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Welcome to The VERB!

In the last issue, our Just Curious survey asked for your biggest writing fear. Usually we make a point to steer clear of negativity (we all get enough of that in our lives), but an occasional pursuit into the dark recesses of our minds can be useful. What hovers in the back of a writer's creativity? As you will see from the results, the majority fear seeing their work go unpublished. But I'll tell you a secret: that frightening, insurmountable mountain you're eyeballing is nothing more than a puny insignificant ant hill. 

This point was never so clear as when I read the entries to our First Chapter contest. I don't know how much time these authors spent on their work or how many drafts they went through to reach the version I read. But I do know it didn't happen overnight. I know that something deep inside coaxed them onward, held them up through good times and bad until now, in the year 2005, many have reached the point that, if the rest of their manuscript is as well-crafted as the first chapter, they will see their work published! That's right, they're that good! So kick your fear in the teeth. If you dream of becoming a published author, you can make it a reality by simply continuing to do what you're doing right now--writing.

Contest judge Stephen Angeloff noted, "I enjoy reading these submissions. Plus, I genuinely enjoy the stories themselves. One disappointing aspect of this kind of contest is that there can only be one winner, and sometimes there are more entries that are truly of winning quality. In my opinion there were several worthy candidates this year ... I expect to see them on bookstore shelves in the future."

Contest judge Barbara Bell feels "reading other writers helps to strengthen my writing because it forces me to slow down and articulate what is working and what needs a bit more tweaking. I loved the experience of reading so many varied pieces, but more than anything, I cannot wait for some of these manuscripts to be published!"

Congratulations to winner Margaret Shultz and to honorable mentions Jennifer Haymore, Mathew Curry, Mark David Stallard, Serenity Banks and Nancy Carolyn Kisler! Well done!

So, it is altogether fitting that your temporary Freedom from Toil is here. Grab your favorite beverage and peruse our contest's winning first chapters. Notice the common thread: each one launches into the story immediately.

Now, without further ado ... let the action begin!

Elizabeth Guy
Editor

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This issue was
 published under the
 musical influence of

BEETHOVEN
The Best of Beethoven 
Volume One

My desk is vintage 1970’s Yield House—one my husband put together and even though I’ve since added a side panel for modem, monitor, keyboard, mouse and all the other paraphernalia associated with computers, my desk is an unsightly nightmare of papers, sticky notes and Crayola markers.

Index cards ... plenty of those because as a greeting card writer who predates emailed submissions, those 3x5” little critters were my “blank canvas” of necessity way back when. I don’t have scientific proof, but I think they procreate when I’m not looking.

A small Slovenian flag is propped up against more markers, a magnifying glass and Swedish scissors in a PBS Mystery! mug—I’m part Slovenian (Donald Trump’s new bride is Slovenian, although she’s younger and prettier than I am—and probably wealthier), so the flag helps remind me of parts unknown I still hope to visit one day.

A school-bus yellow ceramic figurine in the shape of galoshes cut off at the calf holds more pens and markers (I like pens and markers). It’s really an eyesore, which is why I bought it.

My grandpa’s watch in one of those domed enclosure bubbles is slightly hidden behind an address book and for some unknown reason, there’s a light bulb behind that.  When I’ve finished here, I’ll have to shake it to see if it rattles and if it doesn’t, I suppose I’ll screw it in someplace to see if it’s still functional. 

There are many nicks and scratches on my desk too, but for some reason that makes my wordsmithing less intimidating and more down-to-earth.  I suppose I must, one day, get a bigger, better desk, but for right now, I’m happy. 

Now you know what’s ON my desk ... but the real mystery remains: What exactly is INSIDE my desk?

Sandra began writing greeting cards in 1986 as a way to earn extra money while staying home with her children. Today she’s the author of two books, Write Well & Sell: Greeting Cards (soon to go into its 2nd Edition as Well Versed: Let's Write Greeting Cards) and A Few, Choice Words: Short, Do-Able Writing That Sells, now in its 2nd  Edition. Sandra’s been interviewed in such diverse places as NBC-TV, the BBC, Voice of America, Christian Science Monitor, Clear Channel’s Valentine In The Morning, Staples.com, U.S. Air’s Attaché Magazine, The National Examiner and most recently for 801 Magazine (a Columbia University School of Journalism Publication).  Please drop by her website. 

                                  In the 1960s, American and Russian astronauts had only one writing tool in space--the pencil.  Standard ball points simply did not work in zero gravity. But sometimes pencil leads broke and presented a hazard by floating in the capsule where they could hit an eye or an ear or cause a short in an electrical device. 

Because of the fire in Apollo 1, where three astronauts died, NASA required a writing instrument that would not burn in a 100% oxygen atmosphere. It also had to work in the extreme conditions of outer space: in a vacuum, with no gravity and in extreme hot and cold temperatures. 

Paul C. Fisher, inventor of the "Universal Refill" cartridge, accepted the challenge to design a safer writing tool. After much experimentation, he perfected a refill using thixotropic ink--semisolid until the shearing action of the rolling ball liquefied it--that would flow only when needed. The cartridge was pressurized with nitrogen so it didn't rely on gravity to make it work. It was dependable in freezing cold and desert heat. It could also write underwater and upside down. It was all metal except for the ink, which had a flash point above 200°C. 

Fisher sent prototypes to Dr. Robert Gilruth, Director of the Houston Space Center. The sample pens were thoroughly tested by NASA, and found to work perfectly in the weightlessness of outer space. 

Astronauts began using the Space Pen on the October 1968 Apollo 7 mission. They've been using them ever since. 

Read more.

 Evil Overlords do not have to wear black.