Innehållsförteckning för January 2016 från Writer's Digest

1 Find More From Moyes In adapting her smash hit Me Before You for the big screen, Jojo Moyes (WD Interview, Page 40) delved headfirst into what she calls “a much more technical craft” Find out what went on behind the scenes, what’s up next for the versatile author, and more of her secrets to success in our exclusive interview outtakes. 2 Make Your Kids’ Book Interactive In our companion to “App or e-Book?” (Page 14), one writer shares how her children’s book became an award-winning app—and what you can learn from her journey. 3 Go Ahead—Get Graphic Graphic novels literally both show and tell a story—and graphic memoirs do the same with truth stepping in for fiction. Debut author Ozge Samanci (Breaking In, Page 20) shares secrets for combining…

True Grit In his interview in the October issue, Dennis Lehane said he drew on his own experience—growing up nonracist in a Boston neighborhood that was a “cauldron” of racism—to create the characters Danny and Joe (The Given Day, Live by Night), two rare egalitarians in a milieu of profound, systemic racism. Lehane deserves credit for not just his strong imagination, but for his meticulous research into the racism of the 1910s and 1920s. I haven’t yet read the third book in the trilogy, World Gone By, but I expect it to be a compelling story that pays as much attention to America’s racist past as it does to the multigenerational saga of the characters. Jim Hight Eureka, Calif. SPOTTED ON TWITTER Great, inspiring #dennislehane interview in the new…

POETIC FORM: DÉCIMA The décima is a popular poetic form in many parts of Latin America, and the version we'll be discussing below is common in Puerto Rico. This style of the décima contains 10 lines with eight syllables per line in the following rhyme pattern: abbaaccddc. In Puerto Rico and other parts of Latin America, the décima is often sung and improvised. The form is sometimes referred to as espinela in honor of its founder, Vicente Espinel. Those who write and perform décimas are known as decimistas or decimeros. Here is an example by a Poetic Asides reader. Check-Out, by Pedro Poitevin I give to the receptionistthe invoice where I’ve inked this note. The first half of the décima features ab rhymes. Note that every line has the traditional…

Kate McKean, vice president and literary agent at Howard Morhaim Literary Agency Inc., knows what it’s like to take risks: After graduating early with a master’s degree in fiction writing, she sold all her belongings on The University of Southern Mississippi campus and drove to New York City without a job, landing a position as an assistant to a group of agents sharing office space. “It was easily the hardest job I ever had,” McKean says. “But that taught me I could do anything, [if] I wanted [it] badly enough, and it’s proven true time and again.” McKean began working at Howard Morhaim in 2006 and has been an adjunct professor at New York University since 2011. Find her online at morhaimliterary.com, katemckean.com and on Twitter @kate_mckean. Kara Gebhart Uhl…

Because of the slippery, elusive, amorphous aspect of yearning, I often urge my writing students to try to imagine it not merely through words but also through an image, a work of art or a piece of music. (Remember: The yearning is in contrast to the way of life and type of person that defines the character’s current circumstances. You’re looking for what is absent from the character’s life, not a theme song or portrait of who he considers himself to be.) In writing my novel The Mercy of the Night, I used Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “The Lark Ascending” to symbolize a 17-year-old runaway’s desire for something more profound, courageous and beautiful in her life. The piece itself is never named in the text—I doubt the character would even know…

It’s always come down to two things for Jojo Moyes: writing and motherhood. The London native worked as a journalist for 10 years, including time at South China Morning Post in Hong Kong and The Independent in the U.K. But once she and her husband started a family, she aimed for a more managable work-life balance and decided to try her hand at a different kind of writing. In 2002 her first novel hit U.K. bookshelves, and for almost a decade she made a rather quiet, sustainable living writing books marketed largely to romance readers. She started drawing more notice—and more mainstream fiction audiences on both sides of the pond—with 2011’s The Last Letter From Your Lover, an intricately plotted tale of parallel romances spanning decades. And then, she struck…

When we fill our sentences with the vocabulary of the senses, we are forming verbal images. That is, we are making word pictures that communicate to readers the pictures in our own imaginations. Rather than talking about what it is we want to show our readers, we give them the sensory details and let those details act on their imaginations. Great writers are masters in the craft of making verbal images. They are experts at choosing, from all the details their imaginations provide, exactly the right pieces to convey the specific sensory pictures they want to paint for readers. In constructing verbal images, as with every other aspect of the craft, writers need to learn how to make informed choices. One such choice is determining the length of these images.…

CONFERENCE GUIDE JANUARY 2016 • Keep in mind that there may be more than one workshop in each listing. • These workshops are listed alphabetically by state, country or continent. • Unless otherwise indicated, rates include tuition (T) only. Sometimes the rates also include airfare (AF), some or all meals (M), accommodations (AC), ground transportation (GT), materials (MT) or fees (F). • When you find workshops that interest you, be sure to call, email or check the website of the instructor or organization for additional information. • All listings are paid advertisements. CALIFORNIA THE DIGITAL AUTHOR™ AND INDIE PUBLISHING CONFERENCE, produced by West Coast Writers Conferences. February 26–28, 2016 at Los Angeles Valley College, CA. Writers of all genres benefit from a weekend of intensive workshops, digital demonstrations, and…

September 24, 1848 Dear Mr. Hawthorne, Normally we reject failed efforts briefly and without fuss. But your manuscript, THE SCARLET LETTER, has interested and concerned us. The style is absorbing, its intensity transfixing. Indeed, the mixture of its seductive style and perverse premise obliges us to suggest alterations that would put your skills to suitable use. Concerning the plot—to begin: Convincing readers that a large fabric “A” and a “small roll of dingy paper” were found in a customhouse attic, and that examining them brought their discoverer to know the elaborate story that follows, requires a sleight of hand more suited to a magic show than to literature. Consider, instead, making the narrator an all-knowing, nonspecific voice—not a man dissatisfied with his government employment who comes upon a treasure chest—and…

“Every time I start a book, I think, I have no idea how I did this the last time” bestselling novelist Jojo Moyes says in this issue’s WD Interview. “No idea” At first, knowing that the struggle “happens to the best of us” as they say, might seem discouraging—especially if you’re facing that novel-sized pile of blank paper for the very first time. But even as I write this, I’m in the midst of drafting the opening to my own third novel, and I actually find Moyes’ words comforting. Because I don’t know how I got to The End before, either—but I know that I did. And so all I can do is have faith that if I just begin, I’ll find a way to do it again. In another…

Kids today are raised on technology. Words like e-book and iPad are staples in their lexicon long before their voices change. A 2013 study by Common Sense Media shows 50 percent of kids, from newborn through age 8, have operated a mobile app, up from just 16 percent in 2011. Used most frequently: educational apps that parents download for their kids. This booming new medium means more opportunities for children’s writers, as many educational apps are not unlike interactive picture books. As in book publishing, there are multiple routes to successfully create and market a children’s app. Authors can go the more traditional route—through a digital app publisher—or set out on their own to publish independently. Here’s how to get started. DEVELOP YOUR APP CONCEPT Taking digital technology a step…

Stacie Ramey 1 The Sister Pact (young adult, November, Sourcebooks) “16-year-old Allie Blackmore struggles to put her life back together after her sister’s suicide, only to discover a disturbing truth behind her sister’s death.” WRITES FROM: Wellington, Fla. PRE-PACT: My writing education involved strong critique opportunities and working with writing coaches. I started writing a YA novel that I didn’t finish. Then the idea for The Sister Pact came to me. TIME FRAME: I wrote it over the span of a year and a half. ENTER THE AGENT: Nicole Resciniti of The Seymour Agency plucked me out of the slush pile. I queried her on a Friday. She requested the full the next day, and signed me that Monday. Once I made a few tweaks, Nicole sold it to…

When you’re evaluating a problem in a piece of fiction—whether in a chapter or a whole novel—try stepping away from a this-or-that approach. The old saying, “You can’t have it both ways,” should not apply to the creative process. What if your protagonist could win and lose at the same time? What if the illegitimate heir turned out to be twins? What if that scene doubled the pain your hero was already in? What if that so-called minor character had two arcs of her own? For fixing dead zones in fiction, try the power of two.…

To most, the Caribbean is above all a sun-splashed getaway. But when you consider that it’s the birthplace of two Nobel Laureates in Literature (Saint Lucia’s Derek Walcott and Trinidad’s V.S. Naipaul) plus celebrated writers such as Antigua’s Jamaica Kincaid, Haiti’s Edwidge Danticat, the Dominican Republic’s Junot Diaz and Jamaica’s Marlon James, it makes sense that the literary nature of your travels there extend beyond the beach read in your bag. Opportunities for writers and devoted readers alike to add some culture, inspiration and even education to their pleasure trips are growing, as celebrations of books and authors that take a decidedly more festive approach than your typical writing conference are on the rise. And many of them are low or no cost, which makes attending as simple as synching…

If you want to become a great writer, you need to understand how to choose words that will make your writing more vivid, precise, bold, original and memorable, as well as how to avoid common word choice errors. Your effectiveness as a writer depends on the rhythm and flow of your sentences, the organization of your material into paragraphs, and the arrangement of your paragraphs into a coherent whole. It depends on your handling of content, your point of view and your rhetorical strategies for engaging your audience. It depends on cosmetic features such as correct grammar and punctuation, and on deeper, more enduring qualities such as originality, creativity and imagination. And if you want to write with style, word choice is a good place to start. Like musical notes…

FOR YOUR CHILDREN’S BOOKS: Peachtree Publishers THE INSIDE STORY FROM: Niki Knippenberg, publicity and publishing associate MISSION: Peachtree Publishers is an independently owned trade book publisher specializing in children’s books, consumer reference titles (in health, education and parenting) and regional guidebooks about the Southern U.S., where the company is based. FOUNDED: 1977. PUBLISHES: 25 books per year. FOCUS: Peachtree specializes in quality children’s books, from board books to picture books to young adult and nonfiction. It also maintains a backlist of titles for adults. ADVANCES: Negotiated on a contract-by-contract basis. KEY TO SUCCESSFUL SUBMISSIONS: Follow our guidelines for content criteria, and include a strong cover letter. WHAT MAKES US UNIQUE: Our mission is to create books that captivate and educate young and old readers alike, with well-crafted words and pictures.…

JOANNE C. HILLHOUSE (“Literature With a Splash of Lime” Page 44) writes from Antigua, the island of her birth. Her poetry and short fiction have been widely published, and she’s written several books, including the novels Oh Gad! and Musical Youth, the children’s book Fish Outta Water, and the novellas The Boy From Willow Bend and Dancing Nude in the Moonlight. Hillhouse is also a freelance writer, editor and arts advocate, and can be found online at jhohadli.wordpress.com. STEVEN JAMES (“Rewriting the ‘Rules’ of Dialogue” Page 26) is a national bestselling novelist of several award-winning thrillers—Suspense Magazine says he “sets the new standard in suspense writing.” His book on the writing craft, Story Trumps Structure, received the Special Storytelling Resource Award from Storytelling World. When he’s not writing or speaking,…

For as long as I can remember, my mother has loved the obituaries. My sister and I would be eating our cereal, hair gone porcupine overnight, and Mom would read aloud ones she found notable. “Oh, look. This husband and wife died within days of each other. They d been married 52 years. Can you imagine?” “This one says, ‘There are no survivors ’ That is so sad. Are you listening?” My sister and I counted this as just one of Mom’s quirks. Then we both passed the 40-year mark and developed a sudden hunger for the obituary section. I’m always amazed by how much story can be expressed in so few words. On Nov. 23, 2013, Barbara celebrated her 100th birthday at a party at Calaroga Terrace. She was,…

Misunderstandings about mental illness can lead to inaccurate writing and contribute to widespread misconceptions about those with a real affliction. While characters who suffer from depression are plentiful in fiction, a faulty portrayal of the disorder can weaken a writer’s work. Let's debunk a few of the most common myths to help you get your facts straight. Naomi Elster is a medical scientist and a writer with bylines in Crannóg Magazine, New Internationalist, The Guardian and others. She co-founded the mental health–themed magazine HeadSpace in 2013, and has taught creative writing in a psychiatric hospital.…

Say more by saying less. Use dialogue to reveal traits, bring out subtext and escalate conflict. “We could get in big trouble for this.” “Why? We haven’t broken any laws.” In this two-line exchange, not only have we introduced underlying tension, but we’ve told readers a lot about each character. The first speaker is hesitant, apprehensive, a rule-keeper. The second is more brash, adventurous, more of a risk-taker. Look for ways to evoke and reveal. HINT: Disagreement can be much more revelatory than agreement.…

A ARTISTIC Vision We have to look at our own inertia, insecurities, self-hate, fear that, in truth, we have nothing valuable to say. It is true that when we begin anything new, resistances fly in our face. Now you have the opportunity to not run or be tossed away, but to look at them black and white on paper and see what their silly voices say. When your writing blooms out of the back of this garbage and compost, it is very stable. You are not running from anything. You can have a sense of artistic security. If you are not afraid of the voices inside you, you will not fear the critics outside you. — Writing Down the Bones by NATALIE GOLDBERG (Shambhala) B BE BUSY When writing your…

Dear FYSA, After submitting to seven imprints, all of whom passed, my agent said she “will no longer be actively submitting” my manuscript and asked what I am working on next. Some of my friends have had agents submit their manuscripts to as many as 20 imprints. Why isn’t my agent getting back out there with something she initially said she believed in? Sincerely, Short End of Stick Dear Shorty, This question, much like a myriad of other author questions, can best be answered by my third-grade teacher, Ms. Gamlin: Keep your eyes on your own paper. Whenever one of my clients tells me about something that an author friend “got” from his agent or editor, and we get to the “Why come not me?” portion of the call, I…

When Henry David Thoreau wrote about living in a cabin by Walden Pond, he titled his first chapter “Economy” He wanted to explain the economy of reducing life to its essentials, of living simply so that he might live richly. Reducing your language to its essential elements allows you to deliver your message economically, and that economy accentuates the working parts of your sentences. If you make every word count—or if you “omit needless words” as William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White put it in The Elements of Style—you’ll write with more energy and emphasis. Mark Twain declared, “Writing is such an easy thing to do. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words that you don’t need” Jack London observed, “You can’t wait around all day…

1 LIMCon Chicago Formerly known as Love Is Murder, this info-packed event could be love at first sight for writers of mystery, romance or suspense. WHEN: March 11–13, 2016. WHERE: Embassy Suites Hotel, Rosemont, Ill. (See conference website for special room rates.) PRICE: $279 for all sessions including Saturday banquet. WHAT MAKES THE CONFERENCE UNIQUE: Featured authors are available throughout the weekend to discuss their latest work, tell the “story behind the story” and answer questions, LIMCon president Diane Piron-Gelman says. WHO IT’S PERFECT FOR: Writers seeking advice and insight from published authors and technical experts in a relaxed, encouraging atmosphere. “The new LIMCon is embracing more genres to provide attendees [with] a broader experience” Piron-Gelman says. HOW MANY ATTEND: 250–300. FACULTY: Novelists Allison Brennan (Best Laid Plans), Michael Lister…

Writing Your Novel From Start to Finish: A Guidebook for the Journey  by Joseph Bates Starting a novel is exciting, but finishing it is the real challenge. With Writing Your Novel From Start to Finish, you’ll navigate the intricacies of crafting a complex work of fiction. To maximize your creativity and momentum, each chapter offers a combination of instruction, exercises, inspiration and guidance. No matter your level of experience, this book will help you successfully complete your novel-writing journey. ITEM #T6628 RETAIL: $17.99 YOUR PRICE: $12.99* Story Fix  by Larry Brooks You’ve written the first draft of your novel, but know it still needs work. Have no fear: With practical techniques from author and story coach Larry Brooks, advice on the realities of the publishing world and case studies of…