February 25, 2010 OZARKS WRITERS LEAGUE From our home in NE Texas, it’s nearly 400 miles from Branson. So, when we go up there to visit our son Marc, it’s usually a multipurpose trip. And, this was the case this past week. We drove up on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2010, with reservations at the Box Willie Hotel in Branson. I wanted to look through our storage building in Ozark for letters between poet Charles Bukowski and me. I finished writing my memoir, BUKOWSKI & ME, and am now gathering material for the Appendix. Also, we wanted to look for a home to rent or buy somewhere in the Ozarks. Both Charlotte and I are homesick for those beautiful hills. Then, there was the OWL meeting on Saturday. Ah, the OWL meeting. There was to be a competition involving both art and photography. So, I took 3 of my acrylics up, thinking that perhaps someone would want to buy one. There were around 150 entries and the judges were kept secret. It was both a shock and a surprise to me when Delois McGrew announced that my painting of a cowboy on his horse after a rain won First Prize in the Art competition. When Regina Williams handed me the blue ribbon, she and Delois flanked me while Lou Turner took our pictures. A few minutes later, Regina called me back down to the stage. She and Delois then presented me with a beautiful crystal plaque and a $50 check for my art being judged “Best Overall.” No, I did not sell any of the paintings, but I was in a daze and still feel somewhat bewildered and incredulous that my painting won a prize. It meant a lot to me. The Wi/Fi at the hotel gave me fits. I could not check my email, and the Internet Provider, Centurytel, took over my computer. I did manage to finish 1 chapter of the new novel, SAVAGE VENGEANCE, for Berkley, but the next chapter kept coming up in Internet Explorer and locked me out of adding or subtracting from the chapter. Very annoying. It added an odd extension to mine, SV5.doc. Something like SHTML. When we got back home, I had to copy and paste Chapter 5 in a new file on my computer. I finished that chapter yesterday, Monday, the 22nd, and will finish Chapter 6, this morning. Am going to write another Ralph Compton trail drive novel for Signet. This one will carry the title, THE AMARILLO TRAIL. Even though all royalties go to Ralph’s estate, the cash flow situation is poor since the onset of the recession. Contracts are few and far between, incredibly slow, and so I must do work for hire in order to keep a roof over our heads. I suspect many of my fellow writers are experiencing the same income pinch. While sitting at my book table outside the auditorium at the OWL meeting, many writers came by to chat with me and my friend Dusty Richards, who shared the same table. Some had questions about their novels or short stories and I was able to help them overcome these. I was somewhat appalled, however, to listen to beginning writers who told me they paid people I know to judge their manuscripts. None of the people they hired know very much about proofing or helping the authors improve the quality of their work. None of these first time writers ever consulted me, although they must know that I’ve been working with other writers for years and helped a great many find publishers and agents. These have gone on to become successful writers. Some of those who were hired, merely proofed entire novels, and gave dubious advice to the author. Now, I charge $50.00 an hour, but usually I only need to read the first chapter of a novel, and perhaps a brief synopsis, to find out what the writer is doing wrong. So, instead of the beginning novels spending hundreds of dollars on proof readers, my fee costs them only $50 and they learn to improve their manuscripts from my in-depth critique. Some new writers get themselves on that treadmill of hiring inexperienced proof readers or incompetent editors and yet never sell their work to a publisher. This makes me sad. I have kept my fees low, and time prohibits me from taking on a lot of this work, but I have worked with many top professionals as well as beginners and been able to help them. Almost all of those I’ve helped have gone on to publish their books. It does give me a good feeling to talk to these writers and answer their questions. It’s a pleasure to be able to give them free advice that will prove useful to them. Usually, I never hear from these writers again, but at least the seeds have been planted and the key to writing success has been outlined for them. If you show your novel to friends or relatives, non-professionals, you are probably looking for a pat on the back and will never get beyond the manuscript stage. These people cannot offer much help to the neophyte author. My advice for these writers is to seek professional advice if they are truly serious about the craft of writing. Many, unfortunately, cannot take honest criticism. They are like many of those who try out for American Idol. I mean, you will see people go before the judges who cannot sing, will never be able to sing, and yet believe they are not only great singers, but the next American Idol. They don’t listen and they do not learn. They will never be more than wannabees with no talent whatsoever. I have learned much from being legally blind. When you cannot see well, you notice everything. Until next time, write well, read, and learn from your mistakes. Jory Sherman Previous journal entry: January 26, 2010 *Note: to read more from Jory be sure to visit his interactive blog by clicking here. Questions and comments are welcomed!

Click Here to see these pictures at full size and find out who all these folks are, at Jory's Photo Album! Jory's Ode to the Unstumpable Chad Myers Here's to Chad Myers, the whyers can't stump, CNN's magnificent meteorologist they can't trump. He gives the whether weather, the whither weather, in the summer he predicts the wither weather, and in winter, he forecasts the shiver weather. Long may he reign in rain, long may he glow in snow. And when his daily stint is done, may he ever bask beneath the sun. "How awesome...thanks." Chad Myers, CNN's meteorologist on Daybreak (4 to 6 a.m.) Central Time Other Journal Entries: September 30, 2009 September 12, 2009 May 8, 2009 June 24, 2008 April 6, 2008 January 12, 2008 November 8, 2007 June 25, 2007 March 28, 2007 November 10, 2006 September 11, 2006 August 9, 2006 July 10, 2006 23 May 2006 9 April 2006 27 February 2006 21 December 2005 8 November 2005 20 October 2005 26 August 2005 18 July 2005 17 June 2005 3 May 2005 18 April 2005 2 March 2005 8 February 2005 3 December 2004 16 November 2004 25 September 2004 10 August 2004 5 July 2004 5 May 2004 22 April 2004 5 February 2004 4 January 2004 12 December 2003 15 October 2003 2 September 2003 4 June 2003