Innehållsförteckning för March 2014 från The Writer

WHAT ARE YOU SEARCHING for in your writing? That’s a question the best editors, writing coaches and our own instincts help each of us answer as we begin, develop, struggle with, angst over and complete – or set aside – our storytelling projects. In various ways, it is also the question at the heart of the articles and interviews in this issue of The Writer. Most directly, contributor and writing teacher Linda Lappin takes on the quest narrative as a way to explore character, place and plot. She offers formats for understanding structure, exploring sacred space (real and imaginative) and digging into the themes that inform penetrating adventure stories, whether in The Odyssey, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows or Eat, Pray, Love. Writing coach Don Fry takes the question…

During the endless weeks of March, writers face roadblocks in their work, whether it’s a problem story, a silent muse or a creative slump. These novelists, nonfiction writers and poets share how they power through the rough patches in chilly times. There are times where it’s productive to push beyond what’s comfortable, but there are also great benefits to giving your mind a break and allowing the work to simmer in your subconscious. Sometimes this can take weeks or months, but what’s the rush? I think we often get frustrated when we don’t see immediate results, but if you’re interested in delivering a message and making quality art that matters, then it’s worth it to take your time. — Dexter L. Booth, poetry, Scratching the Ghost When I get stuck…

Spotlight: Brooklyn Book Festival 2013 Sherri Winston, YA author President of the Whole Fifth Grade First, take yourself seriously. You have to make a conscious effort to go from someone who wants to write to someone who is going to write. And there is a clear distinction because once you have decided you are going to write you will make time for it. It’s like eating or going to the gym or paying a bill. It’s something you have to do because you have to write to be published. It took me awhile to learn that myself, so I don’t say that as an admonishment, but as an encouragement. Give yourself permission to say: If I am going to be a writer, I have to make time to write and…

Maureen Johnson @maureenjohnson Writing happens. If you worry you are making it worse, just accept the worry is there, like a weird little animal companion. Hemi @TheHemicane I have been known to stand in my own way. Perhaps I should step aside. #amwriting Monica Bhide @mbhide Trying to calm my anxious mind. Getting ready for a full day of writing #gratitude Laekan Kemp @LaekanZeaKemp Had a nightmare that I was the main character in my WIP. There is nothing more inspiring than walking in your character’s shoes Alex Àëåêñè Reed @SNxKE Thank you life for all the stress you threw my way, my writing is getting dangerously diverse and better Charles Isidi @i_am_pixelhub Sometimes, just sleeping off the stress can help you get rid of the writing block...don’t confuse laziness…

I sometimes ask my creative writing students: Are you predominantly a flâneur or a pilgrim? “Flâneur,” a French term that is difficult to translate satisfactorily into English, is an aimless urban rambler who loves to walk slowly through a cityscape, poking into its most obscure corners, observing crowds and events, then passing on without ever becoming involved with them. A pilgrim is focused on his or her interior life, has a specific destination in mind and desires to receive some beneficial influence from the journey or from something he or she finds at the destination itself. These two modes of investigating our environment – as flâneur or pilgrim – correspond to Russian literary critic Mihail Bakhtin’s concepts of “adventure-time” and “quest,” two space-time configurations he identified in travel or road…

Facebook is a writer’s worst enemy, right? It robs us of time, the most precious of commodities for creative souls. I used to believe that. I joined Facebook later than many of my friends. Twitter? The idea of spending even a minute compiling 140 characters about dreck at first repelled me. I am a professional writer, after all. I yearn to spend hours writing thousands of words for my nonfiction book and/or working on freelance projects that come with guaranteed pay. Now, I am a writer who adores Facebook and tolerates Twitter. Both help me build a diverse writing community – something I lost when I left full-time newspaper journalism in 2009 after more than 20 years in the field. Both Facebook and Twitter also sharpen my skills as an…

Leigh Anne Jasheway loves that people laugh over her essays in The Funny Times while waiting for doctor appointments. The author of numerous books including Date Me, Date My Dog, she meets readers at conferences and on airplanes who recognize her name from pieces about aging, health, dating – all told with laugh-out-loud wit. “People can be literary and amazing writers,” she says, “and touch people’s hearts while tickling their funny bone.” Ray Lesser, Funny Times co-editor with Susan Wolpert, agrees. “You can use humor to change the world more efficiently and pleasantly than when you’re angry and serious,” he points out of the stories and cartoons in his 25-year-old monthly magazine. “The work that humor writers do is some of the most important writing that’s happening right now.” Tone,…

I have been in the newspaper game for more than 30 years, which qualifies me as a card-carrying old fart. Years ago, I was on a panel at Harvard University, surrounded by earnest young people, most of whom looked like they were in a band. They were explaining the demise of old media and celebrating the ascendancy of new media, with its ubiquity and immediacy. One kid got up and said something to the effect that the best part of new media was that you could get information out so quickly. I pointed out that was all well and good, but that very often in the rush to be first, people get things wrong. “Then you just correct it,” the kid replied, looking at me like I had just stepped…

Is it legitimate to use first person if the character is a man and the author is a woman? Or if the character is from Russia and the writer is from the U.S.? Isn’t that what third person is for? Indeed, some writers choose third person when writing from the perspective of a character whose experience is very different from their own. However, a writer can craft a first person voice that is genuine, regardless of his or her relationship to that character’s world. Fiction is an act of invention. Russell Banks writes from the first person perspective of a woman in his novel The Darling. In Little Bee, British writer Chris Cleave writes from the perspective of a young Nigerian woman. Sara Gruen imagines her way into the male…

Seven-year pen Tackle your next big writing project with this mighty little pen that reduces plastic waste. Guaranteed to last up to seven years, the smooth, black ink pen can knock out about six feet of text per day. See Jane Work offers it in 10 eco-friendly and stylish designs. Starts at $8. seejanework.com Bamboo keyboard This slim and portable keyboard takes writers out of the office and back to nature. Hand-crafted almost entirely from bamboo, a conscientiously harvested and highly sustainable material, the keyboard is renewable and recyclable. Connect it to computers, tablets and iPhones through wireless Bluetooth technology. Starts at $99. izenbamboo.com Messenger bag Green never looked so good. Chic yet sustainable, Modavanti’s messenger bag is made with biodegradable eco-leather and organic cotton lining. Each earth-friendly bag is…

Filled with fine art and lush design, Danielle Krysa’s Creative Block is a feast for the eyes as well as the mind. The paintings, photographs and multimedia art pieces are creative prompts unto themselves. But the true value of the book lies in the ideas that can help creators of all mediums – including writers – “get unstuck.” The book poses the question, “Why does creative block occur?” And more important, “How do we overcome it?” Part art book, part self-help guide, Creative Block includes Q&As with 50 international artists who represent a blend of credentials, experiences, backgrounds and mediums. Krysa chose the book’s subjects from her blog, The Jealous Curator, which features artists who give her a “punch to the creative gut.” The artists in the book offer diverse…

FICTION for children and young adults is an increasingly crowded and competitive field. What will make your work stand out? It isn’t easy to determine what makes a good book for children. Try to list essential ingredients, and you’ll soon find that many of the most successful books for young readers don’t include them. A child must be at the center of the action? Not in The Wind in the Willows, where all the characters are apparently adults. There must be a happy ending? Not in the bleak world of Sally Gardner’s Carnegie-Medalwinning Maggot Moon. The structure should be simple and chronological? Not in Robert Cormier’s I Am the Cheese, a complex jigsaw of a novel that keeps readers puzzled and uncertain until the final devastating revelation. What, then, appeals…

Angela Liddon began her adult life as a social psychology research scientist, writing dry, formatted research papers. Her vegan cooking blog Oh She Glows, which she started in 2008, served as a creative outlet when she could find time to develop recipes and shoot photos. Almost immediately, her readership exploded. Soon the site began generating income, and she made the leap of faith, quitting her research position and committing herself to the blog. Thanks to Liddon’s dynamic food photography, well-thought-out recipes and fun writing style, the blog gets 5 million views per month. The Oh She Glows Cookbook comes out this winter. Many aspiring writers dream of making the transition from casual blogger to published author. The Writer got all the details from Liddon about what it takes to write…

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 payment WriterMag.com Subscribers to The Writer have online access to information on 3,000+ publishers, publications, conferences, contests and agents. Go to WriterMag.com and click on Market Directory. » AGENTS C Y ADAMS LITERARY Exclusively represents children’s and YA authors and artists. Seeks picture books, middle grade and YA fiction. Submit from website using submission form. Contact: Adams Literary. info@adamsliterary.com adamsliterary.com N Y CAROLYN SWAYZE LITERARY AGENCY Represents Canadian authors. Prefers literary fiction, juvenile and teen books, as well as narrative nonfiction in the fields of science,…

“The modern writer must be an adventurer above all, willing to take every risk, and be prepared to founder in his effort if need be. In other words we must write dangerously.”–James Joyce A legend of Irish literature, Joyce used his fearless approach to pen groundbreaking novels such as Ulysses and Finnegans Wake. Take his advice in the next story, poem or essay you write. Experiment with language. Turn tradition on its head. Break conventions. Or simply approach the piece in an entirely new way. When you finish, analyze the writing to see what works and what tactics you can use again in the future.…

Catherine Barnett is the author of two volumes of poetry, The Game Of Boxes, winner of the James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets, and Into Perfect Spheres Such Holes Are Pierced, which won the Beatrice Hawley Award. She is also the recipient of the Whiting Writer’s Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Glasgow Prize for Emerging Writers. Her poems are often deeply personal, describing, for example, her experiences with her parents or with motherhood, and some also have a surreal slant to them. In “In the Cabinet of What’s Expired,” for instance, Barnett writes: “Salves, creams, dreams in their shiny metal tins:/the balm of yes/is now the balm of no–/But it’s a pretty silver hope,/and I still swallow it.” WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU’VE LEARNED…

When you have an intense writing day, how do you give your eyes a rest? Look out the window? Take a nap? Stare at the ocean? We asked followers on Facebook to tell us their secrets to taking a break from their work. The following are responses we culled from our Facebook page. “20-minute recovery nap.” “A walk on the beach.” “I’m 70. I take a nap. But then again, I take a nap after almost anything.” “Go out for a walk.” “Go out on the porch and look up at the sky.” “Fill the bird feeder and watch the feathered feeding frenzy.” “I had a major intense day yesterday and walked on the treadmill for an hour.” “Prayer and siesta.” “Look out the window and, if it’s really pretty…

A while back, David Letterman started his monologue by saying that only one man wrote the Gettysburg Address, and “it takes seven guys to write this crap!” That got a big laugh. The line was funny for several reasons. To start, Letterman’s duck face, his contagious chuckle and impeccable timing deliver the humor. But there’s also that last word: crap. “Crap” is a funny word without being as offensive as others that convey the same message. “Crap” is also a lot funnier than, say, a tame word like “stuff.” Often words with the “k” sound make folks laugh. I smile whenever I hear the expression: turkey neck. A memoir titled I Descend from Kinky Kinfolks Canoodling in Kentucky is likely to sell faster than My Stoic Ancestors of New England.…

LEONARDO DA VINCI received a commission to paint Mona Lisa in 1503. Thirteen years later, he moved to France and took the painting with him, working on it until his death in 1519. Anyone who sees this masterpiece would consider it finished, but Leonardo evidently did not. In fact, he finished almost nothing. Fifty years later, Giorgio Vasari, author of Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, explains why: It is clear that Leonardo, through his comprehension of art, began many things and never finished one of them, since it seemed to him that the hand was not able to attain to the perfection of art in carrying out the things which he imagined; for the reason that he conceived in idea difficulties so subtle and so marvelous, that they could…

Words transcend the page when poetry becomes an agent for change and provocation. A biennial event that provides a platform for social awareness, Split This Rock Poetry Festival seeks to break down barriers and unite individuals through poetry. Acclaimed poet Eduardo C. Corral, who has been involved with the organization for several years, says the group “confronts the political now, the messiness of the now.” The festival offers a dynamic lineup of panels, speakers and workshops, including “A Bridge Across Our Fears: Poetry in Service of Racial Solidarity” led by Franny Choi, a Pushcart Prize nominee and finalist at the Individual World Poetry Slam. Choi believes political poetry should have a life “outside of the page,” that writers and readers must carry the ideas into their communities. “Now that we…

Tamara Faith Berger has been called a “punk rock Anais Nin,” a “lit-porn provocateur extraordinaire” and “Canada’s most dangerous writer.” Despite the sexy labels, the Toronto-based writer is remarkably approachable. Berger is relaxed and soft-spoken. She has been up late – “I haven’t really slept yet” – working on her fourth novel. Her third and most recent, the 2012 much-lauded Maidenhead, won the Believer Book award, and her first two novels, Lie with Me (made into a movie in 2005) and The Way of the Whore, were revised and reprinted in one volume, Little Cat, released in 2013. Berger’s books center on themes of female sexuality – power and submission, shame and liberation – as well as race and class. Her protagonists are teen girls unapologetically negotiating the boundaries of…