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Q&A With Author Steve Almond: Literary Journals, the Perks of a Thousand Rejections

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:25:33 GMT

Literary journals—If you’re like me, you’ve circled them in a bookstore at one time or another in your writing life, sniffing at their doors, dazzled by their contents, wondering what they’re all about and just how the authors found their way in.

While I talked to different editors and agents for the literary journal roundup in the Nov/Dec issue of WD, let’s take it a step further—why not a writer?

Author Steve Almond, one of my favorite scribes in WD land (and source of one of the coolest quotes from the magazine in 2009: “All readers come to fiction as willing accomplices to your lies”) has been published in a slew of magazines and journals, and he took the time to share his thoughts on the subject.

Steve is the author of two story collections, and several books of nonfiction. He has two new books coming out—Rock and Roll Will Save your Life, a memoir about his obsession with bands we’ve never heard of (April) and a book of short shorts and short essays, This Won't Take a Minute, Honey (summer).

Here, he riffs on the role of literary journals, the art of writing short, the benefits of endless rejections and how you might eventually break into such publications yourself. For more about Steve, check out his reading and teaching schedule here.

Where all has your short fiction ended up, and how many publications do you estimate it has landed in?
My stuff has appeared in lots of tiny magazines and a few of the bigger literary ones. Mostly, the small ones. Oh, and I was in Playboy a few times. I always feel a little weird when people mention that, like I'm a pornographer.

When did you sell your first piece, and was it a struggle for you to break the barrier from unpublished to published? What was the key?
Well, I didn't "sell" a piece for quite a while, but the first pieces that got taken were in 1995. I can remember getting the acceptance, after so many rejections. It was the happiest five minutes of that whole decade. Then I went back to my default position of self-loathing. I'd probably gotten 100 rejections before the first one got taken, maybe more. The key to getting published was finally sending out a story that didn't suck. Don't mean that to be glib. It's just true that a lot of my early work was just really weak—more like summaries than actual stories. Very imitative of the writers I was reading. And it just takes a while to get past your evasions and to start to speak honestly (or let your characters speak honestly) about the stuff that matters to you most deeply.

What are the perks of publishing in literary journals and magazines?
For me, it really just kept me going in the face of rejection and doubt and unhappiness. It was like I was still in the game, as long as there was one magazine that hadn't rejected a particular story. It's also a kind of laboratory for emerging writers. There's incredible competition, so if you want to place a story, you really have to get better in a hurry.

Downsides?
Well, I guess for me anyway, it took a long time. I was publishing in small magazines for nearly a decade before I was able to get a publishing house interested in a story collection.

How do you think they have helped your career?
I don't think of them as having helped my "career." I think of them as having made me a better artist. That certainly helps your "career," but it really depends on what your priorities are. You've got a lot of folks these days who would rather find some kind of "platform" (God, I hate that word; it's just so marketing-scummy) than to practice their craft the old-fashioned way.

How do you view the importance of literary journals today, and what do you think their role is on the writing landscape?
As I've said, they're the laboratory for serious emerging writers. They're not for people who just want to be famous. They're for folks who are learning to take themselves and their work more seriously. In other words, they're insulated from the commercial concerns that act upon art like hydrochloric acid.

What are the basics of a solid short story—one editors like to read?
I edited a literary magazine for a year, so I can tell you what editors want most of all is something fresh. I saw hundreds of tepid stories of suburban angst, the kind of story where nothing is really at stake. I also saw a lot of writers who needlessly confused the reader, or flogged the language. In the end, I just wanted a writer who was going to find a way to tell me the truth about the stuff that mattered to her. Period. It will go without saying that the reader should never be confused, that there shouldn't be any extra words, that the story should dwell in the most complicated and charged moments.

What should you never forget when submitting?
That even a good story is likely to get rejected. I've been rejected thousands of times. You have to accept that as part of the arrangement, and allow it to make you more humble—and stubborn to succeed.

How does writing short pieces sharpen your overall craft ability?
To me, short stories are the hardest sort of prose to write, because every word has to count. You can't allow any bum adjectives, or metaphors to slip past your censor.

Some publications aspiring writers should consider submitting to:
I'm biased toward the ones that I read, but some of the ones I dig are Tin House, Southern Review, New England Review, Missouri Review, The Normal School, and Opium. But there are dozens out there, and they all have great stuff in them. Not being a Pollyanna, that's really the way it is.

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WRITING PROMPT: Be Detestable
Courtesy of Steve Almond, feel free to take the following prompt home or post your response (500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring) in the Comments section below. By posting, you’ll be automatically entered in our occasional around-the-office swag drawings.

“Look at a recent story and write the whole thing from the point of view of the most detestable character. That's what I do when I'm stuck.”

Stephen King on Creating Believable Bad Guys

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:30:44 GMT

They’re not hard to spot: One-dimensional. Predictable. Occasionally drawing up half-hearted ruses and doomsday scenarios, perhaps with a cigar and some maniacal laughter.

Bad bad guys.

So what’s a key to breaking out of the stale villain mold, no matter what you write?

Stephen King offers his thoughts in today’s installment from the Top 20 Tips From WD in 2009 series. (We’ve almost breached the top 5!)

No. 6: Villains in Shades of Gray
“Writers must be fair and remember even bad guys (most of them, anyway) see themselves as good—they are the heroes of their own lives. Giving them a fair chance as characters can create some interesting shades of gray—and shades of gray are also a part of life.”
—Stephen King, as interviewed in the May/June 2009 issue of WD (click here to check it out).

Be sure to check back Wednesday—I’ll be posting an interview with the spectacular Steve Almond (The Evil B.B. Chow, Candyfreak, (Not That You Asked), My Life in Heavy Metal) about literary journals—submitting, their role today, how they can help you sharpen your abilities, and how being rejected thousands of times isn't the worst thing that can happen to you.

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WRITING PROMPT: Sunset
Feel free to take the following prompt home or post your response (500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring) in the Comments section below. By posting, you’ll be automatically entered in our occasional around-the-office swag drawings (I feel another one coming on next week …).

The sun is setting in dramatic hues of pink and tangerine, but nobody is watching it—they’re all staring at him, instead.

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Also, do you have a writing book and magazine wish list? Win it at the Writer’s Digest Shop! Ditch the gifted blank notebooks and fancy pens and get a hold of what’s really on your list this year by entering for free. Visit writersdigestshop.com/win-your-wish-list for more.

Mitch Albom: The Keys to a Memoir (Plus Prompt)

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:18:47 GMT

Whenever my nonfiction gets personal and I write a column or essay featuring myself as a character, I tend to really cut loose—and often end up with 3,000 words for a 750-word piece. I’m powerless: As soon as “I” comes into play, my internal journalist and editor takes a coffee break and returns, aghast, to find an unruly piece loaded with, well, way too much information. He then takes out his literary chainsaw and (painfully, word by word) slices the whole thing down to something manageable while I look on, shuddering.

Which is why, to cut down on the pain later and focus my writing, I try to remind myself of the first sentence of the following advice before I start (especially, Lord forbid, I ever stretch such a piece into memoir length). Here's the latest in our Top 20 Tips from WD in 2009 series.

No. 7: The Keys To a Memoir
“Anyone who tries to write a memoir needs to keep in mind that what’s interesting to you isn’t necessarily interesting to a reader. Are you writing a book because you just think it’s fascinating, or because you just want to tell your story? I don’t think those are good reasons. A memoir should have some uplifting quality, inspiring or illuminating, and that’s what separates a life story that can influence other people.”
—Mitch Albom, as interviewed in our October 2009 issue (check it out here).

Also, sorry for the radio silence Wednesday—we’re in the process of plowing through the endgame for the February 2010 issue of WD magazine right now. Be sure to check back next week—I’ve got a Q&A about literary journals lined up with one of my favorite authors to work with (for those of us in the Literary Journal Challenge).

Onward!

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WRITING PROMPT: “You did what?!”
Feel free to take the following prompt home or post your response (500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring) in the Comments section below. By posting, you’ll be automatically entered in our occasional around-the-office swag drawings.

You take the manuscript, cross out his name, and write your own.
“I’ve earned it,” you say.

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Befriend Zac on the new Writer’s Digest community, or befriend Promptly on Facebook!

Good Writing: Can it Be as Simple as Leaving Your Living Room?

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:05:25 GMT

I’ll look down, and panic will strike when I realize my 3rd-grade penmanship, combined with an errant washing of my hands, has failed me: The list is gone.

I tend to be a creature of routine and plotting, functioning via to-do lists, more often than not scrawled in semi-blurred inks on my left palm. Moreover, since I took up editing over staff writing jobs, my mandatory out-and-about adventure quota has decreased, allowing me to nestle further into my routines and stay indoors after work—which has made creative writing a bit harder. Which has made me realize that some routines can be like electric blankets: Cozy and appreciated by the cats, but perilous if left on too long.

Thus, to combat the beginnings of my inner reclusive Salinger (and break out of recurring themes/characters/plots), I try to remind myself what longtime WD freelancer Art Spikol said last summer in a piece about how to spend writing downtime. His advice is the latest in the Top 20 Tips from WD in 2009 series.

No. 8: Leave the Living Room
“Get out of the house. Don’t go for a walk in the park. Go to places you might not normally frequent: the emergency room, a local bar, a bowling alley, an all-night diner, a comic book store. They’re all slices of culture, mini democracies that will help erase stereotypes in your writing.”
—Art Spikol, from the May/June 2009 issue of WD (click here to check it out).

Taking things one nerdy step further, I try to plan small writing adventures outside of my usual haunts to brainstorm prompts, knead half-baked story ideas, people watch, and even stumble upon the makings of freelance pieces.

You never know what’s going to happen, just like sitting down to a blank page—and it’s damn freeing to ditch the electric blanket every so often, even if whatever I discover does end up scrawled on my palm for a later date.

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WRITING PROMPT: The Wedding
Feel free to take the following prompt home or post your response (500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring) in the Comments section below. By posting, you’ll be automatically entered in our occasional around-the-office swag drawings.

You attempt to cut the cake, but the knife slides into something else.
The crowd looks on, and forks start clinking against glasses.

Jennifer Crusie, Jerry Jenkins, Writing Communities and Tamagatchis

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:47:13 GMT

Online writing communities: In some ways, I used to liken them to those digital pets kids used to tote around, Tamagatchis. Roughly the size of an egg, you nurtured your puppy on a petite screen, while your real puppy sat by his empty dish, bored, with heart-breaking puppy eyes beaming skyward. Similar to a neglected manuscript, it made me wonder: Why waste time talking about writing and fostering a presence online when you could make a few clicks and actually write?

Eventually, though, I poked around a few sites, chatted with some people involved, and dove in—which revealed that the communities can be more than a mere scoop of digital food in a digital bowl. The networking can be great, the camaraderie a wellspring of support (even in the face of soul-destroying rejections), the inspiration inspiring, and overall the right site can be a great complement to your actual writing—if you spend your time properly, as bestseller Jennifer Crusie points out in the latest from the Top 20 Tips From WD in 2009 series.

No. 9: Smart, Savvy Support
“Don’t get caught up in the politics and don’t take anything personally. Think globally, act locally and ignore the wingnuts, and you can gain a lot from becoming active in a writing community. The bottom line is that if you’re going to survive in publishing, you need a smart, savvy support group that understands your needs and problems.”
—Author Jennifer Crusie, from our October 2009 issue (click here to check it out).

Also from that issue (tip No. 8.5?), here’s a simple yet practical tip from Jerry B. Jenkins on the topic.
“Google ‘[your city or genre] writers groups’ and you’ll be amazed at what you find. You’re anything but alone in this loneliest of professions.”

Have a great weekend. (A post involving mid-90s toy metaphors? It can only be Friday.)

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WRITING PROMPT: This?!
Feel free to take the following prompt home or post your response (500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring) in the Comments section below. By posting, you’ll be automatically entered in our occasional around-the-office swag drawings.

It’s been days.
You’re dehydrated and wild-eyed.
And now this.
You traveled all this way for this?

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Speaking of writing communities, befriend Zac on the new (Tamagatchi-free) Writer’s Digest community, or befriend Promptly on Facebook!

Burning Question: Pitch or Write On Spec? (Plus Prompt)

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:05:27 GMT

In the world of journalism and freelance nonfiction writing, there are those (everyone from Hunter S. Thompson to some of my colleagues and writer friends) who say to never, ever, not even if you were the last writer on Earth and the editor of The New York Times (having also survived the zombie apocalypse) asked you to write a series of reflective cover-story personal essays on being the last writer alive, to never write a single freelanced word until you’ve pitched the material to an editor and she’s signed a contract to buy it.

Why waste your time working with no guarantee of ever being paid?

Which can be a valid question. But there are also those, like writer Art Spikol or nonfiction guru Susan Shapiro—the author of the latest advice in my Top 20 Tips from WD in 2009 series—who look at it a different way, and advocate that writing for free is a great use of downtime, and potentially an excellent way to prove yourself to an editor.

No. 10: Don’t Always Pitch—Write!
“Some creative people—like me—are no good at pitching. I find it’s easier and more productive to craft the real thing than to try to write about what I’m going to be writing about. If you want to be a perfect pitchman, go into advertising. If you want to be a writer, read great writing and try to emulate it.”
—Susan Shapiro, as written in our January/February 2009 issue (click here to check it out).

From my highly biased tip, I’m sure you can tell which side of the debate I stand on. While it definitely varies depending on how much time you may spend on an assignment and how personally invested in the topic you are, I think writing on spec can be a great way to break in to a market or showcase a tough story that may not work (or may be impossible to properly convey) in a pitch. Moreover, when combing Writer’s Digest’s submissions inbox, I’ve bought pieces that I wouldn’t have had they been sent with only the query, which often paled in comparison to the actual article.

It has also worked for me with freelanced pieces, and I believe the technique’s great power is that it takes an often overstated writing maxim and puts it to an entirely different use: With on-spec submissions, you’re no longer telling—you’re showing. (Even with a topic as pitch-worthy as being the last writer in the wake of the zombie apocalypse.)

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WRITING PROMPT: 13 Hours
Feel free to take the following prompt home or post your response (500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring) in the Comments section below. By posting, you’ll be automatically entered in our occasional around-the-office swag drawings.

“Only 13 hours?!”
“Yes.”
“It’s not possible.”
The dog barks, the child coughs.
“It’s what you’re going to have to do.”

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Author Kelly L. Stone Riffs on Unlocking Creativity and Answers Your Questions

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:23:45 GMT

Today is an excellent day at Promptly as we welcome author and licensed mental health counselor Kelly L. Stone to the blog. Alongside her novel Grave Secret, Kelly has written Time to Write: More Than 100 Professional Writers Reveal How to Fit Writing Into Your Busy Life, which was nominated for the American Society of Journalists and Authors Outstanding Book of 2008, and most recently, Thinking Write: The Secret to Freeing Your Creative Mind. Demonstrating how to tap into your subconscious for creative and writing purposes, the book also comes with a disc of guided meditations for writers.

With her unique approach to the art of writing, I checked in with Kelly about unlocking your subconscious, refilling the creative well and the makings of the best writing prompts. Kelly will also be doling out a copy of Thinking Write to a random commenter, so feel free to tap into her mind today with any questions you might have, or to respond to her writing prompt below. (The Comment function has been finicky, so if you are having difficulty posting, e-mail your question to writersdigest [at] fwmedia [dot] com marked “Attn: Zac” and I’ll make sure Kelly sees it.) For more, check out freeyourcreativemind.blogspot.com.

What inspired your latest book?
I wrote Thinking Write as a companion to Time to Write, which teaches aspiring writers how to find time to write no matter how busy they are. After I finished that book, a lingering question remained in my mind, and that was as a licensed mental health counselor, was there a way for me to translate my understanding of the mind and how it works into a program that would help writers maximize their creativity? I wanted to find out if there was a way to help writers capitalize on limited writing time by teaching them how to get into a creative mind state quickly, easily and efficiently so that they could get the most bang for their writing buck. The answer was yes, and that’s what Thinking Write is about—how to capitalize on your limited writing time by using the power of your subconscious mind.

Is it common for writers to not be tapped into their full creative potentials?
As a general rule, yes. Everyone is familiar with the idea that we use only 10 percent of our brains. What this means is that the subconscious mind is virtually untapped as a resource for most creative people.

What’s the power of the subconscious mind when it comes to writing?
The power of the subconscious mind is truly amazing. It monitors and stores everything that goes on around and inside of you, all of the time. This information is permanent, and it is never forgotten. Details not available to the conscious mind as well as long lost memories are retrievable. These details and memories breathe life into your writing and spark unlimited creativity. Learning to access your subconscious greatly enhances your creativity because whereas the conscious mind is limited and can only attend to one thing at a time, the subconscious mind operates independently from your conscious mind’s limited field of attention. It is like a giant computer system with multiple input sources. Your subconscious is constantly recording all of the details of your life, both items that pass through your conscious field of attention and those items that your conscious mind misses entirely. It is a vast storehouse of information that offers an endless supply of creative ideas. These characteristics of the subconscious mind are what make it such a powerful ally to writers.

What’s a key to unlocking it?
One key is related to brain waves. Certain brain wave states are associated with the subconscious mind and creativity, specifically the alpha wave state. Alpha waves occur when you are awake but in a state of focused concentration, such as meditation. Alpha waves are responsible for causing people to get “into the zone” and are documented to be linked to creativity. Professional athletes have been capitalizing on the alpha wave state for decades to improve their performance. Music is a good way for writers to get the brain into an alpha wave state. Many of the bestselling authors I interviewed for Thinking Write use music as a way to unlock their creativity. What you do is choose music that matches the theme, tone or message of what you are writing and then listen to that music only when you write. Over time, you set up what is called a conditioned response to that particular song or playlist, and when you hear it, you trigger the alpha wave state and are automatically in touch with your subconscious mind and deeper levels of creativity.

In terms of writing prompts, what are the best, most productive types?
Anything that resonates with you on a personal level offers a good opportunity for triggering your subconscious mind for memories and long-forgotten feelings that can enhance your writing.

What have you learned from the creative well running dry in the past, and how did you overcome it?
I learned that I need to take breaks from writing on a regular basis. Some people can write every day. I can’t and don’t. I am more productive in the long run when I take at least one day off each week from writing, even when I have a deadline. So I intentionally build in breaks into my weekly writing schedule. For me, time away from the writing allows me to refill the creative well, rest, get refocused, and when I come back the next day I am usually in a good place to keep going. Every writer’s process is different, and it’s important to figure out what works for you. If you need a break, take one. However, an important sidebar here is that if you spend too much time away from the writing you get out of the habit of writing, which leads to feeling more blocked and also leads to what I call The Big “R”—Resistance to Writing, which is a self-sabotaging behavior. It’s important to keep a balance between refilling the well and staying on task with the work.

Do you have any advice to keep your creativity going strong once you’ve tapped into it?
Ride the wave for as long as you can. In other words, if you use some of the techniques in Thinking Write and feel yourself getting into that ultra focused, highly creative state, keep writing for as long as possible. Also, be alert to messages from your subconscious throughout the day. It takes time to learn how your subconscious mind communicates with you; some people get hunches, others get dreams that offer an idea or solution, or ideas “pop” into their heads at odd times. That’s your subconscious trying to get information to you. The more in tune you get with your subconscious mind, the easier it will become for you to communicate with it. I have learned to keep a notebook in my purse in order to capture all those “aha” moments I get when I’m away from my desk but my subconscious mind is still working out a problem in the writing. Also, trust your instincts when it comes to your creativity. I’m not a seat-of-the-pants writer, but if a character just shows up on the page, I go with it. For example, when I was writing my novel Grave Secret, the character of Billy Powers literally walked onto the page one day. Turns out he was so integral to the plot that without him there was no story.
What’s the best craft advice you can offer?
Write on a schedule. Don’t wait “until you feel like it,” because you’re never going to feel like it. Set aside time every week for writing (with built in time off if you need it) and then when that time arrives, sit down at your desk and write no matter what else is going on. That’s the only way to get words on the page, and as many of the authors I have interviewed say, you might write crap but you can edit crap. You can’t edit a blank page.

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WRITING PROMPTS
Courtesy of Kelly L. Stone, feel free to take the following prompts home or post your responses (500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring) in the Comments section below.

Scan your surroundings quickly and list the first three items that catch your eye; they might be the dining room table, the giant oak outside the window, and the discarded tennis shoes by the back door. Write a story incorporating those three items.

and,

Bonus: This isn’t a prompt so much as it is a technique for accessing your subconscious mind via the hypnagogic state, a naturally occurring phase that happens right before deep sleep. I learned it from Dr. Raymond Moody, a psychiatrist who has studied the link between creativity and the subconscious. First, pose a question to your subconscious, such as “Subconscious, what is the next scene in my novel?” Then lie down and hold one arm straight up in the air. Try to doze off while you are holding you arm straight up, all the while focusing on your question. Do this for about 10 minutes or until you feel yourself dozing off and your arm getting limp. Sit up and immediately write down any thoughts, ideas or images that went through your mind while you were dozing, even if you don’t understand them, because they were provided by your subconscious mind.

No Time for A Novel in a Month? How About a Literary Journal Challenge?

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:00:29 GMT

They’re “The best of the mysterious, elusive things,” they're “A gateway to discovering your next favorite writer,” they can be “frequently dull, pretentious, willfully obscure,” they're “Vital to the survival of modern literature” and they're “Not read enough.”

Or at least that’s what the editors of some literary journals said in our roundup of which magazines agents are reading for new talent today (in the November/December 2009 issue of Writer’s Digest).

How do you feel about literary journals?

I’m a fan. Moreover, as prompt addicts know, short stories can be great boot camps for longer works. Thus, because of a hectic November schedule, instead of taking part in excellent NaNoWriMo this year*, I’m going to spend November focusing on editing my unruly current work-in-progress, and attempting to write and place a story or two in some of my old favorite journals.

Anyone care to join me? I say we go for it, then in December we can compare notes, share a toast/cry on one other’s shoulders, and toss back and forth ideas for what makes successful short stories. I’ll also try to rope a literary journal editor for a Q&A in the middle of the month so we can tap into what goes through their minds when combing the slush pile.

I’ll bid you a good weekend with what is perhaps the eternal top advice on submitting to any publication, one featured in the lit journal article. As Anne McPeak, managing editor of A Public Space said, “Familiarize yourself with the magazine to make sure your work is a good fit. There’s a lot of great writing out there, but not all of it is right for us.” (That might prevent you from getting a "WTF?" back from an editor, as I once did in college.)

And if you’re on Facebook, I just started a Promptly feed, and am in dire need of a few digital friends. Check it out!

*If you are taking part in NaNoWriMo, check out founder Chris Baty’s top five survival tips, which we ran in our InkWell section last year.

WRITING PROMPT: Paparazzi
Feel free to take the following prompt home or post your response (500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring) in the Comments section below. By posting, you’ll be automatically entered in our occasional around-the-office swag drawings.

You try to snap a discrete photo—but it just doesn’t work out that way.

What Every Blogger Should Know (Plus Prompt)

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:24:34 GMT

Blogging. Some professional writers loathe it, regarding it as a cheapening of their art. Others adore it, and do it for the sheer love of the instant form. Some accept it as a necessary evil in a platform development often key to securing a book deal. Others do it for the joy of broadcasting themselves, for better or worse, to anyone, anywhere, on any subject.

No matter why we do it, though, everyone tends to have their share of quality posts, and an equal sampling (I admit with rosy cheeks) of, err, less than stellar offerings.

So what’s the secret formula? In the latest from the Top 20 Tips From WD in 2009 series, my favorite bits of advice from our pages this year, writer Dinty W. Moore has an idea.

No. 11: Avoid the Blog Rabies
“Good blogging, like any good writing, is not just foaming at the mouth. First drafts are not your best work, and the audience must be foremost in your mind.”
—Author and teacher Dinty W. Moore, as featured in our November/December 2009 issue.

As with many areas of the publishing world, the key seems to be the same, a constant of the art: Readers, readers, readers, always.

That said, do you blog? Why? Moreover, what do you think makes for a solid post?

And now, paranoid to write any more in light of Dinty’s advice dangling above, lest I froth in hypocrisy, I bid you an excellent Wednesday.

See you Friday!

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WRITING PROMPT: Self-Help Surprise
Feel free to take the following prompt home or post your response (500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring) in the Comments section below. By posting, you’ll be automatically entered in our occasional around-the-office swag drawings.

A self-help guru makes you an offer you can’t refuse, no matter how much you’d like to.

Tip and Prompt: How to Self-Publish the Right Way

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:56:43 GMT

After taking in forums and coliseums, oodles of trains and 13 different (incredible, highly sedative) servings of gelato in Italy, I’m back in Prompt action. A special thanks to Jessica for posting in the last week, and for all of your comments and stories.

While on vacation, I found myself in a random discussion with a French writer about the ups and downs of self-publishing, which leads to one of the things I mentioned to her—today’s installment of the Top 20 Tips From WD in 2009 series.

No. 12: Self-Publish Right
“Every book that’s self-published should look and read like it came from Random House. To reach that goal, every self-publisher must think like the big houses—and strive to even exceed their quality. Editing and design are not steps that can be skipped without exacting a significant price.”
—Reader Linda Lane, as featured in our March/April 2009 issue. (We’re also running a 40-80 percent discount in our digital store until the end of the month; if you missed it on newsstands, check the issue out here or in a library for a slew of great self-publishing know-how).

Looking ahead, I’ve also got an intriguing author Q&A about the ins and outs of creativity lined up for next Monday, and some gelato inspired prompts in the works for the coming weeks. Here, spawning by a conversation overheard on a train to Pisa, is today’s offering. Moreover, here’s to hoping the last week has treated you and your writing well.

WRITING PROMPT: Why?
Feel free to take the following prompt home or post your response (500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring) in the Comments section below:

“Why did you cut it all off?”
She stares out the window.
“Why?”

What to Remember at Every Writing Conference

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:23:37 GMT

Writing conferences: They make us feel good because we’re taking proactive, positive steps toward our writerly goals, rather than sitting in front of the TV with a laptop and The Simpsons.

Thing is, once we get to the conference, we’re constantly analyzing: Do we stack up to this writer or that budding poet? Do we have what it takes to do what this speaker is suggesting? Will we ever be up there, rambling about our books while everyone dines on roast beef and pasta during the keynote address?

And, certainly last but not least: Are we writers?

Here is the latest in our Top 20 Lessons from WD in 2009 series.

No. 15: None of Your Business
“Don’t come to the Festival—or any writing conference—with the goal of finding out once and for all if you’re a writer. It’s a question that will only get in the way of your work. Leave it alone. It’s none of your business.”
—Iowa Summer Writing Festival Director Amy Margolis, as interviewed in our May/June 2009 issue.

My sister, who decided to up the sibling ante by attending law school, once told me that one of the cardinal rules in that realm is to never share, discuss or allude to one’s grades in the company of others. You just don’t do it.

Perhaps in the world of writing conferences, like any gathering of those prepping for a fiercely competitive marketplace, it’s best to turn off your overactive mind and just listen, absorb and learn.

Also, tonight I’m heading out for a vacation, and I’m turning over the blog keys for WD Editor Jessica Strawser to help out and be your Promptly maestro until I return. She’s a former book editor and has worked in different areas of the publishing world, so feel free to tap into her wisdom in the Comments section of the blog in the coming week. All told, she’s a great source of knowledge.

As for me, my family has a tendency to have awful luck on vacation—if you ever want a solid tale, come up to me and say, merely, “Out West; van on fire?”—so I’m hoping the following travel-minded prompt will ward off the spirits of bad travel and serve as an appropriate digital knocking on wood.

Here’s to you and your writing (and fireless vans),

Zachary

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WRITING PROMPT: Vacation From Vacation
Feel free to take the following prompt home or post your response (500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring) in the Comments section below:

With your cell phone and souvenirs in hand, your torn map falls to the ground.
“He wasn’t even supposed to be here,” you mutter.
And just like that, you need a vacation from your vacation.

Marketing Vs. Story: Which is King? (Plus, Craft the Ultimate Cliche)

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:33:19 GMT

Marketing, marketing, marketing. You hear it from writing books. You hear it from us. You hear it from conferences, published writers at readings and even unpublished writers hanging out on street corners. Sure, it’s important—if not crucial at times—but what should really take precedence when it gets down to the marrow of things? It’s something that’s easy to forget when you’re looking at the macro-view of a writing career.

It’s time for the latest in the Top 20 Lessons from WD in 2009.

No. 16: Story, Story, Story
“Keep the focus on the writing and the story. All the advertising, marketing and promotion in the world are meaningless unless you’ve got a tale people want to read.”
—Author Rhodi Hawk (A Twisted Ladder), as featured in our March/April 2009 issue.

Marketing or story: Which do you think should take precedence?

To complement Hawk’s point, as James Patterson emphasized in that issue, “If it’s commercial fiction that you want to write, it’s story, story, story. You’ve got to get a story where if you tell it to somebody in a paragraph, they’ll go, ‘tell me more.’ And then when you start to write it, they continue to want to read more. And if you don’t, it won’t work.”

In honor of Hawk, Patterson and Story, Story, Story, take today’s prompt and try to decode what makes a truly awful story: Write the most hilariously cliché scene you can. How might analyzing the ins and outs of a tired, tried and true yarn lead you to purge your writing demons and craft a more original story next time?

WRITING PROMPT: Crafting a Cliché
Feel free to take the following prompt home or post your response (500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring) in the Comments section below:

Write the most cliché story you can, working as many unbearably overdone elements into the scene as possible.

The Secret to Surviving First Publication (Plus, Get Your Fiction in WD!)

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:58:02 GMT

There it sits: everything you’ve wanted, in one hub. Everything you’ve dreamed, in bouts of caffeinated madness. Important-looking editors bustle back and forth within, but you’re stuck on the outside of your new publishing house, peering in through double-buffed windows, eyes wide.

How do you set foot in that hallowed place?

As it turns out, it’s just another rung in a ladder. And like every rung in every ladder, you merely have to know how to climb it.

And to do that, you have to …

(Today we continue our Top 20 Lessons from WD in 2009.)

No. 17: Ask. Ask!
“The moral of the story is not to tremble in awe at the entrance doors of the publisher. Ask, ask, ask, even if you don’t know what to ask. Ask them what you should be asking. Ask for a publishing schedule; ask what you can help with; ask for their publicity plan so that you can compare it with yours. Start your publicity plan long before you’ve finished the book, long before it’s published.”
--Author and WD reader Jeanette Salerno, as featured in our July/August 2009 Publishing 101 package.

Have an excellent weekend, and consider taking a crack at our magazine’s Your Story prompt. In 750 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring, post your stories in the comments section of my blog, and they’ll be entered in the contest, or e-mail them to yourstorycontest@fwmedia.com. (There’s only one entry allowed per person, and you have until the Nov. 10 deadline.) Should your story win and you posted it here, I’ll contact you for your name and mailing address when the time comes. Good luck!

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WRITING PROMPT: Your Story Contest No. 22
Suffering from a mid-life crisis, a 50-year-old businessman quits his job and goes on a quest to “get the band back together.”
—From The Writer’s Book of Matches by the staff of fresh boiled peanuts: a literary journal

Top 20 Lessons from WD: On Rejection

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:31:09 GMT

Hi writers,

Thanks to everyone who stopped by Monday to read or chat with bestseller Dianna Love. And, of course, I’d also like to extend a Promptly Thank You to Dianna for sharing her prompts and insights.

As promised, we’ll be giving away copies of Dianna’s Break Into Fiction to two random commenters. Jacqui Lyonelle and Lisa: Can you e-mail your addresses to me at writersdigest [at] fwmedia [dot] com, Attn: Zachary Petit, and I’ll make sure they find their way to Dianna?

Also, have you ever wallowed in endless rejections? How do you deal with it? (I ask this as I shiver and edit my first work of long-form fiction, bracing myself for the querying process to come.) Today we continue the Top 20 Lessons from WD in 2009 series.

No. 18: Right and Wrong
“It took 80 queries before the most perceptive agent in the world took me off his slush pile. Then it was a score of editorial rejections and nearly a year before my agent had lunch with the right editor at the right time. To deal with rejection, you have to believe you’re right and they’re wrong.”
—Ira Rosofsky (Nasty, Brutish & Long), as interviewed in our March/April issue.

Moreover, as literary agent Scott Hoffman wrote in our September issue, don’t get “even a little bit discouraged until you’ve received 50—maybe even 100—rejections on the project in question.”

For more tips, stay tuned—No. 17 is on its way Friday.

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WRITING PROMPT: Dreamy
Feel free to take the following prompt home or post your response (500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring) in the Comments section below:

Take your latest dream, no matter what, and work it into a scene in a story you're currently writing or editing.

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Also, the website for Digital Book World has launched. Check out our new industry insider event geared toward helping consumer book publishers and their trading partners assess the challenges—and opportunities—presented by the digital age.

Special Q&A: Creativity Secrets from Bestseller Dianna Love (and free books!)

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:45:38 GMT

Hey writers,

Today is an excellent day at Promptly, as we welcome New York Times bestselling writer Dianna Love, a RITA-award winner and co-author of Break Into Fiction and a popular thriller series with Sherrilyn Kenyon (Whispered Lies). When not standing dumbfounded in front of dollar-gobbling slot machines, I met Dianna in Las Vegas, where we were both teaching at a writing conference.

Going along with Promptly’s goal of boosting creativity with writing prompts and exercises, I checked in with Dianna about breaking block, plotters, pantsers and other topics, and she even provided us with today’s regular prompts.

Check out her advice below, and feel free to weigh in (post in the Comments section of the blog) with your thoughts, any questions you might have for Dianna, or a response to her prompt. On Wednesday we’ll randomly select two commenters to receive copies of Dianna’s new book, Break Into Fiction: 11 Steps to Building a Story That Sells. So don’t be shy: Chime in! Dianna will be dropping by to respond to your questions about the writing world, and having heard her speak in the past, I know she's an excellent source of industry and craft knowledge.

For more on Dianna, catch up with her at authordiannalove.com, or on Twitter: @diannalove.

In your writing, what slows you down the most on a daily basis?
Now that I’m published, I have so much more to do than “just write,” but the writing must come first. My time gets eaten by anything from answering e-mails (some take a lot of time and I get over 100 a day) to working on promo opportunities to interacting with my publisher on an upcoming marketing campaign or edits to dealing with nonwriting related issues (you know … life :).

How do you tackle it?
Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize. I keep lists going all the time. I schedule things to be done by a certain day and try to get to anything early that I can. I set my “personal deadlines” for writing ahead of those my publisher is depending upon, so that if I run late, it’s on my schedule, which means the books are still on time. I’ve just finished a very difficult run of days for the past month and have three days to “catch up” on everything else while the next book is with a cold reader. That means those three days have to be productive, not spent taking a leisurely break.

What best drives your creativity?
Riding my motorcycle feeds my muse. I ride a BMW 1150 RT through scenic back roads to give my mind a chance to breathe. I often come back with a scene or even the basis for a new plot.

What tips do you have for overcoming writer’s block?
I used to wonder why some writers got terribly blocked until I started developing the Power Plotting workshop Mary Buckham and I created in our Break Into Fiction™ program. We figured out the reason most people get “stuck” on a story is because they don’t know where it’s going next. This is especially true for pantsers, or seat-of-the-pants writers, because their process is to just sit down and write. BUT that does not mean a pantser should learn how to plot. That is not their process. Pantsers need a way to fix problems or get unstuck in a way that works with their process. That’s why we created the questions in our Break Into Fiction program that show a plotter how to develop a story in advance, and show a pantser how to break out of a mental log jam or how to fix a book during revision.

What’s the best craft advice you can offer?
Do not EVER let anyone change your writing process. Find what works for you and go with it.

Some writers cannot write if the book has been plotted. Some writers cannot put a word down unless they have everything plotted out. Some I call “hybrids,” because that’s what I am. I like to write a chapter when I start seeing the opening in my mind, and get a feel for the characters. Then I sit down and plot. I don’t go to the extremes of some plotters, but I create complex stories with strong subplots and everything has to hit at the right time for the climax to be powerful. For me, that’s a very freeing process, but if I had to follow someone else’s process it wouldn’t work. Write a couple books to figure out your process.

What’s the best publishing advice you’ve ever received?
To be careful not to let promo and marketing opportunities bankrupt your time.

Writing mantra:
Nothing is worth more than today. That is a Goethe quote and it has been in my office since I started my first business at 17.

(photo courtesy of authordiannalove.com)

WRITING PROMPTS: Courtesy of Dianna Love
Below are five opening lines for a scene. The first three are in third person, the fourth is in first person and the fifth can be either one. You can change the point of view from third to first or first to third. There are no names, so you pick the characters. Write the first scene that comes to mind. Don’t worry about being correct on anything—just write and have fun.
He opened his eyes and slowly took in his surroundings, searching for one thing that looked familiar.

If she didn’t make the last ridge before the portal closed in the next 15 seconds, she’d end up losing her bounty and getting blood on her new solar boots.

He appreciated having a choice, but generally he was given at least one option that allowed for a chance to walk away alive even if he had to sacrifice dignity.

My mouth fell open in shock at the gangly man carrying a cardboard box, not believing he would dare to enter my real estate office again.

A palomino horse trotted into the yard sans rider, daisies braided into the mane and a sword hanging from a leather loop on the saddle.

Top 20 Lessons From WD Mag in 2009: Steve Berry

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:08:29 GMT

Hey writers,

Wasted and lost writing time: We all worry (if not obsess) over it. As it turns out, we’re not alone. It’s time for the next installment in our Top 20 Lessons From WD Magazine in 2009 series.

No. 19: Heed the Voice
“I didn’t write my first word until I was 35 years old. I wasted about 10 years before that, when the little voice in my head was screaming for me to write. All writers have a little voice in their head that drives them forward. Listen to it.”
—Bestseller Steve Berry (The Amber Room, The Templar Legacy), as interviewed in “Springboards to Success,” from our May/June 2009 issue.

Literary food for thought: How long did you wait—or are you still waiting? What's the key to kicking yourself into gear?

Have an excellent weekend, and enjoy the prompt below from the brand new issue of Writer’s Digest magazine (currently shipping to subscribers, and on newsstands Oct. 13—it features Time Traveler’s Wife author Audrey Niffenegger, alongside a cover package loaded with info about writing short, from personal essays and freelancing to literary journals).

And don’t forget to stop by Promptly Monday, too—bestseller Dianna Love will be sharing her take on the creative process, as well as offering prompts and perhaps a free copy or two of her new book, Break Into Fiction. In addition to a posted Q&A, Dianna will be dropping by to interact with anyone who’d like to chat about creativity, the business of publishing, or anything else that may cross one’s writerly mind.

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WRITING PROMPT: Breaking Down
Funny, sad, or stirring, feel free to take the following prompt home or post your response (500 words or fewer) in the Comments section below:

A Tire blows out as you’re in the car with someone on the verge of his or her own breakdown. Stuck in a small town, you’re about to do something you haven’t done in years.

The Top 20 Lessons From WD Mag in 2009: No. 20

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:11:10 GMT

Hey writers,

The 90th anniversary issue of WD is fast approaching (it’s our January 2010 installment, which ships to subscribers Nov. 24 and hits newsstands Dec. 15), and Editor Jessica Strawser and I are rapidly working to get everything out on time.

Which means another year of magazines is about to start. Being the type of person who has a hard time parting with anything (I still have a rather hearty collection of Pez dispensers, not to mention roughly everything I’ve ever written), I want to hang onto the 2009 series of WD magazines for as long as possible. When you work on them long enough, they become a bit like old pals—quotable and even sometimes annoyingly omnipresent, but you're always sad to see them go.

Thus, to give the 2009 WDs their due, I’m counting down to the January 2010 issue two times per week with my favorite 20 writing lessons from the year. Think simple, quotable passages of wisdom from Stephen King, Rick Steves and others, from the bestseller to the savvy newbie.

No. 20: Get Messy
“During the course of writing six novels, I realized that the days when the truth shone brightest were the days my pen flowed the freest and messiest across the pages. And I was rewarded with longer and longer satisfactory passages. It’s paradoxical that giving up control rewards you with what you seek most: concise, insightful work.”
—Elizabeth Sims, on how writing freely without initial self-editing can bring new life to your prose, in “Rough It Up,” from the January 2009 issue of WD.

After each installment of tips, you’ll receive a regular helping of writing prompts to spark new life into your work. And don’t forget to stop by next Monday, Oct. 5. New York Times bestseller Dianna Love will share some great insights about her creative process, and offer prompts and a couple of copies of her new book, Break Into Fiction.

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WRITING PROMPT: Old Habits Die Hard
Feel free to take the following prompt home or post your response (500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring) in the Comments section below:

You decide to give up an old habit—in exchange for something that was originally promised to you years ago.

Did your story take home the Promptly gold?

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:05:03 GMT

It’s that time again — time, alongside a Writer’s Digest comrade, to gnash our teeth, hold our breath and force ourselves to pick a top story from the past month’s creative cavalcade of responses to various prompts.

For August-September, with the help of magazine staffer and WD Books Editor Scott Francis, we selected Megan Hyman’s “Cynic!” piece. As Scott said, “the voice and the tone are so telling that though the story is short, you come to understand the emotions of the characters.” For her story, Megan will receive a copy of Bang The Keys: Four Steps to a Lifelong Writing Practice by Jill Dearman, Thanks, But This Isn’t For Us by Jessica Page Morrell, Sorrow Wood by Raymond L. Atkins, a copy of the WD Novel Writing special newsstand publication, and a copy of the WD Guide to Creativity newsstand publication.

As always, thanks to everyone who shared their work here in the last month. It means a lot to me, as the blog’s curator, and I’ve heard from other people at WD and scattered about the country how much they love reading all of the pieces, too.

Every time you write a story here it could take home some picks from the WD office swag bag, but perhaps most important, it may help other writers get their creative wheels turning, and it flexes and sharpens that strange muscle—the one most of us don’t have a hope in the world of burying or setting aside, even if we wanted to.

Here’s to hoping we never do.

*Megan, please send an e-mail to writersdigest [at] fwmedia [dot] com marked "Attn: Zachary Petit," so I can get the goods shipped out to you!

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WRITING PROMPT: From the Attic
To respond to the following prompt, courtesy of Scott Francis (check out his blog at seescottwrite.wordpress.com) post your stories, in 500 words or fewer, in the Comments section of Promptly:

You are awakened in the middle of the night by a strange tapping noise coming from your attic. You decide to investigate, and after moving a few old boxes, you find what appears to be a telegraph receiver hidden in a small hole in the wall.

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The October issue of WD is now on newsstands. Check out our community issue here, featuring writing forums, online collectives, bestsellers riffing on writers’ organizations, and even the keys to making the most of a nightmare conference. What’s worth your time these days?

Worst Tweet Ever?

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:01:36 GMT

You can run, but you can’t hide: Talk of Fail Whales, talk of Ashton vs. CNN, talk of how you found out your sibling is engaged through a revelatory 140-character missive, and so on—anything and everything, all the time.

What do you think of Twitter?

While it can be a force of evil—think unnecessary info dump overload—I think it can indeed be a positive tool in your writing arsenal if you devote time and a benefit-oriented approach to your posts. (In our May/June 2009 issue we ran a guide to social networking that offers tips on how writers can max out their use of Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Click here to check it out for free.)

Or, if you’re like me and not directly on Twitter, there can be a lot to gain from other people’s Tweets. Our publisher and editorial director, Jane Friedman, runs a great (and I’m not just on the hunt for a raise) roundup series on the Best Tweets for Writers, downsizing for us the massive task of sifting the gold out of Fail Whales, "watching Nick@Nite" updates and Ashton Kutcher wars.

Speaking of bad Tweets … what form might the absolute worst take, and how might it spread like a virus?

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PROMPT: Worst Tweet Ever?
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring, feel free to post your story in the Comments section of the blog:

Write a scene about the fallout from one of the worst Tweets ever. Or, simply draft a few of the worst Tweets ever.

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Also, the October issue of WD is now on newsstands. Check out our community issue here, featuring writing forums, online collectives, bestsellers riffing on writers’ organizations, and even the keys to making the most of a nightmare conference. What’s worth your time these days?

Weekend Prompt: Strange Happenings in the RV

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:46:18 GMT

The RV is full. The gas is low. From the expressway, nobody has any clue what's inside. But that may change soon.

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Hey writers,

The WD offices in Cincinnati are silent. A stack of queries sits, pensive, anxious. A few tapped keys echo. Mini notes on computer monitors assure passers-by their owners shall return soon.

Magazine/book imprint apocalypse? Quite the opposite. The majority of our staff has jetted off to New York City for the Writer’s Digest Conference: The Business of Getting Publishing. If you couldn’t make it this weekend, you can follow the goings-on live as my friends and comrades blog about the latest developments in publishing—and what it means to writers—at writersdigestconference.blogspot.com.

Meanwhile, your trusty managing editor will be holding down the fort, working on the Writer’s Yearbook 2010 magazine and the WD Interview for our 90th anniversary issue—which is, in my opinion, one of the coolest legends we’ve ever featured.

If you’re outside of New York, say, perhaps, landlocked in the great Midwest, pack up your mental RV and take a stab at the prompt above. In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring, your stories are welcome in the Comments section of the blog, where they’ll be entered in our monthly swag giveaway. Or, chime in with your thoughts about Dan Brown and his success here, where J. Alvey has posted some great insights about the industry and the author.

Have an excellent weekend,

Zachary

Mid-Week Prompt: A Novel Speech, Derailed (plus Dan Brown)

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:29:18 GMT

You’re supposed to be giving a speech, but your mind seizes. You look up at the massive crowd, frantic, and start reciting the contents of an alarming letter you received last week, instead.

(In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring, feel free to post your stories in the Comments section of the blog.)

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Hey writers,

Imagine: “Symbols from the book's cover were projected high on the walls. Catering staff wore bright white George Washington-style wigs. Lost Symbol cocktails were offered in oversized martini glasses, followed by champagne for toasting. Delicious finger snacks came by. A White House cake was on display, then sliced up for dessert.”

Oddly, this wasn’t a Gatsby party, but rather Dan Brown’s book release soiree for The Lost Symbol, as documented by Los Angeles Times writer Carolyn Kellogg. (And for the record, Kellogg also said Brown was pretty great behind the mic, contrasting the fictive non-Brown based prompt above, which would be more likely to happen if it were, say, me up there.)

For many in the publishing industry, there’s a lot banking on Brown’s new book, which was released this week. Some see it as the book world’s potential savior, and its colossal output is undeniable—according to Bloomberg, it broke the preorder and Day 1 sales records for adult fiction, and the first U.S. print run was a hulking 5 million copies.

Reviews are in the positive–mixed range, with some citing Brown’s ability to weave a killer plot, and others bashing a lack of style. What do you think: What's the secret to his success? Will it be what’s needed to pull the book biz out of a slump?

No matter what happens, I'm pumped to see the mainstream book world partying again, or at the very least, smiling, finger snacks in hand.

Promptly Special: Get Published in WD Magazine

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:43:56 GMT

Seven people board a small boat for a tour of the islands, but when the boat returns to the dock, only six people remain on board. —From The Writer’s Book of Matches by the staff of fresh boiled peanuts: a literary journal

Hey writers,

Quandary: In WD magazine, we’re typically cramped for open space, and I’ve gotten e-mails from some of you about how it’d be cool to publish a Promptly story in our pages. I agree, and rather than attempting to sleight-of-hand a piece in last minute when the editor is at the copy machine, I’ve got a solution: Your Story.

Essentially, Your Story is a recurring column in which we run a new prompt and, alongside it, a piece inspired by the previous issue’s prompt. WD editors read through the stories every magazine cycle, and then we post the top 5 on our forum so readers can select the winner.

Thus, in 750 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring, I invite you to post your stories in the comments section of this post, and they’ll be entered in the contest. (There’s only one entry allowed per person, and you have until the Oct. 10 deadline.) Should your story win, I’ll contact you for your name and mailing address when the time comes.

That said, we’re off, pizza in hand, to judge last month’s batch.

Looking forward to your stories, and hoping you had an excellent weekend,

Zachary

Also, if Promptly isn’t fulfilling all your insatiable prompt needs and you’re interested in The Writer’s Book of Matches (source of the prompt above), I gave it a peep, and it’s currently on sale in our online shop.

Weekend Prompt: Your Ultimate Quote (Win swag!)

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:54:46 GMT

Write a conversation in which you utter what will be your—or your character’s—most memorable quote. The one that will be repeated for some time—for better or worse.

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Hey writers,

In the world of authors, you’ve probably heard them, or some form of them, before.

“[Writing is] like driving a car at night. You never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” –E.L. Doctorow

“If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.” –Elmore Leonard

“The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” –Stephen King

“Know your literary tradition, savor it, steal from it, but when you sit down to write, forget about worshiping greatness and fetishizing masterpieces.” –Allegra Goodman

What is it that instills a quote with fire and importance, that element that burns it into someone’s mind? Or, alternatively, what is it that deflates a quote and leaves you gnawing your tongue, wondering what, exactly, will go down in the history books?

In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring, I invite you to explore the prompt here or offline, and I'm also curious about your thoughts on the nature of quotes. And as always, feel free to post your stories in the comments section of the blog to automatically enter our monthly favorite-story swag giveaway.

Happy Friday,

Zachary

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Also, to tap into the inner punctuation nerd in us all, check out the hilarious "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks for some weekend reading.

Mid-Week Prompt: A Game of Confession

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:14:48 GMT

Hey writers,

Hope you had a refreshing Labor Day. I spent the weekend in Goshen, Ind., in the upper reaches of the great Midwest, tooling around on boats and board games (after all, as the local TV commercials boast, there’s more than corn in Indiana—which you’re pleased to discover after five hours of driving through husk country).

Even though I went down in flames on several games (I recall storming out on Pictureka! and proclaiming some rather unfair judgments upon the board featuring odd monsters and fantastical shapes), spending some time with old friends was excellent.

Here’s to hoping you had a pleasant weekend with old faces, free of any game-related confessions that go beyond mere Pictureka! slander (see below), and the clever, prompt-nailing trauma inherent in Jason Dougherty’s “A Decision, a Laugh, a Howl” post, which is this week’s Notable Story Pick.

Yours in writing,

Zachary

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PROMPT: A Game of Confession
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring:

Old friends have gathered, and are passing the time with a card game.
“Ante up,” you say.
“I have a confession,” your old roommate replies.
Everyone widens their eyes, but then lowers their heads.
They know something you don’t.

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Also, anyone interested in a writerly jaunt to NYC? Registration is still open for the WD Conference: The Business of Getting Published that’s coming up next week, Sept. 18-20. Check it out if you’re interested in the future of the industry, or want to take in some editor meetings, marketing and promotion sessions, and more. Update: Got ahold of a coupon code for us. If you register by Sept. 14, paste in "PC109" to get $50 off the registration.

Holiday Prompt: A Decision, a Laugh, a Howl

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:53:40 GMT

Hey writers,

I’m jetting off to the lakes of exotic Indiana for the weekend. I wish you the best of Labor Days, free of any of the prompt-story trauma below.

Also, on the WD Forum, I started up a new poll for the January issue of Writer’s Digest magazine: Which is your favorite type of writing prompt—an open-ended question or scenario, a specific challenge, a photo or art prompt, or no prompt at all? Feel free to weigh in and offer your comments, which may wind up in the next issue of WD.

Yours in writing and Labor Days,

Zachary

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PROMPT: A Decision, a Laugh, a Howl
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring:

It’s a holiday, and you make a decision that makes something go very awry—or, very right—depending on how you look at it. Meanwhile, it’s cold but it’s supposed to be hot, someone is laughing and a dog is howling.

Mid-Week Prompt: Selling Out/Buying In

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:58:00 GMT

Hey writers,

Promptly and some of the other WD blogs had a bit of a blackout earlier, but it appears we’re back online (I write as I compose into a Word file, cringing while optimistically eying the “Post” button). Sorry for the radio silence!

Assuming all of our technical difficulties have shown mercy on us, if you’re interested in writing programs or life therein, we just launched a new blog, MFA Confidential, with Kate Monahan. Check it out—her post today shares some first-year lessons. And she’s also down with A.M. Homes.

Finally, a tip of the prompt hat to Mark James, whose “Tragically, Hero” piece is this week’s Notable Story Pick.

Here’s to hoping you have a glitch-free Wednesday,

Zachary

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PROMPT: Selling Out/Buying In
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring:

You have done what you swore you would never do: You have written a book solely to pay the bills. Now, write the back-cover promo copy.

(From the newest issue of Writer's Digest magazine, which hits newsstands Sept. 15.)

Creativity Wake-Up Call: Movies and Morals

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:17:01 GMT

Hey writers,

While waiting for a showing of Inglourious Basterds this weekend, a young teen (who somehow had a rather bushy goatee) sauntered up to my companion and me with a request.

Goatee: “Bro, which movie are you seeing?”
Zac: “Inglourious Basterds?”
Goatee: “Right on.”
(Awkward mutual stare)
Goatee: “Wanna do us a favor?”
Zac: “What’s up?”
Goatee: “Will you pretend to be my bro’s parents so he can get in?”
(Bro in question grunts in agreement, offers handful of popcorn)

As it turned out, we were seeing the film at different times, so I managed to dodge the moral issue of being someone’s understudy father. Which got me wondering about movies and more hearty moral questions.

Yours in writing,

Zachary

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PROMPT: Morals and Movies
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring:

You have just purchased tickets for a movie, and someone approaches you, tears in his eyes and something gripped in his palm, and asks a question—one that leaves you speechless.

Weekend Prompt: Tragically, Hero

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:56:15 GMT

Hey writers,

Anyone have an iPhone? I’ve been too attached to my old phone (read: thrifty) to pick one up, but am steadily wishing I would. WD Market Books Managing Editor Alice Pope gave me a heads-up about this: featherproof Books’ TripleQuick Fiction iPhone app. In a nutshell, the app will serve up stories that are 333 words long (three iPhone screens). Writers can also pen (thumb-type?) their own pieces on the phone, snap a photo of themselves with the on-board camera, and submit it all on the spot.

Staring wistfully at my antique, offering a random prompt and wishing you the best of weekends,

Zachary

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PROMPT: Tragically, Hero
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring:

Write the story of how your hero came to be missing a tooth.

Weekend Prompt: In Your Father's Shoes

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:56:04 GMT

Hey writers,

WD Editor Jessica Strawser and I are gearing up to conquer a critical chunk of our Nov/Dec issue today, so I’ll cut my usual screeds and ramblings short(er), and wish you an excellent weekend. I’m planning on jaunting down to the Kentucky State Fair in Louisville tomorrow, and there’s a high likelihood some prompts will arise next week from my (often bizarre, if not curiously charming) old Kentucky home’s festival. Think rooster crowing contests. Miniature horses. Lynn's Paradise Cafe Ugly Lamp Contest. Yes.

Yours in writing,

Zachary

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PROMPT: In Your Father's Shoes
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring:

You put on your father’s shoes, take a deep breath, say a quick prayer, and walk outside. His hat never quite fit right, but still, you wear it.

Mid-Week Prompt: Rejecting the Rejection

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:09:06 GMT

Hey writers,

Not too long ago, a strange thing happened in the storied submissions intake department of WD (my cluttered desk). In short, a writer pitched us a pretty solid idea, but we had run something similar in a previous issue, so I sent a polite “no,” and explained the situation.

My e-mail pinged an hour later: “Can I reject this rejection?”

I sat there, brainstorming faux-clever responses galore, from the dashing one-liner to the form letter (a triple play!), and eventually X’d the e-mail out.

Still, I found it hilarious, and often wonder what her letter would have entailed, had it gone into greater depth.

Also, a tip of the prompt hat to Beth Cato, whose “That Strange Day” piece is this week’s Notable Story pick. Next week, guest judge/WD Editor Jessica Strawser and I will pick our favorite story for the monthly swag giveaway.

Have a great Wednesday,

Zachary

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PROMPT: Rejecting the Rejection
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring:

You’ve had it. You can’t take it any more. You decide to reject a rejection letter.

Your Weekend Prompt: Behind the Curtain

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:56:45 GMT

Hey writers,

Here’s to hoping your writing week treated you well. Attached below is a new prompt, if the creative urge so strikes you this Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

Have an excellent weekend laden with scores of It is decidedly sos (or, Reply hazy, try agains, depending on your preference),

Zachary

PROMPT: Behind the Curtain
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring:

A fortune-teller rubs her glass orb and grabs your hand. She closes her eyes. She raises her head toward the sky and mumbles. Then, she bursts out laughing.

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If your prompt stomach continues to groan, check out The Writer's Book Of Matches: 1001 Prompts To Ignite Your Fiction, which was penned by a few of my friends at WD (Alice Pope and Scott Francis, et al.). Alice, who I forced into an overblown logline, promises you'll be basking in a raging inferno of writing genius.

Mid-Week Prompt: Things We Lost in the Flood

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:06:15 GMT

Hey writers,

Cincinnati weathered a bit of a flash flood Monday, and I answered the phone at WD to my mother panicking—sewage had bubbled up from a drain, and was streaming into her basement. My father and I held our breath and dove into the old goods—think antique candy, family photos, basset hound lawn ornaments, clothes, stacks of anonymous boxes—and hauled up the most worthy items for hospice in the garage.

In a flood situation, what would you save—or not? (I can assure you a few mid-80s chocolate rabbits met their demise.)

Also, a tip of the hat to Jared David's intriguing portrait from "Wherever You May Write," which is this week's Notable Story pick.

Yours in writing,

Zachary

PROMPT: Things We Lost in the Flood
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring:

Your home floods. You race to save one item, but at the last minute, change your mind.

Your Monday Creativity Wake-Up Call: That Strange Day

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:20:40 GMT

Hey writers,

The July/August issue of Writer’s Digest is nearly off newsstands, and I feel a bit weepy, like an old friend is about to pack up the U-Haul, give some of those awkward parting hugs and hit the road. I love this edition, and I say that not to get everyone out to the store to gobble it up in droves, but because—from Jessica Strawser’s interview with literary guru Anne Tyler to the publishing survival guide package and the blast I had profiling travel writer Rick Steves—it’s one of my favorites from the last two years.

July/August 2009 WD: Gone too soon, off to the great mag universe in the sky. (Or, rather, to the Internet, where it will live on at the Writer’s Digest Shop.) Luckily it’s slick sibling, the September 2009 issue focused on literary agents, hits newsstands in mid-August, with cutting-edge coverboy Cory Doctorow dishing about his innovative (and seriously cool) approaches to publishing.

As some Monday coffee for your creativity (without all the acidic burn), here’s the prompt I wrote for the July/August issue. Onward!

Yours in writing,

Zachary

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PROMPT: That Strange Day
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring:

It’s been raining for weeks and a single thought has been stuck in your mind: It plays itself over and over, and you can’t stop pondering what happened on that strange day—the day it started raining.

Your Weekend Creativity Challenge: Like a Virgin

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:25:55 GMT

Hey writers,

Attached below: Your weekend prompt.

In a short story I’m working on, a character fires a gun. No momentous occasion for the character; not exactly out of the ordinary. Except when he went to shoot it, the report fizzled out—a bang somewhere between a snap-and-pop and a stack of books hitting the ground. The bullet left the chamber and sauntered out into the open, leaving the character itching a bug bite and sending a text message.

Which made me realize: I knew nothing about how to fire a gun. What happens when you fire it. How to fire it. What your hands feel like after you fire it. How the air smells.

Which, simply put, left the fiction lifeless.

So I decided to go out and get educated with a friend at a firing range—which put a lifetime of bb-gun play and video game stereotypes to shame, revealing an armada of new writing fodder—the sheer (mildly scary), restrained power. The roar. The kick. The quasi-embarrassing scratch on my face from one particularly strong kick.

As Steve Almond once wrote in our magazine, “All readers come to fiction as willing accomplices to your lies.” Sometimes, it seems, good writing is all about sharpening our lies.

Here’s to trying something new.

Have an excellent weekend,

Zachary

PROMPT: Like a Virgin
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring:

Do something you’ve never done before, and use the experience in scene.

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Also, if you're a publishing futurist or simply curious about where current trends are heading, check out Digital Book World. I'm intrigued, and the blog debates are pretty stirring.

Your Mid-Week Prompt: Redefining Love

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:15:35 GMT

Hey writers,

How goes it? All is well in Promptland and Digest-ville. We just wrapped our October issue and are plodding onward toward our November/December mag, and the (most-excellent) post-wrap (brief) calm has descended. I’m working on a piece for the next issue involving literary journals and magazines, and I’m curious, since many of you have the short-fiction skills—have any of you written for any lit mags? Which are your favorites?

Also, a tip of the hat to J. Alvey and his authentic, spooky “Here’s to the Lion” story. It takes the cake as this week’s Notable Story pick. Thanks for the great tale and a great spin on the prompt and predators, Joe.

Be well and write well,

Zachary

PROMPT: Redefining Love
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring:

In a scene, define love.

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Also, there’s been a lot of talk around the office about the upcoming Writer’s Digest Conference on the business of getting published and selling books. Yesterday the WD event powers that be announced that all attendees can get free critiques of their work, and 10 will be selected to meet with literary agents. (If you’re interested, it’s Sept. 18-20, New York. You can read more here.)

Your Monday Prompt: Wherever You May Write

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:42:26 GMT

Hey writers,

Hope everyone had an excellent weekend. I ended up stumbling upon whereiwrite.org (check it out if you have a second—it’s fascinating), a site that documents notable scribes in their natural habitats. Which made me wonder: Where do you all write?

Here’s to hoping all is well in your world (and at your desk),

Zachary

PROMPT: Wherever You May Write
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring:

Write a scene that takes place wherever you write. Take an object [or two] that is always present at your desk, and make it a key element of your scene.

Your Weekend Prompt: That Wicked Old Scent

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:59:39 GMT

Hey writers,

The battle to finish our October issue wages on, and so I’ll again be brief: Here’s to hoping your writing and muses are treating you well. Mine were MIA for the last few days, but I blame it on a week of ominous, slightly frightening scents in the hallway of my otherwise cozy apartment building (see below).

Have a great Friday-Saturday-Sunday!

Zachary

PROMPT: That Wicked Old Scent
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring, write a story inspired by or containing the following:

“It smells like something has died in the walls,” she said.
“Well, do something about it.”
“I always do.”
He remembered what happened last time, and the sun sagged low.

Your Wednesday Prompt: Here's To the Lion

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:42:47 GMT

Hey writers,

On Monday I read through last week’s pool of stories: How you all turn around such content so fast with innovative spins continues to baffle me. Moreover, it’s awesome to see Constant Writers (the Promptly pickpocketing of Stephen King’s Constant Readers terminology) developing—a sense of your voices is percolating to the surface. I’m proud to have you writing here, and I type that without flattery. To you, and our new writers this week, thanks for sticking around after the initial challenge. I’d like to call all of you out, but you know who you are.

As for the Notable Story pick of the week, the title goes to Loveskidlit’s story from “Photogenic Stranger.” Check out her well-written, haunting flash-fiction here. To me, she took an unexpected direction and nailed the prompt, down to the meditative final line.

For today’s story, let’s try the Literary Roadshow approach again (I’ll pull a normal, out-of-context line from a book, and use it as a prompt—is one writer’s line-in-passing another’s creative jackpot?).

Yours in writing,

Zachary

From Ernest Hemingway’s short story "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber":

PROMPT: Here’s To the Lion
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring, write a story inspired by or containing the following:

“Here’s to the lion,” he said. “I can’t ever thank you for what you did.”
Margaret, his wife, looked away from him and back to Wilson.
“Let’s not talk about the lion,” she said.
Wilson looked over at her without smiling and now she smiled at him.

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Also, I run writing exercises in our InkWell section of the magazine, and yesterday stumbled upon Bonnie Neubauer's new WD "Take Ten for Writers" book, which is jampacked with endless prompts and exercises. If your prompt quota is still not filled, check it out or read an excerpt here—it inspires jealousy in even the finest prompt scribes.

Your Monday Prompt: Next Time, Chew

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:17:02 GMT

Hey scribes,

We’re waging a final salvo against the October issue of Writer’s Digest magazine, so I’ll be brief today, and wish you an excellent Monday. I hope all is well in your universes, both fictive and traditional. I’m planning to drop a WD nod of the hat to last week’s Notable Story pick Wednesday.

Write on,

Zachary

PROMPT: Next Time, Chew
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring:

At dinner, you choke. Something flashes before your eyes, only it’s not exactly your life.

Your Friday Prompt: The Terrible Decision

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:21:13 GMT

Hey writers,

At an old copy-editing job, I worked with a writer who thought it was hilarious to slip the occasional vulgarity—often spectacularly creative and monstrous—into one of the publication’s stories before I proofed them all. It became a sort of game, a sort of watching Zac over the top of a page as his eyes widened in final-proof horror. Sure, I chuckled, grumbled and deleted the intruder (albeit on the brink of journalism tears).

But what if I hadn’t?

Forget that for a second, and consider a moment from yesterday or today, a moment when you could have done something terrible if you had just changed one small thing. It could be anything stirred up in your imagination: bellowing a cheerful vulgarity to a co-worker who issued you the standard morning Hello!; mumbling, “No, more, all of it, everything,” when cashing a check at the bank; choosing not to extinguish a candle burning close to the curtains in a house you’ve lived in for too long.

How do you define “terrible”? And isn’t it sort of fascinating how one otherwise mundane moment, decision or turn of phrase can change a life, spreading alternate futures out like the branches of a tree?

So keep the terribleness confined to your writing (and away from poor, young copy editors), and have a great weekend!

And, happy birthday to Audrey.

Yours in writing,

Zachary

PROMPT: THE TERRIBLE DECISION
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring:

Choose a moment from yesterday or today, an otherwise normal moment when you could have done something extreme, something terrible, if you had just done one small thing different. Do it in scene.

Surprise Attack; New Pet

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:10:40 GMT

Hey writers,

Do you know what house centipedes are? Those multi-legged monsters that look like the next generation of weaponized spider, and move with the speed of a gazelle? I found one in my apartment last night and a scuffle ensued. Afterward, as we sat there looking at each other, beaten and exhausted, I felt a little bad for ~~Clyde~~ him, and the following prompt bubbled to the surface.

Intruders aside, here’s the latest news about moving forward: Every week, I'll go through and pick a great story to call out in an entry as a "Notable Story of the Week." At the end of every month, we'll have the usual swag-off, and I'll rotate my co-judges to keep the perspectives fresh (I'll also get a logo drawn up for the winners, in case they have websites they want to use it on).

Yours in writing,

Zachary

PROMPT: Surprise Attack; New Pet
In 500 words or less, funny, sad or stirring:

Something unexpected attacks you. Now, you have to decide whether or not to keep it as a pet.

Your Monday Prompt: Photogenic Stranger

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:58:52 GMT

Hey writers,

Everyone have a good weekend? After several million recommendations over the last few years, I finally caved and my girlfriend Audrey and I hunkered down and tackled part of the first season of Dexter—Showtime’s eerie/hilarious series about, well, a good serial killer who kills bad serial killers who kill good people. Around episode four, a plot arises involving old photographs—which prompted me to look through some of mine. As I did, the following prompt developed. (Editor's Note: That pun was unintentional, so after suspiciously eyeballing it for a few minutes, I'm going to let it stand. I was also going to bring an awkward family photo from a decade or two ago to post as creative fodder, but my flash drive isn't working, so you have been spared.)

Moreover, Writer’s Digest online guru Brian Klems and I are going to sift through the stories from the Kick-Off Challenge today, and we’ll announce the winner—and his or her swag—tomorrow, so stay tuned.

Hope all is well in your writing world,

Zachary

PROMPT: Photogenic Stranger
In 500 words or less, funny, sad or stirring:

You develop a roll of film, an old roll from about 10 years ago, and sit down to sift through the photos. As you do, you stop and analyze a figure lurking in the background of a vacation photo. You drop the pictures, aghast, and gasp for air.

Promptly Kick-Off Finale: The Damaging Dispute

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:00:00 GMT

Hey writers,

Welcome to the last day of the Great Promptly Kick-Off Breaking-Block Challenge. My brain tends to not fully warm up until 10:15 a.m. or so, so rather than sleep-type, I'll back out gracefully by saying thanks for all of your awesome responses so far. We'll pick our favorite story from the first three prompts on Monday (you have until Sunday night to get a response in for the challenge) and shell out some WD swag.

Happy Friday!

Zachary

PROMPT: The Damaging Dispute
In 500 words or less, funny, sad or stirring:

Write an argument—the worst dispute your character has ever been in, at least in his or her opinion—without using a single exclamation point or all-caps word. It’s an exercise in discipline: Keep the fire contained, brimming at the surface but never boiling over. Oh, and make sure you mention a pair of pliers and a spectator.

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ADDENDUM! Remember how I said that my brain doesn't come fully online until 10:15? It's about 10:35, and I just realized I forgot to mention something super-cool: Next Thursday, WD friends Jane Friedman and Alice Pope will be giving a webinar on how to write a book query letter that gets a response.

I can vouch for Jane and Alice's knowledge and awesomeness, so here's the info in case you're interested in cracking book queries, or getting some feedback on one you've stalled out on:

"Extreme Makeover: The Query Letter."
Date: Thursday, July 23, 2009
Length: 60 minutes
Price: $99.00
Presenters: Jane Friedman & Alice Pope
All attendees will be invited to submit a one-page book query letter for potential critique in this hands-on session.

You’ll witness the unbelievable transformation of ordinary, everyday query letters into strong and persuasive letters that catch the attention of agents and editors.

A seasoned and experienced editor will revise letters for stronger leads, concise and efficient expression, and compelling sales hooks - so that you better understand what a professional immediately sees and responds to in your work.

Aside from the revision action, you'll also get a checklist of the five essential elements of every query.

Promptly Kick-Off Challenge

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:57:15 GMT

Welcome writers, one and all. For a call to arms (and an explanation of just what exactly is going on in here), check out the post below. But if you’re ready to write …

Jump into the official Promptly Kick-Off Breaking-Block Challenge. Here’s how we’ll do it: I’ll post a prompt every other day this week, starting with a muse-stirring challenge today for you to grease the wheels. On Monday, July 20, the scribe who wrote the best response and posted it in the comments section of the blog (up to a 500-word vignette, which can be your entire story or an excerpted chunk of it), as selected by myself and another Writer’s Digest editor, will claim some around-the-office writing swag.

So let’s get our pens moving, eh?

Yours in writing,

Zachary

PROMPT
In 500 words or less, funny, sad or stirring:

The phone rings and a low voice groans—“Why me?”
You hang up.
Twenty minutes later, it rings again. “You made a mistake.”
The dial tone throbs as the phone hangs from its cord, limp.