The Gift We Writers REALLY Want
Plus TONS of writing links and resources
*For writing links and resources, scroll down.*
Diamonds? No, I’d Rather Have This…
The other day I was looking for a movie to watch. I wanted something light and fun and feel-good. Something to put me in the holiday spirit. On Amazon “Freevee” I came across a movie with Anna Kendrick from 2014 called Happy Christmas and figured that probably fit the bill.
It really did not.
I read afterwards that much of the dialogue was improvised (something director Joe Swanberg apparently likes to do), and uh… you know what, Joe? I think your actors needed an actual script written by an actual screenwriter. Writers, man, they can be useful.
So I didn’t love Happy Christmas. It was not the fun, feel-good movie I’d been craving. However, I did appreciate this: one of the main characters, Kelly (played by delightful New Zealand actress Melanie Lynskey), is a yet-to-be-published novelist with a young son, and I really related to her struggles. In one scene she talks about how, before she had the baby, she thought she could stay at home with him and work on her writing, but it was proving much more difficult than she realized.
In another scene, Kelly tells her husband what she really wants for Christmas. “Diamonds, a string of them,” she jokes. Then she says no, this is what she really wants:
“What I really want is to be able to do some writing. To be able to go somewhere, by myself. Like a job. I think it would help me.”
As she’s saying this, her husband is laughing, like he thinks she’s joking, and I wanted to punch him in the face. But then he gets it: she’s serious. She wants him (or someone else) to watch the baby so she can get out of the house regularly and have dedicated time to write. Writing is her career, whether she’s making money from it (yet) or not. And without it, she doesn’t quite feel like herself.
The husband agrees to give Kelly time as a Christmas present. He just happens to have an office space she can use, and it’s there that she rekindles her excitement for writing. Towards the end of the film, her husband says he knows her Christmas present is now officially over, but he’d like to continue giving her time for her writing. So I (mostly) forgave him for laughing at her earlier. I guess he’s okay.
How do you give someone time?
The amount of time people have to dedicate to their writing varies widely. But if you are a parent, a caregiver, or working a full-time job that is not writing, maybe this is what you should ask for from your loved ones this holiday season: time to write.
What that looks like can also vary. Several years ago, after a conversation with my husband (who did not laugh, lucky for him), I started doing something I call Mom’s Alone Time Weekend. About four times a year, I spend the weekend (sometimes a long weekend) at an airbnb. I take walks and read and work on my writing while my husband takes care of the kids at home. (OK, sometimes my father-in-law comes up to help, but that’s fine.)
Other options include:
Your partner comes home from work early a few times a week so you can go somewhere and write.
Your loved one buys you a pass to a writing retreat or conference. Or, heck, they just get you an airbnb for a few days as your own private writing retreat. (And if you live in the Mid-Atlantic region, this is a super-affordable writing retreat option: The Writer’s Retreat at Good Contrivance Farm.)
Your parents come up one weekend a month to take care of the kids while you go somewhere out of the house to write.
Your loved one pays for a babysitter a few times a week so you can go somewhere to write.
Your partner takes over a chore you normally do (meal-planning and grocery shopping, laundry, mowing the lawn), which gives you a few free hours a week to write.
You book a private study room at the library a few times a week to give yourself dedicated writing time outside of the house.
Your loved one buys you a writing workshop class or a paid subscription to my newsletter so you can work your way through courses like Cultivating a Regular Writing Routine and Getting Started on Your Novel.
What many of us writers want more than material things is time. Time to be creative. Time to read and write and think and be our true selves. That will make us happier than all the diamonds in the world.
Writing News & Resources:
For All Writers:
In case you haven’t heard about the latest publishing scandal involving Cait Corrine, Courtney Maum of
briefly summarizes it then makes a great point.The Writers Center website is a GREAT resource for finding grants, fellowships, residencies & retreats, publishers (who publish non-agented authors), and literary journal opportunities.
StoryStudio Chicago presents: Pub Crawl: Learn, Pitch, Publish at their virtual Month-Long Publishing Intensive, Feb. 1-29, 2024. (They also have tons of other classes, events and workshops, so check out the StoryStudio website.)
If you don’t listen to the podcast The Shit No One Tells You About Writing, I recommend it. ALSO, they will be doing a virtual, interactive 10-week “Deep Dive Series” in which you can ask questions directly in real time. January 16-March 19.
I also recommend the Manuscript Academy podcast, the First Draft podcast, and The Good Story podcast.
The Women’s Fiction Writers Association has a TON of free writing workshops, critique groups, and webinars, plus upcoming mentorship opportunities.
Register now for this free NYE webinar from The Good Story Company: Rock Your Writing Goals, Dec. 31 from 2-3pm.
Check out the meet-up group called Shut Up & Write. There are in-person chapters all over the country, as well online events.
The Writer’s Atelier has a free online writing community with virtual events. If you're local to the Orlando, Florida area, they also have in-person events as well!
Thinking about going to a conference or applying for a residency in 2024? Check out the free searchable database on Poets & Writers.
Wild Ink Publishing has a call for submissions for several short story anthologies. Wild Ink is a small indie publisher that also publishes full-length novels, so getting a short story in one of their anthologies can be a good stepping stone to potentially publishing a book with them — see my interview with S.E. Reed. They have open submissions for:
Clio’s Curious Dash Through Time Anthology: Poems and short stories appropriate for middle grade readers (5th-8th grade). This anthology is about historical, contemporary, and futuristic materials. We would like to give readers a timeline of stories focusing on the beginning of time, through to the most fantastical futuristic idea you can possibly imagine. Deadline: January 15.
The Yale Review is accepts pitches on a rolling basis. Seeking diverse, sharp, intelligent voices on a wide range of subjects, from literature, art, history, and politics to film, television, music, & more.
The folks at Cheshire Novel Prize host a FREE group on their private app called Writers Space where you can talk about writing, ask for BETA readers, and connect with other writers.
Ready to submit a story? Check out this list of 40 Free Writing Contests! And of course, check out NewPages for submission calls from literary magazines and journals.
Check out the Chestnut Review for stubborn artists. Their submissions are always open and they pay $120/piece. They promise to respond in 30 days, which is HUGE in the lit mag space. Free submissions in most genres and free issues online, plus paid feedback options. They also offer workshops and international retreats. Sounds pretty amazing to me.
Check out my list of writing and publishing resources — my very favorite books, websites, and podcasts on writing, publishing, and the creative life.
For KidLit Writers:
SCBWI Members (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators), the in-person and virtual annual conference will be held February 9-11 in NYC (and online).
Check out Literary Rambles for information on kidlit agents and agent interviews.
From Bitsy Kemper’s blog: over 100 publishers accepting unsolicited picture book manuscripts. (Updated June 2023)
Check out this incredible list of upcoming events for KidLit writers!
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For Querying Writers:
Check out this list of small publishers, most of which do not require agents.
Here’s a query letter template from agent Samantha Wekstein and lots of querying advice from agent Eric Smith.
Find a long list of example query letters on Quite the Query.
Every Friday, Operation Awesome offers one free query critique through their #QueryFriday contest.
Every month I will chose one subscriber for a FREE submission package critique. Send me your query letter and the first two pages of your manuscript, and, if you’re the winner of the month, I will send you back in-depth feedback on both. Interested in receiving a critique? Fill out the form here.
Writing Conferences & Events:
Live in the mid-Atlantic region and looking for a writing retreat get-away?
2024 Winter-on-the-Farm Creative Writing Retreat at ZigBone Farm. Just one hour from DC/Baltimore areas in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains with award-winning writer Diana Friedman. January 12-17, 2024. This retreat is for all writers who want help getting started, shaping and refining existing work, as well as time to write and bond with other writers. Maryland residents can apply for a grant to help cover costs!
The Writer’s Retreat at Good Contrivance Farm. Need to just get away and spend time with your writing? Open year-round, the only requirement for this peaceful retreat north of Baltimore is that you intend to use the time and space to work on your writing. The hen house cottage and barn loft normally book about two months in advance.
The Writing Day Workshop “How to Get Published” Conferences will held both online and in person this year. I attended one of these conferences in person a few years ago, and I thought it was fantastic. I can’t vouch for the virtual version, but there are some benefits: recorded classes, no travel expenses, attend in your comfy pants. Plus, sign up for pitch sessions with agents for $29 a piece. Check out the upcoming conferences:
Writers Digest offers loads of virtual conferences on a variety of publishing and writing craft topics.
AWP 2024 will be held in Kansas City February 7-10 2024, and early bird registration and community scholarship applications are now open!
FREE Virtual Conference from The Writer’s Workout is coming March 2024 -- sign up now to stay in the loop!
Apply for the NYC Publishing Workshop, held April 4-7, 2024, and check out the other writing workshops, retreats, and events from Writing Workshops.
Save the date for the Washington Writers Conference, being held in Bethesda, MD May 3-4, 2024.
Save the date for the awesome Gaithersburg Book Festival (in the DC area): May 18, 2024.
For more writing conferences, check out this list or the free searchable database on Poets & Writers.
Ahhh, Time! Thank you for this rich list of resources and the reminder about making time. Time is an issue for all of us (I assume) ... without a job, child, husband, dog or even a house to take care of, time shouldn't be a problem for me ... but, it is. I'm in constant negotiation with myself for how to spend the luxurious amount of time I have at my disposal. To the point that I'm looking at one or more writer's retreats for 2024.
I've come to the conclusion that time is something we have to ask for (even if we have to ask ourselves for it.) And, it seems particularly tricky when we aren't at the point where writing time equals money.
I love this season when we reflect on the old year and set intentions for the new one. What if we thought about writing time with the same sense of priority and necessity we do for paying the "rent?" It's critical to our well-being. It can't be sloughed off till next month. It can't be frittered away on social media. Life rent. Life-health rent.
Maslow didn't put writing time on the first level of his hierarchy with physiological needs ... but maybe, as writers, we should think seriously about the importance of writing time for us and do everything we can to meet that need.
I could cry reading this, because it’s so true! Time away for creativity is the most precious gift. I work from home as a freelance writer and interruption is a constant challenge. My heart is always aching to be set free for long periods of quiet to work and create - there’s that book still in the wings. I’m doing better now that the kids are older, but it’s always been something worth negotiating.