Must gush for a moment about the sweetness of Cowboy! I got home this morning from work, and he announced he got me a present. Guess what he got me? My very own 1-year subscription to Writer's Digest!!! I buy it every few months, maybe 4 times a year or so, when an article catches my interest in the grocery store and I don't want to just surreptitiously read it and then put the magazine back.
Well, Cowboy decided it would be cheaper just to get a year's subscription than have me buy them at the stand now and then. Isn't he sweet? Okay, yeah, sure, he's cheap...but sweet too!
...revealing my thoughts about movies, writing, and life to the audience...
Cool useful present! At least for the publishing/agent info. Most of the "how to write" stuff is like yeah, yeah, we know. Though every now and then they surprise me.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget you've been in this writing game longer than I have...so probably some of the articles that give you the eye-rolling "I've heard that a million times before" reaction give me some new insight/ideas ;-)
ReplyDeleteBut I must agree that the articles on publishing are the ones I read most often. Those and the ones on dialogue and character development, which are two things I really focus on, lately anyway.
But there are definitely articles I start to read, then think, "Oh, yeah, I know this." So I skip those and go on to the useful stuff ;-)
I still read it cover to cover, though, every month. It's one of those tools that inspires me write harder. You know, when you read about other people's successes and stuff, it just sort of fires you up with that "I can do better than this!" Kind of like browsing the bookstore shelves and checking out random novels and realizing that if that crap can get published, so can you.
ReplyDeleteYeah, and some articles really reach me to a level where I'll remember them a loooong time later and go try to find it again because it really helped/inspired me on some level. I'm quite excited that I'll be getting a whole year's worth of issues!
ReplyDeleteGaaaaaaahhhh, speaking of reading books that make you think "Why is this person published and I'm not?"...have you ever read anything by Nora Roberts? A friend of mine loaned me a couple of NR's books...and it was like having maple syrup poured down your throat. BLECH!
Nope, never read any Nora Roberts, and now I'm thinking, I think I'll definitely pass! Maple syrup belongs only on pancakes and waffles and french toast (mmmm, making myself hungry now...)
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