Social Media: 5 Things You Can Do To Support EWW

1.  Share quotes on Facebook, or other content.

In Facebook, when you see a post you like, there are three options:  like, comment, and share.  “Like” allow you to click a button and tell the person you appreciate their post.  “Comment” lets you say something to the poster about it.  “Share” takes that post, and let s you post it on your own “timeline,” the list of things you say and share.  You can say something with it or not, as you like.  This extends the reach of the post because it’s now seen by people not necessarily in the audience of the original post.

2.  Comment and interact with posts on Facebook, Twitter, and the ShopNotes blog.

The “social” in “social media” means that it’s about interaction.  Gone are the days of the static website, which was essentially just a poster on a wall or a magazine that people could read, but not talk with.  Now, the conversation is expected.

3.  Ask your Facebook and Twitter followers to “like” the EWW page. 

You’ve probably seen this done before, and it can be anywhere from annoying to polite.  I tend to err on the side of “If you’re willing, please consider liking,” rather than the ubiquitous “like my stuff” requests.  I find that has a better success rate.

4.  Share tips on writing or writing prompts that you like. 

Twitter has a 160 character limit, so it disciplines you to be brief; but if you just have to say something in more words then post to Facebook.

5.  A picture’s worth a thousand words.

Share pictures you take of writing events, cool gadgets, or things you see during your daily round.  We have a global audience.  What is “everyday and pedestrian” to you is exotic to someone living in a different place and culture.

Above all, join the conversation!  We’re writers and communicators by nature; let’s have fun together!

Silly Saturday - by Mark Hudson - "The Texan"

This piece needs a little introduction.  At a recent Prompt Group meeting, we played with a prompt from Ursula K. LeGuin called "No Punctuation."  The objective was to write a piece with absolutely no punctuation, from start to finish, as an exercise in understanding the role of grammar in our writing.  Her recommendation, if you can't think of something to write for the prompt, is to pick something with action such as the beginning of a battle or the first day of a large sale.

Mark Hudson, one of our regulars, read this poetic piece of alliteration and we roared by the end of it.  As you read it, try reading it out loud:  it'll make a real difference.  He added a few periods and commas, but we'll let him get away with it - you'll understand when you read it.  Awesome job, Mark!

I hope you enjoy! -A. Catherine Noon

"The Texan"
by Mark Hudson

The landlord told me that I had to get out the Texans were taking over the country and turning America into a giant Texas Tex the Texan was textin’ while I was reading a textbook, telling me to turn in the keys to his totalitarian tyrannical trickery I located the landlady and lavished a loud rant AND rave revolving around rent, reporting resentment about relocation referring to repulsive ricocheting ranch hands robbing me of my remaining rights. I tore up the lease and responded that my lawyer would love to list my loft locally, leaving limited love for the lone star local, letting a lobotomy loom literally left of the line between the legally loony and lost in limbo. Tex took a taxi to town to tolerate a timetable to tell me to take off to Timbuktu, and take my towels, tubs of books, toiletries, tapes and cds, turntable and toys, and try and take the turnpike to temporarily turn off and don’t trick or treat on the way to Tor’s techno-thriller table-top tournament. Slowly I turned, inch by inch, step by step, inch by inch, step by step, and told Tex to take his ZZ Top looking self back home.

Up In The Air

While the C-5 was turning over its engines, a female crewman gave the G.I.'s on board the usual information regarding seat belts, emergency exits, etc.

Finally, she said, "Now sit back and enjoy your trip while your captain, Judith Campbell, and crew take you safely to Afghanistan."

An old Master Sergeant sitting in the eighth row thought to himself, "Did I hear her right? Is the captain a woman?"

When the attendant came by he said, "Did I understand you right? Is the captain a woman?"

"Yes," said the attendant, "in fact, this entire crew is female."

"My God," he said, "I wish I had two double scotch and sodas. I don't know what to think with only women up there in the cockpit."

"That's another thing, Sergeant," said the crew member, "we no longer call it the Cockpit. It's The Box Office."

Silly Saturday: "Lessons from Crochet" (or "The Fable of the Old Woman and the Crocheted Dolls")

A man and woman had been married for more than 60 years.

They had shared everything. They had talked about everything. They had kept no secrets from each other except that the little old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about.

For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not recover.

In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the shoe box and took it to his wife's bedside. She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box.

When he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls and a stack of money totaling $95,000. He asked her about the contents.

"When we were to be married," she said, "my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll."

The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears. Only two precious dolls were in the box. He thought she had only been angry with him twice in all those years of living and loving.

He almost burst with happiness. "Honey," he said, "that explains the dolls, but what about all of this money? Where did it come from?"

"Oh," she said, "that's what I made from selling the dolls."

A Prayer...

Dear Lord, I pray for Wisdom to understand my man;
Love to forgive him;
And Patience for his moods;
Because Lord, if I pray for Strength,
I'll beat the daylights out of him, because I don't know how to crochet.

13 Reasons to Come to the EWW Holiday Party!

Happy Thursday! In honor of today, I figured I would do a list of 13 reasons why you should come to the third annual EWW Holiday Party. It's a not-to-be-missed event, sure to finish off the year in style!

1. It's the Third Annual Evanston Writers Workshop Holiday Party! You've seen the rest, now come to the best! We are the one and only, doing battle for writers since 2007!

2. You can party with all your writer friends, who don't look at you funny when you want to discuss past participles in public.

3. It's a Murder Mystery! You've heard about them, and now you get to come to one! Put on your Sherlock Holmes hat and follow those clues!

4. Debbie and I will cry if you don't come.

5. No, really. :)

6. You'll be able to have an old war story about the party when it's all said and done!

7. You get to find out what's in the goody bags!

8. We'll have some really good food for everyone!

9. We'll even do an awards ceremony for all EWW folks who come. Come find out what award YOU will be given! (Best Punster, Best Mustache, Best Puzzler...)

10. For all you NaNoWriters out there, come and de-stress after the full month of writing your a** off!

11. Generate fodder for your next superstar story. Even better if you write creative non-fiction - after all, truth is stranger than fiction!

12. You can say, "I was there!"

13. And the best reason of all for coming to the holiday party? TO HAVE A GREAT TIME, EWW-STYLE!!!

Register today!

Thursday 13 Shows I love to watch.

1. Castle ( ABC) - I think Nathan Fillon is awesome and I  believe Richard Castle is an ancestor of Malcolm Reynolds.  The humor is similar between the characters
2. Body of Proof (ABC) -I'm not sure why I love this show but I seem to be on a crime spree lately - showwise that is.
3. Unforgettable (CBS) - This is about a detective with hyperthymesia, also called Superior Autobiographical Memory.  Mary Lou Henner has this ability and is listed in the credits.
4. CSI ( CBS) - I'm really enjoying Ted Danson this season.
5. The Secret Circle (Thursdays CW) - I'm not sure what drew me to this teen focused paranormal show but so far I like it. 
6. The Mentalist (CBS) - I was really hoping Red John was dead.
7. Supernatural (CW) - I was a late starter into this show and began watching the third season.  I started buying the DVD's and am pretty much in it for the life of the show.  I was really hoping there was be a Wild West Spin-off giving the history of the relics, hunters, etc. but alas no. :(
8. Amazing Race (CBS)- One of my favorite reality shows.  I love the weekly locales and places they visit.
9. Sons of Anarchy (FX) - Once again I began watching this series in it's third season on Hulu.  Got the husband addicted to it.  Went back and bought seasons 1&2.  Looks like Hulu won't be airing any more FX episodes though.   I guess I'll have to wait for season 4 on DVD. Ugh!
10. Swamp People (History Channel) - The Alligator Hunting season is over but this one is an addiction at my house.  The whole family roots for their swampers.
11. Ax Men  (History Channel) - My husband got me into this one in the Swamp People off-season.
12. Psych (TBS) - I checked out seasons 1&2 from the library and now I'm hooked.  This comedic version of the Metalist reminds me of '80's style TV mysteries (Murder she wrote, Matlock, etc.).  I love looking for the pineapples (or references) in the episodes.
13. Grimm (NBC) - okay it's not out yet (October 28th) but I'm so looking forward to this show, I just know I'll love it.

Editing for Passive Voice

Editing for Passive Voice by Ross Martinek

Use the table below to find passive voice in your work. If you do this exercise for ten chapters, you will find yourself spotting and eliminating passive voice as you write. The instructions are for MS Word 2011 (2010 on Windows, IIRC), but should be similar in earlier versions. I use this and it works. I wrote scientific works for over forty years, where passive voice is nearly required, rather than tolerated.

The definition of passive voice (from grammardivas.com, an excellent grammar reference site):

“A passive voice sentence will always have:

1.  a form of “to be” + past participle for the verb (was called, will be thrown)

2.  subject of the sentence receives action rather than doing the action

3.  doer of action (if stated) is in a prepositional phrase beginning with by (or to).”

Memorizing this will help, but the instructions below work better.

Target words for passive voice	Chapter
	11	22	33	44	55	66	77	88	99	110
had/have/was/ were/been/be/by/to /could/would/should/

Turn off Track Changes

Open Advanced Find

Type target word (one at a time) in search box

Select “Find whole words”

Select “Highlight all items”

Click Find

Click Title Bar of document.

Click highlight color (something you can read through)

Repeat as desired.

Turn on Track Changes

Edit and review

Turn off Track Changes

Advanced Find: Clear find box and any other search criteria check boxes

Select Highlight under the Format drop down

Select Highlight all items

Click find

Click Title Bar of Document

Select None in the highlight color dropdown menu.

*The MS Word grammar checker is essentially useless except for three things: passive voice, cliché, and colloquialisms. After you think you’ve found all the passive voice in your document, try the following.

Open Word Preferences.

Click on Spelling and Grammar

In the Grammar section, clear all check boxes except “Show readability statistics.”

In the Grammar section, click on the pull down for Writing style and select “Custom.”

Click the “Settings…” button next to that pull down.

Clear all check boxes except “Passive sentences,” “Clichés,” “Colloquialisms,” and “Sentence length.”

Click the “Okay” button to close the dialog.

NOTE: If you have previously checked either grammar or spelling, you must click the “Recheck Document” button or Word will ignore everything you want it to find! You must do this every time you want to check the document for these things.

Click the “Okay” button to close the preferences window.

Turn on “Track changes” and have at it.

Remember that not all passive sentences are bad. Sometimes they are necessary. More often, they are not.

Interview with an Evie Winner - Renee Yates

Welcome to the first interview with one of our 2011 Evie Winners - Renee Yates who won in the Fiction Category.  Renee pitched at the Evanston Writer's Workshop Conference and received a contract.  Please join me in welcoming Renee Yates!

Renee, I want to first congratulate you on your contract with Whispers Publishing!

Can you tell us a little bit about the book contracted ?

The title of the book is The White Nightgown.  It is a story about a thirty-six-year-old African-American woman, Michelle, who marries a Jewish man, David, and their difficult relationships with his mother.  I'm told that it is scheduled to be released early next year (2012), perhaps February.  But that's tentative right now.

Did your publisher say what they liked about your piece?

Yes, Jessica Damien, my editor at Whispers Publishing put it this way:

"The White Nightgown grips the heart in a tear-jerking squeeze as the reader delves into the pathos, depression, and the despairing emotions of the characters.  The gritty, down-to-earth reality of the story begs the hope of a happy ending, and one can't put down the book until the end.

This is the sort of story a lot of publishers seem afraid to publish, but it fits in well with Whispers' new search for a broader range of plot devices.  We are looking forward to extending our readership with stories like this, which bravely go beyond the typical."

You won the Evanston Writers Contest with a different story.  What was your inspiration for the Evie winning short story, “The Easter Outfit.”

"The Easter Outfit" was inspired by memories of how exciting it was for me to get a new outfit every year for Easter when I was a child; and a disturbing experience I had with a neighbor around age eight or nine.  Even though the story was inspired by personal, unconnected events, it is pure fiction.

Do you have any writing rituals that you follow on a regular basis?

Not really.  Even though I actually began writing in the late 1980s, I still think of myself as a new writer.  I’m still trying to figure out what type of rituals or schedule will work for me.  Right now, I just write when characters speak to me or when ideas occur to me.  That can happen at any moment because the people and events that occur throughout my daily activities often inspire ideas and character thoughts. However, lately, I found that regular meditation and Yoga helps to keep my mind open to ideas.

My Macbook and a smart phone with a Notes application and a voice recorder.

If you could only answer one question, what would it be, and how would you answer?

The question:  What is the key to true happiness?

The answer:  Mindfulness

Dark or milk chocolate?

Both.

Coffee or tea?

Both.

Thanks Renee for taking the time to interview with ShopNotes.  Keep us posted on your career as we'd love to hear how things are going for one of our first Evie winners.  

If you would like to interview for ShopNotes please contact me at tina@evanstonwritersworkshop.org.

Tina
Editor in Chief What are your must-have writing tools?

Silly Saturday!

Here are 8 words that the internet loves to confuse. (Just don't be drinking anything while you're reading, or you'll risk choking.)

Enjoy!

Friday Flash Focus - "Dr. Ho, The Hawaiian Dr. Who" by Mark Hudson

Our offering this week for our Friday Flash Focus series is by author Mark Hudson, who is becoming a regular contributor to our series. We're pleased to bring him back this week with a Science Fiction themed piece entitled "Dr. Ho, The Hawaiian Dr. Who." We hope you enjoy!




Dr. Robert Ho had just got back from a luau in 15th century Hawaii with his granddaughter, Lindsay Ho. He traveled with his time machine, a palm tree. He was just in time to try and stop Aloha Technology, the evil robotics company that was taking over the Hawaiian Islands, from coming to fruition. The company had been inherited by a bratty 8-year old kid, who showed up to work in a suit and tie, but made the corporation show up to work in their pajamas.

Dr. Ho showed up incognito as one of the cooks. He planned to spy on little Kaopele Mahiki, the 8-year old boy who was part Hawaiian boy, and part Irish boy. And rumor had it that they’d been doing mechanical surgery so that he’d become a robot. But nobody could quite figure that out either. We join Dr. Ho As he lingers in the kitchen, preparing a bowl of Captain Crunch cereal to bring to His Highness.

Dr. Ho walked to Kaopele Mahiki and presented the kid with the cereal. “Not sugary enough,” the boy stated.

Thursday 13: Thirteen Reasons to Attend Conferences

1. The classes. You can attend all sorts of classes, from ‘how to write’ to ‘how to market yourself’ to ‘how to get published’.

2. Networking. This is a buzzword, I admit, but it’s a useful one. It’s not a new idea, either, it’s just that in today’s society of distributed social systems, it’s harder than ever for people to make contacts in any industry – much less writing. On the other hand, writers tend to be helpful to others, sometimes even in spite of themselves. You never know who you will meet, and who will end up being a friend, confidant, partner, or publisher.

3. Meet readers. First and foremost, writers are, in general, readers. They love the written word. Since you produce the written word, you get to meet your target audience.

4. Have fun. Conferences are , by and large, filled with lots of social and goofy events. Depending on the type of conference, you can attend parties, costume events, music performances, and lots of other stuff. These all help feed the inner writer.

Interview Studio: A Conversation with Debbie Cairo

Many of our members know Debbie, the cheerful face behind Evanston Writers Workshop. She started the original meetup group and brought in the board that now runs the non-profit company. Tomorrow, the world!

All kidding aside, Debbie has a lot of energy, great ideas, and tremendous creativity. She's written several novels and her first, OVER MY UNDEAD BODY, is published with Whispers Publishing.

We caught up with Debbie over email to discuss her projects and writing process.

SN: You started the original Meetup group of Evanston Writers Workshop in 2007. What made you decide to get things going?

DC: I went to a Romantic Times convention prior to that and met a couple of authors, one of them being Tina Holland, who I became fast friends with and introduced me to the concept of critique partners. Unfortunately, one was in Florida and one was in North Dakota, so our critique sessions were limited to AOL Messenger and email. A gentleman named Richard started a writers group in Evanston through Meetup dot com. Five of us showed up at the first meeting. I found I really enjoyed the companionship and input of other authors. So, when he stepped down as organizer of the group less than a month after its creation, I took it over without hesitation. Since then, as we have grown and evolved, we now encompass much more than the critique group it started as. I’m very excited to see where we go in the future.

SN: When did you start to think of yourself as "a writer" and not just someone who fiddled with stories?

Tuesday Review - Writing World

Long-time author and editor Moira Allen created Writing World and has built it into a powerhouse of writing-related information and advice. They have a large number of sections, including:

• Beginner's World
• Becoming a Better Writer
• The Business of Writing
• The Writing Life
• Freelancer's World
• Commercial Corner
• International Writing
• General Fiction
• Romance
• Mystery
• SF/Fantasy
• Children's Writing
• Poetry/Greeting Cards
• Creative Nonfiction
• Screenwriting
• Publishing Your Book
• Promoting Your Writing

I highly recommend poking around to see what appeals to you. There's enough there to keep you quite busy. Just remember to go back to your writing!

Mentor Monday: Language Evolves and Grammar Lurches Along: On Keeping a Toehold on Stampeding Style, By RJ Robertson

Welcome to Mentor Monday, our second and fourth Monday feature focusing on the how-to's of writing. Today we have another installment in a series from our beloved Curmudgeon of Grammar, RJ Robertson. To refresh your memory, check out Part One. Enjoy!

Language Evolves and Grammar Lurches Along: On Keeping a Toehold on Stampeding Style
by RJ Robertson, Curmudgeon of Grammar

Part One, cont.

Well, enough of excuses and allusions. My discussion is in four parts. In the first I will detail ten of the commonest errors one encounters in everyday speech and writing. It is in the form of a quiz. If you get all or most correct, you might be satisfied to go your way in peace. Or, even if you don’t, you could simply resolve not to do it again, and still go your way in peace. If you endure to the second part, I will present the rationale for the correct choices in common sense terms. In the third part I will say a bit about the parts of language, and how they require the currently-reigning rules. (Heaven knows I’m no expert at it, but I do have the basics, and we’ll muddle through.) Finally, in the fourth part I will reverse course and propose that, if you hang around long enough, many of the things I criticize (following Strunk and White) will be common practice. Off we go, then.

Sunday Sit-Down Dinner: "The Value of Notebooks" by Hudson McCann

Welcome to our feature, Sunday Sit-Down Dinner. In keeping with the idea of a slower-paced, sit-down meal, posts in this feature are essays on life and writing. We hope you enjoy them, as you might enjoy sitting down with friends and family over a meal.

Today's feature is a re-post of one of our early features, by member Hudson McCann.

The Value of Notebooks
by Hudson McCann

While most of my night stand is covered with a disparate collection of items -- a chalk-white lamp; a beige cube clock radio, Kleenex box and 3” Super Woman doll -- a two-foot high pile of books covers the northeast corner. In the past couple of years, as writing wedged itself into my daily life, the height of the books hasn’t changed, but the contents of the pile has. Some of the books are now authored by me.

No, the books aren’t published. The self-authored books are notebooks that contain stories initiated from group prompts, first drafts, revisions of scenes, notes from lectures, character sketches, book recommendations, web pages, trade associations and other writer’s resources.

Silly Saturday: The God of Cake

For this week's Silly Saturday, I'd like to share with you the blog, Hyperbole and a Half. If you haven't stopped by for a peek, it's well worth a visit. Author and artist Allie creates posts that reflect her unique outlook on everyday life.

For today, I am recommending you give "The God of Cake" a read. You'll be glad you did.

And you'll never look at cake the same way again.

Friday Flash Focus - "The Life of a Dollar Bill," by Mark Hudson

Welcome to another episode of Friday Flash Focus. This week, we have a feature from our regular Prompt Group member, Mark Hudson. Enjoy!

The Life of a Dollar Bill
by Mark Hudson

As the stocks plummeted on the exchange, my self-esteem felt low. My name is Theodore Peabody, and I am a dollar bill. Never in U.S. history since the Great Depression has my race meant so little. The only people I pity more are the pennies.

My master's name is Walter Thouroughgood. I'm his lucky dollar. I was the first dollar he ever made when he graduated from business school. Well, not really. He sold his beat-up car and made $20,001 dollars. I was the oddball, the one dollar that didn't fit in. So he decided to deem me his lucky dollar.

I have been in a special place in his wallet for years. It's dark here, cozy and warm. But a little information about dollars you might not know, we abhor human hands. Human hands are rather filthy things. I once belonged to a politician who swapped me for an act of prostitution. I watched with my invisible eyes the debauchery of the politician.

On our skin it says, "In God we trust." Nowadays, our reputation is being ruined. The righteous providers we used to be, "In God we trust," has come to sound like a joke. Some people even say, "The devil's house is made of money."

I hope that Walter doesn't spend me on booze. He';s gone belly-up on the stock markets. I was once shuffled around a bar once. People got beer on me and it was really gross. Ever seen a dollar bill get drunk? Put one in a bar. It's like the old days...Charmin...the quicker picker upper.

Friday Flash Focus - Send in the Clowns, by James Kelher

Send in the Clowns

by James Kelher

I shake my head, the red wig slipping free. I raise my hands to my face, staring dumbly at the plain white gloves that sheath them. The blue and yellow stripes of my costume and the giant red shoes cladding my feet all seem part of a surreal dream.

“Buddy, you ok?” the dwarf asks again, dropping the bucket and taking a step forward. “That was quite a knock you took.”

I wave him away, attempting to rise to my feet. The effort proves more a wish than a reality and I find myself on my rump again, a sharp piece of straw poking me in the thigh.

“Easy there, fella, get your equilibrium back first.”

“What happened?” I ask.

“Elephant,” the dwarf says, looking away.

Thursday 13: Thirteen Reasons Why I Can't Go to Paris Just Yet, by Marge C.

Thursday 13: Thirteen Reasons Why I Can't Go to Paris Just Yet
by Marge Coleman

1) Alex needs to get his driver's license. That means he has to practice driving using the 11-year-old family van. It's old and slow EVEN if he painted flames on it. Keep him humble.

2) I need to stay at my job and allow the routine to dominate my days from 8-3pm while my 401K grows (I hope).

3) My basement flooded. What I flushed on Friday re-surfaced on Saturday 7/23/11.

4) My dog is afraid of the thunder.

5) I cannot sell my house. For nothing.

6) I might miss the Cicada songs.

7) Where are my glasses?

8) The left knee I broke last winter ice skating needs additional rehab to appreciate the long walks I will take when I am sightseeing.

9) I drink only decaf. I need more time to learn to drink darker, thicker brews.

10) The electric bill is too high.

11) I cannot decide if I like Frenchmen with or without facial hair.

12) I get plane sick. Car sick. Escalator sick.

13) ******My husband says don't worry, Paris will wait for me. ****

Tuesday Review - Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Today I am pleased to bring you a guest post by Xakara, one of the authors of the Beyond the Veil blog. As some of you know, I was recently invited to be part of Beyond the Veil. Xakara is a talented and imaginative author as well as being a social media and marketing specialist, and I am pleased to share her review of Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Enjoy!

My Two Cents ~ Rise of the Planet of the Apes, A Review
by Xakara

Rise of the Planet of the Apes, starring James Franco and Andy Serkis, rose to #1 at the box office it’s opening weekend with a gross of $54 million—almost $20 million more than the projected estimates, and it earned every penny!

The effects were simply amazing. There is no point where you’re left to doubt Caesar is anything but a large, powerful, frightenly intelligent chimpanzee. The world is believable from the first frame and never wavers. But I fear that the emphasis will be on the effects for the movie while overlooking what those effects made way for in the end.