Writer's Club: Issue #11

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Writer’s Beat

February - Monthly Publication - www.writersbeat.com A monthly newsletter for writers...

Issue 10, February - 2007

February Contests pg 2 Poetry Contest Winner pg 3 Fiction Winning Entry pg 4 Be a Better Writer pg 5 Plot Devices pg 6

Got Love? Nobody should be saying ‘no’ to this. Writer’s Beat is full of love for everyone.

Latest Announcements Writer’s Beat houses over 1500 members now. Congratulations to the community! VIP Memberships Writer’s Beat recently came out with vip memberships to help pay for the costs of running the community. We wish everything could be free, but the world just isn’t that fair unfortunately. We understand that the features aren’t exciting to everyone, but it really helps to keep Writer’s Beat running. It’s not cheap. We want to promote YOU Writer’s Beat really wants you to succeed as an author. WB receives a huge amount of traffic, and we want to give back by promoting your stories and poems! We are especially looking for authors that have hard-copy books. If you do, please contact us via the contact form. A campaign will be discussed to get your book known throughout the community.

Authors Leaf pg 7 Writers Leaf pg 9

Poets Leaf pg 10 Comic pg 11

Writer’s Beat is a community managed by a community. A huge amount of work goes into the publication, contests, blogs, critiques, moderations, etc. and we're always looking for new members for our team. If you would like to take part, we'd love the help. Please contact us for further information.

February Contests Valentine's Day is just around the corner and we judges are craving chocolate and love, in the written form, that is. Whether it be the kind of love found in fairy tales or the more realistic romance of the real world, write us a story about love and romance for this month. You have until 11:59 PM EST on February 22nd to post your submissions. Good luck!

Be sure to check out our comic! We have a new comic for you all, be sure to read it on page 11 .

New book by one of our members Ron Cervero

Did you know Writer’s Club has it’s own page on Writer’s Beat?

Ron has recently released a new book, you should read more about it here.

Click Here to view it

Would you be interested in helping Writer’s Beat?

Monthly Writer’s Beat Overview

www.writersbeat.com

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February Contests Participate in a contest, it’s a chance to fill in those published credits.

Poetry Contest Thread

Non-Fiction Contest Thread

Fiction Contest Thread

Roses are red...

Freewrite

Chocolate and Love

It's that time of the year again, the time for chocolate in heart-shaped boxes, red roses and men forgetting the 14th of the month is a special day. We judges are a romantic bunch and we want you to write us some love poems for this month. We are not above being influenced by candy-grams and other bribes, so sweeten us up by any means possible!

For February, you have 1,500 words to ramble, rant or rave on absolutely anything that floats your boat. Sound like fun? Good. Because this is your last chance to keep the non-fiction contest alive.

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and we judges are craving chocolate and love, in the written form, that is. Whether it be the kind of love found in fairy tales or the more realistic romance of the real world (like my alliteration?), write us a story about love and romance for this month.

View More Information

Help support Ron Cervero (Better known as Toyzrock) from Writer's Beat; purchase his amazing book of poetry.

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You heard it from the mascot, so why don’t you take this opportunity to win a contest and get published? It really is that simple. You’ll be included into Writer’s Club and that’s an official credit of publication. How awesome is that? Pretty awesome if you ask the mascot.

February Contests at www.writersbeat.com

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Poetry Contest Winner Mystical Vengence by Gary Wagner

Down darkened hallways

out of my own body.

I floated out of body,

As he slept on his stomach

vaporous apparition

I wrapped arm around his throat

seeking revenge,

he struggled but vengeful spirit,

glorious, satisfying revenge.

driven by mindless hatred was powerful. I maintained pressure until his body grew still.

He took my wife, he took my family,

His lifeless body fell,

he took my life,

head twisted at an unnatural angle,

now I would take his

rolled off the bed onto the floor when I released my hold.

Desperation driven research revealed ancient mystic mysteries,

Satisfaction I sought was denied

practice proved

when I looked upon the dead face

spirit could be freed from body.

in growing shock and horror. Were I not a spirit and had voice,

Through months of patient practice

I would have cried out in agony,

ethereal forces properly channeled

“What have I done?

allowed solid object manipulation.

How could I have been so wrong?”

The spirit of me hovered silently

I float for eternity in misery

over the object of my hatred,

never learning what I had missed

the recipient of my revenge

of the dark magic I had attempted,

my body left behind,

how I had gone astray,

my alibi unassailable,

how my hated nemesis still breathes,

the perfect crime at hand.

and how my spirit choked the life

Poetry Contest Winning Entry

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Fiction Contest Winner Nailing the Cat To the Door by Tina C she ladled out with her homemade chicken casserole. At some ungodly hour in the morning we went to bed. Well, she stayed in the spare room. She had asked me if I wanted a warm drink to take with me. I told her I had it covered. A bottle of red wine already room temperature.

This flu was killing me. I blew my nose before a sneeze could explode from me, then I secreted a spoonful of sweetener into Steve’s coffee. He wouldn’t have admitted it, but he did need to lose a few pounds before we hit the beaches in Jamaica come July. I was in his bad books, but I felt too sick to argue, so I ignored his mutterings. “We buy a decent car and you can’t even keep it maintained properly...” I handed him his coffee, he took it but didn’t even look at me. For the next twenty minutes I tried to engage him in the plans we were supposed to be making. He barely spoke; he just watched the six o’clock news. Then he said. “I’ve met someone else.” It was my turn to be silent. As he opened the door to leave, the freezing January evening leeched the heat from the apartment and I was left with a handful of sodden Kleenex and realizing that my worries over the colours scheme for my bridesmaids no longer mattered. I was too numb to think or do anything, so I went to bed. I didn’t sleep. I didn’t cry either. The following morning I woke up and went to work as usual. I didn’t tell anyone. As far as the girls at the ‘Bepolished’ health & beauty salon knew, it was business as usual. I came home from work, cooked dinner, threw it away, went to bed, stared at the ceiling and got up the next morning. For three days I kept silent. On the third evening, my mother found out. I can’t remember which was worse, her venomous assault on Steve’s manhood and the way she threw doubt at his parentage, or the bucketful of sympathy

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Sitting at the edge of my bed, I poured myself a large glass of Rioja and noticed my hands were shaking. I took a sip and the glass smacked against my teeth. All the tears I had been storing up just came out in heaving sobs. I needed to grasp hold of something before I was overwhelmed with despair. I emptied the glass in four gulps. The fifth was just air as the wine missed my mouth and dribbled down my chin. I poured myself another. I finished the bottle in less than an hour. I spent the next hour with my head down the toilet. I lay on the cold tiled floor, smelling of vomit and studying a long lost cotton-wool bud that had fallen behind the sink pedestal. In that 6 ft by 9 ft room time didn’t form part of the uniform. I woke up, feeling small in the bed and with a void in my memory on how I actually got there. In its place was the resolve that I was not going to be a victim. I was going to get on with my life. There was just one hurdle I had to get over. I needed to know ‘why’. It was Saturday. By 8 pm Steve would be with his drinking buddies in the ‘Hare and Trap’. My breath, in frosty plumes, condensed on the pub window. I saw Steve long before he saw me. There was a woman with him and when I saw her I knew ‘why’. She was beautiful. She sat, her legs crossed, elegant in just jeans and a jumper. Comfortably included in what was once a ‘girlfriend-free zone’. I still had to ask. I needed to hear him say it. Steve squirmed in his seat. In anticipation of a show-down, his friends put distance between us, to avoid the cross-fire. The girl looked mortified at my presence. I actually felt sorry for her. Maybe it was her discomfort, or his own that set him off, whatever it was, he just blew. He barraged me with a wave of insults that sent me reeling. Among other things, I was ‘boring’, apparently. I was also ‘predictable’ and ‘a sex-less, frigid icecub’e. I was half-expecting that last comment, he’d gone without it for over a week_ I had influenza for fuck’s sake!

My anger at him, kept me strong. Then she snorted. I couldn’t believe it. The bitch was laughing at me. My resolve shattered and I fled. The sound of her cackling was ringing in my head. During the following weeks I cried a lot, became a chronic insomniac and lost over a stone in weight. I spent evening after evening, plotting and scheming. I would have done anything to cause them as much pain as they had caused me_ and that included nailing her pet cat to her front door...and me an animal lover! Of course, I had no intention of carrying any of these plans out, but it felt really good thinking them up. What happened next changed all that. I heard on the grapevine that Steve was getting married. Being in the beauty industry I have a lot of contacts. If that wasn’t bad enough, on the same day as we had planned. Well, I suppose he had already booked the time off work. I felt sick for a week. His last words to me branded in my brain and still burned bright. The day of the wedding came. From what I saw of it, it was as ostentatious and flamboyant as I had come to expect. A steel band hammered a tuneful calypso beat on the front lawn of the ‘Grand Hotel’, in keeping with the carnival theme of the event. It was easy to slip in unnoticed among the amazed hotel guests and the huge and enthralled wedding party. I particularly liked the bridal suite. The four poster bed was dressed in cream silk and the satin sheets scattered with rose petals. Wedding gifts, wrapped in gold and silver and piled neatly by the ornate marble fireplace, glittered in the summer sun that flooded the room from the bowed window. I wiped down the brass door handle and slipped the syringe and the bottle of anti-freeze back into my bag, as I left...and my own contribution to the happy couple? On the bedside table a bottle of champagne, on ice, of course. Steve was right, I had no idea where to put the stuff in a car, but I was well versed with what it could do...and you can’t be a frigid ice-cube on your wedding night can you?

Fiction Contest Winning Entry

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the material useful in their current writing situations. Many parents have bought the book for their college-aged children and for those just entering the world of work…At the same time, we have asked kids as young as eight and nine to read a chapter and tell us if they ‘got it’. And for the most part, even though the books are a bit long for third graders, they like it just fine too…my wife and I have been writing reference titles for over twenty years. And the conclusion we’ve come to is that the best information transcends all age ranges and audiences.

Be a Better Writer by Tina C

...reading this just might do that to you.

When I first took on the assignment to review ‘Be a better writer – power tools for young writers’, by man and wife co-authors Steve Peha and Margot Carmichael Lester, I did have reservations, after all according to the sub line, this was a book for kids…and it has been a few decades since I was one of those. But, I have to say with my hand on my heart, I thoroughly enjoyed it and I did learn a lot from it. I would recommend these ‘power tools’ to any writer, no matter their age, or experience and tell them that it will make you a better writer. ‘Be a Better Writer’ is not a ‘how to…’ book that just tells you how to be technically better, it tells you how to be a more creative writer, how to be a more thoughtful and emotive writer, how to come up with ideas and more importantly how to get them down on paper. It explores those almost intangible elements of great writing, ideas and concepts, style, tone and voice, in a deceptively simple, yet thought provoking manner.

I asked Steve of all the tips there is in the book, which he would consider to be the three most important, he said, ‘The concept of ‘Main idea’ – the most important thing the writer wants the reader to know, is the most important concept of all…Details come next – in answer to all those questions a reader might have and a set of associated detail strategies that we present is just about as crucial and thirdly, it’s a toss- up between the ‘voice’, which is the foundation of all writing and all writers and ‘beginnings and endings’. The beginning is the most important part of your piece, because if it’s not good your readers may not read the middle or the end. That being said, there is nothing worse, it seems to me, as getting sucked in by a great beginning, really enjoying the middle and then encountering a lousy ending. It leaves a bad taste in your mouth that can sour the entire reading process. The book has an encouraging, but honest approach in its guidance, which I feel has been born out of its origins from the teachings in the classroom, but in now way should it stay there...teach the world guys! *** Steve Peha is a leading voice on reading, writing and education reform. As the founder of ‘Teaching that makes sense Inc., he has developed strategies that help teachers deliver more effective instruction and helps kids improves their literary skills. Co-author Margot Carmichael Lester has two careers as a writer and a business consultant.

For more information about this book, click here.

The authors walk you through their tried and tested techniques; there are exercises for you to experiment with and hundreds of tips to try out. Although I read the book from cover to cover, it is also possible to dip in and out of its content, as each chapter is independent of its companions. I asked one of the authors of the book, Steve Peha, how he saw readers using it. He said, ‘The book was conceived as a loosely organized set of writing techniques. So the easiest way to use it would be to identify a specific technique you need help with, read that short section, and then apply the strategies suggested to a single piece of your own writing. This is how we teach the material in the book to kids in school…you’ll find that each section is packed with very specific stylistic tips. At the same time, these bits and pieces of professional writing technique are delivered in the broader context of what it is like to be a real writer writing in the real world…This rich holistic and, we believe, authentic experience of writing is what we strive for in the classroom teaching, so it’s what we wanted to present to our readers.’ As I felt that the book would be beneficial to adults as well as young writers I asked Steve’s opinion, he said that older writers seemed to find it beneficial. ‘…significant numbers of people who have bought the books have been adults buying it for themselves. One person bought individual copies for each of the writers at her PR agency…we asked about a hundred adult writers, in quite an extensive ‘feedback’ phase throughout the production, at least half of the adults confessed that they learned a lot about writing and that they found

Be a Better Writer book review by Tina C

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Another plot device is Voyeurism. Sigmund Freud defined it as the obtainment of sexual satisfaction by observing erotic objects or scenes, but in literature, it surely means something else. It is the intense, concealed, or impermissible observing of an object or a scene. A plot is affected when the character gains knowledge by Voyeurism, thus resolving or creating a conflict. Voyeuristic storytelling is extremely obvious in Isabel Allende's works.

Naturally, time travel is not smooth (not yet at least) and some problems have to occur. Predestination Paradox is used when a character is in the middle of conflicting events, which forces the character to travel through time in order to reach a solution. In Star Wars, a Predestination Paradox is apparent when Anakin tries to prevent his wife from dying.

Plot Devices By Hakeem

Plot devices also include cliffhangers, discoveries, sudden twist in events, fictional events within a fictional story (much like a dream within a dream), and happy endings.

There are many things a good writer knows for certain: commas are not sentence enders; apostrophes do not pluralize; and the excessive use of exclamation marks is definitely bad. But the one thing a writer knows above all is that an ideal plot is almost impossible to create.

There are many elements you have to consider in order to create the impossible, and plot devices are one of them. A plot device is an object hidden within the storyline used to influence the progress of the plot. There are numerous plot devices you can pick from, but I will settle for explaining just a few.

In the Harry Potter series, Rowling introduced the two-way mirror early in the fifth volume. When Harry's godfather kicked the bucket at the end, we were reminded of the mirror again. What Rowling used is called Chekhov's Gun: an object introduced at an early point in the story, only to have certain significance later as the story progresses. The Russian writer Anton Chekhov, the originator of this device, said that any object in the story must have an important connection to the plot, if not; it should not be introduced from the first place. The Chekhov's Gun method is probably the most prominent device of all—other than literature, it is also used in cinematics and television.

Can you speak in Latin? If yes, then you must know what "Deus ex machina" means. It is a Latin phrase meaning "God from the machine". The Deus ex machina is a technique used in all sorts of arts, and just like you guessed, it is also a plot device. Authors would resort to it when they want to tie loose ends in a plot—a certain object (which could be anything) would be introduced at the end to resolve all the issues that readers thought would be left for an open ending. In ancient Roman plays, a supreme God would magically appear at the end to resolve remaining conflicts and bring dissonances to and end.

In Stephen King's The Stand, a minor character makes an appearance at the end only to destroy the whole city using an atomic bomb. In the story Forever Free by Joe Haldeman, the main character meets God and discovers that humanity is a mere experiment! Deus ex machina is used in many stories. We see it in Lord of the Rings, The Night's Dawn, and in the Harry Potter series as well. Like Chekhov's Gun, it is also used in cinematics and plays.

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Plot Devices By Hakeem

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"Shiny? You bet they are", said Mom. "I'll take you to see them. They are outside. Put on a sweatshirt, and can go see the biggest, shiniest dot-to-dots I know." Taylor ran to the coat hooks. He took down his favorite dark green sweatshirt with the orange lining in the hood. "Are they in our backyard?" he asked. His voice was muffled by the sweatshirt as he pulled it over his head.

Critic's Choice for December and January Writer’s Beat Official staff critics have been working hard all month dishing out valuable advice and support to all our members. They have also been scouring the site for writing that really caught their imagination. Due to the physical demands over the holiday period, we were unable to publish the results of the December Critic’s choice competition, but fear not for we have a double helping in this month’s magazine. Sit back and enjoy.

The winner for December is…

… ‘Taylor and the Wishing Stone’, by Riverstone One winter evening, Taylor lay on the floor with a dot-to-dot book, connecting dots with a big, round pencil. He was working on a picture of a fir tree with snow on it's branches. His mother sat nearby, sketching his face on a notepad. "When will it snow?" Taylor asked his mother, as he connected the dots at the tip of a branch. "In a few weeks," she answered, putting down her pencil and paper. "This is only the beginning of winter. But, it's a special time, too." "Why is it special?" Taylor asked, his pencil drawing the pointed top of the tree. "Well," said Mom, "the air is cold and fresh. It feels good to go out and get chilly, and come in to the warm, cozy house. The squirrels are storing the nuts they gathered for the snowy weather. And, the geese are flying south now, letting us know the deep winter cold is coming soon. Even the sky has changed," Taylor's mother smiled. "Say, I know of some really shiny dot-to-dots. Do you want to see them?" "Yes!" Taylor said, jumping up from his dot-to-dot book. "Are they really shiny? What are they made of?"

critics choice

But his mother said only, "You'll see." She was pulling on her sweatshirt, too. The beautiful one she had made. Orange, red and brown leaves swirled in a gust of wind across the front of the shirt. "Come on," said Mom, as she opened the front door. Taylor took her hand and she led him out on the porch, down the steps and through the yard, to the big hill across the street. The air was crisp and cool. Taylor liked how fresh it felt on his face. "Have you guessed what the dots are yet?" Mom asked. She was looking up at the clear, dark winter sky. Taylor looked up, too. "Are they the stars?" Taylor answered. He could see hundreds of tiny silvery sparkles against the dark blue-black of the sky. His eyes felt like they were getting bigger - stretching to see the whole sky at once. "Yes," said Mom. "And, if you look at the stars long enough, you can see pictures in the sky. They look like dot-to-dot people and animals. A long time ago, people who saw the pictures in the stars named them and made up stories about them. There are men and women. And, there is a fish, and two bears, and lots more." Taylor saw the stars twinkling in the sky. He looked for the bears and the fish. He could see that there were lots of twinkling dots, but he couldn't see the pictures. He remembered hearing of a star to wish on and started to look for that. Taylor saw a tiny blinking light moving across the sky. That was something he recognized right away. "There's an airplane!" he shouted with excitement. "That's right," said Mom. "Airplanes fly all year round. But, in the winter, our part of the earth faces a different part of the sky than in summer. So the stars we see and the pictures they make are different, now. The pictures are called constellations. That's a pretty big word. Can you say it?" "Con-stel-la-tions," Taylor felt the big word roll off his tongue. "Show me a star picture, Mom. A constellation." "I'll show you my favorite constellation", Mom smiled. She knelt down beside him on the cold grass and pointed at the sky. "Do you see those three bright stars in a row? ..1..2..3.. They make up the belt of a hunter named Orion." Taylor looked and saw

B the three stars in a line. And, if you look down from the star on the left, you can see a line of stars that make up the scabbard for his knife. That's the leather case he hangs on his belt to keep his knife handy. The stars in it are very faint and dim compared to the stars in his belt." Taylor followed her hand with his eyes and saw the stars in the knife shaped scabbard. "Who is Orion, Mom?" he asked. "There is an old story about him called a myth, that was made up a long time ago in a country called Greece," Mom answered. "I heard this story when I was little. Let's see what I can remember." She sat down cross-legged, and thought a moment. Taylor sat on her lap and snuggled back into the warmth. Mom started to tell the story. "Orion was a good man, and a great hunter. He lived many years ago. One day, Orion was out hunting at the same time as the goddess Diana, who was also an excellent hunter. Diana didn't know that he was hunting in the same forest. When she saw a movement in the bushes, she thought it was a stag. That's a father deer," Mom explained. "She aimed and swiftly shot an arrow from her bow. The arrow struck Orion, wounding him badly." "Diana was sad that she had hurt such a beautiful man. She said, "'I'm sorry that I shot and wounded you with my arrow. In exchange for the pain I have caused, I will give you the gift of eternal life in the sky.'" "Suddenly, Orion vanished from the earth and appeared as stars up in the sky. From there he could look down on the earth, and on the animals he loved, forever." Mom turned and pointed at the sky again. " Look below his belt, just below the tip of his scabbard. If you connect the stars, you can see the outline of his leather skirt. That's what a Greek hunter wore long ago. His knees are there, too. His feet are very faint and hard to see." Mom moved her arm and pointed higher up. "Look above his belt, where I'm pointing, you can see his shoulders and his head. He is holding his bow and arrow. One hand is pulling back on the bow string, while the other holds the arrow at the center of the bow." Taylor looked and saw the belt, and the scabbard and the leather skirt. He saw Orion's shoulders. "Look, Mommy, there's the Wishing Star!" "Which one?" "The bright one that's Orion's shoulder. It's the Wishing Star!" "So it is!", said Mom. "Go ahead - make a wish!" "You make one, too!" said Taylor.

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W "OK, but I have to think of one first." Mom looked thoughtful. "Do you know what you're going to wish?" she asked Taylor. "Yes, do you?" Taylor answered. "All ready," said Mom. "Look at the Wishing Star and wish as hard as you can!" Taylor and his mother looked up at the star together and made their wishes. Taylor thought he could see his wish flying up to the star like a bright comet in the beautiful night sky. He could imagine it's tail flaring behind it, leaving a shiny trail of magic comet dust. Maybe his wish would come true when it reached the star! "Let's go home, now," said Mom. "It's time for bed." "OK," said Taylor, "but first, tell me what you wished."

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Granddad looked down at me, amused. I chewed on my bottom lip and crossed my arms defiantly. “Australia is a long way,” he raised his eyebrows at me. “Who cares?” I said, and picked up an apple from the fruit basket on the table. This would be sufficient if I got hungry on my journey. “Why Australia?”

B It's one of the best stories I've read on WB. Excellent writing, description and the characters are easy to identify with. The Adventures of Tarquin Jenkins - You got ta be a Jiggin’ when Time Fishin' by Tarakan This story has potential for greatness there is a need for more action/reaction for what had taken place at the beginning with the couch. But it was brought around nicely as the story went on.

“’Cause they talk funny, and it never rains like here. And they have kangaroos and crocodiles.”

Dream Me by Carol

“Won’t you be lonely?” Granddad said, not even seeming the least bit worried.

A short piece, but never the less well written and a good style. I liked the unusual take on the 'phantasm tale'

I scrunched up my nose and shrugged my shoulders.

Darling by starrwriter.

“I don’t mind being on my own. I can get there quicker alone.”

It's perfectly written and humurous!

Granddad commenced reading the paper, so I put the apple, my blue rabbit and my cassette player in a backpack and began to walk towards the door.

Good job on the theme I liked it very much.

Realizing at the last second that I would miss having chocolate fudge cake for dessert, I abandoned my trip to Australia and decided to become a vegetarian instead.

I like the way caine wrote this one. A strong interpretation of life and death.

The tale of Orion related in this book is the one I remember from my childhood. It is also the one I told my own son when he asked. However, it is not the mythology I've found in astronomy books. That story is more complex and full of adult emotion. So, I've included the much gentler folktale from my memory for this story.

What the critics said about this piece…

Wonderful love poem feels like a sonnet

Lovely and amusing piece showing childhood naivety and innocence. Charmingly funny!

Reflection by azaelkain

What the critics said about this piece…

Other work nominated for December and well worth a read…

"That," said Mom, "will be our bedtime story tonight." She leaned over and kissed Taylor on top of his head. They took a last look at the stars, then stood up and walked home. Taylor knew he would dream of wishes and stars, and of comets soaring through the night. Authors Note to Parents and Others Friends Who Read Aloud:

A brilliant children’s story that has the perfect tone and style for a younger child. Nice short paragraphs that say a lot but are not overly descriptions. Overall – great simple story telling ideal for the market It was really good, it was wonderfully written in the 1st and 2nd person. Though there was a slight moment where the son seemed to talk an acton as the mother was talking, as if it were him who was saying the story. Which put it off a little The winner for February is…

…’Walking To Australia’ by novu “I’m walking to Australia,” I announced to my Granddad. It was the day after my sixth birthday. “Why’s that?” He patted his oversized beer belly, and reached for his reading glasses. “Mum and Dad are making me eat lamb chops for dinner. I hate them. They won’t even notice I’m gone.”

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Very beautifully written, the only problem I had was in the beginning where it could have been structured differently

Lost Love by Wanderingronin Though it needs work on character development, it's quite hard-hitting

Don't Ask Me by cassandragrace. I especially liked how the author introduced the ideas in this piece. In addition, the emotion is very strong.

A wish by trance

Entropy and ministry flesh Caine

Romance by azaelkain

A mixture between free verse and sonnet. It is not long enough for either or though it does have potential

A grandfather's tears by alaria A wonderful poem, with the errors removed it is well worth publishing. What a wealth of talent we have on Writer’s Beat! Congratulations to members Riverstone and novu, our winners and to all our members who were nominated. To enter the Critic’s Choice competition all you have to do is post your work in the rough draft area and our wonderful team of critic’s will do the rest.

Other work nominated for November and well worth a read…

Dissected Lives, ch. 2 by Pert Detailed description, great storyline, and very good writing. Pert carried on from the first chapter perfectly, and the pace of the story is excellent.

The Roman Offspring – Icarus

critics choice part 2

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I don't have time to share more details with you all -- I need to do the next round of revisions, and they're looking as fiercely hard as the last round was, and as it was to find the right agent, and as it was to get to this point. But that's the thing I really DO want to share with you: It's all hard. And it's all worth it. What I learn about myself in each step is hugely important to me. And each time that I climb a little closer to my goals and dreams, I see more clearly that all the work from the earlier stages is braided together to make the rope helping me climb the next part of the mountain. So my next goal is: To learn to sing as I climb. And here's one of my poems, my gift to you today. Write on! God's Ears

Author's Leaf by Kit Minden., a.k.a. “Riverstone”

Some of you may know that my sister, Beth Kanell, is also a writer and editor. We have different areas of expertise, although we overlap quite a bit. She is a poet of some renown, writes successful grant proposals, storytells, edits medical and scientific texts and articles, and writes fiction and nonfiction. Recently, she had some exciting news - she has secured a contract for a novel - and it looks like a great contract. I read the manuscript and it's an excellent novel for the young adult market. I am sure it will become part of many school curricula. Even though she is overloaded in writing and editing projects, she took some time out and wrote this piece for WritersBeat. (In it, she refers to me by my pseudonym for children's fairy tales - Kit Greenleaf.) Be sure to check out the website for her bookstore, which specializes in poetry and mystery, and her blog. http://www.kingdombks.com/ She keeps herself and her work in Northern Vermont most of the time. So, if you are heading that way, stop in and visit awhile. You will come away inspired and ready to write.

And the Next Hard Part Is ... by Beth Kanell When I was a kid, I thought being a writer would be the most magical career, second best to being paid to read all day! When I grew up and tried my hand at writing "literature" (as opposed to schoolwork or letters), I decided I probably didn't have what it took to make it in the field. Luckily, I found that I also love editorial work, as well as storytelling, with my poetry going out into the world mostly as unpaid labors, and an occasional burst of paid journalism work (excellent for improving one's ability to write under pressure, and, if you get the right editorial team, great for pushing a person to revise, revise, revise for clarity and impact). And I kept writing other things, but mostly I stopped expecting to be paid for them. I worked with a writers' group for 20 years. I did the mandatory autobiographical novel (working through those stubborn family issues), then settled in, writing some things that were more fun -- but still really hard, as I'd found my way to mystery novels, and plotting successfully turned out to take plenty of time and thinking and even research.

Big enough for long distance, they hang like elephant flaps: gray, leathery, the size of clouds. In each one a small pink hearing aid nestles like a snail at the center. Sometimes we can't do better than a whisper.

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My sister, Kit Greenleaf, knows that it took three years for me to write a "final draft" of my most recent "young adult" mystery, "The Darkness Under the Ice." I've followed small threads of personal connections, and in the past year I've found an agent, rewritten the book from scratch (in a different time period, with a different protagonist), and today we finished negotiating a contract. Publication is scheduled for fall 2008. Authors Leaf by Kit Minden www.writersbeat.com

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Help keep Writer’s Beat Alive! Writer’s Leaf by Kit Minden., a.k.a. “Riverstone”

Here’s a WritersBeat Workshop to get you writing. Two Men at the Piano Who are the two men and what is their relationship? (Or is one a woman in disguise?) What kind of music is being played on the piano? What is the significance of the map on the wall? Or the framed photo? Whose bike is in the living room and why is it in the house? There are shadows in the window that is outlined on the piano. What or who is each one? A rocking chair? A ghost? Does it have any significance? If they are ghosts, why are they listening to the music? Do they haunt the piano?

Help Writer’s Beat out and become a VIP Member. As a VIP Member you get some ‘extra’ features. Most important though, it helps keep WB alive. If you have the resources to spare, continue to the VIP page.

When and where are they? Answer these questions for each man: Is he wealthy or poor or somewhere in the middle? Has he grown up with wealth? Does he pretend to be wealthy? Have fortunes come and gone in his family? If yes, why? How does he earn money? What does he do for pleasure? Has he ever been the victim of or committed an assault? Has he been spurned by a lover or spurned a lover himself? Has he ever suffered from an illness that has changed his life? Who loves him? Hates him? Envies him? What mysteries has he explored and why? Where has he traveled? How do people perceive him? What animal is significant in his life, past, present or future? Who are his descendents 50, 10 or 200 years forward? Will he travel in the future? By bike? Train? Foot? What has he done that he is ashamed of? Proud of? Nervous about? Describe his family and friends. Describe his neighbors, colleagues or mentors. Draw a map of where he lives or where he is going. Has he been on the stage? Write the poem he would write to his lover? Write the poem that would describe his innermost thoughts and fears. Write the poem about the event that shook him to his core yesterday. Write the song he is singing. Write the eulogy that will be read at his death. Photo and text are the property of Katherine A Minden and Greenleaf Tea Publishing, LLC and may not be used, copied or re-printed outside of for personal use in conjunction with the activities of WritersBeat without permission. Thank you.

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Writer’s Leaf by Kit Minden http://www.writersbeat.com

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Float on a cloud of color, say pink. Imagine the sunrise has become pink, taking the sky with it. Reflected from the ocean, the whole world seems pink. The leaves rustle pink, the striated rock layers are laconic and pink. There are pale pinks, dark pinks, trustworthy pinks, glaring pinks. Pink invitations, pink traps. It sticks to you and draws you down into a deep pink swamp. The mud and muck turn to red. They boil and bubble, bursting forth to splash high in the pink mists. Pull out your fears, your anger, your losses, and paint them in pinks and reds. What will they do now? Transform them to grays and blacks, dirty whites. Send them flying at each other, black skin peeling off to expose the sensitive red under-layers of tissue lit by golden, flashing neurons. How will you blow them out of the sky? Or will they burn until they are clean of debris, silver bones of titanium, clean and bright, screaming to be healed. Write the way they feel. Tell us how they twist and tear, yearning to be free and longing to be leashed and caged. Execute them on a bloody guillotine or transfigure them into mists that blow away in the chilly winter breeze. Or, claim them as a worthy part of you.

Poets Leaf

Now write some poetry. We are waiting to applaud you. You can hear us, if you close your eyes and listen, and you can see us, connected by flickering threads of Ethernet, out here in the mist, listening, tasting, and feeling our way.

by Kit Minden or “riverstone”

Lately, we've gotten quite a lot of action in the Writer's Beat Rough Draft Poetry Forum again. Poets have been challenging and inspiring each other around a specific style of poetry as in all the haiku in the thread last month. If you are interested in the form and the discussion, be sure to check out Hearts by Toyzrock, Haikus of Azael by azaelkain, a first attempt at haiku by wkreuz, and Odin's Ravens by JRT. Writer's Beat poets are also writing using common themes. Racism is a current topic that is inspiring some debate and poetry. Read through Dark and Lighter by jaybee, or Black and White Road Map by Gary Wagner, among others. Then write your experiences or thoughts about it into verse and post away. One of the struggles common to poets is finding a way to send a message without getting pedantic and sounding like an archaic lecture on right thinking. To avoid that trap, use your poetry to paint a picture. Seek the adjectives that bring the imagery of a scene into focus in your reader's mind. That doesn't mean you have to spell it all out, but setting the scene, sets the emotion of a poem. In Kalibantre's Poem No2, she draws us into the scene - I can see the rumpled sheets, smell the laundry in the washing machine, imagine hair in tangles, and yet I have not seen the room or the person she imagined. I have fallen before, into the trap she has painted in such sparse and beautiful strokes. I do not know her "blanket of pitch" yet I respond from my gut to her words. To get your poetry out of the doldrums, close your eyes. Imagine the color of the feelings of your poem. What icons represent that color to you? How does that color taste, when you close your eyes and roll it about on your tongue? What does it sound like? Music? Construction? Explosions? Silence? Silver sings, flows, runs and trills. Green mutes, rocks, births and blows, frothing on a stormy sea. Red flames, smokes, bursts, pulses. Red tastes like cinnamon hearts, or ripe, sun-warmed tomatoes, or a steaming, dripping heart, torn from the slain beast.

Poets Leaf by Kit Minden

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thereby making a fool of our self. While it is true there are con-artists out there, if we treat every opportunity with suspicion we will never send anything off at all. I appreciate that having your work stolen, plagiarized and being suckered is not nice for anyone, but unless it is the only thing you are ever going to write in your life, it is just one piece of work. Who knows that non-paying e-zine, or that small competition with the $3 fee, might just be the kick start to your portfolio. We all learn by our mistakes and begin to see what is a true opportunity and what is not.

Be technology clever: The internet and other technologies are becoming

Ambitions are Just Not Enough by Tina C

more and more prevalent in a writers armory of opportunities. Check out those blog sites, blog like mad; try out a video cast or a pod cast. Many publishers, agents and editors are now looking to these things to find the next new talent…hey that could be YOU!

We are now a month into the New Year, a time when traditionally many people look back at the previous year, gaze hopefully at what the forthcoming year has in store and resolve to fulfill their aspirations. Much store is put into setting personal goals to ensure our success in life, but just having ambition is not enough. Any goal in life, no matter how badly it is wanted is an impotent dream, unless three things-- commitment, hard work and clever planning bolster and support it. No-one can give you that commitment to fulfill your dreams, or increase your capacity for hard work, so this article is concentrating on the third-- clever planning.

Be target clever: Prioritizing things in your life is extremely difficult and the act of writing comes after work, or school, after family and friends and often finds itself last on your list. Leaving only ten minutes a day, or an hour a week. If you are lucky, a little bit more. Being realistic about what you can actually achieve in this time, is half the battle to success. Nothing sucks the confidence out of you than being unable to complete what you have set out to do.

Be place clever: When writing in your home you are subject to all kinds of distractions, chores, the TV (the internet!) and the family vying for your attention. Guilt sets in and before you know it, those ten minutes that have been set aside for your work has been eaten up. Think about other places you where could write without distraction-- a coffee shop, the library, the car, and even the garden shed are all example I have heard of. Having a guilt free space does wonders for coaxing creativity out.

Be time clever: Where does your time go in a day? Actively look for areas where you can slice off some time for yourself. Apart from set work/school times, eating, sleeping, bodily functions and I am also going to add personal hygiene to the list, you can theoretically shave time off everything else. It is all down to your priorities. Family comes at the top of most people’s list, so shaving time there might not be possible, but do you really consider food shopping a priority, for example…really? Could you not shop on line and get it delivered and therefore save yourself some time?

Be opportunities clever: Especially us novice writers, who are just starting off, are filled with some kind of fear. Not of rejection we are half expecting that anyway, it is the fear of submitting our work to ‘bogus’ opportunities and

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Ambitions are just not enough

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Writer’s Beat Monthly Comic

What an amazing piece of work by our chief moderator and amazing member Darthwader. Amazing talent Darth, keep up the good work!

Monthly Comic by Darthwader

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In Appreciation From Daniel Fischer, founder of Writer’s Beat: I really can’t believe what Writer’s Beat has become in just a years time. One thing is for sure, it couldn’t be where it is now if it weren’t for you reading this right now. Every person has contributed to WB one way or another. Whether it be creating content for other writers to take example from, by referring a friend to WB, or by being on the staff. I really have to thank each and every one of you. Writer’s Beat will continue to strive and become something great. We have a great community here and I will never give up on you guys. I hope to see a lot of positive things happen this year. Let’s get some stories published, some books printed, and some authors to get known; let’s make things happen.

I just have to give another thanks to the staff, they are wonderful people and keep on contributing to the community in more ways than one. They help with every single aspect of Writer’s Beat. They deserve a thanks from me every single day. I encourage you to say thanks here and there to a staff member whenever you can. Just send them over a simple “pager”. I’m sure they will appreciate it!

Contact Us If you’d like to contact the staff there are quite a few ways to do so. The best way is using the contact form on the bottom of the website. Located here

Official Publication by Writer’s Beat

http://www.writersbeat.com

The other way would to be contact a staff member via PM. Content may only be re-distributed as a whole of Writers Club. You are not allowed to re-publish any of the articles in this publication without the authors consent.

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