Writing develops through a series of milestones.
Writing regularly. Finishing pieces. Seeking feedback. Revising. Submitting polished pieces. Being rejected. Accepted. Published. Paid. Solicited for more. It takes persistence, but there’s always another milestone to keep your writing journey interesting.
Workshop Tips
Richard taught writing workshops at The Writers Studio from 2019 through 2022 and has been a student in many workshops and classes over the years. These articles may be helpful for those taking writing workshops and classes at any school or program.
“A Guide to Workshops at The Writers Studio”
“A Few General Tips About Attending Workshops”
“The Writers Studio
Experience”
Writing Tips
Below are several articles with writing tips for writers and poets.
“A Submission Process”
“Learning to Horror”
“A Writing Process”
“Move It to the Top”
“The Limits of Success”
“Making the Poet”
“Counseling the Writer”
“Art is Sacrifice…“
“The Years of Fantasy…”
Resources
Below is a growing list of literary and speculative writing resources including books, videos, presentations, etc. that may be helpful to writers and poets. While literary and speculative resources are separated below, there is often overlap that may be helpful for writers of any genre of writing.
Submitting
Richard wrote an article about how he submits here: “A Submission Process“
- Duotrope – $5/month, $50/year
- The (Submission) Grinder – free
- Submittable Discover
And here’s a great way to deal with rejections: compete for the most rejections with the annual Rejection Competition organized by Reneé Bibby!
Literary Fiction & Poetry Resources
Writing & Craft
Richard wrote an article about his own process here: “A Writing Process“
- Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space (Penguin Classics, 2014)
- Robert Olen Butler, From Where You Dream: The Process of Writing Fiction (Grove Press, 2006)
- Lisa Cron, Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages That Go Nowhere (Ten Speed Press, 2016)
- Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within (Shambhala Publications, 2005)
- Dan Killgallon, Sentence Composing for College: A Worktext on Sentence Variety and Maturity (Heinemann, 1998)
- Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life (Anchor, 1995)
- Brooks Landon, Building Great Sentences: How to Write the Kinds of Sentences You Love to Read (Plume, 2013)
- Noah Lukeman, The First Five Pages: A Writer’s Guide To Staying Out of the Rejection Pile (Simon & Schuster, 2000)
- Mary Oliver, A Poetry Handbook (Mariner Books, 1994)
- Jordan Rosenfeld, A Writer’s Guide to Persistence: How to Create a Lasting and Productive Writing Practice (Writer’s Digest Books, 2015)
- Sandra Scofield, The Scene Book: A Primer for the Fiction Writer (Penguin Books, 2007)
- Sandra Scofield, The Last Draft: A Novelist’s Guide to Revision (Penguin Books, 2017)
- Blake Snyder, Save the Cat! (Michael Wiese Productions, 2005)
- Blake Snyder, Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies (Michael Wiese Productions, 2017)
- Benda Ueland, If You Want to Write (Martino Fine Books, 1938, 2011)
- John Yorke, Into the Woods: A Five-Act Journey Into Story (Harry N. Abrams, 2015)
Revision
- James Scott Bell, Revision and Self-Editing for Publication: Techniques for Transforming Your First Draft into a Novel That Sells (Writer’s Digest Books, 2008, 2012)
- Susan Bell, The Artful Edit: On the Practice of Editing Yourself (W. W. Norton & Company, 2008)
- Renni Browne & Dave King, Self-editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself Into Print (William Morrow Paperbacks, 2004)
Speculative Fiction & Poetry Resources
Writing & Craft
- Philip Athans, Writing Monsters: How to Craft Believably Terrifying Creatures to Enhance Your Horror, Fantasy, and Science Fiction (Writer’s Digest Books, 2014)
- Steven Harper, Writing the Paranormal Novel: Techniques and Exercises for Weaving Supernatural Elements Into Your Story (Writer’s Digest Books, 2011)
- Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (Scribner, 2000, 2010)
- Damon Knight, Creating Short Fiction: Revised and Expanded Third Edition (ReAnimus Press, 2016)
- Nancy Kress, Elements of Fiction Writing – Beginnings, Middles & Ends (Writer’s Digest Books, 2011)
- Ursula K. Le Guin, Steering the Craft: A Twenty-First-Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story (Mariner Books, 1998, 2015)
- Joe Mynhardt, Horror 101: The Way Forward – Career Advice by Seasoned Professionals (Crystal Lake Publishing, 2014)
- Philip Pullman, Daemon Voices: On Stories and Storytelling (Vintage, 2018)
- Robert Qualkinbush, How to Improve Your Speculative Fiction Openings, Second Edition (ReAnimus Press, 2013)
- Nisi Shawl & Cynthia Ward, Writing the Other: A Practical Approach (Aqueduct Press, 2005)
- Writing the Other website and workshops
- Jeff VanderMeer, Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction (Abrams, 2013, 2018)
- Tim Waggoner, Writing in the Dark (Raw Dog Screaming Press, 2020)
- Chuck Wendig, The Kick-Ass Writer: 1001 Ways to Write Great Fiction, Get Published, and Earn Your Audience (Writer’s Digest Books, 2013)
- Carolyn Wheat, How to Write Killer Fiction (Daniel & Daniel Publishers, 2003)
- Kate Wilhelm, Storyteller: Writing Lessons and More from 27 Years of the Clarion Writers’ Workshop (Small Beer Press, 2005)
- John Yorke, Into the Woods: A Five-Act Journey Into Story (Harry N. Abrams, 2015)
Revision
- Lee Murray & Angela Yuriko Smith, Mark My Words: Read the Submission Guidelines and Other Self-editing Tips (Yuriko Publishing, 2021)
Worldbuilding
- Presentation/PDF: N.K. Jemisin, Worldbuilding 101
- Podcast episode: Ezra Klein, “I build a world with fantasy master N.K. Jemisin,” The Ezra Klein Show. 27 Aug 2018 [YouTube video.]
- Article: Charlie Jane Anders, “7 Deadly Sins of Worldbuilding,” Gizmodo. 02 Aug 2013
Fairy Tales
- PDF: Kate Bernheimer, “Fairy Tale is Form, Form is Fairy Tale“
- Kate Bernheimer, My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me (Penguin Books, 2010)
- Maria Tatar, The Classic Fairy Tales (W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1999)
- Annual Journal: Fairy Tale Review (Wayne State University Press)
New Weird
- Ann VanderMeer & Jeff VanderMeer, The New Weird (Tachyon Publications, 2008)
- Ann VanderMeer & Jeff VanderMeer, The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories (Tor, 2011)
Speculative Poetry
Ursula K. Le Guin
- Documentary: “Worlds of Ursula K Le Guin.” American Masters (PBS, 2019)
- Article: Gabrielle Bellot, “Ursula Le Guin’s ‘The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas’ Defies Genre.” Tor.com. 7 Aug 2017
- Article: Margaret Kingsbury, “Reading Pathways: Ursula K. Le Guin.” Book Riot. 24 Jul 2019
- Short Story: N.K. Jemisin, “The Ones Who Stay and Fight.” Lightspeed, Jan 2020 (Issue 116)
More Blog Posts For Writers
SFWA Membership
I’ve reached a new milestone as a poet and writer, and this is one I’ve been dreaming about since I first heard about professional writers organizations as a science fiction and fantasy-obsessed kid: I’m now an associate member of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA.) The purpose of the Science Fiction and Fantasy…
Poetry and Pause: The 2022 Tucson Poetry Festival, April 23-24
The latest Tucson Poetry Festival will be held this weekend, April 23-24, 2022, at a variety of fantastic venues in the Tucson area. Our theme this year is “Poetry and Pause.”
A Guide to Workshops at The Writers Studio
It can be difficult to sort through all the offerings from the Writers Studio to pick which classes are best for you or the writer in your life to which you would like to gift a workshop. Here, then, is a guide to our offerings, depending on your writing goals and interests.
Reorganizing My Website, Reorganizing My Life
It’s time for a website reorganization that focuses entirely on writing and teaching while burying my past activities.
Fall 2021 Workshops and Free Writers Studio Class This Thursday
Free Writers Studio Tucson class this Thursday evening, September 23, and information about my upcoming Fall 2021 workshops
Free Writers Studio Class and Spring 2021 Workshops
Free Writers Studio Tucson class this Saturday, April 10 and information about my upcoming Spring 2021 workshops.
The 39th Annual Tucson Poetry Festival is Coming Soon
The 39th Annual Tucson Poetry Festival is coming up in two weeks! Registration is available on our website for poetry workshops taught by our featured poets on Saturday, April 17, 2021. They will also be reading that evening and there will be an open mic (would you like to read one of your own poems?!)…
Free Writers Studio Tucson Class Online This Thursday
Tucson teachers Lela Scott MacNeil and I will be online for a free writing class this Thursday at 6:30 p.m. to provide a writing exercise, explain The Writers Studio method, and discuss how our program can support your personal writing goals.
Summer 2020 Writing and Teaching
This summer 2020, I’m teaching both a Tucson Workshop and “Crafting Fantastic & Imaginative Worlds”, reading a lot of speculative poetry, and writing.
A Submission Process
In this new post, I will provide tips and resources so that my workshop students and other writers can submit their best work to potential markets.
Writing Workshops for Spring and Summer 2020
In addition to my usual 8-week Writers Studio Tucson Workshop, I’m bringing back my popular online “Crafting Fantastic and Imaginative Worlds” workshop for poets and writers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror!
Learning to Horror
After years of focusing on literary poetry and fiction, including completing my undergraduate education in creative writing and taking writing workshops, I’m finally embracing my original genre aspirations.
Preparing for NaNoWriMo 2019
I really, really, really want to reach 50,000 words in November and I want to do it in 2019 before the new decade starts and we’re in the far future.
Move It to the Top
I have learned a valuable lesson about writing this year as a result of teaching writing workshops. This led to a breakthrough in writing poetry that has transformed my poems in the past few months. Here is what I have learned.
Fall 2019 Writing and Teaching
I’m preparing lesson plans and writing new exercises for two fall workshops at the Writers Studio.
Summer 2019 Writing and Teaching
I’m currently preparing lesson plans and writing lessons for two summer 2019 workshops.
“Crafting Fantastic & Imaginative Worlds” at The Writers Studio!
I’m teaching a new 6-week workshop titled “Crafting Fantastic & Imaginative Worlds” and it uses The Writers Studio method of persona writing and critiquing. It begins Saturday, July 27, 2019.
Summer Writing Workshops at the Writers Studio!
Two options for the beginning level writing workshop: Saturday morning with me and Wednesday evenings with Lela Scott MacNeil.
Supporting Professional Payment Rates in Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction Markets
The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America sets the minimum payment rates for professional short fiction markets. In September, this rate rises from 6 cents per word to 8 cents per word.
The Limits of Success
I was not prepared for how much worse imposter syndrome would get once I started writing regularly, getting published, participating in public readings, teaching…
New Writing Instructor at the Writers Studio Tucson
I’m now a writing instructor at the Writers Studio in Tucson, Arizona and I’ll be teaching an 8-week introductory workshop in fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction beginning Saturday, April 20th!
Alice Hatcher Craft Class
📚 I participated in a fantastic craft class today with Alice Hatcher, author of The Wonder That Was Ours. She was interviewed by Reneé Bibby, Director of the Writers Studio Tucson, and local students in the Master and Advanced workshops.
Horror 101: The Way Forward edited by Joe Mynhardt
Horror 101: The Way Forward edited by Joe Mynhardt explores a tremendous territory of information, advice, and experience with essays written by many different creatives who work in the genre.
Save the Cat by Blake Snyder
The tone and humor might be a little dated, even insensitive and problematic at points, but there’s no question that Save the Cat by Blake Snyder is a book packed with useful, easily digestible, but comprehensive information.
Preparing for NaNoWriMo 2018
I’ve written an entire novel before, a few of them in fact, but I’ve never completed 50,000 words during National Novel Writing Month in November.
A Few General Tips About Attending Workshops
How you participate in class can mean the difference between a rewarding learning experience and an utter waste of your—and everyone else’s—time and money.
Sunday Task
How to group poems into manuscripts that will go out to several potential markets?
I have no idea.
Notebook Full of Poetry Fragments
A tiny celebration for a small accomplishment: a little notebook full of handwritten poetry fragments.
Making the Poet
I don’t believe in natural talent. I use “believe” on purpose because I might be wrong; nevertheless, there’s more to talent than whatever innate capabilities a person might be born with that makes them…
Counseling the Writer
Counseling, when you find the right counselor and when you engage with them honestly and with a willingness to do what they suggest, can work wonders and reshape your entire life.
A Writing Process
My writing process is just one example of a writing process that will hopefully inspire you to build your own.
The Writers Studio Experience
It occurs to me that I haven’t written much about The Writers Studio workshops I’ve been attending regularly for the past year. It has been such a positive experience that I think I have been trying to keep it all…
Art Is Sacrifice and Other Bullshit
The problem with some men (Many? Just me?) in their twenties is that they won’t shut up and listen. Instead they pronounce. Loudly. I pronounced on a writing forum that the only writers who are successful and published are those who sacrifice themselves entirely and painfully to their art. I called out people I believed would probably never be…
Musings: I Honestly Don’t Know What My Blog is For
Maybe this post is about isolation after all.
The Kick-Ass Writer by Chuck Wendig
The Kick-Ass Writer by Chuck Wendig includes over 30 lists of 25 tips about various subjects like writing, rewriting, craft, and publishing.
Musings: Fuck, Writing DOES Have Negative Consequences
I wrote a short response to the paper pointing out the Dark Enlightenment as a worrying contemporary example of where an ethic of expediency can lead. The response wasn’t what I expected.
The Years of Fantasy and Horror
I remember fondly buying a few editions of The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror anthologies edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling in the 1990s. I was in my twenties and while many of the stories and their level of…
“I Will Avenge Her!” Poor Writing and Characterization in Superhero TV Shows
What I am really noticing for the first time is how poorly written these TV shows are. The focus is on visual style and action, so getting from point A to point B doesn’t seem to require logic or coherency, and fleshing out characters doesn’t seem to be a priority.
Reading and Writing Following Twitch
So should writers give up writing, especially if reading is on the decline as other forms entertainment become much more popular?
Book-Making and Other Analog Treasures
This is the time to enjoy the way things used to be or are currently, before everything changes due to technology. A day of physical book making followed by watching VOD.
A Writing Journal
What was previously my blog – full of news, likes and commentary – should now, I think, become a writing journal, a document more closely related to the craft of writing.
You must be logged in to post a comment.