In case you’re not familiar with winningwriters.com it’s a boon to writers trying to break in or break out. You’ll find all the latest contests, deadlines, and literary journalists to submit to along with tips and bits and pieces about the writing life. Some of the contests offer real money, it’s just plain inspirational, and […]
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Jeanette Winterson: Language is freedom
“For me, language is a freedom. As soon as you have found the words with which to express something, you are no longer incoherent, you are no longer trapped by your own emotions, by your own experiences; you can describe them, you can tell them, you can bring them out of yourself and give them […]
Read the rest of this entry »Ray Bradbury: Living is the center of your life
You should get on with the business of living
Read the rest of this entry »Really quick tip: Bring on the clowns
I’ve mentioned this before: a portion of your story’s scenes need to rise, to explode, to provide surprises the reader never saw coming. In these pull-out-the-stops scenes your characters can fumble, make mistakes, stage confrontations, discover dead bodies or that their beloved is sleeping around. Feature them stooping to new lows or achieving new highs. […]
Read the rest of this entry »Ted Hughes on investing heart
“That’s the paradox: the only time most people feel alive is when they’re suffering, when something overwhelms their ordinary, careful armor, and the naked child is flung out into the world. That’s why the things that are worst to undergo are best to remember. But when that child gets buried away under their adaptive and […]
Read the rest of this entry »Ray Bradbury on feeding the muse
“It isn’t easy. Nobody has ever done it consistently. Those who try hardest, scare it off into the woods. Those who turn their backs and saunter along, whistling softly between their teeth, hear it treading quietly behind them, lured by a carefully acquired disdain. We are of course speaking of The Muse. The Feeding of […]
Read the rest of this entry »April is National Poetry Month
“…When people say that poetry is a luxury, or an option, or for the educated middle classes, or that it shouldn’t be read in school because it is irrelevant, or any of the strange and stupid things that are said about poetry and its place in our lives, I suspect that the people doing the […]
Read the rest of this entry »A wee bit of advice….
from Neil Gaiman “The moment that you feel, just possibly, you are walking down the street naked, exposing too much of your heart and your mind, and what exists on the inside, showing too much of yourself . . . That is the moment, you might be starting to get it right.” Keep writing, keep […]
Read the rest of this entry »Short Story Contest
The Writer short story contest kicks off soon, and we want to give you a head start. Choose one of the ocean-themed quotes below as a launching point for your 1,000-word fiction story: “The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude; to lose itself […]
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