News
Grind Writers
b4 Sunday Feb. 17, 2013
200 years of Jane
in
Grind Writers schedule 2013
side
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Writing [believable] Historical Fiction
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Jane 200 years later
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Best blogs for writers to read
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Best-selling books in 10 countries around the world
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The Edge of Right saga: Mo Yan’s Nobel win
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ePub / selfPub
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Places to go,things to see, people to…
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Submit
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Whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on
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5 words from the attic of the English language
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Free-write picture prompt: C’MON JUST DO IT!
To view the links:
Please check your email the morning-of meetings in case of lastminute cancellation due to inclement weather.
10am til 12:30pm Grind Gallery Café 4124 Main Street at King Edward Ave. In the back room Thanks to Mr & Mrs Kim, the Grind owners, for letting us meet in their Back Room for the last six years and for their support of the arts in general – they provide gallery space to many local artists.
Hover your mouse over the link (usually the word “here”).
Please buy something while you’re there to support the Grind.
Tthen hold down the CTRL key and click left mouse.
And – please - clear up after yourself at the table.
Sun Sat Sun Sat Sun Sat Sun Sat Sun Sat Sun Sat Sun Sat Sun Sat Sun Sat Sun Sat Sun
Feb 17 Mar 2 Mar 17 Apr 6 Apr 21 May 4 May 26 June 8 June 23 July 6 July 21 Aug 10 Aug 25 Sept 7 Sept 22 Oct 5 Oct 20 Nov 2 Nov 17 Nov 30 Dec 15? – to be decided
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Writing {believable, accurate} historical fiction
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I’m often asked how an American of European ancestry who has never actually lived in India can write historical fiction set in that region, with exclusively Indian characters, and get the details and the atmosphere right. American Diana Gabaldon had never been to Scotland when she wrote her first OUTLANDER novel.
"Writing Historical Fiction Set In Other Cultures," by Gary Worthington on the website Writing Historical Novels. Article here. Do you know
Agreeable time-wasters Is your desk clean or rmessy? Does it matter to your writing? What do other writers’ desks look like?
“The 12 Most Basic Character Building Blocks” and how to write wellrounded characters? Find out what Amanda Patterson (creator of Writers Write) believes those 12 facets are – here.
Check them out here.
(And, see a photograph that reminded me of why it was I used to gaze dreamily at Gregory Peck when I was a girl).
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No, not this one
It is a truth universally acknowledged that we’ve been thinking about Darcy for 200 years—is it not, ladies?
Legions of actors have played
Why does Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice still have appeal 200 years on? Find out (maybe) – here.
Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam (“She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me.”)
Who was your favourite Mr. Darcy?
Take the P&P Bicentenary Challenge
“Elizabeth knows that, as a woman with no inheritance, she has no real place in the world other than the one that a man might confer upon her.”
Who was your favourite Elizabeth Bennett?
Trivia: In 2010 a protein sex pheromone in male mouse urine, that is sexually attractive to female mice, was named
Darcin in honour of the character. (From Wikipedia entry on Mr Darcy.)
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expand ing Best blogs for writers to read in 2013 (according to Writers Digest blogger, Brian Klems, in the blog My Name is Not Bob) — who is the Senior Content Editor for the Writer's Digest Writing Community: “Every February, I reveal my personal list of the best blogs for writers to read. These are personal faves, so I won't be offended if you know a great blog I didn't list. Please share it in the comments, and I will review it for next year's list.” He has them handily categorized under headings:
Blogs That Rock for Writers Tag-Team Blogs for Writers My All-Star Blogs for Writers Learn How to Start (or Improve) Your Blog!
Writer's Digest Blogs
And I’m glad to see my favourite curmudegonly New York literary agent, Janet Reid, made the list. (Post your query letter for her critique . . . if you dare!)
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Best-selling books in 10 countries around the world
The Edge of Right
dun dun dun The Ongoing Saga of Mo Yan… who won the 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature, but—
We know what we like to read. But what do they like to read in other countries? This is fascinating. Find out what books are hot in China, Norway, Indonesia, India, Australia, Mexico, the U.K., France, Russia, and Brazil. China for example: China “China, China, China. You just keep on surprising us. First, we found out that Anne of Green Gables was voted one of the most influential novels in the country this year, along with Love in the Time of Cholera, The Hunger Games, and J.K. Rowlings’s The Casual Vacancy. Now, we’re seeing Alexis de Tocqueville’s The Old Regime and the French Revolution and James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake shoot up the Chinese bestseller charts. And though we couldn’t find a definitive list of 2012′s overall best-sellers, China Daily explains that “translated literature continued to top 2012′s best-seller lists” — the top five last year were Freedom, by Jonathan Franzen, Gabriel García Márquez’s Love in the Time of Cholera, On China by Henry Kissinger, Peter Hessler’s River Town, and Soulstealers: The Chinese Sorcery Scare of 1768, by Alden Kuhn.”
Mo Yan Yin
Yan
China’s Nobel Laureate Mo Yan Defends Censorship
Mo Yan's Nobel Prize lecture scorned by China dissidents
“I’ve never given any compliments or praised the system of censorship but I also believe that in every country of the world, censorship exists,” Mo Yan said, according to the Wall Street Journal. “The only difference is in the degree and way of censorship. Without censorship, then any person could on television or online vilify others….”
"In the last few days, he has defended the system of censorship ... then in his lecture, he talks about storytelling— to use a Chinese expression, he is like a prostitute insisting her services are clean," dissident poet Ye Du, a member of the non-government Independent Chinese Pen Centre, said.
Read more here.
Read more here.
You think you’ve heard that song before
Free publicity for your work
Looks like artists in all media have to face down
creative fear.
EXCELLENT article on preparing
“It’s constantly supressing the fear of making mistakes or that it’s not going to work out—it’s just working beyond that.”
an author press release (to
— Marilyn Hunt, visal artist, in her video Fearless Nature.
promote your book – your
workshop – etc..) and on geting FREE promotion in newspapers
The Hero’s Journey—SIMPLIFIED! Read about it here. 6
ePUB
/ selfPUB
Matt Southern’s (who’s he?) “14 Step Process To Setting Social Media Goals for Your Business.” Article is here.
5 Things I Learned in My First Year of Self-Publishing Part 1 of 3 parts) - by C.S. Lakin (“I’m a novelist, a copy editor, a writing coach, a mom, a backpacker, and a whole bunch of other things” ) whose blog, LIVE WRITE
Self Published Science Fiction Bestsellers List here.
THRIVE, won Write to Done’s 2012 “Top 10 Blogs for Writers” contest wherein writers nominated their favourites.
Try this quickie
February writing prompt from The Quotable “Kiss me and you’ll know how important I am.” —Sylvia Plath Deadline for posting an entry and voting is Feb. 28, 2013. “The rules: Write a micro story of 100 words or less based on the prompt as a comment to this post (on their website). You may enter as many times as you like. Each post will have a thumb button to the right of it. One click equals 1 vote, and only 1 vote is allowed per computer. So have your family, friends, co-workers, the nice barista from your local coffee shop, log on and vote for your story. In the event of a tie, the editors will vote for a winner.” You need to go to the Quotable’s website to read the rules and to post your entry.
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Places to go, people to see, things to …. UBC Alumni Book Club Tuesday, February 19 – 7 pm Choose between Timothy Taylor's Stanley Park and Lynn Coady's Mean Boy at this book club in which you can meet the facilitator and fellow alumni, and learn about the book before you read it. Tix $10. Cecil Green Park Coach House, 6323 Cecil Green Park Rd., UBC.
See WP Kinsella in person (but you have to drive to Hope) Thursday February 21 – 10:30am, free Canadian author will read from, and chat about, his latest book, Butterfly Winter. At the Hope Library, 1005A--6th Ave., Hope. More info: 604-869-2313.
Galiano Island Literary Festival February 22–24 Galiano Oceanfront Inn & Spa th 4 annual festival featuring John Belshaw, Kevin Chong, Pauline Holdstock, Nancy Richler and many others.For complete details, visit galianoliteraryfestival.com.
Twisted Poets Literary Salon The Cottage Bistro 4468 Main St., Vancouver Mic. Suggested donation at the door: $5. All are welcome. More info here. ** Wed. February 13, 7-9:30pm Features Kim Clark (Nanaimo) and Kempton Dexter plus Open Mic. **Thurs., February 28, 7-9:30pm Features Susan Steudel and Chelsea Comeau plus Open Mic.
First Nations poet reads Wed. March 6 – 6:30 pm, free Poetry reading by Anishinaabe writer Al Hunter. First Nations Longhouse, UBC. Books will be available for purchase and signing. For more information and to register, check here. Above items gleefully lifted from BookNews the eletter of the Vancouver International Writers Fest
Remember Sally? She was the editor of Homemakers’ magazine when it was a force to be reckoned with Hear Sally Armstrong in conversation with Kathryn Gretsinger as the Vancouver Writers Fest presents its first special event of 2013 an evening with award-winning Canadian author, journalist and human rights activist Sally Armstrong. She’s the author of three previous books, Veiled Threat: The Hidden Power of the Women of Afghanistan, The Nine Lives of Charlotte Taylor and Bitter Roots, Tender Shoots: The Uncertain Fate of Afghanistan's Women. Her new book is Ascent of Women. Monday, March 25 - 7:30 pm, St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church Burrard at Nelson, Vancouver
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Call for submissons th The Writers’ Union Of Canada 20 Annual Short Prose Competition Deadline March 1, 2013 Website – www.writersunion.ca Fiction or non-fiction work of up to 2,500 words. in English written by an unpublished author. Prize: $2,500 for the winning entry, and the entries of the winner and finalists will be submitted to three Canadian magazines. Open to all Canadian citizens and landed immigrants who have not had a book published by a commercial or university press in any genre and who do not currently have a contract with a book publisher. Original and unpublished (English language) fiction or non-fiction is eligible. Read the guidelines carefully – here.
Submit. you kno w you w an t to
Contests and calls for submissions
Contest Ascent Aspirations Magazine (Nanaimo) Poetry & Flash Fiction Contest Deadline: March 9th, 2013 All info here.
Call for submissions Warpaint Anthology Deadline: February 15, 2013 In the battle against conventional wisdom, artistic expression is our greatest weapon. ZenFri Inc. is publishing Warpaint – Issue 2 an anthology of bold, unusual, and provocative short fiction (up to 6,000 words) and visual artworks and is now accepting submissions of your writing or art. Warpaint establishes a vibrant space for transgressive and outsider art, waging war against the commonplace, and representing polemical themes. Its confrontations are inspired not simply by irreverence for the established, but an attitude that sees experimentation and dissent as the spurs of ingenuity. That’s why in Warpaint nothing is treated as sacred. Warpaint shares all sales revenues equally among its contributors. It’s also 100% artist-run and funded. Guidelines here.
Contest EVENT magazine – Nonfiction Contest Deadline: April 15, 2013 $1500 in prizes available, plus publication $35 entry fee includes 1 year of EVENT 5,000 word limit. Submission guidelines here. Contest The Antigonish Review’s 2013 Writing Contests $2400 in prizes! * The Sheldon Currie Fiction Prize – deadline May 31, 2013 * The Great Blue Heron Poetry contest – deadline June 30, 2013 Please read the submission rules here.
Call for submissions 17th Annual Writing Contest of the North Shore Writers’ Association Deadline: postmarked February 28, 2013 Full guidelines here. Categories: Fiction: up to 2000 words per entry Nonfiction: up to 2000 words per entry Poetry: a submission of one to three poems constitutes one entry.
Roundup of poetry contests here. Geist Emerging Writer-of-the-Month Emerging writers are invited to submit short written works online. Read FAQ. Call for submissions - open Subterranean Blue Poetry Subterranean Blue Poetry is an Internet Poetry and Art Publishing Café. We thrive on new original words and New Age art. All poets and their poetry are welcome and we are especially looking for homegrown poets from the Canadian first nations/American Indian Community; Quebec; small town Canada; international poets and anyone who was ever considered “the other.” New Age art offerings are for the masthead of each issue. Read all info here.
Prizes for each category: st 1 prize: $100 & publication nd 2 prize: $50 & publication rd 3 prize: $25 & publication
Honorary mention: at the judges' discretion Winning entries will appear in the 2012 anthology Entry fees: members - $15 per entry; non-members $20 per entry
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The contest with no entry fee
LITERARY MAGAZINES Submit …
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LISTINGS FOR EVERY TYPE OF LITERARY MAGAZINE
2013 Kenyon Review Short Fiction Contest Submissions accepted Feb 1–28
Call for submissions Literary Review of Canada (LRC) Submissions beginning May 1, 2013 for publication July/Aug–Dec 2013 For 2013, each issue will feature poems that share a common form or theme. (Jan-May issues already called out). During the months devoted to a given form, the subjects will vary, and vice versa. As always, we welcome unsolicited, unpublished, original submissions, provided that they fit one of the categories outlined. Here is the remainder of the 2013 publication calendar to help guide submissions: • July/August: ekphrastic poetry, i.e. pieces inspired by other art forms (visual, film, music, etc.) • September: prose poems • October: poems inspired by family • November: ghazals • December: poems inspired by food Please include the month in which you would like your work to be read in the subject line of any emailed submissions. For more information, check out our full submissions guidelines here. The Quotable This online magazine wants writer-readers to submit stories based on their monthly prompts. Info here. Regime magazine - Short Stories. Poetry. Performance writing. Not only do they want your work but they offer that you can tack $20 on your submission and they’ll send you back a detailed one-page critique. Note: do your due diligence. Read it all carefully. Full submission info here. Calling all poets! Coastal Spectator A new arts-based review and commentary site operating independently out of the U. Vic. We want to publish, on our home site, one new poem each week for a year, so if you have a new piece of work -- that is a haiku or up to 25 lines long -- do submit. We can pay $25 for each poem published, and once its week on the site is over, it will be placed in a poetry archive onsite. We see it as a new way to introduce new or pending books of Canadian poetry. By "new" we mean book published in 2012. If you've just signed a poetry deal, then this is a good way to let the world know.
Open to all writers who have not yet published a book of fiction. Submissions 1200 words or less. Winning short story published in the Winter 2014 issue. Submission guidelines here. “Intensely creative, pushing you beyond what you thought you were capable of achieving—you eat, sleep, drink, breathe writing. And all around you are your fellow writers and instructors, cheering you on, encouraging you, word by word.”
Winner gets a scholarship to attend the 2013 Writers Workshop —“ a bit like boot camp (without the yelling and obstacle courses) for serious writers” — June 1522, in Gambier, Ohio. Read all about the workshop here.
Whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on at Ascent Many opportunities for publishing exist at Nanaimo’s Ascent Aspirations magazine: Anthology - Print Anthology Contest for Spring 2013. Details here. New Spoken Word Videos Each month we will be featuring two spoken word artists.
Ascent cover art by Eleanor Bennett
Submissions info here. We accept submissions year round and decide on placement of accepted submissions for future issues. Accepting poetry for October 2013 and beyond. We will be publishing 9 poets per issue and accepting submissions for: Short fiction for October 2013 and beyond. We will be publishing 4 short stories per issue. Visual art for September 2013 and beyond. We will be publishing 2 to 3 exhibits per issue. Spoken Word videos already uploaded to YouTube for July 2013 and beyond. We will be publishing 2 spoken word artists per issue. Essays for May 2013 and beyond. We will be publishing 2 essays per issue. Book reviews for July 2013 and beyond.(We will be publishing 1 to 2 reviews per issue. Check out the magazine: http://ascentaspirations.ca/tableofcontents.htm
Read all about it here.
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“Five words from the attic of the English language” – brought to you by Anu Garg of A.Word.A.Day, who writes: “Even English has words that we believe do not exist because they are not well-known.” S A V E
T H E
W H A L E S
W O R D S
: :
G R E A T
W O R D S
-
L E T ’ S
N O T
L O S E
T H E M
139 years old:
478 years old:
165 years old:
Filipendulous
Overmorrow
Paresthesia
PRONUNCIATION: (oh-vuhr-MOR-oh)
PRONUNCIATION: (fi-li-PEN-juh-luhs)
MEANING: noun: The day after tomorrow.
MEANING: adjective: Hanging by a thread.
adjective: Of or relating to the day after tomorrow.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin filum (thread) + pendere (to hang). Ultimately from the Indo-European root (s)pen- (to draw, to spin), which is also the source of pendulum, spider, pound, pansy, pendant, ponder, appendix, penthouse, depend, and spontaneous. Earliest documented use: 1864.
ETYMOLOGY: From over (above) + morrow (tomorrow), from Old English morgen (morning). Earliest documented use: 1535. USAGE: "We can go not overmorrow, but on Thursday." -- The Parliamentary Debates; H.M. Stationery Office; 1925.
PRONUNCIATION: (par-uhs-THEE-zhuh) MEANING: noun: A sensation of pricking, tingling, burning, etc. on the skin. ETYMOLOGY: From Greek para- (at, beyond) + aisthesis (sensation or perception). and obey. Earliest documented use: 1848. USAGE: "Cronk muttered to himself, wiggling his right foot in an effort to relieve the paresthesia."
USAGE: "A group of filipendulous constructions that evoke Brobdingnagian hornets' nests." —The New Yorker; Sep 25, 1989.
? years old:
—Bruce Banta; A Dead Man's Chest; Xlibris; 2011.
109 years old:
armscye
onomastics PRONUNCIATION: (on-uh-MAS-tiks)
PRONUNCIATION: (AHRM-sy, -zy) MEANING: noun: The study of proper names or of terms used in a specialized field.
MEANING: noun: An opening in a garment for attaching a sleeve; an armhole. ETYMOLOGY: From arm, from Old English earm + scye (armhole), from Scottish, reanalyzed as arm's eye. USAGE: "The sleeve is not attached around the entire armseye." —Susan Khalje; Bridal Couture; 1997
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek onomastikos (of names), from onomazein (to name), from onoma (name). Also see onomasticon. Earliest documented use: 1904. USAGE: "Ms. Lindsay is one of a growing number of onomastics enthusiasts catering to a generation of parents hungry for the perfect name." —Rebecca Dube; Unique's the Name; The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada); Oct 9, 2007.
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©2007 photo: Margo Lamont
Free-write picture prompt
Free-writes:
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easy rule
Write for 15 minutes by a timer. Don’t stop – don’t lift your pen off the paper; write without thinking. Just let it flow. Don’t edit, don’t go back, don’t rewrite (you can edit later). Write whatever comes to mind. Whatever it is, just keep going. See where it takes you. Bring your output to the next Grind Writers.
The Grind Writers News ©2013
Margo Lamont
e: margolamont@gmail.com b: http://wildsynapticleaps.blogspot.com/ previous issues: http://issuu.com/grindwriters/docs
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