Dallas Woodburn's Blog, page 27

Markets for Young Writers

* Sweet Designs Magazine is an online magazine with articles and features for teen girls, including fashion, beauty, advice, real life, health, teen issues, entertainment, DIY, crafts, polls, humor, contests, and other fun stuff. Learn more and submit your work at http://www.sweetdesignsmagazine.com/
* PLAYS: The Drama Magazine for Young People publishes approximately 75 wholesome, one-act plays each year (in seven issues, October through May, with a combined issue for January/February)...

Yann Martel on "Combating Indifference" Through the Arts

There is wonderful interview in Writer's Digest with Yann Martel, author of the Booker Prize-winning novel Life of Pi and most recently Beatrice and Virgil. One of the final questions the interviewer asked was, "Through your actions as well as the themes of your stories, it's clearly very important to you to combat indifference. Can you explain why?"

Here is Martel's beautiful response:


I think indifference in itself is not a good thing, in any field really, but especially in the arts. Art is t...

"Bang The Keys": A Fabulous Video by Jill Dearman

I came across this YouTube video by Jill Dearman, author of Bang The Keys: Four Steps to a Lifelong Writing Practice. After watching the 9-minute video, I felt like I was dunked in a cool, refreshing bath of inspiration. Jill is chock-full of advice and motivation for any writer, artist, musician, or simply someone looking to add more creativity to his or her life.


Jill also got me thinking about some of my own "bang the keys" writing tenets that I've gathered from teachers and from my own...

Interview with Kristin Andress: Part 2

I am delighted to feature Kristin Andress on my blog! She is the author of Imagine Being In a Life You Love, available NOW at Amazon.com. Exciting plans are underway to celebrate its Summer Book Launch.

Kristin says: "Please order 1, 2 (or more copies) on July 15 and 16th as part of our bestseller campaign! Even if you have your copy, Imagine Being In a Life You Love makes a great gift for friends, family or as a differentiator in offering it to your clients. Also, please feel free to forward ...

Interview with Kristin Andress: Part 1

Kristin Andress is the CEO of Andress Consulting, a Solana Beach, California-based firm that offers strategic planning, marketing and communications solutions. For nearly two decades, she has helped major corporations, start-up companies, and entrepreneurs, streamline business operations, promote and differentiate their products and services, and improve company and individual performance.
Kristin's new book, Imagine Being In a Life You Love (www.ImagineBeing.com) provides an invitation and ...

Interview with Mary Ann Hutchison, Author of "Moochi's Mariachis"

Mary Ann Hutchison is the author of the YA novel Moochi's Mariachis, a wonderful coming-of-age tale that will make you want to get up and dance! She was born in Wisconsin but now calls Tucson, Arizona home. She loves the mountains and the sea and says, "I would be happiest living in a log cabin in the mountains if I could open the front door and have ocean waves lapping at the front porch." A voracious reader, as a pre-teen one of her favorite books was Lorna Doone; now she can't get enough o...

Book I LOVED: "The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein

A few nights ago, around 10 pm, I picked up Garth Stein's best-selling novel The Art of Racing in the Rain and began to read.
I didn't stop until THE END, 250+ pages later. It didn't matter that it was nearly 4 a.m. When I began reading, my eyelids had felt droopy and I had thought I would maybe be up reading for twenty minutes ... but, within the first few pages, I was drawn into the story and I lost all track of time. I could not stop turning the pages. The characters felt real. The...

Guest Post by Jill Shure: Always a Reader

There was no single reason why I became a writer. There were several avenues that interested me. Acting was one of them. However there were several important elements which helped me decide to write: a vivid imagination and a love of reading.
For me, a vivid imagination helped me overcome a difficult childhood. The pictures and stories in my mind took me away from my problems. Many writers have experienced a challenging youth when a good imagination transformed their lives into something...

Beware of Self-Publishing Scammers

This is a terrible story and a reminder of the sometimes-dangerous world of publishing. There are many reputable self-publishing companies, but there are also unfortunately some scammers. That is why it is SO important to research thoroughly before signing -- or paying -- anything.
http://ctwatchdog.com/2010/06/20/self-publishing-books-another-way-to-get-scammed-as-students-discovered
If you are looking into self-publishing, I have been thrilled with my experience publishing with iUniverse

Contest for Women Writers Announced at SheWrites.com

Today, on the one-year anniversary of She Writes (www.shewrites.com), founders Kamy Wicoff and Deborah Siegel announce The Passion Project, a contest open to an emerging author and member of She Writes with a nonfiction book project in the works.

The Passion Project enables a hand-picked A-team of writing and publishing experts to choose a book project by a first-time author and to donate their time to its advancement, giving it every possible chance to succeed.

"She Writes was founded on the p...