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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By Saleema Lookman The first time someone suggested I “take a break and go for a walk” when I hit a creative wall, it was the last thing I wanted to hear. I was a fresh-faced writer looking for an artistic and innovative way to spark the flow of words, not a boring old stroll. However, as my writing career progressed, I discovered this well-meaning person was actually onto something. Movement can enhance creative thinking, and it’s a method I now use faithfully whenever writer’s block strikes. Four Movement Methods to Spark Inspiration Should you find yourself staring at a blank page, try these movement techniques to get your creative juices flowing: Take a Walk Ou…
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by Caitlin Hamilton Summie Having spent nearly half of my life writing about the same set of characters, I have finally come to the end—the short stories about them are all written, a novel about them is soon to be published (GEOGRAPHIES OF THE HEART, Fomite Press, January 18, 2022). There isn’t another prose piece bubbling about the Macmillan family. My characters have “moved out,” so to speak. It’s weird not to be writing about Sarah, Glennie, and Al, but there is really nothing more to say, and in my mind, I see them walking down a path I cannot follow, out and away, their backs to me as they leave. I imagine them going. They don’t look back. I watch them go, t…
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by Barbie Beaton Writing a memoir proposal felt as desirable as gasoline sliding down my throat. For years, dread shadowed every writing session, ramping up doubt’s volume until every eloquent phrase was masterfully nipped and tucked to perfection. Desperation policed every writing session. This book would sell. A proposal simply couldn’t, wouldn’t, capture my artistry. But, she suggested writing a proposal. She is a recently published author who hit the big times with her memoir, somebody whose reach expands from a small community to a world of literary stars, somebody who taught a group of six memoirists by a large window in a local bookstore, somebody whose suggestio…
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by Stephanie Dethlefs I love lists. I love maps. I love schedules, routines, and plans. I’m spontaneity-challenged. I want to know what’s coming, always. I know these things about myself (and, perhaps more importantly, my husband knows them about me.) I’ve always leaned into this characteristic in all areas...except writing. I hated prewriting activities when I was in school. I just wanted my stories to emerge from the pencil like water from a faucet. I would avoid writing outlines with a pout and a touch of procrastination. I turned in first drafts and pleaded innocence. In elementary school, this plan worked fine because I had no inner editor. As I got older, that…
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by Elizabeth Maria Naranjo In the summer of 2017 I began work on what I thought was a short story. It certainly wasn’t going to be a novel. I hadn’t written a novel in two years, and it had been three since my first one debuted. Part of the problem was I kept getting lost in the details. A book about two boys who run away on a mission to find one’s missing father had me buried in research about volcanism, autism, Catholicism, and the northern Arizona wilderness. Another attempt at a novel, this one a sprawling portal fantasy, produced a notebook’s worth of mythology and worldbuilding but only a chapter of prose. This time, I thought, I was going to stick with what I…
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by Nancy Hayes Kilgore When I signed with Sunbury Press for my latest novel, BITTER MAGIC, I was given the option of using the publisher’s cover designer or choosing my own. Either way I could work with the artist to help shape the design. This is one of the perks of working with an independent publisher, and I was pleased, since I, like most of us authors, have a real emotional investment in how my cover looks. BITTER MAGIC is inspired by the story of Isobel Gowdie, whose witchcraft confession in 17th century Scotland, is one of the most famous of recorded confessions. The novel brings you into a world immersed in both religion and magic, a world where conflicting bel…
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By Dawn Colclasure Self-publishing is not new for me. I have self-published poetry books and children’s books since 2012. My experience with self-publishing took an interesting turn this year, when I self-pubbed horror! An independent publisher who showed interest in publishing my collection of YA horror stories ended up turning it down. “Too dark,” they said. However, one issue about these stories stood out: The teen characters committing murder. My publisher was worried the stories would have too much influence over teen readers, encouraging them to seek bloodthirsty revenge on bullies and abusers. It was such a pressing issue that they wouldn’t be so worried ab…
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by Fatima Farooq I couldn’t believe it when my best friend asked me: "How would you manage kids and content writing together?" My fussed look took her by surprise as she thought she had asked a legitimate question. To me, however, it was not something that needed much focus. What the hell did I know?!! The moment I started writing articles as part of my new job, I knew what my best friend was talking about. It is a tedious task. Not only does writing demand time, but it also warrants uninterrupted concentration to let one’s creative juices flow. Any female writer with kids and their endless tirades would know that both require a mystical equilibrium that is far from…
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by Laura Nyangeri The world is full of ups and downs and many people resort to ways of making an extra coin that could help sustain their families. For those who love writing like me, they would end up in venturing to writing as a way of side hustle. You are not wrong, for this is particularly good but there lies so many challenges in the writing career. The challenge becomes even escalated if you are parenting and at the same time writing. Am here not to scare you but to offer some help through strategies that I have used to balance my parenting together with writing. Use them and you will reap good results: ● Wake up early The early bird catches the worm. Th…
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by Lisa Mae DeMasi “Do what you love” may be the most overused advice in the career-improvement world. Countless superstar entrepreneurs’ TEDx talks and thought leaders’ bestselling books have quoted Maya Angelou: “pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you.” But that’s not always possible in practice. I know this firsthand. Once upon a time I turned my back on a half-finished MBA and a corporate job’s maddening pace and rigid hierarchy, escaping to do what I loved: writing. The act of quitting made me subversive, and that alone fueled creative expression. I mapped out chapters, content. Figured I’d have the …
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by Bethany Jarmul Do you have a short story, essay, or poem that is ready for publication? Ready to see your name in print (or online) and start building your writing portfolio? Here are a few tips for getting your writing published in literary magazines: 1. Discover and research literary magazines. Chill Subs is a great place to start. Also, check out: New Pages and Poets & Writers. You’ll want to get a feel for what literary magazines are out there that publish work similar to yours. 2. Read the magazines. Once you identify a few literary magazines where you’d love to see your work published, read them “cover-to-cover”—read everything they’ve published in y…
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by Bethany Jarmul Midnight black, charcoal gray, metallic cobalt—for the last 15 years, whenever I wanted my eyes to pop, I pulled out an eyeliner pencil and in one minute, I’d have perfectly outlined lids. A year ago, I bought liquid eyeliner for the first time. Despite reading the instructions and my confidence in my skills, my lines looked jagged instead of smooth. It just takes practice, I thought. Months later, I wasn’t getting any better. I pulled up an instructional video and discovered I was holding the applicator incorrectly. Once I corrected this, it just clicked. Similarly, I’ve been writing for many years, first with a purple gel pen in a Lisa Frank journa…
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By Margaret Mills I recently started a story in Kindle Vella, the serial publication platform of Kindle Direct Publishing that launched in 2021. Writers publish their story in episodes with the first three being free to readers. After that your fans pay to unlock each episode. Publishing in serial form is not new, of course. Charles Dickens did, although the internet adds a level of sophistication not available in his time. My writing career has been varied. I’m in my sixth decade of writing now. I was first published when I was eleven years old, on the children’s page of a regional magazine, and paid a dollar for my short story. That got my attention – writing plus m…
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By Pam Webber Novelists who write from multiple points of view (POV) amaze me. Having worked with a writing group for two years under the tutelage of a New York Times bestselling author, I know writing one story from multiple perspectives can be demanding creatively and organizationally. However, after reading several wonderful books by authors skilled in the use of multiple POVs, I felt driven to try it. Consequently, after many starts, stops, oops, and revisions, my third book, Life Dust, was written using two points of view. As a long-time nurse educator and family practitioner, I wanted to weave a story that included the good and bad elements of nursing as well a…
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by Laura Yeager I never planned on being a cancer blogger, but then again, I never planned on getting cancer. Who does? In fact, I had cancer twice, two breast cancers on my right breast in ten years. The cancer was relatively easy; it was the treatment—chemotherapy, radiation, double mastectomy, reconstruction, ten years of cancer medication—that was difficult. My first cancer in 2011 was Stage 2A, my second, a splotchy red rash of angiosarcoma; both were physically painless, thank God. What does a writer do when something new and odd happens to her? She writes about it, and so, in October of 2016, about five years ago, I wrote my first article for curetoday…
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by Janet Shawgo An inviting table presentation can make or break your sales, trust me on this. If it isn’t eye catching or appealing readers will pass you by. I find it important to keep things neat and tidy, even if you have a lot going on, your books need to remain center stage. If you have banners place them up on tables so that they will draw immediate attention. Display any awards you have received, I have mine on a canvas making it easy to transport and safe from damage. Costumes can be a great conversation item whether you wear or display them. I have two that I wear at signings, book club meetings and festivals. You will be surprised at the reactions you re…
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by Linda Petrucelli Now, I am not usually the kind of person who likes to have someone tell me what to do. But in the case of generating words on a page, I often need a nudge to defeat that amorphous feeling of having nothing to say. A terrific writing prompt, I believe, acts like a pressure cooker. It should create some heat. Make you sweat—just enough and not too much. Literary limits (word, subject, or craft restrictions) can supercharge a piece of writing. By holding you back a little, an impactful prompt revs your engine that much more. My innate resistance to not doing what people tell me to do, though, is simply no match for those kind of diabolical, subversive ev…
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by Catherine Gentile Writing, much like a loving relationship, builds upon presence, a willingness to commit to a process that runs the gamut from inspiration to dogged pursuit of the right phrase, dynamic themes, and engaging characterization. When I consider writing a new piece, a creative tension grows within me; I ask myself questions: What form will best suit this work? What do I need to know in order to convey my imaginings? When I’ve completed the final draft, will I like it? More importantly, will my readers? Engaging in the writing process takes the kind of effort that reminds me of arranging a date with a friend for quiet get-together, that special time wh…
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by Claudine Wolk A book marketer, like any good artisan, has a tool box. Her tools, once prepared, will be selected for the specific purpose with which they are needed. A plumber’s tools might include a wrench, a plunger, or some duct tape. A carpenter’s tool box would certainly include a hammer, some nails, and a reliable level. Similarly, a book marketer’s tool box would include a strong query and book proposal plus the items that are considered part of a book media kit: a press release, an author bio, a book one-page, an endorsements page, an interview q&a, a book cover jpg and an author jpg. The book marketer selects these tools or parts of these tools when…
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by Claudine Wolk YOU are the secret to a successful Pitch Think of a pitch. Visualize it. A pitcher stands on a baseball mound and throws a ball to a batter. Instead of real time, let’s slow things down a bit and imagine the pitch resuming in slow motion. The pitcher releases the pitch and it slowly reaches the batter. The batter takes a swing and his bat either hits it or misses it. One of the hardest and most time-consuming parts of book marketing is pitching to media contacts. First, you have to take the time to identify media contacts. Then you have to come up with a pitch to send to them. Then you have to send it, follow-up with it and hopefully provide wh…
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by Leslie Cox I’m a list-maker. I make lists every day. Lists in my head and on paper. I email myself “to do” lists, grocery lists, song lists, book lists, movie lists. Lists of writing resources and essay ideas. Friends at work teased me for making lists on sticky notes and plastering them all over my computer monitor. Then someone clever came up with sticky notes to place on a computer screen, not on paper, by typing them onto the desktop, a more sustainable way to keep track. My notepad is chock-full of lists, starting with a list of questions to ask an old friend to fill in gaps for my memoir: 1) What was Tim (my ex) like as a kid? 2) Why did his parents split up?…
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by Deirdra Eden The first step to controlling time is to realize that the concept of time, as we have been taught, is only a mortal construct. It is the attempt by humans to exert a measure of control over the natural world and calculate the intangible flow of cycles and seasons. However, this method painfully disconnects creators from natural energy cycles in order to conform to the eight-hour work shifts and deadlines of corporate and industrial productivity. Creative people don’t always work within finite mathematical boundaries. Just like the earth, creativity also goes through seasons. Spring has fertile newness with exciting potential. Summer is the height of g…
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By Donnaldson Brown People sometimes ask if my past experience in screenwriting has influenced how I write fiction. I mumble something vague about dialogue conveying character, or something slightly less vague about finding the beat a scene needs to move the story forward. That’s all true. Recently, though, I realized that everything I’ve written – the essays and fiction that have seen the light of day, and the stories, screenplays, and abandoned play stacked on my shelves or digitized on thumb drives huddling in my desk drawer – all started with an image, that rolled into another, of characters demanding my attention. Sometimes they drop me in the middle of…
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by Claudine Wolk I adore books about writing. The whole process is fascinating to me. How thrilling is it to write a book and then see it published and sold? As a reader, I am fascinated with the writing process as well. I wonder how the author came up with their idea and how they developed the skill to keep readers intrigued. Two of my favorite books by authors about the writing process is Stephen King’s On Writing and Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird. When I heard that author Anna Quindlen was coming to Doylestown to my town speak and had a book out about writing, Write for Your Life, I purchased a ticket immediately. I arrived at the Life Science’s building on my local uni…
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by Bethany Jarmul If you’ve ever sought out counsel on how to create a consistent writing habit, you’ve probably heard these bits of advice: 1. Schedule uninterrupted time, at the same time everyday. 2. Find a quiet place, free of distractions—a place set aside only for writing. 3. Set a daily word count goal and don’t stop writing until you reach your goal. I recognize the wisdom of this advice. But for me—a work-from-home mom with a three-month-old and a two-year-old—it sounds like a fantasy. I imagine a spacious library brimming with antique books, an ornate writing desk, Mozart playing in the background. I sit down with my quill and parchment to pen an elegant sonne…
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