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09 January 2009
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Book Review

Margaret I Carr

Diplomatic Immunity
by Lois McMaster Bujold
ISBN 0743435338, Baen Books
320 pp. List $25.00
Hardcover and Webscription e-book
Not available as an individual Webscription.
Included in the April Webscription
$15.00 for all of the month's books
Amazon has the hardcover for $17.50 and Barnes and Noble for $20.00

Lois McMaster Bujold continues to cheerfully mix and match genres in the continuing Vorkosigan saga. In Diplomatic Immunity she stirs in a healthy serving of Thriller spiced by continuing romance elements and her, business as usual, depth of characterization.

The basic science element is again biology but unlike the more positive aspects in some previous books this one (written before the Anthrax incident) takes us on a blood chilling, rapid paced race to save the station, the babies and the Empire in time to get honeymooning Miles and Ekaterin home for the birth of their twins. As Ekaterin says "For all that I try to be all modern and galactic, that feels so strange. All sorts of men don't make it home for the births of their children. But My mother was out of town on the day I was born, so she missed it, just seems... seems like a more profound complaint, somehow."

The reader new to Bujold's books will appreciate both her habit of making each book strong enough to stand alone and Baen's keeping older books in print, both as individual titles and in economical omnibus volumes which combine two or more older titles. Most of her books are also available as ebooks either through Baen Webscriptions or at Fictionwise.


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

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Catherine's Kitchen

Catherine Manning

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN, COLUMN TIME. I've been busy but I have to think of what I can do as soon as finances will allow, to somehow expand my kitchen and help with preparation of food and washing up. I'm not good with anyone underfoot, so need an area that I can stick another sink and some work space to accommodate help. I turned my back porch into a new kitchen and added on another back porch, so I think I'll have to turn the new back porch into a work area and add on another back porch. Soon it'll be a house of back porches!

I've been putting various things in the Saturday vegetable market which have been going well. The souse (pickled pork) has been going well, so has the Buljol, chicken pies and jams and jellies. Also the sweet pies have been doing well.

Souse is made with the ends of the pig i.e.: feet, head, tongue, etc. But I prefer a lean souse so even though I put in some of feet, ears, etc. for those who like them, I concentrate more on lean meat. The head does have a lot of very tender meat so I use that, but I leave out the ears, they are too grisly. Sorry to all you vegetarians out there, including my two daughters!

Souse

Get a young pig's head and feet. Wash and clean well. Boil in salted water until tender. Take out and plunge into cold water until cool. Take out and cut into pieces, skin and cut the tongue into slices lengthways and divide the feet in half. Put the souse into a bowl, make a brine with hot water, lime juice, salt and chopped hot red pepper, cover the souse and let marinate for an hour or two. Chop onion, cucumber, garlic and hot red pepper together, steep in a little brine and serve over the souse.

As I said, I will take a piece of pork leg or shoulder and tongue and treat the same way, that way you don't get all the fatty parts. Some but not all!

This is a typical Saturday morning favourite, along with black pudding, which is a pudding made with the blood of the pig and sweet potatoes, pumpkin and different seasonings. The intestines (after being well washed with salted water) are stuffed loosely and tied at intervals. They are then put into boiling water and cooked until the juice does not run out when pricked. They are then cut in pieces and served with the souse. Any leftovers are sliced and fried next day.

We had a lady who worked on the plantation who made best pudding and souse I have ever eaten and every time my father killed a pig, Evie came in to make the pudding and souse. It started at 4 a.m. and was ready by lunch time. She used to get very annoyed with us, as there is an old superstition that unless everyone is quite quiet and the kitchen is very quiet, the pudding will burst. So of course we would go and shout over the pot to see if it did burst, Evie would get quite cross and quarrel with us and throw us out of the kitchen. Of course if the pudding did burst, it was more likely because it was probably resting on the bottom of the saucepan, but we would get blamed! Evie is still alive today, about 90 by now and too old to do it anymore and the ones who cook it today, don't know how, so cut corners.

Enough of that though! Today I had some friends of Fleur's on holiday from England for lunch. She sent some nice things for Nat and I and I have to send her back some Pepper Jelly and the last of the Guava Jelly I have in stock.

I made it fairly simple, did Flying Fish, coleslaw with apples, nuts etc. and a salad and made bread. Gave them Buljol to start (always have some in the freezer) and Coconut Cream Pie for dessert.

It was a nice day, my sister and brother-in-law came and my mother and my two 'surrogate' grandson's, Jake 4 and Brandon 2. My niece just had number 3, Drew, so we were giving her a break. I have none yet so we share! At the rate mine are going I might never have any, but I hope still.

Coconut Cream Pie

  • 1 9" baked pastry shell
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 5 tbs. all purpose flour
  • 1/8 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 cup cold milk
  • 1 1/2 cups scalded milk
  • 3 egg yolks beaten
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup shredded coconut (I use fresh coconut)
  • 3 egg whites for meringue

Blend sugar, flour and salt with cold milk. Add to scalded milk, stirring constantly. Cook over low heat till thickened. Add beaten egg yolks and stir thoroughly. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and coconut. Cool and pour into baked pie shell.

Meringue

3 egg whites, pinch of cream of tartar and allow 2 oz. of granulated sugar to each egg white. Beat till fairly stiff and add half of the sugar and beat again till glossy. Fold in the other half of the sugar with a metal spoon using a gentle folding motion. Do not beat.

Top the pie with the meringue covering all of the pie and sealing to the crust edge. Sprinkle with granulated sugar and bake at 350F for about 18 minutes till golden. Allow to cool before eating.

Bon Appetit
Cath


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Crafting A Better Writer The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine

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Crafting A Better Writer

by Whitney Potsus

In the coming year, we here at T-zero are going to be working hard at expanding our Non-Fiction/Craft of Writing section. We're pulling together a talented group of writers who are passionate about their craft to help organize, manage, and edit this section.

We have several broad goals in mind:

  • Help further solidify the already strong sense of community among the writers in WVU and T-zero's readership.
  • Give writers the opportunity to share what they've learned about the various genres of writing with others.
  • Give tips, guidance, support, and advice to aspiring and experienced writers as they seek to break into professional writing or into new areas of writing.

The topics we can cover run the gamut from business writing to science and nature writing to technology and business writing to finding ideas to writing effective query letters to doing market research. We also can talk about prewriting tricks, ways to recharge your creativity, improving your interview skills, learning from rejection and criticism, and getting the most out of the once-dreaded outline. And all this doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of the possibilities available to us. Share personal experiences, lessons, and revelations that affected you as a writer. Tell us what you learned about writers and their craft the year you entered a dozen competitions. Reminisce what you learned about receiving constructive criticism during the novel writing workshop you took at a local college or during your stint as a cub reporter for a metropolitan newspaper.

What we are not looking for is self-congratulatory essays that simply list the prizes you've won, rants about the editor who rejected your last query or edited your last article beyond recognition, or run-downs of the agendas of the last three writing workshops you've attended -- but by all means, use those as pre-writing exercises for the articles that we hope you'll eventually send to us. What we do want is to know what you learned from the experience that others can benefit from.

The pieces you propose can be reflective essays; top ten lists of do's and don'ts; Q&A's that provide solutions to common writing difficulties; how-to's; categorized lists of tips, tricks, and little-known resources; or expository articles on the essentials of writing for particular genres.

So please consider this an open call for article proposals. To facilitate quicker reviews and prompter responses, please take note of the following:

  • Read T-zero's Submission Guidelines.
  • Send us a query letter, not a completed article. (If you've never written a query letter, this is your chance to practice what you've learned.) The query should explain your topic and propose the approach you'll take with its presentation.
  • Use the subject line of your e-mail message to tag the kind of article you're proposing. This will help us to direct the query to the appropriate editor.
  • Make sure your query letter is in the body of your e-mail message, not in a file attachment.
  • Don't pitch articles that have been published elsewhere. We only accept original content.

When in doubt about an article idea, query. It's impossible to list all the topics that we'd consider publishing, and we'd hate to think that we missed out on something good because our list was taken too literally, taken as all-inclusive and all-else-excluded. Simply stated, it never hurts to ask.

We look forward to hearing from you, reading your ideas, and working with you as we strive to make this T-zero's best year ever.

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Guest Chat with Jennifer Weiner The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine

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Guest Chat with Jennifer Weiner

Wynelda Shelton

Recently, members of WVU had the pleasure of meeting author Jennifer Weiner. Her novel, Good in Bed, was on the NY Times Best Seller list and was chosen as one of the best books of the year by Barnes and Nobles. Following are excerpts from the chat.

Background Of A Best Seller

Janet: Were either of your parents writers?

Jennifer Weiner: Neither of my parents are writers, but both of them were great readers. I grew up being read to, a lot, and I grew up in a house full of books.

Janet: What did you like to read when you were little?

Jennifer Weiner: Oh, I read all kinds of things when I was wee. Shel Silverstein, Nancy Drew and the Bobbsey Twins, Little Women and Huck Finn and The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew. Lots of children's collections of poetry and mythology, too. My Dad was prepping me for the SATs, I think...

benning: How were you as a student?

Jennifer Weiner: I was a disgustingly overachieve-y student. You'd have stuffed me in a locker in elementary school if you'd known me.

Janet: Did you enjoy your time at Princeton?

Jennifer Weiner: Hmm. I got a great education at Princeton, and I got to study with some amazing people, but socially, I didn't fit in very well. Like Cannie, I thought when I got to college I'd find lots of unapologetically nerdy kindred souls. Instead, I found girls who were not only smart, but beautiful, and fashionable, and well-groomed, too. Being none of those last three things, it was all a little daunting.

texasjim: Did you have success in promoting admittance of females at Princeton?

Jennifer Weiner: Oh, Princeton admitted its first women twenty years before I got there. However, I did a lot of agitatin' trying to get the eating clubs -- Princeton's substitute for frats -- to admit women. There were two all-male clubs when I joined, and they both went co-ed by the year I left!

benning: What was your major?

Jennifer Weiner: Yeah. It was cool. I was an English major, of course!

texasjim: Jennifer, I notice you read Stephen King. Jennifer Weiner: Yes, I love Stephen King! Everything's Eventual is amazing. He's amazing. Janet: I love him too. Who are some of your other favourite authors? Jennifer Weiner: Oh, I have lots of favorite authors. Susan Isaacs is a real role model. I love Anne Tyler and Alice Hoffman, Peter Straub and Andrew Vachss and Nicholas Christopher and John Irving....too many to name. Just lately, I read Stranger Things Happen by Kelly Link, which I adored. I don't write fantasy, but I like to read it.

Good In Bed Goes Paperback

Jerry: Jennifer, I hate to say this, but I'm not familiar with Good In Bed. Can you tell us the story line?

Jennifer Weiner: Sure, Jerry. Good In Bed is the story of Cannie Shapiro, a journalist at a large East Coast newspaper who opens a women's magazine one day to learn that her ex-boyfriend has been chronicling their ex-sex-life. The book is the story of a year in her life -- how she comes to terms with being so publicly exposed, how she makes peace with her family, all that good girlie stuff...

Janet: I was just reading your WEB LOG, Jennifer, and you are so busy!

Jennifer Weiner: Yeah, it's a busy time, getting ready to go on the road again in support of the paperback.

benning: How many appearances?

Jennifer Weiner: I'm going to nine cities, doing readings in each one, plus whatever television and radio my publicists can arrange.

texasjim: Jennifer, where will your next trip take you?

Jennifer Weiner: TexasJim, if you go to http://www.jenniferweiner.com, and follow the "on the road" link, you'll find out every place I'm going this spring.

Janet: Congratulations on the big stacks of paperbacks in the stores.

texasjim: I'm glad you mentioned that BN has stock. My local said sometime in April, so I went to BN and got two copies.

Jennifer Weiner: Oh, good! You've seen them! Not all the stores have them out yet, so I'm always encouraged to hear when somebody spots them.

Research

benning: So you didn't need to do too much research? Having worked at a paper?

Jennifer Weiner: In terms of research, no, I didn't have to go very far to learn what it was like at a big-city paper. I did, however, have to do research about pregnancy. Poor Adam really freaked the night I came home with What To Expect When You're Expecting. I had to tell him it was research!

Janet: LOL Jennifer! Pregnancy is scary.

Wyndie: LOL Did he believe you?

Jennifer Weiner: Yes, he believed me. And pregnancy is scary, but reading about difficult pregnancies was really, really scary. I actually hung out in chat rooms for people with premature babies. It really opened my eyes.

On Writing

Janet: Do you write every day, Jennifer?

Jennifer Weiner: Pretty much. Especially because I left the Philadelphia Inquirer, so now novel-writing is my full-time job, and I am wracked with guilt on days I don't work!

Wyndie: Do you have a set schedule for writing?

Jennifer Weiner: I have sort of an unofficial schedule. In the mornings I read my email, talk to my editor and my agent, go to the gym, do lots of thinking. In the afternoons, I lug my laptop to the local Starbucks, and work until the battery power runs out -- about four hours. Sometimes I'll put in another hour or two at night, but that's generally it. I know there are writers who can do eight-hour stints in front of the keyboard, but I'm not one of them. Also, I think the time you spend thinking -- and daydreaming -- about your work is just as important as the actual-writing time.

Janet: Starbucks is one of my favourite places to write. :-)

Jennifer Weiner: I like Starbucks, too, but I always feel like such a poser when I'm there! I wish I had a little sign that said something like "Yes, I Really Get Paid to Do This."

Wyndie: Do you find that "background" noise helps you write?

Jennifer Weiner: Yes, the background noise helps. After ten years in a newsroom, I can't write when it's too quiet!

benning: White noise?

Jennifer Weiner: White noise, exactly. Except I've gotten to the point where I know every song on the Starbucks tape loop. I hope they change it soon...

Wyndie: Do you ever miss the newsroom?

Jennifer Weiner: Yes, I do miss the newsroom a lot. Especially when a day will go by and I realize that the only conversation I've had has been with the girl behind the Starbucks counter. But it came down to trying to do two full-time jobs at once, and I knew there was no way I could do that without giving one or both jobs far less attention than they deserved.

Janet: Did you enjoy writing columns for magazines?

Jennifer Weiner: Yes, Janet, I like writing for magazines, but it's so much different than writing fiction. Like, they want it to be true! Who knew?

Wyndie: So have you outlined this novel, or do you write out the story first? (I have a horrid time outlining... sigh...)

Jennifer Weiner: I've got kind of an outline in my head. As I get going on the first draft, I'll chart out the plot a little more clearly. Right now I've got 150 pages of the beginning written. I have a sense of what happens in the middle. And I know what happens in the end. So there you have it....

Wyndie: How many manuscript pages do you generally have at the end?

Jennifer Weiner: Right now, In Her Shoes is about 540. My editor wants it at 450. We're compromising at 480.

benning: How many words is that?

Jennifer Weiner: I'm sorry, I have no idea how many words that is. A lot? I actually remember when I was writing Good In Bed, I was re-reading Stephen King's Different Seasons, where he talks about crossing the magical 10,000 word mark from novella to novel. I remember shooting for 10,000 words. Of course, I way overshot it!

Janet: Do you ever change course as you are writing, Jennifer?

Jennifer Weiner: Sure. In Good In Bed, I'd initially thought that Maxi Ryder was going to be much more villainous than she was.

Jerry: Do your characters tell you what to write in the story?

Jennifer Weiner: Yes, I think that characters do start dictating the story. I thought that was absolute bunk when I first heard writers say it -- "Your characters start talking to you!" I'm like, "Look, I can't get regular real-life guys to talk to me half the time, how am I going to get fictional characters to start talking?" But that's really what happens.

Rita: The problem I am having is that my novel has been critiqued ­ which is a good thing, but the problem is, somewhere along the way the book became the critiquers' novel and not mine. Do you have your books critiqued by fellow writers and when?

Jennifer Weiner: Hi Rita. I have a few trusted "first readers" whose opinions I really trust, and whose advice I usually heed. My agent is one, my editor's another, and I work with a freelance editor whose help is invaluable. But I'm pretty choosy about who I let see those first drafts. My agent sees chunks of things as they're coming along. The editors don't see anything until I'm done with the first draft.

benning: So you pretty much do it and then ask for opinions?

Jennifer Weiner: Yes, that's right -- I Just Do It. Then I let people see.

Wyndie: Are there any points that aren't negotiable for you when editing one of your books?

Jennifer Weiner: Not really. Maybe it's my background in journalism, but I've never been one of those writers who says, "My work is sacrosanct! Nothing can be changed! Do not tell me to change it! Do not even gaze upon it too long!" The way I work, I'll write something, and then I'll set it aside while people are reading it, and then I'll read it again, and read what they said, and then make my own decisions. I try not to get too attached.

benning: Jennifer, how long was the idea for Good In Bed in your head?

Jennifer Weiner: Hmm. I think I had the voice of the character in my head for a long time -- it's sort of a smarter, sharper version of my own voice, so that wasn't hard. In terms of the plot, well, it took getting my heart broken before I could put that in motion.

texasjim: Jennifer, do you ever feel you need to walk away from your writing for a spell?

Jennifer Weiner: Yes, I absolutely walk away from what I'm working on for a few days or a few weeks. You need to take a break sometimes, and come back with fresh eyes.

The Business Side Of Writing

Janet: When is your next book, In Her Shoes, slated to hit the shelves, Jennifer?

Jennifer Weiner: In Her Shoes is scheduled for publication next May. However, I'll have chapters up on my website in April. I'm pretty much done with it -- just polishing up a draft -- but it takes a year for a manuscript to make its way into print.

benning: A year seems so long.

Janet: Is it the editing process that takes so long?

Jennifer Weiner: Janet, the editing is a part of it. So is choosing a cover, sending around advance readers' copies, getting quotes (my least favorite part of the process).

Janet: So much work... after the work. :-)

Jennifer Weiner: In terms of advance copies...they get sent to reviewers at long-lead magazines, and to anyone you're soliciting blurbs from. In my case, I think we sent about five copies of Helen Fielding, of Bridget Jones fame. Never heard back from her, though.

benning: Betcha will next time

Janet: It will be her loss.

Wyndie: That's ok. Good In Bed was much better than Bridget Jones.

Jennifer Weiner: Oh, thank you!

benning: How many times did you submit a manuscript before you finally landed a nibble?

Jennifer Weiner: Well, I actually had a really fantastic submission process. I hooked up with my agent in February, and she spent months taking editors out to lunch, building the buzz. "I have three words for you!" she'd say. "Good In Bed!" And then she wouldn't tell them anything else. So by the time we were ready to submit, there were all of these editors walking around wondering "What is Good In Bed? How do I get Good In Bed?"

Janet: Great strategy! And...it worked.

Jennifer Weiner: Yeah. My mother got so overwhelmed I'd call to tell her what different houses were offering, and she was so completely flustered that she kept hanging up on me. And yes, it was very smart strategy. I've got a very smart agent. I'm lucky.

benning: And how long did it take to find that agent?

Jennifer Weiner: That wasn't quite as smooth. I sent out dozens of query letters in December and January, was briefly hooked up with an agent who didn't quite share my vision of the book. Then I found my fabulous agent, Joanna, after three months or so.

texasjim: I noticed your book became an international best seller overseas. Outstanding!

Jennifer Weiner: Yes, it's doing very well in England and Germany, and is coming out next month in France and Italy. I think that by the end of 2003, it will have been published in 18 different countries. Which is 16 more countries than I've ever visited...

Wyndie: Do you have a different agent for overseas sales?

Jerry: Congrats. Will they be published in the countries languages?

Jennifer Weiner: Thanks. Yes, I've got an agent who handles the domestic sales, an agent who handles foreign rights, and a film agent in Hollywood. And all of the books are being published in different languages, with different covers. It's all unbelievably cool.

Janet: A film agent! Are you thinking of making your book into a movie?

Jennifer Weiner: Hah! Yes, I'm thinking about it a lot. Unfortunately, Hollywood doesn't seem quite as taken with the notion as I am. But I'm still hoping...

benning: If Hollywood becomes interested, would you work on the screenplay?

Jennifer Weiner: No, I don't think I'd want to work on the screenplay. I've heard writers say that turning your novel into a movie is like trying to circumcise your own child -- a process best left to experts.

texasjim: Excellent analogy, Jennifer!

benning: Did you choose the cover? Or were you given choices?

Jennifer Weiner: In terms of the cover, I was given two choices. I loved both of them, and got to pick the one I loved the best. It was really a great experience, especially because I've heard so many horror stories of first-time authors who are stuck with covers they hate!

On Celebrity

Janet: I checked out my local library here in B.C. Canada for your book at first and I was put on a waiting list of 20!

Wyndie: Long waiting list here as well.

benning: Nice to have a waiting list! Hehehe

Jennifer Weiner: Yes, it's quite a thrill.

texasjim: Jennifer, how did it feel to suddenly become a celebrity... The CBS Early show, etc.?

Jennifer Weiner: Oh, gosh. I'm not a celebrity! I've never once been recognized in public! And not a single Jackson brother came to my wedding!

texasjim: Jennifer, you and I must be the same age....32. You have so much time in front of you to become even MORE famous!!

Jennifer Weiner: I don't know if I want to be any more famous than this. Too much pressure to look good in public.

The Web Site

Jennifer Weiner: The website is http://www.jenniferweiner.com. Please check it out...and please come to my readings, if you're in the neighborhood! If you go to the website and click on "on the road," it'll tell you everywhere I'm going -- Boston, Austin, Houston, Dallas, Cleveland, DC, LA, Phoenix and Philadelphia!

Once Again, WVU Thanks Jennifer Weiner for sharing her time with us!

THE END


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From the Copy Editor's Desk

Bliss Cochran

Cleaning Up Your Language with Strunk & White

Here's a slender book of writing advice that not only deserves a place next to your computer, but a thorough reading: Strunk & White's "Elements of Style."

An English instructor named William Strunk Jr. originally self-published this collection of writing guidelines for his students in 1919. E.B. White (of "Charlotte's Web" fame) first encountered it as a required text in Strunk's classroom at Cornell. (Strunk's original book reportedly is still available in e-book form.) Thirty-eight years later, MacMillan Publishing asked White to update it, after Strunk's death. So the two never actually collaborated, though they knew each other. Now it's in its fourth edition and another contributor, Roger Angell, has revised it once again.

A dry, boring text you want to consult only for emergency grammatical question? Far from it! At less than 100 pages, it's a short read, and sure to help you learn to overcome the mediocre and keep your writing fresh. A few examples:

  • If a writer's style ever leaves you feeling a tad queasy, perhaps she broke this rule: "Do not overwrite. Rich, ornate prose is hard to digest, generally unwholesome and sometimes nauseating..."

  • Not to mince words, White called qualifiers such as 'rather,' 'very,' 'little,' and 'pretty' "the leeches that infest the pond of prose, sucking the blood of words..." (So cut that pretty little sucker out right now.)

  • Have you been dressing up your prose with every descriptive word you could find? Instead, "write with nouns and verbs...not with adjectives and adverbs. The adjective hasn't been built that can pull a weak or inaccurate noun out of a tight place."

  • If you struggle to avoid ending a sentence with a preposition, you'll be delighted to know that "time...has softened that rigid decree... Not only is the preposition acceptable at the end, sometimes it is more effective in that spot than anywhere else...a matter of ear." The same goes with the choice between "me" and "I": sometimes judgment calls for the former, as in "The worst tennis player around here is me." The alternative, they agree, sounds stilted.

  • You also have permission, depending on judgment again, to split infinitives, as in "I cannot bring myself to really like the fellow." It's a matter of avoiding stiffness and formality.

  • There's a crucial difference between two very often-confused words: effect and affect. "Effect, as a noun, means 'result'; as a verb, means 'to bring about,' (or) 'to accomplish' (not to be confused with affect, which means 'to influence'). They didn't supply examples, so I will: "Screaming at a teenager only has the effect (result) of inspiring a murderous rage in him." "We plan to effect (to bring about) several changes in the coven's rituals this equinox festival." "Dude, I smoked a little pot at the rave, but I swear it didn't affect (influence) my driving."

  • Here's another one you might not have known: "farther serves best as a distance word, further as a time or quantity word."

  • When is a dash appropriate? Some writers are so fond of them, they use them to string together sentences, add explanatory clauses, even to replace quote marks. Mr. Strunk says, "A dash is a mark of separation stronger than a comma, less formal than a colon, and more relaxed than parentheses...Use a dash only when a more common mark of punctuation seems inadequate.

Not only inappropriate words, but indiscriminate dashes, exclamation marks, italics, quote marks, commas, all-caps and apostrophes can doom an otherwise well-written piece to rejection in the professional publishing world. It's a rare editor who is willing to weed them out and perhaps even explain why they need correcting. So if your work is destined for publications beyond T-zero Xpandizine where we're all in learning mode, you'd do well to invest in and investigate the wisdom of Strunk and White.

Now a confession: it's been decades since I last consulted "Elements of Style" and I had forgotten what entertaining reading it can be. But then, the authors couldn't expect us to make good use of it to write our own entertaining works if their guidelines put us to sleep. I found myself wishing I'd had an instructor like William Strunk, or a fellow student like E.B. White, as my mentor.

Next month: Hot off the press, a contemporary style book you'll want to keep next to your Strunk & White, if you can put it down long enough.

The T-Zero Xpandizine Copy Editor
Bliss Cochran


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Fiction Corner

Alison Hawke

Portable writing

I'm currently offline as we move house, but I wanted to ask a question. Is anyone using a PDA to write with? I do recall one person who sent in drabbles written on her Palm during boring meetings. It's the ultimate in mobile computing, and I'm trying it, but I'd value your advice and opinions. Please email me and let me know.

And another thing: Music. Help or hindrance? I'm listening to some gregorian-style chants at the moment, all in Latin, so I have no idea what they're saying. And it makes me want to write.

I'll be back in June. Promise

Alison


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Healthy Horizons

Laurie Lupold

The Stare

Are you there? I can't hear you. My stare is fixated on a slice of air. I'm numb. I don't feel. I don't respond. I can't even sense that life exists. You might have been openly having a conversation with me then suddenly without warning I disappear. Maybe you don't notice it or maybe you think I am simply being rude.

I can promise you wholeheartedly that I don't purposely lose myself in a fog, it just happens that way. I'd prefer to be focused on my life at all times but this IS a part of my life, one which I can't escape.

My therapist thinks it might be due to overmedication. Myself, I wonder if it isn't just another effect of the conditions I have. Then which one could it be? Schizoeffective? Bipolar? Depression? Anxiety? Panic? Delusional Disorder? My doctor doesn't share everything with me. I only knew he was treating me for schizoeffective disorder because I saw it on a sheet for lab work. Of course I have never come straight out and asked. Afraid of hearing more, I guess. I know the abovementioned are diagnosed. Not sure if he is still diagnosing me with schitzoeffective disorder.

Anyhow I didn't mean to use my column as a posting board for my case scenario. It's just the staring gets to me a lot. I lose any thought I might have had in an instant because of it. Not to sound selfish but it's not fair that I have to go through life missing minutes of it that add up to days, that then add up to years. I feel like I'm being bullied by my illness. :-(


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Poetics

Carol Malley

What is Poetry?

Carol Malley is a journalist and a published fiction and poetry writer. She was poetry editor for PERIGRINE XVIII and XVIX and has edited three books of poems by inner city teenagers, the most recent of which is "Listen to My Spanish Blood," Raised Voices Press, 2001. She developed and facilitates several poetry courses at WVU, is an instructor at Online-University, offers private e-mail poetry tutorials and leads writing workshops for underserved populations.

Writers' Village members look forward to reading more of Carol's work

In "HARD TIMES" by Charles Dickens, Thomas Gradgrind asks a student for a definition of a horse. The student answers "Quadruped. Gramnivorous. Forty teeth, namely twenty-four grinders, four eye teeth and twelve incisors. Sheds coat in the spring; in marshy countries sheds hoofs too. Hoofs hard, but requiring to be shod with iron. Age known by marks in mouth."

"Now girl number twenty," said Mr. Gradgrind, "you know what a horse is."

John Ciardi Miller Williams uses that quote from Dickens in "HOW DOES A POEM MEAN" to show that dictionary definitions - definitions based on classification - are not always the best way to define things: that some things have to be experienced. Many of the definitions that poets come up with for poetry get at the experience of a poem rather than the composition.

Here are some of my favorite answers:

"If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold, no fire can ever warm me, I know that it is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that it is poetry."
--Emily Dickinson
"Painting is silent poetry and poetry painting that speaks."
--Plutarch
"Poems are other people's snapshots in which we recognize ourselves."
--Charles Simic
"Poetry is the kind of thing poets write."
--Robert Frost

In an interview in 1999, poet John Ashbery said, "Right after I began teaching, when I was in my late 40's, I wasn't used to students asking me "Why is this a poem?" or "Why isn't this a poem?" or "What are poems?" I never really thought about it -- I'd just been writing poems all these years."

In attempting to define poetry in the Word Weavers study group at Writers Village University, here are some of the definitions that were offered:

Timber: "Poetry is words echoing in the heart." And, Timber's more staid working definition: "Poetry is concise, musical writing that uses imagery to create an emotional experience for the reader or listener or to move him/her to an understanding. A good poem lies somewhere beyond mere words: it is the intangible, an exultation in things vaguely apprehended, something which emerges out of its own form, and which cannot exist without that form; it is the sounds of words as much as the words, the implied as much as the said."

Barb, former Word Weavers coordinator: "I've been looking all over for a definition of what poetry is. I agree that none of my poetry books have a precise one. I did go online and found a few that I thought were interesting and more or less agreed with my thinking."

A long list of quotes collected by Barb included:

"Poetry is to hold judgment on your soul."
-- Henrik Ibsen
"Poetry is the language in which man explores his own amazement."
-- Christopher Fry

Barb's own definition: "I like to think of poetry as a garden; our words are the seeds we plant and the poetic devices we use are the fertilizer. The bloom/fruit is the finished poem, with rewriting being the weeding a gardener does to beautify his/her garden."

sarajudy's definition: "Poetry is a stirring inside one that must be released. A steam vent for the soul so to speak"

Leslie Bianchi: "I think poetry is a reflection of something true inside, a piece of soul on paper. A communication. While I enjoy looking at other's artful, elegant definitions I think what it is comes from within and that it evolves. I often think people limit the scope of poetry, try to box it, which is a shame. Of course then there is the question of what is 'good' poetry."

Trav: "Words wrapping themselves around your soul to carry it wherever they will."

Robert's comments: "Can there not be some things that are undefinable? As poets, we, of all people, should be aware of the impotence of words to clearly and completely define ANYTHING. It's like describing how one makes love. You can try but how do you communicate the spirit of it? Don't talk about love, show me! The same goes for poetry."

In Good Morning, America (1928), poet Carl Sandburg wrote thirty-eight definitions of poetry, including: "Poetry is a projection across silence of cadences arranged to break that silence with definite intentions of echoes, syllables, wave lengths." "Poetry is a theorem of a yellow-silk handkerchief knotted with riddles, sealed in a balloon tied to the tail of a kite flying in a white wind against a blue sky in spring." "Poetry is the synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits."

After going through the definitions, what you end up with is the realization that just as a quadrupled gramnivorous with 40 teeth and hard hoofs does not capture the essence of horse nor the experience of horse, dictionary terms do not capture the experience of poetry.

We come to one last quote that most of us would have to agree with after trying to pin down a definition:

"Poetry has two outstanding characteristics. One is that it is undefinable. The other is that is eventually unmistakable."
--Edward Arlington Robinson

Copyright © 2002 by Carol Malley


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Poetics Presents

Tammie Schaaf

Tammie Schaaf was born in the mountains of Virginia, and raised in the country of coastal North Carolina. A grandmother in her early 40 s, she has been writing for pleasure for 25+ years. She likes to write short stories for children and teens. Her 2 1/2-year-old granddaughter was the inspiration for this poem.

WVU members look forward to reading more of Tammie's work.

If Kaitlyn Was A Butterfly

For Kaitlyn, By Grammy-T

If Kaitlyn was a Butterfly,
with wings of pink and blue.
She'd flutter, float and glide the sky,
kissing me and you.

If Kaitlyn was a tiny Mouse
that scurries to and fro.
She'd find the secret places,
That little mice can go.

If Kaitlyn was a Kangaroo,
with feet that jump so high.
She'd jump and bounce about the place,
pretending she could fly!

If Kaitlyn was a Lighting Bug,
she'd have to sleep all day.
When night time comes and stars peek out
The lightning Bugs will play!

But Kaitlyn's just a little girl,
a beauty and so smart!
She'll laugh and smile her sweetest grin,
and then she'll steal your heart!

Copyright © 2002 by Tammie Schaaf


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Poetics Presents

Dina M. Stengel

Dina M. Stengel is a housewife, poet and artist living in Chicago. She has been writing poetry and short fiction for the last twenty-five years. She frequently performs her work on open mics throughout Chicago. This series of four haikus was inspired by a summer afternoon spent in a park near my home.

Writers' Village members look forward to reading more of Dina's work.

IN THE PARK

MAGNOLIA
Gently curled petals,
You are a contradiction,
Bold white on soft green.

TREE
Leaning to the earth,
Branches bend seeking support.
I envy your strength.

SKY
I try to capture
You and force you into rhyme,
But you are wild.

CRICKET
Sharing his music.
Inhale air, release song.
Teaching me to breathe.

Copyright © 2002 by Dina M. Stengel


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Recognitions

N'omi Rose

Welcome to Recognitions! A monthly column to recognize those students of Writers' Village University who have won recognition of their writing achievements!

What a feast of writer's Recognitions we have for you this month! April showers did bring out May flowers and here are some of those who blossomed!

GWEN AUSTIN has been honored with her poems, "Miasma," "Rogue Rain," "Through a Dusty Lens" being chosen for the April 2002 "A Celebration of 21st Century Poets" presented by Writers' Village University in honor of National Poetry Month.

Originally from New England, Gwen Austin is a retired therapeutic recreation specialist, who currently resides in Graham, WA. She writes poetry, free-lance articles and short stories. She is author of two novels, "Twilight Manor" and "Fateful Days." Gwen hangs out with Senior Poets' Workshop.

LINDA J. AUSTIN was honored with her poems: "How Many Coats of Paint?," "A Minute of the Mother Dance," and "Adiathermanous" being accepted by WVU's "A Celebration of 21st Century Poets" in honor of National Poetry Month.

In addition, Linda's poem, "A Flume of Hostility," was published in February 2002 issue of The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine.

Linda J Austin is retired from several careers. She is pursuing a degree in art therapy. She lives on a Norway, Maine mountainside in an antique Cape Code home with her beloved, three dogs and a cat. Linda is a member of The Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance and has published several poems and articles. Linda is a former member of Senior Poets' Workshop.

KORIE BETH BROWN has been honored with her poems "Chuang-tzu and the King (after Italo Calvino)","A Study in Charlotte For Charlotte Bronte" and "After Hearing the Poet Read For Garrett Hongo," being chosen for the April 2002 "A Celebration of 21st Century Poets" presented by Writers' Village University in honor of National Poetry Month.

In addition! Korie Beth's poem, 9/11/2001, was published in February 2002 issue of The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine. She also facilitates Poetry 115 - Introduction to Japanese Poetry Forms at WVU.

Korie Beth's poem Grandma, Many Views was accepted for April 2002 publication at Zuzu's Petals

Korie Beth is a teacher, poet and writer of creative nonfiction. She has had her work previously published on the Web at Lynx, a poetry webzine and at The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine. She awaits future publication in print in Gargoyle.

An avid reader, athlete, and knitter, she lives in Sierra Madre, CA with her husband and two pet birds. She feels WVU has helped her writing, and the "feedback has been tremendous." In addition, the chance to read the writings of other remarkably talented authors has been an amazing experience. "Creativity seems to me to be like lightning -- it passes from person to person! I've noticed that one person with an idea will spark off a string of pieces from different authors," she comments. Korie Beth tends to hang out in True Life Tales and in Nature Lovers. However, she spends much time at the Senior Poets.

MOLLY CRITCHLOW has been honored with her poems, "Knowing the Oak Tree" and "Anasazi Alchemy" being accepted by WVU's "A Celebration of 21st Century Poets" in honor of National Poetry Month, April 2002.

"I started writing at WVU, I believe in the first year it was on the Web," she says. She was a Mentor for the Introductory Course for a couple of years, along with Margaret I. Carr and Arlene Lawson. Molly Co-Menotred the POV course, peer tutored by Margaret I. Carr, several times. "Italo Calvino inspired me to start writing poetry after taking the Six Memos course."

Molly does not submit much, as she is "...not itching to be published. I feel I have much more to learn before what I have been doing will be ready for that." She feels her background in Art History and Printmaking tends to push her towards Desktop Publishing and an art book including Sumi and poetry.

Molly has been a member of WVU since 1998. She has written fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Molly hangs out in Seniors Poets workshop.

JIM HALL has been honored with his eight, yes, count them, eight of his poems and short stories being accepted by The Dana Literary Society. The journal has had either a story or a poem of his in every issue from October 2001 through May 2002! Their April issue published "Here There Be Dragons," a poem dealing with dragons old and new. Their May issue will have a reprint of his first published short story, "Two Out, Three On" about a pitcher on a junior high baseball team who finds that his prejudice against Hispanics is not tenable. In addition, their August 2002 issue has just accepted Jim's poem, "A Childhood Friend," for its Online Journal. This acceptance marks Jim's sixth acceptance in 2002! Way to go, Jim!

Jim says it was his reading of "Technicians of the Sacred", edited by Jerome Rothenberg, some years ago which promoted poetry to an important position in his intellectual life. When editors began to select his poetry work for their publications, he was "convinced that I had read the right book. "

Jim has enjoyed participation in the Round Table, as well as several courses. "The most valuable part of my experience has been facilitating Poetry 103," he says. Jim plans to make some revisions in the curriculum and peer-tutor this course again, time permitting.

Net Author's E2K will get you to the current issue of the online journal. From there, you can reach the archived issues. Two of the poems they have accepted but not yet displayed are a haiku cluster titled "What Vivaldi Says" dealing with the four seasons, and "A Windy Night" that exploits the difference between the way oaks and willows handle the wind.

Jim also has had two books published. "Rites of Passage", an E-Book, is now available for preview at Galleyproof.com where you can purchase it with check or money order, and at in the Authorme Store, where you can use credit cards.

"A Balcony in Brooklyn," a collection of short stories including sketches for impending novels, is now available as an E-Book or in paperback.

Presently, Jim is working on a second book of poetry, provisionally titled "Projective Geometry." Also, he is trying to find a print publisher for his E-Book, "Rites of Passage."

Jim's membership started in 1999, and has since upgraded to Life Membership.

R. JOYCE HEON has been honored with her poems, "Josefina’s Plain Song for Miguel Hernandez," "Work Boots," "Fall From Grace Bridge" being accepted by WVU's "A Celebration of 21st Century Poets" in honor of National Poetry Month, April 2002.

Joyce lives in Lunenburg, Massachusetts, and is a member of the Worcester County Poetry Association. She has featured at various Worcester area open mikes, as well as read at the Annual Celebration of Worcester County Poets.

Joyce says, "In working with the classes and P123, I am taken to developing areas of poetry I would not necessarily study on my own, sometimes develop a skill I wouldn't have thought to work on. Even subject matter gets stretched. Learning from peers is different from learning in a class environment where mostly you have your own outlook and the professor's, and are only exposed in a limited fashion to the thoughts of your fellow classmates. Moreover, working with peers is the best way to develop as a writer."

Joyce gets her poems from just about everywhere. She writes about nature, the news, the Smithsonian or National Geographic, books of photography, family stories, an endless list. "I particularly like to write about trees. Go figure." She has been writing poetry for about six years now. As part of P123, Joyce developed some Poetry Triggers.

Joyce has individual poems published with "Tapestries," "The Issue," "Diner," "Voices Along the River," and a self-published chapbook entitled "Winter Keeping Apples." All of the above are from print publishers, not online.

Joyce is currently working on a second chapbook. She hangs out with Senior Poets Group.

GLENNIS HOBBS has been honored with her poems "Happy Birthday, Canada," "Abandoned Mine," and "Snow Quilts" being accepted by WVU's "A Celebration of 21st Century Poets" in honor of National Poetry Month, April 2002.

Glennis Hobbs (Glenda Walker-Hobbs) is a Canadian poet/novelist/book reviewer from a mining city in Manitoba. She is co-founder of a local writers’ group and currently serves as its secretary. She has given several writing workshops including peer tutoring for several WVU workshops. Glennis has been a member of Writers Village University for five years, is a member of the Senior Poets Workshop, a Contributing Editor for The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine as well as co-facilitator of two online poetry courses at WVU.

Glennis's work has been published in Bridges, HERizons, Freelance, Pulse Magazine, WordWrap, Collective Consciousness, Library Cat Newsletter and The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine as well as the anthologies, Between Beaver and Athapap; a Northern Anthology, and Tales by Marie Therese. She is also a webmistress for the Flin Flon Writers Guild and maintains two writers' resource pages.

ARLENE LAWSON has been honored with her poems, "The Dying Town," "My Ghostly Arm," and "Leaving Stalag 17," being accepted by WVU's A Celebration of 21st Century Poets in honor of National Poetry Month, April 2002.

"Leaving Stalag 17" was also published in prestigious JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association), which is available in hard copy as well as posted online

"Most of my previous writing had been business-oriented, year-end reports, etc. I started writing fiction when I joined WVU in 1998. Two years later, I discovered poetry was my passion. Without WVU, none of that would have happened. I would have been without purpose or direction to my writings."

Recently, Arlene had a chapbook of her poems self-printed, as well.

Arlene has written for and peer-tutors P124 and P125, "The Pleasures of Reading Poetry." She has been one of the poets who have added Poetry Triggers to WVU's list of trigger courses.

Arlene Lawson has been an active member of WVU since the fall of 1998. She lives in the outskirts of Vancouver, B.C. Arlene has been published in JAMA, The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine, Writer's Choice, Poetic Reflections, Poetic Voices, and Clever Ezine. Arlene hangs out in Senior Poets group.

CAROL MALLEY has been honored with her poems "The Gray Men of Springfield," "Hats That Talk," and "Conversation with Myself" being accepted by WVU's "A Celebration of 21st Century Poets" in honor of National Poetry Month, April 2002.

Carol feels that being a member of WVU makes her work "harder at craft." "I have made many friends at WVU and am currently exchanging novel chapter manuscripts with another WVU member."

She feels she does not send her work out "often enough, but I have been lucky or perhaps I have targeted my markets well. I usually get an acceptance for every six to 10 manuscripts sent out."

Carol peer-tutors P127 - Finding the Poet Within, P129 - Working with the Muse, and the P117, 119 and 121 series, Advanced Poetry Free Form. Carol is also a formal instructor for a course at Online-University-- The Poet's Toolbox.

Carol wants to make sure that we understand that "Everyone in P123, the Senior Poets Workshop, shares in facilitating the course, developing assignments and leading discussions. The senior poets were also the sponsors of the unfacilitated 41 poetry trigger courses."

"Conversation with Myself" was accepted by the first journal to which she submitted. It was published in the award winning "The Larcom Review" spring/summer 2001 issue. "The Larcom Review" is a journal of the arts and literature of New England. Their new webpages are still under construction. What a feather in your cap, Carol!

"'The Gray Men of Springfield' is based on a news story I wrote for the daily newspaper where I am a reporter," Carol says. "'Hats That Talk' resulted from an assignment I developed for P117, and is part of a series of poems I am working on which bear witness to the events and culture of the past. I actually do have a great-aunt Osia, but I have no idea if she ever wore hats."

Carol Malley is a reporter for the Springfield Union-News and Sunday Republican. Her poetry and fiction have been published in several literary journals and in anthologies, including When a Lifemate Dies Fairview Press, (1997) and Inside Grief, Wise Press (2001). She is the editor of Raised Voices (1997), Beyond Raised Voices (1998), and Listen to My Spanish Blood by Nicole Feliciano (2001), and served as poetry editor of Peregrine a literary magazine, Issues XVIII and XIX. She recently received a commendable award for a poem in the William Penn Warren contest sponsored by New England Writers. She participates in an Irish and American Writers’ Exchange Program in Amherst and Sligo, leads writing workshops for inner city women and teenagers and is a poetry instructor at Online-University. Carol also offers e-mail tutorials in poetry.

Carol is in and out of Word Weavers and Binary Bards study groups, plus the Senior Poets workshop!

BOB MOULESONG’S essay entitled "Home" was published in the December issue of Clever Ezine. The essay deals with adapting to the tragedies of 9/11/01. It is listed under the section entitled Tragedy. The essay was written 10/31/01, sent to Clever about 11/10/01, and was published in the December issue.

Bob has been a member of WVU since June of 2000. He is currently writing and posting in Flash Fiction, and is the coordinator of that study group.

ROLLY DELOS SANTOS has been honored with his poems "Politics in the Street (A bloodless revolution)," "My Moon Shines," and "The Opening of Limbo's Gates," accepted by WVU's "A Celebration of 21st Century Poets" in honor of National Poetry Month, April 2002.

Rolly's poem "Truce," was published in April 2002 issue of The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine.

His poem, "Mr. Right" will be published in the anthology Idiots of the World by Lighthouse Publishers (2002).

Rolly delos Santos is an art teacher at De La Salle-Zobel College. He is a member of Writers' Village University and discovered the pleasure of writing poetry two years ago.

Rolly says WVU has changed his writing very much. "I hardly wrote anything at all before WVU. It just started out of curiosity." Well, that curiosity has evolved into wonderful writings!

Also a visual artist, he has had two showings in galleries in Manila. Rolly hangs out with the Senior Poets group.

TOM SPENCER has recently published a collection of poems co-authored with a poet friend, called "America on Fire." It is a collection of work about September Eleventh. It is published by Cames Publications out of Harrisbutg Pennsylvania and is available through Amazon.com Boarder online

Being a member of WVU "has given me the underpinning I needed to build confidence in my capabilities. You might say WVU provided the nurturing rain and mist to grow my confidence and improve my writing skills through interaction with the other writers and their work."

Tom has tended to submit when he "thought there was a poem that needed to be exposed to the critical eyes and minds of the experienced writer."

Tom peer-tutors for The Single Effect Theory and One Hundred Years Of Solitude. "I enjoy both courses as a respite from my arduous regimen of writing."

Tom's E-Book, Word Castles, was the first electronic book published by Writopia's Epress-Online. It is a collection of 186 poems in different forms and genres. It is available at Epress-Online. Tom has also been published in various literary journals. Tom has been a WVU member since 1998.

JILL STEGMAN’S short story, "The Crazy Life," has been published in "The Sidewalk's End" January 2002 edition.

Jill has been teaching high school for about 20 years in various areas in Southern California. She finally decided that she had many stories to tell and took the plunge with "The Crazy Life." She received good feedback from her students, who thought it was very realistic. "There are lots of writers in my family including my eleven-year-old daughter, who has been winning poetry contests since she was nine."

Jill has been with WVU ever since she took F2K.

KATHLEEN J. STOWE has been honored with her poem "Summer" being published in April's issue of The Writers' Ezine - T-Zero Xpandizine.

Also, Kathleen's short story "Oh Sure--I Understand, Honey" is scheduled to be published in the spring/summer 2002 issue of Virginia Adversaria. Kathleen finds that the discipline of writing poetry teaches her to write better fiction.

Kathleen is a new member of WVU. Her background includes nursing, teaching and working as a flight attendant. She has previously published a mystery novel, Whalebone Junction.

Kathleen is currently working on her second novel in the Jules Fiore series. It is entitled Southern Shores.

KATHY TALLO, whose short story, "Of Remembered Cornfields, Being a Short History of Our Farm and the Search for Danny," won first prize of $350 in Futures magazine, in their annual Fire to Fly Contest for 2001. Her short story was published in their February/March edition.

She has taken numerous courses throughout the year at WVU. "It's been a wonderful resource for me as a beginning writer." Kathy has been a member here at WVU since January 2001. She is an active member in the Mystery Writer's study group.

My huge thanks to all of you for letting me know that you had received recognition as a writer! Your words help to encourage other writers to write, to submit, to publish and to be proud of their writing accomplishments.

If you, or someone you know, has received recognition for writing, and are a member of W.V.U,. please send me your info at recognitions@wvu.org

N'omi Rose
Your RECOGNITIONS column custodian


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Signs of Life

Nancy L. Horner

Bring Your Forks and Napkins, Darlin's, Dinner's in the Creek

"We got crawdads for supper." My 10-year-old beamed, thrilled that his father had taken him to the open-air booth on the site of a former gas station to buy what looked like a bucketful of shrunken lobsters.

On the table sat the newspaper-wrapped horror: a large pile of miniature red critters. I told myself not to have nightmares about them. Where I grew up, those were the creatures little boys used to proudly dig out of the creek and bring home to mothers in shoeboxes. Yuck.

Down here, in the Deep South, "crawfish" are a spicy delicacy. Festivals are named after the little critters and plates are piled high at the many booths where you'll find them served. When you pass those booths full of steaming crawfish, there's no missing the pungent Cajun odor, which is easily strong enough to make your eyes water, especially if you get too close to the steam.

I've never developed a taste for those suckers.

"They're great," my husband said, cajoling me for about the dozenth time. "Come on, have some."

"No, thanks." I looked down at the little pile of meat that William had meticulously stripped from little crustacean bodies. Considering their size, there's not a whole lot of meat on those things. No wonder people always get such heaping helpings.

"Mom, you've gotta try them. They're deeeelisseeuss."

I grinned at my silly child but cringed at the thought of touching them. Shiver. I like shrimp, but the old creek association just doesn't want to leave my head. How can anyone eat the things that those dirty little boys used to wade in the muddy creek to dig for and frighten little girls with?

Watching the guys eat the crawdads reminded me of a time when our little family, pre-William, went to the Gulf Coast with friends Mike and Carrie. We were all gathered together in this rambling house in Biloxi, kicking back with Mike's parents and three brothers after a long day of boating out to a small island in the Gulf of Mexico. We had picnicked, played, and baked in the sun and everyone was weary.

For dinner, our hosts had decided to serve crawfish and had placed a large order with one of the fresh seafood establishments near the beach. This plan provided me with a huge dilemma because I was, even at the best of times, a picky eater. We were fairly new to Mississippi, but I had already passed up several friendly attempts to convince me that I should try crawfish. You know the old saw: "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." I'd make a lousy Roman if crawdads were what they were serving. I knew I was in for an awkward situation because everyone else was excited about the dinner plans. They weren't even planning to cook hotdogs for the squeamish, doggone it.

Mike and Carrie asked us to go along to pick up the order, so we all piled into a car together and headed to the seafood store, which turned out to be pretty much a shack with a walk-in and a bunch of coolers with names on them.

Carrie had placed the order, so she looked around at the coolers and, not seeing the Peckham name on any of them, asked for the order for the Peckham family. The man behind the counter shook his head. "Someone already picked up the order for Peckham," he said.

"What!" Carrie and Mike were stunned and horrified. "Someone stole our crawfish?"

"They said their name was Peckham," the man replied. "Paid for 'em about ten minutes ago. Sorry, ma'am."

As it turned out, they were also completely sold out of crawfish, so there was no possibility for replacing the missing main course. The last coolers full of crawfish, already spoken for, sat packed and labeled with the names of the purchasers in the corner of the little seafood shack.

Carrie had an "If I could get my hands on those thieves " look on her face as we headed back to the car. Snatching up another family's crawfish is apparently a crime down here. So what if the evildoers paid?

All the way back to the house, our hosts discussed the nerve of those low-life, good-for-nothing, crawfish-stealing so-and-so's. They walked into the house sulking and shared the bad news. Faces fell around the house.

Now, everyone wondered aloud, what were they to do about supper? The mother of the family sighed. "We have plenty of steak," she said. "I suppose we could grill up some steaks." Resigned to the disappointment of having to eat steak instead of crawfish, the men headed out to start up the grill while the tables were set and the steaks pulled from the refrigerator to be prepared.

Secretly, I was relieved and hid the grin that wanted to sneak across my face. My husband nudged me with an elbow. "Go ahead," he said, "and look disappointed about having to eat steak instead of crawfish."

Nancy Horner

"In the Kitchen With Mikey - Just In Time" Anthology - Now available!
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Writer’s Read

Wynelda Shelton

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
by Stephen King
Pocket Books, Trade Paperback
ISBN 0-671-02425-6
$14.95 U.S./ $22.95 Canada

Striving

Almost everyone I know has heard about Stephen King's On Writing. It has great points in it, one of which is King’s writing voice. For those who are not familiar with the book, it is broken into three parts: Part One is a memoir of how he was shaped as a writer; Part Two has a "toolbox" for writers; Part Three is entitled "On Living, a Postscript" that deals with the accident in which King was struck by a vehicle. Part Three also contains a rough draft and edited version for those who would like to see how a pro does it.

Every time I have sat down to do a review on this piece, though, something doesn’t sit right with me. In reviewing my copy of the book (which I’ve taken notes in), I came across a passage that bothered me. In the margins I wrote: Do I Agree? The passage is on page 144 of the trade paperback, in the tools section. King states, "But before we go on, let me repeat my basic premise: if you’re a bad writer, no one can help you become a good one, or even a competent one. If you’re good and want to be great… fuhgeddaboudit."

That statement bothers me to no end. If there is no way to become a good writer, or to become great, what’s the point of reaching? Because I know I do try to write better. I know I’ll (probably) never be a Faulkner or Hemmingway. But I have the right, and the duty to myself, to strive for it.

I recently had the chance to look back on my early writing. My mother saved almost everything I had ever written. And let me tell you, some of that early stuff was H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E. The pacing was all wrong, not enough details or character definition. By King’s account, because I wasn’t particularly good at that stage I could never hope to become better. It would be hopeless to strive for and hit that next level. If that were true, I would never have had the courage to write this column. Apparently, I wouldn’t have the ability to make it readable.

As writers, I believe we need to strive for that next level. It’s a part of us, a part of what makes us tick. It is another aspect of the "What if" that we all live with. What if I could describe a sunset as beautifully and eloquently as Faulkner when he wrote "The sun set like a benediction"? What if I could tap into the energy of a generation? Or transport my readers into another world that feels more real than their own? What if I could experience greatness, if only for one paragraph?

On page 146, King seems to disagree with his earlier premise. He says, "A novel like the 'Grapes of Wrath' may fill a new writer with feelings of despair and old fashioned jealousy — 'I'll never be able to write that good, not if I live to be a thousand' - but such feelings can also serve as a spur, goading the writer to work harder and aim higher. Being swept away by a combination of great story and great writing — of being flattened, in fact — is part of every writer’s necessary formation."

It’s time for me to start striving again, to get back to my current work in progress. But I want to leave you with one thought: when reading about writing, remember that you are allowed to disagree with almost everything. Just about every editor will tell you that the stuff about grammar, spelling, and punctuation are non-negotiable, though. After all, we want to be readable!

Wynelda Shelton


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Writer to Writer

Rie Sheridan

Title Fight

Someone asked me in a chat the other night where I got my titles. It was an interesting question. Titles are your first opportunity to capture your audience's attention. They will grab the reader's interest if you are lucky, or cause him/her to pass on your work if you are not.

How do you come up with a good title? I personally am very fond of wordplay, so I use a lot of it in my titles. For example, "The Lute and the Liar" plays on the sound-alike properties of "lyre" and "liar," and still sums up the action and the theme of the story in one short statement.

I also like alliteration, and many of my titles use it, not only "The Lute and the Liar," but also "The Blood that Binds," "Sapphire Eyes Shining," "Date With Destiny," and "Dance with the Devil." Puns are also a favorite device of mine, as seen in my short story collection "RieVisions" and in stories like "A Breath of Fresh Air" or the in-progress "Sidhe Move Through the Faire."

Song titles can be good sources of inspiration... I have based several story titles on songs that thematically tied to the story. One early collection of "fan" stories contained titles like "Won on One" and "Dark Sight of the Moon." The in-progress story above is based on the traditional ballad, "She Moved Though the Faire."

Jot potential titles down in that ever-present notebook. It may be years before I get around to using a title I like, but if I have it written down somewhere, I can always keep track of it.

And be careful when you create your titles... in today's society, almost everything has the potential to be shortened into an acronym. Book titles are no exception. That is why the title of "The Blood that Binds" (TBTB) was changed from "Where Elves Are King." I decided that critics didn't need any help.


T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine
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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