VOLUME 25, ISSUE 5 | January 31, 2025 |
WHAT'S NEXT I had just finished at the gym and stood waiting for my coffee at The Coffee Shelf today and someone from my son's soccer team that he coaches tapped me on the shoulder. "When is your next signing?"
There I was without makeup, my light jacket covering up the sweated up tank, and still they saw me as the author. Later the same day, someone emailed me, then someone texted, each asking me, "When's the next book?" "How's the writing coming?" another asked at the UPS Store. "Did I see on Facebook you have another book coming out soon?" I never tire of someone seeing me as an author first.
Regardless where I am in the region and however I present myself . . . in gym clothes, in jeans, in sweats, or dolled up, nine times out of ten, I am greeted as "the author." That comes from continuity in walking the walk and talking the talk. "What are you doing this weekend?" someone asked me just yesterday. "Writing on a new chapter," I say. "What do you think about the new gym program?" I tell them what I think. "Wow, you always know how to say it the best way. Guess that's because you work with words so much, huh?" "Yep," I reply. "If I worked my muscles as hard as I work
my words, I'd be f'in ripped." That's how you become known as a writer. You write a lot, and you talk as if that is your main focus in life. Doesn't take long for them to see you as a writer when you lead with it. |
Emerald Theatre Company's 8th Annual 10-Minute Play Festival
NOW ACCEPTING SUBMISSONS - SHOWDATE IS SEPTEMBER 2025
Seeking original vignettes inspired by the classic nursery rhyme: "Monday’s Child" Contest Rules: No more than 10 minutes in length, 10 pages maximum, no more than 3 characters and a theme. Each vignette should focus on an adult who embodies a “child” from the rhyme below. Monday’s child is fair of face Tuesday’s child is full of grace Wednesday’s child is full of woe Thursday’s child has far to go Friday’s child is loving and giving Saturday’s child works hard for a living And the child that is born on the Sabbath day...Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay. 7 vignettes will be selected for production. No children’s theatre, musicals, or child-centered stories, please. Absurd, Comedic, Dark, Dramatic, Farce, Tragedy...literal or figurative, that is up to you!! Work must be original and unproduced. Submission Rules: The cover page should only have the play’s
title. On a separate page include playwrights name, address, phone and email. These do not count as part of the 10 pages. Please send scripts in a word document. Entry Fee: $15 in a money order or check payable to Emerald Theatre Company OR sent via CashApp at $EmeraldTheatreMphs. Entry fee covers production costs and printing of scripts. Deadline: May 31, 2025. Winners contacted and announced July 1, 2025, and the play festival is September 2025. Once payment is received and verified, playwrights will be notified, and scripts will be printed. Prizes : 1st - $100 plus a
medal plus stage performances 2nd - $50 plus a medal, plus stage performances 3rd - a medal plus stage performance Full details at www.etcmemphistheater.com A FOLLOW-UP ON PSEUDONYMS - GUEST PIECE (FROM A LONG-TIME FFW FAN) Ello, ello, Hope. Happy New year
of the (sneaky) Snake sign!!🧧🎍🧨
What I want to share: it is totally fine to get paid in the pseudonym and it can easily be sent to the bank without waiting for a check reissue. How? By having a business bank account that includes your business name, or in this case a person's pseudonym is also a DBA.
As an
artist/creator I became a member of the Screen Actors Guild in1998 and a stage name was offered. Since China Rose reflects a childhood nickname with a fun backstory I choose that. Oddly enough no one else had ever used that name in the history of the Screen Actors Guild. Which has a centurion history for it's union members. SAG (now SAG-AFTRA) will not allow one actor or actress to use the same name. Once it's used the system won't let anyone else take it unless I was to release it. So I got
lucky in my mind, I thought yes, Kismet! But almost immediately something else happened.
Not long after in 1999 I created a designer product (lucky bamboo bouquet) that went out to all the Trader Joe's stores and more. To do that I had to have a company name. So I used my pseudonym. It was an instant sensation (a story for another time) and now lucky bamboo (though I'm no longer producing my designs)
is available in most floral departments everywhere.
These two events lead me to immediately set up a bank account in the registered business name that matched my stage name (which is a pseudonym). Over the years I too have received payment in my Pseudonym, often (thank you Money Gods). Too many wonderful dollars to count!! Arts in all forms are a boom and bust lifestyle from my personal experiences.
So getting a check is always manna.
Which is no problem at-all since my business bank account has both names on the account. My bank uses both my legal name and a DBA which is China Rose so funds fly right in as they are received. My business bank account costs me $20 a month and it makes receiving funds very easy. It's one of my favorite things in the whole world of
stuff.
In this Snake year of 2025 I'm still publishing and producing works of art and writing on my blog. If all goes as planned... one day not long from now I will publish a book. And plan to use the life-long nickname, turned pseudonym that is mine. And I love that I can be paid in either my legal name or my pseudonym.
And your article alerted me to this fact that once used (for published manuscripts) it's yours so I better hurry up and get that done.
Long winding explainer, I know, but I wanted to share this useful information about a check paid in a pseudonym. That way anyone who might want to forgo the angst of getting a check reissued can prepare ahead by having a bank account that
reflects the pseudonym as a DBA.
Okay that's it for now. Keep sending your amazing remarks that help writers and creators hone their craft and publish their works and get out there to beat the drum about it!!
Peace out! China
Rose Next Edisto Island Mystery release date . . . March 21. -March 18, 2025 - Readers and Writers Group, Lizards Thicket, 10170 Two Notch Road, Columbia, SC 29229 - 11:30AM -March 22, 2025 - Writer's Digest Mystery/Thriller Writing Virtual Conference - "Person, Place, or Crime: Where to Start Your Mystery" - 1PM Eastern -March 29, 2025 - Read Freely Fest, Richland County Library, 1431 Assembly St., Columbia, SC -April 23, 2025 - Artist 5 Show, Newberry Opera House, Newberry, SC - 6
PM Eastern - OPEN TO THE PUBLIC -May 3, 2025 - Pelion Library Book Club, 206 Pine St, Pelion, SC, Saturday, 1-2PM Eastern -May 17, 2025 - Speaking of Writing Expo, New
Bern, NC - 8-4:30PM Eastern - OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Email: hope@chopeclark.com to schedule events, online or otherwise.
“Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.”
– George Addair
Dear Hope, I hope all is well. A while back, I wrote about discovering the inaugural FSG Writer Fellow Program via your newsletter, entering at the last minute, and winning. I'm pleased to say that since then, I've been published in
the Paris Review, The New Yorker, and am awaiting the summer 2025 release of my novel Dominion, to be published by FSG. (I got my galleys last week!!) I'd again like to thank you profusely for this service you provide writers. It can be a thankless and lonely occupation to participate in, so the community you provide is priceless. I wish you well and appreciate what you
do. Best, Addie Citchens <<If you have a success story you believe was prompted by FundsforWriters, please share with us! Send to hope@chopeclark.com >>
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The Art of Brevity in Screenwriting
By Mark Heidelberger Unlike novels, screenplays are not in and of themselves an end product. They’re merely blueprints for something else, like a movie or TV show. They’re a roadmap showing filmmakers how to express a story in a visual medium using tools like cameras, lights, actors,
editing and music. They’re not meant to be all-encompassing narratives that explore every nuanced action, location detail, or psychological facet of a character’s mindset. Unfortunately, mastery of this delicate skill of brevity has waned to some degree in amateur screenwriting. Without this proficiency, making the leap to professional screenwriting is all but impossible. What should I
include? When introducing a character, a basic physical description must paint a picture in the reader’s mind. Describing your heroine as a “tall, Hispanic female with kind eyes” is good because these are things the filmmakers can shoot. Saying she also “loves basketball” is not, because, well, how could we know that?
Instead, think with visuals. Describe her as “wearing a basketball
jersey, with NBA posters plastered to her walls,” which shows us she loves basketball. Same rule with locations. Just give the reader the essential information needed to convey the look and feel of the place. Describe an old mansion as “spooky, bathed in shadow, cobwebs in every corner” because that can be designed, built and filmed; but saying it’s “likely filled with ghosts” does not offer any filmable
information. When it comes to the action, only describe to propel the plot or layer the character. If you’re not sure, ask yourself, will the story suffer if I remove this action? For instance, do I really need to show my heroine walking down the hall, or can I have her already in the bedroom? What should I not include? When it comes to physical description of a person or place, less is more. Leave out irrelevant details that do not elevate the story. Give only what’s necessary, then trust the filmmakers and actors to interpret the rest. Ditto with action. Don’t describe every kick and punch in a fight. Simply write “they fight.” The fight choreographer is better at this than you are. Minimize personal direction, those small
instructions in parentheticals above a character’s dialogue block that tell an actor how to say a line or what to do while delivering it. The actor and director can figure out how best to do it. As for camera direction (i.e., “we dolly over to our heroine”), this should almost always be reserved for the shooting script, which means a director is involved and the script has been greenlit for production. In that same vein, leave out “cut to” between scenes, as cutting from one to another is a
given. Use other transitions like “dissolve to” sparingly, like when it's the only way to demonstrate the passage of time. What are some best practices? Feature length screenplays are generally no more than 120 pages and TV pilots no more than 60 pages (using the average one minute per page rule of thumb). A longer script means there’s fat to
trim.
Paragraphs should generally be no longer than five lines. More is a tell-tale sign of overwriting. The more white space on the page, the faster the read. Execs like a fast read, as their time is valuable and want a read to feel like they’re watching the movie. Avoid too many adverbs (words ending in -ly), which tend to slow the pacing. Instead of saying our heroine “wantonly disregards the signs,” simply say she “ignores the
signs.”
In general, ensure action lines are tight, easy to read, and convey vital, filmable information. With dialogue, avoid having a character say too much. Instead, trust the reader to pick up on queues using action, subtext and inference. Actors want room to express things through all aspects of a performance, like gesture or reaction, not just words. How will I know
whether my screenplay is overwritten? Plenty of options are available for credible feedback before taking a script to market. Join a writers’ group with a focus on screencraft. Even if you don’t live in an area with in-person groups, many exist online. Several affordable coverage services (including from yours truly) can also serve as a reliable barometer with specific feedback. Screenwriting courses and workshops are available through programs like UCLA Extension and the New York Film Academy, either in person or online. Whatever you do, the key is to solicit feedback from neutral third parties with knowledge of the craft. https://www.nyfa.edu/online-workshops/screenwriting/
https://www.uclaextension.edu/search/all?search=screenwriting
https://www.meetup.com/topics/screenwriters/ Now that you’re inspired, go write your script. But make it quick!
BIO: Mark Heidelberger co-founded Beverly Hills-based Treasure Entertainment in 2000, serving as a film executive, producer and literary manager until 2011 before going freelance. Film and TV credits include Harsh Times,
Comfort, Ninja Apocalypse, The Basement, Take the Night, Pray for Rain, Hallmark Channel’s You’ve Got a Friend and the just-released Last Night on Earth. Often times, he performs ghostwriting services on screenplays in addition to his producing duties. He is a member of the Producers Guild of America. He holds a BA in Film Studies from UCSB and an MFA in Producing from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film, and Television.
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WOW! WINTER FLASH FICTION CONTEST
https://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/contest.php
$10 ENTRY FEE. Deadline
February 28, 2025. Seeking flash fiction of any genre between 250 - 750 words. The mission of this contest is to inspire creativity, great writing, and provide well-rewarded recognition to contestants. Open internationally. Limit 300 entries. 1st Place: $400, publication, interview, and $25 Amazon Gift Certificate. 2nd Place: $300, publication, interview, and $25 Amazon Gift Certificate. 3rd Place: $200, publication, interview and $25 Amazon Gift Certificate. 7 Runners Up
receive $25 Amazon Gift Cards, publication and interview. 10 Honorable mentions receive $20 Amazon Gift Card. Top 10 stories are published in the WOW! Women On Writing e-zine, and contestants are interviewed on WOW's blog, The Muffin. 2025 SIJO COMPETITION
https://www.sejongculturalsociety.org/writing/current/sijo.php
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline February 28, 2025. Divisions: adult division (age 19 and older) and pre-college division (age 18 and younger). Adult division: First ($1,000), Second ($750), Third ($500). Pre-college division: First ($500), Second ($400), Third ($300). Honorable mention (for both divisions
listed above): ($50 each). Competition winners may be announced in AZALEA: Journal of Korean Literature and Culture, published by the Korea Institute at Harvard University. Contestants are permitted one sijo entry. CRAFT NOVELETTE PRINT PRIZE
https://www.craftliterary.com/craft-novelette-print-prize-2025/
$30 ENTRY FEE. Deadline March 16, 2025. Seeking submissions of polished novelettes from 7,500 to 15,000 words. One grand-prize winner will receive $3,000, print publication, royalties, and twenty author copies. The winner will have the option of international distribution through drop-shipping at Bookshop.org, Barnes &
Noble, and other platforms, earning fifty percent of royalties on their published novelette. Please do not submit any form of creative nonfiction. POETRY NORTHWEST JAMES WELCH CONTEST
https://www.poetrynw.org/about/james-welch-prize/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline February 15, 2025. The prize is open to emerging poets who are community-recognized members of tribal nations within the United States and its trust territories (including American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, Chamorros, and American Samoans). Only poets who have not published more than one book-length literary work in any
genre are eligible. The final judge selects two first-place winners. A small group of finalists is selected for print and/or online publication alongside the winner by writers and editors from our partner organizations and the editors of Poetry Northwest. Both winning poets will be featured in a reading with the judge at Poets House in New York. This reading will include travel, lodging, and a very celebratory welcome for the winners. Submit up to three poems in a single submission. $1000 first
prizes. VETERANS WRITING AWARD
https://press.syr.edu/veterans-writing-award/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline February 15, 2025. The award is open to U.S. veterans and
active duty personnel in any branch of the U.S. military and their immediate family members. This includes spouses, domestic partners, siblings, parents, and children. The award includes a $1,000 cash prize and a publication contract with Syracuse University Press. Manuscripts of high merit not selected for the final award may receive honorable mention. Submit a full-length novel, novella, or collection of short stories in manuscript form. Limit 90,000 words.
GRANTS / FELLOWSHIP / CROWDFUNDING SOARING GARDENS ARTIST RETREAT
https://www.oralermantrust.com/soaringgardens
Deadline February 15, 2025. Soaring Gardens
Artists Retreat in the country outside of Laceyville, PA offers visual artists, writers, and composers, and other musicians a quiet country setting to focus on their creative endeavors. Soaring Gardens has no fees, makes no demands, and there are no intrusions from the administration—only the studios, gardens, deer, other creatures, and time. ALDERWORKS ALASKA RESIDENCIES
https://alderworksalaska.com/apply/
Deadline February 15, 2025. Alderworks welcomes writers and artists every summer to work in cabins on the edge of the wilderness in historic and stunningly beautiful Dyea near Skagway, Alaska. We host residents in three cabins for 4-6 week
summer residencies. Artists also have access to a studio building. Applicants are screened in the winter for the following summer's two residency periods. LA PARTE PEINTE
https://laportepeinte.com/residencies/apply/
La Porte Peinte is an international arts centre located in Noyers sur Serein, a medieval village in Burgundy that is celebrated as one of the 100 most beautiful villages in France. Based in a rambling medieval half-timbered building that leans out over the village square like something from a fairy tale, La Porte Peinte offers artists, makers, musicians and writers in residence the
opportunity to engage in creative exploration and exchange in an unusually inspiring and supportive environment. BYRDCLIFFE ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE
https://woodstockbyrdcliffeguild.submittable.com/submit
Deadline February 21, 2025. Byrdcliffe’s Artists-in-Residence (AiR) program offers artists in all disciplines uninterrupted time to live and work within the serene natural setting and creative community of Woodstock, NY’s historic Byrdcliffe Arts Colony, one of the earliest utopian and continuously operating arts colonies in America. Artist residency
includes month-long communal sessions during the summer months. As part of the AiR program, artists are invited to participate in gatherings, talks, practice shares, studio visits, excursions, open studio events, and the annual AiR exhibition the spring after their residency. KIMMEL HARDING NELSON CENTER RESIDENCIES
https://www.khncenterforthearts.org/
Deadline March 1, 2025. Since 2001, KHN has hosted more than 50 working artists each year. Each has found quietness in which to create along with opportunities to interact with fellow residents in the rural hometown of Nebraska City, Nebraska. KHN's facilities house up to five
residents at a time, generally in the mix of two visual artists, two writers, and one composer. Residency awards are 2 to 8 weeks in length. Each awardee receives a $175 per week stipend, a private bedroom/bath and individual studio/study, while sharing a kitchen and living space with one other resident.
THE SICK TIMES
https://thesicktimes.org/write-for-us-part-time-opportunities/
The Sick Times is accepting pitches for
reported news stories and essays/commentary pieces. We take pitches, not full (already written) drafts on spec. We prioritize pitches from people with Long COVID and related diseases. To pitch us, email editors@thesicktimes.org. We generally respond to pitches within two weeks; if your pitch is more time-sensitive, include that in the subject line. We pay $1300 for news features of 1200-1500 words and publish 2-3 of these stories per month. UNBIAS THE NEWS
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScdwSNiYnKQacLBki1TpA8kXfB6WQsc8YKLr8cMno2MVuIG7A/viewform
https://unbiasthenews.org/
Deadline February 9, 2025. Unbias the News is a Berlin-based international news outlet that covers underreported topics and seeks to break down barriers in the field of journalism. We are currently seeking migration and environment pitches. We pay 500 euros per story for reportage. Multiple authors can apply to work together on a
cross-border or collaborative piece: all authors are paid equally (i.e. 500 euros each). We pay 250 euros for first-person narratives and opinion pieces. MILDEW
https://mildewmag.com/pages/contribute
Deadline February 9, 2025. Seeking surprising, thoughtful stories that inspire readers to think about old clothes in new ways, and that go beyond “why thrifting is more sustainable/ethical/fun/personal than fast fashion”—you can already assume Mildew readers are passionate about re-use. Send pitches to Ellen at mildewmag@gmail.com and don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions. KERNEL 5
https://joinreboot.org/p/kernel-5-pitches
Kernel 5 is all about RULES. Everything set, prescribed, enforced, and broken. It is the third of Kernel's named themes, following SUSTAIN and LUCK. Essay: short (1000-2000 words, $250) or long (3000+
words, $350). Software criticism: up to 2000 words, $250.
Interview: $200. For fiction and poetry, please specify if you are interested in your piece being workshopped/edited or if it is a final/completed piece. Compensation will be $50-300 depending on the scale of the piece. PRIDE SOURCE
https://pridesource.com/pitch-a-story
Pride Source Media is a Michigan-based multi-tiered media company. We are interested in telling stories of survival and perseverance that reflect our tenacious LGBTQ+ community by highlighting stories of intersectionality and the complexity of our identities. Columns/essays $100-$125; News
features, other news/pop culture reporting $100-$250. REST OF WORLD
https://restofworld.org/about/how-to-pitch-rest-of-world/
Rest of World’s stories aim to
connect the dots across a rapidly evolving digital world, through on-the-ground reporting in places typically overlooked and underestimated. We cover most of the countries outside the West, with a focus and presence in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. Payment known up to $750 to $1,000 or fifty cents/word.
SHADOW MOUNTAIN PRESS https://shadowmountain.com/
Shadow Mountain Publishing will open to unagented and unsolicited manuscripts during
the following dates ONLY:
March 1 through March 7
June 1 through June 7
September 1 through September 7
December 1 through December 7
Unagented and unsolicited queries or manuscripts submitted at any other time will be discarded without review. Shadow Mountain Publishing
is passionate about clean content and empowering values. We publish general fiction and nonfiction for all ages.
We are primarily looking for the following genres, though the list may change depending on our needs.
Fiction - empathy-building, contemporary middle grade novels, middle grade fantasy, historical romance (Regency, Victorian, Edwardian, etc.),
women’s fiction, YA fiction, general fiction, historical fiction. Nonfiction - historical nonfiction, inspirational nonfiction, middle grade nonfiction, cookbooks, religious content for non-denominal audience.
We are NOT interested in the following genres: previously self-published projects, children’s picture
books, poetry, science fiction, business and finance, family histories/personal journals. SHAMBHALA
https://www.shambhala.com/submissions/
Shambhala Publications is dedicated to
creating books, audio, and immersive courses aimed at improving lives—in ways big and small—in the hope of contributing to the development of a thoughtful, kindhearted, and contemplative society. We offer numerous titles on meditation and a wide range of spiritual traditions, from Buddhism and Taoism to contemplative traditions within Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Sufism. Sometimes the focus is more physical, with our books on health, wellness, yoga, and martial arts. And often it is
simply about day-to-day happiness, with books on psychology, emotional well-being, and mindfulness.
Please forward the newsletter in its entirety. To reprint any editorials, contact hope@fundsforwriters.com for permission. Do not assume that acknowledgements listed in your publication is considered a valid right to publish out of ours.
C. Hope Clark
E-mail: hope@fundsforwriters.com
140-A Amicks Ferry Road #4
Chapin, SC 29036
http://www.fundsforwriters.com Copyright 2000-2025, C. Hope Clark
ISSN: 1533-1326 Our subscriber list is NOT made available to others. Use information listed at your own risk. FundsforWriters gives no warranty to completeness, accuracy, or fitness of the markets, contests, and grants although research is done to the best of our
ability. FundsforWriters finds open submission calls, contests, and markets from a wide variety of sources, including Erika Dreifus' Practicing Writer
newsletter, Erica Verrillo's blog, Authors Publish, Poets & Writers, Duotrope, Winning Writers, Write Jobs Plus, LinkedIn Jobs, Emily Stoddard, and other newsletters and online sites. Many announcements are submitted directly to FundsforWriters. All must be paying opportunities. Contests must pay a minimum of $200 first place. Submit potential listings to hope@chopeclark.com **Note that FundsforWriters.com places paid advertising in this newsletter. ALL ads are related to writers and the business of writing, screened by FundsforWriters to make sure the information is suitable for writers and their endeavors to improve their careers. While the mailing list is
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