June 25, 2008
by mohan mittal
So you’ve decided to crown yourself with a title that a million other people (just like you (yes, just like you!)) give themselves every day. Some people believe giving yourself such a title is equivalent to, and just as beneficial monetarily, as naming yourself Queen of England. But, there is no grace, rarely enough publicity, and only the title of Court Jester seems to be becoming for you because you are a fool among others. What is this sacred title? Poet. Why does titling yourself a “poet” make you a Fool? Well, it doesn’t, not in and of itself. But if you’ve only been published online, never in print–that could be a sign of your well-earned Fool status. To be blunt–that is a sign that you write bad poetry. Why would these sites accept your work if it sucked, you ask? Maybe to raise their quota, maybe to get more submissions of the site’s particular interest, but mainly to actually HAVE something to post–most (but not all) sites are desperate for submissions. Or maybe they’re out for a profit. Come on, who among us HASN’T had something accepted by the National Library of Poetry, and then gotten all the brochures for expensive products featuring our work? The Webmaster vs. Editor Problem: Go to any website, check it out. Can you find someone with the title of Webmaster? How about editor? Or, still yet, Webmaster AND Editor? A Webmaster does not, by any means, mean Editor. Simply because someone is a webmaster (someone who controls the site, updates the postings, etc. . . ) does not mean that the person is an EDITOR (someone who corrects the work, proofreads, re-writes, re-words, etc . . . ) of the work posted on the site. In many cases, webmasters who are disguising themselves as editors are giving real editors a bad name. A webmaster, will too often post submissions “as is” and not give a damn about the content or presentation. However, if a site has someone who can both edit and be a webmaster then the site is moving in the right direction. This is the main problem source. Building a website, and getting work “published” on a website is so easily done by anyone whether they have talent or not that it de-values the word “published” and lessens the role of an Editor. Granted, the internet IS a great marketing tool for promoting your work, getting your name in the public’s eye, and getting writing experience, but have you ever asked yourself why your work is ONLY published online? Perhaps it is because no discerning EDITOR has ever seen your dribble poems, except in browsing the web for bad poems to laugh at. Here are a few tips that will help you to get your work published online. Hey, I figured if you’re going to be a fool about getting your unpolished work published on the internet for the world to see, I’d give a few tips to help your bad poetry stay that way, since you seem to like that way best: 1. Place the word “Love” in your title. That’s a major plus! 2. Be straight-forward, don’t use symbols, metaphors or anything that will make the reader think. Readers don’t have time to think. 3. Focus on form–(sonnets, villanelles, and haiku). Since you think in form, write in form. 4. Keep your poem in a rhyme-scheme. Why? Well, EVERYONE knows that all GOOD poems rhyme, the rest can be disregarded as a post-modern mess! 5. Only write in YOUR point of view. Write exactly what you believe, never try to portray the image of someone else. Better yet, start the poem with “I”. 6. Keep your poems untitled. Readers love to be creative and imagine what the title should and could be. 7. Write in the same place. If you write in your bedroom–always write there; if you write outside under a tree–always write there—why try variety and ruin a good thing? 8. Don’t ever base a character in a poem on someone you actually KNOW. Heaven forbid you get the piece published, and have to explain to the person–”this is you”. 9. Read, but if you don’t like a poem or a poet–just toss it. Don’t even question why you don’t appreciate the work. 10. Have no structure. Poetry is about limitless expressions, right? So in that sense, make your lines and stanzas as long as you wish. Just write exactly how you feel! 11. Don’t keep a journal. Journal causes too much self-reflection and you want to write for the moment, not yesterday. 12. Use clichés as much as possible. People like to read familiar phrases. 13. Not every line of a poem is important. Just make sure you have a good first and last line. 14.Poems don’t progress, that’s the difference between a story and a poem. Poems aren’t suppose to take you on a journey to learn. 14. Submit your poems to only websites. That way, you will never have to face the fact that your poetry SUCKS, because it will only be read by the friends and relatives to whom you give the site’s URL, and your friends will never tell you that reading your poetry is greater torture than letting a small, sharp-clawed guinea pig walk on their sunburned skin. If you follow these guidelines, and start writing, you will be a “poet” in no time. Remember that poetry HAS to rhyme, and remember that the less you practice the better you are. Joking aside–you might want to try doing exactly opposite of the “tips” in the list. And, since many webmasters (who are titling themselves Editor) aren’t doing their job, it’s up to you to learn to edit your work before you embarrass yourself.
www.thedesignbuild.com
mohan mittal may be contacted at http://www.thedesignbuild.com or nanak1041@gmail.com
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June 14, 2008
There is a place called WOW Women on Writing. I love to visit the site and learn as much as I can. I am, however, afraid to enter the contest. Once you lose, it’s hard to get back out there and keep trying. I am determined to give it a try in the current contest! Won’t you join me?
Wow Women on Writing Flash Fiction Contest
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April 24, 2008
by Rhonda Warren
Are you a work at home parent or striving to become one? During your day as a work at home parent it is easy to get involved in other things around the house that keep your pretty much pre-occupied from your business. Which in turn leaves you feeling that you have accomplished nothing at all. During these times it is truly important to remember your “Why”. Why did you begin building your business or working from home in the first place? You need to keep your why handy so that during tough set backs or tough days in your business you will be able to pull it out as a reminder to why you are building your business in the first place.
A good thing for you to do is to write your “Why” on an index card or on something that you can keep close to your desk. You should look at this a few times throughout the day. It’s easy to get frustrated when the day isn’t going exactly as planned and again forget why you chose to work at home. I know with me a lot of times my children will catch me on the phone and think its party time. It is then time to tear the house down. So I keep my composure while I continue my call, once off of the phone you sometimes just feel like crying. But, if you actually take the time to stop and realize that this is why you wanted to be home in the first place it becomes much easier to deal with.
I know a lot of times with my own children they will act up when they are bored, or tired. So this is the time that I simply stop and take a break. I use this time to eat lunch with the kids, read them a story, watch a cartoon with them or something that they may enjoy. Usually once they have had some time with you they are fine with you getting back to work.
You want to make your work at home experience pleasant for both you and your family.
Just remember your Why!
Article Source: http://www.articlesforwahms.com
This article was written by Rhonda Warren. She is the owner of Mentoring WAHMS www.mentoringwahms.com where she is living out her passion of mentoring other women online. You can also see what she is up to at www.rhondawarren.com.
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April 22, 2008
by Lucia Zimmitti
Every writer knows the publishing world is grindingly competitive. Despite that truth, previously unknown authors break into print each year.
Don’t think of getting published as an amalgam of mysterious formulae that only an elite few understand. Treat each day as an opportunity to practice habits that will inch you toward your goal.
7 Habits of Highly Published Authors:
1) WRITE
It may sound like a no-brainer, but there are many aspiring writers out there who aren’t writing. There are understandable reasons for this evasive block. Fear is a big one. (You can’t fail at something you don’t attempt.)
Sneak up on your fears by writing anything–even nonsense–and declare victory if you stay seated at your desk for a designated number of minutes. You can raise the bar as you go.
Carving out regular writing time is the first step in establishing a writing habit. Commit to fifteen minutes on most days of the week. Eventually, once the act of regular writing becomes habitual and almost reflexive, you can increase your time.
2) READ
Can you imagine a musician who goes through life wearing earplugs because she doesn’t want to listen to someone else’s music? But there are people out there who want to be writers and who never crack open a book. The simple truth is that your writing won’t improve if you don’t read.
Read like a writer. Read everything in your genre (especially newly published works). Read things outside your genre. Reread the works you love in order to learn from them–dissect the author’s approach so that you can put it in your toolbox. When you come across something you dislike, try to figure out why–intellectualize your reaction.
3) REVISE
Revision literally means re-vision, seeing again. As much as it may hurt, you must be willing to cut huge chunks if they don’t contribute to the piece as a whole (that might include scenes, chapters, even characters, beloved though they may be). And you may have to write new scenes to fill gaps you couldn’t recognize until you looked at the piece as a coherent whole instead of sewn-together parts.
Just like you can’t cook a great meal if your kitchen stays clean, you can’t write a satisfying book if your first draft doesn’t undergo cutting, pasting, reworking and rethinking.
4) Hand off your work: the value of another perspective.
Islands can’t write effectively for publication. No matter how hard you may try to be an island while you write (solitude is necessary then), you have to let the drawbridge down (or send a ferry over to the mainland) when you’re ready to publish.
Never let an editor or agent be the first person to see your work. Find thoughtful readers willing to give you honest critiques and you’ll dramatically boost your chances of publication.
5) Submit and Persist
When it’s ready, send your work out–another no-brainer, right? Still, you’d be surprised at how many writers — serious writers who want to be published more than almost anything — write and write and never send their pieces in for consideration. Who can blame them? You pour your whole creative self into this artistic endeavor; you know the odds are stacked in favor of rejection, so why would you volunteer for the guillotine?
Instead of thinking of rejection as a personal blow, try to think of it as a numbers game: every time you get rejected and re-submit, your odds of getting a “Yes” in return increase.
Rejection stinks, it really does. And it stings. But since there’s no way around it on the road to publication, the sooner you accept it as a necessary evil, the better.
And the truth is, getting rejections means you’re in the game. It’s a concrete sign that your writing life has progressed from a solitary activity at your desk to an exchange with the world at large.
6) Ask “What if?“
Look at the world and question everything. Peer past the obvious. Peel back the veneer of appearances and ask yourself, What if….? It’s a valuable way of imagining and visualizing, and asking it often will enhance and enrich your creative life.
The late author Robert Cormier said that his novel The Chocolate War was born one ordinary day while he watched his son walk out of school and toward the car carrying a large box of fundraiser chocolates. Cormier asked himself, “What if my son decided not to sell the chocolate this year?” and the idea was hatched for a vibrant, compelling, enduring novel.
7) Start something new.
Okay, so you finished a project and put it in the mail. Then you weathered your first rejection and put the work in the mail again. And you wait. And wait. Warning: if you’re waiting for the Yea or Nay to define your identity as a writer, you’ll stall the potential on future work.
While you’re making the rounds with your first piece, throw yourself into a new project. There’s nothing more effective for breaking you out of over-attachment to any single piece of your writing than excitement over a fresh endeavor.
To discover more ways to making your writing habit more efficient and satisfying, visit http://ManuscriptRx.com and sign up for “Write Through It,” the FREE monthly e-newsletter that offers practical writing advice and anecdotal wisdom.
Lucia Zimmitti, a writing coach and independent editor, is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and the Editorial Freelancers Association. Her fiction and poetry have been published in various national literary journals, and she has taught writing at the high school and college levels.
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