Clichés to Avoid

What is a Cliché?

From the Dictionary
Cliché – A clever expression that has lost its freshness from overuse.

"A cliche is a literary feature that has been used so often that it has burned out and died." ~Jerome Stern

"Cliches are familiar phrases and expressions that have gotten a bad name because they have been overused by writers who were too lazy to think up new, original ways to express their thoughts. These same expressions, when used sparingly, can add humor to a piece of writing or can help a writer make a point succinctly and clear clearly."
~ Robin A. Cormier

Resources You Can Use to Clean Up Clichés

The Facts On File Dictionary of Cliches
The Meanings & Origins of More Than 3,500 Terms & Expressions
by Christine Ammer
Published: 2001 ISBN: 0816043566Dewey Number: 423.1

Cliché Cleaner
http://www.cliches.biz/clichecleaner/ccinfo.html

659 Cliches
http://www.gospelcom.net/guide/resources/frameforlinks.php?id=http://ppcl.chungnam.ac.kr/my/english/cliche-list.htm&referer=/guide/resources/idiom.php&des=Cliche

Editorial Changes

Info care of: Revolving Door at Media Bistro

August 31, 2005: Robyn Borok has been promoted to advertising director of Child magazine. She was the advertising director for Meredith Integrated Marketing
...AND...
Erin Quinlan has been named senior producer at Child.com. She had been with AOL CityGuide since May 8, 2004. (mb)

August 31, 2005: Claire Marin has been promoted to advertising director at More. She was previously eastern advertising director for the magazine.

August 30, 2005: Mark Cardwell has been named editorial director at ABC News.com. He had been executive producer of the digital group at Associated Press since October 1, 1995.

August 29, 2005: Jennifer Walton has been promoted to marketing director at Country Living. She was previously associate marketing director.
...AND...
Christine Rannazzisi-Gerstein has been promoted to associate publisher/marketing of Country Living. She was previously executive director/marketing for the magazine.

August 29, 2005: Kim Svoboda has been named K-12 education account manager at USA Today. She had been New England regional advertising manager at Harvard Magazine since May 20, 2002.

August 26, 2005: Suzanne Daley has been named national editor of The New York Times. She has been with the paper since 1978, most recently as the education editor.

August 26, 2005: Jeannie Kim has been named deputy features editor at Redbook. She was previously a freelancer.

Decrease in newsweekly sales at newsstands

Single copy sales of such as Time, Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report dropped 3.4% to 16.6%, raising questions of "how general-interest publications can hold on to their audiences in a 24-hour cable news and Internet environment while competing against increasingly popular entertainment, pop culture and specialized magazines." Source: usatoday.com

New Mag - Aiports of the World

Article by: By Kevin May

Key Publishing is launching a new magazine to add to its growing portfolio of business titles for the growing air travel market.
The launch of Airports of the World follows a trial edition of the magazine earlier in the year to test the market.

The bi-monthly title will have an initial print run of 65,000 copies, target airline and airport staff and will cover issues as wide as equipment, security and future development plans.

Key Publishing already produces a raft of air travel-related titles including FlyPast, Airline World, AirForces Monthly, Air Enthusiast, Air International and Today’s Pilot.

Adrian Cox, managing director of Key Publishing, said: “Following the phenomenal success of our Airports of the World One-Off Special Publication in early 2005 we listened to our readers and discovered a huge demand for a new magazine devoted to the airport scene.

“With the wealth of knowledge provided by our in-house editorial team and top class contributors, coupled with Key Publishing’s ability to access areas within airports not open to the general public, ‘airports of the world’ is sure to meet this demand.”

The air travel industry has grown massively in the past decade since the rise of the no-frills airlines and expansion of tourist routes to Asia.

The government has also pledged to build or expand a number of airports in the UK to cope with what will be an unprecedented increase in passenger levels in the next 15 years.

Organic Life: food magazine launches

The new magazine from the Guild of Master Craftsman will hit newsstands on October 21st. "Content will include organic issues covering the environment, trade, health, keeping fit, alternative therapies as well as food." Source: mediaweek.co.uk

Organic Life, a new magazine from the Guild of Master Craftsman hoping to seize on the trend for all things natural, will hit the newsstands on 21 October. The 128-page title will go up against the likes of Olive, Delicious and BBC Good Food magazines and will have an initial print run of around 65,000 copies per issue.

The launch by the GMC, which also publishes titles ranging from photography to DIY, comes as the organic market continues its rapid growth, worth an estimated £1.5bn a year in the UK.

The magazine will also cover organic issues away from the traditional area of food, such as clothing, health and beauty.

The publisher hopes to fill what it calls “the considerable gap” between the top three food titles in the sector, Asda, Somerfield and Sainsbury’s magazines, which have combined sales of around 4 million copies, and the rest of the market.

Content will include organic issues covering the environment, trade, health, keeping fit, alternative therapies as well as food.

The GMC is also expected to back the launch with a major marketing campaign in October, covering trade press, direct mail and a partnership during the National Apple Day.

Last week’s release of sales figures for the food sector during January to June 2005 saw Asda, Somerfield, Sainsbury’s, BBC Good Food and Waitrose all record an increase in circulation year-on-year.

The market leader, Asda magazine, sells around 2.6 million copies per issue.

WordSmith Writer - Referals

Starting September 1, and running through the end of the year, The Word Smith Writer (formerly WordSmith Shoppee) be holding an intensive Membership Drive. Membership is FREE. The goal is to reach 1,000 subscribers by December 31, 2005. How? When you subscribe to the Wordsmith Writer e-Zine, mention my name (Louise Bergmann DuMont) as the person who referred you. For every referral I get one "entry". The one who gets the most referrals wins a prize. IF I win, the prize (see below) it will be shared amongst those who subscribed.

The Grand Prize: A gift basket full of books and other goodies for writers. One of the books will be Sally Stuart's 2006 Christian Writers Market Guide. That alone is a $24.99 value. The total value of this Grand Prize is estimated to be somewhere in the $80.00 - $100.00 range.

This is a GREAT newsletter. As a member of The Word Smith Writer you get information about conferences, workshops, events, teleconferences, teleworkshops, writers markets, writing opportunities, industry news and so much more. ...AND ALL OF THIS IS FREE!!! It does not inundate you with hundreds of emails the way some writer's lists do. You get only one email each month. You can read your newletter via the email or you can go to the web to read it. Peg Pfifer, the editor of The Word Smith Writer, is a gifted writer in her own right and she is an amazing editor. Please consider subscribing to the wealth of information contained in this publication.

So what are you waiting for? Register for The Word Smith Writer TODAY and use my name as a referal.

To subscribe. send an email to Peg Phifer at: mcphifer@earthlink.net

For a free copy of this month's newsletter go to: http://wordsmithshoppe.com/news050822.htm

Repentent Leader

Dear Blog Friends

Those of you who check the NJCWG Blog know that I post often - usually 1 - 5 posts per day. AND, you probably noticed that I haven't posted for the last week (last post 8/23/05).

This has been a very busy week. My office moved me from one facility to an other and I was packing boxes and trying to work via laptop at the same time. This past weekend was also the last week that my pastor (Pastor Fox) would serve our church. He and and his dear wife, Shirley, retired as of last Sunday. I know that this is good and right for them both they will be sorely missed. I would not have missed all the events we scheduled to "send them off" but again, took up some time. I apologize for setting the blog aside but you can be sure that I'm back and will renew my efforts to post market information, publishing opportunities and writing helps on a regular basis.

I will also take some time to answer the various emails many of you sent me and if I should miss any, please don't hesitate to contact me again.

ESPECIALLY FOR THE NJCWG
DO continue to check the blog before coming to the NJCWG meetings. There is a slight possibility that I will have to cancel the September 12th meeting. For now it is still "on" but check the blog messages just "in case" it becomes necessary.

Louise Bergmann DuMont
njcwg.dumont@gmail.com
www.cafemochalight.blogspot.com

Using Conflict to Create Drama

Using Conflict to Create Drama
Presented by Louise Bergmann DuMont
At the NJCWG – 08/22/05

Q: Do I really need conflict? Can't my characters all just get along?
Without conflict there is no story. Life without conflict is not 'real.'

Q: I have lots of action in my novel but I was told that there isn't enough conflict. Aren't conflict and action the same thing?
New writers often mistake the two. Conflict is not action but conflict is the reason most action occurs. Meaningless action scenes are not enough to carry a story.

Imagine a scene where one car chases another up and down the narrow San Francisco streets … but you (the reader) have no idea why they are doing this or who is in the two cars. Do you care about the chase? Now imagine a scene where a young child has been kidnapped. The father sees the child being abducted and initiates a chase through the same streets. All through the chase he must balance keeping up with the evasive car in front of him, with the safety of pedestrians, the safety of other drivers on the road, and the safety of the car that holds the kidnappers (because his child inside that car).

An action scene has no point and holds no interest without the insertion of conflict.

Q: If conflict is not the same as action, what IS conflict?
Conflict is when two forces are in opposition to each other. These forces can be emotional, mental, physical, spiritual, sociological, or elemental

Q: I've heard of Internal Conflict and Personal Conflict, but what are they and are there other kinds of conflict?
There are many kinds of conflict and they can be called many things. Below are a few kinds of conflict that have been grouped for the sake of explanation:

INTERNAL CONFLICT
Conflict with oneself. Inner turmoil. Moral dilemmas. Overcoming trauma. Psychological problems. Internal Conflict is not with other characters, though it can affect other characters. Internal Conflict comes across best when the reader feels they are in the mind of the character. This is because the reader can visualize the situation and they feel as if it was occurring to them..

PERSONAL CONFLICT
This is about inter-personal relations - conflict between two or more individuals. It is often between the hero and his friends or the hero and his lover(s). It does not involve larger issues like peer pressure or the rules of society, but rather, the problems the characters have relating one to another.

SOCIAL CONFLICT
Note: this is the conflict of choice.
Social Conflict can be between a parent and a child, between a doctor and a patient, between a hero and society, etc. Social Conflict occurs when you are dealing with issues that are larger than one-on-one relationships. Stories that deal with concepts like authority, injustice, persecution and assimilation are in the domain of the Social Conflict.

ELEMENTAL CONFLICT
Elemental Conflict is between man and his environment. The hero deals with a non-personal, elemental force of nature. It could be anything from a long dormant volcano (now spewing lava) threatening a troop of hiking boy scouts to a pack of run-amuck butterflies overtaking a mid-western state.

Q: What is the nature of conflict? Isn't a story about the characters?
Conflict is impersonal but a story's characters should not be. For example, people understand the concept of war, but they don’t see what it has to do with them unless your main characters convey their feelings and situation to the reader. That is when it becomes tangible.

Your reader must "feel" something when they read a scene. Lets take that war story scenario. People may be dying on every page of your manuscript but the war will seem abstract to your reader. All that changes when the reader "sees" the war through the eyes of the main character. When they watch a child die in the arms of the hero (as seen through the eyes of his fiancée) the reader is touched. They fee the pain the woman feels, they see the remorse she sees in the eyes of her hero, and they share the conflict that occurs when the nurse's peaceful ideals and the hero's duty to his country collide. Conflict becomes real when our characters bring us into the story's world through their conflicts.

Conflict needs meaning to be powerful. So the issues of the conflict must be important to the characters. When the characters are emotionally involved, the reader is emotionally involved. This happens if (and only if) the reader cares about the characters. How does an author make the reader care? By using universal truths to touch the reader.

When you’re writing a story about personal and/or social conflicts, you’re really pitting the will of your characters against each other. And through that use of will, the reader learns who they are and what they’re made of. In an internal conflict, the character's will is pitted against his or her innate nature. They may have a fear of heights and yet they go to the 81st floor of a building for job interview that will allow them to feed their family after being out of work for more than a year. In this case, the character battles their own nature to do something for the greater good.

Lack of internal conflict limits a character’s dimension. Single minded individuals are only common in bad fiction -- not in life. If you are human, you have conflict. According to scientists, reason and emotion are completely intertwined. When someone suffers brain damage to the emotion centers of the brain, they lose the ability to make logical decisions. We learn by our mistakes. If we did not fear negative repercussions, we would have no reason to restrain or re-train ourselves.


Q: So how do I do this? How do I create "good" conflict? Conflict where the reader cares about the characters?
To write a good story you need to know your character's fears, their needs and desires. Discover their emotional hot buttons and use other characters to push those conflict buttons. Conflict does not necessarily mean a grumbling hero, a glowering child or a defiant teen. Real conflict meant taking the hero’s (or heroine’s) worst fear, twisting it around, and then throwing it back at them at the worst possible moment and saying, “Think fast!”

Make your characters face their flaws and fears. Toss out pages filled with quiet stay-at-home evenings, long candle lit dinners, shopping, and sweet kisses. Fill your pages their worst fears come true and how they over came those fears. Confront your characters with hard choices - make them chose between good and evil. And for the sake of your reader, have them mess up occasionally before they triumph over the "big bad."

Contest - Funds for Writers

FundsForWriters.com Fourth Annual Essay Contest. This year’s theme is "They Actually Paid Me to Write."

Deadline October 31.

You can enter the paid-entry category and be eligible for the $150 first prize. Or, choose the no-entry-fee contest for the $50 first prize.

No limit to the number of submissions.

Essays must be unpublished, original and in English.

Winners announced December 1, 2005.

See contest Web site, http://www.fundsforwriters.com/annualcontest.htm, for guidelines and details.

The Word Smith Writer

Starting September 1, and running through the end of the year, The Word Smith Writer (formerly WordSmith Shoppee) be holding an intensive Membership Drive. Membership is FREE. The goal is to reach 1,000 subscribers by December 31, 2005. How? When you subscribe to the Wordsmith Writer e-Zine, mention my name (Louise Bergmann DuMont) as the person who referred you. For every referral I get one "entry". The one who gets the most referrals wins a prize. IF I win, the prize (see below) it will be shared amongst those who subscribed.

The Grand Prize: A gift basket full of books and other goodies for writers. One of the books will be Sally Stuart's 2006 Christian Writers Market Guide. That alone is a $24.99 value. The total value of this Grand Prize is estimated to be somewhere in the $80.00 - $100.00 range.

This is a GREAT newsletter. As a member of The Word Smith Writer you get information about conferences, workshops, events, teleconferences, teleworkshops, writers markets, writing opportunities, industry news and so much more. ...AND ALL OF THIS IS FREE!!! It does not inundate you with hundreds of emails the way some writer's lists do. You get only one email each month. You can read your newletter via the email or you can go to the web to read it. Peg Pfifer, the editor of The Word Smith Writer, is a gifted writer in her own right and she is an amazing editor. Please consider subscribing to the wealth of information contained in this publication.

So what are you waiting for? Register for The Word Smith Writer TODAY and use my name as a referal.

To subscribe. send an email to Peg Phifer at: mcphifer@earthlink.net

For a free copy of this month's newsletter go to: http://wordsmithshoppe.com/news050822.htm

Industry News

LUCADO TITLE DEBUTS AT NO. 12 ON NYT LIST. God’s Mirror (Integrity Publishers) by Max Lucado landed at No. 12 on the New York Times Hardcover Advice Best-Sellers list for Aug. 14.
INTEGRITY PUBLISHERS SIGNS ZIG ZIGLAR. Best-selling author and motivational speaker Zig Ziglar has signed a three-book contract with Integrity Publishers. Better Than Good releases in 2006. Integrity plans a strong marketing and PR campaign plus a 10-city media tour, retailer promotions, and consumer advertising to drive traffic to Christian-retail stores.
WATERBROOK SLEEPER HIT ON NYT LIST. First-time novelist David Gregory’s Dinner With a Perfect Stranger (WaterBrook) hit No. 30 on the Aug. 14 expanded New York Times best-seller list online. The novella has gained media attention from USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and more.
TYNDALE PARTNERS WITH DAYSPRING. DaySpring Cards is partnering with Tyndale House Publishers to feature its New Living Translation (NLT) in DaySpring’s Whiskers & Paws card line available in retail stores and e-cards on their Web site.
NAOMI JUDD AUTHORS NEW BOOKS. J. Countryman will release country music star Naomi Judd’s The Transparent Life in November, and Tommy Nelson will release her children’s book, Gertie the Goldfish and the Christmas Surprise, in October.
QUILL AWARDS - NBC and Reed Business Information (the parent company of Publishers Weekly) will present The Quill Awards, a national people’s choice book awards show, on October 22. You can vote for your favorites in 19 categories including Book of the Year, Debut Author of the Year and Lifetime Achievement. Visit the award Web site, Quill Awards, or a Borders Book and Music store to cast your vote between Aug. 15 and Sept. 15.

Writing Op - Christian Singles Website

From Focus On the Family

Focus' College Web site Expands to Reach Young Christian Singles
Dear Friend,

If you or someone you know is in their 20s, you recognize that decade as a time of transition: Transition from college to career; from their parents' home to the one they're making for themselves; from adolescence into adulthood. It's a time of adventure and discovery. It's a time of questions: "What's God's call on my life? Where am I headed? What will my contribution be, and how will I leave my mark?"

For all the excitement, there's plenty of anxiety and some serious hurdles to clear. That's why there's Boundless.org.

Boundless.org is here to encourage them not to languish. We offer practical suggestions and principled advice for making the most of the single years, while encouraging them to embrace the responsibilities and rewards of marriage and family in the season to come. At Boundless, we believe in living intentionally, by bringing your gifts, talents and resources to bear on every part of your life.

In addition to publishing three new articles each week, we're adding an HTML E-newsletter that will include links to the new articles, as always, plus mini articles exclusive to the email. This is a great time to sign up for this free service if you haven't already, and to use the "forward" feature to invite your friends and family to join.

Boundless.org is unique in its commitment to the single adult for the "long haul" Its goal is to establish a lifelong relationship with readers, equipping them along the way -- from singleness into married life and parenting -- while chronicling the unique joys and challenges of eacch season. Boundless' connection to Focus on the Family, with its unparalleled resources and ministries, makes this possible.

Boundless.org features stories, columns and reviews from a Christian perspective. Contributors to Boundless.org are renowned journalists from around the globe. They include Dr. J. Budziszewski, professor at the University of Texas at Austin; Roberto Rivera y Carlo, a fellow at the Wilberforce Forum at Prison Fellowship and contributing editor to Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity; and Candice Watters, founding editor of Boundless and columnist for the popular "Beyond Buddies" series on dating and relationships.

We're here to help singles make sense of this season and enjoy the journey. For a fresh perspective on age-old questions about faith and friendship, dating and entertainment, career, calling and more, check us out at www.boundless.org

NJCWG - Next Meeting

For NJCWG Members
Next Meeting - Tonight
Monday, August 22, 2005
6:15-7:00 - Chat Time
7:00-8:00 - Lesson - A Writer's Use of "Conflict"
8:00-9:00 - Critiques

Good News!

Sara Horn, a freelance writer associated with A Greater Freedom Communications, will be featuring both of my books in an article about "easy reads" for women. It will be published in Home Life Magazine (published by LifeWay Christian Resources out of Nashville) in their February issue.

Whopee!

Louise Bergmann DuMont
www.cafemochalight.blogspot.com
Recent Releases:
Faith-Dipped Chocolate: Rich Encouragement to Sweeten Your Day
and Grace by the Cup: A Break From the Daily Grind.

Writing Op - Woman's World

WOMAN'S WORLD
Bauer Publishing Co.
270 Sylvan Ave.
Englewood Cliffs NJ 07632
Phone: (201)569-6699
Fax: (201)569-3584

Editor-in-Chief: Stephanie Saible.
Contact: Kahleen Fitzpatrick, senior editor or Johnene Granger, fiction editor
About WOMAN'S WORLD:
Magazine covering "human interest and service pieces of interest to family-oriented women across the nation. Woman's World is a women's service magazine. It offers a blend of fashion, food, parenting, beauty, and relationship features coupled with the true-life human interest stories."
Frequency: Weekly
"We publish short romances and mini-mysteries for all woman, ages 18-68."
Freelance Facts:

95% freelance written
Established: 1980
Circulation: 1,625,779
Pays on acceptance
Publishes manuscript 4 months after acceptance.
Rights purchased: First North American Serial rights for 6 months.
Submit seasonal material 4 months in advance
Accepts queries by: Mail
Responds in 6 weeks to queries.
Responds in 2 months to manuscripts.
Sample copy not available.
Writer's guidelines for #10 SASE

Nonfiction:
Dramatic personal women's stories and articles on self-improvement, medicine, and health topics. Please specify "Real-Life Story" on envelope. Features include Emergency (real-life drama); My Story; Medical Miracle; Triumph; Courage; My Guardian Angel; Happy Ending (queries to Kathy Fitzpatrick). Also service stories on parenting, marriage, and work (queries to Irene Daria).
Pays $500/1,000 words.
Does not pay the expenses of writers on assignment.

Fiction:
Short story, romance, and mainstream of 1,100 words and mini-mysteries of 1,000 words. "Each of our stories has a light romantic theme and can be written from either a masculine or feminine point of view. Women characters may be single, married, or divorced. Plots must be fast moving with vivid dialogue and action. The problems and dilemmas inherent in them should be contemporary and realistic, handled with warmth and feeling. The stories must have a positive resolution." Specify "Fiction" on envelope. Always enclose SASE. Responds in 4 months. No phone or fax queries. Pays $1,000 for romances on acceptance for North American serial rights for 6 months. "The 1,000 word mini-mysteries may feature either a `whodunnit' or `howdunnit' theme. The mystery may revolve around anything from a theft to murder. However, we are not interested in sordid or grotesque crimes. Emphasis should be on intricacies of plot rather than gratuitous violence. The story must include a resolution that clearly states the villain is getting his or her come-uppance." Submit complete mss. Specify "Mini-Mystery" on envelope. Enclose SASE. No phone queries.
Contact: Johnene Granger, fiction editor

Needs: Mystery, Romance (contemporary)
Does Not Want: Not interested in science fiction, fantasy, historical romance, or foreign locales. No explicit sex, graphic language, or seamy settings.

Submission method: Send complete manuscript
Length: Romances--1,100 words; mysteries--1,000 words.
Pays $1,000/romances; $500/mysteries

Tips: "The whole story should be sent when submitting fiction. Stories slanted for a particular holiday should be sent at least 6 months in advance."

Writing Op - Resource

RESOURCE
Nazarene Publishing House
6401 The Paseo
Kansas City MO 64131
Phone: (816)333-7000, ext. 2343
Fax: (816)363-7092
E-Mail: ssmith@nazarene.org
Editor: David Graves
Contact: Shirley Smith, managing editor

About RESOURCE:
Resource is a denominationally-produced quarterly magazine which contains information useful to Sunday School teachers and workers interested in extending their knowledge and skills to their particular aged-group ministry.

Freelance Facts:
95% freelance written
Established: 1976
Circulation: 30,000
Pays on publication
Publishes manuscript 9-12 months after acceptance.
Rights purchased: First rights, One-time rights, Second serial (reprint) rights, Simultaneous rights, All rights
Editorial lead time 9 months.
Submit seasonal material 9-12 months in advance
Accepts queries by: Mail, E-mail, Fax, Phone
Accepts simultaneous submissions
Accepts previously published submissions
Responds in 2-3 weeks to queries.
Sample copy free.
Writer's guidelines available via e-mail

Nonfiction:
Focus on an issue, skill, or concern central to a particular age-group ministry. Topics include: skill development, inspirational/motivational, spiritual formation, roles of a teach, building community and fellowship, evangelism, outreach, organizational tips, etc.
Pays 5¢/word for all rights; 3¢/word for first rights; and 2¢/word for reprint rights.

Writing Op - Southwest Airlines

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES SPIRIT
4333 Amon Carter Blvd.
Fort Worth TX 76155
Phone: (817)967-1803
Fax: (817)931-3015
E-Mail: editors@spiritmag.com
Website: www.spiritmag.com
Contact: Ross McCammon, editor

About SOUTHWEST AIRLINES SPIRIT:
Magazine for passengers on Southwest Airlines.
Frequency: Monthly
Established: 1992
Circulation: 380,000
Pays on acceptance
Byline given.
Rights purchased: First North American serial rights, Electronic rights
Responds in 1 month to queries.

Nonfiction:
"Seeking lively, accessible, entertaining, relevant, and trendy travel, business, lifestyle, sports, celebrity, food, tech-product stories on newsworthy/noteworthy topics in destinations served by Southwest Airlines; well-researched and reported; multiple source only. Experienced magazine professionals only."

Buys about 40 manuscripts/year.
Submission method: Query by mail only with published clips.
Length: 1,500 words (features).
Pays $1/word.
Pays the expenses of writers on assignment.

Columns & Departments:
Columns open to freelancers: Length: 800-900 words.
Buys about 21 columns/year.
Submission method: Query by mail only with published clips.

Fillers:
Buys 12 fillers/year.
Length: 250 words.
Pays: variable amount

Tips:
"Southwest Airlines Spirit magazine reaches more than 2.8 million readers every month aboard Southwest Airlines. Our median reader is a college-educated, 32- to 40-year-old traveler with a household income around $90,000. Writers must have proven magazine capabilities, a sense of fun, excellent reporting skills, a smart, hip style, and the ability to provide take-away value to the reader in sidebars, charts, and/or lists."

FYI - CBA??? or ICRS???

For Your Information
The Christian Booksellers Association Convention (CBA) is NOW being called the International Christian Retailers Show (ICRS).

If you give it a little thought, the reason for this change becomes clear. Christian bookstores are becoming less about books and more about Christian "stuff." Every Christmas I buy each of my boys a t-shirt with a Christian message. I buy tracts for our King's Kitchen program, I buy postcards for absent youth group teens, I regularly look for bookmarks, mugs or other gift items for family and friends. These items bring a much larger return to retailers than the sale of a book.
So... the booksellers association is now a retail show...

And we go with the flow...

A Reason to Write Conference

A Reason to Write
OCTOBER 8, 2005

Ringwood Baptist Church
30 Carletondale Road
Ringwood, NJ 07456

ONLY $30.00/person

Get your registration forms in!
Only SEVEN short weeks until the conference!
Don't be left out of this GREAT event.

Contact
Louise Bergmann DuMont
njcwg.dumont@gmail.com
for your brochure and registration form TODAY

Information online...
http://www.louisedumont.com/ARTW.html

Terry Whalen - The Writing Life Blog

Terry Whalen has a wonderful blog called The Writing Life. This is really worth checking out: http://terrywhalin.blogspot.com/

Terry has written more than 60 nonfiction books plus published in more than 50 magazines. He is the fiction acquisitions editor at Howard Publishing, and Terry encourages writers (beginners to pros) at Right-Writing.com. To help people pursue their own dreams of a published book, Terry has written Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets to Speed Your Success.

Press Release - FREE Teleseminar

Terry Whalen
Scottsdale, AZ

FREE Teleseminar Sponsored by Annie Jennings PR
Acquisitions Editors Tells All!

Discover The Secrets To Getting Published With Acquisitions Editor Terry Whalin, author of "Book Proposals That Sell: 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success!"

Wednesday, August 24th
1:00-2:00pm EST
(10:00 AM PT, 11:00 AM MT, 12N CT)
Sign Up At: http://www.anniejenningspr.com/terry-whalin.htm

All who sign up are offered a complimentary Annie Jennings PR publicity CD: How To Create A Media Friendly Book Packed With Segment Ideas & BUZZ

Teleseminar: Did you know that over 80% of all nonfiction titles sold are sold from a book proposal? A book proposal is essential to getting your book published yet, many authors have questions about how to create a book proposal that actually sells the book!

What Do Acquisitions Editor's Want? Terry Whalin Reveals EVERYTHING!

You get NOT one secret or two, or seven secrets, or ten . . . you get it all! 21 power-packed points of professional advice (called secrets) that can only come from and industry insider. Terry Whalin, buy books for a publishing house and knows about the proposals that sell! Terry shares winning secrets of an industry insider including how to:

** Cast a vision for your book
** Create a dynamic marketing plan
** Write a spellbinding sample chapter
** Get high profile endorsements
** Get more proposals out the door
** Avoid the mistakes that get you tossed OUT of the IN pile
** How to get the acquisitions editor's attention and lots more!

Don't miss this!

Please sign up at http://www.anniejenningspr.com/terry-whalin.htm

All who sign up are offered a complimentary publicity CD: How To Create A Media Friendly Book Packed With Segment Ideas & BUZZ!

About Terry Whalin: W. Terry Whalin knows and understands both sides of the editorial desk--as an editor and a writer. He is the Fiction Acquisitions Editor at Howard Publishing Company based in West Monroe, Louisiana. He worked as a magazine editor for Decision and In Other Words magazines. His magazine articles have appeared in more than 50 Christian and general market publications plus he's written more than 60 books. A journalism graduate from Indiana University, Terry writes a wide spectrum of subjects and topics for the magazine and book marketplace--from children to teen to adult.

*****

Contests - Writers Digest Magazine

~~~~~~~~~~~

Deadline: 11/1/2005
The Writer's Digest Short Short Story Competition
Show Us Your Shorts!

Writer's Digest is now accepting enties in the 6th Annual Short Short Story Competition. Win over $5,000 in cash and prizes. Click here for guidelines and an entry form.

Congratulations to the participants in the 5th Annual Writer's Digest Short Short Story Competition. Check out a complete list of winners. Winners appeared in the June 2005 issue of Writer's Digest.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Industry News - Bigger Type for Baby Boomers

Publishers offer bigger type for baby boomers

Nytimes.com has another article about the trend of some publishers issuing titles in larger type to accomodate baby boomers with failing eyesight.

"Faced with declining sales, two of the biggest publishers of mass-market titles, the Penguin Group and Simon & Schuster, have begun issuing new paperbacks by some of their most popular authors in a bigger size that allows larger type and more space between lines."

Poetry - Todays-Woman.Net

All Poetry - All The Time
http://www.todays-woman.net/

Contest - Essays - Lantern Books

Lantern Books 2005 Essay Competition
DeadlineSat, 12/31/2005
Categories - Nonfiction
Fees - None.
Prizes - $1000 first prize. $500 second prize. $250 third prize

Description - The aim of our essay competition is to allow new thinking to emerge on the key subjects of Lantern's publishing program and to encourage new voices to step forward to shape the debate of the future. Please read the rules and guidelines below.

Subject - We'd like essays to focus on the animal advocacy, vegetarian, or environmental movements.We encourage those wishing to enter to familiarize themselves with Lantern's core subject areas by exploring our website.Judges will be looking for originality of vision, knowledge of the subject, skill in presenting an argument, and literary merit.

Essays should be no longer than 1500 words.

Anyone of any age can submit an essay from anywhere in the world, but all essays should be in standard English.

Do not include your name, address, or other identifying information within the essay itself. This is to ensure that your essay will be judged anonymously. Essays should be submitted as an email attachment in rich text (.RTF) format or in Microsoft Word (.DOC) format and mailed to essay@lanternbooks.com.

Please include the following information within the body of the email:
Name
Address
Phone number
Email address

If you cannot email your essay, you may mail it double-spaced, double-sided to Lantern's address:
Lantern Books
Attn: Essay Competition
One Union Square West, Suite 201
New York, NY 10003

Include your name, mailing address, email, and phone number in a separate cover letter included with your essay.

Visit website for complete rules.
http://lanternbooks.com/essay.php

Contact Info
Olivia LanePublishing AssociateLantern Books
essay@lanternbooks.com
212 414 2275 x10

Website
http://www.lanternbooks.com/

A number of our NJCWG members still struggle with Show vs Tell issues. Dancing Word Writers is hosting an online workshop this Friday (8/19/05) at 9:00 p.m.

Online workshops offer a wonderful chance to interact with a variety of writers - those that are established in the writing industry and others who are just starting out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Below is a message from Anne McDonald,

Publisher/Editor,

Dancing Word Writers Network

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Lynn Coleman's "Show V. Tell" workshop has been rescheduled for this Friday beginning at 9 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Pacific in the Dancing Word Chat Room. Be sure to join us and bring your WIP (work in progress). We'll be working.

Lynn has donated a copy of her latest release FIGHTING FOR BREAD AND ROSES for a drawing during the workshop. To learn more about Lynn read her Author Spotlight at www.dancingword.net/aslynncoleman.htm and visit her website at www.lynncoleman.com.

To join Friday's chat, go to www.dancingword.net/chatroom.htm. This will take you to a new window. Once it has loaded, follow the directions to enter the chat room. If this is your first time to the chat, it is recommend that you do a practice run prior to the chat night.

Those wanting to use IRC or mIRC will need to go to: http://www.centralchat.net/help/mircdownload.php and download the free software. The regular IRC or mIRC will not work in the new chat room.

To enter the chat room with the new software type: /join #dancingword. If you have difficulties with the chat room, please contact me at dancingword@dancingword.net.

Blessings!

Annie
Anne McDonald
Publisher/Editor
Dancing Word Writers Network
www.dancingword.net

Writing Op - Family Circle Magazine

FAMILY CIRCLE MAGAZINE
Gruner & Jahr
375 Lexington Ave.
New York NY 10017-5514
Phone: (212)499-2000
Fax: (212)499-1987
Website: www.familycircle.com
Website: fcfeedback@familycircle.com
Executive Editor: Betty Wong.
Editor-in-Chief: SusanUngaro.
Magazine published every 3 weeks

"We are a national women's service magazine which covers many stages of a woman's life, along with her everyday concerns about social, family, and health issues. Submissions should focus on families with children ages 8-16."

Key To This Market: Break inwith "Women Who Make A Difference."
80% freelance written
Established: 1932
Circulation: 4,200,000

"We look for well-written, well-reported stories told through interesting anecdotes and insightful writing. We want well-researched service journalism on all subjects."

No fiction or poetry.
Buys 200 manuscripts/year.
Submission method: Query with SASE.
Length: 1,000–2,500 words.
Pays $1/word.
Submission method: Query with published clips andSASE.

NJCWG Sample Writing Booklet

The NJCWG is shaping up nicely. Here is a message from our Editor, Clare Cartagena.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

FROM CLARE
Thanks to everyone who submitted an entry for the Sample Booklet. It is now in the editing/formatting stage. If you still have not submitted but would like to, get a move on it. Entries need to be in by 8/24. After that you will incur a stiff penalty. It's called "disappointment" when your name and writing does not appear in the official NJCWG Sample Book.

Also IMPORTANT --- All writer's need to submit a 60 word bio; a little blurb about yourself. If you need suggestions I can forward some examples your way. E-mail me at Writ10wrd@aol.com

Worst Writing Advice

My area of expertise -- Chocolate & Coffee
White Chocolate-Coffee Ice Cream Affogato
Recipe at:
http://www.dianasdesserts.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipes.recipeListing/filter/dianas/recipeID/2220/Recipe.cfm

WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW... or NOT...
A number of writers recently began discussing advice we'd been given when we began our career's. After a bit of thought I decided that the worst advice I was given is, "Only write what you know." At first this sounds like it makes sense. After all, how can someone write what they don't know? They can't... but here is the catch -- they can LISTEN to experts on a wide range of subjects, LEARN about things outside of their current interests, and GROW beyond boundaries they set for themselves in the past.

HOW TO WRITE WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW
Find a subject that you've always wanted to know more about, then Listen, Learn and Grow.

Tap into expert knowledge. Listen carefully to the expert's ranting and read items written on the subject you've chosen. Reinforce your writing with quotes from those who know more than you do about the subject and who are acknowledged as experts in their field. Learn from them. Summarize their theory, compile their facts and grow your story from what you've learned. You don't have to be the expert -- you simply need to find others who are.

WINNERS ALL AROUND
The Expert -- Many experts are not writers. They are grateful for your area expertise (writing) and your ability to help them share the knowledge they've gathered.
The Reader -- Readers get the benefit of your writing ability and the knowledge of numerous experts you've interviewed and researched.
The Author -- The author (you) gets clips, credit and compensation for their labor.

Now get out there and write your next article on something you don't know... yet!

Louise Bergmann DuMont
www.cafemochalight.blogspot.com

Quotable Quote

A chinchilla owned by M. F. Chapman,
the first man to domestica the animals

"What do you suppose it means when your manuscript comes back to you like a well-hurled boomerang? It doesn't mean you're a brain-damaged churl who couldn't write your name in the dirt with a stick. It doesn't mean your story stinks on ice. It doesn't mean you should forget about writing and pay more attention to those ads promising high profits raising chinchillas in your bathtub.

All it means is that a particular editor didn't want to buy a particular story on a particular day."

-- Lawrence Block, from his book -- Telling Lies for Fun & Profit

Top 100 Paying Markets - Writer's Digest

For two free issues of Writer's Digest, go to:
https://secure.palmcoastd.com/pcd/document?ikey=0768PIW01


Here is the link to the top 100 Paying Markets as listed by Writer's Digest Magazine.
http://www.writersdigest.com/topics/wdtop100_listing04.asp

A Reason to Write Conference

A REASON TO WRITE -- CONFERENCE UPDATE
GENERAL INFO
Things are moving along in regard to our October 8, 2005 - A Reason To Write Conference. For those of you who get the Suburban Trends, you may have noticed that Sunday's Trends (8/14/05) carried a 1/4 page article on our upcoming conference. This was in response to a press release I sent to various newspapers. A number of requests for brochures came to me shortly after the article appeared. A PRWeb press release went out today - nationwide.

TEACHING STAFF
We had one little glitch in our teaching roster. The bad news is that Dr. Valeria Lovelace will not be able to teach the children's writing sessions. The good news is that God already knew about this bump in the road and prepared a substitute before I needed one. The day before I got the news that Valeria could not teach, Kathryn Mackel contacted me asking to teach additional sessions at our conference. Her skills as a suspense novelist are what I originally coveted but she is also an award winning children's author. Those who signed up for our conference expecting sessions on writing for children will not be disappointed. For more info regarding Kathryn Mackel and her books you can go to: http://kathrynmackel.com/

I've revised the brochure for future mailings and have updated the website. Please continue to send prospective attendees to the website or have them email me for a brochure and registration form -- http://www.louisedumont.com/ARTW.html

DOOR PRIZES / GIVE-AWAYS
I sent out a few emails to writer friends last week and was blessed by numerous responses (Brandilyn Collins, Carmen Leal & Bryan Davis to name a few). We'll have a ton of autographed books, CD's and chachkas to give away as door prizes and a few members of our teaching staff will bring books for a signing as well. This should add to the excitement and fun.

JUST A REMINDER ABOUT MAY 13, 2006
I just want to remind you all even though we are gearing up for the October 8 conference, I haven't forgotten about our May 13, 2006 conference with Cecil Murphey. There will be a flier in our October conference packet that lets all our October attendees know about that conference too. Keep that date open. You won't want to miss sitting under Cec's teaching.

FOR NJCWG MEMBERS ONLY
On Friday, October 7 (the evening before the conference) I will need a crew of workers to help me set up conference tables & chairs and a number of other members to stuff conference registration packets. Please contact me as soon as possible to let me know if you can help with this (spouses, teenage children or friends willing to help are also welcome). We will meet at the church at 6:00 p.m. (I'll order a few pizza's) and I hope to be done no later than 9:00 p.m.
EMAIL ME AT: njcwg.dumont@gmail.com

Writing Op - Christian Journal

CHRISTIAN JOURNAL
Free, monthly newspaper covering Christian support/encouragement.
801 S. Riverside
Medford OR 97501
Chad McComas, editor
Phone: (541)773-4004
Fax: (541)773-9917
E-Mail: info@thechristianjournal.org
Website: http://www.thechristianjournal.org/

"It is the purpose of the Christian Journal to encourage the reader with Christian support articles--personal experiences, stories about ministry, hope in God, poetry, uplifting short pieces, etc."

Established: 1998
Circulation: 15,000
80% freelance written on a one-time basis.
Byline given.
Editorial lead time 1-2 months.

Accepts queries by: Mail, E-mail (info@thechristianjournal.org), Fax, Phone
Accepts simultaneous submissions
Accepts previously published submissions
Responds in 2 weeks to queries. Responds in 1-2 months to manuscripts.
Sample copy for 9x12 envelope and 3 first-class stamps. Writer's guidelines available at website.

Wanted Articles: Book excerpts, Exposé, General Interest, Historical/Nostalgic, How-To, Humor, Inspirational, Interview/Profile, Opinion, Personal Experience, Religious (fiction and nonfiction)
Does Not Want: theological controversy.

Query or send complete ms.
Length: 400–900 words.
Does not pay the expenses of writers on assignment.
Columns open to freelancers: Health; Senior Views; both 600-800 words.
Buys one-time rights. Offers no payment for photos.

TIP: Be willing to have your work edited and used to touch readers.

Marketing an Authorless Book??

The challenge of marketing the anonymous book
News.yahoo.com has an article about the difficulties of marketing a book by an anonymous author. "With luck and the right story, an anonymously written book can seem like a secret everyone is dying to learn, a book that sells itself. Otherwise, the publisher has to depend on the slow, uncertain process of reviews and word of mouth."

Cec Times Three!

In the near future you will have THREE opportunities to sit under Cecil "Cec" Murphey's teaching!

Cec will be in Yorktown, VA for a one-day workshop November 5, 2005 entitled from From Title to Publication: Everything You Wanted to Know about Writing a Book. For flier that will give you information you can email your postal address to Yvonne at: yvonne@whro.net .

Cec will return to Yorktown, VA March 15-18, 2006 for another Intensive Mentoring Clinic. (Start saving your money now). Again, you can get more information about this by sending your postal address to Yvonne at: yvonne@whro.net .

Finally, Cec will be in Ringwood, NJ, May 13, 2006. I haven't discuess the topic of his Ringwood one-day workshop yet, but I am considering running the From Title to Publication: Everything You Wanted to Know about Writing a Book

Newspaper Job

Editorial North Jersey Community Newspapers seeks freelance reporters to cover municipal and school board meeting and write features. Proven journalism and AP style preferred. Send resumes and clips to: Trudy Walz at walz@northjersey.com or mail to 41 Oak Street, Ridgewood, NJ 07450-3805. No phone calls please.

New Mag Launch - Living 101

Living 101: test issue of Generation Y magazine launches
Sunset Publishing is launching Living 101, which targets consumers in their twenties. "Designed for Generation Y readers, which represent the biggest demographic in the United States since the Baby Boomers, Living 101 will address issues such as living on one's own for the first time, finding a job, and finding a mate." If the trial issue is successful, the company says it will consider a regular publishing run. Source: publications.mediapost.com

250 FREE Quality Business Cards

Vista Print (the place where I buy my business cards and the NJCWG business cards) is, for a limited time, offering you 250 FREE business cards - you only pay shipping and handling. If you plan to write for publication you MUST have a business card.

Go to their website and click on the offer that you see on the left.

http://www.vistaprint.com/vp/ns/bcfree.aspx?GP=8%2F10%2F2005+8%3A41%3A17+AM

Writing Op - WomenSpeak

Here is another writing op that recently came across my desk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ms. DuMont

My name is Antionette Johnson. I am currently looking for inspirational women writers to submit their short story for the upcoming series entitled: Leaps of Faith, Out of the Heart Women Speak. Please visit our website at http://www.womenspeak.net/. Could you pass the word about this site to other writers in the group? For further information please contact me:
usersaj@adelphia.net
Thanks,
Antionette Johnson

EXCELLENT Writing Op - ThyStaff

I recently received the following message from the Editor of ThyStaff. This is not currently a paying market but may become one in a short time. I've emailed Mitch Allen and asked that he send a subscription to our group so you will have sample copies to work from. I encourage you to check this out. I am going to submit something for their review shortly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Louise,

My name is Mitch Allen and I serve as editor of ThyStaff, the automatic devotional newsletter. Actually, ThyStaff is a new type of communications tool available to the leaders of Christian organizations. It is just cleverly disguised as a newsletter! I invite you to learn more about our newsletter at www.thystaff.com .

LORD willing, ThyStaff will launch on October 1, 2005. We are so excited about this! I am anxious to see your members included in this project. It is vital to the success of this project that we receive your contributions on a steady basis. We have already made contact with writers from Kuwait, Africa, England, India as well as all over the United States. I'm going to get a world map just to show my sons the locations of our contributors!

Here are the writer's guidelines your members will need. Look them over and drop me a note with any questions or suggestions you may have.

Please, send your submissions as quickly as possible so we can review them by August 22. This will allow adequate time to assemble the newsletters in advance of the launch date. Again, we will need material on an ongoing basis after that date as well.

Compensation: First, your members will be given a byline at the end of their article when it is published. Additionally, we will send a short bio and contact information for each writer to our subscribing organizations. Finally, if one of your members submission's is used, they will receive a credit for a three month subscription to our newsletter service (valued at about $75.00!). They may donate this to their church, civic organization, favorite missionary or use it themselves to keep in contact with their supporters! By the way, your local Christian writer's group is eligible to receive ThyStaff for FREE. (Please, e-mail me now to sign up!)

Our goal is to begin cash payments for submissions by the end of this year, LORD willing. This will be based upon how quickly we enroll subscribers, so be sure put in a good word for us with any churches or groups who could use this exciting new service!

Guidelines: Our format will accommodate articles up to 350 words in length. Larger articles will typically be devotionals. The smaller articles will usually be more informational, educational or entertaining in nature. Consider the following suggestions for smaller articles:

World prayer alerts
World Christian news briefs
Family life tips
Poetry
Holiday histories
Greek for dummies
Church history
Recipes
Health tips
Bible trivia
Movie reviews
Websites of interest
Church leader bios
Famous Christians
Excerpts from old books in public domain
How to work with youth, children, seniors, singles or students
Book reviews
Magazine reviews
Conferences
Bible book synopsis (Book at a glance)
Layman's lexicon (Dummy's dictionary of Biblical/Christian terms)
Cult watch
Jokes
Puzzlers

The devotionals will be Youth/Adult oriented. Perhaps your members can share one of their own experiences that reinforce biblical concepts. We don't want them to just overlay a scripture onto a "neat story". People identify with the struggles of others. Please have them include the scripture text and which translation or paraphrase they are using. They should give a call to action so the reader can grow from their experience.

ThyStaff is not a forum for discussing theological differences. We invite submissions from the world-wide body of Christ and obviously do not expect uniformity. We do, however, expect agreement with the statement of beliefs found in the FAQ section of thystaff.com. Our Writers Agreement asks authors to affirm these core beliefs. We also ask that a pastor or staff member confirm the author's membership in a local New Testament church. Our subscribers expect us to provide solid Protestant Christian content, not Mormonism, Buddhism, etc.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Submission Process:

• Visit www.thystaff.com and register as a writer
• ThyStaff will send an e-mail confirming your registration and will provide a form to submit for our records.
• Print out and complete the short form. Please note this form has the Church Membership Confirmation section at the bottom.
• Mail the original back to ThyStaff at the address provided. This is a one-time procedure.
• Submit your article to ThyStaff by e-mail. These should be pasted it into the body of the email. No attachments.
• ThyStaff will review the submission. They do minor editing for length, spelling and clarity and the article will be emailed back to you with the changes (if any).
• Edited submissions should be reviewed by you. This will give you the opportunity to accept or reject the edits.
• If you accept the changes, you send in the copyright release for the article.
• If you reject the changes, send us the rejection.
• When ThyStaff receives the release, they publish .

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Copyrights: ThyStaff asks only for a one-time release of the writer's copyright. This release will cover the initial electronic publication as well as permission for our subscribers to reprint the writer's article in it's entirety in their hard-copy newsletter. This reprint permission is only for the 30 days following the electronic publication. The writer must own the rights to the article, of course, in order to submit it for publication. We welcome items previously published if the writer still retains the copyrights.

The writer must send us the following completed form before we can publish their article. They can send it now, or after we notify them that we intend to publish their article. They should print and fill it out, sign it and have it verified by the Pastor or staff member from their church. Again, the Writer's Agreement with ThyStaff only needs to be sent one time.

Thanks again for your help! ThyStaff has the potential to bless so many people. Thank you for being a part of this adventure!

God bless you and your efforts,
Mitch Allen
Editor, ThyStaff

A Reason To Write Conference

Publicity is stepping up for the NJCWG - A Reason to Write Conference - October 8, 2005. Press releases went out and brochures are in the mail. If you are a NJCWG member, you are still required to fill out a registration form to attend. If you need additional brochures for your church, other writing groups, libraries or organizations, please contact me and I'll get these to you ASAP.

I need your help to get the word out about this conference. PLEASE help me by placing brochures in the hands of those who might want to attend. Your help will be greatly appreciated.

Here is the webpage that will take you directly to the conference info. Please note that the online registration form does NOT work at this time.

http://www.louisedumont.com/ARTW.html

Louise Bergmann DuMont
njcwg.dumont@gmail.com

Sample Writing Booklet

MESSAGE FOR NJCWG MEMBERS

The NJCWG Sample Writing booklet is coming along nicely. We have a number of good submissions but we are willing to look at a few more. Contact me or Clare Cartagena if you have something to offer.

Louise Bergmann DuMont
njcwg.dumont@gmail.com

Tantalizing Sentences

Tantalizing Sentences, Tempting Paragraphs
Presented by Louise Bergmann DuMont

At the NJCWG – 08/08/05

When you gather tantalizing sentences they soon create tempting paragraphs. These will quickly lift your writing above other manuscripts and you'll soar toward publication

ADD A TOUCH OF THE UNUSUAL
Carefully research and study your subject matter. Know what you want to say and how you are going to say it. The essence of writing an interesting article is simplicity… but to make your writing stand out, you must add a touch of the unusual. The more you know about your subject, the more likely you will be able to interject something that the reader does not already know.

WORDS THAT FLOW, SMOOTH SENTENCES
Examine your sentences and paragraphs to ensure that the words flow smoothly. A paragraph should deal with ONE (and ONLY one) idea. This idea is developed through sentences that logically advance the point you are trying to make. Each sentence should add meaning or develop the story (plot). Check, recheck and then check again for logic.

A new author's brain fairly bursts with plot twists and character information. If the author does not pass this information on to the reader in a logical fashion, the reader doesn't "get" the words. Imagine a river filled with small smooth stones. The water gently ripples over the stones but continues forward without much trouble. Whirlpools are like breaches of information. They spin the reader around and around while he tries to find a way to move on. Dams are like too much information. They stall the reader as maneuvers around the mass to get through the story.

Logical, linear sentences that vary in length but provide the appropriate information are like a babbling brook. There is a flow that is almost musical in quality.

ACTIVE LANGUAGE "POPS"
Passive writing is boring to read. Active verbs and strong nouns create friction and energy. They are the difference between a flat, warm cola on a hot day, and freshly opened bottle of sparkling champagne on New Year's Eve. Read good contemporary literature and it will "pop" with active voice.

WRITE USING YOUR OWN VOICE
If you haven't yet found your own voice, don't fret. The more you write, the more you'll realize what works and what doesn't. Practice writing the way some of the better contemporary writers do. You'll find you can not mimic some, but the voice of others will come easily. Concentrate on the "sound" of the words. Are you a forthright person - the first to arrive at every party? Or do you amble into a room fashionably late, waiting to see who else arrived first? Know your style, your writing will likely follow similar patterns.

VARY THE LENGTH OF YOUR SENTENCES
The length of a sentence can create drama, provoke tension or evoke mood. As a rule, sentences within a paragraph should vary. This helps to hold the reader's attention by allowing the reader to breathe, think and even ponder the thoughts you are presenting

Example (From Ursula Le Guin's The Earthsea Trilogy:
The boat rounded a short promontory, and he saw on the shore what he took for a moment to be a ruined fortress. It was a dragon. One black wing was bent under it and other stretched out vast across the sand and into the water, so that the come and go of the waves moved it a little to and fro in a mockery of flight. The long snake-body lay full length on the rock and sand. One foreleg was missing, the armor and flesh were torn from the great arch of the ribs and the belly was torn open, so that the sand for yards about was blackened with the poisoned dragon-blood. Yet the creature still lived. So great a life is in the dragons that only an equal power of wizardry can kill them swiftly. The green-gold eyes were open, and as the boat sailed by, the lean huge head moved a little, and with a rattling hiss, steam mixed with bloody spray shot from the nostrils

Writing Nonfiction For Children

Mary Ann L. Diorio, PhD
Mary Ann L. Diorio, Ph.D. (a Central New Jersey author) wrote an excellent article entitled Researching Your Nonfiction Articles for Children. It is currently posted on The Spririt Led Writer's website: http://spiritledwriter.com/aug2005/research.htm

Meeting - Monday

The next meeting of the NJCWG

Monday, August 8
6:15-7:00 - Chat Time
7:00-8:00 - Lesson
8:00-9:00 - Critques

As always, looking forward to seeing you!

Louise Bergmann DuMont
Facilitator, NJCWG

Great Quote

Although these weren't specifically written about writing, many certainly apply to our field of endeavor.

`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`

Top 10 Creative Rules of Thumb by Charles "Chic" Thompson
1. The best way to get great ideas is to get lots of ideas and throw the bad ones away.
2. Create ideas that are 15 minutes ahead of their time...not light years ahead.
3. Always look for a second right answer.
4. If at first you don't succeed, take a break.
5. Write down your ideas before you forget them.
6. If everyone says you are wrong, you're one step ahead. If everyone laughs at you, you're two steps ahead.
7. The answer to your problem "pre-exists." You need to ask the right question to reveal the answer.
8. When you ask a dumb question, you get a smart answer.
9. Never solve a problem from its original perspective. 10. Visualize your problem as solved before solving it."

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Charles "Chic" Thompason - BIO

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Chic Thompson is an internationally renowned speaker and author on creativity. He has worked extensively for many U.S. and foreign corporations, including UTC, McGraw-Hill, Accenture, and the Young Presidents’ Organization. He has also worked with such U.S. government agencies as the CIA, the FBI, and NASA, and has helped schools develop stronger creative thinking skills. Thompson is the author of What a Great Idea! (HarperCollins, 1992) and Yes, But…: The Top 40 Killer Phrases and How You Can Fight Them (HarperCollins, 1994).

Passive to the Extreme

Today I heard what, IMHO, was the ultimate expression of passive-speak. Sentence after passive sentence was uttered by a well educated man on a radio program intended for an educated audience.

The program began like this, "For ... there were negative repercussions due to the simultaneity of the actions of John Smith and John Smith's group." Why couldn't he simply say, "John Smith and his group's actions resulted in negative repercussions for..."?

To anyone who heard the rest of the story the reason was obvious. The speaker wanted to take the blame OFF John Smith and his colleagues, and he wanted to place the blame as far from the true object of the sentence (John Smith) as possible. If he could have sent the blame out to outer space, I believe he would have. Although the speaker used passive voice correctly in this instance, I don't think the intelligent listening audience was the least bit fooled by the technique.

Louise Bergmann DuMont
Facilitator of the NJCWG
http://www.cafemochalight.blogspot.com/

URGENT NEED - Music & Teen Book Reviews

Jars of Clay

I am starting a parents' newsletter as a way to connect with the parents of our jr and sr high teens. It will be called: T 'n T - Dynamite News for Parenting Tweeners and Teens. I am volunteering my time and talents so I can't pay you a dime, but if you contribute you'll get a byline.

I need some music and book reviews as follows...

MUSIC
Needed now: A review of a CD offered by Jars of Clay, tobyMac or Tait.
Future reviews: Zoegirl, Superchic, Kutless, Switchfoot, Others (?)

BOOKS
Needed now: A review of a good parenting book for parents of pre-teens (tweeners). Prefer Christian authors, but not beat-them-over-the-head-with-the-gospel kinds.
Future reviews: YA novels or good adult fiction for teens.
Future reviews: Christian adult fiction and non-fiction for parents of teens.
Future reviews: Reviews of good parenting magazines, music, websites, blogs, or other resources.

Contact me with the name of book/CD and author/artist that you want to review. Reviews should be approximately 300-400 wrds. Positive reviews only. I'll print one of each per quarter (total eight per year). Author retains all rights to their work (you can sell it for money somewhere else because this isn't considered a big enough venue to matter). Most recent releases will be given precedence.

ARTICLES
I will also consider short articles (300-500 words) about parenting teens and keeping your sanity while parenting tweeners and teens. Humor is especially good but factual articles will also be consdered. Want lots of anecdotes, show (no tell), and fun stuff. No fiction (raising a teen is hard enough without throwing more unreal things into the mix).

Contact me with the name of book/CD and author/artist that you want to review. Reviews should be approximately 300-400 wrds. Positive reviews only. I'll be printing one per quarter. Author retains all rights. More current releases given precedence.

SHORTS/FILLERS
Need a few 50-100 word fillers or how-to's. Keep it light and positive.

CONTACT INFO
Publication - T 'n T: Dynamite News for Parenting Tweeners and Teens
Editor: Louise Bergmann DuMont
Email: njcwg.dumont@gmail.com