Posts Tagged ‘Writers Resources’

The gifts of writing

It has been a lot of years — more than 30 — since I have submitted a freelance article to an editor. The last time I did, as a senior year college student at the University of Guam, my approach was very different. I typed my story, which was about an education program on the [...]

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Editing your kids' work

A friend once sent me an email asking how much I helped my sons with their writing assignments. “They surely sought out and valued your editing skills as they moved through school,” she wrote. I wish! I think because I am an editor my kids were very self-conscious about sharing their work with me. Once they [...]

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Breaking the block

Our blueline for the February magazine came to the office today. That’s always our last chance to proofread. Our last chance to make changes. Our last chance to catch the mistakes that inevitably slip past the earlier proofs. When you stare at pages for days on end it’s almost impossible to see where something is still [...]

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Want to impress an editor? A follow-up…

When I wrote last week about the “Top 10 Terrible Ways to Pitch a Story,” I got a comment from a local author who asked that I expound on two of my points. “The writer’s perspective of interesting topic/compelling story may not be the same as that of the editor — hence the query,” she [...]

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Want to impress an editor? What NOT do to…

After nearly 30 years of work in the publishing field, I’ve decided it’s time to polish my own writing skills. So I’ve been buying books about writing, signing up for webinars and taking some classes through the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing. I entered this process as a wide-eyed student, eager to learn from [...]

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Wielding the unwelcome power to wound

Empathy is the ability to understand what someone else is feeling — to take a few steps in their shoes. I have a lot of empathy for writers lately. As I enter Day 6 in the WordPress Post-a-Day Challenge, I am plagued by a gnawing anxiety. It goes way beyond “What should I write about today?” [...]

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