I have miles of writing in my journals and notebooks and over the years, I return again and again to themes and issues––is that catharsis, compost or content?
I guess my real question is how to break out of habitual approaches, find new energy in this content, and discern what belongs in poetic voice and form?
I am hoping to contact publishers with a query letter. I have 22 short stories; 11 have been published in literary journals. Are 22 tales too many? Should I cut some or wait and let the editor do so?
A question I wrangle with often is how to deal with the heaviness of my manuscript’s beginning. To make sense of the story, the ‘heavy stuff’ needs to be shared up front. It’s the catalyst for action.
I have a current manuscript that I keep abandoning because the subject is so deeply personal and traumatic. In the process of writing this story these experiences are intensely relived, with the result that I become overwhelmed and too emotionally vulnerable to stay the course.
When do you know the manuscript is finished or polished enough to send it out? Nikki Hillman
This is the most frequent question that plagues writers, Nikki. We tackled part of this question in my September 4th Writer Q & A post but I will elaborate more this month because it’s such a vexing question with so many variables!
I see all writing as a kind of translation that “bears across,” is a conveyance of an idea across the bridge from a mind to a page. But I wonder to what extent is this task possible?
In the context of editing a longer manuscript, I hear people talk about how there might not be a clear narrative ‘through line’ and if so, how to find it? Do you have thoughts on this?
How do you know when to stop revising? I presume that if one does get picked up by an agent or publisher they will have their own editor who will ask you to revise again, so when do you know to leave it alone?
How do you match a writer/manuscript with a VMI mentor? [Donna Lee Mae]
First, it’s important to say that I’m the matchmaker! However, mentors review the writer’s application I’ve matched them with before I inform the writer whom they will be working with.
Everytime I ask myself a question, I answer it. Lately, this is the question: how do you find your voice in the telling and not sit too far back? In other words: how do you find that intimate tone when the material is so personal?
What are some guidelines you would suggest for writing an Acknowledgements page? [Rahat Kurd]
Often, this is a task to do in the 11th hour before publication but in fact, it’s an important piece of writing.
I’m a poet who writes sixty or seventy poems and THEN tries to group them into a manuscript. This is a difficult way to find a through line or order as I don’t automatically have a beautiful way to group the poems.
