Monday, January 14, 2013

Sick

Seems I was right the other day: I've developed a very nice cold with flu-like symptoms. Man, I feel like crap. Basically, my whole body aches and I can't barely swallow and speak. Appointment with the doc later today.

7 comments:

  1. Wishing you a quick recovery. In North America they have many cases of Flu right now. New York City declared a Flu emergency. Many people (but not me) go to doctors to take vaccine against the flu. Not sure if it's true, but I read somewhere (and put it in my novel) that in Germany many people worried about cold air and they all the time close the windows and talk a lot about cold air.

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  2. Thank you so much, Giora.

    No, that's not true.
    Germans love fresh air and open the windows a lot. Many Germans love to sleep with their windows open, so do I.
    We don't like the stale smell of air-conditioned rooms.
    When I lived in the US, people thought it was strange that I loved to open the windows in my room wide and smell the air.

    The only thing we dislike is sitting in a draft but I guess nobody likes that.

    How's it in China?

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  3. Have no idea how is it in China. They have now many articles about pollution in the air in Beijing. I found the part in my novel about Germans and cold air. Beate and her boyfriend Max sit in their apartment in Jena. This is their chat:

    "Wait a second. I want to close the window, so that a draft can't get through the windows," Beate says.
    When she comes back, Max says, "We Germans always complain when a window or a door left open and there is a fresh breeze of air passing through."
    "Ja, and we also complain about Kreislaufsorung, blood circulation ..."

    Is that okay?

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  5. Good morning!

    You got it right about "Kreislaufstörungen". What they mean is they way you feel when your boold pressure suddenly drops and you feel sick or dizzy.

    Concerning your quote, keep in mind it's "show, don't tell" for authors.
    What you do is telling the reader stuff through Max and Beate.

    People wouldn't talk to each other like that because it's common knowledge for them.
    If Max was French and he told Beate "you Germans always complain about drafts", that would work.

    I'd suggest the following:
    Beate closes the window. Max asks her why she doesn't like the breeze coming in. She answers that she easily gets Kreislaufstörungen when she gets too cold. It runs in the family.

    Germans will never wonder about Kreislaufstörungen or point out to each other that it's a German thing.
    It's just the way it is, no big deal.
    I think it would work better if somebody from a different nation asked Beate what "the fuss about Kreislaufstörungen" is about.
    Beate could be surprised. "What fuss? Most people have them."
    "But you Germans talk about them all the time."

    That way you'd show - not tell - that Kreislaufstörungen are stereotypical for Germans.

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  6. Thanks for the great comments. I corrected following your advice and also put it twice. Once when Beate and Max talk along, and then later in the novel when they talk with two American teenagers and then I mention the "Germans". I'm a good story terller but average writer, so I need a reminder to folow the rules like "Show and don't Tell." I checked your other blog and noticed that you took a break from writing. Maybe you'll be inspired again. Maybe writing about a main character similar to you and your life, like running with your dog and chekcing your weight ect.

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    Replies
    1. That sounds really good! :)

      You're right, I haven't been blogging on my other blogs for a while.
      I'm sure I'll be back doing that but at the moment while I feel so crappy I'll stick to "A Quest...".

      Have great weekend, Giora.

      Hugs & "alles Liebe",
      Sal

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