In 2011, I signed up for something I had never tried before: NaNoWriMo, a.k.a. National Novel Writing Month. This ambitious challenge is what it sounds like: You commit to write an entire novel (50k words) in the month of November. As the site explains, “Writing a novel alone can be difficult, even for seasoned writers. … Read more
If you’ve clicked on this review, you have most likely read Carmen Maria Machado’s debut short story collection, Her Body and Other Parties. If you haven’t yet, run–don’t walk–RUN to your local bookstore or library and get yourself a copy (if you want a taste first, you can read the Law & Order: SVU-inpsired novella … Read more
Hello, Plumesters! We hope you’ve been having a fun, productive summer. It’s already back to school time here in The Land of Enchantment, if you can believe it. One nice thing about school starting up again is that because so many literary magazines are connected to colleges and universities, we’re now about to enter look-at-all-the-open-places-to-submit … Read more
Albuquerque is a city with no worry. Our mouths are too full of Horchata and green chile to laugh or cry about anything. There’s always an adventure, mischief, curiosity. I leave my home when it’s time to craft new writing. Staring at empty, white walls and carpet with no color becomes weak on my eyes. … Read more
What Exactly is Creative Nonfiction? by Amanda Cartigiano When I was an undergraduate at UNM, I took Intermediate Creative Nonfiction, a class that should have branched out into various forms of nonfiction, but instead stuck solely to memoir and the personal essay. This does not mean I am not in favor of the memoir; it … Read more
I first met Sandra when she attended DimeStories, an open mic event –for 3-minute stories read by the author– I run in Albuquerque (and beyond). Then she signed up for my Writing Through Grief workshop. We discovered we had a lot in common, including sharing a birthday. We also had cancer in common: her husband, … Read more
A Year in Plume It’s been a year now since Jennifer and I started Plume. What a wild ride! From first putting our early ideas together, to entering the business plan competition, to launching a Kickstarter to get the venture off the ground, to choosing featured writers, to packing and shipping our first Plume packages, … Read more
I met Erika when she was living in Albuquerque on sabbatical from her academic job. She quickly found her way into the writing community here for good reasons: She is funny and quirky and smart. Really smart. And talented–as a poet and a novelist. But what I have admired about her most is her tenacity … Read more
by Amanda Cartigiano We hear a lot about female representation when it comes to television and music, but rarely does the mainstream media pay any attention to women in literature. Of course, there are many popular works featuring feminist characters and/or narratives, such as Jane Eyre, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, and The Color Purple, but I … Read more
by Viannah E. Duncan Are you a writer who’s been thinking about having your work edited? Confused about the types of editing that are available? Not sure what to look for in a good editor? You’ve come to the right place! Plume has graciously allowed me to write something about editing for you all so … Read more