We had a great Cafe last Wednesday. Thanks to all of you who came! We discussed some of the best blogs for writers, and here are a few of them:
http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/index.php
http://www.thecreativepenn.com/
http://writingcontests.wordpress.com/
http://procrastinatingwritersblog.com/
http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2009/02/05/top-100-creative-writing-blogs/
The last one on the list has its own list of 100 best blogs, so there are plenty to choose from.
Robert Stephen Williams commented that he felt that people were no longer reading blogs because so much information consisted of sound bites. He felt that Twitter and Facebook status updates have overtaken blogging as the preferred web communication method.. He said "It's all about your network, followers and connections, like those on Linked-In."
What do you think? It seems to me that even Twitter and Facebook updates often refer readers to longer articles or blogs online.
One of our writers was asking which literary magazines were the best ones to submit to. Plenty of advice here, but it really boiled down to: know the literary magazine before you submit to it. It's no good sending a story about your childhood to a magazine that specializes in writing translated from other languages, for example. Places to find literary magazines to read/buy - the library, and Barnes and Noble.
Christine Schaffer's advice was similar. She told us about how she gets articles placed in food related publications like Edibles. Research the publications first to find out which ones carry the sort of article you write. The pitch a story on a topic you're familiar with, and if you don't sell it first time, keep pitching!
