The Writer’s Dilemma

BEANERY ONLINE LITERARY MAGAZINE

THE WRITER’S DILEMMA

Joe F. Stierheim

Number of words; number of pages;

how much is a novel worth?

What value the symbols on the page?

What is the measure:

the likes of the market’

the current style?

Too long for some, too

A Paranormal Mystery/Romance Crossover Workshop

BEANERY ONLINE LITERARY MAGAZINE

A PARANORMAL MYSTERY/ROMANCE

CROSSOVER WORKSHOP 

Kathleen Clark

     Eighteen eager and aspiring writers gathered at the Greensburg-Hempfield Library on Saturday, February 19, 2011 to participate in and learn about Writing Paranormal Mysteries with a Romance Crossover. The two and a half hour Workshop was led by Mary Ann Mogus and Barbara Miller, both local authors and instructors who have published novels and articles. Although the time frame permitted only a mini-overview of writing for both genres, attendees appetite for the genre was wetted.
     Participants of all ages interested in developing their writing technique signed up, including a fourteen-year-old Connellsville Junior High student. Three local writers groups were represented: Ligonier Valley Writers, Greensburg Writers Group and the Beanery Writers of Latrobe. Representing the Beanery Writers group were facilitator Carolyn Holland, Lois Kalata and Kathleen Clark.
     Writers were given two to five minute exercises to develop workable plots, characters and

DAVID: Part 10 of a 10 Part Romance Story

BEANERY ONLINE LITERARY MAGAZINE

DAVID Part 10 of a 10 Part Romance Story

Jane

 

This is Part 10 of a ten-part romance story, David. Each Wednesday evening a part of the story is being posted.  Writer Jane is a long-distance member of the Beanery Writers Group, participating via the Beanery Online Literary Magazine. To start at the beginning of this story click on: DAVID Part 1 of a 10 Part Romance Story  

 

     The days flew by for us, and I have to admit it was much better spending my time with David than it was at work. Most of the time I stayed the night at my “suite” at his home, rather than the long drive home. Who am I kidding! It wasn’t the drive home that kept me there.

     With “The Event of the Century” under control, and with me confident that our guests would be well taken care of there was a little more time to relax and just enjoy the approaching winter. There was also the Thanksgiving feast to prepare for. David’s mother would be coming up from Texas to prepare the meal. This was her tradition and I didn’t mind one bit not having that to contend with.

     Every morning we would take his two dogs out running, and usually go to the stables down the hill at the back of the house. He kept a black stallion named Satan in there, and we would let Satan out to walk, and later run. Sometimes David rode him. I would watch and my breath would catch in my throat. What a beautiful site it was.

     As Thanksgiving neared, his family began to arrive and the house became full of sounds. The kitchen more often than not was the meeting place in their morning, and everyone would discuss

Beanery Writers Group Announcements: February 26, 2011

BEANERY ONLINE LITERARY MAGAZINE

ANNOUNCEMENTS: FEBRUARY 26, 2011

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SPECIAL MEETING ON PUBLISHING

Publisher, Linda Heinrich

(Woodmoor Publishing, Hagerstown, MD)

Saturday, March 5, 2011

1:00 p. m.

Preregistration requested

Pages and Light Bookstore

307 Georgian Place Shopping Mall in Somerset.

For further information:

contact Sarene Friedman 814 444 5839

sf15561@gmail.com

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The 10^th Pitt-Greensburg Writers’ Festival

Monday, March 14 through Friday, March 18, 2011

Village Hall coffeehouse on campus

Sponsors: Pitt-Greensburg Writing Program, Academic Villages, Student Government Association, Academic Affairs, and The Friends of the Library

Writers, Poets, Publishers and More

West Coast poets and writers Joan Jobe Smith and Fred Voss, bestselling mystery novelist

If I Were a Fly on the Wall…Finding a Writing Angle

BEANERY ONLINE LITERARY MAGAZINE

IF I WERE A FLY ON THE WALL…FINDING A WRITING ANGLE

     What can a fly tell us about finding an angle in writing?

     Some members of the Beanery Writers Group are having difficulty writing about structures—rather, some of us are. It’s not that we can’t write about a structure. It’s that we have a block that asks What is there to say about a structure? It’s an inanimate object!   

     One genre is descriptive writing. Simply describing.

     Yet we’ve all heard and said If only I could be a fly on the wall… We use that phrase when we anticipate something very interesting is about to occur at a site where we cannot be present…

     If only I were a fly on the wall…

• what

How to Write About (Historic) Buildings

BEANERY ONLINE LITERARY MAGAZINE

HOW TO WRITE ABOUT (HISTORIC) BUILDINGS

      The Beanery Writers Group (Southwestern Pennsylvania) members have an opportunity to visit and write about a Frank Lloyd Wright structure, in any genre the writer chooses. Once the idea was seeded, I realized that doing this would present a challenge to many of the group members, including myself. 

     We are preparing for this project by visiting and writing about local structures: two unusual restaurants, a historic building built in 1799 which is now a museum, a Catholic church Basilica, the county courthouse, etc. Because these excursions have proven how difficult it is to write about historic structures, I searched the ‘net for guidance. I discovered that there’s a scarcity of instructional material to glean from.

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     Buildings, like people, have stories to tell about their community’s and the nation’s past. Embedded in historic structures and landscapes are traces of past lives that are clues to how our ancestors lived, and how life today evolved. To write about them is to bring these traces to life.

     Historic structures, with a wealth of history, legend, and folklore on their doorstep, provide fertile material for factual and fictional writing. The writer’s imagination, inspired by the iconic locations, can run wild, using descriptive style and creating imaginative stories based on both fact and fiction.

     There are different approaches to writing about historic (or current day) structures.  

• Describe in detail a general overall view of the structure, a room, or an item(s) on display. Use all

The Chicken Soup Myth

BEANERY ONLINE LITERARY MAGAZINE

THE CHICKEN SOUP MYTH

Miranda

     A long time ago in an enchanted forest of Africa, there were many different types of animals that lived among one another. They included hippos, giraffes, chickens, frogs, snakes, zebras, goats, and lions. Every animal was caring and lived happily because they were helpful to one another. Every animal but the chickens at least. The chickens held a grudge because the tree frogs were chosen as the leaders of the forest.

     One cold winter night, a new baby zebra was born among them. Every animal danced in rejoice for the new addition. There was going to be a celebration and a feast to honor the zebras, so each animal group was assigned a certain thing to bring to the feast. The hippos were in charge of bringing the big black cooking pot for the feast soup, the giraffes were to bring decorations, the snakes were in charge of spreading the news, the goats were to bring

Haven Reece Bio

BEANERY ONLINE LITERARY MAGAZINE

HAVEN REECE BIO

Haven Reece

     Haven Reece, 41 years old, lives in Alabama. She sent me the following profile:

     I grew up on a small farm in town called Margaret, Alabama. If you are looking for it, please don’t blink or you will miss it! ha ha! It’s that small.

     I’m married to my best friend and soul mate. He is a successful business man and I am a stay-at-home mom and a substitute teacher, as well as an active volunteer in many areas. 

     There was a time in my life when I never dreamed I would have the life I have now. Years ago, I was in an abusive marriage. My oldest three children were born during that time. When I eventually found the courage to escape, I finally allowed myself to

Blogsite or a Website: What’s the difference?

BEANERY ONLINE LITERARY MAGAZINE

BLOGSITE OR WEBSITE: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

    What’s the difference between a blogsite and a website?

     This question was raised at the Beanery Writers Group (Latrobe, PA) meeting in early May. It is a significant question, because the group’s unique project is publishing the Beanery Online Literary Magazine (www.beanerywriters.wordpress.com ).

     Being computer illiterate, I had to plead ignorance of the answer. I held the impression that blogs were easier and cost less.

     To answer the question, I plugged it into the search engine.

     Examining various sites made me feel better about being unable to define the differences. …since the differences have become increasingly blurred for many bloggers and users*— the difference…is steadily vanishing. These channels are definitely converging.*** there are shades of gray.##

     Initially blogs, a condensation of the word “weblog,” were viewed as a web log or online diary… a place where a blogger can generate a log of interesting personal comment and intimate details and information about a particular niche subject or topic * Today, although many blogs continue to be personal ramblings about daily life,…that is only one aspect of the blogosphere – and a fairly trivial one at that.***Currently, blogs range

Tips on How to Write

BEANERY ONLINE LITERARY MAGAZINE

TIPS ON HOW TO WRITE

     The first two newspapers I worked for basically took the articles I submitted and published them “as was.” Errors, incoherencies, and all.

     Then I met Paul Heyworth, editor of the Fay-West section of the Greensburg Tribune-Review (PA). Having recently moved to Connellsville, Pennsylvania, I hadn’t been motivated to approach the newspaper about writing for them until I signed up for a conference on gangs. In my previous community, where I headed a family support program and was a pastor’s spouse, I had often submitted articles to two newspapers on conferences and seminars I attended. I believe it’s called “multi-tasking.”

     I set up an appointment to speak with Paul—I believe it was an “interview.” He told me to bring in several clips. When I arrived, he used speed-reading to evaluate them before asking me how many articles a week I was planning to submit. I only intended, at that point, to write the one.

     After getting by that bump in the interview, Paul told me he expected me to be in the news office when the articles were edited.

     In a very early submission, he questioned a word I used.

     “Don’t you think that word is too large for Fayette County readers?”

     I said that I was a county resident who read the paper, that not all readers were unable to understand that word. Not all readers were uneducated.

     “Besides, don’t you think that some readers will look the word up in a dictionary and learn something?”

     After that, I made certain there was one challenging word in each article I submitted. These words were never removed.

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     This is a roundabout way for me to introduce a post I read: 11 Smart Tips for Brilliant Writing. And in using “larger” words, I violated Tip number