Diane Edits:
INSPIRATIONAL
GENERAL FICTION
CREATIVE NONFICTION
CHILDREN'S STORIES
YOUNG ADULT NOVELS
MEMOIR
MYSTERIES
SCREENPLAYS
SELF-HELP
TEXTBOOKS
COOKBOOKS
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
CONTENT & COPY EDITING?
CONTENT EDITING
looks at the Big Picture.
Does your story flow logically
& at a reasonable pace?
Does it have a main point?
Is it conflict-driven & engaging?
(Without conflict,
you have no story)
Are your characters
both endearing & flawed,
like real humans?
Is their dialogue believable?
COPY EDITING
looks at the Nitty-Gritty Stuff.
It includes things like
syntax
(sentence structure),
punctuation, spelling,
grammar
& all those small,
yet super-important, details.
DO YOU NEED A SPEAKER FOR YOUR CLUB LUNCHEON
OR
GET-TOGETHER?
IF SO, LET's TALK.
Diane is a former member of Toastmasters International, &
enjoys public speaking.
She loves to speak on all types of writing, as well as the writing life,
how to live victoriously with a chronic illness
(Diane has lived with systemic lupus all her life),
goal-setting
& more.
Her rates are reasonable.
Email
to discuss
your writing or speaking needs.
***********************************************************
THE HISTORY OF THE CAROUSEL
By Diane E. Robertson
Published in Venice Gulf Coast Living Magazine 2006
When was the last time you caught a ride on a whirligig?
A more popular name for this amusement ride is the
merry-go-round or carousel. The ever-charming ride
consists of a rotating platform which holds wooden animals
that mechanically move up & down. People sit on these
animals as the platform moves in a circle, & music plays.
Modern American carousels generally use horses as the mounts.
Carousels from earlier periods included pigs, deer, cats & dogs.
Carousels appeared around 500 A.D. during the Byzantine Empire
in an etching portraying riders swinging in baskets tied to a center.
In the 1100s, the Arabians & the Turks played a game similar to
cricket with such intensity that Spaniards named it carosella,
& Italians called it garosello. Both words mean little war.
Centuries later, the crusaders brought little war to Europe,
where it spread to France in the fifteenth century.
The French called it carrousel, & it became a display
of ceremony & horsemanship. The highlight was the ring-spearing
tournament where riders galloped by & pierced small rings
hung between two posts. The game evolved, & by 1680,
wooden horses replaced real ones & were suspended
from arms attached to a center pole. Small rings dangled along
the outer edge of the device as it was powered around by
a horse, mule, or servant. The carousel as we know it was born,
along with the phrase, grab the brass ring.
In the 1700 & 1800s, carousels appeared in Europe,
England & America, reaching their peak in the early 1900s.
Gustav Dentzel, a German immigrant, opened the G.A. Dentzel
Steam & Horsepower Carousel Company during the mid-1800s,
creating the first steam-powered carousel in America.
As Europeans immigrated to America, craftsman brought their trades
with them, & created unique carousel figures. While European
poses had traditionally remained motionless in their postures,
American figures were active, with tossed manes & expressive
eyes. Many outlets for a carver's creative expression were
available via the horses, chariots, & decorative pieces that
adorned a carousel. The extraordinary talents of these
artists were the key to the enchantment of the merry-
go-rounds built in the U.S. during this time period.
Many of the best artisans moved frequently among the first
manufacturers, or spent several years working independently.
These early, gifted craftsmen gave us what has come to be
known as the golden age of the wooden carousel in America,
which extended from around 1880 to the early 1930s.
More than 7,000 carousels existed
& they were the principal amusement ride in parks.
During this time they became more elaborate,
colorful & technologically advanced. Gustav Dentzel's first steam-
powered machine in the 1870s was improved, utilizing electricity
rather than steam. An overhead cranking mechanism that
produced a smooth galloping motion was patented,
& is still used today. The time-honored tradition of
ring-catching continued to excite both children & adults,
with a free ride to anyone who could grab the brass ring.
Sadly, the Great Depression of the 1930s brought an end
to the glory days of hand-carved wooden carousels.
In the 1940s, World War II drastically influenced
& changed the focus yet again, as the United States’ energies
& direction shifted to a more industrialized society.
After World War II, technical advances were refined,
& these modes remain the bottom line in present-day industry.
The character of the magnificent whirligig remains.
It is recognizable in the distinctive carvings, along with
the organ music that plays during each ride.
It is also evident in the wooden figures
that are produced & sold as collectors’ items by a
new generation of gifted American craftsmen.
Presently the carousel is experiencing a revival.
300 of the original 7,000 still exist and their future is dazzling.
Find them in museums, amusement parks, city squares
& small town recreational areas. Original ones are being restored
& showcased, while masterful duplicates are also being built.
The next time you reach for the brass ring on a whirligig,
may you remember that its abundant history
& enduring present make it a eternal custom linking
ancient times, the present-day & upcoming generations.
THE END
What on earth is ghostwriting anyway?
Hip-Hop Fame to Saving Faith
As told to Diane E. Robertson
Part 1 of 4: Spinning and Winning
"Do you think we’ll ever fit in here, Sean?"
"It won’t be easy, Ivor. No one understands our accents."
Our family had moved from the island of Jamaica to Brooklyn, New York. The other kids made fun of the way we talked, and I grew more and more self-conscious about speaking in public. To deal with the teasing, I faked an American accent!
By the time we began junior high, school felt like a battlefield where crews of kids terrorized other kids and stole their lunch money. They hadn’t threatened us yet, but it was only a matter of time.
"We need to learn how to protect ourselves," Sean said one day. "Let’s ask Uncle Tony to teach us the martial arts."
"Good idea," I agreed. Uncle Tony had trained under a classmate of Bruce Lee. Our uncle showed us a few moves and we filled in the rest by watching Bruce Lee movies.
It was during this time that Uncle Tony said something that stuck with me. "Boys," he said, "I’ve learned that the day God wants us to go to church isn’t Sunday, but Saturday. And that’s the day I intend to honor."
Sean and I didn’t know exactly what to make of our uncle’s new "discovery," but we were too busy with our martial arts to think much about it. "We’re becoming kung-fu junkies," I told Sean one afternoon. But it was still difficult feeling comfortable at school.
"We’ve gotta be like the other kids if we want to make friends here in Brooklyn," I asserted.
"I guess you’re right," Sean agreed.
The "in" thing was hip-hop or rap culture, so Sean and I began walking and talking hip-hop style and wearing baggy clothing. Then we mastered break dancing, and life became easier.
Over time, hip-hop became more than just music–Sean and I lived and breathed it. My confidence grew as my acrobatics, sweeps, and kicking ability increased. It was easy to make friends now, and I had plenty of them.
On Halloween night, a bunch of us gathered at a friend’s house to go trick-or-treating. Suddenly my father drove by and stopped the car. He looked serious. "Sean and Ivor, get home right now."
"But Dad, it’s Halloween."
"Yes, and it’s the devil’s holiday. Now hurry home and change your clothes. We’re going to church."
"See you brothers later," I told my friends. "There’s no back-talking to my dad. He knows martial arts too, and whatever he says goes."
"This is too much," Sean said as we headed for home. Ten minutes later we were in the car and headed for Aunt Carmen’s church. Sean and I shook our heads in disgust when we walked in and saw the somber crowd. As we filed into the church sanctuary and took seats, I still felt upset that I had to give up Halloween with my friends. I silently vowed that next time we were out, we’d stay on the back streets where Dad couldn’t find us.
Just then the lights in the sanctuary went down and a film called The Cross and the Switchblade began. I fully expected the movie to be a loser, but I was wrong. The exciting story line included gangs, drugs, and a preacher who started one of America’s most successful drug rehab programs. I snuck a peek at Sean, and he was hooked into it too.
My anger began to soften and a peaceful feeling came over me. When the movie ended I thought, I’d like to learn more about this Jesus.
But the next day, we were back into our teenage business as usual–Hip-hop, graffiti, and break dancing. The Lord was quickly forgotten.
* * * *
A year later, during my sophomore year in high school, my family moved to Fredericksburg, Virginia. I liked the town, but school remained low on my priority list. Somehow I got through my classes, but I had no real plans, goals, or motivation for my future.
Then Vex moved to town.
"Hey, brother, I’m from Brooklyn too," he told me after I’d mentioned that Sean and I had relocated from New York months earlier. Instantly the three of us connected because Vex was a songwriter and we were break dancers.
"What do you say we form our own hip-hop group?" Vex suggested after we mixed it up a few times.
"Sounds good," I answered. We practiced and became better and better.
"We ought to enter a few of the high school talent shows. We’re as good as anyone else out there," I said one day.
It turned out that I was right. "Can you believe it?" Vex said after several competitions. "We’re winning first prize at almost every event."
"Yeah," laughed Sean. "Maybe we should concentrate on this instead of wasting time in school."
But any thoughts of a career in hip-hop had to be put on hold, because after high school our parents made us go to college. Vex and I attended a school in Petersburg, while Sean went to Richmond, half an hour away. We partied often, formed another crew, and got into some gang fights.
The following semester, Mondo, a Bronx native, enrolled at my school. "He’s a writer and singer too," Vex said when he introduced us.
Immediately we became a four-man group, entering contests at different colleges. In nearly every instance we took first prize. "We need a group name," Mondo said. "How about the Boogie Monsters?"
"Sounds good," we all agreed.
Our winning ways continued. While Mondo and Vex took the microphone, Sean and I performed a combination of martial arts and hip-hop dancing. We continued to enter contests, and after beating all the competition in our area, we turned our eyes toward Washington, D.C., to enter the Howard University talent show.
"Our chance at hip-hop stardom has arrived!" I told the guys as we drove toward D.C. and the concert.
(Part 1 of a series. Published in Guide, April 7, 2007.)
Say you have a story to tell,
but you feel that
you are not the best one
to put it into words.
One option is to
hire a ghostwriter,
such as myself,
to write your story.
If you prefer,
your name
will appear on the work
as the author.
Or, if you'd rather,
my name
will appear as well as yours -
it's up to you,
& we can discuss it.
During our collaboration,
we can communicate verbally
or
via email.
In the beginning,
you will briefly detail
your story to me,
& I will type it up.
I may ask questions
throughout the writing process
in order to flesh out your story.
Email me at pswriter1@netzero.net
& we can begin to discuss
your manuscript or screenplay.
If we decide to work together,
I require a hard copy.
| ||||||
EDITING SERVICES
Isn't it time to have that manuscript edited?
And those short stories - how about polishing them up and sending them out?
Diane can help you!
Diane E. Robertson- Writer, Editor, Speaker
In most cases,
a hard copy is required for editing.
Some payment is required up front.
