CHRISTINA COURTENAY

Welcome…

I always write this letter as the last thing in each

THE WORLD OF WRITING

Gigantic tomes, library theft, fraudulent felons and a real-life Targaryen dragon are all par for the course in this month’s wide world of writing

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…

Editorial calendar

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

Look around

Patrick Forsyth explores the surprising wealth of conventional publishing options

INTRODUCTIONS

Writing Magazine presents a selection of fashion publications currently accepting contributions. We strongly recommend that you read back issues, familiarise yourself with their guidelines before submitting and check websites for submission details.

Novel Ideas Be brave. Be bold. Be frivolous.

Take your courage in your hands and see where it gets you, urges Lynne Hackles

Unforeseen circumstances

In writing about travel we should perhaps recognise

LUCIE WHITEHOUSE

The crime and thriller author tells Lynne Hackles how she writes about Birmingham from a library in Brooklyn

Writing MAZINE

Meet debut literary scifi author Andrew Hunter Murray

Choose your poison

Authors dread bad reviews but they led to an unexpected success for Lorraine Mace

Cosy Crime Pays For Indy Author

Lynn Florkiewicz’s dream of being a writer began when she was just six years old, but it had to sit on the back-burner until, at the age of 45, she took a creative writing course with The Writers Bureau, and started out on a whole new adventure…

Safe and INFORMED

The Society of Authors’ Martin Reed talks about the reasons the SoA worked with Samaritans to provide a factsheet on writing about suicide

Would you, should you, could you?

Our industry insider, literary agent Piers Blofeld, gives a commercial critique of a controversial cancellation

BEHIND THE TAPE

Expert advice to get the details right in your crime fiction, from serving police officer Lisa Cutts

Get into character

Bring your characters to life on the page with help from creative writing tutor Michael Clough

Put an end to it

A short story with an ambiguous ending prompts Helen W Walters to consider the importance of endings in your fiction

MIND THE GAP

Be aware of the plot holes and pitfalls that can undermine your finished children’s story with advice from author Amy Sparkes

Elegant variations

It’s a tricky tightrope between positive representation and appropriation. Just one of the minefields in in your fiction Margaret James helps you navigate.

I wish I’d known…

There are many things I wish I’d known when I started

Feeding the beast

Where do horror writers get ideas their stories? Look for inspiration in dark corners with advice from Alex Davis

Northern soul

Warm, funny and uplifting, RNA Outstanding Achievement Award winner Milly Johnson puts human kindness at the heart of all her books, she tells Tina Jackson

The style & technique of JohnSTEINBECK

Tony Rossiter looks at the Nobel winner’s two most famous books

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

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

When Life Gives You Lemons

Jodie Carpenter

WRITTERS’ NEWS

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

The long road to success

Getting published is a waiting game, as Jenny Moore, who had to wait nineteen years to see her children’s book in print, describes

Ask a Literary Consultant

Helen Corner-Bryant says that despite the London Book Fair being cancelled there are good reasons for writers to work on their elevator pitches

HOW TO WRITE CRIME

Bestselling crime authors share their top tips for writing crime, courtesy of CrimeFest.

Under the covers

Debut author Gillian Harvey admits her booklaunch expectations all come from Bridget Jones

he PROS and CONS of PUBLISHING and SELF-PUBLISHING

Should you self-publish or pursue a publishing deal? Here are the pros and cons you need to weigh up to help you decide what’s best for your book

DEB RICHARDSON-MOORE

The American journalist turned author tells Dolores Gordon Smith how writing a painful memoir about working with the homeless propelled her into a crime fiction series

YOU’VE GOT MAIL

What makes a good author email newsletter? Two authors tell Simon Whaley how they keep in regular touch with their readers.

How to read a book

Tarja Moles looks at how read most effectively for research purposes

FOOD for THOUGHT

Sandwiches fuel minds as well as bodies in these creative writing exercises from Jenny Alexande

WIN!£500 IN CASH PRIZES & PUBLICATION

CreativeCompetition

THE FOURTH STOREGGA SLIDE

1st place £200

Heart or head?

A writer whose editor is requesting fundamental changes to her manuscript has to consider what matters most to her, says Jane Wenham-Jones

TRACY BAINES

The writing tutor and author tells Judith Spelman about her top fi ve reads

Under the Microscope

James McCreet applies his forensic criticism to the beginning of a reader’s short story

Starting point

Just start writing, urges Adrian Magson. It doesn’t have to be the beginning.

TV EYE

Look into television for inspiration in these writing group exercises from Julie Phillips

P ick & mix

Alison Chisholm is impressed by a poem that f uses nostalgic recollections with a sense of life’s fragility

Poetry in practice

Learn how to create an echo effect in your poems with help from Doris Corti