March 11, 2010
- For writers just starting out, the idea of writing a “short bio” to go along with their submission to a literary journal can be daunting. What exactly are editors looking for? This FAQ will put your mind to rest.
- The literary term "bildungsroman" is not as complicated or mysterious as it sounds. In fact, most writers at some point attempt to write this kind of novel.
- How do you know if a short story is really a novel? These six signs will help you evaluate whether or not to expand your short story into a novel.
- The problem of how to convey emotion without lapsing into sentimentality confronts most writers at some point in their careers, and very often in the beginning stages. Eudora Welty has much to teach on the subject, particularly in her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "The Optimist's Daughter."
- Information on book and short story contests, along with details about awards, fellowships, and residencies with August deadlines for fiction writers.
- An idea box is one way to ensure that you always have a stock of ideas for your creative writing.
March 10, 2010
- While some writers have absorbed or were born with a sense of how to tell a story effectively, most study the elements of plot and pay serious attention to how to successfully construct a narrative. Here's what to keep in mind.
- Alix Ohlin uses this creative writing exercise, set in a mattress store, to help her students find the drama in everyday life.
- A definition of the literary term, "episodic novel," as used by fiction writers. Episodic novels are narratives composed of loosely connected incidents, each one more or less self-contained, and often connected by a central character or characters.
