T-zero Xpandizine
 The Writer's E-Zine

 

 Produced and published by the members of Writers' Village University since 1998    ISSN 1521-2639       
Announcements: The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine

The Writer's E-Zine Home

Writers' Village University - F2K: Free Fiction Writing Course - ePress-online
Writers' Village University Membership Information

Announcements:

Holly Lisle's book on writing that I reviewed a while back is now FREE. "Mugging the Muse" is now free to anyone. Address is: http://hollylisle.com/community/downloads.html

Holly's group is also starting their own newsletter. Welcome to them from the staff at T-zero. We are sure it will be well worth reading! "The first issue of Vision will debut the first of January 2001, and will be free to everyone as well." Although I don't have the specific url for it yet it should be somewhere at http://hollylise.com

Margaret I. Carr


T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine
http://TheWritersEzine.com
Copyright 1998 - 2007, Writopia Inc. All Rights Reserved
E is for... The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine

The Writer's E-Zine Home

Writers' Village University - F2K: Free Fiction Writing Course - ePress-online
Writers' Village University Membership Information

"E" is for...

Margaret I. Carr

Omniscient

It isn't really an offensive word. Rather appealing in its way. Nice vowel consonant combination and then there is the meaning. All knowing. Now there's a talent most of us would like to have!

If Aunt Jane had just been a little bit omniscient, she would have caught on to that 'nice' young couple's true nature in the beginning instead of trusting them to help her with the work her arthritis made so difficult. Maybe she would still have her home. As it is, by the time she realized what they were doing, it was too late. She could take some satisfaction out of the prison terms they were sentenced to. They weren't omniscient either. They couldn't resist pushing it a little too far, not realizing their victim was alerted. However, as a story, and this is complete fiction, it would either be no story at all if Aunt Jane had known or if the couple had been omniscient they would have realized and escaped as soon as Aunt Jane started to catch on.

The omniscient viewpoint is one that appeals to many writers. Although the characters do not know everything, the author does and lets the reader in on it. This does reduce suspense but whether this is a drawback depends on how much suspense you want. The author does need to be careful not to let a character show knowledge he shouldn't have. The author may know what is in Sally's purse but for the new man she has just met to be aware of the contents may jar the reader.

If you don't think the reader will notice, I suggest you search on some of your favorite authors until you find a couple of mailing or discussion lists. Join the lists and watch what is discussed. As a writer, I have found reader's acuity, as displayed on the lists, downright alarming! They count days more assiduously than the village busybody does after a sudden marriage, apply skills of many occupations to check the practicality of devices and events and even draw maps correcting the author's geography! I do love the lists I've stayed on and have learned a lot from them. It really helps to get back to a reader's perspective sometimes.

It might help if we had some guidelines about how to chose the areas an author should be expected to be all-knowing. Is it more important to have the setting details right, or to know all there is to know about the characters or is there some particular profession or technology we have to present properly?

Setting can be very important. If you use a real, existing location, preferably one you are familiar with, it should be easy enough to check details. Let's try a little exercise. Suppose we want to include a quiet scene where two characters are getting better acquainted. They may be business acquaintances, social contacts or even distant family. Seems like a restaurant setting would be good for this. So pull up the details of a favorite restaurant from your memory and use them to build the scene.

For some reason the restaurant I think of first is one I haven't visited for a long time. I did stop there frequently and the memories are very pleasant and very suitable for this scene. So....

My characters walk in off the busy street. What street was it? It was near Boston Common, I think. Or maybe it was Boston Garden. Uh-oh. Better check that out. There are undoubtedly maps that show where restaurants are in relation to significant sites. Confusing those two might not mean anything to the rest of the world, but I don't want to be 'banned in Boston'!

Never mind. The scene is inside so those are the details that are important. I seem to remember comfortable booths off to the right and further on steps(?) leading to a more formal dining area. Hmm, were there steps? Does it matter? No problem, I won't use the name and I can make the details fit what I want. (I, the author, am not just omniscient, but also omnipotent!) Steps. Three of them and a curtained doorway. The sound of cutlery and quiet conversation muted by the curtain help create the atmosphere. My characters are going to sit in one of the booths.

Are the seats padded? What color are they? Are the booths rectangular or rounded? What is visible on the walls? (As I remember, after the name change fishnets with seashells and other Hawaiian theme objects were added to the decor. This could help indicate the time frame.)

This is an important scene and I'll have references to it later on. Perhaps I'd better do a sketch of the layout so I won't get things mixed up. Better find or draw maps of anything that is important while I'm at it. (It's hard to be All-Knowing when you are stuck with an ordinary, fallible human memory!) Not that I have any talent in drawing or map-making but even crude sketches will serve the purpose. Some writers are very adept with maps. Holly Lisle is one who uses them for many purposes and there is a Maps Workshop in her Mugging the Muse... I highly recommend to anyone interested. (See Announcements for how to get a FREE copy of Mugging the Muse)

How is your scene coming along? Did you get all those necessary details down so you can refer to them later?

Me? I think I've decided to limit setting details to absolute essentials. I'd rather spend the time concentrating on Character. If there is any single area in which I want to be omniscient this is it. Knowing all about my characters will be a big boost in plotting, too. I'll know how they will react to whatever situations arise and what the 'worst possible thing' that can challenge them will be and how to time everything. I will, won't I?

Let's try a scene with the stress on knowing all about our characters. We start with a group standing in line outside a ticket office. It is five minutes until the office opens and most of the group have been waiting all night. Someone walks up and hands an envelope to the first person in line and then steps in front of that person.

Next month more on Omniscience and your Characters. For now, I leave a question: Even if you, the author, KNOW ALL do you want to TELL ALL?

Margaret I. Carr


T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine
http://TheWritersEzine.com
Copyright 1998 - 2007, Writopia Inc. All Rights Reserved
Catherine's Kitchen The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine

The Writer's E-Zine Home

Writers' Village University - F2K: Free Fiction Writing Course - ePress-online
Writers' Village University Membership Information

Catherine's Kitchen

Catherine Manning

CHRISTMAS

ANOTHER YEAR GONE and even faster than last year. When Natalie (my youngest) and Gerry came to me one night in February and said that they were not really here for the reason they had given me (not that it mattered but the timing was strange), I just said "So, have you got engaged then?" They looked at each other and turned up their eyes in disgust. "She guessed!" I keep telling them I have ESP, they should listen! So now we have an Old Year Wedding, December 30th and Christmas looming. Thankfully Fleur will be coming home; she has to, as she's bridesmaid, still says she's not getting married, but then so did Nat! There's hope still. I would like a grandchild or two at some stage.

Christmas has become very commercialized and really is for children; the shops are out to make a fast buck. Nevertheless, I still buy a 'real' imported Christmas tree which will cost me $40. But it's Christmas and even though it's Barbados and hot, I Iove the smell of pine. It's tradition and I would miss it. I say it's hot; well, we have had three inches of rain in two hours this morning and it's very windy and VERY chilly.

Several years ago, when the economy of the island wasn't good and they didn't want foreign exchange leaving the island, Christmas trees were banned. For some unknown reason, I had saved mine from the year before(it didn't get burned in the barbeque!) so I retrieved it from behind the pool house and spray painted it green and went from there. It worked quite well and I didn't have to be sweeping up needles all the time! I used it for two years without the smell until things got back to normal.

We had such fun at Christmas. I would like to think that children today will be able to say the same in the future. It wasn't as though we had loads of presents and toys like there are now, but there was the excitement and believing in Santa Claus for a time and the Christmas party.

There were six of us and on Christmas Eve night we all slept in the same bedroom. The rooms were big and the girls' room already had three beds, so the boys pushed one of their beds in and we doubled up. The first one up woke up the others, which was usually about 2 to 3 a.m. This really didn't suit my mother as she was usually just going to sleep after going to church at midnight, preparing for the Christmas lunch and stuffing our pillowcases. I think she protested once, but that was delayed reaction and didn't stop us. She finally stopped the midnight mass and made us go at 5 a.m. with her.

One Christmas, my elder brother got a cricket set, so it was cricket at 3 a.m. and some broken glass and the next Christmas we got skates. I was the first casualty when I managed to put my arm through a glass door; I still have the scar today. Not to forget the apples. The first thing we did was go to the fridge and get an apple before we opened our presents. By apple, I mean what we called English apples, like Golden Delicious or whatever. We had everything else: mangoes, avocados, Golden apples, Mammie apples, cherries... You name it, we had it, but we didn't have Golden Delicious, so they were a treat at Christmas. Of course they're ten a penny now in the supermarket, though I exaggerate the 'ten a penny', more like 75 cents each.

I was the first to blow the Santa 'myth'. We used to leave a bowl of soup and toast for Santa in the drawing room, where the Christmas tree was, before we went to bed and were accustomed to seeing it empty with a thank you note from Santa, when we woke up to open our presents. I don't remember how old I was, but obviously old enough to recognize my mothers hand writing saying:

"Dear Children,
Thank you very much for the lovely soup.
Have a happy Christmas
Love
Santa"

Naturally I blew it, though I think the little ones still kept believing for a while longer.

Our Christmas lunches were memorable and as we always had the Christmas party for the entire family and strays. It could amount to between 70 or 80 people. Everyone started arriving by midday, but lunch was never before 2 p.m. which gave the adults enough time to imbibe their rum punches or gin & tonics, while we children got up to no good.

Christmas lunch consisted of roast turkey and stuffing with gravy, roast pork with crackling and gravy, baked ham, fish, pepperpot, Jug Jug, yam pie, candied sweet potatoes, plantain, conkies and on and on! After that there would be the plum pudding, Christmas cake and other desserts. The tables were always beautifully decorated and had crackers and candles to add to the atmosphere. Even though my mother doesn't like cooking very much, she is very good at flower arranging and decorating, so the house always looked lovely.

Jug Jug is a traditional Xmas dish in Barbados and is a favourite of some. I make it, but only pick at it; it's filling.

JUG JUG

  • 4 pints Pigeon Peas (fresh or canned. If using dried peas, soak overnight before cooking)
  • 1/4 pint Guineacorn flour
  • 2 pints water
  • 1/2 lb. salt beef
  • 1/2 lb. salt pork
  • 1 bunch chopped seasoning (Chive,thyme,parsley)
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 4 cloves garlic (optional)
  • Black pepper to taste
  • Touch of sugar

Boil peas and meat until cooked. (If the remaining stock is too salty, add water to dilute to taste and don't use all with the flour.) Strain off remaining liquid and mince the meat and peas in mincer or processor till fairly smooth. Put stock from peas to cook with seasoning for five minutes and then add the guineacorn flour blending with wooden spoon till smooth. Add rest of ingredients and cook slowly for 20-30 minutes, stirring frequently till consistency is right; it should come away from the sides of the saucepan. Just before taking the pan from the heat, stir in a tablespoon of butter. Serve hot with Christmas lunch or dinner.

Tip: If mixture is too soft, sprinkle in more guineacorn flour till corrected, or if too dry, add more liquid a little at a time. P.S. The Jug diehards would die if they knew that I added a touch of sugar!

Conkies are a MUST at Christmas and they MUST be made properly. Sometimes they are overloaded with flour, sweet potato (which I don't use), contain no baking powder and turn out very stodgy and inedible, in fact awful, though no doubt the person who made them thinks they're good! Again, they need to be the right consistency for steaming, but if necessary it's better to use the Indian corn flour to achieve this rather than white flour. Indian corn flour is a coarse corn flour made from freshly ground corn. I'll pass on a recipe but I adjust to suit consistency and taste. Also, we use banana or plantain leaves to wrap them in, but if they are unavailable, foil may be used. The leaves give them a smooth texture.

CONKIES

Prepare leaves. Cut leaves that are whole with few tears. Remove stalk with a sharp knife and tear leaves into pieces about 8" x 8", wipe clean with damp sponge and sear leaves over gas burner till pliable but not burnt. (They could also be dropped in a pan of boiling water till soft.) You will need about 40 or thereabouts, depending on size of recipe. I have done these ahead and frozen them, saves time as this is a time-consuming recipe. After steaming, conkies may also be frozen if not used immediately.

FILLING

  • 4 cups fresh corn flour (maize)
  • 1/2 lb. all purpose flour
  • 4 tsp. baking powder
  • 21/2 lb. pumpkin (steamed and mashed. If canned pumpkin is used, drain all water well)
  • 1/2 lb. Margarine, melted
  • 1/2 lb. lard (or all margarine)melted
  • 2-3/4 lb. brown sugar
  • 1-1/2 pts. milk
  • 6oz. raisins
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • 1-2 dry coconuts, grated
  • salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and almond essence to taste.
    (Don't overdo the salt, maybe about 2 tsp. but make sure you can identify the others).

Grate coconut and add mashed pumpkin in large bowl. Mix in sugar, liquids and spices and blend well. Stir in flours and raisins last. Mixture should be thick and drop slowly off a spoon. If too sloppy, add a little more corn flour and if necessary a little more all-purpose flour. Place about 2-3 TBS. of mixture on each leaf, and fold carefully; the mixture shouldn't leak.

Steam conkies on a rack over boiling water in a large pot or steamer, until they are firm and cooked. I find it is better not to do too many layers at once, as they cook quicker, maybe half an hour. Keep repeating till all are done and don't forget to check the water in the steamer! Cool and eat or freeze 'till Christmas in banana skins. Defrost and serve warm or at room temperature in the skins.

I have never been a lover of fruitcake, but since I had dried fruit in the fridge for about two years, I decided I would make one since I have Nat's bridal tea (she's very untraditional) on the 28th of December. Normally it would be a dinner but 'Faraway' lends itself to daylight entertainment, so a tea it is. I don't think the in-laws have quite realized what they're dealing with. Pity! The 'tea' will obviously include 'other' beverages! Have to try and remember how I made the cake, half is gone and I'm on a diet! Luckily I didn't eat all, just picked, but that is enough to kill any diet.

FRUIT CAKE

  • RUM a bottle of Barbados! 750ml
  • 11/2 cups raisins
  • 11/2 cups mixed citrus fruit
  • 11/2 cups apricots
  • 11/2 cups cherries
  • 1 lb. chopped nuts. Almonds, pecans etc.

Soak fruit in rum, bourbon or whiskey to cover for at least 48 hours or three weeks!

  • 3/4 lb butter or margarine
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 6 eggs yolks
  • 6 egg whites
  • 2 large tsp. baking powder
  • 5 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg
  • 1 TBS. ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup Rum or other

Recipe makes 3 loaf pans or tube pan plus a loaf pan.

Preheat oven to 275F (135C). Grease and flour pans and line with greaseproof paper.

Before making cake, drain the fruit, well reserving liquid. Sift dry ingredients together in a bowl. In large mixer bowl, cream butter with white sugar. In seperate bowl cream egg yolks and brown sugar till light. Combine the two mixtures and beat well.

Alternately add flour mixture and reserved rum, mixing well on slow with each addition.

Add fruit mixture and fold in. In a clean bowl, whip egg whites till stiff but not dry and fold into batter.

Pour into prepared pans. Place a pan of water in the bottom of the oven and bake cakes for four hours, depending on the size. Watch baking time and test with skewer until it comes out clean. Maybe less or more depending on the pans.

Cool cakes, wrap in rum-soaked cheesecloth. Every week or so dampen the cheesecloth. I also poke holes with a skewer into the cake so it absorbs the rum. Be careful not to overdo the rum though, as the cake is good and very moist anyhow.

Happy Holidays
and
Bon Appetit
Cath

T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine
http://TheWritersEzine.com
Copyright 1998 - 2007, Writopia Inc. All Rights Reserved
Fiction Corner The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine

The Writer's E-Zine Home

Writers' Village University - F2K: Free Fiction Writing Course - ePress-online
Writers' Village University Membership Information

Fiction Corner

Alison Hawke

Before sending your drabble:

  1. Read the drabble submission guidelines.
  2. DO NOT send your drabble as an email attachment.
  3. Make sure your drabble is EXACTLY one hundred words long.
  4. Use your spell checker.
  5. State which month the drabble is for.
  6. Only one entry per person per month.

Being Nasty

When did you last see James Bond marooned at an airport, unable to get to a crucial dinner party? It's a situation close to my heart because my husband and I were stuck in Pittsburgh on the way back from England. Our connecting flight never arrived because of a nasty storm. Happily we were among the lucky few to get a hotel room for the night, courtesy of the airline. Others ended up sleeping on benches in Pittsburgh Airport.

But it got me thinking. Writers have to be nasty to their characters so that the story is interesting. Who would want to read a story without conflict, or a story where the main character has an average day, comes home and sleeps soundly till morning? You'd be asleep by the fourth page.

What we're really after here is putting our heroes through hell. We want them in worlds that give them the worst possible time.
The Comic Toolbox by John Vorhous

Admittedly a big part of comedy writing is exaggeration, but to a lesser extent, it's what we do in all our stories. Take the movie Pitch Black. It's an excellent example of the writer giving their characters a really hard time. First the spaceship carrying our heroes is hit by mini meteors and has to crash-land on a convenient deserted planet. The handful of survivors then find that Riddick, an escaped convict being moved to a new cell, has escaped. And it gets worse from there on. Just when you're certain that nothing else could go wrong, it does just that, and I think it's a good story.

So next time you get stuck on a story, ask yourself what the worst possible thing you could do to your character is. Then make it worse.

Drabble of the Month

Thanks to all who sent in drabbles about unpredictable things. This month's winners are Mary French and Edward Hodakowski.

A Questionable Policy
by Mary French

I made myself as tall as possible. Which way would he turn? Would he recognize me? If so, what would he say? What would he do? Could I count on some basic decency deep within him to make him greet me in a manner that would salvage what little pride I had left? It had, after all, been months since he had spoken to me. Me, pick me! Are your choices once again going to be as random as dandelion seeds on the wind? Finally! Thank you, Mr. President. Could you please explain more about your latest foreign policy decision.

The Finished Product
by Edward Hodakowski

Michael was exhausted. It was two weeks and the sound of power tools had made it impossible to sleep. He grabbed his robe on the way out of the door.

The door swung wide. Wood shavings covered the room. A man held a power sander in his hands. In the middle of the room stood a beautiful woman. From the waist down, she was a pedestal of wood. The last thing that Michael saw before he slammed the door was the look of supplication on her face as she hopped toward him.

He couldn't wait to see the finished product.

The theme for January is mystery (due December 10th), suggested by D. M. Grant and Heather Lowe, the theme for February is in the dark, and the theme for March is the examination, suggested by Peter Keane. If you have any ideas for drabble themes, please email me.

Email your drabbles and themes to me at alison@4-writers.com.


T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine
http://TheWritersEzine.com
Copyright 1998 - 2007, Writopia Inc. All Rights Reserved
Fiction Short Story The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine

The Writer's E-Zine Home

Writers' Village University - F2K: Free Fiction Writing Course - ePress-online
Writers' Village University Membership Information

Fiction Short Story

Monopoly Game

by Sylvia Nickels

"What's 'bankrupt', Aunt Lucy?"

"Huh?" I looked up from running my fingers through the dry grass on my front lawn. "Oh, it's where you owe a lot of money. Then you have to sell anything valuable you own to pay it back. Why?"

"I just wondered." Jake turned over a crackly dead leaf. I stared at the blond cowlick on his bent head. No use asking again. He'd speak again when he was ready. We were looking for Jake's fingerbike, a new toy he'd acquired, easily found by a bare foot on a nocturnal bathroom excursion. At least Jake had been searching for it, too; now he was twirling a ring of heavy cardboard on his finger.

Jake and his mom, Melissa, ten years my junior, were living with me while she finished her nursing degree. "You can write during the day, can't you, Lucy, and watch Jake after school a couple of days, when I have late classes?"

Right. Some days I'm at my keyboard around the clock. Melissa thought we freelance writers tossed off a few pages, then played the rest of the day. In addition, she hadn't realized how many extra hours she would need for clinic training and library research. So here I was, a divorced forty-year-old aunt, who'd been thankful there were no children when her husband took off, raising a ten-year-old boy child. Jake could be sweet, but his clothes, games and toys, so many of them tiny like the fingerbike, littered almost every inch of my formerly neat home.

"Kelly said his mom and dad had to, like... 'declare bankrupt.'" Jake's belated answer to my question brought my thoughts back to the present. Kelly Booker was his buddy who lived across the street.

"Hmmmm. Really?" I didn't know the Bookers that well. I'd gone across to welcome them last year when they moved to the neighborhood due to his railway company job transfer. She showed off their antique furniture and he displayed his gold Krugerrands collection. They dressed nicely, had a new SUV in the driveway, and took a two-week California vacation immediately after the school year ended.

"What's this?" I picked up a small white cardboard square, about an inch on each side. Its center hole was covered with clear cellophane, the staple that had held it hanging loose.

"I found it by the playhouse." Jake said. "This, too, it's like the one Kelly gave me." He twirled the cardboard ring near my face. I grabbed it for a closer look. Its inner surface was printed all over with the railway logo.

"Looks like it had tape on it."

"Yeah, his dad has lots of it and pads and stuff from his work."

I guess boosting office supplies leaves more money to buy Krugerrands.

"Maybe you left your fingerbike in the playhouse. I don't think it's out here." I stood, straightening my protesting back, and stuck the little white square in my jeans pocket. "Why don't you look again? I'll see about some dinner for us. What would...?" My words trailed off as a city police cruiser rolled by and pulled in the driveway across the street. An officer emerged, went up the front walk and rang the Bookers' doorbell.

I heard a knock on my front door half an hour later as I tossed Jake's hot dog in a pot of boiling water. A gourmet cook, I'm not. It would be wasted on Jake anyway.

A policeman, about my age, stood on my porch. His face was rugged but rather nice-looking.

"Evening, Ma'am. I'm Detective Sergeant Ben Lucas. May I talk with you for a few minutes, please?"

"Sure, come on in. What is it?"

"It seems your neighbors across the street had a break-in last night. A valuable coin collection was stolen. Did you see or hear anything unusual last night?"

"Well, I was up late, till after two o'clock, writing. I heard a bump in back, around midnight. But I didn't hear it again. I figured it was a stray dog."

"Have you checked your backyard today?"

"No."

"Would you mind if I have a look?"

"Not at all. You can come through here. Watch the toys."

He followed me through the dining room, treading lightly for such a big man, hand on his baton so it didn't hit anything. Thoughtful, too. We stepped out on my back deck and he looked around. Jake came out of the playhouse, a tiny wooden A-frame that Dad had built for Melissa and me when we were kids. The door bumped behind him.

"That's what the sound I heard was like." I told Sergeant Lucas. "But Jake was in bed, and no other kid would have been out here in the playhouse at midnight."

His clear gray eyes traveled over the small building. "That door would be a tight squeeze for an adult."

"It sure is, I've tried it." I laughed.

Stepping off the deck, he walked to the playhouse. He looked inside, over the miniature window boxes of red and white petunias. The only furniture the tiny house boasted was a built-in table, covered in yellow linoleum, with a bench seat on two sides. Melissa and I had played endless games of Monopoly there, until one of us acquired Boardwalk and Park Place, and managed to bankrupt the other. The table top was hinged on one side. We kept the game board, the money, and all the little houses and hotels, in the storage space underneath.

Sergeant Lucas had dropped on one knee in front of the playhouse, peering through the door he held open. I walked over and reached inside, lifting the table top. The rusted hinges creaked a little. Craning my neck, I could just see that there was nothing in the space. I gave him a twisted little grin. "I just thought of it. But there's nothing there, not even Jake's fingerbike."

He smiled back. He got up and dusted off his uniform knees, then walked all around the playhouse. He stooped and picked up a stray petunia blossom. "Do you ever move it? How heavy is it?"

"Too heavy for me to move, but not for a man, I guess. Why?"

"See the crushed down grass? And this narrow line of faint yellow grass on this side? Like it had been moved and then put back, just off its original place."

"Moved and put back? Whatever for?"

"It sits on timbers so the floor won't rot, right?"

"Right." What was he getting at?

He unhooked the window box of petunias and set it on the ground several feet away. Then he walked around and did the same to the box on the opposite side. Grasping the little A-frame at its roofline he tilted it and laid it over on its side.

A number of blue folders were wedged between the four-by-fours which held the floor off the ground. Wide tape criss-crossed the timbers, securing the folders in their hiding place. But one small square of white cardboard had escaped. It lay on the grass with a staple on one side and a gleaming gold coin wedged in the center hole.

I pulled the matching white square from my pocket. "Jake found this around here earlier."

"I'd better get Mr. Booker over here, see if he can identify this lot, and a team to check it out." Sergeant Lucas said softly.

Jake and I sat on our deck and watched as an officer with a camera snapped pictures of the scene. Mr. Booker stood with Sergeant Lucas and claimed to have no knowledge of how his coins came to be under the playhouse. He kept taking his glasses off and wiping them with his handkerchief. His eyes darted toward the fingerprint officer, who was dusting every inch of the tape and any smooth wood surface with white powder.

"Aunt Lucy?"

I tousled his hair. "What, honey?"

"I thought Mr. Booker would be real happy that Sergeant Lucas found his gold coins. Didn't you?"

The End


T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine
http://TheWritersEzine.com
Copyright 1998 - 2007, Writopia Inc. All Rights Reserved
Fiction Short Story The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine

The Writer's E-Zine Home

Writers' Village University - F2K: Free Fiction Writing Course - ePress-online
Writers' Village University Membership Information

Fiction Short Story

Uncle Joe

by Grady T. Kirbo

Jimmy Joe Jeeter was known around our little town as Uncle Joe because to most folks, he was a member of the family. He always had a pocketful of pennies that he gave to us ragamuffins so we could buy gum balls down at the five and dime. If a man was down on his luck, Uncle Joe would always show up at the door with a bag of turnips and vegetables that he claimed were just about to spoil in his cellar and damn if he knew what to do with them and would you please kindly help him out by taking them off his hands.

For the better part of his sixty years he had lived on a little scrub of a farm, growing potatoes and corn and making moonshine. It was a known fact that every sippin' man in three counties would begin to get dry in the mouth at the very mention of Joe's honey dew water. One reason that his product was so revered is that Uncle Joe never made more than he needed to keep food on the table and a roof over his head that didn't leak. People always seem to want things they can't have and Uncle Joe's moonshine was just that sorta thing. His stuff had a certain mystique about it that made people in Omaha treasure Joe's squeezin's like city folk swoon over a rare bottle of the finest wine. Uncle Joe never cared much for money, but he did have a fair measure of practicality in him. Making a little 'shine now and then took the pressure off of Joe so he didn't have to work eighteen hours a day on his worn-out land just to get by. Making mash also left him time to do what he loved most in life; going down to the Chatahoochi river and getting a line wet. A better man for fishing never walked the earth.

There are relatively few masters at anything in life. Uncle Joe was a master. He wasn't just really damn good, he was a member that elite segment of society who can immerse themselves in their particular calling and bring forth new dimensions that others only dream of.

His philosophy was that being a fishing man was sorta like being a preacher; you have to rustle up a powerful lot of convincing to get man or fish to take the bait. The only difference was that the preacher man did a lot of whoopin' and hollerin' to get the job done whereas Uncle Joe was content to do a little subtle convincing. But, as Uncle Joe used to say, "bait is bait." I guess the important thing is whether or not you reel them in.

Uncle Joe took me fishing now and again. He generally liked to head out in the early evening with a mess of worms fresh and wiggling that he kept on hand if the largemouths were a little sluggish and the bream were biting instead. Then he'd take off a steady clip down to the riverside where he kept his old wooden fishing dingy. Joe never said a word while we were hunting for a spot; all we heard was just the chug, chug of the small Evinrude pushing us along. We wore lazy straw hats and sipped on lukewarm Cokes to wash out the dry from our mouths. When Uncle Joe located just what he was looking for, his eyes would narrow and he'd grunt to himself as he cut off the engine and slipped the anchor over the side.

The Chatahoochee River was always alive at this time of the evening. The feeding fish made perfect circles on the water that looked like falling raindrops. Occasionally a Kingfisher would swoop down to pick up a minnow for dinner. Near the shore, the bullfrogs would intermittently croak to get warmed up for the evening's serenade.

Uncle Joe would grunt and point out a likely spot for me. "Just lay your ol' jitterbug right close to them water lilies and reel it back slow and steady," he'd say. "Remember to take your rod back nice and easy to about two o'clock and swing through till she's pointin' right at the spot you want to hit, with your finger on the reel just a smidgen so's you don't get yer line all fouled up." Then I was on my own. After a while, if I had hooked a couple, I would watch Joe work. The rod extended from his shoulder to the very tip as he rippled it back and forth. His eyes would half close as he cast as if to feel the essence of the cast and to see where he wanted the lure to plop with a gentle splash and then just sit there for a moment before he began to wobble the jitter-bug with his distinctive frog walk across the water and around the lily pads. Uncle Joe could lay a jitter-bug next to a lily pad gentle as a falling leaf and wobble it back over the water with that pluga, pluga, pluga sound that drove the large mouth bass crazy. He mumbled, grunted and talked under his breath with every cast as if to reassure his quarry that biting his hook was pre-ordained and therefore inescapable. With every success, he would solemnly gaze at his fish and give it a benedictory nod before attaching it to his stringer.

Along about dusk, Uncle Joe switched to a fly rod so's to go along with the evening feeding of the river fish on insects on the water. We were about 15 minutes into the fly fishing when without so much as a howdy do, Uncle Joe hollered out, "God damn, boy, get the net, get the net, Jesus Almighty, get the net! I just sat there mortified. Uncle Joe cussin'? He led the choir at church. But the reason was on me in a flash: Uncle Joe had a fish, a big fish, a goddamn really big fish. We could make it up to the Lord a little later. Right now, there was a big mother of a fish to catch. I got the net. This fish, however, had no intention of getting into the net. He was fifteen yards out, and doing the fish equivalent of the New York Rockettes fish dance. He burst from the water in a cascade of water and strength, undulating back and forth on his tail and shaking his head as if to say, that we weren't getting out of there alive. Then he dropped into the water and made a run for the border. The low limbs of the trees at the bank of the river loomed and he intended to wrap the line up and worry about the jitterbug in his mouth later. Joe's line whined as it stripped off the reel and his thumb began seeping a little blood as he struggled to keep the line from getting fouled during the run.

But this fish didn't know Joe. Ever so slowly he tightened the drag on the reel until the reel couldn't take it anymore and neither could the fish. He didn't make that tree-lined border and the Calvary was moving in. Back and forth the big bass swam. He danced and shook some more, he made five more runs coming close as you could spit on the trees on his last try. Forty-five minutes had gone by and Uncle Joe's arms were trembling in pain. Then, tragically, almost, he was finished. He tugged and pulled on his way in, but we had him and I had the net and with a plunge, had him in the net. Getting that bass in the boat was another thing. With a final shake and his great weight, I toppled half over the side and he was almost gone again. But Uncle Joe had me by my breeches and with what was left of HIS strength, hauled me and the fish back in our little boat. My God, he was big. "Uncle Joe, look'a here. This is the biggest bass in the whole goddamn history of Omaha, or I bet even Georgia, or the whole world," I said grinning from ear to ear. Joe grabbed the net and then hit me with his fishing pole. "Don't take the Lord's name in vain, boy, unless you want to burn." I figure that Joe was all cussed out, and one good heartfelt goddamn on his part was all the fish or he, deserved in life.

There was no doubt about this fish. It was big; splendiferously big; big enough to feed everybody at the First Baptist on Easter Sunday. The was the fish of a lifetime of fishing, one you could brag about, lie about, claim as your own fish for the next forty years as it grew in size, stature and importance in the folklore of rural Georgia. Ah, what a fish.

"Whatcha gonna do with him," I said as I stumbled over my seat, and upset the fishing poles and tackle box, landing with my face on Uncle Joe's boots. I was not humiliated. We had the world's biggest large mouth bass.

"Gonna weigh him." Uncle Joe took out his scale and hooked on the bass. "God Da.... I mean, praise God, twenty-three and one half pounds. I never seen the likes."

Then everything fell still. Uncle Joe just sat there, every now and then putting the bass in the fish holder filled with water so the big fish wouldn't die, the mosquitoes backed off for a moment, and I stared at Joe and the fish wondering what on earth Joe was doing. Joe handed the fish to me. "Hold him for a minute."

Joe rummaged around in his sack and produced a small Kodak camera. "Gonna take your picture," and he did, me and that fish.

"Ok, gimme the fish." "Are you gonna have him stuffed, Joe? Gonna put him on the wall, show him to everybody in town, send him to the museum in Atlanta, gonna do a little braggin, gonna, gonna??? How 'bout I take your picture? Gonna eat him on Sunday?"

Joe didn't say a word. Suddenly he eased the big bass over the side, holding him by the gills so he could breath. All of a sudden, the fish give a slip of his tail and was gone, I mean GONE!!!! What?

"Looka here boy, not everything belongs to us. That was the Lord's fish. He must be the oldest fish in the Chatahoochie River. He sure don't belong to us." With that we started the engine and headed home.

I still have that picture. I look at it when I'm alone sometimes, to remember Uncle Joe, to find a little peace, and to make sense of the world when things seem to be just a little too crazy to understand.


T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine
http://TheWritersEzine.com
Copyright 1998 - 2007, Writopia Inc. All Rights Reserved
Excerpt From Word Castles The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine

The Writer's E-Zine Home

Writers' Village University - F2K: Free Fiction Writing Course - ePress-online
Writers' Village University Membership Information

Excerpt From Word Castles

by Tom Spencer

Coming soon to an e-bookstore near us.

Born of Ash

Born of Ash
A simple branch,
laid on fire.
more the warmth,
flames leap
dance upon the air,
yellow, orange, flare, erupt
fuel of earth,
is rendered birth.
With every death
there always follows life.
The birch is burnt,
the ash is rendered,
spread by wind,
leached by rain.
Sweet ash returns
to nurture sister earth.
Lift me to my father
Sun.
Lay a bed of birch.
Light the funeral pyre.
Dance with joy.
Sing of birth.
Drink my ashes
brother
wind.
I will return,
to life again.

Copyright © 2000 Tom Spencer


T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine
http://TheWritersEzine.com
Copyright 1998 - 2007, Writopia Inc. All Rights Reserved
Healthy Horizons The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine

The Writer's E-Zine Home

Writers' Village University - F2K: Free Fiction Writing Course - ePress-online
Writers' Village University Membership Information

Healthy Horizons

Laurie Lupold

Life's Little Gifts

The crisp, cool air surrounds me as I walk across the snow. It lightly crunches beneath my feet, a sign of the bitterness of the day. The kids play loudly, sliding from the top of the hill, sometimes ejecting from their sleds and rolling down the rest of the way. To them this time of year means new adventures and uniting with old recreations.

For me it brings sadness. I feel restricted, penned in. I want to break free of this prison. Walk in the glow of the sun with a warm breeze caressing my face and grass between my toes. I resent waddling across the steps, taking great care in every move I make, afraid that I might find myself face down in the snow or worse.

Inside I snuggle underneath my fuzzy, warm blanket, a tiger staring directly in my face. Sipping a steaming cup of hot cocoa, pleased as the froth of marshmallows brushes my lips. I brush over the tiger with my free hand, straightening any wrinkles. The blanket has aged over the years, collected its share of fuzzies, enough to see its wear.

My mind drifts off to the coming of the holiday season, Thanksgiving since past. It was a depressing event. The warriors of the raging wintry weather took me over and I became ill. Certainly not a pleasing setting for the Thanksgiving table. Well, that is passed, now I must concentrate on the Christmas season. Christmas lists and requests by the dozens rage through my mind. I sigh, knowing I have only a small income this year and there will surely be disappointments. Seems there always are, but there will be more this year. I take another sip of the milk chocolate and sigh again.

This scenario is quite familiar to many at this time of the year. The constant frustrations and stresses over gifts and money. Where did we ever develop the idea that we needed to express our love in cents and dollars? I'm sure, like me, you learned these values a long time ago; probably as early as childhood as you sat in front of the tree unwrapping all your treasures, but is this what is really important?

It's only important because our minds have been trained to think this way. We've forgotten about the special gifts, those whose only cost is a little of our time. I have come up with some ideas for this Christmas that I'd like to share. Though crafts might cost us a few dollars to make, they are much less costly than most gifts we choose to buy and they are more appreciated because our time went into them. Most likely they will last much longer then anything else we might choose to purchase because they mean more to the person we shared them with.

Taking time to write a short poem to someone you love is time well spent. When you are finished you can print it out and display it in a frame. To add a more personal touch, you may decorate the frame by using decoupage or simply affixing some ribbon, bows or flowers with glue. If the gift is for a child you may certainly find some little creations at your local craft store that will bring your child cheer.

One thing that my children love and never seem to grow tired of, is when I write them a story, especially if those stories includes their names. For writers this should be an easy project. Okay, so maybe not simple but trust me, it is well worth the effort. After you have written the story you can use your computer to separate it into pages. You can either illustrate it yourself or leave that for the child to do. You can make a nice cover by using two pieces of cardboard and covering them with something as simple as gift wrap or if you want to be a bit more elaborate, you can glue cloth to the cardboard sheets. Now, you have created a gift they will treasure forever and it costs you pennies to make.

I don't know about you but I sure feel better about my Christmas gift list. In just a few words I have resolved my worries for a happy holiday. Give the gift that keeps on giving, give the gift of TIME. Happy Holiday Season to one and all. Remember to keep reaching for those Healthy Horizons!!

Laurie


T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine
http://TheWritersEzine.com
Copyright 1998 - 2007, Writopia Inc. All Rights Reserved
Poetics Presents The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine

The Writer's E-Zine Home

Writers' Village University - F2K: Free Fiction Writing Course - ePress-online
Writers' Village University Membership Information

Poetics Presents

Featuring the Students of Poetry Class 104:
"Freeing the Poet Within you"

Poetics Presents is proud to be able introduce the third showcase of poetry from the P104 class.

Back in September, P104 students met for the first time. Over the next twelve weeks they got to know each other through their poetry and their critiques. Each week students met a new poetical challenge and wrote poems about themselves, nature, anger, love, dreams and family. They learned to search within themselves and thus were able to free the poet within them.

Add to these students two hardworking and talented poets, Karli Shanklin and Carol Malley who facilitated the course. Karli and Carol wrote their assignments and also posted them for students to critique. They encouraged their students and coaxed them through discouragement and writers' block. Students have repeatedly said that one of the main reasons for the success of the course was the feedback that Carol and Karli gave their students.

Carol and Karli have helped play a large role in helping poetry come alive at the Village. Although P104 has finished, the students can be found in Word Weavers, Poetry 901 and in the T. S. Eliot Room.

Poetry 104 will be offered again in 2001.

Geraldine Cook Davis
"The Contender"

James Hall
"Caveat Evangelist"

Maryann Hazen-Stearns
"Somnambulist"

Susan Elliott
"Arabella"


Have you read the new F2K e-zine! F2K-zine is produced by and for F2K students and staff and is full of poetry, stories, helpful information and a lot of fun. F2K-zine is available through a link on the F2K main page.


T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine
http://TheWritersEzine.com
Copyright 1998 - 2007, Writopia Inc. All Rights Reserved
Inclinations The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine

The Writer's E-Zine Home

Writers' Village University - F2K: Free Fiction Writing Course - ePress-online
Writers' Village University Membership Information

Inclinations

Priscilla Fagan

To Write or Not to Write What You Know

How many times have we heard, "write what you know"? Here are two inclinations to the contrary:

Writers don't write from experience, though many are resistant to admitting that they don't. I want to be clear about this. If you wrote from experience, you'd get maybe one book, maybe three poems. Writers write from empathy. Nikki Giovanni. Hello, no kidding. But I believe using our experiences can only give credence to our passion.

And then there is this; One of the dumbest things you were ever taught was to write what you know. Because what you know is usually dull. Remember when you first wanted to be a writer? Eight or 10 years old, reading about thin-lipped heroes flying over mysterious viney jungles toward untold wonders? That's what you wanted to write about, about what you didn't know. So. What mysterious time and place don't we know? Ken Kesey.

I'd like to challenge both these writers into honestly admitting that none of what they write comes from life experiences: A childhood friend we remember calling four-eyes, a high school sweetheart who still shows up in a dream, walking to the Roby School only to have to pass the cemetery that gave us nightmares. Who can say there are not parts of us in all our stories, even if we write fantasy; that tiger cat we had when we were seven, with the double paws and whiskers that tickled us awake in the morning, now about to return from the grave.

It is interesting to note Terence's thoughts in 160 BC, There is nothing in the world so unfair as a man who has no experience of life; he thinks nothing is done right except what he's doing himself. Do you know anyone like this? Well, try and explain to someone who doesn't want to hear. As Benjamin Disraeli said in a speech, titled University Education Bill in 1873, There is no waste of time in life like that of making explanations. Believe me, only from experience have I been able to understand this.

What is experience? Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes. So said Oscar Wilde in 1892. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary explains it several ways; 1a: direct observation of or participation in events as a basis of knowledge b: the fact or state of having been affected by or gained knowledge through direct observation or participation.

This is the definition I prefer; 3a: the conscious events that make up an individual life.

Staying with Oscar Wilde's inclinations, shortly after he was released from prison, in his epic letter to Bosie in 1897 he wrote; To regret one’s own experiences is to arrest one’s own development. To deny one’s own experiences is to put a lie into the lips of one’s life. It is no less than a denial of the soul. If we arrest our own development, isn’t that blocking our creativity? Without experience to draw on (that first kiss, the loss of a loved one, the first time we drove the family car), how can we expect to give credibility to our writing?

Keep in mind, this is not a discussion about whether or not we learn from our experiences. (That in itself is a whole other column.) I’m examining how we use or if we do use our experiences in our writing. Aldous Huxley wrote in Readers’ Digest, 1956; Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you. In a nutshell, do we take our experiences and turn them into fiction or share them in our memoirs to the best of our passionate ability? Oh I hope so!

I will leave you with happy, Holiday wishes and a Spanish Proverb to sum up what we’ve uncovered (or not) from this analysis of experience: to be or not to be. He who was first an acolyte, and afterwards an abbot or curate, knows what the boys do behind the altar.

Til the New Year, I emphatically remain,
Priscilla the eternal optimist
[although it is becoming more difficult ;-) ]


T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine
http://TheWritersEzine.com
Copyright 1998 - 2007, Writopia Inc. All Rights Reserved
Market Watch The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine

The Writer's E-Zine Home

Writers' Village University - F2K: Free Fiction Writing Course - ePress-online
Writers' Village University Membership Information

Market Watch

Nancy B. Leake

Publishing Jargon for Copyright Rights

When you market your writing, it is important to know what rights you are selling. Certain copyright rights allow you to resell your material; others do not. I will clarify some of the terms and their differences.

All World Rights (All Rights): This means the author assigns all rights to the publication and the work becomes the property of the publication. They can print and reprint the story as many times as they want without further payment to the writer. The author will never be able to sell this work again or derive another piece from this work. The author no longer owns it.

All World Serial Rights: (AWSR) The publisher acquires serial rights to publish the article in serial publications such as, magazines and newspapers, and the author may not resell it to any other serial publications. The author does have the right to use it in a book chapter and sell it as a movie or video.

First North American Serial Rights: (FNASR) The magazine or other serial publication has the exclusive right to publish the article for the first time in North America. After that, the author has the right to resell or change the work. The author owns all other rights.

Second Serial Rights (or Reprint Rights): The author gives the nonexclusive right for a serial publication to republish an article after it has already appeared elsewhere.

One-Time Rights (or Simultaneous Rights): This gives the publication the right to publish a previously unpublished work one time. This is a nonexclusive right. The author can sell it to another publication at the same time.

Electronic Rights: Electronic rights are no different than any other copyright rights. The author originally owns the rights until given away in writing.

Below are most of the terms on electronic publication that I have noted. Many publications are unsure of copyright laws as they relate to electronic writing and terms are developing to explain the laws. So you may see various terms not listed below while looking at markets, but these terms should cover most conditions. The copyright rights for electronic publications are no different than those for other written formats.

All Electronic Rights: The publication has the right to publish the work as many times as they like without further payment to the author. The author loses all rights to use this article electronically -- webzines, web sites, or ezines. (This can be for a specific period, such as for 6 months after publication, if noted. If not, then they own the article.)

First Electronic Rights (Exclusive First Electronic Rights, Exclusive First Time World Rights, First Serial Rights): The publisher has the exclusive right to publish the work for the first time. Then the author has the right to resell or rework the article. The author owns all other rights.

One-Time Electronic World Rights: This gives the electronic publication the right to publish a previously unpublished work one time. This is nonexclusive. The author can sell to another publication at the same time.

Archive Rights: The company has the rights to archive the work for a given period of time or forever.

An excellent resource on copyright is The Copyright Handbook: How to Protect & Use Written Works by Attorney Stephen Fishman.

Remember when you submit your writing to always enclose a query letter that looks professional and enclose a self addressed stamped envelop (SASE), if you want a response or want your manuscript returned.

"A ratio of failures is built into the process of writing. The wastebasket has evolved for a reason. Think of it as the altar of the Muse Oblivion, to whom you sacrifice your botched first drafts, the tokens of your human imperfection."
Margaret Atwood

I would like to hear about your experiences in submitting your writing, whether good or bad.

When you send your suggestions to me please enclose:

  • The name and type of the market,
  • What type of writing they publish and the word count,
  • The guidelines for submission or how to get the guidelines,
  • How to contact the company, and who to contact,
  • What they pay,
  • If they accept submission from new writers, if noted.

Print Markets:

VIBE is a magazine published ten times a year, covering urban music and culture. Query with clips to individual editors as listed below. For cultural, political or social issues, Jeanine Amber, features editor; music features, Tiarra Mukherju, music editor; (800- 3,000 words). Individual columns, Start (introductory news-based section) (75-400 words), Brett Johnson, senior editor; Revolutions (Music reviews) (100-800 words), Karen Good, assistant editor; and Book reviews, Tiarra Mukherju. Payment $1/word for all rights. Response time 2 months. Sample copy available on newsstands. VIBE, 215 Lexington Ave., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016, 212-448-7300, Fax: 212-448-7400.

FAMILYFUN is a Disney magazine published ten times a year for parents of children ages three to twelve and covers great things families can do together: educational projects, holiday celebrations, crafts, travel, cooking, and more. Send queries for features describing the content, structure, and tone of the article with clips to Jon Adolph, Executive Editor or Ann Hallock, Editor. Features should be fun for the family: travel, food, crafts, activities, games, and educational projects (850-3,000 words). Pays $1/word. Family Almanac publishes ideas and projects (200­600 words) $.50/word or $75 for ideas used, Cindy Littlefield, Associate Editor. Family Traveler, newsy items about family travel (100-125 words) $100, or $50 for ideas, Deb Geigis Berry, Travel Editor. Family Ties, a first person column of family life that is humorous, inspirational, or interesting (1500 words) $1,500, Ann Hallock, Editor. My Great Idea explains fun and inventive ideas that have worked for the writer’s family (800-1,000 words) $750, Greg Lauzon, Staff Writer. My Great Idea, letters from writers and readers (100-150 words) $25, send to My Great Ideas Editor. They buy simultaneous rights. Response time is two months. Sample magazines available for $3. ATTN: (name of appropriate editor), FAMILY FUN, 244 Main Street, Northampton, MA 01060.

MORE MAGAZINE is a bimonthly magazine covering smart, sophisticated 40+ women. They need nonfiction essays, expose, general interest, interview/profile, personal interest, and travel (300-3,000 words). Payment depends on writer/story length. Columns $300 minimum. They buy FNASR, first rights, or all rights. Response time is 3 months. The online magazine carries content from the print edition. Contact Meredith Corp., 125 Park Ave., New York, NY 10017, Fax 212-455-1433, E-mail: more@mdp.com, Web: http://www.lhj.com.

OUTLET (7) Heroines. Outlet is an annual magazine. The July 1, 2001, issue is on literary heroines (meaning female authors or literary characters as well as new poetry/prose along heroic themes). Query about specific authors for availability at dblelucy@lanminds.com. Sample issues can be ordered for $5 on website. Payment not mentioned. Send between March 1-May 15, 2001 to specific editor: Editor/publisher, Elizabeth Treadwell; Poetry editor, Sarah Anne Cox, Critical Prose Editor, Grace Lovelace; and Fictional Prose Editor, Carol Treadwell. Outlet/Double Lucy Books, P.O. Box 9013, Berkeley, CA 94709, http://www.users.lanminds.com/dblelucy.

PASSIONFRUIT is a quarterly magazine for women who recognize that a journey is more than a vacation. It is an opportunity to challenge our beliefs and expand our minds. All departments are seeking submissions, including: Sojourners (First-person perspectives from women travelers), Encounters (Profiles of women we meet along the way), Reflections (Going solo and other travel considerations for women), Wrong Turns (Tales of adventures gone awry), Earth Mothers (Traveling with children), Rites of Passage (Traveling in times of transition), Nesting (Options for living abroad), Trailblazers (Stories that honor early women travelers), Exploring Tourism (Investigations of travel-related issues), Creative Journeys (Fiction and Poetry about women around the world), Worth Repeating (Quotes about travel), and Reading For The Road (Book reviews for the worldly woman). Features 1,500-4,000 words, Departments 100-2000 words. Payment is $20-$100 for first serial rights and the right to excerpt to the Internet for promotional purposes. They also ask for NASR for one year after publication. Samples are available for $6 on the newsstand. Passionfruit, Michele Jin, editor, 2917 Telegraph Avenue, PMB 136, Berkeley, CA 94705, 510-595-5522, www.passionfruit.com/submissions/submissions.html, e-mail submissions@passionfruit.com or michele@passionfruit.com.

Freelance Markets:

An anthology dedicated to stopping school violence is being put together by Word Museum. All proceeds from the book will be donated to the Blue Ribbon Campaign to stop school violence and to Rachel’s Fund (named for a student who died in the Columbine shooting). Short stories and poetry are needed. The focus is on healing and preventing future occurrences. Send submissions and queries to LoriSoard@yahoo.com. Deadline May 19, 2001.

Saddle Up: Women Write About High Adventure With Horses. Seeking original, true stories on women’s journeys from wilderness expeditions to urban wilds that push the boundaries, challenge oneself, and connect with equus. Include emotional and spiritual awakenings or humorous stories. For complete guidelines email EditWorks@hotmail.com, PO Box 750363, Torrey, UT 84775.

"I Love My Job Too!" Humorous stories from the workplace for a book collection by Riverbank Books. Payment is ($25-$100) if included in the collection, www.netfeed.com/~herbelin/stories.htm. All stories will be considered for inclusion in a free ezine (no pay). Submit to www.riverbankbooks.com/submit.html.

Amberley Greeting Card Company, a company specializing in humorous and innovative greeting cards to the retail and distributor trade. They need humorous ideas for greeting cards, verses for birthday, friendship, miss you, anniversary, get well, thank you, etc. They want simple short verses general enough for anyone. Include cover words and inside punch line. The company purchases all rights. Send to Amberley Greeting Card Company, 11510 Goldcoast Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45249 -1695, Phone 513-489-2775, fax 513-489-2857, www.amberleygreeting.com.

Multiple Sclerosis Anthology Editor is seeking literary essays/memoirs by or about people with MS. Reprints and simultaneous submissions are accepted. A percentage of sales will benefit National MS Society. Tracy Ekstrand, MS Anthology, PO Box 272027, Ft. Collins, CO 80527-2027, tekst@juno.com or 970-226-4884.

Fillers:

Mademoiselle needs opinions, thoughts, and tips, (Things like, how to pluck your eyebrows without pain). Payment is $50. Mademoiselle, Reader Mail, 4 Times Square, 17th Floor, New York, NY 10036, milliemag@aol.com.

Working Mother needs articles and tips dealing with time, home, and money management, family relationships, and job-related work/family issues (700-1500 words). Writer’s Market rates them as a high-paying market. Editorial Department, Working Mother Magazine, 135 West 50th Street, New York, NY 10020, www.workingmother.com/index.html.

Writer’s Digest is looking for anecdotes and short humor for or about writers, and the writing life (50 - 250 words). No pay rate mentioned. Writer’s Digest, 1507 Dana Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45207.

Web Markets:

Discovery Travel Online wants writers from outside the United States for information on travel news about new developments, openings, attractions, events and trends related to travel with a Discovery spin (connected to science, nature, animals, technology, health, culture, space, etc.). Pays, for 300-500 words, $150-$200. Regular contributors may have a slight pay increase. Discovery Travel Online, 2 Bethesda Metro Center, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA, Amy Sweeting, Travel News Producer, Fax: 301-771-3139, email amysweeting@aol.com, http://travel.discovery.com

Author Network is a website for writers, about writing. They need reviews ($5-$30), interviews ($5-$30), tips for writers, articles, and how-to pieces ($10-$30, 1,000 ­ 1,500 words); short stories $5-$30, 500-3,000 words); and poetry ($5-$20, 100 lines maximum). They buy one-time electronic rights for a specific time-period. Simultaneous, multi-submissions, and previously published work accepted. Response time 10-28 days. Karen Scott, editor, karen@author-network.com, http://www.author-network.com.

The Write Moves a bi-weekly newsletter for web writers. They now pay for articles about e-publishing and freelance web writing (about 800 words) $10. They purchase first rights and archive rights. Query first at kal_1@msn.com, subject: Write Moves Query. www.allthewritemoves.com.

Would That It Were is a webzine of historical science fiction that prints material on subjects that fit both categories (sci-fi set in periods before the modern era). Flash fiction (<500 words, $.05-.10/word up to $50); short-short (501-3,000 words, $.03-.05/word up to $150); Short stories (3,001- 5,000 words, $.03-.05/word up to $250); longer submissions $.03/word by special arrangement. First electronic rights. Encourages unpublished writers. E-mail to Don Muchow editor@wouldthatitwere.com, Subject: title. www.wouldthatitwere.com.

Poor Payers

Rose Dog (www.rosedog.com) allows writers to submit their work to be displayed to publishers and other markets. If they sell the story, they take a percentage. Writers get no pay unless it is sold.

Instant Agora (www.instantagora.com) gives authors reward points. Since this is a new site; how this will work is unknown.

Don’t Bother

MightyWords.com (www.MightyWords.com) and Fatbrain.com (www.Fatbrain.com) have sent out letters to its authors announcing plans to dump work of anyone that is not a well-known author.

BellaOnline.com has a non-compete clause in their contract that you should be aware of before signing with them. During the term of the contract and for 90 days following termination of the contract, you cannot without written approval from the company own, operate, work for, or contribute to any website or other topical web area online. You can continue to operate your website as long as you are not affiliated with any online service, syndicator, advertising firm, site network, or co-op for the same period. You must also prominently link your website back to your BellaOnline.com work. For six months after termination of the contract you will not solicit, accept, advertise or receive revenue from any advertisers from the BellaOnline.com site that were advertisers during your contract.

Email your markets to me.

All opinions stated in this column are my own and not opinions of T-zero or Writer’s Village University.


T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine
http://TheWritersEzine.com
Copyright 1998 - 2007, Writopia Inc. All Rights Reserved
Non-Fiction Nature Writing The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine

The Writer's E-Zine Home

Writers' Village University - F2K: Free Fiction Writing Course - ePress-online
Writers' Village University Membership Information

Non-Fiction Nature Writing

Dee Walmsley

Keeping Backyard Birds Healthy

Weather-wise, this can be a bad time of year for birds as well as people. Rainy days find most humans warm and cozy in their homes, while birds, come rain or shine, must puff up their feathers and forage for food and water.

Feeders are often left empty by vacationing folks seeking sunnier locales, or forgotten in the rain where they become soaked and moldy. These wet feeders are breeding grounds for fungus spores that kill thousands of birds each year.

Wooden feeders, unless hung in a dry location, are the worst offenders. When wet, seed mildews and rots, causing salmonella which infects the birds.

By following a few prevention tips you can control the disease, and continue to enjoy feeding the birds.

Keep wooden feeders dry, [try hanging under eaves]. In wet weather change the feeders often, bringing them in the house to dry thoroughly. Use duroid shingles on feeder roofs and trays. The shingles will not absorb the water.

Use plastic feeders.

Observe how much the birds consume daily; then ration seed. This will keep the seed dry and fresh and leave no extra food available for rats.

Clean area under feeders daily. Some species will not use feeders, preferring to eat beneath the feeder on the ground. Sweep up any leftovers before they rot or take root.

Bleach all feeders with a 10% solution each week. Rinse well and dry completely before refilling.

Do not mix seed. Use separate feeders. This will eliminate the birds chucking out the seeds they don’t want.

Make your own suet mixture. To 1 lb. melted lard add 1 cup of crunchy peanut butter, 1 cup wheat germ and stiffen with mixed seed. Place the mixture in log feeders, onion bags, or yogurt cups and hang in a tree or near a window. This mixture attracts all species of woodpeckers, chickadees, and bushtits.

Decorate a backyard tree with cranberries, suet mix-filled pine cones and bits of orange and apple.

Keep a supply of fresh water for drinking and bathing near a bush or tree. Any flat container will do, just fill with two inches of water.

Be consistent. The birds will rely on you, so keep those feeders clean and full. Feed the birds and they will reward you with their songs and antics, adding a little life to those dull winter days.

HAPPY BIRDING

Copyright © 2000 Dee Walmsley


T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine
http://TheWritersEzine.com
Copyright 1998 - 2007, Writopia Inc. All Rights Reserved
Poetics Presents The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine

The Writer's E-Zine Home

Writers' Village University - F2K: Free Fiction Writing Course - ePress-online
Writers' Village University Membership Information

Poetics Presents

Anita Martin

I've been writing poetry since I was a child. I wrote "I Wait" for someone who is very close to my heart. He has inspired me in my writing more than anyone in my life. I can put some of his features in my characters, and suddenly they are breathed to life, and I find myself truely caring about what they are doing, what they are going through. Suddenly, I want to "know" my characters. I wish I had discovered this trick years ago. Thank you Claude.

Writers' Village members look forward to reading more of Anita's work.

I Wait

Like the winter-weary cypress tree,
Bending heavily under snow laden branches,
determined...
to kiss the first delicate petal of the spring crocus.
So too, do I,
long to feel the reassuring brush of your hand,
the sweet gentleness of your lips,
the warm softness of your skin.
.....your skin...against mine...
Parched, I become,
without the grace of your forgiveness,
without the deep, knowing, meeting of our eyes
melting together...green to brown...
without the preciousness of your voice,
untainted by anger,
or resentment.
Heavy is my heart...
Missing your kindness...
Your Embrace...
longing for your love...
Me...relying on the medicinal, healing, hand of time.
...I wait for you to give your heart to me...
...all of your heart...
Releasing your past...
and learning to love in this moment...
in this time...
Learning...to love...me...
accepting me...for what I want to be,
...accepting you...for what you already are...
Loved...cherished...and adored...
By Me...I love you....

Copyright © 2000 Anita Martin


T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine
http://TheWritersEzine.com
Copyright 1998 - 2007, Writopia Inc. All Rights Reserved
Poetics Presents The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine

The Writer's E-Zine Home

Writers' Village University - F2K: Free Fiction Writing Course - ePress-online
Writers' Village University Membership Information

Poetics Presents

Najwa Salam Brax

Najwa is currently working on an MA in English, and hopes to write more poetry soon.

Writers' Village members look forward to reading more of Najwa's work.

Cedar Tree

I am a cedar tree in Mount Lebanon.
My towering head caresses the blue tent,
my evergreen arms reach out to the horizon
and my beauty is always renewed.
The rose-scented breeze combs my hair,
miraculously waters me. Sunshine bathes
my outstretched, mystic limbs.
Fall cannot shed my arrow-like leaves,
nor can Winter bend my mighty boughs.
I long to keep climbing heavenward
to merge with my ideal image-tree
which is in eternity. Lovebirds, rich
in iridescent colors, ecstatically nest
in my faith-veined palms and people
are eager for my swaying shades.
A part of the Moon's silver light I was.

In the beginning, the Almighty granted me
a spiritual gift. I felt the hidden vibrations
of humans thoughts. The lofty ones lifted
my spirits and permeated my veins; the evil
ones repulsed me, making my foliage tremble.
Solomon and his beloved Sheba stood in my
shade and together sang the Song of Songs;
I caught wisdom from his wit and absorbed
love from his lips... Three thousand years
passed... and I was still the Queen-of-Trees,
whose name was glorified by the Bible stories.

Then a conflict between good and evil raged
deep in my roots: a part of me was humble
and humane, the other arrogant and vicious.
A ferocious war erupted within my heart.
I fervently prayed to the Creative Power
to split me and keep me away from
my malicious self. A thunderbolt struck
and consumed it. Fresh scents wafted back
to me; I have prospered while my other self
withered and rotted. I am free of darkness.

Copyright © 2000 Najwa Salam Brax

T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine
http://TheWritersEzine.com
Copyright 1998 - 2007, Writopia Inc. All Rights Reserved
Poetics Presents The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine

The Writer's E-Zine Home

Writers' Village University - F2K: Free Fiction Writing Course - ePress-online
Writers' Village University Membership Information

Poetics Presents

Suzanne Pérez

I am an eighteen year old who loves to write, read and listen to music. The poem "Lament of a Vestal Priestess" is the first poem I ever wrote about a Roman Goddess, although I have always been fascinated by mythology. I came to write "Lament of a Vestal Priestess," after reading the book "Mythology" by Edith Hamilton, and I remember thinking that to have been a Vestal priestess must have been...well...very very sad. In this poem, I intended to portray the goddess as a cruel and beautiful tyrant depriving the priestess from all the earthly pleasures she would have liked to experience.

Writers' Village members look forward to reading more of Suzanne's work.

Lament of a Vestal Priestess

When did you, goddess, deem yourself a sun
Crushing the folds of your skirt in our hearts?
Those gilded, incandescent petals run
Like amber corollas shooting their darts.

In the desert of stone, of woman-cries,
We pale, virgin damsels rise to stoke flames.
And you glow on, as day wakes, as day dies,
Sun yolks pour down like lapidary rains.

The cruel mirage is cast, wreathing our dreams.
Do not all women pray for a child?
We drown in those milky, sunflower streams,
And the warmth of the sun is so mild

Next to you, goddess, next to your fair glare.
Your moons are babies we shall never bear.

Copyright © 2000 Suzanne Pérez


T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine
http://TheWritersEzine.com
Copyright 1998 - 2007, Writopia Inc. All Rights Reserved

Recognitions

N'omi Rose

T-Zero Xpandizine is proud to announce these WVU members who have gained recognition in their writing achievements.

Congratulations to Rita New! Her short story A Taste of Cherries, has been accepted for publication in Issue No. 7 Autumn 2000 of Scribble, a literary magazine published by Park Publications! She also has an article entitled How Do I Know If I Am a Writer? published in NAWG (The National Association of Writers' Groups) which is issued to all writer's circles in the U.K., (by paid subscription). How Do I Know If I Am a Writer? was published in Issue 3O, August 2OOO! Plus, she has had an article entitled: Tessa Climbed Mountains for Love accepted for publication in Bella, a popular weekly magazine available on any newstand in the U.K.! Publication date as yet unknown.

Kudos to our WVU writer, Rita, for her impressive accomplishments, and best wishes for many more successes!


Our warmest congratulations to Alan Harvey, Arlene Lawson, Carin, Carol Halling, Cindy Hendren, D. C. Kidd, Don Hogland, Geraldine Cook Davis, Gloria Pimentel, Jen Webb, Jennifer Raymond, Jim Hall, Joan Baratta, Judy Gillian Beaston, Kathy Scott Goerg, Leah Planetta, Maxine Staley, Patrick Lawler, Rolando S. delos Santos and Susan Elliott, all of whom were published in the October issue of T-Zero!


Again, our warmest congratulations to Arlene Lawson, Dyan Hunter, Geraldine Cook Davis, Gloria Pimentel, Louann Miller, Maryann Hazen-Stearns, Maxine Staley, Meena Radhakrishnan, Susan Elliott, Susan Rosenkrantz and Tom Spencer, all of whom were published in the November issue of T-Zero!


Thank you!
N'omi Rose
The current Recognitions column custodian

"I think it's a question which particularly arises over women writers: whether it's better to have a happy life or a good supply of tragic plots." (By Wendy Cope)


Please checkout the Recognitions' guidelines!

 

Special for Writers' Village University members:

If you, or someone you know at WVU, has gained recognition in their writing achievements, please send the information to: Recognitions column custodian.


T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine
http://TheWritersEzine.com
Copyright 1998 - 2007, Writopia Inc. All Rights Reserved
Submissions Guidelines The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine

The Writer's E-Zine Home

Writers' Village University - F2K: Free Fiction Writing Course - ePress-online
Writers' Village University Membership Information

Submissions Guidelines (Updated)

Until further notice, only plain text submissions in the body of the email will be considered.
NO ATTACHMENTS.

What We Pay For

Fiction: Stories should be of interest to writers in general, not just a narrow group.

Fiction should be submitted to fiction@thewritersezine.com. Payment starts at $15.00.

If considered for publication, you will be asked to return an email agreement including your name and address.

Craft Features: Queries about Craft features should be sent to nonfiction@thewritersezine.com.

Payment starts at $15.00, and, if considered, you will be sent an email agreement to fill out and return.

Poetry: Due to the large number of recent poetry submissions, a temporary hold on further poetry submissions is in place until early 2008.

Please do not email us to ask what we pay for in other categories. When we can add to our list, we will include it in these guidelines.

What We Publish

Original short fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, particularly non-fiction related to the craft of writing and interviews.

For fiction we prefer something with a plot and resolution. If we like the main character, we are more likely to accept the story. If the main character has a problem to resolve or has to make a choice, that's conflict, and we love conflict! Too many writers confuse conflict with fight scenes. Don't be one of them. Give us a protagonist who acts, makes choices no matter how hard they are to solve his or her dilemma, not a wimp who drifts along and has to be rescued.

Non-fiction should be related to the craft of writing or be good resource material for writers. Accuracy and originality are vital. No reprints. If it has already been published somewhere else, our readers will spot it and let us know.

What We Won't Publish

Anything that inspires "hate," is defamatory or is pornographic.

Simultaneous submissions.

Material that has appeared elsewhere (reprints).

Seasonal material submitted during the same month (i.e., a Christmas story in December). Our lead time is short compared to print publications, but we do need time to edit, html and proof submission. A good guideline is to submit the manuscript by the first of the preceding month (i.e., submit a Christmas story before November 1st).

Length Recommendations

  • For Fiction, under 1500 words is preferred. We will consider excerpts from longer works.

  • Poetry should fit on one printed page if possible. A maximum of five poems may be submitted at one time (when the hold is lifted).

  • Non-fiction or Craft features have the most leeway in word count. In general these manuscripts should be 750 to 2,000 words. We like to take advantage of the hypertext capabilities we have available and link to charts, graphs, lists and so forth. Thumbnail versions may be included in the body of the article.

Rights

All rights other than first electronic, non-exclusive 'anthology' (for collections of T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine works only), and non-exclusive archival rights (we keep back issues online) are and remain the sole and exclusive property of the author.

Formats We Will Accept

Plain text in the body of an email.

T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine is an HTML publication. This gives us access to a variety of options but it is also a limiting factor.

  • Underlining is used exclusively for links in HTML. Please do not underline in your manuscript. It you are including a link to a webpage for reference, please mark the link the following way: (WEB LINK) http://thewritersezine.com (END WEB LINK).
  • The less than (<) and greater than (>) signs are used to enclose HTML encoding. If you need to use brackets, please use the square [ ] ones instead.
  • Paragraph indentation requires time consuming insertion of multiple HTML symbols. Please separate paragraphs by inserting a hard, blank line between them.
  • Fonts need to be simple. No multiple fonts. We prefer standard fonts such as Times New Roman, Courier or Arial set at 12 point. If your subject matter requires something else, ask us first.
  • The curly (smart) quotes, apostrophes, the em dash (two hyphens together) and ellipsis … (three periods) become strange and exotic characters when copied from your word processor into email. Check your preferences or options to see if you can use straight quotes. 
  • Text formatting such as bold, italic, centering, bullet list, etc., should be noted in the text by using all caps in parentheses. For example, if you wanted to italicize the word submission, you would type: (ITALICS) submission (END ITALICS).

Editing

We expect you to run spell-check and to check your grammar and punctuation before submitting. We will not reject a submission for a few typos or errors, but will if there are an excessive number of errors.

Note: Since our reading audience is international, we do not require a specific version of English. Use the spelling appropriate to your region.

We will automatically correct obvious typos such as “ton” for “not” and may correct simple agreement problems. For anything beyond that, time permitting, we will return the submission to you with a request for corrections.

Getting to Know You

Fiction and Craft features published in T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine include brief third person biographical notes on the writers. For all submissions, please compose your own bio and include it to save our editors and yourself time later if/when your piece is accepted for publication. We suggest sharing a little about your background, occupation, geographical location and what inspired your story.

How and Where to Submit

We do not accept submissions via US mail. Email submissions only, to the appropriate department, in the body of the email. No attachments accepted.

Fiction should be sent to fiction@thewritersezine.com.

Craft Non-fiction should be queried first. Send query to nonfiction@thewritersezine.com.

Poetry: Due to the large number of recent poetry submissions, a temporary hold on further poetry submissions is in place until early 2008.

Include the type of submission (fiction, non-fiction) in the subject line.

Be sure to include your name and email address in the body of the email.

If you do not receive an acknowledgement that your submission or query was received within a week, please send a follow-up query with “Did you Receive?” in the subject line. In the body of the email, please include your name and email address, the title of the work submitted, and if different, the email address sent from. Do not resend the submission unless we request it.

Good luck!


T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine
http://TheWritersEzine.com
Copyright 1998 - 2007, Writopia Inc. All Rights Reserved

 

© Copyright 1998 - 2007, Writopia Inc. All rights reserved