Jen's Writing Journey

Welcome to the new home of Jen's Writing Journey, the blog that chronicles Jennifer Roland's writing life and provides useful information for new and seasoned writers.

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Reasons to Write: Writing for Love
Christina Katz reminisces about the romantic notions of a writer’s life she held when she was younger and dreamed about being a writer. Then she provides an easy-to-follow road map to move beyond dreaming into doing.

Tips for Recognizing Great Article Ideas
In the current economic climate, your article idea needs to be so amazing that a magazine can’t afford not to have you write it. But how can you tell if your idea is where you need it to be? These tips will help you separate the good ideas from the great.

Despite Recent Events, the American Magazine Is Not an Endangered Species
Finally, some reason instead of doom and gloom about the future of magazines. Hearst’s Cathie Black puts the current downturn in context and looks to the future.

The Northwest Author Series
Online conversations, books, and other asynchronous media are great ways for us to hone our craft and learn from our fellow writers. But, there is nothing better than a face-to-face interaction. Christina Katz coordinates a series of seminars focused on various aspects of writing. I attended my first session yesterday, and it was great. Christine Fletcher presented the important underpinnings of a good work of fiction. Upcoming sessions will focus on freelancing and writing children’s books. If you aren’t in the Portland area, look to see if there is a similar offering in your area.

Why Kindle Should Be an Open Book
Finally, someone who is anti-Kindle for solid business reasons. As you know, I have been struggling to decide if I want a Kindle or an e-reader or just plain old paper books. This article makes me want to wait.

• Writing Roundup, September 11 Here is a handy table of contents that will help you quickly reach the topic of your choice. Let me know if you like it this way. The Business of Writing Craft Fiction Freelancing Platform The Business of Writing Freemium for Writers Is Two Debates Don Holloway provides interesting insight......
• Writing Roundup, December 18 The Business of Writing Craft Fiction Freelancing Platform The Business of Writing Digital ARCs Make Progress Novelist L.J. Sellers looks at the move toward digital review copies. How will that affect writers. Backlist Title Dilemma How should authors deal with their less than stellar backlist releases? Shrug and hope......
• Writing Roundup, July 31 Ah, another month draws to a close. We are nearing the end of a stretch of record warm weather in the Portland area, and the heat really sapped my energy. I did not do as well this month as I had hoped. What keeps you from meeting your goals? I've......
• Writing Roundup, January 29 The Business of Writing Craft Fiction Freelancing Platform The Business of Writing Top Authors Await Ebook Bonanza The Times looks at how many British authors are waiting to sell their backlists on the long-awaited Apple tablet. (On a related note, I can't imagine that the price tag of the......
• A Room of One's Own I spent my weekend cleaning out my garage and storage room (and then recovering from the insane amount of physical labor that involved for my sedentary writer's body). The storage room is two steps away from being my office. As I took a shower, I planned how I was going......

• Before You Submit Your Articles, Do This... To all writers and non-writers alike, now is the time to dig up those previously buried creative writing skills! Along with the communication technology explosion,...
• Book Review Blog Carnival Welcome to the May 10, 2009 edition of book review blog carnival. book reviews NathanKP presents “Jellicoe Road,” by Melina Marchetta posted at Inkweaver Review...
• Tips For Writing Articles - Keyword in the Title, a Must? The title is an important component of an article. Think of it as a mini advertisement to grab people's attention so they actually click or...
• Porn:  Some Industries Are Recession Proof (Safe To Read At Work) Note: I use porn and adult entertainment interchangeably.  Also, there are no pictures because it's impossible to find something worth publishing without screening millions of...
• How I Play Golf By Tiger Woods When you have a book written by the undisputed superstar of golf, it's a pretty good chance that it will demolish the competition, whether it...