Beyondaries!

The magnificent Chila Woychik, who has appeared here more than once, has been busy, starting a new e-zine through Port Yonder Press.


The first issue was released yesterday, and will be quarterly. Make way for Beyondaries! :) I haven't had a chance to explore it fully, but there will be articles of interest to writers and non-writers alike... including the quarterly results of the Team PYP short stories!

I should point out that my name is somewhere in the issue... can you find it? ;)

Back next week with who knows what... it'll be fun!

Until next time,

Liberty

Non-stereotypical

You know you're an odd duck when your husband asks you when the Super Bowl is...

Such is life in my house. I am far more interested in football than my husband, although he seems to "get" the game more than I do.

Last night, we were eating dinner, and TMOTH looked at me (while I was stuffing my mouth with pizza) and said, "The Super Bowl is next week?"

I held up two fingers, and after I swallowed, told him, "Two weeks, Honey."

After thinking about it for a bit, it made me think about how much of the time, the characters I read about are a bit stereotypical. Sure, there's some exceptions, but most of the time, the girls are the shopping-freaks, and the guys can't understand anything else when anything with a ball is on the TV.

As a writer, I hope my characters are never cookie-cutters cut-outs. The main character in one of my projects absolutely HATES shopping, and is very likely to show up somewhere wearing a Kansas City Chiefs jersey (whether it's appropriate or not.) The hero in the same story is as comfortable cooking alongside his girl (the main character) as he is taking his car apart and changing its oil.

If you're a writer, do you find you rely on stereotypes of the genders a bit too much? If so, is there a legitimate reason you do?

If you're a reader, do you notice when characters are stereotypes?


Until next time,



P.S.--I drafted this last night... while I was watching the Giants/49ers go into overtime...

A Plea From the Dog

Me and Mom

My name is Tucker. I am a 3--almost 4--year old Chocolate Labrador Retriever. I live with my mom, Liberty, and TMOTH. I have commandeered Mom's computer to beg for your help (and I am really good at begging.)

You have to stop Mom's obsession with this thing called "writing". It is really getting in the way of my quality dog time. When I first came to Mom's house, everything was confusing, and I did not know how completely obsessed she is with this activity.

First, it was writing a book. That was fine. She would sometimes stay up late while writing this book. This was nice because she would, if she remembered, be up to let me out to go chase opossums and other night-time animals I don't get to see in the daytime. I sure do love to chase them squirrels and rabbits... just wish I could catch one...

But, Mom has now decided this thing called a book needs to go into a contest. If that weren't enough, she is now writing these things called "reviews" and "short stories". I'm not really sure what these are, just that they are starting to encroach on my well-deserved walks. After all, I am the dog. I need these sorts of things. And, if Mom were to take me for my walks, she might not be so concerned about the size of jeans she is (or isn't) fitting into these days.

If that isn't enough for you to help me, maybe this will be. I sometimes hear Mom talking to herself. I think she's talking to me--after all, she using the word "bones" a lot--but when I come to see where the bones are, she barely notices I am there! I know I heard her right. Then she's started talking a lot about getting an "agent" and making lots of "queries". I'm not sure what these are, either, but they sound like a big problem if I'm going to get my dinner on time one of these days. Too many times, Mom can't remember whether she fed me or not. (That's why the kids give me scraps--to make sure I keep up my strength. Someone has to get the word out about Mom!)

Won't you help me? You may know how to talk to Mom about her addiction. I've tried, but apparently, Mom cannot understand me. I will keep you posted on my progress.

--Tucker the Labrador