Week of June 29,2013 - How Do You Start Your Writing Day?

You can start it off on the right foot or the wrong foot. Starting off your writer's day by continuing to hit the snooze button, skipping breakfast, of turning on the TV, is generally agreed on as the wrong way to get started.  Here a few suggestions for getting it started the write way.

1. Eat Breakfast. That's right - eat. You need to fuel your brain cells with something nutritious.

2. Exercise. This can be done before or after breakfast. Or even sometime during the day when you feel your concentration waning. Exercise gets your blood moving and wakes your brain up better than any cup of coffee or energy drink.

3. Praying. Prayer centers your thinking and gets you mind thinking in a positive direction.

4. Reading. Read whatever inspires your writing: inspirational, the Bible, self-help, writing books, the news, or whatever research you need to add to your writing for the day. Add reading to your evening as well, but make it something completely different. Maybe some fiction or something outside of your normal reading comfort zone. It shakes up your thinking and feeds your dreams. Which, in turn, feeds your writing for the next day.

5. Check your calendar and make additions or evictions of unnecessary tasks.

6. Answer your email, but make it quick. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's not really writing. But you know you won't be able to concentrate until you take a peek.

7. Do a quick run through of yesterday's writing and research to see where you stand - and to pick up where you left off.

8.  Turn on your computer, pull up to your typewriter, or pull out your favorite pens and paper.

9. Send your inner critic outside the room to watch movies, nap, or whatever makes it happy until you're ready for another editing session. While you're at it, send all the other distractions out of the room - phone, TV, kids, spouse…

10. Start writing.

Week of June 23, 2013 - No Blog This Week

Taking care of some family business this week. Be back next week.

Week of June 15, 2013 - Sincere Sympathy – Conveying Condolences in Writing

By Joan Whetzel

Death happens in everyone's life and it brings out the need in all of us to express our condolences to the bereaved, and to receive them when we are left to deal with our grief. But writing sympathy notes is probably one of the hardest types of writing. Having recently lost my husband, I have become aware of the difficulty of writing - and receiving - sympathy cards and notes. I have also become keenly aware of what makes for good sympathy writing.

Condolences 191                        

The first thing you must decide is whether to write a note or a letter. For most cases, a short note is appropriate. For someone very dear to you,  a longer letter is probably better since you will have more to say and to share with the person. Condolence letters or notes can be added to a card or be sent as a separate letter - usually, though, it'll be a note written inside a card. These cards, notes and letters frequently are saved as mementoes by the recipient, so the whole idea is to make your words and sentiment count. Yes you can type the note and place it inside the card, but handwritten notes mean so much more. They show that you took the time to write it because it was important to you.

What to Include in the Message

Begin with your greeting "Dear Joan", followed by the body of the note, and a closing note. Begin the body of the note or letter with your condolences. Most condolences are pretty much rote:

• You have my heartfelt/deepest sympathy…
• I am so sorry for your loss.
• I am so deeply saddened to hear of ___'s passing.
• I will especially miss (personal qualities i.e. warm smile, kindness) of your husband and my friend.

Closing remarks might include something like:

• My thoughts are with you and your family at this time.
• He/she will be sorely missed.
• He/she will be sadly missed but warmly remembered.
• Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Adding That Personal Touch

The condolences are all great. But the ones with the personal touches are the ones I remember the best.  Make sure you add a personal anecdote or story about the person who died. If you have also suffered a loss, share something of that with the person who will receive the note. It helps them to know that they are not alone in their grief and there really is someone out there that understands something of what they are going through.

Add Sympathy Quotes

Add quotes from famous writers if you like or biblical quotes or religious blessings that deal with death and grief. They are always welcome and may be the one thing the grieving loved ones have to hang on to as they heal.

Being on the bereaved end of the condolences  has given me some insight as to what other bereaved individuals would really like read and hear from others. The more personal the note or letter, the better. A cheery memory is also very welcome, and a little humor makes the sadness more bearable. So don't think it's strange to remember some corny, funny, or crazy part of the deceased's life. It may be just what the doctor ordered. It's most certainly just what the family needs. Whatever you write, the most important thing to remember is to make from your heart.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Libel

By Joan Whetzel

Everybody loves to read the latest gossip about people in the public eye, or the juicy details about companies and government agencies that screw up (the latest IRS scandal is a great example). For writers, these types of stories make for great paydays. But they can also make for some great "libel" headaches too, if those writers aren't careful, that is. It's worth the effort to find out the rules of libel law before writing about people, governments, and companies in the news.

Libel vs. Slander

Both libel and slander are ways of defaming another person, ruining their reputation, or harming their integrity to the point that their social standing is permanently marred, or the person loses their job, or to where the person finds it impossible to work or live in the area that they have been living. The difference between slander and libel is that slander is communicated through the spoken word or gestures and libel is communicated through the published word, photographic format, or broadcast.

Conditions that Must Exist for Libel

For libel to be found, these conditions must exist: 

·                     The person must have been exposed to hate, disrespect, contempt, ridicule, or financial loss as a result of the defamation.

·                     The defamation must have directly affected that person’s reputation.

·                     The libelous words must have been made public or disclosed to someone other than the person about whom they were written.

What Is Considered Libel?

Libelous words are those considered damaging to another's reputation or character, or that provide justification for a lawsuit, including:

• falsely accusing someone of an offense or crime;
• maliciously lying about another person's words or actions;
• false  statements of fact;
• or defaming a company's goods or services (trade libel).

Some statements may be considered offensive but not libelous. These statements are made for their shock value. The courts will take the full context of the published statement into account, as well as the circumstances surrounding the event, before making a ruling whether a published statement is in fact libel.

Libel and Writers’ Privileges

Where potentially libelous statements are concerned, writers have a few privileges that could help protect from lawsuits under some circumstances.

1. Opinion. These statements cannot be established as true or false, so they ate  not capable of being defamatory.   Stating that you think a public figure is doing something illegal or immoral clearly shows that you are stating your opinion and not, so no proof is required to back it up.
2. Fair Comment and Criticism.  This one gives writers the right to make observations or criticisms on topics or issues of public interest, as long as the observations and criticisms are done honestly and fairly or without malicious intent.
3. Fair Reporting. This one involves reporting on public proceedings with substantial accuracy and fairness.
4. Neutral Reportage. Here, the writer gives a "true and impartial" report of what happened, presenting both sides of the story, or simply showing what happened with interjecting his or her opinion.

Defenses Against Libel Charges

The truth (backed by proof) is the absolute protection against libel lawsuits. Making negative statements against the deceased is legally protected in most states because the deceased have no reputation to sully. The person suing a writer for libel must prove fault on the part of the writer, and the writer doesn't have to defend the libel charges if the person suing doesn't prove fault.

Public Figure or Private Citizen

Finally, writers have to keep in mind whether the person they're writing about is a public or private citizen. Public figures will have a harder time proving libel because they have put their lives out there on public display. The level of proof that libel has occurred is, therefore, much higher. Private citizens, though, only have to prove negligence on the part of the writer. In other words, they only have to show that the writer did not take reasonable care when writing about the private citizen, and that the writer's statements were false and defamatory because they were made about private matters.

With these rules in mind, no writer should be caught making libelous statements about anyone. Given these parameters, any writer can write some juicy gossip or run negative news stories without being threatened by a lawsuit.

Week of June1, 2013 - Researching for Nonfiction Writing

By Joan Whetzel

When researching for my nonfiction articles and blogs I usually have a plan of action Unless the piece I am writing is based on personal experience, I can’t just sit down and write. Most of my research comes from  secondary sources – books, periodicals, websites.  On occasion I use primary resources in the form of interviews and observations. In most cases, I like to provide a bibliography at the end, which I create while researching.

Research SuppliesI keep certain supplies on:  my desktop and laptop computers (for travelling), pens and pencils, highlighters, paper, a dictionary and thesaurus. Yes, I can always use the online versions, but I refuse to give up my hardbound copies. They offer different options than the online and Word for Windows versions. I also keep copies of the various writing style manuals - should I need them.

I like taking notes or writing by hand sometimes because it slows down my thinking process, which gives me extra time to develop my ideas. I also like the feel of putting pen to paper. . I prefer typing when I'm in a hurry to get the notes down or when the ideas are flowing too fast to get them down by hand  When working in a library, I use index cards to write out individual bibliography entries, which get added to the computer bibliography later.

There are word-processing programs other than Word for Windows, but I prefer Word. I use the grammar and spell check frequently to correct my "dyslexic" fingers. In fact, there are a few spelling errors my fingers make regularly.

Books

I use some books in my personal library for regular research. Other times I go to the library, especially for the encyclopedias and other reference book. Other times I find myself visiting book stores for more recent information. 

Periodicals

I love flipping through magazines. Many main stream and professional magazines and newspapers make good academic resources.

Internet

The internet is my main resource. Like periodicals, I go mostly for mainstream websites. There are times, though when I will visit one of those quirky sites. Following the path less taken offers me a different perspective that I otherwise wouldn’t have gotten. The websites considered non-traditional or not academically acceptable are a great way of looking at an idea differently and frequently sparks  a pattern of thought I would never have considered.