February 2019

Writer's Digest

The World's Leading Source for Writing Inspiration, Instruction and Information

Writer's Digest2 min read
Kaleidoscope
Last year, in a wave of #MeToo reckonings, I canceled a WD Interview with a subject who’d been accused of sexual misconduct. In its place, we ran a feature called “ROAR” that highlighted underrepresented voices, and I detailed the decision to kill th
Writer's Digest2 min read
Contributors
LILY DAYTON (“Digital Repository Limbo,” Page 14) is a freelance writer and investigative journalist who also writes fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction. Her work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Pacific Standard and The Rumpus, among other
Writer's Digest4 min read
Secrets to Share
How do you find someone you don’t know—someone who may not want to be found, but who has newsworthy information that may be in the public interest? “Start with talking with people you know, especially people who trust you,” says Greg Miller, Pulitzer
Writer's Digest3 min read
Fool Me Once
When published writers get in the same room together, they may start with small talk, then digress to family and other personal anecdotes, but inevitably the conversation always rolls back to the thread that connects us all: the business of writing.
Writer's Digest2 min read
Poetic Asides
More than a couple of poetic forms have their roots in song, and such is the case with the seguidilla, which began as a type of dance song. This Spanish seven-liner alternates rhymes and syllable counts. Here are the basic rules: • There are seven li
Writer's Digest4 min read
Death to Character Descriptions
Here’s the secret to writing compelling character descriptions: Cut them out entirely. A writer’s most powerful tool is the reader’s imagination. Don’t waste it, especially when you’re introducing characters and the particulars of their appearance. T
Writer's Digest5 min read
Digital Repository Limbo
Like many graduate students in creative writing, Carleena Angwin entered her MFA program at Goucher College with dreams that the manuscript she planned to write for her thesis would someday become a published memoir. But during her last semester, in
Writer's Digest1 min read
Repository Limbo, Cont.
Years later, Angwin, the MFA student from Goucher, read about the Amazon debacle and contacted Sinor for resources when she realized that her university’s new electronic submission policy would result in her thesis being freely available online. Afte
Writer's Digest7 min read
Through the Looking Glass
Questions of representation in literature are a tale as old as time, coupled with that other great conundrum: How can we write about experiences outside of our own? The best fiction has the ability to transport readers into another’s shoes and make r
Writer's Digest4 min read
Breaking In
1 The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls (commercial fiction, February, Berkley) “When a husband and wife are sentenced to prison, their devastated family must find a new understanding of love and loss, honesty and forgiveness.” WRITES FR
Writer's Digest7 min read
Up Close and Personal
Let’s start with a flashback. When my story was up for discussion in my first-ever writing class, our lanky, mustachioed instructor inhaled deeply and peered out at us. His eye glinting mischievously, he asked, “What is the point of view in this piec
Writer's Digest1 min read
Do It Yourself
Take a stab at practicing third-person limited POV with the following exercises. 1. This is a version of a prompt from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction: Try describing a barn from the point of view of a man who just learned that his son has died. D
Writer's Digest8 min readLGBTQIA+ Studies
Writing Queer
Ididn’t know it, but I was mentally ill until about age 16. Anybody queer was considered “mentally ill” until 1973, when the American Psychiatric Association removed the diagnosis of homosexuality as a disorder (though “sexual orientation disturbance
Writer's Digest10 min readCrime
Changing the Face of Crime Fiction
“It can be lonely. … And there have been times when I’ve retreated to my hotel room, emotionally exhausted from being visibly invisible all day.” That’s a line from Rachel Howzell Hall’s 2015 essay, “Colored and Invisible”—the inspiration for this ar
Writer's Digest2 min read
Meet The Writers
DANNY GARDNER (dannygardner.me) is the author of A Negro and an Ofay, nominated for three Best First Novel awards. He is also the brand ambassador of Bronzeville Books, a bespoke publisher of culturally relevant works based in Los Angeles, San Franci
Writer's Digest9 min read
THE WD INTERVIEW Cassandra Clare
Cassandra Clare wrote her first published novel in a closet. That is, in one of those “cozy” New York City spaces, wherein the bed doubles as an office chair and the desk looks suspiciously like a windowsill. At the time, she worked the night shift a
Writer's Digest7 min read
Know Thy Reader
Sure, we all want readers to buy our books and start reading. But we also want readers to finish them, to stay immersed in the story through the very last line—for the right reasons. But how do we accomplish that? How do we keep them flipping pages?
Writer's Digest4 min read
Funny You Shouldask
Dear FYSA, I’m confident in my novel and query, have had several requests for the full ms, and even one conversation with an agent, but I can’t seem to land representation. What are the top obstacles that writers face when trying to secure an agen
Writer's Digest6 min read
Ace Your Query Letter
Here’s an eye-opening statistic: Active literary agencies receive more than 20,000 query letters each year. Some agencies attempt to respond to each individually, and others respond only if interested. Agents have no obligation, not even an ethical o
Writer's Digest9 min read
Writing The Letter You’re Not Going To Send
Have you ever written a letter you knew you wouldn’t send? That’s the kind of letter your first query is going to be. You’re going to write it, but you’re not going to send it out to agents or editors. Why not? Because you’re going to use this letter
Writer's Digest1 min read
Amateur Mistakes to Avoid
1. Queries that have typos in the first sentence. 2. Queries that start with a nugget of wisdom: “Every step we take in life moves us in a direction.” 3. Queries with very small type, florid or unconventional fonts, and whacky background colors are
Writer's Digest5 min readPsychology
Take Two
Writers are often called crazy—for our neurotic tendencies, for our desire to spin stories out of thin air, for our intravenous coffee addiction. I, for one, embrace that title, taking my characters with me wherever I go—even to my therapist’s couch.
Writer's Digest3 min read
Conference Scene
Find out whodunnit at this long-running conference sponsored by the Florida chapter of Mystery Writers of America. WHEN: March 14–17, 2019. WHERE: Embassy Suites by Hilton Boca Raton, Boca Raton, Fla. PRICE: $380 for MWA members, $400 for nonmembe
Writer's Digest2 min read
Get The Most Out Of In-person Meetings
For many writers, the greatest perk a conference can offer is the opportunity to interact with editors and agents—industry professionals who have the power to move your career forward. This benefits the professionals as well, introducing them to tale
Writer's Digest4 min read
Conference Guide
GENRE-LA™ CREATIVE WRITING CONFERENCE, February 22–24, 2019, Los Angeles, CA. The Conference for Literary and Screenwriters of Genre. Take your writing to the next level by learning the secrets of success from more than 30 published masters, literary

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