http://fictionwriting.about.com/ Get the latest headlines from the About.com http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hh http://www.about.com/ 118 20 en-us 2012-02-17T21:20:09Z Fri, 17 Feb 2012 21:20:09 +0000 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2012/02/21/post-long-weekend-productivity-drop.htm <p>The Tuesday after a long weekend is rarely a productive one for me and today has been no different.&#160;I did have grand plans about getting up super-early and banging out a ton of great writing this morning, but after three days of inactivity I ended up sleeping as late as possible and dragging myself into work.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2012/02/21/post-long-weekend-productivity-drop.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2012/02/21/post-long-weekend-productivity-drop.htm Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:26:22 +0000 2012-02-21T12:26:22Z http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2012/02/17/meet-your-new-guide.htm <p>Hello everyone, my name is <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://fictionwriting.about.com/bio/Cliff-Daigle-103369.htm">Cliff Daigle</a> and I'm your new Fiction Writing guide.</p> <p>I'm really excited to have this opportunity to share what I know about writing and making a living as an artist. This has been a great site for years and I plan on continuing to pack it with informative articles, exercises and advice for writers at all levels. To start the ball rolling I've posted three new articles this week:</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2012/02/17/meet-your-new-guide.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2012/02/17/meet-your-new-guide.htm Fri, 17 Feb 2012 21:20:09 +0000 2012-02-17T21:20:09Z http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2012/02/16/2011-man-booker-prize-shortlist-announced.htm <p>The judges have whittled down the longlist of thirteen authors to a shortlist of six contenders for this year's coveted prize. The winner will be announced October 18th in London, England and will take home the cash prize of &#163;50,000. Each of the six authors who made the shortlist will be awarded &#163;2,500 and will receive a fancy, designer-bound edition of their book. Nice.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2012/02/16/2011-man-booker-prize-shortlist-announced.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2012/02/16/2011-man-booker-prize-shortlist-announced.htm Thu, 16 Feb 2012 12:28:17 +0000 2012-02-16T12:28:17Z http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2011/01/31/what-ive-learned-about-writing.htm <p>As I prepare to leave About.com after five+ years of writing and editing this site, I've been reflecting on all the things I've learned -- from writing articles and blog posts and, more importantly, from comments and messages contributed by all of you. For my last post, I wanted to share some of these lessons, the things that have come to seem most important about the writing life.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2011/01/31/what-ive-learned-about-writing.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2011/01/31/what-ive-learned-about-writing.htm Mon, 31 Jan 2011 11:20:45 +0000 2011-01-31T11:20:45Z http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2011/01/27/finding-an-agent-and-contests.htm <p>A Romanian writer named Mariana, who seeks a U.S. agent for her translated novel, wrote in with a question regarding journals and contests. Mariana has been applying to contests, but recently had an offer from a <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/thebusinessofwriting/tp/literaryjournals.htm">literary journal</a> to publish one of her stories. She wonders if she should reject the offer, which offers pretty generous compensation, and apply to their contest instead. "This is not about money, but about finding an <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/thebusinessofwriting/tp/agenthowto.htm">agent</a>. And once published, the short story cannot be considered for a future contest," Mariana writes.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2011/01/27/finding-an-agent-and-contests.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2011/01/27/finding-an-agent-and-contests.htm Thu, 27 Jan 2011 11:32:32 +0000 2011-01-27T11:32:32Z http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2011/01/24/resolution-make-time-to-write.htm <p>In my mind, this is the most important resolution, the bedrock for everything else, making it the perfect way to close our month on <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/writingexercises/tp/resolutions.htm">writing resolutions</a>. After all, without carving out time to write, there's no novel to <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/thebusinessofwriting/tp/agenthowto.htm">send to agents</a>, or stories to <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/thebusinessofwriting/tp/publish.htm">submit to journals</a>, or rough drafts to offer a <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/writingexercises/tp/community.htm">writing community</a>. But as we all know, finding time to write is easier said than done.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2011/01/24/resolution-make-time-to-write.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2011/01/24/resolution-make-time-to-write.htm Mon, 24 Jan 2011 16:25:01 +0000 2011-01-24T16:25:01Z http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2011/01/18/contribute-self-publishing-stories.htm <p>As self-publishing becomes easier and more acceptable -- and traditional publishing contracts become ever more elusive -- many people are choosing to circumvent the <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/thebusinessofwriting/tp/bigpresses.htm">traditional publishing industry</a>. However, with so many companies to choose from, it's actually harder these days to tell the difference between legit presses and opportunistic ones.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2011/01/18/contribute-self-publishing-stories.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2011/01/18/contribute-self-publishing-stories.htm Tue, 18 Jan 2011 04:43:36 +0000 2011-01-18T04:43:36Z http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2011/01/14/resolution-write-a-novel.htm <p>Last January, we solicited advice from readers on writing a novel as part of our New Year's resolution series, and I want to return to it now, as it follows our last post nicely. My advice for potential novel-writers was to be sure to have a <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/glossary/g/conflict.htm">conflict</a>, if not an entire <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/startingtowrite/a/basicplot.htm">plot</a>. And to&#160;<a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/startingtowrite/tp/TimetoWrite.htm">set aside time</a> on a regular basis to write. This could be an hour in the morning before you go to work, or three hours in a cafe every Monday evening. Just choose a time and make it sacred. Then sit down during that time and write.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2011/01/14/resolution-write-a-novel.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2011/01/14/resolution-write-a-novel.htm Fri, 14 Jan 2011 06:22:58 +0000 2011-01-14T06:22:58Z http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2011/01/12/how-to-write-edit-and-sell-a-novel-advice-from-the-forum.htm <p>Writer <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://www.shellygoodmanwright.com/">Shelly Goodman Wright</a> contributed an excellent piece in the <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://forums.about.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=1&#038;nav=messages&#038;webtag=ab-fictionwrite&#038;tid=479">forum</a> on how she finished a novel and then "built a platform" for it before <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/thebusinessofwriting/tp/agenthowto.htm">submitting to agents</a>. Because she provides such a good example of how to go about this process, I wanted to share some of her advice here.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2011/01/12/how-to-write-edit-and-sell-a-novel-advice-from-the-forum.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2011/01/12/how-to-write-edit-and-sell-a-novel-advice-from-the-forum.htm Wed, 12 Jan 2011 06:15:28 +0000 2011-01-12T06:15:28Z http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2011/01/10/how-to-publish-stories.htm <p>Do you know the difference between <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/thebusinessofwriting/g/simultaneous.htm">simultaneous submissions</a> and <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/thebusinessofwriting/g/multiple.htm">multiple submissions</a>? Are you confused about what exactly is meant by a "<a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/thebusinessofwriting/f/shortbios.htm">brief bio</a>"? If one of your New Year's resolutions is to submit work to <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/thebusinessofwriting/tp/literaryjournals.htm">literary journals</a>, the collection of articles in the link above will help your do so in an organized, professional way. An editor will take you more seriously if you observe a certain protocol, and it's easier to keep work in circulation if you have a system in place. But the most important thing is to get something out there: you never know what might happen.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2011/01/10/how-to-publish-stories.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://fictionwriting.about.com/b/2011/01/10/how-to-publish-stories.htm Mon, 10 Jan 2011 08:05:14 +0000 2011-01-10T08:05:14Z