Writer’s Digest May/June Magazine

Yesterday, I mentioned debut author Cyn Balog on my post.  I went to her blog and read that she was mentioned in the latest issue of Writer’s Digest, which just happened to be sitting on my table.  So today I opened it to see and there she was at the top of page 23.  Now that is was open I started to look around and I have to tell you – run, don’t walk to your nearest bookstore and BUY this issue.  I wasn’t planning to post anything about Writer’s Digest Magazine tonight, but I thought it was a great issue and wanted to share it with you.

They have four different articles and seven full pages on characterization.  Now maybe if you’re Jerry Spinelli, you obviously don’t need to read anything on characterization, but for the rest of us it doesn’t hurt to read tips and excercises that can help improve our characters. 

The first of the four articles is written by Nancy Kress, author of Write Great Fiction: Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint.  The title of this article is Draw Characters From the Strongest Sources.  Really good article that talks about where to look for inspiration and how to combine real and fiction.  http://nancykress.blogspot.com/

Rachel Ballon, author of Breathing Life Into Your Chacters has an articel titled, Weave in Backstory to Reveal Character.  She talks about Dialog, Narration, Inner Dialog, Flashbacks and Writing Methods.  Difinitely worth reading.  http://www.rachelballon.com/books.html

Now I could go on about the other two, but just get the magazine.  There is a lot more good stuff inside.  They have a whole section about social networking – a very hot topic right now.  In fact, I will be conducting a short workshop on the subject at the New Jersey SCBWI Annual Conference on June 6th.  This issue of Writer’s Digest has a list of the top 101 Best Websites for Writers.  Check back – I will check them out and report back.  No, I wasn’t on the list, but I started my blog after they went to print, so maybe next year.

Also, you should check out their various writing contests.  It is exciting to win a writing contest, validates you as a writer and looks good on your resume.   This link will take you to their big annual contest http://writersdigest.com/annual  Take a look.

Let me know what you think about this issue.