One day, almost exactly 10 years ago, I walked into a bookstore in Hawaii and discovered something fascinating.
It was an overly large magazine, with big glossy pages that flopped over in the humid air, and it was chock-full of articles on how to write. The magazine was called Writers’ Forum.
It was from the UK, a long way away.
At the time, I was an angsty aspiring writer, so of course I devoured that magazine cover to cover, hunting for advice I could use to become a real author. I decided that someday, I wanted to see my name published in that magazine.
But was my writing good enough? I suspected not. At least not yet.
Little did I know what was about to happen next.
Barely a year later, I would become a full-time writer.
Fast forward to today, and I’m fortunate enough to have a whole bunch of books and short stories under my belt (not to mention literally hundreds, perhaps thousands, of other uncredited writing projects).
Earlier this month, I wrote an article about something that could be very helpful to aspiring writers: a “lost” master plot I found from the pulp fiction era. It was created by a writer who wrote nearly 200 novels in his career, often at the rate of a book every month.
Can you guess the very first place I sent my article?
Writers’ Forum, of course.
The magazine editor, Carl, is both a gentleman and a scholar. Although he apologized for being late in responding (he wasn’t), he asked to use my article in an upcoming issue of the magazine.
Yes, please!
Can’t wait to get my hands on a brand new copy of that big, glossy magazine — this time, with my name in it.
If you’re curious about the “lost” master plot, keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming issue of Writers’ Forum. It will be available at finer news stands and bookstores everywhere.
Apparently, even in Hawaii.