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 Produced and published by the members of Writers' Village University since 1998    ISSN 1521-2639       
01 December 2008
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Margaret I. Carr

The omniscient reader

Reader? Isn't it the writer who is supposed to be omniscient? Maybe, but there are times when you want to reader to feel omniscient. This is one of the reasons for the popularity of the multiple third person limited point of view. When you, the author, show different scenes as they are experienced by different characters the reader learns more about what is going on than the characters do.

So what's the point?

Why would you want to create the omniscient feeling in the reader? Using a single viewpoint character, whether in first person or third person makes it very clear to the reader who to identify with. It is also more realistic. In 'real life' we have only our own senses and perceptions to rely on. Why should the reading experience be different?

Reading fiction is often a means to take a virtual vacation from the pressures of reality. The stay at home reader, bored with the same old places and routine dulled by daily repetition, is refreshed by the different view. The weary traveler, feeling isolated in one strange place after another, is soothed by familiarity. Both experience frustration in their lives when their plans or expectations are changed by factors of which they were unaware until they interfere. Even the limited omniscience they experience as readers is a welcome change.

With a single limited perspective, tightly focused on the perceptions and thoughts of one character, the reader still will notice and interpret differently than the character. It may take a greater skill at the craft by the writer to 'plant' the necessary clues to make things clear to the reader without provoking a Why doesn't that idiot realize... reaction but that may be why so many first published books are single limited perspective. An editor who encounters a well done manuscript of this type can be reasonably confident that the writer knows the craft.

Controlling Distance

Writers do awful things to poor defenseless characters. Deliberately. We spend hours thinking about what the worst possible thing might be that can happen to our hapless hero. Or, as Lois McMaster Bujold writes in the Author's Afterword to Cordelia's Honor

"...the rule for finding plots for character-centered novels, which is to ask "So what's the worst possible thing I can do to this guy?". And then do it."

After discarding the too extreme ideas, tossing the hero into a river to see if he can swim is one thing but populating the river with thousands of ravenous piranjas is likely to be literally overkill, (Pun intended. Sorry.) we carefully arrange for obvious solutions which will, at best, have consequences that will further harry our unfortunate flounderer. If the reader identifies too closely with the character this is likely to be disturbing. We need to establish some distance.

If we must have the piranjas there had better be a setup of a possible means of escape that the reader can see before the splash. The character is not obligated to use that particular means but it needs to be there. While this can be done in single perspective it still tends to be quite intimate. Using a second perspective to establish the possibilities creates more distance and less reader disturbance. This also reduces suspence of the What is going to happen? variety. For some stories this suspence is the key. In others, the How is whatever going to happen? is more important and getting the different perspectives can actually help increase the suspense.

Mastering the Craft

It is usually easier to see how a particular writing skill is applied in someone else's work. Studying good writing we may need to re-read several times before we begin to catch on to the structure but the time is not wasted. For an excellent example of multiple perspective take a look at Chapter One of A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold. You can find it online here. If you want a single perspective novel to compare you might try finding a copy of either Shards of Honor or the combined volume Cordelia's Honor which adds Barrayar, a short story Aftermathsand the Author's Afterword. Speaking as a writer, I found the four and a half pages of that Afterword were, by themselves, more than worth the price of the book.Happy Reading!

Margaret I. Carr


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Catherine's Kitchen

Catherine Manning

NATALIE'S WEDDING

IT'S ALL OVER NOW and everyone has been leaving over the past two weeks. Only my sister and her husband are left now. My eldest daughter Fleur and her boyfriend left on Wednesday back to cold and wet England. She said it took them 24 hours to warm up the house; definitely wouldn't suit me anymore. I really miss them. Nat and Gerry went to freezing Toronto of all places, on their honeymoon and come back on Sunday. Gerry was born there and went to school there, so he wanted to show Nat around and go to shows.

The wedding was beautiful. It was in the morning and thankfully it didn't rain. It was supposed to be a small simple wedding but didn't quite end up as small and simple as Nat wanted, as the guest list grew from 100 to 200! I had wanted to have the reception here as it's such a pretty setting, but since I have ten dogs, it would have been difficult to keep them shut up for a long time, so we decided to have it at Gerry's parents' house. That is a lovely setting as well, on a cliff and even more windy than here, so it was nice.

The ceremony was at 8 a.m. in a small pretty chapel, at Gerry's old school, which only held 100 people so some guests came to the reception only, which didn't end till 3 p.m. It was a nice simple ceremony and after the photos at the church we got back to the house about 9:30 a.m. and imbibed Bucks Fizz from then till the end. I think we got through 11 cases of champagne. My shoes came off by midday. Everybody enjoyed themselves very much, especially as the men didn't have to overdress in jacket and tie like they would for an evening wedding.

The food was excellent. We had a wide variety and everything was delicious. There were pates and cheeses, roast beef, smoked salmon, fish, shrimp, lobster, fish cakes, buljol, breakfast kebabs, fruit, stuffed eggs, croissants, coconut and banana bread and on and on and it was demolished.

I have another bumper crop of cherry tomatoes, which are used for the:

BREAKFAST KEBABS
To serve 4

  • 12 rashers of rindless streaky bacon
  • 2 oz. Emmental
  • 16 button mushrooms
  • 16 cherry tomatoes
  • Vegetable oil
  • 2tsp. tomato paste
  • 2tsp. Worcester sauce
  • 2tsp. Dijon or wholegrain mustard
  • 2tsp tomato ketchup
  • Few drops of hot pepper sauce (optional)
  • Buttered toast fingers
  • Skewers (soak wooden ones in water before use)

Cut cheese into 24 chunks. Stretch bacon with the back of a knife, cut in half and wrap a piece around each chunk of cheese. Thread bacon rolls, mushrooms and tomatoes alternately on scewers. Mix together the paste, sauce, mustard and ketchup and brush kebabs. Grill for 5 minutes under a hot grill, brushing and turning frequently. Serve with toast.

I have such a lot of tomatoes that I have been bottling them; trouble is they get eaten instead of sitting for a while to marinate!

BOTTLED CHERRY TOMATOES

  • 21/4 lbs. cherry tomatoes
  • 1tsp. salt to a litre jar
  • 1tsp. sugar to a litre jar
  • fresh basil
  • 6 cloves of garlic per jar (use more if you like)

Prick the tomatoes with a toothpick several times. Pack the tomatoes, garlic and basil leaves in the jar, adding the salt and pepper as you go. Stand the jars on a baking tray lined with cardboard in a low oven with the lids on but not sealed. Set the oven at 250F or 120C and cook for about an hour or until the juice is simmering. Remove from oven and seal jars, store in a cool place and eat within 6 months. They go well with anything including by themselves.

BANANA BREAD
Makes 1 loaf

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2tsp.baking soda
  • 1/2tsp salt
  • 4ozs. margarine
  • 6ozs. granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs unbeaten
  • 5 mashed bananas
  • Raisins (optional)

Oven 350F. Grease and flour loaf pan. Melt butter in a saucepan, remove from heat and add sugar, then eggs, then the bananas, mix well, blend in flour and baking soda and pour into pan. Sprinkle top with sugar and bake for about 50 minutes, check centre with skewer to come out clean. This is a moist bread that goes dark when it is cooked through.

COCONUT BREAD
Makes 1 loaf

  • 1lb. flour
  • 1 Grated coconut
  • 4ozs. butter(melted)
  • 1tsp. vanilla essence
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 3 tsp. baking powder
  • 6 ozs. sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2tsp.salt
  • raisins (optional)

Oven 350F. Grease and flour loaf pan. Sift dry ingredients, add sugar then beaten egg with milk, cooled butter and essence. Stir in coconut and raisins floured if used. Mix well and put in pan. Sprinkle top with sugar and bake. What I usually do is keep back a little coconut and add it to the sugar and then make a well running down the centre of the pan and put some sugar and coconut mixture in it and then close the well and sprinkle the rest on top!

Bon Appetit and enjoy!
Cath


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Fiction Corner The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine

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Fiction Corner

Alison Hawke

Drabble of the Month

This is the last time I'll be doing drabble of the month. Starting in March, MicheleAnn Fischer will be doing a new column, Drabble Corner. Please send your entries to her at drabble@wvu.org. I know she'll be happy to hear from you. I'll let MicheleAnn introduce herself...

I fell in love with writing at the age of 8 when I wrote my first poem-about my dolls! Since then I branched off into various forms of writing including short stories, fiction articles and technical writing. I am the owner of Fischer Freelance Writing, a New Jersey based freelance writing company focusing on business and technical writing. Besides Fischer Freelance Writing, my time is currently split between working on my first serious novel, planning my wedding for spring of 2002 and restoring the one hundred year old colonial house my fiancé, Scott, and I purchased in December.

I have been a member of Writers' Village University for over a year and facilitate several of the online fiction courses. I am very excited about working with the rest of the T-zero team.

I'll still be here doing Fiction Corner, so don't go away. Articles I have planned for the next few months include fiction reviews, reviews of books about writing, starting a novel and story outlines. I hope you'll come back and read.

Before sending your drabble:

  1. Read the drabble submission guidelines.
  2. DO NOT send your drabble as an email attachment.
  3. Make sure your drabble is EXACTLY one hundred words long.
  4. Use your spell checker.
  5. State which month the drabble is for.
  6. Only one entry per person per month.

Thanks to all who sent in drabbles about being in the dark. This month's winner is Caitlin Wolfe.

Daydream
by Caitlin Wolfe

Adorned in her majestic sapphire robe she galloped gallantly across the wide emerald plain. On a dazzling white steed, they chased the tail of the wind. The smile she wore couldn't have been more radiant... Suddenly a powerful voice shook the heavens.

"Miss Miesse," it echoed sternly throughout the meadow, which had suddenly turned cold and gray. Her smile faded quickly as the rolling emerald meadows disintegrated to the tiny classroom and fifty laughing eyes staring at her.

"Miss Miesse," the voice thundered again.

She looked to the large professor hovering above her.

"Oh," she said, reddening, "What was the question?"

The theme for March is the examination (suggested by Peter Keane), the theme for April is war, and the theme for May is Exploration (suggested by Judy Bagshaw). If you have any ideas for drabble themes, please email MichelleAnn.

Email your drabbles and themes to MichelleAnn at drabble@wvu.org.


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Fiction Short Story

Gayle Groff Loggins

Illusion is a story of a mother and daughter living separate lives. It is fiction that rings true until the end, then it depends on your beliefs.

Gayle has been published once in Writers Journal in their Write to Win contest. Currently she is a student of WVU, enrolled in Getting the Words Right, Mythic Structure, and Writing the Mystery Novel.

Illusion

Elizabeth pulled her Nissan Pathfinder into the carport of her mother’s duplex. She unlocked the door and was greeted by an obnoxious odor. She held her breath and rushed to open the windows. "Mother, how can you live like this? The heat and smell are horrendous."

Her mother was sitting at the kitchen table clipping articles out of old newspapers. "Your young'uns are gonna to love these books I'm makin' for 'em. They'll be the only ones of their kind. I'm puttin' in all the history I can find about Bradenton. Everyone should know about where they were born."

Returning to the kitchen exasperated, Elizabeth opened the window. "Well, that's the last of them except for the bedroom."

"When was the last time I saw your young'uns?"

"Mother, why is the bedroom door locked? Where is the key?"

"Look, here's a clippin' about the old bridge." Her mother held a ragged piece of newsprint. "We had to ride the ferry to get to the island when I was young."

"Mother, I need the key to the bedroom door. It's a small piece of metal shaped like a 'T'." Elizabeth held up her fingers to illustrate the point. "I could've sworn it was in this drawer."

"And here's where they closed the bridge and opened the new one. Ol' thing was fallin' apart. That happens when you get old, you know... you fall apart like a piece of worn out cloth."

"If you don't know where the key is, tell me where you put the screwdriver, it should work." Elizabeth slammed the drawer shut. "Mother, why are you such a pack rat?"

"This one's about the big picnic. We went to all the town picnics."

"Forget it, Mother! I'll find it while I'm cleaning." Elizabeth opened the cabinet under the sink. "When was the last time you took out the garbage?"

"We had a grand day ... the whole family. We did things as a family. I miss that."

"Where's the new garbage bags I bought two weeks ago? You couldn't possibly have used them all."

"Did I tell you about the Cuban molasses boat? You must've been three or four when that happened."

"Mother, why are you so ornery? Tell me where you put the bags."

"There were gale force winds. It got stuck on the sandbar and the Gulf of Mexico was tearin' it apart.

Elizabeth opened the pantry door and a roll of black plastic bags fell to the floor. "I found them. Why did you put them here? Oh ... these potatoes are rotten; maybe that's why it smells so bad. I've told you before, if you don't keep them refrigerated, they'll spoil in this heat."

"I'd bet half the island watched the rescue. The waves, crystal sparkles on top and boiling foam underneath, towered over the boat. The wind assaulted us with stinging salt spray and foam."

Elizabeth opened the freezer door. "I'll get your dinner. You'll have to fix it, because I don't have the time."

"The strongest swimmer on the boat swam to shore with a rope tied around his waist. He almost drowned. Mr. McCarthy swam out to help him."

"Now where did I put those ...here they are." Elizabeth pulled a package of pork chops from the freezer, then opened the refrigerator door.

"The men took turns comin' to shore with one rope tied around their waist and another stretched between the ship and shore. They would pull hand-over-hand."

"Oh... how can you get all this in one small refrigerator. You're only one person."

"The cook jumped in without the waist rope and couldn' hold on. He made it to the shallows, when a huge wave crashed over him churning and pulling him to his death."

"Look at this mess. Your beets spilled and the juice is on everything. Mother, you've got three open jars of mayonnaise, two cartons of half-full orange juice, and this milk isn't milk anymore."

"The men on the boat couldn't speak English, so I translated what they said... I felt so important."

"Here's a package of ground meat that thawed and's gone bad. You can't cook it now. I'm going to throw everything out."

"Look, the storm of 1928. I was fourteen."

"Mother, do you know how much food you've wasted. No more going to the store alone."

"Papa wouldn't let us near the windows... said flyin' glass could cut us."

"It's going to be a hardship on me... trying to raise two children alone, work and take care of you. I can't find enough time in the day now ...but I'll do your grocery shopping."

"The house held. Papa built it good. We were stranded 'til they fixed the ferry. My sister and I did a lot of beachcombing." She smiled. "Why, we once found a Spanish piece-of-eight."

Elizabeth walked to the bathroom, picking up clothes along the way. "I'm going to get your laundry together because I've got to get going. Where's your clothesbasket?"

"Yep, stuck on this island for five days. Sister passed away from pneumonia two weeks after we returned to Tampa. Mama blamed the storm."

"Why do you keep moving things from where I put them?" Elizabeth called from the hall. "What is that smell? Maybe a fan in the window will help."

"We lost Father right before the Big War. Against Mama's wishes, your Uncle Ross joined the Army. We didn't see him after that. He got killed on that beach... oh, what was its name? It's here on the tip of my tongue."

"I'm going in circles. It would help if you wouldn't hide things."

"When your Uncle Ross died, Mama wasn't the same. He was her only son, you know... " Her voice softened. "You never know when you see someone if it might be the last time. Mama'd lost her two men, her pillars. She just sat around, didn't talk to anyone. One day... she just stopped breathin'."

"Here's last week's laundry." Elizabeth plopped the basket in the living room. Her mother sat on the couch, encased in an eerie glow of sunlight streaming through the living room window. "I really need to get into the bedroom to change your sheets."

"Ol' Doc Holloway said 'she just lost the will to live'. People do that, you know, when the ones they love aren't near... they lose the will to live."

"I don't have much time today. I've got to get the boys. Danny has an orthodontist appointment and Ricky's quarterback for the team now. He's got an important game tonight."

"Yep, they just lose the will to live... nothin' to live for."

"Look at these ants." Elizabeth followed the trail. "They start at the front door and go all the way to the bedroom."

"I miss them so much... lookin' at these clippin's bring back memories of the people I loved... and who loved me."

"Where's the fan? Mother, how can you lose so many things? I know you hide them to waste my time."

"Look, a picture of the ol' house in Tampa." She held it up. "You can see Papa, Mama, brother, sister and me. I'm the little one."

"Found it! Now maybe I can get rid of that rotten smell. Damn, I need an extension cord. Where's that new cord I bought? I know I put it in here."

"I remember playing hide-n-seek there. It would take 'em hours to find me. To this day, I'm not sure they really looked."

"Here's the extension cord and the screwdriver. Now we're getting somewhere."

"They're here, you know? Right by my side. Three nights ago, Papa held my hand and said he had a surprise for his little Daisy."

"Mother, if you keep hiding things from me, I'm gonna put you in a home."

"He's the only one who called me that. I felt so safe."

"This has been some day and it doesn't seem to be getting better." Elizabeth said. "They were here."

Elizabeth inserted the screwdriver into the little hole in the center of the door handle. "It's open. Maybe now, I can finish." The door parted. Elizabeth recoiled from the odor escaping the room.

"They came to take me home," her mother said, her voice scarcely audible above the haunting melody of the birds outside.

Elizabeth glanced at the couch as the illusion of her mother drifted and vanished. She dropped the screwdriver and clutched the doorframe. Her breath caught in her throat. Her eyes watered. Her brain strained to comprehend the sight before her. Lying on her bed, was the body of her mother.


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Excerpt From Word Castles

by Tom Spencer

Coming soon to an e-bookstore near us.

Writers' Block, a Question?

I wonder what is this thing?
A simple, writers' block.
Most devastating trauma,
To break it down we see;
A block made of concrete.
Cinders added lesson weight.
Wide with holes for passing air,
Grooves to grab the mortar.
With abundance of a writers' block,
You could build a building.
A structure oh! So Strong.
Stable as a house on rock.
Could this writers' block,
Be of apartment buildings?
Or is it but a street encircled area.
Within a simple neighborhood.
Eliot Street intersects at Hawthorne,
Hawthorne links to Scott, and then
On to Hemingway who returns us
Back to Eliot, Is this a writers' block?
Nay you say this is not a writers' block
Pray tell my friend what is this,
This thing called writers' block
I can think of nothing more to write.
Could this be a writers' block?


Copyright © 2001 Tom Spencer


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Healthy Horizons

Laurie Lupold

Sitting here on this extremely cold day in January I somehow wish it was warmer but don’t anticipate the coming of spring. It’s kind of how I’ve felt about a lot of things in my life lately. Recognition without anticipation. It’s kind of a numb, unrelenting feeling, acknowledging the existence of things in life without expanding on their purpose in a sense.

I suppose part of my transparent nature could be due to the functional capabilities of my medication but I trust that it goes much deeper than that. I seem to have an inner conflict that has been tearing at my insides for some time now.

I just finished my son’s home assessment last week so he’ll be returning home as soon as they come up with a release date. I know I should be jumping up and down and full of excitement and, trust me, a part of me is but there is also a part of me that is in turmoil.

He just seems to have this arrogance about him that he thinks he is the authority figure here. He’s going to tell me what I can and can’t have and what I will allow him to have and have not. It’s just very irritating and frankly it has me deeply offended to say the least.

The other issue is the toll this will take on my life once again. When he comes home, he will be coming home under house arrest once again. Part of that means that I will have restricted hours to do my work on the computer. I can work around that but it’s the tension as well. He’s going to start to get agitated because he’s been locked up so long and now, even though he will be home, he won’t be able to be out among his friends or go to work, do any of the things he longs to do for a while. That puts extra stress on me.

Then of course there is the uncertainty of the outcome. Did he learn his lesson or in time will we be back at the same crossroads with the same unfortunate outcome? Only time will give me the answers but until then I live beyond hope. I say beyond hope because I am asking a lot with no uncertain expectations of significant returns. The future rests before me now. I can only hope it will provide me with comfort and joy.

One thing that has left me grateful is the relationship I have developed with my readers. It has been one of the most important and beneficial things in my life. The support and dedication that I have received from each individual who takes the time to read my column has been a source of strength and an abundance of comfort to me and I will continually do my best to uphold and respect each of you.


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Inclinations

Priscilla Fagan

Growth

George Eliot once said, "The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice." As we enter 2001 we are proud that membership at WVU is growing in leaps and bounds, and with growth comes change. So, WVU finds the need to offer more choices to our members, not only with course offerings but in the way we offer our courses.

Samuel Johnson put it well in 1750 by saying, "Whatever is formed for long duration arrives slowly to its maturity." Bear with us as we make changes and adjustments, along the way. Anything worth doing is worth doing well. Our writers' university is worth the effort our volunteers put into it. Writers' Village University is unique. All our courses are developed by volunteers. All our courses whether facilitated or unfacilitated thrive on peer feedback, our foundation.

Gilbert Highet said, "Wherever there are beginners and experts, old and young, there is some kind of learning going on, and some sort of teaching. We are all pupils and we are all teachers." The spirit of WVU is its members and out of its membership, volunteers. Why do we give our time and energy? Because we want to, we don't have to. The idea behind WVU is important to us.

In the coming months, you will see new classes and a registration system, facilitated and unfacilitated classes and classes offered more often... a choice. All courses at WVU are free to our membership and that will not change. Choices will come in three forms; unfacilitated courses, facilitated courses (watch the Calendar for dates), and self-run courses at your convenience (no calendar to worry about. You will even be able to get a group of your own together to take a course.)

Aristotle made this inclination in the 4th century B.C. "To learn is a natural pleasure, not confined to philosophers, but common to all men." No matter how you learn, WVU hopes to offer that learning experience.

"What sets us against one another is not our aims -- they all come to the same thing --but our methods, which are the fruit of our varied reasoning." Saint-Exupery, 1939. I believe the main thing to remember when taking a course in writing, anywhere, is that the feedback or opinion of the teachers or your peers is just that: opinion. "Believe in your own identity and your own opinions. Proceed with confidence, generating it, if necessary, by pure willpower. Writing is an act of ego and you might as well admit it. Use its energy to keep yourself going." William Zinsser.

As we grow with our writing and at WVU, I'd like to give you this quote by George Eliot to slosh around in your mind, " It is never too late to be what you might have been." Learn all you can no matter what format you use, find your own voice and stick to it.

As WVU experiences growing pains, I'll leave you with this thought out of the 1st century B.C by Publilius Syrus, "There is no fruit which is not bitter before it is ripe."

Til next month I remain, eternally optimistic,
Priscilla


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Market Watch

Nancy B. Leake

Staying Positive When Rejected

"This is good. Not for us, but good. You have talent. Submit again." This and many other rejection slips were impaled on a nail in the wall above Stephen King’s desk, until he needed a spike to hold them all. Even the best writers have had work rejected. I doubt there is a writer whose work was accepted by all. From the form letter to the occasional (albeit, thoughtful) handwritten rebuff, they are part of the acceptance process. Everyone must pay dues. Why should you be any different?

The problem is, how can the writer inside not be crushed by rejection? Leave the refusal and move on. Easier said when you’re not on the receiving end. But to sell the story, the negative response must be forgotten. That doesn’t mean learning shouldn’t occur, but use it constructively.

If the little voice inside can look objectively at the rejected story, start here. Take another look at the story from a fresh perspective, re-edit and submit it elsewhere. A rejection does not mean the story was bad. Perhaps, the story came into the hands of the wrong market or the wrong editor. You can’t please everyone. Rewrite and re-send until the story lands in the right place and is accepted.

If your inner voice is saying nasty things about this story and you can’t get beyond. Set this story aside and move on to something new or old. This is the time to pull from deep inside, vanquish the negative thoughts on a blank piece of paper until it is all spent, ball it up and trash it. Grab the journal and re-light that spark, then start fresh on the next project, and don’t forget to market it.

If the voice inside is clamoring for attention, but won’t be relieved by any writing. Then it’s time to follow up on the submissions you haven’t received any response on. Remember to check the market for response time before you start knocking on doors for answers. It takes time to go through all the materials editors receive, especially if the submission was by the Internet. Thousands of people see the same markets you do. Send a pleasant business reminder asking about the status of your submission. This is your time to clear up loose ends.

If nothing works to filter out the rejection clutter, this little trick works for me. There are books filled with examples of rejections received by famous people, one of which is, Pushcart’s Complete Rotten Reviews & Rejections, edited by Bill Henderson & Andre Bernard. Read how cruelly they were rejected. For instance, "It would be in extremely rotten taste, to say nothing of being horribly cruel, should we want to publish it," written about The Torrents of Spring by Ernest Hemingway.

Remember when you submit your writing to always enclose a query letter that looks professional and enclose a self addressed stamped envelop (SASE), if you want a response or want your manuscript returned.

A home without books is like a house without windows.
H.W. Beecher

I would like to hear about your experiences in submitting your writing, whether good or bad. When you send your suggestions to me please enclose: The name and type of the market, What type of writing they publish and the word count, The guidelines for submission or how to get the guidelines. How to contact the company, and who to contact, What they pay, and if they accept submission from new writers, if noted.

Print Markets:

New Age Magazine is a national bimonthly magazine for holistic living. They need articles on holistic health, food/nutrition, spirit, home, community, travel and life lessons (600-1,300 words); book and music/media reviews (200-750 words); and short news items (50-250 words). Payment ranges from $50 to $1,500 for electronic rights. Send a query letter with clips of recent work and a resume before preparing a lengthy article to Elizabeth Phillips, managing editor, New Age, Editorial Department, 42 Pleasant St., Watertown, MA 02472. Phone: 617-926-0200. No e-mail or phone calls. Responds within eight weeks.

Mature Outlook, a bimonthly magazine on travel, health, nutrition, food, money and people for an over-50 audience. It provides information for establishing a secure base of health and financial well being, as well as stories of travel, hobbies, volunteerism and more. They need how-to, travel, health, fitness, financial, and people profiles (75-2,500 words). No poetry, celebrities or reprints. Pays $50-2,000 for all rights or makes work-for-hire assignments. Byline given. Offers 25% kill fee. Query with published clips. State availability of photos with submissions. Sample copy for $3 and a 9X12 SAE. Writer's guidelines for #10 SASE. Send to Peggy Person, editor, Meredith Corp., 1716 Locust St., Des Moines, IA 50309-3023. E-mail: outlook@mdp.com. Responds in 2 weeks.

Back Home Magazine, is a how-to magazine to help people gain control over their lives by doing more for themselves. They are looking for interesting, lively, preferably first-person articles in the fields of gardening, home construction and repair, workshop projects, cooking, crafts, outdoor recreation, family activities and vacations, livestock, home business, home-based and other education, and community or neighborhood action. They seldom publish essays and they do not publish poetry. Pays $35 a printed page and extra for photographs for first North American serial rights. Send to Lorna K. Loveless, editor, Back Home Magazine, P.O. Box 70, Hendersonville, NC 28793. Phone: 828-696-3838. Fax: 828-696-0700. E-mail: backhome@ioa.com. Web site: www.backhomemagazine.com.

Cats Magazine is a monthly consumer magazine for cat enthusiasts. They need articles for Cat Tales, personal stories of our readers and their cats. Categories include: Last Meow, a humorous piece that reveals something about the nature of cats and how we humans fit into the feline world; and Spotlight, a profile of a person or cat who has done something extraordinary to benefit humankind or catkind (800 words); and feature articles (1,500-2,000 words). The two main requirements are that they be funny and that people recognize a basic truth about catdom. Pays $15-$500, $25 for exclusive print rights for six months and nonexclusive electronic rights. Samples available on newsstand. Query for feature articles by mail or fax to Beth Adelman, editor, 260 Madison Avenue, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10016; Fax (917) 256-2304. Guidelines http://www.catsmag.com/Pages/writeforcats.html. E-mail: info@catsmag.com. Response time one to two months.

Freelance Markets:

The Girl Within will be a book that shows that female role models were once young and struggling, to help enrich and inform teenage girls by speaking the plain truth about your experiences of growing into womanhood. Contributions may focus on different aspects of your teenage years. The four main themes for the book are: Within Myself, Within My Family, Within My Friendships, and Within My Spirit (one to six pages long). Conclude your reflection by writing a paragraph or so entitled "What I Know Now." This closing paragraph offers the opportunity to pass along the wisdom you've gained from looking back. Deadline March 1, 2001. Include a brief biographical sketch of yourself, including the following: name, contact information (mailing and e-mail address), and your racial, ethnic, religious, and educational background. The Girl Within, c/o 4033 Skyline Road, Carlsbad, CA 92008, or e-mail to: lauriedelgatto@msn.com.

Interfaith Anthology, Jewish Daughters Of Interfaith Marriages. When one parent is Jewish, and the other Gentile, what kind of a Jew does that make you? Intermarriage is raising new ideas, questions, and fears about the nature of Jewish identity. Reyna's Press is seeking essays, memoirs, Midrashim, and poetry about the experiences of Jewish women who were raised in interfaith families. Your Jewish identity can be religious, cultural or family-based (to 5000 words). Send submissions by March 1, 2001 to Reyna's Press, PMB #816, 298 4th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94118-2468 or e-mail to reynaspress@aol.com. Please paste the text into the body of the e-mail.

Women & Horses Anthology, Saddle Up: Women Write About High Adventure With Horses, is an anthology that seeks the personal, original true stories of women whose lives are or have been deeply affected by adventurous experiences with horses, from the physical to the spiritual. They want stories detailing women's journeys, from wilderness expeditions to urban wilds, that push boundaries, challenge the self, and ultimately have a profound influence on the writer. Some examples of the writing style and quality can be found in A Different Angle: Fly Fishing Stories for Women edited by Holly Morris and Two in the Wild: Tales of Adventure from Friends, Mothers, and Daughters edited by Susan Fox Rogers. Deadline August 30, 2001. Double-space, number, and staple pages, and put your name, address, phone, e-mail, and where you heard about this anthology on the first page or in the cover letter. Include a brief bio. Saddle Up, P.O. Box 750363 Torrey, UT 84775, or EditWorks@hotmail.com, Subject: Saddle Up.

Fillers

Open Spaces, is a quarterly general interest magazine for informed writing and intelligent thought. They accept anecdotes, facts, and short humor. Payment varies depending on rights purchased. Sample copy $10 or on website, www.open-spaces.com. Contact Elizabeth Arthur, editor, Open Spaces Publications, Inc. PMB 134, 6327-C SW Capitol Hwy., Portland, OR 97201-1937. (503) 227-5764. Fax: (503) 227-3401. E-mail: info@open-spaces.com.

Bibliophilos, a quarterly journal of history, literature and the liberal arts concentrating on the 19th century, needs anecdotes and short humor (25-100 words). Payment $5-10 for first North American serial rights. Response time one month. Sample copy $5. Send to Dr. Gerald J. Bobango, editor, The Bibliophile Publishing Co., Inc., 200 Security Building, Fairmont, WV 26554.

Presence Sense Magazine, a bimonthly magazine covering etiquette, social customs and lifestyle, needs anecdotes, facts, gags to be illustrated by cartoonist, and short humor (5–250 words). Pays $25-45 for one-time and second serial (reprint rights). Response time three months. Sample copy $4.50. Send to Kimberly Teed, editor, The Horstman Teed Corp., PO Box 547, Rancocas, NJ 08073. E-mail: presencesensemag@jersey.net.

The Saturday Evening Post, a bimonthly general interest, family-oriented magazine focusing on physical fitness and preventative medicine, uses anecdotes and short humor as fillers (300 words). Payment $15 for second serial rights (reprint rights) and all rights. Response time is six weeks. Steve Pettinga, Post Scripts editor, The Saturday Evening Post Society, 1100 Waterway Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46202. (317) 636-8881. Fax (317) 637-0126. E-mail satevepst@aol.com. Website: www.satevepost.org.

Web Markets:

The Freelancer Magazine, is an online magazine for writers of all styles. "It offers relatively unknown authors with a penchant for prose a means to have some of their productions published." They accept fiction (to 5,000 words) $15, (5,000 + words) $25, nonfiction $15, poetry and all other genres $10. Include pen name, real name, address, email, and a short note granting the Freelancer permission to publish the work, purchasing electronic publishing rights. Submit as an email to submissions@freelancer-magazine.com. To protect the rights of the author, the author should print out a copy of the terms and conditions, sign and date, and mail to the Freelancer office within two days of submitting. The Freelancer Magazine, 2147 Arlington Ave. NE, Atlanta, GA 30324.

Furious Pen, is a bimonthly publication that features short-short stories. Each issue has a theme: Relationships - deadline April 15, 2001; Reunion - June 15, 2001; Freedom - August 15, 2001; and Redemption - October 15, 2001. No erotic, pornographic, discriminatory, racial or derogatory stories. Submit up to three stories per issue (200 words each). Payment is two complementary print copies for first electronic publication rights and one-year archival rights on the web site. One submission will be chosen as the issue's Best Furious Pen story and the contributor will receive a $20 gift certificate from Amazon. Include your real name, pen name, address, email address, and a 20-word biography. Give your story a title. And indicate the word count. Submit each story in separate emails. Send your submissions to furiouspen@ewritersplace.com subject: Furious Pen submission. Please indicate the theme of your story. Response time is 1-2 weeks. Furious Pen is delivered every two months via email. To subscribe, please send a blank email to furiouspen-subscribe@egroups.com. E-mail queries to Shery Ma Belle Arrieta, publisher and editor, publisher@ewritersplace.com.

Cardreps.Com, is a weekly updated website focusing on bringing together greeting card freelancers and markets; formerly theGreetingCardWriter.com. They need "instructional or informational articles relating to the greeting card industry and greeting card writing or art" on any topic (500 words). Do not submit greeting card verse or art. Payment is $30 and up per article for electronic and archival rights. Query first; please give some indication of your experience and the proposed topic. Terri See, director, Summerland, Ltd., P.O. Box 12947, Cincinnati, OH 45212. E-mail to tsee@cardreps.com. Response time one month.

Green Living Magazine, is seeking submissions of lyric essays, articles, and journals about all aspects of a greener world: people, housekeeping, energy, gardening, wildlife and pets, transportation, shopping, recycling, and well being. They’d "like to see writing about green thinking that’s fresh and beautiful" (1500-2000 words), no fiction or poetry. Send a query e-mail, resume, and writing sample (no attachments, please) to Miss Landon Godfrey, supervising editor, at lgodfrey@greenliving.com. Response time is four weeks

Don't Bother:

FindArticles.com, "an on-line content provider" run by LookSmart and the Gale Group, is apparently doing just that: selling articles created and owned by freelance writers without getting the writers' permission and without paying them. For more information see http://www.nwu.org.

 

Beware of the turnover of many websites and try to be paid for writing on acceptance. If not, you may never be paid for your hard work. Email your markets to me. All opinions stated in this column are my own and not opinions of T-zero or Writers' Village University.


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

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Writers' Village University - F2K: Free Fiction Writing Course - ePress-online
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Poetics

Christine

Everything Old Is New Again

About two years ago, a few members of our writers group began talking about chapbooks they were publishing. At first I just nodded my head and said how nice for you - not registering that they were talking about something that I should be finding out about. This summer, I began checking out chapbooks in earnest. I bought a few at some of the conferences I attended, I browsed the Web for information, and got a few surprises.

To start with, chapbooks are not new, nor were they originally poetic volumes. They began in the eighteenth century as small, cheap booklets mainly for the poorer classes and children who could not afford good leather bound books. Also favored by travelers who could simply tuck them into their valises because of their size, the penny books usually were twenty to forty pages and often included crudely printed drawings. Sold by traveling hawkers, or chapmen, they became known as "ChapBooks." Chapbooks kept alive the traditional fairy tales, folklore, and nursery rhymes during this period, as most publishers were interested in more serious works. As the stories appealed to most younger readers, and the texts suited small hands and budgets, they were the beginning of modern children s literature.

For a while, as dime novels and paperbacks entered the scene, chapbooks fell out of fashion and disappeared. Now they are enjoying a revival, mostly in the world of poetry. They usually sell for $5 to $10, and have very simple illustrations or none at all. They lend themselves well to poetry because they can be glanced at a few minutes at a time, whenever the mood strikes. Readers are again finding that the small volumes are convenient to carry, and they also make excellent gifts. I have a couple on the table in my guest room for visitors to browse through as they relax at bedtime.

Most publishers guidelines on today s chapbooks suggest that they contain 20 to 30 poems, preferably no longer than a single page, and be centered on a theme. The few that I bought ranged from religion to travel. I found one author who published twelve books - one for each month of the year and, you guessed it, a poem for each day. When I asked her about it, she said it began as an exercise in discipline. Her goal was to write at least one poem a day. Then, like Topsy, the project grew.

There are always exceptions to the above guidelines. Some have fewer poems, some are on various subjects, so it is still a matter of preference. In my research on the Web, I discovered a few publishers that have devoted their chapbooks to two or three short stories instead of poetry, so you see it is true - the more things change, the more they stay the same.

If you are a prolific poet or short story writer, you might want to consider doing a chapbook. You may wish to published your own, but the Internet lists several houses that are interested. There are also contests galore for published or unpublished works. Some of the prizes include publication. Just get your search engine fired up and type in chapbooks. You will be amazed at all the information you will get. Good Luck!


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

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Writers' Village University - F2K: Free Fiction Writing Course - ePress-online
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Recognitions

N'omi Rose

T-Zero Xpandizine is proud to announce these WVU members who have gained recognition in their writing achievements.

Congratulations to Charla Banner! Her short story Indiana Beach was accepted by The Liguorian. The Liguorian is a Catholic magazine, which has a circulation of 260,000, and only accepts 12 fiction manuscripts per year! While she has sold numerous nonfiction articles over the years, this is her first fiction sale. Her latest nonfiction piece Taking the Guess Out of the Guestroom will appear in the summer 2001 issue of Mature Years Magazine. She is currently working on her mystery novel Murder at the Abbey of Saint Brendan. She is in her third year at WVU! Please join her study group, Misfits, along with Charity and Darcy as they heartily congratulate Charla! Their help has been invaluable.

Congratulations to Charity Tahmaseb who had a short story, The Ring Knocker, accepted for publication in the Words of Romance anthology. The tentative publication date is 2001. Her story Side By Side in the Dec./Jan. issue of Futures has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize award. She has two other stories due out this year, including one that placed third in Futures Fire to Fly contest. She also has a short nonfiction piece in a forthcoming issue of ByLine Magazine, and placed first in the 1999 California Writer's Club short fiction contest. Charity has developed three mystery courses for WVU and helped to facilitate them as well. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and is currently working on the fourth edit of her novel. She hopes to start querying agents at the end of this month. You can read more about Charity on her staff bio!

Congratulations to Liberty whose novel Turnbull Bay: A Traditional Vampire Story, has been published by Xlibris Corporation. The novel can be purchased online a barnesandnoble.com, borders.com, and xlibris.com. It should soon be available at amazon.com and eventually recorded with Books In Print so that Turnbull Bay can be ordered from local book dealers. Follow the link to read this excerpt! Liberty has been a member of WVU for about eighteen months. She says that The Elements of Fiction course really helped her to "...clarify viewpoint versus exposition." To Liberty, the critique sessions in Freestylers and ShadowLand were/are always valuable.

Congratulations to Linda Mae Baldwin had her article Angels of Avenola published in the Dec 26th issue of Woman's World (the Christmas issue). Her piece started out as an article and was edited down to a very small article with her family picture at the top. She has been a member of WVU for almost two years and is a Lifetime member! Linda belongs to two great groups Romantics and Creative Energy Unlimited...She says "both are AWESOME!"

Kudos to our WVU writers, Charla, Charity, Liberty, Linda, and best wishes for many more successes!

Our warmest congratulations to Anita Martin, Najwa Salam Brax, Suzanne Pérez, and Dee Walmsley, all of whom were published in the December issue of T-Zero, and to Liz Inskip-Paulk and Tom Spencer who were published in the January issue!

 

Thank you!
N'omi Rose
Recognitions column custodian

"How can one not dream while writing? It is the pen which dreams. The blank page gives the right to dream."  --Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Reverie

Special for Writers' Village University members:

If you, or someone you know at WVU, has gained recognition in writing achievements, please send the information to: Recognitions column custodian.

Please checkout the Recognitions' guidelines for ideas!


T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine
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Submissions Guidelines The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine

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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
http://TheWritersEzine.com
Copyright 1998 - 2007, Writopia Inc. All Rights Reserved

 

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