Articles for Writers:



Have a completed manuscript, but not sure how to network and get it sold? Find out how I got my editor and my agent by checking out this article: "Why Conferences?"

No multiple submissions. Never email an editor. Are these and other rules actually keeping you from getting ahead? Find out by reading my article, "Stranger than Fiction."

These days, writers must know how to market their books even after they have been published. For a behind the scenes look at what I've been doing, visit the thread about me under "author interviews" at YA author K.L. Going's forum, www.klgoing.com/forums.

Are you writing a novel and baffled about how to set up a critique group that will get the whole thing reviewed fast? Check out my article "Plotting a Novel Group" in the Feb. '08 issue of Writer's Digest magazine to see how my own group The Rebel Writers worked it all out.

Marie's Writing Tip #1:

The "fictional dream" happens when your readers forget they are reading words and get so completely involved in your story that it feels real. To create the fictional dream in your own writing, lead your reader to conclude something without telling them what it is. Your story should point readers in certain directions, without dragging them there. Example, instead of writing, "Dalton was furious," try writing, "When Sang smiled at him, Dalton turned away."

Now go through your writing and see where you are telling readers what to think or conclude, and try to replace these moments with gestures and implications and leave a bunch of stuff unsaid. But don't be too cryptic. You want your readers to be drawn in, not lost without a map.

 

 

Writer's Bookshelf:

These are essentials on my shelf. Seek 'em out. Devour them. Share them with your writer friends. They are life changing!

Rotten Rejections, edited by Andre Bernard, Penguin Books. Get a rejection and feel down? Open this tiny volume and feel huge and important. Hey, even Irving Stone's Lust for Life was rejected as, "A long, dull novel about an artist."

The First Five Pages: a Writer’s Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile, Noah Lukeman, Fireside. Are your opening pages showing some fatal errors sure to turn off an agent or editor? Some surprising tips here.

The Writer’s Journey, Christopher Vogler, Michael Wiese Productions. Following Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey motifs gleaned from world mythology, this book points out archetypal characters and powerful patterns in story that can strengthen any plot, adding depth and meaning.

Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook, Donald Maass, Writers Digest Books. Don’t just write fiction. Write fiction that sizzles. Maass will have you rethinking the structure of your story, and upping the stakes...and removing every single scene where your characters stop and have a cup of tea and a chat (yawn!).

Writing Treatments that Sell, Kenneth Atchity and Chi-Li Wong, Henry Holt and Company. Want to know how to create a succinct one-page synopsis or fashion a pitch for your book? Use the techniques screenwriters use to write treatments.

Some Favorite Writer Folks:

Damian McNicholl, Irish, witty, and member of my Rebel Writer's Group. His wonderful first novel, A Son Called Gabriel, got rave reviews and is about a boy growing up gay in Catholic Ireland. It's a great teen and adult read. Visit him at http://damianm.blogspot.com.

Paul Acampora, all-around nice person and talented author. His first YA novel, Defining Dulcie, also has phenomenal reviews. Check it out at www.paulacampora.com.

S. A.. Harazin is a wonderful new writer who has her first YA novel, Blood Brothers just out through Random House! Kirkus calls it a "compelling story...the story will grab you from the first sentence." Like many great books, you won't find Blood Brothers in most chain bookstores, so visit the independents, or order it through the chains or online. Check out her web: www.saharazin.com.

Justina Chen Headley, funny writer and great champion of other authors, is definitely worth looking up. Enjoy her YA novel, Nothing But the Truth (and a Few White Lies), and check out her web: www.justinachenheadley.com.

More great writer links coming soon!

Writerly Links:

WOW-Women on Writing produces an insightful newsletter each month, and is an incredible resource of info. They also sponsor flash fiction contests. Definitely visit them at www.wow-womenonwriting.com.

On Myspace? Check out the YA/Teen Books Discussion Group, and the Teen Lit Group. Lots of authors are there available to talk about writerly stuff.

If you write for children or young adults, you want to belong to The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

The most incredible conference for aspiring authors of children and young adult works will have you paired up with top authors, editors and agents. You have to submit a writing sample to get in: One-on-One Plus Conference at Rutgers University.

A good  writer's conference with a small group and lots of interaction is held each year in NYC by Backspace.  They also have a great meet the agents-type event, with lots of shmoozing.

Learning how to perfect your query letters? Check out the Crapometer run by Miss Snark.

Not all agents are created equal. Sniff out the baddies by looking at Preditors and Editors.

Wonderful in-depth interviews with children's editors and agents appear at Verla Kay's site.