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Volume: 16.09 • The South Carolina Writers Workshop Newsletter • October 2005

NEWS

It's almost time to meet at the beach! The full schedule of Conference activities is posted below. One late change in faculty to note. Marcy Posner recently accepted a position with Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc. literary agency to be its foreign rights agent. She now has to attend the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany the same weekend as our conference. Jeff Gerecke, a first-class agent, who spoke at two SCWW conferences during the mid-1990's, has graciously agreed to be a last-minute substitute. We wish Marcy well with her new endeavor and look forward to Jeff joining us once again.

Interest has been expressed to form new chapters in the Florence and Lake City areas. If you are in the area and are willing to help these new chapters get started, even if you are already a member of an active chapter, please let me know. Together, we do the write thing better.

Meets 2nd Tuesday at Eden Gardens on Silver Bluff Road, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Contact: Charles Reeve cpreeve@bellsouth.net

Meets 2nd & 4th Sundays at the Merritt Building Parlor of Anderson College from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. Contact: Jo Buckner (864) 261-7739.

Meets 1st & 3rd Tuesdays at Books-a-Million on West Ashley, 7:00 p.m.; 2nd & 4th Tuesdays at Starbucks on Coleman Blvd., Mount Pleasant, 7:00 p.m. Contact: Dan Barber danb@mojolin.com

Meets 1st & 3rd Wednesdays at Lexington County Public Library, Cayce-West Columbia Branch, 1500 Augusta Road, 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. Contact: Steve Vassey vasseyws@hotmail.com

Meets 1st & 3rd Mondays at Richland County Public Library, 1431 Assembly Street, 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. Contact: Larry Hamilton docham@earthlink.net

CrossTIME Science Fiction Anthology, vol. IV, containing a short story by David Westeren is available through Amazon.com

The annual SCWW conference was the subject of a recent discussion at the Columbia II workshop. One of our members has been going for eight years. We are looking forward to the opportunity to be with people who have writing interests and talents. This is perhaps a primary reason we attend. Also, we have found the classes to be helpful.

A topic of some interest regarding the upcoming conference is the program, in particular that few agents and publishing representatives are scheduled. Meeting with established writers, while interesting, doesn't provide the kind of circumstance or potential that will help further our publishing efforts. In addition, we can meet and talk to authors at any of the numerous events in Columbia, such as the Fall Festival of Authors and SC Book Fair. Being writers in a state far removed from the business center of publishing, we need opportunities to connect with these professionals.

Some of us were so pleased with the previous venue, including last year 's conference, that we 're holding our breath that the new location will be as accommodating. We 're excited about having a choice of lodgings on the oceanfront.

Many of us are interested in manuscript critiques if by agents or publishers. Other readers, such as writers or teachers, give valuable personal feedback on our writing, but, for lack of experience in the publishing business, they speak with less authority.

Columbia III meets first and third Mondays at the Richland County Library Sandhills Branch in the Summit. Contact Wanda Branham.

Meets 2nd Tuesday at St. Eugene Hospital dining room 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Contact: Kati Paul (843) 774–4561.

Meets 1st Thursday & 3rd Tuesday at The Open Book, 110 South Pleasantburg Drive, 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. Contact: John Migacz migaczmarjon@prtcnet.com

New member Elizabeth Eldering won Second Runner-up in the Armchair Interviews Mystery Fan Writing Contest for her short story, "Train of Clues." The contest required her to write a story that used at least four of the following eight clues: Obsession perfume; soiled ballet slipper; train whistle; temporary tattoo; headless Barbie; a wig; footprints in the snow; and a page from a dictionary.

Launched in 2005, Armchair Interviews™ www.armchairinterviews.com "welcomes you to a fun, convenient way to access your favorite author or learn more about those who write in a specific genre."

In August, Robin Prince Monroe had an article titled "Around the Home" published on the Crown Financial Ministries website www.crown.org Also, check out Robin's website at www.robinprincemonroe.com

Meets 2nd & 4th Wednesdays at Lexington County Library, Irmo Branch, 6251 St. Andrews Road, 6:30 p.m. Contact: Charlotte Blackstone CHEETAH5@aol.com

Lexington 1st Chapter Writers meets in the Lexington Library at 5440 Augusta Road every other Tuesday from 6-8. For more information call Lynn Stidom at 957-9106

Meeting places and times vary. Contact: Ruth King flking@sccoast.net

Meets 2nd & 4th Tuesday at Books-A-Million, 7 p.m. Contact Edward Howe edhowe139@aol.com

Kim Harrison was recently featured in the Charlotte Observer books section. Her first book, Dead Witch Walking, is now in its 11th printing!

Meets 4th Tuesday at Spartanburg Westside Library, 525 Oak Grove Road, 7:00 p.m. Contact: Roger Meadows RDM730@aol.com

Bret Lott here, editor of The Southern Review on the campus of LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. No doubt you know the sorrow and hardship that has been visited on residents of our state because of Hurricane Katrina. As a result of so many New Orleans area universities and colleges closing down for who knows how long, LSU has taken on almost 2800 new students who were displaced by losing their homes and their schools; in addition, many students who were already enrolled at LSU have also suffered great losses. These students have experienced hardships that few of us will ever know: they have lost their homes, their personal belongings, their books, their food -- everything, including, for many, the college or university at which they were enrolled. To help meet their needs -- and these are IMMEDIATE and GENUINE needs -- the LSU Foundation has set up Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund.

1 -- You send The Southern Review a check for $8 (eight dollars) made out to "LSU Foundation," and write on the memo line "Hurricane Student Relief Fund." Mail that check to:

THE SOUTHERN REVIEW
OLD PRESIDENT'S HOUSE
LSU
BATON ROUGE LA 70803

Please include your name and mailing address when sending the check.

Or

Call The Southern Review at 225-578-5108 or 225-578-5041 and give us your visa number and name and address.

2 -- i send you a free copy of this issue of the southern review.

Please note that these two actions -- your donation, our sending you a free copy -- are MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE (does anyone out there recognize yet the legal hoops I am having to jump through in order simply to help students in dire need of help? Sheesh!). Please note as well that it just so happens that the cover price for an issue of The Southern Review is $8 (eight dollars), BUT YOU ARE FREE TO DONATE AS MUCH AS YOU WISH.

Sincerely, and with thanks to all --

Bret Lott
Editor and Director
The Southern Review

As recovery continues and rebuilding begins on America's Gulf Coast, I am reminded of South Carolina's own devastation and despair following Hurricane Hugo in 1989, and the outpouring of compassion and aid, both from within and outside our state. Some of that relief was sent specifically to help South Carolina's artists and arts organizations who were impacted by the storm, and it helped our state's arts community bounce back healthier and stronger.

Now the Southern Arts Federation has established an Emergency Relief Fund to assist artists and arts organizations residing in communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina. I encourage South Carolina's arts community to rally to the aid of our colleagues and friends by making contributions to this fund.

Donations may be made by check or credit card. All donations are tax-deductible. Find a donation form at:

www.southarts.org/download/EmergencyReliefFund.pdf

or mail your contribution to:

Southern Arts Federation
Emergency Relief Fund
1800 Peachtree St NW Ste 808
Atlanta GA 30309

FAX: (404) 873-2148
ATTN: Emergency Relief Fund

Susie Surkamer
South Carolina Arts Commission
SouthCarolinaArts.com

OPPORTUNITIES

Got news from your local chapter? Got a helpful writers web site to share? Got a caution about a bogus publishing opportunity or contest? Let's network our knowledge to build a better newsletter.

Deadline for submissions is the 21st of each month. Please send submissions to (NOTE: New E-Mail Address!) quilleditor@bellsouth.net either in the body of an e-mail or as an attached file in MS Word (DOC), Rich Text (RTF) or plain text (TXT) format. Articles accepted for publication will appear in The Quill and archived on the web. Writers retain all rights to their works.

Submissions may also be made on floppy disk and mailed to:

Leland Beaudrot
1 Cleveland St Ste 110
Greenville SC 29601-3646

Write on!

Leland Beaudrot, Editor
The Quill

The Poetry Society of South Carolina meets at Second Presbyterian Church on Meeting Street in Charleston at seven p.m. on the dates noted below. All meetings, other than the holiday party in December, are free and open to the public. A reception with light refreshments follows each meeting.

Find out what it takes to craft and publish your own children's book. Donna Rathmell, author of Carolina's Story: Sea Turtles Get Sick Too, will talk about her experience writing children's books. She has also started a children's book publishing company here in the Lowcountry, Sylvan Dell Publishing, and will talk to you about the process of getting published. Main Library October 11th 7-8 pm.

For more information please call 843-805-6930.

The editors of the Emrys Journal invite submissions of previously unpublished short fiction, poetry, and essays. Essays and short stories should be no more than 5,000 words, and we do not accept any work in the categories of romance, religion, science fiction or mystery. No more than two stories or essays and no more than five poems may be submitted per author. Documentation should conform to the MLA stylesheet.

Address manuscripts to:

Journal Editor
PO Box 8813
Greenville SC 29604

Please send an SASE for reply. No manuscripts will be returned unless appropriate postage is enclosed.

Manuscripts will be accepted only through November 1. Writers will receive a tentative reply within six weeks of receipt.

A prize of $250 will be awarded to one writer for the Sue Lile Inman Fiction Award for excellence in the art of the short story. Established in 2001 by the family and friends of Sue Lile Inman and by the Emrys Foundation, this annual prize honors the Journal’s founding editor and former Board President.
Another prize of $250 will be awarded to one poet for the Nancy Dew Taylor Award for excellence in the art of poetry. This award was established in 2003 to honor past-President Nancy Dew Taylor, by her family, friends and the Emrys Foundation.
A final prize of $250 will be awarded for excellence in the art of the essay to honor the memory of the recently departed Dr. Linda Julian, by her family, friends and the Emrys Foundation.

Join hundreds of writers from around the country in scenic Asheville, N.C., the weekend of November 4-6 at the 2005 N.C. Writers' Network Fall Conference. Choose from more than 40 workshops by award-winning writers and teachers in screenwriting, poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, travel writing, publishing, playwriting, and more.

The program also includes panel discussions, manuscript critiques, networking with agents and editors, open mic sessions, entertainment, lunch and dinner banquets with readings, and more.

Friday's keynote speaker is New Yorker writer Susan Orlean, author of The New York Times bestselling The Orchid Thief, which was the basis of the oscar-winning movie adaptation. N.C. Poet Laureate Kathryn Stripling Byer will be featured Saturday, along with a "mystery guest."

Master classes will be taught by Susan Orlean, Kathryn Stripling Byer, Mark Bixler, and John Mcnally. Special sessions in nonfiction, fiction, and poetry will meet at the newly restored Thomas Wolfe house in downtown Asheville.

Wednesday, October 12, is the deadline to apply for master classes and the conference Manuscript Mart, which offers one-on-one critiques with agents and editors. Completed conference registration with manuscript submission must be postmarked by that date. But don't delay! These popular sessions fill up quickly. Visit www.ncwriters.org for details.

The Larry Corse Prize for Playwriting was established in 2003 by Larry Corse, Professor Emeritus of Theatre and English at Clayton State University, to encourage the development and production of new works for the stage.  The 2004 competition was won by Robert Karmon for his play Caliban and Miranda.  In 2005, the competition was moved to its new host, Columbus State University Department of Theatre, Columbus, Georgia.  The 2005 competition received 306 plays from 12 countries and was won by  William Missouri Downs for his comedy Seagulls in a Cherry Tree.

The Prize:  $1,000 and a production by Columbus State University Department of Theatre.

Eligibility:  The competition is open to all.

The Play:
1. A play submitted to the competition should be finished, original, in English, and must not have been previously published or performed (excluding workshop readings).
2. The play may be either full-length, one-act, or a series of related one-acts, and should have a running time of between 45 and 120 minutes.
3. The number of actors needed for the play should be between 5 and 10.

Columbus State University Department of Theatre will have first production rights for the winning play.  The playwright will retain all other rights, including copyright, publication, and performance rights.  If for some reason, Columbus State University Department of Theatre is not able to produce the winning play within two years of the announcement of the winner, first production rights revert to the playwright.  If, in the opinion of the jury, no play worthy of the prize is submitted, Columbus State University Department of Theatre reserves the right to withhold the prize.

Submitting a Play:
1. Because the play will be submitted to the juries anonymously, the author's name should not appear on any page of the play.
2. Plays should be submitted with a cover sheet containing the following information:
a. Author's name
b. Author's address
c. Title of play
d. Author's phone number and e-mail address
e. A signed statement that the play has not been previously produced or published.
3. Deadline for Submission:  Plays must be received by the Columbus International Playwriting Competition on or before November 7, 2005.
4. Address for Submissions:

Columbus State University
International Playwriting Competition #324
931 Monroe Drive NE, Suite A-102
Atlanta, GA  USA  30308

The copies of the plays submitted will not be returned.  Please do not send one and only originals.
The plays will initially be read by theater professionals.  Eight to ten finalists will then be submitted to the Theatre Faculty of Columbus State University for final judging.  The selection process should be complete by February 2006.
For additional information, contact Steve Graver, Department of Theatre, Columbus State University at Graver_Steven@colstate.edu or by writing to the above mailing address. Please do not send submissions directly to Columbus State University.

Eligibility: Playwrights must be women residing in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee or Virginia. Plays must be original, never-before-produced, full-length (minimum 80 minutes), and unpublished. Plays that have received staged readings are eligible. Musicals, children's plays, collaborations and adaptations are not eligible. Each writer may submit the first 15 pages ONLY of no more than two manuscripts.

Entry deadline: Submissions must be postmarked or transmitted electronically no later than November 1, 2005. Submitted pages will not be returned.

Award/Stipend: The winning playwright will receive a stipend to assist in travel and other expenses, and may also receive an additional monetary award. The winning entry will receive a fully staged World Premiere production in Orlando, Florida, in a small professional theater setting.

Manuscript Format: Writers are asked to submit a title page and the first 15 pages of no more than two scripts, either electronically via email, in Microsoft Word or pdf format, or in hard copy, via USPS. The title page should include the playwright's name, address, phone number, and email address. Select writers will be asked to submit full manuscripts for further consideration.

Details:

• Entry in the WPI play competition is understood as an indication of the playwright's willingness, in the event of winning, to grant first production rights to Women Playwrights' Initiative (WPI), the producer.
• Decision on winner: February 1, 2006.
• Developmental process begins in March 2006.
• World Premiere production dates are TBA but targeted to be September 2006.
• Although the WPI cannot assume responsibility for loss, damage, or return of scripts, every reasonable care will be taken.
• First runner up may be chosen for a developmental reading or workshop production.

Further information: Julia Gagne julesgee@cfl.rr.com 407-273-9723 or Lyndol Michael lyndolmichael@earthlink.net 407-380-1812

Send pages to:

WPI
Attn: Julia Gagne
3006 Hartland Court
Orlando FL 32825

Or email to her at julesgee@cfl.rr.com

Judge: The judge will be novelist and short story writer, Silas House. For more information visit www.silashouse.com

Eligibility: The 2006 The Janice Holt Giles Fiction Prize is open to all fiction writers. Only an original, unpublished short story in English may be submitted. Any subject matter or writing style is welcome. The winning story must be suitable for a general audience.

Deadline: Manuscripts must be postmarked by January 1, 2006. The winner will be notified by March 2006. The winning story will run in the summer issue of Arts Across Kentucky.

Manuscript format: Send two copies, typed double-spaced on white, 8 1/2" x 11" paper. Photocopied are acceptable. Do not send originals as manuscripts will not be returned. One entry should not exceed 3,000 words. One entry per writer. Entry should include a cover page with writer's name, address and other contact information and story title. Each page of manuscript should have a header with the story title and page number. The writer's name and other identifying information should appear only on cover page, not on manuscript. The winning author will be asked to submit an electronic copy for publication in AAK.

Prize: The winner of The Janice Holt Giles Fiction Prize will receive $300 and publication in the summer issue of Arts Across Kentucky.

Submission guidelines: Entry deadline is January 1, 2006. Send two copies of manuscript and cover page along with a $10 entry fee to:

Arts Across Kentucky
Attn: Fiction Prize
2009 Family Circle
Lexington, KY 40505

Make checks payable to Arts Across Kentucky

Affiliates of employees of The Giles Society and Arts Across Kentucky are not eligible. The contest sponsors and judge reserve the right not to choose a winner should no suitable manuscript be found.

Finishing Line Press is currently accepting entries for our New Women's Voices Chapbook Competition. Open to women who have never before published a full-length book of poems. Last year's winner was Kay Sloan for The Birds Are On Fire. Please submit 16-26 pages of poetry (one poem per page), title page, bio, acknowledgments, SASE, and $15 entry fee to our new location: Finishing Line Press, P. O. Box 1626, Georgetown, KY 40324. The winner receives a $100 cash award, publication, ISBN, and 25 copies of her chapbook. Sample Chapbook $6.00

Deadline: January 15, 2006 (Postmark)

In addition to the winning manuscript, up to 10 manuscripts will be selected for publication in the NWV series.

Email: kevin@finishinglinepress.com

FEATURES

From The Novel Writer's Toolkit: A Guide To Writing Great Fiction And Getting Published

It is important to remember that psychologists say that a very large percentage of communication is non-verbal, yet on the printed page all you have are the words. There is no tone, no facial expressions, no hand gestures, nothing that in normal face-to-face communication can drastically affect the message being communicated. Because all you have are the words, you must choose them very carefully. A conversation in a novel is not exactly as it would be in "real life." Because you are lacking the communication tools you would have in real life, you make up for it with your word choice. You also must be aware that you can't bore the reader, thus your written dialogue is usually more concise than spoken.

Purposes of dialogue: You use dialogue for many reasons beyond the simple fact that your plot calls for a conversation at certain points. Dialogue is a good way to overcome limitations of some of the other tools you are using. For example, if you are writing a first person detective story, dialogue is useful in giving your main character (and in turn the reader) important information. It is also useful in imparting backstory information and exposition.

Dialogue reveals a great amount of information about your characters. It is their chance to express themselves directly to the reader. Make sure, though, that the voice they use is consistent. If you want to check this, go back through whatever you've written and highlight everything each character says, using different colors for the different characters, then trace each character's dialogue by itself, making sure it is the same voice. Also, make sure that all your characters don't sound the same. Dialogue can reveal motivation, which is critical to character. Remember, though, just like in real life you have to consider whether what a person says is the truth.

Dialogue advances the plot. It can also sharpen conflict between characters. It can be used to control the pace of the story. Sometimes if you are going full speed ahead with action, dialogue can be a good way to slow things down a little and give the reader a breather. But it more often creates suspense and intensifies the conflict in the story.
Movies tend to beat dialogue to death, always searching for that greater line. Who can forget Clint Eastwood's "Go ahead, make my day."? While your dialogue should keep the readers' attention, don't beat them to death with stilted dialogue.
Dialogue must fit the characters, but try to avoid excessive slang as it usually interrupts the smoothness even though it is natural for that character and locale. Think about it: Readers are going along, your smooth prose has them absorbed in the story, and all of sudden the writing changes to slang. It can be disconcerting. Again there are places where it works, but understand what the disadvantage is and weigh it before using.
I liken this to going to see a play by Shakespeare and not being able to see the stage, but only being able to hear. So you have a friend sitting next to you who describes all the action. I don't know about you, but it takes me several minutes to get used to listening to 'olde English'. But what if my friend is describing the scene in 'new' English to me? Would I be able to keep track of everything?
Don't overuse dialogue. Even in a screenplay, half the page should be action. If your book starts to exceed fifty percent dialogue you might have too much, although, as usual there are exceptions to this.

Dialogue tags: A dialogue tag is any words you use to indicate who is speaking. There's a tendency to feel that you have to use terms such as "he exclaimed"; "she gasped"; "he shrieked"; etc., etc., to make up for your lack of tone or gestures. It can, and often is, be easily overdone. I noticed an interesting thing while reading Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove: in almost every instance of dialogue, he just simply wrote the word "said." Seemed to work for him. Use strong dialogue tags when absolutely necessary, but don't overdo it or it will take away from the words themselves and jar the reader. This is very common mistake among new writers.
The placement of the dialogue tag is also important. It should be either at the front, middle, or end of the first sentence of dialogue. Don't have an entire paragraph of dialogue and then at the end of the fifth sentence put a comma and quotations marks and Joe said. If you do that, the reader spends five sentences wondering exactly who is speaking.
If you have more than one male in a scene you can't use "he" even if in the context of the writing it's pretty evident who is speaking. Same with more than one female. Also, don't have bystanders who you forget about. I've read scenes with three people in them, where one says nothing and sort of fades into nothingness by the end, then startlingly reappears at the end of the dialogue.
Dialogue is usually much shorter in a novel than it would be in real life. There are several reasons for that but mostly it is because people expend numerous words in real life to make a point. Words that in print would quickly cause the reader to lose interest.
An example of how difficult it is to write dialogue is an on-line chat room. When people are forced to use only the words, communication often breaks down and misunderstandings abound.

It's almost time for NaNoWriMo! National Novel Writing Month is your opportunity to crank out that next best seller (or best left in the cellar) in the scant space of one month. Impossible? Break it down: the requisite novel contains at least 50,000 words, and November (the designated month) has 30 days, that's less than 1667 words per day. Still too much? If you could spare only an hour a day for the project, it would mean less than 30 words a minute. But where to find that extra hour? That's actually the easy part.

The last Sunday of October, we "fall back" from Daylight Saving Time by turning the clocks back an hour. If you turn your alarm back one hour also, your wake up time is the same as it has been all summer. Voila! Instant writing time! [Caution! Losing an hour of sleep in the morning may cause evening drowsiness. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery while trying to write a novel in a month.]

While the emphasis is on quantity over quality-write in haste, edit at leisure-it can put that first draft in your hands where the real refinement can begin. Check out www.NaNoWriMo.com for the whole story. Registration is free, as is participation in the on-line forums, your built in cheering section. And, if you finish before the deadline, you receive a full color certificate honoring your accomplishment and the indelible title of NaNoWriMo Winner.

MUSINGS

My wife and I slip into a familiar booth at our favorite Chinese Restaurant. While waiting for our Subgum Wor Bar, I steal her fork and force it's stainless tines to mesh with mine. I touch the handle of one fork, the pair rock like a tiny see-saw. She rolls her eyes and shakes her head. She's seen it all before.

"I know what this means," I say. She sips her tea and looks at me quizzically. "A long series of first dates."

We laugh at the irony of our conversation. It has been months since we've been out to dinner. She doesn't get out much these days except for medical appointments. But we've come to the point where it's worth the effort to get out when we can. These are tomorrow's good old days.

Despite the relentless progress of her disease, my wife is secure in her faith and comfortable with the end and beginning that stand before her. But aware that the end of her suffering is the beginning of mine, she helps me wrestle with the future which will be mine alone.

Strange as it may seem, perhaps even somewhat heartless and cruel, we talk about everything to come, even when I'm going on solo. Having shared more than half my life, she knows me better than I know myself. Her knowledge is a resource; she loves me enough to want me to be happy.

She hasn't given me a laundry list of rough edges to smooth down, we've worked a lot of those out in 27 years of marriage. But she has offered a faithful sounding board for my own personal reflections, employing the thoughtful critique she has so often applied to my fiction. Together, we could probably come up with a check list for prospective partners:

1. Must appreciate, or at least tolerate with a smile, an ever growing menagerie of plush monkeys
2. Must not be a Tony Stewart fan
3....
99. And then there's that fork thing.

It's going on 5:00 as I write this in yet another waiting room. Perhaps when she comes out from her latest CT scans we'll stop on the way home for a bite to eat. We've been talking about going to an old fashioned drive-in just down the road. We can sit and enjoy burgers in our car in the cool fall evening – another in our own series of first dates.

The Quill is the newsletter of the South Carolina Writers Workshop <www.scwriters.com>.

Copyright 2005 by Leland Beaudrot, Editor. Contributing writers retain all rights to their work.