By Lynn Obermoeller | July 1st, 2009
Eliot - A Writers' Blog
Photo Courtesy of Lynn Obermoeller
Copyright ©2009 Lynn Obermoeller. All Rights Reserved.
Slide Rock State Park
Sedona, AZ
By Lynn Obermoeller
Originally an apple farm, Slide Rock State Park took me by surprise when I first walked its trails. When I came to the edge and looked down and saw this beautiful flowing water going down these smooth reddish rocks, I then understood where the park received its name. Prior to the hitting the trail, I saw the “swimming area” sign, but since we were there in November, it was hardly swimming weather. When we finally made our way to the swimming area, we witnessed a young man jump into the icy cold water. He popped out of the water as quickly as he jumped in, hollering “Whoa that’s cold!” I could see where this would be the spot to come in the heat of the summer. I was glad to visit with fewer people around as I soaked in the beauty of nature without all the chaos of people swimming. You can learn more about the park, its history or for more info visit the website at: http://www.pr.state.az.us/Parks/SLRO/index.html if you plan to take a trip yourself. I’d recommend viewing this beautiful sight.
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Our Selection
Night Kills
by John Lutz
Frank Quinn is sure he is hunting for a madman: someone who is shooting young women in the heart, defiling their bodies, leaving only the torsos to be found. Quinn, a former NYPD detective, is called into the case by an ambitious chief of police and mobilizes his team of brilliant law-enforcement misfits. But in the concrete canyons of New York, this shocking serial murder case is turning into something very different.
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Pub. Date: October 2008
ISBN-13: 9780786018444
400pp
Our Member of Distinction*
Small One’s Adventure
by Doris Mueller
When her eagerness to be one of the big elephants gets her in trouble at the watering hole, Small One discovers some nice things about still being young.
Publisher: All about Kids Publishing
Pub. Date: June 2003
ISBN-13: 9780971027817
Age Range: 5 to 10
26pp
*Members of Distinction have contributed in time and effort to the organization
Popularity: 1% [?]
All I can do is laugh. After several weeks on a project at my “bill paying job” that had kept me from writing my blogs, short stories, or working on my novels, I finally was able to take a week off. I knew I would not be able to write the first few days I had off due to family commitments (It was the anniversary of my father’s death.) and the need to decompress after a successful self-defense presentation I gave to the St. Louis Writers Guild. Little did I know that the Fates were going to give me an extended vacation.
The first day I had to write, I went to my normal “not so secret” writing spot. I sat down, plugged my laptop in and ordered a coffee and breakfast. I come back and the computer is not reading the power cord. This is not new. I have had this happen to this laptop once before and to a previous laptop. I had to send it in to the manufacturer the last time, as it was still under warranty. But sometimes when you play with the cord, it will move the power jack into the right place—and I have to admit, I was delaying having it serviced to save up some money for the expense.
Fate had a different idea. This time, my laptop would not accept it. This was not the best timing as I had some poems that were to be submitted into a poetry contest whose deadline was the following Monday. Unhappy with fate, I took my laptop in to a repair service that has been recommended by members of the St. Louis Writers Guild. The repair service confirmed what I knew…it was the power jack. (Why can’t it ever be the power cord? Those are much cheaper.)
The informed me that it would be about 7 business days before I would have my laptop back. However, they did have a service to pull off the documents I needed. On top of this, a friend of mine offered me the use of her spare laptop! I was not out of hope!
I had the repair service pull the documents onto a flash drive. I thought that this would have been a simple “show up and wait” like with a car repair. I was wrong. They had the unit that would do it tied up on another project, so it became a drop off and come back. They called me when it was ready and I promised I would be there before they closed. I was—by 30 minutes, after fighting St. Louis rush hour traffic. However, it turned out that the employee became ill and closed early. So I picked it up the next day.
The night the shop closed early, I met up with my friend who loaned me the laptop. If it had not been for her, I would not have been able to submit. (I don’t expect to win, but I did want to enter.)
I have always been a firm believer in O’Toole’s law, which is “Murphy was an optimist.” Sadly, between everything I know my deadlines are off. Good news, I am in control of them as I do not have a publisher ringing me up asking for things—for once I can say it is well that I don’t have a publisher or agent at this time—and my laptop is back, so I can work on everything again. The other good news is that I am finding my poet’s voice, so I have a new genre to add to my portfolio.
Now that I have my laptop back, I will be back into the grove with my writing. (Do you hear me Fates? I said I am back. Don’t throw any monkey wrenches into that please!)
Thank you for reading and please visit www.davidalanlucas.com for updates on the blogs, short stories, novellas, novels, and poems that I write.
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On my way home after leaving my first experience at the Loud Mouth Open Mic Night at The Mack, I exited off I-44 onto I-270 when the words - a poem - started forming in my head. Inspiration seems to come from being around events like that. What is this? I don’t consider myself a poet, but I liked the swirling around of words, emotion, and the shape of what was creating. I let it continue. I wanted to write but knew better. Writing and driving can be as dangerous as drinking and driving, so I kept replaying certain lines - the major ones - over and over in my head until I got home. I pulled into the garage, whipped out my notebook and a pen and scribbled down notes. I climbed out of the car and headed inside. It was late and I wanted to sleep, as I knew I had to get up early the next morning. I debated on whether to stay up and play with the poem or go to bed. I looked at my husband all snuggled in bed, and slipped under the covers leaving the poem behind. My mind tossed and turned and it took me forever to fall asleep. I was too lazy and too cozy to get up - the cat on one side of me and husband on the other.
The next morning I couldn’t wait to write my poem, play with the words, but I’m wondering now if I lost the magic that was happening when it first entered, spiraling in like a gift from Spirit. Was I now forcing those words that so easily spilled in?
Next time that happens, I’m not going to let my mind take over and tell me to go to bed, or do the wash, or whatever else it does to keep me from writing when inspiration hits. I’m going to write until it rests on the paper and my heart is content.
What do you do when inspiration hits and you can’t catch it at that moment or you choose not to?
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Folks, this came to me through the Society of Southwestern Authors in Tucson. Thought some of you might be interested:
I received this call for submissions today. There is no monetary compensation other than to have your story included in the Anthology, but it could be an interesting short story exercise. The website checks out and you can read some of Mr. Hearne’s work on WordRiot, the online magazine.
~Jude Johnson
Vice President, The Society of Southwestern Authors
Historical Novelist: www.scorchedhawkpre ss.com
I would like to share the following call for submissions with members of SSA.
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS for a new anthology of holiday stories – fiction and memoir
– to be released in early Fall of 2009. For complete details visit: www.dixonhearne. com
Title: Thanksgiving to Christmas ~ A Gathering of Stories
Submission deadline: extended to July 31, 2009
Guidelines: All submissions must reflect a Thanksgiving or Christmas theme.
Topics can include childhood memories, family gatherings and traditions,
humorous stories, holiday adventures, heartwarming moments, difficult times, war
years, shopping, pageants and parades – whatever might make for an interesting
read.
No more than 1500 words (fiction, memoir, essay) Double-spaced
Times New Roman font preferred
Send as an attachment with “Holiday Anthology” in the Subject line
Include a cover letter and a brief 75 word bio note in the body of the email
Submit only previously unpublished works.
Rights and Compensation: Contributors will receive one free copy of the
anthology and a 25% discount on the purchase of additional copies in exchange
for first print rights, which includes additional printings in the six months
following the original printing date. All other rights reside with the
author(s).
E-mail submissions as Word attachments to: Dixon Hearne – dixonh@socal. rr.com
Please note: Submissions that do not adhere to guidelines will be deleted
unread.
Dixon Hearne, Ph.D.
E-mail: dixonh@socal. rr.com
Website: www.dixonhearne. com
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Many of you know I’m a freelance editor and writing instructor. I deal with many new and experienced writers every month, and at times things come out of their mouths or emails that rival Bill Cosby’s Kids Say the Darndest Things. Every time it’s a direct result of bad (not poor, not mediocre, but bad) writing instruction. There is not a word or phrase to describe my angst when that happens.
I’ve heard most of them already. “Use no more than 3 exclamation points per page.” ”Never use the word ‘began’ or the word ’had’ or the word ‘thought’” or any of several other words the so-called instructor apparently has chosen at random from his Funk & Wagnalls. One PhD professor, who also is a writing instructor at a major US university, in a published article in a writing magazine, said writers should “replace every semicolon in your writing with a comma.” Such gibberish makes the large veins on my forehead swell until they’re threatening to explode. Why do I care what these alleged instructors are telling people? Because I have to spend hours, sometimes, explaining to the writers why the advice they’ve been given should go directly in the round file.
The most recent case came in today. Some writing instructor, sometime in the past, had told an editing client of mine that a descriptive narrative that describes the tone of voice of a character should always go AFTER the dialogue because the POV character couldn’t have heard the tone until after she’d heard the dialogue. I finally explained to my client’s satisfaction by writing this:
The descriptive narrative describing a tone of voice goes BEFORE the dialogue for only one reason: Because if you wait until AFTER the dialogue, the reader will read the dialogue, then read the descriptive narrative, then go BACK and RE-READ the dialogue again with the new information in mind. (This is true. Try it yourself if you don’t believe me.)
Consider, when you write “Her voice quivered” before a line of dialogue, that isn’t to tell the POV CHARACTER that her voice quivered. The POV character can “hear” it in any case because he/she is
right there in the story. When you write “her voice quivered” before a line of dialogue, you’re writing it so the READER can hear it and won’t interrupt his reading to go back and re-read the dialogue. After all, if you’re talking with someone in your house or in the front yard or in the store or somewhere, do you need a narrator to walk up and tell you (the POV character) “hey, your friend’s voice just quivered”? OF course not, and neither does the POV character in the story. Again, the narrator’s narrative is NOT for the POV character; it’s for the reader.
If anybody takes exception to this post, you can write me at h_stanbrough@yahoo.com, or better yet, send for a free sample edit. See http://stonethread.com/edits.html for details.
Harvey Stanbrough
Popularity: 8% [?]
Well, SLWG, after sitting through two long graduation ceremonies at St Louis University with my cap and gown, I packed up my trusty Honda and drove halfway across the country back to my home state of Massachusetts. Upon arrival, I instantly remembered how much I love the harsh coast line, the salty sea air and weathered shingles. My family threw me a beautiful graduation party this past weekend with lobsters that we ate underneath a white tent with a view Cape Cod Bay past the marsh and dunes. It was so special to me that my family gathered to celebrate my college degree.
It’s a strange space I find myself in, now that the celebrating is over. It’s a space of in between finishing and not yet begun. A space of knowing that I can’t know what will come. A space of feeling accomplishment and at the same time fear of the daunting hill called career that I now have to climb. Who knows where the climb will take me? I’m sure excited to find out.
I will miss St Louis and everyone I met there. A special thank you to everyone on the Board of Directors and Programs and Publicity Committees. Be well, and please keep in touch: RosemaryPeck@gmail.com
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I was writing with a friend today. One of the things we discussed and then wrote about was if the absence of something or someone is the same as the loss of something or someone. If you grew up without a mother or father, never knowing them - is that an absence of that person or a loss of that person? I can see that it would be an absence of that person since you never knew that person, but could it be a loss as well? An emotional loss? If you lost someone a long time ago, at some point does it become an absence in your life? Or is it always a loss since you knew them?
Popularity: 8% [?]
Our Selection
by Suzann Ledbetter
Private investigator Jack McPhee has a two-word business philosophy: no partners. Rules are allegedly made to be broken, but Jack didn’t expect that a contract to nab the so-called Calendar Burglar would force him to team up with a ten-pound, hyperactive Maltese…
Publisher: Mira
Pub. Date: March 2009
ISBN-13: 9780778326366
304pp
Our Member of Distinction*
by Rebecca Carron
Della Moon wants desperately to hold on to the Full Moon Hotel in lovely Aurora Springs, Arkansas. She’s also tired of being alone. So, she decides to weave a love spell and dance nearly naked for the Summer Solstice, when magic is in the air. Della’s brother Stephen wants her to repay the money he lent her – pronto. Otherwise, the hotel is doomed. After a cock-eyed incident involving a crazy writer, the love spell works. Frank Fortune, the most gorgeous man on earth, shows up in Aurora Springs, complete with two dysfunctional teenagers. Best of all, he owns his own theater in Branson. What could go wrong?
Publisher: Lulu.com
Pub. Date: February 2008
ISBN-13: 9781430310129
236pp
*Members of Distinction have contributed in time and effort to the organization
Popularity: 8% [?]
Glen Lake in Michigan
Photo Courtesy of Jud Miner
Copyright ©2009 Jud Miner. All Rights Reserved.
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