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DATES FOR THE DIARY
Meeting Dates 2009
Always a Thursday
6:30pm-8:30pm
12 th May
16 th Jun
21 st Jul
18 th Aug
15 th Sep
20 th Oct
17 th Nov
15 th Dec
REEF WRITERS
P.O.BOX 917
PORT DOUGLAS QLD 4877
reefwriters@gmail.com
www.reefwriters.org
THE NEWSLETTER OF THE WRITERS IN THE TROPICAL
NORTH - REEF WRITERS
So good at the last meeting to have a visitor from overseas; it just proves our group is duplicated worldwide. To hear of Harry’s travels and his writing gives inspiration to us all.
The next meeting has been changed due to Fiona being away so the meeting is Thursday 12th May usual time 6:30pm.
The subject for the 250 word is ’It was the instructions above the shop door that struck him…’ Thanks to our guest last week for the words. Also everyone please bring something to read for a critique, it from these sessions that we all gain.
The writing competition will be launched very soon so I hope all are giving thought to some outstanding writing. Remember the theme is ‘Movement’.
WORD OF THE MONTH - REFULGENT
Pronunciation: ree-FUL-jênt
Hear it! <http://www.alphadictionary.com/sounds/refulgent.mp3>
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Shining brightly, resplendent, illustrious.
Notes: This Good Word is a shining example of a word with a
happy and supportive lexical family. The noun may be
'refulgence' or 'refulgency'; however, if these do not please
you, 'refulgentness 'is also available. The only choice for an
adverb is 'refulgently'.
In Play: In July of 1838 a young radical by the name of Ralph
Waldo Emerson addressed the seniors of Harvard Divinity School, saying, "In this refulgent
summer, it has been a luxury to draw the breath of life. The grass grows, the buds burst, the meadow is spotted with fire and gold in the tint of flowers." Literalor figurative shining may be conveyed by today's word: "Fred's face was refulgent at hearing about his promotion as he emerged from the boss's office."
Word History: Today's Good Word is the stem of Latin 'refulgen(t)s', the present participle
of refulgere "to flash, reflect", made up of re- "back" + fulgere "to flash". 'Fulgere' contains
the same root we find in Russian belyi "white", which underlies the name of the white
whale, the 'beluga', also the name of the sturgeon that produces probably the best caviar in
the world. When the vowel and the L switched places (liquid [Link 1] METATHESIS),the same root went on to become English 'blue' and German Blitz "flash", as in the quick war known as a Blitzkrieg "flash war."
THIS MONTH'S ASSISTANCE SECTION
Tropical Writers' Anthology 2011
Don’t forget the Anthology for this year is underway. Guidelines for submitting manuscripts
to the Tropical Writers 2011 anthology are now available. This can be viewed on their
new website http://www.tropicalwriters.com
Writers on Writing
This month’s hints on writing come from Rob Bacon, an American author who has a great
Newsletter full of thoughts and certainly a lot to help to us struggling new comers.
How to Write the Perfect Novel – 8 Hints to Properly Format a Manuscript For Agents and Publishers. A writer can start with THE CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE and move from it to any number of academic works on what a manuscript layout should look like. But adhering to the following eight suggestions will assure an acceptable format for almost all commercial fiction.
Hint Number One – Your Name, Page Number and Book Title in the Top Left Corner of Each Page.
In the top, left corner of the page, many editors prefer your last name followed by a hyphen and the page number, and one single space below this, the title of your book. Then three single spaces below this (if you’re not beginning a new chapter, which I’ll cover later) begin your narrative.
Hint Number Two – Double-Line Space the Narrative
No one I know will accept a single-line spaced manuscript, and there is good reason. In the days of the covered wagon, when everything was edited with a pencil, the suggested corrections were made between the lines. Many of us still prefer to work this way, and the format is paramount when line editing material. Plus, most people find double-line spaced copy on an 8 1/2″ x 11″ A4 sheet of paper much easier to read and therefore more comfortable to work with.
Hint Number Three – Double Space After a Period
Double spacing after a period enables room to annotate punctuation changes and draw lines to move sentences around. I am aware that some people are saying this is “old school,” and therefore the double space after the period is no longer necessary, but every editor I know prefers or demands it, as do I.
Hint Number Four – Indent Paragraphs 1/2″
Most word processing programs seem to use a 1/2″ indention as standard, but I often receive manuscripts with erratic or inconsistent paragraph indentions. If you always indent 1/2″, then your text’s appearance will be consistent and this will also enable you to “fudge” when you want your text to look its best from an aesthetic standpoint.
Hint Number Five – Never Justify Text (Except for Chapter Delineations)
Under no circumstances should a manuscript be submitted with justified text. This makes line editing a nightmare (sic, impossible), since extra spaces between words are something a line-editor flags.
Hint Number Six – Locate the Chapter and its Number in the Center of the Page
As with unusual or inconsistent indentation, I receive a wide variety of chapter set ups. My
suggestion is to type out the word Chapter with a capital C and follow this with the number 1, 2, 3, etc., one space after the word; i.e., Chapter 1. This isn’t as Mickey Mouse as it seems, because this differentiates a Chapter 1 from Part 1, for example. The Chapter designation is a location in which centered text is not only acceptable but desirable.
Space the chapter identification down however far you desire with an equal number of lines below it before your begin the narrative. Five single spaces from the book title in the top, left corner to the centered chapter identification, then five single spaces to the beginning of the narrative, is a good template. Plus, this again provides room to “fudge,” if need be, during later revisions and not require a writer to have to repaginate an entire chapter–or even the entire book.
Hint Number Seven – Use 12 Point Times New Roman or Courier Font
Many in the publishing industry seem to recommend these fonts. Also, if a writer sticks with either Times New Roman or Courier, this could save having to manually go through an entire manuscript to clean it up should it have to be changed to either of these font styles. Because, even today, with all of the word processing genius that’s out there, different fonts don’t often wrap properly when the entire text is converted from one font style to another.
Hint Number Eight – Leave an Extra Double-Spaced Line at the End of Each Page
If you choose to ignore everything I’ve written, please don’t disregard this idea: Leave an extra line or even two at the end of each page, especially during the early drafts of your work. Meaning, instead of typing to the last line, which will generally be line 24 of double-spaced copy, type only to line 23. This has nothing to do with editing, but will enable you to revise and often not have to repaginate work, thus saving a huge amount of labor.
If you follow the suggestions outlined in this article, you will have a very happy agent, editor or publisher–and I hope all three.
Robert L. Bacon
robertlbacon@aol.com
And last we have all been there written something we think is good stuff, but when you compare it with other material you may have written or compared it with someone else it just does not stack up well here is some advice from Bob Mayer.
New York Times best-selling author Bob Mayer has thirty-three books published under his own name and the pen name Robert Doherty. Bob graduated from West Point and served in the military as a Special Forces A-Team leader and a teacher at the JFK
Bob has more than two million books in print, including his latest novel, Don’t Look Down, co-authored with Jennifer Crusie. He lives on a barrier island off the coast of South Carolina. For more information see www.bobmayer.org or www.crusiemayer.com
Falling in Love With Your Bad Writing
Why this is a mistake: There is going to be a part of your writing
that you love. And it’s going to be a really bad part of your writing.
Perhaps the worst part. That’s the reason you love it. It’s natural
to become emotionally attached to things that don’t work, whether
they are entire books, chapters, paragraphs, scenes, characters, or
even just sentences.
The solution: Let it go. It’s difficult. I know it’s hard to think of all the time and effort you put in as “learning time and effort,” that the payoff will come down the line, but not now.
What’s really difficult to accept is that you have to kill your darlings. That’s a phrase you will hear at conferences and in workshops and writer’s groups, and it’s true. You have to back off emotionally from your writing and consider whether the parts you hold near and dear really have a place in the written work. Ask yourself: “Are these parts
necessary? Do they support the overall work?”
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This month’s meeting Thursday 12th we would like all to bring something to read for a
critique session. See you all. 250 word essay
‘It was the instructions above the shop door, that struck him…’
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