Monthly Archives: September 2013

7 Ways to Avoid Lawsuits in Writing

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7 Ways to Avoid Lawsuits in Writing

By Rory C. Keel

 

When writing a biography, autobiography or memoir writers often worry about being sued for libel, slander or defamation. And since we don’t live life stranded on an island, our stories often include writing about other people that surround us. The truth is anyone can sue for anything even if it’s not justified. This can cost you, the writer, money.

Here are 7 ways to lessen your chances of a lawsuit.

  1. Don’t write about shady doctors and lawyers
  2. Write the truth about events, actions and conversations. Don’t exaggerate or lie except to change the identity of an individual.
  3. When disguising someone’s identity, make it difficult for someone to guess the individual.
  4. Don’t write about ex-lovers for revenge.
  5. Don’t accuse someone of a criminal act unless he or she has already been convicted. Otherwise only describe actual behavior and words, things that you can verify that were done or said in your presence. Remind your reader that this is your recollection and not a statement of fact.
  6. Don’t attribute a mental or physical disease to someone without having evidence that you can prove. Instead dramatize the person’s actual behavior from your point of view.
  7. Don’t accuse someone of being incompetent or dishonest in his or her job, a member of a cult or being a prostitute. Your best bet is to show their behavior as you observed them and describe your feelings assuring the reader of your opinion.

With these helpful hints, you can still have your First Amendment rights of free speech and confidence to write your stories with less chance of being sued.

Roryckeel.com

8 Good Writing Practices of Neil Gaiman

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8 Good Writing Practices of Neil Gaiman

By Natalie Bright

Neil Gaiman pens science fiction and fantasy in a variety of forms—novels, children’s books, graphic novels, comic books, and film. From an article in The Guardian, I’m sharing his tips on writing:

8 Good Writing Practices

  1. Write.
  2. Put one word after another. Find the right word, put it down.
  3. Finish what you’re writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.
  4. Put it aside. Read it pretending you’ve never read it before. Show it to friends whose opinion you respect and who like the kind of thing that this is.
  5. Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.
  6. Fix it. Remember that, sooner or later, before it ever reaches perfection, you will have to let it go and move on and start to write the next thing. Perfection is like chasing the horizon. Keep moving.
  7. Laugh at your own jokes.
  8. The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you’re allowed to do whatever you like. (That may be a rule for life as well as for writing. But it’s definitely true for writing.) So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can. I’m not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter.

 nataliebright.com

Cal Farley Boy’s Ranch Rodeo

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A Pinch of Rodeo

By Joe R. Nichols

 

Cal Farley Boy’s Ranch Rodeo

 

What an honor to be a part of the Labor Day Rodeo at the Boy’s Ranch.

I’ve never been to a rodeo where the crowd got in to the action more than the fans who came to support these kids. They were looking for any reason to acknowledge the efforts of the contestants, and the cowboys and cowgirls gave them plenty of opportunity to applaud and cheer.

From the little kids stick-horse race, to the senior boys bull riding, they all did their best. They come from all over the country and from all different circumstances. Most of them have no background or knowledge of the sport of rodeo prior to coming to the Boy’s Ranch. That’s what makes it so special to me. They get involved and take it serious. It’s amazing how fast they progress and how competitive they are, but the most impressive aspect, is how these kids pull for each other. This is the story I want to tell.

A senior girl was unable to compete due to a broken arm from a unrelated accident. She was considered to be in the running for the girls all-around title. Her good friend Gabby, a junior, decided before the rodeo, that if she could win the championship saddle, she would give it to her friend.

You have to consider, winning a saddle is a special and rare thing, and very hard to do. I can’t tell you how much it impressed me that this girl would try so hard to win one, and give it away.

Every event she did well in, she would ride out of the arena pointing at her friend, who was unsuspecting. In the pole bending event, she knocked down a pole, and she thought it might cost her the title. In the end, she did win the Senior Girls All-Around Championship.

The rodeo director became very emotional as he explained to the audience what her intentions were. They put the trophy saddle on her horse, then the friend with her arm in a cast, got on. Gabby led her around the arena to much applause and appreciation.

In my mind, it was the highlight of the entire rodeo.This has to say so much about the program at Cal Farley’s and the teachers, staff, administrators, host families, and everyone involved in such a life changing experience for young men and women.

Islands in the Sun

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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

Islands in the Sun

By Nandy Ekle

It’s time for a vacation. Actually, checking my watch a good vacation is way past due.

So where shall we go? What shall we do? The calendar says, “Fall is preparing to fall.” The weatherman says, “Fat chance.” The stress meter says, “Who cares?” This makes the boundaries wide open.

We can go to a tall mountain covered by a dense forest, find a small cabin and sit on the front porch counting the trees. Or we can go to a beach next to the ocean and count the grains of sand.

And really and truly, why do we wait until we have time and money, or until we’re so stressed we begin to make mistakes because we’re trying so hard not to make mistakes? Aren’t we writers? Don’t we possess a great a power in our imaginations?

Exactly.

So take deep cleansing breath and close your eyes. Picture the clear air brusing your face, whether it’s salty from the ocean or woodsy from the forest. Take a deep lungful of the quiet relaxation you smell. Kisten to the slight breeze blowing fluffy white clouds around. And taste the freedom.

While you’re there counting trees/sand, describe what you see. A jellyfish dancing in the water? A doe daintily picking her way through the grass? A pirate ship on the horizen? A bear running between trunks?

Write it all down along with why they’re there.

Now come back home and go back to work.

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

THE DOT

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THE DOT

By Sharon Stevens

“But if you really want to read everything, you’ve got to convince them to open up all the way. Not until then will you be able to read the fine print of the soul.” Advice of Mary Grace in THE NOTE by Angela Hunt

Today was a whopper as far as the roller coaster of emotions goes. One minute I was so up, the next slightly down, and the next crashing to the bottom, and the next soaring above the clouds.

Well, of course at first was the grieving as well as the celebration for those lost and honored with 9/11. So many memorials, so many flags. And then there was the worry about Syria, oh and small town politics. Usual run of the mill stuff. Our daughter called and then our other daughter called. One pair close in miles and the other separated by distance but not by love. Oh how it warms my heart and soul when they call if even for just moments. I need that tangible touch even if they really don’t. When they’re finished even though I‘m not …“Got to go mom, really mom, I’ve truly got to go. Please mom, I need to get off the phone. I love you mom, but my husband is on the other line, or a friend, or my boss, or dad. Hate to cut you off but I got to go. Talk to you soon. Bye, bye again, bye-bye again.” Why do cell phones no longer click to announce they are gone. It would be so much easier.

I had just finished reading Angela Hunt’s, “The Note” and was shaken that she got the inspiration for the book about a plane crash in September 2000. Another roller coaster.

This evening I was watching the semi-finals of “America’s Got Talent”. The son of our own home grown Billy and Judy Carpenter Howell is the producer. Houston Howell went to WTAMU and made it across country to New York Radio City Music Hall to produce everything for this event. What a wonderful way to celebrate the pure beauty of those souls and their families from 9/11! Roller coaster!

But in between this morning and this evening I thought I was handling everything fairly well UNTIL. A young girl walked into our bookstore and asked if we had any children’s books. Well, I asked her, why was she asking. She didn’t seem shy, but just hesitant. The ladies down at the Canyon Public Library sent me here when I asked them the same question, she said. But WHY are you asking I asked again. She said she was looking for donations for their business for the kids to set up a little library, and needed books to stock it. But who is it for, I asked.

It’s for the children, she said.

She worked for Specialized Therapy Services in Amarillo where they provide exercise, speech, and therapy for all kinds of needs. They thought it would be wonderful to have a little children’s library for the kids to have books, but also so that they could read to the kids as they underwent their sessions.

“The thing that impresses me the most about our kids is that our kids own that school emotionally. They know they belong here and they are 100 percent accepted and loved and challenged. Loving them is not enough. “Karen Day, Specialized Therapy Services

Overwhelmed with emotions wasn’t the words I was looking for as I stared at her across the counter, but there were no words to do justice either. So I would just have to go with those sounds that tumbled straight out of my mouth. And then I began to gather a book here and a book there. Lynn Brown and her daughter Jamie Allan from the Playhouse Day Care had left off some books, one was even Eric Carle’s, something about Kangaroos I believe. That would do I would think. I told this young girl in front of me that our stock was so low as we had sent so many cases last year donated by Jan Henson Dickerson and her family that were sent down to our daughter, Andrea Keller. She teaches in Irving Texas, and one of their kids at Sally B. Elliott Elementary School had started a program, THE GIFT OF READING, to give every kid in the school three books for Christmas.

As I gathered up the meager hodge-podge of books around our play area I thought and thought. “Do I dare?” My next thought, “Of course”. My final thought. “No question!”

The evening before I had purchased Peter Reynold’s book, “The Dot” from Barnes and Nobles in Amarillo. Andrea had called making sure I was getting ready for International Dot Day on September 15, 2013 and I wanted to be prepared. I had already talked with Lynn at the Playhouse, Nikki and Debbie at Stevens Flowers, the Paper Crane Art Shop just to pass the word so they could be involved as well on dot day. Even though I knew what the book was about I had never seen a copy or read the text. When I bought this book I carried it lovingly in my arms until I got into the truck to have a moment to read to my hearts content. I read it once, another, and yet another, and over and over again. I brushed my hand across the pages, touched the artwork and made my mark. My plans had been to take it by the shops I had listed above so that they could read the book, and pass it on to the next business so we could all celebrate Dot Day in any way we choose or chose. What a grand idea!

But alas, here in front of me was a young girl gathering donations for special kids at her work. No brainer. I retrieved the book from the store bag with the receipt still inside. “The Dot” would have another home. I turned it to her and opened the pages one after the other so she could read the words and see the art and feel the story itself. And when she was finished I slipped my brand spanking new copy inside her bag (the Buffalo Bookstore bag), and told her it was a gift. I shared about Dot Day, and Peter Reynolds, and Andrea Keller, and the Gift of Reading, and how this was the same sort of project my daughter would volunteer for and be involved in God bless her very wonderful and sweet soul. But I had forgotten something. I removed the book again and opened the front page. Such a beautiful, and empty front page. So very many possibilities. I started to write, but my hands were so shaky and my heart was so full I was making a mess. “I couldn’t even draw a straight line with a ruler.”

I turned the book and asked her to “make her mark”. She had such beautiful handwriting. And this is what I inspired her to write, my favorite quote from Helen Hayes, “From your parents you learn love and laughter,” (she wrote it laughter and love, doesn’t make a hill of beans) “and how to put one foot before another, but when books are opened you discover you have wings.” How apropos.

We made our marks in these moments. Her generation and mine. We stood across the counter from each other and shared our passions in one fell swoop. In our family, in our business, in our city, in our university of WTAMU, in our county, in our state (the Great state of Texas I might add), in our country, in our world, internationally, globally, in every way, shape or form we made our mark. And it was pure, it was grand, and it was stupendous! On every level with every emotion we shared, connected, and linked our heritage, our legacies. No stone was left unturned. On this remembrance of 9/11 we remembered and honored in such a way that I knew the Angels in the Heavens above were celebrating. How could they not.

Oh the emotions that were flowing in those moments. She was going to take the books and share the message and tell the story and read to the kids over and over again. But something more important. She would remember how she felt and what she would treasure. She just might carry this in her heart and pass it on at church, or camp, or college or where ever she may travel. If she marries and has children she might buy her own copy to read to her kids or share it with her husband so he can read it as well.

Andrea shared with me that she gave it as a baby shower gift for a good friend that she taught with in Amarillo that was even signed by the author. Now this copy has made it from one side of the nation to the other. What a gift this is now and will be in years to come. And just think when these children are struggling with whatever brings them pain no matter the age, they can bring out this book and remember the love of a parent or a guidance of a teacher to just make their mark and see where it takes them.

Peter and Kerith Buckingham stopped in our bookstore on their journey around the world. This leg was traveling on Route 66 and they dipped down so they could visit the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum and Palo Duro Canyon. They got their latte next door at Vince’s Vinyl, but he didn’t have any “biscuits” (cookies) so they came next door as we always have cookies in the cooky jar. I found out they were from Australia and driving from country to country in their bright, canary yellow MG. Such delightful people they were. They loved book shops which meant they had come to the right place.

I just happened to have a copy of Canyon’s 100th  anniversary Canyon News edition that I slipped into their bag. I had one of Jodi Thomas’ books that found its way into the mix. Jodi is my favorite author and friend celebrating 25 years of writing and 10 years of her fan club. I, along with Connie Hirsch and Natalie Bright are founding members, just so you know.

I had just picked up a book by Elmore Leonard who had passed away that day, and put it into their bag. The book, not Elmore.

As always I made up a bag about our area with the Amarillo Magazine and Texas Highways and Canyon News and everything else. As THEY, Peter and Kerith (Don’t you just love that name?) as they shared of their travels I was reminded of the book, “After You Marco Polo” by Jean Bowie Shor. I dug through my collection (translation-hoarding) of materials until I found a quote from the book about Jean’s travels and slipped it into the bag as well. I then sent them on their way having NO idea where they could put anything more into their tiny car or how, but they made it fit. Thank goodness they weren’t Texas sized people or they would have been in real trouble. I snapped their picture and they were on their way never to be seen again. Well actually, Craig Keel, a fellow blogger spotted them in Colorado at a gas station. He said no one could miss their bright yellow car.

I will be the first to admit I can’t draw. Never have been able to and never want to try. This isn’t my thing. I don’t want to write the great American novel either. I don’t want to hold office or make great speeches. Nope, that isn’t my style. But as a writer of sorts I want to share the stories and remember the memories. Why is that so wrong? I want to see polar bears in snow storms on a blank piece of white paper because the image of a polar bear reminds me of my grandmother and makes me smile, and I want to tell HER story.

But what I truly want to do is to make my mark, and see where it goes, even with something as simple as writing a blog.

Thanks Andrea Keller and Peter Reynolds for making your mark so I could share your story even all the way down to the fine print.

Tribute

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Outtakes 111

 

Tribute

By Cait Collins

Have you ever had to write a tribute to someone really special? It’s much harder than you might imagine. How do you express your love and appreciation without sounding sappy? How do you reduce years of friendship to two or three paragraphs? What do you include and what do you omit? Do you go for tears or for laughs?

I really don’t know the answer.

I’m in the process of writing such a tribute. The accolades are well earned. My friends have been fixtures throughout the Texas Panhandle and the surrounding states for many years. He and his wife are loved and respected. They have been part of my life, my family, for forty-six years. I have so much to say but I have a 4×8 inch card. It is impossible to express everything I would like to tell them.

So here I sit working on rewrite three. No matter what I do, it just isn’t right. My friends are special and deserve my best. Above all, it must come from my heart. So wish me luck. These two paragraphs are harder than I imagined.

Memoir Exercise

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Memoir Exercise

By Rory C. Keel 

If you write memoir, here’s one exercise that will jog your memory and help you start your writing.

Answer each of the following questions in one paragraph or less.

1. Describe the story the world you grew up in told you that you should become?

What message did your parents, class, society or environment in which you grew up suggest you should be?

2. What was the story of who you should become that you told yourself?

What dream did you have for yourself?

3. What is the story life has told you now, of who you are?

Where are you at in life at this stage?

Now compare your answers to all three questions, is who you are today, the same as what you were told you would be?

Using these questions, you can build a framework to develop the story of your life.

Roryckeel.com

Agents: What They’re Good For

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Agents: What They’re Good For

by Natalie Bright

Agent, editor, publisher, market researcher, promoter, bookstore seller, book author relations manager, graphic artist, publicist, website designer, book reviewer, marketing exec, critique partner, event scheduler: do you have an understanding of the work done by each of these people?

If you’re a writer, these folks are important. They are your team of professionals in the publishing industry. If you’re a published author, you’re probably doing one or most of these jobs yourself.

At a BookFair event, I was asked “Where do I find my agent? I probably should get one.”  No, this author didn’t have the book finished, and no, they couldn’t identify the genre. But, they wanted their book on the New York Times list and that’s what an agent does. These types of conversations always leave me surprised at how confusing the world of publishing can be. So, let’s talk about agents.

Agents bring people together: the publishing house and the author; the story idea and the screenplay writers; the artists and the book designers; the dreamers and the publishing executives.

The Hard Sale

When I consider all of the jobs listed above, I think the most difficult is the literary agent based on my experience as a licensed real estate agent.

A real estate salesman brings people together; the buyer and the seller. The frustrating part is we’re not privy to any insider information that might help us close the deal. The homeowner has done everything right. The property is in pristine condition. What are the potential buyers whispering about in the back yard? The wife tells me she loves the house, but hates that color of beige in the kitchen. I point out that walls can be painted. She just can’t envision it, which makes we wonder what’s the real reason? I haven’t a clue what to say or how to reach a compromise. No sale.

I gave up my real estate license years ago because I did not have the patience for the business. And then I changed my focus to a career in writing (talk about a test of patience).

Bringing People Together

Even though authors are the creative energy behind this whole process, we can’t know exactly what editors and publishing houses are really looking for.  We’ll never be invited to the internal team meetings. We’re not privy to the insider buzz about long-term business plans or the new imprints, but literary agents are the people with an inside track to this information. Editors say “we’re looking for” and literary agents work to fill those slots.

I can’t imagine getting hundreds of queries every week. How do you know which ones have the potential for greatness? Which manuscript is worth an agent’s time to provide direction with revisions? How can they determine which story a particular editor will feel a connection to? How can they decide whose career has the greatest longevity? And remember, agents don’t get paid until there’s a contract.

Literary agents have the ability to bring all of the players to the table and if a publishing contract is signed, the result is something magical, or that’s how I feel about books anyway (when I finish reading a great story it’s like magic to me). What a satisfying feeling that must be for agents knowing that they are the key to who knows who.

Publishing in an Uproar

As I read the news and deals on Writers Marketplace, I’ve come to realize how much the industry is changing. Yes, there are many opportunities out there for agented and un-agented authors, but the playing field is in an uproar. I think having a literary agent on your side is a good thing. Who knows if your story will find a home? It might not. Who knows what the next hottest genre will be? That’s impossible to predict.

When you read the list of industry professionals above, you might have noticed I left one person off of the list: writer. That would be you – the only thing you can completely control is getting words on the page and it’s the hardest work you’ll ever do. And in today’s world, the options are mind blowing for writers who have a good understanding of who’s sitting at the table and the roles they play in building a career. I have a self-pub book, an inspirational eBook on Smashwords that will be a softcover soon, and I have a knowledgeable, capable literary agent who is shopping a middle grade novel. We can have it all, I think, if you’re willing to work 24/7 to reach your goals.

Whatever your goals, go for it, have confidence in the story that only you can tell, and good luck in reaching your dreams! Thanks for being a part of WordsmithSix.

www.nataliebright.com

Calling the Doctor

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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

Calling the Doctor

By Nandy Ekle

Entire new computer system. Tons of mandatory overtime. Drama going on all around me, in the work place, out of the work place. Chocolate therapy adds weight in places that I never wanted to see weight again. Retail therapy is expensive and piles up the bills. My gripe and scream fits do nothing but get me weird stares.

t’s times like these that I have to remember who and what I am. I am a writer. I’ve been a writer since I was old enough to hold a pencil. Reading stories and telling stories have always been as natural for me as breathing. Words are my toys, companions, my comfort.

When dark rainy days come along, the acceptable way to vent is to write it out. You don’t even have to have a starting place. Just put the pen on the paper–and I do mean pen and paper because the physicality of doing that also has its place–and start writing. Free writing is a prewriting exercise in which you just write the words that come into your head. Spelling and punctuation is absolutely not to be considered during this time.

Several things happen during this process. For one thing, you vent all the frustrations bottled up inside while dealing with unpleasant adventures flinging themselves at your face. Also the word veins in your imagination loosen up and allow a flood of wonderful words to come through. And sometimes the biggest surprise is what lives down under the sludge of a bad day is actually a superhero of a story that’s just been hiding and waiting to be written down.

So when you’re tired and unhappy, take out a pen and paper and try some free writing. The results are amazing.

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

ETHICS

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ETHICS

by Sharon Stevens

While reading the story about Anne Frank recently I came across mention that she and her sister died and were buried in an unmarked grave. No one knows where her spirit ceased here on this earth. Doesn’t matter to me. I can always read about where she lived and breathed and what brought her joy among the horrific pain of her life.

With so much in the news lately about Don Carthel and WTAMU I have been doing a great deal of soul searching within myself. I know without a doubt that Carthel is facing an injustice of the highest or lowest order according to how you look at it. He is a good, GOOD man as are his players. He was fired not because of his “ethical behavior” but because he represents something the college has to get rid of to hide their own “unethical” pursuits. But that’s my own opinion and I stand strong in those beliefs. And I have the right of the Freedom of speech under the Constitution to express my views. Just as Pattilou Dawkins did about Judge Ted Wood about the cost overruns of the Randall County Jail.

Tonight represents the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. In researching I read where it is celebrated in 2013 from sundown September 4, to nightfall September 6. and that “Though Rosh Hashanah literally means “head of the year”, the holiday actually takes place on the first two days of the Hebrew month of Tishre, which is the seventh month on the Hebrew calendar. This because Rosh Hashanah, one of the first new years in the Jewish year is considered the new year of the people, animals, and legal contracts. In the Jewish oral tradition, Rosh Hashanah makes the completion of the creation of the world…The Mishneh refers to Rosh Hashanah as the “Day of Judgment” and it is believed that God opens the Book of Life on this day and begins to decide who shall live and who shall die.”

Our son-in-law, William Keller is Jewish and he has been so wonderful to share his heritage with our family. And as a chef  we are doubly blessed. I will always remember when he made the sweet bread with honey for us as he told the story behind its meaning. What a true treasure!

As writers we always have to struggle with ethics whether we know it or not. When our stories are written we worry about what will it really convey, who will it inspire, who will it harm? What do we really mean when we write the words and will it come across that way or will it fall flat on its face. Or will it be debated in a court of law if we crossed the line we truly never meant to cross. So many doubts.

When we were out riding with friends of ours Hamblen Drive through Palo Duro Canyon we stopped at the overlook and sat under the awning over the picnic table. I glanced beside me and someone had written in black magic marker in huge letters the word “UNCONDITIONAL”.

This was a message to me that everything I write and everything I do needs to be unconditional. Inside my heart I know I have an ethical compass and that I would never cross the line intentionally. My heart is always burdened with who I will hurt if they take what I say and do the wrong way. I need to spend the rest of my life unconditional, not worrying so much or hiding in the shadows. If something is wrong or unjust I need to follow it through, without question.

Likewise if something is tremendous I need to shout it from the rooftops no matter who is listening.

I came across a book written by Elie Wiesel in 1970. “A Beggar in Jerusalem”. I have never read a more powerful but beautiful book in my life.

“The tale the beggar tells must be told from the beginning. But the beginning has its own tale. Its own secret. That’s how it is, and that’s how it has always been. there is nothing man can do about it. Death itself has no power over the beginning. The beggar who tells you this knows what he is talking about….Meanwhile don’t be afraid to come closer. the beggar will do you no harm, he will cast no spell over you. Do come nearer. Do his eyes disturb you? They are not his, and he doesn’t know it. His lips? They move-yes-as though repeating tales heard or lived a day before, a century before: he no longer remembers. for him, you see, time has no meaning.”

THIS is my celebration of the New Year and how I can celebrate the heritage of ancient traditions. I can do no less. As for Anne Frank, even though she lives in an unmarked grave with her number branded on her arm, I am sure that with “ashes to ashes and dust to dust” the ink is no longer visible, long gone from her body and that of her sister. Now as far as Hitler or his SS, HE will carry HIS stain through eternity. It will never fade. His ethics are burned in HIS soul. Look what good it did for him.

Oh, and my favorite quote about ethics…”Emphasizes the needs of a larger community. What is good for the community is good for the individual by being good for the community.”