Innehållsförteckning för October 2015 från The Writer

When it comes to writing, I’m strictly a journalist, but within that “genre,” I can stretch in so many directions: reporting, essays, reviews, interviews and more. Each approach requires a unique point of view and style. That’s one reason I enjoyed putting together this issue of The Writer. Our general focus is on genre, and it was exciting to read so many angles on creating stories whether science fiction, romance, historical fiction or crime fiction. Do you identify with a certain genre? Or do you shun labels for your work? After years of talking to artists, including writers, I know labels can function more comfortably in the commercial world than in the creative world. A good example of that comes from K’wan Foye, who is featured in this issue. His…

Should the word Earth always be capitalized? In this instance, capitalization depends upon which definition of the word you intend. When you’re talking about the planet we live on, capitalize the word. Here’s why: Used in this capacity, Earth is a proper noun. It names a specific place. Proper nouns should be capitalized. However, other uses of the word don’t require capitalization. It’s used to describe land as in: She stepped from the wooden deck, and the rocky earth was cool on the soles of her feet. While she’s on our planet Earth, the meaning of the word here refers not to the planet itself, but to the soil or dirt and as a result should not be capitalized. Earth is also sometimes used as an intensive and should not…

Mike O’Leary, art director March Violets by Philip Kerr: “Noir, dark suspense. Best acerbic detective. Vivid pre-WWII setting.” Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel: “Post apocalypse rebirth. A future where culture and art thrive. Characters build and criss-cross.” Nicki Porter, associate editor Joyland by Stephen King: “Chilling, thrilling, fastpaced. Fun small-town amusement park setting. Part horror, part thriller, part coming-of-age.” Night Circus by Erin Morganstern: “Magical. A sweet book, with so much heart. Fall-down-therabbit-hole effect. So engaging, so richly composed.” Meredith Quinn, associate editor The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon: “The way Haddon gets into Christopher’s head is stunning and beyond anything I could ever imagine writing.” Megan Kaplon, contributing editor Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson: “Intriguing characters, gruesome details,…

MFA IN CREATIVE WRITING Ranked #4 in the Top 10 Low-Residency MFA Programs by Poets & Writers › Fiction › Nonfiction › Poetry › Writing for Stage and Screen › Writing for Young People lesley.edu/creative-writers Cate Marvin MFA in Creative Writing faculty, author of three poetry collections: World’s Tallest Disaster, Fragment of the Head of a Queen, and Oracle Described by Robert Pinsky as “exhilarating, fierce, [and] powerful” verse, Cate Marvin’s third poetry collection, Oracle, was published in March 2015 by W.W. Norton & Company. Over the last 20 years, Marvin, a member of Lesley’s MFA in Creative Writing faculty, has established herself as a major contemporary American poet and author. Most recently, she was recognized with a 2015 Guggenheim Fellowship. Poetry for me is something I started doing when…

OF ALL THE WRITING GENRES, poetry can feel the most mysterious. It is dense, concise, heartfelt, a wave of words and feeling crashing over the writer and then the reader. Poetry arrives quickly, intensely and, like a comet that has just breached the earth’s atmosphere, needs to cool before taking shape. Another one of life’s mysteries swept up Elizabeth Alexander, the poet and Yale University professor, moving her, for the first time, to blend poetry and memoir – a monumental task given the differences in genre. But Alexander says when it comes to genre, she doesn’t follow the rules. In 2012, Alexander’s husband of 15 years had a massive coronary and died almost instantly. She did not stop writ- ing. Instead, she began a book, grieving and writing at the…

I STARTED WRITING eight years ago. At age 38, I was a confused immigrant, overwhelmed with conflicting thoughts and emotions. It was not an easy decision to leave Baghdad, but violence and anarchy had swept through the city of my birth, and I felt like a stranger, a foreigner living in a strange land. I went to Jordan first for two years and then to New Zealand, where I am now a naturalized citizen. The first months of the journey were the hardest. I went through daily and drastic changes, many of which were quite disturbing. Reminiscence became my defense mechanism to reassure myself that I still had an intact mind. Memories haunted me day and night. I started taking note of a widening gap between the space and time…

In this excerpt, the undercover detective James Wolf shows up for a drug deal. He’s more than six feet tall, wears a black leather jacket and a Yankees cap from which braids pour out. There are thugs and guns in the room. Smush is the dealer; Archie is the broker. They get right to the point: “Looking to buy some drugs?” Smush gave Archie a nod. Archie went into the bathroom and came out a few seconds later holding a paper bag, which he laid on the table in front of Wolf. Wolf peered inside the bag and saw a neatly wrapped bundle of cocaine. “That there is the best shit in the city.” Archie said proudly of the cocaine’s quality. “I’ll be the judge of that,” Wolf pulled out…

The literary agents we spoke to consider these to be must-bring items for any conference: >Mark Gottlieb: Pen, paper and one’s inner-muse. >Lane Heymont: Business cards, professional attire (business casual works), a submission-ready manuscript and your A-game. Attending a writing conference can be a learning opportunity for both new writers and seasoned professionals. Brushing up on craft, networking with fellow wordsmiths and hearing the stories of published authors provide a well-rounded and informed approach to business. One of the most anticipated and nerve-wracking components of a conference is meeting literary agents. Often considered the gatekeepers to the publishing world, agents hold an almost mystic position on the journey to being published. When the chance to come face to face with an agent arises, it’s important to keep cool. After all,…

Beverly Jenkins’ novels are so richly evocative of the times and places of the past, you might forget just exactly which century you’re in while you’re reading. In her serial novels, you may find yourself saying to characters: “Hey folks, it’s good to see you again.” Jenkins deals in the world of facts but never sacrifices narrative or characterization along the way. Her African American historical romance novels – more than 30 of them – have firmly established her as a leading practitioner of the genre. Among her considerable awards: In 1999, Jenkins was named one of the Top Fifty Favorite African American Writers of the 20th Century by the African American Literature Book Club. Her newest book For Your Love: A Blessings Novel is part of her faith-based series…

“If you are using dialogue – say it aloud as you write it. Only then will it have the sound of speech.” –John Steinbeck Go to a section of your latest work that includes dialogue. Follow Steinbeck’s advice – read it aloud. Really – out loud, so you can hear content through your voice. How does each word sound? Is it realistic? Does it flow like a believable conversation? Next, go the extra step and invite a friend to join you in the reading – either by playing a part or simply by listening. A second ear can be a gateway to hearing your story truly.…

"Always make the audience suffer as much as possible." –Alfred Hitchcock EDGAR ALLAN POE If one writer perfected the thriller, detective story and macabre all at once, it was Poe. Read the complete collection of his work, including classics such as “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Purloined Letter.” At a hefty 1,040 pages, this hardcover can also double as a weapon. $7.98. barnesandnoble.com AGATHA CHRISTIE Follow the adventures of two of Agatha Christie’s best-known characters, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, with these classic PBS programs. Christie was considered the queen of murder mysteries, and seeing her tales come to life will inspire some plot twists of your own. $29.99. shoppbs.org SHADOWS ON THE WALL Set some spooky mood lighting while you read, listen to music or watch a movie with…

As if finding a community within the writing universe isn’t tough enough, when you specialize in genre fiction, finding a niche of like-minded scribes may seem impossible. Enter Twitter, where genre enthusiasts are trading advice and encouragement. See these MTs. "As soon as you have an idea that changes some small part of the world, you are writing science fiction." –Ray Bradbury After Party Andi @andimarquette WOOO! Bunkered all weekend and finished the first round of a novella. It’s marinating now and I’m working on another. #amwriting #KAWFEE Jessica Taylor @jessahtaylor The story I’ve been wondering how I would pull together is finally smoothing out like a nice puzzle #writing #erotica Tracie Banister @traciebanister So excited to get to work! Delving into heroine’s backstory – how she got into cooking,…

Detective James Wolf is a man of elusive qualities. His father was a blues singer who coke-snorted his way into the grave, leaving Wolf and his mother to fend for themselves. Wolf, broad-shouldered and well over six-feet tall, could have been a boxer, but the streets had a powerful pull on him. By the time we meet him in Black Lotus, a novella by the author K’wan, Wolf has switched sides and is working for the law as a narcotics detective. Or maybe he is working for the law. He doesn’t play well with the force and is generally considered a loner in his work. Who’s he really hunting for? And why is there a black lotus flower at the scene of the crime where a Catholic priest with a…

Donald Margulies is a prolific and renowned playwright and screenwriter as well as a professor at Yale University. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2000 for his play Dinner with Friends, which was also adapted into an HBO film that received an Emmy nomination. Margulies’ play Time Stands Still was nominated for a Tony, and other works – for theater, TV and film – have earned him numerous awards, including the PEN/Laura Pels Award, the William Inge Award and the Sidney Kingsley Award. Margulies is known for his tense, flawless dialogue, which is well represented in his latest movie production The End of the Tour – a compelling portrait of novelist David Foster Wallace, starring Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg – that Margulies also executive produced and that…

NAMES Geraldine DeRuiter YEARS BLOGGING 6 GENRE Travel WEBSITE everywhereist.com FEATURED Time, Forbes Magazine, The Huffington Post, Condé Nast Traveler Do you have any tips for writers who want to try to make a living in travel writing? They shouldn’t start travel writing with the hope that it will pay the bills. Most of the time, it won’t. Even if I did monetize my blog, it would barely be worth it, financially speaking. If you want to write about travel, do it because you love writing about travel. If you try doing it for the money, odds are you will make yourself miserable. That’s not to say that blogs aren’t helpful in building a writing career. They serve as an online portfolio of your work, where editors can see what…

“I think it’s important to find an agent you feel comfortable talking with in an honest, open way. It’s a lot like a tango. Your agent is your partner in the process of bringing your books to life. You have to be willing to trust her to lead you and teach you, but you also have to be a strong partner. I’m always surprised at how afraid people are to ask their agent direct questions. Find the person who makes you feel most comfortable and who makes you know they have faith in you and your work. That’s your agent.” —Anna March, The Spectacular Remains “If you’re looking to indie publish your books, there is a great deal of information and knowledge about self-publishing that you will have to learn.…

Brasco took cautious steps and came to stand within a few feet of Animal. He wasn’t sure what frame of mind he was in, and didn’t want to risk getting too close. He had seen Animal when his emotions took over and it wasn’t a pretty sight. “Animal,” he called softly. Animal’s eyes flickered, but beyond that there was no response. Brasco moved to stand directly in Animal’s line of vision, but Animal continued staring in the direction of the window as if he was looking through him. “Animal, first I’d like to offer my condolences for the loss of your wife. Gucci was a good woman and I’m sorry. Now, I know you’re hurting, but I’m gonna need you to shake it off so we can decide what should…

1989 IN LITERATURE • Iran offers a $3 million bounty for the death of author Salman Rushdie as a result of his controversial novel, The Satanic Verses. • Amy Tan publishes her first novel, The Joy Luck Club. • The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett is published; the book is later adapted into several board games and a TV mini-series. • Wendy Wasserstein wins the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for The Heidi Chronicles. • Gwendolyn Brooks receives the Frost Medal from the Poetry Society of America for lifelong contributions to the genre. “The best science fiction springs from a wild imagination wisely leashed,” writes sci-fi novelist Jack Womack in the October 1989 issue of The Writer. Womack, best known as the creator of the Dryco series that includes…

It may be easy to find a writing class, but what about one that specializes in your specific genre? While some writing basics and tricks of the trade work across every category, if you’re truly specialized, finding a germane class to help develop your animated Neo-lithic snowman with a sexual identity crisis might not prove easy. That’s when you reach out to the communities and resources that “get” you. Nearly every fiction genre has at least one association, guild or alliance, and many them offer educational resources both online and onsite. Furthermore, universities and writing centers offer the occasional romance or science fiction writing course that is open to the public.  By attending a writing course in the field that best applies to your work, you receive tailored instruction about…

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. INFORMATION in this section is provided to The Writer by the individual markets and events; for more information, contact those entities directly. Get up-to-date information on markets at writermag.com 1 Pin down your interests and find a magazine with those themes. If you are already well-versed in a subject, your expertise will show. 2 Read the magazine for at least a few issues to see what content is featured. 3 Niche magazines have a narrow focus, so it’s possible that topics can be repeated. Pay attention and think of an idea that’s original and timely. 4 Pitch to an already existing section of the…