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Posts by Carly Sandifer

Dec 14

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Deepen your memoir by imagining character thoughts and feelings

One of the challenges of writing a memoir is describing feelings, reactions, and events that we didn’t witness. By the time I began writing my memoir, several family members who were central to my story had died. Some events happened before I was born. And in some cases, I was too young then to understand the significance or meaning of some dramatic moments that fueled my story.

I interviewed family and friends for insight, but in some cases, the passage of time dimmed some memories, or the family just didn’t have answers. Based on what I knew about my family, I used a technique I learned from writer Maxine Hong Kingston to fully imagine scenes and my characters’ feelings. Read more

Dec 12

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Propel your writing career by entering a contest

Part of being a writer is getting your writing out into the world. Entering your stories, poems or screenplays gives you the opportunity for publication and recognition.

Entries for these four contests are due at the end of December or early next year. For information about other upcoming contests, check out writing magazines, including Writer’s Digest, The Writer and Writer’s and Poets.

Meridian’s 2012 Editors’ Prize Contests – poetry and short story

Fiction writers may submit one story of 10,000 words or fewer. Poets may submit up to four poems totaling 10 pages or fewer. Entrants receive a subscription to Meridian’s electronic edition. Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in the Spring/Summer issue of Meridian are given annually for a poem and a short story.

Deadline: December 30, 2011

Entry Fee: $8

For more information and contest rules, check out the website. Read more

Dec 8

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Apply your writerly skills to a holiday letter

It’s time to bust out your pen or keyboard and write your annual holiday letter.

One of my favorite things to do when I go home for the holidays is to read all the letters that my parents receive from relatives and family friends. I know that some people like to make fun of them, but I love to read them all.

As writers, the bar for us may be just a bit higher for this annual missive, so if you’d like some tips for writing your letter, read on.

Remember your audience. Write for the recipients, not yourself. Think about the topics that would be especially informative or inspiring to them. Read more

Dec 6

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Memoir “The Tender Bar” inspires unique character descriptions

“The Tender Bar,” tops my list of favorite memoirs, not only because of the voice and emotional pull of the story, but for how it inspired me to think more creatively about character description in my own writing.

J.R. Moehringer, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, wrote The Tender Bar about growing up without a father but with the guidance of his Uncle Charlie and a group of other men at their neighborhood bar who filled in as father figures.

Here’s how Moehringer uses cultural icons to describe Joey D, one of the men from the bar:

“…a giant with a tuft of gingery hair atop his spongy orange head, and features glued to the head at odd angles. He seemed to be made of spare parts from different Muppets, like a Sesame Street Frankenstein — head of Grover, face of Oscar, thorax of Big Bird.”

Moehringer goes on to write: “Though hulking and slouch-shouldered, Joey D had the manic energy of a small man. He speed walked, fluttered his hands, spoke in word spasms that left him winded. Like hay fever sneezes, whole sentences exploded from his mouth in one burst: Ocean’sgoingtoberoughtoday!” Read more

Dec 2

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Want to publish? Approach your writing as a career

Sure you want to get your work published, but have you thought about your writing in terms of a career?

It’s easy to focus on the work at hand — the current short story, memoir, or novel in progress. But a couple years ago, I gained a new perspective from literary agent Donald Maass, who says:

Writing is a long-term profession that you must approach as a career. And that career is ultimately in the writer’s court.

First and foremost, Maass says, a writing career begins with good storytelling. Studying craft and writing daily is step one. Maass, author of Writing the Breakout Novel, teaches writing and how to propel your storycraft to the next level in his book and workshops. His advice made me think about what it takes to build a writing career.

Consider these career-building strategies.

Hook into your town’s writing community. Writers are everywhere, so whether you live in a town, tiny burg, or big city, you should be able to find a community of writers (even if it’s small) who share your interest. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, consider starting your own writer’s group. Writing MeetUp Groups are another good way to find a writer’s group focused on writing in general or by genre. Read more

Nov 30

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Three ways to start writing your book now

People often tell me they want to write a book. They’re stuck, they say, because they just don’t know where to start. The thought of writing a book can be daunting. In fact, the more I learn about writing, the more I feel the enormity of what it takes to create a well-written manuscript. Compiled from workshops, personal experience, and advice from mentors, try these ideas to get your story moving.

Write the ending first. Many writers have an ending to a story in mind before they even know what comes first. If you know your ending, write it out first and use it as a springboard to create the story that comes before. If you know your ending, you likely have a sense of the themes and emotional throughline that will drive it forward. Read more

Nov 28

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No power? No problem. Write On

As winter sets in for many of us, it’s more important than ever to have a plan in place for power outages.

One day last winter, I left my day job to dive into my writing at home. I hoped to interview someone for a project with a looming deadline. As I drove into my neighborhood, I realized the power was out. The sun was beginning to set, so I quickly collected several flashlights and loaded them with fresh batteries. Read more

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