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WRITERS' Journal
Table of Contents
September/October 2007
Volume 28, Number 5
.....Editor's Note,
by Leon Ogroske
With all the hullabaloo about the new Apple iPhone, some writers may wonder
whether they could use one. Spanner Spencer explains PDAs on page 41 and how
writers might benefit from them.
Publishers Weekly announced that there were more than 42,000 fiction books
published in 2006. With that sort of competition, fiction authors now, more than
ever before, need to write better and be able to market their work.
Betty Ulrich, in her column on page 58, exposes some common writing errors
she found in recent contest entries that should be avoided. You must have good
clean work to present to editors in order to stand a chance at getting
published. Poor work, whether a contest entry or a magazine article submission,
seldom turns into printed work.
Dennis Hensley, on page 16, coaches us on how to create suspenseful
mysteries. It seems that the more information you relate to readers, the more of
a mystery you can give them. Creating complex crimes and characters is easy if
you know how.
On page 47, Hank Quense explains the basics of inner character development.
External character makeup is important, but showing a character’s inner
attributes will create an even more believable, enticing protagonist.
You have to get your manuscript to the desk of an editor through the watchful
eyes of an editorial assistant. On page 45, Allyson Peltier’s experience as an
EA gives her the authority to tell us the right and wrong way of getting
noticed.
Once you have your work created, you will need to market it. Janet Elaine
Smith in her "Marketing Helps" column, tells how she got some
unexpected exposure and how that can create customers. Marsha Friedman tells us
of the importance of the dreaded book signing on page 23.
A great inspirational-type piece won the Write to Win! contest. We are
tossing around the idea of having an inspirational story-writing contest. What
do you think? Let us know.
The 2007 Horror/Ghost contest produced some ghastly characters and foreboding
places. Sometimes what may seem to be harmless teasing can turn into horror.
Enjoy these well-crafted pieces.
Leon Ogroske, editor
Columns
4 .....Readers'
P.O.V.
5 .....Massaging the Muse, Lynne Pisano
My Spin on
David Letterman's Top Ten
6 .....Marketing Helps, Janet Elaine Smith
Controversy Creates
Consumers
7 .....Vocabulary
Review, Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Chapbook
8 .....Effective Screenwriting,
by
Christina Hamlett
Widening Your
Mental Margins
At
a recent screenwriting workshop, the moderator made mention of the fact that I'd
been writing for thirty years. "Thirty years?" a student remarked in
amazement after we had gone in to breakout sessions. "Aren't you worried
you're going to run out of things to write about?"...
10 .....Photography Techniques, by Ronald D. Kness
Composition
Tips for Great Fall Photos
Shooting
fall color is to nature photographers like opening day of fishing is to
fishermen, or opening day of deer hunting is to hunters. It is an event we look
forward to every year; however, much like the opening of these two events, many
of us are disappointed with our results. Using myself as an example, the color
of my images was not quite as bright and vivid as the actual color nature had
painted for me. Then, I found the secrets to bold fall color photography. Using
these tools will make the color in your autumn photos jump right off the
page....
57 .....For
Beginners Only, by Kim Kasch
Submission
Block
Thank
God, I never went to a writer's conference before this weekend. If I had, I'd
probably never have gotten anything published....
58 .....Words...Tools of Our Trade,
by Betty Garton Ulrich
Did Your
Contest Entry contain Some of These Goofs?
I
thought our readers—especially those who enter the WRITERS' Journal
story contests—might be interested in seeing some common errors that occurred
in a recent batch of entries, some occurring more than once. These errors, by
the way, appeared in the manuscripts that, even so, managed to be among the
eleven finalists in that particular contest....
61 .....WRITERS'
Journal Market Report, by
Laurie Graziano
September/October 2007 Market Report Plus, Paul Richardson of Russian Life
If
writing were a person, one of the most attractive qualities it would possess
would be that of openness, the willingness to expose itself to new experiences,
new thought, and new worlds while absorbing the importance of each and recording
it for future generations. It would be the eternal connection amongst everyone
and everything both in the here and now and in the hereafter....
Markets: Russian Life, Drawing, Backstage East, J-14, First for Women,
Workshop Magazine, domino magazine, Mediaweek, Backstage West, Cookie Magazine.
Feature Articles
14
.....Poetry, The Scheme of Things, by Christine E. Collier
You, Too, Can
Write Poetry for Children
Do
you need a few more credits on your cover letter? How about submitting a poem to
your favorite children's magazine? Kids love them; they're short, to the point,
and easily read. They're fun to read out loud, especially rhyming ones. Children
especially love funny poems or ones that read like a joke....
16
.....Writing Mysteries, by Dennis E. Hensley
Take the
Mystery Out of Mystery Writing
Mystery
stories and suspense/thrillers are separate genres. The mystery is a puzzle
based on a question of who committed a crime (and how). The thriller; or
suspense story, makes the reader wonder how the protagonist will stop or catch
the bad guy. In the mystery, readers know no more than the investigator does;
but in the thriller the reader knows everything the villain knows....
21
.....Travel Writing Without the Travel, by Susan V. Miles
Great Writing
Opportunities from Home
I
imagine that as soon as some writers see the term travel writing
they quickly flick the page to the next how-to article. With part-time writers
juggling to squeeze in their writing amongst work, study, and family commitments
and the full-time freelancer dealing with relentless deadlines, finding time to
travel for an assignment may seem impossible....
23
.....Four Little-Known Reasons, by Laura Bianco
Why
"Overlooked" Book Signings Can Be Key to Your Success
If
you're a writer, you know the drill. You show up at a bookstore, get behind a
table loaded with your books, wait for the readers to start squinting in your
direction, be unfailingly enthusiastic when they decide to talk to you, and then
graciously autograph each book they end up buying....
41
.....Taming Technology, by Spanner Spencer
PDAs Explained
Technophobia
is a genuine problem for many people, but as today's society becomes ever more
desperate to push next-generation mobile phones and MP3 music, people are
switching off from technology and voluntarily joining the technophobe's
union....
42 .....Writers' Notebook
Poetic
Recycling, by Debbie Ouellet
Twisted Tales—A
Fresh Look at 15 Classics, by Patricia F. D'Ascoli
It's Against Your
"F-ing" Nature, by Rob Loughran
Nate the Great?, by
Matthew Thomas, Jr
45
.....The Care and Feeding of Editorial Assistants, by Allyson E. Peltier
The Secret to
Getting an Editor's Attention
Few
writers know this, but editorial assistants (EA) are the gatekeepers of
publishing. In the world of towering slush piles and deep agented-submissions
bins, EAs are often the first to look at submissions. They screen calls and fend
off anxious authors and would-be authors. In book publishing (and, I would
guess, magazine publishing as well), the proper care and feeding of editorial
assistants is the key to gaining an editor's attention and developing a solid
relationship with your publisher. Following these tips from the front may make
all the difference between rejection and acceptance, avoidance and attention.
46
.....Critical Points to Book Reviewing, by James Patterson
Write
Value-Added Reviews
As a freelance reviewer and book editor for the Valley Times News, a
newspaper serving readers in east Alabama and west Georgia, I developed review
guidelines for my publication. I arrived at these standards by working with
other book editors. If you plan to write book reviews, consider these ten
guidelines as you write....
47
.....Character Development, by Hank Quense
Great Stories
Always Contain Great Characters
Memorable stories always have memorable characters. These figures are complex
and display a number of traits that reflect the characters' humanity. They are
much more than the sum of physical attributes because the authors have delved
deeply into the inner workings of their nature....
Fiction
27
.....Hungry, by Pamela J. Jessen
First Prize
Winner of 2007 Horror/Ghost Contest
28
.....Devil on My Shoulder, by Justin Scace
Second Prize
Winner of 2007 Horror/Ghost Contest
30
.....That Time of Day, by Courtney L. Mroch
Third Prize
Winner of 2007 Horror/Ghost Contest
36
.....A Silly Millimeter, by Steve Bellinger
H. M. Winner
of 2006 Short Story Contest
April 20, 2007
Write to Win! Winner
38
....."Bridges"—"He reached for...," by John
S. Pena
Poetry
50 .....Every Day With Poetry, by Esther M. Leiper
"Sestinas—Say
What?"
Arguably
there is no poetry pattern more formal, artificial, and devilish to write than
the ancient and honored French sestina. This verse concoction—it has been
called a "mathematical form" rather than a poem—is one I cordially
love to hate. At the risk of humiliating myself with personal inadequacies, I
only occasionally tackle the task, achieving mixed success—and muttering a few
choice words—as I crumple successive sheets of paper....
55 .....Esther Comments On..., by Esther M. Leiper
"Savannah
Song" and "Man Standing in Louisiana"
The
South is a place, but it is also, undoubtedly, a mood, an atmosphere, a way of
life, and an outlook, as Cheryl De Vieau's poem makes clear. The richness is
apparent to the people sitting (presumably) on the gently rocking porch swing
evoked in the eighteenth line. These are likely the "simple folks immersed
in vivid daydreams."...
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