The Truth About Flying Saucers

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director, Southern Writers Magazine

This ad, taken from a 1950's magazine, caught my eye this week. Actually, not the one about flying saucers, although that's a curiosity in itself. A mere $2 sounds like a bargain to actually learn the truth about UFOs. But apparently no one ever sent their $2 in, because we still don't know.

Below that, however, is an ad which a lot of folks did respond to. Don't strain your eyes; here's what it says:

WHY DON'T YOU WRITE?

Writing short stories, articles on business, current events, hobbies, human interest stories, travel, sports, local, church and club activities, etc., will enable you to earn extra money. In your own home, on your own time, the New York Copy Desk Method teaches you how to write the way newspaper men learn — by writing. Our unique "Writing Aptitude Test" tells whether you possess the fundamental qualities essential to successful writing. You'll enjoy this test. Write for it, without cost or obligation.

 
If you were the Newspaper Institute of America, and your job was to assess the aptitude of would-be writers, what would you look for?  Grammatical errors, poor punctuation, and the general inability to craft a decent sentence might certainly eliminate some candidates (unless, of course, you're trying to sell them your correspondence course in writing).  Beyond the obvious, however, how would you determine that someone has the potential to be a great writer?

We might do well do read our own writing through the eyes of an objective assessor, looking for the very traits that say, "This writer has what it takes."

One organization who knows a great author when they see one is The Georgia Writers Association, which recognizes outstanding writing in their annual awards ceremony.  This past weekend, the Georgia Author of the Year Award for First Novel went to Kimberly Brock for The River Witch. We're prouder than ever that Kimberly graced the July 2012 issue of Southern Writers, and can also be heard on the current Southern Writers Radio Show, via this link. Congratulations, Kimberly!

Reviewing the list of past GAYA winners, we find additional familiar names, including Joshilyn Jackson, Pamela Bauer Mueller, and Ann Hite, who appears in our upcoming July issue. We like to think we know how to pick 'em too.

All of these fine authors recognized at some point that they had an aptitude for writing.  More importantly, they took that potential and saw it through to the finish line, and beyond.  Whatever stage we happen to be at in our writing career, there's the next highest level waiting to be achieved, whether it's the next chapter, or the next awards ceremony.

As 21st century writers, we have more opportunity for success than any generation of writers before us.  When we recognize our potential, the sky's the limit.  The truth is, we may not believe in flying saucers, but we can always believe in ourselves.

Failure to Communicate

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director, Southern Writers Magazine

While having lunch with a friend recently, we noticed that our waitress seemed to be experiencing some stress.  She was having issues with the kitchen, and we overheard her on her cellphone arguing with someone. 

Since only a few minutes earlier she had been friendly and chatty with us, we felt a certain compassion for her.  When she returned to our table acting very distracted, my companion thoughtfully suggested she relax for a moment and catch her breath, because she seemed a bit flustered.

"I'm a bit what?" she asked.

"Flustered."

"What does that mean?"

I wanted to say "nonplussed", but that wouldn't have been the moment.  We had to think of a layman's definition, and came up with something like, "You know...troubled, upset, confused."

"Okay," she said, leaving the table numbly and only returning later to bring us the bill.  We still don't know if she was offended by our observation, or simply further nonplussed.

It got me thinking about how we writers—with our enviable command of the English language—can easily forget who we're talking to. This is, of course, generally forgivable in everyday conversation, but when writing, it's essential never to talk down to our audience.  Children's authors aren't the only ones who'll tell you how important it is to reign in too-fancy vocabulary.

We keep hearing that writing at no higher than an 8th grade level will be appropriate for most audiences.  How we're supposed to remember—and avoid—which words we've learned since grade school, I have no idea, but to be safe I find myself watching more episodes of Are You Smarter Than a Fifth-Grader?

A higher level of communication is one of many reasons we love talking to other writers.  Not only are authors a fun bunch, but talking about writing is always interesting, and we learn so much from each other.  You'll find this to be especially true this weekend when we debut the next edition of our Southern Writers Radio Show webcast.

The new show will feature intriguing in-depth conversation with some of your favorites, and some who will become your favorites: Tamera Alexander, C. Hope Clark, Kimberly Brock, Lindi Peterson, and Erika Robuck, along with Kimberly Rae, who joins us for a riveting round of our writers' game WordPlay.  It's a diverse group of wordsmiths who have fascinating insights to share about the writing craft.  You won't want to miss it!  Look for the link this weekend in the right-hand column here at Suite T, as well as on our main website, www.southernwritersmagazine.com  (Update: Click here to listen to the new show).

In the meantime, you can still hear the current edition, featuring Sandra Balzo, Pamela King Cable, Kala Ambrose, Rhonda Rhea, Terry Whalin, Edie Melson and Danny Iny right now, by visiting this direct link to Southern Writers Radio Show: http://swonline.homestead.com/radioshowfall2012.html
It's free, it's online, and it's just for us writers. It's especially good if you're feeling flustered.