Women on Writing - WOW and WOW!
Women On Writing is an online magazine and community for women writers. Among major topics are novel writing, indie publishing, author platform, blogging, screenwriting, and more. Lots of contests and general jocularity sans frittering on the part of Earth's most powerful humans.
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My July 4th did not have an auspicious beginning. I started watching the Braves game; what’s the 4th without baseball, right? Except suddenly, the Braves were down 7 to 3. Ugh. I turned off the TV and decided to take a walk on my favorite trail. I hadn’t even gone a half-mile before I saw a sign reading, “Trail Closed Ahead.” What? Back home, I checked the game score on my phone. WHAT? The Braves came back and won 8 to 7? UGH. The only thing worse than your home team losing is when your home team makes a miraculous comeback and you MISS it. So fine, I’d call an out-of-town friend and maybe walk on my back deck; he’s always around. EXCEPT HE DIDN’T PICK UP. If you’re walk…
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Today I am excited to talk with Madeleine Pelletier, one of the runner-ups to the Winter 2021 Flash Fiction contest. Make sure you read her story Deviled Eggs then come on back and read our interview. Madeline's bio: Madeleine Pelletier is a writer of short, sometimes very short, fiction. After graduating from the University of Saskatchewan with a degree in archaeology, she spent twenty years traveling the world, contemplating history, and collecting stories. She now lives in a farmhouse near Montreal, with six goats, three cats, and one grumpy old man. She enjoys gardening, watching birds, and making things up. Her work has been published in several anthologies, includin…
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As a writer, it’s crucial to stay green… to keep growing… to keep your craft fresh. If you keep doing the same thing, you’re going to keep getting the same results. Of course, if you’re Stepehn King or Jodi Picolt or Chuck Palahniuk, that’s not a problem. They sit down at their desk, and brilliance flows from their fingertips. For the rest of us, however, we have to change things up now and then. I thought about this recently. In the summers, I teach a graduate class. It’s full of teachers who want to write. Too often, they find themselves bogged down by lesson planning and grading, along with teaching. Educators expect their students to write creative pieces. Te…
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Pexels.com I always enjoy checking out the blogs of other writers, and I think they are a great way to show off your creativity while helping build a platform. When I interview contestants in the writing contests for WOW!, I always make sure to visit their blog or website, as I can get some great ideas for interview questions there. I understand that sometimes coming up with the content for your blog can leave you drawing a blank, though, so I’ve come up with a few ideas to help get your juices flowing. Writing clips. Have you had an article or essay published recently? Share a link to it or the full text entirely, along with the story of how you landed the assignment…
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Recently another writing friend put a wannabe novelist (WN) in touch with me. It's not that I'm an expert in writing, by any means. This individual was looking for writing feedback, and I'm part of a couple of critique groups. We met at a local coffeehouse. WN wanted to meet me before sharing her writing. I get it. The writers in my feedback groups are supportive and encouraging. However, I've visited a couple of groups which had a few problematic members. Writing something and sharing it--especially something like a novel--is scary. You don't want to just hand over your baby to a complete stranger. Also, what if the person you're handing over your manuscript to is a …
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Recently I went to a working retreat. The working part: we were planning professional development sessions for DESE (Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education). The retreat part: it was in a funky, charming hotel situated in a small town… close to walking trails and down the street from wonderful bars and restaurants. It’s a place this group has been to before, and luckily, I got the same kind of room I stayed in before--a room with a glass bathroom. Yes, you read that right. In the corner of my room was a bathroom with glass walls. No shower curtain. The toilet, the shower, the sink--surrounded by two walls of glass. Since I was the only one sleeping in the room, I wa…
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I spent probably two years listening to various podcasts and dreaming of what my own podcast would look like. When the pandemic forced us all to slow down and stay at home, I put a developed a plan to create a true crime podcast, using my creative and marketing skills plus all the great information I had picked up from consuming the medium. That podcast now receives at least 500 downloads per episode within a week of going live and the numbers only continue to grow. In today’s world, creatives don’t need permission to put our work out into the world—we only need the savvy to market it and spread the word. Because of this, I think I’ve finally come to the realization that…
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Congratulations to Evelyn (Evie) Preston and Death by Compost Bin and all the winners of our 2021 Quarter 2 Creative Non-Fiction Essay Contest! Evie's Bio: I always wrote...in high school, college, the PTA. Spanning several careers, my writing life professionally launched in 1973 when Redbook magazine featured my Young Mother’s Story, “Mom Are We Jewish or Christmas?” in their holiday issue. Published! Invited to speak! I wrote on. The ‘80s brought some local fame writing a humor column in the Palo Alto (CA) Weekly and wound through the foibles and follies of marriage, kids, teaching and dabbling in the food business. Echoing Nora Ephron’s mom that “Everything is …
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Lilith A. Heart is a horror prose author who favors the gothic horror and psychological horror sub-genres. She graduated from Aquinas College in 2016 with a B.A. in English and a double minor in Creative Writing and Japanese. Lilith was featured in two publications by Caffeinated Press, a former local publisher: Brewed Awakenings 1 (2015, The Garden and the Grave) and Brewed Awakenings 2 (2016, Suppression). At the end of 2020, she made the bittersweet decision to leave her job with a local cat furniture manufacturer to pursue her passion more enthusiastically and to build her writing collection. She currently lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan with her husband of 11 year…
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by Theresa Boedeker "How much do you love to write?" our writing teacher asked, starting the four-hour night class. All those years ago, I thought it was a funny question. Afterall, we had signed up for a two-year commitment and were paying to get a graduate degree to learn the craft of story. To shape words and mental images crafted from 26 letters that would resonate and worm their way into the hearts of our readers. "Writing is hard. It involves working alone. Rejection. And if you want to make money, you should write ads, or choose a different field." She looked at each of us. All 17 scattered though out the room. None of us commenting. "Would you write if…
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Sometimes, a sparkley idea for a novel comes along and it just…sort of…doesn’t get done. And I think I know why, or at least one big reason why: great ideas won’t go anywhere without the underlying excitement that grabs ahold and won’t let go. Which brings me to pre-writing and a couple little tests I use. I know that the word “pre-writing” would likely lead one to believe it’s all about…well, writing. But for this writer, pre-writing begins with the idea. An idea that has me literally trying out lines in my head for weeks. When I’m thinking up random conversations between characters, the excitement grabs hold. And this is where the first test comes in. Now, I’ll do a l…
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"Why shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense." - Mark Twain Every now and then when I reflect on my life, I shake my head and think that it has often been stranger than fiction. I like to joke with my close friends that it indeed has been like a Lifetime movie. Most people who don't know my many stories and the deep lows in my life, those who see the smile I try to keep mapped on my face, think I live or have lived a charmed life. Although I have had so much joy, abundant blessings, and too many good times to count, there have also been tumultuous times too, times when I fell to…
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Hello WOW Readers! I have been one of the first-tier contest judges for WOW’s quarterly flash fiction contest for over a decade, and it has been a huge pleasure to read your stories. I am writing this blog series on Flash Fiction Contest Tips to help you strengthen your flash writing and maybe even place in one of our contests! Tips are based on our scoring criteria and craft trends I’ve seen throughout the decade. We all know the first sentence of your story is crucial. It sets the mood and tone, often introduces the protagonist and/or setting, and might be the reader's first glimpse into the story's problem or conflict. It should at least pique the reader's interest, i…
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It’s been a year since my husband began tracking COVID-19 on the CDC maps and telling me things weren’t looking good. A year since I brushed him off, telling him he was being an alarmist and trying to go about business as usual. After all, we were all too busy to worry about a virus—we’d all lived through things like SARS and H1N1—this would be no different, right? Of course, as we all know now, I was wrong. I don’t think anyone expected how quickly the virus would spread and the toll it would take on the health of our friends and family, as well as the difficulties our children would combat by not being able to see their friends or attend school in person. We all know ho…
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When Chitra discovered a stray cat in need of help, she never thought they’d wind up saving each other. Struggling to come to terms with an unexpected diagnosis, Chitra returned home to Oman seeking a sense of familiarity. What she discovered instead was a very special cat who changed her life. But First, Rumi is the story of how, day by day, Rumi and Chitra got to know one another, and as she learned to love the little stray, she began to see greater life lessons about herself, her family, her home country and her place in the world. What unfolds when girl and cat meet? What happens when you follow your heart? What if the world is not as it seems? Is it worth taking a c…
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Oh, to be Stephen King. If I were Stephen instead of Sioux, I’d have dozens of people working to make me happy. They’d be scurrying to ensure I was comfortable at my book signings. A full water bottle at all times. Eyebrows combed to look appropriately intriguing. A chair that wouldn’t make my bony rump ache. Okay, I don’t aspire to have eyebrows like his, and King’s rear end is probably bonier than mine, but still… Wait. Wait a minute. Before the chair would be positioned and the water bottle set in place, somebody would set up the book signing tour. A whole lot of somebodys. Since most of us are in the upper nose-bleed section, instead of courtside with Stephen King, …
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Annabelle’s Bio: Annabelle Guihan Larsen is a recipient of an Elizabeth George Foundation Grant, and a Whiting Foundation Writers Aid Award. Her short stories include, “San Man” nominated for a Pushcart Prize, 2nd place winner in New Rivers Press, American Fiction Vol 15, The Best Unpublished Stories by New and Emerging Writers. And “Urban Guerrillas” finalist for the Third Coast Magazine Jaimy Gordon Prize in Fiction Judged by: Antonya Nelson. She has an MFA in writing from Columbia University School of the Arts and is currently at work on a novel. Visit her website at https://guihanlarsenwriter.weebly.com If you haven't done so already, check out Annabelle's award-win…
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Today, I am excited to announce the launch of a special reader review event with author Karen Arrington. Today, our readers are sharing their insights into her book Your Next Level Life: 7 Rules of Power, Confidence, and Opportunity for Black Women in America. You'll have the chance to find more about this book―which won an NAACP Image Award in 2020―and more about the author, Karen Arrington, herself. Join us as we celebrate this book and this inspiring author. First, here's more about the book: If you’re a Black woman in business and feeling stuck or trapped by other people’s expectations of what you can achieve, it’s time to stop playing small and start redefining what …
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I thought I hated writing query letters and synopsis until I discovered loglines. Simply put, a logline is a brief description, up to two sentences long, which sums up your book in a way that will hook your reader. If you’re a film writer, it summarizes your screen play and entices producers. I had to write a logline for a conference I’m attending online. They provided a helpful article which explained that a strong logline includes all of the basics – who, when, what and why. And it can be up to 75 words long. Fortunately, I had all I needed. Who: Ava, the scientist, her older brother Jaxon, an athlete, and youngest brother, lovable Teddy. When: Approx. 2…
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Lent starts tomorrow and so I had Matthew Kelly on the brain. Kelly is the author of quite a few Christian books; he’s also a motivational speaker and just in general, a down to earth guy who’s very relatable when it comes to the spiritual. And so I often jot down his interesting talking points, which explains the note on my desk. It was all caps with the words, “SEDUCTION OF THE SPECTACULAR.” It doesn’t, however, explain why I posted this note on my calendar for a Muffin topic. That’s for this Mardi Gras Tuesday, so have a slice of King cake (or a cupcake!) and see what you think. Oh, how I’ve been seduced by the spectacular when it comes to my writing career! And I s…
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Barbara’s Bio: Predominately a visual artist, Barbara Olsen has been creating art for several years, exhibiting her work in numerous shows and publications. Unapologetically a lifelong list maker, journal nerd, and travel diarist, she also has an innate interest in the written word. In the last couple of years, she’s dipped her toes into the world of writing poetry and prose through enrollment in local classes. Within these circles of talented, passionate writers, she’s found a supportive community. Her vision is to ascribe, through imagery and words, personal, but at the same time universal, stories borne from observation and transformation. When not writing or painting…
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Picture of My Office (my intimate space) I just finished an interview that you may have read - but it brought to light a fun idea. Whether you are a writer or a reader, take a moment to ask yourself this question: Is there some space, person, or something in my life I know intimately ? Of course there is - right? It might be your shower - you put the shampoo in the exact same place every single time. You could find your razor in the dark with your eyes closed. The soap always smells the same. Even with soap in your eyes, you could find the towel bar, right? Maybe it's your spouse - the patch of hair on his chest, the gentle sound of her breathing just moments before the…
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Recently, I came across a funky little article that reminded me of a story I had written. My story was unfinished, but I've become less and less afraid of leaving unfinished work. So, re-inspired to return to the story, I looked for it in the last place I thought I left it. It was gone. How could that happen? I wondered to myself. I had left it in an app that I really don't use anymore, but it supposedly backed up my work onto Google Drive. So, I felt fairly confident not babysitting it anymore. I had other stories in there. I even have a half-finished attempt at a story about outer space (not an attempt I make often). Examining closely, I looked in each file. I knew the…
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Caroline Flynn writes lovely romance books that are clean and sweet! So she's the perfect author to feature, as we get ready for February, the month of love and romance! Caroline is a Canadian writer from Northern Ontario. She doesn't have to imagine what small-town life is like--she lives it every day. Caroline loves everything book related, whether it's reading them or writing them, and she's the dog-mom of an eccentric brindle boxer named Jazz (who makes a special appearance in one of her books, The Forget-Me-Not Bakery!). Caroline uses her coffee addiction to fuel her writing passion, and the truth is, she can't imagine devoting her life to being anything other than a…
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This is my Bear Chair. From the seat to the tip of Mister Bear’s ears is a little more than 20 inches. For the past couple of years, it’s been the repository of what I call, “Writing Whatnot.” Lots and lots of paper stacked all the way up to the tippy top! So in January of this year, I started clearing off the chair, which was mostly scraps (with quotes and ideas) and manuscript pages (with lots and lots of critique notes from writer friends, agents, and/or editors). Eventually, a few thoughts became crystal clear (I mean besides the obvious thought about 1,237 pages sitting around for years…) and so I’m sharing what I learned, starting with a favorite quote I found am…
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