Indholdsfortegnelse for February 2019 i Writer's Digest

1 Journo Jargon After revealing how reporters compel information from sources in “Secrets to Share” (Page 8), Roger Morris provides a refresher on the terms “on the record,” “off the record” and “on background.” 2 In Living Color After weighing in on the state of the crime/thriller/mystery genre in “Changing the Face of Crime Fiction” (Page 34), our six acclaimed panelists further explore questions of representation in this extended roundtable. 3 The Long & Short of It In an extended online edition of her WD Interview (Page 40), bestselling Shadowhunters author Cassandra Clare talks writing short stories and the adaptation of her work into movies and television. To find all of the above online companions to this issue in one handy spot, visit writersdigest.com/feb-19 .…

LILY DAYTON (“Digital Repository Limbo,” Page 14) is a freelance writer and investigative journalist who also writes fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction. Her work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Pacific Standard and The Rumpus, among other fine outlets. Dayton is the author of the book Sea Otters for the Monterey Bay Aquarium and, in 2017, was awarded a National Fellowship from the USC Annenberg Center for health journalism. She was formerly the fiction editor for the California edition of Reed Magazine. Find her online at lilydayton.com. STEVEN JAMES (“Know Thy Reader,” Page 44) is a critically acclaimed author of 16 novels and a WD contributing editor. Publishers Weekly calls him “[a] master storyteller at the peak of his game.” His book on writing, Story Trumps Structure (WD Books),…

POETIC FORM: SEGUIDILLA More than a couple of poetic forms have their roots in song, and such is the case with the seguidilla, which began as a type of dance song. This Spanish seven-liner alternates rhymes and syllable counts. Here are the basic rules: • There are seven lines. • The syllable count for each line is 7-5-7-5-5-7-5. • There is one assonance rhyme between Lines 2 and 4, and another between Lines 5 and 7. • There is a pause between Lines 4 and 5—usually an end-stop. • The tone and/or focus changes between Lines 4 and 5 as well. Here are two examples by Poetic Asides readers. Longest Night, by Tracy Davidson With each labored breath she takes I try not to weep, determined to make…

MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN by Jonathan Lethem Release Date: TBD 2019 Director: Edward Norton Starring: Bruce Willis WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE by Maria Semple Release Date: March 2019 Director: Richard Linklater Starring: Cate Blanchette THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW by A.J. Finn Release Date: October 2019 Director: Joe Wright Starring: Amy Adams THE GOLDFINCH by Donna Tartt Release Date: October 2019 Director: John Crowley Starring: Ansel Elgort LITTLE WOMEN by Louisa May Alcott Release Date: December 2019 Director: Greta Gerwig Starring: Emma Watson…

Anissa Gray 1 The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls  (commercial fiction, February, Berkley) “When a husband and wife are sentenced to prison, their devastated family must find a new understanding of love and loss, honesty and forgiveness.” WRITES FROM: Atlanta. PRE-HUNGRY GIRLS: I struggled with an eating disorder for much of my adult life before finally getting treatment, so I wanted to explore the sometimes-rocky recovery process. TIME FRAME: It took about three years to write. ENTER THE AGENT: I attended the Sewanee Writers’ Conference a few years ago, and Michelle Brower was one of the agents on the roster. I’d heard good things about her, but my manuscript wasn’t ready for submission, so I didn’t pitch to her. Fast forward a year or so to the completed…

Let’s start with a flashback. When my story was up for discussion in my first-ever writing class, our lanky, mustachioed instructor inhaled deeply and peered out at us. His eye glinting mischievously, he asked, “What is the point of view in this piece?” I rolled my eyes. Third person, thank you very much! Who wouldn’t know that? “Third … limited?” one of my peers ventured. The instructor frowned, drew a deep breath, then said, “Well, look at the fourth paragraph.” Two-dozen heads tilted down toward their printouts. “The POV drifts,” he explained. “Is it omniscient?” Silence. I was already lost. Limited? Drifting? As it turned out, not understanding these terms was pretty seriously hindering my storytelling potential. Like many people, I assumed third person was just the point of view…

There’s not space enough for a comprehensive lineup, but here’s a short list of classic works of either frankly or arguably queer literature: The Immoralist (1902) by André Gide Death in Venice (1912) by Thomas Mann Nightwood (1936) by Djuna Barnes Giovanni’s Room (1956) by James Baldwin Howl (1956) by Allen Ginsberg Naked Lunch (1959) by William S. Burroughs Rubyfruit Jungle (1973) by Rita Mae Brown Tales of the City (1978) by Armistead Maupin Curious Wine (1983) by Katherine V. Forrest Oranges are Not the Only Fruit (1985) by Jeanette Winterson Other queer literary figures of importance: Dorothy Allison Ann Bannon Elizabeth Bishop Rupert Brooke Michael Cunningham Bret Easton Ellis Harvey Fierstein Christopher Isherwood Adrienne Rich May Sarton Edmund White…

Cassandra Clare wrote her first published novel in a closet. That is, in one of those “cozy” New York City spaces, wherein the bed doubles as an office chair and the desk looks suspiciously like a windowsill. At the time, she worked the night shift as a copy editor for the National Enquirer, spending daylight hours in her cramped apartment, cranking out chapters, researching agents, writing queries, reworking her manuscript and, eventually, signing a contract for publication of the soon-to-be New York Times bestselling YA novel City of Bones. That book would prove to be the first of several bestsellers in a multi-series collection of 12 novels (and counting)—plus several short story anthologies—known as the Shadowhunter Chronicles: tales from an urban fantasy world brimming with angels, demons, warlocks, vampires and…

A query letter is an advertisement for your book. When querying, your job is to hook an editor’s attention. Your first paragraph and book description should so engage the editor or agent that she can’t wait to read the book. Your query letter should be a piece of verbal dynamite that will excite that editor or agent about your project. You have one page to make that all happen. Here are some exercises to get started querying: Make a list of current books that match yours in tone, style or content. Do some research about the authors. Who represents them? Where are they published? Make a list of up to three agents, publishers or editors you feel are appropriate to submit the project to. Why these people? What about them…

Writers are often called crazy—for our neurotic tendencies, for our desire to spin stories out of thin air, for our intravenous coffee addiction. I, for one, embrace that title, taking my characters with me wherever I go—even to my therapist’s couch. After all, we are our characters. They come from us. We will them into existence and bleed their worlds onto the page. Maybe you already apply your Psych 101 lessons to your characters, but if not, come lie on my therapy couch. Get comfortable. We’ll be here a while. Emotional evolution requires conscious understanding of one’s internal wounds. This understanding also applies to fictional characters. A writer needs to not only identify a character’s wounds, but also why the character has not yet gone through that evolution prior to…

CALIFORNIA GENRE-LA™ CREATIVE WRITING CONFERENCE, February 22–24, 2019, Los Angeles, CA. The Conference for Literary and Screenwriters of Genre. Take your writing to the next level by learning the secrets of success from more than 30 published masters, literary agents, editors, publishers, bestselling authors, industry experts, Hollywood veterans, educators, and publishing professionals who will share their expertise to help guide you on the path to success over three days. No matter what you write, this is a unique opportunity to learn how to brainstorm and develop new ideas, visualize brave new worlds of wonder, create compelling, memorable characters (both human and otherwise), plot and structure amazing story lines of imagination, and develop stand-alone award-winning novels, screenplays and graphic novels. Learn how to edit and polish your novels and screenplays, then…

TITLE-IST Readers make snap judgements on what to read or not read. WD editor Robert Lee Brewer provides seven tips for stronger book and article titles that capture reader attention. bit.ly/bettertitlesWD TECHNO TALES Some readers feel like science fiction is too techie for their tastes. To win them over, author Julie Hyzy shares how to write universally appealing technocentric stories. bit.ly/techfictionWD SURVIVING SH*TTY FIRST DRAFTS Sometimes first drafts are of crummy quality. So what? Novelist Mackenzie Belcastro provides a pep talk for those in despair over their early drafts—and pushes them to persevere. bit.ly/draftpsychologyWD…

Here’s the secret to writing compelling character descriptions: Cut them out entirely. A writer’s most powerful tool is the reader’s imagination. Don’t waste it, especially when you’re introducing characters and the particulars of their appearance. There is nothing duller or more forgettable than a laundry list of physical traits: hair type, eye color, weight, etc. Take a look at these two descriptions. Who is more interesting? She had short blond hair and a blue dress. She could swing a broadsword better than any man in the village. Instead of spelling out every detail, empower your readers to see through your eyes by leveraging the ways the characters interact with your fictional world. Consider these four qualities to develop a more vivid primary and supporting cast without explicitly telling your readers…

Questions of representation in literature are a tale as old as time, coupled with that other great conundrum: How can we write about experiences outside of our own? The best fiction has the ability to transport readers into another’s shoes and make readers consider a new perspective. And while the question of writing the Other is evergreen, the assessment of how to do so successfully is an ever-evolving story. When I think about why writing across difference is so important, I remember my childhood and how books changed my perception of the world and of myself. Two specific books were a huge influence—Laurence Yep’s 1982 novel Dragon of the Lost Sea and George Selden’s 1960 book The Cricket in Times Square—but between them, their treatment of Chinese characters and culture…

Take a stab at practicing third-person limited POV with the following exercises. 1. This is a version of a prompt from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction: Try describing a barn from the point of view of a man who just learned that his son has died. Don’t tell us anything about the son, or even that his son has died—just describe the barn as he sees it. 2. This is a variation on a prompt from Lisa Cron’s book Story Genius: Try writing a first-person account from your POV character’s childhood. Some important or pivotal moment that relates to the formation of their personality—a time they were ignored, or when their house burned down. When you do this, accept that what you write might not end up in the…

“It can be lonely. … And there have been times when I’ve retreated to my hotel room, emotionally exhausted from being visibly invisible all day.” That’s a line from Rachel Howzell Hall’s 2015 essay, “Colored and Invisible”—the inspiration for this article. In the piece, Hall discusses her experience being one of only a few black writers at annual mystery conferences. An assortment of other essays provide powerful insight: Sarah Weinman’s “The Case of the Disappearing Black Detective” (The New Republic), which addresses the frequent appearance and all-too-predictable disappearance of black heroes and writers in the crime/mystery/thriller genre; Aya de Leon’s “The Black Detective in the White Mind” (The Armchair Detective); and Frederick Chan’s “Charlie Chan, a Hero of Sorts” (California Literary Review). These pieces remind one that racial and ethnic…

Sure, we all want readers to buy our books and start reading. But we also want readers to finish them, to stay immersed in the story through the very last line—for the right reasons. But how do we accomplish that? How do we keep them flipping pages? Keen awareness of your readers’ experience—how they’re encountering the text and how they’re processing what they read—is vital to keeping them engaged in the book. Let’s look at the five primary reasons readers decide to stick with a book until the end, and how each one requires a slightly different approach in going about crafting your story. REASON #1: CURIOSITY Mysteries are puzzles that engage us on an intellectual level. In a classic mystery, readers are more curious to find out what already…

THE CHALLENGE: Write the first line (one sentence only, 25 words or fewer) to a story based on the prompt below. You can be funny, poignant, witty, etc.; it is, after all, your story. TO ENTER: Send your story via the online submission form at writersdigest.com/your-story-competition or via email to yourstorycontest@fwmedia.com (entries must be pasted directly into the body of the email; attachments will not be opened). NOTE: WD editors will select the top 12 entries and post them on our website (writersdigest.com/your-story-competition). Join us online in early March, when readers can vote for their favorite to help rank the top 10 winners! The winners will be published in a future issue of Writer’s Digest . DON’T FORGET: Your name and mailing address. One entry per person.…

1 Sleuthfest Find out whodunnit at this long-running conference sponsored by the Florida chapter of Mystery Writers of America. WHEN: March 14–17, 2019. WHERE: Embassy Suites by Hilton Boca Raton, Boca Raton, Fla. PRICE: $380 for MWA members, $400 for nonmembers through Jan. 15; $405 for members, $445 for nonmembers after Jan. 15. Thursday evening meet-and-greet dinner with faculty is an additional $50. Agent and editor appointments are $10 each, and 25-page manuscript critiques are $100 each. See website for details. WHAT MAKES THE CONFERENCE UNIQUE: A kind, encouraging attitude among faculty and volunteers helps establish strong professional relationships. “We are a writer-focused conference, not a fan convention,” Co-director Michael Joy says. “We hear success stories from writers who have improved their manuscripts by applying the advice they’ve received from…

Last year, in a wave of #MeToo reckonings, I canceled a WD Interview with a subject who’d been accused of sexual misconduct. In its place, we ran a feature called “ROAR” that highlighted underrepresented voices, and I detailed the decision to kill the original interview in the accompanying Editor’s Letter. Fast-forward one month. The buzz on social media was overwhelmingly positive, but amidst all that, I received a voicemail from a long-time subscriber to WD. I wouldn’t describe her tone as angry—just resigned. She lamented the fact that politics seemed to be creeping into every facet of her life, even an innocuous magazine about writing. Look, I get it. For her and many others, writing was an escape from the barrage of charged news alerts that now clutter our Facebook…

When published writers get in the same room together, they may start with small talk, then digress to family and other personal anecdotes, but inevitably the conversation always rolls back to the thread that connects us all: the business of writing. In these conversations, I often find myself defending my deliberate decision to stay (and stay happy!) with my smaller-than-a-Big-Five publishing house, Wyatt-MacKenzie, for four novels. “Aren’t you ready to go bigger with the next one?” “Don’t you wish you had more sales?” “Are you sure you’re OK with where your career is?” I don’t blame my writer friends. After all, isn’t landing a Big Five or another “big” publishing house deal supposed to be the dream of all writers? I’ve struggled with that premise and perhaps radiated some ambivalence…

A Massachusetts native, John Cusick graduated from Wesleyan University in 2007 with a double major in English and Russian literature. In addition to working as a cashier, radio host, freelance writer and bookseller, he once answered a Craigslist ad to be a literary agent’s dog walker and assistant—hence, a career was born. Today, he’s vice president at Folio Literary Management/Folio Jr., and the author of two young adult novels: Girl Parts and Cherry Money Baby (both Candlewick Press). Cusick now lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Molly (senior scout at Mary Anne Thompson Associates), and a cat, Donut. “Right now I’d love some deeply felt middle-grade that balances its heart with humor,” he says. “I’m always looking for YA, contemporary or fantasy, that makes people say, ‘You can’t write about…

Fireside Magazine. “#BlackSpecFic special report.” medium.com/fireside-fiction-company/blackspecfic-571c00033717 FIYAH Magazine. “POB Score: A FIYAH Project.” fiyahlitmag.com/blackspecfic/the-pob-score-project Lee and Low Books. “The Diversity Gap in Children’s Book Publishing.” blog.leeandlow.com/2018/05/10/the-diversity-gap-in-childrens-book-publishing-2018 Nisi Shawl. “Appropriate Cultural Appropriation.” writingtheother.com/appropriate-cultural-appropriation Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward. Writing the Other: A Practical Approach. Aqueduct Press: 2005. aqueductpress.com/books/978-1-933500-00-3.php Daniel José Older. “12 Fundamentals Of Writing ‘The Other’ (And The Self).” buzzfeed.com/danieljoseolder/fundamentals-of-writing-the-other Uma Krishnaswami. “Interview Wednesday: Stacy Whitman of Tu Books.” umakrishnaswami.blogspot.com/2011/07/interview-wednesday-stacy-whitmanof-tu.html…

Ididn’t know it, but I was mentally ill until about age 16. Anybody queer was considered “mentally ill” until 1973, when the American Psychiatric Association removed the diagnosis of homosexuality as a disorder (though “sexual orientation disturbance” endured in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual until 1987). Like millions of LGBTQ children and adults, I knew I was different, and not in a socially acceptable way. We didn’t even know there were millions of us. We thought maybe we were the only one. Back then, a person who wanted or needed to explore the queer lifestyle had to be extremely circumspect in their hunt for information and validation. The words queer, fag, homo and lezzie were dreaded slurs, used by even young children who didn’t know what the words meant. The…

DANNY GARDNER (dannygardner.me) is the author of A Negro and an Ofay, nominated for three Best First Novel awards. He is also the brand ambassador of Bronzeville Books, a bespoke publisher of culturally relevant works based in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Frankfurt, Germany. KELLYE GARRETT (kellyegarrett.com) is the author of Hollywood Homicide, which won Agatha, Anthony, Lefty and IPPY awards. The New Jersey native currently serves on the board of directors for Sisters in Crime and is the managing director for Pitch Wars. GAR ANTHONY HAYWOOD (mysterious press.com/authors/gar-anthony-haywood/default.asp) is the Shamus and Anthony award-winning author of 12 crime novels, and has been called by Booklist “a writer who has always belonged in the upper echelon of American crime fiction.” His short fiction has been included in the “Best American…

Dear FYSA, I’m confident in my novel  and query, have had several requests for the full ms, and even one conversation with an agent, but I can’t seem to land representation. What are the top obstacles that writers face when trying to secure an agent, and how would you suggest they overcome them? Signed, Newbie in New York Dear Newbie, Recently, my husband and I started golf lessons together. His swing seemed to improve at an exponential rate, while my cursing did the same, in almost a direct ratio. I finally hollered at our absolutely unflappable British golf instructor, “What am I doing wrong?” He said dryly, “A little bit of everything. But that means you’re also doing a little bit of everything right.” So, let’s assume we can apply…

Here’s an eye-opening statistic: Active literary agencies receive more than 20,000 query letters each year. Some agencies attempt to respond to each individually, and others respond only if interested. Agents have no obligation, not even an ethical one, to respond to your unsolicited query. Some social media–savvy agents handle the overload by hosting query parties, in which they open up for queries every few months, for several weeks, and promote the event through social media. Some agencies accept only snail-mail queries, and answer only those that include a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE), although that’s increasingly rare. However your query arrives at the agency, it must stand out from the other 19,999. How can you accomplish such a feat? By using three simple but important ingredients: professionalism, suitability and intrigue. The…

1. Queries that have typos in the first sentence. 2. Queries that start with a nugget of wisdom: “Every step we take in life moves us in a direction.” 3. Queries with very small type, florid or unconventional fonts, and whacky background colors are frowned upon. You can assume that just about everyone in publishing suffers from eyestrain. 4. Queries longer than one page. 5. Queries with overcomplicated directions for replying: “I’m going to Tortola for the next three weeks. If you need to reach me, please call my cell number. Don’t leave a message at my home number because I won’t get it until I return.” A simple street or email address will do. 6. Queries with all the agents in New York in the “To” line. 7. Queries…

For many writers, the greatest perk a conference can offer is the opportunity to interact with editors and agents—industry professionals who have the power to move your career forward. This benefits the professionals as well, introducing them to talented writers with promising works-in-progress who are in need of representation. Here are a few tips on getting the most from agent pitches and manuscript critiques. • DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Research in advance the editors or agents you will be meeting with so that you know a bit about their background—what they’re looking for, who they represent, etc. This will provide useful insight and help you talk knowledgeably about what you both expect from the relationship. • ARRIVE PREPARED. Editors and agents willing to meet with potential clients are usually very specific…