The Writer November 2021

It feels foolish to compare last year to this one – or to compare 2020 to anything, really – but I do find myself succumbing to so many more intense cravings this year. I noticed it first with food: At the tail end of a very long winter, I suddenly became obsessed with radishes. While the rest of the Alaskan produce section shriveled and wilted as winter dragged on, the radishes remained bright, crunchy, spicy promises of spring. I ate them raw, with butter and flaky sea salt, dipped in hummus, thinly sliced on toast with herbs. I couldn’t eat enough. My cucumber phase began when the height of the snowpack outside finally dwindled to single digits. It ebbed only once we harvested our first greens, when I eagerly ate fistfuls…

Last chance to register for our webinar! Every day you can exercise your creativity. Sound pie-in-the-sky? It isn’t. On Sept. 21 at 2 p.m. ET, The Writer columnist Yi Shun Lai will share all her tried-and-true ways to make sure creativity enters your life – and how you can use it to better your productivity. Miss the webinar? You can also watch recordings of all our past eWorkshops if you’re a member of The Writer. Learn more about our membership program or start your free trial at writermag.com/memberships. 100 words = $1,000 Our 100-word contest is in full swing at writermag.com/contests. Enter your best work in 100 words or less by Oct. 5 for your chance to win $1,000 and publication in our magazine. STAY IN TOUCH Put our free e-mail newsletter to work: Check…

“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”—Martin Luther Outside my office window, the apple tree beckons me to take a writing break. It’s a crisp fall day, and red apples dangle from the branches like Christmas ornaments. Around a half-century old, the tree stands alone on a hillside and functions as a crossing guard for all the animals that pass by: turtles, deer, groundhogs, and even otters. I can’t recall ever seeing a more perfect tree, and I have Pete, an arborist that my boyfriend and I found on the listserv in our small Vermont town, to thank for that. Earlier this year, Pete graciously spent an afternoon giving our apple tree a makeover. He promised that it would be…

I’m taking a class about the essay. The instructor of this class has had a great many personal essays published in consumer magazines and newspapers. It’s the genre of publication I used to appear in and edit for somewhat regularly, and I am trying to break my way back in, so here I am. I’m not sure what I expected, but I didn’t expect the instructor to show us a formula for all the personal essays she’s ever written and loved: Lead with this. Then follow up with this. Now go here. And she-bang! End this way. Voila! An essay fit for the New York Times’ “Modern Love” column, which is, fair play, the pinnacle for a good many writers I know. OK, I’m over-simplifying. But I remember seeing the outline laid out and every single fiber…

“I need to finish this book manuscript this summer, or else.” Or else what? Or else I’d hate myself. Or else I’d reach old age and die without ever completing my memoir. Or else I’d just go mad. It was a doleful, desperate litany I’d been moaning for way too long. On the phone, my friend Anisse sighed in commiseration. “Same. Same.” “My book is a huge mess. I can’t make heads or tails of it, I’ve been revising and moving things around for so long,” I wailed. “Same,” echoed Anisse. “What can we do? I’ll read yours.” I was terrified to think of someone laying eyes on my messy draft, but I was willing to look at hers. “It’s too chaotic.” Pause. “For real? I would read yours, too.” “What are you doing next week?” We…

Writing and editing are inseparable endeavors. As much as we all wish our first drafts were our best work, they’re usually not. Even our second and third drafts can miss the mark. We can self-edit ad infinitum; we can stalk critique groups; we can beg our besties to read our manuscripts and tell us what they think. Ultimately, though, many writers decide it’s time to hire a professional. Enter the independent editor. Finding your ideal editor An editor’s primary job is to make your words shine and to make you even more brilliantly you on the page. (An editor who wants to steal the spotlight would be better off writing, not editing.) In addition to finessing your prose, your ideal editor will also be your cheerleader. That’s not to say that editors should…