I know Friday the 13th is supposed to be an unlucky day, but I prefer to take the day and look at what can make me better—a better person, a better dad, a better writer. There are a lot of great WD tools that have helped me with the latter. And I’m not alone. Bestselling authors like Stephen King and Stephenie Meyer have credited some of their early success to Writer’s Digest and Writer’s Market. Even John Grisham has said that this article that originally appear in WD gave him the tools to write The Firm.

If you’re reading this blog it’s probably safe to say that you have a favorite Writer’s Digest magazine, book or other item that has really helped you. If not, you’ve probably considered investing in one to take your writing to the next level, but perhaps weren’t sure what to get.

So, to celebrate this Friday the 13th, I’ve put together a list of the top 13 Writer’s Digest tools that writers have scooped up from our shop so far this year. Check them out. Also, if you have a favorite item from the Writer’s Digest collection and don’t see it on the list, comment and let me know why you’ve found it so valuable. I’d love to know.

The Top 13 Writer’s Digest Tools of 2012

1. 2nd Draft 
2. 2012 WM Deluxe

3. VIP Program

4. 2012 Guide to Literary Agents

5. The Wealthy Writer

Add a Comment

All the editors on Writer’s Digest staff aren’t just 9-5 editors, we are also writers and storytellers—which is why we are so passionate about writing and publishing. “WD Editors Are Writers Too” is a feature on this blog to give you a sneak peek at the folks who lead the WD community—including their quirks, what inspires them and what they are writing outside of the Writer’s Digest world. Today’s pick is Writer’s Digest Editor Jessica Strawser (she’s a must-follow on Twitter @JessicaStrawser). Few people know that Jessica and I have been friends for a long time, all the back to college where we roamed the halls of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University (Go Bobcats!). We had classes together, worked on the college magazine together and even took an ice skating class together (surprisingly neither of us got severely hurt). She’s a fun person to be around and an amazing editor. I consider myself lucky that years later, not only are we still good friends, but we both get to work together every day. Oh, and we tried to make the word “poison” hip, as in “Those shoes are so cool, they’re poison!”—but that’s a story for another day.

Jessica Strawser

Editor, Writer’s Digest

I joined Writer’s Digest in: You’d think this question would have a simple answer, wouldn’t you? I was an intern for Writer’s Digest Books in college, and had the good fortune of working with a talented staff that took me under its collective wing. Midway through my senior year at Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, before I’d even started looking for a job, I was invited to apply for a position that was opening up with the magazine, and things fell into place before I knew it. I moved to Cincinnati and started work just weeks after graduation, and spent the next few years working as both an assistant editor for WD and managing editor for its sister publication, Personal Journaling (which has since ceased publication, though we were sad to see it go). I then moved on to serve as an editor for various nonfiction book imprints, in addition to working as a freelance writer, editor and writing instructor, and a brief stint in marketing and PR.

When my current position leading the magazine opened up in 2008, I jumped at the opportunity to return to a publication that had always felt like home. My experiences having worked in various other editorial capacities—and with writers and publishing professionals of all sorts—have proven invaluable in informing my work overseeing WD.

I knew I wanted to be a writer when: I honestly can’t remember ever not wanting to be a writer. That sounds too contrived to be the truth, but there you have it.

Favorite moment as a writer/editor: When I interviewed Alice Walker for a WD cover story, and she lingered on the phone to chat with me afterward—and very sincerely wished me luck with my own novel-in-progress. She’s been one of my literary heroes for years; I’ll never forget it. And I have it on tape!

Worst moment as a writer/editor: Everybody seems to have a writing conference-related story, and I’m no exception. One of my personal lowlights was when I flew to a very large airport at a very large city for a conference and my ride (a conference staff me

Flashbacks can play pivotal roles in any story, whether it be fiction, nonfiction or a script. So what is flashback in a story? Some folks confuse it with backstory, but the time constraints of a flashback don’t allow us to share too many details. They just allow us to reveal tidbits.

Here’s a great explanation of writing flashbacks and backstory offered up by Ron Rozelle in Write Great Fiction: Description & Setting:

A flashback is a sudden, brief relocation to a previous time and then, just as suddenly, a return to the present story. Flashbacks can hint at backstories, but they aren’t backstories themselves. A backstory is a longer trip (in fact, sometimes backstories make up most of a story or even a novel).

In a flashback, a character is usually reminded of something or someone from his past. The smell of cabbage cooking might cause him to see a kitchen that he hasn’t actually seen in years and years. Or you might have a character who looks over at his wife of 50 years and, in just the right light of a nice afternoon, sees her as the teenager he married.

Flashbacks come in handy when you need to infuse a clue or two into a mystery or when some character trait needs to be enhanced or explained. Let’s say you have a fellow in your story who doesn’t like dogs. Your reader wants to know why, so you lead her along for a while and then give her a nice little flashback, in which the man recalls being bitten by a dog as a child.

Flashbacks are quick. Backstories, because they drag in the baggage of a character or a situation, are longer.

Backstory, when layered effectively, can be a good way to establish setting and provide description. Diverting your readers’ attention away from the here and now allows you to focus on times and places that give deeper insight into a character or a situation.

There you have it. And now that you know, you can focus on and improve these intricate parts of your writing. Your stories and manuscripts will be that much better because of it.

Follow me on Twitter: @BrianKlems
Read my parent humor blog: The Life Of Dad
Sign up for my free weekly eNewsletter: WD Newsletter

Did you know that April is National Poetry Month? I have never considered myself to be a poet, but I’ve learned that writing poetry can be fun. That’s why a couple of years ago I participated in Robert Lee Brewer’s Poem a Day challenge. It was one of the best decisions I ever made as a writer–and I think it’s something you should consider doing too.

Here are the guidelines to Robert’s Poem-A-Day Challenge.

I know it has already started, but you can catch up pretty quickly. To help, I’ve linked (and will continue to link) to each day of the challenge on this blog post. So feel free to bookmark this page to help you find the day that you need:

Here are links to every day so far:
2012 April PAD Challenge: Day 1
2012 April PAD Challenge: Day 2
2012 April PAD Challenge: Day 3

Thanks again to Robert Lee Brewer for sponsoring this amazing challenge each and every year. If you don’t already, be sure to follow him on Twitter. Tell him @BrianKlems sent you. Also tell him that we miss his mustache.

Follow me on Twitter: @BrianKlems
Read my parent humor blog: The Life Of Dad
Sign up for my free weekly eNewsletter: WD Newsletter

First off, thanks to everyone who participated in this year’s #AprilFools4Writers contest (if you want to know what I’m talking about, click here). I had a great time (and I hope you did too). Creative exercises like this are a wonderful way to inspire us–and an easy way to have a little fun. While the winners were selected randomly, it is worth noting that all five had pretty clever contributions, so I’m sharing them here.

Without further ado, the winners (and their #AprilFools4Writers headlines) are:

‎‏ @CarolWiley (From Twitter)
Q and U refuse to sit next to each other. #AprilFools4Writers

competitivewriter (From the comments section)
EXCLAMATION POINTS TO QUESTION MARKS IN A PERIOD OF SENTENCE ENDING CONTROVERSY

Egg (from the comments section)
Q challenges X for right to mark the spot.

@Rachel_Levine (From Twitter)
Trouble Sitting At Your Desk? Author Reveals His Secret To Staying Put: Duck Tape #AprilFools4Writers

Kim Flowers (From Facebook)
Anne Rice and Stephanie Meyer to Collaborate on New Vampire Book Entitled “Breaking Down”.

(NOTE: I’ll be contacting winners directly on 4/3/12 and tell them how to claim their prizes.)

Thanks again to everyone who participated. Each receives a copy of the Writer’s Yearbook 2012, which features The Top 100 Markets for Book & Magazine Writers. I hope to have more contests like this in the future, so stay turned.

Want to win even bigger prizes and receive prestigious awards? Check out other Writer’s Digest writing contests.

Follow me on Twitter: @BrianKlems
Read my parent humor blog: The Life Of Dad
Sign up for my free weekly eNewsletter: WD Newsletter

April Fools Day is upon us and it’s time to have some fun. Create entertaining, clever and witty headlines that would appear in an Onion-style newspaper for writers about writing topics (grammar, authors, books, etc.) and post it in any of the ways mentioned below. That’s it! That’s all you have to do. To make it extra special, I’ll up the ante: Enter this competition in any of the four ways below and spread the word of it by mentioning this blog post and I’ll enter you into a drawing for a free copy of the 2012 Writer’s Yearbook, which features The Top 100 Markets for Book & Magazine Writers. In fact, I’ll give away 5 of them so we can have 5 winners.

Here’s my first one:

How to be entered for a change to win:

1. Post your headline in any one of these ways:

• On this blog: Leave your headline in the comment section of this post.
• On Twitter: Use the hashtag #AprilFools4Writers with your headline
• On Facebook: Leave your headline as a comment in the #AprilFools4Writers thread.
• On Google+: Leave your headline as a comment in the #AprilFools4Writers thread.

2. Link to this blog post about the competition through any of your social media sites–Twitter, FB, Google+, your blog.
If you post on Twitter, include my handle @BrianKlems so I can track it. If you post on FB, Google+ or post on your blog, include the link below in the comments section. Here’s a sample that you can use anywhere:

Like April Fool’s Day? Enter the @WritersDigest #AprilFools4Writers contest. It’s free! Details: bit.ly/HrfeVW (via @BrianKlems)

If you want to be eligible for prizes, you have to do both. Deadline is Sunday night, April 1, 2012 at midnight EST. (So you have all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday to participate!) I will announce the winners and post some of my favorite entries next Monday, April 2 right here on this blog. Remember, enter because it’s fun—as a bonus, you could walk away with a copy of this:

P.S. Want to win even bigger prizes and receive prestigious awards? Check out other Writer’s Digest writing contests.

Follow me on Twitter: @BrianKlems
Read my parent humor blog: The Life Of Dad

Q: I keep hearing this term “denouement” pop up in some of the writing materials I’ve been reading. What exactly is a denouement? –Anonymous

Denouement is a hard word to pronounce (and a harder word to spell for some of us, especially me—it’s one of my Achilles’ heels for some reason). But the role of the denouement in literature is not hard to comprehend and, once you understand it’s definition, you’ll be to spot it quite easily in most novels.

The denouement is the final outcome of the story, generally occurring after the climax of the plot. Often it’s where all the secrets (if there are any) are revealed and loose ends are tied up. For example, the denouement of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet comes just after the Romeo and Juliet take their own lives. When the families find their dead bodies, Escalus explains that their deaths are a result of the family feud, leaving members of both sides to feel guilty. That is the denouement.

As a writer, it’s important to keep this in mind when crafting your own story. While you want to give away bits of information about your plot (and subplots) throughout, you want to save the juiciest revelations for the end, rewarding readers for staying the course. That’s the ultimate goal of any good denouement.

Follow me on Twitter: @BrianKlems
Read my parent humor blog: The Life Of Dad
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Thanks to the huge success of last month’s agent pitch for fiction writers, we’ve decided to host a 3-day event for nonfiction writers/memoirists. There’s no travel required (which helps save on costs) and the event will not only help you fine-tune your pitch but also get it in front of the eyeballs of agents.

Basically, the Writer’s Digest Agent Pitch Bootcamp for Nonfiction/Memoir Writers gives you instruction on pitching your work, forces you to write/rewrite your pitch, gets your pitch critiqued from a Writer’s Digest editor, allows you to ask questions, allows you to fine-tune it one more time and gets an additional critique from two literary agents (all in one weekend!) Also, this event is limited in number of attendees in order to guarantee each participant gets maximum attention.

The Details:

Bootcamp Dates: Friday, March 23 – Sunday, March 25, 2012 (All times Eastern times) Sign up here!

DAY 1 (Friday):

• 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM: Live online webinar: Pitch Your Nonfiction Book or Memoir (Chuck Sambuchino – agent expert, author, and editor of WD’s Guide to Literary Agents – will detail the big picture and the fine points of what makes an effective pitch. You can ask questions live!)
• 2:00 PM:  Saturday morning: At the conclusion of the webinar you’ll be given your assignment: Write that pitch!

Day 2 (Saturday)

• 10:00 AM: Submit your pitch to the Writer’s Digest editors
• 2:00 PM: An editor will return your pitch along with a personalized critique.
• 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM: Chat with Writer’s Digest editors on a message board, gaining additional insight into pitch-writing.
• 4:00 PM – Midnight: Revise and fine tune your pitch, resend to Writer’s Digest editors.

Day 3 (Sunday)

• 9:00 AM: Your pitch will be assigned to two agents (for info on the agents involved, see below), both of whom will supply detailed critiques of your work, additional suggestions for revision, or recommendations to start submitting to other agents right away. It’s even possible (but not guaranteed) that they’ll ask to see more material. You’ll receive your critiques no later than 9:00 PM Eastern time.
• Also in the Morning: Receive two pre-recorded webinars, “How to Write a Non-Fiction Book Proposal,” by Phil Sexton, publisher of Writer’s Digest, and “How an Agent Picks a Client, from Query to Career,” by literary agent Irene Goodman. (You’ll also receive one article and one book download.)

This event is almost sold out, so this is really your last opportunity. Be part of this weekend bootcamp and, in just three days, walk away with a dynamite query built to entice agents.

For more details on the Agent Pitch Bootcamp Weekend, click here.

The Agents:

JOHN WILLIG (Literary Services, Inc.) 
John, who is in his 35th year in publishing, began work as a marketing manager and then editor for HarperCollins. As his interests moved to trade publishing, he became an executive editor at Prentice Hall for business books. While at P-Hall, John enjoyed working with such authors as Henry Mintzberg, Philip Kotler and Jim Collins a

Getting started on any writing project is always the toughest. For years I talked about turning an idea I had from college into a novel so amazing that Oprah would beg to have me on—probably twice! I had notes for the novel in my head and, once in a blue moon, I’d actually sit down to try to write the damn thing. Only, the most I could ever hammer out was about 2,000 words. Considering most first-time novels fall between 80,000-100,000 words, I think it was safe to say that I was more likely to publish a sneeze than this book.

It wasn’t until I got serious about it that I started to make real progress (not on that manuscript, mind you, but on a nonfiction project). I don’t think I would have had any luck writing a manuscript if I hadn’t learned these five tips. I recommend them to anyone who is serious about writing a manuscript or has
even toyed with the idea of writing novels. Here they are.

1. Don’t worry about format until you are finished.

Details like this only stand in your way from writing a great story. Worry about cooking the meal first before concerning yourself with presentation. You can wait until much, much later to adjust your manuscript and adhere to formatting guidelines. And, when you are ready, read this piece on how to format a manuscript.

2. Set aside 45-60 minutes a day to write your novel.

Who are we kidding, we all have super busy lives of driving kids to soccer, caring for sick parents, paying bills, posting witty Facebook status updates (after all, we are writers so our updates are the best), and who knows what else. But the dirty truth is if you can’t carve at least 45 minutes out of your day to dedicate to writing, then you aren’t serious about writing a manuscript. It’s time to take it seriously. If you need extra help, check out 90 Days to Your Novel—it’s a great resource.

3. Outline your novel.

Some people are able to freewheel it and write from beginning to end with just a general idea. I find that those people are few and far between. By creating an outline, you not only give your novel or nonfiction book structure, you also give yourself a much needed map. It’s much easier to stick with your goal of writing a manuscript when you have a structure in place. If you’re not sure which is the best outline method for you, check out this piece on how to write an outline. Also, here’s additional advice on how to turn your outline into a first draft.

4. Write the beginning sentence and last sentence to each chapter.

Much like a road trip, your goal of each chapter is to get from point A to point B. Write up and plug a first sentence and a last sentence into your Chapter Writing GPS, then watch as it guides you throughout each section of your manuscript. Like any fun trip, the coordinates may change a bit, but by having them you’ll be able to get to where you need to go

5. Have some freaking fun.

No one is forcing you to write. You’re doing it because you love creating, informing and inspiring. You love the twists and turns you create out of thin air. You love the challenge of making interesting characters grow and change. (You also secretly love being able to bump people off without the th

Q: Before sending my fiction manuscript off to agents, I want to be sure I have it formatted correctly. Can you offer up any specific guidelines on the specific manuscript format that agents and publishers want? —Anonymous

As an editor, I can tell you that queries and manuscript submissions (unfortunately) come in all shapes, sizes, fonts and (I’m not making this up) colors, making it a pain to sift through them. Sometimes the manuscript formatting has been so jarring that I’ve had to reject them without even looking at the overall idea—mainly because I couldn’t find the pitch through the clutter. Editors generally prefer submissions of any kind to be neat and uniform, like an online contacts folder, so they can find exactly what they want as easily as possible.

According to Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript, here are the specific rules to formatting a manuscript you should adhere to before shipping your work off to potential agents and publishers.

→ Use a 1″ margin on all sides
→ Use a title page, set up the same as the title page in your package (see page 159).
→ Don’t number the title page. Begin numbering with the first page of the text of the book, usually the introduction, prologue, or chapter one.
→ Use a header on each page, including your name, the title of your novel in all caps, and the page number.
→ Start each new chapter on its own page, one-third of the way down the page.
→ The chapter number and chapter title should be in all caps, separated by two hyphens: CHAPTER 1—THE BODY.
→ Begin the body of the chapter four to six lines below the chapter title.
→ Indent fives spaces for each new paragraph.
→ Double-space the entire text.
→ Use a standard font, 12-point type. Times New Roman, Arial, or Courier is fine.
→ Use 20-lb. bond paper.

It’s important to note that guidelines may vary a little based on who you talk to or what you read, but by following the ones stated above you will make sure that your manuscript looks clean, is easy to read and won’t get rejected because of sloppy formatting.

Follow me on Twitter: @BrianKlems
Read my Dad blog: TheLifeOfDad.com
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Hey everyone, I have a pretty big freebie for you. Google+ is growing at a rapid pace, which is why I’m beefing up our G+ page—and I want you to join us! Add Writer’s Digest to one of your circles and, as a thank you, at the end of the month I’ll send you a valuable freebie through Google+. It’s that easy. Put us in one of your circles, get something free. I wanted to kick things off with a bang, so I’m starting with a really good one:

Legal Issues and Contract Basics: All Your Writing Questions Answered OnDemand Webinar

This OnDemand webinar is a $79 value and you can gain access to it for free by adding us to your circles. You’ll also get valuable tips, advice and inspiration every day from your friends here at Writer’s Digest, helping you achieve your goals to write better and get published. I’ll be creating a circle of all who follow us and, on March 31, I’ll send out the link through Google+ to access the Legal Issues and Contract Basics OnDemand Webinar so you can get a valuable copyright issues education (for free!).

If you’re not on Google+, it’s definitely worth checking out. And if you are, be sure to add us to your circles.

(And yes, I realize that I linked to our G+ page a lot, but I don’t want you to miss out.)

Follow me on Twitter: @BrianKlems
Read my parent humor blog: The Life Of Dad
Sign up for my free weekly eNewsletter: WD Newsletter

Thinking about writing a blog? Been writing a blog for some time now and have yet to establish any growth (and by “growth” I mean “increased pageviews”)? Over the past 10 years I’ve refined my blogging skills—that’s right, I started my first blog back in 2001 and it is so embarrassing by today’s standards that I’m almost unwilling to link to it … almost. Blogs for writers are everywhere, and there’s often good advice on them about writing a blog. There’s also plenty of not-so-good advice. It can be frustrating.

Now I currently run three successful blogs: Questions & Quandaries, The Life of Dad and this online editor blog (which I’ve begun calling The Writer’s Dig). It’s been a challenge juggling them but, by sticking to these 12 specific do’s and don’ts of writing a blog that I’ve developed over my years of experience, I’ve been able to establish growth (increased pageviews). I hope they can help you learn how to write a good blog too.

When Writing a Blog Do …

Find your focus.
To do this, you must first ask yourself this question: Who are your target readers? Once that’s settled, you can home in on a niche category (like this one focuses on writing) and be the expert on it.

Be relatable, be yourself.
What sets bloggers apart from newspaper article feeds is voice. Your content is what draws them in while your personality, or your voice in writing, is what will keep them there. Let your readers get to know you.

Use links within your posts.
Whether you are linking to other blogs or websites that contain great information or linking to past posts on your own site, do it whenever you can. This will help not only increase your clicks but also help with your blog’s search engine rankings.

Include images.
While readers come to your blog for information and personality, they also need to be stimulated visually. Not all posts will lend themselves to an image, but when they do, take advantage of it. Here’s some advice on finding free online images that you can use.

Respond to blog comments.
This is an opportunity to connect directly with the people who are reading your work. Not all comments need a response, but be sure to respond to ones that do. And sometimes it’s worth just popping on and posting “Thanks for reading my blog.”

Post to Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Anywhere Else You Can.
Don’t be afraid to use social media to tout your posts. Anything that makes it easier for potential readers to find your blog is a must (and friends and family definitely qualify as potential readers).

When Writing a Blog Don’t …

Set Unrealistic Goals.
You know your schedule and abilities better than anyone else, so don’t att

We've all received writing advice at some point in our lives. Whether it was a high school English teacher who suggested we cut back on using passive voice, a conference presenter who recommended abandoning our prologue, or a roommate who told us to never give up (and to, perhaps, get a second job in order to help pay the rent). The best pieces of writing advice stick with us and make us better writers, so it's important we share that with others—after all, writers need to stick together. Read more

Are "since" and "because" interchangeable or is there a difference between them? This quick explanation will help you put this hot-button issue to rest once and for all. Read more

As the first month of 2012 winds down, so does the fight to stay strong in keeping up with New Year's resolutions. It's so easy to fall off the horse for a few days, then a few more days, then a few more—and we do this without considering how much falling off a horse actually hurts! (Even falling off a figurative horse hurts our writing career in the long run.) So with month two creeping up on us, I'd like to offer up some writing prompt exercises to rekindle your creative spirit. Read more

All the editors on Writer’s Digest staff aren’t just 9-5 editors, we are also writers and storytellers—which is why we are so passionate about writing and publishing. “WD Editors Are Writers Too” is a new column on this blog to give you a sneak peek at the folks who lead the WD community—including their quirks, what inspires them and what they are writing outside of the Writer’s Digest world. Today’s pick is Writer's Market Assistant Editor Tiffany Luckey, who is not only the master proofreader for this blog, but is also one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. Read more

Every year we have a small holiday party, generally held at our art director's house (she likes hosting, plus she lives minutes from our office). We eat lunch, chat about the worst Christmas presents we've ever received, play games and close things down with a White Elephant gift exchange. But the one thing that dominates the conversation throughout the entire event is how lucky we are to be a part of the wonderful writing community, doing something we love that (hopefully) helps others find success. Read more

We posted more than 1,300 articles to WritersDigest.com this year and, quite frankly, that's a lot. It's hard to sift through all of that, so I've gatherd the 18 most popular articles to share with you—a mix of fiction, nonfiction, writer's rights, agenting, publishing and a bit of humor. Bookmark these links and reference them as much as you need. There's something for everyone here, so read on. Your manuscript and writing career will thank you. Read more

When agents ask for sample chapters, which chapters should you include? If your strongest chapters fall in the middle, is it OK if I send those? The answer is different for fiction and nonfiction. Read more

It’s #storyfriday time on Twitter! Here’s how it works: We write the first line, then someone adds a line & so on. Starts @9:30 EST. Use #storyfriday hashtag. For more details on how #storyfriday works, click here. Read more

I love quotes, especially ones about writing. They inspire me, invigorate me and, sometimes, put writing in perspective for me. Recently we posted The 90 Top Secrets of Bestselling Authors, filled with quotes from Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, Nora Roberts, John Updike and more. All are amazing and worth a look. If you don't have too much time to spare today, though, have no fear--I weeded through and pulled out the 7 best quotes that you should absolutely read. Here they are. Read more

Today Writer's Digest is offering $15 off your order of $75 or $20 off your order of $100 from WritersDigestShop.com. You'll need to enter the code WDS267 at checkout. Also, I've posted a really fun Cyber Monday prompt that you won't want to miss. Read more

All the editors on Writer’s Digest staff aren’t just 9-5 editors, we are also writers and storytellers—which is why we are so passionate about writing and publishing. “WD Editors Are Writers Too” is a new column on this blog to give you a sneak peek at the folks who lead the WD community—including their quirks, what inspires them and what they are writing outside of the Writer’s Digest world. Today’s pick is WD Assistant Editor Marielle Murphy who is funny, smart and tolerates the occasional Klemsquake¹. Read more