April 2004

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.

Features

Keep your readers up all night

By Jay Bonansinga

Want to keep readers turning the pages? You'd better give them a dramatic "And then..."--a twist where your story suddenly shifts into second gear.

For Anne Tyler, writing is no accident

By Bethanne Kelly Patrick

In a rare interview, novelist Anne Tyler discusses her creative process, her research, and the concept of family as "the perfect breeding ground" for plot.

Federal freebies

By Linda Formichelli

The U.S. government offers a wealth of information that can help bolster your queries, articles and book proposals.

A surprising source for travel writing

By Herb Hiller

A good way to deepen your travel writing, ironically, is to stay close to home and become an expert on a particular area or region.

8 ways to fix your fiction

By Sharon Mignerey

Self-editing your fiction sure is easier with a good checklist. Here's one to get you started.

Fact-finding mission

By Shelby Hearon

Gather a wealth of rich, varied facts and you'll enrich your fiction.

Departments

From the editor

The conference connection

By Elfrieda Abbe

Letters

Miscellany

What Americans love to read, the birth of Peter Pan, what motivates Anne Lamott, and other literary notes.

Dear Writer

Tips on how to know when it's time to type "The End" and send your manuscript off.

Breakthrough

Ba-da-boom! Learning from improv

By Ron Riekki

What a developing writer learned about fiction-writing from improv comedy--and why James Joyce might have fit right in.

Net//Working

E-mail manners matter

By Kelly James-Enger

Just because e-mail is so easy is no reason to hurt your cause with editors, agents or other writers.

Poet to poet

Writing in couplets

By Enid Shomer

Writing in couplets offers you the creative freedom to pull together otherwise disconnected elements, says our writer, who details the birth of one of her poems.

Syntax

The disappearing quote marks

By Arthur Plotnik

Many contemporary fiction writers are dispensing with conversational quotation marks in favor of something, well, murkier.

Off the cuff

Strengthen your prose with a daily workout

By Tom Bailey

You may not grunt or sweat as much, but a writing regimen is a lot like weight training and absolutely essential, our well-toned writer says.

Bottom line

The post-conference hustle

By Jennifer Nelson

Attending a writers conference is important--but so is your follow-up after the conference.

WriteStuff

Reviews of Gotham Writers' Workshop: Writing Fiction and The Writing Group Book: Creating and Sustaining a Successful Writing Group.

Market focus

Easy ways to crack new markets

By Diana Burrell

The short front-of-the-book articles many magazines feature are a good way for writers to crack new markets.

Market update

Hitting the jackpot at writers conferences

By Sharon McDonnell

One of the benefits of writers conferences is how some smart networking can lead to article assignments, book and agents.

How I write

Tracy Kidder

For Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Kidder, the writing process shows him what else he needs to know.