Welcome…

A single word that sends some writers scurrying for

THE WORLD OF WRITING

Timeless tales, submission, subversion, Russian rivals, literary locations and wonderful words…inspiration everywhere, spotted by Derek Hudson

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

We want to hear your news and views on the writing world, your advice for fellow writers – and don’t forget to tell us what you would like to see featured in a future issue…Write to: Letters to the editor, Writing Magazine, Warners Group Publications plc, 5th Floor, 31-32 Park Row, Leeds LS1 5JD; email: letters@writersnews.co.uk. (Include your name and address when emailing letters. Ensure all letters, a maximum of 250 words, are exclusive to Writing Magazine. Letters may be edited.) When referring to previous articles/letters, please state month of publication and page number.

BEHIND THE TAPE

Author and serving police officer Lisa Cutts answers your crime queries.

WRITERSʼ WEB WATCH

WM’s resident webcrawler helps you get clued in about new media writing

IMAGE CONSCIOUS

Do you really need Photoshop? Greta Powell helps you decide

Helpline

Your writing problems solved with advice from Diana Cambridge

Fair reward

Sometimes satisfaction needn’t have your name on it, says Patrick Forsyth

FIND YOUR SPACE

Top tips for researching locations from Tarja Moles

Editorial calendar

Strong forward planning will greatly improve your chances with freelance submissions. Here are some themes to consider for the coming months.

Libel? Don’t be liable!

All writers need to be careful what they say about others, urges Michael Allen

Away from your desk

Get out of your garret for some upcoming activities and places to visit

GO WRITE WITH THE SEVEN DWARFS

Get to know seven friendly souls who shine a light on the writer’s life, with Hazel Prior

MISERY AND ME

Superfans have pushed Lorraine Mace to to the brink

Competitions FTW!

Entering competitions is rewarding for writers of all levels, as Esther Newton discovers

WINNING W AYS

There are all kinds of benefits to entering writing competitions, but nothing beats

What do readers want?

Giving readers what they want can be tricky. Finding out what they want can be even trickier. Gary Dalkin guides you through identifying, and delivering, the material that will satisfy your readers and keep them wanting your work

What the librarian saw…

Novelist, producer and screenwriter…librarian. Few people understand readers’ and market demands as well as Chris Paling

Successful short stories

Following a formula shouldn’t mean stifling your creativity, just giving you parameters to work within, says John Paxton Sheriff

A WINNING RETREAT

Ben Porter won a stay at Arvon’s new retreat, The Clockhouse at The Hurst, Shropshire, in our competition for writing on the theme ‘retreat’. Read Ben’s striking winning entry here, and his account of a glorious retreat at The Clockhouse, opposite.

NEW ROMANTIC

Jojo Moyes’ career as a novelist was on the wane, until she pioneered a new approach to romance with the novel she really wanted to write, as Tina Jacksondiscovers

On writing

Tony Rossiter explores great words from great writers

From the OTHE SIDE R OF THE DESK

Piers Blofeld demystifies the agent one-to-one

How I got published

Aga Lesiewicz’s debut novel Reboundis out now, published by Pan Macmillan.

THE STYLE & TECHNIQUE OF michael morpurgo

Tony Rossiter looks at ‘a national treasure of a children’s author’

CLOVER STROUD

Journalist turned author Clover Stroud shares her five favourite reads with Judith Spelman

GO WITH THE CROWD

Could readers help fund your next book? Simon Whaley explores the pros and cons of crowdfunding

SUBSCRIBER SPOTLIGHT

Share your writing success stories. If you subscribe to Writing Magazine and would like to feature here, email Tina Jackson, tjackson@warnersgroup.co.uk

CIRCLES’ ROUNDUP

If your writing group would like to feature here, whether you need new members, have an event to publicise or to suggest tips for other groups, email Tina Jackson, tjackson@warnersgroup.co.uk

CRIME FILE

Romanian novelist EO Chirovici tells Chris High about the challenges of writing in a second language for his first novel in English

JOSEPH KNOX

Getting a publishing deal is just a matter of knowing the right people, so the story goes, but that wasn’t the case for former Waterstones’ buyer Joseph Knox, as he tells Adrian Magson

Ask a Literary Consultant

Literary consultant Helen Corner-Bryant looks at the most productive way to use the time between submitting a novel and hearing back from agents and publishers

The End

You’ve pulled it off and finally finished the manuscript. What next? Your work isn’t over yet, says James McCreet, with another bulletin on his novel in progress

How long is short?

Pad, cut or write to order? A former journalist wonders how long his

Celebrity UNDER THE microscope

A classic novel opening, highlighted by James McCreet

AVOID THE INFODUMP

Back story is essential to flesh out your story, but how do you convey it without slowing down your opening pages’ pace? Margaret James has some answers

The voice of innocents

Explore the challenges and rewards of using child narrators, with an outstanding example selected by Helen M Walters

Series of interesting events

Readers love to keep visiting the same worlds and characters, so publishers love them too, says Amy Sparkes

THE END Of THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT

Are we too familiar with dystopian settings for them to have their full impact, wonders Alex Davis

CHOOSE YOUR BATTLES

Don’t shoot off in every direction at once. Focus your energy on one thing at a time, says Adrian Magson

Red Editing Pen

Each month, we give you a few sentences which would all benefit from some careful use of your red editing pen. As writers, and regular readers of Writing Magazine, you should not find any of these too difficult. But if you would welcome a little help, you can always check out Richard Bell’s suggested solutions below.

Kintsugi

500-word short story Competition

The Beginning

I wouldn’t have noticed so soon if it hadn’t been for

NIGHT & DAY

Celebrate your members’ diversity and their different approaches to writing with an exercise from Julie Phillips

SUBSCRIBER-ONLY SHORT STORY COMPETITIONS

IN CASH PRIZES & PUBLICATION

The Man She’d Met

Joan El Faghloumi lives in a small seaside town in

Novel Ideas

Everything except poetry and pornography

Weighty matters

Adjudicator Meg Marsden highlights the poems which

Blackbird bountiful

Two blackbird poems delight Alison Chisholm with their blend of simple delivery and profound meaning

Poetry in practice

Think about where your poem will end up, and whether feedback will be available, suggests Doris Corti

Poetry from

Guiding you through the argot of poetry, Alison Chisholm pauses to focus on near rhyme

Rhyme & reason

Poetry is an inexact science but you’ll need clarity and precision to impress in this month’s open competition, says judge Alison Chisholm

WRITERS’ NEWS

Your essential monthly round-up of competitions, paying markets, opportunities to get into print and publishing industry news.

UK MAGAZINE MARKET

A real place in the country

GLOBAL LITERARY MARKET

Warm to this magazine

UK LITERARY MARKET

Spreading its branches all over the world

It’s a Funny Old World

Jeremy Kinser, writing on the Facebook group TCM Fanatics!

GLOBAL GENRE FICTION MARKETS

Big names welcome new talent

UK CHILDREN’S MARKET

A personal touch

UK FICTION MARKET

A new flame

UK YA MARKET

Start your journey

GLOBAL FICTION AND POETRY MARKET

Across boundaries

GLOBAL LITERARY MARKET

Clear guidelines

UK FICTION MARKET

Break the 18thWall

UK SPIRITUAL MARKET

An inspiring process

GLOBAL WOMEN’S MARKET

Romance without boundaries

INTERNATIONAL

ZINE SCENE

GLOBAL MAGAZINE MARKET

Garden of delights

GLOBAL CHILDREN’S MARKET

Future kids’ classics

Book Talk

It looks a bit like a bird house, but it’s really for

UK MAGAZINE MARKET

Times is changing

My Writing day

A young family and demanding role as vicar of a bustling urban church make for a hectic writing life for Rev Matt Woodcock, as he tells Lynne Hackles

DON’T MISS THE MAY ISSUE OF Writing MAGAZINE

Lisa McInerney, winner of the 2016 Bailey’s Prize for

GLOBAL SPECFIC MARKET

Bright opportunity

I digress

Patrick Forsyth zooms in on an aspect of observing the world that can make digression a strength

Competition Special 2017

Yet again, we’re bursting out of our allotted pages

Short story competitions 2017

All the competitions previewed on this page are open to any writer. Enter online at www.writers-online.co.uk or see the relevant issue of Writing Magazine for more details. Prizes are £200 and £50 each month, with publication in WM for the winner.

Short story competitions 2017

The competitions previewed on this page are open only to subscribers of Writing Magazine. Enter online at writers-online.co.uk or see the relevant issue of WM for more details. Prizes are £100 and £25 each month, with publication in WM for the winner.

Poetry competitions 2017

These poetry competitions are open to all writers, and will be officially launched, with advice from adjudicator Alison Chisholm, in the relevant issue of Writing Magazine

Poetry competitions 2017

The poetry competitions below are open only to subscribers of Writing Magazine, and will be officially launched in the relevant issue of the magazine.

2017 WOMEN’S WRITING competitions

‘Mslexia’s competitions are incredible for finding

COMPETITION GUIDE 2017

Aim high and win big! Start planning your competition year with details of over 250 competitions closing during 2017

Mirror Mirroi

Charise de Becker is a fledgling author from Colchester

The last goodbye

Adjudicator Doris Corti highlights the winning entry from our New Subscribers’ Poetry Competition 2016

Last Summer…

Alyson Hilbourne, Penrith, Cumbria, will be attending Iceland Writers’ Retreat this April after winning our competition, on the theme this year of ‘elements’.