Monthly Archives: July 2009

July 24th, 2009
Great Books on Writing

The writing books I currently have on my shelf are listed here: Books on the Craft Enjoy!

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July 22nd, 2009
Another Contest

This isn’t my usual turf, but since I had an idea for a short story, I’ve decided to enter the Good Housekeeping‘s Short Story Contest. I usually like tech, guns, and anything that involves spies. How about you?

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July 20th, 2009
For Added Empasis

Maybe a Seinfeld episode covered this, but I’m an emphatic talker.  I speak with a conviction that persuades people when they should merely tell me to mind my own.  It’s a convenient trait for my purposes, but can lead others to follow when they should, well, lead. Blathering with emphasis is de rigeur in any election cycle. Emphatic talkers vault to public office whether or not the general populace has any understanding of the issues up for grabs.  The news programs that provide a venue for a topical discussion are often reduced to a clash of emphatic opinion. I would …

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July 11th, 2009
Why a Perfectly Lovely Writer Might Approach an Agent at the Urinal

Just so we are clear: I did not do this. I did not consider doing this. I do not condone this. It is wrong, wrong, wrong! But I think I understand the internal dynamics that might drive a writer to this depth of desperation, or stupidity, or abject nonchalance. In late June I attended the Writers’ League of Texas Agent Conference with a completed fiction manuscript, a tightly-crafted pitch, and a set of newly-whitened teeth. The schedule for the weekend included two pitch-cocktail parties, various panel discussions, and a final speed-pitch session before the literary diaspora. This provided ample time …

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