Innehållsförteckning för June 2021 från The Writer

A local moose visits me every morning at 9:45 a.m. Before moving to Alaska, I had no idea that moose could tell time, but Moosille seems to keep a pretty tight schedule. I also never really thought much about telling moose apart before I moved here, but it’s pretty simple once you get the hang of it. Moosille Ball is childless (thus far), jaw-droppingly large, and woefully territorial. Her boyfriend is Moose Willis, a bull equally jaw-dropping in size who is fond of stopping traffic at key intersections and glaring at any car that dares to honk its disapproval. Moosille’s hobbies include ignoring loud noises aimed in her direction, bullying young females who cross her path, and sneaking up on unsuspecting delivery drivers in our driveway. The moment anyone reenters…

One thing so many writers struggle with is letting other people read their work. It’s daunting, nerve-racking, full-on exposure with nowhere to hide. But before you even think about sending your manuscript to anyone else, it should pass by the first reader and editor of the piece – yourself. That’s the hardest part. Once you put it in front of someone else, you have nothing left to do. It’s out of your hands; the proverbial ball is in someone else’s court. But when you’re evaluating your work, how can you trust your own judgment? How can you be the very best reader for yourself? Many instructors remind writers to “think like the reader.” But that’s a loaded statement – one of those things that you hear, agree with, and then…

1 FIRST-PLACE WINNER Tonight We Eat Rani sweeps around the curve in the buffet tables, her dark hair trailing at least 3 feet behind, covering her lean legs and small buttocks. Wasn’t it cruel enough to have the Secondaries play this infernal game without the extra handicap of long hair, Meg wonders, watching as Rani’s scores continue to climb up the charts. Rani’s tan skin contrasts starkly against the colorful delicacies heaped on the buffet tables: pastel petit fours, fluorescent green tropical fruits, deep pink salmon, and shining red meats. Meg’s mouth waters. Like Rani, she hasn’t eaten for days. Living out on the sand flats, they are the lowest of the Secondary Citizens in the harshness of this hell they call home. What with Meg’s immune intolerances, it was…

What was your writing and revision process like for “Saturn?” “Saturn” was inspired by “Saturn Devouring His Son,” a painting by Francisco Goya that I first saw at the Museo del Prado in Madrid. I found the piece really haunting and knew immediately I wanted to do something with it. It hung around in my head for a few weeks – the “incubation period” – until I finally got it onto the page. After a quick first draft, I stepped away from it for a few days, then came back to it with fresh eyes. At that point, I went to work distilling the story, removing anything that I felt was not absolutely necessary. How did you land on the first-person plural POV for this piece? I wanted to write…

Even though many don’t offer payment and some are more popular than others, literary journals are a great way to get your writing’s foot in an editor’s door. Some writers may overlook smaller publications in order to concentrate on bigger projects, but doing so could be a mistake. Whether you’re looking to apply to an MFA program or want to build your publishing portfolio, having your work appear in a literary magazine or journal can be a big first step toward your dream career. The magazines listed here are a sampling of what the industry has to offer. Find more at writermag.com. 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…

Back in October of 2020, I read a blog post by a writer who lamented being distracted by his own negative self-talk: Everything I want to write has already been written. I have nothing original to add. My prose is limp. Etcetera. I read the post to my husband, who is a successful fine artist and no stranger to creative struggle. He listened intently. When I was through, he just shook his head. “What IS it with writers?” he asked. “Why are they so filled with self-doubt?” It wasn’t just a reaction to the blog post. It was commentary on what he knows from experience to be true, having lived with a certain self-doubting writer (me) for 30 years and watched my journey to publication. Writers are far from the…

What was your inspiration for “Tonight We Eat?” I had a dream about a bizarre food competition where you had to eat without using your hands AND were naked. I woke up thinking, “Why on earth would someone participate in a contest like that?” I couldn’t get the idea out of my head. What was your revision process like for this story? I approached the story slowly and didn’t overthink the structure. The first draft centered around Meg and Rani. I added the details about the game and descriptions of the other contestants while revising. All of our judges commented on the stunning amount of world-building in this narrative – a true feat for a work that falls under 1,000 words. Do you have any tips for other authors on…

READERS should use caution when entering into any legal contract with a literary service offering agenting-type assistance; publishers who charge, rather than pay, an author for publication; publishers who require a purchase before publication and contests that charge high entrance fees. The Writer also recommends requesting a list of references and submission guidelines before submitting a manuscript. If you have any concerns regarding the advertiser’s commitment or claims, please contact the advertiser and make certain all questions are answered to your satisfaction. ADVERTISERS We do not accept ads from agents or businesses that charge a reading or marketing fee; Subsidy Publishers: Copy of contract. In order to effectively handle questions from our readers regarding the products and services of our advertisers, the staff of The Writer asks that you provide…

The traditions of dialogue in fiction are deeply tied to the traditions of stage drama. A script for a stage play, for example, presents lines of dialogue, often without interruption, inside of a single scene. Modern scripts for TV and film are handled in a similar fashion. A playwright defines the language, but an actor interprets the lines with meaningful facial expression, movement, and bodily gesture. In other words, an actor brings a deeper meaning to the script through movement – but in fiction, these jobs fall to writers and their ability to describe how people communicate with both voice and action. As humans, we are hardwired to visually observe our world, to understand it through sight and sound, by watching what people do, not just what they say. This…

What was your inspiration and writing process like for “The Nest?” I was inspired by the ways in which we hide from each other – both small and large. And how sometimes, in refusing to show weakness, we can unwittingly send the wrong message. In a work so short, how did you decide which details were essential to include and which to leave unsaid? I am a big fan of stories that let the reader “peek through the window” but don’t actually let them inside, so leaving things unsaid comes naturally – it’s finding a way to make such a short stay with these characters feel satisfying that I find trickier. But I think as long as the reader feels the characters have been honest with them, if not with…