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writing mag suggested content

edited August 2014 in - WM and WN
Just wondering if Mr. Telfer has ever thought about including a medical help article in the magazine, along the lines of 'excuse me officer' where a kind hearted doctor would be happy to answer medical questions (for stories, of course - no embarrassing bodies!!).

Comments

  • Hi and welcome, JillMac.
    Wouldn't Diana Cambridge's regular Help Line do that job?
  • I'm not asking for myself you realise, my character has this rash ever since his 18-30s holiday in Corfu. Yes, I know I went on the same holiday, but that too was research...
  • A guest specialist in various fields could be very useful - and fascinating - forensics, police procedure, autopsy, court procedure, porn star.

    How many times do we read fiction and, knowing something about an element, shake our heads at inaccuracies? If nothing else, such a page would illustrate the complexities of research.
  • Yes, if one issue were to ask for questions from a particular expert to answer in a forthcoming issue that might be interesting.
  • They have a similar Q & A for police procedure at the back, I seem to remember.
  • edited August 2014
    If I remember correctly, TN has recently become an expert in forensics. I believe she's hoping to audition for the title role in the remake of 'Inch High Private Eye."
  • It's unlikely, but if anyone wants to set a story on a bike, I suppose we could ask you for tips and stuff.
  • sm, you never miss an opportunity, do you?

    *cuffs his ankles*
  • sm, you never miss an opportunity, do you?

    Not knowingly.

    =))
  • edited August 2014
    It's unlikely, but if anyone wants to set a story on a bike, I suppose we could ask you for tips and stuff.
    I wrote a story about bike race for a 'Cyclist' comp at WM a year or two back. It was shortlisted. Last year I sent it to 'Ride', an American mag that is devoted entirely to short cycling fiction, surely the only one on the planet.
    I got a rejection a few weeks ago, though I did get a note saying that the editor came back to it several times before binning it. This is the stuff of life.
    Being realistic, 'Ride' was the only chance this story had for world-wide acclaim, although it was published in the cycling club mag a while back. Nobody noticed.
  • I had a chapter in my novel in which my main character was riding in a 50mile time trial. He was a lot better than I ever was so I can't claim to have based it on experience
  • Calling him Mr Telfer may give him ideas (not necessarily about helpline columns, though).
  • Any specialist writing about his/her subject would be interesting.
  • How about a general 'Ask the Expert' page where readers can pose a question and WM track down the right expert to answer?
  • Can WM afford to pay the experts' fees?

    (Note proper use of apostrophe)
  • Can WM afford to pay the experts' fees?

    (Note proper use of apostrophe)
    That may not be the main problem...

    Imagine trying to get answers by the deadline.

  • And as WM takes so many months to reach perfaction, a reader will have forgottne what the question was by the time the answer is printed - or will have moved on to the next story and not need the information!
  • Question 1:

    Is there a scientific way to measure the stress caused to a magazine editor when the readers try to 'help'?
  • It's how much of his beard he pulls out in a day, BB.
  • I'd try weighing the amount of chocolate consumed.
  • edited August 2014
    Good ideas, these, and to go back to JillMac's original question, I actually had an "Excuse me, Doctor" lined up until I gave her the first query and she stopped answering my emails. It wouldn't really suit Helpline, as DC, for all her other skills, is not technically a doctor!
    Calling him Mr Telfer may give him ideas (not necessarily about helpline columns, though).
    It's nice to see some respect around here!

    That may not be the main problem...
    Imagine trying to get answers by the deadline.
    It is a bit of a logistical nightmare, but not as bad as it used to be – rotating the experts would at the very least lead to a "leapfrogging" situation where questions from one month were answered not in the next issue but one or two further on. A permanent slot in each area would be okay though.
    Question 1:
    Is there a scientific way to measure the stress caused to a magazine editor when the readers try to 'help'?
    It usually manifests indirectly, leading to painful visible typos further down the line and a propensity for ugly idioms such as "further down the line".
  • It will all sort itself out in the fullness of time.
  • At the end of the day, when the chips are down, you can always count on us, Mr Telfer, sir.
    To do what, exactly, I'm not prepared to say.
  • Nil desperandum, Webbo.
  • edited August 2014
    .
  • Morse code? Braille? Dirty marks on the monitor?

    *sprays Pledge*
  • *sniffs*

    Sorry, that made me sneeze. I caught it from S&M.
  • *applies handwash*

    If it's catching, I'm not getting it.
  • You don't look well.
  • Nor do you.
  • well, what a reaction. But I'm non the wiser as to whether a 'Dear Doctor' column would be considered. Maybe a special section on talkback could be used for research queries; I'm sure between the millions of us (?) who subscribe most peoples' questions could be answered. (excuse correct/incorrect use of apostrophe!!! Richard Bell will be having kittens...)
    I've missed filling in the survey because yet again I had trouble with this .rs business.
  • people's: the questions of people; peoples': the questions of peoples (as in nations).
    Simples. ( medicinal herbs, or medicine made from same.)
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