John Updike's Six Rules for Constructive Criticism - Atlantic Mobile

http://m.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/05/john-updikes-six-rules-for-constructive-criticism/256643/

An Easy Introduction to Nonfiction

BookRiot's "An Easy Introduction to Nonfiction" is all about the essay. bookriot.com/2012/02/09/an-…

Procrastination & Productivity

There are as many ways to avoid "writer's block" as there are complaints about it. Anne Lamott's book Bird by Bird: Some Notes on Writing and Life talks a lot about this issue. I'll go even farther: I don't believe in writer's block as a catch-all excuse. I think writers can learn to understand the complex mix of personality, neurology, scheduling, motivation, and other factors that make the best writing schedule for each person's life. Lamott also talks a lot about how you can learn to write by writing, that it's not the "inspiration" that counts, it's writing; the page is the place you learn to be inspired.

Do you have not enough time? That might actually be a good thing for your writing. Check out this Nov. 2011 Wired article, "Need to Create? Get a Constraint."

Are you a "bad writer," or are you just lazy? :) Why telling yourself you're not good at something is a self-fulfilling prophecy. "I Suck at Photoshop; Except I Don't, and You Don't Suck at That Thing You're Bad at Either" at Lifehacker by Adam Pash, Nov. 2, 2011.

A great blog post at Student of Change about the "organized artist," featuring a video about comedian Joan Rivers' file cabinet for jokes. The post quotes Twyla Tharp's book The Creative Habit: "No matter what form it takes, a good organizational system supports you to do your best work by allowing you to put your brain power where you want and need it to be. For some people that system will be a cardboard box of ideas, and for others a card catalog of naughty jokes."


Below are some interesting readings on the subject. None of these are 100% perfect. The important thing is that each author has thought about and studied what processes and schedules work for them. What works for you?

• 30-Day Writing Regimens by Southeast Review
• "4 Tips to Increase Writing Productivity" by  Nancy Whichard
• "7 Ways for Extroverts to Improve their Writing Productivity" by Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen in Quips and Tips for Successful Writers
• 750 Words: An online place to sign in and dump 750 words a day to get started.
• "Accept Defeat: The Neuroscience of Screwing Up" by Jonah Lehrer in Wired Magazine
• "Are You Satisfied with Your Writing Productivity?" in Women in Wetlands blog
• "Behavior Toolkit" and "Behavior Target Sample" in Behavior + Works: Learning, with the help of parrots, how rewards help in training yourself for new behavior 
• "Battle of the Writing Productivity Methods: Word Count Versus Timed" by Jennifer Blanchard in Procrastinating Writers, also the authors of the Butt-in-Chair workbook and newsletter
• "Creative Writing Prompts"
• "Bloom's Taxonomy: A New Look at an Old Standby " in Designing Effective Projects, Thinking Skills Frameworks
• "Concentration: 22 Ways to Stay Focused on Writing"  in Bad Language Blog, Matthew Stibbe on September 7, 2009
• "Create a Morning Writing Ritual" by Leo Babauta in Freelance Switch
• " 'Creative Writing'--a Caution" in "Letters at 3 AM column from Michael Ventura in the Austin Chronicle, about what it really means to be a writer
• "Daily Writing Prompt" by LitDrift Blog
• "Handbook for Life: 52 Tips for Happiness and Productivity" in zenhabits
• "How Do I Write?"--an online photo essay from OxMag by Sonya Huber about writing process
• Mind42: a free web app for mapping your ideas
• "The Monster Collection of Moleskin Tips, Tricks, and Hacks" is a great list of ideas for writing routines and notebooks by Skellie at Freelance Switch
• "My Type 2 Procrastination" by David Seah. Understand what kind of procrastinator you are. 
• Notebook Stories: A blog about notebooks!
• Evernote: A free and  powerful web app for collecting notes in many forms for brainstorming 
• "Productivity Tips According to Jerry Seinfeld,"  by Jay MacInnis in The Writing Toolbox
• "The Whys of Productivity: Writing Things Down" describes why you need a notebook and why that great idea doesn't need any more time "brewing" in your head.
• "Time, Attention, and Creative Work" in 43 Folders by Merlin Mann
• "Writing and Productivity: The Power of Situation" in Silverknife by Mark Hewitt
• "Writing in the Age of Distraction" by Cory Doctorow from Locus Magazine
• "Writing Productivity: Using an Idea Log," in PoeWar Writing Career Center by John Hewitt
• "Writing Productivity Problems," a wonderful checklist from Stanford Writing Center to help you diagnose what's going on with your writing process. Here's the same awesomeness as a PDF download: "Writing Productivity Problems"
• "Writing Prompts" at Writer's Digest

Penguin Group Internships

Penguin Group (USA) offers paid internship opportunities in various business areas such as contracts, editorial, graphic design, managing editorial, marketing, production, publicity, sales, subsidiary rights, and operations. In its January 2006 issue, Seventeen Magazine recognized Penguin as one of the 17 best internships in the country!

The internship program consists of three 10-week long sessions. During the spring and fall, interns work 14 hours per week. During the summer, interns work 28 hours per week.

A series of lunch events are planned for summer interns. Brown Bag lunches give interns the opportunity to learn about different departments, and group lunches are designed to allow interns to network with each other as well as employees across the company.

Semester Application Deadline
Spring 1/15
Summer 2/28
Fall 8/15

If you would like to apply for an internship, click here or mail your resume and cover letter to:

Penguin Group (USA)
Human Resources Department
Attn: Internship Coordinator
375 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014

Please indicate the semester and business area(s) you are applying for in your cover letter.

Albion Review

The Albion Review accepts quality undergraduate submissions from around the country. Deadline is October 20, 2007, so submit quickly!
www.albion.edu/review

North Central Review call for submissions

Guidelines for Submission, Updated 7.30.07
http://blogs.noctrl.edu/review/submission/>http://blogs.noctrl.edu/review/submission/

The staff of the North Central Review invites you to submit to the
national, undergraduate literary journal published by North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. The North Central Review considers all literary genres, including short fiction, poetry, drama, creative nonfiction, and mixed-genre pieces, for two issues annually.

Submissions can be made by email or by postal mail. To submit, please
send your submission(s) as a Word attachment to nccreview@noctrl.edu. Complete contact information should be included in the body of the email and in the
Word document.

Or, you can send a typed copy of your submission(s), along with complete contact
information and a SASE, to us at:

North Central Review, CM #235
North Central College
30 N. Brainard Street
Naperville, IL 60540

Each student MUST include proof of undergraduate status (.edu email address or
photocopied student ID without number) and ALL contact information
(name, postal and email addresses, and phone number) on any submission. Please submit
no more than 5 poems and 2 pieces of prose per issue. Prose should not exceed 5,000
words in length; please indicate word length on any prose submission. Submissions sent through postal mail will be recycled unless specified otherwise by the author.

The submission deadlines for the Fall and Spring issues are October
15 and February 15, respectively.

Other comments regarding submissions to the NC Review:
- Please be sure to include adequate postage on your return
envelopes; postage rates have changed recently, and your old stamps may not be enough to cover costs.
- Again, remember to include ALL contact information, particularly
email address. Due to production restraints, submissions that do not include all of these requirements will be returned to sender and will not be reviewed by the NC Review staff until such information has been received.
- The staff reads submissions from September to May. You may send
submissions at any time throughout the year, but your queries and comments may not be addressed immediately due to the schedule of the publication.

If you have any more questions, please contact us at nccreview(at)noctrl.edu
(replace (at) with @).

Porter Fleming Contest for GA writers

Porter Fleming Contest for writers in GA and surrounding states, sponsored by the Greater Augusta Arts Council as part of its 2007 "Arts in the Heart" festival. Deadline for literary submissions is June 15, 2007. See website for details: http://www.artsintheheart.com/index_flash.htm.