March 13, 2012

Hi friends & writers,

Something heartening to consider when writing: nobody else can write your stories. These details are your details. In this way it is just like being a person – nobody else can be the person for your people that you are. Know what I mean?

PROCESS: ICEBERG THEORY

Hemingway said that writers should know more about their story than they let the reader see. In other words, the full story is an iceberg, and the part we actually get to read is just the very top that pokes out of the water. Whether we include lots of information or very little, it is a good idea to know too much about your characters and your world, so you can choose which details to disclose.

Try this: Brainstorm background information for a given project. What is the political climate? What are these characters’ jobs? How do their jobs affect their world view? What did their parents raise them to believe? Any food allergies? Knowing this sort of “extra” information adds great richness to any piece of writing.

FEATURED VENUE: BOSQUE FICTION PRIZE

bosque, the literary magazine of the ABQ Writers Coop, is offering a prize of $1000 plus publication for a winning short story by a writer of age 45 and over. Entry fee is $20, and all entries are considered for publication. Contest runs Mar 1^st-31^st.

Submission Guidelines here: http://www.abqwriterscoop.com/writingcontest.html

PROMPT

“Pillow Talk” – write a dialogue. (8min)