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WRITERS' Journal

Table of Contents
November/December 2008
Volume 29, Number 6

      .....Editor's Note, by Leon Ogroske 

     Thanks to Gail Friend, we are able to catch a glimpse into the life of E.B. White, author of The Elements of Style, as she interviews E.B.’s daughter-in-law on page 14. This is a homey piece that will leave you with yet another perception of this famous author.

     While I am on the subject of the interview, Natalie Everett on page 20 has the best advice about interviews that I have heard in a long while: Listen to your subject! This might seem to be a logical piece of advice, but it is the listening to the small nuances of the subject that will make you a better interviewer.

     Lindsley Rinard has some very good advice for short story writers on page 41. When I read contest entries I think to myself: I hope writers read and heed her advice. Why is it that so many writers cannot seem to follow the basics of good story composition? It isn’t that difficult.

     Looking for a market for you wares? Sonya Carmichael Jones points you to a lucrative one on page 45.

     After visiting with Betty Ulrich in her Wisconsin log cabin this past summer, I left with a humble heart. She is a stupendous, fantabulous woman! She is full of stories and anecdotes that held me spellbound. Although she is a great conversationalist, she also has her quiet, personal moments. As you read her column on page 58, try to picture this octogenarian sitting in her home in the woods, observing a bird or wandering deer or badger, conjuring up yet another tale or putting into words some helpful advice for you the reader.

     You have only a few days to finish your science fiction or fantasy story for our contest. At the time I write this, a few entries have arrived. My anticipation of being catapulted into different worlds is mounting each day. I can’t wait!

     A light story won the Write to Win! contest. Take a moment to enjoy this gem.

Leon Ogroske, editor

Columns

  4       .....Readers' P.O.V.

  5       .....Massaging the Muse, Lynne Pisano
           Good Sports

  6       .....Marketing Helps, Janet Elaine Smith
           Beware Tupperware

  7       .....Effective Screenwriting, by Christina Hamlett
           When Eels Go Bad, What's Their Motivation?
           Villainy can take a wide variety of menacing forms. As I discovered in a recent client's screenplay, this even includes mutant lamprey eels....

 10      .....Computer Business, by Angela Render
           Is Blogging Right for You? Part one of Three
           If you're trying to figure out how to build your marketing platform on the Web, you've probably heard a great deal about blogging. I've mentioned blogging in one of my previous columns. Blog is a contraction of Web and log. It's an interactive medium that is designed to be updated regularly, syndicated on the Web, and commented on by readers....

 12      .....Photography Techniques, by Ronald D. Kness
           Ten Air-Travel Tips to Protect Your Camera Equipment
           As air travel becomes more restricted, and the rules vary and frequently change among the different air carriers, flying with camera equipment is more tension filled than ever before. However, if you use the tips below, your flights will be more enjoyable....

 57      .....For Beginners Only, by Lorraine Duffy Merkl
          Writers Can Stand the Competition
          "Why bother? The competition's too stiff." If this is one of the excuses you use to keep yourself from buckling down and writing, allow me to help you become less intimidated by your literary foes....

 58      .....Words...Tools of Our Trade, by Betty Garton Ulrich
           Little Pieces of Human Weirdness Can Spark Story Ideas
           What do you think makes life really interesting? I think it's people—their complicated composition; their wisdom; their foolishness; their irrationality; their common sense; their mixture of nobility and laughableness!...

 59       .....WRITERS' Journal Market Report, by Laurie Graziano
            November/December 2008 Market Report Plus, Bill Jones of SNOWEAST Magazine
            As the saying goes: "Nothing ventured, nothing gained." This adage is never so true as with writers. Oftentimes, there is a hesitancy to submit queries or manuscripts for fear of rejection; but this becomes a faded memory when the excitement of acceptance and approval resounds from an editor. Only through rejection can we savor the warmth of acceptance....

                   Markets: SNOWEAST, Classic Toy Trains, American Turf Monthly, Astronomy, Model Railroader Magazine, Renaissance Magazine, Boys' Life, Threads, Trains, Scale Auto Magazine.

Feature Articles

 14       .....The Elements of Style, by Gail Friend
            A Timeless Teacher
            Have you ever wished to receive pearls of wisdom from a well-known, highly skilled writer? What if the author was deceased?...

 19       .....Presenting the Professional Writer, by Jim Patterson
            Stand Out from Your Competition
            Writers often send published clips to impress editors for whom they want to work. Some editors want to see clips with your query before they will give you an assignment....

 20       .....Interview Improvisation, by Natalie Everett
            Listen to Your Subject
            What do the Saturday Night Live sketches "Mary Katherine Gallagher," "Coffee Talk with Linda Richman," and "The Coneheads" have in common with every article or book you've ever read?....

 22       .....Write What You Know, by John H. Mennear
            How I Found Fun and Fulfillment as a Big Pharma Ghost
             The most casual readers of writers' magazines know the main tenet of successful freelancing—write what you know. But what if the wannabe writer's knowledge base and hands-on experience are so highly specialized that the potential audience consists of just a few dozen readers? That's the problem I unknowingly faced the day I decided to take a shot at freelancing. Come to think of it, precious little has changed in that regard since I submitted my initial freelance effort.....

 41       .....Rx for Short Story Woes, by Lindsley Rinard
            Did You Miss These?
             Nobel laureate William Faulkner said that next to poetry, short stories are the hardest thing to write. They are not little novels but have their own distinguishing characteristics. While an inciting moment, a climax, and a culmination are a story's bones, some of the flesh and blood is often omitted in the general advice that comes one's way. It would be wise to consider the following suggestions and incorporate them into your wiring. It may make the difference between being an amateur and becoming a pro....

 42       .....Writers' Notebook
           Writing Anecdotes..., by Betty Wilson Beamguard
           Poof It...ER, Proof It, by John Tissot
           Check Those Guidelines!, by Noelle Sterne

44
           "My! You must get to meet a lot of celebrities in your line of writing!," cartoon by Heiser

45       .....Want a Bigger and Better Paying Client?, by Sonya Carmichael Jones
           Sell Your Writing to the World's Largest Customer
           Instead of cruising various writing boards for gigs for which nearly every freelance writer on the globe is competing, why not aim for a less competitive market where the pay is both lucrative and steady?...

 46       .....What Writer's Block Isn't, by Amanda L. Southall
           Overcome Writers' Greatest Foe
           Two days into a writing seminar, lectures gave way to a discussion about common writing woes, which naturally gave way to lamentations about writer's block....

Poetry

47       .....Every Day With Poetry, by Esther M. Leiper-Estabrooks
           Time: Milestone or Millstone?
           All of us are given a window of opportunity, a lifting of blinds between birth and passing. At best, this glimpse is brief; nor can we guess how wide open our "blinds" are—how much we will see, absorb, or reflect upon the finite world or limitless cosmos. And if the cosmos isn't limitless, will we ever know?...

 52       .....Esther Comments On..., by Esther M. Leiper-Estabrooks
            The Winners—April 2008 Poetry Contest
            In Christian nations, using the time-reckoning followed by many cultures, we have entered the Third Millennium. Why then do certain poets select outdated language?...