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'E' is for...

Margaret I. Carr

Editors

Editors have to make choices. From the writer's viewpoint those choices may seem harsh or arbitrary. The writer sends off a cherished work and most of the time gets back, not a contract or an acceptance, but a rejection. Many times that rejection is just 'boilerplate' that doesn't give any hint of why the work was rejected. E-publishing isn't yet as prone to use the flat "Doesn't meet our needs" rejection but even there it happens.

There are e-publishers, both e-book and e-zine, who go to the opposite extreme and accept everything submitted as is. One of the results of this is to give all electronic publishing a poor reputation.

Quality counts. Quality is what brings readers back for more. But a commitment to providing quality means having to reject work that doesn't meet the standards.

Writers who want their work to appear in a particular publication can improve their chances by spending a little time figuring out what that publication wants before they submit. If there are submission guidelines available it helps to read them. Reading previous issues can help. This does not mean that imitating what the writer finds is the best course of action. The editor may be tired of seeing the same thing over and over. There may be a specific reason for one piece being written in a certain manner which would be sure rejection for others. For example, this editorial is written in heavily passive voice which is NOT recommended for submissions. It is passive to avoid specifics which is the opposite of what someone should do who wishes to submit to T-zero.

If a work isn't rejected outright but revisions are requested, the writer has to choose whether or not to do the revisions. If the writer doesn't understand what the editor is asking for, it is better to request further explanation rather than try to guess and risk making matters worse. A polite request for help has a chance of being answered. Even if it isn't answered, it is unlikely to affect the decision.

Just as with writing, there is both art and craft involved in editing. Sometimes editors cannot explain why they accept or reject something. If the work was worth writing, it should be worth some effort in finding the right 'home' for it.


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Catherine's Kitchen The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine

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Catherine's Kitchen

Catherine Manning

Shellfish

THANKS TO BRUNO PHILLIPS, who wrote July's Craft Feature, I didn't have to think about what to write about this month. Bruno wrote me asking for clarification, selection and cooking of shellfish. Many people are reluctant to eat shellfish, maybe because of bad experiences or purely through lack of knowledge of selection and use. There are some people who are allergic to shellfish and should avoid eating it.

The Number One criteria for any food ESPECIALLY shellfish, is FRESHNESS. There are many different breeds of lobsters, crabs, scallops, mussels, cockles, oysters, shrimp or prawns, depending where you are in the world. Then there are tree oysters in Trinidad, also black and white sea urchins or what we call sea eggs. I'm counting sea urchins as shellfish as they have shells, and live on the reef, and we eat them, so the same criteria applies to them as to the others. Obviously, sometimes out of necessity, we might have to use frozen or canned shellfish, if we cannot get what we need fresh; but then we have to depend on others to be sure it's freshly frozen or canned.

Suppliers have to be very careful of their source and product, as one bad 'apple' can put them out of business. There are wild mussels in natural beds and rocks, and cultivated mussels, bred on wooden hurdles. France, for instance, has some very good natural beds. Mussels bred on hurdles are small, plump, delicately flavoured. Mussels shouldn't be harvested from polluted water or from the bottoms of ships, not that those from the bottom of a ship might be bad, but because harbour water is polluted.

Only CLAMS and MUSSELS that are tightly closed should be used for cooking. Rinse thoroughly in cold water and examine carefully; tap any that are not tightly closed with the handle of a knife. If they don't close, discard them. Scrub them well with a small stiff brush, scraping away any weed. Rinse them well under a running tap and soak in a bowl of fresh water. Lift out (don't drain) mussels, place them in a colander, and rinse again. After they are cleaned, leave in a bowl of water with a handful of flour or cornmeal, to soak for about 30 minutes. This helps to plump them up and get rid of any remaining sand and grit. Drain them and place them in a deep saucepan with about 1/2 cup of water for 4-1/2 pints of clams. Cover and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until the shells open; discard any that don't open and save the liquid for your recipe.

MUSSELS IN CREAM (or clams)

  • Line a buttered saucepan with 3 TBS chopped shallot.
  • Add 2 sprigs parsley
  • 1 sprig thyme and 1/2 bay leaf
  • Add 4-1/2 pints of mussels (prepared)
  • 2 TBS. butter cut in small pieces
  • Moisten with 1 cup of dry white wine.

Cook covered over a very high flame. The liquid should cover the mussels as it boils. As soon as all the mussels are fully opened, remove to a bowl and keep warm.

  • Strain the reserved liquid the mussels were cooked in
  • then add 1-1/4 cups Béchamel sauce
  • Mix in a few tablespoons of fresh cream

Simmer until it's quite thick. Finish with 4 TBS cream and 1 TBS butter. Season and strain through muslin. Bring sauce to the boil and pour over mussels.

OYSTERS

Have been around forever. The Greeks prized oysters highly and used their shells for casting their votes, inscribing their choices on the white mother-of-pearl of the shell. They were so popular in France that in 1754, gathering of oysters had to be prohibited between April and October as the oyster beds were being exhausted. In 1840 it became necessary to call in the navy to guard the depleted beds when they realised that they would have to import oysters to replenish the beds. With the help of the Italian oyster industry, Americans developed man-made oyster beds.

Raw oysters are very nutritional and contain vitamins, phosphorous salts, chalk, iron, copper, magnesium and a high proportion of iodine. Oysters must not be opened until just before serving. They're best served very cold, so it is advisable to lay them on crushed ice as soon as they are opened. Serve with a simple dressing and slices of buttered brown bread.

Years ago in my youth (ha!) and never forgotten, was my first (and last) taste of a fresh oyster. Not that it was bad, mind you. It was top quality! One of my uncles had an import business, mostly food at that time. As a bonus for himself, my father and one other person, he occasionally brought in three barrels of Blue Point Oysters. I will never forget this fifty-gallon drum of Blue Point oysters in brine, sitting in a room off the kitchen. Every night after everyone had gone to bed and until he finished them, my father solemnly removed 36 oysters, shucked them, made up his sauce and sat and ate them all by himself. Makes you think, but then they ARE six of us!

One night, I was about ten, and for some reason I couldn't sleep, so I went downstairs to find my father sitting at the breakfast table with an enormous platter of freshly shucked oysters on the half shell in front of him. They looked very 'gourmet'. He had made a bowl of his special sauce and was happily slurping away! He offered me one; I declined. He insisted, saying how good they were, so I reluctantly opened my mouth and he poured one in. Guess what: he ended up eating it; said he wasn't going to waste it! Not sure which is worse, a raw egg or a raw oyster! I suppose I was introduced a little bit too early. I do love them cooked however, especially...

OYSTERS FLORENTINE

Fill the deep halves of the shell with spinach cooked in butter. Put an oyster on top of each. Cover with Mornay Sauce. Sprinkle with cheese and brown in the oven.

Seems to me that Oysters Florentine has been converted to OYSTERS ROCKEFELLER, but due to space I can't get into that now.

Bon Appetit and enjoy
Cath


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Craft Feature

Connie Barrett Sohodski

Discouragement

Connie Barrett, who lives near Woodstock, NY, has recently completed a novel, The Drunkard's Daughter. She also writes two monthly newsletters on subjects of spirituality and personal growth for Beyond the Rainbow, her web site.

She credits WVU classes for helping her to sharpen her fiction-writing skills, and thanks the WVU community for giving her practical and moral support.

Discouragement

Connie Barrett Sohodski

Back in June, I was very busy marketing a novel which a number of literate and some literary people had read and liked very much. I cheerfully sent out both e-mail and snail-mail query letters. I remained cheerful when I received form rejections in return.

One day at the post office, I saw what looked like another form rejection. I opened it, thinking unprintable thoughts, only to find that the agent wanted to see the first three chapters. I was in a state of shock, but not too paralyzed to send out the requested material immediately. A few days later, the manuscript came back with a form rejection. A week earlier I had been high, optimistic, and expansive. Now for every height I had discovered, I sank to an equal depth.

To say I was discouraged is perhaps an understatement, but it was a large part of what I was feeling. I wondered why I should bother to keep on trying if this continued to happen in the hard, cold, uncaring, unfeeling world of publishing, if all I accomplished was the enrichment of the U.S. Post Office and the impoverishment of my spirit.

What Is Discouragement?

Literally it means to lose courage. It takes courage to send out a manuscript, to apply for a new job or begin a career, to dare to speak to a loved one regarding things you would like to change about your relationship. One must be courageous to take any kind of risk, to open up to new ways of thinking, to launch big changes in life.

It's dangerous. It might not work out. You might fail. And the more you dare to hope, the greater and more painful your fall.

The Elements of Discouragement

Vulnerability

In taking a risk, you made yourself vulnerable. Whenever we step out of our familiar and predictable environments, we enter unknown worlds where the old rules don't apply. Since our usual ways of responding to our environments don't work, we are in a very real sense disarmed. So when something hurts, it hurts that much more because we have made ourselves vulnerable to pain.

Rejection

In emotional terms, nothing hurts more than rejection. If you are at all like me, the rejection is total.

If I were to be logical, I would calculate that the time I spent writing the particular 50-odd pages which were rejected was so small a fraction of my life to date, it was hardly measurable. I didn't, though. I didn't for one second stop to review my many accomplishments (including in the writing field). I felt rejected not only as a writer, but as a human.

Lowered Self-Esteem

This led to the feeling that I was worthless. At first I confined my psychic self-flagellation to the idea that I wasn't a good writer, that I had some monumental nerve in thinking I had written anything which was publishable. Self-flagellation, however, can be highly addictive, and I began to wonder whether I dared go out in public at all, lest people know immediately what a failure I was.

Shame and Humiliation

In my expansive and optimistic state, I had told many people about the agent's request to see a partial manuscript. They were all so happy for me, encouraging, and even more optimistic than I had been. Now I was going to have to go back to all those people and tell them the manuscript had been rejected. They would, of course, immediately reverse their opinion of me and recognize me for the failure I was.

Anger

Not everyone experiences this emotion, but I did. One of my first responses to the form rejection was to compose a very brisk letter to the agent asking why, since she had requested the manuscript, she didn't have the courtesy to at least say what didn't work about it for her. (Thanks to the immediate intervention of a member of my WVU study group I didn't mail it.)

Handling Discouragement

Don't Deny How You Feel

This is very, very important. Denial is a mechanism which blunts the pain of the emotions I've described above. It does not, however, remove it. Also, the person who buries hurt and cheerfully goes off to the next set of submissions or other challenges is probably carrying inside the feelings of failure, lowered self-esteem, and shame. These feelings can work against the possibility of success.

Let yourself feel whatever you feel about the rejection. It will hurt, but if you can stay with what you're feeling, you'll find that short-term acute pain is preferable to the long-term suffering of bearing the burden of unexpressed misery.

Discover the Pattern

Sometimes this will happen spontaneously as you experience your feelings. I re-experienced an ancient childhood feeling of rejection, and this discovery opened a pathway for healing.

Allow the old feelings to come up. Be willing to relive the pain of the past. This is the path which leads to freedom from the past.

Have a Support System

Consider your friends and family. Choose the people you most trust to support you when you need it. If you are launching a new and risky project, tell them about it. Ask for their support. If rejection happens, call them. In essence you are creating relationships in which you can safely be vulnerable.

I will never cease to be grateful for the members of my study group. In addition to saving me from getting myself into more trouble, they encouraged me in many ways. Some told me when I look back on this, I would realize it was the best thing which ever happened to me. Others shared their own rejection stories. All of them told me I am a good writer and if I persist I will certainly be published.

As a writer, you need that kind of support. You can find it by joining or starting a local writers' group. Check your local newspaper, library, or book store for notices about writers' groups. Many local groups are listed on the Internet and sometimes have web sites. Also, find out if a national writers' group, such as the Romance Writers of America, has a local chapter in your area.

If you don't find any local groups, consider starting one. Write a notice or flyer to announce it. Many local newspapers print free ads for nonprofit groups. Post these in local libraries and book stores, and don't stop there. I have seen notices about writing events in health food stores, supermarkets, and other non-writing-related localities. Writers are everywhere, and will welcome the idea of a group for mutual critique and support.

Don't Quit

There is only one failure in life, and that is to give up. As long as you are in the game, you have a chance of winning. The minute you go off to the sidelines, there is no chance.

Thomas Edison did thousands of experiments to create a light bulb before he succeeded. He said his attitude was that each failed experiment brought him closer to success. The children's author Dr. Seuss had his first manuscript rejected many times before he found a publisher. How much poorer all our lives would be if either of these people had decided that they couldn't handle failure and rejection and had to quit.

Imagine how much poorer your own life will be if you live the rest of it with the shadow of failure over it. Imagine yourself at the end of your life wishing you'd had more courage.

Finally, consider this: You did succeed because you took a risk. Whatever the outward results, you are a bigger person because of what you dared to do. You broke through a barrier. You created or accepted a challenge. You proved that you had courage. You will prove it again.

Encourage Others

The support system you have or create for yourself is a mutual one. One of the people who encouraged me said she was sending out her novel to a first novel contest. I encouraged her. Encouragement and support is the foundation of my critique group.

When you encourage others, you create an environment of support which encourages you. You learn to hold the success of others as your own. You discover that you are a supportive and loving person who makes a difference to those in your life.

How big is rejection compared to that?


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Fiction Corner

Alison Hawke

Drabble of the Month

I'm out travelling the world this month. Well, England at least. Next month's article will be about creating realistic characters, warts and all. An interview with Australian author Kate Orman will be here after that, followed by a piece about using fact in your fiction.

Until I return, keep writing those drabbles for me.

Thanks to all who sent in drabbles about observers. This month's winners are Dave Hein, Jake Edwards and Andrew Davey. I had a tough time cutting it down to just those three. Honourable mention goes to Cindy Hendren, Bonnie Saunders, and Jennifer Raymond, who also sent in great drabbles.

Spy vs. Spy
by Dave Hein

There was another watcher here. Hans sensed it, but had not been able to spot anyone. Yet.
He sat up and gulped some of the thin, tepid coffee. Like most airports Hans had been in, this one was noisy, overcrowded, and under ventilated.
He sighed, and scanned the waiting area again. The gentleman in the polyester suit was still reading the Herald. Hans recognized some of the headings -- that paper was several days old. His pulse quickened. Got the bastard. Must be with MI-6. Who else would be too cheap to buy a current issue or a decent suit?

Making the news
by Jake Edwards

The water forced the young boy against the rock. I asked the pilot to go lower; there was no time to lose. He gasped for breath.
"Lower," I hollered again. The chopper blades forced spray making the scene less clear. But there in the middle, the boy began to lose the battle. It was dangerous and I knew it, but I couldn't afford to fail. Barely sixteen years old, that life down there. I had to get this one.
"How you doing back there?" the pilot shouted. I had the youth framed just right as he slipped off the rock.

Observers
by Andrew Davey

Fastidiously seated on an ottoman, the cats, one Persian, one tabby, watched me with the sanguine patience of heathen idols.
"Don't look at me like that," I chided. "I just fed you."
The cats continued to watch, smug and inscrutable.
"Don't give me that 'I'm an enigmatic cat' thing," I sneered. "You're not fooling anyone."
The cool stare continued.
"I'm not falling for your cuteness, your mystique, or your superior airs. You're just cats. Don't expect me to think you're something special."
Finally, the tabby broke. It glanced at the Persian.
"Great," it said. "Now we'll have to kill him."

The theme for September is waiting for...(due August 10th), suggested by Peter Keane, and the theme for October is obscure (due September 10th), from Dawn Arkin and the theme for November is unpredictable (due October 10th), suggested by Judy Bagshaw. If you have any ideas for drabble themes, please email me.

PLEASE read the drabble submission guidelines and use the spell checker before sending in your entry. Also state which month the drabble is for. Only one entry per person per month.

Email your drabbles and themes to me.


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Healthy Horizons

Laurie Lupold

Real Life

I’ve been sitting here for hours in front of a blank screen trying to think of something to write. Truth is, I’m finding it very difficult. My son has court in the morning and from there he will be going away for the next year. My emotions are in a stir. I know I discussed a lot of this in my last column and please forgive me if I repeat myself, but I wanted to be sure to put out a column out this month even if it’s just an outcry over tomorrow’s events.

I’ve been sitting here going over the last fifteen years, finding it hard to grasp that it was that long ago my son was born. He wasn’t much of a crier, but when he let out a wail he demanded his way. Some things never change. He was ambitious, learned everything early and the hard way. Seems fitting that we are at the point that we are now. In the essence of it all he is charming, hard working, and comical. These don’t seem like the kind of qualities that you would find in someone who will be spending the next year in detention. Unfortunately, it is.

It wasn’t those qualities that got him to where he is. In fact, it is more than likely these qualities that have kept him out for so long. Unfortunately, along with these redeeming qualities a bad temper and low self-esteem follow. Since he was born he had an angry side. When he was an infant he held his breath until he passed out. As he got older his anger exposed itself in other ways.

It’s not that he set out to be a bad kid and in my opinion there is no such thing, he just mixed with the wrong people. Try as I could, I couldn’t convince him that these individuals weren’t friends. Not until they turned on him and then he raged against them which gave them exactly what they wanted, more charges and more time. These simple facts are what brought us to this day. This day which I hoped would never come.

People don't think of the costs when they allow themselves to let their anger control them. They don’t think of the effect on themselves as a result of it and they don’t think of the effect on their loved ones’. There is no thought, only action. We grow up knowing, or at least we do if we have had good teachers, that there are consequences for all of our actions.

Our consequences may be in the form of a reward or good thought if our actions were responsible and just, or our consequences may be harsh if we were responsible for ill doings. I’d like to think that I have been the type of parent that taught the differences in the two. I’d like to think that I was also supportive and caring, yet I know I might not have been as firm as I needed to be.

When I was young I was raised with a harsh hand. I wasn’t often supported. I tried to offer some sort of a balance to my children. I cannot make the judgement of whether I mixed the ingredients well and came out with the right recipe. I know I made mistakes. Parenting is a lesson in life which you never quit learning. As I look back, of course there are things which I regret but there are also many things I can look back on and feel confidence in.

If there is one thing I learned as a parent that I think my children could use well in life, it is this: Never be shamed by your mistakes but take responsibility for them. In my son’s journey which lies before him, I hope he will use this time not to find shame in what he has done but to find pride in who he is. He is a fine young man and he can become anything he chooses to be.

I hope my readership has not been offended by the usage of my column for my own personal gain these past two months. I’d like to think that I shared some valuable lessons from which you might gain something positive. In life we are given so many abilities but two are far more important than most: the ability to make mistakes and the ability to learn.

Thanks for reading. ‘Til next time, believe in your dreams and keep reaching for those Healthy Horizons.

Laurie


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Humor

Harvey L. Gardner

Confessions Of Trailer Park Trash

I’m having trouble with my self-image. More specifically, I’m trying to come to grips with being a Tennessean.

I love my state. I love living here. I’ve noticed that nobody here retires and moves away. It’s the other way around. Because when a person from a northern state moves here, they fall in love with the place.

My freshman English professor, Ed Chenette, came to Tennessee from Minnesota in the early 50’s to teach English for just one summer at The University of Tennessee, Martin Branch as it was called in those days. He never returned to Minnesota. Just sent for his family and proceeded to live in Martin for the rest of his life.

That’s a pretty typical story. Our state is full of transplanted Yankees. They complain about our ways, think some of our customs are a little strange, but they never move back. They were delighted to learn that nearly everybody here wears shoes, and that some of us have college degrees, and many never attend the Grand Old Opry. All-in-all, they like us and they like Tennessee.

It’s the people who live out-of-state who give us a bad rap. Like the ESPN sportscaster who referred to The University of Tennessee football fans as "trailer park trash." That put his life in danger. What he didn’t realize is that football isn’t a sport in Tennessee. It’s a way of life. Some say, a religion.

It will be years before relations between ESPN and Tennessee football fans, even the University of Tennessee, are normalized. What made it worse for the sportscaster was Tennessee’s winning the national championship that year. Tennessee fans will never let him forget that unfortunate remark.

Like I said, when people move in with us, marry our women, eat our food, attend a Tennessee game, they’re hooked. They’re Tennesseans for life.

The reason my self-image is hurting a little is some stuff I read in our newspapers recently. Talk about shooting ourselves in the foot. It’s more like in the head.

I was shocked to learn that Tennessee ranks among the Top Ten Toothless States. That dubious distinction is earned by counting the number of people over 65 in the state without teeth. Damn, brother, I don’t think I’d have told that. I mean, that isn’t need-to-know news, is it?

Then close on the heels of that revelation came a new law in Tennessee, passed by our very own legislature. It is now legal in Tennessee to eat road kill.

Come on, guys. Raise taxes or something. But don’t whack our state’s image up alongside the head like that!

We’ve worked most of my lifetime to legitimize poke sallet, sausage and biscuits, hush puppies, and catfish. Now this. Just because a poor animal loses its life crossing the highway doesn’t mean we should eat it. At least the legislature didn’t make eating road kill mandatory. They’re not stupid, just crazy.

But I haven’t talked about my dilemma. I’ve decided to take up fishing again. I really never quit, but I’m going to do more of it than I have in recent years.

You’ve heard all the sayings about fishing. "If you’re too busy to go fishing, you’re too busy." Signs hanging on doctors' offices saying, "Gone fishing."

Well, I’ve decided I need to fish more. I own a fly rod and reel, spinning and casting outfits, and my fair share of artificial lures. But I have to confess. I like fishing with a cane pole, and a hook, line, and sinker. And I like fishing for and catching the lowly, but tasty, catfish.

But catfishing, like other kinds of fishing, has advanced. We have technology we didn’t have when I was a boy. The advancement I’m most excited about is bait. No, I’m not talking about anything artificial. I’m talking about all-natural ingredients. I’m talking about stink bait.

Even as a kid, I knew that catfish like things with strong odors, foul-smelling things like bad liver and spoiled shrimp. But recently I heard about a product in Texas called J. Pigg’s Stink Bait®.

I read about it in a Fort Worth newspaper column written by Curtis Martin, the son of my long-time friend, Monte Martin. Apparently Curt’s Uncle Jerry Martin makes this stuff down there in Stephenville, Texas. According to Curt, his Uncle Jerry contracts with slaughterhouses to buy pig brains, and with cheesemakers to buy rancid cheeses. Then he dumps these into old oil drums along with some other awful stuff and lets it sit around in the hot Texas sun until the neighbors complain about the stench.

Then he hires unsuspecting high school kids to throw in some sawdust as a binding ingredient and put the stuff into buckets and bottles for sale. Monte tells me his brother is hesitant about selling the stuff on the Internet for fear he can’t keep up with the demand.

I can understand that. I searched the Internet for "stink bait" and found several sites that sell some variation of the stuff. Of course I’m planning to use J. Pigg’s Stink Bait®, since my friend Monte sent me a jar of it for Christmas.

Lucky for me, and for other users, Jerry warns on his label to push the bait onto the hook with a stick. I don’t think it’ll burn your skin. It’s just that the wife won’t let you back into the house until your hands stop stinking. Apparently that can take months.

My dilemma is this: When I come home with a truckload of catfish that couldn't resist J. Pigg’s Stink Bait®, do I tell people around here what I used for bait? I mean, I’m having enough trouble living down the "trailer park trash" stigma, "Top Ten Toothless State" status, and eating legal road kill.

I have to keep up appearances, you know. Should I tell people I use stink bait?

HLG

Copyright © 2000, Harvey L. Gardner


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'E' is for...
Writing: Art and Craft
Margaret I. Carr
To isolate or not, that is the question.

Fiction Excerpt
"I Once Knew A Girl"
Steve Osburn
Oh, what the olfactories will trigger!

Spotlight
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The eclectic life of a writer provides rich writing fodder.

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Non-Fiction Nature Writing

Dee Walmsley

CHIPMUNKS – Nature's Vacuum

I’ve spent hours this summer watching the antics of a chipmunk I named Stripes. This furry forager makes her home under our cedar hedge where the soil is dry and the digging is easy. She visits me daily packing her pouches full of peanuts, almonds and the sunflower seeds I spread along my front windowsill, then with a twitch of her scrawny tail she scurries off to deposit the loot in her underground burrow.

Chipmunks are ground animals. They live in a network of underground tunnels. The entrance that goes down approximately five inches before sloping off into the main tunnel is about the size of a quarter. Within these tunnels are chambers for food storage and sleeping. The lowest chamber is used as a toilet rather like a ‘chamber pot’. When the pickings are good these cheeky critters will fill their sleeping quarters to within an inch from its ceiling, leaving just room enough to climb on top before curling up for a cozy nap.

I have yet to see any chipmunks resting; their daily activities are eating and the storing of food. Their natural diet consists of nuts, grain, seeds, fruit, mushrooms, plants, and insects; and occasionally they’ll rob bird’s nests, eating the eggs and baby birds.

I counted one day as Stripes filled her cheeks with 75 sunflower seeds; she looked a little mumpy as she bounced down the sidewalk to her den. Twelve peanut halves also puffed out her cheeks before she decided to exit the feeder. It wasn’t long before my stockpile of seeds was relocated underground, so this morning she got a piece of apple smeared with peanut butter. She seemed delighted as her little pink tongue lapped up the brown spread. The apple disappeared just as quickly except for the skin, which she peeled off and left. Orange slices were my next offering. She soon sucked and chewed her way right down to the rind.

Chipmunks mate in March and give birth thirty-two days later to a litter of four or five squeaky, hairless babes. They don’t leave home until they’re three months old.

Tiny triplets, all soft and newly furred appeared at the feeder one day. They soon learned to vacuum the lawn of seeds as nose-down they packed their pouches, scurrying across the lawn. I offered them sunflower seeds from my hand, which they gently accepted. I could hear the seeds clicking together within their cheeks.

While there are a number of species and sub-species of chipmunk, they all have the distinctive five stripes down their backs and two paler stripes on their face, one above and one below the eye, separating the dark stripe that runs right through the eye. Pouched cheeks distinguish them from squirrels. The tail, while furry, does not have the fullness of squirrels' nor do they curl it over their backs. Cute, captivating, charming, curious and easily-tamed describes their personalities.

So far I have heard three distinct chipmunk sounds. The chirp, I believe, is a warning and territorial indicator. A buzz, not unlike static on a radio, was emitted as one stood tall on its hind feet looking at me, and on another occasion a melodious almost clunking sound similar to a pot softly washing against the shore, caught my attention.

In September they disappear, hibernating in their well-stocked burrows until spring when warm winds and gentle rains welcome them back chirping at my feeder.

Copyright © 2000 by Dee Walmsley


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Poetics

Christine

CHECK IT OUT!

One of the great things about writing a column is that once in a while you get to get on your soapbox about something. I found a great site on the web for posting themes, articles, poems, short stories, and essays. While browsing through it I stopped to check out an article on a subject I was interested in. It was horrible. While I have no doubt that the information given was correct and that the author was knowledgeable about his subject, the spelling, grammar, and punctuation were so bad that it was impossible to read. What a shame. The fellow might have had a future.

Electronic Assistance - Spelling, Usage: Tense: Punctuation

Most word processing programs have some form of spelling checker. USE IT!!! There is a cute little poem that goes around the e-mail circuit about spell-checking programs, and I am sorry I don't know who originated it. The last couple of lines go something like - "I no its letter perfect, my checker tolled me sew." Like so many things, what makes this funny is that it is true, so true. Spell checker will tell you if you spelled it correctly, but will not tell you if you used the correct word or form of the word. Even so, it will still catch a lot of errors, such as typos and actual misspellings, so start with using your checker.

Your computer may also have a grammar check and a thesaurus. The thesaurus is a great help. Instead of getting out the big dictionary I simply check out alternative words. This lets me know right away if I have used a word that means what I want it to. The grammar check on mine does not always do the job. It often takes things out of context and questions them when they are perfectly fine the way they are. It is good for making you check to see if you have used words the way you intended and catches usage problems like 'its' and 'it's', 'there' and 'their', and 'effect' vs. 'affect'.

After you have used the electronic help, read your piece line by line. I have read things lately that make me wonder, quite frankly, if the author ever read his own piece. A good way to do this is to read every other line first, then go back to the lines you skipped and go over them. Another way, told to me by someone who edits books, is to literally read it backwards - last line to first line. The reason for these two suggestions is that so many of us (me included) know what we intended to say, so our minds skip over the mistakes we made as we read. I once sent off a short story only to have a friend discover that a critical word was left out of the climactic paragraph! Concentrating on the lines out of context makes the errors easier to spot.

Check for errors in tense. Confession time: this is my greatest problem! I have a tendency to bounce from past to past perfect, future, present, anywhere it might take me. It is a hard thing to watch for because in the normal world we actually speak that way, bouncing back and forth. In writing it can confuse the reader.

The last thing I want to mention is punctuation. I am the world's worst about putting too many commas in something. I'll bet I take out at least two-thirds of the commas that I originally placed. Read the piece out loud, pausing at every comma. Remember when your English teacher reminded you that a comma takes the place of the word 'and'? If you use the word 'and' and the connecting thought is the only other thought you have, a comma is not necessary. Watch for missing periods, run-on sentences, places where a period should be replaced by a question mark -- and cut out the commas!

What has all this to do with poetry? Remember, a poem is a story, essay, or description told in as few words as possible. Every word counts. So does every period, comma and question mark. When you use the wrong word or spell it wrong it will change or spoil the effect you are trying to get. And while I know there is a tendency to not use any punctuation in poetry at all, I personally believe this is a big mistake. Punctuation is the rhythm of your poem. It tells the reader when to pause and reflect, when to breathe, when to think. Sometimes if you don't place a comma or a period where it needs to be, the piece takes on a completely different meaning. If you don't punctuate you have the world's longest run-on sentence. Too many commas can have a bad effect, too. If you place a comma at the end of each line of your poetry, your sentences can get choppy and singsong. Poetry should be read just like you would prose -- stop at the end of the sentence, not the line, and pause at the end of the thought. Punctuate your poems the way you want them read, not just because it is the end of the line.

Example:
Attics are great! For lying in state
is the true, unglossed history of man.
Where children can play on a dark, rainy day
and discover the treasures at hand.
They will find books and clothes and things to disclose
tales of fortunes once lost and then found.
Legends of knights; tales of ancestor's plights;
The stories will keep them spellbound!

The bottom line is, EDIT your work. It is not hard to tell the difference between a piece that has been edited and one that was just written and submitted. Editors know.

P.S. I deleted 50 commas from this article.


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Poetics Presents

Judith Anne Labriola ("Judy")

There Are Days

Judith Anne Labriola ("Judy") has lived in the Harrisburg Pennsylvania area since 1975, but her home town is Burlington, New Jersey. She is divorced, the mother of three grown children and is raising her youngest grandchild, who is eight years-old. Judy laughingly says, "This is what keeps me young and still cooking!"

Although she has written all her life, the last five years she has devoted all her time to writing poetry. Judy was a member of the Poetry Writing Forum of the Microsoft Network, the Poetry Forum of the Compuserve Network and has been published in several anthologies of import, (one of which was '95 Windows, An Unofficial Poetry Collection from the Microsoft Network, a commemorative book for the original Windows 95). In addition, her poetry has appeared in various publications, both online and in print. Judy was recently named as a finalist in the February 2000 Poetry Contest sponsored by Blue Mountain Arts.

 

There Are Days

There are days when I curse Him
for having this hold on me.
Days when the salt of my tears carves
pathways down my cheeks,
When the sun disappears from my
world for days at a time
and I listen for His breath,
His voice,
When I struggle to see His shadow
on the side streets of my life.
Where does He go on such days?

I wish I knew.

But as always He finds me waiting like
a small child who hears her father's
voice in the distance when she's been
lost for a long time and is suddenly
found

On those days, I sigh and lay my
doubting hands on the splinters of His
cross and drink the wine of His truth.

Copyright © April 2000 by Judith Anne Labriola


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SPARKS

Karen (Karenika) Grunberg

Set Me Up

You've decided to write a short story. You've picked your characters, have a good idea for the plot and you're ready to begin. Are you ready to begin? Well, you've got your people and your story; what more could you need?

Let's think. You have the answers to the who, the what and maybe even the why, but what about the where? The setting of your story is just as crucial as the people living there and the things that take place there. Some people start out with a mysterious setting and interesting characters and then lead into an enchanting plotline. Others begin with a different combination. Either way, the location of your story cannot and should not be avoided. It can change everything.

Here is an example:

I walked over to the couch and sat down. My hand quickly reached my mouth, and I continued the chewing I'd begun that morning. I couldn't screw it up this time; I had too much to lose. This promised to be the beginning of a new life for me.

Where do you think this story takes place? It could be a waiting room for a doctor (maybe she's expecting) or an interview for a job. It could be that she's at her boyfriend's parent's house, waiting for them to come downstairs. She could be at home, waiting for her husband to come home and she's going to tell him that she's leaving him for another man. The possibilities are endless.

In each of the settings I mentioned, the dialogue would be different. For example, at an interview, it would be formal and curt. During dinner, it might be respectful but personal. At the home scenario, she could be hysterical or calm and collected. The context changes the entire story and part of the context is setting.

Think of a story and a set of characters, for example:

Story: boy wants girl, girl is already taken
Characters: John, the boy, is a thirty-four-year-old man, and Jane, the girl, is twenty years old, works for him, and has been married since she was fifteen and has a three-year-old child.

Take these characters and the story and put them in New York City. He works for a famous advertising agency and she's his secretary. Write a paragraph of your story.

After completing that one, take the same people and story, but place them in a small farm town. He runs the local grocery store and she helps him out. Did your story change? The dialogue would change, as would the costumes. Even the characters' appearances might alter, simply because you moved them from the city to a small town. (If you're complaining that I made him a grocery store manager, go ahead and make him run the local advertising agency and have her be his secretary; the story would still change.)

A setting defines not only your descriptions of the surroundings but also what your characters wear, how they would talk, and even what jobs they have. A setting helps your reader put the story in context.

Take a look at some of your stories and see what would happen if you changed the where. Maybe that's the spice you've been missing. Who knows?

Next time you write a new story, pay attention to the environment in which it takes place. Show the details to your readers. Make the story come alive.

As always, don't forget to have fun, fun, fun!

Karenika

This month I received no sparkling ideas. If you have any, please email me so we can all use them to help our writing!


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Submissions Guidelines (Updated)

Until further notice, only plain text submissions in the body of the email will be considered.
NO ATTACHMENTS.

What We Pay For

Fiction: Stories should be of interest to writers in general, not just a narrow group.

Fiction should be submitted to fiction@thewritersezine.com. Payment starts at $15.00.

If considered for publication, you will be asked to return an email agreement including your name and address.

Craft Features: Queries about Craft features should be sent to nonfiction@thewritersezine.com.

Payment starts at $15.00, and, if considered, you will be sent an email agreement to fill out and return.

Poetry: Due to the large number of recent poetry submissions, a temporary hold on further poetry submissions is in place until early 2008.

Please do not email us to ask what we pay for in other categories. When we can add to our list, we will include it in these guidelines.

What We Publish

Original short fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, particularly non-fiction related to the craft of writing and interviews.

For fiction we prefer something with a plot and resolution. If we like the main character, we are more likely to accept the story. If the main character has a problem to resolve or has to make a choice, that's conflict, and we love conflict! Too many writers confuse conflict with fight scenes. Don't be one of them. Give us a protagonist who acts, makes choices no matter how hard they are to solve his or her dilemma, not a wimp who drifts along and has to be rescued.

Non-fiction should be related to the craft of writing or be good resource material for writers. Accuracy and originality are vital. No reprints. If it has already been published somewhere else, our readers will spot it and let us know.

What We Won't Publish

Anything that inspires "hate," is defamatory or is pornographic.

Simultaneous submissions.

Material that has appeared elsewhere (reprints).

Seasonal material submitted during the same month (i.e., a Christmas story in December). Our lead time is short compared to print publications, but we do need time to edit, html and proof submission. A good guideline is to submit the manuscript by the first of the preceding month (i.e., submit a Christmas story before November 1st).

Length Recommendations

  • For Fiction, under 1500 words is preferred. We will consider excerpts from longer works.

  • Poetry should fit on one printed page if possible. A maximum of five poems may be submitted at one time (when the hold is lifted).

  • Non-fiction or Craft features have the most leeway in word count. In general these manuscripts should be 750 to 2,000 words. We like to take advantage of the hypertext capabilities we have available and link to charts, graphs, lists and so forth. Thumbnail versions may be included in the body of the article.

Rights

All rights other than first electronic, non-exclusive 'anthology' (for collections of T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine works only), and non-exclusive archival rights (we keep back issues online) are and remain the sole and exclusive property of the author.

Formats We Will Accept

Plain text in the body of an email.

T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine is an HTML publication. This gives us access to a variety of options but it is also a limiting factor.

  • Underlining is used exclusively for links in HTML. Please do not underline in your manuscript. It you are including a link to a webpage for reference, please mark the link the following way: (WEB LINK) http://thewritersezine.com (END WEB LINK).
  • The less than (<) and greater than (>) signs are used to enclose HTML encoding. If you need to use brackets, please use the square [ ] ones instead.
  • Paragraph indentation requires time consuming insertion of multiple HTML symbols. Please separate paragraphs by inserting a hard, blank line between them.
  • Fonts need to be simple. No multiple fonts. We prefer standard fonts such as Times New Roman, Courier or Arial set at 12 point. If your subject matter requires something else, ask us first.
  • The curly (smart) quotes, apostrophes, the em dash (two hyphens together) and ellipsis … (three periods) become strange and exotic characters when copied from your word processor into email. Check your preferences or options to see if you can use straight quotes. 
  • Text formatting such as bold, italic, centering, bullet list, etc., should be noted in the text by using all caps in parentheses. For example, if you wanted to italicize the word submission, you would type: (ITALICS) submission (END ITALICS).

Editing

We expect you to run spell-check and to check your grammar and punctuation before submitting. We will not reject a submission for a few typos or errors, but will if there are an excessive number of errors.

Note: Since our reading audience is international, we do not require a specific version of English. Use the spelling appropriate to your region.

We will automatically correct obvious typos such as “ton” for “not” and may correct simple agreement problems. For anything beyond that, time permitting, we will return the submission to you with a request for corrections.

Getting to Know You

Fiction and Craft features published in T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine include brief third person biographical notes on the writers. For all submissions, please compose your own bio and include it to save our editors and yourself time later if/when your piece is accepted for publication. We suggest sharing a little about your background, occupation, geographical location and what inspired your story.

How and Where to Submit

We do not accept submissions via US mail. Email submissions only, to the appropriate department, in the body of the email. No attachments accepted.

Fiction should be sent to fiction@thewritersezine.com.

Craft Non-fiction should be queried first. Send query to nonfiction@thewritersezine.com.

Poetry: Due to the large number of recent poetry submissions, a temporary hold on further poetry submissions is in place until early 2008.

Include the type of submission (fiction, non-fiction) in the subject line.

Be sure to include your name and email address in the body of the email.

If you do not receive an acknowledgement that your submission or query was received within a week, please send a follow-up query with “Did you Receive?” in the subject line. In the body of the email, please include your name and email address, the title of the work submitted, and if different, the email address sent from. Do not resend the submission unless we request it.

Good luck!


T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine
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Copyright 1998 - 2007, Writopia Inc. All Rights Reserved

 

© Copyright 1998 - 2007, Writopia Inc. All rights reserved