“An aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident; good fortune or luck.” That’s the dictionary’s definition for serendipity. It’s a word that was coined by Horace Walpole, English writer and son of the first prime minister of Great Britain, in 1754, when he named a faculty possessed by the heroes of a fairytale he wrote called The Three Heroes of Serendip.
Serendipity is no longer just a fairytale. Imagine a vague idea starting to buzz around in your head. Maybe it was there today, yesterday, a year ago, two years ago or for who knows how long. It appears like a mischievous Tinkerbell that teases by flitting in and out of your thoughts, just beyond your grasp. And then, when you think it’s coming into focus, it’s gone again, dancing away, tantalizing. The next time, it might tarry a bit longer, and you think you can see it, hear it and begin to research and write it. During that process, Larry Block, award-winning crime writer, says, “Something else can grab your attention that “. . . turns out to be better suited to your needs than what you thought you were looking for. You have to be looking for something in order to find that something else, . . . .(Then) a door pops open, and out comes an idea. . . .
(A)llow ideas to happen . . . . (Be) receptive to them.” That’s serendipity.
Janice Hardy, fantasy writer, wrote a fantasy for adults that didn’t seem to work. When she went to analyze and research her idea files, she tripped over a brand new premise for a fantasy plot. That led to the realization that she was writing for the wrong audience, that her voice and style were “young adult.” The book, Shifter, ultimately became the first of a series for middle-grade readers, and a success.
Nathaniel Philbrick, narrative history award-winning author, based in Nantucket off the southeastern coast of Massachusetts, said during an interview that a lightbulb went on for him while researching material for one of his maritime epochs, Sea of Glory. The book concerned the sea explorers who sailed in 1838-1842 and discovered Antartica. During his research, Philbrick came across a reference to a little known collection of letters written by the Commander of the expedition, Lt. Charles Wilkes, to his wife while he was at sea. The letters, telling the Commander’s wife everything in his own voice about the voyage, had only recently been released by the family to Duke University, and were never before used as a resource. Philbrick looked into it further. According to him, the letters made Sea of Glory a different and better book than it might have been, because of details not found anywhere else, even in Wilkes journals.
When we stumble over these accidental treasures, we may call them kismet, we may call them fate, but we can certainly call them serendipity.
Lawrence Block: http://www.lawrenceblock.com/ – Most recent title: Getting Off (out Sept, 2011)
Janice Hardy: http://www.janicehardy.com/
– Series: The Healing Wars: Third book of series: Darkfall
Nathaniel Philbrick: http://www.nathanielphilbrick.com/ – The Last Stand (now out in paperback)
Chuck Leddy, who conducted the Philbrick interview, was a contributing editor for The Writer, a freelance writer, and a regular reviewer of history titles for the Boston Globe and other publications.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
One Writer's Solution for Writer's Block
Has it been a bad day? Maybe the kids were noisy and you couldn't concentrate, the bills were piling up, you had to fight with someone for a parking place, and, worst of all, your muse deserted you. There you sit with that blank screen or sheet of paper staring you in the face and – nothing!
When it happened to me, I tried all the remedies I’d ever heard of: Sit down and write anything until the juices start flowing (they didn’t); get up and go out for a walk, and when you return, your head will have cleared, and you’ll be all set to go (it hadn’t, and I wasn’t); hit the floor and do some push-ups or other exercises. (0nce I was on the floor, I had trouble getting up.) Now, I’m not saying these or other things won’t work at times, or for some people all the time. It seems, though, that everyone, through trial and error, has to find their own unique answer.
I had given up in disgust, and realistically decided that I wasn’t going to get any writing done that day. I had a gift to buy for someone and thought a bookstore gift card (of course) would be a good idea. I took myself off to Barnes and Noble, and the minute I crossed the threshold, I could feel all the frustration ebbing away.
I took a deep breath and smelled the paper and print that holds for me any world I choose to enter. Here I can connect with the minds of humanity to analyze, study, or just enjoy in my own time, in my own way, a treasure that’s rich in skill, talent and knowledge.
Okay, mea culpa. I am a bibliophile, and when in a bookstore or library, I still feel the same awe as I did when I was a child. I’m suddenly on another planet that shuts out all the tedium of the day, including, it turns out, writer’s block. The shelves before me beckon, and it’s “Honey, I’m home!”
I returned to my computer two hours later, the words at my fingertips tripping over themselves to be liberated. That’s how I discovered my particular solution to writer’s block. Maybe this is the one that would work for you. And, yes, I did remember to buy the bookstore gift card.
When it happened to me, I tried all the remedies I’d ever heard of: Sit down and write anything until the juices start flowing (they didn’t); get up and go out for a walk, and when you return, your head will have cleared, and you’ll be all set to go (it hadn’t, and I wasn’t); hit the floor and do some push-ups or other exercises. (0nce I was on the floor, I had trouble getting up.) Now, I’m not saying these or other things won’t work at times, or for some people all the time. It seems, though, that everyone, through trial and error, has to find their own unique answer.
I had given up in disgust, and realistically decided that I wasn’t going to get any writing done that day. I had a gift to buy for someone and thought a bookstore gift card (of course) would be a good idea. I took myself off to Barnes and Noble, and the minute I crossed the threshold, I could feel all the frustration ebbing away.
I took a deep breath and smelled the paper and print that holds for me any world I choose to enter. Here I can connect with the minds of humanity to analyze, study, or just enjoy in my own time, in my own way, a treasure that’s rich in skill, talent and knowledge.
Okay, mea culpa. I am a bibliophile, and when in a bookstore or library, I still feel the same awe as I did when I was a child. I’m suddenly on another planet that shuts out all the tedium of the day, including, it turns out, writer’s block. The shelves before me beckon, and it’s “Honey, I’m home!”
I returned to my computer two hours later, the words at my fingertips tripping over themselves to be liberated. That’s how I discovered my particular solution to writer’s block. Maybe this is the one that would work for you. And, yes, I did remember to buy the bookstore gift card.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Writers 50 and Over, Get Ready, Get Set, Publish!
Getting published is not an easy achievement today, but if you’re a little older it’s often more difficult in our youth-oriented society. So it’s comforting to know that there is a literary journal and publisher, perhaps the only one in the U.S.A., who will accept submissions soley from writers 50 years of age and older.
Passager (a combination of “passage”and “passenger”), was co-founded by Kendra Kopelke in 1999. She was teaching poetry to a retirement community in Baltimore, MD, and was so struck by the passion and beauty displayed in their work, that she felt these students needed to be seen and heard. Passager was developed in order to showcase all older writers and their skills, talents and creativity, and to stimulate their continued involvement in creative expression. Apparently it worked, because not only did the magazine/journal flourish, but Passsager Books was launched in 2005, welcoming proposals from older writers, with the proviso that they do not stereotype images of old age. After all, an adage tells us that old age is merely a state of mind. Many agree:
“I want to run away and join the Cirque du Soleil when I grow up,” said Sly Stallone’s mother, Jackie, at seventy-something. (She took up high wire walking as a senior citizen.)
“Autumn is a second spring, when every leaf is in flower” (Albert Camus).
“In the past few years, I have made a thrilling discovery, that until one is over sixty, one can never really learn the secret of living” (Ellen Glasgow).
“I can’t actually see myself putting makeup on my face at the age of 60. But I can see myself going on a camel train to Samarkand” (Glenda Jackson).
“The older I get, the greater the power I seem to have to help the world. I am like a snowball—the further I am rolled, the more I gain” (Susan B. Anthony).
If you are an older writer, wishing to be published for the first time, you might be surprised to know you are in good company. Some debut novels by mature writers include: George Eliot’s Adam Bede. It came out when she was 50; Laura Ingalls Wilder’s first of the Little House on the Prairie series was out when she was well into her 60’s; Anna Sewell, who wrote Black Beauty, was 57; Katherine Ann Porter, Ship of Fools, 79; Norman Mclean, A River Runs Through It, 74. This list can go on, but one of the most outstanding examples is a Bangledeshi writer, Nirad Chauhuri, who wrote his first book, Autobiography of an Unknown Indian when he was 54, its sequel when he was 90, and his latest book, Three horsemen of the New Apocolypse, when he was 100.
On that note, I’ll leave you with a few more particulars to decide if you want to take this plunge. Passeger Books will accept a maximum of 4000 words. They have published books of poetry and an anthology of journal writing. Their magazine/journal also publishes short shorts, poetry and memoir, and they particularly like humorous, tongue-in-cheek essays. Although Passeger pays one contributor’s copy if published, the magazine does at times run contests and other events, which could net the winner a cash prize. They acquire first North American Serial Rights, and simultaneous submissions are acceptable.
Passeger is published twice a year, including one issue highlighting the winning entries of the poetry contest. Manuscripts, however, will not be read from September 15 through February 15. Right now, they are able to accept submissions for the magazine, only. Visit their website (listed below) and click on “Guidelines” to check for opening dates of acceptance for their other publication submissions and for further information.
Both Passeger and Passeger Books may be contacted at the following addresses and phone number:
Website: www.passagerpress.com
E-mail: passager@saysomethingloudly.com
Phone: (410) 837-60472
Mail: Editors
Passager Press
c/o The University of Baltimore
Baltimore, MD 21201
Happy writing!
:
Passager (a combination of “passage”and “passenger”), was co-founded by Kendra Kopelke in 1999. She was teaching poetry to a retirement community in Baltimore, MD, and was so struck by the passion and beauty displayed in their work, that she felt these students needed to be seen and heard. Passager was developed in order to showcase all older writers and their skills, talents and creativity, and to stimulate their continued involvement in creative expression. Apparently it worked, because not only did the magazine/journal flourish, but Passsager Books was launched in 2005, welcoming proposals from older writers, with the proviso that they do not stereotype images of old age. After all, an adage tells us that old age is merely a state of mind. Many agree:
“I want to run away and join the Cirque du Soleil when I grow up,” said Sly Stallone’s mother, Jackie, at seventy-something. (She took up high wire walking as a senior citizen.)
“Autumn is a second spring, when every leaf is in flower” (Albert Camus).
“In the past few years, I have made a thrilling discovery, that until one is over sixty, one can never really learn the secret of living” (Ellen Glasgow).
“I can’t actually see myself putting makeup on my face at the age of 60. But I can see myself going on a camel train to Samarkand” (Glenda Jackson).
“The older I get, the greater the power I seem to have to help the world. I am like a snowball—the further I am rolled, the more I gain” (Susan B. Anthony).
If you are an older writer, wishing to be published for the first time, you might be surprised to know you are in good company. Some debut novels by mature writers include: George Eliot’s Adam Bede. It came out when she was 50; Laura Ingalls Wilder’s first of the Little House on the Prairie series was out when she was well into her 60’s; Anna Sewell, who wrote Black Beauty, was 57; Katherine Ann Porter, Ship of Fools, 79; Norman Mclean, A River Runs Through It, 74. This list can go on, but one of the most outstanding examples is a Bangledeshi writer, Nirad Chauhuri, who wrote his first book, Autobiography of an Unknown Indian when he was 54, its sequel when he was 90, and his latest book, Three horsemen of the New Apocolypse, when he was 100.
On that note, I’ll leave you with a few more particulars to decide if you want to take this plunge. Passeger Books will accept a maximum of 4000 words. They have published books of poetry and an anthology of journal writing. Their magazine/journal also publishes short shorts, poetry and memoir, and they particularly like humorous, tongue-in-cheek essays. Although Passeger pays one contributor’s copy if published, the magazine does at times run contests and other events, which could net the winner a cash prize. They acquire first North American Serial Rights, and simultaneous submissions are acceptable.
Passeger is published twice a year, including one issue highlighting the winning entries of the poetry contest. Manuscripts, however, will not be read from September 15 through February 15. Right now, they are able to accept submissions for the magazine, only. Visit their website (listed below) and click on “Guidelines” to check for opening dates of acceptance for their other publication submissions and for further information.
Both Passeger and Passeger Books may be contacted at the following addresses and phone number:
Website: www.passagerpress.com
E-mail: passager@saysomethingloudly.com
Phone: (410) 837-60472
Mail: Editors
Passager Press
c/o The University of Baltimore
Baltimore, MD 21201
Happy writing!
:
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
A True Crime Book for Endangered Wildlife
"Animal Investigators" by Laurel Neme, PhD (Now available in paperback)
From camping in the Kalahari, to investigating walrus carcasses on Alaska's Bering Sea Beaches, to trudging through jungle with Brazilian Federal Police, Laurel A. Neme, PhD and environmental journalist, has been tireless in her efforts to ebb the flow of wildlife crime.
Dr. Neme's book, "Animal Investigators," opens the world's eyes to the fact that animal parts are a billion dollar global trade, and animal trafficking ranks among the top three in international crime. This real tale of the relatively little known murder and slaughter of animal life for the sake of gigantic profit can break your heart and shake you to the core. It is incredible crime that requires incredible scientific methods of solution.
With that in mind, the WFL, the world's first Wildlife Forensics Lab was born as an aid to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The small staff of dedicated scientists and investigators, together with the USFWS, try to combat the overwhelming crime, brutality and greed to save millions of animals, including some of the endangered species. This underground industry feeds and supports the activities of worldwide terrorists, and now, the specter of organized crime has loomed.
"Animal Investigators" is exciting, exotic and educational, but gut wrenching. Dr. Neme cites three cases that come under focus, and we are priveleged to watch the CSI of the animal world at work as bloated walrus torsos wash up on beaches, their tusked heads missing; black bear torsos are found with their gallbladders and front paws gone; Amazon feather art threatens many tropical animals and birds.
Untold numbers of creatures are threatened by the poachers, smugglers and murderers that make up this vast industry of death and brutality, and they just keep coming. It won't take a village to stem this tide; it will take a world. Kudos to Dr. Laurel Neme for all her work and for raising awareness of this horrendous problem.
Dr. Neme holds a Masters Degree in public policy from the University of Michigan, and a PhD in public and international affairs from Princeton University. She also consults on wildlife and natural resource management and serves as a Fellow at the University of Vermont's Institute for Environmental Diplomacy and Security.
Add to her long list of activity "The Wildlife," a weekly radio show (podcast on iTunes) that explores the mysteries of the animal world through interviews with scientists and wildlife investigators. The link to that is
www.laurelneme.com/wildliferadio. A second book is in progress. Dr. Neme can be contacted for questions or further information at: laurel@laurelneme.com.
Reviewed by Janis Guggenheim, Freelance Writer
Your first saw my book review of "Animal Investigators" on Richard Davidson's book review site http://www.readworthybooks.blogspot.com/. The books are all reviewed by professional writers, and this site, in my opinion, is an excellent way to discover good reading.
From camping in the Kalahari, to investigating walrus carcasses on Alaska's Bering Sea Beaches, to trudging through jungle with Brazilian Federal Police, Laurel A. Neme, PhD and environmental journalist, has been tireless in her efforts to ebb the flow of wildlife crime.
Dr. Neme's book, "Animal Investigators," opens the world's eyes to the fact that animal parts are a billion dollar global trade, and animal trafficking ranks among the top three in international crime. This real tale of the relatively little known murder and slaughter of animal life for the sake of gigantic profit can break your heart and shake you to the core. It is incredible crime that requires incredible scientific methods of solution.
With that in mind, the WFL, the world's first Wildlife Forensics Lab was born as an aid to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The small staff of dedicated scientists and investigators, together with the USFWS, try to combat the overwhelming crime, brutality and greed to save millions of animals, including some of the endangered species. This underground industry feeds and supports the activities of worldwide terrorists, and now, the specter of organized crime has loomed.
"Animal Investigators" is exciting, exotic and educational, but gut wrenching. Dr. Neme cites three cases that come under focus, and we are priveleged to watch the CSI of the animal world at work as bloated walrus torsos wash up on beaches, their tusked heads missing; black bear torsos are found with their gallbladders and front paws gone; Amazon feather art threatens many tropical animals and birds.
Untold numbers of creatures are threatened by the poachers, smugglers and murderers that make up this vast industry of death and brutality, and they just keep coming. It won't take a village to stem this tide; it will take a world. Kudos to Dr. Laurel Neme for all her work and for raising awareness of this horrendous problem.
Dr. Neme holds a Masters Degree in public policy from the University of Michigan, and a PhD in public and international affairs from Princeton University. She also consults on wildlife and natural resource management and serves as a Fellow at the University of Vermont's Institute for Environmental Diplomacy and Security.
Add to her long list of activity "The Wildlife," a weekly radio show (podcast on iTunes) that explores the mysteries of the animal world through interviews with scientists and wildlife investigators. The link to that is
www.laurelneme.com/wildliferadio. A second book is in progress. Dr. Neme can be contacted for questions or further information at: laurel@laurelneme.com.
Reviewed by Janis Guggenheim, Freelance Writer
Your first saw my book review of "Animal Investigators" on Richard Davidson's book review site http://www.readworthybooks.blogspot.com/. The books are all reviewed by professional writers, and this site, in my opinion, is an excellent way to discover good reading.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Creative Empowerment
In today's world of heartache, struggle and strife, it is important to shine a spotlight on a non-profit arts organization that offers a salve for some of the world's pain. Amherst Writers and Artists, located in Amherst, Massachusets believes that "a writer is someone who writes," and it reaches out to fold its arms around many underserviced populations here and around the globe to tell them so.
Teachers, psychologists, writers, clergy of various faiths and others join their training classes to become ceative writing workshop leaders, taught to nurture and cultivate the creative spirit. They then go out and hold workshops across the country and beyond to empower people to express themselves and build self-esteem. Some people never thought they could write,were afraid to try, had no time except for work and family, could not afford it before, or hesitated because of various other life situations. Writers and Artists has outreached to low-income women, children and youth, bereavement groups, participants in recovery programs and others in need and who thirsted to get what they wanted to say out on paper. Workshops can be found in living rooms, prisons, hospitals, church basements, homeless shelters, schools, universities and retreat centers. The results for both students and leaders prove to be enriching, exciting, rewarding, and well worh the time, regardless of educational level or experience. Having been certified as one of their workshop leaders some time ago, I still consider it one of the most rewarding experiences of my writing life.
In the middle of all this, Writers and Artists somehow manages to produce books of poetry and prose, as well as a yearly journal of poetry and fiction.
Pat Schneider author of Writing Alone and With Others, Oxford University Press, founded Writers and Artists over thirty years ago. I don't think she would mind my quoting her basic philosophy at the very foundation of this shining light of an organization. She says, "You have a voice, just as surely as you have a face, and it is already full of character, passionate and nuanced and beautiful."
Teachers, psychologists, writers, clergy of various faiths and others join their training classes to become ceative writing workshop leaders, taught to nurture and cultivate the creative spirit. They then go out and hold workshops across the country and beyond to empower people to express themselves and build self-esteem. Some people never thought they could write,were afraid to try, had no time except for work and family, could not afford it before, or hesitated because of various other life situations. Writers and Artists has outreached to low-income women, children and youth, bereavement groups, participants in recovery programs and others in need and who thirsted to get what they wanted to say out on paper. Workshops can be found in living rooms, prisons, hospitals, church basements, homeless shelters, schools, universities and retreat centers. The results for both students and leaders prove to be enriching, exciting, rewarding, and well worh the time, regardless of educational level or experience. Having been certified as one of their workshop leaders some time ago, I still consider it one of the most rewarding experiences of my writing life.
In the middle of all this, Writers and Artists somehow manages to produce books of poetry and prose, as well as a yearly journal of poetry and fiction.
Pat Schneider author of Writing Alone and With Others, Oxford University Press, founded Writers and Artists over thirty years ago. I don't think she would mind my quoting her basic philosophy at the very foundation of this shining light of an organization. She says, "You have a voice, just as surely as you have a face, and it is already full of character, passionate and nuanced and beautiful."
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Research: One for the Books
I started out as a journalist and business writer. So I knew from the beginning that I would spend a lot of time researching for information and accuracy. Fiction, for me, was to be read, not written . . . until I had a dream shortly after my husband passed away.
It had me sitting in Piazza Navona in Rome, Italy (where I had never been). When I looked around, I spotted a man who looked like my husband in a wheelchair, wearing a beret. (My husband had never had any contact with a wheelchair or a beret.) I walked over to him and asked his name. In a loud voice, he said, "My name is Irwin Cappella." At that point, I woke up and almost fell out of bed laughing. "Who is Irwin Cappella?"
He was so loud, and the dream was so vivid, I knew there must be a book in there somewhere. A short time later, I was packed and on my way to Rome . . . to do research. Well, it was a dirty job, but somebody had to do it! That's when Rome Is Waiting, a novel, was born (not yet published). All the aspects of this fiction were explored every inch of the way: historical, medical, psychological, geographical and cultural. (Old habits die hard.) I kept remembering a book I once had started to read about Chicago that had State Street and Randolph Street running the same way. That was enough to make me research even further.
So keep that "R" word close to your heart to hang onto your credibility. It's amazing how much you can learn and how it can sometimes surprise you. You might even take a trip to Rome.
It had me sitting in Piazza Navona in Rome, Italy (where I had never been). When I looked around, I spotted a man who looked like my husband in a wheelchair, wearing a beret. (My husband had never had any contact with a wheelchair or a beret.) I walked over to him and asked his name. In a loud voice, he said, "My name is Irwin Cappella." At that point, I woke up and almost fell out of bed laughing. "Who is Irwin Cappella?"
He was so loud, and the dream was so vivid, I knew there must be a book in there somewhere. A short time later, I was packed and on my way to Rome . . . to do research. Well, it was a dirty job, but somebody had to do it! That's when Rome Is Waiting, a novel, was born (not yet published). All the aspects of this fiction were explored every inch of the way: historical, medical, psychological, geographical and cultural. (Old habits die hard.) I kept remembering a book I once had started to read about Chicago that had State Street and Randolph Street running the same way. That was enough to make me research even further.
So keep that "R" word close to your heart to hang onto your credibility. It's amazing how much you can learn and how it can sometimes surprise you. You might even take a trip to Rome.
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