Indholdsfortegnelse for January 2018 i The Writer

There are two kinds of people in early January: the resolutionmakers and the resolution-haters. And I understand both camps, I really do. On one hand, who wouldn’t relish the opportunity to stop and seriously reflect on how we can be better people, spouses, employees, friends, working members of society? On the other hand, why wait until Jan. 1 to effect change in your life, especially via a too-lofty goal half of us will forget by February? But if there’s a goal for the next year that we can all agree on, surely it’s to be better writers in 2018. Need help making your setting come to life? Sarah Van Arsdale has tips for making fictional places come alive on page 10. Got a children’s book manuscript in your drawer begging…

“I think biography can be more personal than fiction, and certainly can be more expressive.” —Peter Ackroyd Natalie Bober is an awardwinning and critically acclaimed biographer and historian. She is the author of eight books of nonfiction, most recently Adventures of a Biographer. Her book Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolutionwas the winner of both the Boston Globe/Golden Horn award for nonfiction and the Golden Kite Award. Her biography Thomas Jefferson: Draftsman of a Nation led to her consulting for and appearing as a historian on the PBS documentary Thomas Jefferson. In addition to publishing biographies for adult readers, Bober has also written them for young readers, including Papa Was a Poet, about Robert Frost, and Marc Chagall: Painter of Dreams. Bober currently lives and works in New York City.…

Fiction writers often think of setting as a backdrop to a story, something sketched in just to make it clear the characters aren’t floating aimlessly in outer space. But it can be much more than that: The particular time and place of the story can help the story to evolve and offer insight to the writer about the plot and characters. It isn’t enough to simply decide on the setting and airlift the characters from the writer’s imagination to Arizona, Paris, or a ship at sea. The choice of setting – both time and place – will inform everything that happens in the story. And by fully describing setting, the story builds a foundation that proves integral to the plot; this foundation helps to form the characters. One example of…

When I first started freelancing, I got a piece of advice I’ve never been able to forget. “Write off everything,” said the successful, seasoned freelancer who was my mentor at the time. “Going to the movies? Film research. Developing film? Photo research. Eating out? Socializing with writers. Write it all off.” He was talking about taxes, but he created a monster: Twenty years later, you can name any activity and I’ll carve out some kind of way to relate it to writing. Meandering through the grocery store? Research for a character who’s an amateur gourmand. Perusing notebooks in a stationery store for 45 minutes? Same character needs a specific notebook to jot down very specificideas in. Re-reading mystery novels? Wanted to get an idea of how genre writers keep readers…

Information in this section is provided to The Writer by the individual markets and events; for more information, contact those entities directly. Subscribers to The Writer have online access to information on publishers, publications, conferences, contests and agents. Go to writermag.com and click on Writing Resources. F = Fiction N = Nonfiction P = Poetry C = Children’s Y = Young adult O = Other F N P O AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY FELLOWSHIPS FOR CREATIVE AND PERFORMING ARTISTS AND WRITERS Provides fellowships for writers and journalists producing imaginative works dealing with pre-20th-century American history. Fellowship projects include historical novels, poetry, plays, screenplays, magazine or newspaper articles, and nonfiction works of history designed for general audiences. Deadline: See website. Entry fee: None. Prizes: $1,850 stipend and a four-week residence at the…

Whether we should ever write for free is a hot topic in the writer community.Is it ever OK to put our own projects and careers ahead of the greater good? Does it depend on whether we need the money to pay our bills or whether we’re just starting out? Does it matter if we rack up bylines without pay while journalism outlets still make money from our hard work? Personally, I believe there are times when it’s OK to write for free. If it’s your own blog or website, you probably won’t get paid (unless, of course, you have a huge following and are able to make money from ads). If you’re just starting out, need bylines for your resume, and can’t find any paying gigs without clips, go for…

Beth Vrabel remembers sitting in the bleachers at her son’s baseball game when an unforgettable email appeared on her phone. A young girl with albinism had just finished reading her middle grade novel, A Blind Guide to Stinkville, the story of a 12-year-old with albinism and resulting vision impairment. “All of my friends are convinced that you wrote it about me,” the girl emailed to Vrabel, and went on to explain how thrilling it was to come across a protagonist like herself. “It’s a moment you could almost lick the back of and stick to a wall,” Vrabel says. “It’s going to be stuck in my memory forever. There I was, sitting at a baseball game and crying because the letter meant so much to me.” The inclusion of protagonists…

Sad but true: Money often stands in the way of a writer finishing the next best-seller. And it shouldn’t. There are many opportunities, including awards and grants, to get extra cash in order to quit your third job and devote more time to writing. Another option, a fellowship, is a bit more unique and intense. Here are some fellowship fast facts: What is it? A fellowship is a short-term opportunity to develop a work-in-progress while being provided a financial stipend and, typically, a workspace. How long? Depending on the program, fellowships can last for a few weeks, a semester, or an entire year. How much? Relative to the duration of the fellowship, a stipend can be delivered monthly or in full. While living the high life may not be an…

Dialogue tags, those phases before or after dialogue that indicate who has spoken, can help the reader navigate a scene. Still, they are not necessary for every single line of dialogue. Exchanges between characters can be written so that some lines of dialogue are easily attributed without a tag. In Jennifer Egan’s “Found Objects” in A Visit From the Goon Squad, Sasha is on a first date with Alex. On their way out of the hotel where they have dinner, a woman follows them. She’s desperately looking for her wallet, which Sasha has swiped from her purse earlier in the evening. Alex has this exchange with the woman: Alex turns to the woman. “Where did this happen?” “In the ladies’ room. I think.” “Who else was there?” “No one.” “It…

Try these exercises to help relieve tension. 1. Windshield wiper Stand up. Gently tilt the top of your head left toward your shoulder. Move it back to center. Do the same on the right side. As you move your head left to right you should make a motion that resembles a windshield wiper. Repeat five times. 2. Leg lifts Hold on to the back of your chair or another similarly tall object, like a couch. Lift one leg directly backward, keeping the knees in both legs straight. Return leg. Repeat with other leg. 3. Back scratcher Stand up. Reach one arm back so that your hand is resting squarely on your back, like if you were to scratch it. Use your other hand to grab the elbow of the first…

IS THERE A MORE POPULAR HUMORIST of our time than David Sedaris, the best-selling author and essayist whose stories about his family and travels have delighted audiences since his appearances in the early ’90s on NPR? The author of a dozen books, Sedaris released his latest, a collection of diary items titled Theft by Finding, in 2017, but he has three more books coming out in the next year or two, including a collection of the art from his diaries; Calypso, a book of recent short stories and essays, most of which take place in Emerald Isle, North Carolina; and the second volume of diary items, A Carnival of Snackery, which will recount Sedaris’ life from 2003 until the present. The author is also unique in that he reads his…

So, you’ve written a picture booK manuscript: ConGratulations! Now it’s time to revise, revise, revise, and revise some more. but where to start? The best picture-book texts entertain and delight children, hold up to multiple readings, and make use of elements unique to the format, such as frequent page turns and visual storytelling. A good picture book can make writing one look easy, but of course it is anything but. Whether you’re a picturebook pro or brand new to the genre, here are some tips, tricks, questions, and approaches to keep in mind as you play and experiment with your draft. Cut, cut, cut Many beloved classic picture books have upwards of 1,000 or even 2,000 words, but in today’s picture book market, your manuscript is more likely to sell…

F = Fiction N = Nonfiction P = Poetry D = Drama S = Screenplay P F THE CLAREMONT REVIEW ANNUAL WRITING CONTEST Enter up to three poems, three 500-word stories, or one 5,000-word (max) story. Submit via regular mail. Ages: 13-19 years old. Deadline:See website. Entry fee: $20 CAD ($25 CAD for poetry and fiction combination); $20 USD for entries outside Canada. Prizes: In each category: 1st prize: $1,000 CAD; 2nd prize: $600 CAD; 3rd prize: $400 CAD and publication. All entrants receive a 1-year subscription to The Claremont Review and will have their works considered for publication. Contact: Annual Writing Contest, The Claremont Review, Suite 101, 1581-H Hillside Ave., Victoria, B.C. V8T 2C1, Canada. Email through website. theclaremontreview.ca F N P D S YOUNGARTS PROGRAMApplications accepted in creative nonfiction,…

EXCERPT: WHAT TO SAY NEXT CHAPTER 1 DAVID An unprecedented event: Kit Lowell just sat down next to me in the cafeteria. I always sit alone, and when I say always, I don’t mean that in the exaggerated vernacular favored by my classmates. In the 622 days I’ve attended this high school, not a single person has ever sat beside me at lunch, which is what justifies my calling her sitting there—so close that her elbow almost grazes mine—an “event.” My first instinct is to reach for my notebook and look up her entry. Under Kfor Kit, not under L for Lowell,because though I’m good with facts and scholarly pursuits, I’m terrible with names. Partly this is because names are random words completely devoid of context, and partly this is because…