Some people think that the writer’s worst critic is his/her audience, that negative reviews destroy him/her from the inside. It’s true that readers and reviews are important to most writers but they are far from writers’ worst critics. Honestly, readers and reviews only have the slightest influence in comparison to writers’ real worst critics: themselves.
I know it’s cheesy to say that we are our own worst enemies but there’s a reason phrases like that exist. In this case the saying exists because it’s true. It’s true for any person but most especially artists. Painters, drawers, sculptors, actors, and, yes, writers are notoriously hard on themselves. We expect perfection and if we don’t get what we consider to be perfect, it won’t matter what anyone else says. We’ve already failed ourselves.
How do we deal with these inner critics? As I’ve said repeatedly, I don’t know. I can barely get mine to shut up long enough to get any work done, and lately that’s required a combination of anti-depressants and two kinds of anti-anxiety pills. Nevertheless, learning to live and work with the writer’s worst critic is key to being a writer.
Writers can benefit from some self-criticism. The important word there is some. We need to be critical of ourselves and our work so that we can produce the best writing that we can. It’s especially helpful during the editing/rewriting phase. However, there’s a point when enough is enough. If the voice inside your head is telling you that you can’t make it, that you will never make it, that your writing is garbage, that’s when you need to take a step back and reevaluate your situation. Been there, done that, probably will be back there again tonight as I work on my end-of-year portfolio.
Despite what people may try to lead you to believe, it’s not so easy to just turn the inner critic off. Believe me, I’ve tried. It slips back into your thoughts as soon as you think you’re in the clear and you let your guard down. My inner critic especially loves to appear when I’m in the middle of first writing a story and when I’m in the midst of editing. Yes, it can help me edit and improve my work but it’s often in hyper-drive and tries to derail the entire project. I’m sure I’m not the only one. There’s a reason why the stereotypes of writers with addictions and mental disorders have gained traction.
The important thing to remember is to write despite this critical voice. It’ll probably still shout in your head and make you want to curl into a ball, but you can show it who’s in charge. You’ll feel much better if you just get a project done even with the doubt. Sometimes you’ll have to stop and give the voice a bit of a credence–after all, it may actually have a point about the last passage you wrote–but you also have to brush aside comments along the lines of “you’re a failure.” I know, easier said than done. If we don’t at least try, we’ll never get anything done.
TGIF, readers! I’m here to inform you of another contest with an upcoming deadline: the Bridport Prize. You can find all the necessary information on their website, but I will provide some highlights here:
The Bridport Prize was founded by the Bridport Arts Centre and raises funds for the center
The three categories are poems, short stories, and flash fiction
Although based in the UK, the contest is open to anyone of any nationality writing in English and who is 16 years of age or older at the time the contest closes
You can enter online or by post
There’s a small entry fee: 8 GBP per flash fiction, 9 GBP per poem, and 10 GBP per short story
The prizes are as follows (copied directly from their site):
I hope you’ll consider entering this contest, and I wish you all the best of luck.
You want more information on contests, hot writing topics, and writing advice? Subscribe for email updates from The Writer’s Scrap Bin by following the form on the lower left-hand corner.
A couple time-tested saving and money-raising methods are penny hoarding and quarter rolling. Whether it’s just change you get from purchases or coins you hunt down in your couch and on the street, it does add up.
In a perfect world, we would all become billionaires from publishing our work–or at least we’d be able to pay for rent, food, and a computer. Unfortunately, we live in a far-from-perfect world. Most writers can’t quit their day jobs after the first, third, or even fiftieth book. Some are fortunate enough that they love their day jobs or at least tolerate them. Others, not so much. And some, myself included, can’t catch a break with getting a traditional 9-5 job. That’s why I wanted to do a post on side-jobs, (relatively) easy ways that anybody, writers and non-writers alike, can make extra cash.
The Penny Hoarder: I’ve heard about this one for a while but only started using it recently. In addition to tips on handling debt and saving for your future, there are tips for “side-jobs” ranging from recycling to writing slogans for small businesses. Take a look and I’m sure you’ll find a money-making/saving/debt-reducing scheme that works for you without taking too much time from your writing. While you’re there, be sure to sign up for their newsletter to receive tips every day.
Swagbucks: I’ve been using this site significantly longer than any of the other side-jobs I’m discussing–two years, I think. For that reason, I have a lot more experience with them and a lot more to say, both good and bad. On Swagbucks you earn “Swagbucks” in exchange for taking surveys, shopping on certain websites through Swagbucks, using their search tool, and so on. One hundred Swagbucks equals about one dollar. Eventually you can exchange these Swagbucks for Amazon gift cards, iTunes gift cards, even PayPal gift cards, which are as good as cash.
The downside is that Swagbucks is not the most reliable source of payout and their customer service leaves a lot to be desired. Some surveys and offers don’t pay out and it can be like pulling teeth to get Swagbucks to help you when that happens. Some users have been told by customer service that they won’t help them anymore even though the users have done nothing wrong and haven’t violated the terms of service. I’ve seen reviews which said that multiple users had their accounts deactivated for no reason.
Mind you, Swagbucks isn’t always that way. Overall, despite multiple problems with payouts, Swagbucks has been incredibly helpful for me as an extra source of income and I think it’s worth a try. Just proceed with caution when contacting customer service and always be prepared to prove that you completed a survey or offer.
Ibotta: Ibotta is an app which gives you money through rebates on your shopping. Mind you, it’s only certain stores and certain products, some online and some not, and which rebates are available change constantly, but I’ve already made $20 in the past month just from my usual groceries and a couple iTunes purchases. You can’t exchange them for PayPal or other gift cards until you reach $20 but it adds up quickly. Just be sure to keep your receipts; sometimes you have to scan them to claim the rebates.
Foap: Foap.com is particularly interesting. Basically you download the Foap app, register on the site/app, and upload photographs you have taken. Hopefully someone will buy the rights to your photograph ($5 a piece). You can sell the rights for the same photo as many times as you like. Right now you can only upload photos from your phone but I’ve heard they’re working on a way to upload from your desktop. It’s not a guaranteed way to make money and you’ll definitely have to read all of the terms and conditions before posting but it’s an easy way to try to earn money. Not to mention it’s fun to look at all the photos and have your photos rated by other users. Even if you take horrid photos or can’t hold your phone still to save your life (guilty to both!) it’s worth a try. Besides, you never know which of your pictures people might like.
Etsy: I haven’t tried to sell anything on Etsy yet but the concept is pretty straightforward. If you make things (ex. sew mittens, create personalized drawings, etc.) or have antiques you want to sell, you’ll find buyers on Etsy. Etsy takes a certain percentage and you have to remember to account for taxes but if you have a unique product, you’ll probably make some extra cash on this site.
Fiverr: I just started Fiverr so I don’t have experience with payment yet. However, Fiverr is one of the best-established sites for exchanging services. I wouldn’t be doing this list justice if I didn’t mention it. You register on the site and post your “gigs”, anything from freelance editing to having “Jesus” make a personalized video message. (I’m not even kidding; there’s a user who offers that.) The prices start at $5 and you can provide three different “packages” per gig.
Warning: You must word your gigs very specifically and carefully. I didn’t make it clear enough that I would edit and give feedback on essays, not write them, so that gig was denied and removed by Fiverr. Fortunately that was all they did and I’ve been able to put up more “appropriate” gigs since then. Just be careful how you word things, don’t forget the terms of service for even a second, and always remember that you must exchange payment through Fiverr and you’ll be fine.
Again, Fiverr takes a percentage and you’re responsible for your own taxes but that’s the norm with these sites.
Freelancer: Freelancer is pretty much just a site where registered users can find job opportunities based on their skills as well as post jobs for other freelancers. Just like with Fiverr and Etsy, you have to use their payment system so that Freelancer can get its cut and you have to remember taxes, but it’s a simple enough system to use.
Warning: Beware of scammers! I cannot emphasize this enough. Specifically be wary if they send you an offer in your inbox when you didn’t bid on their job first. Repeated job posts, job posts with bad grammar, and anything asking you to contact them outside of Freelancer are all things you must take as red flags. Look them up and, most importantly, trust your instincts. If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.
Upwork: Upwork is essentially the same as Freelancer. However, there’s a reason why it’s at the bottom of my list. I had incredibly bad luck on Upwork in an incredibly short amount of time.
Within my first month I almost fell victim to a scam. (If you come across a posting from someone claiming to be from Natco Pharma, REPORT IT IMMEDIATELY. The company name is a real company but they just use the name to make you think it’s legitimate.) Then I had a very unprofessional potential client. We scheduled Skype interviews but both times I couldn’t get a hold of her via Skype. I checked and nothing was wrong on my end. The first time she just didn’t answer and the second time she kept pushing it off on me in the chat and wouldn’t answer any of the questions I had for her. I finally contacted the company she claimed to work for, giving them my email address to respond to, and she responded to me on Upwork thanking me for contacting their website and telling me that they had already given the job to someone else. Mind you, that was the SAME DAY as the second scheduled Skype interview.
The final issue was my fault. I had a lapse in judgment and I offered to take the first payment from a client without an Upwork contract because he was new to the system and didn’t know how to use it well. Otherwise I insisted on an Upwork contract and offered ways for him to get help with the system, but my account was deactivated just for the suggestion. No warning, no second chances, my account was just deactivated. Fortunately I was able to contact that client outside of Upwork and still got the job. Overall, with the problems I had, my boneheaded mistake may have been a blessing in disguise.
I don’t want to discourage everyone from Upwork. Others have had problems like I did but others have had success. All you can do is try. My advice is this: be vigilant and don’t forget their terms for even a second because, unlike the more user-friendly Fiverr, they aren’t big on second chances.
As with everything I say, take this list with a grain of salt. Some things may work for you and others may not. I still think that all struggling writers should give these side-jobs a look. You never know what doors these sorts of sites will open for you.
Shameless plugging: I offer freelance editing, proofreading, critique, and writing services on Freelancer and Fiverr. I also provide book reviews and personalized Disneyland tips on Fiverr. My username on both sites is dragonet07, so be sure to look me up.
Do you have any ideas for writers struggling to make ends meet? Help out a fellow writer by leaving your recommendations in the comments.
As you may have realized, I’m a liberal. It’s no offense to my conservative readers but I just have more liberal tendencies in my political and social views. All writers have very strong political stances, whether they’re liberal or conservative. More often than not, in one way or another, these views surface in their works. These works, in turn, offend people. Not everyone but people who don’t share the views the writer has expressed. It’s just how it is. You can’t please everyone. However, people usually take their displeasure out on the writer and their other works–even works that they (the readers) had enjoyed. Sometimes they even burn the books. With this alienation of readers, an important question rises for the writer: should writing and politics be separated?
The answer seems simple. If a writer doesn’t want to lose readers, he/she should stay out of politics, keep it out of their work. After all, the best solution is to make your writing accessible to everyone, right?
In reality it’s not that black-and-white.
A visual representation of the Gordian Knot, retrieved from ReaMedica
I liken this situation to the Gordian Knot. For those who aren’t familiar with the story, here’s a link to the Wikipedia entry. References to the Gordian Knot are used to indicate a simple solution to a complex problem, usually through a loophole or thinking out of the box.
What most people don’t think about is the effect that Alexander the Great’s “solution” had on the Gordian Knot. He destroyed it. A beautifully complex knot that had been there for ages, safeguarding the town’s prized possession, was utterly destroyed in a matter of seconds without any consideration to the work put into tying it. Alexander got what he wanted but sacrificed the town’s defining feature, a mark of their heritage.
I see a similar problem with the supposedly “simple” solution to writing and politics.
Writing and politics have a rich, elaborately intertwined history. Plato, Aristotle, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Mark Twain, Sui Sin Far, George Orwell, Margaret Atwood, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, J.K. Rowling, the list of “political” writers is endless. Even Dr. Seuss’s books have strong political influence. (Don’t believe me? Re-read The Lorax.) The written word has always been and will always be the strongest tool for swaying political beliefs, which is why so many people attempt to censor it.
Essays, nonfiction, fiction, and poetry have all been used to express someone’s political views. Even playwrights and screenwriters channel their inner politicians when writing. Why? Because politics are universal, something that we can’t escape even if we try.
No matter your gender or gender identity, sexuality, religion, nationality, ethnicity, race, age, income level, what have you, politics affect everyone’s life. Every part of human life, both public and private, is politicized: our jobs, our stations in life, our social lives, how we treat others, how others treat us, our religions, our cultures, whom we love and marry, the color of our skin, our bodies, our identities. Politics bombard us in print, on the radio, on TV, and in our everyday conversations. They make our lives better, they make our lives worse, they make our lives complicated. It’s no wonder politics worm their way into our writing, even subconsciously.
More importantly, politics are tangled with human morality. We claim that our political affiliations come from our stances on economics, labor, foreign policy, separation of church and state, or something similar, but the reasons all boil down to our morals. Our morals determine how we approach social and economic problems. Our individual senses of right and wrong tell us what we think the perfect society would be, a vision which tries to be realized in our politics.
Morality is an intricate part of writing and themes in writing, and so it’s only logical that politics play into them as well.
Our political beliefs influence every part of our stories. They change how we portray characters, which events we highlight, our endings, etc. As part of human relations, they serve as the perfect source of tension, even in fantasy and science fiction. They make the written word interesting. In turn, the written word spreads political beliefs. Separating writing and politics would only detract from the work.
Thanks to the current political environment in the U.S., Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale has become even more popular. People from all walks of life watch the TV show based on it. Rather than rejecting politics due to backlash, writers must embrace and nurture their messages.
If we can’t take politics out of writing, what should we do about the would-be book burners? The best thing is to remain calm. Don’t fan the flame. Instead, offer to explain your point of view to them. Open a friendly dialogue free of name-calling and hatred. The only way we can turn this world into a world for all people is to understand each other’s perspective. If things get too heated, walk away. Don’t let them drag you down to their level. Most importantly, take the time and read works created by people with views opposing yours. You will probably find yourself hating what they say, but at least you tried to understand their views. An informed argument is better than ignorant, hateful silence.
Don’t stop writing or remove political influence from your works because people criticize your views. If every writer were to remove politics from their work, we wouldn’t have any stories, poems, essays, plays, etc. At the very least we wouldn’t have anything worth reading.
One of my favorite things to do as a writer is to create new stories from old tales. I particularly love to retell fairy tales. My submission for the Writer’s Digest’s Annual Writing Competition is based on the German fairy tale “The Frog King, or Iron Heinrich”. The poem I posted on this blog earlier this week draws inspiration from Peter Pan. I have many more that have not been completed/have yet to see the light of day, and I will be discussing the relationship between old tales (especially fairy tales) and writing a lot on this blog. Needless to say, I have a passion for retelling fairy tales.
Today’s writing prompt is based on this concept, is rather simple, and is very fun. Choose your favorite fairy tale, old or modern, and write a scene, short story, or poem based on it. You can tell it from an unexplored perspective, update it for today’s world, use it as a metaphor or to explore a particular theme, whatever you want. You’d be surprised just how inspired you’ll be by retelling fairy tales and how much the stories can change in your hands.
If you need some inspiration, I highly recommend Gail Carson Levine’s Writing Magic: Creating Stories that Fly. That book on writing turned me onto rewriting fairy tales in the first place. Also, in case you don’t know who she is, Gail Carson Levine is the author of Ella Enchanted and, my personal favorite, The Two Princesses of Bamarre. You can learn a lot about writing and world building from her, so anyone who’s interested in writing fantasy should check her out.
Have a fun and productive writing weekend, everyone. I’ll try to post more next week but with my portfolio and essay looming, feeling sick, and other life commitments, that may be easier said than done.
Happy Friday, everyone! I’m starting this weekend with a slightly different kind of announcement. I try and provide you with new publishing opportunities each week but this one is through me directly. Additionally, this opportunity is strictly for American minorities.
Here’s a basic description of the project:
I want to compile and edit a collection of short stories, personal essays, and poetry by American minorities (LGBTQIA, non-white Americans, non-Christians, immigrants, women, etc.) about their experiences with discrimination in America. After compiling and editing it, I will self-publish it through such outlets as Amazon and donate the proceeds to charities which support these minorities, including the ACLU.
I need people who have material that they wish to contribute, and it would be helpful if one of the writers volunteered to compose the second half of a two-part introduction (the first being written by me as the editor, but the second written by someone who has experienced more discrimination). If artists could also provide illustrations or photographs, they would enhance the quality of this publication greatly.
Submissions can be anonymous, under a pen name, or under your real name. My top priority is ensuring the comfort and safety of this publication’s contributors while still allowing their stories to be told, so anonymous pieces and pen names are no problem at all.
Unfortunately, due to the nature of this project, I cannot pay the contributors. However, I am willing to provide any support they need in return, including vouching for their writing talent. You should also keep in mind that you could point to this collection for your writing experience in queries, résumés, etc., if you choose to submit a piece.
If you wish to contribute, would like to be involved in another way, or just want more information on this project, feel free to contact me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com or through the project’s email, dontwebleed@gmail.com.
Thank you in advance for all those who contribute and/or support this publication!
Do you know of any charitable publications looking for submissions? Send me information on them at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com and I may dedicate a post to them.
I’ve been spending a lot of time with Sandra Cisneros’s work lately. Last week my Master’s program discussed her short story collection, Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories. Overall the stories are captivating, unique, and spiced with Latinx–particularly Chicana–charm and passion. “Woman Hollering Creek” and “Never Marry a Mexican” depict striking moments of female empowerment, but “Remember the Alamo” has stuck in my mind. Given the timing, I think it’s fitting that I write about Cisneros for this “Writers on Writing”.
I’ve chosen a quote by Cisneros which hearkens back to Virginia Woolf:
For a writer, for the solitude to write, you don’t need a room of your own, you need a house.
Sandra Cisneros
She has many quotes on writing, her early life, culture, etc., that are worth reading. You can find several on BrainyQuote. I picked this quote because I find her expansion on Woolf’s original comment to be thought-provoking.
As I discussed in a previous “Writers on Writing”, Woolf’s comment originally applied to effects that women’s duties and financial/legal dependence on their husbands have on their writing. Cisneros may also be referring to female writers, particularly those from cultures similar to hers, given the subjects of several of her stories.
Honestly, I don’t think there’s much “may” about it. Many of her works highlight the oppression and discouragement of speech towards women in Mexican cultures. It’s been the subject of several academic essays, including Jacqueline Doyle’s “Haunting the Borderlands: La Llorana in Sandra Cisneros’s ‘Woman Hollering Creek'” (which is available to read on JSTOR).
Cisneros’s suggestion about needing a house of one’s own to right is not too different from Woolf’s original comment. Rather, it’s an extension. Cisneros is implying that it’s not enough for female writers to just have a room of their own. Instead, they must have their own entire house, they must be in charge of their entire households.
I can’t disagree with this extension, especially after reading Cisneros’s stories. A woman can have a room that appears to be her own in the house but, in reality, it’s a ruse. If she does not have a house of her own, one which she can at least claim as much rule over as her partner (particularly a husband), even “her” room is not truly her own. Therefore, to have only a room of her own is not enough freedom and independence–spatially, financially, emotionally–for a female writer to reach her potential.
I also explained that while Woolf’s initial intent still rings true today, the sentiment can be expanded to include all writers. With this interpretation in mind, Cisneros’s words suggest that all writers need an incredible amount of space, seclusion, and independence.
This idea is one with which writers have wrestled for a long time. How much space is enough space? How much independence do we need to write?
All writers need a space where they can retreat and write without interruption. It can be a room, an office, a rented house. We’re all different and so we all need different zones of personal space to get work done. In regards to space, then, Cisneros’s words could be true or false depending on the individual writer.
The financial aspect, however, is not such an easy or pleasant answer.
Unfortunately, society’s views on writers and their financial independence can vary based on many things, including age, race, and, yes, gender. My post on #ThingsWomenWritersHear revealed that female writers still hear such comments as “oh, aren’t you lucky that your husband supports you so you can write” (even if they don’t have husbands). It’s assumed that female writers have to–or just do–rely on their husbands for money while they write. However, they need financial independence so that they avoid being scrutiny for being a “bad” wife and/or mother for focusing on their writing. That’s without mentioning that many, many female writers just don’t have husbands and support themselves anyway. A dependence on a husband, partner, parents, or even a day job financially can detract from writing time, and so tremendous financial independence is necessary for a female writer to succeed in actuality and under societal criticism.
There’s another side to this coin for male writers. Men are still seen as the breadwinners, no matter what their situation actually is. If anyone finds out that they don’t make much money or contribute the most financially to their families, the men are ridiculed. Writing, quite truthfully, is not seen as a high-earning job. The resulting income is unreliable at best. If a male writer with a family focuses on his writing, he will be considered selfish for not bringing home more for his family or weak because his wife or partner provides the primary income. They’re considered failures. Financial independence–i.e. a bachelor life in which no one depends on them and they don’t depend on anyone–appears to be the only solution.
Image retrieved from Pinterest
I realize that this post has presented society as horrible and writing as a lonely career path. The sad thing is that such scenarios cannot only happen but are common. Complete financial independence seems to be the only way for anyone to write without distraction, judgment, or societal restraints. (That last way probably still isn’t true as negative stereotypes and expectations follow us so long as we are who we are and society remains the way that it is.) However, I don’t think that you should walk away from this post in total despair.
A “house of one’s own” is not necessarily a physical house that you control, alone space, or even complete financial independence. Instead, it is a state of life in which you feel free, confident, independent, and supported. It can be a house out in the suburbs with a white fence and a nuclear family, only the husband and wife run the household and their lives together and support each other’s ventures. It can be an apartment in the middle of an overpopulated city where a single woman writers with student loans still looming over her but a secure job with flexible hours and parents who live nearby and will always support her and help her no matter what. It can even be a mobile tiny house parked in a field, the owner a writer who writes all day, is debt-free, and whose only family are pets and friends. A “house of one’s own” is the perfect set of circumstances, whatever those may be for you. It is wherever and whenever you can write without life, burdens, and societal expectations weighing you down.
I doubt that Cisneros and Woolf intended anyone to have this interpretation. But hey, so long as it gets us writing, does it really matter?
Did you like this post? Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments and sign up for email alerts. Also be on the look-out for my post on the tangled web that is writing and politics.
Happy Monday, everyone. I hope you’ve survived the first day of the week. I’m sorry about the sparsity of my posts. With the upcoming Writer’s Digest contest, my end-of-year essay, and my portfolio, I’ve been having to take time out to focus on my work. I wanted to provide a more lighthearted (and hopefully encouraging) post today, so I decided to post some of my old work here.
This poem is from about four years ago and was a part of my portfolio for an undergrad poetry class. It’s crude, unedited, and unrefined, so don’t expect it to be any good. Also, keep in mind that I’m a fiction writer, not a poet, so…well, there’s a reason I don’t delve into poetry much anymore. I just found it while looking through some old documents and thought that people would get a chuckle out of it.
Warning: This poem, I would argue, is about PG-13, PG at best. So proceed with caution.
Without further delay, I present “Wendy Darling’s Grown Up”:
I apologize for attaching it as a word document. I’m relatively new to WordPress and trying to paste the poem directly into the post messed up the format. We all know how important formatting is to poetry.
So, if you’re ever looking through your old work and become embarrassed by it, just remember that we all feel that way. The best thing to do is realize that you’ve grown as a writer and that even though you don’t write that way anymore, it’s still worth while to keep all your work. It may never see the light of day but at least you can get a chuckle or, perhaps, inspiration for new work.
Do you have any old work that others might get joy out of reading? Feel free to post them in the comments! Also, keep an eye out for future posts on Sandra Cisneros, studying fairy tales, and rewriting fairy tales.
Better late than never! Here’s a Friday Fun-Day writing prompt to help get your weekend rolling. It’s a variation on an oldie but a good: taking a line from the nearest book.
Here’s how this version goes:
Grab the closest book you can find. Open to a random page in the middle of the book. Take the first line of the first full paragraph on that page and the first line of the last full paragraph. These will be your opening and closing lines, in that order. Now, write a story in 700 words or less using these lines to start and end your story.
The nearest book can be anything: an encyclopedia, a biography, 1984, whatever. There are no restrictions except that the page must be random, you must use those particular lines for your first and last lines, and it must be 700 words or less. Otherwise, have fun with it.
Feel free to share the lines you got, an excerpt from the story, etc. in the comments. And if you want to suggest a writing prompt, please mention it in the comments or email me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com.
Happy Friday, everyone! Pardon the infrequency of my posts lately. Between contests, financial pursuits, my portfolio, and my end-of-year essay, I’ve been rather busy and having a hard time focusing. However, that won’t stop me from providing you with some new contest information from The Writer for Fun-Day Friday.
If you don’t have a subscription to The Writer, I highly recommend it. I’ve learned a lot about writing, publishing, and the writing market since I started reading it. Today, though, I want to point out a free feature from The Writer‘s website: their summer guide to writing contests.
The guide is a PDF with an alphabetical list of writing contests with deadlines this summer. Listings include a brief description of the contest, the contest’s website, contact information, deadlines, etc. The contests come from around the world, albeit most–if not all–are from English-speaking countries.
The Writer will send you the PDF for free, just click on the link I provided above for more information. While you’re there, sign up for their newsletter and look at some of their articles and writing prompts. It never hurts for a writer to read more!
Have a happy and productive writing weekend.
Do you have any contests to recommend? Drop a line in the comments or email me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com.
