Any writers?

AmateisGal · Apr 12, 2011

Derek WC said:
I thought I might announce this: Due to encouragement from Pompidou, I have decided to write a book in verse based on a poem of mine, being:

The Grave Robber and the Grave Digger

As I deftly picked the lock
I soon came into shock

For out of the ground behind me
came two hands, cold and bony

As they grabbed my feet
I let out a shriek

And could feel the ground
coming up to my crown

How I fought with such rigor
so did the grave digger

Now I know what happened,
that dreary night, so dampened

When Mr. Crigger
the grave digger
pulled the trigger.

I'll give more information on the book tomorrow if I remember, as I am exhausted and really need to get some sleep, however here's a tidbit: it's going to be set in 1910's rural new york.
That is, I'll give more information on it if anybody wants, and shall be careful not to give spoilers.

Best of luck! It sounds awesome!

AmateisGal · Apr 12, 2011

jameson said:
Hey there. That's a mighty nice poem Mr. Derek WC.
I wrote a short story and then proceeded to shop it around to the usual mystery magazines.
I got a lot of help from sites like Ralans.com and duotrope. I finally got it published digitally and it's currently available for e readers and downloads. This is the Amazon/Kindle link to it:
http://www.amazon.com/One-More-Night-Kill-ebook/dp/B004U2FLA8/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_i
Love them pulps!

Way to go, Jameson! Congrats!!!

The Good · Apr 23, 2011

Lately, I've been making more of a serious effort, and during the past couple of days I've managed to come up with (what I believe to be) a good idea, having already written 2000 words or 8 pages. So, I'm hoping that by the end of the summer, I'll be able to have something up on Amazon's Kindle (e-book application), or being close to achieving this.

I do have a question, however. Is it fine to include real title names of films, music, cars, guns, manufacturers, food companies, and such, in a novel? Will I be breaking copyright laws by merely including passing references such as their names, and nothing else? I will not be putting anything in a derogatory or overly positive perspective, either. These are meant to be subtle references to real pop culture and things that actually exist.

Derek WC · Apr 24, 2011

"I do have a question, however. Is it fine to include real title names of films, music, cars, guns, manufacturers, food companies, and such, in a novel? Will I be breaking copyright laws by merely including passing references such as their names, and nothing else? I will not be putting anything in a derogatory or overly positive perspective, either. These are meant to be subtle references to real pop culture and things that actually exist."

I've always wondered too.

The Good · Apr 24, 2011

In the mean time, I'm just going ahead with what I have in mind. I can edit it all later.

John in Covina · Apr 24, 2011

Derek WC said:
"I do have a question, however. Is it fine to include real title names of films, music, cars, guns, manufacturers, food companies, and such, in a novel? Will I be breaking copyright laws by merely including passing references such as their names, and nothing else? I will not be putting anything in a derogatory or overly positive perspective, either. These are meant to be subtle references to real pop culture and things that actually exist."
I've always wondered too.

Good question! Product placement in film is a big deal although i recall seeing things handled so you can't see the lable sometimes and other times the prop dept makes up an item. If you were writing about bygone time you might use brands that no longer exist like Nash cars so it doesn't upset any companies.

John in Covina · Apr 24, 2011

There are such things as historical novels where past events and people get mentioned in the writing but I don't know if there are any rules on that. The Sinatra family is very protective of the name and Montblanc pens are also intense as to their branding to the point they will sue anyone that makes a pen they feel is too similar in design to theirs.

in some sotuations you can get a way with generic terms like a 38 snub nose revolver, just say a 1911 or Fortyfive, 9mm. Those that know about guns will fill in the blanks those that don't won't really care.

From Mister Mom: What did you use, a 357?
Repsonse "357, 358, what ever takes."

rokket · Apr 25, 2011

I'm pretty sure real products/place names are OK to use under "fair use". Maybe saying bad things about current products could be unwise, but then, it could also be considered an opinion and not libel.

This is a handy site, by a writer/lawyer, though even his disclaimer says it's general advice only. http://www.rightsofwriters.com/
(note that all of this is not legal advice and I am not a lawyer.)

C_Clarke · Apr 25, 2011

Benzadmiral said:
Got a technique question for you writers out there.

<snip>
-- but am I wrong to rely on "said"? I've been told many times by pros that "said-isms" are a sign of an amateur, and adverbs often a sign of weakness in your prose. Thoughts?

I'm a writer (contemporary fiction, stageplays, children's books) and I tried avoid using "said" too many times in my novels and shorts. Actually, I try to avoid it at all costs. I tend to follow my dialog with action that will either give the reader an idea of what state the character is in, show them more about the character's personality (sometimes using another character's perception to achieve this, or give them tidbits of how the character looks (vs. giving a laundry-list rundown of attributes).

Here are samples from my works:

(1, from a short story)
“This, from the man who watched a Golden Girls marathon for hours last night!” Donovan hooted.
“Don’t judge me!” Colin spun around with an amalgam of humor and dramatic flare.

(2, from a novel)

“I know of a way that you can protect your reputation and get revenge and bolster your career,” he stated.
“How?” She took him in, his dark suit, hard white shirt, and blood-red tie made him look like polished scum.
“Take this.” He handed her a cell phone.

(3, from a short story)
“Here we are,” their cab driver drawled as he maneuvered his vehicle to the driveway. The worn leather seats groaned under his weight as he hobbled out of the car to open the trunk for them.

rokket · Apr 26, 2011

I like it and agree! "said" can be used without dying, and certainly being too cutesy with alt descriptions is bad, but those samples read very easy and natural and work on a couple levels. Nice work, C

Pompidou · Apr 26, 2011

In a perfect world, the mere existence of quotation marks will imply said, and the context can imply the name of the speaker, but since that's not always the case, sticking with said is much better than flaunting your word processor's thesaurus function and bludgeoning readers over the head with a different word every time. Exclaimed is a said-ism that I almost never use, because if I could use it, it's redundant because I used an exclamation point - goes along with my preference not to even use said. Avoiding redundant redundancy whenever possible.

Tux Toledo · Apr 26, 2011

I know many of us prefer hardcover books to ebooks however authors pooling their resources to help promote ebooks might be an productive alternative to opening a small independent publishing company. Drumming up interest for our ebooks might lead to publishing deals with established publishing companies.

Pompidou said:
If there were enough authors of like mind, one option might be to work together and pool resources to open a small independent publishing company friendly to authors like yourselves. I can't tell you what it costs to do so, but I can say that whatever the costs are divided by whatever the number of founding members are might be easier to swallow. Any income from publishing could support your writing efforts.

C_Clarke · Apr 26, 2011

Pompidou said:
In a perfect world, the mere existence of quotation marks will imply said, and the context can imply the name of the speaker, but since that's not always the case, sticking with said is much better than flaunting your word processor's thesaurus function and bludgeoning readers over the head with a different word every time. Exclaimed is a said-ism that I almost never use, because if I could use it, it's redundant because I used an exclamation point - goes along with my preference not to even use said. Avoiding redundant redundancy whenever possible.

Agreed.

Thanks, rokket. Studying and getting better with each new work is my goal. That novel sample is older than the two shorts.

@Tux, *waves* Hi, I'm still new here.

I'll add two pennies since I know a bit about self vs. traditional publishing.The cost of starting an independent company has gone down tremendously thanks to technology and affordable access to freelancers. There will always be a huge learning curve, however.

It cost even less to publish an ebook and is one way to "test the market," so to speak before going the indie print route for a hardcover. (To make works available on Kindle, Nook and other ereaders cost nothing, but one still has to invest in getting professional editing for their work, IMO.)

McDaniel · Apr 26, 2011

Hi, newby here. Yes, I'm currently working on a period piece for Amazon.
Happy to explain if you are interested.
This is set in the '30s, in the style of Hammett

McDaniel · Apr 26, 2011

AmateisGal said:
I'm resurrecting this thread since I am on the look-out for a critique partner for my World War 2-era thriller. Anyone interested? I'll critique your novel/short story in return.

I also think it might be neat to have some sort of thread where the writers of the Lounge can go to ask for advice or commiserate on the writing life.

"I can stand anything I have to." Ned Beaumont (The Glass Key" Excellent idea. I'm new here and I joined for just the reason you mentioned. I need advice/help on authentic '30 items for a full length period piece.
Nice forum...

AmateisGal · Apr 26, 2011

Good to see some new members who are also writers! Welcome.

AmateisGal · Apr 26, 2011

The Good said:
Lately, I've been making more of a serious effort, and during the past couple of days I've managed to come up with (what I believe to be) a good idea, having already written 2000 words or 8 pages. So, I'm hoping that by the end of the summer, I'll be able to have something up on Amazon's Kindle (e-book application), or being close to achieving this.

I do have a question, however. Is it fine to include real title names of films, music, cars, guns, manufacturers, food companies, and such, in a novel? Will I be breaking copyright laws by merely including passing references such as their names, and nothing else? I will not be putting anything in a derogatory or overly positive perspective, either. These are meant to be subtle references to real pop culture and things that actually exist.

I remember in my old issues of Writer's Digest (from the 80s) that certain companies put ads in to remind writers to make sure their products were properly cited. For example, "Kleenex" had to have the registered trademark symbol after it. But, Kleenex has become such a universal name for "tissue" that they were probably trying to combat its misuse.

However, I don't think you have to worry about film names, cars, guns, or names of songs. However, you --do-- need copyright permission to quote song lyrics. Since this is technically another artist's words, you need permission to use them. This may depend, however, on how much you use - i.e. one line vs. an entire stanza. I really do not know the particulars.

Glad you're getting into the writing more! Now that my life has settled somewhat (the move is over, hosting Easter is behind me), I'm hitting the novel. Feels good to be back.

AmateisGal · Apr 26, 2011

McDaniel said:
"I can stand anything I have to." Ned Beaumont (The Glass Key" Excellent idea. I'm new here and I joined for just the reason you mentioned. I need advice/help on authentic '30 items for a full length period piece.
Nice forum...

Welcome, McDaniel! I abandoned my thriller last year...got too muddled. I think I've figured it all out, but have since written another one that I'm editing. I'm going to go back to the thriller at some point.

Are you writing short stories or a novel?

AmateisGal · May 2, 2011

Finally! The office is done. It is vintage-inspired with a very heavy dose of World War II.

You can view pictures here on my blog: http://grosvenorsquare.blogspot.com/2011/05/my-new-office.html

John in Covina · May 2, 2011

AmateisGal said:
Finally! The office is done. It is vintage-inspired with a very heavy dose of World War II. You can view pictures here on my blog: http://grosvenorsquare.blogspot.com/2011/05/my-new-office.html

I can't make it out - is the flag a 48 star or 50 star?

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