Helen

Editor Steals Author’s Work & Asks for Compensation

November 4, 2010

Weird becomes stranger . . . The Consumerist reports that editor Judith Griggs, from Cooks Source Magazine, lifted an article by author Monica Gaudio  its entirety and published it without  her knowledge.   When Monica dared to write the editor and claim her work, the editor replied that everything on the web is “public domain”. Not only [...]

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Point of View – Third Person POV – I Don’t Know Is on Third

September 27, 2010

My head is full of thoughts, notions, ideas, and impressions.  Sometimes a single one of these coalesces into something worthwhile.  Other times, they carom off each other and keep me awake.  But their my thoughts and only mine.  No one else can know my thoughts.  Except God. As in writing, it’s not always convenient. That’s [...]

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Point of View – Second Person POV – It Really Is All About You

September 20, 2010

Hey, you! A kiosk vendor addressed a woman that way at the mall recently. She ignored him.  Unless that guy needed her to call 9-1-1, it was a rude way for a stranger to approach someone.  Especially when he wanted to sell her perfume.   It was an in-your-face way to communicate. So too, is the [...]

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Point of View – Head Hopping POV – Leave it to the Experts
or Become One

September 13, 2010

Sometimes it seems my husband can read my mind. He’ll bring up a topic that I happen to be thinking about, but hadn’t yet shared.  Hmm.  It makes me wonder if I have one of those thought bubbles above my head. In a novel, when the point of view (POV) character shifts from one person [...]

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Point of View – First Person POV – From My Eyes Only

September 10, 2010

With seven kids to her credit, my mother often heard different versions of the same story–particularly when it involved broken toys, stray animals, or rocks hurtling toward my sister’s head.  When I told my story, I know my version was the most relevant, if not the most reliable.  It was my story with me telling [...]

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It’s Reader Critique Friday! Frivolously Indecisive Blogger

September 3, 2010

This week’s critique I prepared for Heather Condiff, author of the blog FRIVOLOUS INDECISION, who wanted some help with her elevator pitch. Much like Heather, the pitch itself has nice energy to it that buoys the reader. She’s a busy woman with lots of responsibilities and a desire to keep her life balanced with the [...]

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The Gentle Art of Critique – Part 6 – Help or Beet it

August 30, 2010

When I was a kid, my mom bought sets of plain pink curtains for two of my sisters and me.  She gave us colored markers and simple instructions:  decorate these any way you want. I was about five and not artistically inclined. She probably helped me figure how big the pictures should be, or how [...]

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It’s Reader Critique Friday! Existential Blogger

August 27, 2010

Today’s piece isn’t what I envisioned when I invited writers to send us a page for critique.  I expected a query letter, a synopsis, maybe even a scorching flame-to-the-editor.  What I got was an existential, quarter-life crisis, stream-of-consciousness blog post. Whew!  Still, our stated mission is to help the writer clarify the message.   I rolled [...]

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The Gentle Art of Critique – Part 5 – Writers to Your Marks
Different Levels of Experience

August 23, 2010

The writers that show up to a critique group will be at different mile markers on the race to publication. Some will be ahead of the pack, some will be sprinting hard to break loose, and others will look like they wandered in by accident. Not all are ready to hear the starter pistol, so [...]

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The Gentle Art of Critique – Part 4 – Keep a Shine on Your Boot

August 15, 2010

Nobody cares if you don’t write. Sorry if you weren’t clear on that point, but unless you’ve already signed with a discriminating agent, have a looming deadline, or a reading club awaits a book jacket with your name, the only reason to write is that you must. A good critique group can be the angel [...]

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