8 March 2011: Today is the Centenary International Women's Day

Artwork by Google

A hundred years ago today, women around the world took an historic step on the long road to equality. 

The first ever International Women’s Day drew attention to the unacceptable and often dangerous working conditions that so many women faced worldwide. 

Despite being celebrated in only a handful of countries, over one million women took to the streets to demand not only improved working conditions but also the right to vote, to hold office and to be equal partners with men.

While advancement of women’s rights has been one of the most profound social revolutions the world has seen, those first courageous pioneers would likely view the world today with a mixture of pride and disappointment.

One hundred years ago, only two countries allowed women to vote. Today, that right is virtually universal. Women have been elected to lead governments on every continent and hold leading positions in professions from which they were once banned. 

Two-thirds of countries have specific laws that penalize domestic violence, and the United Nations Security Council now recognises sexual violence as a deliberate tactic of war. Yet police, the courts and many of our neighbours still see violence in the home as a wholly private matter. 

Despite progress, the hopes and dreams of those who marched that first International Women’s Day remain a long way from being realised. Globally, two out of every three illiterate adults are still women, and girls remain less likely to be educated than boys. 

Despite the knowledge, skill and resources to insure safe births, somewhere on this planet 
a woman will die in pregnancy or due to childbirth-related complications Every Ninety Seconds of Every Day. 

Globally, women continue to earn less than men for the same work. In many countries we have unequal access to land and inheritance rights. 

Despite advances, women still represent only nineteen percent of all legislators. Only twenty-eight women are heads of state or government.

It is not just women who pay the price for this discrimination. We all suffer for failing to make the most of half the world’s talent and potential. We undermine the quality of our democracy, the strength of our economies, the health of our societies and the sustainability of peace. 

This year’s focus of International Women’s Day is on women’s equal access to education, training, science and technology. At the same time, the global agenda remains; to secure gender equality and women’s rights in every country, in every corner of our globe.

From The Land Of Misfit Manuscripts:Why Do Writers Abandon Novels?

Illustration by Ben Wiseman

In the 4 March 2011 edition of the NewYork Times, writer/author Dan Kois posits an interesting question in his essay piece: Why Do Writers Abandon Novels?

Whether you're still working toward that first publication or you're working on the fifteenth volume of your chapbook fantasy serial, I'm sure you have at least one misfit manuscript in your drawer or file of projects that were abandoned or forgotten that has at least a glimmer of hope left in it.

I recently came across a manuscript I'd put it in an envelope some twenty years ago and marked it; Do Not Open Unless I'm Long Dead and Buried. 

For the life of me I could not remember why, so I opened it, read the manuscript... and promptly ran it through the shredder. It was a good idea that had been badly executed.

Why I saved it I shall never know, except perhaps that the good idea was waiting for me to become a better writer.

How about you?

 

 

Write, Don't Think?

How often do we Twitter or post a comment on FaceBook or some other social media site without thinking it through.

Do we take the time to consider;


(1) Is my comment relevant to anyone but me? 


If not, then why am I posting it?


Am I doing it to make my ‘friends’ can scratch their heads and wonder what’s going on… or to make them worry about ‘what’s the matter with her’. Is it a ‘Hey…Look at me’ cry for help or attention? 


Remember the story of the Boy who Cried Wolf?


I guarantee there are far easier ways to get help.


(2) Is the point I’m trying to make obvious or adequately explained?


If not, then do us all a favour and either rewrite it or simply don’t post it.


(3) We are all tempted to post things that are interesting to us, in the hope that others might find it equally interesting or relevant or amusing.


You’re not going to hit the mark every time, but as every writer, teacher and public speaker knows, the first rule is:


Know your audience. 


Till next time;


Be kind, be careful, and have fun.

It's too damn quiet in here.

In case you've been wondering, the reason this blog has been so quiet is very simple: I'm up to my armpits in manuscript revisions and editing... and its not going quietly into the night.


It is instead rather like an out-of-tune brass band, with each instrument needing careful tuning. Hundreds of once pristine pages turned to little more than ash and rubble with the simple slashing motion of a red pen. 


Such is the writers folly, to think that a story will stay written as initially conceived.


Chapters that made sense where they were during the initial composition seem destined to be not the great preludes they were wrought to be but instead interludes to acts unfathomed at the time of their creation.


Scenes, so artfully constructed, now little more than hazy backgrounds in the clarity of the new world arising from the ashes.


And characters, once thought destined to be the MC's of the story are instead finding themselves in the supporting cast, supplanted by voices that crept surprisingly out of the chorus to rise above the rest.


And such is the writers joy; 


To find new life beneath the rubble, a phoenix amongst the ashes of despair.  

Ah, Nostalgia

There has been a question making the rounds of discussion groups on the internet which goes: 


Which would you choose? Computer or Typewriter?


Back in the bad old days of banging out our chapters, daily copy, or itemised expense reports on our trusty Underwood, the writer had to choose words carefully. Composition was performed, not on the page but in the head, with the help of a pad of paper or the back of an envelope or dinner napkin, long before a word was ever typed on a page.

When the desktop computer came into being and potential customers were asking 'Why' they should replace their typewriters with computers... 


Vendors and consultants used to explain that 'the computer was essentially nothing more than an electric typewriter with a built-in dictionary, calculator and filing cabinet.'

Despite all of the years and advances in technology, how many people still use a computer, be it on the desktop, laptop or even portable devices like the Apple iPad or even a cellular telephone... (and Yes, you too, Twitterers) primarily for those same basic functions?

Dear fellow writers;


    Set aside your pencils and dessert napkins, and Raise Your Hands.

Information overload, the early years - The Boston Globe

Five centuries years ago, a new technology swamped the world with data. 

What we can learn from the aftermath?

An absolutely fascinating read at 

We ARE the Champions!

And the 2010 World Championship goes to:

                            The San Francisco Giants!!!

And The Sign Said…

“…. that despite my authors invectives, I persist in my efforts to seek publication.”


Dear (Name Withheld)….


It is rare indeed that we receive submissions from fictitious sources; enough so that our curiosity was indeed aroused. 


Having perused the proffered sample submission, we feel that we must extol your author to further calumnious verbosity.


Kind Regards;

Outline What?

NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) begins on the first of November. So many things to do and so little time to prepare for thirty days of concentrated mind-altering insanity.

First on the list is deciding what it is you're going to write: fiction, nonfiction, comedy, satire, poetry... 

Wait a minute! A fifty thousand word Novel in poem form? Well, maybe not. 

It doesn't hurt to have an idea of the story you want to tell, or what genre it fits. 

Next, forget that your idea is going to be seen by hundreds, or possibly thousands of other writers, or that it may inspire others. 

As my friend and publishing columnist for the Toronto Examiner, Renee Miller wrote: "Have faith in your ability to write something truly unique. The important part is the writing, not the concept. Anyone can take a concept and do something with it, but only a select few will do something wonderful."

After that comes the easy part: writing an outline of your novel. The amount of detail is up to you, but it should include a summary of events, main characters, settings, etc.

It's neither as easy as it sounds nor as hard as it looks.  

The hard part, the writing of a novel, or at least the first fifty thousand words of one, in thirty days and thirty nights is the hard part.  Don't worry about editing... that comes later.

Oh... and Don't forget to stock the pantry.  

Good Luck to all, and may sanity prevail.

Picture Books Aren't in Trouble Just Because NYT Says So.

"The worry of the day is the The New York Times article that tells us that the picture book market is fading as parents push their kids into chapter books. Now the kidlit folks will all go crazy defending picture books and deriding parental pressure. 

But people, we are forgetting one important thing here. This is The New York Times. And in terms of children's and young adult literature, this is what they do. Some writer comes up with a topic in this field in which they know very little. They "research" that topic with a few interviews, an observation or two, and a quote from man on the street. Or in this case, parent in the bookstore.** 

They've done this with the topic of Young Adult literature being too dark. They've done this with summer reading lists being too light. They've done this with The Catcher in the Rye being useless for today's teens. And with Twilight as the defining book for our generation. Or profiling a family that blogs about children's books as being this amazingly unique concept..."

Read the rest at MotherReader

Read Banned Books

Banned Books Week 2010 is the twenty-ninth annual celebration of the freedom to read. This freedom, not only to choose what we read, but also to select from a full array of possibilities... be it books, magazines, newspapers, films, broadcasts, plays, performances, electronic publications, or exhibits, is firmly rooted in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech and freedom of the press. 

Although we enjoy an increasing quantity and availability of information and reading material, we must remain vigilant to ensure that access to this material is preserved; would-be censors who continue to threaten the freedom to read come from all quarters and all political persuasions. 

Even if well intentioned, censors try to limit the freedom of others to choose what they read, see, or hear.

“If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the Government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.” 

- U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan, in Texas v. Johnson

I go a tumblr-ing. Watch out for that first step.

With BLOGS on LIveJournal, Blogger, WordPress, Web-Pages on Weebly, Facebook and Twitter accounts and working on publishing a book or two or more, you'd think I'd settle on one or two and call it a day.

But as I continue my experiments in mixed media and multimedia publishing, it seems that there is yet another new experience to be had.
A Couple of days ago I began experimenting with   

So far, the experience has been enlightening.  You can click on the logo above to visit my experiment.
 

A Dribble, A Drabble, a Flash In The Pan.

A group of us have been experimenting with Flash fiction &  what is known as a Drabble.

The formal definition of Flash is; a complete story with protagonist, conflict and resolution. Its extension varies from 200 to 1000+. Originally, flash was defined as a piece written in 750 words or fewer. The word count is not a flight of fancy, but the text contained in two opposing pages. 

The formal definition of a Drabble is: a complete story with protagonist, conflict and resolution in exactly 100 words. Title and credit(s) don’t count. 

The purpose of the drabble is brevity and to test the author's ability to express interesting and meaningful ideas in an extremely confined space.

It is required that it be a short work of fiction. It is not required that it be a he-said/she-said, or even that there be any action. 

The results were both interesting and entertaining.  I'll post some samples soon.

But .... the reason I mention it?  Our friends at

are holding their fifth annual  Three Minute Fiction Contest 

Your story must begin with the following line:

"Some people swore that the house was haunted."

Plus, your story must end with this line:

"Nothing was ever the same again after that."

Including these lines, your story must be 600 words or less. One entry per person. Your deadline is 11:59 p.m., EDT, on Sept. 26.

So... what are you waiting for? 

Get out of here and go write your story!