Writers Forum

Recently, I realised that I should probably be numbered with those who spot trains, collect stamps and play Warhammer; in other words, I seem to have developed a bit of an obsession. I collect magazines about writing. Included in this growing collection are the most recent eight issues of Writers’ Forum (hereafter referred to as WF). Although I have avidly read each issue of this monthly magazine, until a couple of months ago my actual output of written words has been, well, almost non-existent. I’ve obviously been operating under the common delusion that the mere ownership of ...  Read the complete review

Writers’ forum is a bi-monthly magazine published by Writers International Ltd. It’s the main market rival to the more popular Writers Magazine. Where it differs from its rival is it's target audience, which is mainly writers of short stories. In every issue there are features and articles about how to improve your writing technique, hints and tips about writing for a certain genre – this month it is erotic fiction. There is a master class feature, which runs for more than one issue; currently this is explaining how to build good characters for a novel or short story. While it is aimed at the fiction writer, the magazine does contain a ...  Read the complete review

In my spare time, I'm a writer. I write short stories and reviews (obviously) with the occasional attempt at a novel. As well as various comedy pieces and poems as the mood takes me. As I write to be read, I'm always looking out for publishing opportunities, competitions and things. And so it is that about three times a year I make the time-honoured mistake of picking up a copy of Writer's Forum from Smiths. The format is set in stone. A picture of a (usually) female writer on the front, generally with a smaller photo of another writer who's just won their first publishing contract. Promises of fantastic competitions and awesome publishing ...  Read the complete review

I've bought loads of copies of Writers' Forum in the past and, before giving this some serious thought, I believed that on the whole it was a great magazine, especially because there are some brilliant short stories inside and lots of useful contact information for aspiring writers. But it is sadly short on integrity, which is a quality I believe a true writer must have. Writers' Forum gives advice to writers on not being ripped off, yet advertises exortionate writing courses run by establishments of little reputation and it advertises people charging the earth just to proofread your work. I did enter one of their short story competitions a while ...  Read the complete review

This bi-monthly publication is aimed at the short story writer, although it would still be useful to anybody who likes to write or has aspirations of one day hitting the jackpot. Some editions may prove more useful than others. I find that it doesn't always have anything it that I can't get from a good instructional book like, (Teach Yourself for example). The choice of what is of value and what is not is very much a personal one. I would suggest that rather than subscribing, it's a good idea to look at each edition before you buy it and see what it has to offer you. In general this is a good, plain speaking publication and is ideal for ...  Read the complete review