how to write fiction

Book Review: The Poets and Writers Guide to Literary Agents

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The Poets and Writers Guide to Literary Agents

[Kindle Edition}

This book is a collection of articles from literary agents with tips and hints for the author who wants to land an agent. I found the insight and tips very helpful and plan toput a lot of the information to good use.

If you’re anything like me, you get bored reading ‘scholarly’ or ‘educational’ information. I need to know the details of how to find a good agent, where the agents are looking, and how best to approach an agent but it’s not as exciting as a piece of fiction. This book, with its collection of essays, articles, and interview snippets, allowed me to get the information I needed in bit sized pieces so I was not overwhelmed and did not lose my place.

If you are looking for information on obtaining an agent, this is a good read.

Here’s the official book description from Amazon.com:

Searching for an agent?

Poets & Writers is here to help. A collection of articles edited by the staff of Poets & Writers Magazine, this handy resource includes straightforward advice from professionals in the literary field and additional resources with insider tips.

This practical guide will give you everything you need to understand what agents do, what you can expect from them, and how to find the best agent for you and your work:

Where agents search for new talent
Tips on how to secure an agent
What agents look for in the first few pages of a submission
How to follow up with an agent after you’ve submitted your work
The agent’s role in today’s publishing industry
How to know when the time has come to dissolve a relationship with an agent

The Poets And Writers Guide To Literary Agents

If you read it or have read it in the past, let me know what you think of this book in the comments below.

Happy Writing & Reading!

~ Eileen 🙂

Leverage

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LEVERAGE

Knowing time was running out, Issa grabbed a long board on the ground nearby and wedged it under the wagon wheel for leverage. Crouching in the dark, the torches flickered against the walls and she waited. Footsteps echoed off the stone walls and cobble as the soldiers approached.

dark street

Happy Reading!

~ Eileen 🙂

Don Jon Generators

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Writing Tool

I’ve been writing some fantasy geared pieces lately and I was at a name block that I could not get over. So, I went to Google, of course and found several tools I found useful. One super cool tool website I found is called Don Jon. 

While some of the generators and tools here are specifically geared towards science fiction and fantasy, others could be used for regular fiction purposes or general writing prompts.

I always have a hard time thinking up names for characters that are not boring but also not off-the-wall weird and unpronounceable. These name generators give lots of options to choose from and I can find several useful and pleasing names within seconds.

Pop on over by clicking the Don Jon link above or the screenshot below!

donjonwebsite

Happy Writing!

~ Eileen 🙂

Dusk

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DUSK

Issa stepped outside to discover that dusk had laid it’s blanket over the village while she slept. Standing in the doorway of the cottage, she heard a distant sound and a breeze ruffled the tufts at the tip of her ears.

Village at Dusk

Happy Reading!

~ Eileen 🙂

Wondering

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Wondering

I couldn’t help wondering if she knew what was about to happen. She couldn’t see but she could hear and she must be hearing it. The whirring of the fan blades got closer to her naked flesh. Her perspiration skittered across her belly like field mice running from a hawk.

Fan Blades

Happy Reading!

~ Eileen 🙂

Interested

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Interested

Trying not to show that I was interested, I walked closer to the vehicle and peered sideways into the driver’s side window.

The floorboard was grubby with blotches of a dark, gooey looking substance. I moved a little closer and glanced around to see if anyone was watching me.

Blood Stains

Happy Reading!

~ Eileen 🙂

Penny for your thoughts

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Penny for Your Thoughts

Driving down Paloma Avenue, Christy had the top down and a pink scarf around her head to protect her blond hair. Her sunglasses were big and her skirt short as dictated by current fashion trends.

“Penny for your thoughts.”

Christy glanced at her passenger seat and grimaced, not caring if he saw her expression of disgust.

“My thoughts are worth much more than a penny, Terrance.”

He was silent for a moment and then, “I only meant…”

“I know what you meant.”

Pulling in to the parking lot, Christy found an empty slot and slid her Mercedes into it. Stepping out, her stilettos clicked satisfactorily on the pavement. She walked, knowing he would follow. He always followed.

Riding the elevator to the seventeenth floor, she walked to the correct door and entered. When it was her turn and she was seated comfortably in her usual chair, she waited patiently. She looked silently at the woman across from her.

“Well?” The woman asked.

“Well, what?” Christy countered.

“You know what, Christy.” The brunette across from her uncrossed and crossed her legs.

Christy looked sharply at the older woman. “Why are you nervous?” she hissed, leaning forward intently.

The other woman just smiled.

Penny

Happy Reading!

~ Eileen 🙂

Future Endeavors

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Future Endeavors

I could hear paper tearing all around the room. I turned the envelope over in my hands, savoring the anticipation. Slowly I slid a finger under the flap and pulled it open.

I could hear kids in the room around me begin to discuss their results. Del Martin shouted out that he was going to be a lawyer before immediately putting the enclosed chip into his spinal receptor and leaving the room spouting legal theory.

I slowly read the first page that explained the enclosed test results and accompanying program chips.

Kids were leaving the room all around me, but I stayed seated, reading the booklet.

Thee were three options enclosed in my packet. I had 24 hours to choose one or one would be chosen for me. My hands began to shake as I turned to the results section and began to read.

A nurse. My first choice was to be a nurse. I could never be a nurse. I didn’t like people and I could never give shots to kids or empty bed pans for old people. I quickly turned to my second choice.

Second up was a Tennis Instructor. I didn’t even know how to play Tennis. I guess that’s what the chip was for though. That sounded really boring.

I signed and turned to my third choice. A Forest Ranger in the Avgar Mountain range. I stared down at the page. I did not want any of these careers. How could this happen?

I turned to the cover of the booklet. Yep, my name was there on the front, Eliya Blund. Eliya Blund. There was no way these were my results.

I wanted to be a computer programmer, not any of these other dumb things! But these were my choices and I had to pick one. The timer on the cover counted down the hours and minutes until a choice was made for me.

I shoved the whole packet into my book bag and left the classroom.

Computer Chip

Happy Reading!

~ Eileen 🙂

Story Dice

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Story Dice: Tree, Couple, Umbrella

I love finding new writing tools. I found an app on for my iPhone that is story dice. You’ve probably heard of Story Dice. They have pictures on them and you roll the dice and try to use the pictures in your story or other writing piece.  The app I have been using is from Thinkamingo and it cost me $1.99 from the App Store. I like it because I can set the app to roll up to 10 dice if I want to.

I love the idea of story dice. You can use one picture in each paragraph, use it to think up a title, characteristics, almost anything. They are very versatile. So this week I rolled 3 dice and got a Tree, a Couple, and an Umbrella. So here’s what I wrote:

We were married beneath the reaching branches of a majestic oak tree but when you were buried I stood alone beneath an umbrella. I’m ashamed to admit that part of me was glad you were gone. Now I had no one to hold me back from my mission, no one to keep safe and no one to care if I was not.

I had loved in your life like I had loved no other and now in death your memory made me soft and so I cast it aside and said goodbye. I didn’t need you where I was going and I certainly didn’t want you there. I closed my umbrella and left it with you.

Walking to the waiting car the rain poured all around me, dropping to the already wet ground. My feet sloshed through the soggy grass, mud coming up and over the side of my loafers. Instead of overflowing, I took it in.

The car door opened as I approached and I bent to get in. In the dry interior I felt like a fish out of water. A handkerchief was handed to me and I took it in silence. I held it feeling the smooth material between my fingers.

Story Dice

Happy Reading!

~ Eileen 🙂

Defined

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DEFINED

“You cannot let yourself be defined by what others think of you, Camelia.”

Camelia’s shoes were worn through on the big toe of her left foot. She concentrated there instead of meeting the hurt in her father’s eyes.

“Camelia.” He said her name softly and she looked up. Tears welled in the older man’s eyes. “Please help me understand.”

“I can’t.” She breathed before her own tears overflowed.

Tears-eyes-16143904-500-368

Happy Reading!

~ Eileen 🙂