The Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

  • As a short story writer who really has to stumble on some magical inspiration to begin (let alone finish) a novel, I am fascinated by Sarah Salway’s post, “How Do You Start a Novel?”, which features a range of voices.
  • Beth Kissileff provides sound “Writing Advice About Writing Advice.”
  • I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen Anne Trubek’s New York Times Book Review essay on “Why Authors Tweet” mentioned on Twitter. But in case you’ve missed it, here’s the link.
  • In her usual generous and practical manner, Kelly James-Enger reveals her 2011 freelance earnings. (If you’re a full-time freelancer, you can pay it forward by completing the survey linked within the post.)
  • Love Diane Lockward’s look back on her poetry-filled year (not to mention the hat tip to Lisa Romeo). (My thanks to Diane for including me in some of her outward-focused poetry activities.)
  • Huge thanks to David Abrams for hosting me over on his amazing blog, The Quivering Pen, where I’ve just contributde a fresh take to the “My First Time” series by confessing what it’s like to receive the first punch-in-the-gut review of one’s book. (By the way, David is looking for other guest-bloggers for that column: “The Quivering Pen blog is looking for published authors to guest blog for the weekly feature ‘My First Time.‘ Have an interesting story to tell about your first experience(s) in writing and/or publishing? Drop me a line at david dot abrams at gmail dot com. I’ll be glad to send more guidelines. Please feel free to re-share, Tweet or email to all your writer friends, too.”)
  • Quotation of the Week: Charles Johnson

    The following snippet appeared on Twitter last Saturday as a live-tweet from the Modern Language Association’s 2012 convention in Seattle. It comes from a session that was billed as “A Creative Conversation with Charles Johnson,” with Linda F. Selzer presiding.

    Selzer: “You’ve written four novels.”
    Johnson: “I’ve written ten novels. Published four.”

    Source: @Brent_Newsom

    (Johnson, let us remember, has won the National Book Award for fiction, NEA and Guggenheim fellowships, and many other honors.)

    Monday Markets/Jobs/Opportunities for Writers

  • I’ve mentioned this no-fee contest in a previous issue of The Practicing Writer, but since the deadline is approaching, it’s probably worth mentioning again: “This year sampad is delighted to be celebrating the 150th anniversary of the birth of Rabindranath Tagore with Inspired by Tagore an international writing competition. Tagore was a hugely influential South Asian poet and many sampad projects have celebrated his legacy or been sparked by a line of his poetry….There are 2 categories: one for writers aged between 8 and 15, one for writers aged 16 and over. Entries can be poetry, short stories or reportage, and writers can submit up to 6 pieces of work, maximum length 400 words, using Tagore’s poetry and writing as a starting point.” Cash prizes and publication. Open to writers around the world. Deadline: January 31, 2012.
  • From WritersWeekly.com: “We’re Out Of Features! QUERY US! WritersWeekly pays $60 on acceptance for features averaging around 600 words. See our guidelines HERE.”
  • “The American South is a haunted place — full of ghost stories, native legends, persistent devils & angels, souls sold at the crossroads, and moon-eyed maidens living in the Okefenokee. The South’s best writers — Faulkner, O’Connor, McCullers — all keep this sense of the otherworldly in their fiction. In this spirit, Q & W Publishers is looking for submissions for an anthology of short fiction and non-fiction that explores the fantastic, eerie, and bizarre side of the American South.” Pays: $50/accepted piece, plus one copy of the anthology.”
  • From the Kentucky Arts Council: “BOOKSTORE SEEKING LOCAL AUTHOR BOOKS FOR SALE Bakery Blessings & Bookstore @ the Bar in Lexington is accepting local, Kentucky author books for sale on consignment. More info: Jan(at)aprilword(dot)com.”
  • Something for my fellow New Yorkers: Free writing workshops around Manhattan on January 10 and 11. Check them out and pre-register.
  • From Colby College (Maine): “Position in Fiction Writing starting September 2012 to teach 1-3 sections of Introduction to Fiction (English 278). Applicants must have a MFA or equivalent, publication, and evidence of teaching effectiveness at the college level.”
  • The Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University (Mass.) seeks a Staff Writer, Melville House Publishing (Brooklyn, N.Y.) is looking for a Publicist, and Carleton College (Minn.) seeks applications for a Publications Writer/Editor.
  • Friday Find: Free Books!

    As hard as it may be to believe, my short-story collection, Quiet Americans, is almost one year old! Its official pub date was January 19, 2011.

    To celebrate this milestone, I’m offering three lucky people free copies of the book. If you’re in the U.S., you can have a signed print copy. If you’re outside the U.S., I can offer you a Kindle copy. (If you’re in the U.S. and prefer a Kindle copy, you can opt for that instead of the print version. It will be totally up to you. And if your name is chosen and you already own a copy and would prefer to gift one instead, we can do that, too.)

    All you have to do is follow me on Twitter OR “like” my Facebook page.

    That’s it. Simple.

    Prizewinners will be chosen randomly and announced on January 19, 2012. Of course, if you follow me on Twitter AND like my Facebook page, you will improve your chances of winning.

    I’d love it if you’d spread the word. (Even if that decreases your own chances, you’ll earn karmic points.)

    Thank you so much. Have a great weekend, and see you back here on Monday!

    UPDATED: To avoid confusion, let me explain that there will be a total of 3 winners. I wish I could spare up to six print copies right now, but I just can’t!

    Quotation of the Week: Scott Nadelson

    Q: “What advice would you give your younger self?”

    “I think it would be the same advice I give myself now, whenever I feel frustrated or lost, whenever I worry that I’ll never write another decent book or story or sentence: Don’t take yourself too seriously.

    I once had a teacher who told me a story about a conversation he had with Grace Paley. He was working with her while at Stanford, complaining to her about how badly the writing was going, how tortured he was by the process. And she turned to him and said, ‘You don’t have to do it, you know. No one’s sitting around waiting for your next story.’

    It may be devastating to realize that no one but you is going to care if you stop writing. But it’s also wonderfully freeing. All pressures and expectations drop away. You don’t have to worry about shaping the future of literature or saving the world. You can just put one word after another for the simple pleasure of making something out of nothing.”

    Source: Interview with Scott Nadelson, Fiction Writers Review