Call for Submissions: Global Graffiti

Call for Submissions - Global Graffiti Magazine, an online journal

Before we get to the call, you've got to love their description of graffiti:

Graffiti is…

Why Graffiti? Because it’s public, brash, offensive, suspect, state-run propaganda, boring, art, fucked, defacement, all surface, a style, compelling, loud, ubiquitous, co-opted, selling out, beautiful, illegal, annoying, etc.

How can you not want to submit to a mag who defines their content with such all-encompassing edginess?

... back to our regularly scheduled programming....:

Cities, like dreams, are made of desires and fears, even if the thread of their discourse is secret, their rules are absurd, their perspectives are deceitful, and everything conceals something else.”–Invisible Cities, Italo Calvino

Global Graffiti is an online journal dedicated to world literature, arts, and culture. Our first three issues have featured creative pieces and interviews with exciting local and international authors, along with edgy scholarly work.

We are currently seeking creative work (poetry, stories, essays), critical essays (book reviews, academic articles), literary translations, and artwork centered on the theme of our fourth issue: CITIES. We conceive of this theme broadly, encompassing various perspectives of both urban and suburban spaces, lifestyles and experiences.

Please send English-language submissions (foreign language works translated into English also gladly accepted) and your bio/c.v. to globalgraffmag@gmail.com by May 15, 2011.

Why Reading Books About Writing is Important

Reading books on the writing craft (and in your genre) is almost as important as writing. This is why LAwritersgroup.com has sponsored a free Book Club on Meetup.com specifically to read books about writing.

By way of evidence as to how beneficial this can be, here is a blog post by Author, Jody Hedlund: My Writing Success:The ONE Thing That Helped Me Most where she talks about how reading books on the writing craft helped her the most.

Join our Writing Craft Book Club! Our first meeting is Saturday, April 2nd at 11:00am at the 18th Street Coffee House in Santa Monica, CA. Our monthly meetings will alternate between West LA and the Los Angeles South Bay.

Writers Group Schedule Update - March and April 2011

Here is a update of our creative writing workshops / writers group schedule:

• Miracle Mile / Koreatown writers group starts March 23, 2011, this Thursday! (Mid-City)
• Rancho Palos Verdes writers group also starts March 23, 2011, this Thursday! (South Bay)
• El Segundo April 2011 writers group is SOLD OUT (South Bay)
• Glassell Park / Glendale April 2011 group is now open to new members (San Fernando Valley, East Hollywood)
• Valencia / Saugus April 2011 writers group is now open to new members (Santa Clarita)

View our creative writing workshop schedule

Read about how we run our writing workshops

Photo by Keith Evans [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Do you write or aspire to write romance fiction?

The Los Angeles Chapter of Romance Writers of America sent us this announcement so I thought I'd post it in case any of you are romance writers:

Sunday - 27 March, 2011

Writer's Voice workshop by three multi-published authors Jane Porter, Liza Palmer and Megan Crane.

http://www.lararwa.com/calendar.html

"Voice Lessons – Writer’s Voice, that is!

Los Angeles Romance Author’s invites you to a rare opportunity to hear Jane Porter, Liza Palmer and Megan Crane - three dynamic speakers – talk on the subject of Voice. Join me, the thrilled programmer of this event, at the Sportsman’s Lodge Hotel in Studio City on Sunday, March 27th to learn more about how to improve your novel or script with Voice and style, Voice and theme, Voice and (best of all) the writer’s market.

Date: Sunday, 27th March, 2011
Time: 9:00am - 3:00pm
(two breaks, lunch and book signings after presentation)
Cost: $25 through PayPal at http://www.lararwa.com/calendar.html
(includes continental breakfast; does not include lunch)
Place: Sportsmen's Lodge Hotel
12825 Ventura Blvd
Studio City, CA 91604
Toll Free: 800.821.8511
Local: 818.769.4700
Map: http://www.lararwa.com/wherewemeet.html

Speaker Bios:
Jane Porter - http://www.janeporter.com/index.php
Megan Crane - http://www.megancrane.com/index.html
Liza Palmer - http://www.lizapalmer.com/aboutliza.html

Why Los Angeles is the Best Place in the World for Writers

Where else can you find something this unique?

On Saturday, March 26, 2011, Heritage Square Museum’s annual Vintage Fashion Show and Tea will take a bold step forward, presenting “Fashions from Literature”.

Beginning at 11:00 a.m., see what Elizabeth Bennett, Dorian Gray, Scarlet O’Hara, Jane Eyre, Daisy Buchanan and other favorite literary heroes and heroines would have worn in their respective eras. Learn why only in the imagination of the printed word could there be such a thing as a bodice ripper! Excerpts from some of the most famous works ever written will come to life as historically accurate recreations of the costumes of the period are displayed before you.

With the museum’s historic Longfellow-Hastings Octagon House as the backdrop for the show, models will promenade in men’s and women’s vintage or period accurate reproduction clothing based on historical patterns from the 15th Century through the 1940s – all with a literary twist. After the show, visitors may also sample items commonly enjoyed at an afternoon tea, view a vintage clothing display inside the Hale House, shop in our Museum Store or Vendor Market, and much more. The annual fashion show is sponsored by Costumer’s Guild West, Folkwear, the Perfume Station (Alhambra) and Councilman Ed Reyes, District 1.

As the Vintage Fashion Show and Tea often sells out, reservations are required. Call (323) 225-2700 ext. 223 to secure your seats, as no tickets will be sold at the door. Admission is $20 for adults and $10 for children 6 to 12. Heritage Square Museum members receive a 25% discount on the ticket price. As this is a special event, no regular tours of the museum’s historic structures will be given on the day of the fashion show.

The Difference Between Idioms and Cliches

While sitting around pondering the difference between idioms and cliches and unable to come up with the distinction on my own, I reached for my trusty MacBook and took a trip to the grammar-and-language-geek section of the internet. I finally found an article that seemed to explain the difference in the clearest possible way. Since I'm sure you also spend your early Saturday evenings pondering idioms, I thought I'd share this article with you. It's a couple years old, but timeless:

Dr. Goodward's Language Blog: Cliches and Idioms

Blogs About Writing and Our Favorite Posts

It's tough to write, read, raise kids, work day jobs, keep up with the cleaning and laundry, meditate, get in some cardio, and then read about writing. With all the information out there on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, paper books, e-books, it's an overwhelming task just to keep up with all that reading.

We're going to make it a little bit easier for you. We're going to scour the web for the most helpful articles about writing and present them here, to help streamline at least a small part of your day.

Here's what we found over the last few days:

Good Books for Learning Different Writing Skills by Mary Carol Moore

Point of View in Fiction by Writerly Life.com

Five Writing Excuses You Should Eliminate Now by Procrastinating Writers

The Quick and Easy Cheaters Guide to Writing Plotlines by Flash Fiction Chronicles (If we gave out gold starts for great blog posts, this one would get tripple gold stars)

What Editors are Looking For by Pub Rant's Agent Kristin

PB, MA, YA, What does it all mean? by Sarvenaz Tash

That's our list for now - more to come!

If you have a blog you follow and want us to follow it for you and post the best stuff here, let us know!