Writer's Digest November/December 2017

1 The Winning Ticket Read the grand-prize stage play that won over the 86th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition judges (Page 44)—and learn more about the winner and her clever approach to crafting a story within a story. 2 Lost in Translation Beyond his latest bestseller on the art of communication, actor-turned-author Alan Alda has plenty to say on the subject. In the outtakes from our WD Interview (Page 40), learn more about his Women in Business project and other good work for speakers and writers alike. 3 Outgoing Mail Step 2 in Mark Coker’s “Turbocharge Your e-Book Marketing” (Page 35) highlights the importance of maintaining an email list. For more guidance on how to do it, don’t miss our full tutorial by DIY MFAfounder Gabriela Pereira. To find all…

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK Writing about real-life tragedy can be cathartic, but also emotionally demanding. Memoirist Rebecca Faye Smith Galli shares 10 tips to keep your spirits up when writing about sadness. bit.ly/positivepowerWD GIRLS! GIRLS! GIRLS! Why is the word “girl” in so many modern book titles? Girl Last Seen author Nina Laurin delves into what’s driving the trend. bit.ly/girltitleWD JUST A NUMBER Perseverance is an attribute hammered into the subconscious of every writer, but sometimes life gets in the way. Poet Rebecca Foust documents the experience of becoming a professional writer at 50, proving—once again—that it’s never too late. bit.ly/justanumberWD…

Stepping Back, Moving Forward My first day on the job at WD, I settled in at the large, U-shaped desk I’d been coveting, marveled at how bare it was (it wouldn’t stay that way for long!), and skimmed the colorful spines of the writing guides lining the shelves around me. The very molecules of the space teemed with possibility. And I realized, with equal parts excitement and terror, that with no predecessor on site and no rulebook to follow, I had not the slightest idea what to do. That was nine years ago. Finding my way at the helm has been collaboration from the start, with my staff colleagues comprising the hardest working crew I know, our talented contributor pool setting ever-higher standards, and the generous writers in our WD…

MARK COKER (“Turbocharge Your e-Book Marketing,” Page 35) founded Smashwords in 2008 to make e-book publishing fast, free and easy. Today, more than 100,000 authors publish and distribute over 400,000 e-books with Smashwords. Coker is the author of three free e-books about e-publishing best practices—Smashwords Book Marketing Guide, Smashwords Style Guide and Secrets to e-Book Publishing Success. Follow him on Twitter @markcoker or Facebook at facebook.com/markcoker. KAREN CORINNE HERCEG (“The WD Interview: Alan Alda,” Page 40) publishes poetry, prose, essays and reviews in a variety of international publications, including American Book Review and for the website Compulsive Reader. A graduate of Columbia University, she is a member of the Academy of American Poets, PEN America, the Poetry Society of America and more. Her second book of poems, Out From Calaboose,…

“My motto is, ‘If we can think it, then we can write it.’ We can always improve upon it later.” —Patrick Ryan GO WITH THE FLOW At one time I enjoyed sketching, even though a nervous condition hindered my progress due to shaky hands. It was only after reading the “Train Your Eye for Better Writing” article in WD’s September issue that I realized how the shakes actually contributed to a more-than-decent sketch. When control of my hands failed miserably, I found my only choice was to allow my hands to twitch while directing them in general, sweeping motions. This way required less effort, didn’t go against the grain and actually created a three-dimensional picture without me having to try so hard. We can do the same thing in our…

When I finished penning my 2016 debut novel, The Big Rewind, I immediately closed the document and walked away. The next morning, when I awoke at my usual writing time, I felt this incredible stirring inside of me—this rearrangement of my thoughts into poetic verse. I sat down to write and by the time my coffee mug was empty, I’d composed three ekphrastic poems. I thought it was a fluke, a burst of residual creativity … until the next morning, when I composed three more. In total, I wrote poems every day for about a week, diving into the activity like some sort of literary rebound. When I mentioned this odd impulse to another writer, she smiled. “Post-novel poems? I always write those.” For some, typing “The End” brings a…