                                  T H E

                               Z E P H Y R

                      __     M A G A Z I N E
                     {__]++++++++++++++++++++++++++[]
                     Issue #27                9-17-86

                A weekly electronic magazine for users of
                            THE ZEPHYR II BBS
                        (Mesa, AZ - 602-894-6526)
                    owned and operated by T. H. Smith

                        Editor - Gene B. Williams

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                                (c) 1986

    THIS ISSUE:

       I've had a half-dozen people ask me about being a contributor
    to the magazine. For these people in particular, and also to
    encourage others of you to give it a try, I'm going back again to
    my second favorite topic - writing! - with an emphasis on writing
    for Zephyr Magazine.

                           WRITING FOR ZEPHYR

       Writing and submitting to The Zephyr Magazine is a little
    different than doing the same for a "legitimate" publication.
    It's also different than writing something for school.
       At the same time, writing is writing - even if it's a letter
    home asking for more money. It also makes little difference
    whether the piece is fiction or nonfiction. The same principles
    always apply.

                                The Idea

       The first step is to come up with a viable idea. Can't find
    one? That's a simple problem to cure. Do what I did for the
    last issue. Close your eyes, point at random, then open your
    eyes. Whatever is in front of your finger is the topic.
       Now let your mind and imagination run loose for a while.
    You'll come up a steady string of ideas. The end result may
    have nothing at all to do with where you started. By free
    association you could end up literally anywhere.
       I was talking about just this sort of thing with another of
    our users, Ben Avechuco (of "Chuco Dog" fame). A friend of his
    had ended up pointing to a water color painting on the wall.
       That obviously brings up painting, which leads to artists,
    which takes you back in history with famous artists, which
    could be someone like DaVinci (hope I spelled that right), who
    came up with some miraculous inventions, . . . .
       Or you could start with something in the painting - the
    trees are plants, and so are carrots, which are good for your
    eyes (not really, but it's a standard cliche), which takes us
    into cliches and old wive's tales, which could lead into
    witchcraft . . . .
       Those were two examples of free association. When talking
    to Ben, the string of possible topics finally ended up on
    skiing. Your own personal string would end up somewhere completely
    different. (For that matter, if I did it again right now it
    would come out different - and who knows where it would lead
    if I let it go on for 15 or 20 minutes? Or tried to control the
    direction?)
       You can also put on whatever limits you wish. Last week's
    story had placed upon it the limitations that it would be a
    science fiction short story, with no editing, and with an outside
    time limit of 1 1/2 hours. Consequently, I had no more idea
    what would happen in the story than you did as the reader. (That's
    what made it so much fun for me.)
       Perhaps you have to come up with a theme or essay for a class.
    The teacher doesn't care what it's about really, as long as the
    piece is nonfiction (true) and has something to do with, say,
    history.
       The same technique can work. You simply free associate with
    history in mind. Or just keep going until something historical
    sneaks in.
       There are few limitations here. Your contribution can be
    fiction or nonfiction. It can be about nearly anything at all.
    Want to do one on dating? Fine. Would you prefer to do a
    fantasy about witches and warlocks? That's okay, too. Bob Eastman
    did one on economic planning, and another on correspondence
    schools. Chris Mitchell did one on radio broadcasting. Jim
    Lippard did one on nuclear power. So topic matter or approach
    doesn't much matter. Your "assignment" would simply be, "write
    something that would interest the other users."

                           Developing the Idea

       Now you have an idea - or perhaps the assignment was more
    specific, which in turn dictates what the idea will be. Your
    next step in either case will be to develop that idea into
    something that will either sell to a magazine, or get you an
    A in class (which is a form paycheck).
       Again certain limitations might apply. How long will the
    piece be? How will it be used? How formal does it have to be?
    I'll use The Zephyr Magazine as the example.
       The length limitation is to bring in the piece at about
    300 lines of text. If it goes over or under by a little, that's
    okay - but a 50 line story, or a 500 line one, would be too
    short and too long, respectively. Anything between about 200 and
    400 would be hunky dorey.
       With those limitations in mind you would set about planning
    your idea. In a formal class the teacher might run this as an
    outline step. Personally, I outline everything I do (with the
    exception of last week's story) - but all outlining takes place
    in my head. It's rare for me to physically write an outline, and
    even when I do my "outline" is nothing more than some jotted
    notes.
       Other professional writers I know prefer - almost require -
    a very formal outline.
       You have to decide which is best for you. For most people
    who aren't used to writing, some kind of written outline is
    preferable, even if it's only a collection of notes to yourself.
    Without it you tend to stray and even get lost.
       Your plan of attack can be divided into the three basic parts
    of any piece of writing. It has to have a beginning, a middle
    and an end. The beginning introduces the subject (or introduces
    the character(s) and surroundings). The middle develops the
    subject and fills it out. This is the body of the piece. The
    ending wraps it all up.
       Within each section you can (and probably will) further divide
    the subject. The beginning and ending won't need many divisions.
    In fact, having divisions in these two parts will usually only
    serve to confuse the matter.
       The middle will be the most divided, and will then be subdivided
    again and again. Who, what, where, when, how and why? That applies
    to both fiction and nonfiction. Either way, the middle is the
    "meat" of the piece. In fiction, the middle is where the action
    takes place, and where plot and character development occur. In
    nonfiction, the middle is where you present your information.
       Take last week's story. Slammed together as it was, it still
    had a beginning, middle and end. The beginning consisted basically
    of the line, "He hated bugs!" That introduced things. You know
    there is a person, and that something is going on through which
    he is having a definite pest problem.
       During the middle, that exact problem and conflict are
    developed, along with the setting of the strange planet. When
    I revise the story, that middle will also explain why the
    character is on the planet, and will further develop the
    situation.
       Who? The main character - in "Bugs!" he is a space explorer. No
    name is needed or wanted in this particular case.
       What, where, when, how and why? He's on a distant planet,
    exploring it to place a claim on it so he can sell it as real
    estate and get rich, via a revised form of the salvage laws.
    Obviously this takes place in the distant future.
       In fiction there must be some kind of conflict. This also
    occurs in the middle. In "Bugs!" the conflict was a simple battle
    to get back to his ship before the bugs or fish ate him alive,
    or he died of starvation and lack of sleep. It was introduced
    in the first line, and then developed through the story.
       In "Bugs!" the conflict was external and with nature. Another
    story might have two characters in conflict, or a character in
    conflict with himself (or herself). An example of this last would
    come about if the character had an internal conflict between the
    desire to be filthy rich and the knowledge that he would be
    ripping off - and possibly killing - any and all clients. Our
    "hero" in Bugs! had no such conflict - but this in turn not only
    develops the character one final step, and also sets up a conflict
    for the reader.
       The ending or conclusion wraps up everything. In nonfiction,
    quite often the main points are restated and summarized. In
    fiction, the basic conflict is brought to a final end.

                         Fiction vs. Nonfiction

       If you haven't already picked up on it, there is actually
    very little difference in the techniques of writing fiction
    versus writing nonfiction. In fact, think about which articles
    you've enjoyed reading the most. Chances are very good that
    those that were most enjoyable contained all the characteristics
    of a piece of fiction. There were people in there with fully
    developed personalities, doing something, and very possibly
    solving a problem of some sort. There may have been conflicts
    that had to be solved.
       Read a newspaper story. You'll find all the parts in there.
    Switch things around, exaggerate a bit, toss in some conflict
    here and there, and that news story could easily become a piece
    of fiction.
       If you're in school and writing for a grade, apply to that
    next nonfictional report the techniques of fiction. With all
    else being equal, your grade will almost certainly go up by at
    least one grade level. Even a "formal" report complete with
    footnotes can be changed from something bloody boring into
    fascinating reading by just tossing in fiction techniques.
       Say you have to do a report on Christopher Columbus. One way
    would be to turn the report into little more than a listing of
    his accomplishments and the dates. You'll get the who, what,
    when, where and maybe even the how. But you'll miss out on the
    why, which in turn will cause a lacking in all the rest.
       B-O-R-I-N-G ! ! !
       But take just his voyages to America. Why was he going?
    Simple. He wanted to be rich and famous. He wanted POWER! Trouble
    was, he was proceding on a false premise. He was also a con man,
    and not a very popular one. Certainly not a very intelligent one.
    Despite what every learned person was saying at the time, ol'
    Chris stuck to information that was hundreds of years old, and
    that had been disproved long before it was introduced. Christie-Boy
    was too lazy, and too ill-read to research it. Consequently he got
    his tiny little ships out onto the ocean and quite promptly got
    completely lost. His crews nearly mutineed - possibly with a popular
    topic of conversation in the smelly holds being something along
    the lines of, "Maybe we can go fishing using the Captain as bait."
       That's a bit more interesting. Develop it further and it can
    be wonderful. Do a bit of research on it and it can end up
    being hilarious. (Did you know that Columbus was thrown in
    prison after returning to Spain? The charge was "excessive
    cruelty to the natives." That in an age when slavery and
    torture were the norm. Or that he abandoned his brother in the
    New World - where that kind and magnificent part of the Columbus
    family was put to death, along with his entire crew, by the
    natives for being outrageously vicious?)
       All of a sudden a glorified list of dates and places becomes
    an adventure, complete with violence and blood and gore and
    enough stupidity that can be played for laughs or for pathos
    to satisfy the most cynical of us.
       Just because you're a fantasy fan and would prefer to write
    about sorcery doesn't mean that you can't write some decent
    nonfiction.
       Or vice versa.

                               Submitting

       Now the real differences come in. For a class submission of
    the finished product is automatic. You do it for a grade, at a
    specific time, and generally in a manner clearly stated by the
    teacher. Fail to follow that and your grade will likely go down,
    if you get a grade at all.
       Submitting to a "regular" magazine also has a specific manner
    of submission. Fail to follow that and you'll again lose your
    "grade" - this time in the form of a rejection slip, or the loss
    of the manuscript, and possibly of a market for your work.
       No matter where you submit, always always ALWAYS reread what
    you've written to be sure that it is as perfect as you can make
    it. In this business there is no such thing as "good enough." Be
    honest with yourself in this review. You probably won't get a
    second chance.
       Now find the publication(s) that would be interested. This
    is where SO many new writers ruin themselves. When I was editing
    for various magazines, we'd get in some very strange submissions.
    For KARATE/KUNG-FU we got in a piece on gardening. For TRAVELIN'
    VANS (custom automotives) we got in an article, complete with
    photos, about making love.
       Be absolutely certain that your manuscript is suitable for the
    magazine. There are numerous marketing guides out, such as the
    yearly WRITERS' MARKET and several monthly magazines.
       Once you've found the right market, the manuscript gets mailed
    in - first class preferred - with a self-addressed stamped
    envelope or proper packaging and postage for return.
       An incredible number of writers and photographers screw them-
    selves up completely on this step.
       First, the manuscript must be typed. Very few of the better
    markets think highly of dot matrix. ALL will except letter
    quality printouts. Clean white paper only with loose sheets (don't
    put the manuscript in a folder and don't staple them), and black
    ink only. Don't get fancy!
       The typing must be double spaced, with margins of roughly
    an inch all around, and with extra space at the top of the first
    page (where you put your name, return address, phone number,
    title, etc.).
       That return packaging and postage is essential! To you it's
    just one manuscript and a cost of maybe 50c. To a magazine that
    get's 1000 such submissions, all of a sudden it becomes $500.
       And don't just send money for the return. If YOU can't bother
    to go to the post office to handle the job correctly, how can
    you expect them to do it (again, times 1000 submissions)?
       To give an example, say the editor has ten manuscripts on his
    desk. One is from a writer he already knows and trusts from past
    work with the writer. That will go into the "Read Immediately"
    pile. One is from a writer whose name he recognizes from other
    publications. That goes into the "Worth a Try" pile. Three more
    come in written by people he doesn't know, but the submissions
    look highly professional. Those go into the same "Worth a Try"
    pile right along with the known writer. Of the remaining five,
    two have nothing to do with his magazine, and the last three
    haven't bothered to cleanly type the submissions or to enclose
    the return packaging and postage. One even came postage due!
       Of that ten, he can accept three manuscripts. Which will he
    take? And which will he toss into the trash basket?
       The whole object is to be as professional as you can. Keep in
    mind that you're in direct competition with people like me. If
    your shoddy, poorly packaged, etc. submission hits the editor
    at the same time as something from that of an established pro,
    what chance will you have?

       For Zephyr Magazine submission is less formal but the method
    is just as important.
       The first step there is to contact me with the idea you have
    in mind - probably via mail on the board. I'll help you along
    and answer any questions you might have, whether it be for The
    Zephyr Magazine or your own relative career as a writer or
    photographer.
       Write using single spacing, and use straight ASCII. The length
    should be roughly 250-350 lines. Now go back through it and polish
    it up. If it's not the best you can do, and if you're not willing
    to spend some time and effort on getting the piece into shape,
    why should I? (If it's going to take me three hours to straighten
    up your submission, and one hour to write my own issue . . . .)
       Once you have something appropriate, and of the right
    approximate length, arrangements have to be made to get it
    transferred between your computer and mine.
       The easiest way is for you to upload the submission into the
    TEXT section. Obviously, you'll have to leave me mail to tell me
    that it's there.
       Then I go through your contribution, and edit it as needed.
    Hopefully that won't be much. (With Bob Eastman's for example,
    about all I did was a bit of typo correction.) If need be,
    I'll make some comments and transfer it back over to you for
    more major rewriting.
       Do NOT post direct to the board. No offense, but I'll scrap
    the sucker, simply to keep things under control.
       You should know up front that there is the possibility that
    something will be turned down. I don't mean to be insulting,
    but if what you try to contribute is pure garbage, I can't in
    good faith post it as a magazine issue. And if I have to edit it
    extensively, the end result is no longer your own, which isn't
    fair to anyone.
       You should also know up front that any and all decisions as
    to whether to post or not are strictly and 100% my own. Thane
    has nothing to do with it. So, if what you think is a master-
    piece gets turned down, blame me only. (Hopefully you'll also
    keep in mind that this is what I do for a living, and I like
    to *think* anyway that I know what I'm doing.)

    Until Next Time

       That should answer quite a few of your questions. If you have
    others, ask away. (But PLEASE thoroughly read this issue first.
    Chances are pretty good that I've answered that question, and it
    gets boring as hell to keep answering questions I've already
    answered. If you've just scanned the issue, especially at 1200
    baud, you've probably missed a few things. Download it, print it
    out, and keep for reference.)
       One of our users, John Arbon, brought up something I've never
    revealed before - mostly because I don't do it often. Although I
    am strictly a writer/photographer by profession, on rare occasions
    I will serve as a consultant and/or editor. The charge for that
    service is $35 per hour. (I'm about to raise it, for various
    reasons.)
       For submissions to the magazine, the charge is $00.00 - a
    pretty good reason for giving it a try, huh? Questions about the
    profession are also answered free over the board. (Besides, I
    really don't care to give personal consultations if I can avoid
    it. I lose money every time I do.)

       Good luck!

Zephyr Magazine is © Gene Williams. All rights reserved.