May/June2013 Issue
May/June Issue
Writer's Digest Magazine
Preview the Issue
Buy It Here
Give a Gift SubscriptionSave 58%!
Website of the Week
Author Archives: Zachary Petit
If You’re Feeling Down and Out About a Rejection Letter …
Consider James Lee Burke. Sure, his novels are everywhere these days. Bookstores. Airports. Bestseller lists. But here’s how they got there. As Lindsey O’Connor detailed in our profile of the author, Burke published … Read more
More From Bestseller Joe Hill
Author Joe Hill (NOS4A2, Horns, Heart-Shaped Box) describes his parents, Stephen and Tabitha King, as “the best writing teachers in the world.” Here he offers a few more thoughts on what he has learned from them, and shares a story about collaborating with his father on “Throttle.” Read more
15 Things a Writer Should Never Do
Based on interviews with authors over the years, conferences, editing dozens of issues of Writer’s Digest, and my own occasional literary forays and flails, here are some points of consensus and observations: … Read more
Learn the Basics From a Bestseller: 10 Things Every Writer Should Do in Their Novel
The following is a guest post from bestselling author Brenda Novak. In writing about the keys to penning a hit novel, Novak reveals a valuable point: It often boils down to nailing … Read more
Actors-Turned-Authors: How Many Copies Did They Sell?
We always hear about those gargantuan celebrity book deals … but we rarely find out how those books actually fared on the shelf. The results may surprise (or sadden, or maybe even … Read more
Rejection Letter Bingo
From the March/April 2013 issue of Writer’s Digest, here’s Rejection Letter Bingo. Print it out and play along. But hurry—I’m getting close! —Zachary Petit is an award-winning journalist, and the senior … Read more
Bug-Out Bags for Writers
As we all know from watching shows like Doomsday Preppers, you’ve got to be ready to get out of dodge fast if things hit the fan. So what should a writer have … Read more
Jodi Picoult: Top 10 Writers I Admire, and Why
It’s time for another writerly list. If you liked Erik Larson’s Top 10 Essentials to a Writer’s Life and Sherman Alexie’s Top 10 Pieces of Writing Advice I’ve Been Given (Or That I’ll Pretend … Read more
Happy Birthday to the Last Writer You’d Ever Expect to Plot a Murder
And now, for your Friday moment of writerly Zen, a curiosity found in the June 1922 issue of Writer’s Digest: “I have always adored detective stories; I have always thought they must … Read more
Famous First Lines Reveal How to Start a Novel
On this day in 1873, writer and politician Edward Bulwer-Lytton died. One thing he left behind: The first line from his novel Paul Clifford: “It was a dark and stormy night …” … Read more
More 5-Minute Memoir
After you read Diane Speare Triant’s touching 5-Minute Memoir, “The Centenarian’s Secret,” go deeper into history with this article detailing the other treasures her 105-year-old subject kept in his cabin over the years: http://www.wellesleywestonmagazine.com/winter07/mcnutt.htm. Read more
Writing Desks: I’ll Show You Mine, You Show Us Yours (Plus, a Holiday Giveaway)
As writers, we tend to disappear. Our friends and family know it well—they’ve grown accustomed (or, with hope, at least mildly tolerant) to us slinking down the stairs at 1 a.m., quietly … Read more
Happy Holidays From WD
Happy holidays from all of us here at WD. Here’s to hoping your own holidays, no matter what they are or where they may take you, are safe, filled with writing and … Read more
Writing challenge! Can you write an opening sentence to a story incorporating these 3 words? (Winners will be published in WD)
Looking for a little Friday procrastination in the form of a writing challenge? Close that Excel spreadsheet you’re working on, minimize your boss’ emails or postpone your daily chores (come on, nobody … Read more
Lee Child: Behind the Scenes of Success
Bestselling Jack Reacher creator Lee Child isn’t big on structured outlines, formal research or (fortunately for his fans) writer’s block. Learn more about how it all works for him in these online-exclusive outtakes from our January 2013 issue.
Read more
Where Debut Novels Are Born
Our “Lessons From First-Time Novelists” roundtable continues with a discussion of where the featured authors’ inspiration for their novels came from—plus tips for sparking your own creativity. Read more
Wade Rouse: Top 10 Ways to Stay True to Yourself in Publishing
Since many TANR readers seem to have enjoyed Erik Larson’s list of the Top 10 Essentials to a Writer’s Life and Sherman Alexie’s Top 10 Pieces of Writing Advice I’ve Been Given … Read more
10-Minute Literary Halloween Costumes: Dress Like Your Favorite Character
Rather than dressing up as a pirate or a sexy nurse this Halloween, why not take a nerdier approach and go out as your favorite book character? Here are a few of … Read more
Flowchart: How Do I Publish a Book?
One of the questions we get asked the most at Writer’s Digest: How do I publish a book? Well, we decided to finally answer it in this flowchart from our November/December 2012 … Read more
‘Why I Write’ (One of the Best Things We’ve Read All Week)
Earlier today, I happened upon these striking words from Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk’s 2006 Nobel Prize acceptance speech: “The question we writers are asked most often, the favorite question, is, ‘Why do … Read more
Sherman Alexie’s Top 10 Pieces of Advice for Writers
National Book Award winner Sherman Alexie’s birthday is Sunday, and his new title Blasphemy: New and Selected Stories was released this week. To celebrate the short-story writer (War Dances), poet (The Business of … Read more
How to Get the Most Out of a Writing Conference
In only a few weeks, our staff will be venturing west for the Writer’s Digest Conference in Los Angeles, set for Oct. 19-21. On tap this year, writers can expect keynotes by … Read more
Happy Birthday, Stephen King!
Today is Stephen King’s 65th birthday. To honor the man who is perhaps the most well-known living writer, here’s a linkfest of all things King. Don’t forget to have an It cupcake or two … Read more
Stephen King Goes to the Movies: The Author’s Best (& Worst) Cameos
Here, for your moment of Friday Zen (… or your Freaky Friday, I suppose), are all the Stephen King film and TV cameos I could rustle up on YouTube. King frequently makes … Read more
