Margaret McGaffey Fisk

I've been writing since I was seven years old, starting with stories that mimicked the fairy tales I was reading, though I began as a storyteller at a much younger age. Since then, I've tried my hand at almost all the possible genres ... and even a few that are still unclassified. My writing spans mainstream/literary fiction, science fiction, fantasy, romance and children's stories. I've written short stories, completed numerous novels (others are works in progress) and even a few plays. The depth of my stories goes from "good clean fun" to philosophical and religious pieces that explore the influence of my religious upbringing as well as my own take on life.

I am slowly editing and submitting short stories, novels, and articles. You can find some good resources for marketing both books and short stories in my links, included help writing synopses and query letters. I have published numerous articles about writing and a few short stories. I am still working on finding an agent but have received some positive rejections if such a thing exists *grin*. To see my current publications, go here: Publication History

I am a moderator of the Forward Motion writing community, run by Lazette Gifford. This community encourages open discussion of all things writing related and focuses on providing incentives to help people achieve their writing goals. I was an avid collector of pips (small icons indicating participation in events or progress in writing goals) and joined almost every challenge offered until I cut down participation in challenges to focus on my edit projects. The site has helped me grow as a writer through plotting discussions, challenges, critiquing opportunities, classes, and the presence of a large number of people who understand what it means to be a writer. Holly Lisle, the original creator of Forward Motion, maintains an extensive website with numerous aspects to help writers. More recently, she has started offering ebooks for sale (both hers and others) on a variety of topics including writing techniques. Check out what she has to offer here: Visit Holly Lisle's shop.

Vision is an award-winning electronic magazine providing articles and reviews that target both new and experienced writers. If you're serious about writing, I'd recommend reading both the current and back issues. This magazine explores all aspects of writing from the basics necessary when starting out to more complex topics as well as pointing to books, websites and products that assist writers. In July 2004, I was named Feature Editor for Vision and am now responsible for editing (as well as soliciting) reviews. I also write the New of the Shelves column, listing publication successes by Forward Motion members, and a column analyzing one short story market every issue called Mar's Market Analysis. This is an upgrade on my original column, Mar's Market Report, which explored markets friendly to newer writers.

In February 2005, I became a copy editor for Double Dragon Publishing's imprint, Dragon Tooth Fantasy. This imprint offers fantasy novels and short story collections in ebook format. For a list of projects I have edited, go here: Freelance Editing History.

I've developed numerous tools to help me track my writing. My current stories and submissions are tracked through a complicated Access database that provides the features I've enjoyed with commercial products but allows me to make changes as I wish. My Excel spreadsheets are relatively extensive and some may prove useful to other writers. That being the case, I'm providing access to some of them on this page Writing Tools. Feel free to download, use, and modify these spreadsheets. I take no responsibility for bugs but if I make significant improvements, I may post a newer version at a later date. If you make an improvement that you'd like to share, feel free to email me a copy.

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