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Friday Finds for Writers

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

Treasure ChestWriting-related resources, news, and reflections to read over the weekend.

  • I agree that “said is NOT dead,” but I’m likely to cut other writers (and myself) a little more slack for dialogue tags. In other words, I won’t declare that “said” must be the tag of choice 99 percent of the time. 92 percent, maybe. I’m also a fan of tagless dialogue (as when it’s obvious who’s speaking).
  • Diane Lockward wonders if this writing scam might work on someone. (Let’s hope not!)
  • The Ploughshares blog rounds up some excellent advice on getting published.
  • Helpful hints for planning a virtual book tour.
  • A very good Twitter tutorial (aimed toward journalists, but I think that most of us can benefit).

    • Have a great weekend, all. See you back here on Monday.

    Wednesday’s Work-in-Progress: Updated Eponymous Guide to Literary Contests and Competitions

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    By now, many of you know that I’m into the tenth year of publishing a free monthly newsletter for writers. Titled “The Practicing Writer,” the newsletter has evolved over time to include ONLY no-fee competitions and paying calls for submissions, plus other news and resources for writers of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. (Read the current issue.)

    Over the years, I’ve offered new newsletter subscribers an exclusive benefit: a guide to “eponymous literary contests and competitions.” I’ve previously titled this guide “From (A)lgren to (Y)eats.” But in the latest update–which I concluded a few days ago–I decided that, in keeping with my newsletter policies, I should limit the contests and competitions listed in the guide to opportunities that don’t charge fees. Sadly, I can’t find any Yeats-related contest that is also fee-free. So this edition of the guide brings a title change: “From (A)lgren to (W)illiams.”

    The guide goes out automatically to new subscribers, but the file is available to current subscribers as well. (NB: If you’re a newsletter subscriber but you have trouble accessing the file, please read this for advice. I hope that will help!)

    UPDATE, 8:00 AM: I can’t help but wonder if this post, which went live shortly after midnight, is what attracted the attention of the nefarious hacker who evidently hacked into my Yahoo! account a few hours ago. In any case, I apologize profusely for any nasty messages any of you have received from “me.” Hopefully, the situation has been remedied. Thank you for your understanding.

    Friday Finds for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    2

    Treasure ChestWriting-related resources, news, and reflections to read over the weekend.

  • We can’t all be students in the University of Michigan’s MFA program, but thanks to Fiction Writers Review, we can get a sense of Colson Whitehead’s recent visit there.
  • From the Ploughshares blog: “If you want to get out of the slush pile, one of the worst things you can do is write a lackluster first paragraph.”
  • The Knight Foundation has apologized for paying plagiarist Jonah Lehrer a $20,000 speaking fee.
  • New and worthy reads on the horizon, courtesy of The Quivering Pen and Fiction Writers Review.
  • Finally, just slightly later than the rest of us, The New York Times has discovered Goodreads.

    • Have a great weekend, everyone. See you back here on Monday!

    Friday Finds for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    5

    Treasure ChestWriting-related resources, news, and reflections to read over the weekend.

  • The benefits of reverse-outlining, according to fictionist Aaron Hamburger.
  • Big news from the Poetry Foundation: Robert Polito will be its next president.
  • So many people have been recommending “Salon’s Guide to Writing a Memoir” this week, but I can’t get past Lauren Slater’s advice–which reminds me how much (and why) I loathed Lying, which I was required to read as an MFA student. (Too bad, too, because I’d admired Slater’s previous memoirs.)
  • I love this free, downloadable “success chart” that’s offered on poet Kelli Russell Agodon’s blog.
  • Steve Almond explains “Why I Write Smut: A Manifesto.”

    • Have a wonderful weekend, all. See you back here on Monday.

    Monday Markets for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    Monday brings the weekly batch of no-fee competitions/contests, paying submission calls, and jobs for those of us who write (especially those of us who write fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction).

  • “Spirit First is pleased to announce its fourth annual meditation poetry contest. Poetry submissions may be of any length and any style but must have a theme of meditation, mindfulness, stillness, or silence. Poems may reflect any discipline, any faith, or none. Poems must be previously unpublished.” Deadline: January 31, 2013 (received). Cash prizes: $175/$125/$75. No entry fee. (via WinningWriters.com)
  • Here’s a contest that will award $100 worth of Amazon vouchers: the Clickinks Poetry Competition. “With the start of the New Year we all become focussed on making resolutions and turning over a new leaf. This is why we would like you to write a poem on ‘new beginnings’. The competition is open to applicants of all ages, whether you are a budding or experienced writer, we want your poems! It can be written in any style, as long as it’s no more than 45 lines and must be your own work.” Deadline is February 11, 2013. No entry fee.
  • I’m happy to report that Pamelyn Casto’s newsletter devoted to flash literature is back! This free resource is “devoted to markets, contests, and publishing news for short-short literature 1,500 words or fewer (including short-short fiction, prose poetry, haibun, flash memoirs, flash creative nonfiction, flash plays).” (Be forewarned that not every market included in this newsletter pays, and you may find some fee-charging contests, too. Nonetheless, I subscribe, and you can, too.
  • NYC writers! Applications are open for the 2013 Center for Fiction Emerging Writers Fellowship, which provides an array of benefits (including a $4,000 grant and writing space). Ten writers will be chosen for 2013 fellowships. No application fee. Apply by February 15, 2013.
  • Monmouth University (N.J.) is looking for an Assistant Professor, Creative Nonfiction; the University of Louisiana, Lafayette, is advertising for an Assistant/Associate Professor and Writer-in-Residence; Southwest Minnesota State University seeks an Assistant Professor of English (Creative Writing); Naropa University (Colo.) invites applications for an Assistant Professor of Writing and Poetics; and Full Sail University (Fla.) is in search of an Associate Course Director for Creative Writing.