January 25, 2005
A WriterOnLine Publication

My dear readers,

Our focus for this issue is on screenwriting, and resident expert Christina Hamlett guides us from screenwriting dream to reality in her article, "The Year of the Screenplay."

Speaking of dreams and reality, you still have a chance to have your dream come true in publishing your novel with our Unpublished Novel Contest! But our contest deadline is February 17th, so time is running out.

Our puzzle this issue celebrates the world of cinema. Try your hand at our Star Laden Anagram; figure out the movie titles, and win the really great writer's software: DreamPak!

I don't know about you, but when it comes to marketing myself, I'd rather go out when it's 2 degrees and shovel 2 feet of snow (like there was in my driveway this morning). Peter Bowerman debunks the horrors of this marketing thing in his article, "Muzzling the Menacing "Marketing" Monster: Taming Your Marketing Fears and Build Your Business."

The world's greatest accountant, Eve Munsky, CPA, is back in this issue with her "Left Brain Matters: Telling the Tax Story." Talk about spreading a soothing balm; just like the "m" (marketing) word makes me freak, the "t" (tax) word sends me into pure and complete panic, but Eve is always there for me with her wisdom and calm! Now she's there for you too!

When we think "communication," most of us think "talking." But the most important communication skill of them all is listening. Read how critical this is in your career endeavors in Regina Allen's "You Have To Listen To Network."

Need subject inspiration for your writing? How about looking to the body! Terrie Relf has some wonderful ideas in her piece, "Looking for Some Ideas? Why Not Write About the Body?"

So what exactly are your motives for writing? A reader helps Stephanie Olsen validate just that in her article, "The Importance of Saying Thanks."

Pam Beers brings the Curmudgeon to bear in "The Curmudgeon Speaks: Be Careful What You Say When Alone in a Field 'Cause the Corn Has Ears." And Pam also brings us another round of industry News!

One last thing before I take my leave. We are bursting with excitement because on February 1, we will be launching the brand new Writer Online site! We can't wait to show it to you and get your comments and feedback.

Well then, until next issue, keep that ink flowing and those keyboards a'clacking!

My warm regards,

Mary Anne Donovan

Contests

GET YOUR NOVEL PUBLISHED!!!

To celebrate the New Year and the opening of Writer Online’s new e-publishing house, MY-E-BOOK is sponsoring an Unpublished Novel Contest. An unprecedented opportunity, submit your novel(s) to Writer Online and the winner will receive publication at MY-E-BOOK, which includes an impressive e-publishing package... More

Puzzle

STAR LADEN ANAGRAMS PUZZLE

See if you can recognize your favorite movies in this puzzle to celebrate screenwriting! More

Columns and Articles

The Year of the Screenplay

ByChristina Hamlett

Movies. No matter their theme, budget, or cast, they all start out in pretty much the same way. They start out with dreamers—just like you—sitting in darkened theaters around the world and imagining what it would be like to see their names scrolling up the credits after the words, “Screenplay Written By…”... More

Muzzling the Menacing "Marketing" Monster:
Tame Your Marketing Fears and Build Your Business

ByPeter Bowerman

Whenever I give talks to “creative” types, I love watching the reaction when I initiate the “marketing” discussion. Dozens of sets of eyes all calculating the distance between their seats and the door. Brows furrow. Throats gulp. Teeth practically chatter.... More

Left Brain Matters: Telling the Tax Story

ByEve Munsky

When I contemplated the topic “new beginnings,” I thought perhaps writers are some of the few people who can actually talk about them without being redundant. A writer can start a story knowing where the characters are going to wind up, determine the conflicts they will go through but rework the beginning for a better lead in. Sometimes I look at taxes similarly.... More

You Have To Listen To Network

ByRegina Allen

Effective networking involves more than just approaching an editor or agent to pitch your manuscript, it involves listening. It doesn’t hurt to brush up on good communication skills, so increasingly rare in today’s fast-paced world... More

Looking for Some Ideas?
Why not write about the body?

ByTerrie Leigh Relf

Our bodies, thus our lives, are a rich terrain of natural resources, a sculptural expanse of wondrous contours, textures, sights, sounds, scents, and sensations. What better place to begin writing than with our own bodies--and I’m not just talking about using your fingers and hands!.... More

The Importance of Saying Thanks

ByStephanie Olsen

Is it because you have to? I mean, it's part of who you are and if you don't write, you actually suffer an identity crisis?... More

The Curmudgeon Speaks: Be Careful What You Say When Alone In a Field ‘Cause the Corn Has Ears

ByPamela Beers

If you are looking for a sophisticated, worldly article to read, this isn’t it. If, on the other hand, you are into reading something hokey and inane, this is the article for you. You know, the kind of prose that makes you wince and groan because of all the “corn.”.... More

ByPamela Beers

First Novel: A 35-Year Literary Odyssey

After a 35-year odyssey which included writing 44 plays, nine novels, and assorted poems, last September 2004 Ron McLarty finally got published at age 56... More

Final Column for William Safire

At age 74, Bill Safire, op-ed columnist for the New York Times will publish his final column on January 24, 2005. No one has been chosen to succeed him as op-ed columnist... More

Hottest Young Screenwriter: Stuart Beattie

On his way home from the airport to his home in Sydney, Stuart Beattie had a homicidal thought while sitting in the backseat of the taxi... More

Spiderman vs. Marvel: Check Those Contracts

Marvel Enterprises Inc. has been ordered by a federal court judge to pay Stan Lee, creator of the Spiderman adventure strip, 10% of Marvel’s profits from the highly successful Spiderman movies... More

Lost Revenue: Newspapers vs. Craigslist

According to a recent report from Classified Intelligence LLC, Craigslist, a free community website that is one-quarter owned by E-bay Inc., has cost newspapers in the San Francisco Bay area $50 million to $65 million in employment revenue... More

Marriage: Sterling Publishing Company and DIY Network

Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. and DIY Network have partnered to create and publish books using the DIY trademark... More