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WRITING TIP

NAMING YOUR CHARACTERS

Choosing a name for your character is nearly as important as choosing a name for your own child.

The name you decide on will dictate the reader's perception of that character, so select wisely. If your character is an introverted scientist, he or she should not be named Taffy or Brad.. Why? Because these names conjures up a stereotypical images of outgoing, socially active people. What picture forms in your head when you hear the name Tiffany? Pretty, popular, blonde-haired cheerleader? What about the name Melvin? Skinny guy with glasses and a pocket protector? Now what comes to mind when you hear something unique like Lyric? Or Dax?

We writers are storytellers.We pull ideas out of our minds, invent our own language even, and surely we can come up with names for our characters that are a little more memorable than John, Susan, Kathleen, and Sam. These are perfectly good names, but they're safe names. Why not throw readers a curve ball by coming up with names that denote different flavors? Give your characters unique names that will conjure up distinct images in readers’s minds.Where to find them? Everywhere! Look in books, magazines, newspapers. Read telephone directories. Get creative, step outside the box and remember: a rose by any other name should be something besides Tom, Dick, Harry or Jane.

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 MARKETS

Alaska Quarterly Review publishes fiction, poetry, literary nonfiction, and short plays in traditional and experimental styles. The editor says, "If the works in Alaska Quarterly Review have certain characteristics, they are these:freshness, honesty, and a compelling subject."

ESB 208, University of Alaska-Anchorage, 3211 Providence Dr., Anchorage AK 99508

(907)786-6916 E-Mail: ayaqr@uaa.alaska.edu Website: www.uaa.alaska.edu/aqr

Deadline March 10, 2005 Adams Media, Inc. in Avon, Massachusetts, is compiling an anthology of stories for a new book, ,HerStory: Why I Live in my Bathtub and Other True-Life Stories about the Moments that Make Us, to be published in Fall 2005. The book will contain 30 true stories – written by strong women like you – that celebrate the moments that help women everywhere deal with the cathartic stuff of life. They are stories about women who have taken charge
of their lives and inspire us to take charge of our own destinies. Genuine, edgy, sometimes ironic but always authentic. No essays or vignettes, but good stories with a beginning, middle, and end,
that highlight a milestone or turning point in your life, large or small, approximately 2,000 words. Contributors whose stories are included in the book will receive $200 and a copy of the book upon publication. Send stories to zindiz@yahoo.com. Questions?Indi Zeleny, Editor at zindiz@yahoo.com

Falling Star Magazine currently seeking shortfiction of approx. 1500 wds. Cut and paste the text of your submission into an e-mail; no attachments Pays $5-50 plus contributor's copy. Seeks one-time rights."We're looking for stories that all of us relate to, the day-to-day trials lives are really made of, a pageant of characters we may recognize from our own lives. We don't publish stories of science fiction, horror, witches & goblins or tales of yore." Editor: Matt McGee, McGee4468@aol.com. URL: http://www.geocities.com/mcgee4468/fsm.html

mystery magazine reopens Online mystery magazine, Mysterical-E, is accepting submissions again after being taken over by Joe DeMarco. "As a writer, I'm thrilled to be able to save this publication and maintain it as a market for writers new and established", writes Joe, who is now accepting submissions of fiction, nonfiction, interviews and reviews. Interested writers can get more details on how and what to submit from a temporary page on the website at http://www.mystericale.com/.

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Contests

Far Horizons Award for Short Fiction http://web.uvic.ca/malahat/farhorizonsfiction.htm

Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest for the opening line of the worst possible novels. Named afte the author of the infamous line, “It wa a dark and stormy night.” See Rules@www.bulwer-lytton.com/#The rules

New press launches with writing contests
This month has seen the launch of Cinnamon Press – a new press based in North Wales with an innovative publications programme encompassing poetry, nonfiction, and full length fiction. Open for submissions and currently have two literary competitions with prizes of £100 (poetry) and £500 (fiction) plus contracts for the winners to publish a first novel or first poetry collection .Full details at cinnamonpress.com.

March Deadlines:

FILLER Deadline March 5, 2005. : Short prose (up to 600 words) on any topic, from humor to household hints, tips, original anecdotes, etc. Entry fee $4. Prizes: $35, $20, $10.
 

NEW-TALENT POETRY—Deadline March 15, 2005. Any style, subject or length. Open to anyone who never has won a cash prize in a ByLine poetry category. Entry fee $3. Prizes: $40, $30, $20.
 

CHARACTER SKETCH— Deadline March 25, 2005. Practice creating believable characters in 500 words or fewer. Show your character in a scene, doing something typical of him. Entry fee $4. Prizes: $40, $25, $15.
 

REASON TO RHYME!— Deadline March 31, 2005. Rhymed poems of any length, on any topic. Entry fee $3. Prizes: $40, $25, $15

Contests, ByLine Magazine, PO Box 5240, Edmond, OK 73083-5240

April Deadlines:

Deadline April 1, 2005 Short Story Contest
firstwriter.com First International Short Story Contest is now accepting short stories from around the world. Open to fiction in any style and on any subject under 3000 words long A first prize of £200 or the equivalent in your currency is on offer, as well as the possibility of publication in firstwriter.magazine for runners up. Details: http://www.firstwriter.com/competitions/short_story_contest/

FLASH FICTION— Deadline April 5, 2005. A quick fiction which feels complete in less than a thousand words. These stories often depend on atmosphere, technique, and a sense of immediacy. Entry fee $5. Prizes: $60, $30, $20.

SPRING POEM— Deadline April 15, 2005. Any style or length, connected in some way with the season. Entry fee $3. Prizes: $40, $25, $15.

PET or WILDLIFE ARTICLE— Deadline April 20, 2005. Nonfiction about animals or animal-related events. Maximum 1,800 words. Entry fee $5. Prizes: $40, $25, $15.

GENERAL POETRY— Deadline April 30, 2005. Any style, subject or length. Entry fee $3. Prizes: $60, $30, $15.

Contests, ByLine Magazine, PO Box 5240 , Edmond, OK 73083-5240

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WRITING Q&A

Q: HOW IMPORTANT IS PERFECT GRAMMAR?

A: Forget what your ancient high school textbook told you about sentence structure, such as
never beginning a sentence with 'and' or 'but.' People do it all the time in conversation, and written English has always tended to follow the lead of popular discourse. To swim against
this current is to appear stilted and old-fashioned -- which is fine, if you're writing an epistolary novel set in seventeenth-century London. But otherwise you'll come off as a prig. And no one has ever explained to anyone's satisfaction why the rule was drafted in the first place.

WORDPLAY

(More from the Washington Post’s contest winners)

Urinpal: A guy who uses the one right next to you even though all the others are unoccupied.       

Rescute: Saving the attractive women, children and puppies first. 

Platyplus: A mammal with webbed feet, a duck bill, and opposable thumbs.