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Archive for the 'Writing Tips' Category

It’s All a Question of Balance

Sell yourself.
Tell the truth.
Both very good advice. Both very necessary if you’re trying to get an agent or editor. The difficulty comes in balancing the two objectives.
Seth Godin writes about how marketing creates placebos in order to influence your opinions of a product. “The design of your blog or your package or your outfit is nothing […]

How to Write a Successful Stocking Stuffer Book

( News and Writing Tips )

In The Telegraph, Sam Leith explains how to write a successful stocking-filler bookhow to write a successful stocking-filler book.

Unstoppable Ideas

I’ve never really understood writer’s block. Or, at least not in the middle of a project. Typically my problem is being unable to stop ideas. I seem to have an obsessive-type of focus that comes when I’m really into something.
In graduate school, I was writing a collection of short stories for my master’s thesis. Time […]

Palahniuk Interviewed in Writer’s Digest

There’s a good interview with Chuck Palahniuk in the October issue of Writer’s Digest. The Fight Club author makes some suggestions that are useful to us all.
When interviewer Jordan E. Rosenfeld asks how he knows an idea can support a novel, Palahniuk responds, “It’s usually a premise that I can present in a short story […]

… Until You See the Whites of their Eyes

I had a soccer game with a late kickoff this evening. I’m getting too old for playing soccer at 11pm on a school night. We ended with a tie, and were happy with that result since we faced a pretty strong club. But I’m going to be dying tomorrow because I have a really early, […]

The Writing Dangers of Blogging

I wholeheartedly advocate blogging for writers. The regular routine of having to pound out some words, even when you’re not inspired, is invaluable for developing discipline and creativity.
But, there are some dangers. Some writers feel that blogging drains too much creativity and hinders their “real” writing. Others feel that blogging can absorb so much time […]

Instead of Using Return Receipts…

Use a self-addressed, stamped-postcard.
I know, I know. You’re thinking, “In addition to the freaking SASE, now I gotta fool around with a stinking postcard!” But it’s a good idea if you just can’t stand the possibility of the mailman stealing your manuscript for his bathroom reading.
Here’s the deal… Some authors, leery of our postal service’s invulnerability to snow […]

Miss Snark on Writing Hooks

 
Miss Snark offers advice on writing hooks in query letters.

Why That Author Won’t Help You

 
I’ve become one part therapist, two parts bartender, and one part strategist. Loyal Slushpile.net readers email me to ask about getting this or that author to assist in their quest for publication. “All he has to do is give my manuscript to his editor!” one exasperated emailer exclaimed. “He’s got an agent, a book deal, and […]

Kenyon Review Submission Tips

 
I’ve been a fan of The Kenyon Review for some time now. In addition to publishing the best of contemporary literature, the journal now has it’s own blog. The blog provides reading that is as worthy as the journal and they recently posted an entry that is near and dear to my heart: Notes from […]