1. From the Editor's Desk
2. What's New? -- Literary Warnings &
Bewares
3. Coming Soon!
4. Article: This Time, It's Personal, by
Kevin Kilgarriff
5. Column: Come Write With Me, with Barbara
Deming: Homework
6. Forum Discussions
7. Prompts & Exercises
8. Affiliates
9. Ad Swaps
10. Advertising Information
11. Subscription Information
===================================
1. From the Editor's Desk
===================================
Greetings!
Wow, it sure has been a long time since
our last issue! Writers Remember has been on
a bit of a hiatus due to some personal
issues, but I've been looking forward to
getting back on my feet and helping you to
stay inspired!
It is also with great pleasure that I
announce the name of our newsletter --
Writers Remember: Filling the Inkwell! We
believe this name sums up the mission of
Writers Remember.
This issue has some great articles from
our staff, sharing their encouraging words
and inspiration. For our next few issues
we're working on some articles that will
address some issues happening lately in the
world of writing.
I'm also very excited to announce that
I'm working on my first E-book, which will
be full of information that every writer
needs to know -- everything I wish I knew
when I first started freelancing! The
idea began from an article I was working on
and, before I knew it, it became a
full-blown idea for an e-book! I'm planning
to have it completed and available in the
next few months. I'll be updating as it
nears completion, and inviting you all to
get your copies.
I'd also like to share a personal
achievement of sorts -- I'm working as the
Senior Community Moderator for
Book
Lust
at Wetpaint, a site based on librarian Nancy
Pearl's series of books about recommended
favorite books! I'm also involved with
several other sites at Wetpaint, including
How
to Date and
Should I Do What I Love
-- both based on other books from Sasquatch
Publishing. In fact, I've been enjoying the
community so much that I've created a few
more sites there:
Freelance Writing
and
Mental Health.
Please visit and contribute! I'm sure
that many of you would love the
Book Lust
and
Freelance Writing sites!
I've also become a bit of a sleuth lately
when it comes to writing scams, and this has
led me to create a new forum at Writers
Remember -- The Writers Beware forum. More
about this development below!
Again I want to say "Thank you!" for
sticking with us through this time of
change. We don't anticipate such newsletter
droughts anytime soon!
Enjoy this issue!
Keep writing,
Julia Temlyn
Editor-in-Chief, Writers Remember
http://www.writersremember.com
editor@writersremember.com
===================================
2. What's New? -- Literary Warnings &
Bewares: Forum & Web page
===================================
We here at Writers Remember want to help
warn you against those who might try to take
you for a ride in your writing career. In
the interest of helping other writers, we've
created a new area of our forum. Visit
our
Writers Bewares
Forum for more information, and to
share your stories!
Also, check out our
Literary Warnings & Bewares page on the
main site!
Do you have an experience to share, or
information that might help others from
being scammed? Share it with us! E-mail us
at
editor@writersremember.com
===================================
3. Coming Soon!
===================================
-- Writers Remember is working on a
section filled with explanations of terms
used often in the writing world. We hope
this might assist you!
-- Logo contest! We've been trying to
come up with a logo since the site was
created, but are now hoping to enlist your
creativity in coming up with the perfect
logo that will fit Writers Remember to a
tee! Look for details on this contest coming
soon!
-- Writers Remember is working on the
debut of its Cafepress shop, where you'll be
able to purchase gifts with great
inspiration, while supporting Writers
Remember. We'll share more information as
the store gets up and running!
-- Julia Temlyn, Editor-in-Chief of
Writers Remember, is working on an e-book
full of helpful information that every
writer should know. Look for this in the
near future!
===================================
4. Article: This Time It's Personal, by
Kevin Kilgarriff
===================================
Should I or shouldn’t I? Would it be wrong
for me to include this? Should I even write
about this topic? As writers, we’ve all had
to step into the ring with that fierce
competitor known as “Your Inner Censor.” It
creeps in when you least expect it and takes
hold of what you had envisioned as the story
to end all stories.
It’s completely natural to question whether
or not you should include, or even write
about, a given topic. There might be an
ethical question that goes with covering it.
Or it may just be a matter of whether or not
you feel that your heart is up to the task.
I’ve recently reached a crossroads, of
sorts, in my writing career. For the first
time, there’s a part of my life that I’m not
certain I want to put out there for public
view.
For
many writers, the act of writing is an
outlet for them. It’s therapeutic to get
things off their chest and put their
feelings down on paper. For others, it’s
only natural to share all of those feelings
with the world. They have no boundaries.
They have no secrets. Whatever they think
and feel, their readers know about it.
I’ve, to some extent, included myself in
that latter group. I enjoy sharing my
opinions and feelings on things. Stream of
consciousness is my favorite way to write.
It’s writing in its purest form and, while
it might not pay the bills, it’s what I
enjoy most. It’s a great way to show what
you feel.
I’ve at times mentioned serious life events
in my articles or on my blog. I have a
number of story/book ideas that include
these events -- two of the major ones being
the loss of my Mother to cancer and my
brother to suicide. I also have a two-year
old daughter who was born eleven weeks early
and spent seven weeks in the hospital --
seven of the most frightening weeks of my
life. These events were traumatizing and
life-changing, and I feel compelled, if not
obligated, to write about these and share
them with the world.
Today though, when I look at these parts of
my life, I see them with distant eyes.
They’re in the past. The feelings may still
be there, but they’re not fresh. To date,
the only major life events that I have to
share have already happened. They aren’t in
progress and I have no problem sharing them
with people, having already known the
outcome and been pretty sure of my feelings
surrounding them.
But
now I’ve got something current, still
progressing, I’m not sure that I’m ready to
share. It’s made me realize that I may not
be part of the aforementioned latter group.
I may have boundaries, and possibly even
secrets, that I’m not ready to share.
As
I sit writing this article, my wife and I
are waiting for a phone call from a doctor.
It may or may not come. I hope it does, and
I hope it comes soon. If it doesn’t then
we’ve got to wait a week, for the scheduled
appointment, to find out what our future
holds. The doctor is in the possession of
test results that could change our lives
forever.
When I first was made aware of this
situation, I wrote about it in my journal.
I’m not an everyday journal writer, just
when the feeling takes me. And this one took
me. But as I read what I was writing, I
realized that it wasn’t ready for public
view. Not because it wasn’t polished or
complete. Instead I had decided that this
one was mine, and mine alone.
One
day I’ll know the outcome of this time in
our lives. The anguish we’re currently
experiencing was hopefully unfounded, or
perhaps not. Regardless, this portion of my
life story will have been written and I
think it’s safe to say that it will be
shared.
One
could argue that I’m sharing it now. That
I’m giving just enough detail to get the
therapeutic benefits without actually
revealing what is weighing so heavily on my
heart. And they’d be absolutely right. It’s
the beauty of writing. It’s the beauty of
words. It’s the beauty of what we do.
So
as a writer, where do you fit in? Do you
wear your heart on your sleeve, or do you
keep it close to the vest? Wherever you may
fall on the personal info spectrum, please
don’t be too concerned. You are who you are.
Share what you feel like sharing. Your life
is yours and it’s your choice to decide how
or if you’ll share it. It’s your right. And
no person or profession can deny you that …
even when you’re a writer.
Discuss this article
here.
*************************
Kevin Kilgarriff is a writer and Recruitment
Advertising Account Executive. He's been
writing forever (Yes, since the beginning of
time!), but didn't choose to share his work
until mid-2004. A virtual novice in terms of
writing professionally, his goal at Writers
Remember is to share his experiences with
other writers, and to hopefully help them
through the trying times that a writer can
encounter.
He
blogs at
Aspiring Adult
and enjoys reading and writing in a variety
of genres. His childish jokes are unrivaled
and his vast collection of useless
information, which he swears will one day be
fully utilized, continues to grow
exponentially.
Kevin lives in Warrington, PA, just outside
of Philadelphia, with his wife and their
2-year old daughter.
===================================
5. Come Write With Me, with Barbara
Deming: Homework
===================================
"Being a writer is like having homework for
the rest of your life.”
-
Lawrence Kasden, ScreenwriterIf we
writers believe Lawrence Kasden, we are
forever in school. Though I enjoyed my
school years, I don’t want to repeat them.
However, I can see the connection—if I want
to produce work that is saleable, I must
become more disciplined. That means I should
work at my writing, each day if possible,
set certain goals, strive to learn more—even
give myself homework.
My
problem is I don’t schedule (discipline)
time away from the other things in my life
to do what I love most—write. I have a
husband and home to care for, I volunteer as
a librarian for our local senior center, and
I teach several writing classes. When do I
have time for homework? When do you?
We all
procrastinate. We have more time than we
believe we do; we just don’t use the extra
time well. We’ve heard it all—get up an hour
early or stay up an extra hour to write.
Write on the train or bus as we head for
work (in Southern California we drive
everywhere, so skip this one). Use your
laptop on planes or while waiting in the
airport. Those are the usual suggestions
given. Can you think of any unique snatches
of time in which to write?
I keep
writing material in every room in my house,
in my handbag or briefcase, and in my car.
During my pre-Christmas baking, I sat on a
kitchen stool and wrote in the seven-to-ten
minute intervals between batches of cookies.
I write in the car while waiting on my hubby
to attend to banking, get a haircut, or even
while he plays a few games of pool
(billiards) with his buddies. My bathroom
holds a mini-office with pens, pad on
clipboard, and books. Many a draft has come
out of what would have otherwise been lost
time. Do you watch a few favorite television
shows? Think of how many self-imposed
homework assignments you could accomplish by
merely writing during the commercials.
Assign
yourself homework. No math equations
necessary. Set a goal to work on your
current project or make notes for a new one.
You’ll be surprised to find that time can be
found to complete all of your homework.
Discuss this article
here.
*************************
Barbara Deming lives, teaches, and writes in
San Marcos, CA. Her latest book, Growing
up Barefoot in the South (Essays by a
Southern Writer), and her collection of
short stories, The Quilt Maker, may
both be purchased at
www.Amazon.com.
A completed novel is with an agent and she
is working on another collection of quilt
stories, a romantic suspense novel, and a
nonfiction book on hooking your reader.
===================================
6. Forum Discussions
===================================
Want to participate in a book discussion? (We
will be voting for the book very soon, so be
sure to read our next issue for the update
on how to vote in our forum!)
Read more...
The scoop on a very-current writing scam
by FountainPenn & Roberto & Danielle-Kim
Davis.
Read more...
Avoiding "display" sites.
Read more...
What are you reading?
Read more...
What do you think of Wordpress?
Read more...
Thoughts on getting paid to blog?
Read more...
Join us over at the Writers Remember
forum, and share in the discussions, or
start a discussion of your own!
===================================
7. Prompts & Exercises
===================================
Check out our
photo prompts, brought to
us by Kelly!
Visit our
Prompts & Exercises forum for
some great fun!
===================================
8. Affiliates
===================================
Interested in being an affiliate with
Writers Remember? E-mail us!
editor@writersremember.com
===================================
9. Ad Swaps
===================================
************************************
Temlyn Writing & Editing Services
************************************
If you are seeking a thorough, qualified,
and diligent writer, editor, and/or
proofreader, look no further than
Temlyn
Writing Services. You will not be
disappointed! I offer quality service at
competitive rates, customized to fit your
project's needs--without draining your
budget.
Why choose
Temlyn Writing Services? Well,
the difference between me and someone else
is this: unlike some writers, editors, and
proofreaders who do this simply to make a
living, I take it one step further--I love
what I do, and therefore my passion flows
into my work!
When you choose
Temlyn Writing Services,
you not only get professionalism--you get
professionalism with passion.
Web site:
http://www.temlynwriting.com/services.html
************************************
WritersSuccess.com
************************************
Writer’s Success
Newsletter and Web site includes Paying
Markets, Writer of the Month, Classes,
Workshops, Contests, Articles, E-books, a
Paying Markets Database, and more! Subscribe
at
http://writerssuccess.com/ to
receive the Writer's Success’ free weekly
newsletter!
===================================
10. Advertising Information
===================================
Interested in advertising with Writers
Remember?
Visit our
Advertising Department for information
on advertising opportunities at Writers
Remember.
===================================
11. Subscription Information
===================================
Know someone else who might enjoy our
newsletter?
Feel free to forward this issue or a link to
this issue of the newsletter.
New readers can subscribe by clicking
here,
or
here.
You can also subscribe by sending a blank
e-mail to:
writersremember-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To unsubscribe from this newsletter, send
a blank email to:
writersremember-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Your privacy is very important to us.
Your e-mail address will never be sold by
Writers Remember.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writers Remember: Filling the Inkwell
is copyright (c)
2005-2006,WritersRemember.com. All rights
reserved worldwide. No part of this
publication may be reproduced without
express written permission from the
publisher.
Julia Temlyn
Editor-in-Chief, Writers Remember
http://www.writersremember.com
e-mail:
editor@writersremember.com
Visit us online at:
http://www.writersremember.com
