EducationNews.org

1) First of all, what got you interested in writing and helping others write well?

Like many authors, I started creating stories when I was very young and didn't realize this was unusual or special until far later in life.When I was five, I put together a little booklet about a witch and a cat, and at thirteen I wrote my first original novel.I haven't stopped writing since.

Helping other writers came far later in life.I met author Holly Lisle (www.hollylisle.com) through a Writer's Digest course she was teaching, and afterwards stayed in close contact via the wonderful world of computers.When she started a site for writers, I was one of the first people to join, and quickly became a moderator.As the site grew, I took on the role of assistant administrator.Holly decided to devote more time to her work and family about five years ago, and I became the owner and administrator of Forward Motion for Writers.We had just over 2400 registered members when Holly turned it over to me, and now we have over 11,000.

Being the head of a huge site dedicated to helping writers wasn't a role I would have imagined myself in a decade ago.However, I discovered I have gift for imparting the joy of writing, and an ability to help new writers learning their craft.I don't have all the answers, but Forward Motion isn't just about me; we have several other published authors, as well as many people willing to share what knowledge they have on subjects that range from grammar to fighting with swords.Since our membership is international, the amount of information available is truly astounding.

2) What exactly is your title and how would you describe yourself?

I am an author. That's the first and most important aspect of my life.

However, I spend a great deal of my time dealing with other aspects of writing.I am site administrator for Forward Motion, publishing editor for Vision: A Resource for Writers, and assistant publisher for Dragon Tooth Fantasy books.Nearly everything I do involves writing and helping other writers in one fashion or another.Even a considerable amount of my own writing has been dedicated to creating classes, books, and articles on writing.

I have never thought of myself as a teacher, though.I think pathfinder might be a better title.Writers, and the works they create, are unique and I try to help each writer find his or her own path.

My ways will not work for all writers, and again, that's why Forward Motion is such a great site.There are others who might have answers that work for people when mine do not.

3) What is Vision: A Resource for Writers?

Vision is an on-line electronic magazine (with a PDF download version) featuring several articles about writing by writers.I posted the first issue on January 1, 2001 and have put out an issue every two months since.Most of the articles come from members of the site, though that is not a prerequisite for acceptance. Each issue includes workshops and interviews with authors and publishers, as well as articles on various aspects of writing.All seven years of the magazine are available as online back issues. Holly Lisle and I have also put out a joint book featuring workshops from the first few years.

4) Are there adequate places for high school students to get their short stories or poetry published?

Most of the publishing world is age-blind, which means a publisher won't know the age of the person submitting the work unless he is told.There are no clear-cut signs of a younger writer.Many of them are every bit as good as older authors, and write with as much depth and clarity as anyone else.

There are some publications that cater specifically to younger writers, but for the most part young writers have to get out there and submit to the same places as the rest of us.Unfortunately, there are few print markets for either short stories or poetry, though new electronic markets pop up more frequently.As people get used to the idea of reading on-line, these new markets become more viable.

I've heard about some school-related publications open to student authors at their school, but I don't how widespread these are. In this age of Internet and POD publishing, it is relatively easy to put together such a publication with very little cost.Regrettably, almost all teachers and other school officials are already overworked and don't have time to add yet another project to their lists.

There are many young, energetic writers out there who would do well with a peer group writing project.Unfortunately, schools are far more apt to encourage the football team than they are to encourage anything that uses the educational tools they're teaching.Quite honestly, I've never figured out why they can't do both.

There is another side of this that people don't usually think about.Younger writers, who haven't spent time learning about the technical side of the craft, can be good targets for scam artists.There are far too many scams in the writing world, and those of us at Forward Motion do our best to warn people away from the known ones.Talking to established writers can help show the real side of the writing life.

At Forward Motion we have rules about asking the age or location of a member, so I don't know the actual ages of the members. However, based on casual references to things like school work, home life, and music preferences, I would guess that between one-quarter and one-third of the membership falls in the high school to college age range.They are serious about their craft, and often far better at writing than I was at their age -- but not many of them can get the help they need through school.I think Forward Motion can help fill that gap

5) How good a job are high school teachers doing in terms of teaching writing?

Most school classes must focus on the basic building blocks like noun and verb agreement, conjugation of verbs, and all those other important first steps to creating a readable sentence.For general writing technique, I think many teachers do fine.I did hear about a 'said is dead' campaign that made me grit my teeth, though.It may not have been high school level, but I'll use it as an example of something that is not helpful for new authors trying to write something more than school assignments.I understand the principle of the idea, which was obviously to get students to expand their vocabulary.However, I read a good many manuscripts where the overuse of non-said words draws attention away from the writing and to the dialogue tag.'Said' is a good word in most circumstances.It is invisible and doesn't bounce the reader out of the story.

6) What about creative writing? or science fiction writing?

High school teachers have several factors working against them when it comes to creative writing.First is the big one -- too many students, and too little time.Another is that they are not likely to be writers themselves, and that makes teaching it a strictly a by-the-book process.There are no step-by-step instructions that can help students learn to write a great short story or novel.It would be like teaching oil painting by reading a book, without actually touching a paint brush or exploring the individual's vision.

Creative writing is a personal experience, and a large class atmosphere with book assignments may not help a budding writer in the specific ways that he or she needs.This may sound odd from someone who runs a huge site for writers (11,000 registered members and growing), but because of the joys of the Internet, people at the site are more apt to get individual help from others who understand their specific questions and problems.

As for high school teachers giving instruction in writing science fiction, I suspect it is entirely dependent on the teacher.Does the teacher read science fiction and understand that the written form is not much like what they see on television and in the movies?The same is true of the other genres as well; in order to help teach someone how to write in the genre, a person has to at least have a passing understanding of that genre's expectations.

How about writing romance, which is a very popular genre?I can see where that would be very difficult in a classroom atmosphere.

At best, I think most creative writing classes can only gloss over most genres and stick close to literary fiction.The problem here is that literary fiction is as boring to write for someone who loves science fiction as it is for a science fiction writer to be forced to write romance.Creativity can't be predefined and directed to something that doesn't interest the writer.You can experiment in other genres, but that should come after you've learned what you love to write.Doing it the other way around can squash the newly budding writing bug, and make something that will be a joy for some into drudgery.

And, of course, there are the other students who really don't want to write, and who are not going to be inspired to start through class assignments.It's not going to be any more fun for them than for the people writing things they don't like.How do you tell the difference?How can you encourage the people who might enjoy writing?

I just can't see that it's an easy task in a classroom, and what they do teach is tied down with all the limitations I've mentioned.I don't know that it could be done better.

7) Tell us about Dragon Tooth Fantasy. What is this all about?

Dragon Tooth Fantasy Books is the fantasy imprint of Double Dragon Publishing.I'm in charge of the imprint, which means reading the slush pile -- the manuscripts sent by writers in hopes of finding publication.I decide which ones are both ready for publication and fit DTF's needs.Unlike most people in my position, if I reject a book, I try to give a few hints to people on things they can work on before they send it off to the next publisher.

Once I have chosen something, I then have to shepherd it through the process of editing, and then final formatting.When the book is ready, I get bio information, cover blurb lines, and cover art ideas from the author and sent it all off to the main Double Dragon office.We publish in both electronic and POD formats.

It's a long process, and it has helped me better understand some of the overall problems that writer's face.Many of those submitting to me tell me in their cover letters that they are in school and I'm astounded by how well some of them write.

The age of the Internet is opening the door to new publishing opportunities, and though they often don't pay as well as traditional publishers, they can be rewarding.We need more publishing outlets.

8) Who is Killian Dane Fox and what is happening to him in Nebraska? ( I have to tell you to be careful answering this, since I did my doctoral work in Lincoln, Nebraska ) 

Ha!I live in northeastern Nebraska, so I think we can safely assume I know something about Nebraska, and even more about small town Nebraska, which is where the novel Muse takes place.Killian Dane Fox is a reporter on his way from his old job in Denver to his new job in Chicago.His car breaks down and he finds himself trapped in a very strange little Nebraska town.There he is faced not only with the culture shock of big city boy in small town, but also must deal with a would-be killer, flood-producing storms... and his growing attraction to the town's pretty mayor.

If anyone is interested in the story, they can read the first thirty pages on my website, and learn how to purchase it there.http://lazette.net

9) Tell us about some of your web sites and who would be interested in visiting them.

I've mentioned Forward Motion (http://fmwriters.com).This is a very large site, and it is dedicated to helping writers find the path to professional publication.This means we don't encourage self-publishing or the writing of fanfiction.We have boards devoted to various genres, private small critique groups, chat rooms and classes.

We also have a section specifically for younger writers up to age 18.They are free to wander through the rest of the boards as well, but this section is private for their use only. I would like to see more younger writer's take advantage of it, because it's a great way to discuss and show writing, without feeling as though the author is too much in the public. The moderators who take care of that area are truly wonderful, and I can't begin to say how much I appreciate them -- and the other moderators working at Forward Motion.Since Forward Motion is an entirely free site, they're doing the work only because they want to help other writers.

Vision: A Resource for Writers (http://lazette.net/vision) is the ezine I mentioned earlier.A new issue comes out every two months, and includes not only articles on writing, but also an interview with an author or publisher, and a workshop to help with some specific aspect of writing.

I have one other website that has drawn the attention of both teachers and students who often write asking permission to use material posted there.This is a photo site filled with pictures of animals from the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska (http://zettezoo.blogspot.com/ ).I try to go to the zoo (which is about 90 miles away) at least once a month, and I always take my camera and tripod.A few of the pictures have been printed in magazines, and some of them are on the University of Michigan's Animal Diversity Website as well.It's been a popular site for various animal-related projects.

10) What important, salient, relevant, germane questions have I unfortunately neglected to ask?

The only information I can think to add is to point out that if you write, you are a writer.You may not be a published writer -- yet -- but you have begun the work.The difficult part isn't always creating the stories (although that's often hard enough), but rather following through to the end, including editing and doing all the other work that goes into submitting manuscripts for publication.

A single class at school can't provide the long-term needs of new writers trying to find their way through the maze from the first written word all the way to mailing material to the publisher or agent -- and beyond if the person lands a contract. That's where places like Forward Motion can help.Not only are we there when the writer needs a question answered, but because the site is filled with authors at all levels of their careers, chances are someone will have an answer that works.It works for writers of all ages.