This is my soft opening....
.... don't worry, things will get better
As the heading says, I’m Robin J. Minnick, also known as RJ Minnick. I’m introducing my newsletter today with a little trepidation and half as much knowledge of how to do this, so please bear with me as I labor.
I wear many hats, but the chapeau that relates to this newsletter is that of a writer. I’ve written articles for newspaper and magazine, short stories, food and software reviews (although not in the same article, so far), and long fiction. While some writers think of their stories as their babies or their children, as a mother of six, I don’t go quite that far. I do think of stories as my creations (along with my children).
This newsletter is going to be about story, by which I refer to any writing, up to and including novels. Story and about how one originates, how it develops, and how it finds its way to a home, be that formal publication or hand-made greeting card. I’ll write about how a writers’ group can be helpful, what good critiquing is, and even about the submissions or self-publication process. Along the way I’ll drop in some of my own writing, whether as examples or just for fun, and I may have some guests as well.
We’ll explore many things about writing a story, but everything will relate back to one simple question. It’s a take on a closing line from (I think) local evening newscasts from the ‘60s or ‘70s. A sonorous masculine voice would state the local time and then ask the viewers if they knew the whereabouts of their children, an exhortation to be mindful of their safety as well as their behavior1.
So, for all those writers who dote on their literary creations, welcome to:
according to Wikipedia: station WNEW-TV began using this phrase spoken by their director of on-air promotions, Mel Epstein, in 1967 as a response to the rising level of crime in New York; it is still used each night by the station, which has been known as WNYW since 1986.
Hurray! Delighted to see you here, Robin!