May/June2013 Issue
May/June Issue
Writer's Digest Magazine
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Creative Nonfiction Writing
Nonfiction covers everything from history and cooking to self help and travel. Here you’ll find learn how to master nonfiction writing, how to conduct good research, collect data, and convey a sense of authority in your work – no matter what you choose to write.
5 New Year’s Resolutions for Writers
A new year, a new writerly you. New Year’s Day is a time for reflecting on the past year while thinking about the goals, wishes, and hopes for the new year ahead. … Read more
How to Write a Reader-Friendly Essay
Powerful, surprising, and fascinating personal essays are also “reader-friendly essays” that keep the reader squarely in focus. So how do you go about writing one? In this excerpt from Crafting the Personal … Read more
How to Resurrect a Stalled Manuscript
Is your manuscript stuck? Take a break from completing your fiction project and diagnose it. Here’s how to take your manuscript into its next phase: completion. Read more
10 Ways to Tell if Your Story Should be a Memoir or a Novel
Should your story be fictionalized or be a true telling of your life? You have to decide. Here are 10 factors to consider. Read more
Why Julia Cameron Plays By Her Own Writing Rules
Alcoholism. A turbulent Hollywood marriage. Writer’s Block. For the author of The Artist’s Way, the path of the writer has never been a walk in the park. Read more
50 Simple Ways to Build Your Platform in 5 Minutes a Day
If you’re the kind of writer who prefers being read and selling your work as opposed to being an unknown starving writer (who doesn’t?), here are 50 quick, simple ways to launch your platform into action and climb your way to success. Read more
5-Minute Memoir: Hidden in Plain Sight
5-Minute Memoir is exactly what it sounds like—a personal essay on some facet of the writing life, be it a narrative or a reflection, pensive, touching or hilarious. Enjoy this installment from Kathleen Cleberg. Read more
5-Minute Memoir: The Beauty of Bones
5-Minute Memoir is exactly what it sounds like—a personal essay on some facet of the writing life, be it a narrative or a reflection, pensive, touching or hilarious. Enjoy this installment from N.M. Kleby. Read more
5-Minute Memoir: The Art of Falling Without Hitting the Ground
5-Minute Memoir is exactly what it sounds like—a personal essay on some facet of the writing life, be it a narrative or a reflection, pensive, touching or hilarious. Enjoy this installment from Robert B Robeson. Read more
3 Tips for Consistent Tone
If you find yourself having a difficult time sustaining one tone over a long work, try these three tricks. Read more
The 4 Pet Peeves of Freelancers (and How to Tackle Them)
Here’s a quartet of freelancers’ biggest pet peeves—and how to tackle
them when they happen to you. Read more
Write-A-Thon Poster
Download a 26-day countdown poster with energy boosting ideas to fuel your marathon and track your accomplishments from Day 1 to Day 26. Write-A-Thon Poster 8.5×11 Write-A-Thon Poster 11×17 … Read more
Write-A-Thon Interview
Q&A with Rochelle Melander, author of Write-A-Thon Need a speaker? Contact Rochelle to speak by phone with your critique group, NaNoWriMo region, or book group: rochelle@writenowcoach.com How many books have you written … Read more
Write-A-Thon Excerpt
Need a speaker? Contact Rochelle to speak by phone with your critique group, NaNoWriMo region, or book group: rochelle@writenowcoach.com Avoid Overwhelm From Write-A-Thon by Rochelle Melander Being a poet is one of … Read more
Write-A-Thon
Write-A-Thon: Write Your Book in 26 Days (and Life to Tell About it) by Rochelle Melander Writer’s Digest Books, 2011 ISBN-13: 978-1-59963-391-6 ISBN-10: 1-59963-391-4 $16.99 paperback, 240 pages Buy the book! … Read more
How to Be an Online Critique Geek
Can a virtual critique group really be as good as meeting face to face? If you make the most of the format, it could be even better. Here’s how. Read more
10 Ways Writers Lose Blog Traffic and Alienate Readers
As a food and travel writer, I rely on my blog as my lifeline. It helps me connect with my readers and is a wonderful platform to make my voice heard. But … Read more
How to Craft Compelling Characters
To make characters seem real, you need to tap into what drives them. Use this foolproof method to bring the emotion of your story to life.
by David Corbett
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Finding Your Memoir’s Voice
Literary agent Paula Balzer discussed finding your voice in this excerpt from her book WRITING & SELLING YOUR MEMOIR. Read more
Q&A With Michael Larsen
Literary agent Michael Larsen shares wisdom from over four decades in the publishing industry.
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Selling the Sizzle: Your Proposal
In this excerpt from Chapter Seven: Selling the Sizzle: Your Opening and Hook from How to Write a Book Proposal, 4th Edition by Michael Larsen, you’ll:
- Find out what agents look for in a hook
- Choose the opening that fits your book
- See examples of successful openings and hooks
How to Write a Book Proposal, 4th Edition
Learn how to craft a proposal agents and editors can’t resist with How to Write a Book Proposal, 4th Edition.
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