perm_identity From the Editor Archives

Letter from the Editor | January 2018

Issue No. 248 ~ January, 2018

Happy New Year, fair writers, readers and artists! I wanted to take a moment to thank all of our contributors. Your support makes Pif possible, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for reviewing, sharing, commenting and sending in your submissions. I …

Happy New Beginnings

Issue No. 248 ~ January, 2018

  “The scariest moment is always just before you start.” Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft   Happy New Year, dear writers! What are you up to this year? Any new beginnings? Any big expectations? Any solid plans? Any mapped journeys? Any …

The Magic of Revision

Issue No. 247 ~ December, 2017

  A few nights ago, a young woman who has been taking my creative writing classes asked me, Can I write a wrong story? Her question caught me by surprise and even though I promptly answered it in class, it resonated loudly in my mind …

Letter from the Editor | August 2017

Issue No. 243 ~ August, 2017

Today I’d like to talk a little about cliches, purple prose and other pitfalls that lay in wait for you, valiant writer. But first, a lengthy and rambling aside. In my humble experience, there’s a threshold that most creatives cross before they really begin to …

Letter From The Editor | June 2017

Issue No. 241 ~ June, 2017

  “I have this crushing anxiety every time I submit anything,” I tell this woman–essentially a stranger–sitting across from me. Her brown hair is trimmed into a straight, clean line and she has these beautifully manicured eyebrows, both characteristics which put a sort of regal finish …

Letter from the Editor | February 2017

Issue No. 237 ~ February, 2017

  This month we have some fantastic guest contributors and artists to share with you, gentle reader. Award-winning novelist, game writer and journalist Lisa Brunette shares some of her experience as a writer. Author Trevor Zaples offers his two cents about writing for pay (and sometimes …

Letter from the Editor | January 2017

Issue No. 236 ~ January, 2017

“So what does Pif stand for, anyway?” Bringing new editors onto our team, this is a query I’ve heard a lot lately. It’s a fair question, and one that you might have as well. The simple answer is…(drumroll, please…)…that Pif began as a typo. The word …

Take me out to the Ballgame

Issue No. 207 ~ August, 2014

My mother was the baseball fan, grateful for the arrival of the Mets as an expansion team in 1962 after the loss of her beloved Dodgers who left Brooklyn for Los Angeles at the end of 1957 season.

The Last Time

Issue No. 202 ~ March, 2014

My grandparents on both sides had names from a distant past, names more likely to be found in history books than at contemporary social gatherings.