The Writers Network News, May 2010 Issue http://ezezine.com
May 2010 Issue
The Writers Network News
No Rules; Just Write!
Editor: Bobbie Christmas
Contents copyright 2010, Bobbie Christmas
No portion of this newsletter can be used without permission; however,
you may forward the newsletter in its entirety to anyone who may be
interested in subscribing.
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Note Bobbie’s NEW Blog: http://bobbiechristmas.blogspot.com/. Add your
own comments, too.
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Welcome to this issue of The Writers Network News
In This Issue
One: From the editor’s desk – A Happy Excuse
Two: Ask the Book Doctor – About Microsoft Word 2007, Dialogue, and
Backstory
Three: This Month’s Writing Tip from Bobbie Christmas – Mine Eyes Have
Seen the Gory
Four: Subjects of Interest to Writers
Five: Contests, Agents, and Markets
Six: Creative Writing Assignment – Whose Eyes Behold the Action?
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To view current and past issues of The Writers Network News, go to
http://tinyurl.com/c4otf6.
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[Note: Some links may include “tiny url” with the help of
www.tinyurl.com, which takes long Web addresses and converts them to
short ones.]
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Writer’s quote of the day
"If you will spend one hour (extra) each day in study in your
field…you’ll be a national expert in five years or less." —Earl
Nightingale
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One: From the editor’s desk — A Happy Excuse
Dear Fellow Writers:
This newsletter arrived in your mailbox a little later than usual, with
a happy excuse. I threw caution and finances to the wind and took a
ten-day cruise to Central and South America, completely out of contact
with phones and e-mail. Yes, I could have gone online on the ship for a
price, but I was determined to take a true vacation from everything. It
worked. I had a relaxing, educational, interesting time and made new
friends, as well. I read a book strictly for fun, something I rarely
have time to do, and I took hundreds of photographs of the lifestyle
and wildlife in Costa Rica, Colombia, Panama, and even a beach in Haiti
unaffected by the earthquake.
Travel expands the mind, for sure, but travel on a cruise ship also
expands the rear end, with all the fine dining. I grew embarrassed each
time I found that I was hungry, because I had already consumed my
weight in escargot, seafood, and exotic desserts.
What does a vacation have to do with writing, though, you ask? A cruise
not only gives you new memories and experiences, it also provides time
to clear your mind and think. I spent a great deal of time on the
balcony of my room staring at the endless ocean, thinking. I dredged up
old memories I can use in my future writing.
I am a strong believer that all our experiences make good material; all
we have to do is live them, write them down, edit them, hone them, and
then market them. Easier said than done, but that is the life of the
writer.
Go forth and have new experiences yourself. Gather material. Write!
Yours in writing,
Bobbie Christmas (Bobbie@zebraeditor.com or bzebra@aol.com )
Author of triple-award-winning Write In Style (Union Square
Publishing), owner of Zebra Communications, and director of The Writers
Network
P.S. If someone forwarded this newsletter to you, please sign up to get
your own copy. Simply go to www.zebraeditor.com, click on “Free
Newsletter,” and follow the prompts. I never share your address or send
out spam.
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Two: Ask the Book Doctor — About Microsoft Word 2007, Dialogue, and
Backstory
Q: Can you advise me on submissions to contests, agents, etc.,
concerning the latest Microsoft Word program? I have the new Word 2007.
Any file created in this program ends in docx. Will others using older
versions be able to open and read these files? Should I save down to a
Microsoft Word 97 version before e-mailing any attachments?
A: I still use Word 2003, myself, and until I installed a program that
lets me convert files from docx to doc, I could not open docx files.
The program didn’t cost me anything, but it took a bit of searching the
Web to find a free, reliable program. Not all users of older Word
versions will go to that trouble, so it would be safer to save the
files as doc files before sending them out.
Q: I am editing an article for a periodical and cannot find anything in
my grammar books or copyeditor’s guide that addresses this issue. There
is a sentence in quotation marks that lists within it the names of
several songs. I am confused as to whether to use single quotation
marks around the names of the songs or to use double quotes as you
would usually do with a song.
A: Single quotation marks are used to indicate quotation marks inside
of double quotation marks. Because the sentence is in quotation marks,
any items within it that would have quotation marks around them would
have single quotation marks.
Examples: “John, did you say ‘Thank you’ to your teacher?” Mary said,
“I loved the Tommy Edwards song called ‘It’s all in the Game.’”
Q: A newspaper reporter in my writing club took me to task for using
“whether or not” in fiction dialogue. I see why the corsetry of
reporting would not use this phrase, but isn’t fiction dialogue
supposed to be somewhat the same as the way people actually talk?
A: First I must comment on the use of corsetry (the making of corsets
or other binding garments). It made me smile; I’ve never seen the word
used to refer to the limitations of journalism, but it certainly fits.
You’re completely correct that journalism has its confines, while
dialogue in fiction has almost no such restrictions. All bets are off
and all rules dropped when it comes to dialogue in fiction. While
narrative has its guidelines, dialogue should sound natural.
People naturally speak in contractions and use expletives, slang,
idioms, clichés and wordy phrases, all things that narrative should not
use. Human beings repeat themselves and pick the wrong words,
sometimes, too, which can add humor to dialogue. I saw much of that
tactic used in the dialogue on the TV show The Sopranos. I recall one
character kept saying, “I’m having prostrate trouble,” when the correct
word is “prostate,” but many people incorrectly use the word
“prostrate” in this sense.
Do people say “whether or not” when they speak? You bet they do, and
it’s your choice as the author whether to use it in dialogue, but avoid
it in narrative.
Q: What is back story?
A: Backstory (or back story) refers to the background of characters,
the biographical information that made them what they became. It
explains why they do the things they do or want the things they want.
It gives readers an understanding of the motivations and goals of a
character. In essence, it tells a story that happened before the one
they are reading; hence, backstory.
Backstory can be revealed through flashback, thoughts, narrative, or
dialogue. Personally I prefer backstory to be revealed through
dialogue, which inherently shows, rather than tells, as you’ll see in
my examples.
Let’s say that at age forty, Mary is studying to become a medical
researcher, and you want readers to know why. I’ll give a few examples
of ways to fill in with backstory. Each of my examples could go on a
little longer and give more detail, but backstory is best when it comes
out in short bits that do not halt the flow or kill the pace of the
story.
Backstory through Narrative:
Mary had an eight-year-old daughter who had died of lung cancer,
although the doctors were baffled about how such a young girl could
have contracted the disease.
Backstory through Thoughts or Flashback:
Mary lifted the wilted rose, brought it close to her face, and sniffed
it. The powdery texture and sweet scent took her back to her daughter’s
hospital bed, the dying roses on the bedside table, while the child
struggled for breath. What went wrong? How could an eight-year-old die
from lung cancer?
Backstory through Dialogue:
“I don’t talk about it much,” Mary told her school administrator, “but
I had an eight-year-old daughter who died of lung cancer. We never knew
what caused it, how she could get lung cancer at her age. I want to
discover something that will keep others from going through what we
went through.”
Bobbie Christmas, book editor, author of Write In Style (Union Square
Publishing), and owner of Zebra Communications, will answer your
questions, too. Send them to Bobbie@zebraeditor.com. Read more “Ask the
Book Doctor” questions and answers at www.zebraeditor.com.
Send your questions to the Book Doctor Bobbie Christmas at
Bobbie@zebraeditor.com.
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Three: This Month’s Writing Tip from Bobbie Christmas – Mine Eyes Have
Seen the Gory
Although some writers disagree with me, I’m an advocate for leaving the
eyes in the heads of the characters. Many writers use the word “eyes”
to mean “gaze,” as in this sentence: Her eyes met his. Such a use is
not necessarily offensive or even incorrect, in a sense, but I draw the
line when the eyes of a character appear to leave the head and do
miraculous, funny, and sometimes gory things. All the examples below
were taken from actual manuscripts I edited, although I changed names
to pronouns, to avoid recognition. Read each sentence and visualize
what the words imply.
I smile as my eyes reach out to embrace the vividness of each vibrant
hue.
He did not take his eyes from his desk.
His eyes wandered back and forth until they met her.
Finally she pulled her eyes from the river.
He held my eyes for a long, flirty moment
His eyes moved restlessly about the room.
She let her eyes rest on the painting for a few minutes.
He did nothing, though, merely continued to hold his eyes on her face.
Her eyes flew to his.
A careless writer can make eyes fascinate, disgust, or humor readers,
without intending to do so. Better to stick with clear words that
convey their true intent than to have readers laughing at your words.
It’s not difficult to rewrite each example, as I have, below.
I smile as my eyes enjoy the vividness of each vibrant hue.
He did not take his attention from his desk.
His eyes shifted back and forth until he saw her.
Finally she stopped gazing at the river.
He stared into my eyes for a long, flirty moment
His eyes moved restlessly in their sockets while he looked about the
room.
She concentrated on the painting for a few minutes.
He did nothing, though, merely continued to look at her face.
She glanced up at him.
Don’t you find the rewrites a little less humorous, less gory, than the
originals? I hope so.
Refine your manuscript using Bobbie’s techniques
If you think you have used the word “eyes” in a way that could be
misinterpreted, use my trademarked Find and Refine Method to search for
and repair misuses. To use the Find and Refine Method, pull down the
Edit menu in your software program and go to Find. Next click on
Replace. Type in the word “eyes” in the Find box and press Enter on
your keyboard or Find in the dialogue box, and the computer will stop
on the next instance of the word, and you can fix it. Press Find Next
to find the next misuse, repair it, and work through your manuscript to
examine and repair each unclear use.
If you wish to learn more about how to apply the Find and Refine Method
to other issues in your manuscript, send a note to
freereports@zebraeditor.com, and you’ll receive a link to many free
reports, including one on my trademarked Find and Refine Method.
For even more opportunities to Find and Refine, buy Write In Style
(Union Square Publishing) by clicking here:
http://zebraeditor.com/book_write_in_style.shtml
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Four: Subjects of interest to writers
Where is Bobbie Christmas Speaking?
Scribbler's Writers Conference
St. Simon's Island, Georgia
May 13 - 16, 2010
http://scribblersretreatwritersconference.com/speakers
Subject:
“Yes, you CAN make a living with words!”
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Attention Writers in Metro Atlanta!
The Writers Network has occasional local meetings in the
Roswell-Alpharetta general area. If you’re interested in meeting with
other writers, send me an e-mail (Bobbie@zebraeditor.com) and ask to be
put on a list of local members to be notified if and when we plan a get
together.
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Self-publishing and need an ISBN? Buy them from Bowker (as you should),
but get a discount by going to
https://www.myidentifiers.com/index.php?ci_id=1479 .
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Purge Your Prose of Problems
A Book Doctor’s Desk Reference, Fourth Edition
Save thousands of dollars by editing your own book!
This proprietary desk reference book is not available in stores.
Written in easy-to-understand language, the information 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. The metal coil lets the book lie flat for easy use. To order
as a printed book or e-book, go to http://tinyurl.com/4ptjnr.
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Smashwords sets pricing of its e-books for iPad
The Southern Review of Books
(http://anvilpub.net/southern_review_of_books.htm) reports that
Smashwords, a free e-book publishing service, has come to an agreement
for authors in its premium catalog to be available on Apple's iPad.
Under the plan, if the print edition is priced at $22 or less, the
e-book price must be set at $9.99 for the first year after publication.
After a year, the publisher can set any realistic price. E-books with
hardcover versions priced between $22 and $40 must be priced at
designated levels, about 50 to 58 percent less than the print version.
E-books with hardcover versions above $40 may be priced at any level.
E-versions of trade paperback and mass market books priced above $22
may be priced at any level.
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Download Bobbie’s seminars! Go to
http://zebraeditor.com/seminars_on_cd.shtml.
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Manuscript preparation tip: Which font is better, Courier or Times New
Roman? The answer is simple: read the guidelines of your intended
publication or publisher, and if the guidelines do not specifically say
that Times New Roman is acceptable, use Courier, which is acceptable to
almost every publisher in the world. Never submit a manuscript in any
font other than Courier or Times New Roman, though.
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Write In Style by Bobbie Christmas teaches her trademarked Find and
Refine Method along with dozens tips that power up your prose. Bobbie
Christmas reveals secrets only a book doctor could know.
http://zebraeditor.com/book_write_in_style.shtml.
Writers Network member Sue Nash sent this additional helpful tip. After
she uses Write In Style as a guideline to make a list of words she
wants to remove or revise using the Find and Refine Method, she tells
her computer to “find all,” one word at a time and then goes to “font
color” and changes all the highlighted words to red. After she’s marked
in red all the words she wants to check for possible improvement, they
are all highly visible, and she can make one pass through the
manuscript, addressing all the words she wants to refine. Thank you,
Sue, for your tip! (If you don’t understand this note, read Write In
Style to discover a quick and easy way to improve every manuscript you
write.)
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Want to know how to promote yourself and your books? For many great
tips, see http://www.writing-world.com/promotion/index.shtml
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Free Tools for Writers from Bobbie Christmas and Zebra Communications
Order PDF reports on correct manuscript format, how to form and run a
critique circle, how to identify weak writing and repair it,
self-publishing versus traditional publishing, and much more. Sixteen
reports are available, and the list keeps growing. Go to
http://zebraeditor.com/free_reports.shtml. Newest report: How to choose
the correct editor for your manuscript. Surprise! It may not be me.
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Are you on Facebook? Do You Twitter?
Keep up with Bobbie’s activities on Facebook (search for Bobbie
Rothberg Christmas) or on Twitter at http:twitter.com/BookDoctor4u.
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Five: Contests, Agents and Markets
Arizona Literary Contest - Deadline JULY 1, 2010
The Arizona Literary contest was instituted in 1980 and is open to all
writers anywhere in the world, as long as their entry is written in
English and the fee paid in US currency. We have categories for
published and unpublished works.
Unpublished Categories:
Short Stories
Poems
Articles/Essay/True Stories
Unpublished Novels
Published Categories:
Fiction: Novels/Novellas or Short Story Anthologies (all by same
author)
Nonfiction Books
Children's Literature
PRIZES - MONEY AND PUBLICATION AWARDS
First Prize All Categories $100 & publication or feature in Arizona
Literary Magazine
Second Prize All Categories $50 & publication or feature in Arizona
Literary Magazine
Third Prize All Categories $25 & publication or feature in Arizona
Literary Magazine
First Prize Published Fiction & Nonfiction Listing on
AuthorsandExperts.com ($300 value)
First Prize Children's Literature Listing on SchoolBookings.com($300
value)
First & Second Prize Winners in Poetry, Essay, Short Story Nomination
for the Pushcart Prize (Priceless)
See http://www.azauthors.com/contest_entry.html for entry guidelines
and entry form
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Listen Magazine
55 West Oak Ridge Drive
Hagerstown, MD 21740
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. Listen regularly
seeks professionally written, teen-oriented articles from 350-750
words. For full submission guidelines, go to
http://www.listenmagazine.org/article.php?id=17.
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The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/glines.htm
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, founded in 1949, is the
award-winning science-fiction magazine that is the original publisher
of classics such as Stephen King's Dark Tower and Daniel Keyes's
Flowers for Algernon. Read full guidelines at
http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/glines.htm
• We are looking for stories that will appeal to science fiction
and fantasy readers. The SF element may be slight, but it should be
present. We prefer character-oriented stories. We receive a lot of
fantasy fiction, but never enough science fiction or humor. Do not
query for fiction; send the entire manuscript. We publish fiction up to
25,000 words in length. Please read the magazine before submitting. A
sample copy is available for $6.00 in the US and $8.50 elsewhere (to NJ
address).
• We do not accept simultaneous or electronic submissions. Please
type your manuscript on clean white bond, double spaced, with one inch
margins. For a good article on standard manuscript preparation, see
www.sfwa.org/2008/11/manuscript-preparation/ . Put your name on each
page, and enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Writers from
abroad are encouraged to send recyclable manuscripts with a
letter-sized SASE and an International Reply Coupon or 94 cents in US
postage (72 cents to Canada and Mexico). You can obtain information on
how to place an international order by going to faq.usps.com and enter
"postal store – International Orders" in the search box then the top
entry in resulting list of links provides the necessary details.
• We prefer not to see more than one submission from a writer at
a time.
• Allow 8 weeks for a response. Please write and enclose a
self-addressed stamped envelope if you have any questions.
• Payment is 6-9 cents per word on acceptance. We buy first North
American and foreign serial rights and an option on anthology rights.
All other rights are retained by the author.
• Our columns and non-fiction articles are assigned in house. We
do not accept freelance submissions in those areas.
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Timeless Love Romance Novel Contest
140 E. Palmer Street
Taylorville, IL 62568
http://www.oaktreebooks.com/TimelessLoveContest.htm
Submit your complete, most captivating romance manuscript to our panel
of judges for a chance at the grand prize that includes publication of
your book in Oak Tree's Timeless Love line.
All romance genres will be considered, from sweet to supernatural.
Novels should be complete and typed using a clean no-frills,
easy-to-read font such as Courier 12 pt., double spaced on white paper,
and in the range of 60-85,000 words, pages numbered and submitted
unbound in a manuscript box.
OR if you are digitally inclined, you may submit via a WORD-compatible
file attachment. In the transmittal email, advise payment method (snail
mail or pay pal) so that we can do a match up, thus saving trees,
transportation fuel and space in our already-crowded office.
Contest is open to authors who have not published romance novels in the
previous three years and material not previously published in any
medium. Entry Fee is $35 per manuscript. Deadline for submissions and
fees is July 31, 2009 (by postmark) and winners will be announced
shortly after Labor Day Weekend.
For more information, send a SASE, or better yet, read our previous
Timeless Love Novels: Veil of Illusion by Patricia Sheehy or A New
Leaf by Elaine Cantrell or
Burning Questions by Elaine Busby or Lake Meade by Heather Mosko.
Contest Fee $35 per manuscript. Enclose your check payable to Oak Tree
Press or a pay online through the Web site.
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Six: Creative Writing Assignment – Whose Eyes Behold the Action?
Point of view is everything, and writers, especially fiction writers,
must keep point of view in mind. Point of view is exactly what it says:
it is the view of the main person in the scene and how that person sees
the scene unfold. Read the following examples of the same scene:
1. Mary stepped off the boat and looked around. Four sailors stood in a
clump to one side of the dock, while a Girl Scout stood alone on the
other side, a lost expression on her face. Mary stepped up to a man
holding a clipboard and asked, “Where do I pick up my luggage?”
2. I watched a woman step off the boat and look around. First she
looked at the four sailors who had shown me the way to the dock. I
wanted to ask the woman if she had seen my mother, but she paid no
attention to me and stepped up to the man holding a clipboard and
asked, “Where do I pick up my luggage?”
3. A slender woman in a blue dress stepped off boat and looked at us. I
started to speak to her, but my buddy held me back and whispered, “Wait
to see if she talks to you first, buddy; you wouldn’t want to scare off
a chick like that.” She didn’t talk to me, though. She stepped up to
the man holding a clipboard and asked, “Where do I pick up my luggage?”
4. I stepped off the boat and had no idea what to do next. A few people
stood on the dock, some sailors and a Girl Scout, but the man with a
clipboard might be the steward, so I asked him, “Where do I pick up my
luggage?”
5. Mary Johnson stepped off the boat. I marked her off on my clipboard,
one less passenger to worry about. She came over and asked where to
pick up her luggage.
In all the cases above, the scene is the same; only the point of view
changes. The first four examples are from the point of view of one of
the characters. The fifth example is a more distant, omniscient, point
of view. The writer can decide which character is most important to the
scene and then decide on the point of view for the scene.
Here’s another scene. Rewrite it into several points of view. Pick one
point of view of those you have written and continue to write what else
happens in the scene.
Frank watched the guests in the room. Jack, his next-door neighbor,
grabbed a root beer from the counter, walked over to the television
set, and turned it on. Sam turned off the TV and introduced himself to
Jack. When Marie swirled around in her cocktail dress, Sam and Jack
stopped talking and stared. Marie then hugged Frank, picked a few nuts
out of the dish beside him, and asked how his kids were doing. Bowser
wandered in, probably hoping to find some chips on the floor, but Frank
shooed him out and told his assistant to put the dog back into his
kennel.
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Tools for writers plus free reports, information, and answers for
writers like you: www.zebraeditor.com.
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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.
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