Now that I wrote it, who do I send it to?

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

Ok, Ok, so now you’ve written it, what’s next? Submitting it to publishers of course. But wait! Your next step must be to locate a publisher who’s interested in the genre that you write in. Mystery? Fantasy? Children’s? Sci-Fi? Not just any old publisher will do. You’ve got to search them out, check on their submittal requirements, see if they accept submittals by email and lots of other incidentals that are so important in getting a publishers attention.

Where do you find all this info? Well, searching the web is the best way to go but it can be time consuming and frustrating. What if I were to tell you there is a site that allows you to type in the genre, pay scale, submittal info and even links to the publishers website? There is such a place, I accidentally ran into it while surfing the other day. It’s called Duotrope. Now some of you may already know of this site, but some of us Newbies may not. The website is located at http://www.duotrope.com/digest.
Give it a visit, I’m sure you’ll be glad you did. Until next time, Nameste… Aelf

Sites to see, places to go and groups to join

My Writing Friend: mailto:writingfriend@yahoo.com
Nick Daws Writers Circle:Click link on this page.
Writing Workshop: http://sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com/
Newbie Writers: http://www.newbiewriters.com/
Writers Prompts: http://writingfix.com/
Duotrope Digest: http://www.duotrope.com/digest.

I’ll be adding to the above list as time goes on and I find more newbie friendly sites.

Writers Prompts

“Nobody ever committed suicide when reading a good book, but many have while trying to write one.” Robert Byrne

Another great site for newbies

Ever notice how writing is a lot like driving down a highway? We just cruise on along, words flowing like scenery flashing by. All is well, then suddenly, “BANG” we get a flat. In my case a flat is a time when anything and everything I think of by way of stories, stinks. I can’t get a handle on anything. I write a few tentative words based on an idea for a story, then find that the words, like me, are flat. That’s when I cast about on the internet, looking for inspiration. I search for any little tidbit that I might use as a prompt. That’s what led me to this absolutely great site. Rather than try to paraphrase what it’s about, here’s an excerpt from their site.

“Most on-line sites for writers contain long and rather uninteresting lists of topics a person could write about. WritingFix has taken this idea to the next level; we've transformed good writing ideas into interactive on-line word games.”

Interactive Writing Prompts; Lessons for better writing skills found on our interactive pages. WritingFix, we believe, is the only site of its kind. It was designed by writers, teachers, and students...to spark the imaginations of writers, teachers and students…of all ages.

First, locate any of our interactive on-line games! There are over 200 of them now, and they can be found by clicking those links over on the left-hand side of this screen.

The 21 most popular games can be found in the right-hand column, just a little lower on this screen. When you've located a game that sounds interesting, read its "Instructions for Writers." Then...start clicking the buttons below each game, and be sure to laugh out loud at the crazy choices that may pop up. But...get serious too...eventually, you will discover a combination of ideas that sparks an idea in your writer's head. That spark is your interactive writing prompt.
We hope you're inspired enough by our prompts to write more.

I’ve used this several time now and have created two new short stories using their prompts. My recommendation is, if you’ve got a flat, this is the best place to go to get it fixed. You will find them at http://www.writingfix.com/ Regards… Aelf


Sites to see, places to go and groups to join

My Writing Friend: writingfriend@yahoo.com
Nick Daws Writers Circle: Click link on this page.
Online Writing Workshop: http://sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com/
Newbie Writers: http://www.newbiewriters.com/
Writers Prompts: http://writingfix.com/

I’ll be adding to the above list as time goes on and I find more newbie friendly sites.

Short Story Success

"Asking a working writer what he thinks about critics is like asking a lamp-post how it feels about dogs." Christopher Hampton

Well, here it is, time for another post. It’s also good news time. I’ve received notification that one on my short story submittals has been accepted for publication. (The first ever!!) The publisher is Long Story Short located at http://www.longstoryshort.net/. The story will be out in April and I will advise as to the date. Here is a copy of the press release.

M E D I A R E L E A S E

For immediate release

Contact: Gene Alvin

E-mail: aelfwin@tds.net

March 12, 2006

Long Story Short Writing site Honors local award winning Author’s Short Story.

Collinwood, TN. --The board of editors at Long Story Short has accepted Gene Alvin’s short story, “Savannah” for publication.

Savannah was conceived when the author created a fictional account based on the sentence, “ The airplane sputtered and sank low into the jungle.” The story started as a writing exercise and quickly evolved into an excursion into the jungles of the Brazilian Amazon.

Edited by Denise Cassino, Linda Barnett-Johnson and Susan Scott, Long Story Short features fine writing from fiction and poetry to essays and, unlike many journals, also offers critiques from their submission committee. Their goal is to promote and advance the work of writers worldwide.

The URL to this story is http://www.longstoryshort.us/

Gene Alvin is a resident of Collinwood Tennessee and is an up and coming author of fantasy and Science Fiction short stories and novels. He has had poetry published in local newspapers in Los Angeles and won second prize in the Authors Unlimited December 2005 contest in Australia. He is a moderator for the Nick Daws Writers Circle and a member of My Writing Friend Forum. He is also editor of his own writers blog: http://www.aelfwin.co.uk/aelf which is aimed at helping other new writers with tips and advice on the art of writing. March 12, 2006

(Needless to say if I can do it so can you!!)

Sites to see, places to go and groups to join:

My Writing Friend: writingfriend@yahoo.com. This is a great place to hone your writing skills.


Nick Daws Writers Circle: Click link on this page. I'm a moderator on this site, It's awesome.


Online Writing Workshop: http://sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com/. Want feedback for your work?


Newbie Writers:http://www.newbiewriters.com/. Great place to meet other newbies.


The Writers Toolbox: http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=61811.

I’ll be adding to the above list as I find more newbie friendly sites

Newbies Tool Box

Leave "said" alone. Don't be tempted by the muse of variation to permit characters to "opine," "elaborate," "chortle," "cajole," or "laugh." Roy Peter Clark


Newbies should be issued a toolbox automatically, before we set our first precious word to paper or blank screen. When our muse strikes and claims us as one of her own she should also hand us a little metal box marked tools. In it we should find all the necessary items needed to help us build our masterpieces. A pair of vice grips to squeeze and tweak recalcitrant sentences. A mallet to hammer home dramatic points, a hatchet to chop out unnecessary words and a set of slotted and Phillips drivers to use when we find out we’ve written ourselves into a corner and now we’re screwed.

Sadly, this doesn’t happen. Happily though , there is such a tool box. I just found it on one of my early morning jaunts around the net. It contains 50 tools and is written by Roy Peter Clark. Each tool is a short article dedicated to one subject. Examples of that are:

Tool #2: Use strong verbs.

Tool #3: Beware of adverbs.

Tool #14: Interesting Names.

I’ve spent about a week reviewing these tips and am now on number 18. The tools are aimed at all kinds of writers, fiction and journalist. The website is http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=61811. Look for articles by Roy Peter Clark and you will find an icon of a toolbox and links to his 50 tools. I’ve been using them since I stumbled into the site and find them most helpful. I also found out that Roy Clark has a book due to be published in September titled, appropriately enough, "Writing Tools: Fifty Essential Strategies for Every Writer.” It will be published by Little, Brown Publishers. As I like a hard copy of everything, I’ll be picking up one when it comes out.

Till next time, keep on writin' , Aelf

Sites to see, places to go and groups to join:

My Writing Friend: writingfriend@yahoo.com. This is a great place to hone your writing skills.

Nick Daws Writers Circle: Click link on this page. I'm a moderator on this site, It's awesome.

Online Writing Workshop: http://sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com. Want feedback for your work?

Newbie Writers:

http://www.newbiewriters.com/. Great place to meet other newbies.

The Writers Toolbox: http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=61811.

I’ll be adding to the above list as I find more newbie friendly sites