Writer’s Mail for April 17, 2010
by Jen Wilcher
FIFTH TUESDAY!
May 31, at the Grumpy Troll, 105 S. 2nd Street, Mount Horeb. We will have two guests: local authors discussing their path to publication, and we will have a quick writing challenge. Quick! Can you think of six words? Make it the RIGHT six words. In the spirit of the Six Word Biography that was popular a year or so ago, write a six word biography. A six word character study. Or, if you DARE – a six word book synopsis! Bring a printed copy to read and send an electronic copy to chornung88@aol.com to be compiled for the newsletter (or to be read in your absence)!
Since the Troll is off the bus route, we’ll need some carpooling volunteers. Please send a note to the group if you need a ride or can provide a ride. Festivities begin at 7pm.
We will provide food and drink for our guest speakers – please bring a dollar or two to throw into the pot when you arrive. Feel free to order what you’d like from the Troll’s wonderful array of Wisconsin bar food and drink. Above all, arrive planning to have a good time!
AT THE BOOKSTORE TUESDAY NIGHT
A lively dozen gathered upstairs at Barnes & Noble Tuesday night.
Kime Heller-Neal read the prologue from Feathered. Anne Allen needed clarification that the girl’s wrist is being grabbed. Sounds like he’s grabbing the horse. Holly Bonnicksen-Jones wanted to know more about the character, who he is, what he looks like. Kim Simmons says the story needs more. Not enough happens. Jack Freiburger said to jump right in to the action and use that action to describe the character. We had a discussion on writing in the first person. It can be more intimate, but it’s also trickier to describe things. Carol Hornung suggested reading Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novels to look for techniques in using first person well.
Randy Haselow came back with a new chapter from Hona and the Dragon. Kim said the chapter implied a lot was going to happen – and then nothing did! Need some conflict. Though Kime pointed out that a large part of war is just waiting. She thought it worked. Carol and Anne were both confused by the rolled up carpet and had trouble getting the image of Hona flying along with it. Holly filtered out a couple of overused phrases – “clouds scudding” and “crashing waves.”Jack suggested a pronoun check – there are an awful lot of she’s. Carol enjoyed the magic potion that curbed hunger. Useful!
Jack Freiburger read from Path to Bray’s Head. Terry Hoffman said at the end, “I need a breath!” The scene was very powerful and effective. Though the train/ scenery/ play images were too close together. Anne said she shortened up the metaphors by taking out a few words. Holly thought the wording was well suited for the intensity. Randy felt the word “mockery” didn’t fit in with the power of the scene – seemed to make light of it in a way and that jolted him. Holly suggested the bell tolled a few too many times. Other ways to describe it.
Jen Wilcher brought in a story called Brotherly Love. Jack said he didn’t think there was an Oxford Library – each college has its own. And he pointed out that telegrams are used for very short messages. Might be best to send a letter for the amount of info handled. Leah Wilber had some trouble figuring out which actions belonged to which characters. Randy suggested that Nikola probably wouldn’t speak in his sleep in English, as it’s not his native tongue.
Kim Simmons read from City in Winter. Kime thought a lot of the last section needed to be cut out – too much of Ryoko telling James what they are going to do next. Carol suggested making it a little more conversational. Kime did like the recap of events. Randy felt that James’ speech was far too feminine. Too in touch with his emotions, and not much like a 14 year old boy who’d probably be angry or would show off his powers. The prison escape felt just a little too easy, too.
Holly Bonnicksen-Jones presented a chapter from Coming Up For Air. Kime felt that as a non-smoker, a relationship with David was out of the question because he smoked. The scene had lots of talk, but little action. Carol thought some emotion behind the small talk was needed. Is she anxious? Is he anxious? And why? Anne contemplated the physical possibilities of going from “green to pale.” One is metaphorical, one is literal. “Green to white” might work. Randy wondered why David would be nervous? He’s an actor. Focus on him wanting to be himself and not putting on a character or an act.
Who’s up next . . .
May 3: Chris Maxwell (???), Randy Haselow (chapter, Hona and the Dragon), Aaron Boehm (screenplay/part 7, Hell Cage), Leah Wilbur (chapter 2, Narian Noir), and Clayton Gill (chapter 17, Fishing Derby).
May 10th: Randy Haselow, (Hona and the Dragon), Jack Freiburger, (Path to Bray’s Head) Jen Wilcher, (The Hogoshiro Chronicles), Kime Heller-Neal (Feathered), Holly Bonnicksen-Jones, (Coming Up for Air), Kim Simmons (City of Winter)
May 24th: Leah Wilbur, (???), Kime Heller-Neal, Feathered, Jack Freiburger, Path to Bray’s Head, Kim Simmons (City of Winter), Jen Wilcher (The Hogoshiro Chronicles)
Word Spy . . .
zombie lie
n. A false statement that keeps getting repeated no matter how often it has been refuted.
Example Citations:
Most of the biosphere cannot see the infosphere; it is invisible, a parallel universe humming with ghostly inhabitants. But they are not ghosts to us—not anymore. We humans, alone among the earth’s organic creatures, live in both worlds at once. It is as though, having long coexisted with the unseen, we have begun to develop the needed extrasensory perception. We are aware of the many species of information. We name their types sardonically, as though to reassure ourselves that we understand: urban myths and zombie lies.
—James Gleick, “What Defines a Meme?,” Smithsonian magazine, May 1, 2011
On Social Security, Simpson is repeating a zombie lie — that is, one of those misstatements that keeps being debunked, but keeps coming back.
—Paul Krugman, “Zombies Have Already Killed The Deficit Commission,” The New York Times, June 21, 2010
Earliest Citation:
No matter how hard we try to kill them, they keep coming back to eat our brains.
—Duncan Black, “Zombie Lies,” Eschaton, January 20, 2006
Posted on April 29, 2011
Permalink: http://www.wordspy.com/words/zombielie.asp
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