| mel
boring |
The Tuesday afternoon
"Open Forum" will begin promptly at 4 Atlantic/CANADA, 3 p.m.
Eastern, 2 p.m. Central, 1 p.m. Mountain, and noon Pacific. While
you wait for the "Open Forum" to start, feel free to use your ASK A
QUESTION button RIGHT BETWEEN THE YELLOW "MAP" AND THE RED QUESTION
MARK IN ICHAT to post some questions for the discussion group-with
Mary Beth Voelker as Co-Moderator!-two minutes from
now.
|
| mel
boring |
Good afternoon! Welcome
to this Tuesday afternoon's "Open Forum" session. I'm your
moderator, Mel Boring, and the Web Editor for this site. We're back
for an informal time of answering any questions you might like to
ask, on any subject. So feel free to ask what's on your mind--and
I'll tell you what's on mine! AND Mary Beth Voelker is here
"backstage" with me today to serve as CO-Moderator. A WARM WELCOME
to you, Mary Beth! Before we begin, please read these announcements,
chatsters, then we'll get started.
|
| mel
boring |
IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS:
Send questions you'd like answered or discussed by using your "Ask a
Question" icon/button. (It looks like a thought bubble icon, RIGHT
NEXT TO THE RED QUESTION MARK.) The moderator (me, Mel Boring) will
post the questions one at a time in the chat room and do my best to
answer them. Also note: If you want to make it possible to ask the
longest question you can, first type "/ask" (without the quotation
marks), then leave one space after the end of "ask", then type as
many characters of your question as you can. If your question is not
complete, send the second part next, then if necessary the third,
etc.
|
| mel
boring |
WARNING: If you don't
post anything at all, SOME of you will be bounced off the system in
15 minutes. TO PREVENT THIS, type something (either a question to
the moderator or even a private message) every 15 minutes to stay
active and remain online.
|
| mel
boring |
I am IMMENSELY honored
to have Mary Beth Voelker with me this afternoon as
Co-Moderator!...
|
| mel
boring |
She will be answering
specific questions, but NOT limited to just any. She will join me in
answering ANY question, or adding to answers. WELCOME, Mary
Beth!
|
| mary beth
voelker |
Hello everyone. I'm
honored that Mel is going to trust me with the
forums.
|
| mel
boring |
YOU are
honorable!...
|
| mel
boring |
Here are first some
GOOD NEWes and other announcements:...
|
| mel
boring |
CONGRATULATIONS to
SUSAN SUNDWALL, a contributor to our web site, on her book review
being published on page 23 of the latest SCBWI BULLETIN!
CONGRATULATIONS, SUE!
|
| mel
boring |
Susan Sundwall has
contributed a NUMBER of articles to our web site--CONGRATULATIONS,
SUE!!!
|
| mel
boring |
CONGRATULATIONS to
CHITRA SOUNDAR, a contributor to our web site, upon the publishing
of her "Avatar -- Short" on page 23 of the latest SCBWI
BULLETIN--CONGRATULATIONS, Chitra!
|
| mel
boring |
Chitra Soundar has also
contributed to our ICL Web Site--CONGRATULATIONS,
Chitra!...
|
| mel
boring |
ALSO, I've only just
read it, but Chitra had an article in the current CHILDREN'S
WRITER,...
|
| mel
boring |
titled "Puzzle Thy
Readers," an excellent article--CONGRATULATIONS again,
Chitra!
|
| mel
boring |
Here is a book
recommendation:...
|
| mel
boring |
Cynthia Quill penned us
this recommendation: I am recommending a book that I just purchased
called, WORD MAGIC by Cindy Rogers. An order form was enclosed with
some information sent by the ICL. I have been reading it for a
couple of days now, and although I have not finished reading it (I
am only in Part I), I find this book to be an excellent source for
creating better descriptive sentences. It is well worth the money.
If anyone is looking for a resource book on using metaphors,
assonance, alliteration, parallelism, asyndeton and polysyndeton,
etc., this is the book to get.
|
| mel
boring |
THANK YOU, Cynthia! I
have that on MY reading list, too!
|
| mel
boring |
I will answer this next
question, left over from last week,...
|
| mel
boring |
then I'll ask Mary Beth
to post and answer a question!...
|
| mel
boring |
NK also needs to know:
To save some money on stamps, is it okay to send a small size
Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope (SASE), and tell the editor to
recycle the manuscript? Or should I send the same size envelope,
even if I tell the editor to recycle the manuscript?
|
|
|
|
|
| mel
boring |
Yes, I do that,
NK,...
|
| mel
boring |
because it is becoming
more and more common for publishers to recycle manuscripts WITH
PERMISSION....
|
| mel
boring |
It saves paper, and it
saves us postage as well, so I recommend it, NK.
|
| mel
boring |
Mary Beth, how about a
question?
|
| mary beth
voelker |
OK. But first I'd like
to add to that last one.
|
| mel
boring |
GOOD!
|
| mary beth
voelker |
When writing long
pieces I suggest that you consider the cost of paper and ink as well
as postage. You'll save money re-cycling a few pages but when you
get into YA novels you postage is cheaper.
|
| mel
boring |
MM wants to know: When
publishers request a manuscript, are they asking for a book summary
and chapter samples or an extensive, but brief outline of the
book?
|
| mary beth
voelker |
When you are asked for
a manuscript that is what they want -- the complete manuscript as it
is.
|
| mary beth
voelker |
Publishers can be very
poicky about having their guidelines followed exactly.
...
|
| mel
boring |
GREAT answer, MB, and
here are some greetings for YOU:...
|
| writermom |
hi mb
|
| mary beth
voelker |
A manuscript if that's
what they ask for. An outline if that's what they ask for. A query
if that's what they ask for.
|
| tkat_2 |
Welcome Mary
Beth.
|
| mary beth
voelker |
Thank you
all.
|
| mel
boring |
LY E-Mailed to ask this
good question: I want to use a sketch in my nonfiction article for
assignment 4. I am uncertain as to the correct way to include it in
my article. It is copyrighted by Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan. Can I
include a copy of the sketch and cite it in my reference page?
|
| mel
boring |
To submit the
illustration ONLY with your assignment, a copy would be OK, LY
E....
|
| mel
boring |
But if you submit the
article to a publisher, then you'll need permission to use the
sketch....
|
| mel
boring |
That could be gotten
MAYBE through the INternet....
|
| mel
boring |
What to do is use the
search words "Biblioteca Ambrosiana" and see if there's a
way...
|
| mel
boring |
to get hold of them via
e-mail. Then e-mail your request to them....
|
| mel
boring |
With overseas sites (if
they are overseas), it can same a LOT of time and postage to e-mail
them, asking for permission....
|
| mel
boring |
What will they reply? I
don't know, but chances are good they WILL reply, and
will...
|
| mel
boring |
let you know if you can
have permission to use the sketch in your published
article,...
|
| mel
boring |
and/or let you know the
cost of such a use of the sketch.
|
| mel
boring |
LL asks: I received an
e-mail from the editor of a magazine who said she liked my
nonfiction article (which was my Assignment #4, by the way). She
said she would not have room for it until the beginning of 2006, but
she would like to hold it until she was closer to planning that
issue which would be a year from now. So the question is, this isn't
really an acceptance, is it? She could still reject it next year? Is
it okay to send this article elsewhere in this year, if I inform
her, or will that prospect put her off and cause a rejection? Since
I'm not published in magazines yet, is it better for me just to let
her hold it, even for a year and half, possibly?
|
| mel
boring |
You're right, LL, it
isN'T really an acceptance....
|
| mel
boring |
and the editor knows
that you might not want to wait for an acceptance for a
year....
|
| mel
boring |
The question is: How
badly do YOU want this possible acceptance?...
|
| mel
boring |
Yes, she could still
reject it in a year, but if you're not published in magazines
yet,...
|
| mel
boring |
my advice is to LET her
hold onto it....
|
| mel
boring |
Chances are good she
will let you know promptly after that year,...
|
| mel
boring |
and you could still
submit it elsewhere after that!
|
| mel
boring |
Another important
question from NK: For titles of manuscripts, for which words do we
use a small letter? For example, "Zindi-Lou and the Dark Place" has
"and" and "the" in small letters, while the other words start with
capitals.
|
| mel
boring |
You're right, NK, the
"small" words like "the" and "and" are NOT capitalized in
titles,...
|
| mel
boring |
UNLESS that The or And
is the FIRST word of the title....
|
| mel
boring |
I don't see any
consistency on this, however. There are times when I see "that" NOT
capitalized in a title,...
|
| mel
boring |
but I have capped that
(last Friday in one of our published site articles, in fact) myself
because I felt a capital "That" was important....
|
| mel
boring |
Mary Beth, how about
replying on this, and/or posting another question?
|
| mary beth
voelker |
For this one I
recommend looking at your grammar book. They cover capitalizing
titles.
|
| mary beth
voelker |
And here is another
grammar/style question
|
| mary beth
voelker |
E. P. asks: I was
wondering -- what is the difference between the words, draft and
|
| MS Word didn't
pick up either one of them, and the |
|
| much either,
giving the other as an alternate |
|
| Any advice on
which is best? |
|
|
|
| fat unabridged
dictionary doesn't give a preference to either. It doesn't even tag
one as the American spelling and the other as British. So I'd say
that you could use whichever you are more comfortable with and trust
the magazine editors and proofreaders to convert it if your choice
doesn't match their style sheet (style sheet = the official company
policy on which choices to make in cases like this). |
|
|
|
| mel
boring |
I LIKE that "big, fat
dictionary" of yours, MB!...
|
| dawgprint1 |
I attended a SCBWI
conference this weekend and on the free table was a list of North
South fall 2004 books release. I thought they closed?? Are they
still in business?
|
| mel
boring |
dawgprint1, North South
is an imprint of a SWISS publisher,...
|
| mel
boring |
and those are sometimes
hard to track down. ...
|
| mel
boring |
I am thinking that the
2005 CHILDREN'S BOOK MARKET should enlighten us about North
South....
|
| mel
boring |
It should be out during
October and/or November now. If I find out anything in advance, I'll
post it!
|
| mel
boring |
Have2try has this
question: I'm having a difficult time coming up with a conflict for
assignment 2. Or any assignment. The ones I think of usually are
very complicated! Is there a good source or any ideas where to
|
| I think I am
aiming to write this story on ages 4-7 |
|
| mel
boring |
For one suggestion,
Have2try, read...
|
| mel
boring |
the article posted last
Friday on our ICL Web Site,...
|
| mel
boring |
"Ratchet Up the
Tension!", by Patricia Green....
|
| mel
boring |
It will help you
STRENGTHEN conflict in a story--it's very well
written....
|
| mel
boring |
My own idea (and I'll
ask Mary Beth for her ideas in a minute) is that conflicts are best
when...
|
| mel
boring |
they come out of real
life. I look in my OWN life and my family's for story conflicts of
strength....
|
| mel
boring |
IF a conflict seems too
complicated, try limiting it to just TWO people, instead of three or
four....
|
| mel
boring |
For instance, if ONE
girl likes a high school boy, and he doesn't like
her,...
|
| mel
boring |
that's a simpler
conflict than if TWO girls like him and he doesn't liek either one!
Mary Beth?
|
| mary beth
voelker |
For that age conflicts
need to be very simple and straightforward. Look at your complex
situation and find the core -- the one problem that you could solve
to unravel the entire knot.
|
| mary beth
voelker |
Stories for very young
children need to be straightforward or they will get
lost.
|
| mary beth
voelker |
Think
linear.
|
| mel
boring |
GREAT wisdom in that!
Do you have another question to post for us, MB?
|
| writermom |
How do you handle
someone's thoughts I left them in the same print as the rest and my
critiquers have said I should italicize the
thoughts
|
| mary beth
voelker |
Italicizing thought
used to be standard but now isn't done much. ...
|
| mary beth
voelker |
Using a different
typeface reads "loud" and stands out. That's not usually what you
want for thought.
|
| mary beth
voelker |
Here is a link to Mary
Rosenblum's forum transcripts from ICL's sister school Long Ridge
(writing for adults). She's covered writing thoughts at least twice.
Most recently on June 29th.
|
|
|
|
|
| mary beth
voelker |
But
...
|
| mary beth
voelker |
Be prepared to see if
done differently when the editors put it into house
style.
|
| mel
boring |
Yes, that latter is a
great idea, too....
|
| mel
boring |
Take a look in books
you read, to SEE how often thoughts are
italicized,...
|
| mel
boring |
or specially treated
another way....
|
| mel
boring |
Chances are you WON'T
see much italicizing nowadays, but note the nuances used in handling
thoughts.
|
| noodle |
How do you treat instant
messaging in a story? Can I use the
|
| noodle |
type of spelling they
use? (How RU? How wuz skewl?) Do I
|
| noodle |
put their messages in
quotations? Bold? Can you recommend
|
| noodle |
a book that I can refer
to for ideas? Thanks so much!
|
| mel
boring |
THANK YOU for a very
"cutting-edge" question, noodle!...
|
| mel
boring |
I have personally NEVER
seen yet instant messaging used in a story or book for
children....
|
| mel
boring |
I would say YES, use
the spelling THEY use, but identify it plainly that it IS instant
messaging....
|
| mel
boring |
For example, if you put
every instant message with INDENTS on both
sides,...
|
| mel
boring |
AND identified it in
the narrative as instant messaging, that would work, I
believe....
|
| mel
boring |
In THIS case, since
instant messaging is SO NEW, you MIGHT want to italicize
it!...
|
| mel
boring |
I would like for ANYone
who sees instant messaging in a story or book to let ME know right
away, as to HOW it was handled!
|
| mel
boring |
Mary Beth, it's your
turn to post a question!
|
| mary beth
voelker |
I have seen instant
messaging in SF works though I have forgotten just where.
...
|
| mary beth
voelker |
The publisher set it
off in a computery-looking typeface though that wouldn't necessarily
be a good thing to try even though your computer probably has some.
...
|
| mary beth
voelker |
But do set it off so
the reader knows what it is. ...
|
| mary beth
voelker |
One note I'd like to
make aobut using it at all. Please, don't use large, interupted
blocks of it. ...
|
| mary beth
voelker |
Some people, especially
my fellow dyslexics, find it appallingly hard to read that messaging
code ...
|
| mary beth
voelker |
If I see a page full of
text code I'll have that book closed so fast you wouldn't believe
it.
|
| mary beth
voelker |
Here is something
related ...
|
| mel
boring |
Using a computery
typeface has GOOD promise, I think, Mary Beth! But yes, it would
need to be a plainly-read font.
|
| mary beth
voelker |
Chippy asks: Can you
use a foreign language as dialogue in stories for children, and how
do
|
| so the reader can
understand it? |
|
|
|
| you need to use a
very light touch with this. For example, if I were writing about my
child visiting my stepmother I might include her answering the phone
"Hola". But even if she continued to converse in Spanish I put
anything else relevant in English. A word or two of a foriegn
language here and there gives a piece a flavor, but too much is
burden and makes reading the story too much like work. |
|
|
|
| mary beth
voelker |
I'd say that you use
the same principle for any time you venture outside standard
English. ...
|
| mary beth
voelker |
Just a taste to give
the right flavor but don't overwhelm. Kind of like cooking with
strong spices. A few drops of Tabasco sauce will do the
job.
|
| mel
boring |
What goes well for this
use of dialect and slang--and perhaps italics--is what, I think,
Aristotle said:...
|
| mel
boring |
"In all things,
moderation."
|
| molly22 |
Mel, last week you
answered my question with Crocodile Books as a book publisher
needing fables. I am waiting for the 2005 Book Market to come in, so
do you have any further information on them, i.e., web site,
address, etc.? Thanks!
|
| mel
boring |
The address I have for
Crocodile is:...
|
| mel
boring |
Crocodile Books,
USA,...
|
| mel
boring |
Interlink Publishing
Group, USA,...
|
| mel
boring |
46 Crosby
Street,...
|
| mel
boring |
Northhampton, MA
01060....
|
| mel
boring |
I hope this helps,
molly22!
|
| mel
boring |
Here is a question in
response to our talking about letting publishers recyle your mss
instead of sending them back:...
|
| gladys1 |
isn't that telling the
publisher that your manuscript isn't important to
you.
|
| mel
boring |
I don't think so
nowadays, gladys1,...
|
| mel
boring |
because publishers AND
writers are trying to be kinder to our environment, for one
thing,...
|
| mel
boring |
and just recycling ONE
copy of your ms, which you can reprint very easily, wouldn't be
denegrating it, in my opinion.
|
| writermom |
My mc stutters when he
talks, It was suggested that I stop writing out the stuttering after
awhile and the reader will automatically read it as stuttering or
should i limit his stuttering to when he is stressed, scared and
angry and let him grow out of it by the end of the
novel
|
| mel
boring |
Again, I think the
"moderation rule" applies here too, writermom....
|
| mel
boring |
If you show his
stutter, say, in every tenth word or so,...
|
| mel
boring |
yes, the reader will
carry it over to the rest....
|
| mel
boring |
As to limiting his
stuttering, IF it only happens when he's
stressed,...
|
| mel
boring |
yes limit it to that.
But if he does it all the time, better show it consistently in the
story.
|
| mel
boring |
Mary Beth, any
additions to this?
|
| mary beth
voelker |
Perhaps just indicate
it in a few key words ...
|
| mary beth
voelker |
Many people who stutter
only have problems with certain sounds ...
|
| mary beth
voelker |
If he has trouble with
"t" you can stutter the important "t" words and leave others
alone.
|
| mary beth
voelker |
Mel seems to have
paused for a moment so ...
|
| mary beth
voelker |
AD asks: My question is
this I have been doing some research on the web about different
things I can do to help make money to pay back to my family member
for taking
|
| contests, and I
stumbled upon a school that teaches you to be a copywriter. They say
if your a writer you still have time to write, and do |
|
| this a legitimate
program? It sounded like one of those |
|
| to be true. So I
am curious on your respected opinions. |
|
|
|
| it smells too
good to be true it often is. "Copywriter" is a very strange word to
use. If they mean writing ad copy -- probably the most common use of
that word -- they you get that job by being hired by an advertising
or marketing agency through the same channels you wouls use to get
hired at any job. Send in your resume with your relevant experience.
If it has anything to do with copyright -- the ownership of your
words -- nobody needs to do anything about that because your words
are automatically copyrighted when you write them. If they mean
proofreader -- correcting mistakes in manuscripts to be published --
my best understanding is that you get that job through inside
connections at a publisher and that it helps to have formal
credentials in English or to have been an editor
somewhere |
|
| mary beth
voelker |
We need to be very
aware of potential scams. There are lots of people out there waiting
to take advantage of the trusting. A google search on scams will
bring up more anti-scam sites than you can deal with easily. This is
my favorite for writing scams: http://www.sfwa.org/Beware/
|
|
|
| mel
boring |
Sorry, I had an urgent
phone call--I'm back!
|
| craig |
congratulations Mary Beth
on being the co moderator!
|
| mary beth
voelker |
No problem, I had that
one ready and was hoping to have time for it.
|
| mary beth
voelker |
Thank you,
craig.
|
| mel
boring |
Wee Willie Winkie wants
to ask: I am in the process in writing to a Rabbi to get his opinion
on a scene that I am working on for my book that takes place in WWII
Paris and one of the characters is Jewish. Is there anything that I
should keep in mind when writing to him (I was referred to him by my
minister)?
|
| mel
boring |
Nothing more special
for this Rabbi than for your own minister, WWW....
|
| mel
boring |
I think he will be
HONORED to help you....
|
| mel
boring |
And having his
correction/authentication for your scene will be
EXCELLENT!
|
| mel
boring |
I am SO SORRY that I
forgot THIS GOOD NEWS at the start:...
|
| mel
boring |
Donna West sent us this
GOOD NEWS recently: I just wanted to give you my latest good news.
I've just published two more short stories -- "Sarah's Strength" in
THE CONQUEROR and "Polly's Surprise" in EDGE FOR KIDS. I know I
shouldn't be counting, but I've published 16 articles and stories
since starting in June 2003. I'm kind of proud of myself even if I
do say so myself!
|
| mary beth
voelker |
Yes, you should be
counting, Donna. Great job!
|
| mel
boring |
HEARTY CONGRATULATIONS,
Donna!!!
|
| mel
boring |
And YES, you SHOULD be
counting PROUDLY!
|
| mel
boring |
Newkid needs to know:
I'm originally from the Caribbean. I want to write material that
would reflect that. How do I view "race" as dealing with color
without being offensive?
|
| mel
boring |
I'll ask Mary Beth if
she wants to comment on this later, too. But my advice
is...
|
| mel
boring |
that you be sure to use
the accepted title for each race,...
|
| mel
boring |
such as "Native
American" instead of "American Indian," Newkid....
|
| mel
boring |
If you do that, I think
you won't get into trouble....
|
| mel
boring |
There is an "accepted"
way to mention people of color today, and using that will avoid
trouble.
|
| mel
boring |
Mary Beth, any
comment?
|
| mary beth
voelker |
I really shouldn't
touch this at all because I am hopeless politically incorrect.
...
|
| mary beth
voelker |
I just wish that people
would ignore these superficial differences and focus on the
commonalities of being human beings. ...
|
| mary beth
voelker |
But fact is that in
today's world race is a hypersensitive issue and you have to play
the game by its rules. :-) ...
|
| mel
boring |
I promised to repeat
Linda Della Donna's delightful poem this week, because it wasn't
legible last week. So here it is:...
|
| mary beth
voelker |
But in my own writing I
would ignore it completely unless it was directly relevant -- like
describing how my stepsister and I can be related even though she is
a quite dark black-Hispanic and I am about as white as a white
person can get.
|
| mel
boring |
Whoops,
sorry!...
|
| mel
boring |
ODE TO AN
EDITOR...
|
| mel
boring |
by Linda Della Donna,
Hartsdale, NY....
|
| mel
boring |
Dear Madam
Editor,...
|
| mel
boring |
Your highness and your
majesty!
|
| mel
boring |
Enclosed, please find
my manuscript....
|
| mel
boring |
Oh, won't you publish
me....
|
| mel
boring |
I yearn to see my name
in print....
|
| mel
boring |
My heart burns with
desire....
|
| mel
boring |
I need your help for
this event....
|
| mel
boring |
Oh, please, put out the
fire!...
|
| mel
boring |
My story is
exceptional,...
|
| mel
boring |
on this you must
agree....
|
| mel
boring |
Just read the enclosed
manuscript,...
|
| mel
boring |
And send a check to
me."
|
| mel
boring |
THANK YOU,
Linda!
|
| mel
boring |
Mary Beth, I think
we're behind on our quesitons, to you have one now?
|
| mary beth
voelker |
Yes,
...
|
| bits of
little |
Is it better to be more
descriptive or more talking
|
| mary beth
voelker |
I find that a story
needs a proper balance, bits. ...
|
| mary beth
voelker |
If you have too much
talk it can be annoying. They often refer to this as a "talking
heads" piece ...
|
| mary beth
voelker |
Where disembodied
voices babble on and on. ...
|
| mary beth
voelker |
But if there is too
much description it slows the story and bogs everything down.
...
|
| mary beth
voelker |
And the third element,
which you didn't ask about, is action ...
|
| mary beth
voelker |
Too much action leaves
the reader tired and breathless. ...
|
| mary beth
voelker |
Different writers with
different styles will find different balances but
...
|
| mary beth
voelker |
Mixing these elements
in good proportions works.
|
| mel
boring |
We're out of time, but
here is an answer to the person who asked about North South
Books:...
|
| spotslover2 |
/ask as an imprint of
Nord-Sud Verlag.
|
| lisalisa |
The new 2005 CWIM lists
North-South Books but says they are
|
| lisalisa |
not accepting queries or
unsolicited ms.
|
| mel
boring |
Our time is up, I have
THOROUGHLY ENJOYED Mary Beth being here today!...
|
| mel
boring |
She will be BACK,
moderating solo, for the next two Tuesdays!...
|
| mel
boring |
I will be in New Mexico
visiting our college son....
|
| mel
boring |
In advance, Mary Beth,
THANK YOU SO MUCH for your SUPER way of moderating!
|
| mary beth
voelker |
Thank you, Mel for
inviting me to do it.
|
| writermom |
thanks mel and
mb
|
| mel
boring |
Mary Beth will see you
next week, and I'll see you in a few
miles!
|