Tag: Writing
Seasonal Update: What has Pauline Shen been up to? What can we expect to see from her next?
Season Summary: Autumn 2024
- Manawaker Studios Podcast featured my short fiction “Glycerine.” I am so pleased with this production. If you haven’t done so yet, please go take a listen. It is under 10 minutes: Glycerine – Flash Fiction Podcast.
- Three of my visual art pieces, “Nurture,” “Observe,” & “Steward,” are published online with Marathon Literary Review.
- Big news! I’ve been commissioned for a book cover illustration. Scheduled for release in early 2025. More details to come.
Updates & Work in Progress: Winter 2024-25
- Check out my blog in case you missed these awesome interviews. I am delighted to partner with editors, writers, and publishers to bring you an insider scoop on what’s going on in the industry. More to come very soon—make sure you’re subscribed to have these delivered directly to your email inbox.
- I am completing my first full-length manuscript. I’ve been posting periodic updates on social media. The key to avoiding overwhelm is to break everything down into teeny tiny steps—and there are tons of those!
- My Discord writing group is holding a Secret Santa event for December. We each receive a “wish list” of writing prompts from another participant and write a fresh story using those prompts as a gift for that person. Part of the fun is having to guess which writing group member wrote each story. This is my first time participating and it has been so much fun so far! The prompts I received were way outside my usual repertoire and it gave me a chance to stretch myself and my writing. Activities like this help fuel creativity in a big, big way.
What I’m Reading: Winter 2024-25
- I read Piper Kerman’s memoir Orange is the new Black. You may recognize this book’s title from the television series adaptation of the same name. After taking a memoir writing course where Kerman was the guest instructor for a few Zoom sessions, I had to read her book for myself to see what was in there (No, I never watched the TV series). She’s an energetic instructor and the way she explained how to set-up scenes and incorporate deeper levels of storytelling was absolutely brilliant. If you have a chance to participate in one of her writer’s workshops, do it.
- I read William Zinsser’s memoir Writing about Your Life, which also serves as a writer’s guide. Although I personally found some of Zinsser’s references to be an outdated stack of namedropping, he does offer sound writing advice. Keep in mind that the height of his writing career was a half century ago—technology was different, yet the writing process itself (inspiration, motivation, integrity) is relatively the same.
And that’s it. Enjoy winter. Please share your comments below. Stay tuned for my next blog post. Wanna get it in your email inbox? Subscribe to stay informed of my newest articles, story reviews, updates, and more.
Cover Image: Photo by Ameruverse Digital Marketing Media on Pexels.com
Interview with Anne Wilkins
In this post, we’ll be hearing from the delightful Anne Wilkins, contest-winning writer of science fiction and horror, based out of New Zealand. Anne shares her experience with writing contests, anthologies, and persisting past letters of decline. Anne also opens up on the personal side of balancing writing with life events, family, and career decisions.
Anne, you’ve got heaps of writing achievements! Multiple contest awards, several runner-up spots and honorable mentions, and an ever-growing list of publications. How long have you been writing and what made you decide to enter competitions?
Oh wow, that’s so kind of you to say because I still very much feel like a beginner. I was that kid that loved creative writing in school, from primary right through to high school, but by the time I got to university there was no time for it. All I ended up doing at university was essays, most of them very boring (Land Law — I’m looking at you). Then fast forward to a career where I was a family lawyer, and I was kind of writing stories, but true ones, in affidavit form.
When I had children, I think I finally had the time and the head space to write creatively again. Most of my beginning stories were written for my children, stories about cats, fairies, witches. I realised how much I missed that creative side of my life — the joy you get from coming up with an idea, and transforming it into a story for someone to read.
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Interview with Galen Gower
In this post, we’re hearing from Galen Gower, writer and founder of Toad Shade Zine based in Memphis TN. Galen tells us about his creative process, shares his wisdom on incorporating feedback to develop as a creative writer, and gives us a sneak peek at an upcoming publishing venture.
Galen, you’ve started a Zine! What inspired you to launch the independent magazine, Toad Shade Zine? Tell us how it’s been going so far.
I literally decided I wanted to do a zine, bought the domain, blundered through making the website, and started sharing the submission call all in about three hours. I started out not telling anyone it was me doing it in case I really pet the rabbit with it, but it turned out pretty well.
I mentioned this in the second submission call, but the world really is full of things because people decide to do them and decide not to let fear or common sense stop them. I’ve never let not knowing what I’m doing stop me. Sometimes the results are disastrous, of course, but I’d rather go down swinging, you know?
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Why Participate in Writing Contests?
You many have noticed that there are a lot of writing contests. You can find lists of upcoming ones in places like Dreamers Magazine or the Funds for Writers website. Some magazines, like Blank Spaces, run a regular quarterly write prompt contest. Many literary journals will simply run a contest for the purpose of fundraising and/or as a method to boost publicity for the volunteer judge(s). There are even third-parties, such as Writing Battle, that specialize in supporting emerging and established writers with very specific prompt-driven, time-limited tournaments.
Each one of these contests is unique in how it handles theme, prompts, judging, awarding “prizes,” and so forth. Entering your work in a writing contest can be beneficial. Depending on the individual contest, you can make great strides by getting involved. Here’s what I mean:
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Interview with Seralynn Lewis
In this blog post, we have the pleasure of hearing from Seralynn Lewis, contemporary inspirational romance author, writer of sweet & clean romance, and self-publisher based out of North Carolina. Seralynn gives us a glimpse into the process of writing a series, finding and working with an editor, and navigating the world of self-publishing.
Seralynn, you have multiple books available on Amazon. What has been the most surprising thing about self-publishing?
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Seasonal Update: What has Pauline Shen been up to? What can we expect to see from her next?
Season Summary: Summer 2024
- Blank Spaces Magazine published my visual essay “Beautiful Botanicals.”
- After Happy Hour Review’s Summer 2024 issue included my visual piece “In Hand.”
Updates & Work in Progress: Autumn 2024
- Check out my blog in case you missed these awesome interviews. I am delighted to partner with editors, writers, and publishers to bring you an insider scoop on what’s going on in the industry. More to come very soon—make sure you’re subscribed to have these delivered directly to your email inbox.
- Three of my visual art pieces, “Nurture,” “Observe,” & “Steward,” are forthcoming with Marathon Literary Review.
- I am turning my focus toward completing my first full-length manuscript. It’s like doing a large-scale home renovation project while continuing to live inside the house. I’m surrounded by scenes and characters who are constantly nagging for my attention. I’ve been posting periodic updates on social media.
What I’m Reading: Autumn 2024
- Last season, I binge-read Sarah McCoy’s books. If you plan to read The Time it Snowed in Puerto Rico, clear your schedule. The sensual prose is absolutely mesmerizing. Once you begin reading, it is impossible to put down.
- I’ve just finished reading William Zinsser’s On Writing Well. It’s a writing guide that has been awaiting my attention for some years. It is a guide primarily aimed at nonfiction writing; however, I’ve uncovered many helpful nuggets that I’m already placing toward my fiction writing. I do highly recommend this writer’s guide. I am currently reading Zinsser’s memoir Writing about Your Life, which also serves as a writer’s guide.
- I read John Steinbeck’s masterpiece East of Eden and will be following that up with The Grapes of Wrath in the near future. I highly recommend reading any and all of Steinbeck’s novels. He had a keen eye into the human psyche. His fictional characters spring to life and the stories depict universal truths that simply cannot be ignored.
And that’s it. Enjoy autumn. Please share your comments below. Stay tuned for my next blog post. Wanna get it in your email inbox? Subscribe to stay informed of my newest articles, story reviews, updates, and more.
Cover Image: Photo by Ameruverse Digital Marketing Media on Pexels.com
Cleaning Eyewear – How to
When I first developed mild myopia at 19, my optometrist commented that I study too much. He explained that having my eyes flexed to focus on text for prolonged periods of time had hardened my lenses to the point that they lost the ability to perform for distance. I’m not certain if this is true. But it was the beginning of my wearing glasses. And a consistent pain that continues to this day is keeping them clean.
Whether you wear glasses “just for driving,” or, “to think straight,” or (my favourite) “because contacts are icky,” at some point you’ve struggled with specks, streaks, and smudges. You’re supposed to be able to see out of those lenses, so it’s imperative to keep them clean. But how? It’s a constant battle. I’m no expert but I do wear glasses for most of the day. What’s more, I have oily skin. In this post I’ll share with you my top three go-to methods for reducing the frustration and keeping those glasses spotless.
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Purrfect Prose
When I began submitting entries for writing contests and felt the sting of rejection, I realised that I needed help with the proofing process of writing. This was an imperative part of the writing-for-publication journey. What it meant was that I had to get more practice—not of writing, but of getting used to someone other than me reading my precious brainchildren. Reading my own work does not necessarily catch incoherencies.
As tough as it may be to receive criticism of my work, I learned that it was the surest way toward improvement. After all, writing for publication means that I’m not just doing this for myself. The goal is to reach others. So, my work should be the best and most presentable version—not just what I deem to be good enough.
I’ve decided to share here a tale of the first time I asked for a volunteer proofer to read my composition. It went like this:
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Writers: Don’t Make this Mistake! Avoiding copyright issues through original wording
I remember when my family purchased our first home computer. I spent my evenings getting on the web through dial-up. Back then I would wait for what seemed like eons for websites to load. I was logging-on to chat networks long before instant messaging was a thing. If a family member needed the telephone, it meant logging-off and using the computer without internet—an impossible proposition these days. An offline PC meant playing 3D Pinball while listening to music on my radio.
The main reason my parents purchased the computer was to enrich my ability to complete homework and so I could learn about the looming technical age first hand. They knew jobs in the future would involve a computer. Pre-Y2K, this preparation meant learning how to touch-type on the keyboard. We didn’t have a fancy typing program. I simply looked for opportunities to practice. Like when you’re learning a language, it’s a good idea to seek out social situations to engage in speaking it.
Once my fingers got used to the keyboard layout, the next challenge was speed. How did I train this? While listening to tunes, I typed out the song lyrics as I heard them. It was fun! The result? I was one of few students in my secondary school who could type over 70 words per minute. My teachers used to say that it was possible to earn a few bucks on the side by typing essays and such. Great prospect—never happened.
Thanks to my parents’ foresight, in the 25 years since then I’ve placed my touch-typing skills toward a range of personal, academic, and professional endeavours. It’s a skill I use daily. Have I continued typing song lyrics? Well, no. Let’s hold on to that thought for a minute.
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Pauline Shen 