Friday, April 15, 2011

A Girl Named Mary: A Synopsis

   Imagine growing up in 20 BC. Herod the great has been in power for over 10 years. He has brought peace to Judea and the Roman outpost of Galilee, or has he? From day to day Galilee seems peaceful enough, but there is a seething Jewish resistance and Joachim is a leader of the local cell in Nazareth. Joachim, a carpenter and builder, makes wheels and carts, selling some of them to King Herod. His close associates, also members of the local Jewish resistance, are a wine maker and a sheep herder. They make periodic trips to Herod’s palaces to deliver their products.
Joachim and his wife, Anne, are in their late 40s. Anne’s menopause has begun, but she still wants a child. Anne has tried all of the suggested herbal medicines to achieve pregnancy, but nothing is working. She urges Joachim and husbands of friends to seek help from God at the temple. Joachim has suffered some ostracism because he does not have any children and he doesn’t think asking God or involving friends is the solution. After turning to prayer, Anne finally finds that she is pregnant.
Her pregnancy is difficult. She makes a deal with God to save the child, promising to dedicate the child to Him. The birth of the child is difficult and Anne is left in poor health, often in pain. They name their daughter, Mary, meaning “wished for child.” The ridicule that Joachim and Anne suffer because they do not have a child now shifts to the child, Mary, who is carefully taught to be good.
Being good is difficult and Mary finds that her homelife is restrictive in ways one can barely imagine. When Mary approaches 10 years of age, her parents begin to consider a husband for her, someone they know and trust who will be good to her and has a good livelihood. They decide to make an offer to Joseph, a widower and fellow carpenter and builder. Joseph and his wife were friends with Joachim and Anne. Two years earlier, Joseph’s wife died in childbirth. He has two sons.
Mary’s dowry is modest but Joseph’s friendship with the family makes him willing to consider the proposal. He needs a mother for his two sons and someone to cook and sew would also be helpful. So it is arranged. At 14, Mary is not overly pleased with her parents’ selection of a husband for her. She is infatuated with a young handsome visitor to her father. But, the culture of her time and her conditioning to be respectful and ever obedient make the arrangement fulfilled without chaos.
Though neither Mary nor Joseph expect a child so soon, Mary finds she is pregnant and begins to plan for the arrival of the child. She visits friends and family in neighboring towns to spread the news. At last, the child is born in Bethlehem of Galilee, not Bethlehem of Judea. Bethlehem of Galilee is near Nazareth and is the home of Joseph’s brother who is dying. With the help of Joseph’s sister-in-law, a midwife, Mary’s child is born. The child is born with a veil. He is named Jesus amid great speculation as to his future. Some say he destined to greatness, perhaps replacing Herod!

 

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

THE PATH

THE PATH is a new literary magazine,coming in July. Visit http://bit.ly/cJczhS for more information about the new magazine.

Publishing electronically

Does anyone have any suggestions for marketing a literary magazine that will only be published electronically, an ezine?

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

A Girl Named Mary

Today, I began the process of getting permission to use a specific picture of Mary that I think is particularly useful for a cover photo. I'm not sure how this process works. Does anyone have experience with this process?

Writing's hard

 
I finished the prologue,it was easy to write and has gotten good critiques. Now, I'm starting Chapter 1 and it's really hard. I know what I want to say and how I want the story to develop, but I just can't make it work! Any suggestions?

Monday, April 11, 2011

The Path to Publication Group

Meeting tomorrow evening with the Path to Publication Group to discuss the launch of THE PATH. I hope all or most of the Group will attend. Everyone's input is welcome.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Seven Deadly Sins of a Writer

   Writing is often considered to be an activity done from the heart. It can be a form of personal expression, revealing what you think, what you know, who you are. So how could it then be that you, a writer, have committed a sin?
Have you gotten too close to your work?
You’ve worked hard; your boss likes most of your writing. But there comes a time in every writer’s career when introspection is necessary. Is it time for you? This list of seven deadly sins for writers might help.
1.  Deadly Sloppy Research. Nonfiction readers want accurate, reliable information. Nonfiction writers need to engage readers better than ever. After all, you are competing against 30-second commercials and all those TV shows that cover your subject. Don’t rely on your memory of something you saw on television; look it up. And use an authoritative source, preferably two or three. Never be satisfied with a random Internet search.

2. Deadly Prosaism. You want to present facts accurately. However, recitation of straight information  put readers to sleep. Readers want more than just facts and figures. Include action sequences or quotations from experts, especially experts who have name recognition, to add color to any technical explanation or historical exposition.
3. Deadly Stereotyping. Avoid describing habits of people using “conventional wisdom” no matter how well you think it explains a point. Never refer to a person’s race, creed or other characteristics that are beyond the person’s control in a way that could be construed as negative.
4. Deadly Carelessness. Editors will not correct a typo-laden manuscript for a writer who is too lazy to proofread. Even with self-published books, mistakes on every page annoy readers and make them suspect you are equally careless with facts. Don’t expect your word processor to do the proofing, either. Few computer spell checkers know the difference between “their” and “there.” Word processing and e-mail software can even create errors; so manually give your writing a once-over to make sure automatic formatting hasn’t put any tabs where they shouldn’t be.
5. Deadly Lazy Marketing. Never just open a market database and start querying publishers in alphabetical order. Read the entries in full; publishers are disgusted with nonfiction writers’ ignoring of clear statements that “we publish only fiction.” Read your chosen publisher’s full official guidelines. And even if you’re self-publishing, have a clear idea of your anticipated reader demographic and where to find them. Remember, writers who aim at “everyone” never hit anyone.
6.  Deadly Ego. Probably the No. 1 reason writers fail is that they expect their talent to absolve them of any real need to work. No author ever outgrows the imperfect first draft! Every writer can benefit from other authors’ input in the form of critique or collaboration. No successful author works in a vacuum.
7. Deadly Fear of Rejection. If a writer is paralyzed by the fear of rejection, the work never is submitted, let alone published. Every writer has experienced rejection at some time. It goes with the work. Relax and learn from it. Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner and Edgar Allen Poe received numerous rejections. All famous authors received rejections, but they didn’t let it stop them.
Conclusion
The “sins” of carelessness are easily overcome, just take your time and exhaust your sources. A feeling of pride in your work is necessary but shouldn’t become narcissistic. The fear of rejection, however, is often more difficult to overcome. There is no easy solution or recommendation, except to submit your work with the understanding that it may not get published the first time out. If the same piece is continually rejected, take a hard look at it and consult writer friends who have published. The editors rejecting the piece will not usually take the time to tell you how to improve the piece. They are too busy and want to spend time with pieces that will be published. The most important message is to keep trying, never give up.
Published in Outdoord Unlimited April 2011 http://www.owaa.org/