This month's discussion topic – Why do you write (or hope to write) womag fiction?Here's a random photo for use as a story prompt.
Please share success (or otherwise!) report any womag news, tips, advice you may have, make womag related comments or observations and ask questions – and answer them too if you can help.
Some news of my own ...
– Last week I was mentioned on the cover of The People's Friend. That's a first for me.
– This blog is featured in the current issue of Writers' Forum.
– My latest short story collection, which includes 25 family related stories, many of them previously published in womags in the UK, Sweden, Ireland and South Africa, is currently on offer at 99p.
– I'm giving a talk and reading at the library in Lee-on-the-Solent in June.
And to answer the question I started with – simply because I love this type of story.
12 comments:
I started because I thought it looked easy. Ha! How very naive of me.
Now I write Womag stories because it’s a pleasure, and a challenge, and because every sale and publication, although far outnumbered by rejections, feels so sweet.
I started because I enjoy writing and sometimes it all just comes together into a wonderful (in my opinion lol) story. Rejections are sore but when I have a "buns for tea" moment it makes up for all the soooooo many other disappointments. I would suggest it has made me into a more stoic person and that has to be a bonus :)
Forgot to say congratulations Patsy on your new book, library talk and being a cover girl :)
Because I love writing fiction, I love the particular challenge of writing short stories and I don't have the patience (or the time at the moment) to write anything longer
Ditto Bea Charles - I thought it looked easy! Many rejections later I enjoy the challenge and appreciate the feel-good factor these stories have and the pleasure they bring to people. I try hard to experiment with style and ideas so that none of my stories are too same-y.
Alyson
I started because I thought it would give me a break from writing the Great British Novel. Loved it so much the novel has been gathering dust ever since.
Jacqui
I think it's always been because of the variety of settings, plots and characters you're able to tackle. 'Romance' in the widest sense, perhaps? Relationships of many different kinds, anyhow, friends, families, communities... and I love the chance to use historical backgrounds too!
I've always written in some form or other, poems, stories for competitions, verses, etc, but thought writing Womag stories would be easy; like everyone else I soon found out it wasn't! Through sheer persistence and hard work, and making new friends along the way I've found my own voice and now love it. Every sale makes me want to do a happy dance around the room! And I've hopefully developed a thicker skin through getting the rejections we all get. My advice to anyone is to try, try, and try again. Because when you get your first acceptance it just feels like the best feeling in the world :)
I've always loved writing and once I actually managed to write a novel which, needless to say, never found an agent. Writing for women's magazines satisfies that writing itch and my one acceptance is encouragement enough to keep me trying. As everyone says - never say never!
I don't know if anyone else saw this from Shirley Blair at The People's Friend.
https://www.thepeoplesfriend.co.uk/category/stories/fiction-editors-blog/
Hope others find it useful.
I loved creative writing at school. I also loved reading stories in comics like Bunty then progressed to teen mags like Jackie
I was lucky enough to have a story published in Patches in my early 20s. But then life took over and I didn't write for ages.
However,it was an itch I had to scratch so have come back to it.
I sent stories to womags because I didn't know of any other markets.
I love reading them, and my few acceptances make it all worthwhile.
Your prompt is making me hungry,Patsy, and it's not nearly lunchtime! Like you, these are my favourite short stories to read. I like having the discipline of writing to a word count; I'm sure it makes you a better writer when you have to consider every word carefully. And, I admit, I am rather addicted to getting that email saying 'good news!' Makes it all, including getting rejections, worthwhile.
@ Bea – Funny how things look like they might be wasy until we try, isn't it?
@ Elizabeth – Stoic is a great word! I do see what you mean and agree with you that learning to hande rejections might be good for us.
@ Anonymous – you're right tat short stories are a particular challenge.
@ Penny. Yes, there's quite a lot of scope both in genre and in the style/tone required by different publications.
@ Carrie. I suspect it's because the stories are easy to read that they give the impression they'll be easy to write.
@ Patricia – One acceptance makes up for a lot, doesn't it?
@ Sharon – It does seem that a lot of us can't help writing stories!
@ Kate – those acceptances are even better than a steaming bowl of butternut squash soup – but that's an excellent comforter for rejections on cold days.
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