The Jolly Roger essays

The Jolly Roger essays The name of the pirate flag, the Jolly Roger, might have been named after the devil- Old Roger, but it is more probable it comes from the French name Jolie Rouge which means lovely or pretty red. It was a blood-red flag flown by pirates who intended to kill everyone on board a ship they were about to attack. There were many different Jolly Roger flags. Pirates had their own versions of the Jolly Roger but all of them were guaranteed to strike terror into sailors hearts. Pirates probably borrowed the symbols they used on Jolly Rogers from gravestones. Usually a skull and crossbones, which was the most common on a Jolly Roger, represented death. Sometimes pirates had hourglasses with or without wings to show time was running out for the ship they were going to attack. The first Jolly Roger appeared around 1700 when the pirate Emmanuel Wynne hoisted one in the Caribbean. The flag quickly caught on and other pirates designed their own versions. When pirates neared a target, sometimes they raised a friendly flag and then at the last minute, they would raise a Jolly Roger to frighten their enemy into surrendering. When pirates were giving chase, they hoisted a white flag, and if the ship refused to slow down then the pirates usually raised a red flag which symbolized blood. It also meant that once the pirates boarded the ship, no lives would be spared. Pirates often stole flags from captured ships to add to their collection of false flags. ...

A Readers Responsibility

A Readers Responsibility Yall ever read Suite T, the blog for Southern Writers Magazine? Its pretty good, and this past week,  Terry Whalin  posted  4 Ways to Support Writers. I want to take this a step further and not state HOW a reader can help a writer, but WHY they have a responsibility to do so. When a reader picks up a book to read, they expect to invest hours into the entertainment. The author and publisher on the other end are waiting with fingers crossed to hear how the reader liked it. They need feedback to better understand how to proceed with subsequent works. Any type of industry needs feedback. Are they doing it right? Are they creating the right product? Publishers, agents, and bookstores hang on public feedback to determine whether an author is worth fooling with. Silence is deadly. So, if a reader likes a story, or an author, they need to speak up. Otherwise they risk losing a good story, or worse, a good author. Lets talk about a readers responsibility when they read a book: 1) Buy the  book. An occasional freebie is fine, especially when test-driving an author. However, authors, publishers, agents, cover designers, etc. depend on income to eat and put a roof over their head. Buy a book. 2) Write a review.  Do you want more stories like the one you just read? Then post a review. Otherwise, how is anyone supposed to know that this type of writing needs to continue? Call it a thank-you to the people who fought hard to put that book in your hands. They cannot read your mind. 3) Reply to blog posts.  Blogs are free, frequently used to sell books or an authors prowess. Dont read a post  and silently blow away. At least thank the writer or blog host. Yes, youre busy, but so are they. What if you did a job and nobody told you whether it was good or bad?  Again, the silence is a killer. 4) Take responsibility for your social media.  Dont just read. Dont just rant about politics or the neighbors noise next door. Dont just take and not give back. When you see a book promoted, and you like it or the author, then retweet or share. Its a button, people. 5) Use your word-of-mouth.  If you do not relay to others about a good book, and everyone else remains just as silent, that good book disappears along with the subsequent books after it from that author. Many an author has withered away due to lack of feedback, because feedback equates to sales, which equates to contracts and/or earning a living. Ive seen good writers think they were no goodall because readers remained quiet. Oh, and if youre a writer? Magnify that responsibility