Asking Rhetorical Questions

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Joanne Guidoccio

“Are any of you being hosed?”

Brian Patton’s question took us all by surprise. It was not the preamble we were expecting from the seasoned Toastmaster, but as Brian continued with his speech, it quickly became apparent just how effective that initial question really was.

That is the power of a rhetorical question.

Often asked for effect, a rhetorical question can emphasizes a point, present a challenge or serve as a call to action. Brian’s question immediately engaged all of us and forced us to actively listen instead of passively sitting back and absorbing very little.

Some well-known rhetorical questions include…

“Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who would want to live in an institution?” (H.L. Mencken)

“Aren’t you glad you use Dial? Don’t you wish everyone did?” (1960s television advertisement)

“If practice makes perfect, and no one’s perfect, then why practice?” (Billy Corgan)

On the lighter side (From House M.D.)

Dr. Cameron: Why did you hire me?

Dr. House: Does it matter?

Dr. Cameron: Kind of hard to work for a guy who doesn’t respect you.

Dr. House: Why?

Dr. Cameron: Is that rhetorical?

Dr. House: No, it just seems that way because you can’t think of an answer.

While crafting rhetorical questions can be challenging, toastmasters and writers should not shy away from this effective literary device. Consider the following tips:

1. Use these questions sparingly. If you have too many rhetorical questions in a speech, you can overwhelm and confuse the listener. One well-worded question in the introduction will give the audience members enough time to digest the information that follows.

2. Provide the answer to the question. While the question isn’t meant to be answered by the audience, it should be answered by the toastmaster who follows up with relevant material.

3. Hook the audience with a rhetorical question instead of an emotionally charged statement. For example, if you are trying to rally support for an anti-bullying campaign, you could ask: “How many more children must be bullied before we take action?”

Fun Friday

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Joanne Guidoccio

My Take on Boomer Lit

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Joanne Guidoccio

9188269_s

We’re the young generation,
And we’ve gt something to say.

Almost five decades have passed since I first heard those catchy lyrics from The Monkees. At age fifty-eight, the song continues to resonate with me.

I’ve still got something to say.

And so do seventy-eight million other baby boomers around the world.

We are fueling a growing demand for a different kind of literature, aptly called boomer lit. While it is entertaining to read about young vampires and twenty-something women wrestling with relationship and workplace issues, we want our own heroes who are not afraid to change the standard romantic and literary formulas.

Age-appropriate. Nostalgic. Finding meaning in the golden years. Or to quote LuAnn Schindler…

Move over, chick. It’s time for the hen to strut her stuff.

I started to seriously “strut” my literary stuff five years ago. After retiring from a thirty-one-year teaching career, I decided to devote my second act to writing. Excited about my first novel, I anxiously awaited input from a visiting screenwriter. That conversation is still etched in memory:

Writer: “You’ve got an interesting storyline here. And I like how you’ve developed the main female characters. But…

Me: Spill it. I can take it.

Writer: Most of the characters are over fifty. You need to bring in a couple of young’uns. Create a sub-plot with the protagonist’s niece and introduce a love interest for her.

Me: What do you mean by young’uns?

Writer: Characters in their twenties and early thirties. That’s what selling now.

Since then, I have encountered different versions of this conversation whenever I participate in writing workshops and seminars. Several instructors urged me to downplay the “boomer” elements in my books.

“Don’t mention anything about age in your query letter.”

“It’s okay to have an older woman as a sleuth. She’ll be invisible and that works well for sleuths. But make sure you surround her with younger characters.”

“Stay away from retirement homes, senior homes, and nursing homes. Don’t dwell on all that negative stuff. Too depressing.”

Hmm

Thankfully, the writers and producers of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Quartet, The Intouchables and Downtown Abbey did not consider such misguided advice. I can’t even imagine creating younger characters to replace Maggie Smith, Dame Judy Dench, Bill Nighy or Francois Cluzet in any of their outstanding roles.

I am equally impressed by Jeanne Ray, Lynda Rutledge, Debra Goldstein and other writers who have launched spectacular second acts. Inspired by their stories, I have continued to use boomers and their older siblings as protagonists in my novels and short stories. My determination and efforts are finally paying off. In the fall of 2013, Soul Mate Publishing will release my debut novel, Between Land and Sea.

Any other boomer lit success stories out there? I would love to feature you on this blog.

Related Articles…

Are You Ready For Boomer Lit? Laurie Boris

Boomer Lit: Romancing the Middle-Aged Reader by LuAnn Schindler

How I Reinvented Myself at 60 by Jeanne Ray

Many Winding Roads to Success

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Joanne Guidoccio

The timing was off.

No one wanted to read about the Korean War, the forgotten war that was overshadowed by the immensely unpopular Viet Nam War.

But that didn’t prevent H. Richard Hornberger (using the pseudonym Richard Hooker) from devoting eleven years to writing about his experiences as a surgeon at the 8055^th mobile army surgical hospital unit during the Korean War. His agent spent another eight years sending the manuscript to over thirty publishers who soundly rejected it. Hornberger then asked famed sportswriter W.C. Heinz to help him revise it.

A year later, MASH was acquired by William Morrow and Company.

In 1970, MASH was the third-largest grossing film that year and spawned the popular CBS series, which ran from 1972 until 1983.

Oprah and Ayana Mathis

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Joanne Guidoccio

After reading the first chapter of The Twelve Tribes of Hattie, Oprah knew she had found her second Book Club 2.0 pick. On yesterday’s Super Soul Sunday, she sat down for an interview with author Ayana Mathis.

Ayana started by describing her experiences at the prestigious Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Grateful for this opportunity to work with Pulitzer Prize winner Marilynne Robinson and other up-and-coming writers, she talked openly about the hopes, dreams and frustrations that lie behind those hallowed walls. When she arrived at the workshop, she was working on another book, a fictionalized memoir. At one critique session, Robinson suggested that her characters were “insufficiently complex.” Ayana took the criticism to heart, had her ugly cry and then turned to writing short stories. Her first story was a hybrid of the first and last chapters of The Twelve Tribes of Hattie.

Inspired by Isabel Wilkerson’s The Warmth of Other Suns, Ayana set her book against the backdrop of the Great Migration. Starting around 1916, over six million African Americans migrated north to escape the poverty and hardships of the south. The main character, Hattie Shepherd, is a strong but flawed woman who fiercely loves her eleven children but cannot demonstrate that love. While each chapter focuses on a different child, Hattie is the glue that holds the book together.

In writing this novel, Ayana wanted her readers to encounter a fully, fleshed out black humanity. To that end, she got into the soul of each character and spent as much time as possible in their minds.

When asked about her childhood, Ayana admitted that there was little money and she and her mother often lived in neighborhoods where they couldn’t afford to pay the rent. In spite of their limited circumstances, Ayana was given an enormous amount of freedom and chose her own life path.

Extremely grateful for the success of her debut novel, Ayana admits to being permanently stunned. She still thinks of the book as a Word document.

Quotable Quotes…

Our humanity means we don’t have to be completely defined by race.

We find companions and mirrors in literature.

There is an arc of human history that bends toward social justice.

Character development is a process cultivated over time. Reward comes from reworking.

Fun Friday

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Joanne Guidoccio

Many Winding Roads to Success

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Joanne Guidoccio

Whenever I need a strong dose of inspiration, I refer to the following story about one of the most prolific writers of our time.

A laundry worker, who lived in a trailer, earned $60 a week at his job while his wife worked night shifts. The man had a burning desire to be a writer and spent his nights and weekends typing manuscripts to send to agents and publishers. Each one was rejected with a form letter that gave him no assurance that his manuscript had ever been read.

Finally, a warmer, more personal rejection letter came in the mail, stating that, although his work was not good enough to warrant publishing, he had promise as a writer and should keep writing.

He forwarded two more manuscripts to the same friendly publisher over the next eighteen months, and as before, he struck out with both of them. Finances got so tight that the young couple had to disconnect their telephone to pay for medicine for their baby.

Feeling totally discouraged, he threw his latest manuscript into the garbage. His wife, totally committed to his life goals and believing in his talent, took the manuscript out of the trash and sent it to Doubleday, the publisher who had sent the friendly rejections.

The book, titled Carrie, sold more than five million copies and, as a movie, became one of the top-grossing films in 1976.

The laundry worker was Stephen King.

Source: Stand and Deliver: How to Become a Masterful Communicator and Public Speaker (Dale Carnegie Training)

Great Idea! But is it a book?

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Joanne Guidoccio

editing1 While browsing on the Storywell website,the title of this workshop caught my attention.

So, I decided to drive out to The Button Factory in Waterloo to hear freelance editor and publishing consultant Nicole Langlois discuss non-fiction publishing in Canada.

As former managing editor at Harper Collins, Nicole is very knowledgeable about how publishing decisions are made. She discussed different books in Quill and Quire and went through the Big Four questions that all publishers consider…

1. Does this project have a self-selecting book-buying audience and who makes up that audience? (Focus on measurable groups who are interested in your topic; use facts and figures wherever possible.)

2. What will this book say of significance to those within this audience? (It’s the Aquarius Factor—uniqueness—that separates you from an almost always crowded marketplace.)

3. Will this audience, once made aware of this book, go out and buy it? (An especially good question if women aren’t part of your target audience.)

4. Is this the right author and the right time to publish this book? (It’s all about platform.)

Nicole stressed the importance of building an author platform and the essential elements of all non-fiction proposals. She referred to Mike Nappa’s book, 77 Reasons Why Your Book Was Rejected, and Thinking Like Your Editor: How to Write Great Serious Nonfiction by Susan Rainer and Alfred Fortunato throughout the workshop.

Food for thought…

Publishing contracts are based on the number of books sold in the first year. Can you sell 5000 copies in that time?

Negative stories are hard to sell.

The best time to start promoting your book is three years before it comes out. (Seth Godin)

Blurbs are the life blood of the publishing industry.

Find the editor who is sympathetic to your voice.

Work hard… Hope for a lucky break…Enjoy the process!