I would like to solicit the help of all WRWA members who submit copy for The Wisconsin Regional Writer. Reformatting and retyping takes up a lot of my time. I really don't mind retyping copy from those of you who haven't joined the computer age. That's fine. But when people send me typescript copy in the mail, and I know that they have e-mail, that bothers me. In fact, I believe it's downright inconsiderate. It means that something they typed-and could have typed or pasted into an e-mail-I am forced to retype from scratch. Well, to quote the popular song, I'm just not gonna' take it any more. When someone sends me a hand-written or typescript item and I know they have a computer and e-mail, I will send it back. Please be fair and considerate.

Also, for the club reporters-I am really grateful for your input. I appreciate it and I know that other WRWA members enjoy reading about their fellow writers' achievements. Keep sending the club reports, please. But also please take note of the format I use to present your reports. Names are in bold text using Upper Lower case (Boyd Sutton), not all UPPER CASE (BOYD SUTTON). The titles of “poems,” “articles,” “stories,” and the like are in quotes. The names of magazines, books, plays, and the like are in italics. Please do that if you can.

Also, please give me complete information about your members' achievements. For example, when you tell me that Joe Jones has had a poem published, please tell me the name of the poem (or short story, or article), what publication it was in (newspaper name, magazine name), where that is published (town), and when (issue or date). It you happen to know that it can be viewed on a Web site, please give me the sites' URL (address). That way, anyone interested in doing so who has an Internet connection can go to the site and see it. Note how I try to do this. I even spend time to look up such things when you don't provide it. But it would help me and save time if you included such information (if you know it) in your reports.

Finally, I'm looking for a few volunteers who have e-mail and are willing to type club reports or other manuscripts I receive that are either hand-written or prepared on a typewriter. Please e-mail me if you are willing to help in this way.

Q. What is head hopping and why is it considered bad?

A. Head hopping is a switch in point of view, or POV between two or more characters. As a good rule of thumb, if your character can't see it, touch it, hear it, or smell it, she can't know it. If you write beyond those parameters, you've head hopped, or changed POV.

Here are three reasons why head hopping is considered bad.

First, head hopping can confuse the reader and a relatively new author may not have the skills to “tag” the changes smoothly.

Second, head hopping detracts from the experience the reader has with a character. In a well told, well written work, a reader lives vicariously through the character. Abrupt changes break this bond and hamper the reader's ability to forget he or she is reading.

And third, it is essential to fully develop your craft, develop your own authorial voice, and become comfortable with who you are before you attempt trickier options. There is more to head hopping than just bouncing between characters and it takes practice beyond the essentials to do this option justice.

Have a question for award winning author J.R. Turner? Send an email, subject heading to Just the FAQs, to jturner4 at charter dot net or snail mail J.R. Turner at 3135 Bush st. Stevens Point, WI 54481 We'd love to hear from you!