|
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.
Subscribe now
Purchase back issues
Features
Third-person limited offers flexibility
Just how much access are you going to give your narrator? It’s an important decision for your story, and third-person limited is one of the popular choices.
By Brandi Reissenweber
The little chicken that could: A true tale blossoms into a picture book
When the writer’s once “adorable” chicks grew into “plant-ripping, dirt-slinging, hole-making devils,” they became the stuff of, well, a published picture book.
By Judyann Ackerman Grant
From real life to the page
What the shift from realistic novels to memoir says about the literary culture and us.
By Art Edwards
Making you feel, and making you think
ZZ Packer, author of a smash-hit short-story collection, finds that with some overly subtle literary fiction,“You just want to pick up a story and shake it.”
By Gabriel Packard
Twitter & Facebook feeds to watch
These top 30 sites will keep you informed of industry news and trends, kick-start your creativity, and make you realize you’re not really alone.
By Rochelle Melander
COVER STORY: THE HOW-TO ISSUE
Freelancing: Take the chill out of cold calling
The key is to begin your conversation with editors in such a way that they get something first.
By James Careless
How to add fiction to your mix
A longtime nonfiction freelancer gathers advice from other writers and his own experience on managing the financial and psychological gamble of writing a novel.
By Robert Bittner
Step by Step: The secret is in the secret
A veteran mystery writer and book critic offers tips for plotting a page-turner.
By Hallie Ephron
New Publishing: The 8 biggest mistakes e-book authors make—and how to avoid them
You can write and publish digital works that connect with readers.
By Kelly James-Enger
Agent to Author: 10 ways to get the most out of one-on-ones
These steps will get you ready to network with agents and editors at your next conference.
By Marilyn Allen and Coleen O'Shea
The 12 commandments of writing conferences
Here are some tips to get past the “overwhelmed” stage and make the most of your opportunities.
By Libby Cudmore and Matthew Quinn Martin
Dear Jack Kerouac
Enjoy the top entry in our personal-essay contest, then read about the winning writer and hear what our finals judge, Lee Gutkind, has to say about him.
By David Joshua Jennings
Conference Insider: Cape Cod Writers Center Conference
Polish your writing and feel like you’re on vacation at the same time at this 50th anniversary conference in beautiful Cape Cod.
By Martha Lundin
7 secrets to selling your travel stories
A magazine editor gives you the inside scoop on what she and other assigning editors are looking for in travel pieces.
By Diana Tonnessen
Literary Spotlight: Narrative
This month's spotlight is on the literary journal Narrative, describing its tone, editorial preferences and contributors.
By Melissa Hart
Departments
Editor’s Notes Take Note
The enduring popularity of Scandinavian crime novels, some freebies for writers, plus
Stephanie Dickison’s Letter From Toronto, a question for Ask The Writer, and more.
Write Stuff
Reviews of new writing books. Markets
This month, a list of agents, publishers, contests, conferences and magazines. How I Write
In fiction writer Adam Johnson’s experience, “writing talent” is something you can
create through work, by putting in time at the keyboard.
By Jason Kennedy
|