Registration
Details:
You
DO
NOT need to submit an additional request for
a USERNAME & PASSWORD
if you complete this form! You will receive your USER
NAME & PASSWORD as soon as I get your
registration entered. This is not an automated service, it is done
manually by me, so the RESPONSE
will not come back to you immediately.
I enter the information you submit in MY DATABASE and forward it to the "Chairperson" of your respective class, if your class has designated one. If your class has no "Chairperson" I retain your information and it will be made available to chairpersons for reunions, when planning begins, but you must update, should anything change. The Virtual Directory is protected, and ONLY your email will be added to it. No address, telephone or personal info about you will be added to the webpage or given to anyone without your permission.
Personal website addresses will not be posted on this website at this time. Please give the name of the college or university you are attending and the degree you are pursuing. If you are already a graduate, please give your school and your occupation. If you submit this information, the name of your school and degree or occupation will be added with your email link in the class directory on this website. Kewpies planning to attend your school or enter your occupation will possibly consult you, if you choose to add this information.
However, if you have a website, you can enter the URL
If you entered your website above, what is the nature of your website?
Alternate Email address
Fax number
Is your computer a PC or Mac?Information About Your Education & Occupation
Name of your school
Your degree or occupationFamily Stats & Memories from Hickman High School
Children's names & ages
Grandchildren's names & ages
What Hickman teacher(s) do you rember most and why?
What were your favorite songs during high school?
What incidents from high school stand out most in your mind?
What have you been doing since your days at Hickman?
What do you have planned for the future?
Please note if you have attended reunions and/or plan to come to future reunions?
Any other comments you care to make?
Are you a nobody in the world of writing, or a respected personality whose opinions are listened to? The answer is up to you, in a degree that might surprise you. The information you feed people about yourself is vital to their understanding of you, and as a writer, respect is vital. Respect radically increases the odds of your work being read again by the reader next time he or she stumbles over your name while skimming lists of articles or stories.
As a writer you usually get to (read: have to) write your own bios and blurbs. There are many ways to write these bios, but some factors remain important:
- write in third person
- list facts, not wishes
- cite relevant experiences
- belong somewhere
- write tight
- add a hook
Write in Third Person
People automatically give more trust to what is said of one person by another, than to what people say about themselves -- even when they know that the bio was written by the author. Elementary psychology, and used by everybody who needs respect. In addition, the third person creates a little distance that allows the reader to feel less intruded upon.
Back - BIOList Facts, Not Wishes
If you are a lumberjack and/or a housewife, you are free to say so or refrain from doing so. You may also say that you only write as a hobby, but don't bother to explain that you hope to be a full time journalist in the future -- the reader is unlikely to be interested in your dreams at this point. Neither is it recommended that you overdo the posturing -- you may be an excellent writer, but that is for the reader to find out. Every superlative used in your bio will reduce the reader's trust in the objectivity of that bio, and hence of your material. It shouldn't be necessary to tell of the dangers in actually lying in a bio -- being caught in a lie is a major breach of trust and can do irreparable damage to your reputation.
Back - BIO
Cite Relevant Experiences
If you have an education in some field of writing, then mention it. Any earlier experiences in the writing game is worth mentioning, be it being published in New York Times or an amateur e-zine. If you haven't been paid for any work yet, it IS acceptable to list the articles you gave away to some amateur e-zine or put up on your own homepage... just don't go into too many details. Once you have two or three references, you can stop; keep it down to a few good ones.
Back - BIO
Belong Somewhere
If you are a member of any writers' community, mention it. Many writers have found it useful to belong to a group for training, local or social purposes, but there is also the added benefit of having a reference of relevance to your craft. Even if your only connection with a writer's guild is that you pay the membership dues, it is worth mentioning and increases trust among the readers -- they know that others are able to give more information about you or get hold of you if need should arise.
Back - BIO
Write Tight
This is a good rule in all your writing, and particularly in your bio. The reader is checking out your bio only for a moment, and mostly only in order to estimate the value of your work. Write more than a few lines, and you have lost him.
Back - BIO
Add a Hook
You should include one or two bits of information that help give your bio that extra little colour that will make readers remember your name next time you meet. Perhaps you can mention an unusual hobby, or something else that will twitch the reader's smiling muscles?Keep your bio down to one small paragraph, write honestly and to the point, and you will have a pretty good chance of being remembered.
Back - BIO
by Terje Johansen