Writers' Bloc

We have moved

2007-07-21T13:15:00.000-07:00

to a new address.

Please update your links!

There is a thing such as Too Many Assignments

2007-07-18T01:09:00.000-07:00

Ebooks and Ecourses

2007-07-13T01:34:00.000-07:00

Talking about helping yourself to write, I've purchased Mike Gerrard's ebook called 'So you want to be a travel writer?' The book was written in 2005, but it could do with updating as things have changed a lot, especially with reference to technology. Otherwise, it is a wonderful 62 page guide on how to get started in the business. The ideas and tips can work for any aspect of writing, not just travel. The book contains interviews with travel editors and tips on what they want - a handy insight!

I've also signed up for an e-course through Writers Weekly called 'Local magazines and newspaper markets : Tap into yours'. With my third feature coming out this week in my local paper, this is a niche market that I'd like to explore further. Let's see if the course makes a difference.

And before you think I've got a lot of spare cash to be spending online, let me tell you that both these purchases were cheap ones. With the pound stronger than before, it barely makes a dent in the credit card. The e-book cost me a little over £2 and the course £12 . I've more than recovered the cost of the e-book with the advice in it. The course begins next week - will let you know how it goes.

Keeping track

2007-07-13T01:19:00.000-07:00

It's the middle of the year already. My tall New Year resolution to send 3 queries a week have, obviously, fallen by the wayside.

Here's the real story for submissions in 2007 (as of July 13)

16 queries submitted, 8 successful
15 submissions sent, out of which 2 published, 2 accepted & awaiting publication
11/15 submissions - declined / no response.

Sending queries is not easy. While the mind brims over with ideas, finding a suitable market makes for the delay. Of course, ensuring that you have enough to write about is another thing to worry about. I used to worry endlessly that a query would be accepted and I would not have enough material to complete the article. With experience however, this is no longer the case - writing an outline is the best thing you can do.

Want to be a travel writer?

2007-07-11T14:58:00.000-07:00

If you're looking to break into travel writing, take a look at this blog. Full of great links to travel related blogs and websites, http://writetotravel.blogspot.com/is the story of one writers journey on the road to publication.

I've spent the better half of a precious writing day browsing, umm, reading / going from link to link. It's been worth it.

Go ahead, take a look.

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Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

Published? Or Not?

2007-06-30T10:53:00.000-07:00

Poem/article on a blog, website or online journal? What about church bulletins, little-circulation newsletters or your own website?

Consider it published.

Read a good post here on this familiar quandary.

5 good places to find new work

2007-06-25T10:00:00.001-07:00

1. Write this moment.com job board
2. Funds for writers newsletters
3. Worldwide freelance newsletter
4. Other freelance writers blogs :)
5. Writer Gazette newsletter

Looking for Volunteers

2007-06-22T09:26:00.001-07:00

I'm writing an article on volunteering and would love to hear from anybody who has registered on an online volunteering site or has volunteered for an NGO in India.

Email me if you can help. Many thanks.

Examples of online volunteering sites would be this and this.

All talk, no write

2007-06-18T12:43:00.000-07:00

While family pays me a visit this week, I've put aside my notebook, shifted the laptop elsewhere and turned the study into a bedroom. Ideas for articles and poems are hastily scribbled onto scraps of envelopes (can't find the notebook!) or relegated to 'I'll surely remember this later'.

The words still tumble out. With every postponement of a scribble, the withdrawal symptoms grow.

I read. I check the NW forum religiously. A stolen moment for an occasional post makes me feel I'm still writing.

I feel a little better.

And then I end up with a really bad cold - the worst I've had in three years. Giving up writing is apparently bad for my health.

A thought for today

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"I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book." — Groucho Marx

5 unusual places for article ideas

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A new article is out in the Writing-World newsletter of June 2007.

Freebies for writers

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E-books

Newbie Writers Resource book (free e-book when you subscribe to the Newbie Writers newsletter)
Take the bull by the horns and confront the dreaded cliches - Andrea Rains Waggener
83 Ways to Make Money Writing by Beth Fowler (available as a free download when you subscribe to the Writing for Dollars.com newsletter)
Power Queries by Beth Erickson (when you subscribe to the Writing, Etc newsletter)
Eponymous Contests (when you subscribe to the Practicing Writers newsletter)
Become a Freelance Writing Success (when you subscribe to the Writeaholic News newsletter)
Becoming a Professional Writer (free gift for subscribers of the 'Easy Way to Write' newsletter)
The Lousy Writer's Guide to writing persuasively by Janice Jacobs
The Active Author's Copyright Compendium by Richard Cunningham
The Active Author's Guide to Copyright basics by Richard Cunningham
The Copyright Chronicles by Richard Cunningham (audio)
The Active Author's Guide to Copyright Research by Richard Cunningham
The Inspired Query - How to grab an editors wandering attention by Valentina Rae
A career in fashion journalism by Alicia Anselme
Creating your book cover by Ron Miller
3 keys to making your writing pay by Anne Wayman
How to be a freelance writer by Angela Hoy (free when you subscribe to Writersweekly.com)

Planners and Calendars

Writers Calendar - Organised writer.com

(If you have any more to add to the list, please let me know.)

Free E-books - for June 2007 only

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Erika Dreifus (of Practicing Writer fame) is retiring four of her ebooks at the end of June 2007. The books, in the meantime, are available to download, free of charge from Lulu.com.

Take advantage of this offer and save a copy of those books today. Having ready-made listings makes your life much simpler. All you have to do is verify them when you have a chance :)

You'll find all four e-books here.

1) WRITERS' MARKETS: Where To Sell What You Write When You Write About Writing
2) The Practicing Writer's Literary Contest Directory for Writers of Book-Length Fiction
3) The Practicing Writer's Directory of Paying Poetry Markets
4) The Practicing Writer's Directory of Paying Short Story Markets

Passion Pays

2007-05-31T15:11:00.000-07:00

"Write what you know" may be good advice for newbie writers. "Write what you love" may be even better.

If you feel passionate about something, make that a speciality. It may be a cause dear to your heart or an area that you are an expert on. Think about your passion - you'll find a hundred different angles (and markets!) to make it work for you.

I've been racking my brains about an area to 'specialise' in. And then I realised that for the last 12 years or so, I keep coming back to issues of Change, of the making-a-difference variety. These are the articles that make my fingers dance over the keyboard and (therefore?) sell easier.

Does the passion come through on the page? Apparently so.

I'm not sure if I've found my niche yet, but writing about things that matter ensures that I never have a dearth of ideas for future articles.

What are you passionate about?

30,000 words in 30 days

2007-05-31T05:42:00.001-07:00

Newbie Writers "Write your Novel for 30 hours this month" (also known as "Write 30,000 words of your novel month") starts tomorrow (June 1).

If you want to join in, send a blank email to: newbienovels@aweber.com

See www.newbie-writers.com or visit the forum.

Be careful what you wish for...

2007-05-30T15:02:00.000-07:00

Coming to England taught me the 'serious' side of writing. In the last two years, I've learnt all about 'markets', 'queries' and the art of pitching to editors. FBSR and similar abbreviations make sense now. I even own a copy of the Writers and Artist's Yearbook.

Two years ago, I was oblivious to the existence of any of the above.

In India, wannabe writers write first and then send off their writing in the hope of publication. That's the wrong way of going about it, but I know that now. Thanks to the Internet, I've broken into this dream world of publication. In the last year alone, I've had more commissioned features than in all the 15 years or so that I've been writing.

In the last week, I've had two editors write to me asking me to send more ideas and queries for future articles. For me, that's an amazing achievement.

It's still bloody hard work though! It still means conjuring ideas out of thin air and making sure that they are suitable for each individual market. It means staying on top of recent developments and paying attention to what your editor is saying. It means sticking to deadlines and standing by promises you've made. It means hours of research, note taking and editing.

The byline makes it all worth it.

Be careful what you wish for, they say. I agree. Wishes do come true.

Writing Newsletters

2007-04-20T07:47:00.000-07:00

For market news, updates, tips and writing tidbits, I subscribe to newsletters from (in no particular order):

Newbie-writers.com (Dawn Copeman)
Absolute Write.com
World Wide Freelancer.com
Writer Gazette (Krista Barrett)
Writer's market.com
The Easy Way to Write
Poynter Institute's newsletters
Ideas4writers.com
Fab Freelance Writing (Angela Booth)
Anne Wayman
Writeaholic (Ruth Barringham)
Writer-Editor's Ezine (Dana Cassell)
Fundsforwriters (C Hope Clark)
About.com (Loolwa Khazzoom)
Writing-world.com (Moira Allen)
Right Writing news (W.Terry Whalin)
Writing for Dollars (Dan Case)
Wooden Horse (Meg Weaver)
Notes in the margin (Kristen King)
Coffee breaks for writers (Misti Sandefur)
Writer's Relief (Ronnie)
Anthologies online
Write Sparks Lite (Shery Ma Belle Arrieta-Russ)
Nick Daws (Nick's Writing Blog)
Smart Writers (Trent Steele)
Writelink (Sue)
Writer to Writer (Cheryl Wright)
Writer's Digest
Write this moment job board
The Writer's Ezine

Gosh! That's a lot (30!). Is there any newsletter that I'm not on?!

In addition, I get posts from:

Newbie-writers Forum
Writefromhome yahoo group
Mediawomenuk yahoo group
Freelancing4newspapers yahoo group
Practicing Writer yahoo group
Writing India yahoo group

Newbie Writers Email Short Story Contest

2007-03-02T09:49:00.000-08:00

Newbie-Writers.com is running an email contest to win a copy of "Write Your Own Novel" a PC CD-ROM which will help you to structure your work in progress. It also contains a submissions tracker.

To enter all you need to do is write a short story, (max 1500 words which begins with the words: "As soon as he walked in the door, he knew something was wrong."

Email your entries to : DawnCopeman@Write-Away.biz with the subject line March contest.

Websites for Writers

2007-03-02T00:52:00.000-08:00

The 2006 Writers Digest 101 best sites for writers is online at http://www.writersdigest.com/101sites/2006_index.asp?goto=closead

It's March-ing time

2007-03-01T09:52:00.000-08:00

The first two months of the year are over and I've got two really good publications in my Clips Bag : Christian Science Monitor and Writing-world.com (okay, article yet to be published, but I've been paid already).

It's a wonderfully vicious circle - this writing and publishing. Getting published (and paid) is a huge motivator and keeps the ideas flowing. I'm so glad I signed up for KK's Query Challenge. Six is not a bad number here; frankly, its a lot more than I would have done otherwise!

The March issue of Newbie writers newsletter has FOUR mentions of yours truly. No, I didn't bribe Dawn, the editor. I just happen to love that forum and am a very (over)active member. Because I come across a lot of job listings and calls, not all of which I can use, I post them to the NW forum. I hope that some of the other writers there may be able to use them someday.

If you're looking for systematic, easy to read, free calls for submissions, hop over to www.newbie-writers.com/forum. If there's a kind of market that you're looking for and not having much luck finding, let me know. I'll keep an eye out for you.

Work wise, I've just compiled and edited a 15 page newsletter that went out last week to over 600 people. I'm hoping to work with any other charity helping them with their newsletter/magazine. If you know of any charity who could use such a service, tell them about me!

The 2007 Inkthinker Query Challenge

2007-02-05T11:17:00.000-08:00

I've signed up to Kristen King's 2007 Query Challenge. Submitting 120 queries this year shouldn't be too hard (@2-3 a week , provided I get cracking!).

Watch this space for updates!

--------------------------------
Jan 2007 : Zero queries, two submissions
Feb 2007: 2 queries, 2 submissions
Mar 2007: (Target : 15 queries, 10 submissions)

For New Writers

2007-01-31T10:37:00.000-08:00

www.newbie-writers.com is a great site for all writers, both new and experienced. There's lots of stuff that you can learn or share your wisdom & ideas with other writers.

I highly recommend the forum. It is a very friendly and warm place to submit your work or to learn the craft. I have posted many Calls for Submissions over the past few months and I hope some of you may find this useful in your search for new markets.

2006 : Looking back

2007-01-30T10:33:00.000-08:00

2006 was a fulfilling year for me as a writer. Although I had far fewer published credits than I would have liked, the ones that did come through were good ones.

Essays were published in Woman's Era, Christian Science Monitor and in Releasing Times (January).

Funnily enough, a query letter to Dignity Dialogue was published as 'Letter to the Editor'!! This is inspite of the editor replying back to my query for an article! How much more specific does one need to get?!

--------------------------
My goals for 2007 are simple : Get a minimum of 50 published clips. Sounds like a lot? Watch this space!

Top 10 blogs for Writers

2006-12-06T00:21:00.000-08:00

The top 10 blogs for Writers in 2006 are listed here : http://www.writingwhitepapers.com/blog/2006/12/05/top-10-blogs-for-writers/

There's a lot of interesting reading there, loads of tips and tricks to get a freelance career going.

Writing Markets : Magazines in India

2006-10-14T03:10:00.000-07:00

In India, the periodicals to write for are the newspapers and national magazines. There is no concrete data on guidelines and what they pay, as yet. Some efforts have been made in the past, though and at WB, we'll try and collect this information in one place.

To start with, here are links to some magazines in India. Guidelines will be added/edited as and when available. Comments, suggestions and information welcome.

Femina
Woman's Era
Savvy
New Woman
Good Housekeeping
Cosmo India
Health and Nutrition
Society Interiors
India Today
Business Today
Design Today
India Today Travel Plus
Golf Digest India

For more periodicals, visit this site : http://www.allindianewspapers.com/magazines.html

WB Newsletter October 2006

2006-10-14T03:09:00.001-07:00

Update: The October newsletter has been posted to the e-group today.

Another Writer's group in Mumbai

2006-10-12T08:27:00.000-07:00

There's a new group for writers in Mumbai (Bombay). Anybody interested may take a look at their website : http://writersclubbombay.googlepages.com/home

While you're at it, take a look at ours too :)

http://writersbloc1.tripod.com

Calling all Undiscovered Authors in the UK

2005-11-11T08:48:00.000-08:00

UNDISCOVERED AUTHORS - UK
http://www.undiscoveredauthors.co.uk/---NO ENTRY FEES

Undiscovered Authors, the UK’s first national competition is aimed at seeking out new literary talent on any subject.The top national prize is £10,000 and there are regional prizes of £1,000 per category. The competition is divided into 16 regions in the UK and Ireland. A winner from each region will be entered into the national final to be announced in April 2006.

Registration is simple, register online for your entry code, and when you have completed your synopsis and sample chapter (please see entry requirements), simply email it to them before the deadline of December 31, 2005.

It's NaNoWriMo time again

2005-10-23T11:42:00.000-07:00

November is Nanowrimo month.

Nanowrimo is the National Novel Writing Month held each year in well, November. If you want to push yourself a bit further than usual or just take a leap into writing a BIG project, register and start thinking of your plot. You can start writing on November 1 and finish 50,000 words by the 30th. Let us know if you are taking part and how it goes.

PS: If you have 'extra' great ideas for characters, plots etc, do let us know! Some of us have a severe case of Writers Block that we need help with!

A life without

2005-06-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

I can't imagine a life
without words.

No books, no newspaper,
no email
Can you imagine how dreary that
would be?!
What would we do with our
time?!

You say we could go watch
a movie
or look at the swans on the lake
but to do that everyday?!

I would die
if the words were taken
away from me.
I need my books to read
and my paper to write on
I need my words like a fix
without which
the day has been wasted.

Life with words.
It's what God intended it to be.

I'm sure books are His favorite
hobby too :)