch-pen or marker and add a tongue! Layering is also a good idea. You can actually cut thin strips and add whiskers on the cat’s face. Small dots could go on to be eyes, and triangles could add ears to complete the cat. Different colors can be used to make the finger puppet attractive and colorful. Cats are never yellow colored in real life – but if your child likes the color yellow, your finger puppet cat could well be yellow colored! A thin red colored strip could become the collar – and voila! You have a cat on your finger!

Felt Finger Puppet Patterns

Felt is a kind of cloth that is made without weaving fibers – it is simply made by pressing wool fibers together into sheets. Felt is very easy to model or mold into different shapes. Felt finger puppets are about as easy to make as paper finger puppets – the advantage being they are more durable. Using cloth gives you the opportunity to stitch hands, legs, ears, and tails (in case of animal finger puppets) onto your finger puppet. They definitely add more dimension to your finger puppet than can be achieved in paper finger puppets. Stitching also means you can experiment with embroidering details onto the puppet. So your finger puppet bunny can well be clad in a dinner jacket!

Here are some of guidelines that you must keep in mind when you make a pun. A pun is what you make of it. Make sure that you don’t pay the price for making a pun! (pun absolutely intended!)
•Look for an appropriate situation; do not crack a pun when you sense a sensitive situation. You may find that the condition is blown out of proportion and there is a cost of regret you pay!
•Make use of phrases and words that have multiple meanings, such as the word deck or grave, cash, check. However, you may also interchange words that sound same but diverse in meaning. For instance, the word right and write can be switched. You may come up with the likes of a lot of these, yourself. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
•Be witty and be creative! Keep making puns when you find the situation is by your side. Do not regret what has flowed out through the tunnels of your mouth. Be very confident and do not make yourself feel worn out. However, handle every situation at hand with care.
•Make sure that the company you are in, understands a positive and healthy sense of humor. Well, if they do not, let the ball roll away and do not try to putt where bargaining for a goal may be asking for a tad-bit too much.
•Handle yourself well. Don’t go overboard and make a trail of puns. It may get boring and no one may end up sharing a laugh with you.
Well, with these guidelines you are now all equipped and know how to create a pun. You may perhaps get strikingly shocked with the way things move from then on!

To write effective slam poetry, follow these tips and keep practicing for best results.
•Good slam poetry begins with a good topic. The topic you choose to write slam poetry is one that you should deeply feel about. You can write a poem on the water problems across the world if you truly think your poetry will strike a chord. Alternately, you could also write a poem about how you think romance is overrated. Anything close to your heart can make it as a topic for slam poetry.
•Just a good topic is not enough. Your passion for it should reflect in your poetry. The need for passion to show in the poetry cannot be repeated enough. If you choose a topic only because it is popular but don’t feel strongly about it, the topic will do you no good.
•Be clear about the point you are trying to make. When you choose a topic, you should be well aware about it, and should know exactly what you are trying to say through this poem. Write down these points before you try to put them in verse.
•Let the rhythm flow. Once the points have been compiled, it’s time to put them in verse and give the words a flow from one point to another.
•Start writing in basic English. You don’t have to force yourself to write heavy poetic words as soon as you write the first draft of your poem. Also, feel free to use slang or explicit imagery, but only if you think it is necessary. Try to stuff it in just because it is permissible and you will not be able to score any points with the audience.
•Replace basic with more hard-hitting terms. This is where the metaphorical nature of poetry will do you good. For instance, ‘lack of action’ can be rephrased as ‘nothing stirs these still waters’. Using such phrases adds depth to your poetry.
•Add emotion to your poem. You’ve written your poem as best as you can, and now it’s time to sprinkle into it the necessary emotion. Are you pleading for action or are you angry for the lack of it? Are you distressed by current affairs or wish to emphasize the need of the hour by eliciting a sense of urgency? With the right words will come the right emotions.
•Read it out for yourself. Assume you are a member of the audience and read out the poem aloud. Does it stir you? Do you feel affected by it? Is it making the point clear to you? If you think you aren’t confident enough and that your personal opinion could color your response to these questions, ask a friend to listen to the poem and give you an honest opinion. Only then will you be able to decide whether the poem needs re-working to be improved.