39 - Friday, December 20, 1991 ~ North Shore News Ken Hardie INSURANCE CORPORATION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA AUTOTOPIC WITH ACCIDENT and AUTOMOTIVES Are you a good driver... crime-related claims on the Tise, net to mention auto insurance premiums, many people agree that something has to be done to drive home a safety message to all those ‘‘bad drivers’’ out there who are causing acci- dents. . While it’s easy to label someone who has had an accident as a “*bad”’ driver, does that mean we can deduce that those who haven’t Cap course offered on writing fiction ASPIRING NOVELISTS § and short story writers will learn from a professional when they take Communications 280 (Marketing Commercial Fiction) at Capilano College on Wednesday nights. Course instructor Crawford Kilian is the author of 10 publish- ed novels and two children’s bocks. He said he tries to save his Students from the pitfalls he en- countered at the start of his ca- reer, “Writers need to know so much. How to write dialogue, how to plot, even how to make a manuscript page more readable,” said Kilian. ‘‘They need to know how ‘to go straight to the mest likely publisher and when they make a sale they need to know how to read a contract. He added that a number of his | commercial fiction students have published..or, have signed publishing contracts. Among them are Grace Green, *43,495;) from y BI Exclusively from North Shore Mazda {| *Plus freight & P.DI. 3395. ea. a successful romance writer and William Mitchell, who signed with Del Rey Books in New York for a series of kung fu historical novels. Another student, science fiction writer Don Hildebrandt and two other students, Rhea Rose and Clelie Rich, have published On Spec, a Canadian science fiction magazine. Rose has also published in a re- cent science fiction anthology while Rich was a nominée for the Casper award for the best Cana- cian science fiction short story. “Pm looking for people who | want to write commercial fic- tion,’’ said Kilian. ‘‘That means mysteries, thrillers, romances, science fiction, fantasy, children’s books, usually in paperback. Suc- ceeding in those genres isn’t easy, but if you’re willing to invest the time and effort you can improve the odds.”’ The course runs from Jan. 15 to April 22. had mishaps are ‘‘good”’ drivers? During a aumber of police traf- fic enforcement campaigns over the last few months, it came as a huge shock to many that not just deliberately careless drivers got tickets, but many who honestly believed themselves to be part of the responsible, careful majority. ICBC’s claims statistics show juss how vulnerable otherwise “‘good’’ motorists can be. Last year, 65% of drivers who caused accidents had been claim-free fcr at least the previous five years. or a lucky one? Were they good, or just lucky? Right now, accidents are drain- ing your auto insurance fund at a rate of more than $4.5 million every working day. You may be among the majority of drivers who have never caused an acci- dent. You may have never even had a traffic ticket. Have you ever had a close call at an intersection? Taken a chance and driven home after a party tather than take the time to call a taxi? Do you ever start rolling back before you turn around to ahree times a week, 52 weeks a year, you receive your North Shore .. “ News on your door- step. You don’t have to give it much thought. In, fact, you may not even know your carrier because they don’t make collections. Think about it now. Your tip wiil be money well spent because NEWS carriers know the value of money. They are young people showing initiative and responsibility. Rest assured your tip will go a long way in supperting these values. Why not show your appreciation? A tip at Christmas will make their day. Call Distribution for the name of your carrier. They deserve to be remembered too. THE VOICE OF NORTH AND WEST VANCOUVER ‘th shore rae SUNDAY + WEDNESDAY - FRI DAY look? ‘‘Booted it’? through traffic rather than risk being late? It’s tough to be honest with ourselves. After one of our - speeding catnpaigns, a Vancouver Island community paper ran a motorist’s letter accusing !CBC and the police of setting up speed traps with the sole intent of runn- ing up fine and driver point reve- nues, The motorist wrote, “If you don't hit anything, speed won’t kill anyone!’’ A good driver? Or, at least so far, a lucky one? 986-1337