Writer's Digest July/August 2012 (PDF)

The Rule-Breaker's Issue

The Reluctant Risk-Taker's Guide to Filling the Creative Well
Great writing begins with an appetite for life. Try these 8 approaches to get out of your comfort zone, break rules and reap rewards.
by Elizabeth Sims

Go Your Own Way
Forget what you've been told about how to get the most out of writing conferences. The best experiences come when you make your own rules.
by Tanya Egan Gibson

Pulling the Rug Out
When it comes to your plot, playing it safe doesn't pay. Here's how to wow your readers with a plot twist.
by Steven James

Rewriting the Rules of Marketing
You don't need a big promotional budget to get noticed and make your own waves. Learn how a little creative thinking can take you a long way.
by Kevin Kaiser

The WD Interview: Adriana Trigiani
The secret to Adriana Trigiani's success begins with an old family recipe: quality ingredients, attention to detail, and good old-fashioned hard work.
by Jessica Strawser

Meet the Real Andre Dubus III
He did not set out to follow in his famous father's footsteps, nor is he as dark and brooding as his own House of Sand and Fog. And those are just the first of many things that will surprise you about the bestseller.
by Zachary Petit

Taking Flight
The winner of WD's Annual Short Short Competition stumbled upon a one-of-a-kind subject to bring her fiction to new heights.
by Marielle Murphy

WRITER'S WORKBOOK: Creating Conflict
Classic Conflict Through Rivalry
by Ronald B. Tobias

Keys to Conflict in Romance
by Jennifer Lawler

5 Tools for Building Conflict
by James Scott Bell

INKWELL

Exploring Your Option
Here's what you need to know about selling the movie and TV rights to your work.
by Fred Rosen

PLUS:

• 5-Minute Memoir
• Poetic Asides: Quatern
• Cash in on the Calendar
• The Winners of WD's Annual Poetry Awards
• The Bolt From the Blue

BREAKING IN: Debut Author Spotlight
by Chuck Sambuchino

ASK THE AGENT: John Rudolph, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management
by Kara Gebhart Uhl

QUESTIONS & QUANDARIES: Defining Denouement; The Keys to Finishing a Book
by Brian A. Klems

YOUR STORY: Homecoming
by Greg Linden

STANDOUT MARKETS: EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing; Ploughshares; Smithsonian
by Tiffany Luckey

CONFERENCE SCENE: Colorado Gold Conference; Women Writing the West, Emerald City Writer's Conference
by Linda Formichelli

REJECT A HIT: Charlotte's Web
Spoof-rejected by Gregory Walters

PLUS:

• ONLINE EXCLUSIVES
• EDITOR'S LETTER
• CONTRIBUTORS
• READER MAIL