Category: Mini-Topic Chats

  • Submission Strategies for the New Year

    Submission Strategies for the New Year

    2019 is almost here. Many of us wrap up the year by taking a sort of inventory of progress we made during the year and making promises to do it better in the future. As a writer, writing and sending submissions out into the world creates the task of managing them.

  • Submission Tracking

    After market research I would take out another photocopied sheet and I’d note the who, what, when and where to send it. I’d put together a query letter with a paragraph to clearly show I had looked through past issues of their magazine. Sometimes I would mention an article well done. I’d put a note on the sheet of paper as the submission and SASE dropped into the mailbox. This is how I tracked my submissions. I’d make a note to myself when time ran out and I assumed I ended up in slush and went to the next publication on my list.

  • Settings

    Even if it only shows up in your notes there are some things to consider in your settings.

  • Plotting

    When I begin a short story or a novel I like to have a firm idea of the plot in my mind. Once my imagination is pre-loaded I flesh out characters and work through various outcomes. I do best when I have the rough draft of six major scenes. If I do not know some key things going into a story I usually fail to connect enough to finish it.

  • Interviewing Characters

    The Interview often unlocks a story. Just the simple ‘what’s up?’ is enough to get things started again. You may discover your ‘helper’ character is clueless about your ‘main’ character’s motives. Your ‘antagonist’ may be blissfully unaware of the ‘protagonist’s’ intentions.