This is a quick post. A sort of poll question, if you will… What service or resource have you tried to find to help you with your writing, but have been unable to find, either on-line or in person? Or, another way to ask: What is something you’ve said, “If only I could find _x_ it would help me be a better writer!” but have been unable to find? If something comes to mind, feel free to post it below, or send me an email. Ask other writer friends to chime in. I’m curious to hea

“I thought you’d already given up blogging,” some of you might say. Granted, it’s been a while since I’ve been actively engaged in maintaining this blog, so your reaction is justified. No, what I mean is, I’m giving up teaching writing. This is a tough decision, because in the last few years, I’ve seen some really amazing things with my writing students and private instruction clients. There have been people in my Legacy of Words classes that swore to me they couldn’t write a

(Both of the short fiction stories mentioned in this blog post are also available in the story collection, The Blues and The Oranges. Check out Eric Sheridan Wyatt's books here.) According to WordPress, it’s been 182 days since I last paid attention to this blog. (If you are an agent looking to represent me, and doing your research on my social media skills, please ignore that sentence…) And, it had been a few more months, before that, when I was last truly active as a regula

<img class="size-medium wp-image-1415 lazyload" alt="Instagram reawakened my interest in photography." src="https://ericswyatt.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/img_1568.jpg?w=300" width="300" height="300" /> Instagram reawakened my interest in photography. I often talk to other writers about having other artistic outlets. For some of us it may be painting, or dance, or theater, or music. Maybe it is wood working, landscape or garden design, or perhaps cooking. For some of us, we h

Sometimes I come across an article about writing that I know I’m going to return to again and again. David Jauss writes just such an article in the March/April issue of The Writer’s Chronicle. (I’m clipping it out and saving it, AND making a link to the digital version of the story a permanent computer bookmark…) In the article, Homo Sapiens vs. Homo Fictus, Jauss explores (deeply) the differences between “real people” and the characters that we bring to life in our fiction,

I’ve blogged before about my process. It is something that a lot of people find interesting. I know I enjoy discussing process and learning about the creative flow as others experience it, even if it doesn’t apply to the way MY writing gets done. One of the key elements of my work flow seems to be this: I write first drafts long hand, and then transfer the words to the computer at a later date. First, I am a big believer that writing with pen (or, pencil) and paper is one way

All of the titles mentioned in this blog post (with the exception of out-of-print books) can be found here: http://astore.amazon.com/wileymag – Look under the category, “2012 List” (I know. Some of you don’t like Amazon. That’s fine. You can buy these books anywhere you choose to buy them. Thanks.) * * * It is Christmas Eve Day and if you haven’t finished buying gifts for the special writer in your life (or, yourself) then it’s too late! This isn’t one of those, “Hurry, it’s

I hope you enjoyed the essays I posted this week focused on Dorothy Parker’s classic story, You Were Perfectly Fine. Based on the blog traffic, you did, in fact, enjoy these posts. That makes me happy. Not because blog stats matter in the long run, but because I feel like the bigger piece of information here is that these essays were helpful and interesting. That’s all a blogger can hope for, really. In case you missed any of this week’s discussion (or if you are looking for

Blog readers come from all around the world. According to the WordPress stats, I have regular visits from readers in Moldova and Argentina. Go figure. But, I know I also have some local and semi-local readers in the Sarasota and Bradenton areas of Florida. This post is (mostly) for you. The winter quarter is fast approaching and I will again be offering two writing courses through the Lifelong Learning Academy. The classes will be at the University of South Florida – Manatee

[su_note](Editor’s Note: You can find even more posts about Dorothy Parker’s story, You Were Perfectly Fine, by checking out the Dorothy Parker category tag.)[/su_note] <img class="wp-image-1191 size-medium lazyload" src="https://wordsmatteresw.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/hmagruder-3_4-bw-240x300.jpg" alt="Writer and friend, Heather Magruder." width="240" height="300" /> Writer and friend, Heather Marshall Magruder. If you’re like me, when you think, Dorothy Parker, and

Ginger Pinholster is a writer and fellow graduate of the MFA program at Queens University of Charlotte. You can connect with her on Twitter. (Or, leave her a message here in the comments section, too!) *** “When you’re 18, they call it partying. When you’re 40, they call it, like, alcoholism.” This truism, borrowed from a comedian whose name I can’t remember, seems lost on the “pale young man” at the center of Dorothy Parker’s iconic short story, You Were Perfectly Fine. Her

Belinda Nicoll is the author of the memoir, Out of Sync, as well as a writing and life coach. (You can read an earlier interview I did with Belinda about her book, Out of Sync.) Check out her website at: www.myriteofpassage.com Belinda blogs on the topics of writing, creativity coaching, and expatriation – http://myriteofpassage.wordpress.com/ I asked Belinda to contribute to this week’s discussion of Dorothy Parker’s short story, You Were Perfectly Fine, which I kicked off

Earlier today I kicked off my December guest blog blizzard which will focus on Dorothy Parker’s short story, You Were Perfectly Fine. In November, I hosted several of my favorite writer friends in a discussion of Flannery O’Connor’s story, A Good Man is Hard to Find. Just in case you missed some of the posts, I’ve collected them all below, with links. A brief introduction and links to A Good Man resources. Heather Magruder writes: A Good Man…What’s in a Name? Kelly Fordon con

This is the (belated) final installment of the series of guest contributions focused on Flannery O’Connor’s story, A Good Man is Hard to Find. This post comes from a wonderful writer friend who I had the honor to spend two weeks with in a quiet, out-of-the-way place in Wyoming. (See more about our time at the Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts in earlier blog posts.) David is a talented, warm, and giving writer. He was at his desk before me, and stayed at the task after me,

I met Kelly Fordon while I was pursuing my MFA. She was working on a novel told from the point of view of a U.S. Congressman’s young daughter. The chapter I read had a cameo by Richard Nixon. I was hooked. Kelly is also a published poet and all-around great person to hang out with. (I also featured a link to one of her stories in a Friendly Friday post a while back…) Good versus Evil in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” <img class="size-medium wp-image-1196 lazyload" title="2607_7

As I announced yesterday, I am going to spend this week on the blog sharing some words of literary wisdom from some of my wonderful writer friends. This is the first of several guest blogs for the week focused on Flannery O’Connor’s story, A Good Man is Hard to Find. Heather Magruder and I were writing peers at Queens University of Charlotte, and in addition to being a fine writer, Heather is a lot of fun to talk to. (She also provided a unique moment for her graduating class

Marni Mann’s Books Now in Young Adult Editions Fellow Florida writer, friend, and all-around great gal, Marni Mann made a big splash with her two novels about addiction: Memoirs Aren’t Fairytales and Scars from a Memoir. Marni’s publisher has now released Young Adult versions of the novels which retain the gritty reality of the books while downplaying some of the more “adult” situations the main character, Nicole, finds herself in. The link above will take you to Marni’s webs

CRAZY! That’s a great way to describe my writing life the last few months. Here’s what I’ve been working on: Trying to finish a draft of one long-standing writing project that isn’t my own (I’m writing based on a story created by someone else) Reading a ton Critiquing manuscripts (lots of them!!) for friends, clients, and students Dipping my foot into the world of poetry (ack!!!) Editing, revising, and submitting several “old” short stories Teaching two writing classes (Ficti

I was asked to write a post on the topic: How do I know when a story is ready for submission? My fine writing friends over at the 5Writers blog posted my response. You can read it here. #guestpost #5writers #blog #submission #story #fiction

Late last week, the computer models (all six million of them) were projecting that the tropical storm named Isaac would spend the last part of the weekend and the beginning of the week pounding one side of Florida or the other as a large, rain-laden hurricane. We live in an area that is Evacuation Zone Five, which basically means we won’t face a mandatory evacuation unless a Really Big One is closing in. Part of our own planning, though, is to evacuate if a storm sized catego