A MOMENT IN THE HISTORY OF WRITING
LITTLE-KNOWN FACTS ABOUT . . .
FINALLY . . . A Sample of Excellence
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you know that your
e-mag is awesome! Great work!"
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Volume 3
Issue 1
January 3, 2005
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R e a d i n g W r i t e r
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H
A P P Y N E W Y E A R !
We are back for another year of reading, writing and wielding words of wisdom. Hope your holidays turned out as you wished, and your brain is now overflowing with new writing ideas. Personally, I'll be able to concentrate a whole lot better once I get rid of the remaining desserts in this house. (Beat it, chocolate cake! . . . No, wait!) A special prayer goes out to the survivors of the tsunami disaster in South Asia. Slow donations? Don't you believe it. The generosity I see brings tears to the eyes. It is goodness at its purest. And we all know the more goodness we put into this world, the less room there is for evil. May we do what we can to help provide comfort, shelter, clothing, food and something as simple as a glass of clean water. Interested in reading about mathematics from a literary perspective? Check out Mathematical Fiction. So you have a special garden in your story, but you can't quite visualize it? Go to this lovely site and stroll through New England garden designs from the period 1920 to 1940. Maps, maps and maps! At this site, find nearly any place on Earth, and view it by population, climate and much more! Your temporary Freedom from Toil is here. Clear your head before you start that next chapter! Now, without further ado ... let the action begin!
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DAN ABRAMS
A crystal justice eagle. A deck of cards featuring celebrity mug shots. A President Bush talking toy.
DAN
ABRAMS anchors ‘The Abrams Report’ on MSNBC TV. He also
covers legal stories for “NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw,”
“Today” and “Dateline NBC.” An accomplished writer,
Abrams has published articles in The New York Times, The
Nation, USA Today, The American Lawyer, George and the Yale
Law and Policy Review. |
MAKING A SCENE
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SAY WHAT? Commonly Misused Words
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Literal means "factual;
avoiding exaggeration, metaphor or embellishment." Figurative means "based
on figures of speech; metaphorical." |
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In 1902 a young electrical engineer named Frank Pearne went to Joy Morton, head of Morton Salt, and asked for money. Pearne had been tinkering with a printing telegraph system, but needed sponsorship to continue his work. Morton discussed it with his friend, Charles Krum, a mechanical engineer and vice president of the Western Cold Storage Company. They agreed to fund him, and even gave him his own laboratory space. A year later, Pearne lost interest and became a teacher. Charles Krum and his son, however, kept working on it and by 1906 had developed a typebar page printer and a typewheel printing telegraph machine. By 1908 the Krums were able to test an experimental printer on an actual telegraph line. The "keyboard" was a modified Oliver typewriter mounted on a desk with the necessary relays, contacts, magnets and interconnecting wires. Success! In 1914, Kent Cooper, head of the Traffic Department of the Associated Press, became fed up with the unreliable method of messenger boys delivering copy to the New York newspapers. He asked to borrow Krum's apparatus. Within a year, all the newspapers in New York City and nearby towns were receiving their press matter from a single operator in the office of the Associated Press.
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PART
ONE
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Dig
through your unpublished work from the past year. A gem waits to be
re-discovered.LITTLE-KNOWN FACTS ABOUT . . .
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CYRANO de BERGERAC Born:
March 6, 1619
"A large nose is the mark of a witty, courteous, affable, generous and liberal man."
~ Cyrano was born in Paris, France. ~ Educated by a priest in the village of Bergerac, he was later sent to the Collège de Beauvais. ~ Cyrano had an exceptionally large nose, and children his age tortured him mercilessly. This constant teasing fueled his hot temper. He took up dueling to vent his pent-up anger. ~ After acquiring fame as a dueler, he enlisted in the army at the age of 20. He had problems adjusting to discipline, and wound up fighting over a thousand duels during his military service. ~ Cyrano was severely wounded twice: at a fight with a Gascon Guard and at the siege of Arras in 1640. There, a sword hit him in the neck, and he never fully recovered from the wound. ~ The following year he gave up his military career and started to study under the philosopher and mathematician Pierre Gassendi. Influenced by Gassendi's theories and libertine philosophy, he began to write stories. ~ He wrote philosophical romances, comedies, tragedies and two books of science-fiction. ~ At the age of 46, Cyrano de Bergerac died in Paris when a plank dropped on his head. ~ His two science-fiction books, Voyage Dans la Lune and L'Histoire des Etats et Empires dy Soleil were published posthumously. ~ It is assumed the third volume in the series Histoire Comique (The History of the Stars) is either lost or has been destroyed. ~ In 1897 French poet Edmond Rostand published a play about Cyrano's life. Cyrano de Bergerac, by far Rostand's most successful work, concentrated on Cyrano's love for the beautiful Roxanne, whom he wooed on behalf of a handsome but less articulate friend. ~ History shows Rostand's portrayal of the hero is not based on fact. Cyrano was a serious writer and a virile lover. ~ One of the best interpretations of the play Cyrano de Bergerac was produced by Columbia Pictures in 1987. The film, Roxanne, was written by and starred comedian Steve Martin as a modern-day Cyrano.
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First Person narrative
is the most intimate point-of-view a
writer can choose. As soon as that first "I" appears,
readers know they've just met the storyteller. What follows,
hopefully, is a captivating read with the narrator unobtrusively divulging his or her thoughts, feelings and experiences.
But overuse the "I," and a narrator soon becomes a narcissist.
Example: Cleaned up:
Example: Cleaned up:
Example: Cleaned up:
Uncertain about a piece of your writing? |
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How did the holidays affect your writing? |
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PREVIOUS SURVEY
Obsessed--if
I'm not writing, I'm thinking about it.
- 53%
"I am thoroughly obsessed with writing--plots, problems, conflicts, a turn of phrase, an awkward sentence, and so on. I write in my head a lot while doing mundane chores, and then race to the computer, which is always on, when I get the chance. And when I'm not writing, I'm talking about it. It's a good thing I have a great support system in my Saturday morning writing group. Otherwise, I'd bore my family to death." - Maria Murad "Obsessed. According to my wife, I tend to have a glazed look in my eyes when I'm away from my laptop. That's because my wicked characters are talking. They always uncork their best lines when I lack a writing utensil." - Roger Hanley "Obsessed! Can't think of anything else, including the laundry!" - Amelia Allman "I have writing books and magazines in every room of the house. They have bookmarks in them. I guess you could call me a "Reading Writer" too because when I'm not reading, I'm writing." - Elaine Huggins "Balanced. I've been doing this so long, I know when I need to get away from it." - Samuel Jamison "Frustrated. No time." - Jana Politte "I'm a frustrated writer. I feel like I have all these ideas, especially Romance Comedies, just bursting to come out, but if I sit down at the computer, I draw a blank. Help!" - Connie Mathis |
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Subject:
CHALKBOARD submission WALKING THROUGH THE THUNDERBOLT by Gerald Erskine
It was just a car. A vehicle used to transport a person from one place to another. That's all. So why did Wade's heart speed up everytime he saw it in the parking lot? Was it insanity? Or was it fate? Had he fallen at work and sprained his arm because he was supposed to be home the day she moved in? Seemed to be the case. But she had already been there a week, and he hadn't introduced himself yet. Oh, there were those times their eyes locked across the parking lot. Times when he was sure she had that special look of curiosity on her face. Maybe she didn't know his name, but she knew he lived there, somewhere in the complex. Did she have kids? A boyfriend? She'd always been alone when he saw her. Where did she work? What did she do for fun? Did she like Italian food? He wanted to know everything about her, but he'd have to go slow. So there he was, approaching her door. The only way to get to his door. Would she think he was a pervert if he knocked? Maybe he'd comment on her car. Always a comfortable ice breaker. After all, he knew cars pretty well. "Hi, I'm Wade. Are you the owner of that SS with the 454 under the hood?" Or maybe he'd keep it simple. "Hi, I'm Wade. I live in the apartment next to you. Welcome to the neighborhood!" Then maybe she'd smile and say something like, "Come in, Wade!" Maybe they'd have a few beers. (Did she drink alcoholic beverages?) Maybe they'd have a few laughs. But he wouldn't wear out his welcome. He'd excuse himself at the right time, and at the door he'd casually suggest they get together one night in the week. He'd cook lasagna, his specialty. Then, maybe she'd look up into his eyes and . . . . Her apartment door opened just as he passed. Wade kept walking.
© 200 5 Gerald Erskine
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Here's a chance to show off your
writing!
We've covered the topic of Spyware, Spam and Viruses. Well, not like this . . . . I can't count the number of PCs I had to reload from scratch in 2004 because Spyware had so badly taken over to the point there was no fixing things. I spent a lot of hours making a PC usable rather than doing something productive like helping people use a computer. What a waste of time! Spyware is a generic term for a program that is planted on your computer that watches your Internet usage habits and sends back information to its owner--a marketing company--who in turn sells that information to legitimate, big companies so they know what web sites you visit and what you do while you're there. Additionally these marketing companies will include in their Spyware a means that allows them to pop up advertisements on your computer no matter what you're doing (as long as you're connected to the Net, of course). I find this practice unconscionable. I have written companies--names you know--telling them I've found their ads via Spyware delivery and they ought to be ashamed of themselves. I've asked them to stop immediately, or risk my spreading the news that they and their sacred brand for which they so carefully crafted a reputation are about to be exposed by yours truly as nothing more than the trade mark of a peeping tom, and a company that is not above using human predator behavior to ram their messages where no one asked. I get no responses. They know they're invading people's privacy, but as long as there is no specific law, state or federal, they technically can't be doing wrong. I think it's obvious how very wrong it is what they're doing. It's ironic that their Spyware programs are destructive to the point they will overwhelm and disable a computer, thus rendering their own schemes ineffective. If they didn't cause the owner of the delivery vehicle (i.e., our computers) so much trouble I'd find it all laughable. It is anything but funny. Once your computer is infected with Spyware it is not a given that it can be cleaned. Some of this stuff plants itself deep into the engine rooms of Windows, and as long as Windows is running it cannot be removed. And without Windows running how are you going to do anything to Windows? See the problem? Once infected your computer will slow down, and slow down, and very quickly will work at a fraction of the speed it did when new. It will keep you from going to web sites for which the Spyware author doesn't approve. It will pop up advertisement windows based on sites you do visit. It will force you to use their home page, not yours. There is no telling what private information it is sending back to a database just so companies can make money off you. Where does Spyware come from? A web site can plant Spyware onto your computer without your knowledge. Most Spyware distribution points are a little more sophisticated and they pop up a window telling you your computer is slow or your time is wrong or your computer has Spyware and this window will instruct you to click here to fix the malady. DON'T!!! People simply must not be so naïve. One of the big ploys of Internet thugs in 2004 was a technique called Phishing. This is when they send you an email that looks like your financial institution is worried about the security of your account, and the only way to fix that is for you to click on the link in your email and sign in. Huh? It works or they wouldn't do it. People simply must not be so naïve. Time to be a little more "Internet saavy" in 2005. I'm here to help. First I'm going to tell you about a product that costs $50. Then I'm going to tell you about a product that is pretty effective against Spyware that is FREE. Trend Micro PC-Cillin is a terrific little product that does several valuable things to protect your computer and your network. It includes award winning virus protection, Spyware detection and removal (remember, there is no guarantee of removal once you're infected--that's why I spend so much time reloading computers), anti-phishing, spam filtering, wi-fi intrusion detection and a personal firewall. You don't have to be a geek to set it up. Wow! I really like this product. The free software I told you about is called SpyBot. Get it at Cnet's download section. Once installed, you can run a routine to immunize your computer. This plants some code into Windows so that Spyware is searched for and blocked from entering your computer. Each time you pull down updates to the pattern files you'll need to re-immunize your computer. I'm not wild about having to do that because I'm old enough to forget what I was doing when distracted. Scanning for Spyware is a manual process so don't forget to start it up and search for problems every week or two. Hey, watch what you do on the Internet. Don't be naïve when you see a link to make your computer better/faster or to get something for free. And get PC-Cillin before you need it.
Submit your question to COMPUTER GUY! |
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ARE YOU A TORTOISE OR A HARE?
According to Aesop's classic fable, slow and steady wins the race. Then again, Aesop lived in a world without cars, planes and DVDs. Could this simple moral still apply today, especially in the writing world? Take the quiz below to see if you write like a tortoise or a hare.
1. You've enrolled in a writing class, and just received your materials in the mail. What do you do? Tortoise: "Place the package on
my desk, get a good night's sleep, then start Lesson One first thing
tomorrow morning."
2. While working on your latest project, you're suddenly struck with another wonderful idea. What do you do? Tortoise: "Jot it in my
notebook, then finish what I've already started."
3. You've written an article you think would fit nicely in a popular magazine. What's the first thing you do? Tortoise: "Visit the local
library to read several back issues of the magazine."
4. You queried an agent six weeks ago, and still haven't received a response. What do you do? Tortoise: "Concentrate on other
writing projects."
5. You've found a writing contest that is looking for stories just like the one you recently wrote. What do you do? Tortoise: "Jot the website
address in my notebook, then think about it. After all, there is an entry
fee."
If you resemble the tortoise, you are methodical, reflective and endlessly patient. When opportunity knocks on your door, you stroll toward it in slow deliberate strides. If you resemble the hare, you are bright, spontaneous and endlessly eager. When opportunity knocks on your door, you not only yank it inside, you feed it supper. Whatever your speed, you're writing and submitting. In the end, that's all that matters in this race.
© Elizabeth Guy |
FINALLY . . . A Sample of Excellence
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"A lot of people disapproved of my way of life. I suppose they were what you might call my well-wishers. That was because they didn't understand the first thing about me. They wanted me to go steady with a nice girl, save money, get married to her and then settle down to a nice steady job. Day after day, year after year, world without end, amen. Not for yours truly! There must be something better than that. Not just all this tame security, the good old welfare state limping along in its half-baked way! Surely, I thought, in a world where man has been able to put satellites in the sky and where men talk big about visiting the stars, there must be something that rouses, that makes the heart beat, that's worthwhile searching all over the world to find!"
--
Agatha Christie
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© 2005 ReadingWriters. All rights reserved. This ezine may not be reproduced without permission. All correspondence should be sent to Elizabeth Guy. |