Tuesdays with Story

Tuesdays with Story
2-23-2012

Quote of the Week
“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” – W. Somerset Maugham

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest (Carol Hornung)
The second round has been announced and I am delighted to say that Asperger Sunset, along with 999 of its closest peers, made it! The next round is 250 of that 1000, to be announced at the end of March. Wish me luck!

Alumni news . . . (from Jerry Peterson)
Ben LeRoy, our TWS leader for several years back a decade ago, last year sold his publishing company, Tyrus Books, to F+M Media. F+M publishes Writer’s Digest and 34 other magazines, and it owns seven book imprints, eight now with Tyrus.

Ben went with the sale, continuing as publisher for Tyrus. The sale gave Ben access to more capital and marketing muscle than he had as an independent publisher. “It also gives me a regular paycheck and health insurance,” he said. “That’s come to be important to me as I’ve gotten older.”

Home base for Ben and Tyrus continues to be Madison.

Tuesday Night at the Bookstore (from Amber Boudreau)
Eight of us gathered ’round to review pieces for the evening.
Rebecca shared chapter four of her Cheese Logue. Lots of chuckles while she reads aloud. Pat and Millie like the imagery she uses about the moon. Rebecca tells us this is her shortest chapter. Pat had a question about calling the police car a prowler. Everybody liked it, it moved well.
Millie read from Chapter Thirty-Two of her novel Life on Hold. Jerry wants to know how one character balances three champagne flutes. Millie says carefully, but Jerry suggests she’s carrying them, not balancing them. Rebecca thought there were a few clichés (which she can be okay with) but she didn’t think these described what the character was feeling well enough. She also enjoyed that the chapter ended in a cliffhanger. Jerry notices nothing bad happens to Erin—what would happen if she misplaced her diamond ring? It would add adventure if not conflict.
Liam shared some odds and ends about Scott and Rory. Millie asks if this is about reincarnation, but Liam says it’s about gods and goddesses who regenerate over time. Pat is glad there will be some information about what’s going on. Liam introduces us to a new term, twixtmortem.
Judith shared part of her short story Waldorf Hysteria. Millie can really see the house and the people. Pat agrees that the characters are really well-rounded and colorful. Pat suggests that the main character, the author, the protagonist is drawn by what he notices about the building and the other tenants. Jerry wants to know where the story is going and asks if anyone names the house the Waldorf Hysteria because he thinks that’s where all the people are going from here. Was there a witness to the shooting that takes place? Otherwise how do we know who did it?
Jerry shares three chapters from Thou Shalt Not Murder. Amber wanted to know where the money came from that the doctor had on him when he died. Pat thought one character would have to do a little more persuading to get another on the plane. Rebecca didn’t get that it was a flashlight one character shines in the face of another.

Who’s up next . . .
February 28: Holly Bonnicksen-Jones (chapter, Coming Up for Air), Terry Hoffman (chapter, The Great Tome), Jack Freiburger (chapter, Jesus Walked into the IHOP), and Andrea Kirchman (chapter Pip Zin).
March 6: Greg Spry (chapter 18, Beyond Cloud 9), John Schneller (chapter 12, Final Stronghold), Liam Wilbur (odds and ends, Scott & Rory), Aaron Boehm (???), Amber Boudreau (chapter 3 rewrite, Noble), Lisa McDougal (???, Tebow Family Secret Recipe), and Clayton Gill (chapter, Fishing Derby).
March 13: Carol Hornung (scene, Sapphire Lodge), Katelin Cummins (???), and Liam Wilbur (chapter, The Fog-Gotten).
March 20: Liam Wilbur (chapter 8, Scott & Rory), Rebecca Rettenmund (chapter 5, The Cheese Logue), Millie Mader (chapter 33, Life on Hold), Pat Edwards (poems), Judith McNeil (more of “The Waldorf Hysteria”), and Jerry Peterson (chapter 24, Thou Shalt Not Murder).

Newsletter editors . . .
Carol Hornung is our editor for February. Please send all the good stuff you want in the newsletter to her.
Lisa McDougal is our editor for March. Volunteers needed for April and beyond!

A new word for you . . .
Courtesy of Word Spy Paul McFedries: nomophobia
noun. The fear of being without your mobile phone or without a cellular signal. Also: nomo-phobia. [No + mobile + -phobia.]
—nomophobe noun
—nomophobic adjective

Example Citations:Your heart rate accelerates, you feel short of breath, you reach quickly to your pocket and feel a wave of relief as you find your phone is still there. There’s a name for the overwhelming fear of losing your mobile phone and with it contact with friends and family — nomophobia — and the findings of a recent survey suggests it’s on the rise.
—Heather Yundt, “Nomophobia—the fear of losing one’s phone—is on the rise,”
Ottawa Citizen, February 21, 2012

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you may be a nomophobe, and you are not alone.
Nomophobia — the fear of being without your cellphone — is on the rise, according to a new report sponsored by SecurEnvoy, a company that specializes in digital passwords.
—Deborah Netburn, “Nomophobia — fear of being without your phone — is on the rise,”
Los Angeles Times, February 17, 2012

Earliest Citation:
The Post Office’s telephony expert Stewart Fox-Mills said: “Nomo-phobia is very real for many people in the UK. We’re all familiar with the stressful situations of everyday life such as moving house, breakups and organising a family Christmas — but it seems that being out of mobile contact may be the 21st century’s contribution to our already manic lives.
—“Lost without your mobile? Sounds like a case of nomo-phobia,”
Royal Mail Group, March 31, 2008

New books you may want to add to your bookshelf . . .
Courtesy of Sara Barnes at Booked for Murder:
– Flying By The Seat Of Your Pants: Surprising Origins of Everyday Expressions by Harry Oliver
– Distory: A Treasury of Historical Insults by Robert Schnakenberg . . . One prime example: “Never trust a man who combs his hair straight from his left armpit.” Alice Roosevelt Longworth re: General Douglas MacArthur.)
– A Worker’s Manifesto to Slacking Off by Annie Jackson . . . This includes the official rules to office games such as Paper Cup Golf, Partition Hurdles, Ruler Fencing, and The Office Chair Kayak Slalom.

The Last Word . . .
“Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” – E. L. Doctorow