Skip to content

Jul 30

2 Comments

Six elements of great short stories

In literary agent April Eberhardt‘s short story workshop at the recent Pacific Northwest Writer’s Contest, she gave us a list of six elements to look for in stories.

Eberhardt suggests that we write our story first and then overlay these six elements on it to help polish our work.

Six elements of short stories:

Setting.  Set the stage close to the beginning of the story. In my earlier post, I quote poet Nelson Bentley, “Give the readers a place to stand, and then you can take them anywhere.” Read more

Jul 27

Agents and editors speak: What you should know about submitting your work, part 2

If you’re looking for an agent or editor, you’ll want to show your work in the best possible way. In my last post, I offered four tips for approaching agents and editors. Here are four more.

Note your unique skills and expertise. If have an expertise in an area that pertains to your book, say so. It might give you an edge because you’ll have a connection or built-in audience who will be interested in your book. Read more

Jul 26

Obstacles can illuminate your characters’ strengths

Obstacles. Life is full of them. And so is a good story. Obstacles in storytelling not only keep your readers reading but, according to author Robert Dugoni at the recent Pacific Northwest Writer’s Conference, obstacles show us our characters’ strengths.

Think of Harry Potter and all the obstacles he encountered. Through these obstacles we see that Harry is smart, loyal, honest, brave, and a good friend.

Just as important, we believe the end of Harry’s journey because we’ve seen him shine in action.

Ask yourself: What obstacles confront your characters? What do these obstacles show about your characters?

Jul 25

1 Comment

Agents and editors speak: What you should know about submitting your manuscript, part 1

You have written a draft, revised, edited, revised some more. Now you’re finally ready to query an editor or agent. Do you want to improve your chances?

Here is what you should know based on feedback from editors and agents at the Pacific Northwest Writer’s Association Conference July 19-22.

Follow the instructions on their websites. You would be surprised at how many people don’t follow the submission guidelines, some going as far as using odd colors and funky typefaces. Do you want to stand out? Submit polished writing and format and send your manuscript according to their instructions. Read more

Jul 24

The magic in winning a writing contest

In my earlier post, “How to Use Writing Contests to Reach Your Goals,” I mentioned one of my main goals this year was to enter more writing contests. I haven’t been consistent in entering contests in the past but this year, with the prompting of my blog partner Carly, I wanted to create a new habit.

Each month, I have a goal to enter X number of competitions and/or submit my work to various places. This helps me celebrate the little successes, build my artist resume, and gain some much-needed inspiration and motivation along the way to my larger goals.

This February, I entered the Pacific Northwest Writer’s Conference Literary Contest and earlier this month found out I was a finalist in two categories:—memoir/nonfiction and poetry. I was thrilled. Jumping up and down. Ecstatic! Read more

Jul 23

2 Comments

Carol Despeaux wins first place in Pacific Northwest Writer’s Association literary contest

OneWildWord writer Carol Despeaux was awarded first place Saturday in the memoir/nonfiction category at the 2012 Pacific Northwest Writer’s Association literary contest award ceremony.

About 550 writers attended the 2012 Pacific Northwest Writer’s Association conference held July 19 to 22 in Seattle.

Despeaux entered an excerpt from her memoir, “Runner Between Worlds.”

Judges received nearly 1000 entries in 12 categories.

Here is the full list of winners: Read more

Jul 20

1 Comment

Three books for your writing bookshelf

At the Pacific Northwest Writer’s Conference in Seattle this weekend, I attended author Robert Dugoni’s Novel Writing Seminar. During the course of his talk, he mentioned several books on writing that have a prominent place on his bookshelf and that he looks at repeatedly, including:

Sol Stein’s Stein On Writing

Lawrence Block’s Writing the Novel: From Plot to Print

Stephen King’s On Writing

Dugoni said that if you’re concerned that your character is too boring, you may be playing it safe. Many writers fear their readers will think they’re writing about themselves, that the author is really the protagonist in disguise. You have to let that fear go.

Stephen King once said that you can’t write honestly if you have someone on your shoulder watching you. Good advice from the master.

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →