Socien's Blog

Alexander the Great used the Anvil and Hammer tactic and was so successful with it that he emerged to be the one of the undefeated generals known to have existed. A few centuries later another Greek went to war against Romans who were under the command of Cesar. Pompey the Great, in a decisive battle of the Greco-Roman Civil War lost at Pharsalus.

This is what writing is all about to me. A tactic that made one of your works or anyone you know a legend may fail you on another work.

Those who would want to know what the anvil and hammer tactic is should look no further than the work of the blacksmith. An anvil is used to keep the metal the smith is working on steady. A hammer then hits the metal. In war, this is a single envelopment. The anvil, comprised of foot soldiers keeps the enemy occupied tearing it from its front, leaving the enemy rear exposed to the penetrating hammer. The harmer, attacking from the rear, thanks to the horses is highly mobile and ruthless, wedging itself deeper into the enemy’s positioning. Seems quite like a strategy, huh?

Historically, I am like Pompey. After I read two books in the Langdon series by the names DaVinci Code and The Lost Symbol, I became quite convinced that I too could replicate Dan Brown’s style of writing. The result was terrible, coming after three wasted years.

Even with enough baptism you still need to live soiled with your sins, a signature of your own that is in no one’s rule book. I love this. The freedom to soil yourself with your style and flavours of your own is something you cannot get rid of. The calling is your own and so are the methods of executing your crusades.

I have found a lot of online stuff telling me about what software to use (I tried Manuscript for Windows) but I never used any of them. If anything digital, I have inscribed 90% of my work through virtual keyboards on smartphone screens. This is due to failure to afford a convenient PC.

The diary SubjectMe is my private vintage stock. I retrieve from it emotions, terminology of beauty, whispers for causes, dialogues and more. Allowing my style to develop through it without leveraging on online guide made the diary great. (You can see my guide on writing a diary).