Here are the rest of January’s tips and suggestions for writers –
The Fairfield County Writers Studio has an interesting lineup of classes beginning January 25, including Intermediate and Advanced Memoir Writing, Write Your Story to Prompts, Writing for Children and Teens, and more. Check the full list of offerings here.
The Fairfield University MFA in Creative Writing program invites you to join award-winning authors for a free 2024 Writers Colloquium: Writing Soul Into a Broken World, on Saturday, February 10 from 10-5pm at the Quick Center for the Arts in Fairfield, CT. The event will feature generative writing workshops, author readings, and panel discussions, which will focus on the role of the writer in today’s world. Writers and aspiring writers of all genres and levels are welcome to participate. Advance registration is required. The closing reading and discussion will feature authorColum McCann, (Apeirigon, Translatlantic) in conversation with Phil Klay, National Book Award winner and faculty member in Fairfield U’s MFA program.
Beginning February 19, the Westport Library is running an advanced memoir class led by Mary-Lou Weisman. To be sure that you are ready for this advanced eight-week course, please email about 500 words, no more than a two-page, double-spaced sample of your memoir or personal essay writing, to Jennifer Keller at jkeller@westportlibrary.org for review. The eight sessions will run every other Thursday from February 19 to June 6 from 12:30-2:30PM. Class limited 10. $15.
If you write horror or dark fantasy, and need to find your tribe, the Horror Writers Association of Connecticut is the place for you. Their next Fright Night will be on March 14 in East Haven, CT. The national association holds an annual convention, StokerCon – this year in San Diego from May 30-June 2. Check out the details here.
British website Friday Flash Fiction publishes weekly stories of 100 words, and the deadline for all submissions for Friday publication will be the night before, Thursdays at 11pm UK time. They accept work in three categories: for their “Core Classic” 100-word stories; for longer Flash Fiction of 151-500 words in length; and for short poetry. New submitters must submit two classic 100-word stories and have them published before we will consider submissions for longer flash fiction or short poetry. Submit here.
If you love writing but have trouble getting it done, you might like My 500 Words -a free 31-day challenge designed to help you. It will help you get more disciplined at writing, hone your craft, and finally become the writer you dreamed of being. Write 500 words minimum per day, every day for 31 days. A whole year of 500 words a day adds up to over 180,000 words! If you miss a day, pick up where you left off. Don’t make up for lost days. Write every day, and record your progress. There’s Facebook group for accountability, encouragement, and daily writing ideas. Sign up here.
As an international publishing house based in France, Short Editions uses innovative mediums, like vending machines where readers can buy a short story, poem or comic strip to open access to literature. The machines appear in libraries and other public places. The idea is that big ideas are often born in idle moments when reading a short story, poem, or comic strip. They take submissions on a rolling basis.
The Writer’s Workshop at Authors Publish is offering the full recordings from their 2023 lecture series, including all 12 lectures on writing and publishing for only $47. This is a unique chance to learn from best-selling and world-renowned authors, agents, editors, and more, so you can publish your writing based on advice from world-class experts. Get Full Access to All 12 Lectures Here.
The Clements Library is a world-class archive of early Americana located on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, MI. For the 2024–2025 cycle, the Clements will offer a fellowship for creative authors, including historical novelists working on books set in or related to early America or the Caribbean. The fellowship offers a stipend of $1,500 for one week of research at the Clements Library and is open to any working creative whose book could benefit from archival research. For more information contact Maggie Vanderford, Librarian for Instruction & Engagement, at mhappe@umich.edu.
Rob Eagar, book marketing expert and author of a series of books on marketing: The Author’s Guide Series, provided a list of marketing resources for writers in his latest email newsletter. Here are some that looked particularly useful.
Book Funnel – The company that delivers free e-books to new email subscribers (people who sign up for your email list get a copy of a short story, or chapters from your book, or the whole book, depending on what you decide to give).
Teachable – This company sells and manages his online video courses
Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing – His top choice for authors who want to self-publish
KD Spy – Cool browser plug-in to harvest Amazon book sales information
ASIN Grabber – Free time-saving browser plug-in for grabbing Amazon product details
Vimeo – The service he uses to host and replay his webinars and marketing videos
Power Thesaurus – Free online thesaurus to find the perfect word anytime, every time. (Note: Personally, I prefer Word Hippo, as do many of my novelist friends.)
Happy writing!
