Writer’s Mail
Tuesdays with Story
April 7, 2016
“Every book you pick up has its own lesson or lessons, and quite often the bad books have more to teach than the good ones.” – Stephen King
Here are some things I have found interesting.
Writing sources:/Blogs/Places to learn extra writing stuffJ
http://thewritepractice.com Joe Bunting is the founder of the Write Practice. He loves the sound of a good sentence and would like to think of himself as a literary snob but can be kept up far too late by a page turner meant for thirteen-year-old girls. He would like for you not to know that, though. He lives with his wife, Talia—of the extraordinary food blog taliabunting.com, and two sons in Atlanta.
I found this an interesting place to discover new books. http://delanceyplace.com/index.php. I get an email from them everyday with a short summary of the latest non fiction book they recommend. Today’s book was about Octopusus. Here is a little blurb.
Here is an animal with venom like a snake, a beak like a parrot, and ink like an old-fashioned pen. It can weigh as much as a man and stretch as long as a car, yet it can pour its baggy, boneless body through an opening the size of an orange. It can change color and shape. It can taste with its skin. … Most fascinating of all … octopuses are smart
We are in the age of video so I thought I would add a you tube link to one of my favorite writers. Brian Helgeland who won an Oscar for the script L.A. Confidential, and also wrote the scripts Mystic River, A Knights Tale (my all time favorite movie with Heath Ledger) and 42, The Jackie Robinson story among others) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAQNu5Sy0qU. This is a speech/interview he gave to the Screenwriters Lecture series in 2013. It’s a little long 26 minutes and some change, but it has great information for those who aspire to be a screenwriter. He also talks about the time Clint Eastwood came over to his house to convince him to write the screenplay for Mystic River (quite funny).
I have always been a bit of a numbers guy so this list intrigued me. It’s the list of the best selling fiction authors of all time. William S. you are the BOSS!! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_fiction_authors
Who’s up next . . .
April 12: ??
April 19: Mike Austin (???), Fran Wiedenhoeft (???), Hannah Marshall (poems), Kashmira Sheth (chapters, Journey to Swaraj), Judith McNeil (short story, part 2, “Just Visiting”), Cindi Dyke (chapter 26, North Road), Bob Kralapp (short story, part 1, “Wings”), and Jerry Peterson (short story, “Digging in the Dirt”).
April 26:
May 3: Liam Wilbur (???), Pat Edwards (???), Eva Mays (chapter 4, Dhuoda), Bob Kralapp (short story, part 1, “Wings”), Amber Biydreau (???), and Kashmira Sheth (YA novel chapters, Journey to Swaraj).
It happened Tuesday evening . . .
Lisa McDougal got to the end of her manuscript, Tebow Family Secret. John Schneller presented the synopsis for his YA novel, Broken, that he will take with him to Writers Institute. Three shared their creations. And Eva Mays took the first-and-thirders into chapter 3 of her historical novel, Dhuoda.
Here the roundup:
Lisa Mc Dougal (chapters 54-55, Tebow Family Secret) –
There was some confusion about who spoke the last line of the last chapter. Several said there was a potential good plot twist if Izzy and Adam planned this whole thing. Lots of questions were asked about the real Ahna Tebow not being dead.
Millie Mader (poem, “Jabberwocky Redux”) –
Basically it was well received, and thought to make more sense than the original. I was asked to change “chicks” to something more dark, so I substituted “spawn”
Randy Slagle (poem, “The Anchor”) –
A number of people liked the image attached to the poem. There were a number of questions related to certain words like Steed and their meanings as well as suggestions for commas. (Refinements and suggestions will definitely make it flow better and leave readers with less confusion as to some of the underlying meaning.
Jerry Peterson (poem, “Ode to the Humble Jelly Bean”) – Everyone turned on with memories of their favorite flavors, and that was the purpose of the poem, to stir the nostalgia pot. Pat Edwards offered the best help, a rewrite of the last stanza to get rid of the trite phrase ‘simpler times.’
John Schneller (synopsis, Broken) –
Critique of synopsis for Broken Rising. Multiple good suggestions were made regarding tightening the synopsis and logline. While everyone seemed aware of the difficulty in winnowing the words to march in the tightest of formations, I was encouraged to cull a few more words and phrases. Minimize mentioning of events and characters. The summary paragraphs of what the story is about seemed to create the most interest. Ground the reader in time, place an/or genre. Also the efforts to say things subtly cannot replace clarity. These suggestions were very helpful. At the recent seminar, No Fear of Success, Laurie Scheer reminded us that the verbal pitch and the synopsis are likely all that the agent will read. If the manuscript is requested, it will be shipped off to someone else for the first full read. She also informed us that a synopsis is 1 page single space maximum. Absolute rule. No exceptions. The other absolute rule is to check each agent or publisher’s requirements for submission. Each will have established rules and violating them will likely get you tossed before consideration.
Like mysteries? . . .
Mystery Weekly Magazine will send you a new mystery short story every Monday via email, free. Check it out. Here’s the link: http://mysteryweekly.com/
The editors also are looking for short mysteries – 1,000 to 8,000 words. And the magazine pays, not much, but it pays. You’ll find the submission guidelines and submission form at the same link.
just for fun!
Etsy.com has many interesting gifts and ideas for book lovers and writers.
Our Writers Mail editors . . .
For April: Randy Slagel
For May: Lisa McDougal
Great word . . .
From Word Spy Paul McFedreis:
fun sponge
Meaning: (noun) A joyless or grumpy person who soaks up all the fun out of an event or situation.
Also Seen As: funsponge
Other Forms: fun sponging pp.
Examples
“Alternatively, there is the ultimate worst-case scenario: that instead of being a world-class fun sponge with nil sense of humour, he may just be right.”– Robert Kitson, Rugby, booze and middle-aged men – the wobbling front row of the Six Nations, The Guardian (London), February 16, 2016
“Yes, Grimshaw is such a misguided choice that even funsponge Barlow returning to drain all the fun from the competition would have been a more preferable alternative.”
– Jon O’Brien, 10 stars who would have made better X-Factor judges than Nick Grimshaw, Metro.co.uk, June 16, 2015
“There is a tired old cliché in sports, usually bellowed out by grumpy fun sponges, about acting like you’ve been there before. But what if you haven’t? What if you have waited as long as you can reasonably remember for what you still wonder might be a once-in-a-lifetime experience?”
– Sam Mellinger, Kansas City’s baseball moment has finally arrived, The Kansas City Star, September 29, 2014
Earliest
“Lighten up Sputnick,
Do you see the bulge in his cheek? That is a tongue, not a wad of
tobacco.
SHEESH! This group is full of fun sponges!”
– Joe Shipley, War Criminals Joe (was G.I. Stalin Joe), alt.toys.gi-joe, October 14, 1997
Notes
The more general sense of a project, event, or situation that soaks up all the fun out of one’s life is a bit older (same person, though):
“I had fun with the original letter, and even some of the responses, but this has ended up being a fun sponge. I won’t be spearheading any more projects.”
– Joe Shipley, Cotswold Responds to HASBRO wish list (FINAL ENTRY), alt.toys.gi-joe, April 7, 1997
Tuesdays with Story 
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