Volume 7

I met an 8-year-old boy the other day at a local Catholic school near our office. He seemed like any other immature kid his age until I got a chance to actually learn a bit about him.

How about this little nugget of information: he's got a perfect IQ. How many kids, hell, even adults do you know with a perfect IQ? My count now stands at one. He was so different than the other kids. I remember my best elementary days spent outside on the kickball field during recess—slamming the big, red ball over the outfield trees. This kid instead sat in the corner of the room reading up on a science textbook three levels above his peers.

I got a chance to talk to one of the nuns who worked at the school. As we walked past the boy, who was sitting outside of the principle's office at the time, she let me in on a story about the pint-sized genius.

He had gotten in a fight a few weeks earlier with another one of his classmates. He was punched by this bully who had been harassing him throughout the year and decided to give him a right-handed jab in retaliation. The teachers quickly split the fight up and questioned the boy as to why he chose to punch the culprit back.

“I was just living by the golden rule,” he told his teacher. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

“And how would like to justify your reasoning?”

“He punched me first, so I guessed he wanted me to hit him back. I was just doing what he wanted me to do.”

It was at that moment where it clicked. His wisdom, although a bit unconventional, made sense. Those who perform their daily actions must be held responsible. It's exactly the same with writing. Whatever style or manner you choose to write, you need to fully understand how that can come back to bite you in the future. The little boy who decided to punch the genius never wanted to be punched back, but his actions spoke differently.

This little ball of knowledge I gained from the 8-year-old will travel along with me through Zach Attack. My first attack will find its way online—through the blogosphere that so many people call home. Too many blogs are oblivious to the repercussions of their own writing. With the next column, I will be pleased to inform them

Zachary Harr, Editor-in-Chief of WNW, is a Nonfiction English Writing major at the University of Pittsburgh with a Theatre Arts minor.

By Natalie Olivo

At first glance, Roy Nolan, 33, seems like your average short-order cook at Bob’s Diner. Although he was promoted to a manager position after 12 years of slinging burgers, Nolan still wears his grease stained apron. He leans against the wall, twirling a toothpick in his teeth, and surveys his employees.

When a trainee waitress accidentally splatters a milkshake everywhere, Nolan calmly reminds her that “this is why we can’t have nice things.” His sleepy voice has a hint of country twang.

Despite Nolan’s unassuming exterior, he is different from his fellow residents of Spoke, Arkansas. While most of them will never leave the smoky foothills of the Ozark Mountains, Nolan is about to become a best-selling author. He just hasn’t written anything yet.

“I reckon it won’t be so hard,” said Nolan. “I already have lots of experience writing.”

A seasoned blogger, Nolan is no stranger to the written word. He launched his blog “Roy’s Car Zone,” in April 2009. The blog, which gets about twenty views a month, features amateur mechanic advice along with pictures of Nolan working on his 1998 Toyota 4Runner. Nolan manages the blog from his home, located in the basement of his parents, Clevon and Tammy Nolan.

“We’re so proud of Roy,” said Mrs. Nolan. “I visit his blog almost every day and he even showed me how to leave little comments.”

Six months ago, Nolan expanded from blogging to screenwriting. He wrote the first 6 pages of a film called Pirates vs. Ninjas, which he described as “a really cool fighting movie with tons of awesome special effects.”

Although Nolan has not yet finished his screenplay, nor has any film producer expressed interest in it, Nolan remains optimistic. If his screenplay isn’t picked up upon completion, Nolan plans to go the rogue route and produce it independently.

“My buddy Carl said I can blow up his old barn if there’s an explosion scene,” Nolan said.

An underground artist of sorts, Nolan believes the natural next step is to write a novel. He plans to title his book Pirates vs. Ninjas vs. Zombies and said it will build upon the premise of his uncompleted screenplay.

“It’s finally time for the rest of the world to enjoy what the viewers of ‘Roy’s Car Zone’ have been treated to for years,” said Nolan.
Although Nolan has not started writing, he is already receiving support from friends, family and co-workers.

“I’m so excited for Roy,” said Debbie Beck, 22, a waitress at Bob’s Diner. “I always knew he’d be a writer. He even leaves little daily notes where he reminds us to clean the grill and take out the trash. Now that he’s about to become a famous author, I can say ‘I knew him when he was just my manager.’”

Currently, Nolan has no plans to find an editor or agent. Rather, he intends to distribute his book through Kindle, an “eReader” from Amazon. Nolan said the ease of the publishing process was what convinced him he could become a bestselling author in the first place.

“Writing’s easy,” said Nolan. “Anyone can do it.”

Natalie is an English major and history minor with a creative writing concentration at Denison University. She is the Managing Editor of Writers News Weekly and is following the life of amateur author Roy Nolan in a satirical news series called “TolstRoy.”

By Jenna Dawkins

Ahhh, a breath of fresh air. Or incense. Maybe the whiff of a candle. Now a burning log. An aerosol can. Wait a second...

Yes, I'm back, and yes, I'm writing about Hunter and his suggested Path to Synchronicity. Let me start off by saying that yeah, the book is as dense in philosophy as it sounds. But Hunter's total infatuation with self-discovery and "inner light" definitely serves him better here than it does elsewhere (for example, his text on memoirs). The book varies between how-to, as seems to be his specialty, and “let me tell you about my life.” I will admit that he makes the recounting of his own experiences relevant and admissible. His stories are short, relatable, and seem to be influenced by “synchronicity” itself.

After reading I kind of feel like it would be appropriate to plop down on one of those round, poofy chairs from Pier I. I'd play some Enya, do that thing where you make an “O” shape with your thumb and pointer fingers, hum then ponder it. I like that feeling. When Hunter talks about flow, I feel relaxed, more able to just let it slide and let life happen. Of course, every once in awhile, I feel like I’m embedded in a Chicken Soup book. It can get sappier than a pine tree. But the book seems to work because it is focused around a specific type of person. Someone who wants to see change, to understand their own path, their own influence. As a random read, I think it’s stuffy and probably loopty-loop in its philosophy. Almost as loopty-loop as the phrase, which I just made up.

I did learn something from Hunter. Stay motivated. I’m glad it was encouraging, or it probably would have been difficult for me to keep trudging through the metaphors. Honestly, though, I think this is because I’ve had less life experience than the general target audience. If I was 60 and divorced, or jobless, or having a midlife crisis, or 30 and just had triplets, I really think I could get something good out of it. I really think I would be able to use it to my advantage. There is a lot of sage advice in here, and I can definitely store it in the memory bank for future use, but it’s hard to really take advantage of it without really pulling that trigger of experience. After a little bit of time has passed, maybe the air will clear.

Jenna Dawkins, Associate Editor, is a senior English-Creative Writing major and Professional Writing Studies & Music minor at Elon University.

By Zachary Harr

Is there life on other planets?

The Eighth Day is a science-fiction thriller that takes its readers on a ride through two continents while trying to examine that same essential question.

When a parasite from outer space is found inside of a meteor that hit the small town of Havenbrook, Iowa, a group of classified men must do everything they can to keep it hush. Their plan to take control of the world and create a new utopian society by destroying the current one is almost set in stone, but two high school seniors hold the key to saving mankind. Just your normal weekend, right? I don't think so.

18 years ago, Jay Anderson and Kathy Winters were two of the six subjects tested in a top-secret assignment by the U.S. Government, labeled Project Centurion. As a result, their hyper immune systems allow them to be the only two people powerful enough to stop the deadly parasite and the men behind it. Jay Anderson and his friends are put through Hell and back when they risk being thrown into prison for their actions.

O'Neal puts his readers in the front seat making stops all over the U.S. and Russia. His ability to break down the difficult world of science and simply translate it to the reader is extremely helpful. It allows people like myself with little background knowledge to completely understand what is going on during each of the 307 pages.

Throughout the entire story, I wanted more between the friendship of Jay and Kathy. O'Neal successfully teases its readers from start to finish on the possible progression of their friendship. While I waited for their bond to take the next level, I focused more on the whole story. The Eighth Day dangled along the lines between predictable and unexpected, but that imbalance ultimately kept my attention.

The amount of characters can be confusing at times, but O'Neal submitted a list of all involved in the beginning pages. When you are first introduced the cast of over 50 people is alarming, however, I felt as if I was included with them—going through the trials and tribulations as they were.

It's a story about two teenagers and their friends, trying to save all of humanity from a group of terrorists with alien life on their side. This novel takes on a subject that is ever-growing in popularity nowadays and does a pretty good job of doing it. I can guarantee that anyone interested in science-fiction will love it but for those of you who aren't, you will soon be after reading O'Neal's The Eighth Day.

Zachary Harr, Editor-in-Chief of WNW, is a Nonfiction English Writing major at the University of Pittsburgh with a Theatre Arts minor.

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A Balancing Act

By Jessica Quillin

At the end of last week, a professional door opened for me that I thought was essentially closed. Okay, not so much a closed door as a door that was slammed shut, window shade pulled down, and then a sign posted saying “CLOSED FOR BUSINESS. COME BACK TOMORROW. THANK YOU FOR YOUR BUSINESS.” The big news? I was contacted by a local university about an opportunity to teach adjunct courses in writing.

Read More

The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí by Salvador Dalí

By Chris Stokum

In the early chapters, Dalí seems to be little more than a highly creative but spoiled child. As Dalí reflects on his young adulthood, however, a new facet of his personality begins to emerge. Dalí’s actions, we find, are never as senseless as they appear, his radical opinions never as unfounded as one might be tempted to think. In fact, Dalí’s reasoning, based largely on his aesthetic sense, is often just as convincing as the common rationale he rebels against.

Read More

By L.L. McKinney

That is the first step to take after finishing a first draft and this is what we discussed in last week’s article. Once you’ve typed up that final page, put it all aside. They say to let two to six weeks pass before starting on the second draft. And who are They? Other writers, published and aspiring, agents, editors, and people who take up residence in the world of literature.

Read More

WNW talks with author Steven Craig Barrett

By Elizabeth Milo and Christopher Stokum

We recently spoke with Steven Craig Barrett, author of the The Apocalypse Chronicles, the first book in the series of the same name.

Read More

At the end of last week, a professional door opened for me that I thought was essentially closed. Okay, not so much a closed door as a door that was slammed shut, window shade pulled down, and then a sign posted saying “CLOSED FOR BUSINESS. COME BACK TOMORROW. THANK YOU FOR YOUR BUSINESS.” The big news? I was contacted by a local university about an opportunity to teach adjunct courses in writing.

Part of me is over the moon about the possibility of getting some solid teaching experience and teaching students about the art and profession of writing that I love so well. However, part of me also is cautious. This is partially because I’ve been badly burned by the academic system over the past 7 years. I’m also uncertain if this is the right time for me to be taking on extra work while I’m building my writing-based business, working on my own freelance portfolio, and finishing my first academic book.

My biggest worry: how on earth am I going to balance everything?

Ever since completing my PhD in late 2005, I have been courting and been courted by various universities about potential teaching opportunities, and have applied in earnest for hundreds of academic positions. However, as many people know, the academic job market has been in a slump, particularly in the humanities, for at least the past decade, well before there was ever a hint of an economic crisis.

When none of my seemingly thousands of applications, meet-and-greets, and e-mail queries went anywhere, I focused my career objectives in a totally different direction. I tasked myself with making a business out of turning English Literature into an applied field. In this new model, my academic publications, including my current book on Shelley and music, suddenly had weight as proof of my research skills, content expertise, and ability to write across fields, even in light of my lack of teaching experience (which is difficult to get in the British university system in which I studied). Building on connections and some good luck, I was finally able to start my own company this past April, and I am now fulfilling one of my longtime dreams: to write professionally. Yet, this renewed thrust into the world of words brought with it two problems that I never envisioned: 1) when you can suddenly do anything, what do you do first?; and 2) how do you decide if you need to set aside some dreams in order to pursue others?

The sheer act of writing, never mind attempting to make a business out of it, is a balancing act. Whether you are an occasional freelancer looking to build your portfolio or a corporate grant writer completing RFPs (request for proposal) to get much-needed funding, writing requires planning, energy, focus, and, perhaps most importantly, time. We all have other commitments in life, obviously. But I’m talking about the actual art of sitting down to translate ideas into written language. You have to balance nouns and verbs, establish a logical flow of ideas between sentences and across paragraphs, and maintain your reader’s interest while staying true to your outline and agenda as a writer.

For me, writing is always a mêlée. I am not a linear person. I make outlines but never precisely stick to them. I also am easily distracted. I have been known to spend more time searching for an appropriate quote to begin a chapter or essay than I do actually writing the piece itself. When I write, I throw ideas around, following this thought that leads to this other tangential thought that ends up being more topical than the first. Eventually, I write and write, virtually crumpling up drafts as I go (which usually means sticking it in another Word doc in case I need it later). I always am slightly amazed when I see a finished product, given the circuitous way in which I write.

With this free-form approach to writing, I have faced some hard choices over the past few months in balancing and prioritizing my writing agenda and, in turn, my business plan. Like many writers, I have a lot of different goals, so it’s often hard to determine what to do first and to feel assured that you’ve made the right decision at the same time.  

Three months into my new writing career, I feel like I have a decent routine and a respectable business plan. I spend most of my early mornings doing a variety of freelance writing, the late morning and most of the afternoon on core client business work, and my late afternoon working on my academic book.

This is why the whole prospect of teaching is confusing. Until last week, I had, at least for the most part, sealed off the dream of teaching as something to pursue later in order to focus on my writing business. But now I’m not sure what to do.

I’ve been highly successful in doing things semi-academically by building my academic writing into my business model. Teaching takes up a lot of time; and I’m already pretty inundated. Also, as an entrepreneur, I’m worried that the temptation of the academic world will distract me from my business pursuits. Yet, the word-addicted, poetry-loving, quote-mongering, professional and academic writer in me wants to seize this pedagogical opportunity to teach others about writing, since it is another of my dreams.

Is it wrong to go through an open door even if you risk being flooded? Or is it better to follow another dream first, do it well, and worry about other goals later? I clearly have no answers to these questions, but I have a meeting later this week about this teaching opportunity that should hopefully make my decision less agonizing…   

Jessica Quillin owns Quillin Consulting, LLC, a consultancy in Washington, DC, focused on content development, research, and strategy for the public and private sectors. She holds a Ph.D. in English literature from the University of Cambridge.

Wait.

That is the first step to take after finishing a first draft and this is what we discussed in last week’s article. Once you’ve typed up that final page, put it all aside. They say to let two to six weeks pass before starting on the second draft. And who are They? Other writers, published and aspiring, agents, editors, and people who take up residence in the world of literature. I’ve set SWAYED on the backburner, and two of my planned six weeks for a break have already passed. What have I been doing during this time? Working on another project and attending a writers group. The latter is what we’re going to take a closer look at this week. More specifically, we’ll examine a few of the types of groups out there, what to avoid, and what to look for when trying to find the write group. (Heh, I made a funny).

Writing groups can be so much more than just a small number of people who get together to critique one another’s work. The right members can prove to be such a wealth of knowledge for brainstorming, editing, character development ideas and tips, etc. Or they can be the biggest detriment for what you are trying to do with your work. That last bit may come as a surprise to quite a few people. It came as a surprise to me until I experienced it myself.

About a year and a half ago, I started looking for a writers group. I wanted to receive the kind of help with my work that I couldn’t get from friends and family. Don’t get me wrong, the people closest to me are wonderful at giving me their raw reactions without looking for what’s wrong with it, but I needed (we as writers need) feedback that was more than “I like it” or “it’s good.” I also needed to be around like-minded people. As I have said in previous articles, my family supports me in what I am trying to do, but it is hard for them (or anyone who is not a writer) to see writing and reading in the same light as us, or to truly understand the significance it holds for people like me and you. So, the hunt began. I went from group to group, session to session, searching. What I ended up finding was that everyone in a writers group is not there for the most obvious reason: to help and be helped.

Some people join a group so they can have their egos stroked. Some attend meetings just to rip apart someone’s work because they themselves aren’t confident in what they have produced. And some are there so they can brag about being a member when they don’t even put pen to paper, or fingers to keys. It was somewhat jarring when I realized that writers groups hardly ever turn out to be anything like what their names suggest—groups of writers. I ran into so many obstacles and dead ends that I, like many, turned to the Internet for help. What I found are names for the little clubs that try to disguise themselves as writing groups. There were all sorts, but three kept surfacing repeatedly; the ones I’ve encountered the most, are:

Sharks and Fish: A small, tightly knit core of people that tears apart those who are not deemed worthy to be a part of the crème de la crème. In this group, certain things will stick out. People who aren’t a part of the center will be afraid to read their work. Others will talk badly about members who aren’t there to defend themselves. The biggest red flag will be the almost brutal critiques that are given. Holly Lisle, a wonderful writer, has written concerning these types of groups and says to watch out for an “open hostility toward anything not written in the group's approved style or genre, people that come to one meeting and never return, and a general Fall of the House of Usher darkness.”

The Pro and the Newbs:  This is a group where there is one published writer and the rest are all beginners. It starts out with a classroom-type setting where the published writer, the pro, is supposed to be the teacher, but it does not turn out that way. Instead of seeing the other writers as fellow students, the beginners turn into groupies. They are there to boost the published writer’s ego and little else. The pro talks about his/her greatness, what’s going on in his/her life, his/her work, and never leaves any room for helping with the progression of the students.

Pushing Pals:   This is an ideal group that usually consists of people who are on the same level, from unpublished to working. This group is usually the best combination, with established rules to deal with potential sharks or egotistical pros. They are friends who are open to accepting others into their circle and will make sure that these new people have their work critiqued as well. They push one another to try to help each other find agents and be published instead of tearing one another down or simply hanging around for praise. They are a good group of good people.

Obviously, the final group is the one to look for. I’m so thankful that I found my Pushing Pals. Their help, insight, suggestions, and every strike-through of red ink have been invaluable to the process of molding SWAYED thus far. Even though I am on this six-week break, I still go to the meetings. I have a responsibility to the other members to offer critique on their work as well. I oftentimes discover that what I help someone else with helps me with my own work later on.

Writing groups can be a wonderful resource or a deadly one if the wrong people catch you. As writers, we can give one another the kind of support that loved ones won’t be able to offer. This is not meant to be an insult, simply the truth. A doctor or lawyer or police officer cannot find the understanding or the professional advice in parents or friends that they could in a colleague. The people in the right writing group start out as our colleagues and can become our friends. Find your pushing pals and get the help you need to build up your work—and don’t forget to push those pals in return.

"Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life." -Mark Twain

Happy writing.

L.L. McKinney is a freelance writer, a published poet and a playwright. As an active member of First Tuesdays and YA Lit Chat, she is currently seeking representation for her young adult paranormal urban fantasy, Swayed.

By Nina Romano

Your first line must be a still life,
a table of ripe fruit awaiting an artist’s brush
or the part in the movie where a character
moves towards the Lexus,
and you want to interject,
“Don’t turn on the ignition!”
but of course you know he will
because the hero rigged a bomb
about to go off.

You could also begin with an image of a man
coming home in the middle of the day,
approaching the house,
seeing fire trucks in his driveway,
hearing blaring sirens and the screams
of the neighbors he usually ignores.

You might bandy about words
like halcyon or peripatetic,
speak of Chinese brush paintings
where gold glints to gilt the frame,
that house silk or rice paper art—
mountains crested in snow,
mica, dust and diamonds in the sparkle.

A deaf and mute scrawls words like music:
queedle or crenulated wing
to help slip backwards while the feet
try to gain purchase in the scree of a slope
in the foothills.

Being neither deaf or mute,
you are crippled and so you run
toward the car parked in the high grass
at the edge of the forest,
dragging one leg, the assailant’s soft verse
or Latinate words segue,
but need a perfect fracture
to end the phrase or line,
to slice the imperceptible silences
between stars and sky
that deafen a scream of terror
at the dropped keys,
the growing shadows
in between trees
the snap of broken twigs,
the crush of leaves
of quickened,
following steps.

Perhaps

Wallace Stevens mused
“Perhaps the truth depends on a walk.”*
Yes, perhaps.

*Wallace Stevens in his “Notes toward a Supreme Fiction,” in The Columbia Anthology of American Poetry, edited by Jay Parini (New York: Columbia
University Press, 1995), 337.

Winter Day
      
Neither plane nor bird in the air,
yet lots of soft landings:
Snow is flying.