Indholdsfortegnelse for February 2019 i The Writer

Packing for a writing conference always feels akin to packing for a tropical vacation. I put on my happiest jetset playlist, stuff my suitcase with pretty notebooks and pens, and agonize over what to read on the plane. I check in on Twitter and Instagram to find fellow attendees using the official conference hashtag. I pore over conference schedules, circling dozens upon dozens of events I just know I need to attend. And then I show up to very, very few of them. Writing conferences feed my soul. But they’re also exhausting. Like so many writers, my natural state is solitude: I feel most myself when I’m alone in my office, putting words on the page. Walking into a long conference hall packed with hundreds or even thousands of other…

“Through the characters, we get to fall in love every time we pick up a romance novel. What could be better than that?”—Lori Wilde Sometimes it’s pretty tough to be a writer on social media. Our feeds swell with happy news from other writers: Just got accepted into this Legendary Fellowship! Happy to announce I’m the new writer-in-residence at this Very Good University! My third book is accepted for publication with this Very Successful Publishing House! I’m nominated for this Prestigious Prize You’ve Never Heard Of! Recently, the Twitter hashtag #ShareYourRejections let writers open the dark closets of past denials and share them with the rest of the class. But its novelty pointed to a larger problem: If rejections are a certainty of any writing career, why don’t we talk…

Romance continues to be one of the hottest-selling markets in publishing, bringing in over a billion dollars in sales each year. Yet despite being such a popular genre, there’s still this stigma that romance storylines are basic and formulaic, making them easy to write. But good romance novels go beyond following a simple “boy meets girl” formula. By understanding the genre, the language of romance books, and the publishing options available, you will have the tools and knowledge to write a love story of your own. Jennifer Probst, the New York Times best-selling author of The Marriage to a Billionaire series and the nonfiction book Write Naked: A Bestseller’s Secrets to Writing Romance & Navigating the Path to Success, disagrees with critics of the genre and believes romance authors are…

Here is a list of publishers open to manuscripts from new and unagented authors. Be sure to read the submission guidelines carefully before sending in your work. Carina Press: carinapress.com Harper Impulse: harperimpulseromance.com Loveswept & Flirt: randomhousebooks.com/loveswept-flirt Forever Yours: forever-romance.com Spencer Hill Press: spencerhillpress.com Boroughs Publishing Group: boroughspublishinggroup.com Decadent Publishing: decadentpublishing.com Riptide Publishing: riptidepublishing.com Tule Publishing: tulepublishing.com…

I like a good, smart thriller, one that forces me to forego all else, including sleep. But paper-thin female characters will stop me in my tracks and cause my boredom meter to skyrocket. As comic book writer Kelly Sue DeConnick said, “If you can replace your female character with a sexy lamp and the story still basically works, maybe you need another draft.” In the world of male-authored thrillers, there are female characters who don’t hold my attention for long because, for starters, they often don’t rise above the old tropes of hookers, cheating wives, or objects of sexual desire for the male protagonist. Some female characters seem to be so enthralled with the male protagonist that they flip up their skirts after the first hello. Rather than rag on…

Announcing our 2019 essay contest We’re kicking off our third annual essay contest in early January. The grand-prize winner will receive $1,000, but every essay we receive will be considered for publication in our magazine. The deadline for this contest is March 1ST, so don’t wait until the last minute to start writing. In the meantime, you can also browse past contest winners at writermag.com. The best of the best Want to know our picks for the best writing books of the year? How about our editors’ all-time favorite articles of 2018? Find all of these lists along with more best-of-2018 coverage at writermag.com/blog. Get inspired by top prompts Did you know we post a brand-new writing prompt every Friday? This month on writermag.com, we’ll be counting down the best…

1. AS YOU WISH Woo your own Buttercup with this delicate rose made from the pages of William Goldman’s The Princess Bride. $24, etsy.com 2. SPOILER ALERT Not all love stories have happy endings, as this Romeo & Juliet tee woefully reminds us. $28, outofprint.com 3. CONFECTION AFFECTION When Ms. Bennet isn’t trading witty barbs at social gatherings, we bet she’s curled up with Mr. Darcy, a good book, and a hunk of this Pride and Prejudice-inspired chocolate. $4, theliterarygiftcompany.com 4. LOVE LETTERS FROM THE BARD Seal this sweet Shakespearean stationery set with a kiss. $25, barnesandnoble.com 5. WUTHERING WRITES If this print of Heathcliff on the moors doesn’t add some fire to your future love scenes, we don’t know what will. $16.99, amazon.com 6. HEART ON YOUR SCARF Turn…

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”—Ernest Hemingway IF you’re like most fiction writers, you must surely agree with Hemingway. Writing can be a real bloodletting at times. You give it your all, but your brain freezes. Your story or novel is just not working out – the characters are flat, the scenes are flat, and the plot is going nowhere. You sure could use a strategy or two, something that makes your fiction live and breathe. But writing fiction is a complex act. To weave the many intricate threads of character into a unified whole takes great artistic skill. To do so with multiple characters inside a unified plot calls for even greater artistic skill. So what strategies can you…

There’s certainly a wide range when it comes to “heat” levels in romance. From the very “clean” Amish romances, affectionately known as bonnet-rippers, to the more erotic BDSM category, there are levels that fit every type of writer and reader. In some novels, the whole story is a buildup to a knee-buckling kiss. In other books, there may be multiple and even explicit sex scenes. Regardless of the type of story, there is more to writing these passages than just describing the physical act. The emotions involved and the buildup to that moment are just as important, because a good romance is all about the relationship and feelings between the main characters. I asked the three authors I spoke with to share the type of books they write along with…

Romance writers and readers have their own love language. There are unique terms and phrases that get used in industry conversations and articles that may seem like a foreign language to an outsider. Here are some basic words and definitions to help you navigate this world. Romancelandia – The supportive community of romance writers and readers. HEA (Happily Ever After) – The happy ending that is expected in romance, where the reader knows this couple will stay together forever. HFN (Happily For Now) – A hopeful ending in romance that is also acceptable. In this case, there isn’t a guarantee the couple is going to stay together forever, but for now, everything is good. Hero and heroine – The two main characters in your romance who eventually end up together.…

Information in this section is provided to The Writer by the individual markets and events; for more information, contact those entities directly. ALASKA Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference Homer, Alaska, June 14-18. Offers daily workshops, readings, and panel presentations in fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and the business of writing. Manuscript reviews and academic credit also available. Keynote speaker Diane Ackerman. Contact: Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference, Kenai Peninsula College – Kachemak Bay Campus, 533 E. Pioneer Ave., Homer, AK 99603. 907-235-7743. KachemakBayWritersConf@alaska.edu writersconference.homer.alaska.edu ARIZONA Desert Nights, Rising Stars Writers Conference Tempe, Arizona, February 22-23. Hosted by the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at Arizona State University. Schedule includes craft classes, conversations, panels, and readings, as well as opportunities to network with writers. Faculty includes Hanif Abdurraqib, Yvette Johnson, and Kirstin Chen.…

Julie touched the pocket of her white shirt. Yes, the joint was still there, and no, she wasn’t going to smoke it. She’d given up pot, and thank god for that. Life was so much more clear and simple without it. Henry had told her he wanted to discuss something when he dropped off Mandy tonight, and since Henry rarely discussed anything – was, she finally saw, incapable of discussion in the ordinary sense of the word – she interpreted the comment as a threat and had spent the afternoon under a cloud of foreboding. She needed to be sharp for whatever was coming. She took a seat on the steps at the back of the house, clutching a bag with half a dozen muffins in it, and waited for…

Writing retreats and residencies offer wonderful opportunities to immerse yourself in a project and your craft. They can also vary greatly, from location to supplies to programming. To maximize the experience, check with the organizer to know what you can expect and consider the following items when packing. Business basics For any writing getaway, you obviously need the right tools. For some, that’s a laptop. For others, it’s a pencil or special pen with a notebook. Author of Pen on Fire and radio host Barbara DeMarco-Barrett takes three typewriters. “I’m all about getting off the computer,” she says. “The delete key is too easy to use.” But those aren’t the only important writing tools you may need. Writer and visual artist Megan Culhane Galbraith recreates her home workspace. “I use…

Rebecca Johns: “I believe most stories need an ‘epiphany of yearning,’ a moment near the beginning when the character reveals her deepest struggle, usually the question of what happiness looks like and where she belongs.” Lori Rader-Day: “I subscribe to Stephen King’s advice to writers who want to improve: read a lot and write a lot. My own advice is to find some peers to share pages with, to hold each other accountable. The advice I would give any writer is to look into writing associations for the genre they write, join, and get involved. You will learn a lot about the business of writing, find those peers you need to improve, and find a community of friends, too.” Grant Tracey: “One sure way to improve your writing chops is…

According to the Romance Writers of America (RWA), a romance contains two basic elements: a central love story and an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. Under this broad category are a variety of subgenres that each have their own conventions. RWA breaks them down in the following way: Romancenovelsthatareset from 1950 to the present that focus primarily on the romantic relationship Romancenovelsinwhichstrong, often explicit, sexual interaction is an inherent part of the love story, character growth, and relationship development and could not be removed without damaging the storyline. These novels may contain elements of other romance subgenres (such as paranormal, historical, etc.). Romancenovelsthatareset prior to 1950. Romancenovelsinwhichfantasy worlds or paranormal or science fiction elements are an integral part of the plot. Romancenovelsinwhichreligious or spiritual beliefs…

“You have to go after a story or an essay like a pit bull with a piece of raw meat, and you cannot stop. You cannot let anyone get in your way.”—Mira Bartók Bartók’s advice appeared in the July 2018 issue of this magazine, and her words have stuck with me months later. But how do successful writers maintain a steady creative practice – hanging on their stories like pit bulls, barriers be damned – and still keep their key personal relationships strong? Curious, I asked Bartók, along with three other writers whose careers are well-established: Mira Bartók is the author of the middle-grade novel andtheaward-winningmemoir Chris Dombrowski wrote the memoir andtwobooksofpoetry. His work has appeared in over 100 journals, including and Hester Kaplan is…