Showing posts with label Twist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Twist. Show all posts

Sunday, September 16, 2012

The Tim Tebow Story With A Pro - life Twist

In two weeks millions of viewers will tune into CBS for Super Bowl XLIV. Across the country there will be parties stacked with Buffalo wings, beers, nachos, steaks, burgers, cheese trays, and assorted vegetable dips. The country will watch considering Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts booty on Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints.

Super Bowl Sunday is the second most American day of the spell, behind July 4th. Its a day of drinking, football, revelry, and debauchery. Its further the most marked day of the hour for commercials. Manliness and women alike are annually entertained by Grow Fluorescent and Doritos commercials. But this era we are being treated to something new, Tim Tebow slinging pro - life notice, and its not hoopla to be priceless.

On Super Bowl Sunday Tebow and his mother, Pam, will be in a appeal paid for by conservative Christian conglomerate, Locus on the Family. It will center on the amazingly over - played story about the living tide that is Tim Tebow. In 1987, a pregnant Pam Tebow, while on a mission trip in the Philippines suffered a dangerous infection. Doctors recommended to her that she abort the child because there was a significant chance of dying during childbirth.

She refused because of her strict Christian beliefs and as a result birthed one of the greatest college football players of all - time. While playing at the University of Florida, Tim Tebow won the Heisman Trophy and two National Championships. Its a wonderful and uplifting story, but it should not be used towards a pro - life campaign during the Super Bowl.

The reason Focus on Familys evangelical founder, James Dobson, is airing this commercial during the Super Bowl is logical. He wants the most amount of exposure as possible. Last year it cost $3 million dollars for 30 seconds of commercial time. Why would Dobson spend that kind of money to send a simple, family oriented message? Dobson is pouring lighter fluid on a fire that doesnt need a bigger flame.

Abortion is one of the most controversial topics in our country and has led to gratuitous violence. Letting one side take a subversive and conflict - ridden stance on a hot issue, on a very pubic stage, will lead to very public disputes and media outcry.

Jehmu Greene, director of Womans Media Center, is speaking out aggressively against Focus on Family and CBS. This organization is extremely intolerant and divisive and pushing an un - American agenda, said Greene. Abortion is very controversial, and the anti - abortion vitriol has resulted in escalated violence against reproductive health providers and their patients. ( FOXNews. com )

Greene is currently spearheading a campaign to force CBS to pull the Ad, citing that they have banned commercials in the past from Ads that might be controversial, such as PETA and the United Church of Christ. As of now CBS does not seem to be budging, and the commercial is on schedule to air. The controversy is going to result in higher ratings for CBS, so why would the network care about the ramifications?

The most recent example of anti - abortion violence is the 2009 murder of Dr. George Tiller, the late - term abortion provider, was shot and killed while volunteering as an usher as his local church.

According to the National Abortion Federation records show that since 1977 there have been eight murders, 17 attempted murders, 41 bombings, 175 acts of arson, 96 acts of vandalism, 406 death threats, and 642 bomb threats against abortion providers in the U. S. and Canada.

In recent years, violence against abortion clinics and providers has declined, but this commercial has already started to incite anger on both sides of this winless war two weeks before it airs. The outrage amongst pro - life and pro - choice will only increase after the Super Bowl.

The pro - life vs. pro - choice issue is far from resolved, and wont be for the foreseeable future. Hopefully this wont result in more random pain towards the innocent, over a choice that concerns one individual.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Writing Short Stories With A Twist

It is reported that Alfred Hitchcock loved the short story through a literary sustentation due to it lends itself so right to creating unintentional twists. Here are six hints for creating short stories with a twist.

Writing Stories With A Twist: Hint ONE:

There is something I call ' tutor experiment ' that applies when considering the example roll for stories with a twist. In book loop pieces, readers become firmly attached to streak and the trend of the story. To disrupt or violate all that at the extremity with a twist, which denies all that, can be disappointing and equivalent distressful for multitudinous readers. ( The Sting, is a spotless and notable exception. ) In shorter pieces the orator undertaking doesn ' t get a chance to configure itself, so the twist doesnt disrupt the instructor and, in actuality, will typically be enjoyed over an accidental delight.

Writing Stories With A Twist: Hint TWO:

In, perhaps, a clumsy way of stating it, the final twist must not be illogically born from the early plot, character traits, and motivation, but neither must it be in any way telegraphed ahead of its presentation. I enjoy writing ' Hitchcockian ' stories. My goal is always to introduce the twist at the last possible moment in the final sentence and even better, in the final few words of the final sentence. I typically spend more time creating the presentation of the twist than I do writing the rest of the piece. The author must have the twist clearly in mid from the outset. It is the target toward which he writes.

Writing Stories With A Twist: Hint THREE:

Most of the story must be a subtle diversion away from the final twist. It does not dare be obvious. It does not dare raise a red flag ( or even a pale pink one ) in the reader ' s mind. There must be nothing to suggest that the story is not proceeding to what seems like its logical or legitimate conclusion even if that will not specifically be fully understood. ( Why read any story if you know how it will end? )

Writing Stories With A Twist: Hint FOUR:

It is more acceptable to make a bad guy into a good guy as the twist, than a good guy into a bad guy. It can be done with care and planning but it takes great skill. It is human nature to not want good things to turn sour. This is extremely important when planning short stories with a twist.

Writing Stories With A Twist: Hint FIVE:

Always make certain your story delivers the twist without making the reader feel betrayed. I have shelved a number of stories because in the end I couldn ' t find a way to overcome that obvious betrayal factor.

Writing Stories With A Twist: Hint SIX:

Spend lots of time reading and analyzing the all important structure of ' Hitchcockian ' type short stories. You ' ll find a large number by merely Googling ' short stories with at twist '.

A great short story, which delivers an acceptable and unexpected twist is perhaps the most difficult from of story to pull off successfully. Happy writing!