Dear Reader
I hope you’ve already spotted the jam-packed Competition Special that comes with this issue, overflowing with opportunities for you to venture into new literary territory, so I won’t go on about that here. In WM itself this month, we’re overhauling the kitbox, to make sure your writer’s tools are in good shape, and you know how to use them. We’ve got practical advice on story structure and how to use subplots to give your novel narrative depth; creating suspense and chills in scary stories; generating drama in your fiction; enhancing your descriptions by using all the senses, with food as the mouthwatering recipe, and how to hook agents, editors and readers with your children’s books. And beyond the text, we’re keeping your writing life in order, with challenging thoughts about how deeply you need to care about your topic to write well, encouragement to widen your professional circle and fight the urge to fly solo, advice on broadening your work possibilities as a literary freelance, and what you need to know to keep the taxman at bay. In short, everything you need to be inspired, fired up and ready to write. Now, how will you expend all that creative energy?