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| You are receiving this email from The Writer's Chatroom because you signed up for our announcement list. To ensure that you continue to receive emails from us, add audrey@writerschatroom.com to your address book today. Unsubscribe instructions are at the bottom of the email. |  TWC SPOTLIGHT | | A Monthly e-Newsletter April 2007 Visit the archives at http://archives.zinester.com/58237 A production of The Writer's Chatroom | | Letter from the Editor Happy Spring! Spring is a time of renewal, a time for fresh starts. A time to sweep out the cobwebs and start with a clean slate. A time to remove the clich?s from your writing and polish things up for a fresh submission. Renee' shares some great ideas in her article below. I think she was making a veiled reference to my drawer-dwelling novel. And she's right. Be sure to read her advice and start pumping up your bank account and your writing career. You speak, we listen! Last month's poll showed us that our time change was a mistake. So this month we are moving Sunday guest chats to 7 pm EST. Welcome back to our chatters from Oz. Apologies to our west coast chatters who had to choose between church and chat. And
the winners are…listed below. The first contest at The Writer's Chatroom has come to an end. Check on down to see who the lucky winners were, and to read the top entry. Congratulations to R.F. Marazas for winning first place! Scroll down to read his story and see the rest of the winner's names. You can still read all the entries on our Forum, for a limited time. Writers need to read. To help you along, we decided to share a review of a good book with you every month. You can't produce what you don't understand. Reading the good stuff will help you write the good stuff. Our first workshop
is coming soon. Keep your eyes peeled for next month's newsletter, for all the details. You're still here? With so much good stuff below? Start scrolling! I'll be back next month with more news.Keep writing! Audrey PS: How do you like the new newsletter name? 
| | Visit our forum. Meet our members. Keep the discussions going after chat. Learn where the hottest markets are for your genre. Find a critique or writing partner. Get inspiration, education, and social interaction at the same place: http://writerschatroom.com/forum/index.php Contest Winners! The first writing contest at TWC has ended. The lucky winners are: 1st place: R.F. Marazas # 10 Seagoat --$25.00 Cash, Publication in Writer's Chatroom Newsletter and on The Prompt Writer website, and 1 copy of C. Hope Clark's book, "Just Hit Send"
2nd place: Cleveland W. Gibson # 33 Cleveland --A subscription to Total FundsforWriters and publication on The Prompt Writer website
3rd place: Janet Q. Glaser # 22 Jqrose --1 copy of Christine R. Senter's book, "Written Promptly Everyday" Honorable Mentions go to: # 29 Joyce and # 18 Bronzemoon --A critique of your story, provided by Glenn Walker, of Writer Circle fame.
Congratulations to all the winners! Read on for R. F. Marazas' winning story.
Goodbye His wife was not next to him when he woke. He took this as a sign. He got up and went to the window, opened it, and stuck his head out. Below and to the right, his short driveway was empty. His wife had
taken the realtor logoed car. She would be selling houses. Perfect.
Drawing his head back he glanced left and saw his nosy neighbor looking up at him from the old man’s mailbox. He smiled, closing the window.
What was he thinking as he dressed quickly, paying little attention to what he chose to wear? He was thinking how little he’d accumulated in twenty years of marriage. How little anything in this house mattered to him.
From the closet he pulled a large suitcase he couldn’t recall ever using. He packed his toiletries and underwear and socks and old, casual clothes. He left his suits and ties and white shirts and polished shoes. He would not need them again.
Finished, he left the suitcase on the unmade bed and walked through the house. Room by
room, he tried to find something that tugged emotion in him, something he wanted to take, something to elicit memories in the years ahead. Furniture, framed photographs, knick-knacks, books, records. Nothing.
He did not make the bed. He brought the suitcase downstairs. In the dining room he paused at the table. He tore the top sheet from the notepad. He picked up the ballpoint pen.
What do you say to a stranger? Should he tell her that he was driving to the bank to close his account? An account she knew nothing about, accumulated over fifteen years from pocket change hoarded during the week and deposited. A bit more than twenty-one hundred dollars. If she knew, would she wonder why he started doing that after five years of marriage?
Would she care that he
was driving only thirty-five miles away to Painted Bridge, applying for a bartender’s job at The Last Chance saloon? Should he leave the clipped ad from the Chronicle as proof?
He could not recall that last time they made love. He could not recall the last time he saw her body. He could not recall the last time they had a conversation. He saw her yesterday, last night, but her face was a blur. He could not picture it.
What do you say? He bent over the paper. He scrawled the words quickly. You say: I can’t do this anymore. Goodbye.
He rested the suitcase on the driveway, opened the garage door, started the car. He drove out and parked next to the suitcase. As he got out he saw his nosy neighbor practically charging across the lawn. He picked up the suitcase
and put it in the back. As he closed the car door his neighbor huffed and puffed at his window.
“Going somewhere?”
“Yes,” he said, and drove away. R.F. Marazas can also be read at: www.sunoasis.com/pelham.html , www.sunoasis.com/theduck.html , www.rambleunderground.org/r.f._marazas.htm www.whidbeystudents.com/WSContestWinnerMarch07.htm , www.enehp.com/Rseagoat.html
and www.joyouspub.com/wst_page17.html | 
ARTICLE Spring
Gleaning by Renee' Barnes
Spring has sprung, and many have already begun to rearrange their furniture for spring cleaning. I haven't, but many others have. I never understood the sense in pulling my refrigerator from it's proper place to clean the floor beneath it. That's what you do when you buy a new one. Why do hard work that gains you no measurable good, and would never be seen anyway? I'd rather work in the garden. My trailer won't ever be featured in "Mobile Home Beautiful," but that doesn't mean I am not doing my own spring cleaning
this year. I just do it a little differently. This past week I've been going through old junk files looking for forgotten and half finished stories. When I find something with potential, I spiff it up to send on it's merry way. I exerted the effort months ago, it would be a waste not to make it work for me somehow. It's a good idea to run through old pieces every so often to glean those ideas that didn't fully bloom or were abandoned. So many times we hear, "Set it aside for a few weeks." That's often a very good idea, but do you tend to leave them a little longer than advised? Do you have stories you've started, only to drop when the going got rough, or a new idea came along? If so, think of all those ideas that may now be ready for the picking.
Remember the draft that drove you nuts until you just gave up in frustration? You may find it easier to work on now that you've let it rest a while. Reading through it now might suddenly jolt that spark back to life. Your subconscious may even have figured out what the story needs. Give it the chance to show you. Maybe all you find are a few really good ideas, several so-so ideas, and a heap of garbage. Good! That's a place to start. Consider combining some of them. I know columnists who occasionally publish a compilation piece --a bit of this, a bit of that. If you play with them for a while, you may find a natural tie-in for several of those so-so bits and come up with an incredible column. Or just announce flatly that this
is your "Second Harvest" column and let her rip. Remember, a clean house means a broke writer, but a gleaned junk file could mean a healthier bank account. So don't waste the your day steam-cleaning the drapes. Use that time Spring Gleaning your old junk files, and see what amazing stories you find. Renee' Barnes, Publisher & Editor of the Trailer Park Gazette, is known for her "Trish" stories which appear in each issue. She's the book review editor for Sweeter Romantic Notions, reviews books herself, and finds it easier with each passing day to avoid doing housework. | | Please nominate The Writer’s Chatroom for Writer’s Digest’s 101 Best Sites for Writer’s list! Email writersdig@fwpubs.com,
with "101 Sites" in the subject line. Type "The Writer’s Chatroom http://writerschatroom.com" in the body of the email. It’s that simple! And “thank you” from the team! | | April Chat Guests For more information, visit our schedule page. All chats start at 7 pm EST. April 1 - Sara Reinke http://www.sarareinke.com/
April 7 - Open chat with our own Renee Barnes http://tinyurl.com/ytyvvb April 15 - Jonathan Maberry www.jonathanmaberry.com April 22 - Vicki M. Taylor http://www.vickimtaylor.com April 29 - Funds for Writers chat with C. Hope Clark www.fundsforwriters.com Visit our Previous
Guests page to catch up on who you've missed. | 
| Blog Spotlight by Renee Barnes Those who know me well know I love writer's prompts, so it should come as no surprise that I also love Rita Marie Keller's blog, "Buried Treasures." Her sub-title says it all: "Have you always wanted to write but you don't know what to write about? Do you have Writer's Block? Here you'll find writing exercises and prompts to help you uncover the great writing ideas you already
have." From inspirational quotes to writing exercises that don't just hand you an idea, but teach you new ways to find your own, this blog is terrific. I expect to be haunting this one from now on. It's going to the top of my favorites list. You can check it out at: http://buriedtreasureswriting.blogspot.com/ Renee' Barnes, Publisher & Editor of the Trailer Park Gazette, is known for her "Trish" stories
which appear in each issue. She's the book review editor for Sweeter Romantic Notions, reviews books herself, and finds it easier with each passing day to avoid doing housework. Would you like to have your blog featured here? Post your link on the Forum to be considered. | Book Review by Audrey Shaffer For writers, reading is a learning experience. To learn the craft properly, you need to read interesting, well-written books. Then you can further your education by chatting with the authors and picking their brains. That's what we give you at The Writer's Chatroom. Lynn Sholes and Joe Moore are past guests of the chatroom. They shared many tips on co-writing, and all other aspects of the business. Joe is also a semi-regular chatter.
Quite often, you can talk to him in our Wednesday open chats. The Grail Conspiracy is the first book in their series. Book 2 is out, 3 is coming out this summer, and 4 is in process. Hurry and get caught up!  THE GRAIL CONSPIRACY By Lynn Sholes & Joe Moore Copyright 2005 by Lynn Sholes & Joe Moore Published by Midnight Ink, a division of Llewellyn Publications Mystery/Thriller Move over Dan Brown, you lose. Sholes and Moore took your basic premise and did it better. Rookie SSN reporter Cotton Stone will go as far as she has to, to get a story. Right off the bat, we land in Northern Iraq as Stone is tossed from a vehicle and abandoned in the desert. At
night. Alone. Stone doesn't waste time crying or moaning about her predicament. She gathers up her precious video tapes and starts walking. Of course, she walks straight into the story of a lifetime. A story that could end her life. A man is killed in front of her eyes. The survivor dies of a heart attack in Stone's arms. With his last breath, he speaks to her…in a secret language spoken only by Stone and her dead twin sister. He shoves a wooden box in her arms and tells her "You are the only one". The box contains what may be the Holy Grail, the cup Jesus drank from at
the Last Supper. And there are people who want it, and Stone. Stone joins with Biblical scholar and priest John Tyler to figure out the story of the cup…and to stay alive. Tyler is on leave from his priestly duties, trying to find his purpose. He feels there is something important he should do with his life, but he can't figure out what it is. Is Stone his answer? Keeping her safe is definitely a big job. Cotton Stone is not a weak woman. She's young and confused, but she has inner strength that brings her through everything. Including a family history she never knew. John Tyler
is a man with a mission. He just doesn't know what the mission is. He discovers that everything he's learned and done in his life has been preparing him for this adventure. Sholes/Moore have created strong characters that we care about, and an adventure story you can't put down. Remember all those long, boring lectures Dan Brown put in his book? Forget about them. The closest Sholes/Moore come to a lecture is the less than two page prologue. All the other history you need to know is scattered through the book in an interesting fashion. No droning lectures in this book. Sholes/Moore have given us a whirlwind adventure story.
Grab it quick, then get the next book in the series! For other book reviews: Audrey Reads (Audrey Shaffer) - http://audreyshaffer.blogspot.com The Review Hutch (Linda Hutchinson) - http://reviewhutch.blogspot.com |
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