Monthly Archives: January 2013

Frontiers in Writing Contest

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Announcing

2013 Frontiers in Writing Contest

Now open for entries 

 For one low entry fee you can now enter multiple categories

Cash prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in EVERY category.

Go to:

www.Panhandleprowriters.org

Entry rules, procedures and format regulations are listed on the FiW Writing Contest page

Download FiW entry Application and mail along with your entry.

Entry fees can be check or Money order, or pay online using “Payments” on the PPW website.

Sponsored by the Panhandle Professional Writers

Basics to Entering a Writing Contest

 Writing contests can offer great benefits to a writer, however they can also be intimidating. To help you wade through the process, let’s look at some of the basics of entering a Writing Contest.

1. Choose the right contest – Do the research to find the best contest for your writing. Contest entry fees can vary greatly from free to extremely high. The rewards can be just as varied from a simple recognition and critique of your writing, to rewards of money prizes and publication. Beware of contests that require you to purchase the published work of your “Winning” writing. More information can be found in my article Writing Contest Benefits.

2. Choose the correct Genre – To avoid poor critiques or placement, choose the correct genre for your work. While some pieces may cross over into another classification, you will have better results if you focus your writing to one specific genre.

3. Follow Submission Guidelines – When entering a contest pay close attention to the submission guidelines. These rules may vary greatly with different organizations and contests. Be diligent to have the correct word count while using the proper page format, font, and cover page identification requirements. Don’t expect contest officials to overlook the rules just for you, it’s their contest and it’s their rules.

4. Pay attention to Postage – If you are sending an entry by mail it will require the correct postage, so does the return of your entry. Read carefully any instructions regarding postage and the return mailing requirements of your entry or prizes. If you are using metered mail, postage from a meter or computer, understand that it expires on the date stamped. If you stamp the return envelope with the current date, and the contest results are not given for several months, postage may be expired and could result in your entry not being returned.

By following these few steps, entering a writing contest can be fun and successful!

Rory C. Keel

Zombies are Among us Still?

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Zombies are Among us Still?

by Natalie Bright

 

This is a topic that I should defer to the horror writer of our group, Nandy Ekle, but I read a zombie novel, TRUE NATURE, and it blew me away. I was surprised how much I enjoyed reading about gory, flesh-eaters.

Which got me to wondering, why is everyone so fascinated with zombies?  It seems like they’ve been around forever.

A Classic Flesh Eater

The classic Night of the Living Dead started it all in 1968, so yes, they have been around for a while. The director, George A. Romero, and co-writer John A. Russo, redefined modern horror at the cinema. This classic can be found on YouTube.  Romero went on to expand this classic into a trilogy, and returned in 2000s with three more flicks (Land of the Dead, Diary of the Dead, and Survival of the Dead).

The famous deathlike stupor, typically after death, has roots in various cultures throughout the world. Africa and Haiti repeat tales of wakening the dead, past relatives coming back, or witches that can inhabit bodies. Even as recently as 1982, a Harvard ethno botanist claimed his research in Haiti resulted in the discovery of two special powders with the ability to turn a living person into a walking-dead zombie-like state.

The zombie remains undead to legions of fans through movies and books.

eBook Debut

The author of TRUE NATURE, Jere Ellison, met with our writers critique group several years ago and I knew this novel in its infancy. I was intrigued then by the characters and writing style, and I couldn’t wait to see how it would develop into a full story. I wasn’t disappointed.

Jere kept writing and kept polishing, and thank goodness, shared this story with the world as an eBook. It’s available now on Amazon.com.

Writers who Stretch and Grow

For the New Year, I’ve decided to stretch out and consider reading genres that I normally would never spend time on; horror is one of those categories.

Writers write, and in order to have a greater appreciation for the flow and order of words, I think that it’s imperative that writers read too. Even zombies can teach us a thing or two.

The Name Game

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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

The Name Game

By Nandy Ekle

A face materializes before your eyes. It belongs to a new character who has come to tell you their story. You see the hair and the color of their eyes; you hear their voice as you learn what they have to say. Then the time comes to name them.

Some characters come to us already named. A lot of times naming a character is easy because they have specific traits or a specific role. I like to choose names that have something to do with the story. I keep a baby name book handy and a bookmark to baby name sites that can tell me meanings of names. It just makes sense to have a depressed female character named Mara, or a very passive male character named Bob. Or a serial killer whose last name is Carver.

But sometimes a character comes to us with no particular name. This is a little more challenging. When this happens there are a few rules to help us name give our characters realistic names. To make them believable, we should take into account the story setting. Different names might indicate different regions or ethnic backgrounds. Time also makes a difference as to name trends. Clara might be an older woman and Brittney might be a younger one. Elizabeth is an older name while Sierra is a younger name.

Another thing to take into consideration is the type of character you have. A passive male character might be Bob, while a romantic male could be Collin or Mark. A cowboy could be Cody or Don and a bully might be Bruce or Oscar.

One thing to keep in mind is the rule of twist. How fun would it be to have a young child named Bertha, or an old man named Brylan. Or think of a gloomy woman named Susie and a bubbly woman named Morticia. But make sure there’s a reason for the twist or it becomes unbelievable.

And don’t forget the originality nicknames bring to a story.

Congratulations. You have just received a post card from the muse.

THE BUS

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THE BUS

by Sharon Stevens

Years ago my daughter traveled with the Girl Scouts to the birthplace of Juliet Low in Savannah Georgia. Their bus was involved in an accident in Memphis Tennessee. They reported that their bus driver saw a light pole at the intersection ahead moving back and forth. In his experience he knew a wreck was occurring and reacted accordingly. He slowed and swerved till he could safely stop the bus. With his actions he was able to avoid a horrific and deadly tragedy. There were a few minor bumps and bruises among the girls and their leaders, but nothing that prevented them from continuing their journey. It could have been so much worse!

Dad used to drive the bus for the WTSU band kids and the football kids, spiriting whoever needed a ride to a school rivalry or athletic function.

My father-in-law and my husband both drove a school bus not only to get the kids safely to and from school, but they also drove the band bus, the spirit bus, the football bus, the fan bus to away games.

I remember the story my mom would tell about my grandfather. He would come home from working all day and see how tired grandmother was so he would send her downtown on the bus to window shop while he watched the kids just to let her get out of the house.

Servicemen stationed at the Amarillo Air Force Base rode the bus to get to town, to go to dances, to go to the movies, or just to see the sights.

I rode the school bus, my sister and brother rode the school bus, our daughters rode the school bus, and our neighbors rode the school bus until such time as we could afford a car to make the journey. Precious cargo!

I wonder how many college students make ends meet by driving a school bus every week, back and forth, to and from, day in and day out?

Our Canyon High School drama group traveled to Dallas one year to see Our Town performed by the Dallas Theater. A sweet memory I will carry with me forever. The Randall and Canyon High School choirs rode a charter bus to Dallas to take a flight to New York City to see the sights and perform at St. Patricks Cathedral and several other venues. One of the highlights was to sing the “Star Spangled Banner” at Shea Stadium for a Met’s game. What a journey that was.

My mom rides the bus at the Craig Retirement Center to go to the doctor, to get groceries, to eat out with other residents. The bus driver is always gracious and helpful as they get on the bus as well as when they exit.

Jodi Thomas, our local best selling author and Writer-in-Residence at WTAMU told me her dad used to drive a city bus in Amarillo.

Countless times I have watched across the street as school buses from around the panhandle as well as those from the charter bus companies unload passengers to tour the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum.

Rosa Parks and also The Freedom Riders will forever be linked. Their memories of riding a bus differ from mine.

I was reminded of all these stories when I heard that members of the TEXAS Musical Drama were traveling to The Gaylord in Dallas Texas to perform for the opening ceremonies for the American Bus Company.

What an opportunity! What an experience!

TEXAS has been named for several years as one of the top ten destinations for the bus companies. Here in the panhandle this means they visit our restaurants, our museum, our shops and our TEXAS.

But more importantly when they get back on the bus they take a little bit of our heritage and hospitality home with them.

Can you imagine the stories that are shared between the passengers after each stop? Many have some tie or connection with either our community, WTAMU or the history of our area.

I will never forget standing in line at Luby’s in Amarillo several years ago. Ahead of me in line was a group from Kentucky traveling by charter bus. One of the men stepped out of line and made his way back asking if anyone knew about the area. Always the tour guide I spoke up. He shared with me that he was working on a book and was wondering where he could do research in the area. He was scoping out places he could return to later on.

The bus had visited the museum, but this man didn’t know about the archives and their rich storehouse of information for every aspect of pioneer life from architects, ranchers, cowboys, business and writing. I told him about the Cornette Library and their special collections, and I racked my brain for all the out-of-the-way spots where he could find information.

I also pointed out that we were home to the Panhandle Professional Writers, one of the oldest continuous writing groups in the nation and that every year we sponsored the Frontier in Writing conference in conjunction with Amarillo College. He was excited to say the least! In one moment he had scored a hit just by getting off the bus.

This last year a tour bus from England stopped at the museum. Several tired of walking the halls and wandered across the street and came into our Buffalo Bookstore. One of the women visited quite a while with me and shared her story. Later I encountered this same group when I went by United and Hastings here in Canyon to run an errand. They had just been to Feldman’s for lunch and wandered over to visit the shops next door. The same lady who had talked with me for so long was excited to see me again. With a twinkle in her eye she smiled and said, “Isn’t it ever so nice to have a chat.”

And this brings me to the crux of my blog. A bus driver drives the bus. They may travel hundreds of miles from their home on their journey. They have a life, a family, a story. Who knows when they might recognize an adventure at hand or a tragedy about to unfold.

I have a great deal of respect for bus drivers. When passengers get on the bus they are putting their life in the hands of an experienced man or woman, trained to deliver them safely to their destination.

Who knows who they will bring to visit our community and what memories they will take back with them.

So many times as writers we are so focused on the story itself we can’t see all aspects surrounding the tale. We want to make our writing fit the page, the paper, our visions, our ideas and can’t bear the thought that we might have to go in an entirely different direction than what we anticipated.

If only we could gaze out the window at the scenery passing before us, by us, behind us and let the bus driver drive the bus.

He knows the way.

Sharon Stevens

Through the Looking Glass

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Outtakes 75

Through the Looking Glass

By Cait Collins

How do you perceive yourself as a writer? More importantly, how do others view you? Do you come off as knowledgeable and confident, or uninformed and unsure? Are you a leader or the flip, unconcerned good-off? Do other writers look to you for advice and value your views? Or do they avoid and ignore you? How does the way you dress affect your image? Are you careless in you appearance or are you neat, properly groomed, and appropriately dressed? Do you really care? If you don’t care, you should.

The image we project as writers has great bearing on acceptance from fellow writers. You attend a workshop. The brochure indicates the dress is “business casual”, but you walk in wearing wrinkled cargo shorts, a tee-shirt sporting a cartoon or political statement, and flip-flops. The other registrants are attired in pressed slacks, skirts, shirts, blazers and polished shoes. You might stand out in the crowd, but not in a positive way. A professional workshop is not an opportunity to express your individuality. If you want to be accepted as a professional, dress the part.

Attitude is another image check. One of my pet peeves is the person who continually interrupts a speaker to insert personal viewpoints or experiences. While an exchange of ideas is valuable, the speaker is the star of the session and should be given an opportunity to present the program. A know-it-all could potentially disrupt the presentation to the point the attendees get nothing out of the session. Both the speaker and the students are frustrated. And sadly, the person who keeps talking comes off as rude and unprofessional.

It’s okay to be shy, but don’t be a wallflower. Take a deep breath, step out, and introduce yourself to others. Seek out the conference planners and offer your assistance. Remember when (never think if) you become successful, you will be required to speak or maybe do book signings. It’s better to take baby steps to becoming more confident than be unprepared later.

What about your speech? Dirty jokes, cursing, political speeches, religious orations, put downs of other attendees or speakers are inappropriate. While I believe in free speech, there are times when it’s best to check your politics and religion at the door. You do not want to lose the good will and support of the writing community due to an over-active mouth.

Writers might be viewed as eccentrics working out of attics or dingy rooms. Few may truly realize the work that goes into creating a poem or short story or novel. That’s okay as long as writers realize they are professionals. We produce an important and viable product. Writers provide a means to enlighten the world on an untold number of subjects. We should be proud of our craft and project that pride and professionalism to our community and our readers.

Authors Reviewing Authors

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Middle Grade Mondays

Authors Reviewing Authors

by Natalie Bright

Writers write and writers read. And most successful writers I know read a lot, which brings me to the question of book reviews.

Should authors be reviewing other authors? The messages are mixed.

Some say no because if you’re going to do a book review, you need to be honest. If you have to give a bad review, why would you want to jeopardize relationships with other authors?  There are professional reviewers who can give honest, unbiased reviews of books. That is their job. The point being, do you want to write novels or post reviews?

The other side argues why wouldn’t you want to help a local author or friend? The gesture will be returned in kind, and everyone wins with the additional promotion. One author told me she only gives blurbs or reviews if she is absolutely blown away by the story and by the writing talent. Most authors post reviews for their friends and the question remains if they’ve taken the time to even read it.

Goodreads

I am beginning to rely on Goodreads more and more. It’s like a humongous book club where everyone loves stories and books, and those that don’t like a book aren’t afraid to say so. I read a lot, and I usually post reviews for stories that I absolutely love. For every book I love there are probably two or three that I couldn’t get past the first chapter, which makes me sad. Does that give me license to trash that author’s work? I don’t think so.

Most certainly eBooks have become an impulse buy and in my opinion, GoodReads offers varied and honest opinions to guide me in my purchases. My eReader is running over and that’s a good thing. It’s a wonderful time to be a book junky.

Subjective Opinions

The shocking realization that publishing is such a highly subjective business and that people are so varied in their personal tastes came to light for me through a contest which is why I’ve learned to take book reviews with a grain of salt. One of my very first middle grade manuscripts was submitted to two different contests with varying results many, many years ago.

The first had a $50 contest fee, and came back with scathing comments. This judge did not like my characters, the setting, with the added notation that this should NEVER be in print even as a manuscript. Seriously, one entire page, single-spaced, of why and how much he detested this story. My investment to learn about story craft came back as hate mail.

The second entry had a $20 fee and won honorable mention! The judge provided solid feedback and even included a copy of her edit checklist sheet. Because of this successful author’s gracious and helpful critique, I kept writing. This particular story is stashed away somewhere, and thank goodness I didn’t obsess over the other contest results too long. Negative energy only distracts me from reaching my goals and stops my writing in its tracks. Don’t let those subjective opinions get you off track to achieving your dreams.

Everything you write makes you an even better writer the next day, week, month, and into years. You’ll be amazed at how your writing changes from just over a months time. Some readers will like your work and some readers may hate it.

Keep writing, keep improving. There are never enough good stories out there, in my opinion.

Thanks for Following our Blog

Good luck and Happy New Years, and thanks to all of you who have followed this blog, WordsmithSix, during the past year. We really appreciate you. Sending out our best wishes that you achieve your writing goals in 2013!

www.nataliebright.com