In the [Writing] Zone

7 May, 20157 May, 20152 Comments

Bridgid Gallagher just tweeted about using Pinterest as a writer. I have a secret board for each of my writing projects, filled with images to inspire me and links to resources.

On her blog, Bridgid shares four more tips on how she gets into the writing zone, including having a writing playlist. I’ve shared my writing playlist for WORLD SONG before, but I’ve also heard good things about SoundFuel, a blog for writing music, and Skye Fairwin’s YouTube channel of music sorted by scene or mood.

All of them are great tips! My only problem is #2—it would take me all day to clean off my desk. Instead I escape to a library to write.

Head on over to Bridgid’s blog to read 5 Tricks for Getting into the Writing Zone.

Twitter Tuesday #4

1 July, 20141 July, 2014Leave a comment

Sometimes as an editor, I live tweet advice “from the field.” I also tweet things that are encouraging to fellow writers. Twitter Tuesday is when I compile all of the past month’s writing and editing tweets and post them on my blog. Read all of the Twitter Tuesdays here.

Be sure to check out my new Query Workshops! Submissions for July are open through the 15th.

June

A query shows you can write engaging prose. A synopsis shows you can write a plot. Query=voice. Synopsis=plot points. #writingtips #querytip

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 3, 2014

@larathelark Query=talent, style. Synopsis=skill, mechanics. They have different functions.

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 3, 2014

Drama, that magic stuff that keeps us reading, requires CHARACTER (protagonist, w/ goals) and CONFLICT (obstacles, stakes). #writingtips

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 3, 2014

Tips for researching a novel: http://t.co/kaZHCt45wV #writingtips

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 6, 2014

"A metaphor should make a situation or a feeling or a condition more understandable, not less."—@Janet_Reid #writingtips

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 7, 2014

#Query goals: make reader 1) be invested in the character, 2) be intrigued by the conflict, 3) want more—of your story AND your writing.

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 9, 2014

Don't get fancy with punctuation in your #query. Unless you've been professionally published before, stick with commas and periods only.

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 9, 2014

(Chances are writers will either misuse or overuse semicolons, dashes, quotation marks, or parentheses. While I’m usually all for being a confident writer, don’t be overconfident in your command of punctuation.)

Number one #query rule: be SPECIFIC and CONCRETE, not vague or abstract. #querytip

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 9, 2014

I concocted a plan. Each day I make 1K words, I add $1 to my book-buying fund. Each day I don't, -$2. Starting today. #amwriting

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 9, 2014

.@KMWeiland Or, in an active sentence, the subject is acting. In passive, the subject's being acted upon. #writingtips

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 10, 2014

@TheKenHughes @KMWeiland or any other "be" verb + past participle of verb. Often end in "-en," too. Was taken, has been broken. #grammargeek

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 10, 2014

@TheKenHughes @KMWeiland I like the "off center" description! A phrase like "by [person/force/thing]" thrown at the end is the true subject.

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 10, 2014

If you're missing out on the SFF pitch party today, remember it happens 2x/yr. Make goal to finish & revise by next time! #amwriting

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 11, 2014

Here are the rules for #SFFpit. http://t.co/IGhjovTY0e RT your favorite pitches. Only agents & editors should star / favorite pitches.

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 11, 2014

Seeking my genre & has professional website, social media presence. MT @thesevenseas What are your qualifications [in an agent]?

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 13, 2014

Red flags: I've found agents whose websites haven't been updated in over five years. Ones who misspell their clients' names.

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 13, 2014

Literary fiction: voice, style, theme > action, plot, concept. Commercial fiction is flipped. #writetip

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 13, 2014

Re: last tweet—The commercial elements expand your audience. The literary elements deepen your audience's loyalty to your work. #writetip

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 13, 2014

How should you start your novel? Depends on genre: http://t.co/sNFZPkzPm8
+ read this about 1st chapters: http://t.co/fUeC3w7oSe #writetip

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 13, 2014

#YouKnowYoureAWriterWhen rejection or criticism impels you to work even harder at your craft. Try, try again! #amwriting

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 13, 2014

#writetip—"Upmarket" or "book club" books are both commercial and literary. More: http://t.co/dKlbL4yRwO

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 14, 2014

"A first draft is the toddler version of your final manuscript…"
—6 Mistakes Authors Make When Writing a Book http://t.co/tKOQWjcrGI”

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 14, 2014

@thesevenseas Mine was toddler. Easily distracted, incomplete thoughts, wanders around, points at things with a grunt.

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 14, 2014

@jtSNOH well, in a romance, the inciting incident is the "meet cute." Depends on your story. http://t.co/GycVevAmxy <hope this helps!

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 21, 2014

@MindyMcGinnis Clichés start out as evocative prose.

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 23, 2014

In July: @CampNaNoWriMo, @UI_VWU's Poetry course, @KeytopServices' #NovelBootCamp.
I signed up for all 3.
What. have. I. done.

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 23, 2014

#NovelBootCamp and @CampNaNoWriMo participants: I'll be doing #1k1hr pretty much every weeknight at 10/9c thru July. Join me!

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 24, 2014

It doesn't matter who you are or how long you've been writing. Your first draft will be terrible. Get it out, then revise. #writetip

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 25, 2014

Prose is prose because of what it includes; poetry is poetry because of what it leaves out.—Marvin Bell #heypoets #amwriting #writetip

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 26, 2014

This Depression Era jingle could be about poetry: Use it up / wear it out / make it do / or do without.—Marvin Bell #heypoets #writetip

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 26, 2014

From the archives: "10 Steps to Finishing a Novel"—http://t.co/Jvot68603t #amwriting #writetip @jtSNOH pic.twitter.com/EF6muvTUTO

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 26, 2014

New editor pet peeve: the word "curlicue." I've read it in at least four books this month. What's your least favorite word? #amwriting

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 29, 2014

"Everyone is innately creative… creators are just people who act." —http://t.co/73k3UcTFaR

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 30, 2014

Between scenes, demonstrate a “Therefore” or “But” relationship, not an “& Then…" (#writetip from @chavelaque—http://t.co/oOutT03S9f)

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 30, 2014

How to tell if a scene is a crock of $#!~ #writetip: http://t.co/J8wsGMVw1G

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 30, 2014

Retweets

Henry Miller’s 11 Commandments of Writing & Daily Creative Routine: http://t.co/u5UsLodtrN pic.twitter.com/FQ8B0zcVxb

— Better Novel Project (@BetterNovelProj) June 5, 2014

A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.
E.B. WHITE pic.twitter.com/EflxJHFm3D

— Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) June 6, 2014

An excellent Venn diagram. [via @ReidSpeed] pic.twitter.com/Nbk0FK6Wzu

— Steve Silberman (@stevesilberman) June 8, 2014

Question to ask if you're thinking of self-pubbing: do you want to be a small biz owner? Or do you want to focus on writing? #tfabea

— Taryn Fagerness (@tfagerness) June 6, 2014

Thank you @larathelark for sharing this with me! The 8 C’s of Plotting: Worksheets http://t.co/mNwhhTQDCg via @larathelark

— Ann Rose (@annmrose) June 10, 2014

Re-discovered these today – SO HELPFUL! The 8 C’s of Plotting: Worksheets http://t.co/veAdqwvH6A via @larathelark

— Julie Eshbaugh (@JulieEshbaugh) June 10, 2014

YA is not a genre. It's a category that contains genres. Horror, fantasy, realistic, dystopian, historical, sci-fi–those are genres.

— Lisa McMann (@lisa_mcmann) June 10, 2014

Q4: SF/F query. Be sure to know your genre. Also, don't attach chapters separately. Send one doc. Writing is not for me. Pass. #tenqueries

— Rena Bunder Rossner (@renarossner) June 11, 2014

Had to update again because there were even more than I thought, 26 agents from 20 agencies came to #SFFpit! http://t.co/Grksh0EwXu

— Dan Koboldt (@DanKoboldt) June 12, 2014

Are 5-Star Book Reviews Bad for Sales? by @Daryl_dcrdrr http://t.co/13ArEFnctu #amwriting

— K.M. Weiland (@KMWeiland) June 13, 2014

You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.
JACK LONDON#amwriting #writing

— Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) June 14, 2014

Do you want to write? Or do you want to be a full time designer/publicist/marketer? Things to think about if you want to self-publish.

— Carly Watters (@carlywatters) June 20, 2014

What’s Lost as Handwriting Fades: http://t.co/jrTBRhXGno

— Better Novel Project (@BetterNovelProj) June 21, 2014

Simple English is no one’s mother tongue. It has to be worked for.
JACQUES BARZUN#amwriting #writing

— Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) June 21, 2014

Truth that is naked is the most beautiful, and the simpler its expression the deeper is the impression it makes.
SCHOPENHAUER

— Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) June 21, 2014

@memoryletters I offered on something yesterday which I was sent in April. Depends on workload tbh! http://t.co/tEqUxuq8rk

— Juliet Mushens (@mushenska) June 21, 2014

@ChuckSambuchino I vote for a moratorium on describing the sky AT ALL in ch. 1, & looking out windows/into mirrors/waking up. @FuriousDShow

— Linda Epstein (@LindaEpstein) June 22, 2014

What's it About? How Movie Trailers Can Help You Write Better Query Letters http://t.co/E35Fx4ckEe via @janice_hardy's Fiction University

— Better Novel Project (@BetterNovelProj) June 23, 2014

Things that are worth it to spend money on: Editing. Proofreading. Cover design. #pubtips

— Laura Zats (@LZats) June 23, 2014

Great @SimonSchusterCA interview with @tjenkinsreid "Q. Advice for new writers? A. Value truth over wit." http://t.co/ZSBt6KRplY

— Carly Watters (@carlywatters) June 23, 2014

It's submission o'clock somewhere (@tomgauld) pic.twitter.com/iyDos87v44

— Berfrois (@berfrois) June 23, 2014

"That sentence has all the rhythm of a snake on skates i.e. not much."
—@Janet_Reid, the @QueryShark #quoteoftheday

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 23, 2014

I like this quickie formula via @larathelark! http://t.co/AcAU5pH28O pic.twitter.com/tASsFnvxff

— Better Novel Project (@BetterNovelProj) June 24, 2014

"Each new book has its own voice—and I have to be available to hear it." — Daniel Woodrell http://t.co/m6kLjdl7s2 #MorningCuppaCraft

— Loft Literary Center (@loftliterary) June 24, 2014

Flannery O'Connor: “You can’t clobber a reader while he’s looking. Divert his attention, then clobber him and he never knows what hit him.”

— Scott Myers (@GoIntoTheStory) June 25, 2014

Happy Birthday George Orwell. Here are his 6 Rules of writing (from Why I Write) which are as relevant today.. pic.twitter.com/dIzHf2kc03

— Jonny Geller (@JonnyGeller) June 25, 2014

Authors, this is your occasional reminder that you make everyone's life easier if you put your agent's name/contact info on your website!

— Hannah Bowman (@hannahnpbowman) June 26, 2014

@larathelark Also, I found an entry you wrote on POV and I thought this was the best example of limited omn. ever: pic.twitter.com/iJTa3x9Bz9

— Snoh (@jtSNOH) June 26, 2014

https://twitter.com/InsPowerTweet/status/482274633329434624

Want agent feedback? I'm trying something new: a query critique e-conference of sorts. Details: http://t.co/lld4ks1YrC #askagent #tenqueries

— Peter Knapp (@petejknapp) June 26, 2014

@ShannonKean I'm an agent. I know YA & MG. When I read your pitch, I won't be able to help but come up with my own comp titles.

— Peter Knapp (@petejknapp) June 27, 2014

Readers often moved less by actual character deaths than they are over the grief of the surviving characters. #WQOTD

— K.M. Weiland (@KMWeiland) June 27, 2014

What not to send. #badqueries #amwriting pic.twitter.com/0kLLUKpR6R

— Laura Heffernan (@LH_Writes) December 28, 2013

"It takes years to be a decent writer, just as it does to become a fine tennis player or neurosurgeon…”http://t.co/l3h3gi1kNf #amwriting

— Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) June 29, 2014

BEST backstory tips (when to stop): @JaniceHardy http://t.co/3DmpJbVdHv, @MikeWells (Bruce Willis's Dog) http://t.co/Hz319Hd5u6, http://on.…

— Ken Hughes (@TheKenHughes) June 30, 2014

Worldbuilding and backstory = like salt. Necessary and adds delicious flavor but easy to overdo it. Sprinkle them in evenly, thoughtfully.

— Delilah S. Dawson (@DelilahSDawson) June 30, 2014

Funny! The truth about book hangovers : https://t.co/DFrL7aWO9Z

— Carly Watters (@carlywatters) July 1, 2014

Bonus: Nerdy Pangrams

Nerdy pangram for @notjustanybeth, whom I'd have adored in middle school. pic.twitter.com/1BbefvxYp0

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 4, 2014

Another nerdy pangram for @notjustanybeth, this one with a BTTF spin. (Husband drew the DeLorean) pic.twitter.com/wVxUOTYk1k

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 4, 2014

Twitter Tuesday #3.2

3 June, 20142 Comments

Twitter Tuesday is a new feature on my blog. The first Tuesday of the month, I include all of the past month’s writing and editing tweets from the “field.” Read Twitter Tuesday 1 here.

Be sure to check out my new Query Workshops!

I was pretty active on Twitter in May, so I’m posting Twitter Tuesday #3 in two installments. Here are the tweets & retweets from May 16th–June 2nd.

May

Describe what’s happening rather than telling us that it’s happening. #ShowDontTell #writingtips

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) May 17, 2014

If you want active, engaging prose, fix expletive sentences—those starting with “There was/are/is” or “It was/is" #writingtips

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) May 17, 2014

#writingtip of the day: Highlight just your dialog & read it like a script. Does it make sense? Does it sound natural? Revise. #amediting

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) May 29, 2014

My avg #editing price/wd: $0.015 MS critique, $0.04 line edit. SPECIALS: $40 for 10 pg, $160 for 10K wds http://t.co/HaKOKRAmBg #amediting

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) May 29, 2014

First impressions are everything! Get a query critique before landing in the slush pile. For free or $35. Details: http://t.co/Q4HWNYd2yn

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 1, 2014

An MFA in #writing isn't for everyone. As a literary writing major, I appreciate this. I love guilty pleasure reads! http://t.co/n6Jhw1iH3j

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 2, 2014

A query shows you can write engaging prose. A synopsis shows you can write a plot. Query=voice. Synopsis=plot points. #writingtips #querytip

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 3, 2014

https://twitter.com/larathelark/status/473678300330856448[/embedhttps://twitter.com/larathelark/status/473683084819570688

Retweets

Always mystify, torture, mislead, and surprise the audience as much as possible.
DON ROFF #amwriting #writing #writingtips

— Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) May 16, 2014

I used to think if I wrote carefully enough, I’d never have to revise. Reality: writing is the warmup. Drafts become books during revisions.

— Caryn Caldwell (@CarynCaldwell) May 16, 2014

"Write through and past the awkward stages in which your words clunk and your characters embarrass you…”http://t.co/ZecW9qj4QC #writing

— Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) May 16, 2014

The final test of a work of #art is not whether it has beauty, but whether it has power.
JOHN HERSEY#literature #writing

— Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) May 19, 2014

This is probably the best thing I've read on questions to ask yourself about self pubbing versus not-self pubbing: http://t.co/nZ3GipE7LZ

— Janet Reid (@Janet_Reid) May 20, 2014

The only way to write about sex is not to write much. Let the reader bring his own sexuality into the text.
TONI MORRISON#writing

— Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) May 21, 2014

Tell a story! Don’t try to impress your reader with style or vocabulary or neatly turned phrases. Tell the story first.
ANNE McCAFFREY

— Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) May 23, 2014

Commit yourself to the process, NOT the project. Don’t be afraid to write badly, everyone does. FRANK CONROY#amwriting #writing

— Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) May 24, 2014

My word count preferences:
MG: 35 to 60K
YA: 60 to 85K
Contemporary Romance: 80 to 95K
Cozies: 60 to 75K
Nothing over 100K

— Melissa Jeglinski (@MJeglinski) May 27, 2014

I don't care what your character's internal monologue is, if it's just saying stuff that we should be seeing instead

— Cameron Stewart (@cameronMstewart) May 28, 2014

“Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.”- Andy Rooney

— Better Novel Project (@BetterNovelProj) May 29, 2014

Getting a lot of "where do you find the time?” comments lately… http://t.co/S0bbmu9RS9 pic.twitter.com/63yFUFF5eE

— Austin Kleon (@austinkleon) May 29, 2014

To Tell Your Story, Take a Page from Kurt Vonnegut: http://t.co/LKXKSWGt9w via @HarvardBiz pic.twitter.com/XACM7G4amL

— Better Novel Project (@BetterNovelProj) May 31, 2014

Talked to YA editors about spec fic & SF/F and how stories in another world have to illuminate us on what's wrong w/ our world #BEA14

— Carly Watters (@carlywatters) May 31, 2014

Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.
PABLO PICASSO#art #literature #writing pic.twitter.com/e6WXasr2yJ

— Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) June 1, 2014

No editor will read a manuscript that doesn't look professional.
MARION ZIMMER BRADLEY#amwriting #publishing #writing #writingtips

— Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) June 2, 2014

Twitter Tuesday #3.1

3 June, 2014Leave a comment

Twitter Tuesday is a new feature on my blog. The first Tuesday of the month, I include all of the past month’s writing and editing tweets from the “field.” Read Twitter Tuesday 1 here.

Be sure to check out my new Query Workshops!

I was pretty active on Twitter in May, so I’ll be posting Twitter Tuesday #3 in two installments. Here are the tweets & retweets from May 1st–15th

May

#WeNeedDiverseBooks because empathy can't be taught. It's learned by listening to stories of people that aren't us.

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) May 3, 2014

The Largest Vocabulary in Hip Hop: Infographic http://t.co/TIdBPXECu1

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) May 7, 2014

Don't say it was "delightful"; make us say "delightful" when we've read the description. —CS Lewishttp://t.co/zGNyspzaP4 #writingtips

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) May 13, 2014

From @WritersDigest, The 5 C's to make your novel thrilling:http://t.co/EjlyVuucS1 #writingtips #amwriting

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) May 13, 2014

1/2 from ALONE W/ ALL THAT COULD HAPPEN by David Jauss:

"All good novelists have bad memories."—Graham Greene #writingtips

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) May 13, 2014

2/2 "What you remember comes out as journalism. What you forget goes into the compost of the imagination."
—Robert Olen Butler#writingtips

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) May 13, 2014

"Syntax is like a landscape: if it's too uniform, our prose will look more like Nebraska than Switzerland." —Stephen Dobyns #writingtips

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) May 13, 2014

Don't keep leaving your character alone to think. Fiction is drama. Drama is acting and reacting. Passivity kills fiction. #writingtips

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) May 14, 2014

Too good to shorten to 140 characters. #writingtips from the late Carl Brandt— pic.twitter.com/Xw8QSFxC7N

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) May 14, 2014

Don't talk your story to death. Save your words for the paper.–A.B. Guthrie#Writingtips
Stop talking about your WIP—write it! #amwriting

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) May 14, 2014

"Unlike expository writing, good fiction sticks to characters, their actions, speech & thought. It stays on scene."–A.B.Guthrie #writingtips

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) May 14, 2014

Retweets

Neil Gaiman on How Writers Learn and Why First Drafts Don’t Matter | http://t.co/iqsRKYgFcM #MorningCuppaCraft

— Loft Literary Center (@loftliterary) May 1, 2014

For your reading list: Five useful books for writers that aren’t directly about writing. http://t.co/vZjgqAQg6n

— Loft Literary Center (@loftliterary) May 4, 2014

Keep dialogue sharp with as much info in as short a breath as possible. Twitter's 140 character limit is a great training tool #writingtips

— Kevin Cullen (@ColorTheBooks) May 6, 2014

.@ColorTheBooks Totally! "Breath units" are important to consider when establishing voice, in dialogue & in narration. #writingtips

— Lara Willard (@larathelark) May 6, 2014

"Sometimes you need to write a lot just to find out what it is you are really writing…"http://t.co/28kJ5CZyOc #writing #writingtips

— Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) May 7, 2014

If you tell me, it’s an essay. If you show me, it’s a story.
BARBARA GREENE#fiction #literature #writing

— Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) May 8, 2014

“When you catch an adjective, kill it…”http://t.co/4vHqTSMSGu #grammar #amwriting #writing #writingtips pic.twitter.com/9f13lsouMF

— Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) May 8, 2014

The thing to go for is speed. Nothing puts the reader off more than a great slab of prose at the start.
P.G. WODEHOUSE#writing

— Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) May 10, 2014

"Before you query agents get a professional critique…”http://t.co/eJskuRLAff #amwriting #writing #writingtips

— Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) May 10, 2014

A good editor is someone who knows what your problem is.
ELMORE LEONARD#amwriting #writing #writingtips

— Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) May 11, 2014

You become a good writer just as you become a good carpenter: by planing down your sentences.
ANATOLE FRANCE#amwriting #writing

— Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) May 12, 2014

Writers: do remember that unlike most #litmags we actively read submissions during the summer http://t.co/qPse2C2FWQ

— The Missouri Review (@Missouri_Review) May 12, 2014

Authors before you query us, know if your debut novel is longer than 95,000 words, it will be a hard sell. #askagent http://t.co/0uR3NrbbKi

— KC&A Literary Agency (@K_C_Associates) March 3, 2014

The sweet spot for debut novels would be 80,000 words but a range from 70-95,000 is okay. @TheOnlyATN #pubtip #askagent

— KC&A Literary Agency (@K_C_Associates) March 4, 2014

Rejection letter from the 1920's. pic.twitter.com/GFUiz1a89Y

— Weird Tales (@weirdtales) March 9, 2014

#writers – learn more about being on submission with debut novelist Mary Elizabeth Summer: http://t.co/Z29UOR07UR

— Mindy McGinnis (@MindyMcGinnis) May 13, 2014

Want a website that has all agent/editor #mswl in one place? Add http://t.co/0nOropyoMf to your bookmarks. #querytip #pubtip

— Carly Watters (@carlywatters) May 11, 2014

“The first line is the DNA of the poem; the rest of the poem is constructed out of that first line.” —Billy Collins http://t.co/MdBbr4zGBv

— The Paris Review (@parisreview) May 15, 2014

ABDCE for writers via @ANNELAMOTT: action, background, development, climax, ending #cltspj #cltmedia #writingtips

— Hannah Levinson (@djhannimal) May 14, 2014

#writers don't forget about #writingcontests from #litmags @vallummag & The MacGuffin + New American Press & more: http://t.co/9Ps86Wr9V5

— New Pages (@newpages) May 15, 2014