Writer's Digest July/August 2022

WD posed the question to readers on our website: “What has been the most pivotal moment in your writing life thus far?” Readers responded: “… I was an English minor in college and continued to write afterward, but at a diminishing pace ’til ‘real life’ brought it almost to a standstill. Then in 1999, an epiphany came in an unexpected form: an arrangement of three ripe red tomatoes on the white countertop in my kitchen. I was inspired to write about the image, and suddenly, the floodgates opened, and I began to write poetry at a furious pace as if to make up for lost time.” —Bruce Niedt “The pivotal moment in my writing career came the morning my place of employment shut down. The closure presented an opportunity to…

Though I knew I wanted to work for Writer’s Digest by my third year of college, I can think of no fewer than four crossroads on my path to actually achieving that goal. They involve: a Great Recession, more schooling for lack of job opportunities, an unfortunate foray into teaching, and at least two company bankruptcies (surely I’m not the common denominator…). A different choice or a different stroke of luck at any one of those crossroads could have led me down a drastically different path. What I notice about that list is most of the crossroads sound like negatives. And that’s often how we perceive them as they’re (usually) forced on us. But when it comes down to it, I learned a skill or a mindset at each one…

CARTEN CORDELL is an award-winning journalist based in Northern Virginia. An Alabama native, Cordell holds bachelor’s degrees in history and journalism from Auburn University and a master’s degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. He is now a content manager with Washington, D.C. public relations and marketing firm Sage Communications. His work has appeared in USA Today, Washington Business Journal, Defense News, Federal Times, FedScoop, Huff Post, and many other publications. When not writing, Cordell enjoys movies, travel, and attempting to manage his two sons with his wife. KIM LOUISE (she/her) is the author of 11 novels and five novellas. Her writing has been published by BET Books, Kensington Publishing, Third-World Press, and Harlequin Enterprises and has been nominated for awards in genre fiction. She is the recipient of…

Have you ever talked about a movie or a book you’re interested in, only to have your social media accounts serve up ads for those very items, almost as if they were listening? Now imagine the same social media accounts could be harnessed by NSA data scientists, upscale influencers, and leisurewear-clad zealots to deliver the most frightening package of all to your doorstep: your dating history. Therein lies the central tenet of author Sloane Crosley’s new novel, Cult Classic, which debuted June 7. Much like her first novel, 2015’s The Clasp, Cult Classic finds its protagonist, Lola, coming to terms with the people and friendships of her past at a time when she’s embarking on a new life stage, namely an engagement to her fiancé, Boots. But as Lola navigates…

Many years ago, before email and the internet, I was a senior editor at a midlist tabloid newspaper called The National Examiner. Part of my job involved working with freelance contributors, making assignments, and overseeing their work. One day, I assigned a piece to a new writer with instructions to turn it over as quickly as possible. A week went by, then another. I called the writer, who assured me the piece was in the mail, and I should have received it. A few days later, the article finally arrived on my desk. The writer, fresh out of envelopes, had placed the manuscript in an airline vomit bag, stuck some stamps on it, and dropped it in the mail. We never used that writer again. Shortly after, another new writer…

POETIC FORM: CHANSO The chanso is a French form that offers poets a great deal of freedom—even as it sticks to some very defined rules. Here are the guidelines: • Five to six stanzas of the same length followed by an envoy (a brief stanza that ends French poetic forms such as the ballade or sestina) that’s roughly half of the size of the first five to six stanzas• Those first five to six stanzas can be as concise as couplets (or twoline stanzas) or have more than 10 lines• Each line should have the same number of syllables, but whether it’s five syllables, 15, or somewhere in between is up to the poet’s discretion So, as you can see, this form has a few strict rules that provide a…