Thursday’s Post-Publication Post: One Writer’s Summer To-Do List, Three Weeks In

Today marks three weeks since I posted my summer to-do list. What sort of progress have I made? I’ll share that below, in an updated reprint of the post.

North of the equator, we’ve just begun summer. Although I’m still going to be working 40 hours a week in my day job, still running the usual errands, still partaking in the same family responsibilities (and joys), I’m also hoping to accomplish certain writing-related goals before we merge into fall.

After all, for six weeks this summer, my 40 hours at the office will be recalibrated: heavier on Mondays-Thursdays with “summer Fridays” off. I hope to use those Fridays wisely. And I hope that I can use the general light and energy of the summer to help infuse some projects under way and others that I hope to start.

Herewith, items on my list of writerly hopes, plans, ambitions, and commitments for the season.

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The Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

  • One reason that I love Midge Raymond’s latest writing prompt is that the story I’m drafting right now actually began with the working title, “Mistake.” (It may return to that title, too, but for now it’s got another name.)
  • Coming soon in The Writer: my review of Microstyle: The Art of Writing Little, by Christopher Johnson. Curious about this book? You can win one of 20 free copies via Goodreads! Enter by July 16 (U.S. addresses only).
  • The Story Prize blog is featuring a series of posts (mini-essays and Q&As) with the authors of collections that have been submitted for the 2011 prize. These posts make for great and thoughtful reading. See, for instance, Charles Baxter’s response to the question “What do you think a good short story collection should deliver?”.
  • I’ll be mentioning this again on my other blog, but I’m delighted to learn that poet and professor Rick Chess has joined the team over on Good Letters, the blog of the literary journal Image, which prides itself on presenting “the best writing and artwork that is informed by—or grapples with—religious faith.”
  • Basic guidelines for social media etiquette, courtesy of Robert Lee Brewer.
  • Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities for Writers

  • Attention, practicing writers in the Boston area: “Grub Street is happy to be able to offer fifteen partial (50% discount) scholarships for our newly expanded daytime course curriculum to writers who have been impacted by the economic downturn. Scholarships are valid for one year from date of issuance, and can be used towards any weekday Grub Street class that takes place between the hours of 9am – 5pm. To see a sampling of our current daytime offerings, click here: http://bit.ly/pf5gnv. Starting in Fall 2011, we’ll have a more robust calendar of daytime events.” Application deadline: July 25, 2011. No application fee indicated.
  • Wordrunner Electronic Chapbooks plans an anthology e-chapbook (fiction only) on the subject of “loss”: “We want to read about any kind of loss and its impact, be it serious or humorous or both.” Writers may submit up to three stories; at least one of the submitted stories must be previously unpublished. This mini-collection will feature work by up to six authors. Submission deadline is August 21, 2011. Pays: “Per story: $10 to $20, depending on final selections.”
  • This one’s for you, practicing-writers-who-are-also-high-school-teachers: “The Norman Mailer Center and the National Council of Teachers of English are pleased to invite submissions for the 2011 Norman Mailer Writing Award for High School Teachers. Full- and part-time high school teachers are eligible to enter the competition….From five finalists, one winner will be selected to receive a $10,000 cash prize along with travel and lodging to attend the Norman Mailer Center’s Annual Gala on November 8, 2011, in New York City, where the Mailer Prize and the Norman Mailer High School and College Writing Awards are also presented. The winner will also receive a fellowship to the prestigious Norman Mailer Writers Colony during the summer of 2012.” Application deadline is July 27, 2011 (noon, CST), and the work entered–which must be fiction–may be previously published (if publication took place within the last 12 months). The competition is open to teachers who live outside the U.S. but work in American-accredited schools. No entry fee indicated.
  • “The Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) and the editorial team of film.culture360.org are inviting potential writers (comprising of film journalists, filmmakers, film academics, festival programmers, film professionals and film enthusiasts) from ASEM countries to submit proposals for articles. The selected articles will be published on culture360.org website dedicated to connecting Asia and Europe through film.” Proposals are due before July 31, 2011. Pays: “The writers will receive a financial remuneration of 250 Singapore Dollars (SGD) per article.” (Find a list of ASEM countries by scrolling down this page.)
  • The University of Wyoming seeks a Managing Editor for UWyo Magazine, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (Toronto) is looking for a Web and Social Media Editor (25 hrs/week, one-year position), and the College Art Association (N.Y.) is advertising an Editorial Assistant position.
  • Friday Find: Expert Advice on MFA Programs (and More)

    Remember when I introduced you to Stephanie Vanderslice and her new book, Rethinking Creative Writing in Higher Education? Remember that I told you to anticipate an interview with the author?

    Well, today’s the day. Please click here to soak up Professor Vanderslice’s sage words on where writing programs should be going (and, yes, where they have been).

    Don’t forget that you’ll find lots of other interviews with practicing writers archived here on the site, too. Just in case you’re looking for a little more reading material this weekend!

    Speaking of the weekend, enjoy it, and we’ll see you back here on Monday!