This month's discussion topic – Which womags do you read? And how do you get hold of them? Subscribe, buy from a newsagent, via Readly, borrow from a friend, in the library, something else?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.
12 comments:
Hi Patsy
In the doldrums with the pocket novel I'm writing, your piece about your visit to the TPF office inspired me to submit a rewrite of an old 3,000 word story which my editor liked enough to pass on to the senior editor. What's more, a short article submitted to the features editor (without much expectation of success) has been accepted. I'm telling you all this because, if it weren't for the wonderfully informative Womag Blog, I'd never have even thought of chancing my luck. So a huge thank you, Patsy, and may you and the blog live long and prosper!
Patricia G
I buy most of the mags that publish fiction but I often swap mags with a friend.
I enjoy reading womag stories as well as writing them. I've found reading other's stories can inspire ideas, too!
I have Readly and only read the ones I am likely to submit to, plus most of the cooking magazines :-))
I read most of them from time to time but focus on the ones I am likely to submit to.
I really enjoy them. I think it's a follow on from my childhood when I loved the Bunty and Mandy comics then progressed to teen mags like Jackie and Blue Jeans.
I wish more of them still took fiction. I think they focus too much on celebrity and sensational real life stories. But I guess that must be what sells these days.
My favourite magazine is The People's Friend.
I use Readly and read all mags I can sub to plus a few others that hold my interest and may inspire short stories.
I receive People's Friend by subscription each week - and usually pick out favourite bits of non-fiction before reading the stories. It's changed a fair bit since I first started writing for them, but that's definitely all to the good.
I don't feel the need to centre myself and clear my head prior to writing. I just get on with it!
I tend to buy the People's Friend once in a while mostly the special editions in summer and winter , before it was more frequent when I wanted to write for them.
Fiction fan.
Hi Anon Clear Head,
I've found the trick to not stare at the screen for those first ten minutes or so is to make sure you think about writing at other times of the day/night and have something, a first line, a plot idea you want to develop, etc. so that when you sit down you already know what to work on. Hope that helps.
C.H.
I use Readly to read the magazines. It means I can read back copies so I don't miss stories by friends. Though I do sometimes buy My Weekly or the People's Friend if I'm going somewhere and need short reads.
As far as clearing my head before writing goes, I'm lucky enough to live near a park, so might just go for a quick walk before getting started. Also, I agree with C.H. about knowing what I'm going to work on before I sit down. There's usually the germ of an idea in my writer's notebook that I want to develop. The pre-writing walk can sometimes help me to 'write in my head' before committing to computer/paper.
I use Readily too, but still buy my favourite mags, like My Weekly and The People's Friend. I also swap magazines with friends. It's a bit of ME time to sit and read through them!
Regarding writing, I have good days and not so good days! I also have a notebook in which to jot down any ideas I have so when I want to write, I just flick through it for past ideas. When I'm out I use the 'notes' bit on my phone and dictate an idea into it. Quite often if I get stuck, I go off and do something else and more often than not a way forward springs to mind!
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