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Volume: 17.07 • The South Carolina Writers Workshop Newsletter • July 2006

NEWS

The Board is busy making plans for our annual Writers Conference October 20-22 at Myrtle Beach. Are YOU making plans to be there? Registration opens in August, so be sure to carve out calender time now.

The Quill is late! Oh, you noticed? Sorry about that. The Editor's laptop blew a hard drive in mid June, then his DSL modem went dead. Now both are replaced, and he's happily cruising the information superhighway with his sporty new compact.

What's happening in your local chapter? Who's getting published? Who has the most impressive portfolio of rejection letters? Are there local events for writers in your area? Does your local chapter have its own newsletter or web page? Please submit you news to quilleditor@bellsouth.net

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

Meets 1st Tuesday at Barnes & Noble, West Ashley, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Contact: Jason A. Zwiker (843) 573-9291.

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

A Columbia II writer attended the Hub City Writers Conference at Wofford last weekend and was so enthusiastic he wants to record the readings next year. Poets Rebecca McLanahan and Barbara Presnell were particularly impressive. His only criticism was that the conference was too short.

Deborah Johnson's story "Second Sight" was named as one of the winners in the SC Arts Commission's Fiction Project. This is the third time one of her stories has won this award.

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

Smash hit, crowd-puller, winner, knockout, sensation, a wow. Pick any superlative you fancy 'cause they all apply to SCWW Greenville Chapter's seminar with Mindy Friddle.

Mindy, a fellow with the South Carolina Academy of Authors, spoke for over two hours relating some of her extensive experience with agents, publishers, and writing. Forty folks from as far away as Columbia joined us at the Greenville Library to hear Mindy's writing wit and wisdom. Ms. Friddle graciously stayed until the hall was empty, giving advice, signing books and answering all questions.

Our thanks to Mindy and all who made the Greenville Chapter's "First Seminar In A Long Time" a rousing success.

Leland Beaudrot, Editor of The Quill and former SCWW Board member, has accepted a position on the Advisory Board of the South Carolina Center for the Book (formerly known as the Palmetto Book Alliance), an affiliate of the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress.

The Greenville Chapter web site has had a major facelift. Have a look.

Meets 3rd Thursday at Books-A-Million, 275-1 Harbison Blvd. (in the center of the store), 6:30 p.m. Contact: Charlotte Blackstone charstonblack@bellsouth.net

The Irmo/Chapin Chapter has had several very enjoyable meetings with new members (shy, but budding authors) and long-time members (published authors). We have 5 to 7 writers each meeting presenting their novels, poetry, and reworked favorites from the bottom drawer. If you're in the area, stop in and pull out a poem. We'd love to listen.

Lexington 1st Chapter Writers meets in the Lexington Library at 5440 Augusta Road every other Tuesday, 6:00 - 8:00. Contact: Lynn Stidom lstidom@aol.com

Meeting places and times vary. Contact: Cynthia Hodell Dyer chodelldyer@aol.com

Meets 2nd & 4th Tuesday in Durango Bagel, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Contact: Betty Beamguard bbeamguard@earthlink.net 803-222-4208.

At the conference for the Southeastern Writers Association, Martha Robinson’s poem "Silent Echoes" won third place, and her personal essay “Roadside Assistance" received third as well.

Grace Looper’s “Brainwashed” won second place for the M.L. Brown Award for Young Adult Literature (her third year to place in this category). She also merited third place for “The Least of These” in the Angel Award for Holiday Seasonal Writing.

Since George Youngblood is way over there in Texas and can’t attend chapter meetings in South Carolina, we’ll adopt him and report that he won seven awards at the Southeastern conference.

The Rock Hill chapter is now meeting at Durango Bagel the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays, 7-9. The change is due to a cutback in library hours at Winthrop, not because we got booted out for bad behavior—really.

Grace Looper merited an honorable mention in the Cloak and Dagger Mystery Short Story Contest.

South Lit published Betty Beamguard's "How to Keep from Getting Whopsided," at www.southlit.com/southlit1.htm. Sasee accepted her humor piece, "The Wild Red Snapper," for their July issue. YC Magazine published "The Proper Way to Litter" in their May issue and USA Deep South in the summer postings: usadeepsouth.ms11.net/summer06.html. Betty also has features scheduled for Carriage Driving Magazine in the UK, Driving Digest, and Draft Horse Journal. Her article recently appeared in the Inquirer-Herald, and her feature, "Writing Their Roots" (a profile of Grace Looper, Gwen Hunter, Mignon Ballard and Tamar Myers) is scheduled for the summer issue of Southern Arts Journal.

Meets 2nd & 4th Monday at the Richland County Library, Sandhills Branch, 1 Summit Parkway, Columbia, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Contact Sonia Hayes Pleasant sonia_hayes@msn.com

Meets 4th Tuesday at Spartanburg Westside Library, 525 Oak Grove Road, 7:00 p.m. Contact: Roger Meadows rdm730@aol.com

OPPORTUNITIES

The second workshop will be held in West Columbia on Saturday, July 15, at 11:00 AM, and will feature novelist, freelance writer and journalist T. Lynn Ocean, author of the heartwarming novels Sweet Home Carolina and Fool Me Once. She will do a two-part workshop on how to be a successful freelance writer and how to tap into your subconscious to develop effective plots for fiction. Her seminar will be held at the Cayce-West Columbia Library located at 1500 Augusta Rd., W. Columbia, SC. For more information, e-mail Sandra Johnson at sjohnson9886@bellsouth.net

The third workshop will be in Charleston on Saturday, August 12, at 10:00 AM, and will feature Carol Ann Davis who is a poet, assistant professor with the College of Charleston's English Department, and editor of Crazyhorse, an acclaimed literary journal of poetry, fiction, and essays. Carol will do a workshop on how to submit to literary journals and what editors of literary journals are looking for. The workshop will be held at the Charleston County Library (Main Branch) located at 68 Calhoun St, Charleston, SC. For more information, e-mail Frances Pearce at francesjpearce@msn.com

Faculty for the 16th Annual SCWW Conference Oct. 20-22, 2006

Keynote Speaker: Tess Gerritsen is a physician and novelist who started her writing career as a romantic suspense author. In 1996 her first medical thriller, Harvest, marked her debut on the New York Times bestseller list. Since then, she has been a perennial presence on bestseller lists around the world, and is now published in 29 countries. Her thrillers include The Surgeon, Body Double, and Vanish, which was nominated for the Edgar Award. Her most recent release is The Mephisto Club. www.tessgerritsen.com

Other Faculty Members:

Jim Conover - After serving on the police force of Pekin, Illinois, for twenty years, Jim started a private detective firm with his brother Dennis. He chronicles his investigative work regarding child abduction/murder cases in his self-published book, Slayer of Innocence. He has also self-published two novels-Lynch Law and Greenhorn Killer-and has written three screenplays. He is currently independently producing a small-budget film based on his screenplay Sand Prairie. www.jimconover.com

Dr. Kwame Dawes - Distinguished Poet-in-Residence at the University of South Carolina, Director of USC's Master of Fine Arts program, and Director of the South Carolina Poetry Initiative, Dr. Dawes is not only an award winning poet and educator, but is also a celebrated playwright, actor, critic, essayist, and musician. He has penned eleven collections of poetry that include Midland, Resisting the Anomie, Progeny of Air, and most recently, Wisteria, and is the author of four nonfiction books, a collection of short stories and several anthologies. He has also written fifteen plays that have been performed in Europe, the Caribbean, and Canada. Among his many awards is a Push Cart Prize for Best American Poetry and Ohio University Press's Hollis Summers Poetry Prize. www.kwamedawes.com

Jane Friedman is editorial director of Writer's Digest Books and Writer's Market annuals. Her editorial resume includes turns at Writer's Digest magazine, Novel Writer and Publishing Success magazines, North Light Books, and The Evansville Review. In addition to acquiring 30 titles per year for Writer's Digest Books, she serves as fiction editor for IdentityTheory.com and teaches composition at the University of Cincinnati. F+W Publications www.fwpublications.com

Anne R. Gunton - Associate editor with Viking Children's Books/Penguin Young Readers Group. Dedicated to quality children's literature, Viking publishes an average of sixty titles per year, ranging from picture books for very young children to sophisticated fiction and nonfiction for young adults. Anne edits YA novels, middle grade novels, picture books and works with such authors as David A. Adler, Betsy Byars, Nancy Carlson, and Susane Colasanti. www.penguin.com/youngreaders

Deborah Grosvenor - Deborah Grosvenor has worked in book publishing for more than 20 years as an editor and agent. She has edited or represented several hundred nonfiction books, her best-known acquisition, however, being a first novel, The Hunt for Red October. Deborah signed up bestselling author Homer Hickham's first work, Torpedo Junction, and helped launch bestselling author Stephen Coonts's first novel, Flight of the Intruder. Grosvenor Literary Agency was formed in 1996 with a stable of about three dozen authors including New York Times bestsellers and Pulitzer Prize winners. She represents fiction, narrative nonfiction, history, biography, politics, current affairs, science, humor, memoir, self-help and anything Southern. Among her clients are Henry Allen, Tom Oliphant, Eleanor Clift, Mort Kondracke, Phil Jennings, Curtis Wilkie, Alston Chase, Gayden Metcalfe, and Susan McDougal.

Ann Ipock - an award-winning speaker, playwright, performer, as well as humor essayist whose column appears biweekly in the Georgetown Times, South Carolina's oldest newspaper. She is a regular contributor to other regional publications such as Sasee Magazine, Pee Dee Magazine, and The Myrtle Beach Herald. She successfully self-published two collections of her newspaper columns. New York Times best-selling author Dorothea Benton Frank writes: "Ann Ipock's writing embraces the imperfections of this life with a fresh voice and incredible humor. Her essays will tickle you to pieces! Ann's keen observations should be in needlepoint!" Her books are Life Is Short, But It's Wide and Life Is Short So Read This Fast! www.annipock.com

Beth Jusino - Literary agent with Alive Communications which has represented such best-selling authors as Rev. Billy Graham, Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, and Karen Kingsbury. Sixty titles from 21 different authors represented by the agency have hit national best-seller lists within the last year--nine in their category's top slot. Prior to joining Alive Communications, Beth spent six years as Managing Editor for MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) International and she served as editor for MOMSense Magazine, the most widely distributed Christian parenting magazine in America. www.alivecommunications.com

Carrie McCullough is publisher for Harbor House Books, a regional publisher of adult fiction (mainstream, mystery, historical and horror) and nonfiction (Americana, Civil War, biography, paranormal). As publisher, she directs the daily activities of the Harbor House Books, including acquisitions, editorial content, publicity, marketing and sales. Prior to joining Harbor House, she was copy editor at The State newspaper and book editor at The Morning News in Florence, SC. She has also served as adjunct professor in the University of South Carolina's journalism program. www.harborhousebooks.com

Stu Miller has been a successful literary and packaging agent in Hollywood and New York for over 40 years, representing fiction and nonfiction authors, screen and television writers, producers, directors, interactive multimedia creators and a broad range of intellectual property. His clients have included multiple winners of Oscar, Emmy, Writers' Guild of America, CableAce, People's Choice, Golden Globe and many other national and international awards. His greatest pleasure is finding and nurturing previously undiscovered but talented writers and helping them to develop satisfying, rewarding careers.

Cathy Pickens is author of a new mystery series that features Avery Andrews, a 30-something lawyer, who returns to her small Upstate South Carolina hometown after losing her job with a large defense firm. The first book in the series, Southern Fried, earned Cathy the St. Martins Press Malice Domestic Award for Best Traditional Mystery in 2003. Her second novel, Done Gone Wrong, has met with glowing reviews as well. Like the main character of her novels, Cathy is a lawyer. She teaches law to business students at Queens University of Charlotte, NC, and serves on the board of an inter-agency forensic organization that serves Charlotte/Mecklenburg County. www.cathypickens.com

Marcia Preston - In addition to being editor and publisher of ByLine, a national monthly publication that showcases the work of both new and veteran writers, Marcia is an accomplished novelist. Her mystery/suspense novel, Song of the Bones, won the 2004 Mary Higgins Clark Award sponsored by Simon & Schuster. She writes contemporary women's fiction published in hardcover by Mira Books. Her latest, The Piano Man, deals with the ripple effects of a heart transplant. www.marciapreston.com

Chris Roerden - Author of newly released Don't Murder Your Mystery: 24 Fiction-Writing Techniques To Save Your Manuscript From Turning Up D.O.A., Chris worked 35 years in the publishing industry as an editor and is now a freelance editor and writing coach. In addition, she spent six years teaching college-level writing. As a specialist in the mystery genre, she edited such mysteries as Alex Matthews' Cassidy McCabe series and Deb Baker's forthcoming Murder Passes the Buck and Dolled Up For Murder. www.bellarosabooks.com

Terry Roueche - In addition to having written numerous one-act and full-length plays that have been performed throughout the Southeast, Terry's plays Parade Day, Take My Wife, Please and Norman Alexander have enjoyed successful runs on off-off Broadway. www.undertheorder.com

Ted Tally wrote the screen adaptation of The Silence of the Lambs for which he won the 1992 Academy Award, Writers Guild Award, Chicago Film Critics Award, and an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America. That work was recently voted by Writers Guild members to their list of the "101 Greatest Screenplays." Tally also wrote the screenplays for Red Dragon, Thomas Harris' prequel to The Silence of the Lambs, as well as White Palace, Before and After, The Juror, and All the Pretty Horses. He served as Associate Producer on the Brian De Palma film Mission to Mars, and as Story Consultant on the Dreamworks Animation films Shrek 2, Madagascar, and Shrek 3. For the theater Tally has written Terra Nova (Obie and Dramalogue Awards), Hooters, Coming Attractions (Outer Critics Circle Award), Little Footsteps, and Silver Linings. His television scripts include The Comedy Zone, Hooters, and The Father Clements Story (Christopher Award). Born in North Carolina, educated at Yale and Yale School of Drama, he has also taught at each. Other honors include fellowships from the NEA and the Guggenheim Foundation. He lives with his wife and two children in Pennsylvania.

Kathie Fong Yoneda is an independent script consultant and producer with over 25 years of experience in the film industry. She has worked for such prestigious studios as Paramount, Columbia, MGM, Universal, 20th Century Fox, and Disney, specializing in story analysis and development of live action and animated projects. Her career includes executive positions with Walt Disney, Touchstone, Island Pictures and Walt Disney TV Animation. She is the author of The Script Selling Game: A Hollywood Insider's Look At Getting Your Script Sold and Produced, and is also a co-executive producer on the cable series, Beyond The Break. www.kathiefongyoneda.com

Friday, October 20, 2006

10:00 - 12:00 Early Registration - Water Oaks Foyer

Intensive Study Workshops

12:00 - 2:30 Sessions A - Creekside Classrooms I, II and III
1. Poetry - Dr. Kwame Dawes - "The Anatomy of the Poem-- Using shorter form verse to study the essential DNA of poetry. Using visual art images and several shorter (largely Eastern) verse forms to explore some of the key elements of the poem--the metaphor, the simile, the breath, the poesy of rhetorical form, and much else. Come prepared to do a lot of writing.
2. Mystery - Marcia Preston - "Basics of Writing the Mystery"
3. How To - Cathy Pickens - "Plan Your Writing Life"

3:00 - 5:30 Sessions B - Creekside Classrooms I, II, and III
1. Humor - Ann Ipock - "The Humor Track: From Head-Nods to Belly-Laughs and Beyond"
2. How To - Jane Friedman - "Ten Steps to Finding An Agent" Ten Biggest Ways That Writers Sabotage Their Careers
3. Playwriting - Terry Rouche - "Playwriting Crash Course: Everything You Need to Know About How To Write A Play" Discover how to write a play from beginning to end and learn where to submit your completed work.

3:30 - 6:00 Registration & Check-In - Water Oaks Foyer

6:00 - 7:00 Everybody to Water Oaks Ballroom for the Evening Meet & Greet Opening Reception with heavy d'oeuvres and a bar

7:00 - 7:15 Welcome and Faculty Introductions

7:15 - 8:15 Announce Catfish Stew winners. Readings by Winners and a Live Auction

8:15 - 9:15 Panel Discussion: "Building Suspense in a Screenplay or Novel" Ted Tally, Tess Gerritsen, Kathie Fong Yoneda, Jim Conover and Deborah Grosvenor

Saturday, October 21, 2006

7:00 - 8:15 Continental Breakfast - Water Oaks Foyer and Ballroom

8:15 - 8:30 Welcome and Announcements - Water Oaks Ballroom

8:30 - 9:00 Tess Gerritsen's Keynote Address "Where Do Stories Come From? - What Makes A Premise Great?"

9:15 -10:15 Session I
1. Jim Conover - "Self-publishing - A Growing Trend" Creekside I
2. Jane Friedman - "How to Find a Publisher or Agent Through a Professional Query Letter" Water Oaks II
3. Anne Gunton - "Clear and Immediate: What Makes A Young Adult Book Successful?" Creekside II
4. Kathie Yoneda - "Logline - A Writer's Most Important 25 Words or Less" Water Oaks III
5. Marcia Preston - "Dialogue That Sizzles" Creekside III

10:30 - 11:30 Session II
1. Tess Gerritsen - "Research: How to Incorporate It in Your Book" Water Oaks III
2. Beth Jusino - "Religious Writing 101: Writing from a Christian Worldview" Creekside III
3. Carrie McCullough -"Getting Published" Creekside II
4. Chris Roerden - "Don't Murder Your Mystery - or Other Fiction: Submissions and Voice" Water Oaks II
5. Cathy Pickens - "Write What You Know" Creekside I

11:30 - 1:00 Lunch - served buffet style - Served in Water Oaks I (included in conference price )

1:00 - 2:00 Session III
1. Ann Ipock - "A Package Deal: Self-Publish - Then Speak, Sign and Sell" Creekside I
2. Kwame Dawes - "Rhyming--Some considerations around the issue of rhyme in verse. Study some possibilities available to poets who like to work with rhyme and some of the implications of rhyme." Creekside II
3. Cathy Pickens - "Turning Crime Fact Into Fiction" Water Oaks II
4. Stu Miller - "Entertainment Business 101: An Agent's View of Selling Yourself and Your Work in the Entertainment Media" Water Oaks III
5. Marcia Preston - "How to Write Articles That Sell" Creekside III

2:15 - 3:15 Session IV
1. Chris Roerden - "Don't Murder Your Mystery - or Other Fiction: Tell-tale Techniques and Solutions" Water Oaks II
2. Terry Roueche - "From the Stage to the Page" (demonstrating play dialogue using actors) Water Oaks I
3. Anne Gunton - "Forever Young: Trying Your Hand at Writing for Children." Creekside I
4. Beth Jusino - "Author Branding: Positioning Yourself for Publishing Success." Creekside II
5. Carrie McCullough - "Things You Might Not Know About Being A First-time Author" Creekside III

3:30- 4:30 Session V
1. Kwame Dawes - "Stealing--three exercises of pilfering that can generate remarkably beautiful poems. How to draw on various other art forms to create something interesting in the poem." Creekside I
2. Deborah Grosvenor - "How to Write a Query Letter that Will Sell your Book Idea" Water Oaks II
3. Kathie Yoneda - "Creating Opportunities: Staying Challenged As A Writer" Creekside II
4. Jane Friedman - "How to Write A Nonfiction Book Proposal" Creekside III

4:30 - 5:30 Book Signings - Book Store Open All Afternoon Water Oaks III

6:00 - 6:45 Dinner Drinks with Live Auction & Prizes - Water Oaks Ballroom

6:45 - 8:30 Leisurely Dinner with Theatre - Water Oaks Ballroom all evening

8:45 - Open Mic for those who wish to stay

Critiques - Saturday 9:45 a.m. to 6 p.m. Ongoing critiques of your writing with faculty Creekside Library every 15 minutes all day Saturday for those who have signed up.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

7:00 - 8:30 Continental Breakfast - Water Oaks Ballroom - all activities on Sunday

8:30 - 8:45 SCWW Business - Sandra Johnson, President in charge

9:00 - 10:00 Interactive Agents & Editors Panel - Kathie Fong Yoneda moderating On the panel will be Chris Roerden, Stu Miller, Anne Gunton, Jane Friedman, Beth Jusino, Carrie McCullough, Marcia Preston, and Deborah Grosnevor

10:00-10:30 Carrie McCray Awards and silent auction awards

11:00 Door Prizes and check out

Conference Fees

We will begin registration in August, 2006.

Early Bird Rate: to qualify, your registration form and payment must be either post-marked or received online via PayPal by Sept. 1, 2006.

SCWW Membership Rate: to qualify, your SCWW membership must be current at the time of your registration and payment is received.

Your conference registration fee includes admission to all regular sessions, continental breakfasts, evening receptions, and the Sunday Award's luncheon, as well as a copy of the SCWW '06 anthology, Catfish Stew, a conference notebook and guide, and session handouts and resource material.

Lodging

Please refer to the SCWW Conference when making your reservations to receive discounted room rates. Rates do not include local and state taxes.

For additional information, contact the Contact co-chairpersons Dottie Boatwright dboatwright@sc.rr.com or Craig Faris craigfaris@rjsonline.net

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 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

A Cup of Comfort is a popular anthology (book) series featuring inspiring true stories about the extraordinary experiences of "ordinary" people. Now, we are currently seeking submissions for three exciting new volumes:

A Cup of Comfort for Writers

Only another writer can truly understand what it's like to aspire to become and to be a writer. For this anthology of true stories celebrating (and commiserating) the writing life, we seek compelling, insightful, and exceptionally well-written personal essays from writers of every persuasion and level of experience. Possible themes include but are not limited to:

• Mentors or teachers
• Overcoming challenges in becoming a writer, your life as a writer, or the writing process
• Milestone(s) in your journey to become a writer or as a writer
• Discovering and/or heeding the call to become a writer
• Writers groups / the camaraderie of other writers
• Why you write
• Transcending self-doubt and fear
• What writing has taught you about life
• What life has taught you about writing
• Your muse: what inspires your writing
• Best or worst writing experience and what you learned/gained from it
• Why you write

Submission Deadline: July 31, 2006

Please see submission specs, below.

A Cup of Comfort for Dog Lovers

As any dog lover will attest, dogs are, indeed, our best friends… and so much more. They're also our helpers, heroes, champions, teachers, and beloved family members. For this volume, we seek heartwarming true stories that speak to the amazing bond between dogs and the people who love them. Stories can focus on any experience/theme that demonstrates how a dog has inspired and/or enriched the life/lives of a human(s). Possible themes include but are not limited to a dog's:

• Devotion and loyalty
• Courage
• Amazing feats
• Role as a member of a family or community
• Companionship
• Therapeutic effect on a human
• Unique relationship with a person
• Unique relationship with another pet or animal
• Inspirational effect on one or more people
• Amusing, endearing, exceptional ways

We do NOT want sad stories about a pet's suffering or death. However, stories can be about the life of a dog that is now deceased and can include a fond farewell to a lost pet—provided the story isn't solely about the pet's death.

Submission Deadline: August 31, 2006

Please see submission specs, below.

A Cup of Comfort for Single Mothers

As Oprah Winfrey has often said, parenting is the most difficult and important job in the world. It can be even tougher for single mothers, who face all the usual parenting challenges plus another whole set of unique ones. But single motherhood -- whether by choice or by chance -- also brings many untold rewards, for both moms and children. For this collection of personal essays celebrating single mothers, we seek uplifting true stories about the joys and the difficulties of single mothering. The majority of stories selected for publication will be written from the single mother's point of view, but we will also consider stories written by the children of single mothers as well as by third parties with intimate knowledge of (and the permission of) the single mother and her child(ren). Possible themes include but are not limited to:

• Juggling the myriad responsibilities of single motherhood
• Raising sons or daughters solo / without fathers
• The support of family, friends, other mothers
• Dating / romance / socializing
• Hard lessons learned
• Busting myths about single mothering
• Defying stereotypes about single moms and/or children of single moms
• Overcoming adversity
• Self-acceptance and self-respect in a society that sometimes disparages single mothers
• Unconventional wisdom(s) gained
• Blessings, joys, and rewards of being a single mother or the child of a single mother
• The unique bond between a single mother and her child(ren)
• The courage, resilience, ingenuity, devotion, accomplishments, and/or integrity of a single mom
• Why you chose single motherhood (if by choice) and how you've made it work
• The unexpected and/or under-recognized advantages, joys, and/or rewards of being a single mother or having a single mother

Submission Deadline: December 31, 2006

Submission Specs

$500 grand prize (one per book); $100 (each) for all other stories published.

Author receives one complimentary copy of book; upon publication.

Stories must be original, true, uplifting, typed, and in English; narrative essay or creative nonfiction; 1st person or 3rd person (no 2nd person); and poignant, heartwarming, inspiring, and/or humorous.

Unpublished material preferred; some previously published material is acceptable. We do not publish material that has been or will be published in a mass market anthology or widely circulated magazine.

Manuscripts are not returned.

Entrants pay no entry or reading fees.

Each submission must include the following:

• Author's full and legal name
• Author's mailing address
• Author's phone number
• Author's email address (if applicable)
• Story title
• Story wordcount (approximate)

Choose one of these submission methods:

Email (preferred): In the subject line, cite the Cup of Comfort volume (i.e., Dog Lovers). Copy and paste (or type) the story into the body of the email (no attachments. One story per email. Send to: cupofcomfort@adamsmedia.com

Mail: You can send more than one story per envelope. Include self-addressed, postage-paid envelope for each submission. Send only the paper copy of the story; do not send computer disks or CDs. Mail to:

Cup of Comfort
Adams Media
57 Littlefield St.
Avon MA 02322,
USA

Fax: On a cover sheet or at the top of the story's first page, specify "Cup of Comfort," the volume for which you are submitting the story, and the number of pages being submitted. Fax to: 1-508-427-6790

For sample stories and detailed writers' guidelines, visit the Web site: www.cupofcomfort.com and click on "Share Your Story."

Please direct questions and suggestions to cupofcomfort@adamsmedia.com We cannot accept phone calls.

Join Marshall Frank for a discussion of his new book, Brutally Frank: Militant Islam In America at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, August 8, in the Bostick Auditorium of the Richland County Public Library, 1431 Assembly Street. Books will be available for purchase and signing. For more information, visit www.richland.lib.sc.us

Literary agent Don Maass's groundbreaking book, now an intensive seminar!

Learn to:

• Grab your reader from beginning to end
• Create unforgettable characters
• Choose timeless, universal themes
• Create a potent sense of time and place
• Develop a dramatic storyline that sets your work apart from the competition and much more!

Writing The Breakout Novel is a rigorous day-and-a-half-long writing workshop designed to teach working novelists new techniques to bring their fiction to the next level. Participants should bring the manuscript of a completed novel or work-in-progress. Familiarity with the basics of plot, character, dialogue, and scene construction are presumed.

Donald Maass, a top agent for fiction writers and author of Writing the Breakout Novel, leads participants through practical writing exercises that plumb depths of character, raise stakes both public and personal, add plot layers, heighten sense of time and place, strengthen point of view and voice, deepen themes, transform openings, and develop the brainstorming skills that produce consistently original stories.

Donald Maass has helped many mid-list and genre authors transform their careers. His twenty-five years of experience can help you, too.

Seminar fee includes handout materials, lunch and evening reception on Saturday, and beverage breaks.

Registrants will receive further information on seminar locations and hotel guest room discounts, as well as a more detailed schedule.

Enrollment is limited. Register early! Or call toll free: 1-866-I-WRITE-2 (1-866-497-4832)

Nashville, TN
Saturday, August 12 - Sunday, August 13, 2006
$259 before July 14, $279 thereafter

Montreat Conference Center, Asheville, NC
Monday, September 11 - Sunday, September 17, 2006
$1500 for former seminar participants, $1650 for new students

Includes complete room and board, plus all workshop materials

For more information, please call 1-866-I-WRITE-2 (1-866-497-4832).

Donald Maass is president of the Donald Maass Literary Agency in New York, which he founded in 1980. He represents more than one hundred fiction writers and sells more than one hundred novels per year to top publishers in America and overseas. Recently, he obtained six-and-seven-figure advances from publishers such as Warner, Ballantine, Penguin Putnam and others for authors like mystery writer Anne Perry, fantasy author David Zindell and science fiction writers David Feintuch and Todd McCaffrey.

Author of seventeen novels and of the books The Career Novelist and Writing the Breakout Novel, Donald Maass has more than twenty years of experience as a literary agent, representing dozens of novelists in the science fiction, fantasy, crime, mystery, romance, and thriller categories. He speaks at writing conferences throughout the country and lives in New York City. He is on the board of advisors for Writer's Digest magazine and is also the former president of the Association of Authors' Representatives.

Seminar fee includes handout materials, lunch and evening reception on Saturday, and beverage breaks.

Registrants will receive further information on seminar locations and hotel guest room discounts, as well as a more detailed schedule.

Enrollment is limited. Register early! Or call toll free: 1-866-I-WRITE-2 (1-866-497-4832)

There is no fee for entering the Contest, and the prizes to be awarded are substantial:

• First Prize: $3,000
• Second Prize: $2,000
• Third Prize: $1,000

Contest Rules

• Each person who enters the Contest must be no younger than 17 years of age and no older than 23 years of age on January 1, 2006.
• Essays entered in the Christian Worldview Essay Contest
• may be of any length
• must be written in English
• must be typewritten or computer printed (handwritten essays will not be judged), double-spaced with one-inch margins
• must be submitted on white paper, in triplicate, stapled, with pages in order
• must arrive at The Trinity Foundation before September 1, 2006
• must be accompanied by a signed entry form (available at www.trinityfoundation.org) stating the writer’s intention to enter the Christian Worldview Essay Contest, providing the writer’s full name, address, telephone number, email address (if available), and date of birth
• become the property of The Trinity Foundation.

Contest winners will be announced October 31, 2006. Decisions of the judges are final.

All who enter the Contest will receive a free book from The Trinity Foundation just for entering.

Entrants must read the new book Not What My Hands Have Done (by Charles Hodge and Horatius Bonar) and write an essay about it. For those who intend to enter the Contest, Not What My Hands Have Done is available at the special price of $10.00 on our web site.

Writers Gallery specializes in stories set in the South or about Southerners. Publishes trade cover books with perfect binding.  This will be the first of six projected books of short stories to be published by Writers Gallery.

Need: Stories (fiction) of between 10,000-15,000 words for 2006 short story  collection. Word length gives time for plot and character development. All stories must be set in/or be about people from the Deep South and whose authors must be either Southern-born or current Southern-residents. Any genre.

Terms: Pays $25.00 for one-time rights at time of acceptance, plus one copy of the book upon publication. Royalty also paid to authors.

Advice:  Stories should be for general public’s enjoyment. No strong profanity, etc. As for theme, content, and style—push the envelope. We’re looking for strong stories with good plots and memorable characters—not the run-of-the-mill variety. Deadline for submission: September 1, 2006. Projected publication date: mid-Nov.

Submission guidelines:

1. Use only Times New Roman font, 12.
2. Use only Microsoft Word—plain! No text boxes, etc.
3. Single space.
4. 10,000-15,000 words.
5. In the header on each page, give name, email, name of story, page number.
6. Center name of story & your name (2 lines).
7. Indent paragraphs (use tab).
8. Create a file for your story. Only one submission per author accepted.
9. Send attached file and email to MyraShofner@aol.com
10. File will be acknowledged as received.
11. Allow 2 months for notification as to acceptance/rejection.

 Contact: Myra Shofner, editor/publisher. MyraShofner@aol.com

Join us every Sunday for the Wits End Poetry Jam at the Coffee Underground Theatre, Coffee & Main in downtown Greenville, SC. Doors/Sign-up at 7:00pm with show at 7:30pm. Cover $5 or get a season pass for $10. Bring your own or other people's poetry to share in our open mic. Plus enjoy our local and out of town features, plus monthly poetry slam. For more information, contact Kimberly kimberly@witsendpoetry.com

Words & Music, 2005, which had been scheduled to open Thursday, November 3, 2005 was cancelled because of widespread devastation in New Orleans caused by Hurricane Katrina, along with brutal damage to the Mississippi Gulf Coast and the entire Gulf Coast transportation infrastructure. We know that you won't be surprised to learn that our grand old dame, Faulkner's "a courtesan...no longer young ... not yet old" has regained her joie de vivre, her indomitable spirit, her desire to seduce us all. She's putting on her paint and powder and readying herself to receive her admirers. By all means come for Words & Music, 2006, earlier if you can!

Words & Music, 2006 will go forward Thursday, November 2 through the final luncheon session on Monday, November 6. For details, please see the web site.

The Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society, Inc.-founded in 1990 by men and women dedicated to good books and the literary arts-is the creator a unique sort of writers' conference, which is the center of a multi-discipline arts festival every fall. Our fondest desire has been to give writers a boost in making their impossible dreams come true, to provide them with an inspiration break in a city which has inspired countless authors, including William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway, to help them get their work published. We are proud of our record of assisting authors make their dreams come true. For details of our most recent success stories on behalf of writers and the success we have had in attracting prestigious authors as advisors and faculty, hightlight: Success!

FEATURES

When I arrived at the Greenville Library for Mindy Friddle's workshop, "The Road to Publishing," I chanced to meet her in the parking lot and carried her box of books into the meeting room. This was actually our second occasion to meet, my having spotted her some months earlier when we crossed paths in the local YMCA. The fact that I immediately recognized her is testimony to her dedication at promoting her first novel, The Garden Angel. For two hours, she shared with us numerous experiences and tips which helped make her a successful novelist.

Mindy's writing was first grounded in journalism, which she practiced as a newspaper reporter for the Hemingway Weekly Observer, the Florence Morning News and The State. From the discipline of deadlines, writing ready or not, with the focus on being clear and factual, she ventured into the world of fiction and found that it required a different skill set. So she gained her MFA in Creative Writing from Warren Wilson and set about "writing stories about writers with writer's block." But one day, she happened to see a dilapidated house in Greenville's San Souci neighborhood and wondered "What would the owner do to hold on?" Eight years later, with much hard work in writing, editing and promotion, The Garden Angel found her wings.

Journalism taught Mindy lessons she shared with us: "Write on a schedule." Set up a time and place to do the work of writing. Use the time in creative output, revise later. She also stressed becoming an expert in what you love to read. "Feed that art in you by reading." Mindy herself averages two books a week. She also encouraged two of SCWW's specialties: critique groups and conferences. Writers should take every opportunity to develop their craft.

Along with her talk, Mindy offered a couple of handouts of resources for writers. Here are a few of her picks:

If you don't think the data on your computer is important, try losing it. When your e-mail, spread sheet of income tax data or whole novel (edited and ready for publication) suddenly slips away into the land of lost data, never to be seen again, you realize how much of your life is tied up in a fragile machine. If you want to spare yourself the grief, make backups a part of your routine.

What is a backup? Very simply, a copy of your files stored apart from the original. When you save a documents on your computer, it is stored on the hard drive. Unfortunately, these devices contain moving parts which may become damaged or fail over time, often quite suddenly, with devastating results. This is especially true of laptop computers; one bump and your life could be in the dump.

One of the easiest to use backup devices available today is a flash drive, a compact "memory stick" which plugs into a USB port. Small enough to fit on a key ring, flash drives have no moving parts so they are at home in your pocket. When you plug it into a computer, it appears as another drive. Drag in copies of your files and you have easy insurance against their loss. For more through and comprehensive backups, use software to find your files, compress them and store them away.

Last month we talked about point of view, or POV. This chapter is about another subject that veteran critiquers often mention, usually to blank stares from newcomers, and that is beats. Put simply, a beat is an interruption of dialog.

Many writers these days try to avoid attributions as much as possible. If it is obvious to the reader who said something, then the "he said" or "Sue replied" is superfluous and can interrupt the rhythm of the dialog. This avoidance is not without consequence, however. What you can end up with is a long string of dialog, one character speaking then the other, with no interruptions, no pauses. The conversation can take on a sing-song rhythm, and the reader can lose track of who is saying what, lose a sense of place, a sense of interaction with the surroundings. That's OK if the writer is trying for a rapid fire, staccato conversation, but most real conversations have an ebb and flow, a changing rhythm.

Inserting a beat at appropriate times can introduce a natural pause in the conversation. It can also serve as an attribution, or help set the scene, or fill in backstory, or reinforce POV.

Here's some dialog from a short story by Annie Proulx:

"Is he still workin for that roofin contractor?"

"Well no. He's workin in a restaurant. He's workin in a Jap restaurant. But he's healthy, thank God, considerin his - lifestyle."

"What does that mean, 'his lifestyle'?" Gilbert wiped his hands of the chicken, wadded the napkin, and thrust it into the grease-stained box.

"Well he's - you know."

"I know what?" When Gilbert wipes his hands, that is a beat. It re-establishes that it is now Gilbert who is speaking; it introduces a pause in the conversation while Rod tries to figure out how to respond, and it contributes to the setting and to Gilbert's character (he uses a napkin, not his pants.) It is a busy little sentence.

A beat can be brief (He sat down or Sarah smiled) or a whole paragraph. Multiple beats can add (or break up) a rhythm to a conversation. It can create tension or suspense, by making the reader wait for the answer to a critical question.

But don't get carried away. Like most tools in the writer's arsenal, beats can get even good writers in trouble. Here's a passage from The Closers, by Michael Connelly, one of my favorite mystery writers, and winner of the Edgar Award:

. . . The pleasant tone was back in his voice.

"All I wanted to do was welcome you back to the department," he said.

He smiled like a shark. Bosch hesitated like a man stepping across a trap door before answering.

"It's good to be back, Chief."

"The Open-Unsolved Unit. I think that is the appropriate place for a man of your skills."

Bosch took a sip from his scalding cup of coffee. He didn't know if Irving had just complimented or insulted him. He wanted to leave.

"Well, we'll see," he said. "I hope so. I think I better -"

Irving held his hands out wide, as if to show he wasn't hiding anything.

"That's it," he said. "You can go. I just wanted to say welcome back. And to thank you."

Bosch hesitated, but then bit.

"Thank me for what, Chief?"

"For resurrecting me in this Department."

Bosch shook his head and smiled as if he didn't understand.

"I don't get it, Chief... " This passage has too many beats, nearly one for every sentence of dialog. The conversation is too chopped up, its rhythm destroyed. So the trick is in knowing where you really need a beat, and what kind of beat you need, and how long it needs to be, and then let the conversation flow.

MUSINGS

My morning shuffle to the kitchen ended abruptly when my right knee struck the two drawer file cabinet. Stumbling forward in the predawn twilight of the year's longest day, I fell against the desk. Grasping for support, my hand found the back of the chair, which rolled away and dropped me to the floor.

Burglars! They ransacked the place in the night!

I lifted my head. The sliding glass doors appeared intact and the front door showed no signs of entry. Then I heard a muffled moan from my study. I crept to the door and peered in. My comfortable cloister had been stripped of its utilitarian trappings and converted into a hospital room. The mechanical bed contained a battered and bandaged convalescent. "Thaleia! What happened!?"

She turned her gauze swaddled head and gazed at me, one eye rimmed in black. "I... I was... in a crash."

"You crazy Muse. Did a bookcase fall on you while you were giving my study an extreme makeover?"

She mustered a wan smile, but her laugh quickly turned to a cough. "Hercules moved the furniture for-" She jerked and winced at an unseen dagger thrust of pain. "-for me. But that was after the crash."

"I never heard a sound. How did you wind up like this without...." I grabbed the side rail of the bed. "Thaleia! You didn't take my new car out for a spin, did you?"

"Car's fine." She lifted her hand, an asterisk of tape secured an IV tube on the back. She placed her hand on mine. "The laptop's another matter."

"Oh! That crash." Just days before I had heard the sickening rattle of a computer hard drive gone suddenly and irreparably dead. Only on rarest occasions, in an office environment where a network allowed precious data to be quickly siphoned off, have I accomplished a successful salvage operation on the fly. "At least I had made a backup."

"Harumph!" She snorted, drew back her hand and turned to the wall. "Some backup."

"Yeah, I know. Four years of e-mail down the drain, and a few files from the last week."

"A few files!?" She glared at me with smoldering malice. "Your words are as cold and hard as the jagged rasps of the same name. Is that all I am to you? A mere file?"

I reached to take her hand. She slipped it under the colorless cotton blanket. "Thaleia, you're not a file. You're an immortal inspiration. A sassy, supernatural who has haunted the conscious of poets and playwrights since before alphabets were invented. You are the graffiti scrawled across the vaults of memory, the diaphanous floater ever drifting before the mind's eye. No, Thaleia, you are far more than a file."

She gave me a coy glance. "Maybe you do understand after all." Her hand crept from beneath the covers like an inquisitive animal and linked pinkies with mine.

"Does this mean you're on the road to recovery?"

She grinned. "Recovery is always easier when you have a complete backup."

"Okay, okay! I get the message. From now on, I'll be sure to test my backups before I need to rely on them. Want me to swear to it?"

She uncoupled fingers, stretched and snickered. "I believe you already did enough swearing." Bringing her hand back to her face, she picked at the edge of a nasty abrasion.

"Hey! Cut that out, kid. If you pick at it, it won't heal."

Giggling, she ripped away the crusty blemish, revealing pristine skin beneath. "I learned a few tricks in stagecraft through the centuries." She pulled the spider of tape from the back of her hand and plastered it to my nose.

"You little drama queen!" I peeled off the tape and needlless IV tube. "There I was feeling sorry for you, and it was my work that got lost."

"You mean that new story about me showing up in my bikini while you were washing your precious car?"

"That was probably what burned out the laptop. It was a BUCK-ini." I laughed. "Any less, and you'd have been buck naked."

She tossed back the covers. "You mean this one?"

"Here we go again."

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

Copyright 2006 by Leland Beaudrot, Editor. Contributing writers retain all rights to their work.