The PSWA was founded in 1997 as the Police Writers Club.  The Public Safety Writers Association is open to both new and experienced, published and not yet published writers.  Members include police officers, civilian police personnel, firefighters, fire support personnel, emergency personnel, security personnel and others in the public safety field.  Also represented are those who write about public safety including mystery writers, magazine writers, journalists and those who are simply interested in the genre.

I’ve put together a set of pictures from the event which follows — enjoy!

by

Mary Deal

Proper pronunciation is a key in remembering names or deciding which name or word to use in your stories.

Count me as one of the people who manage to confuse words in a most curious way. I have always had trouble with when to use “loose” or “lose” until I hit upon the fact that it wasn’t the definition of each word that caused me difficulty. It was the way I pronounced them.

Another difficulty I have is with names. When trying to remember anything, one of the simplest ways for me is to associate it with something else. In try to remember a person’s name, I usually have to say it several times, and associate it with the person’s face, in order to remember. Remembering faces is easier, but names elude me unless I work hard at remembering. Say the person’s name to myself as often as possible while in that person’s presence and while looking at his or her face sometimes works. Still, that’s kind of difficult to do when trying to hold a spontaneous conversation.

Associating a person named Susan to another Susan I know helped. Also associating the person with someone I either liked or disliked, depending upon the conversation at the moment, sometimes works.

Susan was a young oriental girl I met. But how would I remember a typical American name with an oriental girl who was only then learning to speak English? Then an oriental man I once met came to mind. His name was Xzu Zan and it was pronounced like “Su-san.” Xzu Zan being oriental, it was then easy for me to remember Susan, my new oriental friend.

So if I can associate names, I should try it with simple words that are the bane of my writing endeavors. With my incorrect pronunciation of the words “loose” and “lose,” when I repeated “loose/noose” and “lose/lost” I stopped becoming confused. It also helped me to visualize the similarities of the spelling of those four words as I thought about them.

A noose can be loose and has similar sounds. Not having similar sounds but similar meanings is “lose/lost.” If you lose something, it is lost. Similarities exist in each set of words: Five letters in each word in the first example with four in each of the second.

Using this method, also resolved my often incorrect usage of “wretch/retch” and “wretched/retched.” According to the Oxford Dictionary, the meaning of “wretch” is “an unfortunate or contemptible person.” “Wretched” means “in a very unhappy or unfortunate state,” or, “of poor quality.” “Retch” means “to make the sound or movements of vomiting”. “Retched” is simply past tense of “retch.”

Since these two words are only related in sound, it came to me that “wretch” has one more letter then “retch.” Likewise, the pronunciation of “wretched” has two syllables while “retched” sounds like one syllable. When you pronounce these words and pay attention to the syllables, you clearly understand which one should be used in a given situation, but easily mistaken when writing or editing too quickly.

Another example is “who’s/whose.” This one seemed simpler to grasp once I studied it. Anytime there is an apostrophe in a word such as “who’s,” it’s a contraction of two words. Broken down, “who’s” becomes “who is” or “who has.” The usage according to this rule is then simplified and “whose” is used at all other times.

When writing “who’s” or “whose,” read the sentence and see if the meaning is “who is” or “who has” instead of the contracted word. Simply break down the contraction into the two separate words and it becomes clear which should be used.

Proper pronunciation of words and names helps clarify usage in speaking or in the written word.

Please visit Mary Deal’s website for more wonderful articles like this one: Write Any Genre.

“The Good Men Project: Real Stories from the Front Lines of Modern Manhood” is a collection of first-person stories about what it means to be a man in America today ~ from Pulitzer winners and Poet Laureates to ex-cons, Pro Football Hall of Famers and just regular guys. The authors describe their defining challenges, losses and triumphs through honest and simple truths, and are hoping to spark conversations about what it means to be a good man today.

Among the men profiled:

• Pulitzer Prize nominated war photographer Michael Kamber, who describes his perilous job and why he has sacrificed so much for it.
• Nationally renowned yogi Rolf Gates reveals how two women, his sister and his daughter, led him down a spiritual path that ultimately saved his life.
• Bestselling author Mark St. Amant muses about a romantic, post-wedding journey to Italy that nearly ended his marriage.

That’s why this book and DVD—along with the web site, the film, the online discussions and public events—is so important; it is a forum for men to talk and to be heard, to tell their stories and encourage other men to do the same.

Here’s the link to my interview on the Talking with Heroes Radio program.  My interview begins around the 43 minute mark, and runs for about eight minutes.  Enjoy!

Folks — if you subscribe to my newsletter, you are eligible to win a book, but you have to leave comments on my posts.  The most-prolific-newsletter-subscribing-commenter in any given month gets a book…signed…personalized if you like!

More details about the program can be found here:  Mike Angley’s Monthly Book Contest

On December 15, 2009 I was invited to appear as a guest on Paul Ibbetson’s Conscience of Kansas radio program, broadcast on Kansas Stat University’s FM Radio station, Wildcat 91.9.  This was a great honor for me because Paul is an accomplished and respected radio host, having interviewed the likes of people such as Tony Blankley, Rick Santorum, Jed Babbin, and Sheriff Joe Arpaio, among others.  If you go to the podomatic link, my interview starts around the 30 minute point, but I do encourage you to listen to the entire program.

Here’s more information about Paul, and I recommend you visit his website for some great articles and archived interviews: Paul A. Ibbetson.

Paul A. Ibbetson is a published author and lecturer on the Patriot Act. He is a former Chief of Police of Cherryvale, Kansas, and member of the Montgomery County Drug Task Force. Paul received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Criminal Justice at Wichita State University, and is currently completing his PhD. in Sociology at Kansas State University. Paul is the author of the books “Living Under The Patriot Act: Educating A Society” and “Feeding Lions: Sharing the Conservative Philosophy,” (both available for purchase at Paul’s own book store or at Amazon.com, as well as other major book outlets) and is the host of the award winning radio show the “Conscience of Kansas” on The Wildcat 91.9 FM. Paul is a regular writer for the Conservative Crusader as well as over 30 other online websites.

You submitted 14 comments, with the runner up, April Renn, submitting 8.

Way to go ladies!

Mike

The signing is an event organized by the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) Denver North Chapter, and will feature several authors from the local area.  You can read more about it at the AFCW website: Book Signing and Used Media Sale, as well as here: ACFW Colorado.

Here’s the address:

Daz Bog Coffee Shop

1050 W. 104th Avenue

Northglenn, CO  80234

So come on out and say hi to me!

I hope to see you at the event!

Please query me via email: author@childfinder.us with your title(s) to include ISBN(s), author bio, and a paragraph or two book description.  If you have a unique angle or topic you’d like to pitch, please do so – open to any creative ideas here.

If I select you, I will correspond with some interview questions and ask for more information when the time comes.

By the way, I encourage everyone who visits my website to subscribe to my newsletter and enter my monthly FREE book giveaway.  Contest details appear on the main landing page.

Many thanks!

Mike