author48 Judi BaileyFreelance WriterCleveland, Ohio

11800 Edgewater Drive
Lakewood, OH 44107
ph: 216-227-8393
jbailey@author48.com

fOR WRITERS

We writers come in all types (ha ha) don't we? Short, tall, fat, slim, literary, journalistic, shorts, lengthy, concise wordy ... And magazine writers may write essays, factual articles, humor pieces, opinion spots, list articles and features. Among others.

Here you will find useful information about the craft and the business. Expect to find playfulness as well. And for Pete's sake, don't ignore the FOR MAGAZINE EDITORS section - you can learn plenty of writing skills as well as marketing clues from editorial professionals.

Please let me know what kinds of information you'd like to see here. Go to "Contact Me" to find ways to reach me. Thank you.

Quotes about writing...

The reason 99% of all stories written are not bought by editors is very simple. Editors never buy manuscripts that are left on the closet shelf at home. -- John Campbell

Any man who keeps working is not a failure. He may not be a great writer, but if he applies the old-fashioned virtues of hard, constant labor, he'll eventually make some kind of career for himself as writer. -- Ray Bradbury

It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn't give it up because by that time I was too famous. -- Robert Benchley

You fail only if you stop writing. -- Ray Bradbury

It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog. -- Mark Twain

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Make your writing shine

Using your journal (or a pad of paper) practice some of these crafts:

# Writing dialogue

# Writing short descriptive paragraphs

# Varying sentence length to see how it affects pace

# Showing, not telling (The difference between "She was burning up with anger" and "She slammed her briefcase on his desk an inch from where he was sitting")

# Writing action scenes

# Poetry, which sparks creativy and thinking outside the box

# Writing lists of nouns (Bradbury did this)

# Writing the same paragraph from different viewpoints

# Doing a dramatic scene without using exclamation points

# If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?

Writer of the Month

Jay Stuller is a widely published writer of roughly a thousand national magazine articles and the author of seven books.

His features have appeared in publications including Smithsonian, Playboy, Parenting, Kiwanis, Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping and Reader's Digest.

I contacted Jay and asked him to respond to these questions:

Vision: That my words and thoughts ought to sparkle, leaving the listener or reader informed, entertained and intellectually imprinted.

Working on: A brief piece on the business of gold course architecture.

Last published: An analytical look at the evolving business of business journalism for The Conference Board Review.

Reading now: Four months ago I was reading a book on the World War II battle for Moscow.

Favorite movie/play: I'm a sap for love stories and like most guys, tales of revenge and retribution, just so long as the plot is reasonably clear and moves quickly.

If not writing, career choice: Shooting a basketball.

Editor/writer you would most like to meet: Lance Morrow, the Time magazine essayist.

Worst aspect of your career: The act of writing.

Best aspect: Being paid to go unusual places, given the opportunity to look behind the scenes, and to speak with people doing remarkable things.

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11800 Edgewater Drive
Lakewood, OH 44107
ph: 216-227-8393
jbailey@author48.com