HOW PLAYWRITING WILL STRENGTHEN YOUR FICTION

MAY 2023

SCENEBUILDING
MASTERCLASS

BUILD A
WRITING
SCHEDULE
THAT
WORKS

IS WRITER’S
ENVY YOUR
KRYPTONITE?

artistry knows
no borders
 The Writer THE OLDEST MAGAZINE
FOR LITERARY WORKERS
Founded in Boston, 1887

VOLUME 136 MAY 2023 NUMBER 5

36

20
Into the light
What lessons are
learned when a
veteran writer takes
on playwriting for the
first time?
By N. West Moss

26
An antidote for
writer’s disease
The insidious effects
of writer’s envy bleed
you of motivation, time,
and confidence. Here
are seven strategies to
help you eradicate the
disease.
By Tim Waggoner

30 3 Prologue
Seize the day
Strategies to help you 4 Editor’s Letter
find the time you need 5 Writing Essentials
6 State of the Art 20
to be the writer you truly
want to be. 7 Opportunities
By Aigner Loren Wilson 8 Writer at Work

11 Broadening the
36 Bookshelves
Getting to know
Making the scene literature by veterans.
COVER: EDGE CREATIVE/SHUTTERSTOCK

How to draw your read- By Yi Shun Lai

ers into your characters’
world — and always 42 Postscript
leave them wanting Contests
more.
By Jack Smith 48 Gigi Will Know

WRITERMAG.COM 1
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GOTHAMWRITERS. COM
 “The very reason I write is so that I might not
sleepwalk through my entire life.”
—ZA DI E SMITH

p. 4 The Best Advice p. 5 Screenwriting Pillars p. 6 Audiobook 101

JORM SANGSORN/SHUTTERSTOCK

p. 7 Opportunities p. 8 Writer at Work

WRITERMAG.COM 3
Prologue » Editor’s Letter

The Best Advice On Writing

A QUOTE WITHIN A QUOTE FROM
Anne Lamott’s go-to classic, Bird by Bird:
“E.L. Doctorow said once said that
‘Writing a novel is like driving a car at
night. You can see only as far as your
headlights, but you can make the whole
trip that way.’ You don’t have to see
where you’re going, you don’t have to
see your destination or everything you
will pass along the way. You just have to
see two or three feet ahead of you. This
is right up there with the best advice on
writing, or life, I have ever heard.”
Years ago, I literally stumbled through
this advice along the western edge of
Vancouver Island in British Columbia.
I was on assignment, profiling a
bush pilot who — among an assort-
ment of duties — flew loggers to and
from logging camps, delivered mail
to people who managed a lighthouse,
and dropped off intrepid hikers tak-
ing on the “edge of the world” known
as the Nootka Trail. My reporting It felt like I had shredded the cartilage pun intended), I forgot about how im-
included tagging along with the pi- around the knee, but since the local possible 12 miles felt. I just had to get to
lot as he backpacked his way through bush pilot was earthbound for the day the next corner, and then the next one,
an old-growth forest to the trailhead and well out of sight, I started trudging and the next one. As Lamott suggests,
and then along a good portion of the forward with a wild limp. An hour later, you don’t have to see the destination to
coastal trail. I realized early on that my I was relieved when I exited the woods ultimately get there. I did get there, and
cellphone was worthless. onto the coastline, but I was facing a 12- the beer that night tasted pretty good.
In fact, I was more accustomed to mile southward slog. Feeling beat be- As I mentioned last month in my
trails described with the prefix “multi” fore I even started, I felt my heart sink editor’s note, I’m starting to write a
than I was in the mud, muck, and into the sand. novel and looking for a few fellow writ-
bramble of the Nootka woods trail. In The self-pity wasn’t working any ers who might want to share support
minutes, I dropped off the pace. About wonders for me, so I took a first step. in an accountability group. No need
the time I was sure I was lost in the Here’s where Lamott’s fondness for to savagely torque any connective tis-
darkness of the forest, I stepped into a Doctorow’s quote comes in: Because sue. We’ll keep each other company as
hole and twisted my knee in the same the bights of the coastline blinded me we pin our focus on a few feet of illu-
unruly fashion you would see me try to from seeing anything beyond a few minated road and see where it takes us.
wrench a leg off a turkey I was carving. hundred yards, I was forced into focus- Up for a road trip? Send me an email at
The pain was sharp enough I pictured ing on one recess at a time. “You can see [email protected].
BLUEFISH_DS/SHUTTERSTOCK

myself needing to be dragged through only as far as your headlights, but you
the forest on a stretcher. can make the whole trip that way.”
I was able to splint the leg with a And that’s the way it worked out. T.J. Murphy
sweatshirt I yanked out of my backpack. When I took it one bight at a time (no EDITOR

4 MAY 2023
» Writing Essentials

Write a strong screenplay

upon these pillars
Building a strong screenplay based on five key elements
of storytelling can bring your film idea to life.
By Peter J. Fox

“IF IT ISN’ T FOR THE WRITING, WE’ VE • Problem of conscience: At the • Life or death: The bloody battle
got nothing. Writers are the most import- end of act two, on the night before in the ring with Apollo Creed
ant people in Hollywood. And we must the big fight, having visited the is indeed a fight for Rocky’s life.
never let them know it.” — Irving Thalberg empty, cavernous arena, Rocky After knocking his opponent
Here is an experiment for you. comes to grips with the reality that down in the first round, Rocky has
Pull up any feature film on your he will not be able to beat Apollo awakened the sleeping giant, who is
computer and read the log line. For Creed. He shares this with Adrian. now embarrassed and hell-bent on
those who are new to the craft of “Who am I kidding?” he says. His total destruction. From that point
screenwriting, the log line is a brief de- conscience has been awakened by on, Rocky is fighting for his life.
scription of what the movie is about. the gravity of his situation. This
For example, the log line for the film cinematic beat is used to change the By examining Rocky and other
Rocky might read something like this: direction of the story when Rocky iconic films such as The Wizard of
A down-on-his-luck boxer from Phil- repurposes his goal from winning Oz, Silence of the Lambs and, more re-
adelphia, Rocky Balboa, gets a shot at to simply surviving. cently, Michael Clayton, you will find
love and redemption when he is offered • It’s not fair: Near the end of act examples of where the action is driv-
the opportunity to fight for the heavy- one, Rocky watches himself on TV en by a lead character whose dramatic
weight championship of the world. with Paulie and Adrian. The mes- need requires him or her to overcome
The log line usually is about 25 sage of the scene? He is being used all five types of cinematic conflicts to
words. No matter what film you chose by Apollo’s camp as a publicity achieve a goal.
to examine, you will find at least one of stunt, as if he were the punch line When composing your own char-
the five pillars of cinematic conflict: of a joke. Certainly, this is not fair. acter-driven story, identify at least one
• Facing the mountain: Rocky of the five pillars of cinematic conflict
1. Problem of conscience. must do the impossible, and his that will support the structure of your
2. It’s not fair. character tells the audience exactly screenplay. Its presence should be visi-
3. Facing the mountain. what this means in his moments ble in the log line of your story and will
4. Stand and deliver. with Adrian before the fight: “No energize your effort to tell the story
5. Life or death. one has ever gone the distance successfully, effectively and visually.
with Creed. If that bell rings, and I
Identifying the core of the character’s am still standing, I’ll know for the Peter J. Fox is the founder of The
struggle is essential before you begin to first time in my life that I am not Inside Track Workshops for Story and
write a cinematic narrative. Most char- a bum.” Cinematic Structure. He has worked
acter-driven films have heroes who must • Stand and deliver: The montage at Paramount, Universal, MGM
endure and then overcome. Other films sequences of Rocky’s training and SonyTriStar Pictures. He writes
include more than one of these conflicts. regimen and the fight itself visual- for several publications and holds a
But you will find that films that are con- ly communicate Rocky’s need to M.F.A. in screenwriting from The
sidered classics will have characters that stand and deliver, pushing himself American Film Institute. This article
must endure all five levels of cinematic beyond all previous limits, out of originally appeared in the September
conflict. Consider the example of Rocky. necessity, to survive. issue of 2013.

WRITERMAG.COM 5
Prologue » State of the Art

So you want to record

an audiobook?
Take it from the experts: Recording an audiobook
is not the time for DIY.
By Ashley Lauretta

THE WAY WE CONSUME MEDIA IS Reading, which places physical and standards that involve both narration
changing, and because the publishing digital copies of books in luxury and and audio production mastery.
industry is evolving with it, audiobooks lifestyle hotels. “You don’t want to lim-
are new territory for some authors. Ac- it your potential audience; you want Why it’s not the time for DIY
cording to a survey from the Audio to find fans however they want to con- Audiobook publishers, such as Ama-
Publishers Association (APA), audio- sume the material.” zon’s Audiobook Creation Exchange
book revenue hit $1.6 billion in 2021, Ubell-Meyer uses as an example her (ACX), may reject or delay books that
the 10th straight year of double-dig- 91-year-old father, who is an avid read- don’t meet their publishing standards
it growth for the medium. While the er and began reading by listening just a (for example, ACX specifically requires
number of audiobooks published con- few years ago. your book already be published on
tinues to rise, so has the amount of time Of course, the decision to make Amazon). While doing it yourself may
listeners spend with audiobooks. your book into an audiobook is the seem like it would save you money, Sam
The pandemic has certainly played a easy part. While you may be tempted Rhodes, audio director for Book Bud-
role in how we consume media — and to do it on your own — especially if dy Media, says in the long run, DIY can
how much we consume. Other elements you self-published your book — many actually cost you more than hiring a
driving this growth include a rise in audiobook platforms have strict quality team to produce your audiobook. This
subscriptions to services offering audio-
books and concerns surrounding screen
time and its effect on mental health
(studies note detriments to physical and
developmental health, too).
As a self-published or indie author,
you may not have a publishing contract,
which is where audio options would
be established prior to publishing (so
be sure to check your contract, if you
have one). While you may be tempted
to make an audiobook simply based on
potential sales, the real reason to do it
should be your audience. You can meet
your regular readers where they are and
provide opportunities for people with
sight loss and other disabilities to read
your books as well.
FOTOSPLASH/SHUTTERSTOCK

“I believe every author should cre-

ate the opportunity for readers to find
them no matter how they read,” shares
Jane Ubell-Meyer, founder of Bedside

6 MAY 2023
 » Opportunities

is due to the equipment required and the entire recording process and deliv- Upcoming Calls
because of how much time you must er the files once recording is finished. for Submissions
devote to the project. Others may choose a production com-
“Not only are [authors] going to pany that oversees the production from Apparation Lit
have to have the vocal stamina and skill start to finish, including finding the Categories: Fantasy, sci-fi,
to do it,” he says, “[and] not only will narrator for you. horror, poetry, speculative
literary fiction.
they have to have the equipment and “We vet professional narrators and Description: Apparition Lit is a
space to do it, but they also will have to their space and equipment before hir- quarterly speculative fiction
do the sound engineering and edit au- ing them, so we know the pitfalls — magazine. Editors seek
dio on audio software.” and other companies like us would original short stories, poet-
Rhodes adds that while it is possible also,” says Rhodes. “My biggest tip ry, and artwork.
to buy a $100 USB microphone and re- would be don’t underestimate the diffi- apparitionlit.moksha.io
cord from your kitchen table, you can’t culty of creating quality audio.”
Parsec Short Story Contest
easily remove reverb — or echoes — Production companies will also like- Categories: Fantasy, horror,
from the sound bouncing off the table, ly have a quality assurance team as well science fiction
turning pages, or even airplanes flying as advisors to help you choose an audio Description: Parsec’s 27th
overhead or the garbage truck driving sample that readers can listen to before annual short story contest.
by. All of these additional sounds can purchasing the audio book — which The theme for this year
disqualify your book from publishers. many publishers require — and may be is “preserve or purge.”
Of course, a huge part of the sound able to help you reduce your book cov- Authors are asked to try
and work both concepts
of your audiobook is dependent on the er file from its original size to accompa- into their story submission.
narrator. Ubell-Meyer says that un- ny your audiobook. Deadline: May 1
less your book is a memoir, it’s best to Whether you go with an indepen- parsec-sff.org/short-story-contest
have a professional narrate it. Her ad- dent narrator or a full production com-
vice lines up with current trends, as the pany, Ubell-Meyer advises you to listen Waterson Desert
APA confirms listeners prefer profes- to other audiobooks to see what voices Writing Prize
Categories: Nonfiction
sionals narrate books. and production you prefer. Review au-
Description: For nonfiction
“[ Just like a book cover], narration diobook listings on Amazon or other writers who “illustrate ar-
is so important,” says Ubell-Meyer. marketplaces to help you find the right tistic excellence, sensitivity
“There are a lot of options; you can go fit. “Like anything else, you have to do to place and desert litera-
for an independent narrator or go full your research,” she says. cy with the desert as both
tilt and have an incredible production.” Luckily, APA makes some of that subject and setting.” The
research easy thanks to those yearly Waterston Desert Writing
How to choose your sales surveys; science fiction and fan- Prize was inspired by author
and poet Ellen Waterston.
audiobook team tasy genres currently lead in audio- Deadline: May 1
For those authors who prefer DIY, all book sales (though romance experi- highdesertmuseum.org/waterston-prize
hope isn’t lost: Publishing an audio- enced the most growth). No matter
book isn’t just about the production your genre, there are readers waiting Loraine Williams Poetry Prize
process. The distribution process — to hear your words. Categories: Poetry
actually uploading the finished au- Description: Award will go to a
dio files to publishers like ACX — is Ashley Lauretta’s writing has appeared single poem to be published
in The Georgia Review. The
something you can choose to do your- in the The Atlantic, WIRED, Men’s winner will receive an hono-
self. Understanding what elements, if Journal, ELLE, and more. Her ex- rarium of $1,500 and an ex-
any, you would like to do yourself will pertise in the publishing industry has penses-paid trip to Athens,
help you decide on the size of your pro- been acquired through an array of posts Georgia, to give a public
duction team. including bookseller, library shelving reading with the judge.
Some authors may choose to bypass assistant, literary publicist, and region- Deadline: May 1
thegeorgiareview.com/
a production company and work one- al magazine editor. For more info, visit the-loraine-williams-poetry-prize
on-one with a narrator, who oversees ashleylauretta.com.

WRITERMAG.COM 7
Prologue » Writer at Work

How to make your

procrastination
work for you
Understanding the source of procrastination
and how to turn it inside out.
By Emma Sloan

AH, PROCRASTINATION: THE IDLE If you start a project too • The “needs a deadline to function”
tapping of pen against paper. The fa- late or miss a deadline, writer: Do you often say that you
miliar countdown toward a deadline you’re likely to spiral into work well under pressure…when
that is hours to passing. A blank mind what you really mean is that you
and an even blanker Word document,
a self-defeating tirade. need that pressure in order to get
the inability to just start gnawing at the Sound familiar? the ball rolling on a piece of writing?
back of your brain even as you open yet While that ticking clock may light a
another unrelated tab online. fire under you, you and I both know
As a creative writer, as a journalist, that those last-minute late nights
and as the owner of my own boutique negatively impact both the quality
writing agency for over eight years, I According to Joseph Ferrari, a psychol- of your writing and your health.
have had procrastination rear its ugly ogy professor at DePaul University and • The “I’m too lazy to do anything
head more than once — and, early in my author of the bestselling book Still Pro- right” writer: If you start a project
career, it was a mental block that caused crastinating? The No Regrets Guide to too late or miss a deadline, you’re
me to miss out on big opportunities. Getting It Done, over 20% of both men likely to spiral into a self-defeating
That’s why I’m deconstructing the and women across the United States are tirade. Sound familiar? If so, you
Jenga tower that is procrastination so chronic procrastinators. may be falling into the pitfall of
that you can learn from my mistakes… Why? Because, as Ferrari’s research beating yourself up when what you
and to learn, as a fellow writer, how to finds, procrastination actually has very could really do with is some com-
make your procrastination work for you little to do with motivation or time passionate self-talk.
rather than against you. management; rather, it’s the avoidance • The “oh, but I’m bored with this
of a task that makes us feel scared, un- idea” writer: We all know writers
Blame fear, not laziness, easy, or uncertain and acts as a self-de- who flock to new ideas like mag-
for procrastination feating coping mechanism. Rather than pies to shiny jewels and, if we’re not
Procrastination’s bare-bones definition is tackling a task that makes us feel un- careful, can all run into the trap of
“the act of delaying or postponing some- pleasant, many of us lean on this avoid- hopping from project to project
thing to a later time.” While we’re all ant behavior to seek out a temporary with zero follow-through. Whether
guilty of procrastination to some extent, mood boost and distract ourselves from you’re in the business or creative side
procrastination can rapidly snowball, if the looming reality. of things, you’re doing your talent a
left unchecked, into a crippling inability disservice by not following through!
to complete tasks. This downward spiral The four main types of procrasti- • The “chronically overbooked”
can negatively impact your productivity, nators in the writing industry writer: Have you ever heard of
mental health, and job performance. If this already sounds like you, hold the term “deep work?” It explores
Although many of us chalk this up to onto your hat: There are four main the idea that we get the most done
laziness, procrastination — especially at types of procrastinators. Which one of when we buckle down and focus on
its worst — is actually a fear response. these resonates with you the most? one task rather than splitting our

8 MAY 2023
 » Opportunities

time and attention between various and immediate deadlines. Remember, Ploughshares Emerging
Writer’s Contest
projects or ideas. If you’re constant- anything that spurs you into action is key.
Categories: Fiction, creative
ly switching gears, this is your sign nonfiction, poetry
to take a step back and figure out Tip #3: Gamify your writing Description: One winner will
how to restructure your calendar “Gamifying” is a trend that’s taken off be recognized in each genre
for better concentration. in recent years, and for good reason: and will receive $2,000 and
It. Works. publication in the Plough-
Now that I’ve broken down the ba- As the act of applying game principles shares literary journal.
Authors are considered
sics of procrastination, it’s time for my to non-game settings, gamifying basical-
“emerging” if they haven’t
three top tips to grab your avoidance ly boils down to one simple idea — mak- published or self-published
tactics by the horns so you can get down ing work more fun. Examples of gamify- a book.
to what you want to be doing: writing! ing in the writing world are: Deadline: May 15
pshares.org
Tip #1: Just start • Setting streaks for yourself, as in,
No, really: Just starting is one of the how many days in a row can you Heartland Review
Chapbook Contest
most effective strategies for overcom- write consecutively? How many
Categories: Poetry
ing procrastination. words can you consistently write a Description: Submit no more
Committing to this first step “breaks day, every day? How long can you than 30 pages of your po-
the ice” and helps your brain get past go without breaking these streaks?). etry. Prize includes $500
the emotional hurdle of what’s making • Joining an online community or plus free copies of the
you avoidant. forum where you hold each other publication.
Dreading having to crank out 5,000 accountable for your goals and cele- Deadline: May 1
theheartlandreview.com/chapbooks
words before next Saturday? Set a timer brate your accomplishments.
for just five minutes to see what you can • Challenging yourself to meet a goal Ink Across Borders Prize
get done today. Need to take the kids within a specific time frame. Categories: Fiction Short
to their soccer game this afternoon? • Rewarding yourself — or being in Stories
See how many words you can type be- a community that rewards you — Description: A competition
fore you must leave the house. Small when you meet certain milestones. aiming to build a bridge be-
accomplishments are more likely to tween East and West, North
and South and is dedicated
self-soothe, mitigate the guilt you feel By gamifying your writing, you tack-
to seeking talent in Africa,
about putting things off, and encourage le procrastination head-on by replacing Asia, and other typically
you to keep going. feelings of anxiety or fear with determi- underrepresented parts of
nation and, hopefully, the positive feel- the world. Five hundred to
Tip #2: Set specific, realistic goals ings of small periodic accomplishments. 1500 words.
Get SMART with your writing goals – Look: Being a writer (whether it be Deadline: May 14
as in, Specific, Measurable, Actionable, freelance, in the corporate realm, pure- litsoceu.com/ink-across-
borders-prize
Relevant, and Time-Bound. ly creative, or anything in between) isn’t
Examples of SMART goals include for the faint of heart but with the right The Peter Hinchcliffe
but aren’t limited to: setting yourself a mindset and the right people around Fiction Award
specific word count each day to meet; a you, procrastination can be a thing Categories: General fiction
certain number of hours per week that of the past even for the most habitual Description: $1000 prize.
you’ll spend writing; or a set number of dawdlers. Every day is the day that you Limited to Canadian
citizens or residents. No
literary magazines or publishers to sub- can turn it all around.
limit on word count, but
mit to per month. most entries fall between
By breaking down these larger goals, Emma Sloan is the owner of 2000 and 5000 words.
you’ll feel more motivated to work to- The Wee Writer and a published poet, Deadline: May 28
ward them. This is in direct opposition fiction writer, and journalist. Follow tnq.ca/peter-hinchcliffe-award/
to loftier goals, like get a book deal by the her at weewriter.ca for writing
end of the year, which lacks specific steps updates and news.

WRITERMAG.COM 9
 1

BUT WAIT,
THERE’S
MORE
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writing prompts, and industry news,
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Bit.ly/thewriternl
Broadening the
Bookshelves
This month, we’re focusing on literature by veterans.
By Yi Shun Lai

This month’s The Nightstand picks from Abby Murray

WRITERMAG.COM 11
B → B Literature by Veterans

Getting to know literature by veterans

atthew Komatsu and I could not be in Vietnam. Things like the Balkans and
Desert Storm all [had] fairly definitive
more different places. While I shiver in the conclusions. Post-9/11 conflict doesn’t
60-something-degrees of my Southern Cali- look anything like that. Authorities are
fornia office, Komatsu has just come in from never rescinded. Policies change. We
pivot from here to there. Catch-22 was
cross-country skiing in the Alaska cold, and during our written well over a decade after Japan
Zoom call I can see the pillowy whiteness of the landscape surrendered. We were given the abili-
out of the window behind him. Likewise, his work expe- ty to say, ‘Hey, that’s all over and done.
We’ve moved on to a new thing.’ Does
rience is diametrically different from mine: I might joke [a forever war] allow writers the neces-
about being “in the trenches” of publishing, but Komatsu, sary psychic distance to really evaluate
as a member of the National Guard and a veteran of what’s and get at some deeper truths? Or does
the nature of the conflict lead to a lim-
called the “Forever War,” has really been there. ited perspective on it? Because you’re
still connected.”
Komatsu says you can see this in
Komatsu has written about his mili- And here, too, we couldn’t be fur- veterans today: “After the fall of Ka-
tary experience for publications like the ther apart: Because I’m not familiar bul, you still have countless veterans
New York Times and GQ, but he’s also with the newer literature, because I who are working tirelessly to secure
written about his identity as a Japanese don’t know enough veterans, or maybe immigration rights for Afghan refu-
American for Longreads and, most re- because I haven’t ever asked them the gees. Things like that. The repercus-
cently, for Flyfusion, a fly-fishing maga- right questions, I am stuck in the era sions are ongoing. I think that’s a big
zine. He’s also the nonfiction editor for of Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 or maybe, factor that will play out in terms of
the Air Force Academy’s War, Litera- at best, of Phil Klay’s National Book how the literature of this war is con-
ture, and the Arts literary journal. Award-winning Redeployment. Fur- sidered in the future.”
I ask Komatsu what he thinks we thermore, I never stopped to consider Komatsu tells me of a theory posited
mean when we talk about literature the difference between the two. I ask by writing professor Peter Molin, who
from veterans. “My most present per- Komatsu how, exactly, the forever na- also served in the U.S. Army: “He had
spective,” says Komatsu, “is really from ture of this war affects the way people a basic theory on considering contem-
the foxhole of people who have partici- affected by it write. porary world literature. He talks about
pated in what we refer to as the ‘Forev- “I think there’s some common cooked versus raw. And the raw stuff is
er War.’ So basically, post-9/11 conflict, themes that you’ll see in the five or so the stuff that you see coming out quick-
Iraq and Afghanistan are obviously of us that are in the veteran’s writing ly around any conflict. And predom-
the first ones that come to mind. But community,” he says, laughing. “But inantly, the narratives are going to be
the way that warfare changed during one of them is the idea of how the lit- dominated by what we term like com-
that time, and allowed it to kind of erature of this war will be considered bat arms. There’s not a whole lot of nar-
just continue, as an open-ended sort given the long timeline associated rative distance in between the individ-
of national security policy, if you will… with it. You had fairly definitive be- ual and the experience. It doesn’t really
The open-ended nature of the conflict ginnings and endings for the Korean take anything away from it, necessarily.
makes it difficult to have the kind of War, for the Vietnam War, for World But those [narratives] will primarily be
distance that you see in some of the War II and World War I. And even considered concerned with the individ-
more canonical war literature.” some of the conflicts after the end of ual’s experience and representing that.”

12 MAY 2023
 Komatsu’s remarks remind me of countless others that frankly didn’t get and I think those power structures
one of the things I say most frequent- the same level of recognition, they are exist in every area of life, right? Any-
ly to my writing students: “You’re too coming from people who are at least body can write about this stuff — the
close to it. Give it some more time.” five or six years removed from their qualification to be a writer is that you
What I mean to tell them is, it’s too raw. experiences, and then turning it into write, and that’s it. The bar is excep-
Set it aside and come back to it. Does whatever it is that they need to turn tionally low. But what writers value
this mean that the goalposts for writers it into.” quite frequently is the feeling of suc-
are changing? That what was once con- From my cushy civilian desk, it’s hard cess, of being able to have their work
sidered raw or half-baked is, in reality, a for me to think that playing a part on seen by others. And I know that this
moving goalpost? the world stage in the way that veterans is not all-inclusive, but I certainly
“If the goalposts move, it’s because and active-duty personnel do doesn’t think that a lot of us struggle because
publishing moved it on us,” Komatsu naturally push them toward wanting we want to have our writing seen. It’s
says. “But I think it’s important, too, to tell their stories. Military forces see not necessarily like the idea of ‘people
to just consider the fact that, especially and do things and interact with people need breaks.’ But, I mean, if you think
on the literary side, we want to feel the most of us will never get to meet. I’m about affirmative action and some of
deeper meaning beyond whatever just reminded, again, of my students and the things we do to try and right pre-
happens. And we are drawn to that as how often I need to remind them that vious wrongs, there is value in that be-
a quote-unquote literary communi- their stories are worth telling. Why are cause it provides an opportunity for
ty versus a genre community. When there so few veterans writing? people who haven’t had that opportu-
it comes to whatever makes a critical “That’s really one of the oldest nity — wrongly — in the past to get
literary success, that we want to feel questions in humanity,” Komatsu says. that opportunity. I think the thing I
that. If you look at books like The Yel- “I’m a bit of a pessimist in that we think about the most often, though, is
low Birds and Redeployment, as well as cannot wish away power structures, I hope that doesn’t stop people from
meeting that bar of what it takes to be
a writer. I think my desire is that peo-
ple understand that there’s a tremen-
dous amount of value with putting it
down on the page in the first place,
right? There is a supreme amount of
value in somebody writing down a
life’s experience so that their children
can pick it up one day and their grand-
children can pick it up one day.”
Komatsu also points out that, fur-
ther to the act of writing, the act of
publishing underscores the value of
any narrative. He calls out several lit-
erary magazines that actively look for
veterans’ voices or the voices of those
who have been affected by conflict:
War Horse, O-Dark-Thirty, Collateral,
alongside the decades-old WLA. “It’s
not just the publication piece; it’s the
idea of going through the rigor and
necessary [editing] so that your work
rises above somebody else’s in a com-
NATHANIEL WILDER

petitive space like that,” he says.

In other installations of this column,

WRITERMAG.COM 13
B → B Literature by Veterans

I’ve noticed more and more writers writing mystery novels. I wonder if
coming out of marginalized popula-
Military forces Komatsu thinks work has to be con-
tions, but Komatsu isn’t sure this is hap- see and do things flict-oriented in order to be consid-
pening with the veterans’ community. ered veterans’ literature.
“I think the number of people who and interact with “No, I don’t think it does. But we
want to turn their military experi- love the taxonomy, right? I look at my
ences into writing is shrinking,” he
people most of bookshelves, and I have a section of
says. “There’s a bit of bias associated us will never war literature, right? And boy, every
with that, too. When you go and read one of those books is awfully similar.
the literature of war, it [seems like get to meet. I’m But then, do you take a series of books
it] needs to be necessarily associat- like The Lord of the Rings and put it
ed with some kind of armed conflict.
reminded, again, on the war literature shelf ? There’s an
It’s a small demographic of the Unit- of my students and awful lot of war in there, right? Tolk-
ed States that does serve anyways, and ien was a veteran of World War I. His
then, especially now, it is a very small how often I need to experiences in World War I directly
portion of that small portion that found their way into the writing of
might be anywhere near anything like
remind them that that book. Is it a piece of war litera-
[armed conflict]. I can imagine some- their stories are ture? Most people would be like, ‘No:
body who joined within the last five it’s science fiction, fantasy, or whatev-
years and them looking at their expe- worth telling. Why er.’ Or young adult or children’s, how-
riences and asking, ‘What do I have to
offer to [well-known veteran authors]
are there so few ever they want to taxonomize it.
“One of the things I found interest-
Tim O’Brien or Phil Caputo or Phil veterans writing? ing is specifically with the World War II
Klay? It doesn’t fit. It doesn’t look any- generation of writers, how many were
thing like their stuff.’ And, you know, veterans and or creators or filmmak-
frankly, that was something that was ers and how those experiences within
on my mind even when I started writ- influence their creative work. Even if
ing. I didn’t believe I had the right cre- their creative work was not considered
dentials for it. I thought you needed within canon or genre for war literature
to be out there, like, in the shit and or war movies or anything like that, it
get shot at, killing people, and all that still made its way in. You can pick out
kind of stuff. But a lot of what pub- parts and pieces that [are] recognizable
lishing has given us has been in that to the veteran of war.
vein, right? “People come out of these experi-
“But the one thing I am encouraged ences and then do that thing where
by is we live in this post-modern age of they take a small piece, and they plug it
memoir being a thing and not needing into this other thing. They don’t want
to be a famous person in order to find to write a war book. They want to write
meaning in your life’s experience. I’m a novel about suburban life or some-
optimistic that people will find a way to thing like that. But they tie it back in.
write about their military experience in The edges of taxonomy are awfully, aw-
fresh and surprising ways. And it’s not fully blurry.”
going to look anything like what pub-
lishing has given us in the past.” Yi Shun Lai teaches in the MFA pro-
I think about the work I’ve seen gram at Bay Path University and is the
from veterans. I’ve encountered some author of two books. Her next book, a
who are writing self-help books or YA historical novel, is due out in 2024
sci-fi narratives. Some I know of are from Atheneum Books.

14 MAY 2023
 Talk to the
Practitioner:
Charlie Gilkey

Charlie Gilkey is a veteran of the United States

Army and the founder of Productive Flourishing,
Inc., a website, community, and app that helps
“creators, business owners, and leaders figure
out how to finish their most important projects.”
The company also produces planners and pro-
vides one-on-one coaching. Gilkey is the author
of two books in the business genre, Start Fin-
ishing and The Small Business Life Cycle. His
third, Team Habits, will be published in August
2023. We sat down to talk about everything
from his process to marketing to platform. The Writer: What made you decide to start this company?

Charlie Gilkey: Circa 2006, 2007, I was simultaneous-

ly pursuing my Ph.D. in philosophy, and I was an Army
Joint Force military logistics coordinator. I had recent-
ly come back from Operation Iraqi Freedom, and I was
flummoxed, vexed by something that seemed weird to me:
I could move battalions of people to large organizations,
but this 5,000-word essay was kicking my ass. How is that
possible? I’m not the only person with this problem, right?
I’m not unique in that way. So [I asked myself ], what have
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHARLIE GILKEY

other people tried? What I found after a few tries focusing

on different audiences is that the productivity literature
focuses too much on next action and task and the crunchy
bits; and the personal development literature focused on
big vision statements and life purpose and values and all

WRITERMAG.COM 15
B → B Literature by Veterans

those things. And both are great. But don’t actually understand the fierce- I would spend 15 to 20 hours doing
so many of us struggle in that middle, ness of his work. [Natively, I would] this in the essay form, and you and
[with] projects that are in the middle: take one of his essays, like his essay on like 10 other people would actually
that need to be written, articles that the three evils of society, take some read it. Or, I can create this quote
need to be written, sales that need to quotes and deconstruct it in a long series and do some of the tie-in. And
be happening. There wasn’t a whole document that showed the story of while it might not go viral, thousands
lot of work out there that really helps his fierceness. That’s how Charlie would read it.
people like us; creative, altruistic, would do it. But I thought about it,
knowledge workers get projects done. and I [knew] what the marketplace TW: I think I’m still troubled by the
I [said to myself ], Well, that seems idea that you’re still not getting to
like an obvious hole. And I started scratch that essayist itch. Your newslet-
filling that hole, and that’s where ter is 40,000 people strong. But where
Start Finishing came from. do you put all the essay thinking?

TW: Productive Flourishing has a lot CG: Here’s the thing. I don’t believe
of moving parts: You have an online I could move that everything that I write needs
community; you run online mass to be shared. I have plenty of essays
gatherings with people where they can battalions of I may or may not publish. I didn’t
ask you questions; you have the books. write them to publish them. There
Do you consider yourself a writer first
people to large are plenty that will meet the light of
and foremost? organizations, day at some point in time. But also,
what’s the itch here? Is it the creative
CG: In my own eyes, I’m very much
a writer. The fundamental challenge
but this 5,000- impulse that’s the itch? Or is it shar-
ing it with the world that’s the itch?
that I had earlier on in my business word essay was I’m OK to keep some of my words
was that I was an essayist joining a for me.
business nonfiction culture. At heart, kicking my ass.
I’m still an essayist. There is no real TW: Walk me through the process,
world where I don’t write two or How is that from when you conceive of a book to
3,000 words a week. The other day, finishing it.
I just couldn’t get sorted. Too many
possible?
things were going on. So I jumped on CG: I tend to write 30,000-foot books
Slack, and a teammate was like, Oh, that sort of are not the highest level
we need a piece on an unrelated sub- but also not the super tactical [view-
ject. So I wrote that. And after about point]. I say that because usually what
30 minutes, I’d written 800 words happens is, someone will bring me a
or so. And afterward, I had clarity would want and respond to is if I complex problem. And I’ll start decon-
on what my other problem was. So took a quote [from the essay] and structing that problem into its constit-
writing is that critical to my process shared that quote; maybe gave a few uent parts. And that kind of becomes
for orienting to the world, capturing more words about it, and then went the book.
thoughts, things like that. I definitely on about my day. And do it over a se- Part of my modus operandi is that
am a writer, essayist, and thinker in ries of 30 to 45 different quotes. You I will embed a bunch of Trojan horses
that way. know, 200-word snippets. in my work. In Start Finishing, one
I’ll give you another example. I wouldn’t say the main thought of the macro Trojan horses that a lot
Around [Martin Luther] King’s and the thesis is still there as the of people don’t see is that it’s actually
birthday, I thought about an essay [on essayist. But what it’s done to the addressing some of the characteristics
how] we have lionized and softened way that I think about producing is of white supremacy. I knew then and
King up so much that many people thinking about like, OK, I know that I know now that if I wrote that book,

16 MAY 2023
and I made that really obvious, then TW: Who’s in the revision chair? no matter how much I focus on
it’s going to be immediately reject- making it easy to understand, usable,
ed by a lot of people. And then it’s CG: Usually the entrepreneur. and practical, they’re going to come
going to get pigeonholed into sort of and be like, “This is hard. Will you
alt-productivity or Black productiv- TW: Can we talk a little about platform? help us?” I’m going to be like, “Sure.”
ity or whatever. In many ways, Team Right? “Yeah. Let’s make that hap-
Habits does the same thing; it democ- CG: There’s a way to build a platform pen.”I think too many authors, too
ratizes change management. It inverts if it’s just words. But if it’s thinking many writers have the view of writ-
hierarchy and creates self-organized multi-modal creativity — thinking ers as, well, it’s about keyboards and
teams. It encourages people to focus about how am I going to take this writing. Which it is. But for many
on belonging and relationships over concept and crystallize it and flip it working nonfiction writers, it’s at
productivity and results. And so it’s in a way that people find it useful and best 30% of what we do.
got those Trojan horses baked into it. that meets their world — I’ve been Think about some of the big
But I know if I went to Boeing with doing that. That is what I do. [Ed. winners that are out there as far as
Team Habits and I said, “Here’s what note: Aside from books and coach- prominent authors getting paid.
this book is really about,” then it’s ing sessions, Productive Flourishing Like many of them, you think Brené
going to end up in the diversity read- also has a free newsletter, a blog, free Brown, Adam Grant, Cal Newport.
ing section. You’d read it in February planners, and an annual subscription- They have university jobs that are
[Black History Month]. That’s not based membership.] sponsoring them. They have patrons
my goal, right? My goal is to work on and staffs of graduate students. They
both fronts. TW: How do you balance the get to opt out of a whole lot of other
quote-unquote labor of love, altru- entrepreneurial shit because they have
TW: How much of the veteran in you ism, writing bit with the actually-eat- a patron. So you have to figure out,
exists in your writing work? ing-food-on-your-table stuff ? like, who’s your patron? Maybe you
have a day job. One patron. And then
CG: I’ve told my team that if I’m ever CG: In nonfiction, you solve a prob- you write in your remaining time.
stumped on a problem to ask me lem. That’s core to your business mod- Or do you have a bunch of patrons, a
one of two questions: If this were a el. And if you don’t think about your bunch of clients?
military scenario, how would you ap- writing as just one piece of the busi- You’ve got to think about it. You
proach it? And the second is, what do ness model, you’re going to struggle. write a book. What happens to usable
you see? Because the seeing makes me Because even when you land a great product from it? Do you coach or
convey the visual metaphor that I’m book deal, the way book deals are split, teach from it? Do you lead workshops
probably working through. And the you’re going to get paid that over two on it? Yeah. You do keynotes. Do you
military officer reminds me of just so years. And when you divide it by the use it to do consulting? Someone is
much embedded knowledge [I have] three or four cuts that you’re going to going to subsidize you. Is it going to
about how to work through prob- get for that, you will find that unless be your partner because they’re going
lems. I can get stuck on philosophical you get a high-six-figure advance, to be the ones working, and you’re the
problems and not business problems. you’re going to have to do other things. one up there writing and doing the
I can get stuck on business problems You have to think about how that great American novel thing? Or a day
that I can’t unlock until I access those body of work feeds and fertilizes other job. Or a bunch of clients.
other modes. things that you do. I choose [multiple clients]. Now,
I never know who is going to show I’m an executive and business if a university or organization wants
up when I’m writing. The challenge coach. I’m writing Team Habits. I’m to pay me my entire check and give
for writing books is you write them not writing it just to sell my services. me a couple of years to transition my
over months. There are plenty of times There are different ways of doing clients, I don’t know. …No. They’d
where I’m like, “Ooh, yeah, I know that. Writing and publishing Team have to negotiate that in. I wouldn’t
what mood I was in that day because I Habits will sell my services. There’s abandon my clients. Then I might
know who was writing.” going to be a number of people that consider it.

WRITERMAG.COM 17
 Nightstand
her classroom have an impact on her
life. And she’s also writing about her
history as being an American and our
history with concentration camps and
the way that we ostracize immigrants.”
Murray was also drawn to the po-
etic quality of the short vignettes that
comprise this work: “My poet’s ear was
really drawn into these. She’s looking
at the way violence and weapons are
perceived in visual art and culture. It’s
almost a book of reflective criticism.”

Nightworks, Marvin Bell.

Bell, Murray’s mentor for her poetry
MFA was a veteran of the U.S. Army.
“What I like about Martin’s poems is
that they manage to be playful, and
bby Murray is the editor of Collateral magazine, a publica- they are not writing about playful
tion that aims to highlight the voices of those affected by subjects,” Murray says. “And that to
conflict. She was the poet laureate of Tacoma, Washington, me feels like a real accomplishment.” I
and teaches a course called “Argumentation in Military asked Murray what she thinks makes a
and Academic Writing.” She’s a lecturer at the University combat veteran turn to poetry. “I don’t
of Washington’s Henry M. Jackson School of Internation- know if they turn to poetry so much
al Studies, and her students come to her on fellowship from the Army War as they probably already had it,” she
College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Murray, who’s married to a service member, said. “You carry poetry with you into
violence. It’s not a bulletproof vest, and
started Collateral in 2015 as part of a class she was teaching at the Universi-
it ain’t a vehicle, and it ain’t life insur-
ty of Washington Tacoma. “I was very interested in the literature that surrounds
ance, but it’s a thing, nevertheless, that
the combat story, the combat narrative. There are a lot of publications and you carry.
presses that focus on the battle story. They’re very strong. But there weren’t “I think a lot of veterans, at least
very many platforms for all of the impact and the periphery and the fringes that I’ve worked with, are very busy
of the combat experience and really the effects of war,” she said. “Military trying to turn away from poetry. I
very much affects my life. And [my husband’s] combat tours have very much love working with veterans especially
affected our lives and the life of our daughter, too. So I was very interested in who don’t like poetry and who are
those stories, and I wanted to have a place where those poems and prose and suspicious of it…Why would you trust
visual art could land.” Murray is also the author of four books of poetry. the experience of being vulnerable?
We asked her to pick five books for us about the military experience. Like, when has being vulnerable ever
gotten you anything or anywhere?
When has it ever brought you safety?
Draw Your Weapons, Sarah Sentilles. guard at Abu Ghraib and a conscien- I’m not asking that to be facetious.
The winner of the 2018 PEN award tious objector to World War II. “I had It actually turns out that it’s a very
for nonfiction, Draw Your Weapons has never seen anyone do what she does realistic question, and vulnerability is
been called a meditation on art and in terms of [such a] comprehensive what gets us somewhere. I mean, it is
war. Throughout the book, Sentilles viewing of the military experience,” what gets us to safety. It just seems so
JENNY L. MILLER

tells the stories of people who have says Murray. “[Sentilles] has a student counterintuitive…I think I’ve worked
been affected by war: a former prison who is a veteran, and his experiences in with a lot of veterans who want to

18 MAY 2023
turn away from poetry. And I like go- and crush you. So how do you navigate
ing along with them. And we can turn “I was very writing this experience, that it is be-
toward it eventually.” cause of this institution that you were
interested in traumatized in a way that will not let it
traumatize you further?” The book is
Fidelis, Teresa Fazio. the literature geared toward fiction writers, but Mur-
Murray praises the writing in this ray says it’s easy to pick up tips for any
memoir. “It’s artistic the way it’s writ- that surrounds genre from this volume.
ten because the chapters can almost
stand on their own sometimes. Her the combat
writing is undecorated; not austere.
There’s no frosting. Her writing is story, the Fire and Forget: Short Stories from
the Long War, Matt Gallagher and Roy
methodical, logical. And yet, there
are parts where you’re laughing, and combat Scranton, eds.
This anthology of fiction works is a
there are parts where you’re like, collection of stories about the wars
‘Fuck, that is so fucking sad.’ And yet narrative.” in Afghanistan and Iraq. For Mur-
the writing itself is so reserved and ray, the book is notable for including
restrained and careful.” two women’s voices, Siobhan Fallon
Murray is equally taken with the and Mariette Kalinowski. Kalinows-
backstory of Fidelis and why it was ki’s contribution, a story called “The
written. “I once asked [Fazio], not Train,” stands out for its impact. “All
too long ago, why she took the risk on the stories in this collection are good,
writing this. And she was like, ‘Because but some of them echo each other
no one cares what a 40-year-old wom- more than others. And Mariette’s was
an has to say anymore.’ She said, ‘No not in an echo chamber.”
one cares what I have to say. And that I asked Murray why she thinks so
helped me take the risk.’ And obvi- few women’s voices are included in
ously people do care. I care. But it was war literature. (At Collateral, Murray
almost like weaponizing sexism and says, she sees a lot of submissions from
ageism in our culture against itself, and women.) “I think a lot of women are
it’s kind of brilliant.” writing military stories. Probably the
number is growing probably quick-
er than the number of men writing
On Point: A Guide to Writing the the military story. But I think fewer
Military Story, Tracy Crow. women have books. More men have an
This instructional work is “the most easier time getting books published,”
accessible to veterans,” says Murray. she says.
Writing a military story, she says, “I think there’s also just a stronger
includes “a sense of, like duty, a sense movement to get men, veterans who
of responsibility to the story. If I’m write attention just naturally because
talking about my family’s story, the of the patriarchy that we’re set in. The
duty lies to me as a creative, as the cre- attention is going to go toward male
ator of the story. But I can’t deny that veterans. Like when we think combat
there is some sense of responsibility to vets, as a country, we picture men. We
my family as well. In writing a mili- picture young men. We [think we]
tary story, it’s not just your family that need to get them to write. We don’t
you’re responsible to. It’s this whole naturally think of all the women who
institution that could very easily starve are writing.”

WRITERMAG.COM 19
20
WHAT LESSONS ARE LEARNED WHEN A
VETERAN WRITER TAKES ON PLAYWRITING
FOR THE FIRST TIME?
By N. West Moss
21
 bout a year ago, I found myself long-
ing to learn how to write plays. My
MFA is in fiction, and I have pub-
lished a short story collection and a
memoir and have a novel forthcom-
ing. So why this sudden call to learn
how to write plays?
Part of it is my natural curiosity about all
things to do with the written word, but I think
my interest in theater was a direct outcome of the
seclusion brought on by the pandemic.
I wasn’t exactly lonely during isolation. My
husband and I were both working from home,
and I had a neighbor who brought over her own
porch cocktails in the evenings, but I missed be-
ing around other artists, a feeling that intensified
as time wore on. I read a lot during that time and
listened to James Lapine’s book, Putting it To-
gether, about his first collaboration with Stephen
Sondheim on the play Sunday in the Park with
George. It was thrilling to read about the ways
that they influenced one another and then about
the influence the actors and crew had on the final
production.
People say that writing is lonely, but I haven’t
found it so, enjoying work over the years with
editors and fellow writers. I’ve been a fellow at
PREVIOUS AND CURRENT SPREADS: INSPIRING/SHUTTERSTOCK

residencies such as MacDowell and the Virginia

Center for Creative Arts, where I made import-
ant friendships, but it had been a year or more
since I’d been to one when the pandemic struck,
and that year has now turned into several years
since I’ve had the chance to gather and live with
artists for the weeks of a residency.
22 MAY 2023
 Ultimately, it was the collaborative I’ve now been working that my prose delved into the feelings,
nature of theater that interested me thoughts, and motivations of my char-
most, as it meant I could work on my with this group for acters. But when I write a scene, I can’t
writing with other artists, including ac- months, and I’m easily do that. I have to show, through
tors, directors, makeup artists, lighting actions and dialogue, and through
designers, set designers, etc. It sound- stunned by how much what the characters aren’t saying, what’s
ed exciting to have an idea that I could I’ve discovered, not going on for them, which is tricky and
share with other creative people, who certainly a brand-new writing muscle
would put their imprint on it. just about playwriting for me, and one that pays dividends in
To help me write my play, I decided but about writing my other projects.
to take a class, mostly because reading Here are some of the writing lessons
a play is not as instructive as I thought in general. And the I’ve learned from playwriting so far.
it might be (reading a play is quite dif- lessons I’m learning
ferent from attending one, after all). I Interior vs exterior
enrolled in an online playwriting work- are paying dividends Plays show us the exterior of a charac-
shop, where I listened to the work of already in my other ter. Yes, characters can speak directly
other playwrights. to the audience in the form of a mono-
Everyone else was working on a spe- writing projects. logue or a soliloquy, but audiences
cific project, but I wasn’t ready yet to in the theater mostly come to know a
write a play. First, I needed to learn a character through their actions, their
whole lot of craft elements, and to that spoken words, and their interactions
end, the instructor gave me weekly with other characters. If I have a char-
scene-writing assignments to begin to acter who is frightened by loud noises,
understand how playwriting works. I say, and I want to show that on stage,
struggled with the assignments every I have to consider how to demonstrate
week and then shared the work with the that fear. In a short story, I could rely
group, picking a few classmates to read on their inner thoughts to make that
the various parts. They would read my clear, and while there are ways to access
pages aloud, and then I waited for the a character’s inner thoughts in a play
verdict. Had it worked or not? Where (again, think monologue or soliloquy),
had I confused people? Was I convey- it’s not always the right move. At the
ing what I intended? I was learning. very least, it would interrupt the action
I’ve now been working with this of the play to do so.
group for months, and I’m stunned
by how much I’ve discovered, not just
about playwriting but about writing in
general. And the lessons I’m learning
are paying dividends already in my oth-
er writing projects.
There are many ways craft in all
genres overlaps. For example, you need
to have a three-dimensional protago-
nist that readers can care about wheth-
er you’re writing a short story, a middle
grade novel, or a play. Our characters
must be fully developed and engaging
to keep readers interested. That con-
cept wasn’t new to me, but how to make
that happen in a play was a total mys-
tery to me. How did I make audiences
care about someone without being able
to describe her and explain how she’d
come to this particular pass?
My writing, up until this point, had
tended to be very interior, meaning

WRITERMAG.COM 23
 The admonition to “show vs. tell” interact with plays not by reading them allow other artists to make choices and
is even more urgent in theater writing, but by watching them performed, create around my work. Of course, if
and I can already see that strength- which means that the words I’ve writ- it’s essential to the story that she have
en my prose writing in that I can rely ten get to an audience through the short gray hair, that will go into the
much more on characters acting in help of a lot of people, including actors stage directions, but I’ve been pleas-
a certain way that allows readers to and directors. antly surprised to let go of the need to
know them without me overexplain- It’s nice if I don’t over-prescribe describe every last detail of looks and
ing. I am finding ways to make the in- what a character or scene must look gesture, trusting that actors and direc-
ternal more visible, and that nuance like. For instance, where I used loads tors can meet me in the middle with
will help me make my prose writing of stage directions when I first began their own ideas.
more vivid. writing plays, I’ve pulled back a great I’ve always loved writers who un-
deal. Instead of saying that a character der-explain ( John Cheever and Ab-
Stay in the present tense is a 40-year-old woman with short gray igail Thomas come to mind as good
Flashbacks and exposition are tricky hair and a big jaw who wears a gray car- examples of this in both short story
devices in any kind of writing, but digan (which would limit casting and and memoir writing). When I read
I’ve never realized before how much a constrain makeup and costuming), I’m their work, I can feel that they trust
play exists in the present moment. In much more likely now to just write in and respect me as a reader enough to
the theater, we are there in the pres- the stage directions that a character essentially say, “A careful reader will
ent tense with the characters, waiting is “a middle-aged woman.” This can understand this without me telling
to see what will happen next, who will
knock on the door, what will happen
when a character finally makes an ap-
pearance or says what’s on her mind.
Part of what is so galvanizing about
the theater is this sense that we are
peering in at a story that is unfolding
before our very eyes, and so it is im-
portant to pare away all but the abso-
lutely essential exposition in a play or
to render it through the actions of the
characters rather than heavy-handed,
explanatory dialogue.
Logically, when working on a play,
it’s all about writing interconnected
scenes. Acts are made up of scenes,
after all, and if you’re telling your sto-
ry chronologically, one scene moves
to the next and to the next. I’m real-
izing that my prose writing could be
strengthened by a more conscious use
of scenes instead of spending quite as
much time and space on description
and/or introspection. There’s noth-
ing wrong, of course, with description
and introspection, but it’s interest-
ing for me to see the power of a story
that is scene-driven, as it is in a play,
and I look forward to building more
momentum into my prose using this
scene-upon-scene technique.
INSPIRING/SHUTTERSTOCK

Leave room for collaboration

We don’t tend to buy a script and read
it (although I have, over the years, al-
beit infrequently). Audience members

24 MAY 2023
 her.” Conversely, I bristle at writers
who explain so much that I feel pa-
tronized. Until I started working on a
play, though, I didn’t know the extent
to which I could really pull back and
let the characters speak for themselves.

Listen to your characters speak

My writing projects often begin with
a character, often a real person who I
know only peripherally, and they stay
with me mentally until I get around to
telling their story. Something beauti-
ful happened in my playwriting class
about two months in. I’d had just such
a character in mind for a long time, a
man I’ll call “Bob.” While I was inter-
ested in him, I didn’t yet know what
his story was, so I fiddled around and
wrote a monologue for him to read in
class. I was nervous, as always, unsure
about whether he’d resonate for my
classmates. That week, we were lucky
enough to have an actor present who
was willing to read, and I asked him to
read my monologue for the class. I sat
back and listened and was stunned. I
suddenly saw my character as someone
beyond just my own mind. This talent-
ed actor had animated Bob for me, had
brought him to life, and not only was
I moved to tears to hear Bob’s voice,
but hearing him made his larger story That week, we were talented actor or two willing to read
come into focus for me. I suddenly saw these monologues for me early on in
that he believed the world to be judg- lucky enough to have the drafting process so that I can begin
ing him much more harshly than it ac- an actor present who to see my characters as three-dimen-
tually was. This vulnerability made me sional people outside of my imagina-
see him as less reckless and more piti- was willing to read, tion — to help me breathe life into and
able and in need of protection. It was and I asked him to animate my characters.
one of the most thrilling writing mo-
ments I’ve experienced. I couldn’t sleep read my monologue for N. West Moss has had her work appear
that night. the class. I sat back in the New York Times, Salon,
I’ve been changed as a writer by tak- McSweeney’s, the Saturday Evening
ing this class, and I think my writing is and listened and was Post, and elsewhere. She has published a
better now for it. Not only do I think I stunned. I suddenly short story collection called The Subway
will continue to find a better balance of Stops at Bryant Park (Leapfrog) and
the interior and exterior dynamic of a saw my character as a memoir called Flesh and Blood
character in my prose work, but I hope someone beyond just (Algonquin), and her middle grade
to lean more on how they act and what novel, Birdy, is forthcoming from
they do, as opposed to over-explaining my own mind. Little, Brown. She can be reached at
things to my readers. [email protected]
INSPIRING/SHUTTERSTOCK

And for the rest of my writing life,

whether I’m working on a play or a EDITOR’S NOTE: The playwriting workshop
referenced in this story is with playwright
novel, I plan to write a monologue Jeffrey Sweet at The Negotiating Stage:
for my various characters and find a thenegotiatingstage.com.

WRITERMAG.COM 25
 AN

FOR

The insidious effects of writer’s

envy bleed you of motivation,
time, and confidence. Here are
seven strategies to help you
eradicate the disease.
By Tim Waggoner

26
“Envy is social media, you quickly begin to feel
like you’re outside in the cold, looking
through a window at a bunch of peo-

the writer’s ple having a fantastic time at a party

you weren’t — and will never be — in-

disease.” vited to. It doesn’t help that writers, by

our very nature, are imaginers. We can
imagine vast amounts of success for
When I first started attending sci- ourselves, far more than most people
ence fiction/fantasy/horror conven- can ever achieve in a lifetime. No mat-
tions in my late 20s, I’d occasionally ter how much we do achieve, it seems
hear old pros give the above warning like it’s never enough, not when we’re
whenever they spoke about the chal- deluged by announcements of others’
lenges of the writing life. I thought successes 24/7 on the internet.
I understood what they meant back And when you age as a writer, you
then, but now, 30 years later, I know ex- see new writers come along and rock-
actly what they meant because I’ve con- et past you to gain heights of success
tracted the writer’s disease more than you’re still struggling to reach after de-
once. Hell, I probably have a chronic cades of trying. Why couldn’t that have
case of it, and I’m willing to bet most been me? What did I do wrong? You see
writers do. writers listed on year’s best lists when
Before the advent of social me- you never are, win awards that you’ve
dia, I rarely experienced writing envy. never even been nominated for, get
It usually happened when one of my starred reviews in Publishers Weekly
writer friends made a sale to a market when you can only get a handful of re-
I’d been trying to crack for years with- views on Goodreads (if you’re lucky).
out success, etc. But when social media Right now, horror is going through a
appeared, it seemed like every damn renaissance in traditional publishing,
writer on the planet was on Facebook, but even though I’ve been writing hor-
Twitter, or Instagram, and they were ror for a long time — getting good re-
all posting news of amazing career views and winning awards — my agent
achievements that I could only dream and I can’t seem to get the bigger pub-
of accomplishing myself. Of course, lishers to even notice I exist, let alone
most writers don’t post about their offer me a novel contract.
struggles and failures — for them, so- If we allow it, our envy will eat us
cial media is a way to promote them- up inside and turn something we once
selves and their career, so they only loved (writing) into something we
post positive stuff. (Sure, some writers hate. We may stop writing for a time
talk about their careers warts and all and maybe quit writing altogether, es-
on social media, but not many.) If you pecially if we begin to view it as a source
spend too much time scrolling through of pain.

27
 If we can’t ever be fully cured of the During a long journey, looking for a while (which is what I just
writer’s disease, how can we learn to live back to see how far you’ve come did!). Teaching writing classes is a
with it and minimize its effects? can give you the motivation you major way I focus on others, and
need to keep moving onward, it helps me maintain a healthy
1. Remind yourself why you write. even if you still have a long road emotional balance when it comes
I write because it’s a core aspect ahead of you. to my writing career.
of who I am. It fulfills me in a 3. Focus on others instead of your- 4. Keep making things. As long as
way nothing else does. I write for self. Envy comes from wanting I’m making things, I keep negative
emotional reward, not financial what others have. But it’s still a emotions from gaining a hold on
reward (although I’m glad to cash focus on yourself. One of the best me. If I’m working on a short sto-
whatever checks publishers send ways to deal with envy is taking the ry that’s going nowhere, I work on
me!). As long I remember why I focus off yourself and putting it a different project for a while. If I
write, I don’t feel envious of oth- on others. Beta-read for someone. start to feel down about my career,
ers. Or if I do, I can deal with it Mentor another writer. Volunteer I’ll begin working on a blog entry.
before it becomes too strong. for a writers’ organization you be- If nothing else, I’ll start grading
2. Look back at how far you’ve long to. Volunteer to conduct writ- papers. Even doing household
come. Whatever you’ve achieved ing workshops for organizations in chores can help, so long as I’m
up to this point in your career your community. Celebrate others’ being productive somehow.
— however big or small — recog- victories on social media and help 5. Keep a positive comment file
nizing that you’ve made progress promote them. Go take your dog and look at it when you need a
means more progress is possible. into the backyard and play fetch boost. I’ve long kept a blurb file

DEALING have success and, at the

same time, be genuinely
circles because I was afraid
of losing friends.
“Professional envy is inev-
itable, it will happen. My

WITH bummed you didn’t get X, Y,

or Z. One reaction does not
“Then two things hit me:
1) [Writer] Rich Dansky,
trick is to remind myself it’s
not over yet and also that
negate the other. They can whom I shared my news in the broader scheme of
ENVY exist simultaneously and with, was so happy for me, things, it’s the work that
both be honest and true.” he almost crawled through will or won’t live, not the
— Erin Flanagan, Edgar the internet to hug me. He sales. Think Blade Runner
“I often find myself com- Award-winning author of Deer said folks have seen how (a box office disaster) that
paring myself to other writ- Season and Blackout hard I’ve worked over the has outlived its critics and
ers I greatly admire. But I years, and NO ONE would naysayers. The work is what
try to remind myself that I begrudge me any measure makes us alive, the story is
need to be true to myself “Before I had my string of of payoff from that work; 2) what enthralls us.
and to trust in the jour- acceptances, I was talking I reminded myself that any “As [poet Rainer Maria]
ney. Of course, it’s easy to to [fellow writer] Brian ‘friend’ who couldn’t be Rilke said, ‘Have patience
become envious of others Keene about things to look happy for me in my good with everything that remains
who appear more suc- for should I become suc- times probably wasn’t a unsolved in your heart. Try
cessful than you are, but cessful. He warned me that friend to begin with. So I to love the questions them-
I’ve done so much self-re- when I became successful began to loudly celebrate selves, like locked rooms
flection over the past few that I should be prepared my victories. That is my and like books written in a
years, and I truly believe to lose some friends. That advice: celebrate your foreign language. Do not
that mindfulness and a there would be folks who victories. Loudly. Because now look for the answers.
positive attitude contribute wouldn’t be able to han- we don’t get them nearly They cannot now be given to
to one’s success.” dle my success, as if that enough. And those who cel- you because you could not
— Eric LaRocca, author of was a reflection on them, ebrate with you are those live them. It is a question of
PREVIOUS SPREAD: FRAN_KIE/SHUTTERSTOCK

Things Have Gotten Worse and thus drop out of my you want around you in experiencing everything. At
Since We Last Spoke and Oth- life. So when I signed two your journey.” present you need to live the
er Misfortunes major book deals back to — Maurice Broaddus, au- question.’”
back within months of each thor of Sweep of Stars and — Usman T. Malik, author of
other, I largely downplayed Unfadeable. Midnight Doorways: Fables
“You can be genuinely hap- it. Barely mentioned it ex- from Pakistan
py when your writer friends cept to those in my closest — TW

28 MAY 2023
 where I list positive comments
reviewers have made about my
work. I use these blurbs when it
comes time to promote my work,
ERIC MAISEL ON ENVY
but I also read over them when I
need to remind myself that, yeah, Eric Maisel is a therapist and creativity coach who spe-
I’m a pretty decent writer. I take cializes in helping creative people overcome emotional
screenshots of positive things peo- challenges. He’s written over 50 books, and I regularly
recommend his work to other writers when I teach class-
ple say about my work on social
es or conduct workshops. Here’s his advice for dealing
media, and I look at them when I with envy:
need an emotional lift as well. “Envy is an insidious and cruel emotion. One tactic to
6. Cut down on social media. You deal with it, so that it doesn’t arise in the first place, is
know what happens when you to keep your head down, do your writing, and try not to
don’t see people posting about notice what others are doing or how well others are doing.
their writing successes all the Ignorance is bliss! And, if you do get envious, remind
yourself of two things: not to use this as an excuse not to
time? You know nothing about
write (how often we’re looking for that excuse!) and to re-
them. And if you know nothing member that this, too, shall pass, hopefully sooner rather
about them, you can’t be envious than later.”
of them, can you? Living your life
in the real world can remind you
that your writing career is about
you, not about anyone else. My three favorite books by Maisel:
7. Remind yourself that there are
more things to your life than
your writing career. Hopefully
you have friends and family who
love you. Spend some time with
them. Do you have any hobbies
that don’t involve writing, some-
thing you do simply because it’s
fun and relaxing? Do that for a
while. Take a break for a few days
and don’t feel guilty about it. Your Creativity for The Van Gogh Mastering Cre-
writing will be better for the time Life: Practical Blues: The Cre- ative Anxiety
off if it allows you to recharge Advice on the ative Person’s Maisel provides
yourself mentally and emotionally. Artist’s Person- Path Through 24 lessons to
ality and Career Depression help people deal
from America’s I don’t know any with the myriad
Envy is a natural human emotion, Foremost Cre- creative person anxieties of the
and while writers feel it from time to ativity Coach who doesn’t creative life.
time, we can’t allow it to consume us This is the one struggle with Chapters focus
to the point where we’re unable to do book I wish I’d depression on topics such
what we love most — write. We need had when I em- sometimes, as the anxiety
to focus on our own individual writing barked on my and this book of creating and
career 40 years will give you not creating, the
journey and not let envy distract us.
ago. It would’ve the tools for anxiety of day
Not only will we be the stronger for it, saved me learn- combatting it. jobs, the anxiety
but we’ll be a lot happier, too. ing a lot of things of compromising,
the hard way! and more.
Tim Waggoner has published over fifty
novels and seven collections of dark
fiction. He’s a three-time winner of
To learn more about Eric Maisel, visit his website at
the Bram Stoker Award and teaches
https://ericmaisel.com.
creative writing at Sinclair College in — TW
Dayton, Ohio. For more on Tim, visit
timwaggoner.com.

WRITERMAG.COM 29
 STRATEGIES TO HELP
YOU FIND THE TIME
YOU NEED TO BE
THE WRITER
YOU TRULY
WANT TO BE.
By Aigner Loren Wilson

30
31
 hether a writer is a seasoned pro, total-
ly new to writing, or somewhere in be-
tween, finding the time to write is always
an issue. Some writers give up entirely on
their dream and desire to write because
even the idea of trying to find the time feels impossible
and crushes them.
When I first started writing, I time, encouragement, and space.
worked two jobs, went to school on It took me years to finally come
top of having a lively social life, and up with a way of making a schedule
had no car, which meant commuting that I return to throughout my career.
took two to three hours a day. Essen- When I finally realized a writing prac-
tially, I had the exact opposite of time; tice didn’t have to consist of writing X
EDGE CREATIVE/SHUTTERSTOCK

I had negative time. I was often over- number of words a day, it became so
booked, exhausted, and demoralized much easier to use other authors’ meth-
when it came to writing because all ods as jumping-off points for building
the writers I knew had the privilege of my own schedule and practice.

32 MAY 2023
 Before I could carve out my sched-
ule, I needed to figure some things out,
like my best time to create, areas in my
life I needed to reimagine, and, more
importantly, what projects would fuel
me instead of draining me.
I had the exact opposite of time;
Your best time
One of the first things you’ll need to I had negative time. I was often
figure out is your creative flow. For me, overbooked, exhausted, and demoralized
my best time to create fiction is first
thing in the morning while my dream when it came to writing because all
cobwebs are still fresh. Nonfiction hap-
pens better during the afternoon after
the writers I knew had the privilege
I’ve woken up and done some other of time, encouragement, and space.
tasks. Poetry late at night. If I tried to
write fiction at night, it would be slow
work, with a lot of stops and pauses.
Nonfiction early in the morning is OK,
but I always save my afternoon brain for
reworking it. And daytime poetry puts creativity happens for you whenever spend many nights and afternoons
me in my head too much. Those cre- you’re folding laundry, exercising, or hanging out, drinking, shooting pool,
ative times have changed over the years on walks to school. Keep a little pocket or watching hours of TV, zoning out
and always will for the rest of my career notebook or a notecard with you and the whole time. And my mornings were
as I progress. open yourself to curiously observing spent sleeping in and recovering before
Everyone has their own patterns your thoughts and creativity through- starting my jobs.
based on their daily lives, obligations, out the day. Find which aspects of your routines
abilities, and routines. Creativity is It took me a very long time to learn you don’t really need to do and aren’t
a part of what makes you a writer or how to interpret and pay attention to positively serving you and cut them
want to write. But it doesn’t just call my creative thinking. As I mentioned, it out of your life. And for people who
you down to participate. You must pay doesn’t just happen once, but you should may be reading too deeply into this,
attention to when your mind starts to check in on yourself and your space as I’m not talking about cutting responsi-
play. My mind wanders and jumps a lot, you move through life and change. bilities or obligations but time wasters
but in the morning, my focus is stron- that you don’t even like doing. Some
ger and can steer the wandering to be Find or make the time people who want to write spend time
creative. While on a run, I can turn that But if your creative time happens when watching TV, playing video games,
stray thought about birds into a story you’re doing something else, how are or doomscrolling. It can also be sim-
idea that flies out of me. you supposed to write or get any work ple things like spending an hour each
Finding the perfect time to write done? At that point, you have the op- morning going to get coffee when you
takes, well, time and patience. Patience tion of stacking or cutting time. could make it in your house.
with yourself, mostly. To find your There are probably things you do But cutting time isn’t for every-
best times for creativity throughout throughout your daily life that are less one, which is where stacking comes
the day, you’ll need to pay attention necessary than you think. For me, it in. Stacking time refers to stacking
to how your brain reacts and behaves was hanging out in bars, surfing the tasks together, so you’re doing multi-
while you go through your day. Maybe web, and watching television. I would ple things simultaneously. Like a lot of

WRITERMAG.COM 33
the advice in this article, stacking may
not be for you. When I worked two
jobs and went to school, I rode the
bus often. About two hours each day
were spent sitting on a bus. It wasn’t
something I could simply cut from
my life. So, instead of staring out the
window, I used the time to listen to
writing podcasts and audiobooks to
expose myself to craft. While I wasn’t
actively writing, those recordings gave
me insight into how to make a story
actually work.
Examine your daily and weekly
routines for the activities you can cut
or stack. For people constantly on the
move, dictation and craft audiobooks
or podcasts are excellent stacking ac-
tivities. For cutting, ask yourself how
specific actions affect you and your cre-
ativity. A helpful way of finding time to
cut and stack is to look at your current
schedule or how you spend your time.
Then ask yourself if you can do some- Start slowly if you’re new to writing
thing else while performing it or if you
really need to be performing it. Don’t
and following a writing schedule.
forget cutting can also mean asking for Just scatter a few minutes or hours
support or delegating a task to some-
one else. throughout your week when you know
Let your passion guide you
you’ll have creative energy, space to
Have you ever fallen into the hole stack tasks, and free time.
where you think your project needs to
be finished even if you’re not that into
it anymore? It happens to all writers at
some point in their careers but more
so at the beginning because you’re As soon as I stopped trying to write grew comfortable stepping out and
searching for your voice and your the form I thought I should, I start- trying longer fiction.
stories. When I first started writing, ed paying attention to the fact that I But I didn’t just write any fiction;
I wrote a bunch of novels because I loved writing short stories and flash some of it was weird because it was
thought that was what people wanted. fiction. By giving myself over to what what I wanted to write. Writing isn’t al-
EDGE CREATIVE/SHUTTERSTOCK

At the time, however, it wasn’t what I I wanted, I gained all this energy and ways fun, so choosing projects that give
wanted or even knew how to write, so passion for writing. The more I wrote you life and energy instead of draining
it made me feel terrible about my skills what I wanted and experimented with you helps so much. Learn to listen to
and exhausted me. craft in the short form, the more I your body and notice the signs when

34 MAY 2023
you start to lose energy or a project is
draining you. If you can’t listen to your
body, have someone else help by being
your accountability partner.
While picking projects that ener-
gize you is important, remember that
sometimes even the most exciting
projects still feel like work. During
those times, make sure you have go-to
energy boosters. For me, it’s going for
a walk, running outside, or meditating
for a few minutes. Stepping away from include time for creative play, research,
the keyboard always helps me refill my community building, practice, edit-
creativity well and sometimes even ing, submitting/querying, or learning.
works out story knots. Maybe you al- When I started making my writing
ready know what things give you en- schedule, I carved out three hours in
ergy, like stopping to make a cup of two of my weekdays for writing while
matcha. If you don’t know what ac- I stacked my other time with practice
tivities provide you with energy, do and play.
some self-exploration again and try For writers used to schedules, re-
different things. vamping or reenergizing them can be as
simple as using a new format to make
Carve out your schedule your schedule or going through the
The word “schedule” is misleading. steps above to find new time and tap trying to be a writer who does things
Not everyone works well with a sched- into new energy. I tried out new plan- the way someone else does, focus on
ule or can even create one. So, think of ners every year until the last two years, your abilities and responsibilities.
“schedule” in this usage as a reminder, when I used the same planner because I Someone working a full-time job with
whether it’s written down, an alert on noticed it works well with how I view children will have a different writing
your phone, or someone else reminding my life and career. schedule than an MFA student work-
you. One of the most easily corrected Never get down or punish yourself ing on their thesis. Both of these writ-
mistakes writers who want to make a for missing a scheduled writing time. ers are valid, and their schedules have
writing schedule make is not actually Instead, examine why you missed it. to match their lives. The only way to
creating a schedule. Look at the factors surrounding you do that is by examining your life, cre-
Even if it takes a whole day to do a and consider if maybe the time wasn’t ativity, and energy.
writing schedule, it is more beneficial to right or if the circumstance wasn’t un-
have one than not. Start slowly if you’re der your control. Try something differ- Aigner Loren Wilson is a literary specu-
new to writing and following a writing ent the next week and keep adapting lative fiction writer and editor. She is a
schedule. Just scatter a few minutes or your schedule until you find something senior fiction editor for Strange Hori-
hours throughout your week when you that works for you and your life. zons and her work has appeared or is
know you’ll have creative energy, space Building a writing schedule that forthcoming in Interzone Magazine,
to stack tasks, and free time. works is less about finding ways to The Magazine of Fantasy and Science
Not every day needs to be about write 2,000 words an hour or com- Fiction, Lightspeed Magazine, Writer’s
writing or putting words down on a plete a novel in a week. It’s more about Digest, and many more publications.
page. Don’t overload your schedule discovering what works for you, your To check out her other writing visit her
with simply writing but remember to life, and your creativity. Instead of website aignerlwilson.com.

WRITERMAG.COM 35
36
37
 wants. Once you know that, “supply an
action that moves them a tiny step to-
ward their goal.” This is a process, says
Sullivan, not a one-time thing: “By
hat are the ingredients keeping their wants in the forefront of
your mind (while also accepting that
of good fiction? Among these wants change with the character
them are surely compel- growth), whether drafting or editing,
you can decide if the scene is leading
ling characters, a spirited toward that final objective.”
Scenes dramatize. They don’t tell or
prose style, and riveting scenes. explain, though they might, in some
Scenes bring your reader in close. cases, have a narrative purpose. When
this is the case, it’s tempting to rely on
Good scenes enable your reader to exposition, says Berry, but use it spar-
experience firsthand your characters ingly because exposition will quickly
“pull your readers out of the scene.”
and their world. Dull, dry-as-dust “Unless you’re writing a play, you’re
going to need both showing and tell-
scenes will surely dim down your fic- ing,” says Barbara DeMarco-Barrett,
tion and kill reader interest. author of Pen on Fire and editor of
Palm Springs Noir. “Telling is not a
But how do you avoid flat scenes? bad thing; too much of it is.” She’s dis-
What fictional elements should you covered that a dull, draggy scene is of-
ten due to “too much telling and not
rely on? Should you go for short enough showing.” To dramatize, use
scenes or long ones? Should your dialogue: “Dialogue is a great cure for
scenes that drag. Dialogue can deliv-
scenes end with a bang? er readers to where you want them to
go much faster and more interesting-
We asked six well-published writers, ly than narrative that slogs along,” she
both short story writers and novelists, says. But a notable exception: “Too
much dialogue and not enough narra-
for their take on these questions. tive can drag down a scene, and when
this happens, writing a bit of a charac-
ter’s interiority can help.”
When writing dialogue, it’s import-
ant to go for each character’s unique
voice, says Lisa Peers, a romantic come-
Handling the elements What else can you accomplish dy author and former actor. Drawing on
Before we get into the makeup of a good in a scene? You can reveal character her acting career, “working from a script,
scene, let’s first think about the various through dialogue, plant clues or red I’d create characters based on what they
goals you as a fiction writer might have herrings, foreshadow later develop- say and why.” She allows her characters
for a scene. Must you have a goal? ments, and explore or develop themes, to enter into dialogue with each other,
According to Connie Berry, author says Berry. “Before writing or revising a meanwhile taking notes. For Peers, this
of the Edgar Award-nominated Kate scene, write down your specific purpos- strategy “illuminates their personalities
PREVIOUS SPREAD: TITHI LUADTHONG/SHUTTERSTOCK

Hamilton mysteries, “every scene in es. A goal-rich scene will keep the read- and what’s important to them based on
a novel should have a specific goal — er’s interest.” what they’re willing to express and what
more than simply moving the plot for- Let’s focus on character. A key ques- words they choose.”
ward.” Naturally, this forward move- tion to ask yourself, says Sophie Sulli- How do you make your dialogue in-
ment calls for conflict, which creates van, a Canadian writer who recently teresting, catchy, and compelling? Ac-
suspense and what Berry terms “emo- published the rom-com A Guide to Be- cording to Robert Garner McBrearty,
tional tension.” ing Just Friends, is what your character award-winning author of four short

38 MAY 2023
 story collections, make sure it’s loaded Dialogue won’t be surprising, TIPS FROM
with tension. Scenes need what he calls though, states Varallo, if it follows a THE PROS
resistance. “Evocative dialogue delivers predictable Q&A format, “where one
a twist, a turn, something revelatory. character asks another character a Barbara DeMarco-Barrett:
The revelation surprises the characters. question, and the other character du- “In a good scene, char-
acters enter one way and
We hope it also surprises the reader. tifully responds, over and over again.
leave another way. By the
Sometimes the tension is subtle, but we The effect is like watching two tennis end of a good scene, we
sense trouble brewing beneath the sur- players gently lobbing the ball to each know a little more about
face.” One thing to keep in mind, says other’s sweet spot, neither player need- the character and what
McBrearty, is that “it’s difficult to write ing to move.” they’re dealing with than we
or revise one component in isolation, But how do you avoid what Varal- knew going in.”
so as we sharpen dialogue, we also de- lo calls a “Q&A exchange?” You can
Connie Berry:
velop characters.” break with this predictable, formulaic
“A great scene has a spe-
One problem with scenes, according back and forth by “having one char- cific purpose in the whole
to Anthony Varallo, author of The Lines, acter refuse to answer the question by story, leads inevitably to
is that of repeated gestures: “Avoiding not saying anything — or, even better, the next scene, and, most
dullness usually means avoiding repe- have them broach a new, unexpected importantly, keeps the read-
tition, especially repeated actions and topic that suddenly shifts the scene in er turning pages.”
speech patterns.” To energize a dull a new direction.”
Robert Garner McBrearty:
scene in either a short story or novel,
“A good scene creates a
says Varallo, you should pare out re- Shortening or extending a scene vivid and lasting impression
peated actions such as exhaling a plume To be effective, does a scene need to so that readers can visual-
of cigarette smoke, smiling broadly, or be a specific length? Is there a stan- ize and experience what’s
rolling one’s eyes; it’s much better, he dard to follow? happening. It’s not a matter
believes, to replace gestures like these As Peers points out, “There isn’t a of how much sensory detail
with “surprising lines of dialogue.” standard length for scenes or chapters, but how well-chosen it is.”
TITHI LUADTHONG/SHUTTERSTOCK

WRITERMAG.COM 39
TIPS FROM even within the same book. Instead, scenes together, says Berry. But this
THE PROS scene length is a matter of pacing, goes only so far. “Keeping a fast pace
which often depends on the type of sto- going too long is a little like sprinting
Anthony Varallo: ry you’re writing.” For instance, certain uphill. Eventually, the reader — and
“A good scene enlists the genres, like historical novels or science your POV character — needs time to
reader’s involvement in the
story to the degree that
fiction, tend to call for longer and more catch his or her breath. Varying the
they feel shoulder to shoul- developed scenes to help ground readers length of scenes in a novel is a way to
der with your characters.” in the “characters’ reality,” states Peers. intentionally control your pacing.”
On the other hand, she says, “Rom- But how do you shorten a scene?
Sophie Sullivan: coms like the ones I write benefit from What exactly do you trim or cut? What
“You know a scene is good a light touch and shorter, faster-paced are the nuts and bolts?
when you feel like you, as scenes. That means trimming anything According to DeMarco-Barrett, “If
the reader, are part of it;
the characters’ emotions
that bogs down the action, no matter a scene is overwritten, look for exposi-
resonate off the pages and how much you’re in love with it: an in- tion, throat clearing at the start. Have
make you want to know ner monologue that’s clever for its own you started the scene as close to the
more. A good scene sends sake or beautifully written descriptions action as possible?” Omit backstory,
that jolt to your heart or that have no intrinsic value to the story.” she says, and leave out what happens
stomach because it has an According to Berry, “short scenes to your protagonist once a particular
impact.” tend to focus on plot and action. Longer problem, whatever it is, is resolved.
Lisa Peers:
scenes tend to focus on setting and char- You can also trim a scene, says Sulli-
“A great scene is a dia- acter.” How do you determine the right van, by substituting body language for
bolical mix of tension and length for any given scene? Scene length, dialogue. “In the piece I’m editing right
release. On the one hand, it she says, depends on three main factors: now, one of my editor’s comments re-
provides answers that move style, voice, and pacing. In terms of the ferred to the fact that she knew what I
the story forward and de- latter, “short scenes tend to increase the was going for but wondered how I could
velop the characters — but pace of the novel. Longer scenes tend to really drive it home.” Body language
on the other hand, it sparks
even more questions that
slow the pace down. You need both.” such as “a raised brow, clenched hands,
compel the reader to turn You can increase tension and sus- or an audible gasp can cut down an elon-
the page.” pense by stringing a series of short gated scene and still leave an impact.”

K C O T S R E T T U H S / G N O H T D AU L I H T I T

40 MAY 2023
 Sullivan says this rings especially into your character’s head — or pro- For McBrearty, the ending of a
true for a short story. “In a short story, viding interiority. “What does your scene depends on where the scene falls
actions and body language are especial- focal character think during the most in a story. “If it’s an early or midway
ly important because you need all of intense moment of the exchange? scene,” he says, “I’m not concluding the
those key plot points/beats to happen What might they recall? Can you whole story, just closing off the scene,
in a timely, condensed manner. Being give the reader one specific detail that and the closure opens the door to the
able to convey emotion through a look might amplify that tension?” next scene. Still, the conclusion (or clo-
or a touch really amps up the tension A long, extended scene need not be sure) should strike a strong and memo-
while helping the reader connect.” dull, states McBrearty. Think of it “as rable note.”
With short scenes, “the action is containing a series of scenes-within-the- According to Varallo, “If there’s any
immediate,” says McBrearty. “There’s scene. Let’s say our protagonist is at a way I can end a scene on a line of dia-
usually no backstory, or very limit- party. She has an interesting and reve- logue rather than a line of exposition,
ed backstory.” Yet sometimes, he says, latory conversation in the kitchen but I will aim for dialogue. There’s some-
“they may be too sparse. We may want now moves into the living room with thing generous about allowing your
to reflect, to elaborate, to provide more a subsequent conversation with a new characters to have the last word in a
setting details.” character.” We can think of this as an ex- scene — not you, the writer — that can
“There are virtues to both shorten- tended scene, he says, “because we’re in open up the scene to richness, depth,
ing or extending a dull scene to give the same time period, but in a way, it’s and complexity.”
it a bit more energy,” says Varallo. His new — new room, new conversation. If His advice: “Let your characters take
favorite is to shorten a scene, especial- an extended scene seems dull, try mov- the wheel of the scene, so to speak. See
ly the closing scenes of a short story, ing the protagonist to a new locale.” where they might lead you.” Not that
“where, in my first attempt, I may have Or if not a change of locale, says Mc- ending a scene with exposition can’t be
tried too hard to round the last lines off Brearty, try “cutting away from the on- as strong, says Varallo. “In fact, I think
into capital-M Meaning and overstayed going action” and entering your char- you need to have some variety, scene
the reader’s welcome.” acter’s mind. “A memory pops up, and by scene, so that they end on different
If you’re thinking about trimming a that memory creates a scene, and then ‘beats.’” Yet he does think that dialogue
scene, says Varallo, consider these two we come back to the ongoing scene. is often “a good cure for a scene that
questions: “When did the scene stop Our scene, once dull, now feels enliv- ends on exposition and somehow feels
being interesting? When did the last ened, dynamic, textured.” stiff, soggy, or just plain boring.”
truly surprising moment occur?” The According to DeMarco-Barrett, “Just
answers to both questions, he says, usu- Ending a scene as the end of a story is important — and
ally end up the same: “So often the last Should a scene end with fireworks go- hard to get right — the ends of scenes,
interesting moment turns out to be a ing off ? Well, in some way, the ending or curtain lines, are important.” She’s al-
line of dialogue.” should be suspenseful. It needs to end ways looking for ways to make the end
DeMarco-Barrett tends to be a min- on a strong note of one kind or another. of a scene intriguing. “Sometimes I want
imalist, she says, and often needs to Make it a page-turner, says Sullivan. to deliver character detail, sometimes I
lengthen her scenes. “I look for places “The idea is to leave the readers with a want to amp up the tension, and when
I summarized or told what happened line that has them saying, ‘I’ll just read ends of scenes do both, all the better.”
and instead, I get my characters talking the next page to see what happens.’”
and interacting. But not just show what But how do you do that? You whet the Energizing your scenes
they’re saying; how are they saying it?” reader’s appetite by making sure “there’s Scenes involve readers if they are driv-
In other words, dramatize: “Expres- something left unsaid, whether it’s in en by conflict. If they’re ho-hum, they
sions, gestures, movement, action. Insert the character’s mind or a conversation won’t. The best scenes, rich with com-
what a character is thinking as they split with another character.” pelling dialogue, capture your charac-
wood, clean the grout, pick up the mail. According to Berry, “each scene must ter’s unique voice. How long should
I look to the setting, too — is it vivid?” lead to the next. I like to think of scenes a scene be? Whatever it takes to work
According to Varallo, “extending a as falling dominoes, each triggering the out the conflict — to a degree. Don’t
scene to enliven it seems to work bet- next until the final domino falls.” To end resolve it. End a scene making the read-
ter in a novel. A good place to look a scene with a measure of suspense, she er want more.
is the narration that occurs between depends on three techniques: “ending
a long dialogue exchange.” Often, he with a question that simply must be an- Jack Smith is the author of six novels,
says, narration that “lingers in the mo- swered; foreshadowing subsequent ac- four books of nonfiction, and numerous
ment” could be remedied by getting tion; and introducing a plot twist.” reviews, articles, and interviews.

WRITERMAG.COM 41
 The following contests are a sampling of what the industry has to
offer. You’ll find even more listings at writermag.com, including
more of our own contests.

THE MONTH AHEAD

May 4 May 4 May 9 May 10

Star Wars fans rejoice: It’s May Explore the African concept It’s National Lost Sock Memorial The Nonfiction Writers Conference
the Fourth Be With You Day. of Ubuntu (which means I am Day. Let your imagination soar was virtual before virtual was
Here’s your writing prompt (from because we are) by attending the with this prompt: Just where do ubiquitous. Since 2010, in other
teachersnotepad.com): Why is “Using Picture Books to Center the socks go? words. “Sort through the noise”
the struggle between the dark Humanity and Across Differences” and get on the publishing path.
and light sides of the force an workshop, hosted by Afrika Afebu (nonfictionwritersconference.com)
STOCKSTYLE/SHUTTERSTOCK

interesting theme? Mills. (crrlc.lesley.edu/pd/anti-

racism-2023)

42 MAY 2023
 Contests
Information in this section is provided to The Writer by the individual markets and
events; for more information, contact those entities directly.

F = Fiction N = Nonfiction P = Poetry C = Children’s Y = Young adult O = Other

F THE WRITER SHORT STORY CONTEST 48- to 100-page collection of poems

Regularly hosted by The Writer magazine. via regular mail or online submission
Max 2,000 words. Submit via online manager.
portal only. Deadline: May 31.
Deadline: June 27. Entry fee: $25 for hard copy entries,
Entry fee: $25 for first entry, $15 for
every additional entry on the same
$28 for electronic submissions.
Prizes: $2,000 and publication by
By the rules
transaction. Anhinga Press. Some rules are made to be
Prizes: First place receives $1,000 Contact: Anhinga Prize for Poetry, P.O. broken, but in the world of
and publication in The Writer magazine. Box 3665, Tallahassee, FL 32315. writing contests, that’s not
Second place receives $500 and [email protected] the case. Here are common
publication on The Writer website. Third anhingapress.org/anhinga-robert-dana-
elements to double check be-
place receives $250 and publication on prize
The Writer website. fore you submit your work.
Contact: The Writer. F ANN PETRY AWARD You don’t want to be dis-
writermag.com/contests Founded in 2020 in partnership with qualified for a clerical error.
Red Hen Press and the Peauxdunque
F N P AMERICAN LITERARY Writers Alliance, the Ann Petry Award
REVIEW AWARDS
Offers three prizes for short fiction, cre-
ative nonfiction, and poetry. Submit via
seeks to publish prose literature by
Black authors. It recognizes a work of
previously unpublished prose, either a
1 Blind submissions are
called such for a reason.
If the contest you enter is
online submission manager only. Opens novel or a collection of short stories or one of them, make sure your
June 1. novellas, with a minimum of 150 pages, name and other vital details
Deadline: Oct. 1. by a Black writer.
don’t appear anywhere in
Entry fee: $15 for one work of fiction Deadline: July 31.
under 8,000 words, one work of nonfic- Entry fee: None. the submission file. This in-
tion under 4,000 words, or up to three Prize: $3,000 and publication by Red cludes: cover page, title line,
poems. Hen Press as well as up to four-week and header/footer. Online
Prizes: The winner in each category will residency at The Community Library’s submission managers have
receive $1,000 and publication online. Ernest and Mary Hemingway House in
their own ways of identify-
Contact: American Literary Review. Ketchum, Idaho. The opening chapter
[email protected] or story of the awarded manuscript ing you — trust that they
americanliteraryreview.com/contest will be published in the Peauxdunque will work.
Review.
O AMERICAN ZOETROPE Contact: Red Hen Press.
SCREENPLAY CONTEST
Aims to find new creative and com-
[email protected]
redhen.org/ann-petry-award/
2 Be sure your submission
is within the specified
word count. Judges may be
pelling film narratives and introduce
the next generation of screenwriters F AURA ESTRADA SHORT willing to let 10 or 20 extra
to the leading production companies. STORY CONTEST words slide, but if you’re
The winner and top nine finalists will Seeks previously unpublished short more than that, definitely
be considered for representation by stories up to 5,000 words. Submit using
make cuts.
various agencies and for film option by online submission manager.
big-name studios. Deadline: May 31 (free/global hardship
Deadline: Submissions open June 1;
check website for deadline.
Entry fee: Check website.
entries) or June 30 (paid entries).
Entry fee: $20 per submission.
Prizes: Winner receives $1,000 and
3 Stick with the theme
of the contest you are
entering, if there is one. If
Prizes: Grand prize winner receives publication in Boston Review. Runners up
you are on the fence over
$5,000; the winner and finalists are con- may also be published.
sidered for representation. Contact: Short Story Contest, Boston whether your story can be
Contact: American Zoetrope. Review, P.O. Box 390568, Cambridge, interpreted in just the right
Email from website. MA 02139. way to fit the theme, re-
DMITRY KOVALCHUK/SHUTTERSTOCK

zoetrope.com/contests [email protected] think the submission. Oth-

bostonreview.net/contests
ers will write a story with
P ANHINGA-ROBERT DANA
PRIZE FOR POETRY F N P AUTUMN HOUSE PRESS POETRY, the details in mind, so your
Open to all poets regardless of expe- FICTION AND NONFICTION CONTESTS stretch of a tale could get
rience or past publications. Submit a Open to full-length collections of poetry knocked out immediately.

WRITERMAG.COM 43
of 50-80 pages and fiction and nonfiction more than 10 pages total, by online sub- 53706.
submissions of 200-300 pages. mission manager. Simultaneous submis- [email protected]
Deadline: May 31. sions not accepted. Entry fee includes [email protected]
Entry fee: $30. three-issue subscription. uwpress.wisc.edu/poetryguide.html
Prizes: Winners in each category receive Deadline: May 31.
book publication, $1,000 honorarium, Entry fee: Check website. F N CHANTICLEER BOOK
and a $1,500 travel grant to promote Prize: $1,000 and publication in Boston REVIEWS AWARDS
their book. Review. Genre writing competitions for fiction
Contact: Autumn House Press. Contact: Poetry Contest, Boston Review, and nonfiction featuring more than a
Email from website. P.O. Box 390568, Cambridge, MA dozen separate themes. Novels must be
autumnhouse.org 02139. at least 50,000 words in length. Books
[email protected] may be published, unpublished, indie, or
F N P BELLEVUE LITERARY bostonreview.net/contests traditional.
REVIEW PRIZES Deadline: Varies depending on award.
Honors outstanding writing in the F P THE BRIDPORT PRIZE Entry fee: $99 for most categories.
themes of health, healing, illness, the Enter your previously unpublished poem, Prizes: First-place winners receive a
mind, and the body. Fiction and nonfic- short story, or flash fiction. Poems up prize package and marketing package;
tion up to 5,000 words and up to three to 42 lines, short stories under 5,000 grand prize genre winners receive $250;
poems. words, and flash fiction under 250 words. one overall grand prize winner receives
Deadline: Check website for deadline. Open to anyone age 16 and older. See $1,000.
Entry fee: $5 per submission, max four website for proper formatting. Contact: Chanticleer Book Reviews.
submissions. Deadline: May 31. [email protected]
Prizes: Check website. Submit by online Entry fee: £9 for flash fiction, £20 for chantireviews.com
submission manager only. novel; £10 for each poem, £12 per short
Contact: Bellevue Literary Review. 149 story. F THE CLAYMORE AWARD
East 23rd St., #1516, New York, NY Prizes: Short stories and poetry: £5,000; Submit the first 50 pages of an unpub-
10010. novel £1,500; flash fiction: £1,000. lished mystery or thriller manuscript of
[email protected] Contact: The Bridport Prize, Bridport Arts any subgenre. Affiliated with the Killer
blreview.org/submit Centre, South St., Bridport, Dorset, DT6 Nashville conference.
3NR, UK. Deadline: April 1.
F P BLACK RIVER CHAPBOOK Email from website. Entry fee: $45. Receive a critique of a
COMPETITION bridportprize.org.uk 50-page manuscript for an additional
Semiannual contest for unpublished $100.
chapbooks of poems or prose 16-36 pag- P BRITTINGHAM AND FELIX POLLAK Prizes: Over $3,000 in prizes, plus possi-
es long. Submit via online submission POETRY PRIZES ble book advance, agent representation,
manager. Awarded annually to the two best book- and movie deal.
Deadline: May 31 for spring, Oct. 31 for length manuscripts of original poetry Contact: Killer Nashville Award, P.O. Box
fall. submitted in an open competition. Sub- 680759, Franklin, TN 37068.
Entry fee: $17. missions are considered for both prizes. 615-599-4032.
Prizes: Publication, $500, and 10 copies Submit manuscripts between 50 and 90 killernashville.com
of the chapbook. pages.
Contact: Black Lawrence Press. Deadline: Sept. 15. P DANCING POETRY CONTEST
[email protected] Entry fee: $28 per entry. Hosted by Artists Embassy International.
blacklawrence.com Prizes: $1,500 and publication to each Thirty-eight lines maximum each poem.
winner. No limit on number of entries. The grand
P BOSTON REVIEW ANNUAL Contact: Brittingham and Pollak Poetry prize-winning poems will be “danced”
POETRY CONTEST Prizes, University of Wisconsin Press, at the Dancing Poetry Festival in San
Submit up to five unpublished poems, no 728 State St., Suite 443, Madison, WI Francisco.

THE MONTH AHEAD

May 16 May 10 May 19 May 22

National Biographer’s Day The PEN World Voices Literary Raisin in the Sun author, Lorraine Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of
commemorates the first meeting Festival kicks off. Live (in both Hansberry, was born on this day the Sherlock Holmes mysteries
between Samuel Johnson and New York City and Los Angeles) in 1930. (four novels, 56 short stories),
his biographer, James Boswell, and virtual. The event features was born on this day in 1859.
on this day in 1763. 8 writers from 25 countries in
#NationalBiographersDay cross-cultural discussion and
debate. (worldvoices.pen.org).

44 MAY 2023
Deadline: April 15. other authors. $7 per five haiku for nonmembers.
Entry fee: One poem for $5 or three po- Deadline: Varies. Prizes: $200/$150/$100. Winning haiku
ems for $10. Entry fee: Varies. will be published in Frogpond and on the
Prizes: All winners will receive a tick- Prizes: Vary. HSA website.
et to the Dancing Poetry Festival. Six Contact: Email from website. Contact: Henderson Haiku Contest.
grand prize winners: $100 each. Twelve fanstory.com hsa-haiku.org
first-prize winners: $50 each. Thirty
second-prize winners: $25 each. Thirty F GIVAL SHORT STORY AWARD F HEARTEN BOOK AWARDS 2023
third-prize winners: $10 each. Given to a previously unpublished short Chanticleer International Book Awards is
Contact: AEI Contest Chair Judy Cheung. story of 5,000 to 15,000 words. Must looking for the best non-fiction works that
704 Brigham Ave., Santa Rosa, CA be a standalone story and not part of a uplift, inspire, and bring joy into our lives.
95404. bigger work. Deadline: July 31.
dancingpoetry.com/ Deadline: Aug. 8. Entry fee: $99 for non-members and $75
dpfpoetrycontestrules.html Entry fee: $25 per story. for members.
Prize: $1,000 and publication on the Prizes: Overall grand prize of $1,000;
F DRUE HEINZ LITERATURE PRIZE Gival Press website. plus more than $30,000 in additional
Open to writers who have published a Contact: Robert L. Giron, Editor. Gival prizes, services, and awards for finalists.
book-length collection of fiction or at Press Short Story Award, Gival Press, Contact: Chanti Reviews
least three short stories or novellas LLC, P.O. Box 3812, Arlington, VA 22203. [email protected]
in commercial magazines or literary givalpress.com chantireviews.com
journals. Eligible submissions include
a manuscript of short stories; two or P GUY OWEN AWARD F IOWA SHORT FICTION
more novellas (a novella may comprise Southern Poetry Review seeks unpub- Submit a previously unpublished col-
a maximum of 130 double-spaced typed lished poetry. Submit three to five po- lection of short stories of at least 150
pages); or a combination of one or more ems. 10 pages maximum. pages. Manuscripts that have been pub-
novellas and short stories. All must be Deadline: May 31. lished in periodicals are eligible. Authors
between 150 and 300 pages. Entry fee: $20. cannot have a published book of fiction.
Deadline: June 30. Prize: $1,000 and publication. Submit by regular mail only.
Entry fee: None. Contact: Southern Poetry Review, Guy Deadline: Sept. 30.
Prize: $15,000 and publication by the Owen Prize, Dept. of Languages, Litera- Entry fee: None.
University of Pittsburgh Press. ture and Philosophy, Armstrong Atlantic Prize: Publication by the University of
Contact: Drue Heinz Literature Prize, State University, 11935 Abercorn St., Iowa Press.
University of Pittsburgh Press, 7500 Savannah, GA 31419. Contact: Iowa Short Fiction Award, Iowa
Thomas Blvd., 4th Floor, Pittsburgh, PA Email from website. Writers’ Workshop, 507 N. Clinton St.,
15260. southernpoetryreview.com 102 Dey House, Iowa City, IA 52242.
[email protected] [email protected]
upress.pitt.edu F N P HARD TIMES WRITING CONTEST uiowapress.org/authors/iowa-short-
Hosted by the Writers’ Workshop of fiction.htm
F E.M. KOEPPEL SHORT Asheville. Winning stories chosen based
FICTION AWARD on originality and style. Unpublished F INK ACROSS BORDERS
Submit unpublished fiction in any style stories only. See website for genre A competition seeking talent in Africa,
or with any theme. Maximum length of guidelines. Asia, and other typically underrepresent-
3,000 words. Send manuscript via regu- Deadline: Aug. 30. ed parts of the world. All submissions
lar mail only. Entry fee: $25; $20 for members. should be fiction short stories.
Deadline: April 30. Prizes: First place: Choice of two- Deadline: May 15.
Entry fee: $15 for a single story, $10 for night stay at the Mountain Muse B&B, Entry fee: 2 europs
each additional. three free workshops, or 50 pages (or Prizes: 200 euros plus publication in the
Prizes: $1,100 for first place and addi- 10 poems) line-edited and revised by European Literary Review.
tional $100 to the editors’ choices. All editorial staff. Second place: Two free Contact: [email protected]
winners are eligible to be published on workshops or 35 pages (or eight po- twitter.com/litsoceu
writecorner.com and for inclusion in the ems) line-edited. Third place: Choice of litsoceu.com/ink-across-borders-prize
permanent website anthology. Additional one free workshop or 25 pages (or five
P.L. Titus Scholarship of $500 is award- poems) line-edited. Up to 10 honorable P JANET B. MCCABE POETRY PRIZE
ed to the winner if they are currently mentions. Submit up to two poems per entry, no
attending college. Contact: The Writers’ Workshop, 187 W. longer than 40 lines each, via online
Contact: Koeppel Contest, P.O. Box Lynn St., #220, Austin TX 78703. submission form.
140310, Gainesville, FL 32614. [email protected] Deadline: Feb. 1.
[email protected] twwoa.org/contests.html Entry fee: $20; includes a free copy of
writecorner.com/award_guidelines.asp Ruminate.
P HAROLD G. HENDERSON AWARDS Prizes: $1,500 and publication for first
F N P FANSTORY.COM CONTESTS FOR BEST UNPUBLISHED HAIKU place, $200 and publication for second
Website features multiple contests in all Submit up to five unpublished haiku. place.
genres running throughout the year. An Contest held by the Haiku Society of Contact: Ruminate magazine.
independent volunteer community reads America. Email via form on website.
and discusses all entries. Contest en- Deadline: July 31. ruminatemagazine.com/pages/
tries receive feedback from readers and Entry fee: $5 per five haiku for members, poetry-prize

WRITERMAG.COM 45
F Y LEAPFROG PRESS Contact: Philadelphia Stories. subscriber.
FICTION CONTEST [email protected] Prizes: $2,000 in each category and
Submit unpublished adult, middle grade, philadelphiastories.org/fiction-contest publication.
or YA fiction, novella or novel-length, in- Contact: Ploughshares, Emerson Col-
cluding short story collections. Minimum F N P NEW LETTERS lege, 120 Boylston St., Boston, MA
length is 22,000 words. All submitted un- LITERARY AWARDS 02116.
published stories will be considered for Includes the Patricia Cleary Miller Award 617-824-3757.
publication. Submittable entries only. for Poetry, Robert Day Award for Fiction, [email protected]
Deadline: Check website. and the Conger Beasley Jr. Award for pshares.org
Entry fee: $35. Nonfiction. All entries will be considered
Prizes: First prize: publication offer with for publication in New Letters. Fiction and F RED HEN PRESS FICTION AWARD
an advance, in addition to the finalist essays are not to exceed 8,000 words. A Awards an original story with a minimum
awards ($150 and judge critiques, per- single poetry entry may contain up to six of 150 pages. Submissions accepted via
manent listing on contest page). poems. online submission manager.
Contact: Leapfrog Press Fiction Contest. Deadline: May 18. Deadline: Check website.
[email protected] Entry fee: $24; includes one-year sub- Entry fee: $25.
leapfrogpress.com/2023-contest- scription to New Letters. Prize: $1,000 and publication.
information-2 Prizes: $1,000 for first place. Contact: Attn: Red Hen Press Fiction
Contact: New Letters Awards for Writ- Award, Red Hen Press, P.O. Box 40820,
F LORIAN HEMINGWAY SHORT ers, University House, 5101 Rockhill Rd., Pasadena, CA 91114.
STORY COMPETITION Kansas City, MO 64110. [email protected]
Submit original unpublished fiction, no 816-235-1169. redhen.org/awards
longer than 3,500 words. Only open to [email protected]
writers whose fiction has not appeared in newletters.org/new-americans-award N RICHARD J. MARGOLIS AWARD
a nationally distributed publication with a Awards a nonfiction journalist or essayist
circulation of 5,000 or more. P OMNIDAWN FIRST/SECOND whose work “combines warmth, humor,
Deadline: April 1. BOOK CONTEST wisdom, and concern with social justice.”
Entry fee: $15 per story through March Open to writers who have never pub- Submit at least two articles, published or
1; $20 March 2-15. lished a full-length book of poetry or who unpublished, maximum 30 pages.
Prizes: $1,500; second and third place have published only one full-length book Deadline: July 1.
receive $500 each. of poetry. Max 120 pages. Entry fee: None.
Contact: The Lorian Hemingway Short Deadline: Feb. 28. Prizes: $5,000 stipend and month-long
Story Competition. Entry fee: $27. Entrants who add $3 residency at the Blue Mountain Cen-
[email protected] shipping will receive an Omnidawn book ter, a writers’ and artists’ colony in the
shortstorycompetition.com of their choice. Adirondacks.
Prize: $3,000, publication, and 100 cop- Contact: Richard J. Margolis Award c/o
F L. RON HUBBARD WRITERS ies of the book. Margolis & Bloom, 100 William St., Suite
OF THE FUTURE CONTEST Contact: Omnidawn Publishing, 1632 220, Wellesley, MA 02481.
Awards short fiction up to 17,000 words Elm Ave., Richmond, CA 94805. 617-294-5951.
written by emerging sci-fi, fantasy, and [email protected] [email protected]
dark fantasy writers. omnidawn.com/contest margolisaward.org
Deadline: Quarterly.
Entry fee: None F THE PETER HINCHCLIFFE F P ROBERT WATSON
Prizes: $1,000 first prize awarded each FICTION AWARD LITERARY PRIZES
quarter; one of these winners also receives Open to Canadian citizens or residents Entries must be previously unpublished
the $5,000 annual “Gold Award” grand who have not yet published a first novel and fiction entries should be no longer
prize. Each quarter, second place receives or short story collection. All submissions than 25 typed, double-spaced pages.
$750 and third place receives $500. will be considered for paid ($250) publi- Poetry entries can include any number of
Contact: L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the cation in the magazine. Submit via online poems up to 10 pages. Submit online or
Future Contest, 7051 Hollywood Blvd., form. by regular mail.
Los Angeles, CA 90028. Deadline: May 28. Deadline: Sept. 15.
[email protected]. Entry fee: $40; includes a one-year Ca- Entry fee: $15.
writersofthefuture.com/ nadian subscription to The New Quarterly. Prizes: $1,000 and publication in The
enter-writer-contest Prize: $1,000. Greensboro Review.
Contact: The New Quarterly. Contact: The Robert Watson Literary
F MARGUERITE MCGLINN PRIZE [email protected] tnq.ca/contests Prizes, The Greensboro Review, MFA Writ-
FOR FICTION ing Program, 3302 MHRA Building, UNC
Submit previously unpublished works of F N P PLOUGHSHARES EMERGING Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402.
fiction up to 8,000 words through online WRITER’S CONTEST greensbororeview.org/contest
submission manager only. All entrants Open to writers who have not published
receive a complimentary issue of Phila- or self-published a book or chapbook F SATURDAY EVENING POST GREAT
delphia Stories contest issue. of fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. Submit AMERICAN FICTION CONTEST
Deadline: May 15. three to five pages of poems or up to In its nearly two centuries of existence,
Entry fee: $15. 6,000 words of prose. the Saturday Evening Post has published
Prizes: $2,500; second place $750; third Deadline: Check website. short fiction by a who’s who of American
place $500. Entry fee: $24 if not a Ploughshares authors — ultimately helping to define

46 MAY 2023
what it means to be an American. Submit pages. Submit online only.
any genre of fiction between 1,500 and
5,000 words. All stories must be previ-
Deadline: Sept. 4.
Entry fee: $15 per entry.
Classifieds
ously unpublished. Electronic submis- Prizes: $500 plus online publication in
sions only. each genre. Runners up receive online READERS: Use caution when entering into any
legal contract with a literary service offering
Deadline: July 1. publication and $100. agenting-type assistance or publishers who
Entry fee: $10. Contact: Terrain.org. charge for publication. If you have any con-
Prizes: Winning story will be published [email protected] cerns regarding the advertiser’s commitment or
in the January/February 2024 edition of terrain.org/submit/contest-guidelines claims, please contact the advertiser directly.
The Saturday Evening Post, and the au- ADVERTISERS: We do not accept ads from
thor will receive $1,000. Five runners up F N P TIFERET WRITING CONTEST agents or businesses that charge a reading or
will each receive $200 and will also have Seeks writing that expresses a religious marketing fee. For our private records, please
their stories published online. or spiritual experience or promotes tol- provide us with a street address and contact
telephone number. The Writer reserves the
Contact: Editorial, The Saturday Evening erance. Submit fiction or nonfiction up right to reject or cancel any advertising which
Post, 3520 Guion Rd., Indianapolis, IN to 12 pages or submit up to six poems. at its discretion is deemed objectionable, mis-
46222. Online submissions only. leading, or not in the best interest of the reader.
317-634-1100. Deadline: Check website.
SEND YOUR AD TO: The Writer, Sales Account
[email protected] Entry fee: $20. Manager, 35 Braintree Hill Office Park, Suite
saturdayeveningpost.com/fiction-contest Prizes: $500 and publication in Tiferet 101, Braintree, MA 02184 or call (617) 706-
for best entry in each genre. 9089. Email: [email protected]. Major
P SLAPERING HOL PRESS Contact: Tiferet Journal. credit cards accepted.
CHAPBOOK COMPETITION [email protected]
Seeks poetry collections by authors who tiferetjournal.com
have not previously published a poetry CONFERENCES
book or chapbook. Submit 16 to 20 pag- P TOM HOWARD/MARGARET REID
es by mail or online. POETRY CONTEST
Deadline: June 15. Open for poems in any style or theme.
Entry fee: $15. The Margaret Reid Prize awards poems
Prizes: $500, publication, 10 copies with rhyme or traditional style. The Tom
of the chapbook, and a reading at The Howard Prize is given to the best poem of
Hudson Valley Writers’ Center, plus up to any style. Submit through online form.
$500 in travel expenses if reading is in Deadline: Sept. 30.
person. Entry fee: $15 per poem.
Contact: The Editors, SHP Chapbook Prizes: $3,000 for the winner of each
Competition, The Hudson Valley Writers’ category. Ten honorable mentions will
Center, 300 Riverside Dr., Sleepy Hollow, receive $200 each. Top 12 entries pub-
NY 10591. lished on the Winning Writers website.
[email protected] Contact: Winning Writers. 351 Pleasant
writerscenter.org/contest St., PMB 222, Northampton, MA 01060.
413-320-1847.
P STAN AND TOM WICK POETRY PRIZE Adam Cohen, president.
Offered annually to a poet who has [email protected] CONTESTS
not previously published a full-length winningwriters.com
collection of poems. Submission must $2,100 in prizes. From March 1 to May 31, Flying
consist of 50 to 70 pages of poetry, F WEST VIRGINIA FICTION AWARD South 2023, a publication of Winston Salem Writers,
will be accepting entries for this year’s contest. There
with no more than one poem per page. AND COMPETITION will be three categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, and
Winner will be chosen by Marilyn Chin. Open to West Virginia residents and Poetry. In each of the three categories the awards will
Submit by regular mail or through online students attending school in the state. be $400 for First Place, $200 for Second Place, and
submission. Awards unpublished fiction of up to $100 for Third Place. Finalists will be awarded publi-
cation in Flying South. For full details, please visit our
Deadline: May 1. 5,000 words that fosters an apprecia- website: https://www.wswriters.org/flying-south.
Entry fee: $30. tion of Appalachian culture and values.
Prizes: $2,500 and publication by Kent The submission may not have received
State University Press. any other award, recognition, or special RETREATS
Contact: Stan and Tom Wick Poetry honor.
Prize, Wick Poetry Center, Kent State Uni- Deadline: May 1. LIVE FREE AND WRITE. August 13-18. Writing retreat
versity, P.O. Box 5190, Kent, OH 44240. Entry fee: None. in Sunapee, NH. Spend an inspiring week working
[email protected] Prizes: $500 first prize and possible on your memoir or poetry. Enjoy the refreshing
New England summer with plentiful writing time,
www.kent.edu/wick/ publication, $100 each for second and encouraging workshops, homemade meals, and time
stan-and-tom-wick-poetry-prize third place. to relax. Scholarships available. Register early and
Contact: West Virginia Fiction Compe- save: www.stockton.edu/murphywriting
F N P TERRAIN.ORG ANNUAL tition, c/o Dr. Sylvia Bailey Shurbutt,
CONTEST FOR FICTION, NONFICTION Shepherd University, P.O. Box 5000,
AND POETRY Shepherdstown, WV 25443. WRITING RESOURCES
Submit original fiction or nonfiction of up [email protected] It’s possible to learn to be funnier.
to 5,000 words or submit three to five shepherd.edu/ahwir/ Visit www.ThinkingFunny.com humor-writing resources,
poems or one long poem of at least five west-virginia-fiction-competition workshops, free contests. [email protected]

WRITERMAG.COM
Gigi
Will Know
You should not disclose anything about
yourself unless you want to…That decision
lies squarely with how you feel.

Dear Gigi,
What advice do you have for a writer who has trouble sticking with one
idea? I keep bouncing around and switching up my idea for a novel.
—PING-PONG

Dear Ping-Pong, through entire first drafts before they

This is 100% normal. Do not fret. decide their original idea isn’t some-
What it is telling you is that you’re thing they want to stick with, and
not interested enough in the idea that’s OK.
you originally came up with to fol- Keep calm. Bounce on.
low through. Sometimes writers go —Gigi

Dear Gigi,
I’ve just read your January feature on authors with chronic conditions.
Thank you for that.
I am a writer living with a fairly advanced stage of multiple sclero-
sis. Once I lost the ability to do physical work, I devoted my time to
finishing a novel and diving into the world of querying.
Thus far, no bites. I do not mention my disability in the query letter.
Should I?
—QUERIER WITH A CANE

Dear Querier, will move you to another category; that

It should be said that I’m answering agents might get back to you faster if they
this question as an able-bodied wom- knew you were living with a disability.
an. I hope my answer will give you If this is the case, I have another set
some guidance. of questions for you: Does your manu-
On the face of it, this feels like an script or work address, in any way, liv-
obvious one: You should not disclose ing with MS or with another chronic
anything about yourself unless you condition? Do you feel like your dis-
want to. That is to say, if you are com- ability informs your writing? If so, then
fortable with it and feel it is a part of go right ahead. This would be some-
your identity, then by all means, go thing that an agent or publisher would
Have a query about craft?
right ahead. That decision lies squarely certainly want to know.
Need some clarification on with how you feel. If not, then I think I’d ask myself why
an aspect of the publishing But the other part of this that we I’m wanting to disclose. But ultimately,
industry? Looking for career must address is the question of why you this agency lies with you: You get to tell
ILLUSTRATION BY YI SHUN LAI

advice? Email your queries feel you must disclose. You mentioned the publishing world how you want to
to [email protected]
with the subject line “Advice
that you’ve had “no bites” from your be seen, not the other way around.
Column.” We can’t wait to read queries so far, which leads me to believe Query on,
your questions! that maybe you feel like your disability —Gigi

48 MAY 2023
 GE T
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