One of my favorite movies is the Billy Crystal/Danny Devito comedy, Throw Momma from the Train. In it Crystal’s character, a creative writing teacher, gives what I still consider is the best piece of writing advice, “A writer writes.”
After finishing my first book, BABY CATCHER: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife securing an agent and publisher seemed insurmountable challenges. Yet, just three months after its completion, BABY CATCHER sold to Scribner for a low six-figure amount. It sold again in Germany and has been chosen as an alternate selection with The Literary Guild and […]
Long before I began my writing career, I was dreaming of it. Like most closet writers just starting out I worked full time while writing and submitted pieces to magazines in between the cracks of my busy life. My big plan was to build a writing career around published clips. Only problem seemed to be that I was rejected many times more than published. Truth be told, three years into my fledging career, my clips were still embarrassingly minuscule. I can hardly say I had a portfolio. My failure to become a published writer steamed from writing about things I really didn’t know. In the beginning, I would write about any subject if I thought I had a chance of getting published. What I should have been writing was on subjects I was passionate about, those things that lit me up inside, even if they were simple.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: We have never run humor in this column before, but we couldn’t resist this parody by Linda Avey Bullock! Are you desperate? Are your food supplies down to one stale taco chip, half a jar of expired mayonnaise, and some liquefied lettuce? Have you sat at your computer searching for markets so long […]
My writing serendipity started when I was sick in bed at age seven. My Dad handed me a book with a spine that said Random House. “A publisher created this wonderful book for you,” Dad said. An electric sensation filled me. The idea of writing a book seemed magical.
This article may be freely reprinted/redistributed as long as the entire article and bio are included. The next time you’re in the mood for a café latté, head for your local Borders or Barnes and Noble and browse the magazine section. Notice how most of the magazines are designed to appeal to a narrow population […]
Like many aspiring writers, I knew I wanted to be “an author” since I first learned that the ABCs, put together in just the right order, could form words. Like many aspiring writers, I allowed real life, self-doubt, and practicality to win out over that dream, and pursued varying careers in academia and librarianship. It is this last career that has allowed me to come full circle and again pursue the idea of being a writer.
This article may be freely reprinted/redistributed as long as the entire article and bio are included. Are you stuck on what your next story should be about? Want to find something really juicy and controversial to submit to your editor? Well, close your office or bedroom door and surf on over to Fu*ckedCompany.com – https://www.fuckedcompany.com […]
