Innehållsförteckning för May/June 2023 från Writer's Digest

Characterize Through Another Character’s Eyes My father calls me a “character,” because I tend to say the first thing that pops into my head. My mother calls me “individual,” which is her polite way of not quite understanding the way I dress. —Me Before You, Jojo Moyes (Contemporary Fiction) Corinne’s 15 years younger than I am, and there’s always some emergency—a carburetor that’s dead, a fight with her boyfriend, a crash on 95N. Corinne is one of those people for whom life is just the space between crises. —Small Great Things, Jodi Picoult (Mainstream Fiction) Characterize Through Action War was declared at eleven-fifteen and Mary North signed up at noon. She did it at lunch, before telegrams came, in case her mother said no.* —Everyone Brave Is Forgiven, Chris Cleave…

Thank you for all that you do. I know that there isn’t much you actually have to do for me but you have the biggest heart. I’m glad to have you in my life. You give me a second [of your time] and it makes me not feel as alone as I would even though we do have a tendency to argue. I’m working on stopping that so that we only have to worry about having a good time.” The author of this hand-written note is unknown, as is the recipient. It was found in a book returned to the Oakland Public Library in Oakland, Calif., likely used as a bookmark. It says so much, yet reveals so little. Who were these people? What was their relationship? Did they ever…

Use the following writing prompts to write a minicollection of interconnected short stories in the genre of your choosing. Think about how these scenarios would play out differently depending on whether you write romance, thriller, science fiction, literary fiction, dystopian, etc. 1. Write a short story of no than 500 words about a character who reports to work only to quit unexpectedly later that day. 2. Write another short story of no more than 500 words set in the same workplace on the same day, but from another character’s POV. This character was witness to the resignation of the character from the first story but doesn’t fully understand what happened. For whatever reason, the resignation turns this person’s day upside down. Why? 3. Write another short story of no more…

Nobody can buy something they don’t know about, which means writers following all paths to publication need to know how to hook attention and convince an audience. However, drafting marketing copy is a different skill than other writing. Before we get into the details for writing digital marketing copy, let’s first understand how it differs from longform or prose work. MARKETING COPY FOUNDATIONS Purpose Marketing copy generally needs to be short and snappy, with a clear value proposition. The specific goal will depend on where in their purchase journey the buyer is, but generally it’s to drive awareness of your offering and show how it aligns with a need. Audience Mindset The buyer’s journey is important to keep in mind. Even if no money is exchanged, you’re asking for trust…

Neely Tubati-Alexander Love Buzz (Women’s fiction/contemporary romance, May, Harper Perennial) “A chance romantic encounter during a wild night at a Mardi Gras bachelorette party sends straitlaced Serena Khan’s carefully constructed life into chaos as she searches for the guy from Bourbon Street.” WRITES FROM: Mesa, Ariz. PRE-LOVE BUZZ: In 2020… I started writing again after many failed attempts. I had two young kids, my husband and I were both working from home, and it was a lot!… out of a combination of grit and spite, Love Buzz came a few months later. TIME FRAME: I received the scathing developmental edit on my first book… I had to decide if I could salvage that first book or if I should scrap it and take what I learned and apply it to…

Dear Author, It was lovely to meet you at the conference last week; thank you for emailing me those photos! I would love to read more about the manuscript you are currently pitching. Can you send me your pitch, first few chapters, and synopsis? —Signed Agent McAgent Logline. Elevator Pitch. Query Pitch. Plot Synopsis. The terms thrown at hopeful authors can be overwhelming. To make matters even more confusing, the definitions of these terms vary depending on whom you ask. It’s enough to make an author throw their manuscript at a wall. And after you get your mind around the differences between these terms? How do you create them? What are the rules? What do agents and publishers want? The good news is that there are no hard and fast…

Revision and editing advice to take your first draft to the next level. Regardless of what you write, readers have the same expectation—they insist on stories with language that demonstrates economy, effectiveness, and energy. While entire how-to books could be written about each of those goals, this article focuses on the 10 most impactful story-improving editing tips I’ve shared with students and clients. A terminology caveat—while some people use revising and editing interchangeably, I see that as an error. Because revision focuses on bigger-picture things such as plot, character, and structure, it should happen soon after you’ve got a full draft. Editing is the language- and sentencelevel polishing that happens after you’re done revising. Why spend energy perfecting a scene’s language only to decide later that the entire scene needs…

One thing is certain in today’s publishing environment: Writers have choices when it comes to length. They can choose to write and publish book-length works, long-form journalism, personal essays, and short stories, but they can also go super short. What’s shorter than a short story? Flash fiction, microfiction, and even flash nonfiction. The exact length of flash fiction and nonfiction can vary from source to source, but none of it runs longer than 1,500 words—and many sources think 1,000 words is pushing it. Concision is a strength in a society that’s often reduced to tweets, memes, captioned images, and brief videos. As a result, there is a thriving market for flash fiction and nonfiction. Here are a few publications that pay for flash writing. BAFFLING MAGAZINE (BafflingMag.com)  Baffling Magazine is…

Writing and publishing advice for picture books, middle-grade, and young adult storytelling. There’s an alchemy to making picture books when pairing the skills of a talented writer and illustrator. An interesting story will make for an exciting book to illustrate, and at best, become a coveted favorite among readers both young and old. Likewise, the reverse is also true; a lame story will be boring to illustrate, and at worst, dull to read both for your illustrator and for your readers. As an illustrator, I have my preferences for the types of manuscripts that I like to illustrate, but any well-crafted story will spark my creativity. While finding an illustrator is usually in the hands of an art director or book editor, there are a few things an author can…

Last year, I helped my cousin edit her college admissions essay. She had to write 600 words on a topic of her choosing. Aside from the fact that the prompt was so broad as to be overwhelming and meaningless, 600 words isn’t much space to explore an idea. She sent the essay to me, and I left a few comments here and there, but she’s a great writer and didn’t need much help. The essay topped out at around 625 words, and fully and clearly explained her idea. Well done, Hannah. Until she copied it into the submission portal. It was too long, and the “submit” button wouldn’t appear until the essay was shortened. So, in a Google Doc, we tweaked and fiddled with contractions, word choices, and rephrasing until…

A s I speak with Toni Lepeska about her grand-prize win in the Writer’s Digest 3rd Annual Personal Essay Awards, it strikes me by the passion in her voice that this is someone who takes her writing career very seriously. She’s been a professional journalist for 30 years, and she says that her favorite stories to cover have always been about people rising above adversity. “Those stories, I think they resonate with people because we all have something that challenges us and that maybe we think we cannot beat,” she says. “Those stories can be so inspiring to people.” She recounts a particularly impactful story of a woman who had a facial tumor that led to her being permanently disfigured—but it was her optimistic attitude around her diagnosis and treatment…

Old Gods of Appalachia” is a horror anthology podcast set in an alternate Appalachia where darkness moves beneath the surface of some of the oldest mountains in the world. Our stories contain strands of actual folklore and regional history woven together with original elements of horror and suspense. “Old Gods of Appalachia” is the first professional podcast to be nominated for a World Fantasy Award and has won dozens of other awards for writing, storytelling, and other areas of production and performance. Episodes are released biweekly and average a 30–minute runtime with bonus-length episodes ending each season. Writing serialized fiction comes with its own set of challenges. From meeting multiple (sometimes tight) deadlines to maintaining consistency within ongoing plots, subplots, and character relationships over the course of a lengthy narrative,…

Now in its 25th year, the Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers aims to guide writers of all ages, genres, and skill levels to reputable and useful resources to inspire, educate, and support them in every stage of their writing journey. Whether you are using writing as a creative outlet, looking to find a path toward traditional publication, make a career as a freelancer, or start your own independent publishing business, the websites on this list can help make those goals a reality. While some things about this list remain the same (like our goal of including sites that offer free or affordable content, free trials, or tiered memberships for services that are of high quality), this year’s list includes 28 new websites we’ve found particularly enjoyable or helpful.…

When I’m writing a story, I think often of Roland Barthes’ question in The Pleasure of the Text: “Is not the most erotic portion of the body where the garment gapes?” I don’t write romance, and I don’t write many sex scenes in my stories, but it’s the perfect writing metaphor for me, especially when I’m writing flash fiction, because tiny stories flow from tantalizing glimpses that lure the reader forward. As much as a writer might want to tell the whole story, a good miniature is created around hints and fleeting appearances. The story moves through the power of suggestion; it lives in the bliss of its mystery. Before I wrote flash fiction, which is defined as a story less than 1,000 words, I’d trained myself as a novelist,…

Before me, separated by 600 miles and a glitching video call, is Brandon Taylor. Behind him is his library of books, ensconced on his bookshelves, in a stack on his coffee table, enjoying the late-morning sun pouring in from the windows along their spines. Our conversation has been littered with references to Alexander Chee, Samanta Schweblin, Lauren Groff, and Karl Ove Knausgaard, among others. It takes no time at all for me to know this is a person who loves the written word in its various forms—from the classics to fan-fiction, literary fiction to romance novels. “Beverly Jenkins,” he says, “so amazing. What an icon.” We’ve just been discussing the necessity of kindness one must offer oneself when you’re no longer writing in the dark but writing in the public.…

Seasoned literary agents on the business of publishing. GENRES: All categories of adult nonfiction CLIENTS INCLUDE: Julie Bogart, Barbara Oakley Rita Rosenkranz founded her boutique agency in 1990 after working as an editor and interacting with agents at major publishing houses including Random House; Scribner Books; and Outlet, a division of Crown. “I was attracted to their autonomy and appreciated the freedom to be productive on my terms,” she says. Rosenkranz represents bio-graphy, business, cooking, health, history, how-to, humor, illustrated books, music, parenting, popular reference, popular science, spirituality, sports, writing, and general interest titles. “By listening in and looking closely, I learned various skills from my publishing bosses that I use every day,” she says. “I work closely with clients whose work needs refinement. And I try to think creatively…

Imagine walking across a tightrope over a deep canyon. To me, creative writing feels like tightrope walking. (Metaphorically. I would not attempt walking across actual rope.) For any writing project, we start on one platform with an idea, a premise, a desire to tell a story or share an experience. Before us is the tightrope, an exhilarating yet terrifying path we must cross in many tiny steps without toppling if we are to make it to the platform (“the end!”) on the other side. Ten years ago, Nik Wallenda (of Flying Wallendas circus family fame) walked a 1,400-foot tightrope over the Grand Canyon. Live, on television. He used neither a tether nor a safety net. Some writers (“pantsers,” as in writing by-the-seat-of-your-pants) are like Nik—they don’t bother with, say, scenes…

In keeping with this issue’s theme of “Keeping It Short,” I’ve chosen two novellas for Frontlist/Backlist. I don’t often opt for novellas when reading for pleasure; more often than not, I pick standard-length novels or, lately, sweeping doorstops ranging from 500–900 pages. While there’s something to be said for being immersed in the world of a huge novel for hundreds of pages, novellas offer a different kind of immersive experience. As Ian McEwan said in the November/December 2022 Writer’s Digest interview, “That’s probably the longest form of fiction in which you can hold the whole thing in your mind all at once.” That concept is true for both selections here. They explore events that happen years apart but are inextricably related. Frontlist The Presence of Absence by Simon Van Booy…

STEVE SHELL is an award-winning storyteller, writer, and voice actor born in the far reaches of southwest Virginia. Steve currently lives in Asheville, N.C., where he taught high school English for 16 years and was a host and main stage performer for The Moth StorySLAM from 2015–2020. Steve was a nationally ranked slam poet for a long time and does really nerdy stuff like playing in the Society for Creative Anachronism where he studies and teaches medieval bardic traditions and produces “The Knowne World Bardcast,” a podcast focused on the music and oral traditions of medieval reenactors. CAM COLLINS is a native of Wise, Va., where she cut her teeth on the creepy folklore of the region. A lover of all things that go bump in the night and a dyed-in-the-wool…

A SHORT LIST OF SHORT POETIC FORMS Since we’re keeping it short in this issue, what better time to share a short list of poetic forms that keep things short—at least in terms of lines and syllables. No rambling free verse or repetitive sestinas here. Instead, play with one of these tiny poems. The Fib This is a trick form, because this poem is often short (fewer than 10 lines), but it could theoretically go on forever. It’s a poem that follows the Fibonacci sequence for determining how many syllables are in each line. So, one syllable in the first line and the second line, followed by two syllables in the third line, three syllables in the fourth line, five syllables in the fifth line, eight syllables in the sixth…

Sabiha’s Dilemma, Alma’s Loyalty, The Cuckoo’s Song, The Climb, Return to Me, Hollywood Dreams (Young adult; romance; Pishukin Press) HAD YOU CONSIDERED TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING? I was traditionally published with my debut novel, which I have re-released as Sabiha’s Dilemma. I had a dream run with my first book: signed with a top agent, had multiple offers from publishers, shortlisted for prizes pre-and post-publication, won a literary prize.… As time passed, though, the publishing industry suffered greater economic stress.… opportunities were shrinking. WHY SELF-PUBLISH? Self-publishing became the obvious choice for me as I genre hop and had a rather voluminous backlist of previously published novels. After writing my debut young adult novel, I fell in love with the characters and wanted to write a series titled Sassy Saints, but after my publisher…

Ismita Hussain, the daughter of Bangladeshi immigrants, is a Georgia native. She grew up speaking Bangla, Hindi, and Urdu in her Desi household. Ismita graduated from Emory University where she studied human health and Italian. After working in neonatal and geriatric care departments in several Atlanta hospitals, Ismita switched from a career in healthcare to one in publishing, joining Great Dog Literary in 2021. With a passion for disability representation and advocacy, Ismita also is a founding member of Disability in Publishing, whose mission is “to create community, provide resources, and increase accessibility across the industry in order to increase disability visibility and retain the talent of disabled publishing professionals.” She currently serves on its Board of Directors. “I’ve had so many wonderful mentors and role models that have helped…

WRITER’S DIGEST: WritersDigest.com The online hub for everything WD, including the “Writer’s Digest Presents” podcast! Join a writing challenge, get writing and publication advice from bestselling authors, and learn how you can enter any of our six writing competitions. WRITER’S DIGEST UNIVERSITY: WritersOnlineWorkshops.com Take intensive writing classes taught by world-class instructors at WDU. Whether you want to improve your copy editing skills, write the first draft of your novel or memoir, or learn tips for querying agents, the courses, boot camps, and virtual conferences have what you’re looking for. WRITER’S DIGEST TUTORIALS: Tutorials.WritersDigest.com If you prefer your online education to be on-demand to fit your busy schedule, the 350+ recorded tutorials are available to watch whenever you are. Monthly and yearly subscriptions are available to watch any video at any…

I started writing personal essays more or less accidentally. I had (and still have) what began as a monthly column for the online magazine Author but soon turned, despite my mild objections, into a daily column. I didn’t think I had enough to say about writing and publishing to fill 400 words, five days a week. And I was right! After only a month, I didn’t want to pen another piece about query letters or agents or markets. So, I decided to tell a story. While I had been telling fictional stories for years, I was not accustomed to personal narrative, at least not on the page. I told stories to my friends and family all the time, but this, I knew, would be different. Fortunately, Author was intended to…

Micro memoir—short standalone pieces, often exploring a moment in time, drawn from personal experience—is the hottest new category in publishing. The best ones combine truth-telling with narrative tension in 200 words or less, and unlike personal essays, which can be about anything, micro memoir focuses mainly on past events—or explores a current life-changing situation through the lens of the past—so you need to quickly get to the highlights—and the insight. I teach a class on micro memoir at NYU and cover it in my new book Writing That Gets Noticed: Find Your Voice, Become a Better Storyteller, Get Published. Follow these nine tips when writing micro memoir: 1. OPEN A WINDOW INTO THE PAST Writing a micro memoir is about remembering something or some-one or some incident in your life…

CALIFORNIA ANNUAL GREATER LOS ANGELES WRITERS CONFERENCE, produced by West Coast Writers Conferences. In-person, August 4–6, 2023. Writers of all genres and disciplines benefit from this popular educational and inspirational three-day event on the craft and business of writing. Our 35th conference will feature multi-track programs for what we call the 3-A’s™ (Aspiring, Active, and Accomplished) for writers of fiction, nonfiction, and screenplays. Topics will be presented by 40+ literary agents, editors, veteran educators, bestselling authors, and industry professionals in progressive streams of seminars, workshops, and panels. AGLAWC will be presented hybrid with both in-person and selected virtual workshops. Live critique workshops include Great Beginnings for Novels & Screenplays, Query Letters, and more. There are free one-on-one pitch sessions with literary agents and publishers looking for new talent with polished manuscripts.…