The Writer November 2014

William A. Gordon loves quotations. One of his goals in writing 1,001 Tips for Writers: Words of Wisdom About Writing, Getting Published, and Living the Literary Life was to provide aspiring writers a mentor in absentia – something he longed for at the start of his own career. “I felt the accumulated wisdom of the literary greats and working writers, editors and publishers would resonate with experienced writers,” he says. His favorite words of wisdom are collected below. • “You know, someone once said that Dorothy Parker had wasted her life wisecracking. I really can’t think of a better use of a life.” — Fran Lebowitz • “A poem can go through as many as 50 or 60 drafts. It can take from a day to two years – or…

Stand out It’s a familiar tune, the aspiring writer’s lament over trying to crack the short story scene: No one will publish me if I have no previous credits, but how can I get credits if no one will publish me? Frustrated writers say editors of literary journals can’t see past a skimpy byline, but maybe there’s more to the story that needs to be told – quite literally. My first submission to a literary journal was mailed back to me before I even had time to picture it languishing in a slush pile. “No, thanks,” the editor’s red pen proclaimed. “Too wordy. Totally boring.” I had two degrees, had taken a couple of writing classes, had a decent command of language. How could my work not be publishable? I…

Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and their many cousins are undeniable parts of a modern writer’s life. But while social media can be an invaluable tool to promote a finished product, too much tweeting or uploading selfies sucks time and energy from the creative process. Understand that the savvy corporations running these sites have access to the same social science that encourages us to buy products we don’t need or to keep throwing quarters in a slot machine. In other words, they know how to turn many of us into addicts, in the full sense of that word. When I realized that social media was bleeding too much of my writing time and creativity, I first decided to cull all but three sites: Why does someone like me really need Instagram or…

WRITING A NOVEL is a major investment of time and energy. Much of your time will be spent on the famous Aristotelian “middle” – the chapters that flesh out the beast with dramatic movement and power. Weeks, months and perhaps years you will give to this process: writing, rewriting, tuning, finetuning, making that interior world of your imagination as captivating, as engaging, as you can. Finally, the thing lives – words like blood, flesh and bone. Be assured: If you want your novel to be read by an agent or a publisher, the opening must grab the reader’s attention. It must pull the reader right in. Don’t think to yourself: It gets going around page 10. Bear with me. You will have lost your reader by then. Then there’s the…

BOSTON, PROVINCE OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY, AUGUST 26, 1765 Ethan Kaille eased his knife from the leather sheath on his belt as he approached Griffin’s Wharf, the words of a warding spell on his lips. He had sweated through his linen shirt, and nearly through his waistcoat, as well. His leg ached and he was breathing hard, gasping greedily at the warm, heavy air hanging over Boston on this August eve. But he had chased Daniel Folter this far – from the Town Dock to Purchase Street, over cobblestone and dirt, past storefronts and homes and pastures empty save for crows and grazing cows – and he wasn’t about to let the pup escape him now. The western horizon still glowed with the last golden light of day, but the sky…

Writing for the win Contests offer big opportunities for writers. Catch the judge’s eye to score cash, publication and exposure. To up your chances, keep this advice in mind. 1 Be willing to take risks. 2 Take a universal topic and make it personal. 3 Develop an active, unforgettable character. 4 Submit your absolute best work, polished to perfection. 5 Read the contest rules and abide them. The following contests are a small sampling of what the industry has to offer. Find more listings at writermag.com. INFORMATION in this section is provided to The Writer by the individual markets and events; for more information, contact those entities directly. F = Fiction N = Nonfiction P = Poetry C = Children’s Y = Young adult O = Other $ = Offers…