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April 2010 |
The Writer
The essential resource for writers
Join thousands of successful writers when you subscribe to The Writer magazine. Each month The Writer is full of features you can use to improve your writing, including before-and-after examples of improved writing, more literary markets than ever before, practical solutions for writing problems, selected literary magazine profiles, tips from famous authors and hands-on advice.
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Features By
Cathie Gandel When her schedule left no time to commit to a regular in-person workshop, the writer instead looked into the world of online critique groups.
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pg. 13 |
Breakthrough: Amid family losses and an Irish retreat, a voice emerges By
Susan DeBow It was a long road, but eventually our writer's words began having value to the harshest critic she knew: herself.
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pg. 14 |
By
Kerry Cohen Memoirists worry that their words may cause harm. But can their stories heal relationships?
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pg. 15 |
Poet to Poet: How to expand on a spark of an idea By
Marilyn Taylor To help get the poem in your head onto the page, ask yourself a series of questions.
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pg. 17 |
By
Melanie Florence Bestselling young-adult author Med Cabot, author of the Princess
Diaries series and much more, learned to be comfortable writing funny,
and to persevere amid endless rejections.
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pg. 20 |
Navigate the copyright maze By
Travis Heerman What are the rules of the road for excerpting or quoting someone else's published work in your own writing? Here are a few tips to steer you straight.
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pg. 23 |
Archive: Focus on the story, not readers By
Madeleine L'Engle In fiction, if you write the story that wants to be told, you'll win a wider audience, our distinguished author wrote in 1985.
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pg. 24 |
By
Meredith Sue Willis You can borrow from a rich array of director's tools, including panoramic shots, close-ups, detailed physical action, and dramatic high points.
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pg. 26 |
By
Kathy Stevenson All modesty aside, the author feels very well-suited to a number of cushy literary challenges.
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pg. 29 |
Special section: What makes literary fiction 'literary'? By
Moira Allen What is literary fiction anyway, and how is it different from mainstream fiction? What are its editors looking for--and not looking for--and what can it mean to you?
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pg. 30 |
By
Bharti Kirchner An author of four novels surveys the literary terrain for ways to improve your odds, drawing your focus to such elements as audience, voice, plot, setting and conflict.
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pg. 32 |
By
John Matthew Fox Place your work in a literary journal and you earn credibility in the literary world. So here is one writer's no-holds-barred guide to submitting, including the best and worst times to submit, and how to "translate" a rejection note.
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pg. 35 |
By
Ben Corbett Predicting future trends can be a freelancer's ace in the hole, so here are some tips on how to cultivate that sixth sense. Plus, read Barry Michaels' sidebar on how to use anniversaries as pegs for all kinds of publications.
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pg. 36 |
Freelance Success: How to impress agents and editors By
Kelly James-Enger Preparation is key for those potentially important one-on-one meetings at conferences and other events.
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pg. 38 |
By
Erica Manfred Writing about your life experiences helps you connect with readers and break into markets.
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pg. 44 |
Literary Spotlight: Blackbird By
Melissa Hart This month the spotlight is on Blackbird, an online journal of literature and the arts, describing its "elegant, yet playful spirit," as well as its preferences and contributors.
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pg. 46 |
Departments Editors Notes Letters Take Note The changing future of books By
Chuck Leddy, others A few thoughts on how technology is changing our book culture, plus other literary notes, Lisa Shearin's regular bimonthly column, an excerpt from a new writing book, and more.
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pg. 8 |
WriteStuff P.D. James celebrates mystery writers By
Chuck Leddy, Steve Weinberg This month, reviews of Talking About Detective Fiction by P.D. James; The Death and Life of American Journalism: The Media Revolution That Will Begin the World Again, by Robert W. McChesney and John Nichols; and Memoir: A History by Ben Yagoda. |
pg. 41 |
Market listings Writing conferences
Compiled by Martha Lundin
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pg. 47 |
How I Write Zoe Heller By
Robert Allen Papinchak For Zoe Heller, author of the novel Notes on a Scandal, writing gives her the chance to try to provide the satisfactions that other writers have given her.
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