ZineWest 11.

Crikey, aren't we NWG members bloody fortunate to have people dedicated to producing, improving and publishing this marvellous  - Zine.

It is marvellous to have been able to see the growth, from what was our original magazine, to the current issue which came to me recently.

Seventy two pages of dedicated endeavour, provided for us by thirty three individual writers, combined with a specialist article composed by Sue Crawford, our esteemed editor.

A fine time of interesting reading awaits  -

Positive Comments.

These are nice remarks, even more appreciated when received from people not known to me.

Our Island Continent + My Australia.

Jim, 
beautiful poetry! Thank you for sharing.

The first one was so fascinating that I forgot I was reading a poem.


Would love to hear more of your poerty if you don't mind please

 Mariushka Ostrowski.

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My Australia + Birthplace

Both of these poems are awesome, Jim!

I nearly cried with the tribute to Australia.

With talent like that, your name will live on forever, even if you don't have the fame and fortune to show for it.

Vincent Van Gogh and Emily Dickinson weren't hailed in their life times, either, yet they left impressions on the minds and hearts of millions. And hey, you're still young. :)

Plenty of time for the fame and fortune to find you after all.

Joanna Cook.

##

The Poddy Rider.

       You may have heard our story on Country Hour about Ryan Fogarty, the 11-year-old from Anningie Station in the Northern Territory.He became the poddy ride champion at Harts Range rodeo about 200 kilometres north east of Alice Springs over the weekend. It inspired bush poet Jim Spain, also known as Rimeriter, to pick up his pen.

We had your poem read on the Country Hour just then and it sounded fantastic!

Caddie Brain ABC Radio.

##

Writers' Information.

"Hopefully you will find this useful."

Selected from the Internet 12/10/11.

WAYS TO LAUNCH STRONG SCENES -  Page 1 of 6.

Any story or novel is, in essence, a series of scenes strung together like beads on a wire, with narrative summary adding texture and color between. A work of fiction will comprise many scenes, and each one of these individual scenes must be built with a structure most easily described as having a beginning, middle and end. The beginning of each scene is what we’ll address here.

The word beginning is a bit misleading, since some scenes pick up in the middle of action or continue where others left off, so I prefer the term launch, which more clearly suggests the place where the reader’s attention is engaged anew.

Visually, in a manuscript a new scene is usually signified by the start of a chapter, by a break of four lines (called a soft hiatus) between the last paragraph of one scene and the first paragraph of the next one, or sometimes by a symbol such as an asterisk, to let the reader know that time has passed.

Each new scene still has a responsibility to the idea or plot you started with, and that is to communicate your idea in a way that is vivifying for the reader and that provides an experience, not a lecture. Scene launches, therefore, pave the way for all the robust consequences of the idea or plot to unfurl. Each scene launch is a reintroduction, capturing your reader’s attention all over again. Start each scene by asking yourself two key questions:

Where are my characters in the plot? Where did I leave them and what are they doing now?

What is the most important piece of information that needs to be revealed in this scene?

Only you and the course of your narrative can decide which kinds of launches will work best for each scene, and choosing the right launch often takes some experimentation. Here we’ll cover 10 key techniques for launching scenes in three main ways: with action, narrative summary or setting.

ACTION LAUNCHES
The sooner you start the action in a scene, the more momentum it has to carry the reader forward. If you find yourself explaining an action, then you’re not demonstrating the action any longer; you’re floating in a distant star system known as Nebulous Intellectulus—more commonly known as your head—and so is the reader.
Keep in mind the key elements of action: time and momentum. It takes time to plan a murder over late-night whispers; to cause an embarrassing scene by drunkenly dropping a jar at the grocery; to blackmail a betraying spouse; or to haul off and kick a wall in anger. These things don’t happen spontaneously, they happen over a period of time. They are sometimes quick, sometimes slow, but once started, they unfold until finished.
The key to creating strong momentum is to start an action without explaining anything:

Albert leads them all into the dining room and everyone drifts around the large teak table, studying the busily constructed salads at each place setting—salads, which, with their knobs of cheese, jutting chives and little folios of frisée, resemble small Easter hats.

“Do we wear these or eat them?” asks Jack. In his mouth is a piece of gray chewing gum like a rat’s brain.

Lorrie Moore plunges her reader into the above scene in the story “Beautiful Grade.” Although the action is quiet, there is physical movement and a sense of real time. The lack of explanation for what is happening forces the reader to press on to learn more. The action gives clues to the reader: The characters are led into a room full of wildly decorated salads that one character is uncertain whether he should eat or wear, which gives a sense of the environment—probably chic. We get a feeling for Jack—he’s got a good sense of humor. Clearly something more is going to happen in this environment, and judging from the tone of the paragraph, we can probably expect irony and humor.

Action launches tend to energize the reader’s physical senses. To create an action launch:

1. GET STRAIGHT TO THE ACTION. Don’t drag your feet here. “Jimmy jumped off the cliff” rather than “Jimmy stared at the water, imagining how cold it would feel when he jumped.”

2. HOOK THE READER WITH BIG OR SURPRISING ACTIONS. An outburst, car crash, violent heart attack or public fight at the launch of a scene allows for more possibilities within it.

3. BE SURE THAT THE ACTION IS TRUE TO YOUR CHARACTER. Don’t have a shy character choose to become suddenly uninhibited at the launch of a scene. Do have a bossy character belittle another character in a way that creates conflict.

4. ACT FIRST, THINK LATER. If a character is going to think in your action opening, let the action come first, as in, “Elizabeth slapped the Prince. When his face turned pink, horror filled her. What have I done? she thought.”

NARRATIVE LAUNCHES
Writers often try to include narrative summary, such as descriptions of the history of a place or the backstory of characters, right at the launch of a scene, believing that the reader will not be patient enough to allow actions and dialogue to tell the story. In large doses, narrative summaries are to scenes what voice-overs are to movies—distractions and interruptions.

Yet a scene launch is actually one of the easier places to use a judicious amount of narrative summary, so long as you don’t keep the reader captive too long. Take the opening of this scene in Amanda Eyre Ward’s novel How to Be Lost:

The afternoon before, I planned how I would tell her. I would begin with my age and maturity, allude to a new lover, and finish with a bouquet of promises: grandchildren, handwritten letters, boxes from Tiffany sent in time to beat the rush. I sat in my apartment drinking Scotch and planning the words.

The above bit is almost entirely narrative summary, and the only action—drinking Scotch—is described, not demonstrated. There is no real setting, and the only visual cues the reader has are vague and abstract. However, the narrative summary does demonstrate the nature of the character, Caroline—she feels she must butter her mother up, bribe her even, in order to ask for something she needs, which turns out to be a relatively small thing. It reflects Caroline’s tendency to live in her head, and shows us she’s the kind of person who must prepare herself mentally for difficult things—a theme that recurs throughout the book. It’s also useful because Caroline spends a lot of time by herself, cutting herself off from her relationships, and, therefore, it is very true to her personality. In just one short paragraph of narrative summary, the reader learns a lot about Caroline, and Ward gets to action in the next paragraph:

Georgette stretched lazily on the balcony. Below, an ambulance wailed. A man with a shopping cart stood underneath my apartment building, eating chicken wings and whistling.

If the entire scene had continued in narrative summary, it would have had a sedative effect on the reader, and the scene’s momentum would have been lost.

A narrative approach is best used with the following launch strategies:

5. SAVE TIME BY BEGINNING WITH SUMMARY. Sometimes actions will simply take up more time and space in the scene than you would like. A scene beginning needs to move fairly quickly and, on occasion, summary will get the reader there faster.

6. COMMUNICATE NECESSARY INFORMATION TO THE READER BEFORE THE ACTION KICKS IN. Sometimes information needs to be imparted simply in order to set action in motion later in the scene. Opening sentences such as, “My mother was dead before I arrived,” “The war had begun” and, “The storm left half of the city underwater,” could easily lead to action.

 7. REVEAL A CHARACTER’S THOUGHTS OR INTENTIONS THAT CANNOT BE SHOWN THROUGH ACTION. Coma victims, elderly characters, small children and other characters sometimes cannot speak or act for physical, mental or emotional reasons; therefore the scene may need to launch with narration to let the reader know what they think and feel.

SETTING LAUNCHES
Sometimes setting details—like a jungle on fire, or moonlight sparkling on a lake—are so important to plot or character development that it’s appropriate to include visual setting at the launch of a scene. This is often the case in books set in unusual, exotic or challenging locations such as snowy Himalayan mountains, lush islands or brutal desert climates. If the setting is going to bear dramatically on the characters and the plot, then there is every reason to let it lead into the scene that will follow.

John Fowles’ novel The Magus is set mostly on a Greek island that leaves an indelible imprint on the main character, Nicholas. He becomes involved with an eccentric man whose isolated villa in the Greek countryside becomes the stage upon which the major drama of the novel unfolds. Therefore, it makes sense for him to launch a scene in this manner:

It was a Sunday in late May, blue as a bird’s wing. I climbed up the goat-paths to the island’s ridge-back, from where the green froth of the pine-tops rolled two miles down to the coast. The sea stretched like a silk carpet across to the shadowy wall of mountains on the mainland to the west. … It was an azure world, stupendously pure, and as always when I stood on the central ridge of the island and saw it before me, I forgot most of my troubles.

The reader needs to be able to see in detail the empty Greek countryside in which Nicholas becomes so isolated. It sets the scene for something beautiful and strange to happen, and Fowles does not disappoint.
These final three methods can create an effective scenic launch:

 8. ENGAGE WITH SPECIFIC VISUAL DETAILS. If your character is deserted on an island, the reader needs to know the lay of the land. Any fruit trees in sight? What color sand? Are there rocks, shelter or wild, roaming beasts?

9. USE SCENERY TO SET THE TONE OF THE SCENE. Say your scene opens in a jungle where your character is going to face danger; you can describe the scenery in language that conveys darkness, fear and mystery.

10. REFLECT A CHARACTER’S FEELINGS THROUGH SETTING. Say you have a sad character walking through a residential neighborhood. The descriptions of the homes can reflect that sadness—houses can be in disrepair, with rotting wood and untended yards. You can use weather in the same way. A bright, powerfully sunny day can reflect a mood of great cheer in a character.

Scene launches happen so quickly and are so soon forgotten that it’s easy to rush through them, figuring it doesn’t really matter how you get it started. Don’t fall prey to that thinking. Take your time with each scene launch. Craft it as carefully and strategically as you would any other aspect of your scene. Remember that a scene launch is an invitation to the reader, beckoning him to come further along with you. Make your invitation as alluring as possible.

This article was written by Jordan E. Rosenfeld.

Jim's Jottings Publications.

Jim's Jottings: New Publications.

Jim’s Jottings Aussie Booklettes  is a collection in four series.

My Australia

Bootin’ About

Roamin’ round

Amblin’ Australia

Various collections of rhymed verse have been in process since 1997,

more than ten years in gestation.

Booklettes in Bifold are available with limited internal pages.

Booklettes in Bifold with stapled binding are now available.

Books in professional bindings are available to order.

All suitable for Gift Giving.

Covers can be personalised  -   Pre Orders are necessary.

Contact

Rimeriter.

mailto: rimeriter@gmail.com subject: Jim's Jottings Aussie Book Series.

Ol'Mick.

Ol' Mick.

When I was a boy a dog old and true

lived by the creek with us, and as I grew

became very much loved as my only play friend,

so in memory he does - until my end.

His master, my brother away ploughing hard ground,

just me and my mother aware of each sound,

the times were Depression, each shilling hard won.

My brother, Mick's master - the eldest son.

My father just missing while chasing good work.

My sisters their schooling were not able to shirk

until coming of age for courtship and marriage,

no silvery slippers or a golden carriage.

So Mick was our guardian as well as a friend

should there be a danger ol'Mick would soon send

a message by barking and snarling real loud

whether rain was upon us or nary a cloud.

This day as so happened, no cloud in the sky,

a Goanna came seeking feathered chicken pie,

ol' Mick was defending our wired coop and run

by dashing and snapping - it was his day in the sun.

My mother soon joined him, I stood at her side

throwing sticks and stones while glowing with pride

at Mick and his anger at Goanna stealing eggs

until this daylight robber ran off on short legs.

He got to the main road not feeling much pain,

sidled over the edge down into storm drain,

safe and secure when then in the night

made off into the bush to recover from fright.

(c). Rimeriter. 14/12/06.

Murrumbidgee River in NSW - this is where Margaret and Barry stopped over on their journey to the Great Ocean Road.

Might enter this in the Blackened Billy Comp, but it is not true Bush Verse !!

Any comments please ??                

On the Banks – 

On the banks - of the ‘bidgee, with blue water - flowing by 

was “Hiya Barry”, and his lady, underneath - a cloudless sky. 

They are travellin’ - this fair country, with a taste - for far and wide.

Now is time, to be doin’ it, while the pace - is on their side.

Makin’ for, the southern ocean, to see Apostles - standin’ there,

slowly, slowly, disappearin’- move on quickly - for your share.

On the banks - of the ‘bidgee, campin’ down - for just awhile

for serenity, for the beauty, restin’ quietly - with a smile.

©. Rimeriter.  1 June  2010.

Blackened Billy Competition.

These are the basic details,google the remainder should you decide to enter -

Blackened Billy Verse Competition

2012

CONDITIONS OF ENTRY

1. Poetry entries to be bush verse on one side only of A4 sized paper and must be entrant’s own work.

2. Name, address and telephone number of entrant must be placed on a separate page (not on entry).

3. Entries shall not have previously won a 1st, 2nd or 3rd prize in any poetry competition.

4. Entries shall not have been previously published for the monetary gain of the author.

5. Entries close 30th November 2011 and the Judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be

entered into.

6. Winning entries will be announced and prizes presented prior to the Friday Heats of the 2012

Tamworth Bush Poetry Competition, on 27th January 2012 at Wests League Club, West Tamworth.

7. Entries will not be returned.

8. Entry fee of $5 per entry, or 5 entries for $20.

9. There is no limit to the number of entries.

10. There is no limit to the length of entries.

11. Copyright is retained by the author.

12. Winners will be notified by mail. All entrants who wish to receive a copy of the results, please enclose a

business sized stamped, self addressed envelope. For a judge’s critique, also enclose $10 with your SSAE.

organised by

The Tamworth Poetry Reading Group

supported by

A.M. Printing Services

This entry form may be copied, or extra copies obtained by sending a business sized stamped,

self addressed envelope to the above address.

Cut along dotted line. (Retain top part of ............................................................................................................. .t.h..i.s.. .f.o..r.m... .f.o..r. .y..o..u..r. .r..e..c.o..r..d..s.).. ............................................

Name: (Print) ...........................................................................................................................

Address: ................................................................................................................................

................................................................. Postcode: .........................................

Telephone: ( .............) ............................................................................

Email: ...............................................................................................................................

No. of Entries: ......................................... Entry Fee Enclosed: .........................................

(Please make cheques payable to Tamworth Poetry Reading Group)

Authors retain copyright, but Tamworth Poetry Reading Group reserves the right to arrange publication of

the winning poem, without payment, in the Newsletter of the Australian Bush Poets Association,

The Northern Daily Leader, and Capital News.

I agree to the conditions of the competition.

Signature: ................................................................ Date: .....................................................

Linguistics.

An Extraction. In the June issue of Writers Voice, the quarterly magazine of the NSW Fellowship of Australian Writers, the Poetry Editor, David Berger, wrote the following: “A good poem should show something and not tell it. Ballads were fine for earlier cultures, but a modern poem is a reaction to an emotion which is then linguistically encrypted and transmitted through time. When this poem is unpacked, the reader should be able to feel that original emotion: the anger, the fear, the joy.”

***

Well, David -

linguistic encrytion is code for making it impossible to understand without a code breaker, then it has to be unpacked.

Blimey, far too much work for we average readers.

To ‘see’ the images.

To ‘feel’ the emotion.

To ‘enjoy’ the easily written, easily understood writers work,

 is far superior to having to decode it.

Understandably, linguistic encrytion is vital to an item which is to be a limited publication, then cloistered in the bowls of academia,

rarely if ever to see the light of day.

Writers will earn a much more handsome income, writing to suit a larger, wider, understanding and appreciative audience.

***

Jim Spain – the Rimeriter.

A Writer of Rhyme.

A backward poet who writes inverse.