International Christian Writers Report

Stanley Baldwin, Founder and Editor This is a sample of the free monthly email publication sent to members of ICW, ICW NET and ICW Prayer Fellowship. ARCHIVES: previous reports June 2007 This issue of the Report contains: I Hope This Is Not Goodbye A Writer’s Refresher Course Call for Articles for Women Job opportunities Next Saturday, May 19 Society For Prevention Of Cruelty To Humans & Request for submissions

1. I HOPE THIS IS NOT GOODBYE
This may be my last or next to last issue of the ICW Report and, consequently, the end of my regular communication with you. I hope it is not both.

The past couple of Reports have carried news about my new endeavor: the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Humans. Many of you have been very supportive of this initiative, and I deeply appreciate that. (Thanks, also, to the members of ICW Prayer Fellowship, who have so wonderfully borne up Marj and me through her cancer surgery of June 13. The results were greatly encouraging.)

I believe the Lord is telling me it is time to relinquish my leadership of ICW and devote my energies to SPCH. I have a person in mind to assume the work of Director of ICW, but that is uncertain (and unknown to that person).

The bottom line is that ICW is in a period of transition and I am quite frankly apprising you of these developments. Maybe one of you will nominate someone (yourself?) to assume these responsibilities.

I hope that this pending change will not mean the end of my own regular communication with each of you. Initially, I will send the SPCH Reports to this same ICW mailing list. However, I don’t want to send you emails you don’t care to receive. Therefore, if that is the case, please reply to this announcement with a simple “delete from SPCH” message.

I intend to remain fully engaged with writing and with the Christian writing community. Hey, once a writer . . . .

2. A WRITER’S REFRESHER COURSE (PART ONE)
If it’s good enough for the Editor of the “Saturday Evening Post” . . . .
At American Christian Writers annual mentoring retreat on May 19-20 in Nashville, I spoke to the assembled group on self-editing and rewriting. Afterward, Holly Miller, Editor of “Saturday Evening Post,” who was also a mentor there, asked me if she could use the material in other venues where she speaks.

The material both tells and shows what to do. For example, when it says begin copy halfway down the page, the copy begins halfway down the page. (I hope on your email the format is preserved.)

TOP OF PAGE

Your name word count
Your street address rights offered
City, State, Zip

Title

by Your Byline

Notice that copy begins about half way down the first page. This will be the case when you begin any article, story, or new chapter. Lines must be double-spaced. Margins must be one inch or more at left and right. Typeface used here is Times New Roman and size is 12 point. If you use something else, make sure it is of comparable size and quality. Use the same typeface throughout the manuscript. Justify left only, not left and right.

Keep your paragraphs relatively short for easier reading. Sentences should also be short, as a rule (perhaps 15 words). However, use a variety of sentence lengths and constructions. Understand? A sentence may be longer if it flows nicely and is clear, but avoid complex and compound sentences in which the reader is likely to lose his way, because he may decide it is not worth the effort to wade through your convoluted writing; it is just too hard, and who needs that, so break up long run-on sentences into two or more shorter ones, and make your writing more readable; your reader will thank you.

Generally avoid the use of typographical gimmicks such as bold print or italics or ALL CAPS for emphasis in running copy. Also, do not use exclamation points at the end of declarative sentences such as this one! Save them for exclamations. I can’t believe it! Some writers even use double or triple exclamation points. Never!!!

Use subheads
In non-fiction, subheads help break up the copy and guide the reader’s thinking.

Don’t Overuse Subheads
Breaking up the copy this much is distracting. Usually you will not have more than one subhead every page or two.

Watch your verbs
Avoid the use of verbs in the passive voice; make them active voice where possible. In the passive voice the subject is acted upon; in the active voice the subject does the acting. Active voice is much more effective. For example, you wouldn’t write “A tuffet was sat upon by Little Miss Muffet.” Instead you’d write, “Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet.” Don’t write, “The entire manuscript was written by the author in one hour.” Write, “The author wrote the entire manuscript in one hour.” Go through your manuscript looking for passive verbs you can change to active voice. You will almost surely find some.

Use strong verbs rather than weak ones supported by adverbs. Walk is a weak verb, not to be used when stroll or strut or stumble or stagger or stomp would fit better. Each of these strong verbs is colorful, interesting, and rich in connotation. Each is better than walk supported by an adverb: casually, proudly, unsteadily, dazedly, angrily.

Note that these adverbs all end with ________ly. Be suspicious of ________ly words in your writing. They may signal that you need to use a stronger verb.

(Watch for part 2 next month.)

CALL FOR ARTICLES FOR WOMEN
Hi, I’m Richard Daly an Author in the process of putting another book together. Could you please pass on the following message to those who would like to have their writing published.

Do you know someone who is a Woman of Inspiration? It could even be you.
Someone:
-overcoming a tragedy or disaster,
-living with a particular condition, prevailing under
intense or overwhelming conditions
-enduring an illness or physical condition, disability
or trauma in life.
-an achievement or accomplishment,
-aspiring against the odds.
-one who has overcome a challenge or tragedy.

If so I would like to hear your story for possible publication in a book entitled ‘Women of Inspiration’. The book is aimed at using your story to inspire others.

Please email me with your written story. A payment will be made for published stories.
richarddaly@ukonline.co.uk

4. JOB OPPORTUNITIES:

Sharon Mumper of Magazine Training International writes:

We've made the move to the US from Austria and we're looking for new staff. We are a missions enterprise and our staff are considered missionaries, because our focus is still overseas, even though we're now based in Colorado Springs. That means that it is necessary for the staff to raise support. However, in recognition of the fact that it can be difficult to raise missionary support for someone based in the US, our board decided to offer a base salary of $12,500/year. The missionary would raise the rest of whatever is needed to live on.

The positions open are writer/editor, assistant to the president, and new media coordinator.

For more information:

Sharon Mumper, President
Magazine Training International
5376 Tomah Dr., Suite 210
Colorado Springs, CO 80918

Tel: (719) 598-9743
Fax: (719) 598-1007

Email: smumper@magazinetraining.com
SharonMumper@compuserve.com

For more information on job opportunities, check out the Web site: www.magazinetraining.com

5. NEXT SATURDAY, MAY 19

Attention: Friends from the Pacific Northwest who plan to attend the May 19 conference of Oregon Christian Writers in Eugene. Look for Julie Johnson, our new Director of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Julie will be introduced to the conferees by OCW President DJ Young at the 9 a.m. opening session. Later, at the 11:40 hour, she will speak briefly about SPCH and its editorial needs. The rest of the day she will be available to talk individually with interested friends.

Attention: Friends from the Nashville area. I will be mentoring writers at the annual ACW writers retreat on Friday and Saturday, May 18-19. Most of that time I will be busy with conferees, but I’d be pleased to meet you and visit about SPCH (or anything else) from 8-9:30 a.m. on Saturday only.

5. SOCIETY FOR PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO HUMANS
by Stanley Baldwin

A. Last month this Report carried my personal appeal asking for your input as I was in the process of organizing the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to People (SPCP). I want to sincerely and heartily thank those who responded with your encouraging emails. It meant a lot to me.

I am pleased to tell you that we have made great strides in the month since then. Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Humans (we changed the name from people to humans) is now incorporated as a recognized non-profit organization by the State of Oregon . Our next step is to file for tax exempt status with the IRS.

We also have an operating website (actually, four of them). Please go to www.preventcrueltytohumans.com for our main site, and for much more information than I can give here.

One of the other sites in operation is www.preventcrueltytochildren.com. This site relates to our children’s division and is the work of our first Division Director, Julie Johnson. Julie is highly qualified for this job with many years experience at leadership levels on child-related issues, both locally and nationally. Please visit her site.

We are praying to the Lord of the harvest to provide directors for the other Society divisions: seniors, workplace, politics, religion, public life, healthcare, and the poor.

Your personal recommendations will carry a lot of weight, and the person need not necessarily be from the Pacific Northwest.

You are invited to become a Charter Member of SPCH’s Dolphin Club. The Charter Member roster will be closed when 100 people have qualified. Charter Members make a one-time contribution of $50 to $500 or more to SPCH. For more information, email scbaldwin2@yahoo.com or go to www.preventcrueltytohumans.com.

B. Call for Articles for SPCH
Writers: Come Help Change the World!

One need not look far to see that we are immersed in a culture of cruelty. In just one daily newspaper (The Oregonian, May 5, 2007), you can read that:

Fewer than half of the soldiers and marines in Iraq said noncombatants should be treated with dignity and respect.
Three Molalla high school students were charged with violent sex abuse of a teammate. The mother of one offender said: “We’re thinking that they made too big a deal of it. It’s something that the kids all did in fun.”
“Payday and car title lenders . . . prey on the poor and the desperate. These businesses charged an average of 528 percent annualized interest.”
A woman driver killed a bicyclist in a hit and run on Foster Road. There were two women in the car; each claimed the other was driving.

W e don’t have space to talk of TV and movies and video games. Of rap music and internet bullying and radio trash-talk. Of political mud-slinging and racism and child abuse and senior neglect. Of--- well, you get the idea.

Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Humans (SPCH) has a twofold agenda:

To encourage personal acts of decency and kindness.
To challenge and change the prevailing culture of cruelty.

The Society has a plan:
Our culture has radically shifted for the better over the past generation with regard to one social evil: smoking. How was this achieved? The data showed and the Surgeon General declared that smoking caused cancer and was a huge negative in society. As that message was driven home, it changed the culture.

The Society intends to employ a similar tactic with regard to meanness and cruelty. For that we need writers who will provide articles with three characteristics:

Articles will be well-researched and offer hard data related to the damaging effects of meanness and cruelty. The writer will cite credible sources such as studies that have been done, professionals who have spoken, reliable statistics that have been compiled.

2. Articles will put a human face on the data with compelling anecdotes and examples.

3. Articles will focus on one specific aspect of the problem, corresponding with

a Division of the Society, such as: Children, Seniors, the Workplace, Schools, Politics, Religion, Public Life (includes media), Health Care, and so on.

Writer Guideline Specifics

Length is flexible since much of the publishing will be online where space requirements are not so strict. (Of course we still want tight, focused writing.)

Rights: The writer will grant SPCH the right to unlimited use of the material including in all electronic and print media. The writer will retain the right to publish the same material in other venues so long as SPCH-prescribed credit line is used.

Doctrine: SPCH operates on Judeo-Christian principles and all published writings will be consistent with those principles. They will not, however, reflect any particular doctrinal position or exhibit any churches’ distinctive expressions.

Payment will consist of a credit line on the published material in whatever form it appears. The writer will receive copies when the material is issued in print media. In addition, each writer will receive a copy of the Society’s manifesto, a book entitled A Funny Thing Happened on My Way to Save Civilization by SPCH president Stanley C. Baldwin.

Why Write for SPCH? We want writers who believe in the SPCH cause and who see this as an opportunity to contribute.

Submissions to: scbaldwin@preventcrueltytohumans.com

“Man’s inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn.” Robert Burns

Isn’t it time to do something about it?

Well, that’s it for this month.
Let me sign off with these words from Pat Roberts, Board member of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Humans:
Karl Menninger once asked, “Whatever happened to sin?” A related question is, “Whatever happened to shame?” But let’s get even more serious. What has happened to kindness? For an answer click on preventcrueltytohumans.com. This grass roots non-profit organization has a plan and is sending you this invitation to be part of it.

Stanley Baldwin, Director

For email address changes, reply to Jane Foard Thompson at this email address.
For all other communication contact Stanley Baldwin directly: scbaldwin2@yahoo.com

For more information or questions contact us by email.

Copyright © International Christian Writers. All rights reserved. Revised: April 6, 2004