Sentence Starts – Journaling in the Time of a Pandemic Since our bodies are confined but our minds are not, I’d like to share these sentence starts with you in case you could use a writing nudge as we shelter in place. I’ve been creating these writing prompts since 2004, then writing about
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Winter 2020 — Writing Advice: Twenty-one Questions: A Non-Traditional Rubric for Judges
Twenty-one Questions: A Non-Traditional Rubric for Judges By B. Lynn Goodwin Want an inside look at what contest judges are looking for? Last spring I was putting together a rubric for a contest held by the Northern California Branch of the Women’s National Book Association. I was working with others and sent them
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Flashy and Wise Writing Advice for Fall 2019
“Trust the reader.” — Meg Pokrass Flashy Tips by Meg Pokrass Thank you Meg Pokrass for sharing these excellent tips for those who write flash fiction and memoir. Though you’ll always be able to find this on our blog page, we recommend that you bookmark this page and use it when you enter
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Fall 2019 — More Contests and Markets
There are so many contests and opportunities out there that it’s hard to keep track of what’s new and appealing. Want to help? Send your contest information–name of contest, URL, deadline, fee, and prizes, and we’ll post it as often as we can. From Writer’s Digest: https://www.writersdigest.com/writers-digest-competitions Popular Fiction Awards ENTER NOW!
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Insightful interviews with authors Judy Ringer and Malaka Gharib–Fall 2019
What a delight to have interviews with communications clarifier Judy Ringer and graphic novelist Malaka Gharib. While their books are totally different, I’ll bet you find commonalities in their advice. Clarity of Purpose Is conflict in the workplace inevitable? Possibly. It happens almost everywhere. When strife interferes with work, with projects, with personal relations and
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Writing Advice for Summer 2019
“You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That’s why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.” ― Octavia E. Butler Getting Unstuck: Short and Simple Tips -– Summer 2019 Here are some quick tips
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Interview with Camille Pagan–Summer 2019
Don’t be so stuck on one course of action that you miss crucial opportunities to advance your career. –Camille Pagan The Only Constant in Publishing is Change An Interview with Camille Pagan by B. Lynn Goodwin Do you ever want out of the drill and tedium of your daily life? I sure
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WRITING ADVICE — April 2019
Another April submission: Things To Consider During Revision Questions to consider as you revise: What do you already like in this piece? What questions come up about this piece? Where can you go deeper? What is the purpose of this piece (1 sentence)? How is this story or essay personal? How is this story
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Writer Advice’s 2019 Flash Fiction Contest ✍️
Latest Contest Information Writer Advice’s FLASH FICTION Contest 2019 Flash Fiction Submission Information WriterAdvice seeks flash fiction running 750 words or less. Open our eyes. Help us see the world as your characters do. Finalists receive responses from all judges. Everyone receives a detailed response from award-winning author B. Lynn Goodwin. What is Flash Fiction? For Writer
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“Beware of advice. Even this.” ~~Carl Sandburg Advice from Flash Contest Judges You’re on your 7th draft of the perfect Flash Fiction Story—you hope. Will the judges like it? You’re too familiar to know, your writing partner has given her feedback, and besides, isn’t the whole thing subjective? Yes and
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“There are no mistakes–only new material.” ~~B. Lynn Goodwin Writing Tips We’ll start with these five basic ideas and build the writing tips page regularly. Look at these when you feel stuck. Send me your suggestions. You’ll get credit. 1. Depending on the story, either write from the heart or write
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Writing Advice – Volume 19 Number 2
WRITING ADVICE FROM FLASH PROSE EXPERTS Last year I asked our finalists what tips they’d give to those who wanted to improve their flash fiction. Here’s a collection of what they said: From Corrie Adams, author of our winner, “Iceburg Season” Waste no words. Everything should do double duty. For example, dialogue should written
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