Wake-Up Call for "Writers"

This amuses me. Not because it isn't the truth, but because I know of people who have this attitude about writing that is described in this edition of the Funds for Writers Newsletter. So enjoy the lovely realistic advice!

EDITOR'S THOUGHTS

Read newsletter online at: http://www.fundsforwriters.com/FFW.htm

Read past
issues at: http://www.aweber.com/z/article/?fundsforwriters
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I NEED A GRANT TO WRITE
Those of you who've been around me a few years must bear withthis message. I deliver these words in one shape or another about once a year, but always as a result of a flurry of emails from new readers. Folks see FUNDS for writers and believe I will swoop down with some stimulus package and fix all sorts of writing ills. I'm afraid I'm still unable to:
1. Find you an instant publisher.2. Find you a grant to complete your first book.3. Find you a grant to allow you to quit the job you hate.4. Find you a grant that allows you time to write that novel.5. Find funds to pay your bills while you write.
Honestly, I wish I could do all those things.
Let me solve some myths for you:
1. Almost all writers write while performing another job or chasing the kids. A tiny minutiae percentage of writers rises in the morning without worrying about day work or the bills. You write through the life handed to you, often making you a better writer thanks to the struggle.
2. Grants for writers go to those who've established themselves as writers. It's this comment that often makes people mad with me. How dare I accuse someone of not being a writer? After all, this person has written since the third grade or this other one has penned fourteen short stories and three journals of poetry over five years. How dare I? Actually, I'm not the one drawing the line in the sand. Look at this quote from the Mississippi Arts Commission about the definition of a writer - a quote representative of all the arts agencies: "...a professional artist producing work of high artisticquality, Individuals are considered to be professional ifthey: earn at least part of their annual income in their artistic work; consider their artistic endeavors as acareer; maintain a high level of artistic quality; andmake a significant time investment in their artisticdisciplines though practice, performance or production."
Some characteristics of a "professional" writer include:
== Writing income appearing on your tax return.== A calendar noting regular work, appearances, training undertaken as a writer.== A chronological list of submissions and copies of acceptances and rejections.== Receipts of expenses.== An active website/blog committed to writing.
3. Completing a book also does not make you a writer. You've written the words on the page, but are they edited to a fine sheen? Have you found a strong voice and claimed it as your own? Can someone pick up the work and tell from the style that it's yours? THE END does not mean you've arrived. Writing takes serious practice over multiple projects over several years. People do not pick up a pen and write bestsellers without personal development and lots of sweat.
Granted, you have a story to tell. But you have to becomea writer in order to tell it well and do it justice. Youdo not need a grant to write. You don't have a deadline topublish.
Harper Lee wrote one novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Do youwant to be remembered for one brilliant story or notremembered after writing twenty-seven pieces over three years?
Put in the time and effort, and not only will you finda grant to help you financially, but you'll find credibility, too.

Another Tangled Google Mess

So I can’t explain this really well and I know it confuses the hell out of people who are actually dealing with it right now, so I am just going to post the link here:

http://beattiesbookblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/guild-responds-to-second-wme-letter-on.html

Nothing like copyright issues and settlement cases, but this is what people were concerned about long before Google was firmly cemented in their archive.

**A side note that has nothing to do with the Authors Guild/Google settlement, but I thought I would bring it up because it is irritating to an extent is that Facebook is now featured in Google searches. So, let’s say you want to Google a specific person, well if there are several people with that name in Facebook, those people will come up first, which, let’s face it, can be really annoying.  However, I don’t think I’ll switch my search engine to Bing just yet, their interface annoys they hell out of me.

G.I. Joe

I used to love watching the cartoon when I was a child so I was excited yet worried that they were making a live action. I guess I can’t be too disappointed granted that I can’t remember too much about the series as it has been close to 20 years since I have watched it.

The action sequences were decent. The CGI, well, you could tell whatever was CGI was indeed all computerized. It is interesting how some CGI you can hardly tell at all that it is computer generated and others you can tell and you seriously wonder if they actually tried to make it look realistic.

I did enjoy the movie. I loved Ray Park as Snake Eyes. It is funny how this martial artist actor always seems to play characters where you can’t see his face, i.e. Toad from X-men, Darth Maul from the Phantom Menace. I loved his fighting with his nemesis from Ninja school.

Speaking of his arch nemesis. Ok, there are many Japanese actors out there, they exist, so why was a Korean playing a Japanese ninja? I am just curious. The actor did a great job, if I didn’t know better, I suppose a person wouldn’t even know that he wasn’t Japanese, but I do, so I found it amusing. And, totally off topic, another Japanese Ninja movie will be coming out sometime later this year or next year and the main star is indeed another Korean, Rain. Is the reasoning behind this that all Asians supposedly “look alike” (which is not true, you can tell the difference between Koreans, Japanese, and Chinese, etc – if you know what you are looking for)? Just an interesting question to contemplate.

Back to the topic at hand. Yes, I liked G.I. Joe. Yes, it had cheesy acting and more action than anything else, but it was at least enjoyable, which is hard to say for some of the more recent movies I have seen.

Adobo Failure

So I was making a traditional Filipino dish called adobo. Basically, it is pork and chicken in a sauce. Well, I figured that if I followed the recipe it would work out fine. So not true. The recipe actually didn't work out at all. Apparently when it calls for 1 cup of vinegar, you should put in like an eighth of what it wants. It was vinegary as all hell. *shiver*

However, the Pansit turned out just fine. Although, it is a hella lot harder to screw up noodles, veggies and chicken. Hopefully when I try out the barbecue sauce recipe, it will actually work out. Hard to believe that these people writing out these recipes could actually make such an egregious error.

Warning Labels - Let Hilarity Ensue

At work I came across something I found to be fairly amusing: A book with a "warning" label . . . or perhaps "rating" label is more precise. It is reminiscent of how TV rates viewer programs, from child safe to all that fun stuff (I can't recall an exact one but I think there was one that have like 13 or 14 on it saying it was unsuitable for children below that age) and of how videogames are rated (E for everyone, M for mature).

Wolf Pirate Publishing is actually putting labels like these on the back of their books. Really. I just laughed when I saw it. Probably not as funny as I am making it out to be, but it seems ridiculous to me.

So, on the back of The Angel's Iscariot, there is a box with a big, bold M next to another box that descries "Contains: Adult situations, violence, and mature subject matter not appropriate for young readers." And on the back of The Repossession is a box with an R next to another box that reads "Contains: Adult situation, violence, sexual content and mature subject matter not appropriate for young readers."

Apparently sexual content is the only thing that is the difference between an R rating and an M rating. Shouldn't that be an X rating instead? And, truthfully, this stuff is found in basic sections, not children's sections, so is a label even necessary?

A Financial Quandry

Why is that institutions and programs that are supposed to be giving you money, always try to find ways to get out of it? Examples: Insurance Companies, Unemployment, and Medicare (which, technically, falls under insurance).

Oh, let’s start with unemployment. Besides the fact that money for unemployment is scarce due to the higher levels, especially in Michigan, they are really bad at getting money to people. Sometimes, even though a person is perfectly eligible to receive unemployment, they have to wait three to six months, sometimes longer, just to receive the biweekly unemployment they deserve, which in this economy is definitely a bad thing.

But that isn’t the bone I have to pick with unemployment.

It has been ingrained in all of us (or at least people who know anything about unemployment) that if you are a student (student here meaning college student) then you are unable to collect unemployment benefits even if you work full time while also going to school (full time or otherwise). This is actually not true. A student can collect unemployment (as long as they have proof of working full time and attending school – which really isn’t all that hard to get).

The problem is unemployment does not tell you this. There is nothing that is easily accessible on their website that gives you this information. A friend of mine applied for unemployment even though he was a student and unemployment sent him a letter rejecting his application and then they turned around, accepted it, and started to give him money, which they later claimed he owed them back + interest because he was a student.

Truthfully, a rather gross error on their part. But the kicker is that there is a waiver you need to fill out when submitting your application that applies solely to students that allows you to legally collect unemployment. However, like I said, nothing of this is actually mentioned on the website, or if it is, it’s buried so deep you will probably never find it. Of course, why would unemployment tell you this? They don’t want to give you money if they don’t have to.

Needless to say the matter went to court and my friend won and can legally collect unemployment. The whole process was drawn out over quite a few months and now he has to apply for an extension for his unemployment as his work still has not called him back yet.

Now, Medicare. All things considered, we pay an ungodly amount in taxes every year for Medicare and Social Security. (When you have to pay in taxes at the end of the year, it’s those two things above which kill you, not state or federal.) However, Medicare is getting more reluctant to pay. My grandmother was in the hospital in June and then again in September of last year. It took until just a few months ago this year before Humana and the hospital finally got Medicare to cough up the money they were supposed to pay from the beginning. And now, Medicare is trying to put into effect that they will not repay for repeat visits and treatments. Meaning if you have to go into the hospital more than once for the same thing, then you are essentially screwed.

For a service that is supposed to help the elderly, especially at a time when it is hardest for them to afford health insurance, Medicare isn’t really all that good. But, I am told that it is really hit and miss. Some people get care and help right away while others are shoved onto a shelf and left to dust.

I have no real hopes that Obama or the government can really do anything to reform health care because even the federal institutions are getting more and more reluctant to help anyone, not to mention, even with all the money paid into these programs vis-a-vis taxes, there is still shortages and a growing national debt.