Texting

Do you text on your cell phone?  I do but I'm not very good at it.  I have the flip phone that you have to hit the number twice to get an "n" and three times to get the "o."  Sometimes I'm so slow that people text back to see if I even got their message.

The biggest problem I have with texting is all the shortcut words now.  Love is spelled "luv" and I'm not sure what "pls" means.  I'm still working on that one.

Being a writer, words are important and the spelling of those words is even more important.  A publisher will throw your article in the trash if you use "luv" in your manuscript.  Shorthand was always a mystery to me also because those squiggly lines look nothing like the written language I learned.  I still like the feel of a pen and paper in my hand and I can't use abbreviations even when I'm writing my first draft.

Our sons have those fancy phones with the full keyboard on them.  They can text faster with two thumbs than I can type with two thumbs and eight fingers. 

I'm trying very hard to put my correct spelling aside and learn some of the new ways of spelling.  I don't think it's going to be easy.  So until next time, ttyl!

Karen Sperra

Enter A Contest

Contests are regarded by freelance writers in various ways. Some relish the competition. Some use contests as an exercise to improve their writing. Others want the professional critique offered by certain contests. And for some, it’s to win a monetary prize

Contests can help writers gain skills like learning to write to specific guidelines, meet deadlines, handle rejection, or cope with success.

Kristin Hannah, a judge for Family Circle’s Fiction Contest 2011, said, “I began my career entering writing competitions. Each of my entries taught me something, and gave me an opportunity, so they’re very near my heart.”

Kristin has gone on in her career, writing over twenty novels on topics for women, including mothers, wives, sisters and friends. She has an active website and blog and is on Facebook where she enjoys connecting with her readers.

If entry fees are a put off, consider this: Four or five forays into Starbucks will add up to an entry fee. Look at entry fees as an investment to your writing career.

Contests put your name out there. Any prize won is a credit, and first prize gets you affirmation, bragging rights and the notice of editors and publishers.

Here are two contest opportunities for you:

Family Circle Fiction Contest

c/o Family Circle Magazine, 9^th Floor

375 Lexington Ave.

New York, NY 10017

Description: This contest accepts unique, unpublished, short stories which will be judged based on writing ability, topic creativity, originality, and overall excellence. Entries must not have won any prize or award.

Website: www.familycircle.com/family-fun/fiction/

Length:  To 2,500 words

Requirements: Entry fee, $20.

Prize: Grand Prize: $750, 2^nd $250, 3^rd $250

Deadline: September

Visit the website for more guideline info. 

Reader’s Digest Writing Contest

P.O. Box 50005

Prescott, AZ 86301-5005

Description:  This Contest is about “Your Life” and accepts original, unpublished stories that share a life lesson, simple advice, a funny moment, or other story from your life.

Website: www.facebook.com/ReadersDigest

Length: To 150 words

Requirements: There is no entry fee. Submit via the Reader’s Digest Facebook page. Essays may be supported by a photo or a video. Visit the site for complete details.

Prize: Grand prize, $25,000; 10 runners-up will win $2,500. The 11 honorees will also be published on

ReadersDigest.com. The most popular Facebook entry will receive $2,500

Deadline: November 1

What have you got to lose?                                                   Pat Zabriskie

A Writer’s Bookshelf

Title: Word Magic for Writers

Author: Cindy Rogers

Publisher: Writers Institute Publishers

Date: 2004     272 pages   $19.95

www.writersbookstore.com

Mark Twain said: “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”

Every writer, experienced or just beginning wants to use that “right word.” In Word Magic for Writers, Cindy Rogers will show you how to make your writing better. Easy to read, clearly explained with exercises to practice each language device, the book is both instructive and delightful.

Like a baker “who knows the importance of ingredients and how to 

use them,” writers need to know their “ingredients,” i.e., words 

and how to use them in order to produce not only palatable reading,

but the spicy zest, the flavor that takes their books beyond 

good to gourmet.

Chapter titles to pique your interest:

Language Devices from Alliteration to Zeugma

Sound Devices to Tickle A Title and Snap Up A Sentence

Nothing Like A Simile

Excessively Extravagant Exaggeration

Vibrant Words and Vivid Images

Attention Grabbers: Titles and Headlines.

From the familiar tongue twister and simile to synecdoche and 
metonymy, you will be treated to clear explanations and glittering
examples of each language device.

Word Magic for Writers is a resource you need on your bookshelf.

                                                                                                 Pat Zabriskie

Passion in Your Writing

By

Christine Stamp

Writing without passion in a story is like eating tomatoes without any salt on them. The tomatoes are beautiful, fragrant, and juicy—but take a bite and they are just average and rather dull.  Nothing out of the ordinary, but take ahold of that magical salt shaker and sprinkle a few marvelous grains of flavor on them and VOILA, they instantly explode with intense flavor in your mouth releasing all those pleasure endorphins in your brain. That—is what passion does to your writing. It’s the magnificent ingredient that intensifies the depth and elevates your writing to that next level. (If you don’t like tomatoes, substitute chocolate without the salt, and if you don’t like chocolate, I don’t know what to tell you.)

Write about what makes you happy, sad, or angry.  The injustice that makes your blood boil. If you transfer all those feelings into your writing, your reader will feel them too, but choose your wording carefully. Make your verbs dynamic and snappy. If you use word combinations that incite your characters and make them believable, then you’ll excite you’re reader.  

In order to give your characters depth and dimension, you’ll have to get to know them as if they were family.  Learn every aspect of their lives.  You’ll need to know what makes them happy,--what makes them cry, --what makes them want to kick the cat. Otherwise they will be flat and in need of CPR.

Quiz Time!

I'm doing something a little different today.  This is a quiz that was used in one of the "Murder, She Wrote" mysteries written by Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain.  At the beginning of each chapter, there was a murder mystery question.  Have fun!  The answers are at the bottom of the quiz.

In what Agatha Christie book did her Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, make his first appearance?

Which mystery writer features cats in her novels?

The origin of the detective story is generally attributed to what nineteenth century writer?

The characters Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin resided in a brownstone on West Thirty-fifth Street in Manhattan.  Who created them?

Who wrote the hard-boiled detective novel "I, the Jury?"

What British mystery writer also writes psychological crime novels under the pseudonym Barbara Vine?

"The Postman Always Rings Twice" was published in 1934.  Who wrote it?

John Dickson Carr specialized in a certain type of murder mystery plot.  What was it?

The first Shamus Awards were presented at Bouchercon in San Francisco in 1982.  What genre of crime writing do the awards honor?

A certain era is considered to be the "Golden Age" of murder mysteries.  Was it the 1920's through the 1940's?  The 1950's through the 1970's?  Or the 1980's through the mid-1990's?

Those are the first 10 questions.  I'll save the others for a later day.  Below is a list of the answers.  How many did you get right?

Question 1: The Mysterious Affair at Styles  (1920)

Question 2: Lilian Jackson Braun

Question 3: Edgar Allan Poe

Question 4: Rex Stout

Question 5: Mickey Spillane

Question 6: Ruth Rendell

Question 7:  James M. Cain

Question 8:  The locked-room mystery

Question 9: Private eyes

Question 10:  1920's through the 1940's

                                                                                                            Karen Sperra

Eat the Big Frog First

                                      

Are there writing chores that you don’t like to do? You save them for later, or put them off till the last possible moment. There have been times when I’d carry a task over to the next day, and the next day until I had to do it to meet some sort of deadline.

But one day I learned to eat the Big Frog first. I read a book that may have had that title. Looked for it on Amazon and there is one titled, Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy. If you’re interested, check it out.

 Now when I make my TO DO List for the day, I put the Big Frog, i.e., the most important job, at the top of the list and start there. I do it first.

Once that Big Frog is taken care of, the rest of the day is fun. My mind is open to new ideas for my book-in-progress or that article I’m working on. At the end of the day, I feel accomplished, satisfied, able to relax, get a restorative sleep and rise to meet the next daywith confidence. It works.

However, If your book or a big assignment is your big frog, you’ll have to divide it into manageable bites. Decide how much time you’ll spend on your book, or how many pages to complete in a day. Accomplishing the goal for the day will bring that satisfaction and sense of accomplishment.

Whatever your goal is for the day is your big frog. Get right to it. Don’t write your blog first or read e-mails. There’ll be time for the little frogs later.

Once you get in the habit of tackling your most important job first, your days at the desk will carry you through to The End of that book, or the final polish on the article.

You won’t be sorry you ate the Big Frog first.

                                                                           Pat Zabriskie

A Walk in the Writer’s Woods (with her little dog, too)

               Today as my dog Dante and I were taking our morning walk in the woods, my thoughts went to the task of writing. This is the “trail” that we followed.
               The focus of the walk this morning is exercise - of the body and the mind. Strengthen my legs and get a focal point for today’s writing project.

                Before taking off, I make sure to have our gear ready. As there are venomous snakes, I put on my hiking boots, strap on a revolver loaded with snake shot, and grab my walking stick. I put a pen and notepad in my pouch, make sure I have training treats for the dog, then off we go. Preparation helps get the mind ready for the task at hand.

                We take off towards the main trail, Dante` checking ahead for new “messages”. Sometimes I have to urge him on to the task at hand, much like myself who can get caught up checking email instead of writing. As Dante would say, “Pee on it and go on.”

                It’s important to focus on the trail ahead. Since today’s goal is exercise, I need to keep moving forward to strengthen the muscles and open the mind to fresh ideas. Gawking this way and that could result in missing some treasure in the middle of the path, or stepping on the afore-mentioned snake.

                Every once in a while the dog will try to lead me off track – he’s caught a new scent that leads off into another sections of the woods. There may be new deer tracks, or a spot where the armadillo was digging, but because I have a goal for today’s walk, I’ll turn my focus again to the path I’ve set and go on. We’ll explore bunny trails on another day.

                When we finally leave the woods and head back to the house, there is a feeling of accomplishment and rejuvenation. We did what we set out to do - exercised the body and mind, and even picked up a “treasure” along the way. Oh, and we did NOT see a snake. I’ve come out of the “woods” of my writing and finished one project and have the seed of another. Not too bad for just a simple, yet focused, walk.      

 Jerolyn Lockhart