Haiku Inspiration--It's All Around You!

The Can You Haiku contest is underway. How is your haiku coming along? Here's a fun example I found online to help you remember what goes into a haiku (thanks, Kidzone!):

I am first with five
Then seven in the middle --
Five again to end.

So get out in that glorious spring sunshine and grab yourself some inspiration. Then write a haiku or two--or three--and submit them to the free Can You Haiku contest. It's that simple!

Do you want to write for Wikipedia?

Wikipedia, the registered trademark name for “the” onsite web encyclopedia, is well known by almost anybody who uses a search engine on a computer.

Anybody can write for Wikipedia or any other wiki farms. Wiki farms are groups that cater to specific subjects and usually contain many sites. Farms host many wikis run from single websites. EX: Wikia, @Wiki, WetPaint, PBwiki, and Wikispace.

Wikipedia is comprised of volunteer editors and writers. You may participate as either or both. Wikipedia is not a directory for everything in existence. It is selective regarding what topics are included. The general categories are: academics, astrophysical objects, books, events, films, music, numbers, organizations and companies, people, sports and athletes and web content. This does not mean you can tweak your article to fit into one of these categories and expect it to be accepted. Your article has to have mass appeal. It will be checked for suitability and quickly deleted if found lacking.

You need to ask yourself if the subject for your article follows these guidelines.

1. Is the topic of enduring notability, not just a flash-in-the-pan, here today interest?

2. Articles about living people have particularly strict oversight. A person cannot be noted for one event only. If event has longevity, the event will be more likely to be covered than that person. Who eats the most rattlesnake meat at the annual Texas Rattlesnake Round Up will not qualify. The Rattlesnake Round Up may not meet the requirements either.

3. Notability is not inherited. If your great, great, great, uncle John signed the Declaration of Independence, an article by you on him is not necessarily notable. There is no “reflected light” theory.

4. Do outside sources back up the research you cite? Are they reliable? Are they independent of the company or special interest groups associated with it? You must provide the sources. Editors at Wikipedia will determine if the subject has sustained interest and has reliable sources.

5. Minutiae, topics of interest to a narrow group of people or field, most crimes or violence of any type do not qualify and most matters in the news considered routine are ineligible.

6. Subjects for merely filling a role, which could be filled by others, are not considered. (Marilyn Williams portraying Marilyn Monroe for instance.)

7. Self-promotion and routine coverage do not create notability. Paid promos, local or occasional notoriety and politicians and political causes do not qualify.

If you wish to write here are the steps, you need to follow.

Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_wizard

The guidelines will suggest you practice editing published articles first to get the feel for the writing styles, content, and formatting.

Here are also templates to follow, advice and step-by-step instructions.

a. Find out if your article meets suitability guidelines.

b. Research to see if other articles are included in Wikipedia on your subject. Can you add information to them? Should you amend another article or write one separately? Ask the editors.

c. Gather information and references from authentic sources to supplement your article. See guidelines on “reliable sources.” YouTube, your website and My Space are not considered reliable sources.

d. Ask for feedback from editors on “talk page” before you begin to write on WikipediaProject or “Drawing Board.” There is no sense in wasting your time for something that is not suitable for inclusion.

e. Think about writing your article in your “user space” and asking for editorial help.

Do not promote yourself, your company, your newly patented invention (books included) or what you did on your summer vacation. Wikipedia is not the place for new work including any original theories, opinions or insights. It is a space for reporting strictly notated information of general interest to a large number of people. Pearl diving for Norwegians is not going to make the cut. The topics must be “community oriented.”

Among others, one element not considered when the editors read your article is poor writing; they can fix it. Neither the author nor the motives to write are considered. Qualified research does matter. If the topic is interesting or useful, being liked or disliked by the editors is not a factor. What is considered is if the evidence shows that the world at large deems the subject worthy of notice. In the end, having your article accepted is like filing your income taxes. The IRS ruling is the one that counts. Wikipedia editors control the content, final answer.

This information was provided directly from these sites.

http://webtrends.about.com/do/wiki/htl

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_wizard

Google “how to write an article for Wikipedia”

The Future of Libraries for Writers

Research online for writers is a given. Some of us go to college libraries or public libraries for in-depth information or to search for specialized or regional subjects. Many of us love the atmosphere of a library....all those books, all that information, people to help you find what you seek and lots of distractions or places to get other ideas for your next writing project. The thought of a virtual library is incomprehensible yet that may be the future. According to several reports in journals of higher education, the definition of a library is changing as physical space is repurposed and virtual space expands The explosive growth of mobile devices and apps will drive new services. What may the libraries look like?

Currently libraries cater to those who are within close physical proximity to the building. Some predict buildings will continue to exist but may come with heretofore-unknown users, machines, and technologies. Academia has seen the need to globalize. Several notable systems expanded to provide more resources for their students and professors. Oxford University is working with MIT and Carnegie Mellon to digitize their collections and share their inventories electronically. Stanford University and the University of Michigan are each following their own programs for digitizing their collections with an eye to sharing them globally.

Several scholars in Latin America are seeking to connect with the Vatican library that has priceless collections of rare manuscripts, books and pictures including works of Aristotle and Homer. In the past people had to go to Rome to receive permission to access those materials. With digitalization, travel will not be necessary. Case Western Reserve and IBM sponsored a program to create and capture, store and manage, search and access, distribute and use rights management for the Vatican library project. It took a team of six one year to reach their goal of 20,000 scanned images, surveying an average of eighty images a day. Digitizing materials is a monumental project but so is the problem of copyrights, which needs further study.

Public libraries are also joining the digital age. The San Francisco Public Library that serves all the San Francisco branches and northern California built a $137 million facility. It houses 300 computers for use by patrons, and offers multimedia conferencing rooms and stations, and a multilingual database. The Library of Virginia will be able by the end of Phase II, to house close to two million archived historical images in their collection.

Systems need to talk to each other and to users in both the repositories and the virtual libraries. Both must have the same skill sets of retrieval. Librarians of the future may need training in computer science as well as library science in order to assist patrons.

Economics is driving a large portion of the future of libraries in both academic and public situations. Just the cost of cataloging and caring of books is high. Virtual books do not require those services. Outsource businesses are popping up that offer independent cataloging and inventory control thus saving the public libraries and universities millions of dollars world-wide because they can share inventories and costs. Others disagree.

“Daniel Greenstein, vice provost for academic planning and programs at the University of California System, told a room full of university librarians . . . at Baruch College of City University of New York that the university library of the future will be sparsely staffed, highly decentralized, and have a physical plant consisting of little more than special collections and study areas.

‘I think that's not a very accurate depiction of what I see happening at research libraries,’ said Deborah Jakubs, vice provost for library affairs at Duke University. ‘I see the exact opposite happening, that libraries are taking on new roles — [such as] working with faculty in introducing technology into teaching... there's a lot more intersection with libraries and faculty than he [Greenspan] would lead you to believe.’” (article by Steve Kolowich for Insidehigherdeducation.com, 9/24/09

Many share Jakubs’ view. They feel services will grow not shrink. Print did not destroy the oral tradition nor did television destroy radio, newspapers or movies, but changed their formats. Yes, things change but usually only for the better. Think of the party line telephone services with an operator connecting the parties and listening in on conversations. Innovation did not destroy that new invention but invention enhanced the usability of it. Virtual libraries are on the horizon and should enhance patrons’ use of materials both through virtual and physical uses.

The good news for writers is that in the libraries of the future, we will always be needed to produce the written words that library patrons seek in any form.

www.insidehighereducation.com

Yiddish? Hebrew? Oy vey!

We all know that the English language is changing at a faster pace due to the Internet. As more people around the world connect, we pick up words from other languages and soon they become an accepted part of whatever language we speak.

Spanish is most quickly assimilated language in the United States but Yiddish terms have been a part of American English for decades. Being an American English speaking Methodist, I was always confused about the difference between Yiddish and Hebrew.

Hebrew is an ancient Semitic language along with Arabic, Amharic and other sub-African groups. It is from ancient Canaan and spoken and written by various people regionally. It has its own alphabet with no written vowels. The reader supplies the vowels. It has strict rules and is slow to change. It died down but it has emerged especially since the formation of Israel in 1948 and the end of the Holocaust. What is used now, mainly by Jews, is Modern Hebrew and spoken and written in Israel with pockets in the United States.

Yiddish is a non-territorial, High Germanic language originating with Ashkenazi Jews in the 10^th century. It is spoken around the world but mainly by Jews in Germany and the United States. It uses a modified Hebrew alphabet with many more casual rules than Hebrew. Both Hebrew and Yiddish are considered official languages of Israel. Hebrew is the designated language for government, education, signs and official speak. More and more signs are being printed in Hebrew, Yiddish and English in Israel but use of Yiddish is dying down in other parts of the world as fewer people speak it.

“Hebrew is not Yiddish just because they use the same letter system. English, Spanish & French all share the same alphabet system yet no one would argue that these three languages are one and the same! The same is the case for Hebrew and Yiddish, they use the same alphabet system but they are two different languages." (http://amarthenazarene.com/uploads/lessons/Yiddish%20Or%20Hebrew.pdf)

Adaptations of terms from other languages present a problem for the well educated and writers, educated or not. As writers, we need to know how to use them correctly. Here are some Yiddish and Hebrew words and phrases often used or heard by English speaking people.

Aleichem shalom—to you be peace

Shalom (Hebrew), sholom (Yiddish) means completeness, peace, hello or good-bye. The meaning is based on the Jewish belief that we want the best health for people so we wish them that in greeting or closure.

L’chaim—To life!

Zel Gesund—To your health!

Drek—worthless material

Ess—Eat! Eat!

Goyisher maze—good luck

Glick—a piece of good luck

Mensch—decent person

Hamish—down to earth person

Mitzvah—blessing or congratulations

Bobbemyseh—old wives’ tale; nonsense

Kvetch—complain

Nebbish—inadequate or insignificant person

Fe! or Fey!—expression of disgust

Goy—used to mean “nation” in ancient times but now means gentile; can be used disparagingly or with respect

Ganif—thief

Nudnik—a persistent pest

Bupkes—worth nothing

Handle—to bargain

Kibitz—to offer unwanted advice, especially in a group or game situation

Yutz—a fool

Zaftig—pleasingly plump, buxom woman

Oy! or Oy vey!—exclamation of pain, grief or horror

Shemiel, Schmazel—idiot, jerk; one with consistent bad luck. The difference between a shlemiel and a shlimazl is described through the aphorism, "A shlemiel is somebody who often spills his soup; a shlimazl is the person the soup lands on."

Bubbe, bubbeh—grandmother

Chutpah—daring, audacity, both positive and negative connotations

P. S. Remember that our Can You Haiku? contest starts tomorrow, May 1! 

Can You Haiku? Announcing a new WNI writing contest

We've had so much fun with our first two writing contests, First Line and Short Story, that we're kicking off a new one. Poetry writers, this is your moment to shine! (And we encourage non-poets to have a go at it, too--who knows what latent poet within you is just waiting to come out?)

Japanese in origin,  a haiku is "a short poem that uses imagistic language to convey the essence of an experience of nature or the season intuitively linked to the human condition," according to hsa-haiku.org. The most common form of haiku is a poem of seventeen syllables: five in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third, like this:

An old silent pond...
A frog jumps into the pond,
splash! Silence again. (Basho Matsuo)

and this: 

Whitecaps on the bay:
A broken signboard banging
In the April wind. (Richard Wright)

Traditionally  haiku has a focus on nature and the seasons. For this contest, you are free to write on the topic of your choice, as long as you follow the three-line pattern of five syllables-seven syllables-five syllables. You may enter up to 3 haiku in the contest.

The "Can you Haiku?" contest opens on Tuesday, May 1, and entries will be accepted through June 15. Winners will be announced July 1. The first-place winner will receive $30 cash, and second- and third-place winners receive a prize as well. Check the complete rules and instructions here.

As always, this contest is FREE to enter. So fire up your keyboards and show us what you've got! Best of luck, everybody.

Writing Under the Influence . . . of a Favorite Author

I've been enjoying an old book titled Through Charley's Door, written by a mid-twentieth-century author named Emily Kimbrough. This out-of-print book is an amusing memoir of Kimbrough's fresh-faced career in the 1920s as a copywriter for Chicago's Marshall Field department store. I began reading the book for research for my own work-in-progress, but quickly found myself laughing out loud at some of her descriptions and her winsome way of phrasing things. As one example, book lovers will appreciate her description of the store's book buyer:

"To book salesmen, she was a combination of Simon Legree and Mary Pickford. The people in her own section adored her, respected her, and were scared to a pulp of her. She maintained her absolute sovereignty over publishers by the artful device of selling more of their books than any other retailer even approached. . . . If Mrs. Hahner liked a book she made it a bestseller. Carl Sandburg's The Prairie Years was published in 1926. It was a beautiful book, but it cost $10 [ed. a lot of money in 1926] and its author had not then a following comparable to Zane Grey's. Mrs. Hahner read an advance copy of The Prairie Years, clasped it passionately to her bosom, and placed an initial order for one thousand copies, to the hysterical astonishment of the publishers. . . . As quickly as the publishers had recovered their powers of articulation, the little orders were instantly stepped up proportionately to Marshall Field's, and Mr. Sandburg soared to the financial stratum sparsely populated by Zane Grey and a few other writing inhabitants."  (Through Charley's Door, pp. 191-192).

My point in this post is not so much to promote Emily Kimbrough (although I do recommend her books highly, and the pearls aren't bad either), but to tell you how I've adopted her as a sort of muse on my current WIP. At least on this project, I want to write like Emily Kimbrough! I start every writing session by read a chapter of Through Charley's Door to immerse myself in her voice. I don't slavishly copy her words or phrases (that would be plagiarism), nor am I trying to be a clone. I still want to maintain my own unique voice, but I try to absorb the spirit of her writing and apply it to my own. For example, when stuck for a description, I ask myself, "How would Emily describe this place or this person?" (Yes, we're on a first-name basis.) I try to see the world through her eyes. If someday someone reads my story and says to me, "You write just like Emily Kimbrough," I will consider that a high compliment.

Later on, I might be working on a different project that calls for a different tone, and I will have to choose a different muse to inspire me. But for now, even though Miss Kimbrough died in 1989, she is still "mentoring" me through her books.

Who is your muse? If someone were to say of your writing, "This piece sounds a lot like _________ wrote it," what name would you insert in the blank? Hemingway? Fitzgerald? J. K. Rowling? Consider beginning your writing sessions by reading a few pages of a favorite author's work, until you're steeped in his or her voice. Then write the piece that only you can write.

Is Pinterest of interest?

If you spend much time in the blogosphere, you've probably heard of Pinterest, the social network where people share images, ideas, and visual content collected on various "boards." It's sort of like pinning magazine photos, sketches, and clippings to a bulletin board, only in cyberspace.

 Confused yet? Okay, here's an example. Imagine you're getting ready to remodel your kitchen. You surf the Web to get ideas and inspiration. You start gathering photos: you like this wall color, that refrigerator, this drawer pull, that cabinet style. In the olden days, you might have paged through print magazines and clipped out images you liked and glued them into a paper notebook or dropped them into a folder. Now, with just a click of the mouse, Pinterest gives you a place where you can store all of these photos on a "board" that you have named something creative like "My Kitchen." Now not only is all of this visual input gathered in one convenient place for you to look at at your leisure, but others can see it too, and congratulate you on your excellent taste or add a comment (i.e., "That surface material is a bear to keep clean, and it scratches easily"). They can even "re-pin" the post to their own board to consider for their own kitchen remodel. And you can go around and look at their kitchen pages and steal borrow their ideas.

So how does Pinterest apply to writers? I use Pinterest to help me add historical details and local color to my story. (You can view my boards here.) I'm writing a novel set in the 1920s (have I mentioned that a hundred thousand times yet?). So I've created a board called "1920s and All That Jazz" to inspire me: fashions, cars, hairstyles, celebrities, books, movies. Since my story is set in Chicago, I've also set up a "Sweet Home Chicago" page of historical images of the city. My heroine works at the late, great Marshall Field & Co. department store, so I have a "Marshall Field & Co." page. If I need to describe how a character is dressed, I refer to my 1920s board for inspiration. If I need to describe a certain intersection or building, I refer to my "Chicago" page. If I'm wondering what was new and noteworthy at Field's in 1926, I refer to that page. Meanwhile, other Pinterest users who are interested in these topics can view my board, and I can peek at theirs. It's a form of visual collaboration.

Although I'm using Pinterest for fiction, I imagine it would be similarly useful for nonfiction writers as a place to store research and ideas by topic. But a warning to the distraction-prone: Like most online applications, Pinterest can be lots of fun, but it can also be a major time drain if you find yourself wandering around looking at pretty pictures all day. It's not for everyone, but for those of us who need a little extra help with the "visuals" of our story, it might be worth a try.

Pinterest works by invitation, and sometimes there's a wait to get on it. I'm not sure why that is. But if you're not on Pinterest and you would like to be, let me know in the comments and I will send you an invite. And if you are already on it, I'd be interested to know if you've used it at all in your writing process.