I wanted to tell you that Writing just published its inaugural, first-ever electronic issue. It's a special, bonus edition all about revision. Check it out and/or download it here.

So Jjust what is revision, you say? The word revision comes from the Latin revidere, which literally means "to see again." When you revise your writing, that's exactly what you are doing--you are looking at the words you put down on a page with a fresh eye. You are making choices about what words to keep or cut, how to arrange paragraphs and sentences, where to begin and how to end.

Revision is not easy--but all writers (even famous ones) do it. My favorite part about of pulling putting together this issue was learning about the revision habits of authors such as Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson, Judy Blume, Henry David Thoreau, Emily Dickinson, E. B. White, and Lee Bennett Hopkins.  (See "The Revision Files" for yourself.)

Knowing that E. B. White wrote eight different versions drafts of Charlotte's Web (one of my all-time favorite books) always gives me encourages me has taught me to keep ploughing plough ahead with my own writing even when I'm tired or frustrated. If they had to do it - and they were wizards of the written word - who am I to give up?

As you can see, even writing a short blog entry like this one involves revision. If I had time, I'd probably go back and fix even more things, but I have hundreds of the Take Me Away contest entries to read. So, if you have time, let me know how you would revise this blog entry! (You can also check out these pointers.)

Hello visitors from Canterbury! Welcome to READ Magazine's blog! Take a look around. There's a whole lot of stuff here. Feel free to comment on any entry by clicking on "post your comment" or submit your writing by clicking on (duh) "submit your writing".

If you are not from Canterbury and have no idea why we're welcoming in a new audience, don't worry about it. We still love you, too.

Yah!

Thanks to all who sent in their submissions for our Take Me Away writing contest! And holy cow there were a lot of you! I've got 3 gigantic bins full of student writing on my desk right now. As soon as I'm done making a way cool fort out of them, I swear, we're going to read each and every one. Who knows? Yours could be the winner! It could be the one a quarter of the way down stack #2 just waiting to be chosen! How exciting! Check out the April/May issue of Writing to see if your poem or story was the best!

Psst... don't tell anyone, but I'm rooting for you.

Keep it under your hat.

The deadline for the Take Me Away writing contest has passed. Please do not send anymore entries--they will not be accepted. Seriously now. Stop sending. There's nothing I can do, I'm sorry. Rules are rules, chief. Isn't that what they say? Yes, but they also say that rules were made to be broken. Well not in this case they weren't. No sirree, Bob. However, you can always send your writing to word@weeklyreader.com for possible publication on this site! Our blog shall never die.

Long live WORD!

Complete Transcript of Literary Editor Bryon Cahill's interview with
Stephen King
(As promised in the October 2006 issue of Writing Magazine)

"I'm Halloween's answer to Santa Claus."
     -Stephen King

Friday, April 22, 2005

What are your writing habits? Where do you write? When? Do you have any set rituals like drinking a glass of orange juice before you sit down to write?
I write in the mornings... well... it's never set, I don't know how it is with you... I have a time when I like to write. And that's usually from 8 until noon. That's when I feel the best. I get up in the morning and there's no grunge in my head. That time is usually dedicated time. I really don't have anything to do. Once breakfast is out of the way I can just go and sit until noon. That's on an ordinary day when the world doesn't intrude. But the world doesn't stop for me. It doesn't stop for any writer. And if I just have one project, that's the time that I do it. Generally speaking, if I have two things I have a column that I do for Entertainment Weekly, and I have a book that I'm working on so every third Monday I'll just not work on the book and I'll spend that day and work on that column. I have another book that I'm working on because these things sometimes don't wait, they just declare themselves. So I'm working a little bit at night, too. I don't like to do that and it doesn't always feel as good but the stories don't seem to feel any different when they're done. I work a little bit at night, too, but mostly I like to work days.

When you sit down to write a book, do you plot it out beforehand or do you just let the fingers go where they may?
No, I never plot out beforehand. But it's never a case of exactly letting the fingers go where they may. It's somewhere in-between those two things. I have a general story idea--a situation. That's where I like to start. Then I let it play out. And that always works as long as you're honest about what characters would do in a given situation. If you start to lie then things wander off-course. That is, if you start to make characters do things because it would be more convenient for you.

And you can tell the difference?
Oh yeah. You can tell the difference. Absolutely. Absolutely. I'm working on a story right now where I really didn't want this lady to call the cops. Because it would be inconvenient for me. I would have to write about police procedure and bring people into the story that I didn't want there. But in the situation she was in, any sane person would call the police. So I let her call the police. And it was fine.

What role do you think a person's heritage, upbringing, and surroundings play in their writing?
Well first of all, it's a case of what you get from your parents for genes. My father wrote. I didn't know him. He left home when I was very little. But my mother told me that he wrote lots of stories, and he sent them off to magazines, and he got letters back saying "please send us more." He just was kind of lazy about it and never really did very much. But she said his stories were really good.

In your book On Writing you wrote some great stories about your mom encouraging you and giving you a quarter every time you wrote a story.
It's great to have people around you that care. You know what? They don't even have to care exactly. All they have to do is say "this is what you like to do. And that's OK." As long as they don't stomp on you and say "that's a stupid thing to do, go hoe the garden." It's OK to say "go hoe the garden" as long as you can still find an hour to go do what you want because somebody recognizes that's important to you. And it's the same way whether it's the guitar, trumpet, chess, whatever. And most parents do. Most peers do as well. So it's usually OK but you've got to get some kind of a background in it. And that always manifests itself because you have an interest in it.

Thanksgiving is coming up, and every time I go into a store, my eyes feast on shelves stacked with heaps of my favorite fall treats--pumpkin and apple pies, stuffing mixes, fresh baked bread, and egg nog. Yes, food is on my mind. Maybe that's why Sam Stern caught my eye when I was putting together the November/December issue of Writing.

   Although he’s only 14, Sam Stern may be well on his way to becoming the next Iron Chef! The British teenager is the author of Cooking Up a Storm: The Teen Survival Cookbook .   

   "I wrote this book for kids like me who enjoy cooking or who want to learn to cook. It’s full of simple tasty recipes—the kinds of things that my friends and I like to eat,” writes Sam in the introduction to the book. It features well-written recipes that range from blueberry and apricot muffins and chocolate mousse to sweet potato fries, party pizza slices, and chili con carne.

With chapters such as “When Friends Stop By,” “Impress a Crowd,” and “Exam Survival,” this book is sure to please the eye, the mind, and the stomach!

Read an interview with Sam Stern and then, click here to download his favorite guacamole recipe (courtesy of Candlewick Press). Maybe you can whip up this guacamole for your family this holiday season.

Then, post your favorite recipe in the comments section below. 

Happy Thanksgiving!