Volume 10 - Issue 1, February 15, 2008 - Lake Chapala Review

Page 60 Lake Chapala Review
February 2008
Have Mouse, Will Write
by Eloise Hollyfield Surfing for Mexico
Some great works of
literature have been penned
at Lakeside by writers known
worldwide --D.H. Lawrence,
Tennessee Williams among
them. There’s no shortage
of fantastic writers today at Lakeside, either. For those of
you who harbor a desire to try your hand at writing, perhaps
some of the sites listed below will motivate, encourage, and
educate.
What is a writer? A writer, according to Webster-Merriam,
is “one who writes.” No kidding. Perhaps “author” would
be a more appropriate term? I rather like the Encyclopedia
Britannica definition: “One who is the source of some form of
intellectual or creative work; especially one who composes a
book, article, poem, play or other literary work intended for
publication.” Regardless of the term, writing is the required
action.
There are, of course, many types of writing, and each
genre has unique requirements. Still, good writing requires
one to have a basic understanding of the rules of grammar,
punctuation, composition, and word usage. If you feel you
need a refresher course in these areas, you may find the
following sites useful:
English grammar and composition:
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/links.html
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/;
http://www.grammarbook.com/
http://www.writing.com/?rfrc=inkspot.com
Vocabulary:
Commonly confused words: http://writing2.richmond.edu/
writing/wweb/conford.html
Dictionaries/thesauruses: Merriam-Webster at http://
www.m-w.com/ and http://dictionary.reference.com/ are good
resources; specialty dictionaries (e.g., medicine) are readily
available online –just do a Google search.
Quotations: http://www.internet-resources.com/writers/
wrlinks-quotations.htm
Assuming you know the basics of good writing and/or are
willing to double check such matters when necessary, what
do you do next? Essentially, you need to learn about the
writing process through research, online writing courses in
the genre of interest, writer conferences, etc. You especially
need to learn about the business of writing for publication.
You see, it isn’t enough to be a good writer, or even a great
writer. You must know what is involved in getting someone
to actually read your work. Allow me to illustrate by sharing
with you my first writing-for-publication experience.
Several years ago, a friend told me about the wonders of
the palownia tree ( really, it’s not as boring as it sounds!), and
I wrote an article about it and sent it to Mother Earth News.
To my surprise, a $250.00 check arrived in the mail a couple
of months later. I decided that maybe I could be a writer --a
real one. From that moment on, I read everything I could get
my hands on about magazine writing. I bought books, and I
subscribed to both The Writer and Writer’s Digest Magazine.
I learned to write a good query letter and I have had more
acceptances than rejections of my work. I did not become
a full-time professional writer; responsibilities to my family
and my teaching profession permitted only the occasional
writing endeavors. The point is this: no matter how good a
writer you are, there’s a great deal to learn if you want to be
a published writer.