August 2009
The Writer
The essential resource for writers
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August 2009
Features
COVER STORY
High-Tech Tools: How to tame technology in fiction
You can't afford to be clueless about technology in your story. You need to learn how to tame it and exploit it. ARTHUR PLOTNIK
COVER STORY
High-Tech Tools: Take your visual research online
A veteran author describes how he's found a wealth of detail in Web image sources and put it to work in his books. MICHAEL A. BANKS
COVER STORY
High-Tech Tools: Put social-networking sites to work
You keep hearing about them--Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter. Here's how they can help freelancers. DEBBE GEIGER
COVER STORY
High-Tech Tools: Consider a multiplatform approach
The new digital publishing landscape offers more ways than ever for writers to tell and promote their stories. STEVE SAFFEL
COVER STORY
High-Tech Tools: The new frontier of Web-based stories
An expert in the field offers a primer on some of the ways you can expand your storytelling horizons. You may be surprised. CAROLYN HANDLER MILLER
COVER STORY
High-Tech Tools: 8 great iPhone apps for writers
These inexpensive products turn the device into a tape recorder, list-keeper, organizer and much more. KAREN LELAND
Get Started: How to choose a writing conference
Having attended countless conferences, our writer offers you six questions to ask yourself. ERIKA DREIFUS
Breakthrough: Industry research was a key to success
How one writer took an active role in the submission process. MANDY HUBBARD
Off the Cuff: Casting words in nature's best light
A writer grapples with conveying the world's beauty in fresh and inspiring ways. CAITLIN O'CONNELL
Poet to Poet: Focus on a central image to tell a story
Good narrative poetry reveals something significant to the poet--and to his readers. GARY FINCKE
INTERVIEW
Murder in tartan plaid
Scottish writer Val McDermid has carved a flourishing literary career out of independent, strong female protagonists. HALLIE EPHRON
Archive: Connecting the unique & universal
Great fiction writers draw upon specific experiences to illuminate the experiences of others. JOYCE CAROL OATES
Behind the drab walls: A murder, and an idea
A neighbor's gossip changed everything for a home-remodeling couple--and led to a writer's first novel from HarperCollins. VALERIE LAKEN
Advice from first-time novelists
Five writers offer a wealth of insights on where ideas come from and how they're developed, and their rewarding experiences with the editing process. SARAH ANNE JOHNSON
Freelancing: Make the best of a change in editors
The author offers five suggestions on how to weather a potentially difficult transition. DEBBIE SWANSON
Step by Step: Create the right screenplay structure
Here's a nine-step guide to writing a compelling screenplay. PAULA BRANCATO
Bumper-sticker wisdom for writers
How to find literary inspiration in some pithy sayings LEIGH ANNE JASHEWAY-BRYANT
A writing exercise that opened a world
A writer-editor recalls a point-of-view assignment from Susan Cheever that led to an award-winning essay. JOCELYN BARTKEVICIUS
Freelance Success: Getting paid, even in a down economy
What to do if you haven't received a check--and how to avoid problem clients. KELLY JAMES-ENGER
Market Focus: Break into travel writing online
Web markets in this popular niche seek flexible writers and a unique perspective. SUSAN FINCH
Literary Spotlight: Granta
The spotlight is on the literary journal Granta, describing its tone, preferences and writers. MELISSA HART
Departments
Letters
Letters from our readers
Take Note
The cell-phone novel emerges as a new literary form
The cell-phone novel takes off as a genre, plus other literary notes, the debut of Lisa Shearin's new bimonthly column called "Dueling with Words," and an excerpt from a new writing book. JOY LANZENDORFER AND OTHERS
WriteStuff
10 must-have grammar and style books
Chuck Leddy rounds up 10 "must-have" grammar and style books for writers, plus a review of "Writing Places" by William Zinsser. CHUCK LEDDY AND STEVE WEINBERG
Market listings
Ethnic-multicultural; gay/lesbian; literary; regional/city magazines; and conferences and contests
COMPILED BY MARTHA LUNDIN
How I write
Sarah Ruhl
For award-winning playwright Sarah Ruhl, an emphasis on language is what comes first in writing for the stage. GWEN OREL

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