Every so often I post lists like this (like a real, old-fashioned ‘weblog’) of recommended reading from around the web, especially curated for short story writers. Here’s the latest. You can read more like this here.

Write Every Day

http://www.salon.com/2013/11/25/nicholson_bakers_best_advice_writers_must_write_every_day/

Nicholson Baker says you should write every day
(And provides a few ways you can cheat and still succeed!)

 

Four Reasons To Write The Hell Out of What’s Left Of 2013

http://blog.pshares.org/index.php/four-reasons-to-write-the-hell-out-of-whats-left-of-2013/

by Ploughshares Literary Magazine

A funny-serious look at productivity in December (and why not to wait for Jan 1)

 

It’s Alive! When Your Hibernating Story Wakes Up

http://www.everydayfiction.com/flashfictionblog/its-alive-when-your-hibernating-story-wakes-up/

by Sarah Crysl Akhtar …because flash stories don’t prey on your mind the way a novel would, writing them is refreshing rather than exhausting…

 

Finding Focus

http://zenhabits.net/finding-focus/

By Leo Babauta Do you ever have one of those days when you just can’t seem to find focus? When you fritter away your time on nothingnesses, distractions, wandering without really doing something important? Or one of those weeks?

 

Shared Storytelling Challenge

http://isawlightningfall.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/shared-storytelling-advent-ghosts-2013.html

by Loren Eaten

Advent Ghosts seeks to recreate the classic British tradition of swapping spooky stories at Yuletide. However, instead of penning longer pieces, we post bite-sized pieces of flash fiction for everyone to enjoy. It’s an open call for anyone interested, so why not join us?  December 20 is Ghost Day!

 

From Novels to Shorts and back again

http://womagwriter.blogspot.com/2013/11/guest-post-sam-tonge-from-novels-to.html

by Sam Tonge. How writing short stories after writing novels helped her become a better (more marketable) writer.

 

The Rule of Three

http://thewritepractice.com/the-rule-of-three/

Part of storytelling is creating something memorable… One of the most effective ways to enforce memory is through repetition, and so one of the most common storytelling techniques was born: the Rule of Three.

 

What Every Writer Must Know About “Hero Fact”

http://storyfix.com/what-every-writer-must-know-about-hero-fact

A guest post by Jennifer Blanchard In my work as a writing coach, I come across a lot of stories where the hero isn’t being heroic. Either the hero is being saved by someone else or there’s not enough conflict to force the hero to actually step up and earn the title.

 

Secrets of The Phantom Tollbooth: Norton Juster and Jules Feiffer on Creativity, Anxiety, and Failure

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/10/04/the-phantom-tollbooth-documentary/

“Failure is a process … you have to fail over and over and over again to get anything that’s worthwhile.”

 

A Little Bit of Me In All My Stories

http://womagwriter.blogspot.com/2013/09/guest-post-lynne-hackles.html

by Lynne Hackles – When someone asked Lynn for her secret ingredient, she told them…

 

Peruvian Writers Face Off in Lucha Libro

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/peruvian-writers-face-off-in-lucha-libro_b78563

Could you write a story in five minutes? In front of a live audience? While wearing a mask?

 

The Big List Counts 1,500+ Literary Magazines

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/the-big-list-counts-1500-literary-magazines_b78692

Looking for the ideal place to publish your writing? Check out The Big List, a collection of 1,500+ links to literary journals around the world.

 

 Don’t Apologize For Wanting To Be Paid, Flannery O’Connor Didn’t

(But that doesn’t necessarily mean expecting to be paid while you’re still learning your craft)