Let’s look at one or two more poetic forms before the end of the year, starting with the katauta poem. Katauta Poems The katauta is a Japanese poetic form that is actually considered an incomplete or half-poem. It’s a 3-liner that follows either 5-7-5 or more commonly 5-7-7 syllables per line....
He is seeking: Ed is seeking expert and narrative nonfiction authors, novelists and graphic novelists, as well as children’s book authors and illustrators.
How many times have you wanted to throw your laptop across the room when Microsoft Word started moving slower than a three-toed sloth with a bad case of vertigo? If you’re like me and your manuscript is over 100,000 words, it probably happens on a fairly regular basis. I’ve had it...
Find the 10 best winter poems for poets and lovers of poetry here. From classics to contemporary and for poetry lovers of all ages, this post has something for everyone looking to get a mix a little poetry with their winter.
4. Make time for writing, because promotion can and will take over. My debut book came out in late June and I feel like I’m still recovering from the launch and subsequent promotional activities. It’s a real shift to go from primarily focused on the creation of a thing and then...
For today’s prompt, write a reflection poem. This poem could be about a physical reflection (or lack of reflection if you’re talking vampires). But poems that deal with reflections as thoughts work too. In fact, any creative interpretation of reflection or reflective surfaces will be accepted. ***** Re-create Your Poetry! Revision...
It’s one of my favorite questions to ask during poet interviews, something along the lines of “who is your favorite poet nobody knows but should?” And the reason is simple: I love learning about new-to-me poets no one’s heard of but should know, whether they’re contemporary or long lost voices of...
Here are the results of the Writer’s Digest Poetic Form Challenge for the dizain. There were a lot of great dizains, but only 10 can make the Top 10 list and just one can win. Read all the dizains here. So here is the winner: Firsts, by Jane Shlensky First frost...
Keep reading if you want to live. Garden gnome attacks rise sharply during the holidays. This phenomenon is because people’s affection for Santa’s elves causes them to confuse friendly North Pole helpers with the vicious murdering murderers known as garden gnomes (gnomus hortus). We must always remember that while gnomes enjoy...
1. Write a good book. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Yet it can be difficult to accomplish. A good book is unique, with compelling characters, voice, and plot. It’s not easy to come up with something original when you’re writing within the confines of a genre like romance, where the tropes are...
When I say you can ignore these rules, I don’t mean that you should. These “truisms” floating around about writing are useful to think about, especially when you’re starting out, and they can point you to weaknesses in your work. In the end, though, you have to trust your own process....
How do you hook an agent right away, keep them hooked, and make the most of your new publishing relationship? In this Boot Camp starting Dec. 12, 2016, “How to Find and Keep a Literary Agent,” you’ll learn how to get a literary agent’s attention through a great submission, and also...
Since many poets are getting together their November chapbooks this month, here are some poetry chapbook strategies. These are different than the 5 Tips for Organizing Poetry Chapbook Manuscripts, which is also worth a quick read. Here are four poetry chapbook strategies: Include Only Your Most Vital Poems. Ten pages of...
Jen is seeking: fantasy, science fiction, YA in certain areas, steampunk, gaslight, dieselpunk, and Historicals where the characters actually fit in the era. She enjoys Historical romance, time travels, fantasy, inspirational, paranormal (nothing past the 1940s).
7. Patience. Perhaps the most important thing I have learned so far is patience. Patience with myself when nothing seems to go well, patience waiting for feedback from busy friends or professionals (and patience with their comments when they arrive…), patience as publishers consider their response, and patience until that great...
Wow! After a month of writing a poem each and every day, it felt so weird going a whole week between prompts. For today’s prompt, write a pop poem. This poem could be about popcorn, pop-up books, pop-out decorations, pop quizzes, pop culture, Pop-Tarts, or any number of pop-related topics. Just...
Please join me in welcoming Amorak Huey to the Poetic Asides blog! Amorak Huey, a former newspaper editor and reporter, is author of the poetry collection Ha Ha Ha Thump (Sundress, 2015) and the chapbooks The Insomniac Circus (Hyacinth Girl, 2014) and A Map of the Farm Three Miles from the...
A new month means a new WD Poetic Form Challenge–this time for the landay! Find the rules for writing landays here. It’s an interesting form that can be as concise as a couplet or expand for several stanzas. So start writing them and sharing here on the blog (this specific post)...
Maximilian is actively pursuing clients for both fiction and nonfiction works. In fiction, he is acquiring science fiction, fantasy, horror and thrillers, particularly cyberpunk and neo-noir as well as books with a uniquely deconstructive bent. For nonfiction, Maximilian is seeking popular science, true crime and books pertaining to arts and trends...
Does the name one selects to grace the cover of his or her book feel right to build a reputation and writing career on? Only the author can ultimately decide what is right.
Here are the results of the Writer’s Digest Poetic Form Challenge for the haiku sonnet. As usual, many poems made the original cut before I was able to get it down to a Top 10 list and eventual winner. Read all the haiku sonnets here. Here is the winner: Waterfall, by...
I’ve interviewed enough authors over the years to know this: Even the most successful among them can remember with vivid clarity the tentative tingling of first sitting down to write a novel and feeling as if they had no idea what they were doing. In fact, some of them still experience...
Okay, here are the next steps for this challenge. Before you dive into them, click here to read the original guidelines for the challenge. Step One: Write the Poems We accomplished this step during the month of November. We have 30 prompts to prove it. Step Two: Revise the Poems This...
This is a recurring column I’m calling “7 Things I’ve Learned So Far,” where writers (this installment written by Rachel Dunne, author of IN THE SHADOW OF THE GODS) at any stage of their career can talk about writing advice and instruction as well as how they possibly got their book agent—by sharing seven things they’ve...
