In this issue:

Writing Avenues

THE "SO WHAT" IN BOOK REVIEWS

The worth of a book is to be measured by what
you can carry away from it. -- John Bryce

An online article from Indiana University points out that a book reviewer tells what the book might mean to the reader by explaining what it means to you. "Reviewers answer not only WHAT but the SO WHAT question about a book."

From The Book Page, a website chock full of book reviews, Allison Block talks about Chang-rae Lee's ALOFT, the story of Jerome Battle who tried for years to escape the world by soaring over his native Long Island in a two-seater prop plane.

Here's an excerpt from her review:

      "In his hideaway in the skies, Jerry seeks solace from his shortcomings
      as a father, husband, lover and son. As events of the novel unfold,
      he realizes he can no longer wing it alone. ‘No matter how much I wished
      to disappear sometimes, to fly off and away,' says Jerry, ‘I really couldn't,
      and maybe never did.' In rich, riveting, radiant prose, ALOFT explores a
      a man's lifelong struggle to navigate life's tricky emotional terrain. It is a
      graceful commentary on the contemporary American soul."

How swiftly Allison Block reaches the heart of the story - an excellent example of a book's So What. Note the way the reviewer uses flying lingo in keeping with the title: "skies," "wing it," "fly," "navigate," and "terrain." Every writer could benefit from this illustration.

The So What applies to non-fiction, too. According to THE ELEMENTS OF A GOOD BOOK REVIEW by Mridu Khullar in ABSOLUTE WRITE, the fun part is writing about what the non-fiction book did for you, and what your experience with the book was like.

"Here, you're allowed to be judgmental. * * * Go ahead and speak your mind. However, be careful to review the book, not the author. Too many times, the reviewer ends up reviewing the author instead of the book. Don't fall into that trap.

Then there comes a time, when a reviewer can find no reason for the writing of a novel or non-fiction book. The So What is a yawn. In reviewing such a book, loosely paraphrasing the last line of the play, "Tea and Sympathy," "When you talk about my book, be kind."

Other standard elements that are needed to write a book review can be found in a number of online articles. HAPPY REVIEWING!

Whether we're reviewing a book or working on a book, short, story, or article, it occurs to me that John Bryce's advice, with a couple of word changes should be pinned to our bulletin boards: The worth of a piece of writing can be measured by what the reader can carry away from it. I intend to watch for the So What in my own writing.

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Susan Long Turner is co-author with Russ Turner of "Wings Born Out of Dust" which is available now from 23 House Publishing and is also available in trade paperbacks and hardback at other major online bookstores. Visit her Website

Getting My Goodies
by Lori Gardull

"What have you unleashed upon us?" my husband moaned as he checked our e-mail---a rare, maybe once-a-month occurrence since I held a monopoly on our computer. I glanced at the monitor to see that our e-mailbox was receiving mail...and receiving...and receiving. Eventually it rang up 75 new messages.

A majority of those were from an online writers' forum I had recently signed up with. When I joined, I believed the set-up would be that of a real-time chatroom, where other writers like myself would volley bits and morsels of advice about marketing, inspiration, and rejection. Wrong. Though it ached to operate like the typical online chatroom, it was not to be. There was no volleying. Instead those bits and morsels rushed the gates of my e-mail address, like crazed fans vying for front-row seats at a rock concert.

"I didn't realize I would get so many messages," I sputtered.

"Actually, the amount of new messages is nothing compared to the garbage heap of old, undeleted messages you have sitting here." Garbage heap? He was calling my 1200 undeleted messages garbage?

Sadly, my e-mailbox mirrored other areas of my life, piles of this, mounds of that. Waiting to be sifted through and sorted, to be saved---again---or discarded. I hoarded those messages like an eight-year-old does her pillowcase full of trick-or-treating loot. Just look at it all! Which ones do I dig into first? Joining that writer's forum was like celebrating another Halloween.

"Are you planning on reading everyone of those new messages?" my husband asked as I felt my sweet tooth tingling.

As I scanned the first few morsels, I noticed many were introductions or mini-bio's. These progressed to some writing samples, which then digressed to "Oh, Joanne, you riot!" and "Kudos for you, Tim!" I read as many as my eyes and stomach could handle, maybe half. But now I had a new message number, the number of messages unread. Another pillowcase full of candy!

Within a week, my unread messages burgeoned to 350 or so. Why didn't I simply unsubscribe from the forum? Because it wasn't that simple. I felt if I dug around that plump pillowcase enough, that nestled within Joann's jawbreakers and Tim's peanut butter cups would be the Godiva chocolate of writers' advice. I knew it was there somewhere!

One evening, I finally realized that the seams of my pillowcase filled with old messages would burst if I didn't start rooting through the bag and unload some of the stale stuff. So I tossed the ones pertaining to a stock I was following for an investment club I was no longer a member of. I dumped messages from the previous summer about what brand of diet soda to bring to the family reunion. Two years worth of life-altering jokes were chucked. I reduced my heap of garbage to a pile of electronic rubble.

Even though I'd whittled my old messages down to a reasonable number (800 or so), the writers' forum still encroached. And if I hadn't opened my mail in a few days, it seemed as if the new messages multiplied exponentially. I didn't have the time to pitch the old candy andforage through the new goodies.

So with a heavy, sugar-coated heart, I said good-bye to Joanne, so long to Tim, and unsubscribed from the forum.

I've continued to chip away at my inbox (is 385 still too much?). Yet, like Halloween candy hanging around the house on Valentine's Day, there are still some stray messages lingering in my box. I can't bring myself to delete the cartoon dog tapping on my monitor to tag me "It" or the Space Station night photograph of the Earth. I also saved the one urging me to join the writers' forum.

You never know. I may feel like trick-or-treating again.

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When she's not busy hoarding e-mails or bribing her eight and five-year old daughters for computer time, Lori Gardull writes from her home in Walbridge, Ohio. Her essays have appeared in Toledo Parent and Catholic Digest.

The Writing Game
by Cinda Cash

Advice for Writers

What is the best piece of advice about writing you've ever read or heard? This was a survey question posted in inklings*, an online magazine for writers. Here's a sample of responses.

"Don't let a single day go by without writing. Even if it's garbage--if garbage is all you can write, write. Garbage eventually becomes compost--with a little treatment..."

"You either write or you don't write. If you write, shut up and do it!"

"If you're waiting for the perfect opening statement to pop into your head--forget it. Instead, start anywhere--start at the end, or the middle--but start!"

"I always throw out my first paragraph. It's just my brain getting warmed up. This taught me I don't have to use everything I write... This advice freed up my writing process..."

"Quit watching television."

To be a writer: 1. Read, 2. Write, Repeat 1 and 2.

To be a published writer: 1. Read WELL, 2, Write WELL, 3. Submit WELL, 4. Repeat 1-4.

"Either marry your work (take it seriously and do it every day) or date it (write only when you feel like it), but know which you are doing and the repercussions of both."

Cinda here: Let me tell you about the repercussions. If you only date your writing, you will always be a hobbyist. Even if you regularly attend writers conferences, you will remain a hobbyist and will eventually enter the ranks of what some refer to as the "old dears." These folks travel to writers conferences as vacation experiences. On the other hand, if you marry your writing, you will give birth to something worthy of sending into the world so others can read it. The results of this move will not only make you proud, it will bring you some money. This money might be used for your retirement or a vacation in an exotic location--with or without a writers conference. For a exotic vacation with writers conference--think Maui. Break out the ring and the rice, then (after the first check or two arrives) honeymoon in Hawaii. Sounds like a plan to me. See you in Hawaii!

* Sadly, inklings is no longer available. It's fine editor, Debbie Radipath Ohi, is currently writing a column for Writer's Digest online site.

* * * * *

Cinda Cash worked at low-paying typing jobs until the day she decide she needed a change. Figuring if she was going to starve she might as well be typing something interesting, she started her career in freelancing. She writes newspapers (mostly in the mid-continent states), regional and national magazines, e-zines, and (shhh, don't tell--genre romance).

Music: a Dance of Ghostly Memories
by Ronald Wayne Jones

According to a song writing friend, Sam Plumblee Jr., original songs float through the night like misty ghosts. It takes the song writer to see their faces and hear their voices in the swirling fog. The problem is these phantoms of the night seldom reveal themselves on demand, nor can they be punched up on a quarter jukebox. It takes someone willing to invest the time and labor to track down, identify, and record these specters. Those rare song writers, who know where and how to look, are in for a treat when one of these soulful aberrations immerges from the faded wallpaper of their Nashville flat.

What fascinates me about song writing is how an entire story can be stewed into such a thick, tasty broth using so few ingredients, namely words. Song writing reminds this writer of flash fiction put to music, to mention nothing of the magnificent poetry. While we may think little of using a thousand words to brick in a short story, song writers are saddled with doing the same job with one repeated chorus and a handful of stanzas. Talk about the economy of words! Take it from someone who's tried, folks: That's one tough steak to chew, let alone giving it a palatable flavor in so few words.

The best writers seem to take a common approach to this elusive art. They say that music drifts silently past us like invisible, but powerful radio waves. Just as microwaves can nuke your lunch, music has an equal effect on our world. The trick to identifying and penning quality music is to tune yourself to the right mood to hear our world sing. According to the best writers of today, quality music is already written, but someone must hear it first. That is the song writer's job.

According to Sam, one can seldom isolate the melody from the poetry, without driving your smoky visitors back into the walls. Ghosts are known for turning troublesome when some stranger starts rearranging headstones in their stomping grounds. You must respect the music. Remember that you're working with something that has a life and mind of its own.

Like our media, good songs have a solid "chorus hook." We discussed the importance of hooks in our June 2003 issue. Unlike short stories or articles, the song writer's hook isn't in the first sentence or lead paragraph. You're more likely to find this hook buried in the chorus. After all, the refrain is the repeated section, and that's what most of us remember. That hook grabs our attention, and like a prose writing lead, it can involve imagery, a catchy phrase, a clever idea, or even a theme.

This hook is the song writer's foundation stone, and for good reason. Those few words likely determine the tempo or rhythm of the melody. The hook's initial mood may also determine the song's key. Major keys tend to be more upbeat, while minor keys tend to be more soulful.

Once the author has her hook, she can develop the poetry of her chorus. When she has that, the song writer tackles the body of her story and finishes it in amazingly few words.

This doesn't rule out a lyricist and a music writer working together. Some of our best-selling tandems have worked this way. However, the music is so closely tied to the words that such teams require a great deal of give and take. One can't be so tied to her words or his music that he can't sacrifice for the sake of the song.

Next time you hear a song with a catchy phrase or that sparks ghostly imagery, remember to notice if that part occurred in the chorus.

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Back to Top

April is poetry month and what could seem more appropriate? In the northern hemisphere, it is the beginning of Spring and as most people know, man can wax poetic in the spring. Yes, in February we have Sweetheart's Day and men give their loved ones some trinket of their undying love and may even spout a poem or two. Ah, but Spring? The ancient powers kick in and man begins to woo his maiden.

April Fools!

I really didn't want to discuss that so let me expound on the diversity of poetry and its many genres. Man is a fickled creature and needs variety, hence the many poetic types.

Genres? One doesn't normally think of poetry with a genre but if you look closely, it is there. Most people will just say "Poetry is poetry" and let it pass, but for the afficionado, poetry goes much, much deeper. It is a philosophy.

Everyone recognizes love poems. There you have romance genre. Limericks? Humor genre. There are poems that will haunt you for many nights after reading them. Yes, the horror genre. There is poetry for children, older children aka teens, seniors, and even pets.

Each of those poems fall into a genre. With that said, there are newer genres appearing every day in poetry as the poet pushes the limits. Cowboy poetry. Black poetry. Rap poetry. Military poetry. Nature poetry. Sexual Poetry. Factory poetry. Office poetry. The list is expanding every moment as new poems are written.

I have elaborated in previous issues of Emporium Gazette about some of the different genres that were described above. In future issues, I, or others, will detail aspects of specific genres which are their field of expertise.

This being Poetry Month I offer you a challenge. Find three words in this article and create a poem; be it long or short.

When writing poetry
A good philosophy
Expound what you know
With visuals to show
Your shameless humility

Okay, that was my attempt. Give it a whirl... afterall, it IS April; Spring is the time for a newness and renewness.

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R. S. Nailor is Poetry Editor and Production Manager for the Emporium Gazette. His manuscript, THREE STEPS: THE JOURNEYS OF AYROLD, is currently in the final stages of editing. He has short stories included in three ebook anthologies from 23House and numerous articles and poems elsewhere on the internet. You can visit him at Lore's Webs.