Red Planet writing prize goes digital
televisual.com – Wednesday May 20, 2020
Indie Red Planet Pictures and ITV will hold the next phase of their bi-annual writing competition as digital masterclasses this year.
The winner of The Red Planet Prize gets a script commission and the runner up will get development opportunities with ITV. Previous winners include Death In Paradise creator Robert Thorogood.
Leading the online sessions this year will be writer and Red Planet CEO Tony Jordan, ITV Drama Commissioner Chloe Tucker, Red Planet Joint MD Belinda Campbell, Red Planet Creative Consultant Kate Rowland and actor and writer, Rhashan Stone (Keeping Faith, Apple Tree Yard).
How to write 1,000 poems in 1,000 days
theguardian.com – Tuesday May 19, 2020
For the past 1,000 days, I’ve been writing at least one poem a day. I started on 17 August 2017 as a terrorist attack was unfolding in Barcelona. I was alone in a pub (standard for poets) and found myself writing a few lines on my phone. I posted it on Instagram, where I explained that I was experimenting with writing fast poems. That experiment is now wildly out of control.
It may not be the healthiest pursuit. It requires daily engagement with the details of terrorist attacks, natural disasters, school shootings, celebrity deaths, sporting events and the slow plotlines of Brexit, Trump and climate change – and now there’s a pandemic to write about. Even so, there are days when it feels as if either the news or my mind has slowed to a standstill. It has helped that “Tuesday” rhymes with “quiet news day”.
Literary magazines are often the first place new authors are published. We can’t lose them
theconversation.com – Saturday May 16, 2020
Australia’s literary journals are produced in a fragile ecosystem propped up by a patchwork of volunteer labour, generous patrons and, with any luck, a small slice of government funding.
The Sydney Review of Books, the Australian Book Review and Overland were among a group of publications who sought four-year funding from the Australia Council in 2020 but were unsuccessful.
These publications join the ranks of many others – among them Meanjin and Island – defunded by state or federal arts funding bodies in recent years.
New Literary Agent Listing: Linda S. Glaz
firstwriter.com – Friday May 15, 2020
Looking for nonfiction by experts in their field. In fiction, will consider anything well written, particularly romance, either contemporary, suspense, or historic. No children's or works that include graphic sexuality or profanity.
New Literary Agent Listing: Diana Flegal
firstwriter.com – Wednesday May 13, 2020
Represents mainstream and inspirational titles. Accepts submissions only from writers she has met face to face at writers conferences or from industry referral.
New Agent Listing: Jim Hart
firstwriter.com – Monday May 11, 2020
Interested in nonfiction on the topics of Christian living, church growth, leadership, business, social issues, parenting, and some self-help. Nonfiction writers will need to show a strong platform in their area of expertise. Not looking at memoirs or devotionals at this time.
Looking at select fiction in these categories: suspense/thrillers, romance (contemporary, historical, suspense, Amish), women’s fiction, and some speculative and sci-fi. Fiction writers should possess a strong and growing platform. He is not looking at children’s or middle-grade fiction at this time.
Not looking at proposals for books that have been previously self-published. Please do not send proposals for books that include graphic language and sex.
Stay at Home — and Write Your Memoir #2
authorlink.com – Saturday May 2, 2020
Last month I wrote here about using your stay-at-home time to work on a memoir and suggested the basics for getting started. This month I’m offering the next step: figuring out what to do with all those memories you’ve been stockpiling in preparation for writing, or with all the stories you’ve already written. What should you do with them? Do you plot your memoir as a novelist might do and somehow fit these in, or is there some other way to use this material?
My belief is that writing memoir in the early stages, is best done without any structure hanging over your head. Why? Because the heart of your memoir—what it’s really about—is best found by working freely to remember and record, to suss out the emotional hot spots in memory and to get the details down.
Still, I know most writers want to get a handle on the shape of their story sooner, rather than later. So, I offer a tool to give you a sense of control, and yet still stave off the official plotting of your memoir for a while longer, at least until you’ve had ample time to explore your memories and learn what is at the base of them driving you to write.
New Literary Agent Listing: Nicola Chang
firstwriter.com – Saturday May 2, 2020
Represents writers of fiction and nonfiction as well as a small list of poets. Currently accepting submissions and is primarily looking for literary fiction and nonfiction of all kinds.
So, you want a critique?
By G. Miki Hayden
Instructor at Writer's Digest University online and private writing coach
firstwriter.com – Saturday May 2, 2020
You asked for it. You may even have paid for it. But you still cringe when you open the emailed result of the critique and begin to read. You wanted to hear that your novel is great and you’re an astonishing writer, yet that’s not what the words on the screen are saying to you... But here are some ideas to let percolate in your mind when you’ve received what you wanted—some honest criticism.
Jamie Holmes wrote a book. Here are 9 things to know about the process.
wftv.com – Thursday April 30, 2020
So you’ve got some spare time on your hands, and you’re determined to do the one thing you’ve always dreamed of doing: writing the Great American Novel.
What to do? Where to begin? Here are nine ways to finally take charge of that blank page:
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