Keeping Your Tiggers and Eeyores in Line

Do you ever hear someone get asked a question and wish they asked you?

This was my case in June, 2005. I sat in a Toastmaster club as area governor elect. (Okay, technically I was appointed. Details, details.) The theme for the meeting was Winnie the Pooh, a theme well used by the Topics Master.

My question was what I would write if I wrote a children's book. That was a fun question. I told them I'd write about an otter raised by a family of beavers. You can imagine what that's like. The otter wants to play while his adoptive parents are getting him to work on the dam. This otter would meet a wolf taken in by a cougar family. “I want to be part of the pack.” “What pack? We aren't a pack.”

However, when I heard the next question, I wished I had gotten that one instead.

“You are Winnie the Pooh. You've been given a free counseling session. Now, you're well adjusted and don't need it. Will you give it to Tigger to help calm him down? Or to Eeyore to cheer him up?”

I was about nine when Disney's Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day came out, which introduced Tigger. I fell in love with Tigger. I wanted to be as bouncy and fun as he was.

Growing up, though, I found my companion and mentor to be gloomy old Eeyore. “It will fall off again,” he said when his tail was put back on him. “Always does.”

If I wrote this blog yesterday, I would have dealt with a topic that interested me, one that would give food for thought. But this has been an Eeyore week for me. Just this week? Maybe all of this year. (Fortunately, we're only half way through January; hope this isn't a trend.)

My Eeyore side has been given plenty to be gloomy about. My wife's dealing with health problems. The only presidential candidate I could be excited about finished 6^th in Iowa and dropped out. My Amazon review of that candidate's auto-biography has the current line “1 out of 6 find this review helpful.” (My hunch is that the five who found that not helpful did so solely because I gave a five star review to a book they disagreed with, but still it's discouraging.)

Also, I received a rejection letter (okay, e-mail) from an agent who kindly mentions my characters and plot don't resonate with him. Not much to encourage me to write, something I've been struggling to find time to do. To be honest, I'm even wondering if writing is what I'm supposed to be doing.

Did the person who got the counseling question think Eeyore was the one who needed counseling? No, she thought it was Tigger who was too hyper. I can identify. Sometimes, my Tigger tries to compensate for the Eeyore. Time to get bouncy. Find other activities. Keep busy, busy, busy, so I don't have time to be gloomy, gloomy, gloomy.

So how would I have answered the question?

Simple. I would have given the counseling to neither of them. Rather, I'd get them Tigger and Eeyore to counsel each other. Have Eeyore kindly mellow out Tigger, while Tigger gives Eeyore something to be cheerful about.

That's one thing good about the ACFW meetings or critique groups. We can point out areas of improvement but give encouragement at the same time. (This is one of Toastmaster's strengths, by the way.)

And the counseling session? I'd give that to grouchy Rabbit.

Are Bloggers Journalists?

The Internet raises some interesting legal questions, including whether bloggers are journalists. The November 30, 2011 ruling in Obsidian Finance Group v. Cox answered that question about one particular blogger.* The case has generated a number of comments and, after reading the judge's opinion, I am ready to add my observations to the heap.

The judge did not say that bloggers can't be journalists. He did say that they are not automatically journalists, and his finding that Cox did not qualify was based on the specific facts in the case.

So why did the judge conclude that Cox was not a journalist? Here is his analysis.

Defendant fails to bring forth any evidence suggestive of her status as a journalist. For example, there is no evidence of (1) any education in journalism; (2) any credentials or proof of any affiliation with any recognized news entity; (3) proof of adherence to journalistic standards such as editing, fact-checking, or disclosures of conflicts of interest; (4) keeping notes of conversations and interviews conducted; (5) mutual understanding or agreement of confidentiality between the defendant and his/her sources; (6) creation of an independent product rather than assembling writings and postings of others; or (7) contacting "the other side" to get both sides of a story. Without evidence of this nature, defendant is not "media."

The judge classified these as examples of the evidence a blogger could produce and did not raise them to the level of factors to be considered in every case. Furthermore, the written decision does not suggest a blogger must produce all seven types of evidence or that some are more important than others are.

The good news is that any blogger who acts with journalistic integrity is capable of producing the last five types of evidence. And although the answer to the question isn't as simple as counting numbers, five out of seven sounds pretty good.

If a court held that a blogger couldn't be a journalist without journalism classes or affiliation with a recognized news entity, I would be concerned. But that is not this case.

The judge's ruling is simply this: if you want to be treated like a journalist, act like one.

And who can argue with that?

Kathryn Page Camp

*Obsidian Finance Group, LLC v. Cox, No. CV-11-57-HZ (D. Or. Nov. 30, 2011).

Coming out of the Nom De Plume Closet

So, I’m coming out of the nom de plume closet in 2012.

 photo credit: flickr creative commons

You may view my picture below and say, "Now, I've seen that face before. Didn’t that girl have a different name?” 

Oh yes, that was my pseudonym, but I’ve decided to tuck it away with my floral print graduation dress and florescent spandex shorts. I may one day shake it out from moth balls and try it on again. Just not here. Not now. At Hoosier Ink, I’m going to be myself, wearing blue jeans and an acrylic sweater. It's more comfortable that way.

Over the past year, I've teeter-tottered about using a pen name. I've considered the benefits, listed the pros and cons, and exhausted the topic with my ever patient husband {whose eyes rolled back when I told him I was writing this post}. I liked the idea of keeping things separate and safe in this web like world. I loved the notion of following in the footsteps of George Elliot, Mark Twain, and George Orwell. And the best part? If you didn’t like my writing, I could hide behind my alias—no harm done. And for awhile, it looked like this identity would work for me.

Until I went to the ACFW conference this past September.

In the company of writers, I thought I could wear my avatar like a comfortable sweater, but the name felt like wool against bare skin. Though, I'd used that name in my journal for years, I suddenly felt like I had left my journal on my fifth-grade teacher's desk. My mind turned in circles . How would I introduce myself?

When I met you—a flesh and blood writer--I couldn’t stop using my real name. For that is who I am. And in reality, I’m messy, and my words fumble, and I don’t always look like my best online photo. The truth is when I’m face to face with you, it's nice being authentic. Failures and all. It’s the only way I understand God’s grace.

As I embark on this writing path, I'm learning what works and what doesn't. Leopard skins? No. Cotton knits? Yes. Pen name? Maybe. Perhaps one day.

But at the beginning of a new year, I'm stepping out in faith, and it's both terrifying and exhilarating. For, I'm positive my words won’t tickle every ear, or turn to gold with every click-clack, and I'm certain some days my writing will be something akin to my toddler's tomato-stained onesie.

Even so, I’m pushing the door open, wearing my favorite turtleneck, and— gasp—writing as my real name.

Hi, I’m Melanie Brasher, and I'm a writer.

And you know what? It’s nice being me.

###

Over this past year, I've thought about pen names more than breathing, and here's my list of five do's and don'ts:

1)  Do keep the first name of your nom de plume the same if you're planning on using it for all writing {and become it}. Believe me it's too confusing and uncomfortable if you use two different first names. However, if you're using the pen name for a very specific circumstance, and your real one for everything else, I don't think it matters if the first name is different.

2) Don't choose a pen name that is the same as a celebrity or an ex-convict's. Do your research and choose carefully.

3) Do consider using a pen name if your real name IS the same as a celebrity or ex-convict's. Yes, this is different from point #2.

4) Don't waste a year fretting about it {experience talking here:)}. The mantra, "when in doubt, throw it out" is relevant for a variety of situations: food in the refrigerator, the tight leather pants in your closet, and the pen name you adored in your journal.

5) Do pray about it. God knows your name, and He knows what's best for you. So, do pray and do disregard all my advice if God leads you down a different path. Let His word guide you.

*For further reading/advice on pen names check out agent Rachelle Gardner's post.

Have you ever considered using a pen name? Why or why not?

Melanie N. Brasher is a full time mama of two boys and wife to an incredible husband who understands her bicultural background. She moonlights as a fiction and freelance writer, crafting stories and articles toward justice and change. She's a member of American Christian Fiction writers and a contributing blogger for Ungrind. Though she's an aspiring author, she'll never quit her day job.

Sign Here

Photo Credit: Marcel Hol/Stock.XCHNG

By Nikki Studebaker Barcus

Does your hand itch to sign on the dotted line securing an agent or a book contract? Perhaps your fingers long to feel the weight of the pen as you autograph the first copy of your very own published novel. Or maybe you dream of the day when you press your written imprint across the “Endorse Here” line of your first royalty check. 

I recently read an account of John Green, the Indianapolis-based YA author who, before the release of his fourth book, The Fault in Our Stars,  pledged to sign every first edition print of the book. His first three books each ran around 20,000-30,000 copies, so this sounds like a worthy goal. Imagine Green’s shock when his anxious teenage fans pre-ordered enough books to put it in Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com's No. 1 spot before it was completely written and  the publisher ran 150,000 books in the first printing. Green required steroid treatments, but he fulfilled his pledge to sign every copy.

I thought of this in light of the recent debate concerning the decision in many schools and states to stop the teaching of cursive handwriting. While many Indiana schools continue to teach it, legislators removed it from the third grade standards with the 2011-12 school year. How are our children ever going to sign contracts, give autographs, or endorse their checks? Will a computer sign their pledges of undying love in notes written to sweethearts? Will a mere number suffice as proof on their marriages licenses? Will their fingerprint serve as the only identification next to their child's footprint on a birth certificate?

I hope it never comes to that. The truth is, we sign our name to those things we treasure and want to prove ownership of or to authenticate. A painting is made valuable by the signature of the artist. A first edition book is considered rare because it bears the autograph of the author. An idea is made law by the scrawl of a president.

Did you know you are also a "signed original"? Ephesians 2:10 says “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God has prepared in advance for us to do.” Some versions even use the word "masterpiece" when referring to you and to me. God signs his name to his masterpiece when he put His seal on you. He claims you as His own good work, His rare work of art, His beautiful creation.

And like most things in life, God first sets the example and then asks us to follow. We are told to work at everything as to the Lord. Is your work worthy of your signature? Are you willing to commit your autograph to your writing? What about your relationships? Can you endorse them in good conscience? And your walk with God--does it bear the seal of authenticity? 

The year is still fresh and new, a superb time for making changes and commitments to do things better than we have in the past. Signature-worthy things, both in our writing and in our life. Who's with me?