May 2005

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 Elfrieda Abbe
For Scott Turow, a new novel takes shape through a process of "daylight dreaming." Read a fresh portrait of an unusually talented man who brings together the worlds of writing and the law.
Learning online
By Jennie Berkson
If you're considering enrolling for some online writing instruction, our writer's experiences will help guide your thinking.
Insiders' advice on breaking into top magazines
By Gwen Moran
Want some inside advice on breaking into the top national magazines? Well, you won't want to miss these pointers from veteran freelancers.
By Bethanne Patrick
As our interviews with five writers show, winning a literary contest can bring money and publication, but also intangible rewards that may be just as important.
Top 10 fiction mistakes and how to avoid them
By Robert Brown, Sharene Martin
The opening of your novel speaks for the rest of the book. Our two agents describe the most common mistakes they see in those crucial first few pages.
Money for writers: Where to look for writing grants
By C. Hope Clark
A writing grant can be just what your project—or career—needs, and there are more grants out there than you think.
What a classic short story teaches you about writing
By Daniel E. Samide
How did Ambrose Bierce fool us with his narrative magic in the famous story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"? Here's how.
Departments
Editor's notes
By Elfrieda Abbe
Take note
Writing news and notes
An "all-star" writing collection to benefit tsunami relief, advice on how to enjoy life from Dean Koontz's dog—plus other litetary notes, Dear Writer, and information on contests and conferences.
Get started
Where do ideas for short stories come from?
By Tom Bailey
An award-winning writer kicks off a new series of columns on writing a short story by describing how one of his evolved.
Breakthrough
Contest was novel's path to publication
By Lisa Borders
Winning a literary contest got our writer's first novel published, but that still left her the task of getting it noticed.
Off the cuff
Letters to my granddaughter
By Kim Campbell
In the wake of a tragic death in her family, our writer learned how journaling can preserve memories and heal losses.
Get published
Making a name for yourself
By Kelly James-Enger
If you don't know what a "platform" is, this article is a good place to start. And if you do, you'll likely pick up some valuable advice.
WriteStuff
Books on writing
This month, a look at Robert S. Boynton's The New New Journalism and C. Hope Clark's The Shy Writer: An Introvert's Guide to Writing Success.
Market focus
5 reasons to ghostwrite
By Cal Orey
Ghostwriting is an interesting way to put yourself in somebody else's shoes and make money while doing so.
How I write
For Augusten Burroughs, the secret of writing is writing every day.
Market Listings
Markets for writers
This month, our annual list of writing contests, plus comments by two experienced judges—editors at Family Circle and Berkley Publishing Group—on "What makes a contest entry a winner?"
Classified advertising
Index of advertisers
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