This week's Practice exercise~

Music to my ears ~

Prepared by: Alice Folkart
Posted on: Sunday, 1 February 2009

Exercise: In 400 words or less, write a scene in which a musical instrument is important.
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Your scene could be written from the point of view of someone hearing an instrument being played, wanting to be able to play an instrument, listening to someone practice (happily or unhappily), or even, if you dare, from the point of view of the instrument itself.

You could write about an unusual instrument, something from another culture; or about a musical instrument associated with an historical person or event, e.g., the little drummer boy, or bagpipers rousing men for battle, or a bugle playing Taps.

You could write about a concert experience, or about someone whose "life" is his instrument, the virtuoso, the wannabe, or the has-been. How do you feel about accordions? Did your mother make you practice piano/violin/kettle drums every day when you were a kid?
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These exercises were written by IWW members and administrators to provide structured practice opportunities for its members. You are welcome to use them for practice as well. Please mention that you found them at the Internet Writers Workshop.

Scriptwriting Software

Jeannette Cezanne, a long-time IWW member, "I've found a wonderful free software application for writing play and film scripts. It does nearly as much as the outrageously-priced Final Draft and is relatively easy to learn. Check it out here.

Note that Jeannette says she has "nothing to do with Celtx other than being a happy user."

So You Wanna Be in the Movies?

Bob Sanchez opened a discussion on writing that began, "...a number of readers of When Pigs Fly have commented that my novel would make a funny movie. Does anyone out there have any thoughts about how to get my book into the hands of the right people in the movie biz?"


Kelli Mix, author of the Game Day Alamanac Official Rules of Poker, replied My husband owns an independent film company. Check out its website. They are always searching for scripts. Most production companies will not consider a book manuscript. It must be in script format. So if you are serious about your manuscript being transformed, you should contact a scriptwriter. As a slush pile script reader, I will give you the following pointers to consider before attempting this monumental task:

1. A large production company such as Universal will not typically touch such a project. They have an arsenal of multi-million dollar scripts and writers constantly cranking out scripts. So, unless you are a cousin to Julia Roberts, stick to small independent film companies. It's not impossible, but similar to getting a Random House deal.

2. Period pieces are very expensive so most independent film companies will not touch them. It is preferable to have a film set in current times (1980 - 2009).

3. It is best if your setting is nowhereville. Can it be produced in any city or is it set in Rome or NYC - also costly & nearly impossible to recreate.

4. Consider your genre when soliciting. Just like the book industry,independent film companies have targeted genres where they make the most money. If a company has produced four horror movies, they will likely not take on a romance.

5. Does your book have any high action scenes such as cars blowing up or bombs exploding - if so the cost of your production will be very high.

6. You can sell the rights to your book and have the film company hire scriptwriters, but you will lose all say in how the script is written.

7. The "funny" market is good right now, but do consider that humor scripts are one of the hardest sells because they do not typically sell well to the international market, who makes up a good portion of profit for film companies. Humor does not translate well across cultures. On the flip side horror markets are huge overseas because
action and blood are internationally understood.

Those are a few that come off the top of my head and have been drilled into me when forwarding a script up the line of readers. Let me know if I can answer any other questions. Again, check out my husband's website because he just finished a television project (The Dukes of Hazzard 30th Anniversary) after doing a movie set here in Georgia and he just commented to me that he was ready to take on another film project if he could find a good script.

IWW member Nick O'Connor continued the discussion with "I should probably shut up, because Kelli may already have told you all you need to know by introducing you to her husband. But what writer can shut up?

Essentially, I agree with Kelli. I worked as a script reader and story editor for a TV movie company in Hollywood for a year and all of what she says is standard truth.

However, a couple of other thoughts for you: Projects, especially feature films, get made in Hollywood because someone with influence is passionate about it. I mean, much as you probably lived and breathed your novel for a long time, someone has to be willing to give up a big chunk of his or her life to make it happen. That means they have to fall in love with the project. If you've got a "good story well-told," you're way ahead of the game. Although every movie company is literally wading in scripts, about 95 percent of them, including those submitted by supposedly professional writers through big agents, do not bear reading. It's amazing how much bad stuff is cranked to script readers, and amazing how much of it is from those who should know better.

Hollywood is run by accountants who are afraid to take chances, who would much rather put $100 million into a sure-fire sequel than an unknown newcomer's crazy concept. But what really keeps Hollywood alive are the surprises, the films made by outsiders (relatively speaking, perhaps) on a shoestring that prove again and again that you can't formulate creativity.

So, think creatively. There's a famous story (I think maybe in William Goldman's Adventures in the Screen Trade) about some screenwriters who wanted to get a script to Frank Sinatra. Nobody could get to Sinatra. They parked a moving truck on the street in front of his securely gated house, with the big back door open. Inside the truck was a table, chair, and a working reading lamp (and maybe a bottle and glass). On the table was the script. A ramp lead up to the truck. There was some kind of sign making it clear that this setup was for Mr. Sinatra's reading pleasure. Sinatra read the script. I forget what script, or what else happened. The point is that Sinatra read the script.

Do some research. If a working director (like Kelli's husband) likes a project, he's one of the best people to take your novel the distance. There are lots of directors out there -- most of them, even some good ones, needing work and therefore looking for projects. It's not hard to find out what kind of movies they've already directed and even what they're looking for. The Director's Guild lists members and their contact info. IMDB gives credits information. Netflix has the movies. Get your hands on The Hollywood Creative Directory. You can work up a list of directors to submit to.

If there's a star who would be perfect for the main character, you can try submitting to the star through her agent. Visit the Screen Actors Guild website.

Or find a screenwriter. The Writer's Guild has members' contact information. Or check out the Scriptwriter's Network, which is where a lot of new screenwriters are getting their feet wet.

I must dispute the assertion that producers don't read books with the idea of making movies from them. Some do. And some specialize in finding books as a producing niche. You can figure out who some of these people are by starting with a movie made from a book and tracking its evolution.

John Updike, RIP

"We read fiction because it makes us feel less lonely about being a human being," John Updike.

From the Washington Post:

John Updike, whose finely polished novels and stories exploring the virtues, vices and spent hopes of America's small towns and suburbs earned him two Pulitzer Prizes and kept him at the pinnacle of the nation's literary life for five decades, died yesterday at a hospice near his home in Beverly Farms, Mass. He was 76 and had lung cancer.

From the New York Times:

It is as a novelist who opened a big picture window on the American middle class in the second half of the 20th century, however, that he will be best remembered. In his most resonant work, Mr. Updike gave “the mundane its beautiful due,” as he once put it, memorializing the everyday mysteries of love and faith and domesticity with extraordinary nuance and precision. In Kodachrome-sharp snapshots, he gave us the 50’s and early 60’s of suburban adultery, big cars and wide lawns, radios and hi-fi sets, and he charted the changing landscape of the 70’s and 80’s, as malls and subdivisions swallowed up small towns and sexual and social mores underwent a bewildering metamorphosis.

• More on Updike's death.

Calling All Poets

Without raking through political muck, it has been interesting to read the reactions -- the rhetorical analysis of -- President Obama's Inaugural Address. You'll find several online.

But there was a poem read in celebration as well. A member of the IWW found this analysis of that work in The New Republic ...

The Plank
Adam Kirsch on Elizabeth Alexander's Bureaucratic Verse

IWW Members' Publishing Successes

They're still doing it! Every week, including this one, there's all kinds of publishing news.

Carter


Barry Basden

Drunk and Lonely Men #10 includes my 55er "What Are You Doing New Year's?" and a fine story by the prolific Wayne Scheer.

DLM is one of my favorite venues because of their quick turnaround, but they are now closed to submissions. Probably trying to cure a depression hangover.


Rebecca Coleman

My novel Desperado City, which will be released in August of this year, was critiqued from the first chapter to the last on Novels-L a couple years back. It's gone through a very significant couple of revisions since then-- one that used the critiques I got, the other with suggestions from my publisher. I have Yahoo'ed DC on this list before, but I want to do so again following my receipt of the final edits from my editor. The only things I was asked to change were in the vein of "T-shirt should begin with a capital T" and the reformatting of my em dashes. The most intensive change I had to make was the name of a Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor that apparently didn't exist. My editor congratulated me on a job well done and told me she was "enthralled" as she read the story.

So I gotta give the credit where it's due and say thanks, Novels-L'ers, for all your work in turning an ambitious mess into a tight, publishable novel. You who contributed know who you are, and I am thankful to each one of you. I have to give a special nod to Roger Poppen (pre-admin), who hit every chapter and whose contribution can be heavily seen in the "Ben fights with his dad" chapter, where there are about forty fewer F-words than there were originally. Other changes worked into the revision include a positive adult character, more of my wackiest character, and a plot.

Hats off to all of you, and to the administrators who make it possible.


Dawn Goldsmith

It is writing related, but more specifically blog related. For the past two
days the hits on my Subversive Stitcher blog have increased about 2000
percent!


Julie McGuire

My article "Learning by Doing" was published in the current issue of Work magazine, a Richmond-based publication focused on work life in the region. My article featured profiles of three Richmond-area career coaches.

Work magazine is not published online, so I'm unable to share a link.

I did get paid $200 for the article, and have another assignment for their next issue.


Victoria Mixon

This is a sort of a Yahoo. I just started a blog on fiction writing--it's here.

Please visit!


Lesli Richardson (aka Tymber Dalton)

Yahoo, a blog-worthy event!

My paranormal thriller Out of the Darkness is now available for sale from Lyrical Press. I'd started running it through Novels-L when it was accepted by Lyrical. It's in e-book format now, will go to print later this year.

I've also still got two bestsellers on the BookStrand list (writing as Tymber Dalton), and have a 10k short now available with Amira Press (as Lesli Richardson) with another due out this coming Friday. Plus two more books due out next month. Whoo hoo!

Thanks!


Anita Saran

I was googling me -- since I have just become 'expert author' on ezinearticles.com (in an attempt to drive more traffic to my website - and it's working) and guess what I come across? A long long review of my short story "The Enlightened Robot" on Cezanne's Carrot! I am posting here the link to the page where the review of my story begins. I'm flattered that the author, Don Schneider, has spent the longest on my story and even used it in his title. Okay, so he doesn't really seem to understand my "Buddhist" philosophy very well, but he does like the story. He gives it four out of five stars. Not bad. He even links to the story.


Bob Sanchez

Sort of a yahoo, anyhoo--today I finished my edits of Getting Lucky and submitted the novel to iUniverse to go into production. Soon, I hope, they will have my cover ready. I sent them a photograph for the cover and asked them to overlay a four-leafed clover with a bloody
bullet hole on it.

My project has been stalled for months, so my yahoo is that it's finally moving again!


Wayne Scheer

I think I learned the secret for getting published--go away for a long weekend. I just got back home and amidst the 232 emails were the following acceptances.

Fiction at Work accepted my flash "Holding Hands," reviewed in Practice. The title will be changed to "Meat Hooks and Rice Paper." (Hard to believe it's the same story.) It's scheduled for the March Issue. This seems to be a good site for flash writers, although they don't pay.

An old favorite of IWW writers, Long Story Short, will reprint a flash memoir, "The Old Man." It's scheduled for a future issue.

"A Balanced Life" won Honorable Mention, (which is another way of saying no money) in Clarity of Night's Short Fiction Contest. This is an interesting site set up by a photographer/lawyer who puts up one of his photographs and asks for stories inspired by it.

My 55-worder "Talkin' About My Generation" is up at Camroc Press Review. I hope it offers a chuckle and maybe a sigh.

And my flash, "A Suburban Story," written originally as a Practice exercise, is up at Drunk and Lonely Men. I'm in good company with fellow IWWer Barry Basden.

Now for the big bucks--

Every Day Fiction has bought my story "Rude Awakening," inspired by a Practice prompt, for $3. The story will appear in a future issue.

And for the denouement. Whortleberry Press will reprint, "Doing God's Work," critiqued in Fiction, for an anthology of detective/mystery stories. And now, hold on to your mouse, they pay a whopping $10. Their deadline for this anthology is March 15, so there's still time to get rich.

All this brings me $13 closer to my first million as a writer.
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This week's Practice exercise~

My way or the highway~

Prepared by: Rheal Nadeau
Reposted on: Sunday, 25 January 2009

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Exercise: In 300 to 500 words, pit two or more characters against each other in some sort of conflict. Make each character's motivation clear. Avoid outright exposition: show the conflict, don't tell us about it.

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Differing opinions can draw two individuals into verbal confrontation on any number of topics: politics, school affiliation, even a teen arguing against curfew.

Each character must act for plausible reasons, based on valid motivations; each must have his or her own goals, aspirations, or fears. It is not necessary to resolve the conflict; submissions here are not meant to be full stories.

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These exercises were written by IWW members and administrators to provide structured practice opportunities for its members. You are welcome to use them for practice as well. Please mention that you found them at the Internet Writers Workshop.

About the Use of Words, Not Politics

"Barack Obama’s inaugural address is proving to be more powerful in the reading than it was in the hearing."

A rhetorical dissection of President Obama's inaugural address by Dr. Stanley Fish, " ... the Davidson-Kahn Distinguished University Professor and a professor of law at Florida International University, in Miami, and dean emeritus of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago."

• Read the essay in the New York Times.
• A Glossary of Rhetorical Terms with Examples (link posted to the IWW discussion list by a member).

2009 In Cahoots Fiction Contest

From a news release issued by the editors of Cahoots Magazine ...

Enter your story in our Second Annual Fiction Contest at Cahoots Magazine. We're looking for pieces that speak to us, are tight and well written, and carry on the spirit of this conversation we’re calling a magazine. Beyond that, the theme, topic, and style are up to you! Check out our Fiction section to see what has impressed us in the past.

Our first place prize package is chock full of fabulous products contributed by businesses, writers, and artists from the Cahoots community. The winning piece of fiction will be published in the Summer 2009 issue of Cahoots Magazine, and the winner will receive the grand prize package containing art, books, CDs, and products worth over $1000 from Cahoots Contest Sponsors! Runners-up will be published in Cahoots Magazine.

Visit the In Cahoots Contests page for a complete list of prizes.

Get your piece to us through our Submit page on the website or by mail at the address below. Make sure to include your address, phone number, and email address. Hard copy entries will not be returned as we are trying to reduce paper and unnecessary use of resources. We will be in touch via email as to the status of your entry. Please limit your piece to 1500 words. A reading fee of $15 is payable by cheque to the address below. You can send up to two stories per entry.

Please send entries and reading fees by March 15, 2009, to:

Cahoots Magazine Fiction Contest
Cahoots Magazine
P.O. Box #6025, Station Main
Saskatoon, SK
S7K 4E4
Canada

Erma Bombeck's Writers Workshop

ERMA BOMBECK WRITERS' WORKSHOP NEWSLETTER
University of Dayton
January/February 2009

A Special Yahoo!

Writers worldwide should read "Our Contributors," Ellen Lindquist's hilarious parody of a typical page of contributors' bios in a literary journal.

IWW Members' Publishing Successes

A bountiful crop this week! And since one of them is a first-timer, I'll take the liberty of doing violence to the alphabet and putting hers first.

Carter


Heidi Kenyon

(Gulp). . . My poem "Kneeling" was accepted by the kind editor at Camroc PressReview and is posted there today. This is my first poetry publication of any kind, and my first publication of anything since I had a column in my college newspaper some decades ago. I am delighted! I'm finding that writing good work, and now publishing it, is extremely euphoric and addictive.

On a related note: The aforementioned poem being very personal and revealing, as is other work I've been doing, I'm struggling with whether to share my publication yahoo with friends. I want to brag it from the rooftops, but I'm not sure all my friends and family should be reading what I've written. I'd love to hear from others who've faced this dilemma.

Barry, thanks for being such a patient editor! The folks over at CPR really *are* swell to work with!

Happy-dancingly-yours!


Barry Basden

At the Camroc Press Review, near Jayne Pupek's remarkable poem "Red Glove," you will find my 55er "War Bride." An earlier version appeared in the late, lamented Pen Pricks. I hope other 55ers from IWW members can also be saved from oblivion.


Mark Budman

My novel My Life at First Try was featured today at Page 69. No, it's not a porn website. Happy New Year.


Jeannette Cezanne

So next week is the Universal Theatre winter play festival in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Twelve ten-minute plays ($12 admission, a buck a play!)

My short play, Flygirls, was among those selected for the festival and the rehearsals have been grand. It's a conversation in the afterlife between Harriet Quimby, the first American woman to hold a pilot's license, and Amelia Earhart, and the two actresses are stunning. I'm very excited.

I have to say that there's something unique and very different about writing for the stage. One of the things I do is scripts for video productions, and I've always thought how cool it is to hear my words coming out of someone else's mouth. But the stage is even more amazing, because it's a collaboration: playwright, director, actors all contribute something to the finished event, and I'm consistently surprised and humbled by the things that directors can pull from my work that I never even knew to be there.

Anyway, there it is. Check out the Universal Theatre if you have a moment. I'm in the company of some extremely talented playwrights, in particular J. Stephen Brantley, who never fails to amaze and inspire me.


Dawn Goldsmith

A few weeks ago the nonfiction list once again took red pencil to my submission,"What Martin Luther King Jr. taught me," and made it better. I subbed it to the Christian Science Monitor and they purchased it. Even said unsolicited nice things about it.

Gary Presley sent an email to tell me that my story was one of the top three on Google News on that day. Wooooo hoooo! Then it went to number one and within fifteen minutes it was relegated to top local news. But still -- there it was on Google News with 900 plus similar stories only listed as a headline or spot to click on. :)

Thanks everyone for your help and forgive my crowing. I can't stop grinning. :) I don't care how many articles and essays I publish, each brings a moment of joy when I see their faces in print. :)


Kristen Howe

Hooray! I got my first acceptable today from Snow Monkey ( my third attempt at it), who liked my American cinquain "Dip Deep" enough to pair it with another poem for next month's issue. I sent it out last fall.

My first acceptance of the year, while I'm setting up my revised poems for this year. When up, I'll let you know. There's no pay, though.


Peter N. Jones

Just got a very nice check in the mail yesterday for my "Comparative Indigenous Peoples Policy" entry that I wrote this summer for CQ Press and their forthcoming encyclopedia.

Sure made my afternoon . . . . Now I just have to wait until I get the multi-volume set in the mail and thumb through my entry.


Sheri McGregor

I have a several yahoos to share.

One is the sale of an academic paper I wrote during my undergraduate studies--"Cinderella and the Narcissist." It was for a literature class, which I took as one of my upper division electives during my program to get my BA in psychology (graduated 2007 magna cum laude with honors! Yeah!--now working on an MA in human behavior). Anyway, I mention this because I used every class, no matter what the subject, to strengthen my studies of psychology...which you will see in this piece.

A few months ago, The Raven Chronicles published a personal essay, A Taste of Family History, that has been re-sold 5 or 6 times now (this is the first time I gave it for free).

Also, the 2d edition of one of my hiking guides, 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: San Diego, was just released.

And finally, I signed a new book contract a week ago. Barnes & Noble has cut a deal with my hiking guide publisher to do a smaller book, tentatively titled Easy Hikes Close to Home: San Diego. B&N will promote this as an impulse buy, featured in their check-out area, and my publisher plans to expand this impulse buy book to other stores as well. Best part is that they are culling a small sample of the easy hikes from my existing books, so no
work for me (other than collecting royalty checks!). :-)

Thanks for helping me celebrate!


Sarah Morgan

My flash memoir piece, "Learning to Listen," is up at The Camroc Press Review.


This piece evolved from the Practice List last year, and I thank everyone who critiqued it. You made it better. I particularly want to thank Wayne Scheer, who suggested I shop it around. It's found a home, Wayne.

If you write flash (anything under 550 words) consider The Camroc Press Review . The editor over there is wonderful to work with!


Gary Presley

Here's an op/ed I wrote today for the local Gannett publication, the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader--"Public attitude toward disabilities took many years to transform." But even though I pointed out that it spoke to the dynamic of my book, the editor trimmed that information out of the byline.


Wayne Scheer

My little successes are nothing compared to Dawn's recent Yahoo about her Christian Science Monitor article, but I'll share anyway.

Flash Me Magazine bought my flash memoir, "Unspoken Words." Despite its being (mostly) nonfiction, the good people at Fiction offered excellent advice to improve it. The essay will appear in their next issue.

Also, Camroc Press accepted "Talkin' about My Generation," which I began in Practice and paired down to 55 words.

This week's Practice exercise~

Opening up~

Prepared by Pam Hauck
Reposted, revised on: Sunday, 18 January 2008

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Exercise: In 400 words or less, write an opening for a story or novel that will make your readers want to know more, to turn the page and keep going.
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Read the opening paragraphs of a novel or story you like. Does it start with a bang or more subtly, planting a question or a seed? What in the opening makes you want to continue reading?

The best stories grab a reader's attention immediately. Whether you are writing a short story, novel or memoir, your first few paragraphs must persuade a reader to turn the page and see what happens next. Thus an effective opening is essential.

Three ways to rivet your reader are often cited: promise a fascinating plot, portray a character who demands to be known better, or write prose that enchants the reader from the start. There may be others.

For this exercise, you are asked to write something that will make us all want you to go on for pages more. Don't attempt to write a complete story--write only the opening that will keep your readers glued to your page.
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These exercises were written by IWW members and administrators to provide structured practice opportunities for its members. You are welcome to use them for practice as well. Please mention that you found them at the Internet Writers Workshop.

So You Want Something Different than Word?

I use OpenOffice, no doubt because I think linearly.

Another writer recommends Scrivener for Macs "... writing software that stays with you from that first, unformed idea all the way through to the first - or even final - draft. Outline and structure your ideas. Take notes. Storyboard your masterpiece using a powerful virtual corkboard. View research while you write. Track themes using keywords." (Scrivener directs PC users to Page Four.)

And still another writer suggests LyX for both OSes "... a document processor that encourages an approach to writing based on the structure of your documents (WYSIWYM) and not simply their appearance (WYSIWYG).

The Believer Magazine

• The Believer is a monthly magazine where length is no object.
• There are book reviews that are not necessarily timely, and that are very often very long.
• There are interviews that are also very long.
• We will focus on writers and books we like.
• We will give people and books the benefit of the doubt.
  

Unsolicited Nonfiction and General Inquiry Guidelines:

• The Believer will consider unsolicited nonfiction manuscripts and pitches. Please do not send fiction.
• General inquiries, along with query letters, essays, non-book reviews, etc., should be emailed to submissions@believermag.com
• Please include clips or a brief publication history
• Due to the high volume of submissions we receive, please allow up to three months for a reply to unsolicited manuscripts or queries
  

Review Submissions may be sent via email only to meehan@believermag.com

Poetry Submissions may be sent via email only to poetry@believermag.com

WSFA Small Press Award

Long-time IWW administrator and editor Gayle Surette notes, "This year I'm the administrator for the WSFA Small Press Award. It's the third year for the award and the buzz gets better each year.

"The committee is now accepting nominations. Writer's can nominate one story of their own if it was published by a small press and was science fiction, fantasy, horror, or speculative fiction of some variety."

Here's the announcement:

WSFA Small Press Award Committee now accepting nominations for workspublished in 2008:

The Washington Science Fiction Association has established a literary award to honor the work done by small presses in promoting and preserving science fiction. The WSFA Small Press Award will be given yearly for original short fiction works (17,500 words or fewer) of imaginative literature (e.g., science fiction, fantasy, horror, speculative fiction or like literature) published by a small press.

For complete rules see the WSFA Small Press Award Website. Deadline for nominations is March 1, 2009.

The Villain's Journey

Multi-published genre author Cait London sent a note (ed: permission granted to repost here) to another writer's list which says "I've long believed in the villain's journey, an antagonist strong enough to meet the protagonist. Really interesting reading fare for mystery writers, from great sources on the Muderati blog.: The Villain's Journey."

IWW Members' Publishing Successes

The new year is well underway, and members of the IWW are going full steam!

Carter


Barry Basden

My 55er on illicit love, "Orange County," is up and already archived at Drunk and Lonely Men.


Karna Converse

I have 15 short devotions in the Jan/Feb/March issue of Christ In Our Home. This is a national publication from Augsburg Fortress (publishing arm of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America) and an assignment I received last spring. I'm excited to re-read the devotions and to see that the editors made very few changes to my submissions, but this yahoo is more about the responses I've received:

A gentleman from Colorado called our church office (in Iowa) to comment; a gentleman from Canada called me directly to comment; a friend from one of our former congregations emailed me; members of our current congregation are receiving calls from their out-of-town friends. And when I asked my pastor if she thought the messages were "on target," she gave me a huge smile.

I share this as a reminder to take a minute when we read something that strikes a chord and tell the writer about it. It's a great feeling.

Here's a link to Augsburg Fortress' submission guidelines (for books, magazines, devotions, music) are here.


Ritz Imuta

Long ago, with help from this list, I wrote a piece that was retained by a national monthly magazine. After about a year of communications, the editors returned it for reasons I won't go into, but they were gracious and wonderful to work with throughout.

I shelved the piece.

A few months ago, I reworked (& retitled) it for another market. All things going well, "Poor Thing" will be included in a Cup of Comfort for Parents of Children with Special Needs (Phew!), an anthology scheduled to be published in May 2009. Pays much, much less but is a very good fit.

Thanks to all who ever critted, supported, or blasted my writing in NFict, Fiction, Novels, and YA. You know who you are!

And for those of you new to IWW, stick around. This list really *rocks*!


Frances Mackay

Congratulations all for your Yahoos. I have one too.One of my earlier poems, "The Conspiracy," has been published in the Victorian publication of Rural Women's Network Newsletter, December issue. I also was awarded 2 DPAs at breakfast readings just before Christmas.

My New Year's resolution (one of them) is to be more positive about submissions. Best of writing to you all in 2009.


Sheri McGregor

I have several yahoos to share.

One is the sale of an academic paper I wrote during my undergraduate studies. It was for a literature class, which I took as one of my upper division electives during my program to get my BA in psychology (graduated 2007 magna cum laude with honors! Yeah!--now working on an MA in human behavior). Anyway, I mention this because I used every class, no matter what the subject, to strengthen my studies of psychology...which you will see in
this piece.

A few months ago, The Raven Chronicles published a personal essay that has been re-sold 5 or 6 times now (this is the first time I gave it for free). It's at:

Also, the 2d edition of one of my hiking guides, 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: San Diego, was just released.

And finally, I signed a new book contract a week ago. Barnes & Noble has cut a deal with my hiking guide publisher to do a smaller book, tentatively titled Easy Hikes Close to Home: San Diego. B&N will promote this as a featured item at check-out, and my publisher plans to expand this impulse-buy book to other stores as well.

Thanks for helping me celebrate!


Gary Presley

That new publication "looking for microthings that move us to joy or sadness or anger or any other real emotion that illuminates the human condition" -- the Camroc Press Review -- published a condensed scene from my memoir. You can find it titled "The Part that Kept Me from Screaming."

If you read it, you can send me an email, and I'll apologize for having been a jerk.


Wayne Scheer

My flash "It's Not So Funny"--my wife's favorite story--is up (so to speak) at Barry Basden's Camroc Press blog. Proudly, I join Barry, Sue Ellis of Pushcart Prize fame, and Carter Jefferson.

Cynic Magazine has selected my story, "A Fallen Comrade," as one of their Best of 2008. The story is reprinted in their present issue. "Comrade" was critiqued at both Fiction and Practice.

Finally, an old story critiqued years ago at Fiction, "And Now for Something
Completely Different," the tender romance between a stalker and his prey, is up at Big Pulp. Big Pulp looks for genre fiction--such as Science Fiction, Horror, Romance, Humor--and seems to prefer that the authors not take themselves and their characters too seriously. In addition, they pay a big penny a word.


Harriette Spanabel

A six-word story I wrote on love was chosen as one of the stories for the book Six Word Memoir on Love & Heartbreak, which is published and now on sale at Amazon as well as other book stores. My copy is on the way to me. There were many, many entries into this contest and 500 were picked for the book. Published by Smith Magazine.


Joanna Weston

I got home to find a few belated Christmas presents in my email! My review of Taylor Leedahl's poetry is up at PoetryReviews.ca

Two poems in Tower Poetry's Winter edition (print), both critted by the Poetry List, bless the poets.

Two poems, "Finality" and "Power-cut," up at Inscribed. Scroll down a little and and click on the picture of Vol. 4, Issue 1.

And my poem "The Cadence of Earth" has been selected as "one of the best poems of 2008" by The Cynic Online Magazine. (Scroll way down.)

Happy New Year everyone:-)

This week's Practice exercise~

Demons within~

Prepared by: Loretta Russell and Ruth Douillette
Reposted on: Sunday, 11 January 2009

-------------------------

Exercise: In 400 words or less show us a character who slides from success or normality into self-destruction. The story can be fiction or non-fiction.

-------------------------

A prominent banker, a pillar of the community earning $500,000 a year, hanged himself after being accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl; there was DNA evidence.

With headlines like this appearing in new papers, there are, unfortunately, many examples of people who appear to be successful, but who, for reasons not always easily apparent, act in ways that send them on a downward spiral. It happens to the "common man" (or woman) as well as the "superstar."

Consider the influences that lead a person to self-destruct? Is it a quest for power, a
mental illness, a character flaw, or something within society itself? Why does it
happen to some, but not others? Is such behavior an affliction primarily of the rich
and famous, or is it an equal opportunity problem?

Consider these questions as you develop a character on the path to self-destruction.
--------------------------
These exercises were written by IWW members and administrators to provide structured practice opportunities for its members. You are welcome to use them for practice as well. Please mention that you found them at the Internet Writers Workshop.

"I Shall Be Sober"

The television host and sometime actor Dick Cavett writes the Talk Show blog for the New York Times.

This week's offering is particularly droll.

Pick up the Feed on This One

An interesting blog about the art and craft of writing ...

• The Seekers: on the road to publication. Writing, contests, publication and everything in between.
  

Note this blog says it is based on a Christian perspective, but a good part of the writing advice can be applied to non-genre writing.

Prairie Schooner Literary Magazine

Long-time IWW member and essayist Karna Converse sent me a note saying ...

I just read in a University of Nebraska publication (I'm an alum) that Prairie Schooner will become a paying market. I can't find the article online but here's the gist of it:

Prairie Schooner received a $300,000 gift from a man in California who was a longime subscriber. Hilda Raz, Prairie Schooner's editor sai the gift fulfills the magazines' longime desire to pay its contributors.

I don't see that the online writer's guidelines have been edited to reflect this, but the announcement appeared in the Winter 2008 issue of One Nebraska.

• Here are Prairie Schooner's Writer's Guidelines.
• Here is Prairie Schooner's Blog.

Something New in Publishing

Ruth Hunter, a writer with whom I am acquainted via a local group sent this note to that list.

There is a twitter...ezine that publishes very short stories. They do pay about 5 cents per word if you get accepted. I have submitted a two sentence story..with the promise I would make it a serial, but have heard nothing so far. Interesting concept. We will see with time. Here is a link where you can find out more about it. You have to be a member of twitter and be signed up with paypal to get paid.

• For what it is worth, Twitter has been hacked recently. See this story on Network World.

IWW Members' Publishing Successes

Starting the New Year off with a bang!`

Carter


Barry Basden

Hoo-boy. In an amazing acceptance, my 55-word rant, "Six Sentences," is up at http://sixsentences.blogspot.com/ It's basically a head-butt against the concept of that site.

I can't remember exactly when I wrote it, but it must have been when I was roaming the house in a funk late one night around New Year's Eve. Had to be. It's undoubtedly the subliminal reason I made a resolution to be kinder this year.

Sheesh.


Sue Ellis

Yahoo! A piece of microfiction on Barry's new blogspot. Gary suggested the title be changed and it was a change for the better. Check out his new site, if you haven't already.

And I'm still in shock this morning. Got an email from Flash Me Magazine saying that my story that they published last summer, "Suspended Belief," has been nominated by them for the Pushcart Prize. I can die happy now, just being nominated. I wrote the story for an assignment here on the Ptactice list a couple of years ago. Thanks to all who critiqued that story.


Alice Folkart

Two poems, "Hawaiian Chicken--Not a Recipe" and "What Stirs That Bird?" are up at the lovely journal, Ink Sweat and Tears, the poetry and prose webzine. Scroll down a little.

The editor is looking for poetry and prose (flash) submissions. They seem particularly interested in haiku and haibun, and have just put together a chapbook.

And a little bouquet of haiku has been published by 7Beats. If you want to see them, scroll down, down, down until you come to the large portrait of a cat--hard to miss in yellows and blacks. My poems are right above that.

But while you are scrolling, take a look at some of the other work--the photos are especially nice in this issue. Also, this issue introduced me to some poets I hadn't known before, whose work I found both interesting and inspiring--a few: W.S. Mervin, Alarcon, Golden.


Dawn Goldsmith

Another thank you to the nonfiction list for their crits of my piece written for the Christian Science Monitor's request for Martin Luther King related essays. It was readily accepted and will run on or about Martin Luther King Day this month.


Mel Jacob

Two more reviews up: in SFRevu, Cecilia Holland's The High City, a fantasy set in old Constantinople-- heavy on history as the Emperor Basil struggles to defeat rivals and in Gumshoe Review, Alison Bruce's Cambridge Blue, a modern English mystery.

I did more reviews, but they'll be up next month so I'll yahoo them then. The reviewing offers a great opportunity to see new books and get some inkling into what is hitting the market. Too, Gayle Surrette, the editor, is a dream to work with.


Carter Jefferson

Sue Ellis beat me to it, but my very short memoir "Writing Class" was published on January 5 in Barry Basden's new blog-zine Camroc Press.

Barry asked for 250-word pieces that will move the readers, and then moved the count up to 550. Pay will be a book the press will publish when enough good stuff comes in, free to authors included. Please hurry up! I want my copy soon if I mine gets in.

Thanks to my one and only critter on this one.


Rebecca Kellogg

I've a new article up at stretcher.com this week, for your entertainment: "Start Next Year's Holiday Shopping Now."


Paul Pekin

My short story, "The Song of the Llifient," is up at the Oregon Literary Review.


This story was critiqued on the fiction list a few years ago. Thanks to all.


Anand SaiRam Rainman

Happy New Year.

Some good news to share. Big Pulp will publish my short mystery “The Water Grave“ in their February 2009 issue. I subbed it to the Fiction List in January 2008, and thanks to all who critiqued it.


Anita Saran

Pleasant surprise! I posted an essay, "Roses for Father," on Author Nation and have won 12th place among 49 contestants in their first quarterly Short Story and Essay Contest. The entry will be included in an anthology published in the near future by Infinity Publishing, sponsor of AuthorNation.com. And I also get 2 complimentary copies of the fall anthology.

My my!

Season's Greetings!



Wayne Scheer

Just got back from a short vacation to good news amidst hundreds of emails. Mo: Writing from the River, the print literary journal of Montana State University, has accepted my short story "Demons."


Mona Vanek

North Palouse Journal, January 1, 2009, published "Staying Alert For Methamphetamine Dangers," the article many critters helped improve. I'm ever so grateful to you, and what a wonderful way to begin 2009 ~~ in good company here on IWW.
_________________________________________________________________

This week's Practice exercise~

Generation Gap~

Prepared by Carter Jefferson
Reposted, revised on: Sunday, 4 January 2008

-------------------------

Exercise: In 400 words or less, write a scene involving two characters
related to one another by birth or marriage, one more than 75 years old, the
other at least 25 years younger.

-------------------------

The characters may be almost anyone: mother and daughter, grandfather and
granddaughter, first cousins or siblings, uncle and nephew, even wife and
husband. Don't tell us their ages--let them show us.

The setting may be a family residence, a nursing home, a golf course, a
kitchen, a prison, anywhere. They may be meeting after a long separation,
or they may live together and associate with each other daily. See if you
can give us an idea of their previous attitudes toward each other--loving,
hostile, or something else--and explore the emotions generated during this
meeting.
------------------------
These exercises were written by IWW members and administrators to provide structured practice opportunities for its members. You are welcome to use them for practice as well. Please mention that you found them at the Internet Writers Workshop.

Awaiting the "Word of the Year"

If you drill down, the pivot may be the economic bailout, but don't blagojevich your bets by overlooking staycation or czar.

Word of the Year
Some overused phrases and words win our recognition as 2008's most hackneyed rhetoric.
January 3, 2009

On Jan. 9, the American Dialect Society, an assemblage of academic and amateur wordsmiths, will convene in San Francisco and announce 2008's Word of the Year.

Read the full story in the Los Angeles Times.

Donald Westlake Dies

Since his first novel, “The Mercenaries,” was published by Random House in 1960, Mr. Westlake had written under his own name and several pseudonyms, including Richard Stark, Tucker Coe, Samuel Holt and Edwin West. Despite the diversity of pen names, most of his books shared one feature: They were set in New York City, where he was born.

• Read the full story in the New York Times.

Writers Never Have Enough Time

Get organized!

Tips from an article in the Washington POST ...

By Kathleen Hom
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 1, 2009; H05

Getting organized for the new year is a cliched resolution that so many of us abandon by mid-January. It's tough to tackle (much less successfully emerge from) a heaping mess with vigor. But if you fear an avalanche of teetering files or can't remember where the car keys are for the 10th time, organization should rightfully top your to-do list.

Read: "Resolved to Get Organized? These Web-Based Tools Can Help."