The Writers Network News, March 20, 2008 http://ezezine.com
March 20, 2008
The Writers Network News
No Rules; Just Write!
Editor: Bobbie Christmas
Contents copyright 2008, Bobbie Christmas
No portion of this newsletter can be used without permission.
Disclaimer: Information in this newsletter is not to be construed as an
endorsement. Be sure to research all information and study every
stipulation before you accept assignments, spend money, or sell your
work.
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/
Bobbie’s Blog:
http://journals.aol.com/bzebra/BobbieChristmasBlogforWriters/
----------------------------------------------
Local Meeting Reminder and Venue Change!
The Writers Network meets next on Friday, April 4, at noon
No dues; no fees
No rules; just write!
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, starting at 12:00 noon.
Our new venue is Lucky China, 11680 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.
In This Issue
One: Kudos to Kenn Allen, Sandra Jones Cropsey, and Jinny Reddick
Two: From the editor’s desk – Easy Writing is a Myth
Three: Ask the Book Doctor – About Point of View and Flashbacks
Four: This Month’s Writing Tip from Bobbie Christmas – Poetry and
Prose; Never the Twain Should Meet
Five: Letters from Members
Six: Subjects of Interest to Writers
Seven: Jobs, Contests, Grants, Agents, and Markets
Eight: Writing Assignment – From Alleged Fact to Pure Fiction
Nine: 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
Bobbie Ann Mason (author of about a dozen books) said, "I have always
found it difficult to start [writing] with a definite idea about a
character, or even a definite emotion .... But if I start with a pond
that is being drained because of a diesel fuel leak and a cow named
Hortense and some blackbirds flying over and a woman in the distance
waving, then I might get somewhere."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One: Kudos to Kenn Allen, Sandra Jones Cropsey, and Jinny Reddick
Kenn Allen won fourth place in a memoir writing contest with the North
Carolina Writers Workshop in Asheville. His memoir essay is called “How
Yankee Newwilly met Spotted Dick” and is about a lone American kid
going to a British School.
Who's There? by Sandra Jones Cropsey is a finalist in ForeWord
Magazine’s Book of the Year Awards. She reports, “It made my day, even
though I had not a soul to share the news with when I found out, so I
shared with my dogs, who were very happy for me, even if I did have to
bribe them with a biscuit.”
I am pleased to report a literary agent loved [my novel called]
_Solitaire_. He was so thrilled with the story that he accepted it
right away and is now attempting to find a publisher. –Jinny Reddick
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 — Easy Writing is a Myth
Dear Fellow Writers:
I’ve been working on writing a children’s book, and it’s not coming
along as smoothly or as easily as I had hoped. Some folks think
children’s books are easy to write, simply because they aren’t as long
as adult novels.
Ha.
Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, had written several
successful books for children when an educational specialist asked him
if he would write a book to help children learn how to read. He said
he’d try, and he received a list of 300 words that most first graders
know. Seuss wasn't sure he could handle the challenge, but he reported
that when he looked over the list, two words jumped out at him: "cat"
and "hat."
Seuss spent nine months writing what would become _The Cat in the Hat._
Let me repeat, he didn’t scribble the book in an afternoon, a week, or
even a month. He spent nine months writing a 1,702-book that uses only
220 different words. Within the first year of its publication, though,
it was selling 12,000 copies a month.
The next time your internal writing coach lies and tells you something
is going to be easy to write, think again. If it’s easy to write, it
might not be good. Good writing takes hard work and a great deal of
rewriting. One or two drafts won’t cut it. Revise, revise, revise, and
if you’re smart, you’ll revise again.
High-quality work requires a long, thoughtful journey, but when you
arrive at your destination, you will be glad you took all the necessary
steps.
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.
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Three: Ask the Book Doctor — About Point of View and Flashbacks
Q: The book I am writing is a mystery. So far the only points of view I
have used are the protagonist and her brother. All of a sudden in
chapter five, I find I need a scene between my murderer and her
husband. Can I do that, or should I go back and add the husband's point
of view in earlier scenes so it won't seem to be such an abrupt change?
A: It's hard to say without reading the manuscript, but I suspect your
gut feeling is correct, that readers shouldn't be blindsided in chapter
five with a sudden shift in viewpoints.
Q: I need to make point of view transitions between my two main
protagonists in the same scene. What’s the best technique for doing so?
A: The question has an inherent flaw. Conventional wisdom (or
contemporary literature) has one point of view per scene, which is why
I can’t point to a good model of how to show two points of view in the
same scene. Instead, write the scene twice, once in one point of view,
and the second time in the other point of view. Avoid using the same
descriptions and information, so that the two points of view reveal
separate sets of information to readers, and readers will “get it” and
not be bored at all; in fact I’m sure they will be amused.
Q: How should I present a flashback? Should I begin it with any
particular punctuation mark or formatting? For example, should I use a
colon, indent the whole flashback more than the rest of the copy, space
before it and after it? What are your suggestions?
A: Treat a flashback like a new scene, which it is. Add an extra hard
return before it and after it, but do not introduce it with any
punctuation other than what naturally would precede it. If the sentence
before it ends in a period, that’s sufficient.
As an example, let’s say that a character finds a letter from an old
girlfriend, and reading it makes him think back three years, to when
she broke up with him. I’ll abbreviate the scenes, but the change from
scene to flashback to scene might go something like this:
The words on the page made John’s thoughts drift back three years.
Marla stood before him, arms crossed and eyebrows knit. “I’ll never
forgive you,” she said.
“But…”
“No buts. I’m out of here. That’s the last straw.” She turned on her
heel, but stopped, looked over her shoulder, and added, “And to think I
was going to give you this.” She slung an envelope at his feet and left
the room.
John blinked, and his thoughts returned to the present. He looked at
the letter still in his trembling hands and tried to make sense of
Marla’s final letter, the one she wrote before her fatal accident.
Please note that the format I’ve shown above is not double spaced and
may not be indented, because of the format of the periodical in which
it appears, but a manuscript should be double spaced, and each new
paragraph should begin with a five-space indent.
Send your questions to Book Doctor Bobbie Christmas for a personal
answer. Contact her at Bobbie@zebraeditor.com. Read more “Ask the Book
Doctor” questions and answers at www.zebraeditor.com.
Would you like to read or save the Ask The Book Doctor column as a
clear PDF file? Now you can! See
http://zebraeditor.com/files/ask_the_book_doctor.pdf. The column will
be available at that address until about the twentieth of each month,
after which it will be replaced with a new one.
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Four: This Month’s Writing Tip from Bobbie Christmas – Poetry and
Prose; Never the Twain Should Meet
Poetry and prose, both beautiful forms of literary art, should never
mix. Lovers of prose may not be poetry lovers, and vice versa. For that
reason, when I edit a novel that includes poetry, I recommend that the
author remove the poetry and reserve it for a separate publication.
Poetry can be a lovely form of literary art, and good poets have
undergone years of training in the art. Few prose writers spend the
same amount of time learning how to write good poetry, so I often find
that the quality of the poetry that accompanies prose is not up to the
quality of the prose. That’s the first problem. The next problem is
that readers of prose may not care for poetry or may even feel insulted
that poetry was thrust on them. Some readers skip over poetry
instinctively, thinking they won’t understand it. No matter how clear
or good your poems are, never blend poetry with prose. There’s a reason
why they are located in separate places in the library and in the
bookstore.
I’m so adamant in my opinion that I also insist that critique circles
concentrate on only one or the other, either poetry or prose, but not
both. Writers of prose rarely get useful feedback from poets, just as
poets rarely get useful feedback from prose writers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Five: Letters from Members
Your bit about dictionaries [in the February 20 issue of The Writers
Network News] reminded me of a conversation with my daughter. Katie has
read so many book series--from Harry Potter and Charlie Bone to
Warriors and the Guardians of Gahoole--that she has run out of
age-appropriate reading material. On my suggestion, she has started
writing her own fantasy novel and has already had me typing in chapters
one through five.
Last night, when she used the word "ginormous" in conversation, her dad
interjected, "That's not even a real word."
I said, "Don't worry. It will go into the dictionary after you've
published your first book."
Happy Words To You!
--Rachel Fischer Gladson
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Six: Subjects of interest to writers
[Note from Bobbie: Some links in this newsletter may include the words
“tiny url,” because I simplify long addresses through www.tinyurl.com.
It takes long addresses and converts them to short ones that still
work.]
Where is Bobbie Christmas speaking next?
The Spring Book Show
The Spring Book Show Has Moved Its Location!
Because of storm damage to the GWCC, the Spring Book Show has moved to
the Hilton Atlanta, the host hotel for the event, so everything will be
under one roof! The Hilton Atlanta is located at 255 Courtland Street
NE, Atlanta. The Show is just days away! Come join us in Atlanta! There
will be great book product, a fun-filled reception, lots of giveaways,
a fantastic Sunday Voucher, and a great atmosphere! There are plenty of
great places to eat in the downtown area and more just minutes away in
Buckhead. Be There!
Hilton Atlanta
255 Courtland Street NE, Atlanta, Georgia, United States 30303
Tel: 1-404-659-2000 Fax: 1-404-221-6368
http://www1.hilton.com:80/en_US/hi/hotel/ATLAHHH-Hilton-Atlanta-Georgia/index.do
It's Not Too Late to Register for the Spring Book Show or the many
educational seminars sponsored by the Southern Independent Booksellers
Alliance or the Writer/Publisher Seminars. Atlanta is within a day's
drive of a good portion of the USA, so come on down! See you there!
March 28-30 at the Hilton Atlanta. Visit
http://www.springbookshow.com/2008/seminars_writ.asp to see the
subjects and speakers offered in the writer/publisher seminars, for
example:
Seminar 2: "How To Prepare Your Book for the Market: Writing a Killer
Proposal and Editing for Maximum Marketability" – March 29, one day of
intensive instruction by Patricia Fry, executive director, Small
Publishers, Artists and Writers Network, and award-winning book doctor
Bobbie Christmas
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Southeastern Writers Association Conference
The deadline for early-bird registration for the June 15-19, 2008
Southeastern Writers Association Conference is fast approaching. See
more information and sign up today at
http://www.southeasternwriters.com/.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you’re hoping to get a grant to finish your manuscript or project or
if you need emergency funds to sustain you as a writer, it may be worth
the cost to subscribe to a newsletter like FundsforWriters. See
http://www.fundsforwriters.com/grants.htm.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Query Letter Information
Member Ellis Vidler of Taylors, S.C., sent the following information:
Noah Lukeman offers free downloads of his 103-page e-book titled How to
Write a Great Query Letter as a way to give back to the writing
community. No strings attached. See
http://www.lukeman.com/greatquery/download.htm.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
_Ask the Book Doctor: How to Beat the Competition and Sell Your
Writing_ is a 122-page e-book by Bobbie Christmas 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 the e-book go to
http://www.booklocker.com/books/1906.html
NOW AVAILABLE IN PRINT! By popular demand, _Ask the Book Doctor: How to
Beat the Competition and Sell Your Writing_ is finally available in
print. To order your copy today, go to http://tinyurl.com/29no9c.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yellow Flowers on a Rainy Day by Tanya Hyonhye Ko (ISBN 0-9729974-0-7)
is now available through Baker & Taylor, Amazon.com, BookSense.com,
OmaBooks.com and finer online booksellers. www.OmaBooks.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 and scroll down to see all the
seminars available on CD.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Do you think times are tough for writers today? Gabriel García Márquez
pawned a heater and his wife's hair dryer to pay for the postage to
send his manuscript, _One Hundred Years of Solitude_, to publishers
prior to its 1967 publication. He won the Nobel Prize in literature in
1982.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
_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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For Aspiring Children’s Authors and Illustrators
FoxTale Book Shoppe is hosting well-known children's author and
illustrator Keiko Kasza on March 26 at 4 P.M. Famous for engaging
stories and beautiful illustrations, Kasza's books (My Lucky Day, The
Wolf's Chicken Stew, Dog Who Cried Wolf, etc.) appeal to children of
all ages. Call for details or to reserve a copy of a Kasza title.
FoxTale Book Shoppe, 105 E. Main St., #138, Woodstock, GA 30188,
770/516-9989, www.foxtalebookshoppe.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Purge Your Prose of Problems: A Book Doctor’s Desk Reference, Fourth
Edition
Save thousands of dollars by editing your own book with this
proprietary information.
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
http://www.zebraeditor.com (click on Tools for Writers and scroll down)
or save almost $5.00 in shipping PLUS instantly get the e-book with
clickable links and bookmarks that zip you directly to any subject. To
order the e-book, go to http://www.booklocker.com/books/2225.html.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Assistant Librarian Jean Hughes (Northeast/Spruill Library, Atlanta)
wants to start a monthly poetry writing group at the library and is
looking for a leader. She would like for the leader to have both
experience and ability. If you are interested in either attending the
group or leading it, call Jean Hughes at 770-360-8820.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Do you think Hemingway invented simple writing or that America has
dumbed down in recent generations? Lexicographer Henry Watson Fowler,
born in Kent, England, in 1858, wrote the following in his legendary
book, A Dictionary of Modern English Usage (1926): "Prefer the familiar
word to the far-fetched. Prefer the concrete word to the abstract.
Prefer the single word to the circumlocution. Prefer the short word to
the long. Prefer the Saxon word to the Romance." T. S. Eliot said,
"Every person who wishes to write ought to read A Dictionary of Modern
English Usage for a quarter of an hour every night before going to
bed."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
http://zebraeditor.com/free_reports.shtml.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Seven: Jobs, Contests, Grants, Agents and Markets
The WRITERS’ Journal buys about 25 poems a year, which we use for
fillers. We welcome light verse, preferably about writing. Short,
lively, exciting, witty and imaginatively written poems will stand a
better chance of acceptance than "run-of-the-mill" pieces. We do not
respond to submissions without an SASE. Author will be notified by mail
if poem is accepted. Unpublished poems only. Maximum length: 15 lines.
All other poetry submissions must follow Poetry Contest guidelines
available at http://www.writersjournal.com/PoetryContest.htm.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
16th annual Tom Howard/John H. Reid Short Story Contest
Hurry! Deadline March 31! Sponsored by Tom Howard Books, the
competition accepts any type of original short story, essay, or other
work of prose. Prizes totaling $5,250 will be awarded, up from $4,000
in the prior year. For guidelines see
http://www.winningwriters.com/contests/tomstory/ts_guidelines.php.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Third Annual Flash Prose Contest
WriterAdvice, www.writeradvice.com, is searching for flash fiction,
memoir, and creative non-fiction that grabs, surprises, and mesmerizes
readers in fewer than 750 words. If you have a complete story with a
strong theme, sharp images, a solid structure, and an unexpected
discovery, please submit it to the WriterAdvice Flash Prose Contest.
All entries should be typed and submitted in hard copy, not e-mail, to
B. Lynn Goodwin, WriterAdvice, P.O. Box 2665, Danville, CA 94526-4339.
Entries must be postmarked by APRIL 10, 2008.
You may enter up to three pieces. Enclose a $10 check for EACH entry
made payable to B. Lynn Goodwin. This will help defray the costs of the
contest. If no prizes are awarded, checks will be refunded.
Include a separate cover sheet with your name, address, phone number,
current e-mail address, and each story title. Please put the story
title, but not your name, at the top of each page. Finalists will be
asked to submit a brief biography and an e-mail copy of the story.
Names of all winners will be announced in the summer issue of
WriterAdvice, www.writeradvice.com. Winning stories will run in Writer
Advice.
JUDGES: Last year's prizewinners, Daniel F. Rousseau, WC Vasquez, Kay
Jordan, and Suzanne LaFetra have been invited to be this year's judges.
Read their pieces and biographies by clicking on the Archived Contest
Entries.
NOTE--THE PRIZES HAVE GONE UP ALTHOUGH THE ENTRY FEE REMAINS THE SAME.
Winning stories will be published in WriterAdvice. In addition, First
Place earns $75, Second Place earns $50, Third Place earns $35, and
Fourth Place earns $20. Honorable Mentions will also be published. A
list of all winners will be posted in the June - July issue of
WriterAdvice.
All entries accompanied by an SASE will be returned with brief
comments. An article about last year's contest called “What Works and
What Doesn’t” is on the "Writing Advice" page of the e-zine,
http://www.writeradvice.com/advice.html.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Creative Writers Network Fourth Annual Short Story Contest
Deadline: May 31, 2008
1st Place $200; 2nd Prize $100; 3rd Prize $50 and publication in The
Journal of the Creative Writers Notebook
Entry Fee: $10 per short story entered
Send THREE copies of each entry and your check (made out to Creative
Writers Notebook) to:
Short Story Contest
The Creative Writers Notebook
7043 SE 173rd Arlington Loop
The Villages, FL 32162
Length: up to 3,000 words in any genre for adults/young adults (NO
porn, picture books, or poetry).
Note: Entry into this contest gives CWN First North American Serial
Rights to your story for possible publication in the 2008 edition of
the short-story anthology.
See http://c.w.notebook.home.att.net/cwn_web_2_004.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Orlando Sentinel's "Life in Short" section gives readers an
opportunity to write about recent moments or insights. They're looking
for submissions of about 100 words--and request a photo of the writer
that illustrates your subject. Send essay and photo (high-resolution
JPEG if by e-mail) to lifeinshort@orlandosentinel.com or, by regular
mail, to Life in Short, Orlando Sentinel, MP-240, 633 N. Orange Ave.,
Orlando, FL 32801. Include daytime and evening phone numbers. If they
decide to use your story, you'll hear from them. Submissions are
edited.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Storyteller is a general fiction magazine produced in Candada. “Our
readers especially enjoy humor, adventure, mystery, drama, suspense,
horror, SF and fantasy.” For guidelines see
http://www.storytellermagazine.com/guidelines.htm. ½¢ per published
word for original stories, ¼¢ per published word for reprints (our
count), plus twocontributor copies. Authors may purchase extra copies
of the issue in which they appear for $5.00 each (16% discount).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Listen Magazine
Listen is a magazine primarily aimed at teenagers, but some younger and
many older readers are subscribers as well. It encourages development
of good habits and high ideals of physical, social, and mental health.
It bases its editorial philosophy of primary drug prevention on total
abstinence from tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs. Because it is used
extensively in public high school classes, it does not accept articles
and stories with overt religious emphasis.
Listen regularly seeks professionally written, teen-oriented articles
and true stories running 800 words, and quizzes and shorts no more than
500 words. See http://www.listenmagazine.org/article.php?id=17 for
complete guidelines and subjects desired.
Published monthly, 32 pages, four-color. Listen is a classroom tool.
Actual printed copies each month about 20,000; estimated reader
exposure approximately 100,000. Reports in eight weeks. Pays on
acceptance Enclose SASE with all submissions and queries. We accept
simultaneous submissions--just tell us in the cover letter and notify
us if it is sold elsewhere after we accept it. All submissions should
include the author's social security number; submissions on disk or via
e-mail are encouraged.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
16th Annual Writer's Digest International Self-Published Book Awards
Co-sponsored by Book Marketing Works, LLC
Call for Entries
More than $15,000 in prizes
Entry Deadline: Thursday, May 01, 2008
Win $3,000 in cash. Gain international exposure for your book. Catch
the attention of prospective editors and publishers. Writer's Digest is
searching for the best self-published books of the past few years.
Whether you're a professional writer, part-time freelancer, or a
self-starting student, here's your chance to enter the only competition
exclusively for self-published books! See
http://www.writersdigest.com/contests/self_published.asp.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Eight: Writing Assignment – From Alleged Fact to Pure Fiction
Last month I told of Robert Olen Butler, Pulitzer Prize winner in 1993
for his collection of short stories. He went on to write another
collection of short stories called Tabloid Dreams, published in 1997.
All the stories are based on headlines he had seen in tabloid
newspapers.
For this assignment, follow the lead of a Pulitzer Prize winner. Go to
your local newsstand or supermarket and invest in two or three tabloid
publications. Peruse the headlines and write a list of five that strike
you as interesting. Choose one of the five and write a short story
based on it. Keep the other four headlines to jumpstart your creativity
for future stories.
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Nine: Web Sites of Interest to Writers
Writing for Dollars offers a database of writer's guidelines at
http://www.writingfordollars.com/guidelinesdb.cfm that is available to
everyone at no charge! “All links have been checked within the last
year (the date that they were last checked is listed) so you can be
sure to have the most up-to-date information.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These aren’t specific Web sites, but tips for using any search engine
to get information we writers need from time to time.
To find materials from educational institutes, for times when you need
a reliable source, add site:edu after your search terms.
You can also use your search engine as a dictionary by typing into the
Find window define: followed by the word you want to define.
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Do YOU have news for The Writers Network News? Please send it in the
body copy, not an attachment, to Bobbie@zebraeditor.com. Deadline: The
15th of each month.
…………………………………………………………………………….
Send a copy of this F-R-E-E newsletter to all your writing friends.
Tell them to join The Writers Network F-R-E-E by visiting
www.zebraeditor.com and clicking on “Newsletter.”
…………………………………………………………………………….
The Writers Network News– a newsletter for writers everywhere.
"No Rules; Just Write!"
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Writers Network–No fees. No officers. “No Rules; Just Write!"
Information about the meetings:
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. To keep things moving
along, we may have to order food while we talk, but here’s the order of
our meetings:
First we have introductions. When you introduce yourself, we ask that
you also say, “and I am a writer.” In this way we affirm why we are all
here and what we do. After saying, “and I’m a writer,” you can tell the
group what kind of writing you do and what you are working on. Be as
brief as possible. During introductions you’ll also have an opportunity
to write down questions and put them in the question pot. After the
introductions are over, we discuss the questions and answers. We do not
have an absolute ending to our meetings, so you may leave when you need
to leave, but we have the room until 2:00.
Our monthly meetings are held at noon on the first Friday of each month
at Lucky China Pan-Asian Bistro, 11680 Alpharetta Highway, Roswell,
Georgia 30076. Our meeting room is on the left side of the reception
area. (See http://www.luckychina.info/)
Coming from South of Atlanta: Take GA 400 North. Exit Mansell Road
(exit 8), take a left onto Mansell Road. Take a right onto Alpharetta
Highway. Lucky China is located on left side across from North Fulton
Regional Hospital.
Coming from North of Cumming: Take GA 400 South. Exit Old Milton
Parkway (exit 10). Take a right onto Old Milton Parkway. Take a left
onto Alpharetta Highway. Lucky China is located on right side across
from North Fulton Regional Hospital.
Restaurant phone: 770-740-1360.
…………………………………………………………………………….