Dear Author

An advise column for writers, poets, and wordsmiths who go bump in the page.

Timely Converstaion

Rick Iekel sends us a timely piece that we are going to Grandfather in...

You Are Not Alone

Allostatic load is "the wear and tear on the body" which accumulates as an individual is exposed to repeated or chronic stress. The psychological term was coined back in 1993. It represents the physiological consequences of chronic exposure to... well quite frankly everything going wrong at once. This includes writer's block.

So you want to write a novel? 8 bestselling authors tell you how.

One of the most common questions I get asked by friends, family and readers is, "What advice do you have for someone who wants to write a novel?"

LCRW Round Robin

One of the most famous writing challenges was between C.L. Moore, A. Merritt, H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, and Frank Belknap Long. It was called the Challenge from Beyond. In this writing exercise, the writers each wrote one short section that ended in such a way as to leave the next author in a difficult spot. Now we present the LCRW Writing Challenge - 2020 Round Robin. But I won’t spoil the ending.

LCRW on Medium

The internet should reward quality thinking, not clickbait. Medium says they have created a better home for writers, journalists and experts. It's simple to use, free from ads, and connects you to curious, avid readers, so you can focus on what matters: putting your best work out there.

Reading Other Genres

Ever pass by sections of the bookstore you always avoid? Next time you go to the bookstore, you might want to pick out something from those sections. After all, what would Columbus have found if he'd just kept sailing in the same directions all the time? Or Leif Erikson? Why be like Alexander and believe there are no new worlds to conquer?

Summer Wrting Contests

Writing contests have always been a vital part of the writing world, giving writers the chance to have their work reviewed by editors and possibly published. Literary journals, universities and even The Writer regularly host writing competitions, helping authors gain exposure and hone their craft.

New Connie Murphy Mystery Published

Connie Murphy is a senior drug investigator with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration who is passionate about protecting public health. While conducting seemingly routine inspections, intrigue and danger intervene.

Pandemic News and Writing

Change caused by the Pandemic certainly become a topic for people to write about. It was top of the news a century ago. Everyone thought it would change the way we wrote books.

Deal with the Devil

Dante and his allies discover his lost home, Earth only to find the malevolent galactic force he had been struggling against found it too and was already there.

Women and Publishing

The UK has a site dedicated to offer plenty of opportunity for women to submit thier work... and they even pay for it. Mslexia is read by top authors and absolute beginners. A quarterly masterclass in the business and psychology of writing, it's the essential magazine for women who write.

Getting Your Name Out There -- Part One

Over the course of watching some of the great ebook authors operate, it's easy to conclude that they stick out because they aren't following the basics of self-advertisement. They are doing things differently. In a market that you may consider saturated, you might be thinking: "Well, I can't afford Google ads and everyone doesAmazon, so I really don't know where to start with getting my name out there." Let's change that today.

Apple renews effort to induce authors to publish with Apple Books

Eight years after it released tools to make what were then called iBooks, Apple has launched Apple Books for Authors, a new effort to get writers publishing on its platform.

Then producing books for Kindle was reasonably simple — reasonably — whether you were an established publisher or an individual author. While there was and is more to it, broadly if you can produce a PDF of your book, you can publish it.

LCRW History

On 21 August 1835, The New York Sun published a series of articles about the discovery of life on the moon. These were falsely attributed to a well-known astronomer of the time named Sir John Herschel. The article reported Herschel had made these discoveries and went on to describe, in detail, how the discovery was made. Well, if New York papers can do it, so can we. Here is the completely fictitious and utterly made-up history of LCRW.

The 5 Biggest Fiction Writing Mistakes (& How to Fix Them)

The best fiction writers write like they're in love—and edit like they're in charge. First drafting should be a wild and wonderful ride, full of discovery, dreams and promises. But at some point you have to settle down and make the book really work. You need to approach your manuscript with sober objectivity and knowledge of the craft.

Web Resources for Writers

Now that we are spending more time at home, chances are you're spending more time surfing the internet. So, how can you find places to help you with your writing? In this article, you'll find places to visit to help you answer these questions as well as a few places that are downright fun to visit. Including finding a place containing Mark Twain's famous editing advice: "Substitute 'damn' every time you're inclined to write 'very'; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be."

An Author's Childhood Story

Well, we've just had May 4th ... or in some circles Star Wars Day (May the Fourth be With You.) If you're like this auther, it brings back memories. Sometimes a writers journey is from a Galaxy not so far away. Every now and then it's from Pennsylvania (Our neighbor state to the south.)

Character Settings

A story's setting carries an enormous weight in fiction because it helps put the reader into your imaginary world. It enables them to travel from their personal experiences to enter your world. Leaving out the setting is like attempting to drive a car with a blindfold on… you can expect the diver to imagine the road… but it won't work out well.

With the coronavirus pandemic, eBook has business boomed

The pandemic has caused an abrupt, massive shift in consumer behavior. Leisurely in-person browsing is on hiatus indefinitely. Although with most physical stores in the United States are closed, book sales overall have been up in April, according to market research company the NPD Group. The bookselling business has changed amidst the stay-at-home orders brought by Covid-19. "The book market has historically performed well during times of economic downturn, and our first six weeks have shown us that there is unlikely to be a catastrophic cliff in demand for books," NPD industry analyst Kristen McLean wrote, noting that book sales grew almost every year during the Great Recession.

Polka-dots Make the Day More Normal

In 1962, DC Comics introduced Polka-Dot Man with irregularly-sized and differently coloured dots. The Venezuelan fashion designer Carolina Herrera also used polka dots on most of her dresses during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Much of the Japanese artist's Yayoi Kusama's work features a polka dot motif. The Polka Dot Door is a Canadian children's television series produced from 1971 to 1993 or…

A Guide to Free Reviews

In an increasingly crowded market, it can be difficult to get noticed—and thus, reviewed—on sites like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Goodreads. And paid review services can be expensive, adding to the already significant financial strain many encounter when self-publishing a book. So, what's the alternative?

How to use the Window’s Voice Recorder App

If you need to record audio on your PC, Windows 10 provides you with the Voice Recorder app. It's built in to the Opearting System. Here's how to use it. Voice Recorder is a simple application to record sound, and the only thing you need is a microphone.

Why You Can’t Use Song Lyrics in Your Fiction

One of the issues I frequently encounter is the use of song lyrics in fiction. The short is that song lyrics are protected by copyright and you cannot use someone else’s song lyrics without permission from the copyright holder.

Writing Contests 2020

Discover the finest writing contests of 2020 for fiction and non-fiction authors of short stories, poetry, essays and more. Updated weekly, these contests are vetted by Reedsy to weed out the scammers and time-wasters.

LCRW Inklings

What if there was a place you could meet your fellow writers virtually? What if there was a place where you could read your draft work to others, without having to edit it or spend hours using a spell checker? What if there was a place you could help other writers with their work… no prep necessary? Now there is. Every Tuesday 8 PM