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Scribe & Quill ~~ May/June 2006
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Vol. 4 Issue 3
ISSN: 1098-6375
Section 1 of 2 Sections
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MASTHEAD
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* Editor & Publisher
Bev Walton-Porter <mailto:editor@scribequill.com OR mailto:scribequill@adelphia.net>
* Assistant Editor
Mindy Phillips Lawrence <mailto:mindy@scribequill.com>
* Humor Editor
Jaden Trinsic <mailto:humor@scribequill.com>
* Poetry Editor
Donna "Kai"
* Book Review Editor – ON LEAVE
Sonali T. Sikchi <mailto:bookrevieweditor@scribequill.com>
* Nonfiction Columnists:
~Joyce Faulkner <mailto:katieseyes@aol.com>
~Jill Vaile <mailto:jillvaile@scribequill.com> - ON LEAVE
~Pamela S. Thibodeaux <mailto:pthib-7@centurytel.net>
* Fiction Columnist
Rick Chiantaretto <mailto:horrorguy@scribequill.com>
* Romance Columnist
Cynthia VanRooy <mailto:romanceauthor@scribequill.com>
* Writer's Astrological Almanac Columnist
Kathy Watts <mailto:direwolf@stratlabs.com>
* Staff Book Reviewers:
~Pat McGrath Avery <mailto:patmcgrathavery@excite.com>
~Ilona Hegedûs <mailto:fairylona@yahoo.co.uk>
~Carolyn Howard-Johnson <mailto:hojonews@aol.com>
~Bobbi Linkemer <mailto:bobolink@accessus.net>
~Mary Meeks <mailto:demetria24@aol.com>
~Stephanie Moyers <mailto:sacredcircle@adelphia.net>
~Rita Porter <mailto:beepmybeep2@mchsi.com>
* Guest Writers:
~Elizabeth Crook <http://www.elizabethcrookbooks.com>
~Derek Rydall <mailto:derek@scriptwritercentral.com>
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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
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~ Privacy Notice
~ Editor's Note
~ Reader Praise!
~ Announcements
~Scribe & Quill Patrons
~ FEATURED INTERVIEW: Brad Schreiber
By Sonali T. Sikchi <mailto:bookrevieweditor@scribequill.com>
~ FEATURED ARTICLE:
Seven Rules for Writing Historical Fiction
By Elizabeth Crook <http://www.elizabethcrookbooks.com>
Author of "The Night Journal: A Novel"
~SCRIPTWRITING CENTRAL:
How to Be a Successful Script Consultant
By Derek Rydall <mailto:derek@scriptwritercentral.com>
~Scribes of Note ~ Virtual Quills
~FEATURED COLUMN: WRITING ROMANCE WITH A PASSION
Sensuality Times Five
By Cynthia VanRooy <mailto:cvanrooy@juno.com>
~FEATURED FICTION COLUMN:
Why Yes! Even YOU Need Horror
By Rick Chiantaretto <mailto:horrorguy@scribequill.com>
~FEATURED COLUMN:
Write the Vision…or Career Planning
By Pamela S. Thibodeaux <http://www.pamelathibodeaux.com>
~FEATURED WRITER'S ALMANAC:
Heads Up!
The Writer's Astrological Almanac
By Kathy Watts <mailto:direwolf@stratlabs.com>
~Book Reviews
--"Envy of the Gods" by Andrea Savitch
--"Techno-Noir" edited by Eva Batonne and Jeffery Marks
--"The Oculi Incident" by Regis Schilken
--"No One Should Get Pregnant Alone" by Elaine D. Fox
--"Disappears" by John Amen
--"Whores on the Hill: A Novel" by Colleen Curran
~Call for Submissions
~Featured Contests
~Professional Writing Courses
~The Last Word: Recommended Links for Writers
~Contact and Submission Information
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PRIVACY NOTICE!
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NOTE FROM THE EDITOR:
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Dear Readers,
Happy summer! I don't know about you all, but summer is my best time for writing and I'm always excited when it arrives. In this issue I hope you find plenty of information to help you meet your goals, whether that's becoming published for the first time or the fiftieth! Be sure to send any and all publishing-related news and contest win information to me at scribequill@adelphia.net so I can include your good news in our Virtual Quills section!
My apologies for the sporadic nature of the issues. A lot of unforeseen (and foreseen) events have taken place and I hope to make it up to you with future issues. I cannot offer anything more than to say that when it comes to work and family, I have to attend to those first as I do Scribe & Quill on a time-available, volunteer basis. I love this 'zine, but since last December especially, life has kept me on the edge.
With my first two solo books coming out in August and September respectively, I don't expect the time issue to get any better. Getting published in book form -- as a sole author -- is something I've waited for all my life, but I had no idea that writing the book was only the beginning. It's afterward that the real work begins! I've gotten schooled on many things, that's for sure! However, I'm delighted but realize that I can no longer do everything I was doing before. I will never give up Scribe & Quill, you can be sure of that! It's my baby and I care about all of you way too much. So while I'm fairly sure monthly won't be do-able with all of the changes and upcoming events, I am going to try my level best to at least put it out six times year -- or about every two months. Once things settle down –- whenever that is –- maybe I can once again shoot for monthly.
Half the battle is knowing what you can and cannot juggle at one time. I can't do it all, so I'm going to concentrate on my NEW blended family, the future wedding), writing, promoting my books and Scribe & Quill. That seems to be plenty for now! And I'm sure brides everywhere will attest that the wedding itself will offer its share of to-do lists. Everything else will be on a "we'll see" basis.
For those who asked, I travelled to visit
my mom in March and before I even got there to
From May 18 through the 21st, my publisher
flew me to
On June 1st my long-time friend, David Tellez (who was only 32), died from gastro-intestinal cancer. I'd tried to be there for his family as much as I could and, having been a widow myself the last five years, it was tough to be comforting his wife, who only years before, had done the same for me.
Into the mix of those things, my downstairs neighbor was raped at knife-point and that was the final straw for me in the crime-ridden neighbourhood I'd resided in for the past five years. Within 24 hours, the kids and I were moving all our stuff into a house with my fiancé. The thing is, it was a three-way move. His mom was moving out, so we had to help her with that and then we had to move his stuff out of his place and into our new home and then my stuff out of my apartment and into the house. Whew! A month later, we still have boxes upon boxes and stuff to put up. *sigh*
Oh yes -– I forgot to add I became engaged on March 31st during everything else! Needless to say, I've been running 'round like a chicken with its head cut off!
It's quite possible in the fall of this year onward I will be travelling quite a bit and the publishing schedule may have to be extended to every couple of months on a regular basis unless I can find guest editors to fill the spots.
Finally, congrats to Phyllis DeMarco (PDem859594@aol.com), who was randomly selected as the winner of the June contest. Phyllis won a free manuscript critique from USA Today Bestselling author Rebecca Forster (rebeccaforster@aol.com). Congrats to Phyllis and thanks to all who entered!
Until next issue, may your fingers burn up the keyboards as you create literary magic!
Bev Walton~Porter, Editor/Publisher
scribequill@adelphia.net
http://www.bevwaltonporter.com
***
Mindy Lawrence, Asst. Editor/Advertising Manager
mplcreative1@aol.com
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EDITOR AND WRITING COACH
As a writer of diverse genres, I've learned the value of an editor. As a teacher and writing coach, I respect diversity of style. From simple proofreading to coaching on re-writes, I'll nudge you toward your best work and help you become your own best editor.
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FEATURED INTERVIEW: Brad Schreiber
By Sonali T. Sikchi <mailto: bookrevieweditor@scribequill.com>
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[Scribe & Quill]: Brad, thank you for joining us here at Scribe & Quill. Have you always been interested in humor and humorous writing? When and where did you publish your first humorous piece?
Brad Schreiber: When I was in
[S&Q]: You've written for all kinds of media. Is it easier to write humor for one versus the other, say for example, print vs. radio, or screenplay vs. poem?
Brad S.: I feel fortunate that I have the
ability to write in all media. I think writing a good, funny, rhyming poem is
the hardest. Too many people use near-rhymes and their meter is sloppy. Unless the first line is, "A nasty old Serbian from
[S&Q]: Humor is such a subjective and personal notion. So, is there a set of cardinal rules that if violated will always produce a piece in poor taste?
Brad S.: Pieces featuring Jesus Christ hurting a young child while performing a sexual act are generally held in low esteem. The key is to understand who your audience is and how tolerant and open-minded it is. I suspect I have already offended someone. This proves I don't know who is reading this.
[S&Q]: Is it possible to write humorously about each and every topic, emotion and event? Or are certain things taboo for comedic adaptation?
Brad S.: You can find humor in all topics, I believe, if you have the talent. Some things are, as per above, generally considered distasteful and will appeal only to a lunatic fringe. Other topics, such as September 11th. are raw for a long time and need some distance, and a delicate approach, to elicit laughter.
[S&Q]: In your book "What Are You Laughing At?" you discuss 11 modes of comedic dialog. Would you say that all of these modes apply equally to a dialog in a thriller mass market book as well as a screenplay?
Brad S.: Assuming the thriller has comedic elements, yes. I emphasize with "What Are You Laughing At?" the notion that even the most dramatic material needs a little levity at the proper moment. The point of the book is not to teach people to be strictly humor writers. It is to teach them how to use humor in a tonally consistent way in any form of writing, regardless of how light or dark the material is overall.
[S&Q]: When developing a fictional character, dialog is used to reveal different personality traits. How do you reveal a character's humorous side while maintaining their unique voice?
Brad S.: That's why I delineated the 11 Modes of Comedic Dialogue. You can use one mode or a combination to create humor in what the characters says. Write me if you come up with a 12th mode. I've been wracking my brain to make it an even dozen and I can't.
[S&Q]: Even if a person's book is not necessarily a humorous piece of work, would the use of humor in the query letter be appropriate to capture an editor's attention?
Brad S.: I think using humor to catch the attention of the reader of a query letter is a good idea, in the opening of the letter, if it can be done gracefully. I never advise humor writers to try and impress the reader too much with humor in a query letter. It can backfire. And also, you should never write query letters in crayon.
[S&Q]: How would you advise writers new to comedic writing, assuming of course that they've read your book?
Brad S.: Read and view a great variety of material, even if it is not your style. Take risks in your writing. Work in more than one genre, to see where your strengths lie.
[S&Q]: You write for numerous publications and have published multiple books. In addition, you're a prolific scriptwriter, producer, actor, consultant, teacher and executive. How do you manage to get such an incredible amount of work done?
Brad S.: I never leave my house. No, actually I love the work and that increases productivity. I have a certain sense of organization, something I see lacking in many creative artists. Some of the work is seasonal. The Mona Schreiber Prize for Humorous Fiction and Nonfiction (details at www.brashcyber.com) is something I work on for a few months before the December 1 deadline. I watch less TV than I ever have. I don't go to parties much. I don't have any pets or kids. I don't work a lot with partners any more so I don't enter into arguments about what should go down on paper. I do a lot of things simultaneously and have the ability to keep them organized but I don't work on projects unless I really love them and think they have a good chance of success.
[S&Q]: In order to become the most productive writer you could be, what was the biggest obstacle you've had to overcome?
Brad S.: Fear of rejection and a refusal to follow up on submissions. Now, I sometimes ask people three or four times for a response, politely, but if that is what it takes, then that is what you must do.
[S&Q]: In terms of time management and career management, what are your top priorities? How do you organize your multi-tasked life to make the most efficient use of your time?
Brad S.: I do not work on spec any more, thankfully. I don't teach workshops for free any more. I don't work with writing partners any more. Some projects happen quickly and some take years to come to fruition. You need a sense of perspective and must carefully judge the people with whom you might eventually work.
[S&Q]: What would you say has been your proudest moment as a writer?
Brad S.: There are many such moments and
writers are well advised to see their careers as hard work with intermittent
moments of joy that must be remembered and savored. I
have had many great moments teaching and consulting. As for writing, last year,
I had a play reading I directed at the Fountain Theatre in
[S&Q]: Which book marketing strategies have you found to have had the most impact, in terms of generating word-of-mouth buzz and sales?
Brad S.: I have had great response from Radio and TV Interview Report and plan to make my next publisher use it. Even if I have to scream and kick my feet.
[S&Q]: Lastly, what are your future goals and aspirations for the various aspects of your career?
Brad S.: My book "Stop the Show,"
a collection of theatre anecdotes about everything that has ever gone wrong in
live theatre in the
[S&Q]: Brad, thank you so very much for making the time in your extremely busy life to share your thoughts and tips with the readers of Scribe & Quill.
Brad S.: Thanks. To the writers out there, demand time in your life for writing. It isn't being selfish. It's who you are. And watch less TV. Most of it is really hideous and mindless, anyway.
---
The Brad Schreiber Homepage
www.brashcyber.com
Storytech Literary Consulting
www.thewritersjourney.com
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FEATURED ARTICLE:
Seven Rules for Writing Historical Fiction
By Elizabeth Crook <http://www.elizabethcrookbooks.com>
Author of "The Night Journal: A Novel"
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We grow up being told to write what we know, but history is the unknown. You have to learn almost everything about a period and the social customs just to get your characters out of their beds, (or off of their skins,) and feed them breakfast.
Rule #1: Sweat the Small Stuff.
The authenticity of historical fiction depends on your knowledge and use of historical detail. It is not enough to say a character walked down the street. The reader has to be able to see the street, see the conveyances; he has to smell the smoke from the factories or the sewage in the gutter. If there are street vendors, he has to know what they're selling. This is a new world: the reader can't fathom it unless you give him images. These should be accurate and not recycled from old movies.
Here are two suggestions apart from the usual methods of research.
1. Find experts on the topics you need to
learn about. It's easier to track down someone who knows about sheep ranching
in the 1890's or the origins of the New York subway system, and to call them up
when you need to know about scabies or the early methods of blasting tunnels,
than it is to find, in documents or on the internet, the exact answer to every
question that comes up in the course of writing a book. If you're going to
write a scene involving a train wreck in 1891, get some books on train wrecks,
read enough to know what you're talking about, Google the authors and find out
where they work. Call them up and see if they'll talk to you. Latch on to the
friendly ones. "What about the couplers?" you can ask them, having
read enough to know that faulty couplers were a major factor in train wrecks.
"If this is 1891, what kind of couplers would we have?" I once needed
to know about Mormons in
2. If your story takes place after catalogs were in use, get hold of reprints of old catalogs. I have an 1895 Montgomery Ward Catalog that has descriptions of, and prices for, almost every personal item used by people of that time: hardware, books, stationery, toys, guns, toiletries, wallpaper, stoves, laundry equipment, harnesses and saddlery -- the list goes on and on. It represents the lifestyle of that decade.
Rule #2: Dump the Ballast.
In order to write authentic historical fiction you must know a period of time well enough to disappear daily through a wormhole to the past and arrive at the location of your story. There you must understand the customs and use the manners perfectly enough to be accepted by people walking the streets (if there are streets) and to dress yourself, and make a living. This said, the major trick of writing good historical fiction is not in compiling research or knowing the details, but in knowing the details to leave out. Try to avoid overwriting. Keep perspective on what will interest the reader. Historical fiction writers tend to be overly conscientious and excited by minutia: if you succumb to excess, and put in too much detail, then go back later and take some of it out. Think of your novel as a boat that is about to sink from having too much weight on board: some of the loved items will have to go. Toss them over with impunity! Throw them out! If a rare, surprising statistic, or a moving anecdote or an obscure reference you saw to an interesting thing that happened in the county adjacent to the one where your story takes place, does not advance your plot or provide your reader with important information about your characters, then it is irrelevant to your story and must go overboard.
Keep in mind that the care, and time, it took to assemble all that you have just thrown out has not been wasted. It was necessary to gather these facts and assess their worth in order to know which ones to save.
Rule # 3: Keep Your Conscience Clean.
If your characters are based on real people and you are using the names, be reasonably responsible to the originals. You are probably going to have to fill in a lot of gaps in the historical record: you may know from the record what a person did and when he did it, but not why. It's the "why" that defines his character. Ask yourself: Am I getting this right? Am I getting it close to right? Am I doing this person a disservice?
Rule #4: Resist Judging Your Characters.
We live in the 21st century with certain shared values: our society disapproves of prejudice and chauvinism and provincialism. But your characters are people of their own times; allow them to be bigoted or politically backwards. Don't pass judgment on them, don't apologize for their mistakes, and don't attempt to make them all into free thinkers who are ahead of their times. You have to be able to see the story from their perspective, even if it offends you. If you judge your characters, you will date your book. Years from now when your own moral sensibilities are antiquated, your book will be too.
Rule #5: Watch Out for First Person.
I put down three books recently because I was annoyed with the first person viewpoint, which came across as self-absorbed. Unless you're writing in the form of letters or journals, make sure any first-person character has a good reason to be telling his story. People tend not to like people who notice themselves too much or describe themselves or seem overly aware of how others perceive them. Anyone relating a story about himself -- what he said, what he was wearing, what inflection he had in his voice or what gesture he made as he spoke some pronouncement -- we dismiss as annoying and self-important. We feel the same about characters. There are many beautiful books written in first person, but know the challenge of this before you start out, and be sure to give a credible reason why your character needs to tell his story and why he deserves an audience.
Rule #6: Don't Get Bogged Down by Back-story.
It is easy to be overly dutiful and bore your readers with too much background information delivered too soon. There is no surer way to lose your reader than to answer every question before he wonders about it. Don't explain everything up front or set things up too thoroughly. Instead, let your story unfold dramatically. Clarity will emerge eventually. The trick is to delay telling back-story for as long as possible. You will find that most of it is never needed. It percolates up through the real story when the real story gets going.
Rule#7: Anticipate a Long Process.
Historical novels usually take several years to write, as they require research at every turn. You won't always be able to anticipate what you'll need to know for a scene, and will constantly have to be returning to your references. This is entirely different from writing contemporary fiction.
Take, for example, in my part of the world,
a trip from
But if your character takes this journey in
1906, you will have to learn a few things before starting him out, and learn
more things along the way. First of all, you need to know where the road is,
and what's on either side of it, and what kind of conveyance your character is
driving. If it's a flatbed wagon, what's pulling it -- a horse, a half-lame
mule, two mules? How often do mules need water? How much traffic will there be?
Any cars? What kind of food or luggage do you have
along? And what if a wheel breaks and you have to fix it, and you cut yourself
with a rusty tool -- how do you disinfect the cut? Do you even know about
disinfection? When did people figure out where tetanus came from? And --
assuming that you eventually make it to
But here is where the magic comes in: you
begin to think, "Wow. The discovery of
Writing historical fiction is like trying
to get to
Assume it is going to be a while before you arrive.
None of these rules, obviously, is iron-clad. I'm sure there is a brilliant counter-example somewhere for each and every one of them. I hope you find them useful. Good luck! Happy Travels!
God speed.
===
BIO:
===
Elizabeth Crook is the author of three
novels: "The Night Journal" (Viking; February 2006; 0-670-03477-0),
"Promised Lands" (Doubleday 1994) and "The Raven's Bride"
(Doubleday, 1991), and has been published in anthologies and in periodicals
such as Texas Monthly, Publisher's Weekly and the Southwestern
Historical Quarterly. Born in
For more information, please visit http://www.elizabethcrookbooks.com
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SCRIPTWRITING CENTRAL
Ten Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters
By Derek Rydall, Founder, ScriptwriterCentral.com
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Attention: Don't Miss the Free Writing Course At the End of this Article!
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How to Be a Successful Script Consultant
By Derek Rydall
Founder, ScriptwriterCentral.com
INTRODUCTION
How many times have you watched a movie or TV show and thought you could write it better -- or at least tell the writer (or filmmaker) how they could?
How would you like to have that conversation for real?
How would you like to make up to $100,000 doing it?
If you'll give me a few minutes, I'll show you how it's possible.
The field of professional screenplay consulting officially began back in the early eighties when Linda Seger, considered the mother of script consulting, developed a method for diagnosing and treating script problems. She started out charging $70 for a complete script evaluation, and within two years was able to turn it into a full-time business. (She now receives thousands for this service.) At the time, it was considered taboo to have a script consultant or script doctor on your project. No writer wanted to admit his script was ailing and needed a check-up from the text up. Nowadays, this attitude has reversed. In fact, it might even be considered irresponsible not to have a professional give you an objective evaluation of your script. It would be like knowing you have a potentially fatal disease and not seeking a medical opinion.
Linda Seger was one of the pioneers who paved the way. But since those first steps on the frontier, many more have followed. Today, script consulting has become a respected field, attracting talented and passionate people, from diverse backgrounds, who bring a variety of specialties. And it's only the beginning. The art and craft of story analysis is still in its infancy. While we already have great thinkers who have transformed the way we look at screenwriting (and storytelling in general), the greatest ideas, the ones that will take this art to new heights, have yet to be articulated.
If you're a writer, producer, executive or
director working in the entertainment industry –- or aspire to be one --
becoming a script consultant may not seem like such a leap. Besides the obvious
benefit of extra income, it will also enable you to grow your analytical and
writing skills, and strengthen your ability to recognize and develop great
scripts. But the exciting news is that you don't have to live or work in
As the field matures, more and more individuals from non-entertainment backgrounds are becoming consultants, bringing with them a whole new array of services to upgrade the quality of writing and the quality-of-life of the writer. Just as doctors can specialize in various body parts or health issues, script consultants (or Script Doctors) have also created their own specialties. There are consultants who specialize in everything from the mythological, psychological and spiritual aspects of story and character, to the criminal, legal and relationship-focused films. If you're a doctor, lawyer, teacher, police officer, politician, psychologist, minister, comedian, relationship coach, weapons expert, soldier or just about anything else, and you have a love of movies and an understanding of story, you could create a niche business consulting on films that fit your unique knowledge base.
For example, let's say you’re a history teacher with a passion for historical accuracy in films. Just add a solid understanding of screenwriting and VOILA! You're on your way to being a script consultant specializing in historical pieces. Get the picture? And if you're a retired professional, this offers a whole new way to use your life's worth of knowledge, and a whole new world of adventure.
So the big questions are, can you make six figures as a script consultant? And are there enough people out there in need of such services? Every year thousands of new screenplays, treatments and outlines are written by professional and aspiring writers. (The WGA reports that over 50,000 new screenplays are registered annually -– and what about all the ones that arent registered?) Thousands more are conceived of by professionals in other fields -- doctors, lawyers, mobsters with private dreams of making movies and dining with the Hollywood Elite. (A partnership I have with a neurosurgeon has led to some of my most exciting projects. And as an added bonus, if I develop a brain tumor from banging my head against the wall, I can barter my services for his.)
Add to this number the thousands of aspiring producers (with ideas they're sure will be blockbusters), and the truckloads of novels sitting in desk drawers (whose authors have dreams of seeing them adapted to celluloid) and you start to realize just how big a market there is. (Over 100,000 new books are published each year, and it's estimated that well over a million are written with hopes of seeing the inside of a Barnes & Noble. That's a lot of potential adaptations!) If that doesn't convince you of the immense opportunity out there, you can also throw in the thousands of scripts that circulate through talent agencies and production companies that need Readers Coverage, and are frequently outsourced to script consulta