Tag Archives: New York Times

A to Z challenge: Anya Ulinich

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I am running out of awesome lady authors as we near the finish line! Which ladies with U last names have written books? There’s Jane Urquhart, a Canadian novelist and poet whose work I have yet to read. There’s Lesya Ukrainka, who Wikipedia describes as one of the best-known Ukranian writers and poets, whom I have also never read. And there’s Anya Ulinich, a Russian writer who wrote a book called Petropolis, which I checked out of the library especially for this reading challenge… but which I still haven’t read!

I’m on an unread roll for U.

So instead of reading what I have to say about Ulinich, here are some links to different articles about my U author of the day:

Who’s your favorite U author?

A to Z challenge: D is for Duras

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Marguerite Duras was a French writer born in Vietnam. Her major work, as English audiences know it, is a book called The Lover, which focuses on a 15-year-old girl’s affair with a wealthy Chinese man. (In French, the book’s title is L’amant.)

I first discovered Duras’ work during a creative writing seminar on experimental fiction, where my instructor lent me a copy of the book because she found our writing styles to be similar. The book’s subject matter deals with the love affair between two people, exploring both the girl’s feelings (looking back) and the man’s decision to be dutiful to his family and break things off, but most reviewers emphasize its mood and sparse writing style over this rather simple plot.

If you haven’t read The Lover, I would definitely recommend it. It’s hard to describe in just a few sentences, because it is certainly experimental in tone and jumps around in time as well, but it’s very beautifully written. Devote a lazy Sunday to it and see if it grabs you.

My Significant Authors describes Duras, the woman, better than I could ever hope to do, so be sure to check out her blog on the subject here. There is also an unusual New York Times piece by Matt Gross that attempts to retrace the footsteps of Duras in Vietnam, entitled “Footsteps: Marguerite Duras’s ‘The Lover’” which you should check out if you’re still curious.

Here is a Duras quote for you to ponder:

I see journalists as the manual workers, the laborers of the word. Journalism can only be literature when it is passionate.

What do you think? And who is your favorite D author?

Writing tips for n00bs: Get a job!

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Back when I was finishing up my writing degree and looking to land a nice “writing job,” I found myself a bit confused about where a writer might seek out these kinds of dream jobs. After all, everyone knows classified ads are dead and Craigslist is full of scammers and spammers. So where do the pros go when they’re looking for legitimate writing jobs?

Here’s what I learned from my J-school pals, who were infinitely more practically trained than I was in terms of searching out legit writing jobs:

  1. JournalismJobs.com — The go-to website for journalists looking for work, whether it’s in print, online or broadcast media. Find a job, post your résumé, or catch up on the latest media news. Just be wary of the Demand Studios ads and other content mill crap that seems to come up at every writing job board and you’ll be fine.
  2. JeffGaulin.com — At first glance, this site’s URL doesn’t seem particularly like it would help the media job-seeker, but if you’re Canadian, you’ll definitely want to give it a whirl. Gaulin is a Canadian journalist with an assortment of degrees, as well as experience in the field, and first started the job board in 1995 to help his fellow J-school classmates find work. Now the board’s a phenomenon; hit it for good quality full– and part-time jobs or to post your CV.
  3. MediaBistro.com — Aimed primarily at U.S. journalists, but also featuring perks for the freelancers of the world, MediaBistro has a pretty decent job board that can be sifted by industry, location, duration (FT/PT/freelance) or featured employers, which are typically the big boys like the NYT, Dow Jones and (unfortunately) Suite101. Steer clear of the content mills, as always, and hone in on the skills you’ve got to pay those bills. As an added bonus, you can purchase an AvantGuild membership, which offers special insights about breaking into those top-tier mags through their How To Pitch guides, as well as discounts on their online course offerings and other freelancer goodies (like health insurance).

Aside from those top 3 sites, you should also check the Berkeley School of Journalism’s excellent list of journalism job banks to see if any particularly fit your needs. They’ve got everything from general sites (including my top three) to freelance-specific to radio, TV and the ever-dwindling print media, plus a section for “new media” (i.e. web writing and multimedia).

You can still cruise the Craigslist writing section for your city (and any others with bigger listings, like NYC, LA and even Chicago), as there are occasionally some good jobs listed there, particularly for freelancers looking for new gigs. Of course, some of the best places to find new (and perhaps previously overlooked) markets to try, plus a regular source of job listings are Angela Hoy’s WritersWeekly.com and Hope Clark’s FundsForWriters.com. Sign up on their respective sites to get both of them delivered straight to your inbox on a weekly basis, with WW on Wednesdays and FFW on Fridays. Throw in a dose of FFW’s Small Markets for listings from the smaller markets that will get you some of your first published clips and you’re rolling.

What about you? Have you found any great job boards or e-newsletters with helpful tips, tricks or writing gigs? Feel free to share in the comments section; it’s good karma, you know.