Bucks County Writers Workshop
“...yesterday's slang ages quicker than one can say Jack Robinson... ” (Stephen Sondheim)

Since 1998 the independent, non-profit BCWW in historic Bucks County, PA, has advanced the power of the written word in fiction and memoir in a friendly, supportive atmosphere. Its only aim is to critique members' writing with the goal of publication. Membership is limited but not exclusive. Newcomers with a serious writing interest and background are welcome as space permits. There are no dues or membership fees, but, annually, members are assessed to pay for the required insurance and room costs charged by the school district. Potential members must be within a reasonable driving distance of Doylestown, PA. The BCWW meets twice monthly, year round in Doylestown, center of Bucks County's renown literary heritage.

For details about joining the BCWW, email: Don Swaim

Creative writing's not for everyone, and it takes a commitment both to the writer and the workshop.


All about Bucks County's fabulous literary heritage HERE.

click newsboy to read


Workshop News
Stylebook
Photo Gallery
Archives
Errata
Stuart Cummings Ripley
Critique Schedule
(members only)
Member Submissions
(members only)
Member List (members only)
BCWW profile in:
Bucks Living Magazine


click to read:

BCWW literary magazine
NOTE Errata is no longer published but archived editions are found HERE


BCWW SPECIAL
WRITING PROJECTS

click on titles to open
2009: “Ghosts”
2009: “Six Word Story”
2006: Stuart C. Ripley
2005: Raymond Carver
2004: O.Henry
2003: “The Yellow Bus”




OFFICIAL WRITING RULES
Just kidding, honest

click to read


WRITING TIPS
BCWW Stylebook
 How to Format
Eight-Point Checklist
Alan Shils on Writing
Tom Swifties
Elmore's Writing Tips
First Five Pages
Screenplay Elements




SITES FOR WRITERS
EWAIATP: amusing agent list
Writers' Tool Box
ABE Books: out of print books
Arts & Letters
Project Gutenberg




SOME OF DON'S SITES:
Wired for Books
Book Beat: The Podcast
Ambrose Bierce Site
Fighting the Hun in WWI
Growing Up in WW2
Aspinwall Class of 55
WCBS Appreciation Site
Radio Days
John Steinbeck in Bucks Co.
Bucks County Sunsets
Stuart Cummings Ripley
Swaim Name in History
The Swaim in America
The Swimsuit Issue


PC Magazine's BEST OF THE INTERNET cites Don Swaim's Wired for Books. 11/20/07 issue

BCWW INFO

BUCKS COUNTY LIBRARY
150 S. Pine Street
Doylestown, PA 18901
215-348-0332

LENAPE MIDDLE SCHOOL
313 W. State St.
Doylestown, PA 18901
215-345-0660



BCWW
PO Box 1232
Doylestown, PA 18901

Editor Don Swaim


DISCLAIMERS

Opinions expressed on this site do not necessarily represent those of the editor, the BCWW, or its members.

The Bucks County Free Library does not endorse or advocate the views of any group using our meeting and conference rooms.

Not affiliated with the former Writers Room of Bucks County or its successors.


_____________________




An Occasional Column on Writing

THE GROVELING GRAMATICIST
by Alan Shils

read HERE


The famed photojournalist, whose subjects ranged from Marilyn Monroe to Malcolm X, was born in Philadelphia. A leading light in the golden age of news photography, Eve Arnold died in London at the age of 99. Don Swaim interviewed her twice:    
  • On the occasion of her book In America, 12/23/83: LISTEN
  • On Marilyn Monroe: An Appreciation, 10/14/87: LISTEN

    Hoban was known for his innovative sci-fi novel Riddley Walker and for his children's books, such as the "Frances" series. Although he lived in London, Hoban was born in Lansdale, PA. Don Swaim interviewed him in 1988: LISTEN. For the unedited interview from Wired for Books listen here

    THE SLUSH READER'S ADVICE. Sarah E. Olson reads incoming manuscripts for Apex Magazine. Here, she explains to hopeful writers what they must do to get published.

    CLICHÉ FINDER. Worried that you might have written a cliché but aren't sure? Or perhaps you actually want to use a cliché. If either applies, type in a key word and this site will produce all the clichés associated with that word!

    Journalist and novelist Tom Wicker, author of twenty books, was a political cluminist for The New York Times for twenty-five years. Don Swaim interviewed him in 1984: LISTEN. For the unedited interview from Wired for Books listen here

    As a science-fiction writer, the Hugo and Nebula award-winner Anne McCaffrey was best known for her series of young-adult novels, "Dragonriders of Pern." Don Swaim interviewed her in 1988: LISTEN. For the unedited interview from Wired for Books listen here


    NEW BIO OF KURT VONNEGUT

    And So It Goes -- Kurt Vonnegut: A Life by Charles J. Shields is the first major biography of this popular writer. Even though Vonnegut's family withheld permission to quote directly from Vonnegut's letters, Shields' bio is more than 500 pages.

  • Don Swaim's 1981 interview with Vonnegut: LISTEN

  • NOTE: This is a poor interview from the perspective of the interviewer, whose ham-handed, awkward questions first produced only grudging responses by a curmudgeonly Vonnegut. By the second half, however, the interview takes off, with illuminating responses by Vonnegut.




    R.I.P.

    BANNED BOOKS WEEK. Sep. 24-Oct. 1, 2011. As writers, we're obligated to celebrate the freedom to read and to fight those who would censor our work. Intellectual freedom--the freedom to access information and express ideas, even if the information and ideas might be considered unorthodox or unpopular--provides the foundation for Banned Books Week.

    FIVE STEPHEN KING QUOTES EVERY WRITER SHOULD HEED. "Prolific horror author Stephen King once called himself the 'literary equivalent of a Big Mac and fries,' but these Stephen King quotes prove the author of Carrie and The Shining is no hack." By Karen Murdock at ScreenJunkies.com.


    Frightening... frightening...

    click to enlarge

    Incredible book art by Isaac Salazar of Artesia, NM. Day job: accountant.
    Isaac says he never took an art class in his life.

    More of his work HERE


    WHEN QUOTING VERSE, ONE MUST BE TERSE. With the copyright laws, how much can you get away with in quoting, without permission, someone else's verse or song lyrics in your work? David Orr addresses this question in The New York Times.
    A BOOK ABOUT FONTS...

    ...which we take for granted on our computers, no matter how flamboyant they can be -- thanks to Apple's Steve Jobs, who was so fascinated by calligraphy that he made exotic fonts a mainstay of the Macintosh computer, later widely imitated. This according to Simon Garfield, whose new book, Just My Type, explores the history and subtle powers of type, beginning in the early days of Gutenberg and ending with the most adventurous digital fonts. In both print and ebook at: Amazon.com



    JOSEPH HELLER
    Catch-22's 50th Anniversary

    Joseph Heller graced the world with his satirical anti-war, anti-bureaucratic novel -- and gave the English Language a new word. Fifty years after the book was first published, comes a trade paperback anniversary edition, a first biography, and a memoir by Heller's daughter.
  • Catch-22: 50th Anniversary Edition by Joseph Heller. Introduction by Christopher Buckley with accompanying essays. Simon & Schuster
  • Just One Catch: A Biography of Joseph Heller by Tracy Daugherty. St. Martin's Press
  • Yossarian Slept Here: When Joseph Heller Was Dad, the Apthorp Was Home, and Life Was a Catch-22 by Erica Heller. Simon & Schuster
  • The BCWW's Don Swaim recorded two multi-part broadcasts with Heller plus a special report on Catch-22's 25th anniversary:
  • God Knows10/8/84. listen
  • No Laughing Matter (with Speed Vogle) 3/24/86. listen
  • 25th anniversary report on Catch-22 (1986) listen
    Also
  • Swaim's uncut CBS interview with Heller, 1984 (length: 33:43): here
  • Swaim's uncut CBS interview with Heller & Speed Vogle, 1986 (length: 23:43): here



  • 2011 BULWER-LYTTON FICTION CONTEST RESULTS. Dedicated to the man who wrote, "It was a dark and stormy night." Sue Fondrie of Oshkosh, WI, had the 26-word winning entry: "Cheryl's mind turned like the vanes of a wind-powered turbine, chopping her sparrow-like thoughts into bloody pieces that fell onto a growing pile of forgotten memories." Click above for the other winners and runners-up.

    FAKE NAME GENERATOR. Tired of searching the phone book (do they still make phone books?) for a name for your character? This site's random algorithms create literally billions of different and unique names. Check it out.

    HOW TO WRITE WITH STYLE. By Kurt Vonnegut. An eight-point tipsheet on creative writing, some points of which are pithy: "Have guts to cut."

    THE PRICE OF TYPOS. "...the vigilance of even the great houses has flagged, and typos are everywhere. Curious readers now get regular glimpses of raw and frank and interesting mistakes that give us access to unedited minds." By Virginia Heffernan at The New York Times.

    SEVEN THINGS YOUR ENGLISH TEACHER LIED TO YOU ABOUT. "Rules that your English teacher grafted onto your very soul. Rules that, as a novelist, you can and should break." By Megg Jenson at WordPress.com.

    HOW TO STYLE NUMBERS. When you write a number, do you use figures or spell it out? Here's what to do. (Incidentally, numbers are always spelled out in dialogue.)

    SIX KILLER WRITING TIPS. From homophones to apostrophes, these tips will help you write with more accuracy.

    WHO OR WHOM? Even some grammatical experts get confused. Here's a simple trick to determine when to use each word.

    THE BORDERS ARE CLOSING. WE'RE STUCK HERE. "Once a book was something you took with you to the bathroom to keep from getting bored during the process of elimination. We don't even do that any more. Now you take your smartphone instead -- as 39 percent of us admit." By Alexandra Petri, Washington Post.

    click to enlarge

    Steinbeck, Holicong, PA

    JOHN STEINBECK IN
    BUCKS COUNTY

    by Don Swaim

    "...somewhere in Pennsylvania..." was the way Steinbeck put it as he decamped in the rural Bucks County home of famed playright George S. Kaufman in 1937. How Steinbeck and Kaufman crafted the award-winning theatrical version of Of Mice and Men at Barley Sheaf Farm is detailed here

    exclusive photos of Steinbeck only on the BCWW site


    THE ART & CRAFT OF LETTERPRESS PRINTING ON AN IPAD!

    If you love old books and great vintage printing you can set type, virtually, on this $6 iPad app that replicates an actual hand printing press -- with period wood type faces, galley trays, inks, papers. Educational, entertaining -- really prints! Go to LetterMpress



    SPAM E-BOOKS PLAGUE AMAZON'S KINDLE STORE. The scammers either use an already published e-book, change the title, author and cover, and pass it off as a completely different book -- or they use software that packages public domain content, equips it with a cover and title, and submits it for sale.


    THE DEATH OF NEWSPAPERS AND JOURNALISM. "We are losing a peculiar culture and an ethic. This loss is impoverishing our civil discourse and leaving us less and less connected to the city, the nation and the world around us. The death of newsprint represents the end of an era. And news gathering will not be replaced by the Internet." By Chris Hedges at OpEdNews.

    THE CASE—PLEASE HEAR ME OUT—AGAINST THE EM DASH. "Modern prose doesn't need any more interruptions—seriously." By Noreen Malone in Slate.

    PHILIP ROTH WINS MAN BOOKER INTERNATIONAL PRIZE. The $100,000 prize adds another accolade to Roth's five-decade career that includes a Pulitzer Prize. Could the Nobel be next?

    "THE RISE OF LOGICAL PUNCTUATION". For at least two centuries, it has been standard practice in the United States to place commas and periods inside of quotation marks. But for how long? By Ben Yagoda at Slate.

    WHAT EDITORS WANT: A MUST READ FOR SUBMITTING TO LITERARY MAGAZINES This excellent article describes the nuts and bolts of magazine submission. By Lynne Barrett, editor of The Florida Book Review, in The Review Review.

    HOW DO YOU AUTOGRAPH (OR GET AUTOGRAPHED) AN EBOOK? Incredibly, in this digital world they've found a way! By Stephanie Rosenbloom in The New York Times.


    Swaim, Kaler

    BCWW's DON SWAIM WINS PEARL S. BUCK NATIONAL FICTION AWARD

    Dr. Anne Kaler made the presentations under a portrait of Pearl S. Buck at the historic Buck house on April 10, 2011. Three others won prizes in the youth division. Don's winning story, "Dearest Friend, Annie," which focuses on the relationship between Walt Whitman and Anne Gilchrist, was vetted by the Bucks County Writers Workshop. Buck, author of The Good Earth, won the Nobel Prize for literature, and her Perkasie, Pennsylvania, home is a National Historic Landmark. She is buried on the grounds. Pearl S. Buck International


    COLLEGEVILLE, PA: J.D. SALINGER SLEPT HERE. Just don't tell anyone. By Michael Winerip in The New York Times.

    WHY DO WRITERS ABANDON NOVELS? Success, despair, and getting lost in the words are some of the reasons. By Dan Kois in The New York Times.

    RETINITIS WORDEMA. Defined by the BCWW's Alan Shils as: "Inflammation of the retinas due to the overload of useless words projected upon them. (Similar to pulmonary, or any other edema, characterized by excess of fluid accumulation.) The only remedy for retinitis wordema is extensive editing; namely, to perform surgery on the writing, not the eyes."

    EDWIN MARKHAM: THE MAN WHO IRKED BIERCE (and wrote about zombies)

  • Perhaps the poet Markham, who wrote "The Man with the Hoe," only anticipated the future zombie craze without really thinking about it -- but he did drive Ambrose Bierce up the wall. Newly posted essay by Don Swaim. Read HERE.

    HUCKING IT UP. By Gene Weingarten in The Washington Post: "Were you as bothered as I was by all the pseudo-intellectual whining over a book publisher's decision to issue a new version of Huckleberrry Finn with the n-words deleted? I actually like the idea. As far as I am concerned, this sort of sensitive editing should be applied to other works of fiction, as well, to bring them more in line with contemporary standards of taste and propriety."

    BRIGHT SUN EXTINGUISHED: ODE TO NORMAN MAILER. Don Swaim's satirical ebook was vetted by the Bucks County Writers Workshop -- and was just published by Amazon.com. Can be read on all Macs, PCs, iPhones, or any other digital device.

    REYNOLDS PRICE 1933-2011. Don interviewed the North Carolina novelist and poet, who died on January 20, three times:
  • Good Hearts 7/4/88. listen.
  • The Tongues of Angels 7/10/91. listen.
  • Blue Calhoun 7/6/92. listen.

    WILFRID SHEED 1930-2011. The distinguished critic and essayist died January 19, 2011, at the age of eighty. Author of Essays in Disguise and some twenty other books, Sheed tells Don Swaim about a pingpong game Sheed had with J.D. Salinger: listen.

    THE DEADLIEST BOOK REVIEW. It was signed with six bullets by a killer who never even knew the author. By Peter Duffy in The New York Times Book Review.

    THE FIRST MYSTERY NOVELIST. For years it was thought to be Wilkie Collins, author of The Moonstone (1868). But the writer Paul Collins in The New York Times Book Review has concluded that the first mystery novel was The Notting Hill Mystery (1862) written by... Let's let Collins tell us.


    HELPFUL NOTE
    ALL of the BCWW's previously posted articles (many of great writerly value) posted in 2010 back to 2001 have been moved to the ARCHIVES folder





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