The Writer : Advice and inspiration for today’s writer

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COVER STORY

Step by Step: Power your story with a sense of place

This versatile element of storytelling can add depth and drama, foreshadow what will come, and help develop characters. PHILIP MARTIN

COVER STORY

A feeling for where you are

A writer and teacher offers five exercises to develop your understanding of place. KAY SEXTON

COVER STORY

See with fresh eyes

For writers, digging deep to find the soul of a place can inspire and unlock a "bounty" of memory and material. Here's an unusual approach to seeing even familiar surroundings anew. LINDA LAPPIN

Get Started: Don't sabotage your own efforts

From a veteran writer, here are 10 ways to avoid self-defeating behavior in the writing arena. JANE MCBRIDE CHOATE

Breakthrough: Write what you know, and know what you write

The writer found freelance success by writing about what was close at hand, and close at heart. SHERRI STANCZAK

Off the Cuff: Where inner and outer meet

For this writer, the natural world acts as a guide deep into the heart of human experience. PAGE LAMBERT

INTERVIEW

The sound of a novel

Jayne Anne Philips, author of 'Lark & Termite,' painstakingly writes by ear--finding a way into a story through a voice, not an idea. SARAH ANNE JOHNSON

Archive: The 10 most common story problems

If your short story keeps getting rejected, you may want to use this checklist to spot--and repair--potential mistakes before you submit your work again. JOSEPH HANSEN

Is a university press right for you?

An author who has published with one compares the approach of this type of press with that of the big commercial houses and finds some advantages worth considering. PAOLA CORSO

Telling a real story

We love to read about other people's lives--and that means a market for interesting true-life articles, be they about a personal medical drama, some obstacle overcome, or some other type of challenge. KELLY JAMES-ENGER

The art of the critique

With these 5 tips for giving valuable feedback, you'll stay in the good graces of your fellow MFA students or writing-group members. MELANIE FAITH

Business Freelancing: 8 common copywriting challenges

So, the client hates your copy. Or won't return your phone calls. Or won't pay you. Or requests endless revisions. Before you start pulling your hair out, read this guide. ROBERT W. BLY

Market Focus: Writing for readers 50 and older

If you're looking to benefit from an already large but still growing audience, you'll want to clue in on how to write for retirement magazines. LIGAYA FIGUERAS

Literary Spotlight: Story Quarterly

This month's spotlight is on the literary journal Story Quarterly, describing its tone, preferences and contributors. MELISSA HART

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Letters

Letters from our readers

Take Note

Barnes & Noble turns up the heat on Amazon's Kindle reader

CHUCK LEDDY

WriteStuff

A simple approach may get you writing

Reviews of "Bang the Keys: Four Steps to a Lifelong Writing Practice" by Jill Dearman, and "Writing Great Books for Young Adults: Everything You Need to Know, From Crafting the Idea to Landing a Publishing Deal" by Regina Brooks. STEPHANIE DICKISON, CHUCK LEDDY

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Graduate writing programs

COMPILED BY MARTHA LUNDIN

How I Write

Leif Enger

For Leif Enger, author of the hit novel "Peace Like a River," a strong narrative gathers a kind of "joyful weight." KENT D. CURRY