Sarah Selecky

Is it good or bad? Is it good or bad?

Sarah Selecky — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:38:34 +0000

I had a conversation with a friend recently about writing and blogging (my friend’s main outlet for writing is her blog and newsletter). She’d written a fresh post, tried something new, and was hesitating before publishing it.

She’d written something really raw and real, she said, and wondered if she should send it [...]

The Little Bird Winner!

Sarah Selecky — Tue, 07 May 2013 17:42:28 +0000

The winner of the Little Bird Writing Contest is Leslie Greentree, author of “The Room of Pickled Things.” Congratulations, Leslie!

The prompt that started her story:
Write a scene that involves pickled carrots and supermarket eggs.

And three cheers for our runners up:

“Cola Bottle Light” by Emily Coon
Write a story [...]

In the Spotlight: Jess Grant

Sarah Selecky — Wed, 01 May 2013 13:14:26 +0000

I love working with Jess Grant because she’s from another world: the improv comedy world. Her method – standing in front of an audience without notes, performing a sketch onstage, speaking out loud as the words come to her – it’s terrifying. It’s exciting. It’s also instructive, obviously. If Jess can improvise out loud, in [...]

Not knowing is the goal.

Sarah Selecky — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:04:40 +0000

Here’s one way to deal with writing anxiety: know that the story you’re writing is already happening.

What if your characters are already living their story, and you don’t have to make them up? What if it wasn’t your job to come up with personalities and invent settings and conflicts and relationships?

[...]

Your writing rehearsal.

Sarah Selecky — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 13:11:08 +0000

When you sit down to write, how much time do you give yourself to practice? I mean the off-record stuff: writing exercises and warm ups.

Now think of the way dancers or musicians interact with their art. The performance, the finished piece, is the culmination of hours of practice: boring warm ups, weird experiments, [...]

In the Spotlight: Christina Cha

Sarah Selecky — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 11:00:59 +0000

Working with Christina has been a profound experience for me; I feel honoured to witness what’s happened to her writing after three years of practice. She was always a good writer, but now she has mastered the art of paying attention in a scene, and it’s hypnotic. She has faith in her own sentences and [...]

The Little Bird Deadline is on Sunday!

Sarah Selecky — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 16:07:11 +0000

We’ve received a stack of stories already, and I must say, they have some enchanting titles. (I can only see the titles, because the names are hidden, of course.) I’m so excited to hand these over to Alix next month.

There are still two days left before the submission deadline! Are you ready?
Submit [...]

Read it backwards. Deep Revision: Part 5.

Sarah Selecky — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 13:15:26 +0000

This is Part Five of a 5-part tutorial called Deep Revision. This series is designed to help you prepare for The Little Bird Writing Contest. The contest is now open!

Subscribe to contest updates at the bottom of this post.

To be a good editor of your own work, you have [...]

Cut it up. Deep Revision: Part 4.

Sarah Selecky — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 13:10:41 +0000

This is Part Four of a 5-part tutorial called Deep Revision. This series is designed to help you prepare for The Little Bird Writing Contest. The contest is now open!

Subscribe to the series and contest updates at the bottom of this post.

One of the hardest things about attempting revision [...]

Read for influence. Deep Revision: Part 3.

Sarah Selecky — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 05:00:21 +0000

This is Part Three of a 5-part tutorial called Deep Revision. This series is designed to help you prepare for The Little Bird Writing Contest. The contest is now open!

Subscribe to the series and contest updates at the bottom of this post.

Don’t pirate my editions; do plunder my visions. [...]