Friday Finds for Writers

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

  • Lisa Romeo earned her MFA five years ago. What does she have to show for it? (Read this eloquent and honest piece, people. You won’t regret it.)
  • For your weekend literary listening: “Andre Dubus III & Edith Pearlman: A Reading & Conversation, Sponsored by the PEN/Faulkner Foundation,” courtesy of the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP).
  • With a little help from Ben Yagoda, Carol Tice presents “7 Simple Fixes” for writing mistakes.
  • Ron Charles reflects on Amazon.com’s “New Books” suggestions. (I am compelled to add that these suggestions may have some usefulness for book reviewers looking for not-yet-published titles to review.)
  • Finally, I’m not sure exactly which of my Twitter connections pointed me to Mashable’s “Complete Guide to Twitter Lingo,” but I think that Twitter newbies, especially, may appreciate it.
  • Happy weekend, everyone. See you back here on Monday!

    Friday Finds for Writers

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

  • “Should an M.F.A. trying to make it in her field accept an adjunct teaching job or take a break from academe?” That’s the question a writer asked The Chronicle of Higher Education‘s “Ms. Mentor.” See what the sage counselor advised.
  • Also on the economic front: “Ways to Fund Your Narrative Nonfiction Project.” (I have to admit that sleeping in a rental car doesn’t appeal to me at all, but others may be okay with it.)
  • As Short Story Month draws to a close, Elliott Holt offers a beautiful post on Chekhov’s canonical “The Lady with the Little Dog” (which happens to be one of my favorite stories, too).
  • Wise thoughts from Roxane Gay on promotion and publicity. One of my favorite snippets: “Share links to your new book, interview, essay, story, poem, whatever, once or twice, maybe even three times. Beyond that, you’re probably sharing too much, especially if we’re talking about a compressed time span.” (Also: Roxane was offering free books when she published her post on Tuesday. Maybe some of them are still left.)
  • On a related note: useful checklist of basic book-promotion materials.
  • Have a great weekend, everyone. See you back here on Monday!