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I had the opportunity last weekend to serve as a writing Q&A panelist at the Southern Nevada Writing Project's high school student writing event. There were about 80 students in attendance excited about writing. It amazed me that the questions they asked were the same as those many adult writers ask, ranging from "How do I find an agent/publisher?" to "Do I need an editor and what does one do?" to "How do I get past writer's block?" It also amazed me how much energy they exuded. I left the event on a terrific high. If you're interested in helping children write more, check out this week's Fabulist Flash Recommends for a link to the handout I distribute to parents and teachers: Encouraging Young Writers. ~Gregory |
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February 28, 2008 |
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Gregory A. Kompes, Editor |
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ISSUE #167 |
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Writer’s Pen & Grill (Las Vegas, NV) is a social networking evening for writers. Meets the 4th Wednesday of the month at 6:30 PM. Open to all. Visit http://www.PenandGrill.com for location and details. Las Vegas Writer’s Conference (Las Vegas, NV): Gregory will present Internet ACE: Online Self Promotion. April 17-19. Internet ACE: Online Self-Promotion with Gregory A. Kompes — learn how build, brand, and expand your writing career using Internet Technology during this 10 week, interactive, online course. Begins May 5, 2008. $147. Register Today! Willamette Writer’s Conference (Portland, OR) Gregory will present Internet ACE: Online Self Promotion. August 1-3. |
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1. The Endangered English Dictionary by David Grambs (ISBN: 0-393-31606-8): Bodacious Words Your Dictionary Forgot. 2. The Highly Selective Dictionary for the Extraordinarily Literate by Eugene Ehrlich (ISBN 0-06-270190-8): 3500 of the most affecting, engaging, and engrossing words with concise definitions and pronunciation guides. The companion volume: The Highly Selective Thesaurus for the Extraordinarily Literate by Eugene Ehrlich (ISBN: 0-06-270016-2): surprising alternatives to common words. 3. The Scots Dialect Dictionary, combined by Alexander Warrack (ISBN: 1-902407-09-1): Old English pronunciations and spellings alongside modern English. 4. The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, edited by C. T. Onions (ISBN: 0-19-861112-9): 38,000 words and 24,000 articles of the history of English words. 5. Rare Words and Ways to Master Their Meanings by Jan Leighton and Hallie Leighton (ISBN: 1-929154-12-7): A rare collection of unusual, usable words. [The book is rare and difficult to find, but worth it if you come across it.] 6. Depraved and Insulting English</a> by Peter Novobatzky & Ammon Shea (ISBN: 0-15-601149-2): Our language's most offensive and obscene words that have fallen out of use. 7. The Word Museum by Jeffrey Kacirk (ISBN: 0-684-85761-8): A collection of fascinating archaic words and phrases, marvelous oddities and peculiar enchantments of old and unusual words. 8. In Other Words by Christopher J. Moore (ISBN: 0-8027-1444-7): A language lover's guide to the most intriguing words around the world. 9. 501 English Verbs by Thomas R. Beyer, Jr., Ph.D. (ISBN: 0-7641-0304-0): Principal parts for all verbs, active and passive voice, infinitives and participles, indicative, imperative, and subjunctive moods with special features of grammatical overview, examples in full sentences, 500 additional verbs with index, including irregular forms and acceptable alternatives. |
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RIF Remember RIF (Reading is Fundamental)? Well, they’re still around and an excellent source for information on reading and writing. I’ve put together a handout, Encouraging Young Writers, based on their parent’s guide that I frequently share with parents and teachers. Well, RIF is in trouble. The President's proposed budget for fiscal year 2009 eliminates the Inexpensive Book Distribution Program, which is the RIF Book Distribution Program. Unless Congress reinstates funding for this program, RIF will be unable to distribute 16 million books annually to the nation's youngest and most at-risk children. Visit their website to find ways to help. |
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1. Did you choose the writing profession or did it choose you? It chose me. I resisted doggedly, but it ultimately prevailed over the allure of a competing muse. 2. What is your background? (education, work, etc.) Education: undergraduate: German graduate: Computer science & screenwriting Work: Website and computer database consultant. 3. When did you ‘know’ you were a writer? I began writing around age ten, when I “published” a handwritten neighborhood newspaper. By high school I was writing stories and short dramas. I intended to become a novelist, playwright, or screenwriter, but life intervened and after high school graduation I completely stopped writing fiction. I didn’t resume until my second time in graduate school, where I studied screenwriting. 4. How would you describe your style of writing? Fairly straightforward, with carefully crafted sentences and dialog. The fun part of writing is waking up in the morning with the words pounding my brain, screaming to be freed, but 99% of my writing time is spent editing and re-editing until I’m happy with how the words flow. I regularly go back and read portions of my writing aloud to myself, constantly editing to make words flow more smoothly and to tailor dialog for each character. I write screenplays, novels, and short stories. Novels are my favorite form, but probably only because I’m not in a position to produce my own films. I love the sparseness and discipline of writing a screenplay, but the business of Hollywood leaves me cold. 5. What is your writing process? I first work out details of who my main characters are and a general outline of the story. Then I write the final scene. Starting with the final scene gives me a clear direction for the story. After that, I let my characters guide me from start to finish within the framework of my overall outline. 6. What was your path to publication? After many rejections, I added a publishing arm to my web consulting business and published my first novel myself, in hopes of selling enough copies to attract a good agent for my next novel. 7. What is your favorite self-marketing idea? Wearing tee shirts that promote my book, and handing out eye-catching business cards. They lead to interesting conversations and most importantly to sales. You can see (and buy!) my tee shirts and other merchandise promoting my novel at www.cafepress.com/marinwebworks. 8. What are the biggest surprises you’ve encountered as a writer? How my characters take over after I begin writing the story, and how much they can surprise me. I feel like a mere scribe recording their lives. 9. How do you inspire yourself? What are your sources of creativity? My best ideas come from my dreams. When that fails, I go for a walk in a nearby redwood grove that some consider sacred. Rarely do ideas fail to flow there. I carry a micro-cassette tape recorder to record my thoughts. |
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10. What is your proudest writer moment? Receiving a student screenwriting award at the Northern California Emmy Awards ceremony. I had to stand in front of top television people and say my words of thanks. It was there, standing on that dais in a rented tux, that I finally committed to being a writer. 11. What’s the best advice you were given about writing? The best advice wasn’t specifically about writing, but is very relevant. It came when I was an undergraduate, from a retired couple who were both non-writers and who tried to persuade me that the most important thing in life is to follow our dreams. My dream was writing, but I ignored their advice for too long. 12. What is your most embarrassing writer moment? I don’t recall any. This probably means it’s yet to come. Uh-oh! 13. What business challenges have you faced as a writer? I already had my own business, so the business side of writing hasn’t been a challenge. The challenge for me is promoting my work and myself. This has always been one of my biggest failings, and it’s my biggest challenge as a writer. 14. What is your writer life philosophy? I can’t say I have a philosophy about it. I write in the early morning, doing much of it before sunrise. That’s when my ideas flow most freely and I am most creative. When I have time to write later in the day, I mostly do editing. If I have any philosophy about it, it’s to keep my mind and body healthy and active, and to maintain an ethical center to my life. 15. When you’re not writing what do you do for fun? I take part in online virtual worlds (Second Life and There) and I direct public access television shows. I love mountain biking and just being outdoors. I used to play piano and keyboard, but I gave it up for writing. My passion for music is nearly as strong as my passion for writing and competes too strongly for my time and creative energy. I expect I will someday take up music again, but only after my writing allows me to give up working. 16. Who do you like to read? Currently, the science fiction of Ursula LeGuin and some science fiction of Orson Scott Card. 17. What’s your advice for new writers? a) Show your writing to people outside your circle of family and close friends. Learn to listen objectively to their criticism, and don’t take it personally. Encourage them to be honest with you. b) Keep your writing projects on a scale you can reasonably hope to complete. It’s better to have one good, completed short story than a magnificent novel or screenplay that you swear you will finish someday. c) Don’t listen to what anyone else tells you about how writers should live and write. What frees one writer may block another. Experiment to find out what works for you. 18. What are you currently working on? My second novel. The underlying premise is something I ordinarily would avoid writing about, but it fascinates me so powerfully that I was unable to resist. |
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ISSN 1554-0804 |
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Are you a published author? Take the 18Q today! |
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Patchwork Path: Grandma’s Choice Deadline: March 31, 2008. Choice Publishing Group is looking for original stories and essays up to 2000 words about and by grandmothers and the choices they make. Each submission will be reviewed and considered based on creativity, originality, concept, and style. Reading will be continuous and submissions will be considered as they arrive. Not all works will be accepted. There is NO Entry or Reading Fee. Queer Collection: Prose & Poetry 2009 Deadline: December 31, 2008. Pays upon publication. Looking for creative original prose and poetry by and for a gay, lesbian, bi, transgender, and queer (GLBTQ) audience. Fiction, nonfiction, and poetry will be considered. http://www.queercollection.com |