The ten-minute writing sprint is life-changing
jordannews.jo – Tuesday December 12, 2023
I now work on my fiction every day, even for only 10 minutes, and the words add up
I first heard about the ten-minute writing sprint concept during my podcast conversation with indie author Doug Weissman.
I was curious about this approach, so I tried it
Suffice to say, it has been life-changing.
I now work on my fiction every day, even for only 10 minutes, and the words add up, making me feel happy and accomplished.
Take that, procrastination!
Three Short Story Writers On Publishing and Crafting Their Debut Collections
electricliterature.com – Tuesday December 12, 2023
The short story is an entirely different pleasure than the novel. For writers, the form demands precision and intense scrutiny of craft choices. The short story is constrained by its brevity but remains limitless in the opportunities it presents to challenge notions of craft. The short story collection, then, is an art form in and of itself. In conversation, stories produce something new and thrilling. We are let in to linger and marvel at the writer’s world, to listen to its chorus of voices telling us something urgent.
This interview features three writers who published their debut short story collections this year: Ada Zhang, the author of The Sorrows of Others; Nishanth Injam, the author of The Best Possible Experience; and Alexandra Chang, the author of Tomb Sweeping. I called Zhang, Injam, and Chang to learn about their writing processes, relationships with the short story form, and experiences publishing their first collections.
Granite Noir short story competition launched to ‘unearth’ and celebrate north-east talent
pressandjournal.co.uk – Tuesday December 12, 2023
A brand new writing competition in the spirit of Granite Noir has been launched to encourage budding north-east writers.
Have you ever fantasised about the murky world of crime or how best to carry out a murder? Hypothetically of course.
If the answer is yes, Granite Noir might have a new challenge to put your shady skills to the test.
The popular Scottish crime writing festival is returning in February with another year of impressive events but with a delightful twist.
For the first time, a short story writing competition has been launched.
Crime creatives from all over the north-east will have their chance to put their hand at creating a work of suspense and intrigue.
For Sharon Burgess, chief executive of Aberdeen Performing Arts (APA), she hopes this will be a chance to “unearth” – not bodies for all you murky-minded people – but rather talent.
10X Your Writing Quality With These 8 Useful Websites
medium.com – Tuesday December 12, 2023
1. Aleenarais.com/write
The best-ever solution to overcome your writer's block.
Every time you open the website, it loads a random image with a text box to write your thoughts.
This instantly motivates you to write.
Because now you don't have a blank page in front of you.
People usually face "Blank Page Syndrome." It simply means not being able to start.
So this website is a lifesaver for you, as it perfectly solves that problem for you.
Check out the site: https://aleenarais.com/write/
Burnham-On-Sea Book Festival 2024 writing competitions are now open for entries
burnham-on-sea.com – Monday December 11, 2023
Burnham-On-Sea Book Festival’s 2024 writing and book-cover competitions are now open for entries.
The 2024 festival – which is set to return from May 17th-19th – is inviting local people to get involved with the new competitions.
Sponsored by Burnham’s best-selling crime author Damien Boyd, entries are now open and close on midnight March 4th, 2024.
Book festival treasurer Jonathan Pinnock says there has been a change this year to the competitions: “Damien has upped the prizes in the children’s categories, hoping to inspire more young people to write. We’ve also made the decision to offer £100 to the winner of the book cover competition.”
“There are competitions for short-story writers and poets in three age categories: 11 and under, 12 – 18, and 19+ (Adults); the book cover competition is open to all ages. There’s a maximum of three entries per author/illustrator in each category.”
Nosy Crow announces multi-year Unicorn Academy publishing deal
thebookseller.com – Saturday December 9, 2023
Nosy Crow has announced a multi-year deal for Unicorn Academy, covering a wide range of formats to be published in the next decade.
Kate Wilson, group c.e.o. of Nosy Crow, worked with Katie Woolley, Nosy Crow’s head of brands and licensing, to buy publishing rights for children’s books in all languages, excluding German, from Spin Master Entertainment. Nosy Crow’s first TV tie-in novelisation, Sophia’s Invitation, was published in October, in time for the global launch on Netflix on 2nd November.
The series is adapted from books originated and published by Nosy Crow, written by Julie Sykes and Linda Chapman and published in North America by Penguin Random House.
New Literary Agent Listing: Maeve Bolger
firstwriter.com – Friday December 8, 2023
Trained at RADA and worked as a Stage Manager before becoming an agent in 2016. She represents Sound Designers, Composers, Musical Directors, Set and Costume Designers, Lighting Designers and Directors in Theatre, alongside a list of Writers across all disciplines.
New Publisher Listing: Sparsile Books
firstwriter.com – Thursday December 7, 2023
A small boutique publisher, specializing in literary fiction and high quality non-fiction. We have an old-fashioned approach, which sees publishing in terms of an art. We have undertaken only to publish original and beautifully-crafted works with attention to historical detail and the poetry of language.
Leeke joins the Madeleine Milburn Agency
thebookseller.com – Wednesday December 6, 2023
Jessica Leeke is joining the Madeleine Milburn Literary, Film & TV Agency as literary agent.
She will start on 8th January, specialising in upmarket and book club fiction with global appeal.
Leeke began her career in advertising in New York before spending more than 15 years as an editor at Bloomsbury, Simon & Schuster and most recently Penguin Michael Joseph, where she was fiction publisher.
Shortlisted for the Kim Scott Walwyn Prize, she has acquired and edited authors who have become bestsellers and been shortlisted for prizes such as the Booker, Costa, Desmond Elliott, and Irish Book Award as well as securing picks for Richard & Judy, Radio 2 and the US TV book club.
The Ingredients for a First-Rate (Crime) Novel
By G. Miki Hayden
Instructor at Writer's Digest University online and private writing coach
firstwriter.com – Wednesday December 6, 2023
I’ve been an instructor at Writer’s Online Workshops (from Writer’s Digest) since the start of this century, and a writer and writing instructor since well before that. I’ve taught hundreds of classes, which I can multiply by a modest average of seven students per class, so I’ve seen a lot of student writing, and much of it even credible. Most of the work could use some smoothing out, aka editing, however, and I’ve done a lot of that daily in dealing with the many class assignments students post, plus in editing chapters and whole novels privately. I can find certifiable flaws in almost every piece I look at. If I can’t find defects (rarely), my mouth drops open in astonishment.
In a mystery writing class I taught in August 2019 (my student reminds me), I discovered quite a bit in the assignments from writers that needed improvement—not an unusual situation. But what was different from what I see in most of the class material I work with was a story with elements that were outstanding. The author (Walter Sutton) and I began to work with his pieces of writing in class, and then I worked with him after and since, to this very day, in editing two of his novels (going into the third): Finders Keepers and Losers Weepers, both now in print and ebook at Amazon, and with Flash Finnegan Book 3 to come, working title, Knick Knack Patty Whack.
But because I acted as the editor of the two finished/in print books from a traditional publisher, I couldn’t write a review to post on Amazon—such is the rule of the site—even though I’ve admired Walt’s work from the first, and I still do.
So I decided to write an article about the books and explain what I respect in author Suttons’ crime fiction novels and use that as a sort of lesson for other crime fic and even general fiction writers.
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