Volume 7 No. 2
Ah! February, the month that hardly anyone pronounces correctly, also known as the host of Leap Year, that extra day that messes up your perception of time every four years. We should just adopt the Scots manner and call it Feberwary.
Even with the extra day, it's still the shortest month of the year so let's get busy.
This month updates consist of new articles on every page and new Written Wisdom too. Last month feature articles have been moved to The Archives, which has built to quite a collection.
Below are a couple of entertaining articles for you.
Enjoy! Hope you'll check back next month.
Happy Feberwary!
Joan
-----JUST FOR READERS-----
10 REASONS TO LAUGH
(from an Internet Floater sent to me by my friend Frank)
I used to have a handle on life, but it broke.
Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.
Out of my mind. Back in five minutes.
NyQuil, the stuffy, sneezy, why-the-heck-is-the-room-spinning medicine.
Consciousness: That annoying time between naps.
Ever stop to think, and forget to start again?
Wrinkled was not one of the things I wanted to be when I grew up.
A hangover is the wrath of grapes.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a cash advance
He who dies with the most toys is nonetheless dead.
A picture is worth a thousand words, but it uses up three thousand times the memory.
-----ESPECIALLY FOR WRITERS-----
FIRST RULE OF WRITING
by Joan Reeves
Rules are interesting little critters, aren't they? I write quite often about rules, and about the breaking of rules, on Sling Words, my main blog.
Many years ago, the first so-called rule about writing that I learned was what all published writers and editors espouse: Write what you know.
I'm pretty sure all writers still hear this because I hear it when I pop into writers' conferences. I even say it when I teach workshops and classes.
Write what you know. Why? Because it gives authenticity to your words. By the way, this rule applies whether you're writing fiction or nonfiction, whether it's a book project or a blog on the web.
Now, people who don't write fiction think writing what you know doesn't apply. After all, you're just making it up. Right?
Wrong! In fiction, writing what you know means not only getting the facts straight on your information plot but also finding the underlying universal truth that is as real for an American as it is for an Italian or a Japanese. It's the honesty and recognizable truth that makes fiction come to life. And it's what will make an editor offer you a book publishing contract. One might even say that writing what you know - the emotions you feel when hurt, scared, angry, or happy - is even more important in fiction because without that truth, your fiction will never succeed.
Over the years, I've put my own spin on the "write what you know" rule. If you've read some of my writing how-to articles or taken a class or seen me giving a presentation at a conference, you've probably heard me say it this way: Write what you know OR WANT TO KNOW.
I truly think if you are interested enough in a subject to do the necessary research AND if you have the ability to articulately express ideas then you can write on a variety of subjects without necessarily being an expert.
I also know that if you want to learn something then teach it. Researching and writing about a subject is a form of self-education.
So don't be intimidated by not being an expert on a particular subject if it interests you enough to learn about it. Without realizing it, you'll become an expert. I know I have on any number of subjects that have fascinated me enough to land jobs writing about them.
