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 Thursday, July 23, 2009
Does Your Novel Fall Victim to the Protagonist/Goal Switcheroo? (Plot-Protagonist Secret #2)
Posted by Jane
Today's guest post is the second installment of a three parter (ending Friday), and comes from the wise Jim Adam, who I met at a recent Writer's Digest Editors' Intensive. Visit his homepage, or follow him on Twitter.
Read Part I (How to Prevent Reader Boredom in Your Novel) here.
Some of us can't quite decide who we want our protagonist to be.
Sometimes this results in a story that contains a lot of POV
characters, but that isn't always the case.
In my novel, I had
one primary POV character for the first 250 pages. Then I switched to
another POV character for the middle 250 pages. And then I switched to
yet another POV character for the final 250 pages. As a result, no
single character was strong enough to tie the book together into a
cohesive unit. A master writer (or somebody with a body of fans
already in place) might have been able to get away with this sort of
thing. Unfortunately, I don't fit into either camp.
POV
switching is harder to pull off than professional writers like Stephen
King or George R.R. Martin make it look. Each POV character brings a
different goal with them, or at least a different slant on a goal, and
as a result, readers can easily find themselves several chapters into a
book, still unable to decide what the story is really about.
If
your story features a lot of POV characters, or if it switches around
between several protagonists along the way, make sure the story truly
requires it. For many of us, POV switching is a sign that we haven't
quite figured out what story we're trying to tell.
Goal Substitution
In
some stories, the protagonist stays the same but their goal changes. If not handled carefully, this can make a story feel like it's gotten
sidetracked, with the plot suddenly chasing after a will-o-the-wisp.
Sure,
plots don't have to be linear, but readers are liable to get confused
(or miffed) if we change either the protagonist or the protagonist's
goal without sufficient justification. In the movie The Matrix, Neo's
original goal is to find out what the matrix is. Partway through the
movie, Neo gets his answer. This forces him to adopt a new goal:
"Figure out how to fit into this new reality." Neo's goal change works
because it's integral to the flow of events, and thus it makes sense to
the audience.
For a protagonist to change goals on a whim,
however, or in response to some ancillary or trivial event: that's
going to be hard for many readers to swallow. Maybe it's a sign that
we're conflict averse, or maybe we think we're perpetrating a "surprise
twist." But whatever the explanation, the result may be the same: a
disappointed reader.
The flip side: if something happens (as
with Neo) to invalidate a protagonist's first goal (such as they
achieve that goal), the story needs to quickly provide the protagonist
with a new goal. Using our Wizard of Oz example, imagine Dorothy
showing up in Oz without any burning desire to get back home. Not only
does she wind up wandering around endlessly, now she doesn't even have
a meaningful goal.
One sign of a goalless protagonist is that
they get pushed about by events. Instead of acting, they react.
Even
if we throw life-threatening challenges at them, the challenges still
begin to seem disconnected and arbitrary. The result is generally that
the story looses its zip and, possibly, many of its readers.
A
goalless protagonist seems to be especially common in "translation"
stories where the main character is pulled out of a mundane life and is
suddenly transported into an amazing Other World. The Wizard of Oz and
The Matrix both show how to make such a premise work.
Many of
us who attempt translation stories, however, try to carry the story
with clever, amazing, and humorous interludes. The Munchkins,
Scarecrow, the sentient trees, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, Emerald City: we expect these elements to hold the reader's interest by themselves. Maybe they will, maybe they won't, but certainly Dorothy's story loses
something if she's wandering about goalless, just enjoying the scenery.
The protagonist's goal is the glue that holds a story together, giving events heightened purpose and interest.
In tomorrow's final installment, we'll look at examples that illustrate the importance of goal, as well as what happens in the case of an overshadowed protagonist.
Photo credit: nasebear
Craft & Technique | Guest Post
Thursday, July 23, 2009 5:13:10 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  Trackback
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Wednesday, July 22, 2009
How to Prevent Reader Boredom in Your Novel (Plot-Protagonist Secret #1)
Posted by Jane
Today's guest post is a three parter (ending Friday), and comes from the inimitable Jim Adam, who I met at a recent Writer's Digest Editors' Intensive. Visit his homepage, or follow him on Twitter. Warning: For any Harry Potter readers and/or movie fans who do not know the outcomes of Books 6 and 7, spoilers lie near the end.
Most people define plot as "the events that make up a story," and that's a fine definition. Except that for writers, it's a shortcut to the hot place. I've been burned by it, and as I read unpublished works by other struggling writers, I see them getting burned by it too.
Here's a better definition:
Plot is the set of actions that protagonists take to achieve their goal.
Wait, don't leave yet! I know you've seen this definition before and are bored by it. Maybe you have every right to be bored, but for many writers, the simplicity of this definition is misleading. We look at it and think, "Yeah, yeah, I learned that twelve years ago." But however simple the rule seems, many of us still haven't mastered it. We continue to churn out stories that are collections of disconnected events, stories that lack drive and intensity, and stories that wander off course.
What ties a series of scenes together, so that they feel truly connected?
- A common cast of characters?
- A common central conundrum?
- A common setting?
- Cause-and-effect relationships?
Even taken together, all of these elements aren't enough. Only by giving goals to key characters, and letting those characters drive the story, can we make a sequence of events hang together as an integral plotline.
Maybe it sounds easy, but I continue to struggle with this concept in my own writing, and based on what I'm seeing in various workshops, I'm not alone.
The One Sentence Plot Description
My editor tells me that I should be able to describe any novel in a single sentence of the form:
Protagonist must do X or else Y will happen.
Does that sound reductive? Too linear? Maybe it is. But for those of us struggling to get our act together, simpler is better. Sadly, for many of us, our one-sentence plot statement would be something like, "Gretta must do what she's told when she's told until I reach the desired word count."
Characters without strong goals become widgets, pushed about by our word processors. They meekly subvert their personality to the predefined plot outline. As a result, they come across as passive, unreliable, dull.
The Right Protagonist for the Job
Consider The Wizard of Oz. When Dorothy steps into the Land of Oz, her eyeballs bulge. Goodness, they certainly don't have flowers like these in Kansas! As she wanders about, a soap bubble lands and out steps Glinda, the Good Witch of the North. Glinda tells Dorothy, "To get back home, follow the Yellow Brick Road. That'll take you to the Wizard, and he'll be able to help you."
Dorothy straightens her back and stomps her foot. "I most certainly will not! Go visit a Wizard? Ha. What do you take me for?" And so Dorothy tramps off into the wilderness, carefully avoiding the Yellow Brick Road whenever it comes into sight. A thousand pages later, she's still at it, no closer to getting home than when she started.
The problem here isn't that our shadow Dorothy lacks a goal, but that the author has selected the wrong Dorothy for the story. This alternate Dorothy's hard-headedness makes her look like a dolt, someone that readers will have a hard time identifying with, sympathizing with, or caring about.
The more cynical reader, of course, sees this alternate Dorothy for what she really is: a convenience for the author, who wants to write an epic story but can't be bothered to come up with a true plot, and so makes do with an episodic travelogue.
If a protagonist (or villain) has the path to victory laid out for them, and then turns away from it for some arbitrary reason, the story loses intensity. Some readers may even lose their faith in the story's trustworthiness.
At the risk of being pelted with bludgers, I'm going to use Harry Potter to illustrate this point. In the Potter series, at the end of Book 6, Half-Blood Prince, the evil Voldemort has won. Voldemort's nemesis (Dumbledore) is dead, and Voldemort's Death Eaters are inside Hogwarts itself—locked in battle with Dumbledore's loyal followers.
Voldemort's path to victory is clear. He need only join the fight and he can carry the day. Instead, his Death Eaters flee Hogwarts, and for the next three months, Voldemort quietly sits on his hands so that Harry can have his traditional summer vacation at home.
In this case, the villain is forced to turn his brain off precisely because the protagonist of the story isn't the right protagonist. Harry is neither ready, willing, nor able to take up Dumbledore's mantle. If Voldemort played his cards, Book 6 would end with Harry Potter dead, and Book 7 of the series would vanish.
The arrangement here reminds me of a Warner Brothers cartoon: A wolf and a sheepdog walk up to a time-clock and punch in. "Morning, George," the sheepdog says. "Morning, Ralph," the wolf says. They move to their respective positions, the 8 a.m. whistle blows, and they begin feuding over the sheep. When the 5 p.m. whistle blows, they clock back out and walk home together amiably.
When a story manipulates key characters, forcing them out of character in order to achieve something the writer considers important, the result can become farcical. The best way we can avoid this fate is to:
- Make sure our key characters have solid goals that they pursue vigorously.
- Make sure our protagonist is well-matched (both in ability and in temperament) to the obstacles he's expected to overcome.
If the obstacles aren't great enough, reader boredom will likely set in. If the obstacles are too great, we'll be forced to cheat in order to reach a happy ending. Of course, both the first Oz book and the last Potter book cheat. The Wizard of Oz suddenly decides that witches melt if touched by even a drop of water; The Deathly Hallows introduces three godlike magical artifacts to get Harry across the finish line. What this shows, I think, is that if we have a strong story, nothing's going to stop us. However, for those of us with boxes full of rejection slips or an interest in producing the very best story possible, we need to carefully match our protagonists to the obstacles they face, and vice versa.
Photo credit: principia aesthetica
Craft & Technique | Guest Post
Wednesday, July 22, 2009 10:00:16 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Monthly News from Glimmer Train
Posted by Jane
Glimmer Train has
just chosen the winning stories for their May Short Story Award for New
Writers competition. This competition is held quarterly and is open to
any writer whose fiction hasn’t appeared in a print publication with a
circulation greater than 5,000. No theme restrictions. Word count
range: 500-12,000. Their monthly submission calendar may be viewed here.First place
Noa
Jones of New York, NY (pictured above), wins $1200 for “Brother Ron”. Her story will be
published in the Fall 2010 issue of Glimmer Train Stories, out in
August 2010.
Second place
Farley Urmston of Sherborn, MA, wins $500 for “Pretending”.
Third place
Benjamin Janse of Jamaica Plain, MA, wins $300 for “The Great Storm”.
A PDF of the Top 25 winners can be found here.
Deadline approaching!
Very Short Fiction Award: July 31.
This competition is held twice a year and is open to all writers for
stories with a word count range not exceeding 3,000. No theme
restrictions. Click here for complete guidelines.
--
If
you didn't know, Writer's Digest partnered with Glimmer Train to
publish two compilation volumes of the best stuff from their Writers Ask newsletter. Be sure to check them out.  
General | Getting Published
Wednesday, July 22, 2009 9:47:33 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Tuesday, July 21, 2009
5 Elements of Query Letters
Posted by Jane
 Earlier this year, I taught an online class where I offered "extreme makeovers" on query letters. To help ensure everyone took away some concrete advice, every attendee was invited to submit a 1-page query for review. It was a successful workshop, so we're repeating it again this Thursday. In preparation for the workshop, I take the query letters that are submitted and categorize their basic elements into "good", "OK", and "needs revamped." The five elements I look at are: - Personalization. What effort has the writer made to ensure this letter has been customized for a particular editor, agent, or publishing house?
- Hook. How effective is the hook? Is it too long? Is it clear? Does it cover everything an editor/agent needs to know to say, "Yes, I've got to see more!"
- Bio. For nonfiction, people often slip up and don't emphasize the right aspects of platform or credentials. For fiction, it can be difficult to know what to mention, if anything, when you're unpublished. So I always give examples showing the best-case scenario, as well as examples when you rely on your hook and overall charm or professionalism to carry you to the finish line.
- Basic info. Have you included the necessary information about title, genre, word count?
- Opening/closing. There are lots of red flags and stumbles that can make it onto the page. Some aren't deal breakers, others are. I show examples of both.
I speak at conferences frequently about query letters, but seeing real examples of what's working and not working can be the best way to learn how to fix your own. Go here for the link to register ($99); after the event has concluded, you'll have access to the recording for a year. Plus I'll share a recap of the event on this blog, offering some takeaways for everyone. In the meantime, here are some excellent query resources. Essential Blogs
Great Posts From the Guide to Literary Agents blog
Want to know more about upcoming online events? Click here for more.
Conferences/Events | Getting Published
Tuesday, July 21, 2009 12:38:14 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Monday, July 20, 2009
Turn Your Dragons Into Princesses
Posted by Jane
Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet is one of the greatest writing advice books of all time. You can highlight nearly every passage as an inspirational gem. But there isn't any quantifiable advice in it.
As much as Writer's Digest focuses on the nuts-and-bolts of craft/technique, and beats the drum of marketing and promotion, everyone on staff recognizes that what sets the successful apart from the unsuccessful is rarely quantifiable.
Maybe there are some numbers you can look at, for a vague generalization:
These numbers only point to a larger felt sense that a writer knows in his gut, physically (but may intellectually ignore) when it comes to recognizing the effort or determination required.
But your motivation and desire to write or express yourself doesn't lie in the numbers. Whether you like it or not, it keeps its home in the hopes and fears that go much deeper than the writing goals you might have set for yourself.
One of my favorite passages from Rilke:
Perhaps all the dragons of our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us once beautiful and brave. Perhaps everything terrible is in its deeps something helpless that wants help from us.
We all have some kind of dragon holding us back, and we typically give it a name that obscures its real identity. Maybe your dragon is "not enough time" or "writer's block" or "publishing industry is unfair." But is that really the true, felt sense of what's holding you back? Only you can tell. (And I recommend this book to find out what that true, felt sense might be.)
Every creative person, every artist, needs someone who encourages them, who can see the potential inside, who can see the princess in the dragon. My father told me as a little girl that I could do anything and be anything that I wanted. And I could tell he really believed it. And so I believed it too.
What do you hang onto? What can turn your dragon into a princess?
Note: It's a busy week for me, so I'll have guest blogger Jim Adam here on Wednesday-Friday. (Curious what I'm up to? Check out my live, online class on query letters this Thursday, and the Midwest Writers Workshop.)
Photo credit: james_michael_hill
Craft & Technique | General | Getting Published
Monday, July 20, 2009 4:45:36 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Friday, July 17, 2009
Best Tweets for Writers (week ending 7/17/09)
Posted by Jane
 I
watch
Twitter, so you don't have to. Visit each Friday or Saturday for the week's best Tweets. (If I missed a great Tweet, leave
it in the Comments, or if you want more of a particular category of Tweet, also comment.) Best of BestWhy do agents turn down good books? Outstanding summary
@jamesscottbell
The Top 10 Blogs for Writers
@MattPenna
43 Helpful and Terrific Blogs for Writers
@DebNg
Conference Prep/Networking In A Bottle--AND What You Can Do If You're Staying Home!
@AnnaDeStefano
Platform 201 for Busy Writers: @glecharles writes about finding 1,000 true fans
@dbschlosser
Stand AloneDon't respond to a query rejection by saying you know you can sell me on your book over the phone. Convince me with your writing.
@agentgame
Tired of seeing coffee, dreams, weather, beds, alarm clocks, screaming in first paragraph. Everyone does this. Don't be that writer.
@kate_mckean
Please don't spend time in your query telling me how much movie potential your book has.
@agentgame
Best of Twitter
Friday, July 17, 2009 5:26:39 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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10 Steps to Put Social Networking Under Your Spell
Posted by Jane
Today's guest post is from content maven Meryl Evans. She helps
businesses build and maintain relationships with clients and prospects
through content. She’s also a long-time blogger who started blogging on
June 1, 2000. Follow Meryl on Twitter.
Do you scream for help in removing the spell that social networking
has cast over you? Do social network sites like Twitter, Facebook,
LinkedIn, and YouTube hypnotize you for hours, stealing your magical
paid work time?
Social networking may affect more people in our industry because we know writing can be a lonely job, especially those
doing it on a freelance basis from a home office. Even introverts
desire to connect with someone and the Twitters of the Internet enchant
us.
Here are some easy clues that signify you're bewitched, bothered, and bewildered by social networking:
- You press "get new e-mail messages" constantly.
- You're always looking for @yourname Twitter replies.
- You check for wall updates on Facebook.
- You watch the latest viral video on YouTube.
Many
folks (me included) are guilty of these behaviors even though we have
loads of work. Our work doesn't fulfill our human need for connection.
Social networking can and does for many of us.
Look all you
want, but you won't find a magical overnight cure. Instead, call upon
common sense, organization, and getting things done (GTD) thinking.
These strategies will help you dip into the social networking cauldron
without double double, toil and trouble—or tracking down eye of newt
and wool of bat.
- Accept that you can't keep up with all of the
social networking sites. You're not the only one struggling with this.
It's OK not to join or use everything. (See #8.)
- Post a profile on
major social networking sites. You don't have to do it all at once.
Notice I've said "major" sites.
- Connect your accounts
with other sites. For example, LinkedIn has an application that imports
your blog entries into LinkedIn. Facebook has the same and can also
import your Twitter feed (may not be a good idea, but that's not in
this recipe). FriendFeed is a pro at integrating your account with
others.
- Pick a few sites to use on a regular basis. Remember writing and reading blogs count.
- Schedule your participation. Twitter isn't about posting one tweet
after another. You could start with five minutes in the morning, again
at lunch time, and do a last check in the evening. Whatever works for
you. Routine turns things into a habit.
- Turn off e-mail
notifications. For sites you don't use regularly, turn off your e-mail
notifications so they don't drive you crazy. (See #7 for another
option.)
- Filter all social media e-mail into a single folder.
If you still want to receive e-mails knowing when someone connects with
you, then set up e-mail filters to send all messages from Facebook,
Twitter, LinkedIn, and so on into one folder. It's less bothersome than
messages in your inbox and in your face.
- Join other networks
as you come across them. Your connections will invite you to yet
another social network site. You never know who uses one site more than another, and you never know what the next big thing in social networking will be
unless you have a crystal ball and an available medium. Be open.
- Do
social networking when stuck. Social networking is a marketing tool for
writers, therefore it should be a no-guilt activity as long as you
focus on building relationships and sharing knowledge.
- Close
the browser or application. Get off the social network site or related
application. Don't leave it open. Douse whatever tempts you.
This
10-step recipe will put you in charge of
stirring bubbles of your social networking time. And be vigilant: networks
can still charm their way back and cause time management trouble.
Photo credit: Steph Gary Evie Jack and Thomas
General | Guest Post | Marketing & Self-Promotion
Friday, July 17, 2009 9:23:46 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Read My Writing and Tell Me What to Do
Posted by Jane
I laughed out loud today when reading a post by one of my favorite bloggers, Derek Sivers, where he describes the single most common request he receives from people.
It's EXACTLY what we experience every day at Writer's Digest—and he offers the absolute right response!
… the single most common request … “Take a listen to my music and let me know what I should do.” …
Most of the time, the music is good. Not the best or worst thing you’ve ever heard, but good. … The music itself usually doesn’t make it clear what someone should do.
What if I was in a different industry and people said:
“I’m trying to find a spouse. Look at my photo and tell me what I should do.”
or:
“I want to be a millionaire. Look at my bank account and tell me what I should do.”
The real answer is “it depends … ”
- What are your goals? Why are you making music?
- What have you done so far? What’s worked? What hasn’t?
- What is your reaction to criticism or setbacks?
- Are you future-focused or present-focused?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- What are your habits? Are you growing or coasting?
- How do you measure success? Fame? Money? Emotional response?
- What’s your timeline? 1 year? 3 years? 30 years?
- … and 50 other questions that would make this article too long.
It’d take many hours of conversation to get enough information to
responsibly tell someone what to do.
I receive a lot of phone calls from writers who ask, "Can you please take a look at my writing and tell me what to do?" Or they simply want to be told if they should continue in their efforts to get published.
Without having a deep understanding of the person, it's tough to offer useful information. I usually ask a couple of the questions above, but end up delivering a few of the key business facts: You have to offer something unique and be passionate enough that you don't stop in the face of (years of) rejection.
Do you wonder if you have what it takes? Really only you can answer that question.
But if you're looking for more advice, here are a few places to start:
Photo credit: Stillframe
Getting Published
Wednesday, July 15, 2009 2:50:01 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Monday, July 13, 2009
Love Prompts? You Need PROMPTLY.
Posted by Jane
Creative writing prompts (or finding inspiration) is one of the most popular, evergreen topics at Writer's Digest. So this week we're very proud to launch a new blog called Promptly by Writer's Digest editor Zachary Petit.
Promptly will offer prompts, activities, and inspiration—and a little positive reinforcement in the form of free books that get sent our way—to help you get your pens moving and keep them that way.
For any of you who are fans of our weekly newsletter prompt, or Robert Brewer's Wednesday poetry prompt, you need to check out Promptly!
Craft & Technique | Fun
Monday, July 13, 2009 5:24:34 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Saturday, July 11, 2009
Best Tweets for Writers (week ending 7/10/09)
Posted by Jane
I
watch
Twitter, so you don't have to. Visit each Friday or Saturday for the week's best Tweets. (If I missed a great Tweet, leave
it in the Comments, or if you want more of a particular category of Tweet, also comment.) Best of BestDo Self-Publishing Services Take Advantage of Writers?
(via @selfpubreview)
@thecreativepenn
10 Places to Find Freelance Writing Jobs (via @debng)
@Mediabistro
A MUST read blog post about book sales - quality stuff
@BubbleCow
Want to be a working writer? New blog post about the business of staying published
@AnnaDeStefano
Knowing Characters by using the Proust Questionnaire
@Le_Shack
65 Useful Blog Posts for Brand New (and some veteran) Freelance Writers
@FreelanceWJ
Stand AloneWhen you don't get your calls returned, that doesn't mean you are unimportant - usually it means the other person is poorly organized or doesn't return calls well. The lesson to be learned: Don't let others shape your view of yourself.
@sanderssays
Writers and Bloggers: Finding the time (to write) is not the issue as much as finding the will to do it. -Dave Barry
@DebraMarrs
At ThrillerFest, had intellectual tussle about next 'big thing' w/agent Miriam Kriss. She says 'steampunk.' If u have any, send it her way.
@KFZuzulo
Getting Published, Agents/EditorsWhat Agents Want: The Same Thing, Only Different
@debbimack
What *every* author should know about Bookscan!
@Bookgal
Podcast: author @sethharwood on podcasting to print publishing success
@thecreativepenn
Excellent wisdom on writing children's books [from editor at Arthur A. Levine]
@merylkevans
Craft & TechniqueHow not to start a story (via JA Konrath)
@mariaschneider
10 Tips for Creative Writers by Dennis G. Jerz
@BellaVidaLetty
The Art vs. Craft Gap: a Writer’s Paradox (via @WriteToDone)
@thecreativepenn
A Writer's Number One Mistake
@GodsAngel1
Conflict—start something
@motsjustes
How writing disagreements differs from real-life confrontations by @ElizabethSCraig
@dbschlosser
Snappy, informative post by @VictoriaMixon: all you need to know about writing a novel in 1000 words.
@careyamy
Some ways to figure out the emotional heart of your story
@chavelaque
Editing plastic fake-lip whistles out of your manuscript -- great writing analogy/advice by @ElizabethSCraig
@dbschlosser
Advice on pacing your book's plot
@BubbleCow
A very interesting article on getting your first draft done: First Draft Secrets: Five Simple Steps
@rumberg
Publishing News/Trends & The Future of PublishingFree is wrong for writers; Freemium might not be
@glecharles
The Book Buying Industry is a Mess
@selfpubreview
A very long, but interesting & thoughtful look at the future of print books
@wordywoman
Marketing/PromotionWhy Every Author Needs a Powerful Online Presence by @MichaelHyatt
@AuthorTech
Three steps to building an author platform: Get around, get connected, get online.
@glecharles
Interesting post offering six methods to help promote your novel
@BubbleCow
Good author resource from Berrett-Koehler on managing and using Amazon
@janetgoldstein
Do's and Don'ts of promotional emails, for authors and publishers--good post from Shelftalker blog
@victoriastrauss
Just posted: Marketing is a service, a breakthrough point of view
@sanderssays
Blogging
8 Blog Tips from Tim Ferriss
@BubbleCow
Self-Publishing
Self publishing is not Print On Demand (via @BubbleCow) BUT POD is a fantastic option for people!
@thecreativepenn
Twitter on TwitterHow I Tweet — FAQ by @chrisbrogan. A really awesome guide for Twitter etiquette.
@Mediabistro
Online & Offline Resources/ToolsResources for the Beginning Novelist
@alittlesandy
The Writing Life / Philosophical / Inspirational"Eat, Pray, Love" author muses on creativity. Captivating.
@PowerJourneys
Silencing the Voice That Says You're a Fraud (WSJ --a must read for writers!)
@danyelsmith
Looking for more social networking and updates from Writer's Digest?
Best of Twitter
Saturday, July 11, 2009 5:38:12 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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