August 2008

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

'A good script moves me'

By Charles Davis

For veteran Hollywood story editor Christopher Lockhart, a quality screenplay leaves him with an emotional experience, not indifference

pg. 18

Archive: In writing, persistence is key

By Andre Dubus III

If you stick to a schedule and bring to your work all that you have, then you're a writer

pg. 21

Ah, the fine art of self-sabotage

By Lauren Kessler

The 10 stupid things writers do to mess up their lives

pg. 22

Conflict: What your readers want

By William Kowalski

This essential ingredient is the first thing to check for if you feel your material falling flat

pg. 25

Entering the dream of a memoir

By Melissa Hart

Iconic writer-teacher Natalie Goldberg finds value in fascinating writing about ordinary lives

pg. 26

Step by Step: Make your readers stick around

By John Edward Ames

Once you're past the opening hook, how do you keep them engaged? Here are some tips from a veteran fiction writer

pg. 32

Step by Step: Techniques to tantalize

By Beverly J. Letchworth

How to sustain the reader's attention in a children's story

pg. 35

A cautionary tale about a flimsy source

By Norman Lobsenz

Follow our writer's research adventure, then learn a few ways to avoid 'quicksand'

pg. 29

13 strategies to get you through a dry spell

By John K. Borchardt

When you run short of ideas, try one of these techniques to keep your freelance business going strong

pg. 30

Commissions challenge journalistic principles

By Steve Weinberg

How can writers of institutional histories balance the requirements of a good story with the desires of their employer?

pg. 37

Blend history & imagination

By Mort Castle

A contemporary fiction approach mixes fantasy and recorded fact--with sometimes wild results. Care to try it?

pg. 39

Departments

Letters

Using notes and scraps

By various contributors

pg. 7

Take Note

To plot or not: The outline debate

By Chuck Leddy, others

pg. 8

Get started

Put a nonfiction book idea to the test

By Mary E. DeMuth

pg. 13

Breakthrough

Writer's success with rescue-squad memoir was no accident

By Michael Morse

pg. 14

Poet to poet

How to create emotional landscapes

By Marilyn Taylor

Precise word choices signal mood and tone to make a poem resonate with readers

pg. 15

Freelance Success

How to win over an editor

By Kelly James-Enger

Establish a good relationship to turn a one-time assignment into a regular gig

pg. 42

WriteStuff

Writers weigh in on how they work

By Chuck Leddy, Steve Weinberg, Bill Williams

Reviews of 'Off the Page: Writers Talk About Beginnings, Endings, and Everything in Between,' edited by Carole Burns; 'By Cunning & Craft: Sound Advice and Practical Wisdom for Fiction Writers' by Peter Selgin; 'Freelancing for Newspapers: Writing for an Overlooked Market' by Sue Fagalde Lick

pg. 44

Market focus

'Feel-good' stories warm the heart

By Ruth McHaney Danner

From your local newspaper to the latest anthology, markets seek positive pieces

pg. 47

Literary spotlight

Shenandoah

By Melissa Hart

Review celebrates work 'where prose and poetry meet'

pg. 49

Market listings

Contemporary culture, current events/politics, ethnic/multicultural, gay/lesbian, literary magazines and regional/city mags

By Compiled by Martha Lundin

pg. 50

How I write

Archer Mayor

By Carolyn Haley

pg. 58

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