The Bethlehem Writers Round Table 2019 Short Story Award
March 4, 2019 by Bethlehem Writers Group in category Writing Contest tagged as Bethlehem Writers Group, Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Award, The BWG, Writing contest
The 2019 Short Story Award will open on January 1, 2019
Our theme will be Animal Stories, broadly interpreted.
Stories of 2,000 words or fewer about WILD ANIMALS,PETS, or IMAGINARY BEASTS will be welcome (so long as an animal is an important character or element of the story).
The winner will receive $200 and may be offered publication in our upcoming anthology.
For more information or to enter follow this link.
A few writing promts to help you come up with a winning story.
Romancing the Research by Christopher D. Ochs
February 13, 2019 by Bethlehem Writers Group in category From a Cabin in the Woods by Members of Bethlehem Writers Group tagged as Bethethem Writers Group, Christopher D. Ochs, Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group, Research for Writers
Christopher D. Ochs is this month featured author. Christopher D. Ochs‘ foray into writing began with his epic fantasy Pindlebryth of Lenland: The Five Artifacts, recommended by US Review of Books. Several of his short stories have been published in the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group and Bethlehem Writers Group anthologies and websites. His latest work is a collection of mirthful macabre short stories, If I Can’t Sleep, You Can’t Sleep.
His current literary projects include: short stories in Firebringer Press’ next entry in their Eternity anthology series, an e-book prequel novella for Pindlebryth of Lenland, a YA speculative fiction novel My Friend Jackson, and of course, the second novel of the Pindlebryth saga.
Chris has too many interests outside of writing for his own good. With previous careers in physics, mathematics, electrical engineering and software, and his incessant dabblings as a CGI animator, classical organist, voice talent on radio, DVD and anime conventions, it’s a wonder he can remember to pay the dog and feed his bills. Wait, what?
Romancing the Research
The Joy of Research – “Research?” The very word sends some people diving for the nearest foxhole, or leaves them with an expression akin to that of having swallowed castor oil.
Not me – I’ve always enjoyed learning new topics. It’s even better as an author, because my research is focused on that which I’m already interested. (An unfortunate side-effect is that my mind is filled with decades of clutter and trivia that cries for attention at inopportune moments!)
Method – For better or worse, here’s my approach to the task of research.
I begin my journey with that miasma of questionable reliability – the internet. Its convenience outweighs its pitfalls, so long as one uses it solely to gain general knowledge and build a list of potential authoritative sources. My usual go-to stepping-stones are Wikipedia followed by Google. At the risk of repeating myself, I only use them to suss out general information and pointers to refine the scope of my search.
My second level involves confirming any suspect information against a trustworthy online encyclopedia (e.g. Britannica) or reliable fact-checking sites (e.g. Snopes, Factcheck, Politifact, etc.)
Once I have a clear vision of topics on which to focus, I head to the library. Yes, Dear Reader, in this electronic world, there is still no substitute for paper. That’s just the Facts of Life. Not everything is available on-line, and that often includes the book you need.
Examples – Over the past two years, I’ve published nineteen short stories in various venues. While most were “speculative fiction,” they nonetheless covered a broad range of topics, characters and backgrounds, locales and eras. As an author, I have a responsibility to inject a reasonable level of verisimilitude into my Tales of the Weird – otherwise the story fails miserably. When said story leads me into an area where I have little experience, I hit the books – with relish!
Allow me to relay two recent experiences that demonstrate my own “joy of research.”
While searching for a description of the environment of a tuberculosis sanitorium, I selected Betty MacDonald’s memoir “The Plague and I.” To get the lowdown on girl bullying, a librarian friend recommended “Queen Bees and Wannabes” by Rosalind Wiseman.
In both instances, deadlines and other pressures force me to approach the research in a rush. My original intention was to hastily skim one or two chapters and glean the absolute minimum for a believable story. However, in both instances I ended up devouring the books cover to cover. The narrative of MacDonald’s battle with tuberculosis was so compelling, and the content of Wiseman’s research into the dynamics and psychology of teenage girl bullies was so captivating, that I couldn’t put either of the books down.
I believe my stories were the better for it – if I had hurried through the work, I would have missed much of the minutiae needed to flesh out my own characters, and imbue them with realistic motivations and reactions.
Caution – With all that being said, writers should not use research as an excuse to avoid writing.
During my time in the world of engineering, I often encountered the phrase “the paralysis of analysis.” The same is true in the writing world. An author must resist the temptation to dive down the endless rabbit hole of related topics and “what-if’s.” Otherwise, the writing is never started.
Do your initial block of research, enough to get the draft done. Then polish the draft with refined research, tracking down only those “what-if’s” that the story and characters dictate.
Now get thee to a library!
Books by Christopher D. Ochs
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The 2019 Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Award
February 7, 2019 by Bethlehem Writers Group in category Contests, Writing Contest tagged as Animal Stories, Bethlehem Writers Group, Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Award, The BWG, Writing Prompts
The 2019 Short Story Award Is Now Accepting Entries
The theme is Animal Stories, broadly interpreted.
Stories of 2,000 words or fewer about
WILD ANIMALS, PETS, or IMAGINARY BEASTS
are welcome
(so long as an animal is an important
character or element of the story)
The winner will receive $200
and may be offered publication in BWG’s upcoming anthology,
Fur, Feathers & Scales
Sweet, Funny, and Strange Animal Tales.
For more information or to enter the contest go to The 2019 Short Story Award.
Just in case you need some ideas, here are a few writing prompts.
Short Story Contest
January 29, 2019 by Bethlehem Writers Group in category Contests, Writing Contest tagged as 2019 Short Story Award, Animal Tales, Bethlehem Writers Group, Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Award, BWGThe 2019 Short Story Award opened on January 1, 2019
The theme is Animal Stories,
broadly interpreted.
Stories of 2,000 words or fewer
about
WILD ANIMALS, PETS, or IMAGINARY BEASTS
are welcome
(so long as an animal is an important
character or element of the story)
The winner will receive $200
and may be offered publication in BWG’s upcoming anthology,
Fur, Feathers & Scales
Sweet, Funny, and Strange Animal Tales.
The 2019 Guest Judge: Best-Selling Author John Grogan
John Grogan is an American journalist and author. As the former, he has written for the South Florida Sun Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, serving as metropolitan columnist. In 1999, he moved to Pennsylvania to take the role of managing editor of Organic Gardening magazine at Rodale Publishing. He joined The Philadelphia Inquirer as a columnist in 2002.
When, in 2003, his dog, Marley, died at age thirteen, Grogan wrote a column in the Inquirer honoring him, and received overwhelming reader response. Grogan realized that he had more to say about the “World’s Worst Dog,” and “owed it to Marley to tell the rest of the story.” Released in 2005, his book Marley & Me was an international bestseller, selling millions of copies worldwide and spending twenty-three weeks in the top spot of the New York Times bestseller list. The book was adapted into a popular film starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston. Grogan wrote several spin-off children’s books, including Bad Dog, Marley, A Very Marley Christmas, and Marley Goes to School.
In addition, in 2008 Grogan published a coming-of-age memoir, The Longest Trip Home, revolving around the theme of “powerful love of family.”He is an adjunct professor in the Department of Journalism and Communication at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
For more information or to enter the contest go to The 2019 Short Story Award.
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Resolutions for Writers
January 13, 2019 by Bethlehem Writers Group in category From a Cabin in the Woods by Members of Bethlehem Writers Group
From a Cabin in the Woods is please to have Jodi Bogert as guest author this month.
Jodi Bogert is a member of the Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC. In 2016, she graduated from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Professional Writing and blogs original content and freelances. Her future goals for her career include with publishing more short stories and a debut novel.
Resolutions for Writers
Jodi Bogert
The beginning of the New Year means setting goals. These goals can be taking either a new direction in life or working on something that people always aspired to finish. For writers, resolutions typically revolve around starting the first draft of that big novel they dreamed of publishing.
More often than not, this resolution is a recycled goal from the previous January and the one before that. The reasons writers never get around to the first draft can vary. There is too much to do and few hours in the day or the writer’s heart was not in it. However, if the story idea is enough to create a book, and the writer has the drive, anything is possible. Following a few steps, the writer will find it easier to carry out the project.
Step 1: Plan out everything
A writer will spend a lot of time thinking about a good idea. So many thoughts go through one’s mind it’s easy to lose track and become overwhelmed. The best way to begin a new novel is to create a basic outline. Writing every plot point, character trait, and other details can help organize thoughts and provide a visual aid. A writer can also use this outline as a tool throughout the process. They can look at it again and decide which parts of the story needs to be added or eliminated.
Step 2: Break it into chunks
When writing the first draft, too many writers work for hours on end, never giving themselves and the project a chance to rest. Frustration and stress quickly build up, and the writer will find it easier to quit. Gradually writing the first draft is the smarter way to go forward. Setting up a daily quota of pages or words to will develop the project at a steady pace. The writer will learn to take things slowly, going back to make sure everything in the story reflects absolute perfection, or as perfect as a first draft can be.
Step 3: Asking for help
One big mistake that writers make is not getting other people involved. A writer cannot do it all alone. At this point, they are the only one who has spent time on the project, from conceptualizing the idea to writing out the first few chapters. Using other people’s eyes is essential because they are unfamiliar with the story and more likely to find mistakes and pick out plot lines or characters that are not working out. The writer should always listen to their inner voice, but the opinion of the audience can help take the project where it needs to go.
Step 4: Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite!
When the first draft is finally taken out of the writer’s mind and put down on paper, the process is still far from over. Completing a novel takes an immense amount of time and effort. Putting away the first draft for a time is what the writer needs to do, giving the writer time to think about what they want to change in the next draft. Looking at a first draft with fresh eyes also brings numeral mistakes forward that the writer might have overlooked.
Jodi Bogert’s “Old Man Omar” is among the twenty-seven stories in Untethered: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Tales of the Paranormal.
Her story shows us that sometimes those we consider crazy might just know some things we don’t.
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