WRITERS' Journal

Table of Contents
July/August 2005
Volume 26, Number 4

Columns

  2       .....Editor's Note

  4       .....Marketing Helps, Janet Elaine Smith
           Hanging Out Online

  5       .....Massaging the Muse, Lynne Pisano
           Writing Rebuses   

  6       .....Effective Screenwriting, by Christina Hamlett
           Are You Ready for Hollywood?
            Movies. No matter their theme, budget, or cast, they all start out in pretty much the same way. They start out with dreamers—just like you—sitting in darkened theaters around the world and imagining what it would be like to see their names scrolling up the credits after the words, "Screenplay by...."....

 9        .....Photography Techniques, by Ronald D. Kness
           Look Sharp
            One of the complaints I constantly hear from new digital camera users is that their photos don't look sharp. They tell me the images look sharp when viewing them on the monitor, but they ar not tack-sharp when printed to 8" x 10" or larger... In this article, we are going to explore how to get razor-sharp, crisp printed images....

11       .....Computer Business, by Colin G. West
           Using Microsoft Word, Part Two: Lots of More Really Useful Stuff
            One simple thing that cased me much trouble when I was teaching myself word processing was this: If the first chapter of my latest blockbuster novel ends halfway down a page, how do I go straight to the top of the next page to start Chapter Two?....

51        .....Essay Writing Contests, by Dorothy J. Geiger
            July/August 2005
            I have selected certain sites pertaining to pets. Many of these advertisers offer prizes monthly and others repeat annually. 

59        .....For Beginners Only, by Gay Ingram
            Go for Broke—How to Write a Winning Story
            Your notebook is crammed with writing ideas and recorded thoughts, but how do you covert them into a story? You could spend hours turning your notes into a fine piece of writing, but is it a story or just a clever piece of anecdotal remembrances? What defines a story? Experts recognize a story by its three necessary components: player and game plan, hindrance, and payoff....

60        .....Words...Tools of Our Trade, by Betty Garton Ulrich
           And the Spell Checker Won't Help Here
            July 2004 marked the publication of the new Concise Oxford English Dictionary. Writing in the British newspaper; The Guardian, arts correspondent John Ezard reported that, according to the Oxford University Press, a new problem has replaced the thirty-year epidemic of confusing "it's" and "its"—probably, suggested Mr. Ezard, because it has been so heartily ridiculed. Evidently the misuse of those two words dropped to only 8%....

61        .....WRITERS' Journal Market Report, by Laurie Graziano
            The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines intolerable as "unable or unwilling to endure." So, which one are you? The writer who is unable to endure or the one who's just unwilling? The first is excusable, since it is beyond human control. But the latter is pure choice and most frowned upon....

                   Markets: VeloNews, Yin, Dreamwatch, HEEB, Charmed, Workbench, Robb Report Motocycling, Concrete Homes, One Story.

Feature Articles

13        .....Why News Releases Fail, by Paul J. Krupin
            The Most Common Reasons and What to Do about Them
            Sorry about my otaku with this issue (otaku = more than a hobby, a little less than an obsession)....

19        .....The Art of Writing Comic Books, by Steven Alan Payne
            A Serious Treatment
            Even in a business known for capriciousness, movies have adopted comic book-based properties with an unusual alacrity. Fraught with spiraling production costs, movie executives are beholden to find not a single film, but a franchise that will generate a bonanza at the box office as well as in the equally lucrative ancillary markets....

22        .....Freefall into Freelancing, Debbie Coty
            Pull the Literary Ripcord and Soar
            A short time after I began writing two years ago, I was standing in the lobby of my church (yes, this encounter actually took place in church!), speaking with a friend. As friends often do, she inquired about my new "writing hobby."

24        .....Travel Articles, Susan Miles
            Pitching to the Right Market at the Right Time
            Ok, so you've written a handful of travel articles. You may have seen a few published, but you are still getting more rejections than acceptances.

41        .....Harnessing the Power of the Period, by Martha Nawrocki
            Breathing Life into Your Writing
            Need more writing power? Harness the little known "Power of the Period."

44        .....Minor Characters, by Belinda Anderson
            To Be or Not to Be?
            If your writing feels as though it's rolling along about as well as a flat-spotted tire, give closer scrutiny to your minor characters. There's  a pretty good chance that a minor character is either sabotaging your narrative or waiting to step in as its savior....

46        .....The Interview, by Kathleen Peelen Krebs
            How to Get It, How to Prepare It, How to Write It
            A surefire avenue to publishing success is the submission of a great and gripping interview. Though coveted coverage of celebrities and starts in any field may gain you access to major publications, there are countessfascinating subjects for interview who are more easily accessible and whose stories may encourage, inspire, entertain, and educte your readers. The following are nine suggestions for constructing a publishable interview:...

48        .....Small-Town Newspapers Buy Local History, by Ron Slaughter
            Courthouse and Archival Records Are Worthy of Publication
            Mass media in small, isolated towns are small partnerships, often with mom-and-pop managers who rely on whatever talent is locally available. They often don't have access to ideally qualified writers with impressive clips who ply their trade in larger, more lucrative markets. This is good...

Fiction

27        .....Summerlake, by Ken Wallin
            First Prize Winner of 2005 Fiction Contest

28        .....Fetching Water, by Samori Augusto
            Second Prize Winner of 2005 Fiction Contest

30        .....Rojo Hawkins, by Chad LeJeune
            Third Prize Winner of 200 Fiction Contest

32        .....Not Guilty, by Mark Seidemann
            Honorable Mention Winner of 2004 Horror/Ghost Contest

36        .....Cat and Mouse, by Moira Eden Brower
            Honorable Mention Winner of 2004 Horror/Ghost Contest

February 20, 2005 Write to Win! Winner

38        ....."To Thine Own Self Be True"—Dust was everywhere...," by Mark Quinn

Poetry

52        .....Every Day With Poetry, by Esther M. Leiper
            "Kaleidoscopes—or Falling Short"
            Good word usage is swift and mobile, the opposite of static. Imagery gives focus, color, movement, and shape to language. Indeed, it caters to all the senses. A successful poem about words—or about the whole of life itself—must also capture the flexibility, the sheer exuberance of the English (America, Australian, Canadian, etc.) tongue....

55        .....Esther Comments On..., by Esther M. Leiper
            The Winners—December 2004 Poetry Contest
            I confess I waffled and waffled over the judging process this time. Whether my indecision was occasioned by the weather or not—that's a pun—who knows?