May/June 2012 Issue
May/June Issue
Writer's Digest Magazine
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Website of the Week
Writing Website of the Week
Published author Roz Morris' website covers a lot of topics about writing--some serious, some for fun. Either way, it's a site that's worth a few minutes of any writer's week. (I recommend following her on Twitter too.Nail Your Novel 
*Not affiliated with our 101 Best Writing Websites feature.
Memoir Writing & Memoir Examples
Memoir writing takes guts. It’s revealing and personal – sometimes even painful to put on the page. Here you’ll find guidelines and memoir examples to ensure your story is something others will want to read. Learn how to craft it and how to get it sold.
How to “Up the Stakes” for Your Main Character
Don’t be afraid to make things hard on your characters. You should always come up with several different problems to choose from. Here are 3 ways to do that.
by Victoria Lynn Schmidt
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How to Write Your Life Story or Memoir (and Get Your Work Critiqued!)
If you’re interested in writing life stories or a memoir, we have a special webinar guest coming up. Linda Joy Myers is the president of the National Association of Memoir Writers, and … Read more
Agent Jon Sternfeld On: 5 Elements of Interesting Narrative Nonfiction (and Memoirs)
Narrative nonfiction is a difficult and crowded market. Here are some thoughts about distinguishing your work from the pack.
1. Arcs: Like a strong novel, make sure the story and the main character have Narrative Arcs—that is each needs to go somewhere. Finding the arc is key or else the story is a jumble of disjointed vignettes that lead nowhere. Evolution of character and movement of the story make a true story as engaging to read as a novel.
2. Inverse Rule for Nonfiction: The less well known the subject/story, the more blow people out of the water amazing the story needs to be. Read more
Hearing Voices: 6 Steps I Used for Creating an Anthology
1. Find A Unique Theme
After two positive experiences of contributing to anthologies about education, I was ready to work on my own. But what voice needed to be heard and hadn’t been heard before? A life-changing experience answered these questions when my son was deployed to war. The seldom-heard voices of mothers sending their sons and daughters to war needed to be heard. This Chorus would narrate their stories telling of the sacrifice our children make every day.
2. Set Goals For Your Anthology
My son made it home, defying death several times. I could breathe again. I wanted this to be a book where military mothers could all breathe a little easier, narrating our stories and sharing our burdens. Read more
How to Write a Travel Memoir
A travel memoir is a travel writing genre all its own. It is not a guidebook, trip diary or marketing piece for the Sunday paper. Rather, it is a delicate mixture of recollection and reflection that reveals how a journey, or a series of journeys, transformed the writer.
Guest column by Susan Pohlman, author of the travel memoir Halfway to Each Other: How a Year In Italy Brought Our Family Home. Good Housekeeping called the book “a remarkable story.” Read more
Your Self-Help Book Should Not Be a Thinly Disguised Memoir
If you’re writing a memoir, and it’s your very first attempt at writing (or writing seriously for publication), odds are good that you won’t yet be skillful enough to pass muster with … Read more
Quick Tip: How to Develop Your Characters
Here are 4 quick exercises to make sure your characters speak to readers (and agents).
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Motivate Your Characters Like a Pro
In his session “The Psychology of Character Motivation,” Edgar-nominated author D.P. Lyle, MD, shared this invaluable exercise for developing your characters’ motivations as your story unfolds.
by Jessica Strawser, reporting from ThrillerFest 2010 (New York City)
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