MAY '07 Best regards, Pat Dear Tim, Wow! It would take me a long time to tell you how I got started in writing. I started while I was still in college and as soon as I learned what a freelance writer was. It seemed like the perfect life for me. As a matter of fact, I have written a whole book on that subject, titled "The Deer On A Bicycle--Excursions Into the Writing of Humor." You can probably find it at your local bookstore or library but if not you can order it from mcmanusbooks.com. I'm not sure of the price but you can find it on that website. The other advice I can give you right now is to get a copy of Writers Market, if you don't already have a copy. You can probably find that at your local library as well. Best, Pat Dear Tim, Many thanks for writing. It's always particularly good to hear from another humor writer. I was delighted to learn that you are already getting your pieces published. It's a tough racket and you've already made the biggest step. Best, Pat Dear John, Thanks for the nice note, particularly from a guy who has more scars than I do! I'll be in Seattle doing a signing this fall, for my next boo, KERPLUNK, a collection of humor pieces. Hope to see you there. I don't know the exact time and place yet but as soon as we get it, the schedule will be put up on mcmanusbooks.com. Best, Pat Dear Bridget, I would love to go grouse hunting with you and your dad! Grouse are my favorite game, and it sounds as if you have the perfect grouse place. Alas, I don't know when I'll next make it to Minnesota. I have hunted there often with my friend Bob Schranck, a former outdoor editor for one of the Minneapolis newpapers. You live in a wonderful place for an outdoorsman. Thanks for writing. Dear James, Sounds to me as if you're on the right track for writing humor. One of the tricks is to send a piece a month to the same magazine(s) so that the editors will start to recognize your name. If you don't know about Writers Market, go to your local library and check it out. That way you can find which magazines are looking for humor, how much they pay, etc. Alas, I can no longer critique other writers' pieces. I've gotten too old and my judgment just isn't that good anyway. Thanks for writing. Best, Pat Dear Andy, When you first told me about pounding and spearing fish, I though maybe you were putting me on. And I'm still not sure! In any case, it sounds like something I would enjoy. As a boy, I sued to shoot suckers with a bow and arrow, the arrow made out of a steel rod and attached to a string. I'd pound one end of the rod flat and sharpen it into a point. I enjoy MI any time of the year, and maybe someday I'll make it back there in January. Thanks much for the nice letter and the invitation. Best, Pat Dear Kari-Anne, Thanks much for the nice note! (I love your name, by the way.) Yes, it would be nice if one of these days some Hollywood outfit produced a McManus film. In fact, ten or fifteen years ago I wrote a film script titled "The Crabtree Connection" and a company called World Wide Entertainment bout it. My script was the next film on their list to be produced. The year before they had done "The Christmas Box," which was the most-watched TV film of that year. Then they produced a real stinker titled "The Summer of The Monkeys." The company went bankrupt. I haven't been able to interest any other company in my filmscript. But maybe someday. Thanks again for writing. Best, Pat Dear Carlanne, I have often heard of boys being raised by McManus rules but you and your sister are the first girls. You obviously have a wonderful dad. I tried to raise my own four daughters by McManus rules but it never took. On the other hand, none of them has been arrested by Sneed, so I suppose that is a plus. Many thanks for writing. I enjoyed your letter. You have a great name, too. Best, Pat Dear Rob, To answer your question, all I did during my two-hour writing time was write--pound the typewriter. True, not everything I wrote during that period rose above the level of terrible, but after awhile, you you write seven days a week, two hours a day, for a period of time, something happens in your mind that I can't explain. Remember, that each person has his or her own inner voice that is original with that person, and that is the voice you eventually tap into. It is the voice, more than the subject matter, that counts, particularly in the writing of humor. When I first started writing, however, I wrote factual material rather than humor, the factual stuff being much easier to sell. The three markets I hit with factual articles were Sports Illustrated, TV Guide and Reader's Digest, the Digest piece being a reprint of the SI article. Later RD published about 20 of my humor pieces. But I sold many many dozens of factual articles to numerous publications before I sold my first humor piece. The "voice" helps you sell factual pieces too. The best advice I can give any writer starting out is to buy a copy of The Writers Market and study its entries for any field in which you are interested. I will occasionally use the blog to give writing tips. I have been on a book tour for the last couple of months and am therefore behind on my blog writing, but will get back to it soon. Good luck with your writing. Best, Pat Dear Mark, Many thanks for the nice note. I was delighted to hear that you are reading my stories to your 7 and 9 year olds. In my opinion, nothing helps a person survive better than a sense of humor. Any time you can laugh at your bad experiences, the better off-and saner-you are. I much appreciate your taking the time to write. Best, Pat Dear Al, Many thanks for the note. I was delighted to hear you enjoyed Avalanche! It's a new genre for me and I need all the encouragement I can get. Best regards, Pat
DARLENE "BUN" ANSWERS YOUR MAY '07 EMAILS: Dear Megan S., Thank you for the first response to my blog and I'm sorry to be so slow in getting back to you. We have been after Pat for sometime to write a blog and when he saw the emails I got, he started his own. Thanks again for your support. We love Newport, OR, by the way. All the best, Darlene (Bun) Dear Ron A., Thank you for your nice words about my blog and Pat's writing. My plan for the blog is to give insights into Pat's (and our) life and to force him to write one himself. As you've probably noticed, he has started to write his own blog now. All the best, Darlene (Bun) Dear Margaret, Thank you for any ideas you can give me for my blog. I try to give my side of the story because often times I don't recognize Pat's side. I always listen when he tells his stories! They're new to me! All the best, Darlene (Bun) Dear Terry, Thank you for your email. If you are the one Pat told me about that spent some time with him before the book signing in a mall in MI, thank you again. He said he was tired and worried about his talk and a man came up and talked to him and distracted him from his problems when he needed it. All the best, Darlene (Bun) Dear Randy, It is interesting that you mention the "Hank the Cowdog" series because we have one grandson who dearly loved those stories. On our travels I have checked numerous secondhand bookstores but have never found any of the books, probably because I didn't have the author's name. Thank you for the email. All the best, Darlene (Bun) Dear Connie, I'm sorry to have not replied before. Thank you for the good words about Pat's writing and the help they provided with your son's enthusiasm for reading. We actually get many letters saying the same thing. It is always heartwarming to know that Pat's writings may have helped somebody. All the best, Darlene (Bun) Dear Carolanne, I've got to tell you that your letter made my day. I swear I'm going to frame it! All the best, Darlene (Bun)> Dear Michael, Thank you for your comments, particularly about me being the "sane" half of Pat McManus! All the best, Darlene (Bun)
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