The Email That Got Published May 14, 2009 (Gia Sola) Ten stories out, I have a sassy short-short now appearing in SLAB, the annual journal published by Slippery Rock University. "The Corset" began as an email to a man I was trying to make jealous. And since I'd put as much energy into that message as any of my other works of fiction, I decided to go ahead and submit this one too. If I did anything differently, it was that I didn't over-edit the piece, but that's not the (sole) reason it got published. (complete article...)

The Princess and the Mattress, the Journal, and Magic April 27, 2009 (Josie Martin) I do my best writing in bed, not because I am a princess with a magical pea under the mattress, but because it is the only place where interruptions are kept at bay. And sometimes, not often, a magic appears on the page of my journal which is also my favorite book to write. (complete article...)

The Fiction Toolkit, Part 12 April 15, 2009 (Shelly Lowenkopf) Another in a series of excerpts from Shelly Lowenkopf's The Fiction Writer's Tool Kit: Terms, Concepts, and Devices for Building a Better Story. In this installment Shelly looks at Schadenfreude. (complete article...)

Sage Trail Publisher Suzanne Frost Is Passionate for Poetry. April 2, 2009 (Melinda Palacio) Last February Suzanne Frost reached her year anniversary for publishing Sage Trail Poetry Magazine. For Frost, the road to publishing a poetry magazine began ten years ago in Taos, New Mexicio with the models of two poetry journals: Cathy McCracken's Willow Street and Dale Harris's Central Avenue. Sage Trail is a rebirth of the two magazines and is currently produced in Santa Barbara, California. Frost releases a new issue of Sage Trail at the Poetry Zone, every second Saturday of the month, held at the Karpeles Manuscript Library, 21 West Anapamu Street in Santa Barbara, from 2 to 4pm. (complete article...)

Write Me a Poem -- Creativity On Demand March 20, 2009 (Steve Beisner) "Assignment: Write a Poem About ..." Why is one thing easy to write about, while another leaves us mute, even when both are inherently interesting, complex, and full of possibilities? As a member of a group of poets asked to write poems inspired by the visual artist, Yinka Shonibare, I found the assignment surprisingly easy, and I wondered why. (complete article...)

Writer's Work Speaks for Itself at Santa Barbara's Speaking of Stories February 21, 2009 (Melinda Palacio) Santa Barbara writer Susan Chiavelli has had an incredible winning streak with her short stories. She's won three first place prizes for her fiction and non fiction work. In February Speaking of Stories will feature her essay, "Death, Another Country," winner of the Chattahoochee Review's Lamar York Prize for Nonfiction in 2008. She's more than thrilled her story will be performed on stage, alongside works by Tobias Wolff, David Sedaris, and Tennessee Williams. "It's an incredible honor," says Chiavelli, "but also surreal to see my name next to authors I have admired for so long." (complete article...)

Guilty As Charged February 17, 2009 (Karl "Doc" Bradford) Ten years ago, a completed novel rested in Karl (Doc) Bradford's desk drawer and he was hard at work on his second. After reading his latest chapter, someone noted what a great hobby writing must be for him. Hobby? A year later, the wake-up call had been ruminated, digested, and the paradigm shift had occurred. The idea wasn't to write for money and fame--the idea was to write for pleasure, discovery, and self-expression. He figured that if something of quality came from his passion and commitment, it would transcend the hobby world. (complete article...)

How to Be Happy and (Unconventionally) Published February 4, 2009 (Steve Beisner) To mix a metaphor, "What if a short story fell in the woods and no one was there to read it?" We all want recognition and even riches, but many will confess that what got us started with the art and craft of arranging words, sentences, paragraphs, ideas, and stories was something more internal: the way we feel when the paragraph we've just completed lies before our eyes and is "right." (complete article...)

The Accidental Writer -- I did that in the Name of Research? January 21, 2009 (Julia Michelle Dawson) Sure, research is important. A good writer will do whatever research is required by a writing project. But sometimes real hunting is required. (complete article...)

Tap Into Your Characters Through Dialogue January 8, 2009 (Dallas Nicole Woodburn) One of my good friends is an aspiring director, and I recently decided to convert one of my stories into a short movie script. I already had the basic plot, the characters, the action -- piece of cake, right? Um ... not quite. (complete article...)