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Rx for Writers |
May 5
Ah, the May flowers are blooming even though some of you
may still have to skirt patches of snow in order to pick them. Summer can't be
far away, eh?
You all are sending work out! Check out the Applause section for news of
submissions and sales! Your turn next, eh?
We have another new feature in the Newsletter -- Suzanne Lilly's Contest
Corner. Check it out for her review of a new contest every week. If you're
blocked on a story, an article, an assignment, here's a useful way to give
yourself a break and let your hindbrain work on that stuck project --do a short
contest entry.
Donna Ippolito has a great new tip on writing good dialogue this week: Dialogue
Tags
Don't miss our May Professional Connection visit with Louise Marley, YA and
adult fantasy writer and Long Ridge Instructor.
Rose and Thorn is an online literary magazine that pays for fiction in all
genres including experimental as well as poetry. Check it out.
Fascinated with words? Looking for a 'weird word'? You'll love World Wide
Words, my webeditor's pick this week.
Don't forget our Want Ad section. It's a great place to ask for help, a
critique, or share writers conference information. And remember that a review
published here is a clip. I can always use reviews of websites, books for
writers, and books that you think are particularly good.
And of course -- don't forget the Most Persistent Writer Award to be awarded next September. Sending out your work counts, remember...not acceptances! You'll find the very simple rules in our 'Applause' section.
-- Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor http://www.maryrosenblum.com
Remember: if you click on the index items below you will immediately skip to that section. Click on your 'back' button to return to the index. Happy navigating!
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE
APPLAUSE!
GRADUATE NEWS: --Roseanne Dowell
SPOTLIGHT ON -- First Person: Show Don't Tell
PROFESSIONAL CONNECTION REPORT: -- Louise Marley: YA Versus
Adult Fantasy
FORTHCOMING FORUMS -- Friday 9: -- Open Question Night
DONNA IPPOLITO TIP OF THE WEEK -- Writing Dialogue: Dialogue
Tags
MAY FLOWERS PROMPT -- Last Two Days!
WEBEDITOR'S PICK OF THE WEEK -- World Wide Words
MARKETS -- Rose and Thorn; Fiction, Nonfiction, and
Poetry
New! CONTEST CORNER --'The
First Line'
THE WANT ADS:
REVIEWS AND TIPS:
REMINDERS
LOOKING FOR SOMETHING?
Article Index by Topic
Need help with characterization? You're faced with a query letter and you
don't have a clue?
Now you can find what you need with a click of your mouse. (And if you haven't
been using the articles on the website, you're missing some good information at
a very good price -- like free!) Visit the article index and choose your
topic at the top of the page...Christian and Inspirational Fiction? click
Plotting? Romance? click No need to scroll through our ever-expanding
list of articles. Take a look and click on those helpful articles.
APPLAUSE!!!
Don't forget to tell us when you get a yes or a no from the publisher. We'll
cheer you either way! Send news of your sales, your rejections, and of course,
links to that new book, story, or article to MaryRosenblum@forums.longridgewritersgroup.com
And remember to keep a log of your submissions so that you can compete for Most
Persistent Writer this year!
Most Persistent Writer Award Rules: Keep a log of all your submissions; the date you sent it off, the name of the market. Keep your fiction submissions separate from your nonfiction submissions. On August 31, 2008 count up your submissions sent out between September 1, 2007 and August 30, 2008. I don't want the number of acceptances, I want the number of submissions you sent out. Send me that number. It's that simple! I'll ask to see the logs of the winners, but you'll find that log is very useful for you, as well. Our Most Persistent Writer -- the one who has simply gotten the most stories or articles into the mail -- wins a prize. I will offer a Nonfiction and a Fiction award so don't forget to keep your fiction and nonfiction submission lists separate. Yes, contest submissions count, yes, NF query letters count as well as complete submissions, yes, novel query letters to agents or editors count, no, poetry submissions do not count. The prompts here do not count, but any review you send me does. No, Nano drafts don't count either, unless you actually submit it to a publisher.
Let's hear a loud round of applause! You all were busy this week!
Jack Mason tells us: I sent out two shorts to The Vestal Review. It was a quick response on the rejection of both. I sort of expected it being so close to the end of the reading period. It's ok though. I'm already working on pieces for the next reading period. I also entered a piece in the 24 Hour Contest at Writer's Weekly. It will be a month before winners are annouced. Ah, too bad, Jack, I Hope you sent them out to another market?
Sally tells us: I have submitted my NaNoWriMo/NaNoEdMo novel to Iota Publishing. If I Should Die is a suspense novel about greed, adultery and human nature. I began writing it on the first day of November 2007 and finished the editing process and submitted the manuscript on April 27th. Now, I am going to go back to my pre-nano project, finishing the book I started during the Long Ridge Novel Course. Good luck, Sally and good for you for finishing that novel course novel. It's a good one!
Jeff Beesler, Zave, told us last week that he queried Wild Roses Press about his novel. They asked to see the full manuscript. Good luck, Jeff, and keep us posted! Fingers crossed!
Allison Hawkins, a recent LR graduate and student of Anne Grant, tells us: Last week I entered two contests with my 12th Longridge assignment, "Painted Lady Butterflies." To be cost effective I've decided to spend my money on contests and continue to email stories to the general submissions editors. I'm entering two more contests in the next week.The Writer had an article about how literary ezines are the new wave. He told a story of how one magazine found an unpublished Sylvia Plath poem right before the 25th anniverary of her death. Well, in that issue, they had over 200,000 hits! And people from all over the world may see your work, not just a small audience who might throw away the magazine when they are done reading it. Food for thought.
Beth Garcia had one of those days we all wish for: I had the most incredible day today. I sold my first story ever! It was to a local newspaper, but you have to start somewhere. I am so excited that my work will be read!! That's a bigger deal to me than the money, which isn't much anyway. Also, I was accepted into the Long Ridge Writers school today (I should say notified today). I am very excited. And one more thing....I got a rejection from Ms. Magazine with a handwritten note from the editor that she likes my writing but the story isn't right for Ms. I feel like dancing! I'd be dancing, too, I hope you are! Good for you and I hope you have a great time with the course. You've sure made a good start here!
Roseanne
Dowell
I graduated in July 2004. Since then I've had more than 40 articles and stories
published in magazines such asGood Old Days, Nostalgia, Ohio Writer and The
Cleveland Plain Dealer as well as on many websites. I wrote columns for two
magazines and was Senior Editor of Silver Moon Magazine. Currently, I
teach three courses at Long Story Short School of Writing and I’m a member of
the Northeast Ohio chapter of RWA. I also teach a writing class at Cuyahoga
Community College. Next fall I hope to teach two classes. Currently I have
seven short stories available at Amazon.com. My novel, Satin Sheets,
published with Premium Press America, sold 35,000 copies and its soon to be
available at Encore
Romance . I'm also an editor for the Champagne line at The Wild Rose Press.
I've spoken at the Cuyahoga County library several times. As you can see, I've
been very busy and enjoying every minute of my new career. I'm in the process
of revising several of my novels to submit to agents and/or publishers.
Wow, nice going, Roe! You have indeed been hard at work and be sure to mention those excellent sales numbers when you query publishers for your novels!
You don't have to share news of lots of
sales with us. Hey, if you took a long break and are just now getting back to
writing, share that with us. What have you been doing meantime? And good for
you for starting up again! Any news is good news. Send me your LR graduate news
at:
MaryRosenblum@forums.longridgewritersgroup.com
SPOTLIGHT: First Peson Show, Don't Tell
The cardinal rule of strong writing, Show Don’t Tell, still applies in first person. But my gosh, our Point of View character is telling the story to begin with. How the heck can we show it to the reader? For some tips on just how to 'show' that scene your character is telling us about, check out: First Person: Show Me That Story You’re Telling Me! in Writing Craft: Craft.
PROFESSIONAL CONNECTION LIVE
CHAT -- Louise Marley: Writer of fantasy and SF for adults and YA.
Mark your calendars for Thursday, May 15. Louise Marley,
Long Ridge Instructor and writer of SF and fantasy for both adults and the
young adult market, will join us to talk about that crucial difference in
writing for adults versus young adults. You don't want to miss this one! Check
out Louise's website at: http://www.louisemarley.com/
She has a great blog and you can read about her career as an opera singer, no
less.
Professional Connection Interviews take place in the Auditorium at:
- 5 PM Pacific Time
- 6 PM Mountain Time
- 7 PM Central Time
- 8 PM Eastern Time
If you missed our Tuesday
Lunchbox Forum on 'Show, don't tell', you can read the transcripts in Writing Craft: Forum Transcripts. OUR NEXT AFTER HOURS FORUM meets on May 9. It's time for an Open Question Night. Bring those questions
that haven't come up in the Forums. Anything goes!
The AFTER HOURS FORUM begins at:
5PM Pacific
6 PM Mountain
7PM Central
8 PM Eastern
9 PM Atlantic/Canada.
OUR NEXT TUESDAY LUNCHBOX FORUM
meets on Tuesday, May 13 We're
going to talk about Show, Don't Tell in First Person...so how do you do it?
The FRIDAY AFTER HOURS FORUM begins at:
10AM Pacific
11AM Mountain
12 Noon Central
1PM Eastern
2PM Atlantic/Canada.
All Forums take place in the Auditorium.
Check the Calendar Page and this newsletter for other dates!
And check out our archived Forum Transcripts.
Writing tips from Donna Ippolito, Long Ridge instructor.
Donna Ippolito has been writing, editing, and teaching others to write for more than 20 years. From 1985 to 2001, she was editor-in-chief at FASA Corporation, a Chicago publisher that packaged best-selling science fiction and fantasy novel lines for Penguin Books and Time-Warner. These included the popular BattleTech, Shadowrun, Earthdawn, and Vor series. So check out her websites at www.expert-editor.com and http://dreamscoop.blogspot.com/.
Prior to that, Ms. Ippolito was an editor at the Swallow Press, a prestigious publisher of both literary and commercial titles. Writers published by Swallow include celebrated novelist Anaïs Nin; Jungian analyst Linda Leonard; futurist Robert Theobald; Zen poet Lucien Stryk; and distinguished anthropologist W. Y. Evans-Wentz. She also worked as a senior editor for Consumer Digest and was a founding editor of Black Maria, a quarterly journal of women’s writing. Today, she is a freelance editor whose clients include Powersuasions, Inc., Ohio University Press, Chicago Architecture Foundation, Publications International, and the American Library Association.
Ms. Ippolito’s own fiction and articles include stories and reviews published in Sunday Clothes, East West Journal, Small Press Review, Journal of the West, and others. She has been listed in Contemporary Authors, Encyclopedia of Short Fiction Writers, and Poets & Writers.
Donna tells us: “Writing good dialogue is art
as well as craft,” says Stephen King. As craft, dialogue serves several
functions in any scene. It plunges us into the moment. It reveals character. It
moves the plot forward. As art, good dialogue has as much to do with the sound
of music as the meaning of words.
But good dialogue isn’t simply putting words in your characters’ mouths and
then adding “he said” or “she said”. Nor is it having characters conveniently
dump background information into the story—with quote marks around the words.
And what’s considered good dialogue today is a far cry from what even the most
beloved writers of other eras produced. Readers in our hurried, distracted
times will not sit through long, involved speeches, for example, and their
inner ear will recognize “believable dialogue” even if they haven’t a clue what
it is.
Like any craft, mastering good dialogue requires patience and practice, practice,
practice. Like any art, no one can teach you, but we can point you in the right
direction.
- Dialogue Tags
Dialogue tags tell us who
is speaking. They may seem mundane and mechanical, but they require just as
much art and craft as any other aspect of dialogue. Often a tag simply
identifies the speaker ("Mary said" or "he said"), but
dialogue tags have artful purposes as well. Here are some things to think about
when using them. It's best when dialogue tags are “invisible”. Readers barely
notice the plain and unadorned “he said/she said”, so don’t run to your
thesaurus looking for a hundred variations. Novelist Elizabeth George calls
said “a little miracle word. . . .The reader's eye skips right over it. The
brain takes in the name of the speaker, while the accompanying verb—provided
it's the verb said—simply gets discarded.” Used judiciously, a few other words
like asked, answered, and replied are generally invisible as well.
As for all those fancier tag lines like snarl, moan, snap, hiss, wail, whine, whimper,
shout, groan, sneer, growl, they have the opposite effect. "When the
writing is really doing its job," George says, "the reader will be
aware that someone is shouting, snarling, thundering, moaning, or groaning. The
scene will build up to it, so the writer doesn't have to use any obvious words
to indicate the manner in which the speaker is speaking."
Some new writers write lines like: “You don’t have the nerve,” Bob goaded, or
“This is the third time I’ve asked you,” she insinuated, or "Please don't
leave me," Sam beguiled. Perhaps the writer means to show her creativity,
but these tags are obtrusive. They also tell rather than show. If the speaker
is goading another character, show it in his facial expression, the tone of his
words, or some other action. If she nags, let her repeat herself. Or maybe she
interrupts. Or maybe she tries to connect every topic back to her obsession. I
once knew a woman who admired Castro and Cuba so much that she managed to link
every conversation to one or the other. If you were talking about saving the
rainforest, she would automatically loop back to palm trees in Cuba.
Have a look at some dialogue you've written. Are your tags invisible? Do the
characters' actions show what they are feeling rather than you trying to tell
the reader through wordy dialogue tags? Does the dialogue itself reveal each
character? Just remember that dialogue tags are important, but they're
stagehands, not the star of the show.
April showers bring May flowers. I want a 150 word scene with flowers. They don't have to be May flowers, they don't even have to be the flowers that are blooming in my garden. You don't have to tell a story, but if you imply one you get bonus points. I will be looking for the absence of to-be verbs, vivid 'showing', and of course, imagination and that implied larger story. Send it to me in the body of your email, put LR in the subject line, and if you don't get a 'got it' reply from me, I didn't get it! The deadline is Wednesday, May 7 -- that's THIS Wednesday -- whenever I last check my email for the day. Imagine those flowers! And send 'em to me at: MaryRosenblum@forums.longridgewritersgroup.com
WEB EDITOR'S PICK -- World Wide Words
Petra van der Zande
shares another cool site with us and I love this one! Michael Quinion's website
is a feast for anyone who loves words...and we writers sure do, yes? Written
with a dry wit, he explores weird words, misused words, and words in general.
Yes, you can find obscure words and definitions here, but it's fun to just
browse. See what inpsires you!
Thanks, Petra!
Have you found a great web resource for writers? A wonderful book? Tell me about it, and I may profile it here with thanks to you for the tip.You can email me at: MaryRosenblum@forums.longridgewritersgroup.com
MARKET NEWS -- Rose and Thorn Literary Ezine
Okay, I blew it last week, mea culpa! I got
some misinformation on Romance and Beyond. They have not yet finished changing
over to a yearly anthology format, if indeed they really will do so. The
website is still up, so I'd keep an eye on it, but it's not a viable market
now. Sorry! This one is, and it's Forum board is currently active.
Since 1998, The Rose & Thorn has showcased the best of the web in short
fiction, poetry, creative essays, humor, author interviews, writing tips and
art. You'll also find writers' resources and dynamic, interactive content. They
publish all genres including essay and flash fiction and pay a small amount --
$5 per accepted piece. Do read their published stories to get a feel for what
the editors like. Check out their complete submission
guidelines .
New! SUZANNE LILLY'S CONTEST CORNER --
Welcome to our new feature! Suzanne Lilly is
a writer, teacher, and graduate of the Long Ridge Writers Group. She blogs
about teaching and writing at http://www.teacherwriter.net.
Her complete bio is at http://www.suzannelilly.com
Welcome to the Newsletter, Suzanne, and thanks for the contest tips!
- Ten Ten Fiction Contest
- Entry Fee: $15.00
- Deadline: July 1, 2008
Can you write a fiction
story in exactly 1,010 words? That’s the requirement for this annual contest
sponsored by WordSmitten, an international digital and media company providing
news to the publishing and writing industries. The grand prize? You guessed it:
$1,010.00. The deadline is July 1, 2008.
All entries should be submitted electronically. There are specific formatting
guidelines at the website, so read them carefully before submitting your
manuscript. You can find all the details and read previous winning stories at http://www.wordsmitten.com/fiction.html.
While at the site, you may want to check out the video author interviews.
If you have a short story you’ve written for a Long Ridge assignment, it may be
a good fit for this contest. Don’t let it languish in a drawer. Enter it in a
contest!
How many copies of your book have you sold in the past year? No matter who your publisher is, and especially if you have self-published, I would like to know how many copies you sold in the first year after you published your book. I am compiling a survey so that novice writers will have a realistic idea of what their sales will be with the various publishing options available, from NY publisher through self-publishing. I would like the name of the publisher and the number of books sold in the first year. I won't report your name, just the publisher's name and the sales. You can send your sales information to me at: MaryRosenblum@forums.longridgewritersgroup.com Thanks!
Carol Woien says: I am working on my novel for the LRWG novel class. I am looking for someone who is familiar with Judaism for one scene I am writing. My email address is cewoien@yahoo.com. Can anyone give Carol a hand here?
Mayhem in the Midlands Mystery Writers conference.
will take place May 22 — May 25, 2008 in Omaha, Nebraska. Guest of Honor is Alex Kava, and the registration for the weekend is 80$.
the Backspace Writers Conference will take place August 7 and 8 at the Radisson Martinique in New York City. The keynote speakers will be: Mark Tavani, Senior Editor, Random House and Lee Child, NYTimes bestselling author. It will include agents as well as authors on the guest list. Check it out if you're interested in publishing with the big NY publishing houses.
Keesha Grant sent me notice of another writers conference coming up. The Harriette Austin Writers Conference, taking place in Athens, Georgia - a couple of hours outside of Atlanta -- is sponsored by the University of Georgia. The dates of the conference are July 18-19, 2008. They are offering a discount for early registration and an online registration form will be posted during the first-second week of April. The website is http://harrietteaustin.org/
Don't forget, if you need expert help, if you want a critique partner, if you're a publisher and you need submissions for your new contest, this is the place for your free ad! Send your want ad to me at: MaryRosenblum@forums.longridgewritersgroup.com and I'll post it here. Don't forget to include contact information so that people can reach you with their responses.
REVIEWS AND TIPS:
Send me your reviews at: MaryRosenblum@forums.longridgewritersgroup.com
Thanks!
To receive all the issues of the Long Ridge E-NEWS plus short updates and reminders simply click here and subscribe: http://www.longridgewritersgroup.com/rx/email_updates.shtml! It's free and easy. Surely, you don't want to miss a thing.
For help in using the CHAT ROOM, you can check out the several articles we have that will help you if you click here If you're still stumped, you can use the Help Deskhttp://www.longridgewritersgroup.com/rx/Chat_Help_Desk.shtml for a direct connection to our technician, Frank Ball, for help with your particular computer system.
If you need help with the Post-A-Note, check out the nuts and bolts help article at http://www.longridgewritersgroup.com/rx/st01/ichat_post_a_note.shtml" for some great infor on how to use the Post-A-Note and visit with other writers on the website.
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