The Writers Network News, December 20, 2006 http://ezezine.com
December 20, 2006
The Writers Network News
No Rules; Just Write!
Editor: Bobbie Christmas
Newsletter Sponsor
Zebra Communications: We help you write in style, so you increase your
chances of success. We write, edit, and evaluate fiction and nonfiction
manuscripts, book proposals, query letters, synopses, and articles.
Zebra Communications
230 Deerchase Drive, Suite B
Woodstock, GA 30188
770/924-0528
http://zebraeditor.com/
----------------------------------------------
Look! Next Roswell meeting date: Friday, January 5, 2006
No dues; no fees
No rules; just write!
See you at 12:00 noon at King Buffet.
If you happen to be in metro Atlanta on the first Friday of the month,
bring questions and business cards and network with us for an hour or
so.
We meet at King Buffet, 11060 Alpharetta Highway, Roswell, GA 30076.
See more detailed information at the end of the e-zine.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Welcome to this issue of The Writers Network News. If you don't love
it, follow the simple instructions at the bottom to remove your address
from the mailing list.
In This Issue:
One: Kudos to Laura Lagana, Nina Treadway, Bill Kopp, Yolanda Coulaz,
and Bobbie Christmas
Two: From the editor’s desk–Happy culturally diverse holidays
Three: Ask the Book Doctor–About the Steps of Editing, Contacting
Editors, and Timelines
Four: Subjects of Interest to Writers
Five: Jobs, Contests, Grants, Agents, and Markets
Six: Writing Assignment–Employ Your Alpha State
Seven: Web Sites of Interest to Writers
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To view past issues of The Writers Network News, go to:
http://home.ezezine.com/886_2/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writer’s quote of the day:
"Prose: words in their best order; poetry: the best words in their best
order." –Samuel Taylor Coleridge
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One: Kudos to Laura Lagana, Nina Treadway, Bill Kopp, Yolanda Coulaz,
and Bobbie Christmas
My entry placed 10th in the 15th Annual Writers Digest awards out of
more than 19,000 entries. –Laura Lagana
Member Bill Treadwell sent us a note for his wife, Nina, who speaks
Russian: “Nina’s first book, Don't Disappear, is doing very well in
Russia. She recently signed her second contract for a reprinting of it
with the largest publisher in Russia, ACT Publishing, Moscow. They are
printing and distributing it in Russian internationally (except the
US). They have asked her to contract her second book in February 2007.
She is also having the book translated for publishing in the US.”
The magazine I write for, and became editor with, just promoted me to
editor-in-chief, and it's a salaried position. Life is surprising, and
good! –Bill Kopp (who, by the way, got the first lead into this
magazine through The Writers Network News)
Flutter has published two of my poems in its December issue. Check it
out by using this address:
http://www.freewebs.com/rarepetal/coulaz.htm. –Yolanda Coulaz (Note:
for submission information, see Flutter in the Jobs, Contests, Grants,
Agents, and Markets section of this newsletter)
As your very own editor, I point with pride to my December
accomplishments. I took first place in poetry for the Georgia Writers
overall monthly contests, which meant that in 2006 the poems I entered
monthly won the most points during the year. The Georgia Writers
Association awarded me a $50 check. Also, Adams Media Corporation
notified me that my story, “My Son Max” is a finalist for inclusion in
the October 2007 release of A Cup of Comfort for Dog Lovers. –Bobbie
Christmas
Congratulations to these folks. Your successes encourage others, so
please send in your accomplishments for our kudos section.
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Two: From the editor’s desk—Happy culturally diverse holidays
Dear Fellow Writers:
While I stood in line at the post office the other day, I struck up a
conversation with the woman ahead of me. Within moments, she complained
about the slowness of the postal clerks, blaming the fact that the
government will hire almost anyone. “Just look,” she said.
I saw four clerks; three were black; one was Asian.
“They’re all lazy,” she told me. “And don’t even talk to me about how
they drive!”
I couldn’t believe my ears, but her prejudice showed even more, when
she found out I was an editor. She drew herself up and said, “Oh,
you’re an editor? Then maybe you can answer this question. Why do
people use those three initials these days, instead of just BC, you
know, like in the year 100 BC?”
I responded, “The more politically correct term is BCE, which stands
for ‘before the Christian era.’ It recognizes the Christian era,
without forcing non Christians to recognize Jesus as a deity.”
She exploded. “Why would they change things? It’s an American tradition
to use BC. Why do we have to worry about what every single person
thinks?”
I couldn’t stop myself. I said, “I see, so slavery was an American
tradition, too. Do you think we shouldn’t have changed that?”
She thought for a split second before she responded, “Well, it was a
tradition in Egypt before it was a tradition here.”
Needless to say, my need to converse with that person ended there, but
it reminded me that writers—and I trust I’m speaking to all my
readers—must be without prejudice. We must be socially aware of
everyone’s beliefs and be tolerant and welcoming to all. With that
thought in mind, I wish you all happy holidays, however you celebrate
them, or even if you don’t celebrate them at all, in which case I just
wish you a happy December, and I hope you find nicer people at your
post office than I found the other day.
Yours in writing,
Bobbie Christmas (Bobbie@zebraeditor.com or bzebra@aol.com )
Author of triple-award-winning Write In Style (Union Square Publishing,
an imprint of Cardoza Publishing), owner of Zebra Communications, and
director of The Writers Network
P.S. Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Let me hear from you
when you have questions, kudos, markets or any other information to
share with your writers network.
If someone forwarded this newsletter to you, please sign up to get your
own copy. Simply go to my Web site, www.zebraeditor.com, and click on
“Free Newsletter.” I never share your address or send out spam.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Three: Ask the Book Doctor—About the Steps of Editing, Contacting
Editors, and Timelines
Q: I just finished my first draft of a paranormal romance, and now I
need to go back and edit it. What are the steps of editing? What things
do I need to look f or as I go back through it?
A: This question is too broad to answer in a simple way, but I’ll give
some general suggestions that will help.
First, let the book rest, if you can, before you go back and edit it.
Once a little time has passed, you will have a better perspective and
more objectivity about the editing phase. If you can take a break from
your manuscript for a month, do so, but at the very least, give it a
week to breathe before you tackle the editing.
In the first pass or two, look for extraneous things that can be
deleted, including wordy phrases, weak scenes, unnecessary chapters,
and redundant information or words. Look for ways to tighten, tighten,
tighten. If the novel is more than 100,000 words, read Sol Stein’s
book, Stein on Writing, to learn how to identify weak scenes and
chapters and delete them.
Watch out for inconsistencies, disorganization, and unclear sentences.
Also check for weak or missing transitions between scenes or subjects.
Make sure the main characters stay in character yet grow or change
because of the events in the story. Make sure that not too many
sentences begin alike or that certain words are overused. The second or
third edit is also a perfect time to apply my Find and Refine Method,
explained and detailed in my book on creative writing, Write In Style.
The book tells you exactly what to look for and delete, revise, or
repair to give your writing more power. It also addresses the most
common flaws in manuscripts, so you can avoid them.
The final edit should be the line edit, during which time you find
incorrect word choices, punctuation errors, noncompliance with Chicago
Style, and all the other little details that polish the prose to a high
shine. If you aren’t good at grammar and punctuation, turn to a
professional editor for help.
Q: I’ve finished a nonfiction book. Why is it so hard to get in contact
with acquisition editors? Where do I start? How soon could my book be
on the market?
A: It is hard to contact acquisitions editors because they are
overworked and overwhelmed with manuscripts written by people who did
not take the time to learn their craft and refine their manuscripts.
Publishers prefer to get submissions through agents, because agents
pick only the best to send, but agents are equally overworked and
difficult to reach. It’s a tough business.
I trust you’ve written a killer proposal for your nonfiction book as
well as some dynamite sample chapters. That’s a good beginning.
As for where to start finding a publisher, one good place to get leads
is a book called Writers Market or at a Web site called
Writersmarket.com, which requires a paid subscription. The library
should have a copy of Literary Market Place, which lists all publishers
and agents in the business, too. For another good source, go to a
bookstore and see who is publishing nonfiction books in your category.
How soon could your book be on the market? My book, Write In Style,
took only six months from the time I turned it into the publisher, but
that’s a short time period. It took me more than four years and two
agents to find a publisher who would buy it, though, so for me it was
more than four and a half years from the time I first tried to find a
publisher. Some publishers don’t release a book for three to five years
after they buy it. There’s no standard, so there’s no way of knowing
your timeline, until a publisher makes an offer. A word of warning,
though: Do not sign any contract that does not clearly state when the
book will be released.
Do you have a question for Bobbie Christmas, the book doctor? Send it
to Bobbie@zebraeditor.com.for a personal answer. To read more questions
and answers, go to www.zebraeditor.com and click on "Ask the Book
Doctor."
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Four: Subjects of interest to writers
Look what a writer sent to the Florida Writers Association president:
“I hope all the members of FWA are aware of Bobbie Christmas's desk
reference, PURGE YOUR PROSE OF PROBLEMS. I picked up a copy at the
conference and can't put it down. If I had known about it three years
ago when I first started trying to write, I'd literally be that much
farther along in my learning curve. It's an absolute must for an
inexperienced writer.” –Larry Davis
Purge Your Prose of Problems: A Book Doctor’s Desk Reference, Fourth
Edition! Save thousands of dollars by editing your own book.
This one reference book covers all you need to know to plow through the
maze of the editing phase: grammar, punctuation, word choices, creative
writing, plot, pace, characterization, dialogue, Chicago Style,
formatting a manuscript, and much more. More than 500 subjects covered.
Printed form lies flat for easy use: $29.95 plus $4.99 shipping at
www.zebraeditor.com (click on Tools for Writers and scroll down) or
save almost $5.00 in shipping PLUS get the third edition instantly as
an e-book with clickable links and bookmarks that zip you directly to
any subject you choose. To order the e-book, go to
http://www.booklocker.com/books/2225.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lifted from Southern Review of Books, an online newsletter for
publishers, authors, book lovers and booksellers: Beware of doing any
business with Media Darlings, which charges a fee to enter its book
contests, promising plaques and cash awards to winners. C. Hope Clark,
editor, FundsforWriters, did some checking into Media Darling when a
fiction "winner" didn't receive her plaque and $250 check. She reports,
“They are not responding and appear to be a scam. The winners listed on
their Web site either cannot be located or don't have other writing
online or don't list Media Darling in their credits (meaning Media
Darling just yanked their names off the web). I spoke to one previous
winner who has won nothing but this award and she says she received a
plaque in 2005, but even she cannot connect with them. I emailed the
Web site and told them I would list them in FundsforWriters as a source
to
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Little Simon Inspirations, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's
Publishing, is teaming with Howard Books to create Howard Books/LSI.
The first titles of the new imprint will be published in 2008.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bobbie Christmas seminars on CD
“Write In Style and You Write to Win”
“Travel Writing for Fun and (a little) Profit”
“Write it and Reap: Make Money Selling Your Expertise”
“An Editor’s 10 Secrets to More Persuasive Writing”
“I’ve Finished My Book; What Should I Do Now?”
Take seminars in the comfort of your own home. Repeat as often as you
want. Invite your friends to join you. To order, go to
http://www.zebraeditor.com/tools.shtml to see all the seminars
available on CD. If the seminar you want is not listed yet, contact
Bobbie@zebraeditor.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How Much Should I Charge?
The biggest question I get from new freelance writers, ghostwriters,
and editors is “How Much Should I Charge?” Only you can decide, but
here’s a link to an article from Writer’s Digest that will help:
http://www.writersmarket.com/assets/pdf/How_Much_Should_I_Charge.pdf
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Free: "How to Write and Self-Publish Your Book"
Listen online to a recent Bobbie Christmas radio interview. If you're
ready to add another dimension to your business, this information is
your ticket. Sherese Duncan and Bobbie Christmas outline strategic ways
not only to write your book, but also how to self-publish it. Listen to
this show and others at http://www.globaltalkradio.com/shows/realwomen/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Warning! Present Tense: Use It or Not?
Conventional wisdom for contemporary works says that novels should be
in past tense, but short stories can be in either present or past
tense. In November one writer asked the manuscript editing department
at the University of Chicago Press (the producer of the Chicago Manual
of Style and its Web site) which is better for short stories, present
tense or past tense. The answer came back that the decision is up to
the author, but “extended passages in the present tense can become
tedious.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
E-mail, email, Email, Web site, or Web site?
What does the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition say about how to
capitalize or combine words related to the Internet? The CMOS official
Web site says the following: Formal usage still calls for “Web site,”
in recognition of the initiatives of the World Wide Web Consortium
(write “Web-site” as an adjective). When referring to electronic mail,
use e-mail, not Email, E-mail or email.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLUSH magazine premiered in December and targets Chattanooga women
interested in power, passion, and possibilities. Topics range from
local flavor to fashionable finds. Laura Knox is editor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ask the Book Doctor: How to Beat the Competition and Sell Your Writing
e-book answers hundreds of writers’ questions
Ask the Book Doctor: How to Beat the Competition and Sell Your Writing
is a 122-page e-book that answers all the questions you wish you could
ask an editing expert. Electronic bookmarks allow you to go directly to
your preferred subject, and clickable links take you to Internet
resources for additional information. Whether you write books, short
stories, articles, reports, or anything else, learn more about how to
write, edit, and sell your work, To order go to
http://www.booklocker.com/books/1906.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Free Tools for Writers from Bobbie Christmas and Zebra Communications
Order e-mailed reports on correct manuscript format, how to form and
run a critique circle, how to identify weak writing and repair it,
self-publishing vs. traditional publishing, and much more. Fifteen
reports are available, and the list keeps growing. Go to
www.zebraeditor.com and click on “Tools for Writers.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Don’t fear rejection: Invite it!
Richard Bach wrote Jonathan Livingston Seagull more than thirty-five
years ago, when he was almost bankrupt. Twenty-two publishers rejected
it. He did not quit. He sold it to the twenty-third publisher, and the
book, released in 1970, topped the best-seller list for thirty-eight
weeks. More then thirty million copies have been sold in it was made
into a movie. What if Richard Bach had quit trying to sell his
manuscript after twenty-two rejections?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Write In Style: Using Your Word Processor and Other Techniques to
Improve Your Writing" by Bobbie Christmas teaches the Find and Refine
Method ™ to locate words and phrases you can delete, upgrade or rewrite
to power up your prose. Bobbie Christmas reveals secrets only a book
doctor could know. First Place winner of the Royal Palm Award for
education, Best in Division (Georgia Author of the Year Awards), and
Finalist in USABookNews Best Books 2005. Union Square Publishing; Simon
and Schuster, distributor. Available in bookstores and Internet
retailers. To order at Amazon.com DISCOUNT prices, see
http://zebraeditor.com/bookstore.shtml.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Are You Ready for ISBN-13?
On January 1, 2007, the book industry will begin using 13 digits to
identify books in global trade. This change will affect everyone who
uses ISBNs throughout the world.
Be sure you are ISBN-13 ready. Free Download of Book Industry Study
Group's ISBN-13 Webinar at:
http://www.meetingbridge.com/seminar/Seminar.aspx?SeminarCd=40840587.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
People spin-off Stylewatch is going to ten times a year and has its own
editor, Susan Kaufman. Time publishes both People and Stylewatch.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Five: Jobs, Contests, Grants, Agents and Markets
Dovetail Journal
Mary Helene Rosenbaum
General Editor
DI-IFR@Bardstown.com.
http://www.dovetailinstitute.org/writers.html
This interfaith magazine pays only $15 to 25, but if the subject
interests you, it may be worth writing about.
Dovetail: A Journal by and for Jewish/Christian Families. We have no
denominational affiliation or agenda. Articles may reflect any of a
variety of approaches and strategies (e.g., conversion of one partner
or maintaining both religions), but should not have a proselytizing or
negative tone. Personal experiences are welcome, as are articles based
on research, but remember that Dovetail readers tend to be
knowledgeable on this topic: avoid trite observations or broad
generalizations. Each issue is geared to a particular theme. Upcoming
topics planned (subject to change), with article deadlines:
Mar/Apr/May: Wedding/Spring Holiday Issue Deadline February 1
June/July/Aug: Summer Issue (Various Topics) Deadline May 15
Please let me know if you are interested in writing on any of these
topics.
We pay $25 plus 2 copies for an 800-1,000 word article; $15 plus 2
copies for a 500-word book review. Note: we have suspended publication
of our print edition; all issues of Dovetail are now published for
subscribers in PDF form on our Web site. Since we receive no income
from these postings, there will be no further compensation to authors
above the original sum. Submission of an article to Dovetail
constitutes your agreement to these terms. We prefer electronic
submission as unformatted text file. It should be sent to Mary Helene
Rosenbaum at DI-IFR@Bardstown.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writers, Diversity/Careers is looking for you. "We're a
controlled-circulation print recruitment magazine and Web site, started
in the fall of 1993. Features with the slug Focus on diversity,
Changing technologies, or Tech update are typical of the work we assign
to freelancers. We also assign a few shorter articles based on a single
interview with an entrepreneur or other diverse techie, and we have an
ongoing need for ghost writers to create short articles from interview
transcripts. If you are a full-time writer and would like to become a
Diversity/Careers freelancer, please send an e-mail to
editor@diversitycareers.com for more information.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Flutter, an online poetry magazine, is accepting poetry submissions.
For complete submission guidelines, see
http://www.freewebs.com/rarepetal/guidelines.htm.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meredith Corporation
375 Lexington Ave., 9th Floor
New York NY 10017
Web Site: www.familycircle.com
Family Circle magazine, published by Meredith Corporation, has expanded
its targeted market from merely mothers with teenage children and now
includes preteen and teen children themselves. Additional coverage will
focus on the home, family, health, cooking, and buying big-ticket
household items.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC.
111 River St.
Hoboken NJ 07030
Phone: (201)748-6000
Fax: (201)748-6088
Web site: www.wiley.com
Book and journal publisher John Wiley & Sons has plans to start a "For
Dummies" branded magazine. Pitch your article ideas now, writers! See
http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-301837.html for interesting
information created for Wiley & Son authors.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writer's Digest's 75th Annual Writing Contest
As the exclusive sponsor and publisher of the Writer's Digest Writing
Contest Collection, Outskirts Press awards a free Diamond Publishing
Package each year to the grand-prize winner. For details about entering
the 2007 contest, visit the Writer's Digest Web.
You do not have to wait for the winning announcements to start. You can
begin (and even finish) your publishing process at any time during
Writer's Digest's contest and if you are the grand-prize winner, your
publishing package fee will be awarded back to you (and if you aren't a
Diamond you will be instantly upgraded to one).
GRAND PRIZE: $3,000 cash and a trip to New York City to meet with
editors or agents. Writer's Digest will fly you and a guest to The Big
Apple, where you'll spend three days and two nights in the publishing
capital of the world. While you're there, a Writer's Digest editor will
escort you to meet and share your work with four editors or agents!
Plus, you'll receive a free Diamond Publishing Package from Outskirts
Press.
Entry Deadline: Tuesday, May 15, 2007.
You can submit most entries online using a credit card. Manuscripts in
the script categories must be submitted by regular mail. For full
details see https://www.writersdigest.com/contests/annual/76th/.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Divapreneurs is for women small business owners and entrepreneurs
interested in features, profiles, tips and tools "vital to their
business success and enhancement." One interesting feature is "My
Philanthropic Heart," which will report on community nonprofit
companies and beneficial relationships with women-centric businesses.
For more information about writing for Divapreneurs magazine, email
your bio or resume to divapreneurs@aol.com. To submit articles to its
“Listen Up” section, you will need to have owned a business for more
than 10 years, but you can submit article ideas at any time.
Also, we are looking for women biz owners and entrepreneurs to feature
in the magazine, so if you know a woman whose small business represents
the flight of an entrepreneurial spirit, and her business philosophy is
an inspirational model for others to mirror-or you know an emerging
business owner who is well on her way to business success and is
meeting the challenges of her small business needs with hard work,
passion and commitment, please let us know. To nominate a woman to be
featured in Divapreneurs, please email us at divapreneurs@aol.com and
you will receive a PDF nominee information form. You may also request a
FREE copy of Divapreneurs Magazine by emailing your name and physical
address.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AGNI Magazine
Boston University
236 Bay State Road
Boston, MA 02215
Submissions should be mailed to the genre editor (Fiction, Poetry,
Nonfiction)
Submission guidelines:
http://www.bu.edu/agni/about/guidelines/index.html
AGNI publishes poetry, short fiction, and essays. Writers whose work
has appeared in the magazine include Derek Walcott, Louise Glück, David
Foster Wallace, Seamus Heaney, Jhumpa Lahiri, Ha Jin, Olga Broumas, Tom
Sleigh, Jill McCorkle, Thomas Sayers Ellis, Gail Mazur, Noam Chomsky,
Ilan Stavans, and Rosanna Warren. AGNI regularly features emerging
writers and "among readers around the world . . . is known for
publishing important new writers early in their careers, many of them
translated into English for the first time" (PEN American Center). Most
of what we publish is unsolicited.
The print magazine appears twice yearly, in spring and fall. The Web
site grows weekly with postings of new online-only fiction, poetry,
essays, reviews, and interviews.
AGNI welcomes unsolicited manuscripts between September 1st and May
31st. We adhere strictly to postmark dates, and submissions mailed
outside that period will be returned unread, provided that sufficient
return postage is included. AGNI’s reporting time is approximately 2-4
months.
Each submission may be accepted for publication in AGNI or (with a
writer's permission) AGNI Online. We pay $10 per printed (or
printed-out) page for all accepted work ($20 minimum for the print
magazine; $150 maximum for both), along with a year's subscription,
and, for the print magazine, two contributor's copies and four gift
copies of the issue. WE DO NOT READ EMAILED SUBMISSIONS; please send
your manuscript to our mailing address.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Christmas Collection and many other upcoming
books seek submissions. This bestselling series is looking for timeless
stories, and for the Christmas Collection, it wants stories that
celebrate the magic of the season and has a deadline date for story
submissions of March 31, 2007.
Visit the Web site for a long list of upcoming books to which you may
subject stories as well.
A Chicken Soup for the Soul story is an inspirational, true story about
ordinary people doing extraordinary things. It is a story that opens
the heart and rekindles the spirit. It is a simple,
inter-denominational, living art piece that touches the soul of the
readers and helps them discover basic principles they can use in their
own lives. They are personal and often filled with emotion and drama.
They are filled with vivid images created by using the five senses. In
some stories, the readers feel that they are actually in the scene with
the people. If the story you wrote is published, you will be paid upon
publication of the story. Payment amount will be determined at that
time.
You can submit your story three different ways:
Internet: www.chickensoup.com
Mail: Chicken Soup for the Soul
Attn: Story Submissions
PO Box 30880
Santa Barbara, CA 93130
Fax: 805-563-2945
To submit your story online, go to http://www.chickensoup.com/ and
scroll down to “click here to submit your story.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SouthernTravelNews.com will launch in February. It will be a new
consumer information Web site with focus on news and information about
vacations in the southern states of the US, and alternatively traveling
on cruises from US ports. The site covers Alabama, Arkansas, Florida,
Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North and South Carolina,
Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. The site will include the
latest news and executive interviews, podcasts, editor's travel and
cruise blogs, commentary, profiles on destinations, cruise programs,
and links to planning resources, package deals and other information
pertinent to Southern travel. It is started by Susan Young,
SouthernTravelNews, (813) 663-9554; travlsusan@aol.com; or
southernnews@aol.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bride Again
Bride Again is an on-line publication designed for the encore bride. It
is targeted to women over thirty who have been married at least one
before, have children from a previous marriage or are marrying someone
with children and are currently planning to be remarried. They have a
career, a median household income of $61,500 per year, and are more
mature and sophisticated than the 24-year-old first time bride. They
are looking for information about not just the wedding day itself, but
about remarriage, blending families and beating the odds the second
time around.
All articles are to be double spaced, compatible with Microsoft WORD
6.0 and can be emailed to staff@brideagain.com. We do not accept
queries. Although there is no financial compensation for on-line
articles, all articles will feature the author’s byline and bio if
supplied.
Articles must be specific to encore brides and remarriage.
Word count for all topics is 300 words.
Please e-mail submissions to: staff@brideagain.com
Leann Lampe, Managing Editor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Six: Writing Assignment: Employ Your Alpha State
Of all our mental states, from awake to fully asleep, the alpha state
is the most creative state. It’s the one we slide through as we fall
asleep and slip through as we wake up. Alpha is the state of mind in
which the majority of psychic and creative activities happen. It is the
second-most common of the brain's wavelengths; just below the conscious
state, which is known as the beta state. Many people have found
solutions to major problems while either falling asleep or waking up,
and most writers get their best ideas when they “get out of their own
way” and simply let the minds drift and create on their own.
James Thurber found a way to use that alpha state to his advantage, and
it led to his first sale. He was living in a basement apartment with
his first wife, who thought that after twenty of his humor pieces had
failed to find a publisher, he should give up. He refused to give up.
Instead, he set his alarm clock to go off forty-five minutes after he
had fallen asleep. He woke up in sleepy daze and wrote the first thing
that came to mind, a story about a man going around in a revolving
door, without stopping. The character attracted crowds and the police
and eventually set the world record for revolving door laps. The piece
was Thurber’s first to be published in The New Yorker.
Be like Thurber! Put paper and pen by your bed at night, set your alarm
for about forty-five minutes later, and when the alarm sounds, grab the
paper and pen and write what comes to mind. It does not have to be a
complete story; just write down the pieces of things floating around in
your head. Later, in your fully awake beta state, read what you’ve
written and use it as the basis for an essay, short story, or perhaps
even a novel.
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Seven: Web Sites of Interest to Writers
Wondering about who owns a Web site? Look it up using the Whois
database from InterNIC (http://www.internic.net/). It tells who owns
the domain name and gives contact information for the owner of the
domain.
Guide to Grammar and Writing: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/.
Crime Scene Investigations: http://www.feinc.net/cs-inv-p.htm
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Information about the meetings:
Because it's a buffet, come into the meeting room, set down whatever
you brought, and go get food, if you plan to eat. You are under no
obligation to eat if you attend the meeting, but if you do eat, you may
pay and tip as you leave.
While we eat, we have introductions. After the introductions are over,
we discuss questions and answers. After the introductions are completed
and at any time until we leave, you are welcome to get more food or
leave when you need to do so.
Directions to meetings:
Our monthly meetings are held at noon on the first Friday of each month
at King Buffet, 11060 Alpharetta Highway, Roswell, Georgia. 30076. The
restaurant not only gives us a private meeting room, but it also offers
a buffet with a variety of food, primarily Asian.
The restaurant is on the left after you enter the Roswell Shopping
Center, on the same side of the strip mall as Patterson Furniture.
Roswell Shopping Center is on the left if going north toward
Alpharetta, a few blocks past the Mansell Road intersection and across
the street from Mattress King, about a block past Andretti's. Once you
are inside, the meeting room is through an archway on the left past the
cashier.
Restaurant phone: 678-352-1606.
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