By Anne K. Kaler
One of the first bits of knowledge a child must learn is the alphabet. In English there are 26 letters to remember and often they are sung in an easy-to-remember rhyme.
Did you know that there were several more letters than the familiar 26 that you committed to memory? Yep, there are at least three retirees from the alphabet hall of fame that I would like to introduce you to today. Meet THORN, WYNN, and &. Continue reading “On the Al Fun Bit (Alphabet)”
The Pearl S. Buck Writing Center is proud to announce a book signing, on Tuesday, July 12th from noon to 2pm at the Lansdale Public Library, by author Paul Sullivan for his new novel The Irishman’s Song – A Story of Love & Rebellion.
A tale of the 1916 Easter Rising and the Irish Civil War, The Irishman’s Song weaves adventure and survival into themes of loyalty, love and friendship –represented by the symbols on the Irish Claddagh ring – the crown, the heart and the hands.
The Irishman’s Song was published by the Pearl S. Buck Writing Center Press. Paul graciously contributed the first chapter to our Spring 2016 Literary Journal. Be sure to stop by and meet Paul and hear more about his new book.
Born in Trenton, New Jersey, Sullivan was raised in Tennessee and enjoyed a boyhood of camping, fishing and hunting in the South with his father who encouraged in him a love for books and education. After a move to Pennsylvania at fourteen, Sullivan became bored and restless in school. He dropped out and began working while continuing to read and learn.
Sullivan’s previous novels have themes of adventure and survival. The Legend of the North. Keewatin, The Unforgiving Land, Maata’s Journal and The Seal Hunters are all set in the Arctic; The Spirit Walker in Africa; A Burning of Prayers in Guatemala; Torn from the Sun in Peru and Spain; and Breaker at Dawn in the coal mines of Pennsylvania.
Sullivan traveled around the world, gathering a wealth of stories to tell. He now resides in Bristol, PA and is a member of the Pearl S. Buck Writers’ Guild.
By Ye Olde Editor,
A sunny day at Green Hills Farm greeted the dozen members of our prolific Writers Guild, who brought eight stories to share! We even received an emailed story from a member who couldn’t attend, but wanted our feedback.
Cindy Louden and I greeted the group and told them that Anne was under the weather, and she would not attend. We reminded everyone to follow our blog, and use the link to submission guidelines for the Fall Issue of the Literary Journal.
Happily for the author, Paul Sullivan is busy promoting his book, The Irishman’s Song. Paul will appear on the radio broadcast of WBCB 1490AM on Saturday, June 25th at noon, during Bristol’s Celtic Days celebration. Tune in to enjoy! Continue reading “June 2016 Guild Meeting shared 8 submissions”
The deadline for submissions to our Fall Issue of the 2016 Literary Journal is July 31st. Click here to read our submission guidelines. The theme for this issue is The Good Earth – The Dying Earth.
Carefully read the word length requirements and quantity limitations for submissions. The editors look forward to reading your stories, essays and poems!
Please join us this coming Sunday, June 19th at 1:30pm for our monthly Writers Guild meeting upstairs in the Cultural Center (the big red barn). We welcome all authors and poets, published or not, to listen, collaborate with each other and learn by sharing.
Bring copies of any work you’d like us to comment on (up to 3 pages), and be sure to include your email address on it. Some of our members prefer to do a slow read and respond with a detailed critique later. Remember, if you don’t have printing capabilities, and need copies made, please be sure to send lindadonaldson@verizon.net a Word file before Saturday.
We look forward to seeing you on Sunday, but if you can’t make it, look for my recap blog post early next week. Summer has brought beauty to the grounds of Green Hills Farm which boasts many inspirational settings to get your creative juices flowing.
Visit the historic home of Pearl S. Buck, 520 Dublin Road, Perkasie, walk the gardens, check out the Gift Shop or just bring your notebook and find a quiet spot. Keep Writing!
By Anne K. Kaler, PhD
Is that a provocative sentence for a writer? Tony Hillerman uses it to end a paragraph describing how he uses a memory of an actual helicopter ride deep into a canyon as a major action in his mystery Hunting Badger.
If a novelist as skilled as Hillerman can use his memory, why can’t we as writers use our memories – good and bad alike – to flesh out our fictions? Well, we can and we do. Pearl Buck herself employed familiar touches in her writings to enhance the scenes. Her children have even recognized several of them and treasured them.
In a way, we as writers inhabit many worlds, some of which are real. One of those worlds lies in our memory bank, just waiting to be withdrawn and put to use in another of our worlds, that of our writing. Of course, once the memory is withdrawn and staring us in the face, it must be transformed to fit the place it will be deposited into our story. That means that we have to revisit just how the memory affected us then and how it affects us now. Continue reading “On A Few Useful Memories”
By Anne K. Kaler, PhD
“Send me a synopsis,” says your literary agent or editor.
“Synopsis,” you say, “Sure. I’ll get mine in the mail to you.”
“Just as soon as I figure out just what it is,” you add under your breath as panic scrambles the few brain cells you have left.
And you thought writing was easy?
Do you run to the dictionary to check the meaning of the word? Do you Google it? Do you call up a writing partner to advise you? Or do you give up in despair because you know that you are going to have to venture into the major leagues of the craft of writing without a bat, ball, or glove. Continue reading “How to Write a Book Synopsis”
Pearl S. Buck Writing Center 