Muse Guide

A relationship with the unreal: fan fiction perspective

I am here again to discuss an aspect of creative prose - fiction precisely – that gets the limelight quite often, especially from the various critics out there. The truth is, there are two different kind of fiction based on settings and characters. These include the partial fictions and the absolute fictions. In partial fictions, either a real setting or real characters are used. The writer was writing based on real life experiences, however he chose to add some fictitious elements to make his story more interesting and mind grabbing. This kind of writing could be a simple fictitious dilution or could be larger ones. Larger ones are seen in situations where a single character is real and the rest are absolute fiction. In such stories the character is often real but his setting is yet fiction. We all know that Ogun is a Yoruba god that lived thousands of years back. However, how will you picture an existence of a Sango in human form in the modern day America? It won’t add up too much but might yet make a lot of sense if the writer could make reality out of it. A smaller dilution will involve both characters and settings but a little twist in the story line. In this form the characters and settings might be absolute with little fiction. That means a character like Sango will exhume fire as expected and summon thunder via his thunder bolt. However how will you picture a Sango that uses machine gun and pull off martial art stunts? Don’t be surprised if exclamations like: “are you kidding me?” escaped from readers’ mouths. 
It is at this junction the unreal comes in, the unreal is supposed to be a large divergence from reality - setting and character wise. Such divergence might be found in both partial fiction and absolute fiction. Mind you, an absolute fiction might not necessarily be unreal, however an absolute fiction have a higher tendency of being unreal if the writer is carefree about how realisable his assumptions are. I remember once serving as a critique to a writer and told him to adjust the absolutely unreal which I found in his story. I told him frankly, “Nobody will buy this your idea, it is too sceptical.”  However he only could tell me that correcting such premise is like saying what he saw in his dream is not how it was. Though he went on to publish the story; however am sure he would have frank reviews like I gave him. When we talk about professional unreal in prose, it is often found in fantasy stories or children stories. It is obvious that kids would enjoy any dumb story so far it is interesting and has lessons it teaches. 
However the unreal in professional prose could be given vivid elements in form of the characters, settings and plot that would make them extremely acceptable by almost everyone. These forms of unreal are so vividly portrayed in words by the writer that readers found themselves at the very scenes or the worlds in which the stories actually happened. This does nothing but reiterate the fact that you can tell a stupid story in a classy settings and interesting characters. You would discover that the settings and characters’ classy feel would put reader’s mind off the fact that the story was not extra ordinary, however the characters appealed to them enough to overlook the plot flaws. An example of this can be found in a bestselling novel I once read. It was titled “Grisly Tuesday” the story was about a mega establishment with interstellar merchandise which was spread across the days we have. The story is a seven novel series, I was only fortunate to read the Tuesday version, however I was impressed enough by that one to crave reading the other members of the series. 
This story was unreal enough in every sense but its unreal was very interesting. The strength of the story was the settings. In the settings the mansion of lord Tuesdays was built on a hill underneath which flows a mystical fluid called nothingness. Nothingness was that aspect of that story that was mind grabbing the most but yet unreal the most. Nothingness was mined by lord Tuesday’s wards to turn men into terrible individuals which are used and bent to lord Tuesday’s will. The truth is the nothingness in the story was exploited to earn the downfall of lord Tuesday eventually by an hero human who was the protagonist of the story. He was also the one that wrecked the establishment of lord Monday in the first installment to the series. I couldn’t probably tell you the depth of the whole setting but I can guarantee you that its unreal nature was justified enough to let us worry the least about reality but to enjoy the possibilities that such perfectly architected settings brought to life. 
That might not be a mega popular story, how about the common “Avatar: the legend of ang”. In this story the setting and characters were its strength, the ideology of being able to utilize four key elements to supernatural bidding was an amazing idea that was generally accepted by fans of this story. The character of an Avatar who can utilize all the four elements was also a strength especially since he was initially given the identity of a learning avatar. This made his role more complicated and his person was more unpredictable leading readers to a lot of surprises as regard the Avatar’s capabilities. This particular story settings had won many fans over, that they ended up being able to imaginatively construct their own plots inside the Avatar’s settings. In the end a lot of fan fictional stories were written. The truth is the world of Avatar is unreal, but it was architected vibrantly enough for the fans to not only accept it but adore it enough to write their own stories about it. Other stories like harry porter, star wars and the rest can be mentioned. 
The truth is all these stories earned their strength mostly from settings and then characters. When these two have been perfectly created, the plot will naturally flow in as a landlord will smoothly pack into his beautifully constructed new home. The unreal in these stories are not the ordinary ones that can be frankly criticized, No, they remain the face of innovation. They are the sort of unreal that crept into the readers mind, register a foundation of understanding, build a mansion of perception and linger there in forever. 
Abd-afeez Abd-hamid 

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A relationship with the unreal: fan fiction perspective

I am here again to discuss an aspect of creative prose - fiction precisely – that gets the limelight quite often, especially from the variou...

Featured profile entry; Christopher Marlowe

Controversy Over the Death of Christopher Marlowe... 
.... 
Some biographers came up with varieties of murder theories. 
Examples are: 
• Jealous of her husband Thomas's relationship with Marlowe, Audrey Walsingham arranged for the playwright to be murdered.
• Sir Walter Raleigh arranged the murder, fearing that under torture Marlowe might incriminate him.
• With Skeres the main player, the murder resulted from attempts by the Earl of Essex to use Marlowe to incriminate Sir Walter Raleigh.
• He was killed on the orders of father and son Lord Burghley and Sir Robert Cecil, who thought that his plays contained Catholicpropaganda.
• He was accidentally killed while Frizer and Skeres were pressuring him to pay back money he owed them. 
• Marlowe was murdered at the behest of several members of the Privy Council who feared that he might reveal them to be atheists.
• The Queen herself ordered his assassination because of his subversively atheistic behaviour.
• Frizer murdered him because he envied Marlowe's close relationship with his master Thomas Walsingham and feared the effect that Marlowe's behaviour might have on Walsingham's reputation.
 There is even a theory that Marlowe's death was faked to save him from trial and execution for subversive atheism. 
Now,  don't be confused.. 
..Let's meet the legend... 
... 
Christopher Marlowe, he was baptised on February 26, 1564 and died on May 30, 1593, he was an Englishvplaywright, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe was the foremost Elizabethan tragedian of his day. He greatly influenced William Shakespeare, who was born in the same year as Marlowe and who rose tobecome the pre-eminent Elizabethan playwright after Marlowe's mysterious early death. Marlowe's plays are known for the use of blank verse and their overreaching protagonists. 
A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May 1593. No reason was given for it, though it was thought to be connected to allegations of blasphemy—a manuscript believed to have been written by Marlowe was said to contain "vile heretical conceipts". On 20 May, he was brought to the court to attend upon the Privy Council for questioning. There is no record of their having met that day, however, and he was commanded to attend upon them each day thereafter until "licensed to the contrary." Ten days later, he was 
stabbed to death by Ingram Frizer. Whether the stabbing was connected to his arrest has never been resolved.  
His early years... 
... 
 Marlowe was born in Canterbury to shoemaker John Marlowe and his wife Catherine. His date of birth is not known, but he was baptised on 26 February 1564, and is likely to have been born a few days before. Thus, he was just two months older than his contemporary William Shakespeare, who was baptised on 26 April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. 
 Marlowe attended The King's School in Canterbury (where a house is now named after him) and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he studied on a scholarship and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1584. In 1587 the university hesitated to 
award him his Master of Arts degree because of a rumour that he intended to go to the English college at Rheims, presumably to prepare for ordination as a Roman Catholic priest. However, his degree was awarded on schedule when the Privy Council intervened 
on his behalf, commending him for his "faithful dealing" and "good service" to the Queen . 
 The nature of Marlowe's service was not specified by the Council, but its letter to the Cambridge authorities has provoked much speculation, notably the theory that Marlowe was operating as a secret agent working for Sir Francis Walsingham's intelligence service. No direct evidence supports this theory, although the Council's letter is evidence that Marlowe had served the government in some secret capacity.
His Career as a Writer.. 
... 
Of the dramas attributed to Marlowe, 'Dido, Queen of Carthage' is believed to have been his first. It was performed by the Children of the Chapel, a company of boy actors, between 1587 and 1593. The play was first published in 1594; the title page attributes the play to Marlowe and Thomas Nashe. Marlowe's first play performed on the regular stage in London, in 1587, was 'Tamburlaine the Great', about the conqueror Tamburlaine, who rises from shepherd to war-lord. It is among the first English plays in blank verse, and, with Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy, generally is considered the beginning of the mature phase of the Elizabethan theatre. Tamburlaine was a success, and was followed with Tamburlaine the Great, Part II. 
 The two parts of Tamburlaine were published in 1590; all Marlowe's other works were published posthumously. The sequence of the writing of his other four plays is unknown; all deal with controversial themes.
1.) The Jew of Malta (first published as The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Jew of Malta ), about a Maltese Jew's barbarous revenge against the city authorities, has a prologue delivered by a character representing Machiavelli. It was probably written in 1589 or 1590, and was first performed in 1592.
2.) Edward the Second is an English history play about the deposition of King Edward II by his barons and the Queen, who resent the undue influence the king's favourites have in court and state affairs. The play was entered into the Stationers' Register on 6 July 1593, five weeks after Marlowe's death. The full title of the earliest extant edition, of 1594, is The troublesome reigne and lamentable death of Edward the second, King of England, with the 
tragicall fall of proud Mortimer.
3.) The Massacre at Paris is a short and luridly written work, the only surviving text of which was probably a reconstruction from memory of the original performance text, portraying the events of the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre in 1572, which English Protestants invoked as the blackest example of Catholic treachery. It features the silent "English Agent", whom subsequent tradition has identified with Marlowe himself and his connections to the secret service. The Massacre at Paris is considered his most dangerous play, as agitators in London seized 
on its theme to advocate the murders of refugees from the low countries and, indeed, it warns Elizabeth I of this possibility in its 
last scene. Its full title was The 
Massacre at Paris: With the Death of the Duke of Guise.
4.) Doctor Faustus (or The Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus ), based on the German Faustbuch, was the first dramatised version of the Faust legend of a scholar's dealing with the devil. While versions of "The Devil's Pact" can be traced back to the 4th century, Marlowe deviates significantly by having his hero unable to "burn his books" or repent to a merciful God in order to have his contract annulled at the end of the play. Marlowe's protagonist is instead carried off by demons, and in the 
1616 quarto his mangled corpse is found by several scholars. Doctor Faustus is a textual problem for scholars as two versions of the play exist: the 1604 quarto, also known as the A text, and the 1616 quarto or B text. Both were published after Marlowe's death. 
Scholars have disagreed which text is more representative of Marlowe's original, and some editions are based on a combination of the two. The latest scholarly consensus (as of the late 20th century) holds the A text is more representative because it contains irregular character names and idiosyncratic spelling, which are believed to reflect a text based on the author's handwritten manuscript, or "foul papers." The B text, in comparison, was highly edited, censored because of shifting theatre laws regarding religious words onstage, and contains several additional scenes which scholars believe to be the additions of other playwrights, particularly Samuel Rowley and William Bird ( alias Borne). 
Marlowe's plays were enormously successful, thanks in part, no doubt, to the imposing stage presence of Edward Alleyn. Alleyn was unusually tall for the time, and the haughty roles of Tamburlaine, Faustus, and Barabas 
were probably written especially for him. 
Marlowe's plays were the foundation of there pertoire of Alleyn's company, the Admiral's Men, throughout the 1590s. 
Marlowe also wrote the poem Hero and Leander (published in 1598, and with a continuation by George Chapman the same 
year), the popular lyric "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love", and translations of Ovid's Amores and the first book of Lucan's Pharsalia. In 1599, his translation of Ovid was banned and copies publicly burned as part of Archbishop Whitgift's crackdown on offensive material. 
... 
Mystery of His death... 
... 
 In early May 1593 several bills were posted about London threatening Protestant refugees from France and the Netherlands who had settled in the city. One of these, the "Dutch church libel", written in rhymed iambic pentameter, contained allusions to several of Marlowe's plays and was signed, "Tamburlaine". On May 11 the Privy Council ordered the arrest of those responsible for the libels. The next day, Marlowe's colleague Thomas Kyd was arrested. Kyd's lodgings were searched and a fragment of a heretical tract was found. Kyd asserted that it had belonged to Marlowe, with whom he had been 
writing "in one chamber" some two years earlier. At that time they had both been working for an aristocratic patron, probably Ferdinando Stanley, Lord Strange. 
 
A warrant for Marlowe's arrest was issued on May 18, when the Privy Council apparently knew that he might be found staying with Thomas Walsingham, whose father was a first cousin of the late Sir Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth's principal secretary in the 1580s 
and a man more deeply involved in state espionage than any other member of the Privy Council. 
 Marlowe duly presented himself 
on 20 May but, there apparently being no Privy Council meeting on that day, was instructed to "give his daily attendance on their Lordships, until he shall be licensed to the contrary". On Wednesday May 30, Marlowe was killed.
 Various accounts of Marlowe's death were current over the next few years. In his Palladis Tamia, published in 1598, Francis Meres says Marlowe was "stabbed to death by a bawdy serving-man, a rival of his in his lewd love" as punishment for his "epicurism and atheism." 
 In 1917, in the Dictionary of National Biography, Sir Sidney Lee wrote that Marlowe was killed in a drunken fight, and this is still often stated as fact today. 
The official account came to light only in 1925 when the scholar Leslie Hotson discovered the coroner's report of the inquest on Marlowe's death, held two days later on Friday June 1, 1593, by the Coroner of the Queen's Household, William Danby. 
Marlowe had spent all day in a house in Deptford, owned by the widow Eleanor Bull, and together with three men: Ingram Frizer, Nicholas Skeres and Robert Poley. 
 All three had been employed by one or other of the Walsinghams. Skeres and Poley had helped snare the conspirators in the Babington plot and Frizer would later describe Thomas Walsingham as his "master" at that time although his role was probably more that of a financial or business agent as he was for Walsingham's wife Audrey a few years later. 
These witnesses testified that Frizer and Marlowe had argued over payment of the bill exchanging "divers malicious words" while Frizer was sitting at a table between the other two and Marlowe was lying behind him on a couch. Marlowe snatched Frizer's dagger and wounded him on the head. In the ensuing struggle, according to the coroner's report, Marlowe was stabbed above the right eye, killing him instantly. The jury concluded that Frizer acted in self-defence, and within a month he was pardoned. Marlowe was buried in an unmarked grave in the churchyard of St. Nicholas, Deptford immediately after the 
inquest, on June 1, 1593. 
 
 So many controversies over his death, many believed Marlowe was murdered for one reason or the other. 
 Wilbur G. Zeigler's novel, 'It was Marlowe'(1895) was the first book to argue that Marlowe's death was faked. 
... 
In Relation to Shakespeare... 
... 
 Shakespeare was heavily influenced by Marlowe in his work, as can be seen in the re- using of Marlovian themes in Antony and Cleopatra, The Merchant of Venice, Richard II, and Macbeth (Dido, Jew of Malta, Edward II and Dr. Faustus respectively). 
 In Hamlet, after meeting with the travelling actors, Hamlet requests the Player perform a speech about the Trojan War, which at 2.2.429–32 has an echo of Marlowe's Dido, Queen of Carthage . In Love's Labour's Lost Shakespeare brings on a character "Marcade" (three syllables) in conscious acknowledgement of Marlowe's character "Mercury", also attending the King of Navarre, in Massacre at Paris . 
 The significance, to those of Shakespeare's audience who had read Hero and Leander, was Marlowe's identification of himself with the god Mercury. 
Culled from wikipedia 
Yusuf Abdulqoyum (Wizard Calidad) 
©2015
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Featured profile entry; Christopher Marlowe

Controversy Over the Death of Christopher Marlowe... .... Some biographers came up with varieties of murder theories. Examples are: • Je...

Androbeat DIY lesson 1

The production of beats on your android phone, don’t come without requirements. First you need to get an android device, (phone or tab or phab) with minimum processor speed of 1ghz dual core and a working RAM of 1gb. You will need a memory space of at least 1gb to enjoy your beat making processes. 
After this you can then visit play store to download an application called caustic, download caustic3 precisely. After downloading install the application. Afterwards download an application called J4T Multi track recorder. I recommend this because it can be used to convert your beat into mp3 format as the default .ogg or .wav 0r.mid extensions consume a lot of memory space. 
Caustic comes with default presets from 8 instruments/synthesizers. However you can get more presets as third party files which I will generously share along the cause of this series. Caustic is a paid app but however there is a demo version which is virtually full except that you cannot export out the beats you composed from it. You would need to convert it to full by buying it at the play store. The app is less than 10 dollars and I believe you should be able to afford that easily, however for those fans who yet find it difficult to make this purchase, you can reach us on any of our contacts and a free alternative would be offered to you. 
Mind you as you try to install the presets and the app itself during the cause of this training, you might end up consuming up 500mb of data. So you should have a vibrant data plan for the start. 
After downloading, you a free to familiarize yourself with the interface until the next lesson arrives. Until then, you are free to ask installation related problems by commenting on this post or contacting us via any of our official contacts. Next class I will be explaining the caustic interface to you all and how to familiarize yourself as it might seems complicated for starters. Thanks for reading. 
Abd-afeez Abd-hamid 

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Androbeat DIY lesson 1

The production of beats on your android phone, don’t come without requirements. First you need to get an android device, (phone or tab or ph...

musepression entry; The truth

"On this note, i will invite 'Mr Falsehood' to come and talk about his very best friend, 'The Truth", he stood out and say, "Truth is the pill that everyone wants but can't swallow". The pill? It's not like someone is sick here! (amazed), well, a sane, sorry a sensible person should know what the 'pill' was actually referring to. We all want the truth but can't take it, why? Someone said, 'Truth might be good but not right while at times it might be right but not good. Hope you got that? Well, a man caught his boss wife with a colleague he disliked and was shocked, so he promised to revealed what he saw to his boss immediately, it was too bad to hide, that is when 'Truth' appeared to be right but not good and unfortunately for him the colleague had an hidden card, he showed him a clip of one of his fraudulent activity in office, a embezzlement type of corruption, as he said, " well, you can do as you like, i will only lose our boss trust, affection and bath in his hatred but you are going to lose your job and means of livelihood and also wallowed in poverty. This type of 'Truth' is good but not right. Why? I think everything that is truth should be good and right in normal sense but their is a bridge that connects the three which is what 'JUST', had it being the first guy was just, with no hatred for the offending guy and reporting him was based on clear conscience, what would have happened? Likewise if the second guy was just, he would have reported since about the crime but he waited so long for a proper timing and keep it as a hidden card. What was right turned out not to be good and what was good turned out not to be right. The Truth already crossed a boundary as it means different things to different people 
A religious leader would say, "it is the ability to be true to God, the scripture and human being". 
A philosopher would say, "it is the act of faithfulness and fidelity". 
A scientist would say, "it is the fact, postulated laws, genuine depiction of statements of reality". 
A business man would say, "accuracy without compromise". 
A mathematician would say, "a truth statement without negation". 
 
Many are not even true to theirself, when you are meant to be a carpenter (international) whilst they stick to reading medicine ending up as local. In human being, their is endowment, yours might be far differ from mine but that is what you are best at, don't deviate! Then fuel it with passion. 
Thanks for reading, i will endear you to drop a comment by telling us what 'Truth' actually mean to you. 
What is the truth?... 
... 
Yusuf Abdulqoyum
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musepression entry; The truth

"On this note, i will invite 'Mr Falsehood' to come and talk about his very best friend, 'The Truth", he stood out and...

Scenerymania entry; why we hate him 3

Dele Deagbo remained on the roof as we pretended to be reading back in the class, i wittingly ushered stupid Tobi back to the class as he was dashing towards the fence, 
"dont you know we shall be suspected if we were nowhere to be found, we must atleast take this gamble". Tobi was shivering, clueless, as soon as i heard footsteps approaching the class we're using, i also was naive and as well not so confident of our gaff not being blown, i immediately ordered Tobi to place his head on the table like he was sleeping, i quickly feigned my handsfree into my ear as if i've not been hearing the approaching footsteps. He entered and saw Tobi sleeping while i was reading, he enquired, ''What of Dele?'' 
I keep my cool as I answered, ''He went home for water". He went away without suspecting anything. In the course of survival for way out, Dele became a ceiling scout till he sort himself out after so many un-merry ceiling journey through a class with an open space into the roof. 
 I felt relieved immediately he found his way back to the class we are, heavily breathing, almost all his body part had been woven with cobwebs, inorder to clear the security man's doubt, we exeunt the class to Dele's family quarters. 
On getting back to Dele's room, we patiently solve all questions correctly and prepared for the new day in school. 
... 
 Kola was given the question as soon as he stepped into the school, he sat alone in a class for the E.M.S. (early morning study) inorder to study hard the solutions, he was poor in arithmetic. As soon as the assembly bell rang, it was 15minutes earlier than normal, i was afraid, probably the security man heard informed the Principal because any form of investigation would surely bounce back to us. The Principal climbed the ground first as he led the school for the devotion, after the whole thing he voiced, 
"the fifteen minutes we saved earlier would be used to test the two aspirant for the post of Senior Prefect, the winner will assume the school S.P", within a blink of an eye, some students already brought two chairs and tables to the assembly platform. The Principal served the questions himself and announced a duration of 20minutes. We all watched as Kola's fate lies with his pen, so many murmured and giggled about the whole saga, twenty minutes passed and their scripts had to be accessed, the senior mathematics teacher after marking both scripts announced amidst our anxiety, "Kola after the assessment scored 83% while the new boy David also had 83%". There was chaos on the assembly as the situation got interesting the more, i personally didnt know why Kola cant just nail the whole 100%, afterall we solved everything but i would also praised him for studying that much the little time he had. 
... 
"Now, why you do you want to be the Senior Prefect is the next article the two must write", the evil looking Principal said, as much as i love him before, now his face to me was plastered with disappointment and looking at him depressed me the more. 
Plain sheets of paper were presented afresh, they sat to write for another fifteen minutes and after it all the english teacher announced 75% for Kola and 80% for David, i almost cried. 
"Ojoro! Cheat!" Kola's fans yelled, all was now in vain as the Principal announced the new senior boy as 'David Danladi'. It ached me to the bone as I promised not to have anything to do with that boy, but the pledged became compromising when Kola himself has forgiven him, though he was made the assistant senior boy for the first time in the school history and I the laboratory prefect, we have to co-exist now as we held meetings daily before assembly and the three of us do represent the school in any quiz competition, yet, it wasn't really smooth between us, then oneday he approached me with a wrapped gift and extend it to me saying, 
"Why did you hate me? Anyway! I like you a lot." 
I was dumbfounded with zero words to utter. 
Yusuf Abdulqoyum
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Scenerymania entry; why we hate him 3

Dele Deagbo remained on the roof as we pretended to be reading back in the class, i wittingly ushered stupid Tobi back to the class as he wa...

Scenerymania entry; why we hate him 3

Scenerymania entry; why we hate him 3

Dele Deagbo remained on the roof as we pretended to be reading back in the class, i wittingly ushered stupid Tobi back to the class as he wa...

Scenerymania entry; why we hate him 2

War ensued in the school amidst we students and a replica version amidst teachers too. Many teachers were against the Principal's decision while many students were on the Principal's side of the scale supporting him, who cares! When Kola was already on the fifth drip at the health center opposite our school. 
"I am the dictator here, I have my standard, no underline of mine can change my decision", the Principal was sterned on his decision as he intentionally dashed his poisonous words-darts at the Pro-Kola member of staffs as they also reacted with several whining in murmuring tone in fold of their lots. Then the V.principal stood up as she said, 
"Why must a new boy always become our S.P? He shouldnt even be a prefect normally because we never know his ability academic-wise and his attitude moral-wise, that's why the S.P from three sets ago though brilliant yet was a smoker, he was expelled from the school he was coming from..." 
"Afterall he was brilliant, that was why it wasn't a mistake he assumed the post, even many head of state were former cultist, moreover I already carried out a background check on him, he's okay demeanor-wise, he was here due to some financial constraint of his family" the Principal reacted. 
"Nevertheless Sir, though the tradition holds as normal for couple of decades now yet it shouldn't come in this form, former S.Ps' had always been in school, one, two or three terms before the prefectship", Mr P.O. added, he was the most fearful teacher in the school, those days when boarding still hold, he use to be the housemaster, until three female boarders were impregnated at a time, the P.T.F now decided to put an end to boarding in my school, everyone must be a day student or go to another school with enough security and boarding facilities. Later we somehow heard that Mr. P.O. was responsible for one if not two of the pregnancy, you know in every rumour, there is always an element of truthfulness. 
That day meeting was fruitless as far as i know as we senior students were following it like twitter. The following morning, on the assembly, the Principal addressed the issue stylishly in a manner of brainwashing we students in his support. Fortunately for him, its only our set that didn't fall for his trick, the other students already agreed in support of the new boy. During breaktime, some students converged under a tree, about a hundred, on getting there to grace the supposed great event (as that's the only reason why students gathered that much), to our greatest surprise, it was this stupid new boy doing his manifesto amidst the juniors, What a grumpy kid!. Alabi, a hot tempered boy in my class dashed into the crowd, he got a hold of this boy and punch him in the face, he fell down as the junior students started shouting, 
"Senior David!!!", that was when we learnt he goes by the name David. 
Shortly after, he entered the class carrying a pregnant eye together with the Principal, he went straight to his seat as the Principal stood still, "Alabi Ahmed!, follow me to my office immediately". 
You dont need to be told that Alabi is already in a big soup inside an iron pot on a gas cooker, the man called Principal will serve him hot. Students are bad atimes, we were together with Alabi when he commited his crime and cheered him as well, now that he was serving punishment, we were again making jest of his situation. It started with Aremu when he saw a big pot of stone being carried about picking pebbles by Alabi, he shouted, 
"Alabi, what are you selling? Isn't that vegetable?Hahahahahahahahahaha(he laughed), we all bursted in laughter as Alabi too into a loud cry. 
.... 
On the third day, Kola was back in school, he programmed himself like nothing had happened two days earlier, the Principal called him and that Devil version of David (this one cant even stand Goliath pikin) who was also wearing our uniform for the first time. 
"Prepare for a mathematics competition tomorrow, who wins becomes S.P." He said it as short as that waving the likely question script. 
When Kola was briefing us, i suspected the Principal, he favoured that David, he might show to him the question so we sorted a plan, we were going to get the question before David, we have to steal it for our friend. Dele was Mr. Deagbo's son, they lived in the school compound, the Teacher's Quarters, he had a duplicated key to the Principal's office. There was a time when towards vacation, we purchased a new leather ball for the inter class competion but after the whole competition, we still played it. On vacation day, the Principal seized the ball while playing it and he has a very bad tradition of not returning whatsoever he seized(leather ball for that matter!). Dele Deagbo's stay in the school wasn't fruitless, as he made the duplicate key and get the ball out over the holiday, there are over two hundred seized items so the Principal wouldn't have noticed if a ball was missing, henceforth, in Dele Deagbo we trust for any seized items. 
We planned to read over the night in the school and sleep at Deagbo's place, this is not the first time of sleeping in the school since our boarding was banned, during the examination we did, and most finalist were priviledged too and presently we are the finalist (most seniorest lol). Dele joined us to read making us three for the operation, Dele, Tobi and I. 
At exactly ten o clock, after the security had passed with his whistle, Dele told us he will blow his next whistle at twelve o clock, so we have a whole two hours to operate. Five minutes after, we were already in the office, we searched and searched until I checked the photocopying machine and found the question inside with the title, 'the decider', 
"wow! David already have it", I lamented 
"why?" asked Tobi 
"What's it doing in the photocopier if not?" answered Dele 
"you get brain" i praised him. 
Tobi has a very good and fast handwriting, he quickly copied it, it was five solid question with plenty children, when i say children, it has many options, a,b,c,d,e. We peacefully returned the question, as we were trying to egressed, we had footsteps from afar, we reduced our steps to hear further as Tobi stubbed into a small shell, the drawer inside fell and make a big sound, the approaching footstep shouted, "who was that?" as the steps quickens ahead, I rushed out as Tobi followed, but Dele couldn't make it out as he jumped into the open ceiling inside the office. The security on reaching there found the door opened and still heard our steps dashing away, he noticed the lock hasn't been damaged but rather compromised, he locked the door from outside as Dele was still inside on the ceiling the ceiling with the key in his pocket. 
Yusuf Abdulqoyum 
To be continued.....
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Scenerymania entry; why we hate him 2

War ensued in the school amidst we students and a replica version amidst teachers too. Many teachers were against the Principal's decisi...

Scenerymania entry; why we hate him Part 1

"The mantle of leadership will be handed over to you people, where you'll have the ability to transform visions to reality. What are your visions? I'll give you a fortnight to think about it." He dismissed us. joy 
  My secondary school is a renowned one in my town, a large, spacious and a park for intellectuals indeed. Yes, when i say intellectual i surely mean it, A former Head of State of Nigeria was a product of my school, the incumbent Senate President, A nominee for Grammy best female category award, an aspirant who contested against Obama, The greatest lobbyist in Nigeria, The President of Liberia, The Chief Strategist of Al-Qaeda, the best footballer on the planet earth, the Vice President of World Bank, Seven Vice Chacellor in seven different prestigious Nigerian University, the Mayor of Lancashire and so many prominent people on earth are my school products (ayam not lying o!). 
 The prefectship in my school had a wonderful  standard, you can only be one if your English is more than average, you must be fluent. Many of us that went to a private primary school can still communicate well and better than public school laddens. 
   However, no matter how good you're, a pure blood of our school will never become 'The Senior Prefect'. If you want to assume the 'SP' position, then go to a private college and quit at SS2 to join the train of my school leaders, you'll sure be in the executive cabin, favoured as the Senior Prefect. The day he called us for the discussion, what he's actually doing is buying enough time for a new seeker to show up, a new private school boy to be our 'SP', it's already two weeks into resumption yet none had shown up. 
  We all looked out everyday for the savior of our time, 'the new seeker', he shone with fame without an identity, some even advised the school to pronounced other prefects and leave the position for the anonymous but the principal insisted. 
  After a fortnight, once again the principal sought for our audience and we responded. We were interviewed in front of a panel one after the other. After a thorough screening, we've all known our school-given post. 
 Kola, the to-be-senior-prefect, was overwhelmed with happiness for being the first pure blood seeker of the school, we celebrated with him as he bought us food and the likes during break-time at Iya Divine's stll that same day. 
 He fumbled about how great he had become, for him being the first of a kind, it is a good sign that he will also one day rule the world, that night he already prepared his highly motivation speech, the likes of Les Brown and Robert O. Kiyosaki's own that goes thus... 
 "I Kola, the son of man on this day assumed this post higher than the United State Presidency. 
The future is ours, greatness and prosperity were the foundation of this school, if your glory is a dim type, once your foot were stepped onto this heaven, immediately your star would shine brighter. For me, this is the world before me, a Donald Trump is here, a Bill Gate in the making was staring at me and if truly Obama broke the record of being the first black president, then i myself with the galaxy of stars packed before me here would break the record of being the first black man to rule the whole world, i will show you what is meant by leadership, as it is the ability to transform vision to reality. On this day, i place it before you, dont call me the SP again call me the 'Global President', it's I, Kola Timba. 
Thanks." 
Sincerely, it would have being the best speech ever if delivered, i was so proud of my school as i read the speech. 
  Then the D-Day, we've all ironed our uniforms, the ironed edges (gators) formed on our trousers  could slice a throat. As the assembly started, anxiety arose in us,  after the principal idiomatic address on the assembly, he moved on to naming we flag bearers. 
He continued like,....."discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments, please cross the bridge, I will hereby call on the new leaders of the school, they will....." the school messenger interrupted running towards the assembly, 
"the seeker has arrived!!!" he screamed. Suddenly there was a vehement outburst on the assembly, either they were expressing their joy or angst I wouldn't know, all I know is their was chaos amidst our assembly row. The boy, a very tiny boy with a broad smile as if he purposely came to rain on our parade. "Yes!,  that's the man, UB3, give us a marching song", the principal suspended the assembly. As we were marching in, Kola fainted. 
...To be continued 
 Yusuf abdulqoyum
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Scenerymania entry; why we hate him Part 1

"The mantle of leadership will be handed over to you people, where you'll have the ability to transform visions to reality. What a...

ANA review 2015: call for submission

ANA Review 2015: Call for Submissions 
It's six days to go, below is the detail: 
"This is to call for submissions for the 2015 ANA Review. The intention of the Association of Nigerian Authors is to publish a yearly Review that will showcase the very best of Nigerian and African writing. Consequently, we request submissions in the following genres— 
1.Prose: Including short stories and novel excerpts. Maximum word count 3000 words. 
2.Poetry: 3 poems per submission. Maximum, 40lines each. 
3.Drama: 5,000 words maximum. 
4.Essays and Reviews: 3,000 words maximum. 
5.Illustrations of Novels/Poetry: 3 per submission. 
This call is open to all Africans, holders of passports of African countries and persons of African descent writing about themes concerning the continent. Works to be positively considered have to be of the highest quality as creative merit will be the sole criteria for selection. It is our further intention, however, to have an inclusive ANA Review. All submissions should be emailed together with a 100 word bio of the author to <a href="mailto:ana.review14@gmail.com">ana.review14</a><a href="mailto:ana.review14@gmail.com">@</a><a href="mailto:ana.review14@gmail.com">gmail.com</a> Text must be in the Microsoft Word format while drawings must be in the .jpeg or .jpg format. Deadline for ALL submissions is 20th of August, 2015."
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ANA review 2015: call for submission

ANA Review 2015: Call for Submissions It's six days to go, below is the detail: "This is to call for submissions for the 2015 ANA...

Call for submission GSBPC 2015

CALLS FOR SUBMISSION TO AN AUDITION OF‪#‎GEORGESHAKEWORDS ‬BI MONTHLY POETRY CHALLENGE (GSBPC 2015). 
It is just two days to the deadline, below is the detail: 
"The WordWard in collaboration with The GSBPC invites poetic sWORDERS and lovers of duels to send in their well-worded pieces for the August edition challenge.The GSBPC kicked off its inauguration on July to give the needed outlook and improved innovation to the longings for modernized sWORD-fights towards poetry advancement in Nigeria.It is the only competition that gives serious attachment to poetry challenges and a championship where a winner takes it all. Its maiden edition being won by Akinbode Israel. Due to the quality of entries in‪ #‎AJAPoetryContest‬, GSBPC has decided to stick with the following qualified poets with whom the qualifying poems of this audition will be paired in the second round. They are: 
|Jeremiah Peters 
|Kujore Victoria Omotayo 
|Olanrewaju Moses 
|Dawon Rilwan 
|Odunola Don Kolawolu
In other word, this is an audition and it is the first round. Only qualified poets of #AJAPoetryContest were being granted direct entry into the second round of course without auditioning. 
PRIZES TO BE WON:-------------------1. A two thousand naira voucher of any network to the winner of the challenge. 
2. A copy of the book 'Home Apart' by George Shakewords. 
3. An interview by The WordWard to be published on their blog. 
4. Every poem in the final will be posted to The WordWard blog along with their writers' biographies and pictures.
GUIDELINES:------------- 
1. Interested candidates are to submit their pieces on the theme 'TRAILS OF BLOOD'. 
2. All submissions should be made via email as BODY of mail to GeorgeShakewords@gmail.com with the subject: GSBPcAugust followed by the theme, i.e; GSBPcAugust: Trails Of Blood. 
3. All entries must be the original works of the writers. 
4. The maximum length of pieces should be 30 lines. Any pieces which exceed will be disqualified. 
5. Writers must add their full names and a biography (100 word maximum) at the bottom of their pieces. Their facebook identities also must be disclosed. 
6. All later information on fixtures, arenas, winners and changes regarding the contest will be disseminated on The WordWard official Facebook page which every candidate should endeavour to like so to follow their updates. Check:https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=679842592116246
NOTE THAT:------------¤ 
This is an audition where shortlisted poets will be paired with the reserved qualified poets of AJAPoetryContest.¤ This audition will be judged based on artistic quality and creativity, for the second round.¤ Fixtures and duels of later rounds will be regarded on The WordWard facebook page where every participating poet will be tagged to.¤ In the later rounds (which are the duelling rounds), pieces will be judged by readers and The Judges in a 50-50 rating. Only the first round (which is the audition round) will be judged completely by The Judges. So, contestants are allowed to mention their friends during voting.
ELIGIBILITY:-------------Nigerian residents in any part of the world are eligible.
DEADLINE:-----------The audition closes on the 16th of August 2015, as the later duelings run towards the end of the month."
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Call for submission GSBPC 2015

CALLS FOR SUBMISSION TO AN AUDITION OF‪#‎GEORGESHAKEWORDS ‬BI MONTHLY POETRY CHALLENGE (GSBPC 2015). It is just two days to the deadline, b...

Readers Conflict of Opinions

Readers Conflict of Opinions..... 
... 
Whenever we're into a prose work, as we enjoy it, we equally anticipate for the next or supposed events, be it from what is happening in the story currently or what you think should happen normally. Mind you, it takes a great effort for a writer to compose, though at times there are external influences and inspirations but as a writer, even with a block, you have to escape it and move on. 
What you should understand is; when you're writing, you are the god of the pen as you can fashion your content to your likings (just like the Supreme God do), you can kill a good character and let the bad one live. 
... 
That is where the problem arises. In order not to make your story boring, you need not solve all mysteries, provided that it is not antagonizing your plot and title. 
'Amazulu Warrior', a story with this kind of title is expected to analyse a specific deed, either glory or doom of the warrior, therefore, either the warrior died or live is not our concern(though it may be in your plot). So a kind of story like this is one we shall all agree to your supposed ending provided that the plot ended up to us as clearly justified. 
A story like 'Who the crown fits' wont be befitting without the writer laying emphasis on tussles in the palace and how the heirs strived for the throne. Also, if the writer portrayed one of the heir to be dubious, callous and impudent, yet he ascended the throne doesn't mean he has written it wrongly, many a time had the antagonist surpassed the protagonist in films and if the writer isn't graced to further the story on how the Impudent King ruled shouldn't be a mistake or make the story incomplete, rather, he only had left the readers to fathom on their sentiment and unravel the mystery untold themselves. 
In the story called 'Gege Ara'(the mighty pen) there occurred an incident when sacrifice was to be made to heaven and the Vultures can only bear the propitiations to convey it. Orunmila almost cried because it has been earlier mentioned that he hated Vultures and they hated him too, the hatred trascended to the level that a jamboree was carried out and only Vultures were not invited, though, they later perched for the leftovers after the party. 
The mystery was, Why would hatred exists between a god and a bird? It wasn't explained in the story, and the mystery could never be solved due to the fact that Orunmila was coming to earth for the first time according to the story and Vultures had been on earth since but we dont know maybe Orunmila had once been on earth or the Vultures were formerly living in heaven. 
The summary of Edgar Allan Poe's story 'The Cask of Amontillado' will serve as another example. 
'The story's narrator, Montresor, tells the story of the day that he took his revenge on Fortunato (Italian for "lucky"), a fellow nobleman, to an unspecified person who knows him very well. Angry over numerous injuries and some unspecified insult, he plots to murder his friend during Carnival when the man is drunk, dizzy, and wearing a jester's motley. 
Montresor lures Fortunato into a private wine- tasting excursion by telling him he has obtained a pipe (about 130 gallons, 492 litres) of what he believed to be a rare vintage of Amontillado . He mentioned obtaining confirmation of the pipe's contents by inviting a fellow wine aficionado, Luchesi, for a private tasting. Montresor knows Fortunato will not be able to resist demonstrating his discerning palate for wine and will insist that he taste the Amontillado rather than Luchesi who, as he claimed, "cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry". Fortunato went with Montresor to the wine cellars of the latter's palazzo, where they wandered in the catacombs. Montresor offered wine (first Medoc, then De Grave ) to Fortunato in order to keep him inebriated. 
Montresor warns Fortunato, who has a bad cough, of the damp, and suggests they go back; Fortunato insists on continuing, claiming that "[he] shall not die of a cough."During their walk, Montresor mentioned his family coat of arms : a golden foot in a blue background crushing a snake whose fangs were embedded in the foot's heel, with the motto "Nemo me impune lacessit" (No one insults me with impunity). 
At one point, Fortunato made an elaborate, grotesque gesture with an upraised wine bottle. When Montresor appeared not to recognize the gesture, Fortunato asked, "You are not of the masons?" Montreso replied he was, and when Fortunato, disbelieving, requested a sign, Montresor displayed a trowel he had been hiding. When they came to a niche , Montresor told his victim that the Amontillado was within. 
Fortunato entered drunk and unsuspecting and therefore, did not resist as Montresor quickly chained him to the wall. Montresor then declared that, since Fortunato won't go back, he must "positively leave". Montresor revealed brick and mortar, previously hidden among the bones nearby, and walls up the niche, entombing his friend alive. At first, Fortunato, who sobered up faster than Montresor and anticipated he would, shook the chains, trying to escape. Fortunato then screamed for help, but Montresor mocked his cries, knowing nobody could hear them. Fortunato laughed weakly and tried to pretend that he was the subject of a joke and that people will be waiting for him (including the Lady Fortunato). As the murderer finished the topmost row of stones, Fortunato wailed, "For the love of God, Montresor!" to which Montresor replied, "Yes, for the love of God!" 
He listened for a reply but heard only the jester's bells ringing. Before placing the last stone, he dropped a burning torch through the gap. He claimed that he felt sick at heart, but dismisses this reaction as an effect of the dampness of the catacombs. 
In the last few sentences, Montresor revealed that in the 50 years since that night, he had never been caught, and Fortunato's body still hangs from its chains in the niche where he left it. The murderer concluded: In pace requiescat! (May he rest in peace!)'(wikipedia) 
From this summary extracted from wikipedia, what and what can be deduced?. 
... 
If you noticed, this is also a murder case story but not like stories like 'tell me your dream' which involves detectives investigating here and there. There is no investigation of Montresor's crime and the criminal himself explains how he committed the murder. It seems like the mystery in "The Cask of Amontillado" is in Montresor's motive for murder. Without a detective in the story, it is up to the reader to solve the mystery. 
Montresor never specified the reason for the murder except the thousand injuries he suffered at heart as a result of Fortunato's insult. According to the story, we are only concerned about the mystery in the Cask. Therefore, conflict in readers mind should be settled at discreting junctions based on the faculty of thinking and creative readers too can from mysteries in stories start another creative fictions.
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Readers Conflict of Opinions

Readers Conflict of Opinions..... ... Whenever we're into a prose work, as we enjoy it, we equally anticipate for the next or supposed...

Androbeat DIY

The museguide team is launching a tutorial series tagged Androbeat DIY. During this series, you are going to be taught, absolutely how to make music beats on your android phones and tabs. As we all know that musical beat is the soul of not just music but virtually all modern day digital sound products. From movies soundtrack to background tracks in talk shows, concerts and several other presentations. We will carry out this tutorial using, texts, pictures, audios and videos. One thing however, that you should have in mind is that fact that you don’t have to have any previous knowledge on beat making before you join the bus. Consider that a bonus as you would be thought everything from the scratch. Now is the time for you to creat your own signature beat or tune yourself using this simple technique we will teach you. 
Attached to this post is the download link to a sample beat made using the androbeat technique. The truth is, if you listen to it. You won’t think twice because you’d know it is rich enough to make you crave the knowledge. If you would truly be involved do 3 things. This will ensure you never miss any update. 
1) Like the page 
2) Like this post 
3) Subscribe to our website email list @ www.museguide.org 
As always this is one of the initiatives from the museguide team and expect more as we will always be an Ambassador for promoting creativity. Remember to share this news with friends and even tag them as you probably won’t want them to miss out. Especially since this is absolutely free. If you have any questions, you are welcome to ask via any of our e-channels. Cheers. <a href="http://www.datafilehost.com/d/2995dc4c">Click here</a> for the sample beat. 
Website: www.museguide.org 
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/museguide 
twitter handle: @museguide 
Abd-afeez Abd-hamid
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Androbeat DIY

The museguide team is launching a tutorial series tagged Androbeat DIY. During this series, you are going to be taught, absolutely how to ma...

Museguide special entry; serpents are significant

It's a wonder nowadays that so many African city kids had never set their eyes on a snake except for big screens and T.V's, many had a refined mentality regarding serpents courtesy of ill orientations conveyed through some mediums especially Bollywood series and films. 
Snakes is highly significant when it comes to art and craft and also played an important role in our food web even though religiously(Islam and Christianity) 'a good snake is a dead snake'. 
In the case of art and craft, the snakeskin is quite useful in many aspects. For example, snakeskin is widely used in producing leather bags, belt, necktie and watch band as the snakeskin is soft and light and its natural pattern is beautiful. China was the first country that used snakeskin to make instruments, such as urheen. 
In our food web snakes are very useful. All snakes eat rodents for the most part.  Rodents carry a variety of diseases and destroy millions of dollars worth of crops a year.  One snake could eat 2-4 mice or rats a month.  Presumably if at least 1 mouse eaten is female, then that takes another few hundred baby mice out of the population.  Australia worked to irradicate many of their venomous snakes and they ended up with a rodent overpopulation that was completely out of control.
Snakes are reptile covered in a skin of supple, living scales; legless; with staring eyes that never blink or close; a flickering forked tongue; and, sometimes, fangs that deliver toxic venom. Though, Snakes crawl around legless with a poisonous head but yet it has a greater significance specifically for the black race. 
We mustn't progress from here without clarifying the symbols represented by snakes to different sets of tribes gracing this black nation. 
In Africa the chief centre of serpent worship was Dahomey, but the cult of the python seems to have been of exotic origin, dating back to the first quarter of the 17th century. 
By the conquest of Whydah the Dahomeyans were brought in contact with a people of serpent worshipers, and ended by adopting from them the beliefs which they at first despised. At Whydah, the chief centre, there is a serpent temple, tenanted by some fifty snakes. Every python of the danh-gbi kind must be treated with respect, and death is the penalty for killing one, even by accident. 
Danh-gbi has numerous wives, who until 1857 took part in a public procession from which the profane crowd was excluded; a python was carried round the town in a hammock, perhaps as a ceremony for the expulsion of evils. 
Mami Wata also is a water spirit or class of spirits associated with fertility and healing, usually depicted as a woman holding a large snake or with the lower body of a serpent or fish. She is worshipped in West, Central, and Southern Africa. 
Snakes venom are used in treating variety of diseases as well cancer, low sexual performance, diabetes and all forms of skin problems. It also signified healing power of medicine. The snake's venom is associated with the chemicals of plants and fungi that have the power to either heal, poison or provide expanded consciousness (and even the elixir of life and immortality) through divine intoxication. Because of its herbal knowledge and entheogenic association the snake was often considered one of the wisest animals, being (close to the) divine. Its divine aspect combined with its habitat in the earth between the roots of plants made it an animal with special properties connected to the afterlife and immortality. Asclepiu, the god of medicine and healing, carried a staff with one serpent wrapped around it, which has become the symbol of modern medicine. 
Courtesy Yusuf Abdulqoyum.
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Museguide special entry; serpents are significant

It's a wonder nowadays that so many African city kids had never set their eyes on a snake except for big screens and T.V's, many had...

Determination

I was adhered to change, 
To conquer a vastness of possibilities. 
I've travelled in leagues of strives, 
 To surpass the turmoil of failures. 
On my grimy wings sparkled hatred, 
Illusions for enemies' deceptions. 
They shall see me flutter but cry, 
Discerning words utterly blasphemous. 
Ignorance fated them as being worse, 
Condemned to the abyss of sins. 
Many a times they'd wished for my fall. 
But such wishes I always recall, 
As balloons placed amidst thorns. 
An agglomeration of failed efforts, 
Mounted upon their silly get at hope. 
They shall dream of their success, 
Savouring its salient flavour of satisfaction. 
Only to face bitter reality when it's due. 
Songs of victory they have sung, 
Annotated on how they have won. 
Enemies and their songs of shame, 
Adorned brightly with drums of wails. 
No matter how much they've tried, 
The plots they plotted or the tries they mounted, 
Tell them I am the golden child of fate 
And I shall excel regardless of their hate.
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Determination

I was adhered to change, To conquer a vastness of possibilities. I've travelled in leagues of strives, To surpass the turmoil of fai...

Writers tutorial entry; the justification of controversies

The justification of controversies 
The essence of this article is not to present a viable argument but to secure potent opinions as regard the topic of discuss, as either a writer or a wonderful reader of all creatively crafted write ups. In our stories, quite often, we are left with the option of finding an end to a mystery baffling our readers, solving puzzles and appropriating the story climax. The end result of which ever blend of these factors we incorporate into our stories is the creation of the sensation of uplifting the readers into our story realm. This would eventually create two categories of readers. 
   1) Those that are completely conversant with our story world and could perfectly continue a fan fiction on your story. 
   2) Those that are mildly or very lost and hence has questions to ask as regard your story realm. 
The first category of readers is not our concern in this article but the other. The ending of a story most times could be controversial enough for readers to expect a sequel which to the writer truly never exist. These kind of controversial endings, are they meant to be consciously created or rather just a reflection of the reader’s comprehension capabilities? 
This bring me back to the topic, the creation of controversies in a story, which were left unsolved. Is it a good attribution to any story or a flaw? If the controversy is as a result of the reader’s low comprehension ability, are we to be concerned about the existence of such readers while writing our various stories? 
The conscious creation of such controversy had been justified by renowned best-selling writers who claimed it is a compelling spell that drags certain readers to the story as their inadvertent meditations towards solving or justifying the  controversies with the writer will keep them ready to read to the end to confirm if they have actually outwitted the writer. 
However aren’t the same controversies without a competent resolve not enough to bore certain readers who love justice? They love to see every developments, twists, turns and conflicts resolved most judiciously before they could be satisfied with any write up. Are these set of people meant to be ignore? Isn’t a writer duty also to write what people would love to read? Isn’t a writer also meant to be able to express himself in his most natural compelling way (A writer’s voice)? If that were to be the case then, are unresolved controversies a positive to a story or a negative? 
Before I round up, I will lay an example of a petty argument between me and a fellow writer. We both were reviewing a story in which one of the dubious cast was struck dead as a result of nemesis for her deeds, however this sin was committed by two, but only one received judgement. She then claimed that her death was not justified by her deeds and that the writer was too shallow in trying to justify her death by hanging it on the neck of nemesis. She was right to an extent, however, I yet asked her a question; how will a writer justify that which he does not know? What if a reader even gets to know more than the writer if he had been adequately absolved into the story realm? What if? 
In conclusion, I’d love to hear the opinions of dear readers as regard this controversial aspect of creative writing. Should the premise of justifying controversies absolutely lie on the shoulder of the writer? Should it? I await your responses. Thank you for reading. 
Abd-afeez Abd-hamid
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Writers tutorial entry; the justification of controversies

The justification of controversies The essence of this article is not to present a viable argument but to secure potent opinions as regard ...

The poor's poor voices

Decided to pick up my rusty pen of poetry today: pardon me if my ink appears in grimy scribblings.
The poor's poor voices
I was to scour the world, 
A sojourn for a purpose of one, 
I was to change the world, 
With the capture of that one voice.
Our generation has been robed. 
A larceny beyond comprehension, 
The wicked giggle at the tension, 
Mediated by our various losses. 
So how shall they merry at the sight? 
Of men in disarray in tearful plights. 
How shall they survive? 
If the wicked yet milk them dry.
Justice had be dashed a titan blow, 
It's eyes oozes smelly fluid of sorrow. 
Only the tatty ones in rags seeks justice. 
Array they stayed in line as the wicked serve them injustice.
A mirror of demeanor separate the  rich from the poor. 
A tale of dishonor, upon the lips of the poor it sprung. 
They wish an end to the rich's spree of terror, 
Their heart they wish would earn succulent core.
Nothing changes yet, businesses maintained status quo, 
Heroes that should have helped have all sunk to rust. 
If only their is a fate that honours the poor. 
Upon destiny's ride it shall lead them to freedom.
Upon all the inequalities, 
Upon all the sufferings, 
A say would have been enough, 
A plead would have been fair, 
But who would have listened? 
Of what worth are voices, 
If they cannot tingle ears of worth?
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The poor's poor voices

Decided to pick up my rusty pen of poetry today: pardon me if my ink appears in grimy scribblings. The poor's poor voices I was to sco...

Let your dialogue do the talking

Dialogue tags are not the place to get creative if you want to draw your reader in. Leave that to the dialogue itself. 
I’ve never met a writer, whether working on an epic fantasy novel or a true-life account of a harrowing experience, who hasn’t wanted her reader to get completely lost in the words on the page. While there are many things that separate fact from fiction, there’s one thing that all writers ignore at their peril: a good, hard, honest self-edit. Let’s talk dialogue. Fiction writers learn quickly that there’s nothing as terrible as stiff, unrealistic dialogue to pull a reader out of the story. And while non-fiction writers can’t falsify direct quotes, there’s plenty they can do to ensure the flow is natural. The first place to start is by cutting out as many dialogue tags as you can. You want the reader to read right over those tags as if they’re not there. Dialogue tags exist for only one purpose: to identify for the reader who is speaking in your manuscript. That’s it. 
You want the focus on the dialogue itself. You don’t want readers to get distracted by the tag. This is one of the most common mistakes new writers make. They think words like asked or said are boring or repetitive, so they try to use more interesting alternatives. Trust me: dialogue tags are not the place to get fancy. Dialogue tags should melt into the background. Said and asked are all you need. Resist the urge to use queried instead of asked, or exclaimed instead of said. All those flourishes will do is tell readers you’re a newbie. If you’re writing creative non-fiction, you get to have some fun and create dialogue in your story. It doesn’t have to be verbatim, as long as it’s true to your telling of the story.There’s also the tendency to use the dreaded –ly adverb in your dialogue tag. Consider this: Dialogue tags are not the place to convey emotion – the dialogue itself should do that. If you think you need an adverb to convey emotion, your scene needs to be written so the character’s dialogue and actions more clearly express that emotion. It’s the difference between showing and telling. Here’s an example we use in AutoCrit when explaining the problem with adverbs in dialogue. 
“I’ve had enough,” Simon said angrily. This simply tells us that Simon is angry. But that emotion isn’t demonstrated through his actions or the dialogue itself. Remember what we said earlier about dialogue tags: Readers read right over them. Their only purpose is to tell the reader who is speaking. So if you want the reader to feel Simon’s anger, you have to show them through the dialogue itself. Here’s how you might do it: 
“You disgust me. This conversation is over,” Simon said. Here, Simon’s words are angry, so you don’t need to rely on the adverb angrily to convey that. The dialogue is stronger and the emotion is clear. You could also include some brief actions or descriptions to eliminate the adverb and convey the character’s emotion. For example: 
Simon shoved back his chair and slammed his fist on the table. “I’ve had enough,” he said, clenching his jaw. “This discussion is over.” 
The actions and description here help show how Simon feels, so we can easily eliminate the word angrily from that dialogue tag. Whether you’re writing fiction or non-fiction, you are telling a story. Dialogue is one of the most powerful elements in storytelling.
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Let your dialogue do the talking

Dialogue tags are not the place to get creative if you want to draw your reader in. Leave that to the dialogue itself. I’ve never met a wri...

5 mistakes gutarists make on pitch harmonics

Your lead guitar playing will sound totally badass once you learn to play clean, articulate and screaming pinch harmonics any time you want. When done right, this technique adds MASSIVE amounts of drama, passion and fire into your guitar licks. Likewise, pinch harmonics. 
incorrectly, making mistakes that make mastering this technique impossible. 
To start mastering pinch harmonics right now, watch the video below to see how I helped one of my students to go from struggling with this technique to playing it accurately in just minutes: 
Now that you’ve seen how simple pinch harmonics are to play, here are the most common mistakes guitar players make when trying to learn this technique and how to avoid them in your playing:
Mistake #1: Not Knowing The Right Place(s) On The Strings To Play Pinch Harmonics To play articulate pinch harmonics, you must know where to strike the string with the pick and you must hit the string in that spot every time. If you simply strike the string in a random place, you will likely hear a sloppy noise instead of a clear harmonic and you won’t be able to consistently produce clean sounding pinch harmonics any time you want. How to solve this problem: 
Invest time to find the sweet spots on your guitar where you can produce the harmonic most easily. To do this, practice playing the harmonic in many different places along the string (sliding the pick up or down) to find where it responds the best. Watch the video above to see this approach demonstrated. IMPORTANT: Make sure to pause for 1 second between each pick stroke to LISTEN if the harmonic came out clear and strong before making any adjustments. Your ears and mind must be focused when practicing this technique.
Mistake #2: Muting The Harmonic With The Thumb After It Is Played. 
After you play a pinch harmonic, the last thing you want is to kill it before it has a chance to sustain. Yet, this is exactly what happens to most guitar players as they follow the common (wrong advice) to "strike the string with the pick first and then touch the string with the thumb. Fact is, both the thumb and the pick need to strike the string at the exact same time to produce clear pinch harmonics. How to solve this problem: 
Practice playing a scale (any scale) with all downstrokes while holding the pick very close to the tip. This will train your thumb and pick to strike the string at the same time, which is key to making the harmonic come alive. This will also train your thumb to NOT touch the string after you picked it (giving harmonics a chance to scream). All this will help you to produce the harmonics more consistently. 
Mistake #3: Not Looking At Your Picking Hand. Most guitar players are so used to looking at their fretting hand while playing, that they completely forget to pay attention to (and look at) their picking hand when practicing pinch harmonics. By looking at the incorrect hand, you cannot identify what you are doing wrong and what needs to be fixed to finally master pinch harmonics. How to solve this problem: 
Stop looking at your fretting hand (when practicing pinch harmonics) and watch your picking hand instead. 
Mistake #4: Not Integrating Pinch Harmonics With Other Guitar Techniques Most guitarists become so focused on learning pinch harmonics in isolation, that they never practice applying this technique into guitar riffs and solos. This makes all the time you invested into mastering pinch harmonics virtually worthless…since you won’t be able to use the technique when it counts. To test how close you currently are to mastering all of the most important lead guitar techniques, take this free guitar technique assessment. How to solve this problem: 
Set aside a portion of your pinch harmonic practice time to practice them in musical contexts… even if you still haven't mastered them in isolation. For example, think of a cool riff you like and implement pinch harmonics into it. As your pinch harmonics get better in isolation, ALL of your guitar playing (where these harmonics are used) will start to sound better as well. Here is an example of how to practice integrating pinch harmonics together with a guitar riff: Hear it. 
Mistake #5: Having Poor Vibrato Without vibrato, your pinch harmonics will sound lifeless. Even though vibrato itself is a completely separate technique, you MUST master it and integrate it with pinch harmonics to make them sound truly badass. Vibrato helps the harmonic to sustain longer and have a more aggressive/screaming sound. Think of pinch harmonics like fire and vibrato like the fuel for it. Every time you light the fire, pour fuel over it and make the flame grow larger!How to solve this problem: Set aside 10-15 minutes per day to practice and train your vibrato, just as you would work on any other guitar playing skill. To learn how to use vibrato to play killer pinch harmonics, read this article about how to master guitar vibrato. 
Mistake #6: Not muting Unwanted String Noise In Your Guitar Playing Controlling unwanted string noise is important no matter what you play, but it is especially important when playing pinch harmonics. Any little sound in the background (that shouldn't be there) will destroy the entire pinch harmonic and the emotion you intend to create with it. How to solve this problem: 
Use a combination of techniques in both picking and fretting hands to mute all strings except the one you are playing. The most effective technique to use for achieving this goal is the thumb muting technique - using the picking hand's thumb to rest on the lower (in pitch strings) and mute them. This is a technique I teach all my online guitar students to master to help them learn to play lead guitar cleanly. To learn more about this (and other) techniques for muting string noise, read this article about stopping guitar string noise.
Now that you know how to avoid the most effective ways to practice pinch harmonics, realize that this technique is only a tiny element of all that goes into becoming a truly awesome lead guitar player. To learn what other areas of your lead guitar technique you must improve to fully reach your musical goals, take a few minutes to test yourself and find out how close you are to mastering electric lead guitar technique. 
This article is courtesy of Tom Hess.
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5 mistakes gutarists make on pitch harmonics

Your lead guitar playing will sound totally badass once you learn to play clean, articulate and screaming pinch harmonics any time you want....

Exploiting your POVs

Exploiting your POVs 
The POVs are often a great tool you can use to initiate special effects/concepts in a story. These effects often are realisable using the first POV which when given a strong character, (I mean its identity) could earn your story the most amazing outlook you could hold on to. Let’s look at a story that begin as this: 
“I was there, but you wouldn’t notice, I was meant to be ‘a nobody” at the party, however I became somebody before it ended. Since I was a nobody at the beginning, you don’t need to know me yet, let’s talk about Sandra as she was the one earning the spotlight at the beginning. Sandra sat at the eastern end of the living room. Guests were scattered all around the mansion where the party held. John walked up to Sandra, he sat in front of her whispered some words and they both stood up and headed for the dance floor seconds later. I stood at a corner watching, the party is becoming boring, I had come alone and hoped not to leave alone. Sandra and john had had their fill of dancing, so they returned to their sit……” 
I can’t possibly finish that story in this article, however I can report on the POV usage over there. The narrator was at that party, however she hasn’t revealed herself. She is creating a kind of mystery, in fact at some point you might seem she is lying, she could have been a cast she will introduce pretty soon, yet she wouldn’t claim the identity of the cast to sustain its mysterious atmosphere. Even I have been claiming she is a he, what if she is some kid. Definitely, our narrator could be anybody trying to manipulate us for the major part of the story until at such peak when the revelation of his identity would be most sensational. 
I had a short story series I started years back, titled the “Telescopes above the clouds” in the series certain gods of known attributions in certain regions would tell a story involving them and the people that serve them as they watch their affairs via their fictitious telescopes above the cloud. The narrator being a god sees what happened above those clouds, narrates them narrates his intervention or their intervention if he eventually sought the help of the other gods. The story had such epic feel as the god’s characters and setting should. Hence the atmosphere of the story was hence captivating enough. Here is an excerpts from one of the stories from the series. 
“Men, they will never stop amazing me with their disbeliefs. My name is Orunmila and if you should ask a Yoruba man who I am, he would ask you to ask the next Ifa priest you see. So that faithful afternoon the sun that glared across the dense forest that I peeped at was a real bother. Falade was there at the lighter entrance of the forest.  He was pointing to the dense undergrowth, just beneath a tall dongoyaro tree, ‘the lion shall appear from there’ he told them. They looked at where he pointed, it was barely lit, and the undergrowth only gets a fraction of the initial sunlight from above. Then beyond the denseness were further darkness, it was however not so dark further inward as the undergrowth faded; but see, nobody dared explore as falade’s mention of a lion was scary enough” 
Once in a while the god (Orunmila) brilliant thoughts breaks the narration in the story and it further created a unique mystique as the existence of the god seemed to run parallel with the happenings on earth. Probably I will share the full story one of these days and the effect the superb POV Identity had on the story would be so glaring. 
The 2nd POV and 3rd POV can be exploited too however a very strong identity, with a compelling voice should be used. 
Choosing your POV correctly can adequately push your story in a direction you yourself would find engaging as you write, however choosing a wrong POV and giving it a boring Identity can give your story a slow momentum and a leprosy of reach. Learn to exploit your POVs adequately and you can move mountains with your stories. 
Abd-afeez Abd-hamid
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Exploiting your POVs

Exploiting your POVs The POVs are often a great tool you can use to initiate special effects/concepts in a story. These effects often ar...

Writer's tutorial entry; the identity of your POV

The identity of your POV 
This is simply talking about the narrator in basic terms. The POV is often the perspective of the narrator or sometimes just the writer. It is the writer’s work to attribute an identity to the narrator and also his perspective. The identity of a narrator can be of two types based on location. 
Within a story narrator: this is used in stories where the protagonists or someone else of notable importance narrates the story. More often, the first POV is best suited for this narration type because you can’t be there within a story and yet regard yourself as a he, or not even give your emotions adequate recognition. What happens eventually is in a longer piece for example, to stick to one “within the story POV” you will need to use multiple identities because there is hardly anyone in your novel that would be everywhere at the same time, especially if your story entails multiple plots and subplots. However another solution can yet be made and that is using multiple POV. Where the within the story narrator uses the first POV where he is involved and uses the third POV where he is not. However such a method can only be used in past tense narration. 
The outside the story narrator, this identity involves narrators that are not present in the story. This category are quite delicate because they do have subcategories. The outside the story narration is most suited for the third person narration than third person. The two sub-category under this is: 
The human narrator:- This narrators takes the form of an human, who is reporting a story that does not involve him. Let’s take for example I wish to tell the story of my best friend. I am human and will tell the story best to my knowledge and based on my judgement. I -as a human narrator- am meant to have limited knowledge as regard the story, though my judgement can be fully incorporated into the story, however I should not over use it as the readers might start to lose interest in a story if they feel the narrator is making too much assumptions and judgements. True life stories are often in this form, if the owner of the story relayed it to someone and the same person decided to relay it back, it becomes a human narrator and can only and always be written in third person perspective, except the writer decided to write in ghost mode for the owner of the real story hence he will write in the first POV hence the real owner of the story can claim the authorship of the state. However in fiction the case is different, there is no strict guideline and a writer might decide to make a tough choice of POV and give him a strange Identity. However it is the second sub-category that I will choose that most writers choose to use, simply because of it limitless ability to defend its knowledge of the story. 
Sovereign narrator:- This narrator often assume the position of some super human being with a sovereign knowledge about a story. Let’s assume the identity of our narrator is that of a dead spirit telling a story about when he was alive. The dead spirit would have hidden knowledge about the story that an ordinary human being wouldn’t. More often than not, a writer would not define his narrator identity. However our intuition would always point us to the direction of the identity of the narrator. In the number one category above, the writer cannot hide and would not hide the identity of a POV except he want to create a special effect of mystery. If not, a narrator that is also present in expected to be public and never hidden in anyways. 
This though is just my own personal classification and this classification helps me beyond, extensive or confusing options. I tend to understand the fact that a supreme narrator if revealed can create a necessary tension and mystery in a novel. In the coming instalment, I will talk about how to fully exploit the dynamic world of POV in your creative writings. Thank you very much for reading. 
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Writer's tutorial entry; the identity of your POV

The identity of your POV This is simply talking about the narrator in basic terms. The POV is often the perspective of the narrator or some...

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