Can I get that "j" on a triple word?

I've succumbed.

You guessed it. Words with Friends.

I have no less than 7 games going right now with friends spanning both coasts and a nice cluster in the midwest.

The irony of ironies here is that it's my mom that got me started. This is the same mom who looked somewhat upset when she learned that the primary things I use my iPad (which she got me) for was books, games and streaming Netflix and not for work.

She was having some kind of software trouble and turned to an IT guy at her work for help. Said IT happens to mention the game since my mom's got a new iPhone. And then she's mentions it to me because we like playing word games when we get together.

So I downloaded the game too.

I knew a lot of my friends played, but I didn't really know how many. Turns out, most of them. Seriously.

I've been playing games with one of my journalism profs (the one who christened me as a "word nerd"), writer friends, nonprofit friends, pilot friends. I'm not winning all the games; maybe not even a majority of them.

My mom are probably the most competitve, taking tons of time to plot moves that will keep us within points of each other. Right now I've got an 11 point lead on her, but we've got no more letters to draw and by the time this posts, I'm sure we'll be on to another game.

So, wanna play? I'm BKWordNerd.

The end of a writing tradition

On Monday, the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper announced that it would no longer be endorsing candidates for president.

It will continue, it says to cover campaigns, and post candidate questions and the like. But as for endorsements, they say, "We have come to doubt the value of candidate endorsements by this newspaper or any newspaper, especially in a day when a multitude of information sources allow even a casual voter to be better informed than ever before."

I suppose that's true. Maybe an endorsement isn't going to really change anyone's mind in this deeply, divided, partisan time. But, as writing goes, the candidate endorsement is a staple, the most sought-after piece and anchoring opinion piece in a newspaper.

It is a statement by a organization that "This is what who we believe in, the course we think is right and best." Are we so worried about offending people that opinion pages aren't going to say "This is who we want?"

During my college newspaper days, we endorsed during the 2000 presidential campaign-turned-debacle. We went against the grain for the campus, endorsing the other guy because we really believed he was the better choice.

It was our stand, against a tide of sentiment on campus that leaned the other way. Did it matter to the candidate that a small, weekly, college paper endorsed him. No, not really. Did we change any voters minds? I don't know. I hope somebody read it and gave it some thought. Twelve years later, I'm still really glad I wrote it, that it was our mark of belief.

This makes me sad, as a writer, to see this bastion of journalism starting to disappear.

It's unfortunate that the editors have so little faith in their readers to find it useful and so little faith in themselves to stand for something.

Readers are weird

I spent several days last week with my new-ish co-workers during a three-day planning retreat. We had a chance to pound out fundraising strategies for the next few months, and get to know each other better.

At some point, we were discussing some past-time activity about which I was ambivalent (swimming, I think), and one co-worker turns to me and says, "What is it that you do like to do, Bethany?" (Somehow, I think they think I'm ambivalent about everything...)

"I read books." No questions about what my favorite book or author was or anything. Just quiet. I thought about adding that I read in the neighborhood of 85-100 a year, but decided in the silence that maybe I should just keep that bit of information to myself.
Cut to the next morning at breakfast.

I was in the hotel cafe, already up and having eaten and was working on writing things. I checked my email one more time before we switched gears and I saw an email from Simon and Schuster.

"Yes!" I said. "They are sending me galley copies." Blank looks around the table. "Galleys," I explained. "Review copies of books that aren't out yet."

Nope, nothing.

The meeting started then, but I was just struck anew with how weird we readers are to the rest of the world. Getting excited about books. Some that aren't even published yet.

I know one of my co-workers at least reads on airplanes -- we talked about Michael Connelly's Lincoln Lawyer series and I promised I wouldn't give anything away. But... I guess for those that aren't so bookish, those of us proclaimed Word Nerds really are a bit obsessed.

What about you? Any times you've been struck by how odd it is to the rest of the world that you like to read?

Books as Commodities, part II

I'm still thinking about the "books as commodities" argument and our attitudes to volumes of the printed word.

On Friday night, I went to my first ever "Friends of the Library" bonus sale event as a new Friend of the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library system. The doors of the sale were scheduled to open at 5:30. I pulled into the parking lot about ten minutes early and there was a line snaking back from the door. In the dusk and about 20-degree temperatures.

Most of the participants carried either plastic milk crates or reusable grocery totes to carry around their finds. As the doors opened at 5:30, the line poured in, veering in to the sale room and their favorite sections.

I don't want to say chaos ensued, because it was slightly more organized that that, but only slightly. I'm not sure I've ever seen such a rush for books, not even the midnight release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Unfortunately, in this sense, the books were commodities. People wanted to find the best thing they can, at a used price, because they didn't want to pay the full retail for them. Yes, they are probably regular library users and all are donors to the library, putting financial support behind their use. But, in light of the commodities argument, they were proving it true.

I only bought three things -- A Jack Reacher novel in paperback for an upcoming trip instead of checking it out in hardback, a YA hardback that I'll likely read and pass on to my high school student mentee, and an "important" book -- The Magnificent Ambersons -- which is a feat in itself, me buying a classic. When I reached the checkout line, the volunteer almost couldn't believe it that I was only getting three things, especially since everyone around me was acting out of a scarcity model.

Maybe books are changing formats. Maybe ebooks are making the publishing landscape different. But so long as we don't pull a Farenheit 451 and start burning them, books aren't scarce.

Even when we have the opportunity to pick up copies for cheap, we need to remember why the printed words is worth valuing and not devalue them to commodities.

Books are not Commodities

The Digital Reader posted an interesting article about how Amazon has turned books into a commodity.

Their argument is that with the prevalence of eBooks, readers now search for better and cheaper alternatives.

I know that many of you will clamor to say that I am wrong, but I ask you to consider this: Once you have bought and read the latest release from your favorite author, do you stop buying and reading books until that author’s next release in 2 or 3 years or do you continue to buy and read books within that genre? And if you do continue to buy and read books, do you continue to be entertained by them or are you only entertained by books written by your favorite author? Finally, do you rush out to buy your favorite author’s newest release or do you wait for a less expensive edition to appear?
If you answer yes to the latter parts of each question (at least the first two questions), then books are commodities and substitutable.

Books may be commodities for some, the casual fans or sometimes-readers. But for those of us who are bibliophiles -- answering yes doesn't lead to the right conclusion.

I continue to buy and read books in my favorite authors genres because I enjoy the genre. I am entertained by the books of my favorite authors and look forward to them immensely and am happily surprised when new finds are just as entertaining, if not more so! I rush out and buy new releases, sometimes, and sometimes wait for less expensive editions. This is more about budgeting and whether I started collecting the series in hardcovers or paperbacks.

Books aren't really substitutable to me. While both Harry Potter and Harry Dresden are wizards operating in a magic world pushed up against our own, they are hardly substitutable for each other. Just because Michael Connelly and Tess Gerritsen write novels based in police procedure, Harry Bosch and Jane Rizzoli aren't the same as detectives. There's no substitute.

Does this mean that some fiction isn't just a cheap, derivative copy? No. We all know that exists and are terribly disappointed as readers when in our quest for something new, we run into something borrowed. It's the plague of a writer too to twist the conventions just enough that their new idea won't be that derivative offering.

I like the prevalence of eBooks. I appreciate that it's changing publishing and hopefully, eventually, for the better, opening the faucet of work out there.

Books have been becoming commodities ever since Gutenberg invited the printing press. We can hardly blame ebooks for making books into something that we can buy more of. And technology is only fueling the hearts of readers, not extinguishing them.

Word(s) of the Year

Every year, Word Nerd posts the words featured by dictionaries and linguists as the Word of the Year.

This year, according to Dictionary.com, the word of 2011 was "tergiversate." According to the Huffington Post article on the pick, "tergiversate" means “to change repeatedly one's attitude or opinions with respect to a cause, subject, etc.; equivocate.” They picked it to sum up what happened in 2011, and it's a pretty good pick. The whole article is here. 


In hunting up this year-defining word, I found this great list at M-W.com of the Words of the Year, providing a little bit of context of why this word became a flash-in-the-2011 pan.


It's a little bit like a Word a Day calendar, because theses words and phrases are all good ones. Hopefully, you too will recognize many of them from 9th-grade vocabulary quiz days, and if not, learn a few.

Merry Christmas

From the Word Nerds to you and your families and loved ones.

Have a wonderful holiday season.

Rules of Magic

Ever feel overwhelmed when looking at a multi-book fantasy series, thinking, Great, now I've got to learn how this whole magic world works?

I have. In fact, this is probably one of the two predominant reasons I've stopped reading in this category. The other reason is that books in this genre tend to be so darn long and in addition to learning a world of magic, I also have to get out my Elvish-English dictionary. (Or write a new one of those as I go...also a non-standard component.)

But, the good folks over at the IO9 site have come up with a handy table for understanding magic*. They've got most of the great fantasy series out there represented and the table gives you a standard dissection of how it works, is there good and evil types of magic, who can use it, etc.

I'm kind of hankering to dive into a series like this. My last big venture was all the Jacqueline Carey Kushiel books. I think this chart may be just the thing I need to pick a new world.

*My friend @ScribeJay found this online first. I promised him sweet, sweet credit for the link. The Word Nerds are nothing if not faithful to promises of credit.

The back-to-school funk

I'm in the go-back-to-school funk once again.

It's not traditional back-to-school for kids time, I am well aware. But at least once a year, I get in a several week funk of contemplating going back to school for another degree. I've almost paid off the first two degrees making this feel even more like I could do it because I could incur more debt. (Goofy rationale, I'm sure, but hey, it's how my brain works.)

So -- I'm contemplating.

There are two programs I look at repeatedly; the MA or PhD program in Philanthropic Studies at IUPUI and the low-residency MFA program at Seattle Pacific University. I applied two years ago or so for the MFA program and didn't get in that go around but I've written a few things in the mean time that I think are better than the pieces I submitted that time.

The Philanthropic Studies program has much more to do with how I currently earn my living. The only thing that sort of concerns me about that is the difference between theory and practice. While understanding fundraising theory and the motivation that makes people give is cool, with a lot of theory, there's always some breakdown between the ideal theory and how it works in real life. I feel like I could set myself up for a lot of cognitive dissonance if I did that program while working full-time.

Everytime I start thinking about school, I get in this funk about missing school (yep, I was that kid). And I also think about how overwhelming life would be to work and own a home and all that AND go to school. I have friends, including my co-Word Nerd blogger Stacie, that do it and I'm just blown away with how they somehow manage to get it all done.

Am I going to apply for school? Unlikely. Someday maybe. For now, I'll just plow through my funk and admire those who do go back.

First Impressions

Today is a little story about why being a good writer matters.

Bunches of people are looking for jobs in today's economy and in my job hunt, I had an amazing number of interviews. Not to sound haughty, I know I'm a good employee, but the thing that started to open doors was my first impression -- my cover letter.

For a job I thought was kind of a long-shot, the interviewer told me I got an interview because of my cover letter. It was creative and it was free of typos. In fact, he brought me in before the application period was closed, solely because of my letter. I ended up moving forward with a different organization, but I'm sure that I have a great new professional contact because of it.

My new boss mentioned that he received lots of letters for the positions that had typos and mistakes in them. I've heard the same thing from grant makers, that they get multiple proposals with mistakes in them. When they find one free of mistakes, it gets extra notice. Maybe you aren't the most qualified candidate or applicant, but a letter free of mistakes shows something that all the credentials in the world can't demonstrate -- you care about quality and spend the time to get it right.

For some people, like my mom, good grammar is as natural as breathing. I recognize I'm lucky that I inherited some of that from her, but I also know I have my problem words and constructions. When I was writing cover letters, I asked her to proof several of my letters just to make sure I was sending in a perfectly polished letter.

The statistics exist, but I've heard that in print, you get something like six seconds to make a good first impression. Don't harpoon your chances with a bad letter. Find that grammarian grandma or English major former roommate and ask for help. Offer a trade for their time -- while granny proof reads, clean something for her.

Don't let a typo stand in your way.

Collapsing Borders

The news broke last week that Borders is closing for good.

Shuttering 400-odd stores this spring (including several here in the Circle City) wasn't enough to keep them afloat. And with no other buyer willing to step up and take over the book chain, the only course of action for the company at this time to close.

Greater Indianapolis is going to lose at least three more stores, in addition to the three or four closed a few months ago. Just like that, six or seven book stores gone.

I don't want to get all doom-and-gloom about the future of reading, literacy and the printed word. It does make a self-proclaimed bibliophile's heart hurt though. I wrote about my feelings about the closings this spring and the concern I had/have about what this means for literacy.


I don't know what long-term effects closing Borders could have on the book world. I also don't want to decry e-readers or the Internet for the lack of people reading books. I'm thinking Borders probably made some bad business decisions -- opening too many stores (there were four on the general north side of Indy/Carmel). That kind of thing gets any business in trouble, whether they are selling shoes or washing machines or books.

Here's what I do know. Even when we're decrying the loss of bookstores, the permanence of well-written words remains. I had someone tell me the other day that they were really impressed with a letter I wrote. That's right -- in the mail, on paper, with a stamp.

My mentee for Starfish told me she wanted to work on her writing skills and so we're tackling some of that together. Right now, we're working on description. When she said that, I was so excited because she realizes that her writing skills are important. (We'll just let her figure out on her own that that key in description will help with more than just her attempts at fiction...)

If e-books take over and printed books become more and extinct, it's going to be the well-written e-books that rise to the surface. People still gravitate to words that move them or that they find fascinating.

The sad part is that with Borders closing, it might be harder to access them. But the sphere of needing well-honed writing will never disappear be it in books or life.

Monday Fun

Trust me, as much as we're Word Nerds here, we do get captivated by other things than just books.

A few things that might liven up your Monday.

1. The Public Radio Name Generator. I'm a huge NPR listener. I can pick out which reporter is it just from voice alone most of the time. In a perfect world, Scott Simon would follow me around and narrate my life just so I could listen to him all the time. But, most of us don't just come with names that sound like they belong on public radio. Using some of the real reporters names, this generator will bestow on you a new name to launch your public broadcasting career.

2. Tonematrix (Don't try this if you are photo-sensitive. If you are not, make sure you have a good 20 minutes to kill right now, or try it later.) I found this over at Pbackwriter's blog, who got it somewhere else. Unlike them, I am not cool enough to figure out how to embed the flash app into this post. It's a nifty little sound application that lets you create some music -- no know-how needed.

3. The Daily. For you iPad users, this may be the best app that's not a game that I've found. I'm a news junkie at heart (what? really?) You can try The Daily for free for two weeks and then a year's subscription is $39.99. When you divide that out, that's $0.11 a day for news magazine quality journalism, photos, song of the day, crossword, sudoku, and more. While I love newspapers and always will, when this kind of creative journalism is out there, the writing's on the wall that they've got to deliver this kind of product or they are doomed (wow, so my Monday fun just turned into a soapbox... sorry about that).

Have a great Monday.

For NPR, this is Themba Murphy-Pahlavi, reporting from Indianapolis.

Random Thought on Reading Classics

I had a random thought on reading classics that I wanted to try out, given our experiment here in reading one of the Russian Masters - Anna Karenina.

Reading a classic is like drinking a fine wine. When pair with the right item, it complements the meal. It is meant to be sipped, and savored. A classic novel moves slowly in the same way. It is the details that add the dimensions to the wine. Just as the various flavors of the wine can only be experienced when sipped, the classic novel builds on the details to make a complete picture.

Now, I'm a wine girl, but I love a beer every so often. A beer goes down quick and easy. Beer bongs exist for a reason, people. Same with the crazy helmets and beer pong. None of those for the wine group. Beer is more like a modern novel - fast pace and moving through life at the speed of life.

Okay, maybe given my standard reading list, I'm more of a beer girl. But I don't mind switching out for a good bottle of wine every so often.

What do you think of the analogy?

Personally, I need something to sub in for a martini. I love those on occasion too.

Edits

I first ran into Joshua Middleton when another author I like posted a link to the cover for her book.

Now, I can't remember who that original author was, but I'm delighted that he has posted another cover for his readers.

The novel, Meeting by Nina Kiriki Hoffman, is a YA fantasy novel. Based on the cover alone, I'm interested in it. It's a gorgeous picture. Pop over there to check it out.

Joshua's last paragraph sums it up nicely for writers too:

Having to occasionally make changes for editorial reasons has actually helped me a lot in not letting any part of a drawing be too precious to erase. It's hard to face facts and erase something that's not working, especially after spending a lot of time on it, but sometimes that's the best way to move forward and get the bad drawings out of the way. I still struggle with letting go sometimes, but I'm definitely more acquainted with my trash can than I used to be.

Writers need to be acquainted with the trash can too. Or the backspace button. It's tough to throw away something you like better. Remembering that the edit knows what sells is key.

cover art courtesy of Joshua Middleton.

Words of the Year

We may be on the 13th day of 2011, but we're not so far into the new year that looking back on 2010's "Word(s) of the Year" is out of date.

The Word of the Year changes with who you ask, but I think the choices are interesting and revealing about society.

The American Dialect Society picked the word "app" for their word of the year. This term for a smart phone application apparently beat out "nom nom."

Merriam Webster picked "austerity," given the financial crises in Europe and many austerity plans developed to keep EU member countries on track.

The Oxford American Dictionary picked the word "refudiate," thanks in large part to one maverick ex-governor of Alaska and her verbal mash-up.

And, last, but not to be outdone is Urban Dictionary's pick of "gate rape" for the travel-scandal inducing TSA pat downs.

I'm suprised the word "leak" isn't in the list what with BP and Wikileaks.

Any words you would have put as a top pick for 2010?

Advent Writing

The church I attend is very welcoming of the arts and encourages artists to create things for our services and worship times. There's a group of us who write and we were asked to write pieces for the four weeks of Advent based on our reflections on the sermon Scriptures (from Revelation) and the whole Nativity story.

I'd never written anything for one of the holiday seasons before but decided to give it a go this year. I'm a fiction writer, so that's what happened when I sat down. I'll post links to the whole series as it comes out, though I'll probably be about a week behind.


Here's the introduction to the series and the link to part one, Alpha and Omega.

When I began reading Revelation in preparation for Advent writing, I never imagined I would be writing fiction. But as I asked God what he would have me write, the character of John Patmos – with all his past and all his current circumstances – came to me in a flash. My first reaction was No way. I can’t write something that’s got a science fiction bent for Advent. As I thought for the next few days, I had no other ideas, and John Patmos – and specifically the exhortation in Revelation 1:19 – was clamoring so loud in my head that I couldn’t help but agree to tell this story and trust that this was what God had for me this season.

On the other hand, fiction has always spoken loudly to me, and it’s where I’m finding my identity as a writer. C.S. Lewis’ beautiful Space Trilogy brought me to understand the framework of Creation, Fall, Redemption and Consummation in a way that no lecture or religion textbook could. Creating John Patmos’ story has helped me remember – again – that those are the four over-arching acts of all of our lives. We are in a constant state of Advent, waiting between Redemption and Consummation, and that has brought a renewed sense of hope to me this season.

The Power of Writing

This is utterly fascinating to me.

15-minute Writing Exercise closes the Gender Gap in University-level Physics

Think about the things that are important to you. Perhaps you care about creativity, family relationships, your career, or having a sense of humour. Pick two or three of these values and write a few sentences about why they are important to you. You have fifteen minutes. It could change your life.

This simple writing exercise may not seem like anything ground-breaking, but its effects speak for themselves. In a university physics class, Akira Miyake from the University of Colorado used it to close the gap between male and female performance. In the university’s physics course, men typically do better than women but Miyake’s study shows that this has nothing to do with innate ability. With nothing but his fifteen-minute exercise, performed twice at the beginning of the year, he virtually abolished the gender divide and allowed the female physicists to challenge their male peers.

Full Story

Seriously, this needs to be done at all universities, colleges, business, etc. Writing is such a powerful tool that is under-utilized.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from the Word Nerds!

It's all about the deadlines

I used to be a newspaper reporter. Deadlines were part of my daily existence.

It's a good thing deadlines and I get along because -- whoo-boy -- I am stacked behind deadlines from now till the end of the year.

In my job, I'm a fundraiser and write a lot of grants for that. This is a big season for grant applications and filing end-of-the-year reports about how we spent the money before we ask for more. On my dry erase board at work, I have 14 writing projects that need completed before Dec. 31. The deadlines on that board represent, roughly, a potential $1.1 million for Starfish Initiative. That's major money and that will make it possible for a lot of kids to stay on track to graduation.

In my personal writing, I'm waiting to hear back on some firm deadlines for writing I'm doing for Advent for my church. It's looking like those pieces will be published online so I'll post links when I can. But first, I have to finish them. Four pieces, one for each Sunday of Advent. I have one done, one in revisions, one being drafted and one needing started. Advent starts on Nov. 28. The done piece is the first one up and so on for the whole four-part series, but Advent is a lot closer than it appears.

And so, I'm spacing out my deadlines to make sure it all gets done on time. Writing in the morning before work. Writing at work gets fit in between meetings and I'm pacing out how to get projects due on the same day done. After work is revision time.

All together, the deadlines can be a little overwhelming. But, taken one at a time, it's totally doable.

I have noticed, I'm drinking more caffeine... What's your deadline fix? Or, how do you manage multiple projects at a time?

Writing Inspiration

The blank page can be a terrifying thing to a writer. Between 250 and 400 words fit on a single page, depending on formatting preferences. Stringing together that many words in a cohesive manner can be daunting, impossible even.

Sometimes, the inspiration doesn't come.

Writing can be pulled painfully, word by word, from the author's brain. It may not make a difference to the reader how it happens, it all reads the same, right?

Writers need to put the creativity back in, to refill the well, so to speak.

I find inspiration in unconnected events. I try to read on a variety of topics, to listen to a variety of types of music and podcasts. I watch both documentaries and popular series (Chuck anyone? I love how the writers are torturing him this season.) It usually takes stepping away from whatever I'm working on and giving my brain the chance to connect the dots between the facts.

For example, I listened to a podcast about Frenemies, watched Chuck, listened to a bit of classic U2 from the Joshua tree album and the husband paused on WWF.

Hmmm...a pair of lovers, one an ex-wrestler, run into a frenemy that lead them to a small town where the streets have no names.

Okay, that might be a little corny, but it could be a great freewrite, character sketch or short story.

Where does your inspiration come from? Pull together your story, Keyser Söze style, and leave it in the comments.