Week of Oct. 27, 2013 - N0 Blog this week - and it's NOT because I'm Lollygagging.

No I'm not lollygagging. I'm do a big garage sale. Next week. I'll come back and tell you about lolly gagging, though.

Week of October 20, 2013 – The Jackalope Myth

By Joan Whetzel

Here in Texas, Jackalopes are a part of the State lore, part of the landscape. A few taxidermists have even contributed a small number of “trophies” as if to prove the existence of these mythical creatures. Truth be told, Jackalopes belong to the same level of myths as the Loch Ness Monster, Yeti, and bigfoot. The artistry of the taxidermists notwithstanding, their creations are meant to feed the tourist trade rather than being a representation of reality.

Jackalope Folklore

Where the jackalope stories originated is open to interpretation, though Douglas Herrick is said to be the inventor of the first jackalope stories. Apparently he and his brothers ran a taxidermy business in Wyoming back in the 1930s. They thought it would be funny to attach antelope horns to a stuffed jackrabbit's body to see if they could pass it off for real. The melded the animals’ names together , calling it a jackalope. The myth took off, and the family taxidermy business has sold thousands of the stuffed critters in the decades since.

What lends credence to the myth is that, due to the shope papilloma virus, jackrabbits have in fact been known to grow something that looks like horns. This may, in fact, be the source of the legends, sort of a “truth imitating fiction” kind of thing.

Jackalopes as a Part of Culture

·                     Since the first manipulated stuffed jack elopes first appeared on the market, they have become a decoration in many a saloon and home trophy walls.

·                     In many states – yes, Texas included - the  stuffed trophies have been used to trick unsuspecting tourists out of their hard earned money.

·                     The jackalope by the name of Jack Ching Bada Bing made regular appearances in American TV show “America’s Funniest People in the 90s as well as appearing in the opening sequences of the animated TV series “Gravity Falls.”

·                     Several video games have Jackalopes as part of their cast of characters: Red Dead  Redemption, Redneck Rampage, and Guild Wars 2

·                     The jackalope is the log for the Miike Snow band and for an Australian beer, the Hop Factory beer.

·                     “Jackalope” is the name of a Canadian pop rock group.

·                     There are two ice hockey teams – one  professional one junior A – in Odessa, Texas that go by the name the “Odessa Jackalopes.”

Websites Propounding the "Truth" of the Jackalope

If you’re interested in hearing some of the stories about the jackalope, check out the websites:

The Jackalope

http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/tall-tales/jackalope.html         

The Jackalope Conspiracy

http://www.sudftw.com/jackcon.htm

The Jackalope, Douglas, WY
http://www.jackalope.org/?page_id=15

The Jackalopes of Wyoming

http://legendsofamerica.com/wy-jackalope.html

Jackalope, Roadside America

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/creatures/jackalope.html

Week of September 13, 2013 - Keywords, The Key to Increasing Your Audience

By Joan Whetzel

 

Keywords, roughly defined, are main words people use to hunt for specific topics and information on the internet. Using these keywords to help you write your online content can reward you with increased readership – as long as your writing is good.

 

There’s No Replacement for Good Thinking and Writing

The best writing is cultivated by thorough research as well as careful analysis of your subject matter. No amount of keyword use can substitute for doing your homework, organizing your information, and self-editing. The combination of keywords and good research and writing will draw in your audience and keep them coming back for more. The trick with keywords, is in predicting which ones most readers are like to use when hunting for information that you provide in your online content, and not overusing them.

 

Why Predict the Best Keywords?

1.                  You’ll beat out the competition for readership.

2.                  More readers, combined with good research and writing, will set you up as an expert in your field, or at the very least, the go to writer when it comes to informative articles.

3.                  Your existing readers will recommend your writing to others, thereby increasing your readership further,  because the writing is good and because the information was easy to find since you chose the right keywords.

4.                  You’ll build your reputation as a credible source for good information.

 

Keyword Selection Tools

Google has a keyword selection tool that is quite useful for helping writers select keywords for the articles and online content that they’re working on. A lot of writers use these tools, and they’re great for helping to find the best keywords. The problem is that these sites are providing are not only providing the best keywords to you, they’re providing them to everyone else as well. My best suggestion is to use them at first, to get an idea of what keywords readers are using to hunt for your information. But once you start getting the hang of it, start relying on your own best judgment.

 

Other People’s Keywords

In your own searches for information, look closely to see if others leave a list of their own keywords,. The ones they used to do their research and the keywords they used to write their own articles and online content. Also ask people you know to make a list of keywords they’d use to hunt for the topics you’re writing about. Check out social media sites for the keywords they’re users work with. What are the latest buzzwords surrounding your topic? They make for good keywords, at least as long as the buzzwords are hot. Once they cool down, you might need to change them out for newer keywords.

 

Common Sense

Common sense will suggest the keywords that are most relevant to the topic you’re writing on. Once you’re identified your audience, use their everyday vernacular to help you choose keywords. A 6^th grader will choose different keywords to search for information than a 10^th grader, than his or her parents, or even someone in their 80s.

 

Keywords, generally speaking, are best chosen before you begin writing, that way you’ll have a list of topic-related keywords to incorporate into your writing. Once you get the hang of selecting topic-related keywords, you’ll probably find yourself, keeping a running catalog in your head. The trick, then, becomes using the keywords naturally, so they become part of the writing, like they belong there. Make sure to use at least one of the keywords in the title and the summary used to draw audiences to your writing. That way your reader’s will know, up front, that they’re in the right place.

 

By all means use keywords. Just be careful how you choose them, and how you use them.

Week of October 6, 2013 – Ditto

By Joan Whetzel

 

 

Ditto is another one of those words that I love the sound of. It reminds me of the sound of drum cadences – ditto, ditto, ditto,ditto, ditto…. The main character in the movie “Ghost” (Sam  Wheat) used it throughout the film in response to his girlfriend’s declarations of love. Ditto is a great word. It means: the same as stated before, a thing mentioned previously, or a duplicate/copy. It is used to avoid repeating a word of phrase and is represented in writing by the double quote (“) mark.

 

Synonyms include:

·                     Same - identical with what is about to be or has just been mentioned; similar, identical, equal, equivalent, matching alike

·                     Duplicate - a copy exactly like an original; photocopy, carbon copy, replacement, spare, reproduction, facimile

·                     Equal - like in quality, nature, or status; regarding or affecting all objects in the same way; equivalent, identical, like; alike, one and the same

·                     Repeat - to say or state again; to make, do, or perform again; to express or present (oneself) again in the same words, terms, or form; do or say again, replicate, recur, reiterate

·                     Concur - to express agreement; agree, correspond, coincide,

·                     Reproduce - to make a copy of (something); to cause (something) to happen again in the same way;   to present again; make a replica, imitate, repeat, mimic

·                     Copy - something that is or looks exactly or almost exactly like something else; a version of something that is identical or almost identical to the original; an imitation, transcript, or reproduction of an original work; reproduction, replica, photocopy, carbon copy, facimile

·                     Again - for another time; one more time; once more; another time, yet again, over, all over again, for a second time

 

 

 

 

Week of September 29, 2013 – Betwixt

By Joan WHetzel

 

I’ve always been intrigued by the word “betwixt.” I think it’s the “X.” how many times in the average conversation do you get to use  words with the letter x in them? Be I like it because it’s an older word that nobody uses in modern language.

 

History of Betwixt

“Betwixt” is an Old English word coming from a combination of the words be or by and the Germanic word “twain” meaning two. It frequently has been shortened to the word “twixt.” Betwixt, like it’s counterpart between, came to describe something or someone that feel somewhere in the middle of two extremes – like turquoise falls betwixt blue and green, or a group of people that are neither gentry or poor, the middle class. In fact, the phrase “betwixt and between” was first used to describe the middle class in England. The phrase “betwixt and between” is actually a redundancy, since both words mean pretty much the same thing.

 

Betwixt Defined

The first definition of “betwixt” used in almost every dictionary is the word between. It is also defined as

·                     In a middle or midway position

·                     Neither one thing nor the other.

·                     Unresolved.

·                     Midpoint between two places or times.

·                     In the interval.

 

Betwixt Synonyms and Antonyms

Synonyms include: among, amid, amidst, encompassed by, in the midst of, in the thick of, mid, surrounded by, or surrounded by.

 

Antonyms include: away from, outside, or separate.

 

“Betwixt and Between” synonyms include: debatable, arguable, between a rock and a hard place, between sixes and sevens, bone of contention, borderline, chancy, contestable, disputable, doubtful, dubious, iffy, moot, open to question, problematic, questionable, the jury’s out, touch and go, uncertain, undecided, unsettled, and up for discussion.

 

 

Hmm! I think I’m seeing some uses for the terms “betwixt” and “betwixt and between” in my won writing. I think I’m gonna have fun finding was to use them.

Week of Sept. 22 , 2013 – Book Review: “Body Count” by PD Martin

By Joan Whetzel

 

“Body Count” tells the story of FBI agent Sophie Anderson – recently transplanted from Australia – in one of her early cases with the Bureau. In this case, a series of women go missing and end up dead. Several key similarities suggest the killer’s signature. The killer’s signature becomes more evident when the Washington DC cases are connected to similar murders in Arizona, Michigan, Chicago, and Florida. But the whole case blows into high gear when one of their own agents, and Sophie’s best friend, is kidnapped by their killer.

 

I almost put this book down, never to be picked up again. Ms. Martin committed 2 writer’s sins – at least in my book. Her first sin is starting out the first chapter with the close of Sophie's last case then just sitting around for 3 chapters introducing characters, and not moving the plot at all. I, personally, hate books that take so long to introduce a plot. I much prefer a story that jumps right in with both feet, or at least gets it started within the first few pages.

 

Martin’s second sin is her propensity for stopping the story – frequently – to explain things to the audience, like the readers are too dense to figure out these things for themselves. It’s the oldest known writer’s error of telling instead of showing. The one thing that any writer’s course – in any genre of writing – drums into future writers is to “show; don’t tell.” But Martin breaks this rule repeatedly, and I found it extremely annoying. The plot starts gets exciting, and suddenly she stops it to have Sophie give a sidebar explanation of basic FBI procedures and forensics. Then she jumps back into the story. What makes it disturbing for me is that it interrupts my train of thought, so that I have to go back and find out where I was in the plot and jump back to the story a paragraph or three down the page to pick up the story again.

I know, I know, I’m jaded by all the forensics-rich TV shows that have been so popular lately. But I don’t want my writers to keep stopping the action to give me a forensics 101 course every few pages. It interrupts the action so much, it’s hard for me to keep on track with the story.

 

About half way through the book, Martin finally lets up with the interruptions and keeps the plot going. But it was really hard getting into the book and staying with it. I’ll give PD Martin a break though. “Body Count”, which came out in 2005, is her first book. I know she’s got at least one other book, though I haven’t located that book or any others by PD Martin. So I don’t know if she’s going to continue with the slow starts and constant interruptions.

 

If you’re looking for a new author, don’t let my gripes talk you out of reading PD Martin’s books. Despite my gripes about the slow start and the unnecessary explanations – the telling rather than showing – I still anticipate that she will develop her skills and come out with some good stories. So I’ll tell you to give her a try and see what you think for yourself.

Week of Sept. 15, 2013 - Blurbs

By: Joan Whetzel

 

We’ve all seen them, those blurbs on the back cover of a paperback, on the inside dust jacket of a hard cover book. Those few words are what draw in readers, makes them want to buy the book and take it home to read. Blurbs can also be written to entice readers to pick up a magazine to read a specific article, or continue to a website to read their online content.

 

Blurbs Defined

Yes, blurbs can also be written to describe any product – especially those sold in catalogs and online stores – to entice buyers to fork over their hard earned money. But since this is a blog dedicated to writing,  we’ll stick to the writer’s definition of a blurb. The word “blurb” was invented during  the 1907 American Booksellers Association meeting, allegedly by illustrator and humorist Gelett Burgess, to describe a brief advertisement or announcement. These ads and announcements are generally congratulatory in nature, a short summary intended to excite readers.

 

Blurb History

It seems, Mr. Burgess had recently published a book, but it wasn’t selling well.  So, he took the opportunity to present members of the American Booksellers Association  with copies of his book with  specially designed bookplates showing the picture of a young lady – Belinda Blurb -  singing the praises of his book. The name blurb appealed to the booksellers and publishers, as did the idea of singing the praises of their books to rope in the readers, and so the word “blub” stuck and became a stable of the publishing industry ever since.

 

Writing Blurbs

To write blurbs about your books and articles – or products –

1.                  Keep it short, but don’t tell them everything.

2.                  Give your audience just enough information to intrigue them or tease them, but don’t spoil the movie for them.

3.                  Use juicy, compelling verbs and nouns in your descriptions.

4.                  Write for the correct audience – after all you’re not going to sell an “R” rated book to a pre-teen. So know who your wrote the book or article for and write the blurb to that audience as well.

 

Blurbing is easy, once you do it a few times. The more you do it, the easier it gets. If you're really not sure if your blurbs sound quite right, though, first compare them to blurbs written by other authors. Then try reading your blurbs aloud, and tweak them as necessary.