Midge Raymond's Blog

• A writing exercise, or two

  February 1, 2010

  • These exercises come thanks to the American Short Fiction blog, on which I discovered artist Mark Menjivar’s intriguing photo project: a collection of photographs of what’s in people’s refrigerators, appropriately called “you are what you eat.” From the freezer filled with nothing but meat and tequila to the fridge containing only two items, it’s an interesting look at the way people ...
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• Goodbye to the slush pile

  January 18, 2010

  • Even when I worked in publishing back in nineties, the slush pile (i.e., that pile of unsolicited manuscripts sent in directly by authors and put aside while agented manuscripts were given priority) was rapidly becoming a thing of the past. (And yes, it literally is a “slush pile”: towering stacks of manuscripts all leaning and falling into one another until you can barely tell where one ends ...
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• Writing exercise: review your own work

  January 12, 2010

  • As many of you know, I send out a writing exercise in each issue of my free e-newsletter for writers.In the spirit of the new year — looking back, looking ahead — here it is:Write a review of your current project (i.e., your novel, a poem, a story, etc.).Take a step back from the work and try to see it objectively. Write the review as if the piece is already published, and be honest in terms ...
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