Updated Articles and Resources
- Jasper Fforde -- Jasper Fforde on WritingUpdated: 2008-08-19 @ 21:44:33 GMT
Jasper Fforde, the bestselling author of the Thursday Next series, explains how writing is like riding a jet ski and prose is like hair -- and shares what Monty Python taught him about writing come… - Calendar of March Short Story Contest Deadlines -- Dates for Book an…Updated: 2008-08-19 @ 18:55:22 GMT
Calendar listing book and short story contests, awards, fellowships, and residencies with March deadlines for creative writers. Keep up with this spring's awards here… - Short Story Contests -- What You Need to Know about September Short …Updated: 2008-08-18 @ 17:57:42 GMT
Keep up with important fellowships, grants, short story contests, and residencies with this calendar for the month of September. There are many ways to get your work out there: contests and awards … - Short Story Contest Deadlines -- What You to Know About Short Story …Updated: 2008-08-18 @ 16:30:35 GMT
Calendar listing book and short story contests, awards, fellowships, and residencies with October deadlines for fiction writers interested in submitting their short stories or novels. Information o… - Starting to WriteUpdated: 2008-08-17 @ 20:47:31 GMT
These resources will help you learn more about key elements of fiction such as characterization, point of view, and dialogue even as you find the time, the writing space, and the community that wil… - Calendar of December Short Story Contest Deadlines -- Dates for Book…Updated: 2008-08-17 @ 20:35:45 GMT
Keep up with December book and short story contests, awards, fellowships, and residencies with this calendar including information on website urls, contest deadlines, and fees… - Calendar of November Short Story Contest Deadlines -- Dates for Shor…Updated: 2008-08-17 @ 20:28:41 GMT
Calendar listing book and short story contests, awards, fellowships, and residencies with November deadlines for writers of novels and short stories interested in submitting their short stories or … - Calendar of February Short Story Contest Deadlines -- Dates for Book…Updated: 2008-08-17 @ 20:10:31 GMT
Calendar listing book and short story contests, awards, fellowships, and residencies with February deadlines for writers of novels and short stories. Links, contest deadlines, fees, and more… - Interview with Kris Saknussemm Author of Zanesville -- Zanesville Wr…Updated: 2008-08-17 @ 20:06:59 GMT
Kris Saknussemm discusses his new novel, "Zanesville," a "techno-theological post-American monster vaudeville," and the first book in a series called The Lodemania Testament, of… - Advice on Novel-Writing from Kris Saknussemm -- Five Tips for Writin…Updated: 2008-08-17 @ 20:04:51 GMT
Kris Saknussemm, author of Zanesville: A Novel, offers his advice on making it as a novelist. Features both advice on writing and publishing for the writer attempting his or her own first novel. Sa… - Calendar of June Writing Contests -- Dates for Writing Contest Submi…Updated: 2008-08-17 @ 20:01:59 GMT
Book and short story writing contest information, along with details about awards, fellowships, and residencies with June deadlines for fiction writers interested in submitting their short stories … - Calendar of July Short Story Writing Contests -- Dates for July Shor…Updated: 2008-08-17 @ 19:55:40 GMT
Book and short story writing contest information, along with details about awards, fellowships, and residencies with July deadlines for fiction writers interested in submitting their short stories … - Alix Ohlin on Themes and Plot -- Alix Ohlin Discusses WritingUpdated: 2008-08-17 @ 19:53:27 GMT
Alix Ohlin, author of "Babylon and Other Stories" and "The Missing Person," discusses her changing relationship to plot, the themes in her collection of short stories, and self-… - Figure of Speech -- Definition of Figure of Speech -- Understand Fig…Updated: 2008-08-17 @ 19:50:58 GMT
Figures of speech are imaginative, non-literal ways of using language that will make your prose stronger and more effective when used properly… - Figurative Language -- Definition of Figurative Language -- Figurati…Updated: 2008-08-17 @ 19:50:00 GMT
Figurative language is imaginative, non-literal words and phrases that make prose stronger and more effective when used properly… - Alliteration -- Definition of Alliteration -- Alliteration in FictionUpdated: 2008-08-17 @ 19:42:37 GMT
Alliteration is another tool used by creative writers, especially in more poetic works, although it is often employed for comic purposes as well… - Assonance -- Definition of Assonance -- Assonance for Creative Write…Updated: 2008-08-17 @ 18:41:29 GMT
Although the term "assonance" is most commonly seen in reference to poetry, it is a tool that all creative writers may employ at one time or another… - Simultaneous Submission -- Definition of Simultaneous Submission for…Updated: 2008-08-14 @ 15:48:33 GMT
A definition of the term "simultaneous submission" (as opposed to "multiple submission") for creative writers interested in beginning to publish their work… - The Journal -- A Literary Journal Published by Ohio State UniversityUpdated: 2008-08-14 @ 15:23:53 GMT
The Journal, published twice yearly by the Ohio State University, publishes exciting, challenging writing, without giving the impression that writers are the core audience. If you care about langua… - Top Small Literary Magazines and Journals -- Submit to Literary Maga…Updated: 2008-08-14 @ 15:10:58 GMT
Looking to start submitting your fiction to literary magazines, but unsure of where to begin? These ten journals are prefect for beginning the process. All are well-respected, but also open to work… - How to Find a Writing Class -- Evaluate Writing ClassesUpdated: 2008-08-12 @ 17:43:39 GMT
A writing class is one of the best ways to find a writing community, but how do you find a class or a teacher you know will be worthwhile? These tips will help you begin your search… - Small Press FAQ: How Do I Find a Legit Small Press?Updated: 2008-08-11 @ 19:23:28 GMT
One novelist wrote in wondering how to find legit small presses to publish her book: "I don't want to self-publish; I want a real publishing company to publish my book and help me promote it.&… - Book Revision -- A Reader Question on Book RevisionUpdated: 2008-08-11 @ 19:21:07 GMT
A reader wrote in asking for information about book revision, specifically about revising the beginning of her novel. We answered her with time-tested -- but often overlooked -- advice… - Reader Questions -- Questions from Readers about Writing and Publish…Updated: 2008-08-11 @ 19:18:17 GMT
Peruse questions about creative writing and publishing submitted by About.com readers -- and contribute your two cents -- with this list of FAQs… - Publishing a Novel Excerpt -- Is It Good to Publish an Excerpt of My…Updated: 2008-08-11 @ 19:00:17 GMT
Reader Cammie wrote in asking, "I read your write-up about how to seek out an agent, and thought you might be the right person to ask this question: is it ethical/beneficial as an unpublished … - Creative Writing - Help for Creative Writers -- Creative Writing Adv…Updated: 2008-08-07 @ 17:11:41 GMT
Find creative writing advice geared for beginning and experienced creative writers on writing fiction and getting published, including contests, competitions, exercises, and articles on craft… - Writers' Rooms -- Rooms for Writers in Urban SpacesUpdated: 2008-08-07 @ 16:48:44 GMT
Since the Writers Room opened in Manhattan in 1978 to provide urban writers with a place to write, a number of similar spaces have opened up around the U.S. and abroad. Though it doesn't guarantee … - Top Writers' Rooms in NYC -- Rooms for Writers in New York CityUpdated: 2008-08-07 @ 16:47:39 GMT
Famous for attracting writers and infamous for its exorbitant rents, New York City has more writers' rooms than any other American city. The Writers Room created the model when it opened in Manhatt… - Phillip Margolin -- An Interview with Bestselling Author Phillip Mar…Updated: 2008-08-05 @ 23:49:56 GMT
A former criminal defense attorney, novelist Phillip Margolin is known for bringing an insider's view to his detective novels, all of which have been New York Times bestsellers. Speaking as someone… - Jane Austen -- 22 Facts about Jane AustenUpdated: 2008-08-01 @ 17:37:10 GMT
As critic Gary Kelly has observed, "Jane Austen is one of the few novelists in world literature who is regarded as a 'classic' and yet is widely read." Though her novels were by no means … - Third Person Point of View -- A Definition of Third Person for Write…Updated: 2008-08-01 @ 17:33:00 GMT
A definition of the literary term third person point of view as it applies to the craft of fiction writing. Third person point of view may be limited or omniscient… - The Basics of Plot -- Basic Plot for the Beginning WriterUpdated: 2008-08-01 @ 16:46:34 GMT
If, like many people, you labor under the illusion that for "real" writers, plots come effortlessly, please dismiss that illusion now. While some writers have absorbed or were born with a… - Recommended Reading for Katherine Anne Porter -- What to Read by and…Updated: 2008-08-01 @ 16:27:44 GMT
Start your study of Katherine Anne Porter’s work with her Pulitzer Prize-winning Collected Stories, being sure to read classics like “Flowering Judas,” “Holiday,” “Mar… - Short Story Contests -- Deadlines for August Short Story ContestsUpdated: 2008-07-24 @ 14:23:27 GMT
Book and short story contest information, along with details about awards, fellowships, and residencies with August deadlines for fiction writers interested in submitting their short stories or nov… - Top Interviews with Novelists -- Advice on Creative Writing from Nov…Updated: 2008-07-24 @ 13:17:22 GMT
Some of the most important advice on writing I've gotten not from articles or books, but from talking with other writers. Share this experience in the following interviews on literature and craft… - Writer's Block -- Practical Tips for Beating Your Writer's BlockUpdated: 2008-07-24 @ 13:11:53 GMT
Though some people say that writer’s block doesn’t actually exist, the fact remains that most writers have trouble with writer's block at some point in their careers. Almost anyth…