"Spirits of divination cover this land "prophetically" using MY name to proclaim their own agendas and ways of thinking. But know this, O children, I am about to rise up and silence the voices of divination and they shall divine NO MORE."
By: Candy Gourlay,
on 5/1/2016
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| Thanks giphy.com |
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| An old Kathryn Evans script on yWriter 5 |
So much so that I'm a complete convert.The 30 day trial period is about right. It took me a while to love this piece of software. I resented it in the way I used to resent tidying my room. Slowly, however, I learned to appreciate it.
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| My current WIP in Scrivener |
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| Full-screen mode in Word |
Kathryn Evans is a stalwart SCBWI member. She tweets @mrsbung and hangs about on instagram kathrynevansauthor. She's got a book out too,: More of Me was published by Usborne in February 2016.
By: Elena Ornig,
on 9/9/2013
(If you want to know the general History of BarCamp – click the white button below) A free community event, the BarCamp Gold Coast 10 was organised by the founder and current President of Gold Coast TechSpace – Steve Dalton, by the current committee member and Secretary of Gold Coast TechSpace – David Tangye and Open Source Software Engineer – Anna Gerber. It was a fantastic event with intense social interactions, interesting discussions, well-organised workshops, clear visual demonstrations and plenty of practical advice – just like this one that I was able to capture on the spot: On a serious note, I can honestly say that I was listening and learning as much as I could. I mean, seriously, where else would you find such a fantastic opportunity to meet with people like Singularity University Ambassador (NASA Ames Research Center), Adjunct Professor at Bond University and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University – Dr ... Read the rest of this post
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By: Elena Ornig,
on 9/4/2013
At some point in our life we will face the fear of public speaking when we need to deliver a speech during a special occasion, address an audience, make a professional presentation or simply tell a story to a group of strangers; it is inevitable. Public speaking can be and really should be a satisfying experience. However, the majority of people feel fear, anxiety or experience stage fright. So, how can it be avoided? To answer this question I went to a ‘Dare to Speak!’ workshop at the Helensvale library which was organised by members of Toastmasters International. It wasn’t news to me that learning public speaking skills can be beneficial to effective communication and help to become a better leader. However, my pen was filling pages very quickly and I am happy to share what I learnt with you. ‘Dare to Speak!’ was well-organised, presented and lead by the Master of Ceremonies – ... Read the rest of this post
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By: Darcy Pattison,
on 8/22/2013
Giveaway ends October 01, 2013.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
In this January 6, 2013 NPR interview, John Sandys talks about inconsistencies in movies that were released in 2012:
Well, I think ’cause “Men in Black 3″ travels back and forth in time, it means you’ve got a whole host of factual mistakes as well, which it opens itself up to. One which jumped at me was in Cape Canaveral in 1969, we see the flag of Spain waving, but it’s the wrong flag. It’s the current era flag, not the 1969-era flag. I mean, it’s hardly a major research job. I don’t know whether they thought it wasn’t worth looking into or they just thought, well, no one will care.
This week, I am doing a final pass through of a novel and finding tons of inconsistencies.
For example, the main character shows up in a cloak and a scarf wrapped around her head. But at the beginning of the next scene, which is a direct follow-up, she throws back her hood and takes off her cloak. In another scene, she is described as wearing a cape.
(I know: Capes are soooo out of style.)
Reading and revising for consistency of details is different than reading for story. Here are a few tips:
Of course, I am making these types of decisions as I write the manuscript, but I’ve found I need one last run through. What else do you check for in your last pass through a manuscript?
By: Claudette Young,
on 8/7/2012
Wordle (Photo credit: Oompoo)
I decided to do something different today for a short post. I’ve been writing for submissions today and this is a little poem that I did for the site The Sunday Wordle.
For those who don’t know what a wordle is, here’s how it goes. Choose a group of related/unrelated words–from seven to ten of them–and then write a poem using those words. If you’re not a poem kind of person, write a piece of fiction/non-fiction of no more than 100 words using all of the given words.
Think of this as a writing exercise that anyone can do. It doesn’t matter really how expert it sounds or how off-the-wall. It’s your wordle–make it what you want. One thing you’ll find with that this exercise forces your mind to shift gears and look at how you put things together and how you use language for the meaning you want to transmit.
Take a chance and have a whirl with a wordle. And when you think you’re ready, share it here or jump over to The Sunday Whirl and share there. Enjoy yourself. That’s the main purpose of it all.
Home’s Destination
A link to my port of call,
a deck on which to stand,
as I navigate foreign waters,
I store up scents and sights
to anchor me within time,
to sink into my marrow,
never to wake from this dream,
even as I pitch against the rail
of stern reminders of days gone
missing and lives gone stale of use.
© Claudette J. Young 2012
By: Claudette Young,
on 8/7/2012
Wordle (Photo credit: Oompoo)
I decided to do something different today for a short post. I’ve been writing for submissions today and this is a little poem that I did for the site The Sunday Wordle.
For those who don’t know what a wordle is, here’s how it goes. Choose a group of related/unrelated words–from seven to ten of them–and then write a poem using those words. If you’re not a poem kind of person, write a piece of fiction/non-fiction of no more than 100 words using all of the given words.
Think of this as a writing exercise that anyone can do. It doesn’t matter really how expert it sounds or how off-the-wall. It’s your wordle–make it what you want. One thing you’ll find with that this exercise forces your mind to shift gears and look at how you put things together and how you use language for the meaning you want to transmit.
Take a chance and have a whirl with a wordle. And when you think you’re ready, share it here or jump over to The Sunday Whirl and share there. Enjoy yourself. That’s the main purpose of it all.
Home’s Destination
A link to my port of call,
a deck on which to stand,
as I navigate foreign waters,
I store up scents and sights
to anchor me within time,
to sink into my marrow,
never to wake from this dream,
even as I pitch against the rail
of stern reminders of days gone
missing and lives gone stale of use.
© Claudette J. Young 2012
By: Elena Ornig,
on 4/7/2012
Personal Confession My name is Elena Ornig and I confess to encourage you to live your dreams. At four, I was the only child in kindergarten who could fluently read. Often, the nannies would sneak out for an extra gossip break, leaving me inside of a circle of children; I just loved it. At 15, as a dedicated volunteer researcher of Moscow Regional history, I was invited to write for a local newspaper and I just loved it. At 16, known by every local librarian as a book monster, I was encouraged by one of them to write my own book and I put all my effort into it. And I just loved it because I dreamed of becoming a great writer. Nevertheless, I thought I needed a professional opinion to be sure I was on the right path. At my school I approached a teacher who was regarded by almost everybody as “the guru” ... Read the rest of this post
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By: Elena Ornig,
on 4/7/2012
Answers from Publisher The real number of the authors in Australia can be only estimated approximately. So far, the figure is between 5,000 -10,000 authors that are considered to be fully employed or employed as a part-time. However, the authors now becoming the publishers by adding numbers of the authors quite significantly. Go figure it out! Internet puts everything in different perspective for the publishing industry as a whole. Regardless to many changes, every country is trying to ‘save’ their publishing industry against the unavoidable globalization and legal reformation of publishing industry, internationally. Australia takes these changes seriously, in order to protect its own publishing industry by shielding it from foreign competition, respectively through import restrictions. Basically we are talking about availability, price and quality matter of the books. . In order to protect copyright beyond the borders, Australia had signed two international agreements: 1886 Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and ... Read the rest of this post
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By: Claudette Young,
on 3/31/2012
Today marks the end of the March “Whether” blogging challenge elicited by BlogHer network. It’s been an interesting month. You learned that someone could write something about writing every day for one month.
You learned how one writer actually thinks about writing, and what this writer has absorbed of some of the needs for this career. Above all, you learned that someone else loved words and their use in self-expression as much as you do. That’s quite a bit to take in about someone else.
Along the way, there was conversation about how writing affects and is affected by the outside world. No man is an island if he writes is a truism to remember. However isolated someone is, so long as he expresses himself in words, he communicates who he is to those who read those words.
Whatever the art form, the viewer/reader glimpses the internal workings of the artist. Picasso with his cubism and abstract renderings, Pollack with his splashes of wild color, Rodin and Russell with their sculptures all spoke to the viewer. Dale Chihuly dominates the gallery when he exhibits his glass marvels. Often the “feel” of a piece tells more about the artist than words ever could.
Photographers click shutters every day, capturing bits of our world and us, to exhibit in myriad ways, lest we forget who we really are and how we came to be where we are. Times change. Technology rides a wave that envelops all in its path. Art forms and their acolytes traipse along behind, ever in technology’s wake, hoping to stay abreast of trends that sweep the beach of daily life and tastes.
With the waning of this challenge comes a new one; one on poetry. Verse is as intimate as a writer can get to the reader. Secrets, long held, roll within the rhythm of a stanza. Emotion flails toward expression within limited space and precise words.
Nakedness of spirit calls to the reader, whether at the ending, the middle, or the beginning of a poem. Verse is the art of writing with glass, exposing inner turmoil, joys, hesitations, and inspirations, all that moves or halts the poet during life. It is raw for all its precision; blatant for all its subtlety; and limitless for all its restrictions.
That is the challenge taking place from tomorrow on to May 1, 2011. Within the span of those thirty days, you will find poems posted here that are written to specific writing prompts. Links to poetry sites will mark each post. Occasionally, other poets may be revealed to those either shy of verse or enthusiastic connoisseurs.
My hope is that you all can enjoy a stopover here each day.
0 Comments on Whether Ending or Beginning as of 3/31/2012 9:02:00 PM
By: Elena Ornig,
on 12/14/2011
First and foremost, publishers will look for the mighty sense of your written story. Answers from Elena Ornig. “… I want a book so filled with story and character that I read page after page without thinking of food and drink, because a writer has possessed me, crazed me with an unappeasable thirst to know what happens next.” – Pat Conroy. A well written novel flows as a melody and the only way to comprehend and to feel the rhythm of a well written narrative is to read as many great novels as possible and analyse why they are great. Analyse by reflecting back on your own feelings: which characters did you like and why, which descriptions of the scenes were the best and why, how the developing plot of the novel kept you wondering to the end; or simply, what was it in general, and also specifically, that was so likable about ... Read the rest of this post
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By: Elena Ornig,
on 12/1/2011
Empire and Rce. Answers from Anya Tretyakova. H. G. Wells’ The Time Machine and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness are two Victorian novels, which despite differing greatly in subject matter and genre, nevertheless share many common tropes that bear further examination. The Time Machine, a work of Science Fiction, one of the earliest of its kind, sees the protagonist on a journey through time; seemingly travelling into the future, yet encountering a planet and inhabiting ‘civilisation’ which instead appears to be regressing into prehistory with the passage of time. Heart of Darkness, a symbolic, frame narrative is harder to place in terms of genre, but can be read as a transitional text between Victorian and Modernist styles; here, the protagonist is also on a journey, which even though it is only through physical space, has all the hallmarks of pseudo-time travel. In Heart of Darkness, the protagonist, Charles Marlow journeys into Africa, ... Read the rest of this post
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By: Elena Ornig,
on 8/24/2011
Answers from Anya Tretyakova What’s In A Name? The Postcolonial texts of Translations and Pantomime use language to express the oppression and destruction of the colonised culture. Postcolonial Text is a refereed open access journal that publishes articles, book reviews, interviews, poetry and fiction on postcolonial, transnational, and indigenous themes. When studying Postcolonial texts, it is difficult, if not impossible to conduct any amount of academic research without encountering a multitude of debate over the usage of language and linguistics within these texts. Postcolonial theatrical texts are no exception. If success in linguistic interaction is predicated on a mutual effort toward a common goal (Elam 155), then the outcome must be severely impaired when participants’ goals do not align. Furthermore, the use of a language that is not your own, to express your own thoughts, feelings and identity, is made all the more difficult when one cultural group attempts to coerce another cultural group ... Read the rest of this post
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By: Elena Ornig,
on 2/9/2011
We constructed the information in such way that in „one go” you will have quite a reasonable knowledge about the major religions around the world. You will be able to learn about Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Hinduism Here we are talking about the oldest religion that quite misunderstood, by many. To be precise, Hinduism is not even a religion in the way one would think or perceive. The so–called formal doctrine that every other religion has, or at least indicates and outlines, does not exist in Hinduism. Hinduism is based not on one, but on many different rituals that are practiced by many different sects, and they are based on different techniques. This is a unique situation, but unbelievably, Hinduism has many followers over the last 4,000 years; and we are talking about hundreds of millions of people who live in India, let alone those followers outside India. Unprecedentedly, Hinduism does not have a Founder or a specifically recognised founding event; ... Read the rest of this post
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By: Stacey,
on 12/7/2010
Jacques Steinberg, an education correspondent for The New York Times, appeared on “The Today Show” yesterday morning. He talked with Natalie Morales about college essays that worked and didn’t work at some of the nation’s most prestigious colleges. There were three commonalities I immediately recognized in the essays that worked. First, the well-written essays had [...]
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By: Christine Onorati,
on 12/6/2010
The holiday season must be here — otherwise, we are listening to Run-D.M.C.’s Christmas in Hollis for no good reason. (Other than the hell of it.)
Last night’s event with Skippy Dies author Paul Murray was, in a word, epic. Murray is impressively entertaining and well-spoken, and kept the crowd nodding and laughing throughout his reading and interview with Ed Champion. We’ve got a limited number of signed copies of both editions, so get ‘em while the getting’s good.
And then, of course, there’s this coming weekend’s Annual Holiday Open House to look forward to. The list of participating authors just keeps on growing, and we’re planning some fun goodies and surprises, so definitely stop by sometime Saturday and/or Sunday between noon and 4 p.m. (If you’re on the Facebook, you can RSVP!)
Let’s see, let’s see — oh, right, the gift guide! Let us make your shopping easier: just buy these books. And! We are now the exclusive source for signed and personalized books from local romance author and WORD favorite Sarah MacLean. You just try getting Stephanie and Jenn to shut up about her, go ahead. We dare ya.
As always, feel free to stop in and let us know your own gifty favorites, be it here in the comments, on Twitter, Facebook, or (GASP) in person. Happy holidays!
By: Christine Onorati,
on 11/27/2010
The holiday season has arrived! The gift guide will be appearing in your inbox this coming week — if you’re not already signed up, now’s a great time (we only send one email a month, pinky swear). And while our December events schedule is nowhere near as full as Novembers, it is equally awesome:
Sunday, December 5, at 7 p.m.: Paul Murray, Booker Prize-longlisted author of Skippy Dies, will make a very rare New York appearance at WORD in conversation with Edward Champion, host of the quirky radio program, The Bat Segundo Show. Expect the unexpected; Ed avoids routine questions wherever possible, so it should be an unforgettable interview. Murray will read and sign afterwards. Skippy Dies is one of Stephanie’s favorite books of the year (which is not something you should take lightly, because she is picky as all get-out), and Murray is from Ireland, so to say that we’re excited about this is a gross understatement.
Then, on Saturday and Sunday, December 11 and 12, from 12 p.m. – 4 p.m., we’re having our second annual Holiday Open House. What is this, you ask? Nothing less than some of our favorite authors coming to the store! They’ll be on hand recommending books, gift-wrapping, signing, and generally taking part in the holiday fun. We’ve got some plans in the works (more details soon!) but suffice it to say: a good time will be had by all.
By: Christine Onorati,
on 11/14/2010
Highlights from the past week:
We’ve got more event awesome coming up; check out our event calendar for the full details. See you there!
By: Christine Onorati,
on 11/7/2010
In a few weeks we’ll be sending out our annual gift guide to try to make your holiday season a little easier (and a little more literate). And while we certainly have a (very, very, very, very) long list of ideas for this holiday season, we’d love to include some customer recommendations.
What books do you love to give? What books have you gotten and regifted? Have an idea that you think everyone should know about? Email Stephanie (stephanie at wordbrooklyn dot com) with the books that you can’t wait to give this year, and let us know. You might make it into this year’s guide!
By: Christine Onorati,
on 10/31/2010
What do you call a month in which 18 special events happen? How about when 13 of them happen in a row? Here at WORD, we call it: November. We’ve got an events line-up that is PACKED with awesome. Full details are, as always, up on the WORD Events Calendar, but here’s the scoop:
By: Christine Onorati,
on 10/15/2010
Every now and then a completely unexpected book grabs (and holds) your attention. Kim Dana Kupperman’s I Just Lately Started Buying Wings is that book. A collection of essays that, together, make up something akin to a memoir, Kupperman hits notes that are almost obligatory in the genre: crazy mother, a difficult childhood, travels far and near, torrid affairs, strange jobs. But in her hands and through her eyes, these oft-told stories become fresh and gripping. We’re thrilled to be able to introduce you to her in the below interview — and thanks, Kim!
WORD: Your book is labeled as an essay collection, but reads not unlike a memoir. Many of the pieces have been previously published. What was the “assembly” process like?
KIM DANA KUPPERMAN: [I'll answer this question with parts of a talk I gave at last year’s AWP conference, from a panel called "The Essayist's Dilemma," which was moderated by Marcia Aldrich, editor of the journal Fourth Genre and included Lucy Ferriss and E. J. Levy.]
The arrangement of my book came about in stages, beginning with that monster called the Creative Thesis, completed after two plus years in a Master of Fine Arts program. After I graduated, I thought that all I’d need to do was write a few more essays to fill out the collection I had so diligently assembled as a thesis. And then a friend read the essay titled “Relief” and said, “This is very interesting, but what happened before the time you wrote about?” That question prompted me to take apart this particular essay and write it into a memoir. Which meant, for practical purposes, removing a piece of writing from an already slim collection. And so I spent almost two years writing a memoir. Though I published chapters from it as discrete essays, it did not sell. After sending it to agents, publishers, and contests and seeing it turned it down, I decided to take a new course of action. I dismantled the memoir, breaking it into discrete autobiographical essays and restoring “Relief,” the essay from which it germinated. I merged these pieces with the essay collection I had already written and to which I had added one or two newer pieces. It occurred to me that if I wanted to publish this book, I’d need to solve the puzzle of how to organize these somewhat-linked-but-mostly-not pieces.
Though a book of discrete essays may be opened and delved into at any given point, most readers, perhaps because we are trained by the beginning-middle-end literary schema, desire an organizing principle, a structure that imposes meaning—even if it is quite nuanced—that relates the parts comprising a whole. Using sections to group the essays would help, I thought. And, the book’s title would derive from one of the essays, and I knew that the title would, eventually, lead me to develop a suitable configuration, but which title to pick, which essay to emphasize? I identified some of the shared preoccupations among the essays—air, wind, flight—as well as some of the overarching themes—departures and disappearances (read “death”), but how to wrap it up in a neat package for the dear readers I imagined on the other side of the page?
When I decided on the title, I Just Lately Started Buying Wings, I realized I’d need a subtitle as the agent of cohesion. I thought of applying a leitmotif of correspondence, using different kinds of letters as subheadings for individual sections. I noted words and phrases that evoked the epistolary: Letters home. Missives, disp
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By: Linda Aksomitis,
on 9/8/2010
Microsoft Word is one of the most popular word processing programs. I started collecting video tutorials that will help you learn how to use it in http://credendalibrary.blogspot.com/2010/09/using-microsoft-word.html and here are some more!
By: Linda Aksomitis,
on 9/8/2010
Microsoft Word is one of the most popular word processing programs. I've collected some great tutorials that will help you learn how to use this software effectively.
Let's start with watching this video titled The Secretary's Day - 1945, so we can how much things have changed in 55 years in the office!
By: Christine Onorati,
on 7/28/2010
Hey, we know you have too many books. It’s a common problem around these parts. But you still want more books. Because books are fantastic. And also you love libraries. Whatever can you do?
You can attend our first-ever book swap this Saturday, 7/31, from noon to 4pm!
As part of the Greenpoint Business Association’s Last Saturdays of Summer promotion, we’ll be hosting a book swap outside (if weather permits; if not, we’ll take it into our basement). Here’s the deal:
All donated money will go directly to the Greenpoint Public Library, the better to help them when the re-open after their renovations are complete.
So spread the word! Especially amongst your friends with great book collections. If this one goes well, we will definitely have more in the future.
By: Christine Onorati,
on 6/10/2010
That’s right, this time next week you should be prettying up and getting ready for WORD’s Prom Night Literary Matchmaking Mixer!
To get in the mood, here’s a heartwarming story from our last matchmaking mixer, from an anonymous attendee:
“I went to WORD’s literary mixer in January expecting to find a bar full half full of females and half empty, but my friend had asked me to go along as her wingman and at worst I figured we would enjoy a drink and each other’s company, and maybe flirt with the bartender. Surprise: the place was packed with interesting females and males alike. I’d never been to a singles mixer before, and noticed immediately how easy it was to start conversations–after all, everybody was there to meet people, so one needed only make eye contact to initiate conversation. My friend exchanged numbers with three or four guys that night, and I with one, a boy who turned into a fun month-long fling, exactly what I wanted at the time. There was another guy I met that night, who I later kept running into in my neighborhood. Happy ending: we fell in love. As if WORD weren’t already the best bookstore in NYC….”
All together now: AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.
Want to prepare? There’s still time to submit your Worst Prom Story. Send it to info at wordbrooklyn dot com by Tuesday the 15th—the winner will be announced at the event.
Otherwise, we’ll see you in a week for drink specials, two guest authors (Virginia Vitzthum, My Blind Date Went Blind, and Erin Bradley, Every Rose Has Its Thorn), and, of course, romance. Facebook RSVP here (appreciated but not required).
[...] Talking Wordles Here (claudsy.wordpress.com) [...]
Oh, Claudsy, I Love this!!! (Yesterday, as I was coming to visit your site,”Life Happened”, and I was forced to shift gears away from my laptop. As a result, by the end of the day, I was happily riding my new, colorful, Wonderful bicycle around my sweet neighborhood… a Happy Girl here). Thank you for promoting Wordling! Hugs to you! Hen
Thank you, Hen. I’m glad you enjoyed it. I hadn’t realized until I looked at the prompt that I’d done this form before and always enjoyed it. It stretches the mind. I’m always happy to promote poetry.
And lucky you to get a new bike; one to have new adventures on. Yay!
… Soo much fun … !!!