Innehållsförteckning för February 2017 från Writer's Digest

1 Writing Overtime In “Put Your Workday to Work” (Page 35), writers not unlike you share how their day jobs actually help their writing—providing fresh ideas and fueling creative routines. Our online-exclusive outtakes offer more ways to help you turn your own daily grind into something more. 2 Beyond Your Writerly Bubble International book club favorite Liane Moriarty (WD Interview, Page 46) talks more about the pros and cons of taking reader feedback to heart, and drawing novel inspiration from real life. 3 Record-Keeping Made Easy Download our ready-made pitch, query and payment trackers (as seen in “Rebuild Your Desktop,” Page 31) to streamline the business of your writing—and make this your most efficient year yet. To find all of the above online companions to this issue in one handy…

POETIC FORM: HAIKU SONNET Sometimes the best things become even better when combined. That’s the thinking behind the haiku sonnet. Poets fill 14 lines with haiku, accomplished in one of two ways: 1. By writing four three-line haiku with a concluding couplet (as in the example below). 2. By writing 14 one-line haiku with each line including a seasonal word and a juxtaposition of images. (Most masters of English-language haiku don’t actually count syllables.) Here’s an example by a Poetic Asides reader. "Waterfall," by William Preston White water tumbles from ledge of rock to talus. Rain clouds pass on by. This example follows the traditional 5-7-5 syllable pattern for haiku, but remember: Modern haiku can vary from that pattern. ( Learn more about haiku at bit.ly/ haiku-revisitedWD.) Spray swirls in…

The clues are everywhere. If you’re interested in discovering where longtime New York Times bestselling mystery writer Archer Mayor gets his ideas—among his fans’ favorite questions—you might start by taking a peek into his office in Vermont. I did. On a bookshelf is a copy of a well-thumbed medical reference book, The Pathology of Homicide. Nearby is a collection of the Journal of Forensic Sciences. Atop another shelf are numerous embroidered police force badges and caps. But the real giveaway is a sign that sits near the 66-year-old author’s vintage oak roll-top desk. It reads: “The Corpse Stops Here.” Mayor—a lean, fit, gray-haired six-footer—laughs as he holds up the sign and explains, “My daughter gave me that. She has almost as black a sense of humor as I do.” As…

Transferrable Skills I lucked out in my day job: It’s at a library. Being surrounded by books helps me to envision mine alongside them. (It is, however, irritating when I find a poorly written book when I’m struggling to find an agent!) It also helps my query writing: I read back covers every day to study how they word plot and premise, how much is given, what’s held back. —B.B. MORGAN “Every job I’ve held contributes to my writing. Along with the ability to think critically and observe, I’ve learned patience and perseverance, and how many interesting things, countries, cultures and people are in the world. All contribute to the process and story building.” —LAURIE RAWLINSON EVANS “I’ve been a reporter for 17 years and studied journalism with internships in…

Liane Moriarty is a tightrope writer—her characters and plotlines striking a near-impossible balance between the likeable-relatable and the magnetic-eccentric, the irresistibly humorous and the unbearably tragic. That she writes from Australia lends a certain exotic quality to her myriad foreign editions (not many American readers have spouses who say things like, “Don’t be ridiculous, you goose, you know I’m bloody besotted with you”), but it’s the universality of her characters and themes—inherently recognizable neighborhoods and schoolyards plunged into What would you do? scenarios—that make her a reader favorite and book club staple worldwide. Consider how Madeline, a central character in her 2014 smash Big Little Lies (which unravels hidden threads connecting three families, with deadly consequences), contemplates turning 40: “She could still feel ‘40’ the way it felt when she…

THE CHALLENGE: Write a line (one sentence only, 25 words or fewer) that best describes what’s happening in 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@fwcommunity.com (entries must be pasted directly into the body of the email; attachments will not be opened). NOTE: WD editors select the top 12 entries and post them on our website (writersdigest.com/your-story-competition). Join us online in early March, when readers will 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. DEADLINE:…

FOR YOUR WEB-FRIENDLY WRITING: Salon WHAT STANDS OUT & WHY: Salon was first named Website of the Year by TIME magazine in 1996—a year after its founding—and in the two decades that followed has continued to collect accolades, from Webby and Online Journalism awards to praise from GLAAD and Forbes. Coverage ranges from incisive political commentary to enterprising investigative pieces and heart-wrenching personal essays. Notable past contributors include Roger Ebert, Glenn Greenwald, Joan Walsh, Mark Benjamin and Susan Shapiro. —TM ABOUT: “An early pioneer among entirely digital major media outlets, Salon covers breaking news, politics, entertainment, culture and technology through investigative reporting, commentary, criticism and provocative personal essays. Our articles and original videos bring a variety of voices to the discussion and make the conversation smarter.” FOUNDED:…

Do Yourself a Favor Take it from me: The moment it dawns on you that you’re failing at something is not a good time to start keeping track of your efforts. And the moment it sinks in that you’re succeeding? Well, that’s not a great time to get your act together either. Bad form though it may be to admit it, I can speak to both from personal experience. When my first novel was out on submission, I knew enough to save every email from my agent regarding where he was sending it or what response had come in. But I didn’t deem it necessary to log all this information in a single document—until the day we parted ways. There’s nothing like wading through your mess of an inbox rereading…

Feeling especially frustrated or daunted? If you’ve received a rejection of some kind, pull it out and read it again. If you’re not there yet, imagine the letter you’re afraid to get. Now, try to channel something constructive by writing a short note to the sender (not—I repeat, not—to be sent). A little humor can also help. A friend of mine and I both received what we felt were fairly harsh rejections from the same editor of a coveted publication. Comparing letters, however, we decided this editor simply had a blunt style. To vent our feelings, we wrote our own absurdly harsh letters in the voice of the editor to fictional rejection recipients to make ourselves laugh. We were surprised by how much better we felt afterward. Excerpted from A…

An avid runner, Andy Kifer had a brief stint as a high school track and cross-country coach before sprinting into publishing, first as an intern at Farrar, Strauss and Giroux and then as a literary scout at Aram Fox Inc. In 2012 he joined the team of agents at The Gernert Company. Kifer seeks to represent literary fiction, smart genre fiction (especially science fiction) and nonfiction by “brilliant writers who can make you fall in love with a subject you never knew you cared about.” You often can find Kifer running in his Brooklyn, N.Y., neighborhood, Prospect Park. Online, you can find him at thegernertco.com. Kara Gebhart Uhl (pleiadesbee.com) writes and edits from Fort Thomas, Ky.…

Dear FYSA, I’ve already been over my manuscript once and believe it’s a strong first draft. My next step is to get developmental notes from an independent editor and make revisions according to her critique, then start submitting to agents. Because so many agents are hands-on with editing, is it fair to assume that two advance revisions on my part are enough—and then I’ll comply with any additional suggestions from the agent? Yours, Reggie Rewriter Dear Reggie, Your question is interesting because the process you’ve described here to establish “readiness” is more quantitative than qualitative, and that isn’t exactly the right tool of measurement. It’s a little like me thinking that nailing those two grilled cheese sandwiches I made for lunch qualifies me to cook at a Gordon Ramsay restaurant—as…

Secondary characters can be colorless tagalongs or they can be the most vibrant people on the page. Yet sometimes, even when you labor to give them memorable quirks, distinct personalities and a vital role in the plot, they can still appear simplistic and flat—in effect, their own stereotype. For secondary characters to be fully rounded, they need to be as three-dimensional, conflicted and changing as your main character. One of the most dynamic measures of a secondary character’s genuineness is his changing relationship to your main character. When rendered effectively, that relationship will ring true with readers. Secondary characters are at their best when they possess personalities we don’t expect, and when their actions surprise us. Here are three ways to make them stand out. 1. GIVE THEM CONFLICTING SIDES.…

1 Alabama Writers Symposium Enjoy a heaping helping of Southern hospitality at this boutique event in the town that inspired Harper Lee. WHEN: April 20–21, 2017. WHERE: Various sites around Monroeville, Ala., including Alabama Southern Community College, the Monroe County Museum and the Monroeville Community House. PRICE: Sessions are free to the public. Tickets to Thursday’s gala dinner are $75; for Friday’s author luncheon, $50. WHAT MAKES THE CONFERENCE UNIQUE: The Alabama Writers Symposium seeks to create a collaborative, inviting and casual atmosphere conducive to sharing ideas and inspiring conversations in what conference director Alisha Linam calls “the literary capital of Alabama.” “Monroeville is the birthplace of Harper Lee, the childhood inspiration of Truman Capote and the cradle of Mark Childress and Cynthia Tucker,” she says. “Attendees have the opportunity…

Fierce on the Page by Sage Cohen You have everything you need to do the writing you’re meant to, yet the path to success can be difficult to find and follow. Veteran author and writing guide Sage Cohen believes that ferocity is your best compass. In this collection of contemplative and inspiring essays, you’ll unlock the secrets to naming your deepest desires, eliminating the challenges that hold you back, and committing to your practice. ITEM #S5309 RETAIL: $16.99 YOUR PRICE: $11.99* DIY MFA by Gabriela Pereira DIY MFA is the do-it-yourself alternative to a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing. By combining the three main components of a traditional MFA—writing, reading and community—it teaches you how to craft compelling stories, engage your readers and publish your work. Learn how…

SAGE COHEN (“Map Your Writing Time,” Page 28) is the author of Fierce on the Page, The Productive Writer and Writing the Life Poetic (all WD Books), as well as the poetry collection Like the Heart, the World. A prize-winning poet, essayist and fiction writer, Cohen has run her own marketing communications agency for 20 years. She offers a range of support and learning experiences for writers at sagecohen.com. DEB NORTON (“Story Structure, Simplified,” Page 39) is a writing coach and story analyst for screenwriters, novelists and nonfiction writers. She is a master teacher at Hedgebrook and leads immersive retreats in story structure and the feminine heroic archetype internationally. She is the author of Part Wild: A Writer’s Guide to Harnessing the Creative Power of Resistance. Norton lives in the…

My son, Elliot, sits in his walker seat, cooing and blathering in his ever-developing baby language. Sunlight streams through the bay window, falling on my coffee, which cools too rapidly. My mental to-do list grows with even greater swiftness. Despite my impending tasks and the panic they induce, I open a Word document and begin to write. I don’t write any stories. I don’t work on the next Great American Novel (that is hiding in a Documents folder, untouched for a year). I don’t craft delicate poetry. I simply write about whatever is on my mind. These days, that’s a lot. Elliot was born five months ago. Two months later, my little brother, Levi, unexpectedly took his own life. The loss of my brother—one of my dearest friends—and my introduction…

A good quote is the equivalent of a poem, or the occasional sip (read: pint) of good bourbon—a poultice for the creative soul. Such tiny, perfect revelations. A simple sentence can spawn an entire universe of one’s own. Such concise inspiration is essential for writers, poets, journalists, dreamers—anyone with a creative urge haunting the depths of their bones. Quotes float around the heart of that urge like fireflies, revealing a mosaic of what it means to be a creative, what it means to share a universal calling that so many of us cannot turn our backs on. Find these illustrated quotes and many others like them in Treat Creativity Like Cats © 2016 by Zachary Petit. (This excerpt appears with permission from HOW Books.)…

1 Eric Scott Fischl Dr. Potter’s Medicine Show (speculative fiction, February, Angry Robot) “In 1878, a traveling medicine show trundles the wet roads of the Pacific Northwest, hiding a dark alchemical secret from which some attempt to escape, while others seek vengeance upon its architect.” WRITES FROM: Western Montana. PRE-SHOW: I’d been writing for many years, without sending anything out for publication. I eventually decided that it was time to get something out in the world. I wrote three manuscripts in a short period, deciding that [this book] was the one I really wanted to focus on. TIME FRAME: I wrote the first draft in about a month. I spent another month revising and polishing before sending it out to agents. Fun fact: The person who is now…

Out of more than 1,000 entries, Writer’s Digest editors and forum members selected the following 10 story openers. If Trevor had glanced back, he might have noticed the now-empty canoe trailing his, or glimpsed the hunter re-emerging to aim a second arrow. —Anthony Ausiello It wasn’t like Ray to go quiet on us, but we honestly didn’t think anything was up until we saw his empty boat. —Paula Hunter Rowing with paddles whilst rowing about money, I couldn’t believe I had agreed to this honeymoon: far too much canoeing and not enough canoodling. —Carolyn Ward As he approached the waterfall, he remembered how his wife, following behind, had insisted he pay his life insurance premium prior to their vacation. —Erica Griffin She awoke to her wrists and ankles bound by…

From Sherlock Holmes’ Watson to Harry Potter’s Hermione, the appeal of the sidekick in stories is universal. While we may be inspired or amazed by a protagonist, we’re hard-wired to fall for a sidekick because we all grew up being one—to our parents, an older sibling, or a bigger kid on the playground. Sidekicks fulfill several functions heroes can’t, and they make us love them while they do it. A good sidekick can provide support for the protagonist—or inadvertently screw things up for her. He can pivot the plot in sudden, unexpected directions, or bring a fresh set of eyes to a problem. Often the sidekick is the hero’s closest confidant: He can comfort or inspire her, act as a sounding board for her innermost yearnings and confessions, protect her…

CONFERENCE GUIDE FEBRUARY 2017 • 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 GENRE-LA™ SPECULATIVE FICTION CREATIVE WRITING CONFERENCE, January 27–29, 2017 at the DoubleTree Hilton, Los Angeles West Side, CA. If you write Science Fiction, Fantasy, Steampunk, Cyberpunk, Horror, Military Science Fiction, Urban, Historical, Epic Fantasy, and/or Space Opera,…