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The
Fiction Forum Review
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The voice
of The Fiction Forum...where fiction
lovers come to play....
May 21, 2003, Vol. 0503.21.102
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Second Issue
Welcome to the second issue of The Fiction Forum Review!
In this issue we have an interview with filmmaker, Tim McCann, and another
with children's author, Linda Joy Singleton. Jennifer LB Leese has a new
installment for her column, Jennifer's Corner. Jennifer's Corner is a
"recommendation" column designed to help parents choose the best books to read
to their children. Each column deals with a theme and then introduces books that
touch upon related topics. This installment
deals with difficult issues for children of
all ages, races, genders, and religions. Her Tough Issues column may be read in its
entirety on The Fiction Forum Kids web site. Due to the number of graphics involved
with the column, the introduction is included in this issue with a link to Jennifer's Corner
for May. We'll be publishing two installments of Jennifer's Corner in June! So parents,
be certain to check it out.
This issue also includes my article called
"Basic Guidelines for Submitting to Online Publishers." In it you will find tips
on how to prepare a document for submission to an online periodical or web
site and some pitfalls to avoid in order to keep your submission out
of the TRASH folder.
Book Reviews for this month are Blair Wing's "House of Cards" and Monica
Wood's "The Pocket Muse." In the future The Fiction Forum will add a new
feature to the Writer's Toolbox section of the main site: reviews of writing books
and resources. This is the first of the writing books reviews.
There are several New Releases, so be sure to take a look!
If you would like to link to The Fiction Forum or The Fiction Forum Review,
I've included some of our new banner graphics. These new graphics will offer
you a preview of the new look The Fiction Forum has in store. If you would like
to use these graphics on your site, please be sure to copy and save them to your
hard drive so you can upload the file(s) to your site directory. Included are the
file names, sizes, and pixel dimensions. Please do not copy the link location
and use that on your web page. Link only to the urls provided, please.
You will be able to read a copy of The Review in total on the following
page: www.fictionforum.net/ffreview/index.html.
Comments:
If you have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to
email me at editor@fictionforum.net.
Renee Faucher
Owner, The Fiction Forum
The Fiction Forum Review, Copyright 2003
Published by The Fiction Forum-Where Fiction Lovers Come to Play!
www.fictionforum.net
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Article::Basic
Guidelines for Submitting to Online Publishers
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Basic
Guidelines for Submitting to Online
Publishers by
Renee Faucher
A submission for an online publisher
should be no less prepared than one
for a
print publisher. Some writing sites
receive huge numbers of visitors. Site
visitors
and e-zine subscribers are comparable
to circulation numbers that print magazines
prize. However, the information on a
web site may remain posted and visible
for
longer than an issue of a print magazine
is available on the newsstands. In addition,
web sites are available to anyone with
an Internet connection ANYWHERE in the
WORLD. Don't give them less respect
than a print magazine. While some of
the
guidelines for electronic manuscript
format are similar to print formats
there are
subtle differences that if not addressed
can send you to the rejection pile.
Know your market. This is something
everyone who writes for periodicals
has
heard…get to know your market before
querying or submitting materials. It's
true. Don't waste your time or the editor's
time. In addition, online or print,
editors
will remember someone who impressed
them with his or her total LACK of
consideration. If you're sending the
wrong submission to the wrong market,
you're imposing on someone's time and
efforts.
Find the information yourself when
possible. Unless there are instructions
on the web site stating that you must
write to a particular email address
for more
information, try to find it yourself.
Most well designed web sites will have
a listing
under "About," "Submissions,"
"Guidelines," or "Contact"
for submitting queries
or manuscripts.
Nothing irritates an editor more than
receiving a query for something that
is
clearly posted on the web site. Some
publications only accept electronic
submissions and won't read print submissions.
What is an electronic
submission? Electronic submissions are
submitted digitally. There are three
ways you to submit your work to an electronic
publisher: in the body of an
email, as an attachment to an email,
or on disk.
Read guidelines carefully and pay
attention to details. Once you get
the guidelines, pay attention to the
details. If a site is willing to publish
new
release information about you for free,
don't make the editor look through
signature lines or links on your email
to find the information. Submit
everything the publication wants in
the appropriate format. Check all your
links before you send your email and
be certain that they work. If you
submit bad urls, an editor is not going
to write to you for clarification. If
a
site accepts books for review, never
send an electronic copy of the book
without querying. Email is important
to online editors and several megabytes
in unnecessary downloads are a nuisance.
We don't all have high speed Internet
connections.
Format according to required guidelines.
Most publishers accept submissions
sent in plain text (ASCII) or a rich
text (RTF) format. Never send an image
attachment unless requested. Be sure
to check if the publication prefers
MSWord DOC format. However, due to the
risk of malicious macro viruses,
most online publishers do not accept
DOC format. If you write in DOC format,
you can save your submission in RTF
without many problems. Saving the file
in
plain text will cause it to lose any
italics, bold, highlighting, and most
font
formatting. Use an asterisk before and
one after a word you would like to appear
in bold (without the spaces between
the * and the word) like this: *word*.
For italics, use an underscore symbol
before the word and one after the
word (also without spaces) like this:
_word_. These notations can easily
be converted to bold face and italics
in a word processor from your plain
text submission.
Many online editors will need to prepare
your submission for publication
through HTML (HYPER TEXT MARKUP LANGUAGE)
and certain
features available to you in a word
processor will drive the person
responsible for the conversion crazy.
Not everyone works in the same
operating system, and though cross-platform
compatibility has increased
remarkably in the last few years, don't
take any chances. First, documents
that are readable on a MAC may appear
corrupt when attached to an email
received by a PC. This can sometimes
be remedied by the recipient
who can save the attachment and rename
it to include the ".doc" extension.
However, this does not always solve
the problem. Besides, not all editors
have the time to figure out what may
be wrong with the file you have
sent. Therefore, an unreadable file
may land your email in the trash folder.
Avoid special characters. When
converting your file to ASCII format
make sure you have not used "smart
quotes" since they may not convert
as quotes in HTML. Characters like é,
&, —, “ ”, may show
up as a
dot [ · ] in the HTML version
of your text. This applies to "curly
quotes"
(both double and single). Interpreting
nullified characters can be very
confusing for the web designer or editor
since he or she may have no
way of knowing what you intended. Be
certain to use straight quotes
only (turn off "smart quotes.")
Every space counts. When submitting
to an e-zine, count the number of
characters per line. For this you may
need to use a good plain text editor.
Do not submit a document that has more
than 70 characters per line.
This is very important for plain text
formatting used by e-zine publishers.
Do not apply "right justification"
to your text--leave the right margin
ragged.
Use single spacing between lines unless
specified. Avoid trailing spaces and
excessive hits to the return key. Do
not indent. When writing for the web,
remember to double space between paragraphs
rather than hitting the tab
key. Break up long paragraphs and write
in smaller blocks. Economize your
word choices. Web site visitors have
shorter attention spans. Indicate the
end
of your submission with three number
signs, ###. This might sound
unnecessary but it's very helpful when
editing documents.
Put your best face forward. Choose
a common font such as Courier,
Times New Roman, or Times Roman. Remember
that your editor might not have
that unusual font you found at a free
fonts web site. In addition, NEVER
use a playful or informal font, such
as Comic Sans, Lucinda Sans, Andy,
Bees Knees, Gothic, or ANY type of script
or handwriting font face,
when writing to an editor you don't
know. Do not include "smiley"
gifs
or images. If you use an email client
that offers "stationery" and
animated
characters or other features, turn them
off. Write your email queries carefully
and professionally. Would you send a
print magazine or book editor a letter
on children's stationery? Think twice
before hitting that "send"
button.
Type out web addresses. When
including urls or web site addresses
in your
submissions, do not hyperlink the text.
Type out the addresses--separate the
title of the site from the url. For
example, The Fiction Forum,
http://www.fictionforum.net. It
is okay to set the url off with parentheses
or commas. Do not use angle brackets,
< >, that are common in HTML
since an url that looks like this: <http://www.fictionforum.net>
will show
as incorrect HTML in popular authoring
tools like Dreamweaver and can
be difficult to edit.
Label attachments correctly.
Do not save your documents with
punctuation (other than a simple dash)
or spaces in the file name. For example,
do not call your short story submission:
"You ain't my chile'.doc."
Why? Even
though MSWORD will save your files by
the first line of text, don't submit
it
that way. There are several things wrong
with that file name: spaces between
the characters, apostrophes, and length.
Some operating systems seem to be
able to handle the spaces and the apostrophe
while others cannot. Try to use
the old rule of eight characters or
less for file names when possible. It
is
acceptable to use a dash in the file
name like this: jones-503.doc.
Always list your name within the body
of the attached document or at the top
of the section of an email (when submitting
the text in the body of an email).
Include your contact information and,
especially, your email address. Do not
assume that your email address will
pass along through the header of your
email.
If you have attached your submission
to an email, it will be DETACHED and
saved separately. If your name is not
on your submission, your submission
may
be discarded.
If using headers and footers for your
contact information, do this when submitting
according to guidelines that require
DOC or RTF formats only. Do not write
your
submission in DOC format, convert it
to plain text, and then expect your
letterhead
information to remain in the header
and footer of your document. For emails
and
plain text submissions, type out your
contact information on the top of your
text.
If your email client has signatures
available to you, use this feature but
do so
professionally.
Address the appropriate editor, appropriately.
No one likes to receive emails
addressed to the wrong person or "To-Whom-It-May-Concern"
current names
and contact addresses are listed and
easy to find on a publication's site.
One problem with the instant gratification
aspect of email is the haste in which
we
all send our correspondences. Take the
time to spell check your submission
AND your email. The email you send is
the first impression you will make.
Write it with the same care as a print
cover letter. After all, it is your
cover letter.
If you write in ALL CAPS or lowercase,
misspell words, fail to punctuate or
have a CHAT ID in your email header,
then you're not making your best
impression. For instance, would you
want to read a submission for a fiction
magazine submitted by BUD_GUZZLER or
faNCyPanTZ? Set up a separate
email address for writing submissions
and use your real (full) name as part
of
the address. Do not send a submission
from a temporary address or your
friend's email address and then write
back to the editor at a later date to
change your contact information. Respond
from the same address that you
wrote to the editor from initially.
If you do change your email, send a
professional
request for an update in the contact
information. Never write to an editor
from
one email address and then correct that
editor for replying to you at that email
address. Be aware that response times
from publications may not be what
you expect. Do not nag editors with
emails asking about the status of your
submission. Sending a follow-up email
one month from the original
correspondence is professional and a
good idea. Emails do get lost. Email
"inboxes" overflow with submissions.
Sending a professional, non-emotional,
reminder is a good way to handle the
need for a reply.
Never send mass mailings to editors
as part of your query routine. This
is an important point. Web sites, in
general, receive a lot of spam directed
to every
email address connected to them. Some
sites contract with services to remove
spam automatically or their Internet
Service Provider may filter mass mailings.
If
you want your email make it into the
INBOX of an editor, NEVER send a mass
mailing. Address each email to one address
on a site and use the editor's
name if possible. Do not send the same
email to several addresses. This
appears
unprofessional to the editor and it's
annoying. This is especially true for
small sites
run by several people since the webmaster,
editor, and submissions contact
may be the same person.
Represent yourself honestly.
Don't pad your bio with fake publications
to
generate publishing clips or credits,
falsify email headers, or create ghost-written
email referrals. Online publications
are more willing to work with new writers
so
don't lie about your skills or credits.
If an online editor checks up on you
and finds
you are lying, you could be "blacklisted"
from certain publications since
email travels fast.
Publication on the web is a rewarding
and attainable way to gain writing credits.
If you treat online publishers with
the same respect that you would print
publishers,
then you may develop lasting and professional
relationships. Email submissions
are more important now than they were
several years ago so preparing them
correctly is essential to surviving
the daily culling of unwanted email.
Copyright
2003. Renee Faucher. All Rights Reserved.
This article may not be displayed or
copied without permission.
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An
Interview with Tim McCann
Conducted by Mark Schofield
As a moviemaker, Tim McCann is a wildcat.
He writes and directs,
shoots and edits, and attends to the stark
financial exigencies of the
entertainment business—and he’s
got opinions. McCann and I talked
recently about the hard work and disappointments
of finding space for
independent art in an industry bloated with
formula and obeisant to profit.
Fiction Forum: As a kid, I wondered
if Paul McCartney sang 'Eleanor Rigby'
in the shower, but artists, of course, often
avoid immersion in their finished work.
How do you relate to the films now behind
you?
Tim McCann: I don't look back. It's
difficult for me to watch even a minute
of a past film of mine. I'm just too critical
and over-sensitive about it, obsessing
over what I could have done better. One goes
through such emotional highs and
lows when cutting the film, and showing rough
cuts to people, that by the time it's
done, it's really the end of the relationship
with the project. Then it's just this thing
that you have to find distribution for.
FF: You write and direct your films.
Are you one of these cats who have more
energy than everyone else?
TM: I write, direct, shoot, edit and
co-produce my stuff. I love the process.
But I don't have much energy unless I'm working
on something. believe me, I
spend plenty of time sitting around in my
underwear watching Monday Night
Football and scratching my balls.
FF: Desolation Angels and Revolution
No. 9 are small and character driven.
With Spielberg's backing, could you tell a
proper story about terrorism or the
Peloponnesian War?
TM: All stories, no matter how broad
and sprawling, essentially come
down to the characters, their motivations
and conflicts. If the audience is
not taken in by that, then forget about it.
That's one complaint I hear about
Gangs of New York. (I thought it was great,
but I've gotten into arguments
with my friends about it because of the lack
of corkscrew conflict within the
central set of characters.)
FF: For you, what share of the storytelling
is done when the script is written?
Is the text just the starting point for a
case that you hope to make with
images?
TM: I have such a subjective take
on my own scripts that it's hard to imagine
where the screenwriting part stops, and the
director's interpretation takes
over. I will say that I wait until most of
my friends "get" the script before
proceeding.
I think that problems in the script, especially
today, usually pop up again in the
finished film. Audiences are less adventurous,
less willing to go with the film as a
sensual experience in today's culture, and
have more of a knee-jerk reaction against
films that don't satisfy their expectations.
And that's because they've been nurtured
to react like that, by being bombarded by
a generation of the least sincere and
most grotesquely crass films this country
has ever seen. So, making films that are
suggestive, or emotionally or intellectually
evocative, are not an option. It all has to
be answered, in the film, and therefore in
the script (i.e. Kubrick’s 2001
would tank today.)
FF: Revolution No. 9 gives a taut
portrayal of schizophrenia and terrified loyalty.
What's the key to getting astonishing performances
like those Michael Risley
and Adrienne Shelly gave?
TM: Casting appropriately, which is
intuitive. You also need to have actors
who are there to give it their all as much
as you are. You can't put in the
effort for them.
FF: The narrative streams along without
a limp moment or flabby image.
Tell me about your process of editing through
drafts.
TM: My greatest fear is of boring
the audience. I'm sure in today's
environment, my greatest fear should be of
offending or confusing them, but it's
not. Thus the high level of tension in my
films. In editing, as in scriptwriting,
I bounce the various cuts off friends of mine.
I prefer friends because I know them
and I have some context for their opinions.
testing the film with my friends, and the
occasionally more objective, though often
less articulate, stranger, has often been
helpful. but broader testing, like the idea
of having some loose canon 13 year old
decide the ending of an 80 million dollar
film is fucking ridiculous and retarded
business-wise.
FF: Spalding Gray is always terrific,
but who knew the man behind Monster
in a Box was really a minimalist?
TM: I worked with Quentin Crisp in
my last film, and Spalding in this one.
Both were extremely cooperative, talented
and professional. I was a little
surprised by how little they contributed content
wise, knowing their work as
writers. I had much more re-phrasings and
ad libs from some of the other
actors.
FF: You did save the best for last,
averting our eyes from the tragic finale to
raise the credits with 'Do You Believe in
Magic.' It's the creepiest use of
popular music I can recall in a film—yet
I can somehow imagine your
claiming it was a goof or a throwaway.
TM: Irony is interesting. or at least
to me. I love that song at the end. It won't
be on the final release version of the film
because the rights are too expensive.
A year ago I would have been hurt by the loss,
now I don't give a shit.
FF: Will Revolution No. 9 turn a profit?
What and when will be your next big
screen release?
TM: It may eventually turn a profit,
but it'll be a long row to hoe. I expect to
have some profits just about the time that
hell is freezing over. My next film,
which I am currently editing, is called Nowhere
Man. I shot it last summer. It's
a comedy-noir. It's about as disturbing, controversial
and hilarious a film as you'll
see this side of Happiness.
Copyright 2003, Mark Schofield. All Rights Reserved.
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++~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~++
An
Interview with Linda Joy Singleton
Conducted
by Dr. Bob Rich
FF: Linda Joy Singleton is a popular
author of stories for children. Or is it young
adults...? I am confused. Is there adifference,
and if so, which one are you?
Linda: Both! I've written midgrade
books like the MY SISTER THE GHOST series
and
young adult books like the REGENERATION teen
cloning mysteries. Mostly I just say I
write juvenile novels, which covers all age
groups.
FF: I have been intrigued by REGENERATION.
Tell me about the series: where did you get
the concept, how many books are there so far,
what do you feel they achieve?
Linda: The idea for REGENERATION hit
me in December 1997. It has been a few
years since I'd sold a book and rejections
were mounting. I needed to come up
with a new series and the possibilities of
cloning fascinated me. I imagined how a
teen would feel to suddenly find out they
weren't an original, but a copy of someone
else. Add some crazed doctors, enhanced powers
and danger, and the idea began to
take shape. I emailed my agent at the time
and asked her if she'd like to see a series
about teen clones. She wrote back three words:
Yes, yes, yes! So I came up with the
series title Psi-Clones. My agent suggested
changing it to Sci-Clones. When it sold to
Berkley the following October, they changed
it to REGENERATION. They also
changed and shortened my first-middle name
to initials. I'd had 19 books prior to
that under my full name, and I wasn't happy
with the change at first. I got used to it
and liked how much quicker it was to sign
when I autographed books.
Berkley contracted for three books, planning
for a short series. But when
Hollywood showed interest and Fox optioned
the series, Berkley went ahead with
two more titles. It was quite exciting for
a while, imagining Hollywood buzzing about
my series. As options usually do, this one
lasted for just a year. The series ended,
but
fans kept emailing me for more books. Finally
I gave in and wrote a sixth book,
CLONED & DANGEROUS, which can be read
at my website, www.LJSingleton.com,
at no charge while I try to find a new publisher.
It's heartwarming how many fans I've heard
from and how kids really seem to indentify
with the five main characters in REGENERATION.
I've had a wonderful time writing
this series -- and hope that maybe someday
I'll be able to continue with more titles.
FF: Having a free sample to give away
is an excellent idea. I do the same with one
of my books. Has this led to sales, or at
least feedback?
Linda: Other web sites are more eager
to link to my site or mention it when I have
something to offer readers, such as the free
short story and free book. But the reason
I honestly added those was because fans would
email asking for another
REGENERATION story. I do the contest to add
some fun to the site and to keep
fans coming back.
FF: Linda, you've told me that your
newest book was released in April. Tell us
about it.
Linda: I am VERY excited about DOUBLE
VISION. It's very much like my
REGENERATION series in excitement, fast-pace
and science- fiction twists.
It [was published] in both trade paperback
and e-book from www.AmberQuill.com
in April 2003. I have a link on my web site
with a preview of the first two chapters.
DOUBLE VISION; YA Paranormal Mystery
[Excerpt]
Strange things start to happen to 16-year-old
Haley after she notices the
Watcher. He looks like an ordinary teen, but
his gaze is menacing as he
observes her and her family at a restaurant.
And then he's gone - vanished --
leaving behind a pair of shimmering silver
sunglasses. When when Haley peers
through the sunglasses, colors fade and her
best friend becomes someone else.
Freaked out, she vows never to use the glasses
again.
But the Watcher returns with deadly intentions.
And after Haley is in a near-fatal
car crash, she realizes the sunglasses are
her only hope to prevent a murder. She
slips on the glasses and enters a parallel
world where dead people live and beloved
friends die.
To survive in this duplicate world, Haley
plays out the ultimate masquerade --
pretending to be the girl living a twisted
version of her life: her parallel twin, Halee.
[END Excerpt]
The cover for DOUBLE VISION [is available]
on my website.
FF: Linda, I have noticed on your
web site that you offer information to teachers,
and
go and address classes of kids. What do you
have to offer to schools?
Linda: I have several different programs
depending on the age group. For K-3rd graders,
I have an overhead picture program where I
talk about writing as a kid and I show actual
stories I wrote when I was 9 years old. I
talk about the life of a writer; research,
rewriting, and how I can stay at home for
my work. I show pictures of my pets and my
daughter's pig farm, too -- which kids really
seem to enjoy.
For 4-6th grade, I talk about writing, favorite
books, California missions, fantasy
plotting, electronic books and I leave plenty
of time for questions since this age
group is full of energetic curiosity. They
love hearing some of the fan letters
I've received.
For 7-high school I play a game dealing with
the topic of cloning as well as the business
side of writing. I show manuscripts in various
stages, share fan letters, and read from
favorite books as well as some of my own.
I always have a great time being around
kids and sharing my love of books.
FF: Hmm, yes, cloning. That's the theme
of your REGENERATION serial, isn't
it? Many people, me included, get rather anxious
about biotechnology and its
possible effects. Can you give us a two or
three paragraph summary of what you
tell kids about it?
And I am no longer in school, not at my age,
but I'd love to attend any of your
three workshops. :)
Linda: I actually address this on my web
site under school talks. What I like
to do with older kids is ask them how they
would choose whom to clone or
how they would feel, if like my characters,
they suddenly discovered they had
been cloned. I'm not a scientist, but through
research I've found some fun websites
like one in PA where scientists have cloned
jelly fish and rats to create a cloned
glowing rat. Kids love these facts which I
include for a "Who Wants To Clone a
Millionaire" class game. I don't draw
any conclusions about cloning, and just let
the
kids discuss their ideas. I think it's interesting
to get a science fact versus sciene
possibility discussion going.
My next book, DOUBLE VISION, deals with a
parallel world. The main theme
is pivotal moments -- how each choice we make
builds on our destiny. In my book,
these choices are compared when 16 year old
Haley comes face to face with her
other self in a parallel world, where friends
die and the dead live. I'll have to come
up with some new questions and games for THAT
topic.
FF: What do you do when you are not
writing, or promoting your books, or
talking to school kids?
Linda: We recently bought 25 acres
where we plan to move in a few years.
It's in Calaveras County with oaks and pines
and streams running through wild
weeds. When I'm there, I always walk around
the trails, often with my little dog
Lacey. There's a mobile home and it's cozy
to sit inside by the big picture
window and watch nature or read. I alternate
between reading adult mysteries
by favorite authors like Jan Burke, Jane Heller,
Rhys Bowen, Dorothy Gilman
or favorite juvenile books by Margaret Peterson
Haddix, Willo Davis Roberts,
Gordon Korman, and Eva Ibottson. Reading is
the BEST pasttime.
FF: You won't get too much of an argument
from me on that one. Except
that writing beats even reading. I expect
you must have inspired many
youngsters to express themselves in the written
word. What advice would
you give to someone considering writing as
a career or a serious hobby?
Linda: Read, read, read! Study the
books you love the best. Network with
other writers --the internet is a goldmine
of information. One of the BEST
writing sites is www.verlakay.com
-- the transcripts from writing workshops
alone are fabulous. It's like an online writing
college.
Write, write, write. It doesn't have to be
perfect. Go with your muse for your
first draft, then go backlater and rewrite.
Then rewrite, rewrite, rewrite.
Love what you do and enjoy the process. Good
luck!
Copyright 2003. Dr. Bob Rich. All Rights Reserved.
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CLUB will be hosted by Stephanie Baird. Her first book for
discussion is: "The Lovely Bones," by Alice Sebold. To join in
the discussion, please visit our Yahoo! Group:
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Standing
on the Edge of Creativity
++~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~++
"Honoring
the Mustang's Voice: Creative Meditation"
by
Renee Faucher
Sometimes it's difficult to get started writing.
Most of us want the magic to happen
right away. The more we want it, the less
likely it is to happen. Creativity can be
an
elusive creature. It seems to have a will
of its own and yet we, writers, attempt to
harness
it like a wild bronco and turn it into a carnival
pony. However, this sentient beast won't be
tamed. Domesticity is not in its nature. The
wildness of that energy must be honored for
what it is or not at all. It would rather
disappear into a darkened horizon than yield
to
unfettered whims of the dusty writer.
Each
time we attempt to write, we should devote
some time to those "whims" of our
imagination and indulge the wilder side of
our personalities, intellect, and spirit.
By giving
this time solely to the creator within, perhaps,
each one of us will be more effective and
productive writers.
First
we will need to look at the word "wild."
Often the word is used with a negative
connotation. Look at the expression, "wild
child." A person who has been dubbed
with such
a label is unruly, unkempt, and undisciplined--or
acts completely outside the accepted norms
of society. Wild in this context cannot hold
a soiled or dirty association in your mind.
This
is the "wild" of "wild- erness"--an
untamed frontier of infinite possibilities.
Think,
instead, of the power of an untamed mustang--boundless
physicality; autonomous
spirit...
If
we could learn to honor the wilder side of
creativity, of our own nature, then that force
might thrive through us rather than perform
like a trick pony. Trick ponies can exhibit
a will
of their own and stop performing. Writers,
give your creativity a mustang's voice: a
powerful
breath that sprays fourth into the wind and
whinnies with excitement. Let your creative
mind
race toward a distant sky.
Not
all writing assignments are simply about writing.
Sometimes we must learn to contact
the irrational or more primitive regions of
our minds in order to connect with our own
creative
forces. Keep this in mind before beginning
the exercise.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Writer's Meditation~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Honoring
the Mustang's Voice Unbound
Select a room in your house where you will
not be disturbed. Turn off the ringer on the
telephone and shutdown all computers or e-mail
notification. Let go of all your ties to
the outside world. This is your time to explore.
Be selfish and do not yield to the demands
of others. Allow a minimum of 15 minutes for
this exercise.
Now
you are about to enter a state of guided meditation---a
writer's meditation. Let your
body relax. Either lie down or sit comfortably.
Imagine a black cloak covering your entire
body. You feel safe and protected. You can
no longer contact the "outside"
world. Slowly,
the cloak that covers your entire being and
begins to hum. You experience a sense of
regeneration and see flashes of static electricity.
Suddenly there is a thunderous crack.
You cautiously peel away the cloak from your
body. As you do, you can see that your feet
are no longer human. You have long muscular
equine legs with hooves instead of shoes.
Your perspective begins to shift as you realize
that you are now standing on all four legs--
horse's legs. You cannot speak since you have
yet to find your voice. Shaking your head
from side to side, you find a new sinewy power.
You
take a few cautious steps. The muscles in
your front legs ripple and flinch. You shift
your weight forward and slowly begin to trust
your own stamina. A low snort echoes
as you exhale. Yes, you made that sound. Staring
at a dusty ground covered in sage
and sand, you move forward again. Your legs
feel strong this time. Without planning,
your legs begin to run. You gallop across
an arid landscape peppered with lava rocks,
sage, and tumbleweeds. Your analytical mind
wants to know where you are but the whir
of rushing hooves covers it with sand. Feel
the strength in your chest and back as you
bound
across unfamiliar territory. Fear drips off
your glossy hide and evaporates in the wind.
You are unbounded and untethered. Massive
nostrils grasp the air and take nourishment.
Excitement
shimmers across your waves of muscles. You
thrill at the speed and power
you now have and lunge over this unknown landscape
toward a sapphire sky. The sun
starts down the horizon and you beckon it
to stay. An odd sound escapes from your throat.
You realize that you have a voice. A voice
of power and excitement. A voice of creativity
and wildness.
You
have found your mustang's voice.
Copyright 2003. Renée Faucher.
All rights retained by author. Do not distribute.
This column may not be displayed or copied.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Jennifer's
Corner
++~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~++
"Tough
Issues for kids of all ages, races, genders,
and religions" by Jennifer LB Leese
Tough issues??¦ there just isn't any
other way to say it. So many children have
difficulty talking about things that bother
them at home, at school, at day care,
even while at the playground with friends.
Many children don't know how to express
themselves verbally??¦they seem to take it out
on their family, friends, and people they
deal with on a daily basis. Death, being made
fun of, failing friendships, even marriage
of a parent, tend to dig at children until
they explode. Having gone through more than
one of my examples above with my own children,
I have seen what it can do to them
and their personalities. Therefore, I have
collected a few books that are aimed to
helping children through difficult times in
a fun, non-preachy manner...[continue].
[Due
to the large number of graphics in Jennifer's
Corner, please read this month's installment
on the Fiction
Forum Kids web site.]
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FANS OF FICTION BOOK CLUB
Do you enjoy reading books and discussing them with others?
The Fiction Forum is starting a BOOK CLUB! The FANS OF FICTION BOOK
CLUB will be hosted by Stephanie Baird. Her first book for
discussion is: "The Lovely Bones," by Alice Sebold. To join in
the discussion, please visit our Yahoo! Group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Fans_of_Fiction/join
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++~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~++
House of Cards by Blair Wing
Reviewed by: Renée Faucher
Genre: Mystery/Romance
Published: October 2002
Publisher: Echelon Press
Purchase url: http://www.echelonpress.com/Catalog/Embrace/bwhoc.htm
ISBN:
1-59080-053-2 for PDF
Trade Paperback available
Rating: 3 Stars
"House of Cards" by Blair Wing is
a mystery/romance set in the
realm of organized crime in Nevada. Sydney
Rawlins is a
beautiful and intelligent twenty two year
old woman whose brother
disappears under a veil of suspicion. Her
brother, Stone
Rawlins, runs a private investigation firm
but becomes the center
of a murder mystery. Stone's home is a crime
scene as the body
of a murdered senatorial candidate lies on
the apartment floor.
Neither Sydney nor the police can find Stone
as the suspicion
around his disappearance implicates him in
the murder. Sydney,
unwilling to accept the assumption that her
brother is
responsible, investigates the circumstances
around her brother's
disappearance and embarks on a dangerous journey
of exploration
and discovery. She is so obsessed with finding
her brother that
she becomes entangled with a man she shouldn't
trust. However,
Sydney is drawn to him despite the undercurrent
of danger.
The
strength of "House of Cards" rests
in the second half of the
novel in the mystery behind Stone's disappearance
and the pace of
the storytelling. The reader obsesses, as
Sydney does, and wants
to know more than the answers to questions
raised by the murder
and Stone's seemingly guilty escape.
The
greatest weakness of this book is Wing's mafiosa
dialogue and
lack of character development in the portrayal
of "Sopranos"-type
goodfellas. The story has a stereotypical
paper-doll
representation of the mafia underlings that
distracts the reader
from the story. There has to be a balance
between drawing an
identifiable character-"type" and
simply perpetuating a
stereotype. For example:
"Get
outta here ya bums. Go find my painting!"
Gino shook his fist.
Spittle flew at the two men cowering before
him. "We'll find it, I swear, boss!"
Claude spoke fervently. "It was just
a mistake, is all. This guy, he had a
bat behind the door, see? We wasn't expecting
no bats..."
(Wing 8).
A
second questionable element is the unlikely
romance considering
the environment and circumstances for Sydney's
character. Her
brother is missing. He's either the victim
of foul play or a
murderer, and, yet, she falls in love with
a man who is connected
to the crime world surrounding the "House
of Cards." More development
between the two characters is needed to make
the transcendence of a
sexual tension to love, given the conditions,
believable.
Overall,
the flaws in "House of Cards" are
easily shuffled aside.
The reader is drawn into Blair Wing's world
of treachery, sexual
intrigue, and danger. The book is enjoyable
and the second half will
keep the reader's attention through the end.
###
Copyright 2003. Renee Faucher. All Rights
Reserved.
This review may not be displayed or copied
without permission.
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++~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~++
The Pocket Muse by Monica Wood
Reviewed
by Renée
Faucher
Genre: Writing Reference
Published: 2002
Writer's Digest Books
Purchase url: http://www.writersdigest.com
ISBN: 1-58297-142-0
Rating: 4 Stars
"The Pocket Muse" by Monica Wood
is a new type of writer's reference.
It is a scrapbook of inspiration comprised
of snippets, quotes, writing tips
and prompts, intermingled with an odd collection
of photos, word collages,
and illustrations.
A
book without page numbers, this is not the
type of book that one reads from
cover to cover. Beyond the introduction, it
is best savored randomly at quirky
moments. The images will not grab the reader
and make her sit at a keyboard or
grasp a pen to paper to record lines of prose
never imagined. With the proper
concentration and a few moments to study Wood's
choices of image and text, the
novice or seasoned writer may find a new way
to look at a common object or
scene. For example, Wood uses a photo of an
older ornate doorknob against a
blank white wall as a shadow falls lightly
against the words, "WRITE ABOUT
THE WORST VISITOR WHO EVER DARKENED YOUR DOOR."
This
prompt could conjure a phobia or a forgotten
memory. The a-mused writer
might suddenly have the skeleton key for a
new story or poem. "The Pocket
Muse" is meant to catch the writer's
mind off guard so that the images and
prompts elicit a writing response. Of course,
it's not a "miracle worker" since
writing requires effort. This book is not
for the quick-fix oriented
readers/writers... this is not a story plotting
crib sheet. These prompts want
the reader to delve more deeply into the page
and come out with a work of
her own.
If
given the chance, the images encourage the
"reader," or rather--the
"observer," to open creative regions
of the mind that might not have
otherwise been explored. "The Pocket
Muse" is a timeless resource to
keep on any writer's shelf.
###
Copyright 2003. Renee Faucher. All Rights
Reserved.
This review may not be displayed or copied
without permission.
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++~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~++
"Purrfect Justice" by Elaine Hopper
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Release Date: April 28, 2003
Publisher: NovelBooks Inc.
http://www.novelbooksinc.com
Mild-mannered, mousy blonde haired, four-eyed secretary by day…exotic, dangerously
exciting super heroine by night, Haley Yates twists Ft. Lauderdale police lieutenant Cole Fischer
around her finger. Haley’s afraid she’s losing it, a regular split personality Sybil, when she winds
up jealous of her sexy alter ego who dresses up in a sexy Cat Woman Halloween costume to rescue
Cole who can’t seem to stay out of the way of mortal danger. A real woman, real life romantic
comedy which prove cool guys really do fall for girls who wear glasses, who identify with Clark
Kent, and who can’t play baseball.
www.elainehopper.com
++~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~++
"Big Ice" by Christopher Bonn Jonnes
Genre: Suspense
Release Date: June 28, 2003
Publisher: Publish America
http://www.publishamerica.com
"A reclusive polar ice researcher locates a doomsday fault that could allow the West Antarctic
Ice Sheet-a mile-thick ice cube as big as Mexico-to slide off the continent and flood coastal cities.
Millions of people worldwide would perish. This knowledge-and his heroics at a fateful traffic
accident-puts him reluctantly under the scrutiny of media, law enforcement, and a band of
environmental extremists desperate to make an obscure prophecy come true. Their cataclysmic
objective seems terrifyingly believable-as does their plan to exterminate
him, the only living
witness to their scheme."
http://www.BonnJonnes.co
++~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~++
"Suicide String" by Burt Keimach
Genre: Political thriller
Release Date: July 2003 (but available before)
Publisher: Publish America
http://www.publishamerica.com
In the wake of 9/11 and scores of other suicide
bomb atrocities, this shocking story will
make
its mark as a "weapon of mass instruction."
Penned by an expert on the Middle East, the
dark
and twisted background to Islamic martyrdom
and the concept of Paradise is chillingly
outlined.
Those who care about democracy and freedom
miss this at their peril.
++~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~++
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*Another
Article installment of our series on Inspirational
Fiction by Kathryn Lively
*Short fiction Critique Group--we're still
looking for a moderator!
*Guestbook...leave your mark at The Fiction
Forum!
*Writing Prompts
*Banner advertising will soon be available
on the web site.
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*More New Releases
*Voices from The Forum
*Book Reviews including: "Dance of the Misbegotten"
*An Interview with Megan Hart, Conducted by Jennifer Booth
*Columns: Jennifer's Corner // Getting It Down // Word Alchemy
*More...!
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