I joined the new Women’s Fiction Writers Association

I learned about this association on a blog I follow, author Amy Nathan’s excellent Women’s fiction writers blog. Amy, author of the soon-to-be-released The Glass Wives, posts lots of great author interviews for authors writing women’s fiction. Her site is a tremendous resource for those interested in the genre. It’s through one of Amy’s posts…

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Start those revisions with Critique Circle

I’ve already written about my wonderful, face-to-face writing group that I have here in Rome. I look forward to those meetings every two weeks and enjoy the company of a talented group of American writers in Rome. But I tend to write a lot and need a way to keep myself on-track with revisions. As…

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How do you find a literary agent?

Literary agent Rachelle Gardner recently posted on a topic near and dear to the hearts of many aspiring writers. Since I am just beginning the querying game, I have an eagle eye for advice such as this. Take a look at her excellent advice on how to find a literary agents. Plot spoiler: apparently there is…

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My story, Bitter Harvest, won a UK writing contest

Back in November, I wrote a post about National Short Story Week. In that post, I included links to markets for short stories and contests. I also decided to enter one of the contests myself. I’m a real sucker for writing prompts and this one intrigued me. The UK region of Hartlepool decided to sponsor…

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What are your 2013 writing goals?

A happy 2013 to everyone! Here’s hoping that your new year is starting out well. For writers, this is also a good time to reflect on writing goals for the new year … at least for those of us who might need an extra push, or those of us who don’t manage to get any…

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Writing inspiration on the slopes

Okay, I have a few days off around the holidays, nearby Abruzzo is buried under snow, and my kids are begging me to ski. What’s a girl to do? Hopefully, when this post goes up, I’ll be breathing in the fresh mountain air while I’m swooshing down the slopes. Perhaps I’ll be sad at this…

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Joining writing groups to stick to deadlines

Deadlines are a writer’s best friend. Unfortunately, they’re often a moving target. Maybe writers with six or seven figure advances whose contracts detail very precise deadlines have fewer problems, but for the rest of the mere mortals writers out there, deadlines are often self-imposed. That’s why writers can be quite creative in figuring out ways…

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It’s National Short Story Week!

For all you short story writers out there – and for all those who’ve “always meant to write one” – here’s your chance: 12-18 November marks National Short Story Week! I’ve always loved reading short stories, but I’ve only recently started writing them myself. To be honest, I was always a bit intimidated by the…

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