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 Produced and published by the members of Writers' Village University since 1998    ISSN 1521-2639       
17 May 2012
Guest Chat with Lois McMaster Bujold The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine

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Guest Chat with Lois McMaster Bujold

Wynelda Shelton

Recently, members of WVU had the pleasure of speaking with author Lois McMaster Bujold, author of over 20 novels. Below are excepts from the conversation that ensued. For more information on Lois, please visit the her website at http://www.dendarii.com.

On Starting a Novel

Wyndie: Lois, how do you start your novels? Characters or plot or...?

Lois: I've used all three as starting points -- character, plot, and setting/idea. Most of the Miles books start with character. Spirit Ring began with plot, the old folk tale "The Grateful Dead". Ethan of Athos began with the idea, the uterine replicators and their possible social effects. However, whatever a book starts with, it has to develop all elements pretty quickly; they all feed each other. Even *setting* is an element of characterization. Different characters will notice different things about their surroundings, describe them in different way, and overlay different emotional responses.

N`omi: Is this how the Miles books got their start? Or did you make Miles before the worlds?

Lois: The Miles books began with Aral and Cordelia -- Chapter 1 of _Shards of Honor_ -- and grew and grew from there. Aral was really the seed crystal around which everything else concatenated. There was this guy, see. He needed explained. I made up the whole world and its history to explain Aral.

On Writing

Slide: How much time did it take you to get your first stories the way you wanted them?

Lois: I do, and did, very little short work. My first novel, _Shards of Honor_, took 9 months for the first draft, a month to revise, then about two months the following year (after its first rejection) to revise again.

Shanna: Do you find that you change theme or direction a lot during the writing process?

Lois: My stories mutate a lot as I write them. It's a continuous feedback loop. I outline and re-outline constantly. "Theme" I see as rising from a work, not imposed upon it, so I really never quite know what theme I was *really* working on till the book's complete. I'm always coming up with "better ideas" in mid-flight, though within the set framework.

Peg: How often or how many times do you need to revise on average?

Lois: I do a lot of work at the outline stage to limit revision, which is a process I hate. So usually the scene sequence is sound, and I seldom (not never) have to delete or add a scene. The word polishing is a constant process. I run my first draft chapters past test readers at an early stage, and do some fixes then.

N`omi: Do you use any writer's software to aid your writing?

Lois: Nope, none of that was invented when I started. I use pencil and paper. In my early days, I had no home office, so I would take my notebook to the local library to write my first drafts in peace. It became a habit. I still do extensive first-draft-like outlines in pencil in a notebook before I sit at the computer. The pencil *waits*.

N`omi: Speaking of your "pencil waiting" You are so busy, children, writings, animals, barflies, miles-to-go, etc. How does your life pattern that you are a "full time writer"? Please, what is the definition of "full time" in your view, please?

Lois: The children are easier now -- one's moved out, the other goes to local college and occupies himself pretty much. I spend *way* too much time on line these days, though, so I'm not coming out ahead. I'm my own secretary, PR flack, and accountant, too. But I don't have to stop writing and go out to another job to support myself, which is I think the functional definition of a full time writer.

N`omi: Do you write daily, or...?

Lois: Alas, I do not write daily. I write in lumps. During tough bits, I have to push myself to grind out 300 or 500 words; other days 2000 fly by.

Peg: I'm really interested in the process you use--do you find yourself dreamscaping your fiction?

Lois: Define term "dreamscaping," please?

Peg: I had the opportunity of listening to Robert Butler's recent webcast--that dipping in and out of the subconscious where the story really seems to take off.

Lois: I do find that thinking it up and writing it down are two different processes for me, entailing two different states of mind -- one relaxed (getting harder to do), one highly concentrated. (Or as I tell myself, "rest faster!") So it sounds like he's talking about the thinking it up part. Haven't heard Butler, sorry.

Peg: I think he was talking about the dreaming part, the part we're almost not aware of until the story emerges or starts to emerge.

Lois: I take long walks. That often helps. Anything that uncouples the tension can help thought to flow usefully (and a lot un-usefully, too, alas.)

On Characterization:

Slide: How did you get the idea for Miles' type of problem?

Lois: Miles has a lot of real-world inspirations, which have all sort of composted down over the years; he's pretty much himself by now. I could name Lawrence of Arabia as a bright, nervy, short soldier-type, a hospital pharmacist I used to work with who supplied a physical template (short, oversized head, leg braces, brains galore) and my own case of Great Man's Son (Child?) syndrome as starting points.

Peg: Do you find the work is character driven, the plot and subplots arising from the characters themselves as you work?

Lois: Mostly my work is character driven. I want some inner sense of emotional satisfaction with the events I propose. My sense of pacing and timing seems to be wholly intuitive.

Slide: Do you write out long bios of characters?

Lois: I do work out lots of back story for some characters, little for others -- I'm not sure the readers can tell which was which when they finally get written. It's all illusion, you know -- you just *think* there's a whole building behind that stage set.

On Setting And World Building

Shanna: Lois, when you are creating your worlds, is it an evolving process where you have to make changes as the story grows?

Lois: I make up my setting around the story as it proceeds, so it's a continuous process. Some, of course, must be set in advance or one cannot begin. But in general, my setting doesn't exist till a character passes through it.

Lucille: Your fantasy world "started." Does it grow, or does it have boundaries?

Lois: It grows with every story, of course. In detail if not in scope. Things can grow inwardly as well as outwardly. Very fractal. The inside of every character's head is a universe. If you mean Chalion, it's just started to grow. I only have a little piece of it yet. Sort of like a slice of potato with an eye, from which whole crops may yet descend.

Claxton: Lois, in relation to the Earth, where are Barrayar and Cetaganda? Your universe intrigues me, but I like having Earth and Sol as reference points.

Lois: I've de-coupled by astrography from the real thing because one doesn't move through normal space to get places; the wormhole jumps criss-cross. I haven't ever drawn a complete map of jump point routes among the less visited (by my stories) worlds.

MargareTZ: Least said, soonest mended?

N`omi: Why not, Lois?

Lois: A lot of unpaid labor, I guess. I feel I need to use my working time efficiently. Which perhaps used to be more true than it is today. Also, it hasn't interested me that much.

Wyndie: Lois, what do you feel is the most important part of world-building?

Lois: Well, things have to hang together economically, politically -- the situation should flow out of its history, to be sure. I guess the most important thing about world-building for me is that it not draw attention to itself by stumbling. It's almost never the center of my story, so I spend the minimum *necessary* sweat on it. A friend of mine called it "Just in time world-building", which sums it up pretty well.

N`omi: So, you didn't write up all the details of the world, before you wrote the books, if I understand right, Lois?

Lois: No, I don't have a huge set of notebooks with the Encyclopedia Barrayarica in my garage. I don't want setting to constrain my story, so I tend to assemble the setting *around* the characters, etc. That said, it all has to hang together logically -- one can start with character and *deduce* their setting, after all, which is exactly what I did with Aral, way back when.

On Writers' Block And Getting Un-Stuck

Claxton: Lois, how do you deal with writer's block?

Lois: Writers' block has a number of definitions. The most common is simply a synonym for "being stuck", which is usually non-fatal. It's simply, for me, my back-brain telling me I'm trying to do something wrong with the story, and going on sit-down strike till I fix it. The more serious form is when one has truly gone "off" writing, lost appetite for it, almost a form of depression (and a bad feedback loop one at that.) I've not had too much trouble with that form, which is far more serious.

Wyndie: Lois, have you ever started a story, gotten 50 or 100 pages into it, then felt it wasn't going anywhere and you needed to stop working on it?

Lois: No -- in general, that's a problem I work out at the outline stage. While I've often been stuck or frustrated, usually I also have a contract. The fear of having to give the money back is a *great* motivator for slogging ahead. There is a "feel" when an idea is going to support a novel -- it's hard to describe. But so far, it's been pretty reliable for me.

Shanna: Do you ever write yourself into a corner that you really have to change a lot to fix?

Lois: I've written myself into corners; a lot of the sweat that goes into story-blocking and outlining at that point is so as to *avoid* having to change things.

On The Business Side Of Writing

Wyndie: How many publishers did you submit _Shards of Honor_ to before it sold?

Lois: Shards had about 5 submissions before -- The Warrior's Apprentice, my second novel, sold to Baen and took Shards with it.

Slide: Did you do that one yourself or had you gotten an agent by then?

Lois: My first sales were over the transom, no agent. However, when I did get an agent later, my track record meant I could get my first pick -- Eleanor Wood. We worship the water she walks on, we do.

Lois: It takes some maneuvering. Contracting books one at a time seems to help -- one gets to pick again at least once a year that way.

N`omi: Why isn't _The Curse of Chalion_ with Baen?

Lois: It sold to HarperCollins because my agent and I took it to auction, and Eos/ HC was the high bid, by a gratifying margin.

N`omi: Gratifying margin sounds heavenly!

MargareTZ: But fortunately she gave Baen a consolation prize, more Miles.

Lois: Hey, don't burn your bridges -- you may have to live under them someday...

Judy: I am a new fan, like Claxton, introduced to your writing by Margaret. I still am not a fan of Science Fiction/Fantasy, but I love your writing. I have eight of your books...haven't read them all yet, but I have them and plan to read them. The five I have read are fantastic, which led me to get the other three I plan to read.

Lois: Thanks, Judy! Hope you enjoy them all. I must say, Margaret, word of mouth (like yours) has absolutely been the life blood of my career. I wouldn't have survived, let alone prospered, without it. It's *so* important.

On Keeping It Fresh

Claxton: Lois, you've developed a loyal following with the Vorkosigan novels, myself included, thanks to Margaret. How much of a challenge is it to keep the characters familiar and fresh at the same time?

Lois: Sending old characters off to new settings is also a good way of making things fresh. So is using new viewpoints -- and so is dipping into different *types* of takes, military adventure, romance, mystery -- I consider it a challenge to see how many genres I can squeeze into one series.

MargareTZ: So when will you try Western?

Lois: I haven't really internalized westerns, alas -- about the only one I read was _The Virginian_.

N`omi: How did you think you could get away with POV changes in the first chapter of A Civil Campaign? You managed it beautifully! But, what I want to know, is how did you handle the *writing* of it, originally? Did you mean to use so many POVs?

MargareTZ: The first five chapters of A Civil Campaign can be read free at baen.com in Sample Chapters.

Lois: Yes, I wanted to refresh myself with some new viewpoints; besides, the theme/subject of the tale called for it. On the technical level, the viewpoint switches were the easiest and safest: one viewpoint and only one per scene, no switches till the scene break. I do find that my plots tend to wrap themselves around my viewpoint characters. In an early draft, I had a scene from Armsman Pym's viewpoint, and my mind started generating all sorts of plot connected with the social milieu of the armsmen in the capital.

MargareTZ: Ah, that's where the reader bit came from.

Lois: I also had an early scene from Gregor's viewpoint, and the book pulled toward a political plot. For the thematic unity I wanted, I found I had to strictly limit the viewpoint characters to the three couples less one. The couples being, of course, Miles and Ekaterin, mark and Kareen, and Ivan and... The missing viewpoint is, of course, Donna/Dono's.

T-Zero and WVU would like to thank Lois once again for sharing her time and her knowledge with us. It was a wonderful chat!


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Beginner's Bulletin The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine

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Beginner's Bulletin

Karen Miller

The beginning is the most important part of the work.
Aristotle

The New Year is always a good time for fresh, new beginnings. Beginner's Bulletin is the start of two new beginnings. Not only is it a new column for the WVU ezine, T-Zero, but it's also my first column. Margaret I Carr who previously wrote the Newbie News column kindly offered me the opportunity when I replied to her call for columnists in last October's WVU newsletter.

What better way to start a new column than by thinking about what the New Year means to you? To me the New Year always means new resolutions to exercise more, eat less, read more, spend less, and write more.

When I was a child the New Year always meant the beginning of a new diary. My older sister had a wonderful five-year diary with its own key that she kept on a ribbon under her pillow. She wrote in the diary every other day for many years. Of course, every entry was top secret and as well as locking it with the key she also had several hiding places. Every year I would want to keep a secret diary just like her. Unfortunately, I don't think my diary entries ever made it out of January. At that age I just didn't have enough ideas or opinions to fill a blank page.

When I was a little older my English teacher decided to make it compulsory for his class to keep a daily diary. At the tender age of thirteen I no longer wanted to be like my older sister and certainly had no wish to reveal my private thoughts to the rest of my classmates and risk eternal ridicule. The dairy that I had once been eager to keep was now a wretched chore. I was convinced that every kid in my class was leading an action-packed, fascinating life full of parties, discos, and foreign holidays. How then, could I write about my daily life when the most exciting it got was when granny came to Sunday afternoon tea and dropped her false teeth in the tray of salmon sandwiches? I was certain that no one wanted to hear about how I spent my Sundays sitting in my bedroom recording my favorite songs from BBC Radio One's Chart show on an old tape recorder given to me by my father. If they read that I'd be the laughing stock! What a shame I didn't realize that parties, discos and foreign holidays had little to do with my classmates either and they were doing exactly the same thing as me on a Sunday afternoon. Twenty years on I would love to read that diary, if only I had persisted. I'm sure I would cringe with embarrassment at my teenage writing, but I'm sure I would manage to smile too.

My English teacher must have unwittingly bestowed a phobia upon me, as since then, I've never been able to keep a dairy. That is until now - I ve discovered online web logs.

What is a web log? It's your own personal web page where you can make entries called blogs. It's exactly the same as keeping an electronic journal or diary online. It's easy to update your blogs from any online PC, and I now keep, not one, but two web logs.

Why do I keep an online web log? No, I haven't suddenly cultivated a life of parties, discos and foreign holidays or grown an ego the size of a planet. I keep one web log secret by using the private option offered by the host site and I simply don't tell friends or family the URL. This is the web log where I keep my personal blogs that I don't want to share. My other web log can be viewed at http://www.xanga.com/bespoke Here I blog about less personal issues which sometimes result in the beginning of a longer article.

When publishing your web log on the Internet remember it is available for anyone to access, and if you publish an email address sooner or later you will get email from readers. I'm sure you'll find most people are polite and courteous and contact you because they share the same interests and opinions, but remember you don't have to reply to any of these emails if you don't want to and you're certainly not obliged to meet anyone in person. Unfortunately, there are also some not very nice people out there who may also contact you. These people enjoy being nasty, so the best way to deal with them is to ignore them. If you do respond they will only reply with greater venom. I learnt this the hard way, which resulted in moving my web log to another site.

If you think blogging may be for you there are several good sites that offer the service for free. I like http://www.xanga.com, but you can also find others at

Blogger
BlogSpot
CitizenX
GrokSoup

If you need some inspiration for your blogs news headlines and quotes are often a good source. You may also find that reading blogs by other people will kick-start your imagination. If you do use a quote or idea from someone else's blog be sure to mention them and give a link back, so that readers can access the original blog for themselves.

If you re still stuck for something to write about try the sites below;

http://www.inspiredtojournal.com/index.html
http://www.journalwriters.com
http://www.wakeupwriting.com
http://www.creative-journal.com

If you do start blogging, a word of warning, it's very addictive. Although I'm happy to say, that for me, it has been a constructive addiction as I'm sure I wouldn't be writing this column now if I hadn't had some practice (however small) with my web log.

My private web log is going into its second year this month. It's interesting to look back at the last year. Even though I'm now writing as an adult I still cringe at some of my entries as thoughts and feelings change, but there are a few that make me smile too. If you start a web log of your own I hope you find yourself looking back and smiling at your own blogs this time next year. And if you don't like the idea of publishing your diary on the web there's always good old pen and paper.

So, why not start your journal by writing about what the New Year means to you?

I hope you've found my first Beginners Bulletin helpful. If you have any suggestions of what you would like to see here in the future you can email me.

A good beginning makes a good end.
English Proverb

Happy writing.


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Catherine's Kitchen The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine

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Catherine's Kitchen

Catherine Manning

Another Year Gone By

I'M SORRY, I've neglected the column but seems I've had very little time to think; also I had a bit of 'block' so let it go for a while. The trouble is that everything I do takes time, whether it's the actual cooking, or the packaging which takes even longer, a real pain but necessary. Natalie gave me a birthday present of eight weeks of Yoga to get me back into it and to relieve the stress and I must say I've gone (missed two) and it's helped for at least two hours! No just joking, it has helped, I don't blow off so easily, but I need to keep up on a regular basis. If I could just get away from the ten dogs who think I'm playing!

This started as the November column, then it got changed to December now it's January 2002, so I've had to rewrite again. Another year gone by and very quickly. I forgot Nat and Gerry's first anniversary on Dec 30th... she wasn't happy! No offspring yet and I'm not holding my breath, but it would be nice sometime.

I had a very busy Christmas; I mean busy as in working, not socially, and on top of everything I had the family lunch. Though that was not as large as usual as several were out of the island, it was still the usual turkey, ham, pork, pepperpot, candied sweet potatoes, yam pie, etc! I didn't eat, gave away all the leftovers and then wished I hadn't as I was hungry that night!

The turkey was very tender and juicy and full of flavour. It was one that my sister had in her freezer for three years and every year we've meant to cook it but somebody else did one instead, so I was a bit dubious about the condition, but it was fine.

I had it defrosted by the night of the 23rd, rubbed it well with lime and salt inside and out and left it soaking in the fridge overnight. On Christmas eve morning I washed it off and seasoned it well with my seasoning (see April 2000) and as it wasn't butter-basted, I lifted the skin and rubbed the breast well with garlic butter (low-fat marge), getting that and the seasoning into the joints as well. At this point I took my kitchen scissors and cut around the ends of the drumsticks, about an inch and a half in, to loosen the tendons which are such a nuisance when carving. When the turkey is cooked and being carved, those tendons will pull out very easily with the help of a pliers or I used the scissors.

After seasoning it in the fridge all day, I stuffed it and put it breast side down on the rack and covered it with foil. It was a 20 lb. turkey, so I set the oven at 225F, put it in at 10 pm. and went to bed. I woke up at 4 am. took off the foil so it would brown and went back to bed and sleep! At 8 am. it was perfectly done, tender, moist and melt-in-the-mouth. I am not really a turkey lover as too often it is dried out, but I find cooking it this way is the best and most flavourful.

Pepperpot is another traditional dish at Christmas, but is complicated so I'll deal with that another time.

My very slim, diet-conscious, exercise freak of a daughter Natalie, has gone on a diet. She says she has fat to lose. I'm not quite sure where it is; however I know that I do, so will try again to diet. She is going on a diet course, but I won't do that, I'll just do what she does and see what happens. Hence the ham and split soup that I'm making has me very hungry and this diet is one that you have to count everything, so I'm not sure it's the right thing to make now, but it does taste good and I had the ham bone with quite a bit of meat still on it, so...

I usually make a very large soup and since it was a big bone, I used 6 pound of split peas; either yellow or green are ok. Also, because I like my soup fairly thick, I don't put in all the water at once, but adjust it when the soup is nearly done. If you don't have a ham bone, ham hocks will do as well. For this quantity about 4-6 would be sufficient depending on how meaty you like your soup.

HAM & SPLIT PEA SOUP

  • Ham bone or 4-6 ham hocks
  • 6 pounds split peas rinsed
  • 3 onions, chopped
  • 6 cloves garlic, chopped
  • Bunch of chive, chopped
  • Hot pepper
  • 8-9 quarts of water
  • Salt, lemon pepper, herbs of your choice.

Add to ham bone in very large saucepan, 8 quarts of water, rinsed split peas, bring to boil and simmer over a low heat, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Chop onions, garlic and chive and add during the cooking. Season with salt and lemon pepper and I throw in a couple of scotch bonnet peppers till I get the heat I want and then take them out. Simmer till the split peas are mushy, remove ham bone, cut up ham and add to the soup with more water if needed. Adjust seasoning and eat. Freeze any excess for another day. This made about 2-1/2 gallons which might be too much for you but I sell it, so you can halve the recipe if needed.

I had made a Christmas cake so didn't bother with mince pies, didn't have the time, but made some lime ice-cream instead which came out quite well, considering it was made with lime marmalade that didn't set! It was different but tasted really good. I used an ice-cream maker.

LIME ICE-CREAM

For the custard:

  • 2 tins evaporated milk un-diluted
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 pack gelatin
  • Sugar to taste
  • lime skin
  • vanilla essence. (I used vanilla rum which I made with fresh vanilla pods in 1995, it continues to become more potent. I still have 1/2 gallon left , luckily.)
  • 3 bottles marmalade or to taste. (I ended up with a bit more than the machine could hold but I wanted to get a strong flavour.)

Make custard. Scald milk with a piece of lime skin, don't allow to boil. Beat eggs, add a little milk to the eggs, beating all the time. Remove milk from stove and add egg mixture, stirring all the time. Return to heat and cook gently for one minute, stirring to prevent curdling. Remove from heat, add sugar, gelatin dissolved in a little water and vanilla; stir well. If the custard does curdle it doesn't really matter as making the ice-cream will sort that out. Strain, cool and add marmalade to taste. I put mine in the freezer as I want it cold for the ice-cream maker.

Make ice-cream according to machine instructions.

Bon Appetit
Cath


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Drabble Corner The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine

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Drabble Corner

Michelle Swisz

This month's theme is FEAR

Fear
By Bryony Preece

Why won't those two stupid girls stop giggling?
Just read the magazine.
"Te-he-he. "
Please let me slap them.
"Te-he-he."
"Shut up!" I scream internally.
Just read the magazine.
Perspiration beads in the hollow of my neck and trickles down my back.
"Te-he-he."
Somebody stop them!
Read the Goddamn magazine.
"Te-he-he "
What's the matter with, them can't they feel it? I'm going to be sick. Oh God, when will this end? I pry a clammy hand free from the armrest tighten my belt so I have difficulty breathing, and look out the window. We are still on the tarmac.

It seems that lately, if fear doesn't show up uninvited, then impatience often does. We fall under the illusion that patience is overrated. But impatience keeps us from looking beneath the impossibly simplistic black and white answers hovering close to the surface of our questions, large and small, and sometimes from considering any answers other than that first one that we just happened to come up with. In our impatience, we don't stop to ask ourselves what we need to be, do, or have in order to get through the day graciously. We may not take time to look into others' eyes, to really see what's behind a seemingly less-than-forthcoming response to our sometimes impatient expressions of concern. We don't gather enough in-depth information on which to make decisions on how our actions, large and small, impact the rest of the world. We don't stop to develop a bigger picture before declaring a position. And when anyone else does any of these things, whatever position we take toward them is likely to be adversarial.

March's theme: Impatience. February's theme is already set for Reunions. Here are the Drabble guidelines, again, to check as always before writing. Thank you for all of your responses. I hope everyone has felt the spirit of the holiday season.

Email your drabbles to me at drabble@wvu.org.

See you again next time,
Michelle


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Fiction Corner

Alison Hawke

Multiple Personalities

Continuing on my last theme of realistic characterization, I want to cover personality tests. It helps me to decide what a character should do by looking at their personality type. I believe writers should have an element of the psychologist in us, since we spend our time examining motives, feelings and emotions to create stories peopled by realistic characters.

One of the most well known personality test is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. You can take this test online (70 two choice questions) and find out which of the sixteen personality types you most resemble. This test is similar to the Keirsey Temperament Sorter. The four letter result is made up of

  • Extrovert or Introvert (E or I)
  • Sensing or Intuitive (S or N)
  • Thinking or Feeling (T or F)
  • Judging or Perceiving (J or P)

The results fall into four broad groups, Guardians, Artisans, Idealists and Rationals.

Guardians are

  • Supervisor ESTJ
  • Inspector ISTJ
  • Provider ESFJ
  • Protector ISFJ

Artisans are

  • Promoter ESTP
  • Crafter ISTP
  • Performer ESFP
  • Composer ISFP

Idealists are

  • Teacher ENFJ
  • Counsellor INFJ
  • Champion ENFP
  • Healer INFP

Rationals are

  • Fieldmarshal ENTJ
  • Mastermind INTJ
  • Inventor ENTP
  • Architect INTP

There is a lot of data available online about the various personality types. The book Pathfinder by Nicholas Lore is about finding a job you actually want to go to in the morning. Part of his method involves you finding out what your personality type is, and providing a long list of possible careers that suit that personality type. My Myers-Briggs type is ISTJ, which is a Keirsey Temperament of Guardian Inspector. According to Lore, I should be suited to being a technical writer, programmer, chef, surgeon, military officer or farmer, very handy when I'm next looking for a job.

Giving a character a mis-matched job would be an interesting cause of frustration. Why does no-one else see what I see? How come she files work like that, when the obvious way to do it is like this? Why don't they realize what management is doing? Am I the only one here who doesn't play politics? How did he come to that conclusion? Why is everyone else so illogical? Or driven by their feelings? Why is this so hard for me and so easy for her?

To make a believable character, we have to get inside their head. The only head we can know completely is our own. Variety demands we get to know what's in other people's heads and personality tests are one way in. I love books about motivation, thought patterns, and habits. One books I recently read is Phantoms in the Brain by V. S. Ramachandran and Sandra Blakeslee. The authors start by looking at "phantom limbs," gone but not forgotten limbs that people can still "feel" somehow. From there, they go on to look at amnesia, inability to subtract seven from a hundred after a stroke, a blind woman able to post a letter into a slot without "seeing" it in the conventional sense, hallucinations, paralysis, a man convinced his parents have been replaced with imposters, phantom pregnancies and many more strange conditions. By looking at people with a particular part of their brain damaged, we can deduce what that part of the brain should have been doing. And the book is a wonderful mine of story ideas.

Writers are a combination of psychologist, detective, people watcher, and observer. Getting inside someone else's brain can be more fun than you realized.


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Fiction Short Story

Michael Barrett

Tag Along Lauren

Cassie paused to catch her breath. She bent over, hands on knees and pulled in lungs full of air. The sprint down her street and around the corner had put her way ahead of Lauren, her junior by three years. She looked behind her and saw no sign of the little brat.

"Good."

Her breathing had almost returned to normal and she continued on her way to Janet’s.

Little sisters were such a huge pain. Always wanting to tag along, go everywhere with her. Mom was no help, either.

"Cassie, please take Lauren with you. She thinks you hung the moon."

Not today, she thought. She looked behind her again for reassurance. No sign of Tag Along Lauren. Cassie smiled and skipped the rest of the way to Janet’s.

"Where’s your shadow?" Janet asked.

"Lost her."

"Good. She’s such a baby."

At four o’clock, Cassie left. She had to be home by four-fifteen sharp and she made it with about three minutes to spare.

"I’M HOME!"

"Good, you and Lauren go upstairs and start getting ready for dinner. Dad will be home soon."

"Okay, Mom."

Cassie went into the kitchen where her mom was cooking, expecting to find Lauren.

"Where is she?"

"Where’s who, dear?"

"Lauren."

"She wasn’t with you?"

"No. I, uh, she..."

"She what? Where is your sister?" her mother demanded.

"I don’t know. I ran off as soon I got to the sidewalk." Panic crept into her voice. "I thought she’d just turn around and go back inside."

"Come on," her mother said, "we're going find your sister."

Outside, her mother shielded her eyes against the afternoon sun and scanned the street as Cassie shouted in her loudest voice.

"LAAAAAAUREN!"

Lauren didn’t answer and was no where to be seen. Cassie ran and threw her arms around her mother’s waist.

"I’m scared, Mom. I’m really scared."

"We’ll find her," her mother replied with a hint of worry. "Let’s go call some of the neighbors. Maybe she went to someone’s house."

Cassie chewed a thumb as every call received the same response. No one had seen Lauren but all said they’d keep an eye out for her. Next, the phone call that Cassie dreaded most, the one to Dad. She listened.

"No, I haven’t called the police."

Cassie felt herself grow very weak.

I’m going to jail, she thought. Going to jail for losing my sister!

"I’m going to drive the neighborhood. She may turn up somewhere."

Pause.

"Okay. You call them and I’ll start my search."

Pause.

"No, I’ll be fine. Cassie looks a bit pale, though. See you soon."

"I don’t want to go to jail!" Cassie wailed, tears streaming.

"Jail? You’re not going to jail. Dad’s just going to tell the police that Lauren is missing. You and I are going driving."

Outside, some of the other moms had gathered and Cassie saw them talking to each other. She knew they were talking about her and they sounded like witches from the Wizard of Oz. She closed her eyes tight, suddenly feeling dizzy.

"She’s the one! The one who abandoned her little sister," said Mrs. Kiley pointing and laughing.

"She should be arrested and taken to Bad Sister Jail," replied Mrs. Carter.

"Cut off her toes and feed them to the dogs!" another cackled.

Cassie came to, her head in her mom’s lap while Mrs. Kiley placed a damp cloth on her forehead. It felt nice and cool.

"She fainted. I think worry overtook her. Come on, Cassie, baby. Let’s go inside. You need to lie down."

"Poor dear. Probably scared out of her wits," Mrs. Kiley said.

"What about Lauren?" asked Cassie as she got shakily to her feet.

"In a minute," her mom said, supporting her with an arm around her shoulder.

Cassie risked a glance behind her as they entered the house. The other moms all seemed normal now.

It was getting dark and Cassie pressed her nose against the passenger window of her mother’s car, straining against the seat belt, searching. Her mom had been driving slowly up and down every street in their neighborhood, stopping occasionally to knock on a door. Cassie could see the worry increasing on her mother’s face every time she came back to the car. She remembered what Reverend Don had said in Children’s Church one Sunday morning.

"God hears our prayers. Big or small, He hears them all."

Cassie looked up at the darkening sky and began to pray silently.

"God, this is Cassandra Peters. Could you please help us find my baby sister? Her name is Lauren Alicia Peters and she’s seven. I did a bad thing today, God. I ran off and left her by herself and now she’s gone. If you help us find her I promise I’ll never be mean to her again. I will take her everywhere. So please, God, just let us find her. Okay?"

She paused for a moment and then added a quick "Oh, yeah... Amen."

Cassie watched, horrified, as they turned back onto their street. A police car sat in front of their house and a policeman was talking to Mrs. Kiley. Another policeman was walking down the street shining a huge flashlight this way and that.

Mom was wrong, she thought, I am going to jail.

Panic welled in her throat until it nearly choked her. She looked over to see her mom wide-eyed. Her mom was nearly out of the car before it stopped moving and ran to the policeman.

"What have you heard? Have you found her?"

"No, ma’am, we haven’t. We have put her description out to all units and we are notifying the radio and TV stations. They will help spread the word very quickly."

Cassie eased herself out of the minivan and went to stand by her mom. She chewed her thumb vigorously and felt an arm wrap around her shoulders.

They were still talking when Cassie heard a car coming up the street toward them. It was Dad’s car, she realized, and in the front seat with him was Lauren.

"LAUREN! LAUREN!" she screamed and had to be held back until the car came to a stop. She broke free and yanked open the car door. She nearly crushed her sister when she jumped into the front seat and began hugging her.

"You’re back! You’re back!"

"Get off of me!" Lauren cried. "You’re smushing me. MOM!"

Cassie barely heard her dad telling what had happened, she was so relieved at seeing that Lauren was okay."

"Darned if I know how she did it, but she walked over to Margret’s." Dad was grinning.

"Your sister?"

"Yep. Five miles and two busy intersections."

"I looked both ways and waited for the light," Lauren chimed in proudly, "just like you told me."

Cassie watched one of the policeman write something in his notebook then shake everyone’s hand and give Lauren a pat on the head.

"Glad you’re okay, little lady."

Over a dinner of hamburgers and fries, Cassie’s dad continued the story of Lauren’s adventure.

"It seems that Lauren was pretty mad at Cassie for taking off so she decided to go somewhere on her own."

"I went to see Aunt Margret. She’s more fun than dumb ol’ Cassie. And she doesn’t care if I’m only seven. She likes to color."

"Don’t call your sister dumb, honey." Mom said.

Lauren stuck her tongue out at Cassie when her parents weren’t watching. Cassie ignored the insult.

"Anyway," Dad continued, "Margret tried to call as soon as Lauren turned up at her house. She said there was no answer on your cell phone or the home phone."

"In all the excitement, I left it in the house when we went out to search for Lauren," Mom said.

"Yeah. She finally decided to call me and I drove straight over there. I tried calling you, too. "

"Well, it’s over now. Thank God."

"Almost." Dad said. "There is still the matter of Cassie’s irresponsible behavior."

"I think Cassie has learned her lesson."

"Well, that may be true, but just to emphasize it she will lose television and computer privileges for one week. Have you learned your lesson, Cass?"

"I think so."

"What have you learned, dear?" Mom asked.

"That when you are responsible for someone you have to take care of them."

"Anything else," Dad prompted.

"Yeah, I like my little sister."

Cassie leaned over and kissed Lauren on the cheek.

"Yech! Burger-breath," Lauren said, wiping her face with the back of her hand.

That night, Cassie remembered to say a prayer of thanks.

"God, thank you for bringing my sister back. I remember my promise and I won’t break it. Ever. Amen."

A week later Cassie knocked on Janet’s door.

"Hi, Cass."

She saw Lauren standing next to Cassie.

"What’s the Brat doing here?"

"This is no brat. This is my sister. She goes with me, and if you don’t like it then too bad."

"Okay, okay. You don’t have to get mad about it."

Lauren stood there with a huge grin on her face. She was holding Cassie’s hand, her tongue wagging in Janet’s direction.

Michael began writing in high school, and as he puts, has been "rejected by some of the finest publishers in America." He is writing and producing the screenplay for an animated film based on an original story by fellow Crime & Punishment group member, Marlicia Fernandez. He currently has an original screenplay being produced by an independent film company that is scheduled for limited release in early 2003. His normal genre is crime fiction but he was inspired by group members to write for children. Michael lives in North Texas and is Navy veteran. He has been a military policeman, a truck driver, and radio talk show host for the defunct WBEI Internet Radio, which he hopes to someday revive. He also worked for Armed Forces Television as a news writer/director and KOAM-TV7 as a master control technician. "Tag Along Lauren" is the second in a series of short stories about Cassie Peters. Michael’s plans are to publish all the Cassie stories as a children’s book under the pen name Michelle Sanders. He says female readers find it more believable if female authors write stories from the feminine POV.


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Poetics

Glennis Hobbs

Poetry Comes Of Age At Writers’ Village University

Are you a would-be poet who is anxiously looking for poetry courses to get you started writing poetry? Are you an experienced poet who is suffering from writer’s block and looking for some ideas to jolt you? Perhaps you are just looking for some ways to improve your poetic skills. Perhaps you don’t have a lot of time to commit to a lengthy course. Look no farther than the halls of Writers Village University. A year ago there were only two poetry courses being offered. Now there are over fifty courses being presented. The average length of most of these courses is 2.6 weeks.

Poetry courses come in a wide variety of ranges to suit the needs of poets of all abilities, from novice to advanced. The courses come in both facilitated and unfacilitated versions. Unfacilitated courses are based on peer feedback. Facilitated courses are guided by a facilitator who answers questions about the lessons, how to post, etc. Facilitated courses are assigned an even number and unfacilitated courses are assigned an odd number.

For beginners WVU offers Poetry 100: Rhythmic Words, A Beginner's Guide to Poetic Forms. Beginners can further their abilities with P111 and P113: Introduction to Poetry Parts I and II.

Poets who have taken these beginning courses or poetry courses elsewhere may wish to check into some intermediate level courses. Poetry 115: Japanese Poetic offers instruction in writing haiku, tanka, renga, haibun, and senyru. Poetry 126/127: Freeing the Poet and Poetry 128/129: Working With the Muse is designed to help poets find inspiration through a variety of poetry exercises and prompts.

For the poet who is interested in reading and discussing poetry there is Poetry 124/125: The Pleasures of Reading Poetry. This course is designed for the poet who wants to understand poetry better, whether it's for his/her reading pleasure or to increase his/her skills as a poet.

There are also opportunities for advanced poets. P117 Advanced Poetry, Free Form Part 1, P119 Advanced Poetry-Free Form Part 2, and P121 Advanced Poetry, Free Form Part 3 is a 30-week course offered in three 10-week parts. This course is designed for those who have been writing poetry for a while and want tough feedback. It is an ambitious course for intermediate and advanced poets who want to hone their craft through a series of challenging writing exercises, real critique, and rewriting.

In addition, there is also a Senior Poets Workshop (P123). P123 is a small group of experienced poets who "hone their skills as advanced poets, study recognized poets, discuss matters of joint interest, practice prosody, expand their knowledge of poetic forms, participate in the development of group exercises and course facilitation." They frequently meet to discuss poetry in weekly online chats. These poets are willing and eager to share their poetry knowledge. To be admitted to this workshop, poets are required to submit a poetry explication plus copies of three different form poems. Membership in this group requires a serious commitment to hard work.

For the poet who would like to post some poems just to get feedback, there is a study group called Word Weavers

Perhaps you don’t have a lot of time to commit to a lengthy course. Now a new feature that has just been added to the courses at WVU is a series of poetry triggers. These are one-week poetry courses on various poetic features designed not only to inspire poets to write but also opportunities for poets to learn the poetic crafts, such as alliteration, metaphors, personification. The poetry triggers were developed by the members of P123: The Senior Poets Workshop at the request of the Educational Co-ordinator. P123 is a small group of experienced poets who "hone their skills as advanced poets, study recognized poets, discuss matters of joint interest, practice prosody, expand their knowledge of poetic forms, participate in the development of group exercises and course facilitation." They frequently meet to discuss poetry in weekly online chats. These poets are willing and eager to share their poetry knowledge.

If you are looking for ideas on getting started, you might check out
P164: Using Webbing or Clustering,
P172: Using Music as an Inspiration to Write Poetry;
P178: Using your Sense of Smell; or
P200: The Poet as Observer.

Perhaps you want to hone your poetic skills, check out
P154: Mastering Alliteration;

P156: Personification;
P182: Imagism
P140: Creating Poetry From Metaphors.

For some fun ones, try P190: A Library of Poems or What's in the Closet?

A full list of courses can be found here. The poetry triggers started on December 26th with Poetry 130 ­The Minute. Different courses will be offered every two weeks. These courses will be unfacilitated.

Course developers were Carol Malley, Arlene Lawson, Glennis Hobbs, Korie Beth Brown, Joyce Heon, Linda Austin, Gwen Austin Turbeyfield, Rolly delos Santos, Molly Critchlow, Nancy Conner, Tom Spencer and Ed Rosenthal. Others who have helped to develop courses have been Bob Hembree, D. C. Kidd, H. C. Hobbs and Karli Shanklin.

For those who are members of Writers Village University, these courses are included as part of their membership. If you’re a writer or would-be writer and are looking for a community of writers, then WVU is just the place for you. Check out this site for Membership Information.


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Poetics Presents

Mark D. Kishbaugh

Mark D. Kishbaugh is a Physician’s Assistant who currently lives in the mountains of Arizona. He has just recently begun pursuing his lifelong interest of writing. This piece was inspired by staring out of the medical school library window in Des Moines, Iowa when he was supposed to be studying pharmacology. Writers' Village members look forward to reading more of Mark’s work.

Dead Leaf Dance

Some call them trash, litter, debris
we think they are dead, but really they’re free

All summer long, their work no small deed
turning sunshine to sugar for the trees that they feed

But the cold now approaches, soon the trees will all sleep
their leaves being useless as they slumber so deep

Yet the leaves see this differently, through eyes all their own
their work now completed, they’re quite free to roam

Cast off from the tethers with which they were bound
they twirl and they tumble gently to the ground

Now on breezes blowing, do they dance and they play
they chase and they frolic with each other all day

All dressed in fine colors, reds, yellows, and browns
the wind sends them scurrying throughout the town

Tirelessly cavorting in a quiet parking lot
finally coming to rest in some serene spot

As all things must end, both the good and the bad
so it is with their freedom though we shouldn’t be sad

When the saprophytes catch them and break them back down
to the elements of the earth, I shan’t wear a frown

You see, they’ll be back again in the spring
they are just like us; their life cycle a ring

A circle unbroken, as it will be until;
Until all of God’s lessons and plans we fulfill

Copyright © 2002 by Mark D. Kishbaugh


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Poetics Presents

Su’an Rosenkrantz

Su’an Rosenkrantz is a new writer and has only been writing poetry for less than a year. She has resided in Illinois for all her forty-six years. Su’an’s work has previously been published in the T-Zero Mid-Month specials. Writers' Village members look forward to reading more of Su'an's work.

Raging Storm

cold turbulent storm
screams, pulsating wrath

disaster roars
attacks nature's beauty

one strong single daisy
twisted, yanked

pulled from roots
smashed, torn apart

hideously crushed
petals of innocence, trust,

belief and love
blow around, lone naked stem

condemned

Copyright © 2002 by Su’an Rosenkrantz


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Signs of Life

Nancy Horner

Kibbles and Gifts

Three weeks before Christmas, this year, I experienced one of those horrifying gift-giving fiascos that we've all come to dread, similar to the time I gave my mother a CD, only to hear her blurt out, "But I don't own a CD player!"

On this occasion, my son's girlfriend was turning 16. Since Daniel and Lauren had been dating for over a year, I knew from his various attempts at petty theft from our home that Lauren likes decorative mirrors and candles. I set out in search of either, without bothering to consult Lauren's mother for advice.

On the evening of her birthday, I handed Daniel the package containing a lovely blue pillar candle with graduated striations of color and its hammered silver holder as he left for Lauren's house. Having just emerged from a week of urgent revisions on a short story and birthday planning for my youngest, I have to admit I was proud of myself for managing to even get around to buying a gift for Lauren at all. My husband had admired the holder--the kind that's shaped like a plate--and his approval gave me even more confidence that I'd made a terrific purchase.

Later that night, Daniel returned. "Well, did she like the candle?" I asked eagerly.
"Yeah, she liked it a lot," he replied.
"What else did she get?"
I already knew Lauren was supposed to be getting some seriously expensive gifts, but I was curious.
"She got a DVD player, a camcorder, about a hundred dollars and another candle."
My mouth dropped open.
"She got another candle?"
"Yeah, the kind that's shaped like a cake. Harriet gave it to her."
Harriet, I knew, was Lauren's dog.
"The stand you gave her is nicer."
Oh, that's terrific, I thought. I gave Lauren the same thing as the dog. I gave her a better holder, sure, but this was humiliating. The dog gave her a candle, for crying out loud.
"Harriet gave her a candle? I gave Lauren the same thing as the dog?"
Daniel snickered. "You have better taste than the dog," he said.

Two days later, still feeling stung over my ill-fated candle purchase, I sat on the floor with a roll of silver wrapping paper, preparing Christmas gifts. I had been thinking about Lauren and the fact that I was clueless, now, about what to give her for Christmas.

As I wrapped ribbon around a package, Daniel walked through the room. "Hey, Daniel," I said, stopping him in his tracks. "Have you got any scathingly brilliant ideas about what I can get Lauren for Christmas?" Without skipping a beat, Daniel turned to me with a smile. "No," he said, "But I'll ask her mom what Harriet's going to get her."


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Writer’s Read

Wynelda Shelton

Chicken Soup for the Writer's Soul
Edited by Canfield, Hansen and Gardner
ISBN 1-55874-769-9
Health Communications, Inc., Trade Paperback
$12.95 US

I hate to admit it, but The Chicken Soup series is a guilty pleasure of mine. Guilty because I feel as if I'm somehow cheating by reading them. Some people, famous people, look down on the stories as if they don't have enough craft. A pleasure because the stories by turns are entertaining, inspirational and sometimes even heart-tugging.

"Chicken Soup for the Writer's Soul" isn't a book about craft, it doesn't have any insight into how to get that novel outlined, planned, written. But it does have tons of inspiration for the writer.

If they could do it, so can I.

"Chicken Soup for the Writer's Soul" follows the same format that other books in the series has followed. The sections include: How I Became a Writer, Living Your Dream, Defining Moments, Finding Your Voice, Making a Difference, A Writer's Life and more. One story, "How to Write your Way Through College" by Lois Duncan, details how Ms. Duncan wrote her way through college because her family couldn't afford it.

The authors of the stories in this book include both the famous and not so famous. Inside the covers, you'll find Ray Bradbury, Steve Allen, Clive Cussler, Dame Barbara Cartland and Art Linkletter to name a few. One of the editors, Bud Gardner, details a meeting that he had with Alex Haley.

Bottom line is that if you enjoy the Chicken Soup series, you'll love this book. It was written for writers by writers. If you don't like the series, you may want to browse through the pages in your local bookstore before deciding whether or not to buy this book.

It may be short on craft, but it is long on heart. Sometimes, heart is exactly what we need in order to continue pursuing our dreams.


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Writer to Writer

Rie Sheridan

Shameless self-promotion

Last month, I told you the story of a dream come true. After decades of work, I could finally consider myself a published novelist. Now was the time I got to sit back and let someone else do all the work. I had sent my firstborn off to school, and the teacher could do the rest, right?

Wrong.

Just when I thought the dream was fulfilled, I found out how hard the next bit would be. It was time to start marketing the final product. And marketing it is. Just the same as if I had opened a retail clothing store and wanted to attract customers. Now, we as writers hate to think of our precious babies in those terms, but it is a business that we are engaged in, and the earlier that we realize that, the better. It is hard work to get the message out there to the public, but I have discovered that there are many ways to do so.

As I mentioned in last month's column, the first thing to do is network. From my network contacts, I found publishers for several other manuscripts since that first sale. I got a cover quote from my favorite fantasy writer of all time. I hooked up with a web design consultant. Networking is the single most important skill I have learned so far in the marketing field.

First, I discovered that once you have an accepted contract, you find out if there is a weblist associated with the publisher. All of the electronic publishers I know of have one of these lists. I now belong to three of them. They give me the opportunity to interact with the other authors in my publisher's stables, and are a valuable way to make friends in the business and learn where the pitfalls lie. Since I am so far working exclusively with electronic publishers, I applied for membership in the professional organizations for e-writers, first EPPRO (Electronically Published Professionals) http://eppro.homestead.com/, which is free for qualified members, and a good place to start, and more recently, EPIC (Electronically Published Internet Connection) http://www.epicauthors.org, with a yearly membership fee of $30, which I can halfway cover with my royalties to date.

If I am someday lucky enough to capture a traditional print contract, my next illusive goal, I plan on joining the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, http://www.sfwa.org/, but they have very strict membership guidelines, and even with four books now, I still haven’t qualified. Many of the large national organizations still only consider print books to count, though hopefully this barrier will be removed in the future.

I also have become something of a web designer. The WVU class on HTML was a great place to start, and FrontPage is my personal choice for software package at the moment. It takes hours of work to build a website, but it is worth it for the chance to have people find your work in one location. It is much easier to point potential editors or publishers to my resume and work samples online. My personal domain name is "riewriter.com." Circumstances required me to abandon it for a time, but I am in the process of resurrecting it. Nothing beats a catchy domain name with your name built into it, I have found. Having a domain name that is distinctive and easily recognizable is another essential marketing tool. I publicize my site everywhere I can. It is incorporated it into my email signature, and I use it whenever I contact someone new or write a professional message. (I do turn it off for personal messages to friends, there is such a thing as overkill.) My website has a links page, and I trade links with fellow authors.

There are still several website services where you can get free or inexpensive space. My current site is with Angelfire, http://angelfire.lycos.com/, at http://www.angelfire.com/tx5/riesheridan. I didn't have the skills to build my own site at first and discovered that there are several author communities will host a site for you if you provide relevant information. A good example is Author’s Den, http://www.authorsden.com/. I built a site there, but I’m still working on getting it into the right category of authors! I also volunteer to write copy for local newsletters. For example, I co-edit the Georgetown chapter of the AAUW newsletter, with a monthly column. I do features for the Habitat for Humanity occasionally. I format one of my publisher newsletters and the Word of Mouth review newsletter. This last is done in return for free advertising in their newsletter, and they have a circulation of over 2000 people I would never reach otherwise. I find it is a great way to get your writing read and your name seen. The more name recognition I can build for myself, the better. There is no way to stress that enough.

I submit stories to e-zines, I have now reduced the contents of my "writing trunk" to one or two really lame stories that probably should be unpublished, and have finished the first new stories I had written in years and found them homes too. Some of these have actually brought in hard cash, others are "sold" for links in widely read websites. It is building that recognition that is the important part.

I trade columns with other authors so both of our websites benefit. This is the way to build a fan readership, every writer wants one of those, right? I have my own weblist called "RieReaders," we are small, but it is a start. And it is a forum for discussing my writing, and letting people know when something new is coming out.

All of the methods mentioned so far are free or very low cost. But there comes a point when you have to decide where to go next. After researching, I have decided to participate in my first real paid advertising for my next book. I have recently joined the other writers at NovelBooks, Incorporated in purchasing catalog space in a mailing that will go out with the spring Bowkers advertising. (Bowkers is a company that advertises book releases, and mails to libraries and bookstores throughout the country.) I will also be one of the featured authors in an ad in the May/June Affaire de Coeur romance newsletter (with a widespread circulation, and respected reviewers) because of the key romance element despite the fact that my book is a fantasy. I have learned that romance is a good selling point even if I never thought of my story in those terms, but hey, if it has the feathers, sell the goose.

I am currently working on arranging a local booksigning, and there has been interest expressed in the possibility of using The Blood that Binds as a discussion novel for a reading group with a question-and-answer session after the book is read. My first book tour, limited, but a start. I talk up my book whenever I get a chance. There is a copy of my cover art on my desk at work. It is also my screensaver. I have Lynn Flewelling’s quote sitting in a frame on top of my computer. (Free advertising for both of us.) We had a hobby showcase at the plant, I put in my book, and plugged the release date. It is amazing how many people say they want a signed copy. (Whether they actually buy one or not is waiting to be seen.) One of my publishers told me this month that I am their highest-selling author-to-date. Of course, since they opened their doors September 1, that isn’t saying much, but I’ll say it again, it’s a start.

Next Month, How Far Do You Give? The Editing Process


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

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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