You Are What You Read

Researchers have found that when you lose yourself in a work of fiction, your behavior and thoughts can metamorphose to match those of your favorite character, according to the study published early online in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 

The researchers believe that fictional characters can change us for the good.

So, if you bonded with Atticus Finch in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” you might become more focused on ethical behavior, says the study’s lead author, Geoff Kaufman, a post-doctoral researcher at Tiltfactor Laboratories at Dartmouth College.

Butterfly in the freaking sky…this is pretty true. As a kid, a few literary she-ro’s made big impressions on me. Off the top of my head, I identified and felt ‘less alone’ with Harriet The Spy (bossy writer who loved sniffing out the BS…and who got in trouble with her big mouth and ideas), Matilda (lonely, wise beyond years bookworm), and Claudia Kishi from The Babysitters Club (the junk food addicted artistic outlier).

As I got older, Jane Eyre and The Color Purple resonate deeper thanks tothe journey of self within Jane and Celie. It’s one of the reasons why I love writing fiction—to create characters that someone can come back to me and find a kinship with as well as learn/grow from. 

Went To First ‘Writing Guild’ Meeting…

…aside from my car battery dying on me *grumble* I finally went to the first local writer’s guild meeting yesterday, so yay! and pat-on-back for me taking baby steps towards a ~serious~ writing career.

It was actually quite nice—-informative and beneficial. I was only one of two under the age of 30, but hey, I can work with that. 

A local thriller/YA author spoke and she gave some really great advice about self-publishing (The bad: the price range is just crazy—-$500-1,000—like I got that kind of money to put into my raggedly un-edited ass stories; the good: One author got a 2 million dollar deal after she self-published and Amazon then picked it up for distribution—a fucking Cinderella story) and information about how to get your foot in the publishing door and the steps she took to get her first big break. 

I think the best advice she gave was staying true to your craft, the old ‘don’t give up on your dreams’ bit, and my favorite—-write the book you want to write, not what everyone else is doing as you never know that you might open up your own genre trend if you do. Even though I’ve heard that advice before, it never hurts to hear it from someone who’s standing there in front of you who has done it and accomplished it with all the rejection letters in-between. She said you gotta get bloody and not be uptight on yourself when you put yourself out there as a writer, and well, that is golden advice. 

The thing I’m mainly interested in getting out of the writing group is the critiquing sessions. I need someone to rip my shit to shreds and tell me what I need or not need to work on in the literary sense. Who knows maybe even my blog work could become better too, but I really need some other voices to give some constructive criticism so I can be a better writer. 

Oh! I also won a free book by the author who spoke (and I never win anything mind you) so I guess I better keep going back, because they give out free books every meeting…yesss.

We’ll see how this goes though…bookmarking this work-in-progress.

On The Rules of Literary Fiction for Men and Women

I think it was Alice Walker (or maybe it was Toni Morrison—memory escapes me) who said something along the lines that women always take the time to read men’s work, but men never return the favor….

This article outlines the sort of sexism I saw in undergrad when I took writing courses. The guys critiquing my work said I had “cute wit” or whatever I did was “cute”, “pretty” or I had “flowery prose”…it’s cause I’m a chick right? I mean, maybe I do write “pretty” but still… So next time I should say a guy writes with “brute force” or some generic “dude” phrase…is that how we are doing it now?

Writer's Relief Blog: "The Importance of Critique for Serious and Successful Writers"

writersrelief:

Whether you are working on the first draft of your book, editing your short story, or experimenting with different forms of poetry, getting criticism from fellow writers (and readers) should be a regular part of your creative process. Let’s face it: anyone can put words on a page and call it a story, or divide those words up into stanzas and call it a poem. But successful authors know that constructive feedback from a freelance fiction editor, critique partner, or writing group is tantamount to perfecting the craft of writing.

Thinking of entering into some writing contests…

Akin to that last post…

Submission prices aren’t steep, I can fork over about $15 to $20. Plus the prize money is all kinds of WOW plus publication is great for new writers…but that’s is IF I win. 

There are also the facts of picking the right contests to enter, not to mention the right stories for submission. And oh, yeah, actually sitting down mapping out and writing some of those stories. Not to mention that little constant finger poke called “doubt”.  

I’ve got two “fully realized” stories (aka 3rd draft stories), but I need some more in the pool, plus I need to stop doubting myself. That’s the kicker right there…doubt.  It’s my bully. 

Still this is all new ground for me to tread, and it’s scary, but fun.

So…pray, write, write, write, and dive in I shall. 

Writer's Relief Blog: "Six Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Enter A Writing Contest"

writersrelief:

If you’ve spent some time entering writing contests, you know they are an investment. Whether it’s poetry, short stories, essays, or chapbooks, most contests charge reading fees. Plus, there’s the “cost” of your time. And when you don’t win, you start to think, “Well, that was twenty bucks down the drain!”

But writing contests CAN help your career if you play your cards right. Having diverse writing credentials is important if you’re trying to establish a reputation. A mix of publications, awards, nominations, and even a few contest wins can go a long way.

We at Writer’s Relief recommend that our clients (and all writers) enter contests. But how does a writer know when the entry fee and time spent are worth it?

Once you’ve read this article, you’ll know how to evaluate a contest to see if it’s worth your time. Then, check out our free list of writing contests!

Here are the questions you’ll need to ask yourself before you fork over your entry fee.

Writer's Relief Blog: "Short Stories: Start Off With A Bang"

writersrelief:

If you write short stories, you’ve got to have a good opening line. Sometimes the first sentence of a short story is all you get to impress an editor.

Imagine you’re a fly on the wall at a busy literary magazine office. As a writer of short stories and a diligent submitter to dozens of similar magazines, you are naturally interested in the process of selection. How do editors choose which short stories to publish?

You watch in horror as the editors glance through story after story, sometimes pulling a submission halfway from its manilla envelope and scanning the first paragraph before tossing it over their shoulders.

From your point of view, it appears that these short stories are barely being considered at all, and in some ways, you’re right.

In a typical publishing house, the number of short story submissions far outweighs the number of pieces selected for publication (by an incredibly wide margin), and first readers have no choice but to make lightning-quick decisions, often based on a first glance alone.

What, then, makes the difference between forwarding this piece on to an editor for further consideration, or being gobbled by the Round File? For the short story writer, it all comes down to the first sentences. Because, quite literally, those first sentences are often all that you will be judged on.