T H E E A S T T E X A S W R I T E R S G U I L D

The Next Chapter

November, 2011 Volume 8, Issue 11

ETWG

Since

2004

ETWG is dedicated to the memories of : Pat Leonard and Kay Resnick, co-founders of the Golden Triangle Writers Guild, Beaumont, Texas, and Rita Gallagher, co-founder of Romance Writers of America, Houston, Texas. Countless writers owe their writing successes to these fine ladies.

etwgmembers@hotmail.com • etwg@hotmail.com • www.etwritersguild.org

C R Meyers Speaks

And Profile

Writers Litmus Test

By

Glenn “GlenRose”

Rawlinson

2

I’ve Been Meaning To

Write

About Procrastination

By

Vanessa Pearson

3

Something To Make

You Grin

Spam: Curse or a Bless-

ing

By Hugh Neeld

4

ETWG’S Back Page

Personals

5

More Back Page

Personal and

Notices

&

Presidential Perspective

Pat LaVinge

6

Thanks To Our

Sponsors 7

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

C R Myers, a native Texan, received her MA from the University of Texas at Tyler. As a teacher and professional speaker, she designed and implement-ed her own creative writing course as well as writing college sketches. Today, Ms. Myers works full time as a free-lance journalist and novelist. She has been published and/or accept-ed for publication by Country Magazine, Fate Magazine, Country Extra Maga-zine, Cappers Magazine, Hobby Farms Home Magazine, Tombigbee Country Magazine, Good Old Days Magazine, Small Farmer’s Journal, Hardluck Sto-ries, the Baptist Standard, While U Wait Magazine, Shopper’s News, and Snap News Magazine. She has had numer-ous articles and stories published by the Bullard Banner as well as articles for The Next Chapter, a newsletter for

members of East Texas Writers Guild.

Her novels in-clude: The Black Ice Conspiracy, Shadows of Illusion, Red Red Rose, The Coming Darkness, Lady‘s Game, Queen‘s Pawn, Blonde Logic. Email: crmyers.1@netzero.com

Be sure to pick up a copy of the

Thanksgiving special edition,

COUNTRY MAGAZINE and read Cathy’s

article “Christmas in October”.

Remember to mark you calendars for our Christmas Party

Monday December 12, 2011

P a g e 2 V o l u m e 8 , I s s u e 1 1

Glenn Rawlinson loves being involved in ETWG. He was happy to step in as our Vice President when that position was vacated. He belongs to a serious critique group and rarely misses any of ETWG‘s meetings.

The Grand Canyon is one of the most ―amazing‖ things, to me, and I have never seen it, well, I have seen any number of pictures, just as you have, and it is still amazing. To have not seen it ―live,‖ I can only guess at its magnificence. I wonder sometimes that what we think we see is not what we are looking at.

Nope, this is not a travel article, it is a writing article. OK, I will try to unravel my direction here. I was sitting in Barnes & Noble (one of my favorite places) and while I was sitting in one of the three available reading chairs, thumbing through a ―writing‖ book, I looked up and thought, ―Look at all these books.‖ What must have been going through the minds of all these people? Somebody had to write each and every one of those books. I wonder how many authors had ―hands-on‖ experience with each topic written in thousands, perhaps millions, of words on all the pages in that building.

One of my worries about writing is having the correct information and background. That you have to be an expert about everything you write. That it is the truth. Maybe not completely but at least be authentic and true to the history of the article. I don‘t think I am alone in this thought or there wouldn‘t be so many ―how-to― reference books on the market. My true na-ture, I think, is not to just make stuff up but sometimes I get enjoyment out of doing just that. I am a great fan of the old TV series Twilight Zone, so I know how im-portant it is that a person be careful to keep the dis-tinction between fact and fantasy clear in their mind.

But would anyone want to hear all that? I don‘t know. I do, maybe. There are a lot of other rules. I read another article yesterday that alluded to maybe rules are just guidelines anyway. I like that and maybe fact from fiction is just a guideline, too. I suppose the reader will eventually let you know. I suppose every day is a survey for response within itself. Everyone has their own aspirations, whether it is writing or read-ing or ‗rithmetic, and how they apply to society and an audience is varied as there are number of personali-ties.

I bought one of those ―reference‖ books. During one of the segments, the author was listing a few guidelines or hints that would indicate the readers‘ interest or aptitude for being a writer. One thing he mentioned, a writer as a youngster, would have had the characteristics of a storyteller. I am not sure I am, or was, a storyteller. My interpretation was, as a

youngster, I enjoyed the game of ―play-like‖. Did you ever use the phrase ―I am going to play-like I am a pirate,‖ or ―let‘s play school and I will play-like I am the teacher.‖ I once wrote an article, Oh Me,No Wii ,

where Davy Crockett and I were great partners in ad-venture. Thinking about these adventures, I remem-bered I had been to the Grand Canyon, but it was in Nacogdoches County, close to a small community called Traywick, which incidentally, is where Hank and Billy Ray (NANO-Pork Chops and Collard Greens) used to play when they were little boys at the pulp wood yard. Let‘s get back to the Grand Canyon story. This was the REAL Grand Canyon. It had to be. It was a deep gully and had a small stream running down the middle of it, and I had a miner‘s pan, which was actually the top of an old fashion coffee can, and I sifted through tons of ore panning out the golden nuggets that were going to make me rich and I would buy a horse, no, a whole western town, and I would trade it all for a new Roy Rogers guitar with an au-thentic rope strap and real plastic guitar pick with a picture of Roy and Dale on it.

While at the bookstore, I looked and looked for a book, ―Writer‘s Litmus Test.‖ I didn‘t find one so I made up a test of my own. I took it twice to see what it would tell me. I passed, so from that I decided...I AM gonna be a writer

Not really, just ―play-like.‖

Writer’s Litmus Test By

Glenn Rawlinson

P a g e 3 V o l u m e 8 , I s s u e 1 1

Vanessa Pearson is a copy editor/page designer for the Tyler Morning Telegraph where she also han-dles the travel section and writes the occasional arti-cle about going somewhere or interesting people. Fol-low her on Twitter @copyeditqueen or email her at vanessapear@gmail.com.

So, I've been meaning to write some-thing about procrastination for ―The Next Chapter‖ for a while, but I've been putting it off.

I could blame work – I did just write a second tome on roller derby in East Texas for the Tyler Morn-ing Telegraph, and I started working on the column I recently added to the Travel section – but I won't.

Or I could go with the ―I've been working on my novel‖ excuse. But I haven't been; well, not nearly enough anyway.

Perhaps I could tell you I didn't have anything to say about the topic. However, I do, and the day I don't have anything to say will be the day I suck my final gasp of oxygen.

No, I've just been flat out not doing it. The why is a big mystery.

Or is it? According to a 2005 article in Psychology Today,

20 percent of people self-identify as chronic procrasti-nators. So I'm not alone.

Hara Estroff Marano writes about the three main types of procrastinators. The thrill-seekers (the arous-al type) want that euphoric rush of deadline; the avoiders fear failure or success and care a lot about how people perceive them (they‘d prefer people thought they didn‘t put enough effort in instead of thinking they lacked talent); and the decisional pro-crastinators who can‘t make decisions – not making a choice removes them from responsibility.

I'm the thrill-seeker – my blood pumps a little fast-er and I feel a little more frantic every time I push deadlines too far at work. I also love that madcap rush to finish writing by someone else‘s deadline.

That article also said procrastinators actively seek distractions. But I really do need to comb my music library for that one album that will help me write faster. Right after I get my solitaire score up another 200 points. Wait – when was the last time I called my mother? Better do that before she guilt trips me pub-licly on Facebook. Hey, Amy just posted 600 photos from her vacation – it won‘t take that long to look at them.

Now for the full disclosure: I finally started writing this because my home Internet connection went down. There you have it, folks – the truth. I didn't have the World Wide Web to distract me with flashing im-ages and constant updates, so I got something done.

Maybe the key is disconnecting and re-moving distractions more often. It worked for me – right up until my service returned

and Twitter gave me an article about how to navigate if I ever get lost without a navigational aid. (The warm-est side of a rock is south, in case you need to know.)

So what‘s a procrastinator to do? Set smaller daily goals, suggests a 2007 article

from Live Science. When a deadline is far off, it is hard to get motivated about it. Setting new goals each day gets you closer to a finished project and your deadline.

I know I do better at work when I write down daily goals and check them off as I go. I think that‘s why I feel so driven during November‘s National Novel Writ-ing Month.

So I spent August trying to do Camp NaNoWriMo – a summer take on the November project. I tried to write 50,000 words – any 50,000 across all the pro-jects and articles I needed to finish. I hit about 37,000. It was disappointing, but Nashville was more fun. Now, November is here. And I know I will hit the 50,000-word NaNoWriMo goal – it‘s a grudge match with my pride Stephen King said, ―Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.‖

So get out there and get writing. That‘s what I'm going to do right after I check my email again.

Read the articles at http://tinyurl.com/2eup9nf and

http://tinyurl.com/3ohn2pf.

By

Vanessa Pearson

There was a story in the Tyler paper July 10th about a group of volunteers

in Fremont, Nebraska, whose 1,652-pound Spamwich will set a new world rec-ord for the largest open-faced sandwich ever created.

The sandwich is more than 300 pounds bigger than the previous record, but it will take awhile for Guinness World Record officials to evaluate whether it meets their record standards.

The key ingredient in the Freemont sandwich was about 1,400 pounds of Spam donated by the local Hormel plant, one of two places where the canned meat is made. The Spam was placed on top of a massive slice of bread made from 350 pounds of dough.

When people today talk about spam, they‘re usually not talking about the food product that was so popular in World War II. No, they‘re talking about that relentless stream of unwelcome ads and special offers that inundate your e-mail.

E-mail is a miraculous way to communicate quickly and easily with family and friends—that‘s what it was designed for. Of course, it didn‘t take the con artists long to figure a way to make a buck with it. The ads (many of them not suited for family viewing) are called spam.

The glut of ads has become so severe, the Direct Marketing Associa-tion has voted to help preserve its members‘ ability to send commercial e-mail by teaming up with the FBI to help nab spammers. The only problem is the DMA is hesitant to define spam for fear of shooting themselves in the foot.

George Bush, before leaving office, signed the so-called ―can spam‖ legislation passed by Congress earlier. The Federal Trade Commission, however, says that the laws to regulate spam are not enforced. ―Most spam is already so clearly illegitimate,‖ the Commission claims, ―that the senders are no more likely to comply with new regulations than with the laws they now ignore.‖

Meanwhile the real Spam, a product of Hormel Foods whose original plant opened in Austin, Minneso-ta, in 1891, is still around. They‘ve even built a Spam Museum, which opened in 2001. Here‘s how it‘s de-scribed on their website:

―Museum visitors will be welcomed to the world of Spam’s family of products with interactive and edu-cational games, fun exhibits and remarkable video presentations. Just as every Elvis fan longs to visit Graceland, Spam fans worldwide now have a pilgrimage to make.”

I like Spam all right. It‘s just not as pivotal to my diet as it was in the Navy. Maybe if I was in Austin, Minnesota, on business I‘d stop by the museum, but a pilgrimage? I don‘t think so.

Spam did have a major role in World War II. At one time, during the first couple of years, Hormel sent 15 million cans of Spam a week to troops. By 1944, 90 percent of all Hormel canned goods were going to the armed forces.

In recent years, Hormel Foods reported a nine percent drop in earnings, citing lower sales and excess inventory the reason. Do you suppose the fact that their product and the e-mail ads share the same name could be a factor? Might be a battle between good and evil.

Hormel is hanging tough, though. They tried marketing a limited-edition tin in Hawaii. It featured hula dolls in grass skirts and a recipe for Spam musubi, a strip of fried Spam wrapped around a rice ball held in place by dried seaweed. It didn‘t swamp the market.

I‗d like to see e-mail spam eradicated, but I don‘t think it will happen. Hormel‘s Spam Museum fact sheet claims there‘s a 400-foot-long conveyor belt in the museum carrying 800 cans of Spam. That‘s exactly what awaits me in my computer every time I turn it on.

(Hugh Neeld continued on page 5)

Hugh Neeld pens humor, and

over the years his articles have been published in several area newspapers, and in his book, The Curmudgeon Report.

V o l u m e 8 , I s s u e 1 1 P a g e 4

SPAM: CURSE OR BLESSING? By Hugh Neeld

V o l u m e 8 , I s s u e 1 1 P a g e 5

E T W G ’ s B a c k P a g e P e r s o n a l s

A n d

T h e G o o d N e w s

A Note from Lois Guymer: Hi! Just a note to let eve-ryone know I‘m still alive although the hard drive in my computer died two weeks ago. I‘m learning a new one now. The good news is, it happened two days AFTER my new book went to print! God is so good! So I‘m pleased to announce that Christmas, Country As Cornbread Style will be available for sale beginning next week! ($10 to Lois Guymer, 3817 CR 3, Douglass TX 75943) I‘m doing quite a few festivals this month and on until Christmas. I‘ll be in San Au-gustine at the Sassafras Festival on Oct.29, at the Henderson Syrup Fest, and Christmas in Crocket plus another one or two. Hope things are still going great with everyone‘s writing. Lois Jennette Mbewe is adjusting to life with two kids and

grabbing a bit more sleep now days. She‘s taken a sabbatical from writing this past year, although she‘s been known to sneak a few moments of editing in, but only when the planets align and the kids nap at the same time. The new-mama fog is passing and she is ready to get back in the saddle and rope some writing time and professional development. This coming Jan-uary she will begin an online study group called, Yo Ho A Writer’s Life for Me. If you are interested in learning about the art, craft and business of writing fiction, check out her blog at http://jlmbewe.wordpress.com/yo-ho-a-writers-life-for-me/ . She hopes to be able to start coming to meetings again soon, but until then she‘s hoping for some online interaction and keeping posted via TNC. Bobbie Shafer had two more short stories accepted

by Dancing With Bear Publishing for holiday antholo-gies for the coming seasons of Christmas, 4th of

July, and Thanksgiving. Her interview on blogtalkra-dio with Tony Kay was featured on Chastisty Blog. Thanks to all of you for your support and hugs and high-fives to Kay for holding my hand all the way. Keep in touch with Bobbie via bobbie_shafer@yahoo.com.

Brinda Carey had an exciting day on Saturday, Octo-ber 8. Not only was it the release date of her first book, "Don't Cry, Daddy's Here," but she and several ETWGers signed books during the event. AND, Brin-da was a guest speaker at the "Children Are Priceless Human Trafficking Awareness Rally" at Bergfield Park in Tyler. Later that evening, her husband ended the day of celebrating with a surprise dinner party for Brinda at Spring Creek BBQ. She was ―surprised almost speechless.‖ No one deserves it more. Marvin Mayer is pleased to announce that his article, Six Months of Status, was purchased by Good Old Days Magazine, and will appear in that magazine in February. In the meantime, he will attend the NC/NE Texas SCBWI Fall Conference October 7-8 where he will be given a 20 minute face-time appointment with a NY agent, and also will be allowed to sell his books. On October 22-23, he will be a volunteer worker at the Texas Library Association's Book Fest in Austin. On November 5-6, he will be a vendor at the Winnsboro Book Fest; on 11/12 will be a vendor at the Frog Festival in Rayne, LA; and will be among several authors from ETWG to participate at the Troup Library Book Fest on 11/19. (Other authors to be Bobbie Shafer. Cathy Myers and Catherine Sellers)

-0- A question to ponder: Is a successful diet the triumph of mind over

platter? putterhugh@suddenlink.net

Next Nutz & Boltz Meeting Monday, November 21, 2011 Topic: Mostly NaNoWriMo

6 p.m. at Braum‘s On South Broadway • In Tyler

(Hugh Neeld continued from page 4)

V o l u m e 8 , I s s u e 1 1 P a g e 6

M o r e E T W G ’ s B a c k P a g e P e r s o n a l s

A n d G o o d N e w s

Cathy Myers has been out ―catting around‖ all over Texas. First she and K Sellers were

guest speakers for the Romance Writers of America—East Texas Chapter (RWA-ETC) mini conference. Following a Halloween theme, K showed everyone how to keep from scaring yourself silly by creating believable characters readers would come to love and pull for. Cathy followed up by with sharing her tricks and treats on plotting.

Next, Cat took off for Austin with Evelyn Byrne and Brinda Car-ey, who spent the weekend sell-ing and signing copies of their books and promoting White Bird Publications during the Texas Book Festival. Start making plans to attend this huge event next year. You won‘t regret it...especially if you have a new book to share.

PRESIDENTIAL PERSPECTIVE – November, 2011

By Patricia La Vigne

The above title seems so fitting at this time when we are

approaching another Presidential election. But that has nothing

to do with this person’s perspective on the business of writing.

The candidates running for one of the, if not THE most im-

portant positions in the world, must face people of all races,

creeds, and cultural backgrounds while vying for a “yes” to their

cries of “Elect Me and I Will… .”

A definite difference from the Presidential candidate is

that a writer sits alone most of the time, facing a screen and a

keyboard.

A definite similarity to the Presidential candidate is that a

writer, to be successful, must also appeal to a public audience

and continue to provide material which piques the readers’ inter-

est and for which a publisher will pay.

If you have heard of Republican Candidate Herbert

Cane’s 9-9-9 tax proposal, you will know that Mr. Cane’s idea

has caught the public interest big time. As a writer, I am asking

myself, “Can I convert that to 1-1-1, and have it work for me?”

My idea of 1-1-1 is 1 day, 1 hour, and 1 new page of writing. Of course, one would hope this

would be a minimal amount of writing per day. But we all have days where we might just be able to pass

by the computer, and that will be the only contact we have with it that day. That’s the day we should try to,

at least, set aside 1 hour and do that 1 page of writing. Those who know me best know I rank among the

world’s top procrastinators, which is why I need that 1-1-1 concept to lean on. At least then, I’ll have one

more page of my book finished, and that’s a good feeling.

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