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July 4, 2009
Fiction
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Here's a Q&A with Marcy Kennedy, winner of the 2009 WD Popular Fiction Awards.
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I’m afraid I’ll have to start my discussion of plausibility with a student story that remains vivid to me after some five years. The notion that a 21-year-old would even attempt to write a short story, let alone subject such work to the unpredictable blandishments of a workshop, strikes me as ridiculously courageous. I didn’t work up the nerve to write fiction until I was nearly 30.

by Steve Almond

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In the English countryside they have stone walls to keep in the sheep. Some of these walls have been around for centuries, and they’re amazing architectural achievements. The flat stones are not uniform. They differ in color and shape, yet they fit together to form the whole.

by James Scott Bell

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Each scene needs to have a clear point-of-view character. The rule is one POV per scene. No “head- hopping.” The exception is when you’re using omniscient POV, which has its own challenges. Otherwise, stick with one.  

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We’ve all been there: basking in the glow of a finished manuscript, only to read it over and realize something is wrong with the plot. Finding ourselves unable to identify the problem only makes matters worse. But take heart! Here are some common plot gaffes and sensible ways to revise without starting over.

by Laura Whitcomb

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Your plot has an effect on the rhythm between your scenes, summary and reflection. To help you examine your plot’s rhythm, try one of these exercises.
 

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Karen Dionne, author of Freezing Point, reveals what her late hero, Michael Crichton, taught her about crafting solid fiction.

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In this online exclusive, WD goes in depth with the 9th Annual Short Short Story Competition winner Lee Hubbard.

by Zachary Petit Read more
From a batch of some 6,380 entries, Writer’s Digest editors selected Lee Hubbard’s “We Sat in the Darkness” as the grand-prize winner of the 9th Annual Writer’s Digest Short Short Story Competition. Read Hubbard's story here. Read more
“We’re past the age of heroes and hero kings. If we can’t make up stories about ordinary people, who can we make them up about?”--John Updike Read more