Fiction

How to Bring Your Characters Into Focus

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Today’s post is written by Susan Bearman, a semi-finalist in the Write It Sideways regular contributor search. Thanks, Susan! Are you a visual thinker? Quick, take this test. Open a magazine to any page. What is the first thing you notice? If it’s an image or a splash of color, you are probably a visual thinker.

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How to Give Meaning to Every Word You Write

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Today’s post is written by Christi Craig, a semi-finalist in the Write It Sideways regular contributor search. Thanks, Christi! Write with a purpose. Who doesn’t do that? Every time I sit down with pen and paper or laptop open, I have a goal in mind, be it word count or finished draft or a good,

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Imitation as Inspiration: An Exercise for Writers

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Today’s post is written by Sarah Baughman, a semi-finalist in the Write It Sideways regular contributor search. Thanks, Sarah! What is it you love most about your favorite writers? Lush descriptions, startling metaphors, characters so real you can imagine inviting them over for coffee? I’ve often wished that, just for a day, I could borrow a

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5 Ways to Avoid One-Month Novel Insanity

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Today’s post is written by Mercia Dragonslayer, a semi-finalist in the Write It Sideways regular contributor search. Thanks, Mercia! “Write a novel in thirty days? How does one do that?” I wondered, as I read the website for National Novel Writing Month.”That just seems like a quest for absolute insanity!” Until November 2009, I had

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Are Ambiguous Endings Powerful or Frustrating?

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This post is inspired by the article Should You Tie Up All Ends When You Type ‘The End’? over at the fabulous blog Nail Your Novel, written by author and ghostwriter Roz Morris. I’ve been wanting to write something about ambiguous endings for months now, ever since I got into The New Yorker’s Fiction Podcast, which

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How to Write Your Bio for a Byline or Query

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A few weeks ago, I had a short story accepted for publication in an upcoming issue of Grist: The Journal for Writers. I just received the contract, and am now agonizing over my short author bio. Although I’ve written several versions in the past, none of them seem wholly appropriate for this particular journal. A

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