Windshift for Writers & Windshift Press

March

'Thinking outside the box' is a phrase we have come to apply to many aspects of our life. Thinking outside the box in writing might mean looking outside the genre, you write in, the markets you submit to and the goals you have set for yourself. With this newsletter, I will try to offer you some opportunities to look beyond the markets you might normally try.

Writing Tip: - Take your best article, short story, novel or non-fiction book and look carefully at how you might market the piece of writing differently. For an article try a different slant on the material and re-sell it to a different market. For a short story, change the ending. Like movie producers today, try several different 'what if' endings. Look at your novel and find a short story length piece and change it enough so that it stands alone as a story. Take a chapter from your non-fiction book and sell it to magazines and journals in that particular field. Writers sometimes forget that they need to be marketers in today's world.

Markets:

Robert J Sawyer Books a new imprint from Red Deer Press is seeking science fiction manuscripts. Full submission details will shortly be available from Robert J Sawyer Books, MacKimmie Library Tower, Room 813, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary AB, T2N 1N4, Canada; http://www.reddeerpress.com

Wascana Review of Contemporary Poetry and Fiction publishes short fiction and poetry. Contact: Michael Trussler, Editor, Dept of English, University of Saskatchewan, Regina, Saskatchewan, S4S 0A2 Canada; Guidelines: http://www.uregina.ca/english/wrhome.htm

subTerrain Magazine seeks fiction and entries for the annual poetry competition. Contact: subTerrain Magazine, P O Box 3008, MPO, Vancouver BC, V6B 3X5, Canada; Website: http://www.subterrain.ca/subterrain/main.htm

Fish Publishing has launched its very, short story contest. There will be six prizes of £250.00 for stories of 250 words or less. Deadline: March 16,2004. Enter on-line at http://www.fishpublishing.com or send to Fish Publishing, Durrus, Bantry, Co. Cork, Ireland.

Women's Poetry competition seeks entries for their forthcoming competition. Prizes of £1000, £500 and £250 will be awarded. Deadline: May 31,2004; Contact Mslexia, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE99 1BR, UK; Guidelines: http://www.mslexia.co.uk

Antigonish Review 4th Annual Great Blue Heron Poetry Contest is seeking submissions. Deadline: June 30, 2004; Guidelines: http://www.antigonishreview.com/contest.html

Blue Lake Books is a new literary press based in Vancouver BC, Canada seeking submissions; also children's books under their imprint Hodgepog Books; Contact: http://www.bluelakebooks.com/

Blackstaff Press is seeking good new writing and will accept unagented work. Guidelines: http://www.blackstaffpress.com/about_us4.asp

Crescent Moon Publishing offers a myriad of opportunities for writers to submit work including unagented work; Guidelines: http://www.crescentmoon.org.uk/cresmoguide#Publishing%20guidelines

Cue Time - Every month we include a couple of writing ideas to help you kick start your writing sessions.

1. Look at several different samples of your writing. Can you see any patterns in the way your characters react to decision-making situations? Perhaps they are merely reflecting your personal views and aren't really 'in character'. Go back through your writing and make appropriate changes. Re-submit the pieces of writing and see what happens.

2. Spring is just around the corner. Emerge from your cocoon and take yourself out for a writing date. Find a suitable coffee shop, park bench or baseball bleachers and write your observations in a notebook. Don't analyze the writing, just write.

Industry News: Known as 'Project Ocean', Google is working with next-door neighbor Stanford University libraries to digitize all public domain works in their collection, said to number millions of volumes. This means the project will also number in the tens of millions of dollars. No doubt, they plan to publish these works in their Google Print programme.

The answers offered in this column are the personal opinions of the staff at Windshift for Writers. They are in no way meant to take the place of the professional advice you may need to seek for your specific query.

Questions and Answers

Q. In school I was taught never to start a sentence with 'And' or 'But'. Is this still true today? - Andrea M. -

A. No. Writing today is much more informal and fast paced. We have become more attuned to the pace of writing than to the absolute grammatical correctness of it.

Q. What is a cliché? - George P.

A. It is a phrase or expression that has been used so often that it has lost all of its freshness. An example would be: "She has a heart of gold." In order to raise your writing to greatness you want to avoid the use of clichés.

Win a FREE place at one of our Workshops - Writers who wish to host a workshop can do so by inviting interested friends and acquaintances to a venue (It could be your dining-room table.) and providing the coffee. If you host a workshop, your participation is free. Check the Workshops page for further details.

Home News: The next few months offer a plethora of opportunities and events for writers in BC especially those living on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.

1] Words On Water - Campbell River, BC - March 26 - 28 - Maritime Heritage Hall
Festival Info: (250) 286-1378; http://www.wordsonthewater.ca Check out the wide range of opportunities and events for writers.

2] Island Writes - A Literary Destination With An Island View - April 16 - 17 - Nanaimo, BC - a Federation of BC Writers event - Plan to attend the Friday night coffee house, Saturday workshops and Federation AGM, Saturday night dinner and address by Giller Prize short-listed author John Gould. Also available, Blue Pencil appointments and a workshop for young adults. For more information and to register contact: http://www.bcwriters.com or Margaret Thompson at magpye@shaw.ca

Congratulations to subscriber Kathy Wilson on the publication of her inspirational Christian poetry book, Sunrise to Sunset. Priced at $6.00 [incl. postage] To reserve your copy call Kathy at 250 752 1023.