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November16, 2004 - Burning the Midnight Oil Book Zine -- Issue Seven >> |
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http://archives.zinester.com/59308/28069.htmlBurning the Midnight Oil Book Zine - a FR*E*E monthly ezine for writing parents. ******************************************************************* You are receiving this e-zine because you subscribed through e-mail. Unsubscribe information is below. ******************************************************************* TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. WELCOME NOTES 2. QUOTES FOR THE MONTH 3. EDITOR'S ARTICLE: Sleeping With the Enemy: Writing From Your Antagonists POV by Dana Mitchells 4. ADVERTISEMENTS 5. GUEST ARTICLE: Answers to Questions About Writing Contests by Suzan L. Wiener 6. WHAT'S UP WITH THE BOOK'S WRITERS? 7. BOOK NEWS 8. SPECIAL FOR OCTOBER: Short Story 9. FREEBIE CORNER 10. WRITING PARENT TIPS FOR OCTOBER 11. FORUM NEWS 12. UNSUBSCRIBE INSTRUCTIONS ******************************************************************* Welcome Notes Welcome to this issue of the Burning the Midnight Oil Book Zine! I'm thrilled to have you as a subscriber! Thank you for giving my E-zine the chance of appearing in your inbox! If ever you have any suggestions, please feel free to E-mail them to me at BurningMidnightOil@hotmail.com . Special THANK YOU goes to Robert Wagner for helping me figure out how to fix the formatting problems with this E-zine! THANK YOU, BOB! There is also news I'd like to share: Anyone who has their own E-zine or newsletter is invited to reprint any of my articles used here, at absolutely no charge! All I ask is that you please ask for permission first and include my bio that follows each article. It's Halloween month! Mwa-haha! We all love to dress up, eat candy and play pranks to scare people with. (Or maybe thats just me?) But another thing that can send a chill down someones spine is a good story! In this issue, you will find a short-short story for your reading enjoyment. I've been throwing around the idea of including short stories in this E-zine for some time (I love to read fiction, and not just write it!). If you want me to continue publishing short-short stories here (from 100-500 words), please let me know! Also in this issue, Suzan Wiener once again provides us with a great article, this time about writing contests! If you've never entered a contest and have thought about it, you don't want to miss this article! It's also a good read for anyone who has entered a writing contest. And, finally, in honor of this month's holiday, you will find an article by me (originally published under my pen name) all about writing from your villain's point-of-view. This is one of my most commonly requested reprint articles and, if you've read it before, I hope you enjoy reading it again! Enjoy this issue! Hugs, Dawn Colclasure Editor and Publisher http://dmcwriter.tripod.com/ ******************************************************************* Quotes for the Month This month we said goodbye to a man who played a hero onscreen as well as being a hero in real life. While he may be best remembered playing Superman, Christopher Reeve (1952-2004) was a real hero to everyone struggling with a crippling disability. After he became paralyzed after a horse-riding accident in 1995, Christopher Reeve made it his mission to lobby for funding and research for spinal cord injury. Below are my favorite Christopher Reeve quotes. "A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles." ???So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.??? "Don't give up. Don't lose hope. Don't sell out." ???There will be ups and there will be downs, there will be times when things make sense, there will be times when they won't, but you'll always be on an adventure of meaning if you live for self, family, and others. ??? ???Either you decide to stay in the shallow end of the pool or you go out in the ocean.??? ???To be able to feel the lightest touch really is a gift.??? ******************************************************************* EDITORS ARTICLE Sleeping With the Enemy: Writing From Your Antagonist's POV By Dana Mitchells When I began the task of rewriting one of my novels, I shared with one of my sisters the intimidating aspect of writing from my antagonist's point of view. When finished with these parts of my book, I have often huddled in the corner of the room, rocking back and forth as I mumble, ???Must think happy thoughts.??? My antagonist is a short-tempered, physically violent, obsessive and homicidal villain. To the story's readers, he may only be just another bad guy, but to me he is a very real, very unsettled person. And in order to write him realistically, I have to become this very unsettled person. As fiction writers, it goes without saying that we wear many hats. Like actors, we have to ???act??? our characters as we write them, playing everyone from the insecure mailman haunted by schizophrenia to the happy-go-lucky environmentalist who can never find love. Having to act out our characters as we write them can be draining, as doing so means we must get into their heads and think what they think, feel what they feel and see the world as they do. Nobody knows fictional characters more intimately than the writers (or actors) of them do, but what happens when we have to write a character who is, say, a serial killer? What if our antagonist is a child abuser, sexual deviant, or psychopathic murderer? How can we realistically write these people without needing the help of a therapist? For the sake of popularity, I will be referring to the antagonist as a ???he??? and the protagonist as a ???she.??? No matter how terrible this person may be, mo matter how much you'd rather avoid being anywhere near him in real life, it's important that you, the writer, get to know your bad guy as thoroughly as possible in order to write a great story. Remember: Just because you are writing about this awful person, it doesn't mean you're trying to glorify them. You are trying to show your readers what a bad person this tyrant is and why they shouldn't like him. They shouldn't pity him during his dark moments or cheer him on if he wins; he is a very real threat to your story's hero or, in some cases, to the entire world. So how do you get to know this evil person intimately while at the same time remaining the cheerful, innocent person you are? One way is to create an exhaustive profile of your antagonist. Kill the mystery of why he is such a bad person. Was he abused as a child? Bullied throughout his school years? Does he have any physical disfigurements, mental problems or handicaps? Is he just a naturally evil person or was there a traumatic event in his life to make him that way? Write this person's life story to see where exactly he transformed into the criminal mastermind he is today. While an arduous and time-consuming job, writing an exhaustive history and character sketch of your antagonist will help you to understand why he wants to bomb the UN, kidnap children, experiment on stray cats, or control anyone close to him. If you can't decide on how to do this, read The Plot Thickens: 8 Ways to Bring Fiction to Life by Noah Lukeman and focus on your antagonist as you do the exercises it offers. Another way to do this is to take advantage of the different types of point of view your story can be written from. My novel is written in limited third person, offering me the chance to tell the story through my main characters eyes only as I switch from one point of view to the next. By doing so, I can create a suspenseful mood for my antagonist as he attacks someone whose only crime was making him wait to use the phone or the steps he takes to take complete control over my protagonists life. With a limiting point of view, a writer can effectively, realistically write through her antagonist while keeping his role as a threat sound. You can either burrow yourself within your bad guys psyche or simply write about what he does. Read Characters & Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card to help you understand the best way to write your story. Additionally, you can figure out how to write your antagonist by studying how popular authors of today pulled it off. How did they manage to effectively write their antagonist's scenes in a realistic way? What characterization tools do they use? A few suggested books on how this is done well are: Pretend You Don't See Her by Mary Higgins Clark, The Shining by Stephen King and Along Came a Spider by James Patterson. Study these varying styles and look for others in any horror, suspense, crime or mystery novels you may read. Finally, spend time with your antagonist. Write him into various different scenes you don't need to necessarily include in your story. Watch how he interacts with others: his family, friends, co-workers, people on the street. You can also try acting him out to ???get into character??? before you sit down to write a scene he is in. Be the psychiatrist who never gives up on this poor soul, delving into his motives as much as possible. Get to the heart of your antagonist's role in the story to see why this particular person is playing this particular role. Readers ultimately want to know why something bad is happening in the story and why they should even take time out of their busy lives to read more than 200 pages about it. If you don't know why you've got this insane monster running about in your created world, aimlessly drifting from one scene to the next, your readers won't, either. They may put your book down and watch a Law & Order show instead. Read The Criminal Mind: A Writers Guide to Forensic Psychology by Katherine Ramsland to help you explore your antagonist's psyche. Taking a cue from actors, fiction writers can boast, ???I'm not a mad scientist but I play one in my story.??? It is not impossible to write a true-to-life antagonist in your story and make readers think there must be something wrong with you. Your goal as a fiction writer is to do this job beautifully while ensuring in the end that there isn't. Dana Mitchells is the online pen name of the writer Dawn Colclasure, who writes for both print and online publications. She is also the author of a poetry chapbook, Take My Hand, available from Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/156167129 0/ . She has been published on sites such as e-fido (http://e-fido.net/archives/050101/working_dogs050101 _1.html), Write From Home (http://writefromhome.com/interviews/329snipes.htm) and The Writer Within. Shes also had poetry published under her real name in the newsletter AIA (http://poetry.allinfo-about.com/newsletters/poetry-news letter62.html) and Chris Lindsays Pro-Life Poetry Page (http://www.geocities.com/potatoessays/guestpoets.ht m). She has a book review at Crescent Blues EMagazine (http://www.crescentblues.com/6_2issue/bk_radke_Pro .shtml). While at work on rewriting one of her three unpublished novels, she lives in California with her husband and daughter. ******************************************************************* ADVERTISEMENTS No ads this month. ******************************************************************* GUEST ARTICLE Answers to Questions About Writing Contests By Suzan L. Wiener Introduction of Howard Wiener: Howard has been a poetry judge at Writing.com in my writer's group many times. ???My contests involved members submitting four-line poems, six-line poems, etc., with each contest increasing the lines.??? He has had over 20 years writing articles when he worked. He is now retired, but still submits to contests whenever he's up to it. Below is my interview with him. Q. How do I know which writing contest to enter? A. A great way of knowing which contest to enter is looking in your Writer's Market. They have an entire section, toward the back of the book, giving you addresses, amounts, etc., of the contests. It's really a treasure trove of information. Also, I found the best contest to enter are the ones most geared to your interests. For instance, it's not good to enter a contest for essays, when you're better at writing poems. Though, of course, there's no reason not to give it a try. Another factor to consider are the entry fees, some of which are quite steep. Also, the prizes may not reflect the amount charged for the contest. For instance, they'll pay for first prize $25 when their entry fee is $15. A better contest to enter is when their first prize is $300 and the entry fee is $15. What I would consider before spending money on a contest is whether it's in my state. It doesn't have to be, but that's a plus. They tend to look more kindly at your entry. Don't forget to look in publications writing sites online. They can give you a litany of different contests you're bound to like. Q. How do I know if the writing contest is legitimate? A. In general, most contests are reputable, especially if they've been around for a long time. Some contests, though aren't, and only time will tell. It's also a good idea to ask your fellow writers about them. They can tell you if one is good or not. Even if some people don't think it's the greatest, if it's free, enter. I have and have won cash prizes. It depends on your instincts. Q. How can I write winning entries? A. As with any type of submission, study past entries that won. They might have a winning entry booklet you can order. This way, you'll be able to see first-hand what judges want. Most importantly, WRITE, WRITE, WRITE. Only then will you improve your chances of winning. Let others hear your submission(s) out loud. If they like it, chances are the judges will too. Q. What's the best time to mail in an entry? A. The best time to mail in an entry is when you feel it's your best effort. Waiting until the end of the contest can too often lead to missed deadlines. I jot down the entry date on a piece of paper and keep it next to my computer, so I don't forget. If it's very soon, I'll post it on the side of my printer, so I won't miss it. Entering on the last day, if the contest deadline is the postmark date, is okay - but don't miss the deadline date or it will be disqualified. Q. Why do they charge a fee for entering? A. It's because a reading fee helps to pay the judges for their time and effort. When they charge a fee they know only the best writers will enter their work. If you think the reading fee is too high, don't enter the contest. Q. How will I know if my submission is a winner? A. They will either notify you by mail or phone. On occasion, I have found out just by the contest sending me their publication and a check in the mail. Enclose an SASE for a mailing list of winners if you'd like. Write on the SASE, "For winner's list only." Q. If I don't win the fist time, should I keep sending my entries to their contest? A. Definitely. If your goal is to win, then you'll only have a chance by submitting and submitting again. Very few people win the first time out. It took me a long time to win first place, but it was well worth the wait. It was exciting to see my poem and byline published in a special book. If you keep trying, it an happen for you too. Q. Should I be happy only receiving an honorable mention? A. Of course! That means your work has promise and the judges noticed it. Not many writers even get that recognition. If you don't win money, you'll still know your work was good and you should keep trying. They sometimes give out a certificate for honorable mention, so you can put that on your wall, and it will encourage you to continue. If you follow the above, you should be able to reap the rewards of winning a contest. You'll have the great knowledge that your poem, etc. was the very best. Suzan L. Wiener has had numerous writing articles, poems, short stories and fillers published in many national publications and online Web sites, such as Canadian Writer's Journal, Mocha Memoirs, Writing Etc., T-zero, Poetry Press among others. She won first place in a contest for NEB Publishing. ******************************************************************* WHAT'S UP WITH THE BOOK'S WRITERS? Christine Hohlbaum, who is interviewed in Volume One, is teaching an E-Course! Here is information on her course: If you are looking for a more creative life, award-winning writer/author Christine Louise Hohlbaum has the solution. Her new eCourse, The Journaling Parent, helps you unleash your own creative power while having fun in a community of people who understand you. You will receive: a FREE eBook THE DIARY OF YOU illustrated by the talented Tracey Smith of Downshifting fame a four-week online course via email a chat with award-winning author, Erica Miner, professional lecturer on journaling for Celebrity Cruise Lines AND an endless flow of creative ideas and the support to pursue them. The eCourse starts Oct. 22nd. For enrollment details, please visit: http://tinyurl.com/6og24 ******************************************************************* BOOK NEWS What's the latest with the first volume of BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL: How We Survive as Writing Parents? Just in case you missed it, here it is again: THE BOOK IS OUT!! THE BOOK IS OUT!!!! HOORAY!! The long wait is finally over! You can now purchase the first volume of BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL: How we Survive as Writing Parents. Some of the books writers will be receiving a complimentary copy of the book (if you want yours signed, please let me know soon!), but for those of you interested in buying a copy, you can do so here: http://www.booklocker.com/books/1743.html Also, for those of you who wish to put the book's cover on your site, please E-mail me for the JPG file. And now that I actually held it in my hands, what are my thoughts? One feeling constantly stands out: I am so glad I did this book. I enjoy reading it and re-reading it. Not so much because it's MY book (grin) but because it really has some good advice on how to be a great writing parent. Each and every one of the interviews and essays I read and re-read are like brand new experiences for me. I read about the mother who had to conduct a phone interview wrapped up with coats in her closet as her child screamed and kicked at the door, the dad who found the perfect writing job for himself that didnt keep him away from his family, the mother who had to go through some rough financial spots in pursuing her dreams of being a successful writer and the dad who discovered the IDEAL writing time that allowed him to focus the rest of his day on being a husband and father. I really hope that this book will help you as it helps me. It serves as more than just a tribute to these parents determined to succeed, more than just a lasting testament of their stories, but as a reminder that there are kindred spirits out there in the world going through the same hurdles as you, that you've got a sympathetic voice to turn to during those slow days, and that success IS possible -- no matter what! ******************************************************************* SPECIAL FOR OCTOBER: Short Story PAYBACK By: Dawn Colclasure The little boy banged the red ball onto the driveway. ???How many times have I told you to stop doing that!??? He gritted his teeth and bounced the ball harder. ???Why don't you play with toys like normal kids your age???? ???I am normal,??? he icily replied, banging the ball onto the driveway with a harder thud. He smiled as a tiny shriek emitted from the bottom of the ball. ???I'm normal! I'm normal!??? he cried, forcefully pounding the red ball onto the driveway with each word. He heard the tiny shrieks coming from beneath the ball with every bounce. He smiled again, knowing that finally he wasn't going to have to take the pain anymore. Every bounce of his ball was a release from this pain. ???You're a devil child! We never should've had you!??? his father's voice continued in his mind. The whole thing only happened just a few hours ago but the anger and hurt from it still stung. Bounce! ???I'll teach you to do things like that!??? Bounce! ???I'll never let you hurt anybody ever again!??? Bounce! The little boy held the ball now, a smile slowly sweeping across his tiny face as he turned it over in his hands. He looked down at his father's tiny body he had shrunk into the ball and his smile grew as he saw the look of anguish on his fathers tiny face. ???I'll never let you hurt anybody ever again.??? Dawn Colclasure edits and publishes the Burning the Midnight Oil Book Zine, which is a product of her book: BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL: How we Survive as Writing Parents (Booklocker, http://www.booklocker.com/books/1743.html ). She is also a poetry editor for Skyline Magazine, contributing writer to the newspaper SIGNews and a staff writer for the Web site, The Shadowlands. Shes been published both on and off the Web, in magazines such as Mothering and American Fitness, and Web sites such as Absolute Write, Writing Etc. and Writing World. Visit her on the Web at http://dmcwriter.tripod.com/ . ******************************************************************* FREEBIE CORNER Please note: These offers are not investigated by me. Some freebie promos are scams. Please check these out thoroughly before submitting personal information. One click is all it takes to feed an empty stomach. Visit the Hunger Site and donate to the fight against hunger for free! http://www.thehungersite.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/CTDS ites Check out some very cool horror fonts you can download for free! Just in time for Halloween. http://www.acidfonts.com/horrorfonts1.htm Subscribe to the free Ezine, The Success Doctors Profit Pill, and get a FREE Ebook: The 10 Commandments of Power Positioning: Magical Marketing Strategies for Creating Endless Streams of New, Repeat and Referral Business: http://successdoctor.com/ezine/ Wanna take a FREE online creative writing course? Now you can, with F2K: Fiction Writing for the New Millennium! Check it out here: http://fiction.4-writers.com/ Get your free copy of the Fiction Writer's Character Chart: http://www.eclectics.com/articles/character.html Download free software just for writers! http://store.yahoo.com/dramatica/freesoftware.html Get your FREE copy of Skyline E-Magazine! Check out the new special Halloween issue for some cool art, scary stories and spine-tingling poetry! http://www.skylinemagazines.com/ ******************************************************************* WRITING PARENT TIPS FOR OCTOBER Tip: Stress can be a BIG problem for any writing parent struggling to write something while a child is tugging on their arm or when the work is going slow while the bills are piling up. Take a few moments every day to take some quiet time for you: Read a book, relax to music or cuddle with your loved one. If things get too chaotic, take a few moments to breathe deeply or count to ten whenever you feel the urge to scream. (But if you have to scream, do it privately!) The less stressed you are, the better you can be a writer -- AND a parent! Tip: Talk with your children about what you do. Ask them how they feel about your being a writer and their feelings about your writing schedule. If you have children that are not yet old enough to understand what you do, try to schedule your writing time for when they nap or are sleeping at night. Tip: Halloween can be fun but remember to stay safe! ******************************************************************* FORUM NEWS Check out our forum at: http://p197.ezboard.com/babsolutewrite The password is: multitask No new posts to discuss this month. Feel free to post your comments on the E-zine in the ???E-zine??? thread. As well as feedback on the book! ******************************************************************* WANNA SUBMIT TO THIS E-ZINE?? I am always open to submissions for the E-zine!! Please submit to Dawn at BurningMidnightOil@hotmail.com Feel free to submit any of the following: 1. An article. Any style and length (can be broken into parts). Articles must relate to writing, being a writing parent, parenting or successful business/marketing ideas. If the article is a reprint, you must own the reprint rights. 2. Tips for writing parents. 3. Advertising info, a freebie link, fan mail or, if you are included in the book, news and updates on whats going on in your writing life! I prefer to use free reprinted articles whenever possible but I do offer payment, as well. Payment is only allotted to article submissions. You may choose any one of the following for compensation: $5, paid in the form of a money order. On acceptance. Generous bio A complimentary copy of the book, BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL: How We Survive as Writing Parents. ******************************************************************* You are subscribed to this E-zine because you requested a subscription or signed yourself up on your own. To unsubscribe, send a blank e-mail to: 59308-unsubscribe@zinester.com |
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| << October05, 2004 - Burning the Midnight Oil Book Zine Special Announcement: THE BOOK IS NOW AVAILABLE! |
November16, 2004 - Burning the Midnight Oil Book Zine -- Issue Seven >> |
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