February 2002

The Writer

The essential resource for writers

Join thousands of successful writers when you subscribe to The Writer magazine. Each month The Writer is full of features you can use to improve your writing, including before-and-after examples of improved writing, more literary markets than ever before, practical solutions for writing problems, selected literary magazine profiles, tips from famous authors and hands-on advice.

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Features
By Charles R. Davis
Our writer knew what was right with his novel-good characters and a good plot-but he didn't know how to fix what ailed it. He got the cure from a good book doctor and describes what he learned.
Departments
Editor's notes
Letters
Contributors
@Deadline
News and notes, quips and quotes.
Dear Writer
How to set up an interview and keep your jitters to a minimum.
Syntax
Surprise! Unexpected words and turns of phrase can transform your writing.
Net//working
Yes, the Internet can be a great tool for research, but beware of the risks.
Safety net
Poet to poet
Here are four ways to revise and get to the heart of your poems.
Off the cuff
Writing personal essays is a way to preserve people and moments, and to see the past anew.
Bottom line
A writer can't afford to neglect the fine art of schmoozing.
Write stuff
The Spirit of Writing: Classic and Contemporary Essays Celebrating the Writing Life, edited by Mark Waldman.
Getting It Published: A Guide for Scholars and Anyone Else Serious About Serious Books, by William Germano.
Seldom Disappointed: A Memoir, by Tony Hillerman
Market focus
What you need to know to break into the market for freelance "marcom"-marketing communications.
Writers wanted
Market news, fairs, conferences, prize offers and market listings.
Classified advertising
How I write
Jonathan Franzen, author of The Corrections, writes in isolation so he can get inside his characters' heads.
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