Writing Tools and Information

Spark: Tips For Organizing Poetry Manuscripts

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I have at least three full-length poetry-book manuscripts in various states of completion, so I am constantly evaluating how these potential books are organized. I admit it – I’m somewhat obsessed with how to make them flow better. If I were to use music as an analogy, I desperately want to make sure these books are like a classic album rather of an album full of individual hit singles.

With all my incessant tinkering in mind, I have bookmarked Nancy Chen Long's awesome blog post on "Poetry Manuscripts: Resources for Organizing a Manuscript," which links to a number of promising guides:

http://nancychenlong.blogspot.com/2014/10/resources-for-organizing-poetry.html

Oversharing.

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It’s a quandary that many writers face - how to tackle personal subjects in their writing without “oversharing” with readers.

If "oversharing" in your writing concerns you, too - and I’m aware that not everyone experiences this particular anxiety – reviewing these five tips from Erica Dreifus on The Missouri Review’s blog might be helpful.

http://www.missourireview.com/tmr-blog/2015/05/five-ways-for-writers-to-avoid-oversharing/

Secondhand Inspiration: How can more time = less writing?

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“More time to write can be just as daunting as no time to write.” Christi Craig contemplates on her blog how the rare anomaly of having too much time set aside for writing can actually impede progress. She also provides some key suggestion of how to overcome this phenomenon. Worth the read.

http://christicraig.com/2015/05/20/ive-got-all-day-to-write-um-now-what/

Resource for Writers: Reading Venues Database

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Found on the Poets & Writers website, “this database of venues that host readings and author events includes bookstores, bars, cafes, libraries, literary arts centers, and more. Here you'll find information about how to schedule your own reading, admission fees, audience size, parking and transit information, and more. Save your selections to My P&W and populate a personal Google Map that you use to plan your own reading tour or simply keep track of your favorite reading venues.”

Very useful.

http://www.pw.org/reading_venues

Secondhand Inspiration: April = National Poetry Month

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April is almost here. Which means it's time for National Poetry Month. Below are several sites/resources for those always-helpful prompts to write poetry. Since I’ve been creatively constipated lately, I'm looking forward to using these offerings to help kick-start my poetry practice in April.

2015 Poetic Asides PAD (Poem-A-Day) Challenge

http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/2015-april-pad-challenge-guidelines

Poetry Super Highway Prompt-A-Day for National Poetry Month

http://poetrysuperhighway.com/psh/a-poetry-writing-prompt-a-day/

NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month)

http://www.napowrimo.net/about/

Spark: Sound Advice for Author Websites

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This brilliant and concise article by Jane Friedman provides authors, whether they have a book published or not, with wonderful guidelines for putting together an author website.

Some of the advice she has written here I already have put into practice, but I see many other suggestions that I need to consider for the future. As Ms. Friedman states, “Your website is never finished.”

Check out the link below if you are considering building a website from scratch or improving the web presence you currently have.

http://janefriedman.com/2015/03/26/author-website-components/

Guidelines are guidelines-not suggestions.

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The well-written piece by C. Hope Clark linked below talks about the pitfalls of writers not following submission guidelines or familiarizing themselves with a publication before sending their work in. When you think about it, doing these two things can reduce wasted energy by both writers and editors.

http://www.fundsforwriters.com/follow-the-guidelines-is-not-a-cliche/

Spark: Kurt Vonnegut Writing Tips

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In his book Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction, Vonnegut listed eight rules for writing a short story:

  • Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
  • Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
  • Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
  • Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action.
  • Start as close to the end as possible.
  • Be a Sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
  • Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
  • Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To hell with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

Advice for New Authors who are Giving a Reading

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“What makes a successful reading: what one author learned while preparing for his debut” – here’s  some insightful advice for struggling authors from Josh Cook, who has the perspective of being both a bookstore employee and a debut author.

http://www.mhpbooks.com/what-makes-a-successful-reading-what-one-author-learned-while-preparing-for-his-debut/

The (Bleak) Future of University Quarterlies.

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This is something of interest for writers of all genres who are looking for venues for publication. Check out this informative essay on the future of university based quarterly lit mags on the Inside Higher Ed site. Warning - this is not the most uplifting take on this subject.

https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2015/02/16/essay-future-university-based-literary-quarterlies

Secondhand Inspiration: Kevin Young’s Essay on Langston Hughes

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Occasioned by February being Black History Month, but worth reading at any time: Kevin Young on Langston Hughes’s The Weary Blues.

Langston Hughes became one of my favorite poets when I first got serious about writing. After reading Kevin Young’s splendid essay about the context in which The Weary Blues was published (as well as background on the jazz aesthetic and blues form), I want to revisit some of Hughes work, both for muse and pleasure. Add that to my reading list.