The Wager and Other Stories
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- Written by: Greg Sushinsky
“The Wager” is a simple story of a seemingly innocuous wager, which triggers the clash between a decorated starflyer and his planet’s powerful ruler, that leads to startling events which will have dire consequences across the galaxy.
Thus begins the saga of Jospar, the Starflyer, and Kasceto, the Ruler. Jospar is a starflyer, a space explorer of the first order. He is a discoverer of new worlds, but one world in particular intrigues him more than others. When Jospar's superior, Kasceto, insists on making a wager involving this world, Jospar's life is forever changed. He is faced with a momentous decision.
Writer at Work: Be Specific
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- Written by: Greg Sushinsky
1. John had a horse.
That sentence tells you something, but not a lot.
2. John had a stallion.
We’re getting somewhere. That tells you what kind of horse it is, and should put a more vivid or at least specific image in your mind as a reader. An expert on horses might go into more specifics and detail on the stallion, or might say it’s a wild mustang or an Appaloosa. But for our purposes, we’ll go with what we have.
Good writing is specific. As William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White point out in their instructional classic, “The Elements of Style,” good writing is specific, concrete and definite. This is preferable to the general, vague and abstract. (See pages 21-22 in Elements of Style.)
It’s the writer’s task to make of what she is writing an experience that is real to the reader. The writer must deliver, as Boris Pasternak once commented that Ernest Hemingway did, “the earth, the matter, the wood.”
Back to John and his horse.
Welcome!
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- Written by: Greg Sushinsky
Word of the Day
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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 1, 2023 is:
bifurcate • \BYE-fer-kayt\ • verb When something bifurcates, it divides into two branches or parts; to bifurcate something is to divide it into two branches or parts. // The stream bifurcated into two narrow winding channels. //
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Keep Writing
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- Written by: Greg Sushinsky
Keep writing. These are very difficult times for all of us, for the entire human world. While the coronavirus pandemic ravages the populations of much of the globe, many of us feel helpless. Many feel we have been thrown to the sidelines, forced to pause and watch as medical personnel fight a fierce, courageous battle on behalf of us all on the front lines of human life. Most of us are forced to wait and watch. Parts of life are on “pause,” while we hold on and wait, wait for the next thing to happen, or not to happen.
Many of us are no longer working, while others have been sent home to work. This has dislocated many, ripped them from the familiar routines of work which root us, and while for some this has been beneficial, allowing people to be home and together with their families, it has also created a new set of difficulties, re-balancing the family dynamics and everyone’s needs.
Dialogue: More Than Just Talk
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- Written by: Greg Sushinsky
People talk. We’re always talking.
If you go anywhere, you’ll notice people constantly talking. Our age of social media is just another form of talk; texting and talking on our phones, reading on our phones, reading what people are talking to us about.
As an exercise, perhaps even a punishment, some writers will listen and write down dialogue verbatim. Truman Capote once did this long after he was successful, to re-train his ear and mind to capture dialogue.
When Editors Do Bad Things To Your Book
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- Written by: Greg Sushinsky
Okay, so you got that contract, you’ve worked long days and nights maybe taking in a bit more caffeine than you ordinarily would, and you’ve got that thing done. Your book is a beast, a beast at times you hated but ultimately it’s a lovable beast, and you’re satisfied. Congratulations, you’ve completed your book. That’s quite an accomplishment. Now you eagerly send off the digital files to your contact at the publishing company, hopefully your editor. Then you wait, breathlessly. You completed the manuscript in six months instead of a year because the publisher said he wanted to rush it out. You know your book is good, full of new and important and helpful stuff, not just a rehash of everything everybody already knows, written in an engaging and entertaining way. So now you wait.When Writers Do Bad Things to Editors
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- Written by: Greg Sushinsky
Mostly when writers do bad things, the main bad thing they do is write badly. But that’s not all of it. There’s a lot of related behavior that comes with writing badly that compounds what writers are doing, or not doing.
In the article, “When Editors Do Bad Things to Your Book,” I highlighted the nightmare world where writers are caught in a book destroying, soul dampening exercise of bad editing. To be fair, as both a writer and editor, it should be pointed out that many editors—if not most—are conscientious and dedicated, and work as well as they can in a publishing world that has changed—and continues to change—dramatically and at light speed. It’s not a world that favors careful, conscientious, thorough editing, so that needs to be said.
Also, as writers, we can celebrate the good editors we’ve had. Any writer, even those of us who are also editors, needs and can benefit from a good editor. I’ve had the good fortune and pleasure of having several terrific editors. Some of these editors have done heroic work on books and magazines that might astound not only readers, but other writers and editors as well.
So what is it that writers do that put editors in a bind?
Shadow of the Canyon
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- Written by: Pam Davis and Steve Davis
Come journey with us on a magical adventure and meet a special horse, Shadow of the Canyon. Shadow is a wild Mustang, who begins life as just another member of the herd, but by facing many challenges with determination and courage he develops inner strength, self-esteem and happiness through his encounters with others.
