The Writers Network News, Writers on Writers, March 2020
In This Issue
One: From the Editor's Desk: WRITERS ON WRITERS
Two: Ask the Book Doctor—ABOUT AWKWARD SENTENCES
Three: Subjects of Interest to Writers
Four: Contests, Agents, and Markets
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Writers Network News
No Rules; Just Write!
Editor: Bobbie Christmas
Contents copyright 2020, Bobbie Christmas
No portion of this newsletter can be used without permission; however, you may forward the newsletter in its entirety to fellow writers.
Newsletter Sponsor
Zebra Communications
Excellent editing for maximum marketability since 1992
770/924-0528
https://www.zebraeditor.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meet Fellow Writers
Do you live in or visit metro Atlanta? Sign up for notices of local (but sporadic) meetings today! Send your name and email address to Bobbie@zebraeditor.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some links in this newsletter may be shortened with help from www.tinyurl.com, a free service that converts long links to short ones.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writer's Quote of the Month
“The difference between prose and poetry is that prose is written all the way across the page, and poetry is written only halfway across.”—Laura Glover
[I usually add information about the person being quoted, and although I found this quotation in several places, but I cannot find any information on the person who said it. Perhaps the name is too common. If you know more about the Laura Glover who wrote the above quotation, please let me know.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHANGING YOUR ADDRESS? DON’T MISS AN ISSUE!
If your address changes and our email to you bounces, our system automatically unsubscribes you. If you plan to change your email address, subscribe again with your new address. We cannot add you or change your address, because of our double-opt-in, no-spam policy. Go to https://www.zebraeditor.com/ and sign up with your new address.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One: From the Editor's Desk: WRITERS ON WRITERS
Dear Fellow Writers:
I just finished watching the movie PAIN AND GLORY and was left with a question. Is it just me—I gravitate toward movies and books about writers—or is true that an inordinate percentage of books and movies use writers as characters and writing as a theme? PAIN AND GLORY features Antonio Banderas as an aging character who was formerly a movie director and screenwriter. He’s some of my favorite eye candy and the film won quite a few awards, so I had several reasons to have an interest in the film. I enjoyed it, but when it was over, I pondered all the books and movies I’ve encountered that deal with writers and writing. Why is the premise so prevalent, I asked myself.
In a Captain Obvious flash, the answer came to me. Writers write those film scripts and books, and writers understand the difficulties writers encounter. Of course!
What does my revelation mean to my fellow writers? Consider giving your characters some occupation or hobby other than writing. Perhaps writing has become a cliché in books and movies. I don’t know; maybe not. It’s a thought to consider, though.
On another subject of writing, I’ve often warned writers never to throw away old manuscripts, no matter how bad we think they are. Yes, our skills improve as we learn and write more, but even those earliest manuscripts may have hidden gems in them. More than twenty years ago I worked on a novel and then put it aside. I had little confidence in that old manuscript; it was easy to abandon. Like a good writer, though, I backed up my on a disk, the only disk available for my Mac at the time—a 3.5-inch floppy. I moved on to other projects and wrote several nonfiction books to help other writers. I never forgot that first attempt at a novel, but I let it languish.
Time passed. Technology advanced. I had updated my equipment several times over the years and moved over to the PC side of things to be compatible with more of my clients. I still had that old Mac disk, but I had no machine that could read those old disks.
About six months ago a friend took my old Mac disk and translated it to a document file I could use on my PC. With apprehension I opened that old file, but to my amazement the novel wasn’t terrible. Yes, the book needs work, and yes, I’ve learned even more about writing since the 1990s, but wow! The story still held up. I am going through and tightening the writing, adding missing scenes and details, and even catching an error here and there. After I finish I’ll decide whether to self-publish or try to find a traditional publisher. That’s when I’ll use my own checklist of advantages and drawbacks of all types of publishing, a free white paper I offer to anyone else who wants it. To read the benefits and drawbacks of all types of publishing, go to https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/self-publishing-vs-traditional-publishing-which-one-right-christmas/.
Let me know what you think. About anything! I love to hear from my subscribers.
Yours in writing,
Bobbie Christmas Bobbie@zebraeditor.com or bzebra@aol.com
Author of two editions of WRITE IN STYLE, owner of Zebra Communications, director of The Writers Network, coordinator of the Florida Writers Association Editors Helping Writers service, and senior editor of Enjoy Cherokee Magazine
If someone forwarded this newsletter to you, please sign up to get your own subscription. Simply go to https://www.zebraeditor.com/ to subscribe to The Writers Network News. My promise: I never share your address or send out spam.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Two: ASK THE BOOK DOCTOR
ABOUT AWKWARD SENTENCES
By Bobbie Christmas
Q: Are both of the following sentences below grammatically correct? The first one seems off because it sounds like “while waiting . . . sister” defines “dance.” I
think the second sentence is okay, though.
Joe and I had planned that our first dance would be while waiting for his sister.
Joe and I had planned that we would have our first dance while waiting for his sister.
If these are not good, do you have another suggestion? Thanks
A: The first sentence (Joe and I had planned that our first dance would be while waiting for his sister) is awkward and required that I read it several times to understand it, even though it follows proper guidelines for grammar. The second sentence (Joe and I had planned that we would have our first dance while waiting for his sister) is better and a little clearer. It too follows proper guidelines for grammar.
A stronger sentence, however, would avoid the participle (-ing word that turns a verb into something else) and might then go like this: Joe and I had planned that while we waited for his sister, we would have our first dance.
Q: One person in our writers group stated that avoiding split infinities is old hat, and people in the publishing business no longer notice them. Is this true?
A: Like English, grammar guidelines shift over the years. In one way the member of your writers group is correct that a split infinitive is not considered an error. If a sentence can be written to avoid a split infinitive without making a sentence awkward, however, then it makes sense to use smoother prose. “John wanted to solidly come in first place” has as much meaning when rewritten as “John wanted to come in first place solidly,” and it no longer splits an infinitive.
On the other hand, sometimes revising the sentence makes it lose power, in which case the rare and occasional split infinitive serves a good purpose. The writers for Star Trek, for example, got away with saying, “To boldly go where no man has gone,” but they also met with controversy for using it. Changing the statement to “Boldly to go where no man has gone” or “To go boldly where no man has gone” did not have the same power, though. Again, a split infinitive is acceptable, but strong writing keeps infinitives—as well as split ones—to a minimum.
As a general rule, if it is easy to recast a sentence to avoid a split infinitive without spoiling the power of a sentence, it is always best to do so. “I’d like to finally finish school,” for example, recast as “I’d like to finish school finally,” reflects smoother syntax.
As a final thought, adverbs are often the part of speech that splits an infinitive, and strong writers avoid adverbs. By deleting the adverb in the example, we get “I’d like to finish school.” Nothing is lost, the sentence is tighter, and it uses no split infinitive to wrinkle the noses of strict grammarians, however antiquated their opinions may be.
Q: Which is correct?
Needless to say the barest of necessities were used in that small room.
Needless to say the barest of necessities was used in that small room.
I’m guessing “were” is correct, to agree with “barest,” an adjective.
A: You have identified an instance where the structure of a sentence creates a question of verb usage. Often when such an issue arises, it’s time to address the wording of the whole sentence, rather than question the use of a verb. We all know that singular subjects take singular verbs. If you were to diagram the sentence, a lost art, you would see that “barest” is not used in the sentence as an adjective, but as a noun. It becomes the subject of the sentence. Take out the prepositional phrase “of necessities,” and the sentence would read like this: “the barest was used” or “the barest were used.” Which verb would you then choose? “Was” would be the choice, yet the sentence (“the barest of necessities was used”) sounds awkward. The better choice is to recast the sentence, remove the preposition, and you have a simple, clear sentence with a clear verb: “Needless to say, the barest necessities were used in that small room.” Even better recasting changes the sentence from passive to active voice: “Needless to say, that small room held the barest necessities.” Let me go a step further, though. If something is needless to say, why say it is needless to say? Consider this final recast: “That small room held the barest necessities.” That last sentence shines through tight writing.
Inherently you guessed which verb would be correct, but whenever you find yourself mulling over which verb to use, it might be time to recast the sentence to avoid awkwardness. Recasting resolves the issue and strengthens the writing.
Bobbie Christmas, book editor, author of Write In Style: Use Your Computer to Improve Your Writing, and owner of Zebra Communications, will answer your questions, too. Send them to Bobbie@zebraeditor.com or BZebra@aol.com. Read Bobbie’s Zebra Communications blog at https://www.zebraeditor.com/blog/.
For much more information on these subjects and hundreds of others of vital importance to writers, order PURGE YOUR PROSE OF PROBLEMS, a Book Doctor’s Desk Reference Book at http://tinyurl.com/4ptjnr.
Bobbie Christmas’s award-winning second edition of WRITE IN STYLE: How to Use Your Computer to Improve Your Writing is available from Amazon at https://tinyurl.com/y7ppcdkd or buy it directly at https://tinyurl.com/y7p9xkbb.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Three: Subjects of interest to writers
MEMBERS WRITE
Judith A. Barrett blew me away with her letter. Regarding my letter in last month’s newsletter where I stated that I was not a coach, but I was a mentor, she wrote the following:
“You have been a force in my writing journey. You reviewed the first 7,500 pages of my first novel in January 2018. The novel was a 2018 RPLA semi-finalist. We had a twenty-minute session at the Florida Writers Conference in October of 2018, and you reviewed the first ten pages of a WIP novel. You chuckled at my story (not everybody gets my humor) and pointed out areas for improvement. In 2019 the WIP you reviewed received recognition from New Apple for Excellence in Publishing. I attended a workshop you led and used what I learned to polish another WIP that received the 2019 RPLA Bronze award for the mystery genre. I rewrote the 2018 YA RPLA semifinalist, and that adult novel received the FAPA President's Bronze award for Suspense and Thrillers.
“You gave me the encouragement to move forward, and I did! I published my first novel in 2018 and my seventh novel in January 2020. I appreciate your ezines because I always learn something new. Keep it up!”
Thank you, Judith. Congratulations on your many accomplishments. Wow! You keep it up too, you hear?
--
Another reader remarked that the reason I’m not a coach is that I’m not educated in the skills of a coach, certification for which takes months of intensive study. She made another good point on why I’m not a coach and why I still feel good about being a mentor, rather than a coach.
--
Jacqueline J. Holness writes, “My debut novel, Destination Wedding, was featured on ‘The Local Take’ with host Kiplyn Primus on Atlanta’s Jazz WCLK 91.9 in honor of Valentine's Day.” Way to go, Jacqueline! To listen, go to https://www.wclk.com/post/local-take-love-valentines-day-jaqueline-holness-author-destination-wedding?fbclid=IwAR1fh--4N_J_E7xmjxueQpYtGbwh94JFxixqtsqe6UeNdqA84oyHWPP2jjs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EDITING TIPS: APOSTROPHES
Writers network or writers’ network? Voter’s guidelines or voters guidelines? Your computer may ask if you’ve written those things right. Who’s right, you or the computer? When should you use an apostrophe? Sometimes it’s hard tell, but here’s a rule to follow: If something belongs to someone, it’s possessive and needs an apostrophe. If it’s just a plural with nothing belonging to anyone, it doesn’t take an apostrophe. If the network (such as mine) is for writers but not a possession of writers, then it’s plural: writers. The voter guidelines are for voters but aren’t owned by voters, so it’s plural, not possessive, and it doesn’t take an apostrophe.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EASY ACCESS TO BOBBIE’S BLOGS
Read creative writing tips as well as some of my personal experiences. Access the Write In Style blog here: https://www.zebraeditor.com/blog/
On the other hand, for my relationship-related blog, see my blog titled “Neurotica: Crazy Stories of Love, Lust, and Letting Go.” If you like to read about disastrous dates and ridiculous relationships, I’ve got a ton of them, and they all happened to me. Some are funny, some are a little sexy, some are sad, and all true. My latest addition is a little scary, because it happened when I was only six years old. Read it here: https://neuroticastories.blogspot.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EAST COBB CRITIQUE GROUP FORMING
Are you interested in having your writing reviewed by a small group of people with similar skills? Would you enjoy sharing your interest in writing? Do you live in East Cobb County, Georgia, and author novels, short stories, or flash fiction in any genre? Send your email address to critgeoup@hotmail.com and I will be in touch with details.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BE MY FRIEND ON FACEBOOK
Follow my adventures, opinions, and observations: http://www.facebook.com/bobbie.christmas
FOLLOW ZEBRA COMMUNICATIONS ON FACEBOOK
Get news, writing-related cartoons, immediate updates, and other good stuff for writers.
Like and follow Zebra Communications at https://tinyurl.com/ydyn3pcu.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CMOS ONLINE Q&A
This month someone posed the following question to The Chicago Manual of Style Online:
Q. Should numerals and spelled-out numbers be italicized if they’re being referred to as numbers, as in “The number twelve is significant in the Old Testament”? What about a personal name being referred to as a name?
To get the answer to this question and many more based on Chicago style, go to http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/latest.html.
THE CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE sets the standard in book publishing for issues such as punctuation, capitalization, and much more. If you write fiction or nonfiction books, you will want to know about Chicago style or be sure to use a professional book editor intimately familiar with Chicago style.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MANUSLIP TIME: EASY MISINTERPRETATION
Sometimes writers are unaware of writing awkward or easily misinterpreted sentences and headlines. The result can sometimes be funny, and I call them manuslips.
My friend David Baker sent me a message about a headline that appeared in the Atlanta Journal Constitution: He wrote, “The AJC has a mind-boggling (not to mention cannibalistic) headline in today's Life section: ‘Grab Your Gals for Good Eats.’"
You may note that in my manuslips taken from unpublished manuscripts, I always remove the original names of characters so the errors are not attributable to any particular manuscript or author.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WRITE IN STYLE: How to Use Your Computer to Improve Your Writing
Five-time-award-winning WRITE IN STYLE leaves grammar to the grammarians. Instead it uses humor and expertise to show writers how to strengthen their writing style and create a fresh voice. Available as an e-book or printed.
Order your copy today at https://tinyurl.com/y8fp5nym.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SELF-PUBLISHING VERSUS TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING
Can’t decide whether to self-publish or seek a publisher? Whether to print on demand or lower the cost by printing a large quantity? This free white paper shows you all the options as well as the advantages and drawbacks of each potential method of publishing.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/self-publishing-vs-traditional-publishing-which-one-right-christmas/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MEMOIR WRITING AND PUBLISHING
Free book from Authors Publish. Download here:
https://www.authorspublish.com/memoir-book/
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Four: Contests, Agents, and Markets
CALLING ALL WRITERS IN CHEROKEE COUNTY, GEORGIA
Enjoy Cherokee Magazine seeks local folks to write articles for its bimonthly printed publication. If you’re interested, contact the publisher: Jodi Drinkard, Jodi@EnjoyCherokee.com, (404) 731-6397. Tell her you heard about it in The Writers Network News. Full disclosure: I’m the senior editor of the magazine, so I will be editing any article that is submitted. If you’re just starting out, you can learn a great deal through this process and get clips for your portfolio. If you’re a polished writer, you can expand your client list and potentially expect bimonthly assignments. You must live in Cherokee County to apply.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FWA COLLECTION CONTEST and ROYAL PALM LITERARY AWARDS
For members only, but membership cost is low and benefits are high!
The 2020 Florida Writers Association Collection Contest submission window opened February 1, 2020. Our newest theme is Create an Illusion. Members are allowed up to two entries, so we hope you've been enjoying the fun and challenge of writing an exciting entry for it. Stories: 1,200 words maximum. Poems: 50 lines maximum. Fiction, nonfiction, and essays are all acceptable. Note: We have a new contest deadline time this year: April 30th, at NOON. Here's the link to the Guidelines, Submission Form, and any questions you may have. Good Luck! The 2020 Royal Palm Literary Awards Competition is open for submissions! For guidelines, forms, and resources, check here. To see the rubrics the judges will be using, check the private FWA Network, here. Have a question not addressed in the materials? Contact us, here. Best of luck in the competition!
The 2020 Royal Palm Literary Awards Competition is open for submissions! For guidelines, forms, and resources, check here. To see the rubrics the judges will be using, check the private FWA Network, here. Have a question not addressed in the materials? Contact us, here.
(At last report the FWA website was undergoing repairs, but if you get that message, write the address on the page your reach to get all the details necessary to enter either competition.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AARP THE MAGAZINE
AARP The Magazine rarely uses unsolicited ideas. However, you may submit your idea based on the following guidelines and your material will be reviewed.
Story idea letters for specific features and departments should be one page in length and accompanied by recent writing samples. The letter should explain the idea for the piece, tell how you would approach it as a writer, give some sense of your writing style, and mention the section of the magazine for which the piece is intended. Your samples should not include the actual story that you are proposing, except in the case of personal essays, which should be submitted in full.
Features and departments cover the following categories:
Money: investments, savings, retirement, and work issues
Health and Fitness: tips, trends, studies
Food and Nutrition: recipes, emphasis on healthy eating
Travel: tips and trends on how and where to travel
Consumerism: practical information and advice
General Interest: new thinking, research, information on timely topics, trends
Relationships: family matters, caregiving, living arrangements, grandparents
Personal Essay: thoughtful, timely, new takes on matters of importance to people over 50
AARP The Magazine does not accept queries by fax, so either e-mail your story idea to AARPMagazine@aarp.org as plain text within the body of your message (no attachments) or mail it to the following address:
AARP The Magazine
c/o Editorial Submissions
601 E St. NW
Washington, DC 20049
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NEW AGENT SEEKS SUBMISSIONS
Associate Agent Ian Bonaparte is able to help writers place journalism and op-eds. With an extensive background in editing fiction, he is also seeking a select list of fiction writers and is interested in seeing any novel that is both moving and plot-driven. He is fiercely committed to his authors and deeply grateful to assist in bringing new ideas, outlooks, and worlds into existence..
If you would like to submit your work to Ian Bonaparte at Janklow & Nesbit, please include the following:
For fiction submissions, send an informative cover letter, a brief synopsis and the first ten pages. If you are sending an email submission, please include the sample pages in the body of the email below your query.
For nonfiction submissions, send an informative cover letter, a full outline, and the first ten pages of the manuscript. If you are sending an email submission, please include the sample pages in the body of the email below your query.
Please address your submission to an individual agent. Be sure to include your email address or a return envelope with sufficient postage if you would like your material sent back to you.
Janklow & Nesbit Associates
285 Madison Avenue
New York, N.Y. 10017
USA
For email submissions, please send your material to submissions@janklow.com.
Due to the volume of submissions received, please note that we cannot respond to every query. We shall contact you if we wish to pursue your submission.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Do YOU have news for The Writers Network News? Send it in the body of an email to Bobbie@zebraeditor.com or bzebra@aol.com. Deadline: 18th of each month.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Send a copy of this newsletter to all your writing friends. Tell them to join The Writers Network F-R-E-E by visiting https://www.zebraeditor.com/ and signing up for The Writers Network News.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
With the exception of Zebra Communications, information in this newsletter is not to be construed as an endorsement. Research all information and study every stipulation before you enter a competition, pitch or accept an assignment, spend money, or sell your work.
The Writers Network News: a newsletter for writers everywhere. No Rules; Just Write!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++