102 – Top Three Tips For A Successful StoryADay May

In this episode I give you my top three tips for a successful month of writing an introduce the new StoryADay Superstars program: https://storyaday.org/storyaday-superstars

(membership comes with a month of free access to Duotrope, my favourite online source for writing markets)

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101 – Windy Lynn Harris & Short Fiction

Apologies that the audio is a little crackly on this one, but it’s worth sticking with, to hear the infectiously enthusiastic Windy Lynn Harris and me, gabbing about the joy of short fiction.

Windy Lynn Harris is the author of Writing & Selling Short Stories & Personal Essays (Writer’s Digest Books, 2017)

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100 – Read Like A Writer

This week I share some ideas on how you can read like a writer, and turn that effort into a resource that you can return to again and again.

StoryADay May 2018 starts in a few weeks. Reading short stories in the run-up to a big writing challenge, can be incredibly inspiring.

100th Episode Celebratory Look Back

Here are some episodes you  might have missed.

Jane Friedman and The Business of Being A Writer: https://stada.me/pdjane

Flash Fiction Essentials: http://stada.me/flash

Mastering The Magic of Opening Lines: https://stada.me/pdopenings

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099 – Jane Friedman & The Business of Being A Writer

Today I interview publishing industry expert Jane Friedman (www.janefriedman.com) whose new book The Business Of Being A Writer is billed as ‘the business education you never got’, for writers.

We discuss what writers should do when they want to go pro, the myth of the overnight success, the nature of ‘work’ and networking for introverts! Continue reading “099 – Jane Friedman & The Business of Being A Writer”

098 – Why Can’t You Write That Story?

This week’s podcast is a pep-talk to get you writing, even when you’re having trouble getting started.

(Isn’t “getting started” the hardest part some days?)

And sometimes, getting started isn’t the problem. The problem crops up somewhere else: 

* Getting through the mushy middle

* Reining in a story that wants to become a novella

* Losing focus before the end.

I want to hear from you: what problems do you encounter when attempting to write short stories? 

(I’m not calling it writer’s block, because that sounds like an artificial, external problem, and I believe we can all find the solution to temporary ‘stuckness’ from inside ourselves.)

Leave your comment and join the discussion here: http://stada.me/wrong

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Mini Episode: Sonnet writing prompt

Today’s mini episode is a writing prompt that challenges you to write a story in the form of a prose sonnet (don’t worry, I explain what I mean and give you a few different styles to choose from).

It’s a challenge, but it’s a good one!

Read more: http://stada.me/sonnet

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097 – Short Story Forms

This month I’m focusing on short story form.

Watch out for a few mini-episodes coming your way, with more details on some short story forms.

Also in this episode, I recommend Jane Friedman’s new book, The Business of Being A Writer [http://amzn.to/2DyhhYL].

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096 – How To Make Flash Fiction…Flash

Flash fiction is more than just a collection of fewer than 1000 words. Flash fiction must…FLASH!

In this episode I talk about,

  • how to surprise your readers,
  • how to craft openings and endings to keep your story in your readers’ hearts,
  • how to use titles as the sizzle that sell your story to a reader

I also remind listeners that it’s almost time for the March SWAGr post, where we make our commitments for the coming month.

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095 – Flash Fiction Part 1

February is the shortest month, so we’re focusing on the shortest of fiction: flash! 

(And, yes, I know there are shorter forms, but this is the particular short-short form I picked, ok?)

This week I talk about what flash is and why you might want to be writing it. Includes bonus trivia about Impressionism.

 

LINKS

Last week’s flash fiction writing prompt: https://storyaday.org/wow-make-it-flash/

The latest Reading Room review featuring flash fiction: https://storyaday.org/rr-meteor-mccolough/

This month’s Accountability Group post: https://storyaday.org/swagr-feb-2017/

Follow StoryADay on Twitter: @storyadaymay

 

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094 – P.A.C.E. Yourself To Reach Your Writing Goals

As we settle into a new year of writing, it’s worth taking a look at our habits and forming an ‘if/then’ contingency plan to keep us working when our plans go awry.

Here’s the companion article to this podcast

Also in this episode, this week’s writing prompt!

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091 – Regrouping PLUS: NaNo Rescue!

For all you NaNo novelists out there, deep in the belly of a fast-written novel, I have a suggestion for a way to revitalize your writing and your excitement about your project.

For everyone (else?) I talk about regrouping: it’s November: There’s still time to rescue some of your writing goals for this year, and set yourself up for a successful writing year in 2018.

 

LINKS:

The StoryADay Serious Writers’ Accountability Group (SWAGr) – http://bit.ly/2zPC6l1

Austin Kleon – a sample newsletter – http://bit.ly/2meYazT

Ryan Holiday on how & why to keep a ‘commonplace book’ (AKA Interinsting Things Log) – http://bit.ly/2mfjGEp

 

 

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090 – Mastering The Magic of Opening Lines

Writing the first line of your story is tough. Opening lines must: 

  • Set up the main question the reader is going to be asking all the way through
  • Establish the voice of the protagonist/narrator
  • Set the tone
  • Ground the reader in a time or place

So, how do you make your first line reflect all these things?

Let’s look at some examples.

 

Read more and sign up to get the extra case studies:
Mastering The Magic of Opening Lines 

 

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089 – StoryADay September Week 4 prompts

In This Week’s Podcast

Writing Prompts [1:44] https://storyaday.org/stadasep17-04/

What To Do If It’s Getting Harder To Write [4:08]

Book Review: Windy Lynn Harris’s Writing and Selling Short Stories and Personal Essays [6:08]

How’s Your SWAGr? [12:18]

Come and leave a comment or question at the blog: https://storyaday.org/stadasep17-04/

And listen next week for more information about an upcoming critique opportunity.

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088 – StoryADay Sep17 Writing Prompts and: Don’t Quit!

This week I give you five story starter prompts and an excitable sermon on not quitting. Enjoy!

The Prompts [0:52]

Progress Report [1:46]

Don’t Quit (with bonus Cassini shout out) [3:36]

Checklist and Feedback info [12:38]

You can find the prompts online here: https://storyaday.org/stadasep17-03/

You can find the checklist for StoryADay Sep17 here: http://bitly.com/2fkPe5M

You can take the survey (with last week’s checklist clutched in your hot little hand) here: goo.gl/forms/O8fHSMfWAlDbrtBw2

And you can always make your public commitment to your writing at the first of the month at https://storyaday.org

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087 – September Prompts for Week 2

It’s Week 2 of StoryADay September 2017 and I’m back with five prompts for you.

IN THIS EPISODE

The Prompts [1:16]

Connecting With Other Writers [6:46]

The Checklist and a Survey [12:44]

Warm Wishes for your Writing [15:33]

 

LINKS

The Survey: goo.gl/forms/O8fHSMfWAlDbrtBw2

 Print a new checklist

Comment at the blog

 

 

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085 – Refilling The Well

This month’s theme at StoryADay is “Refilling The Well”, in which I encourage you to find many ways of rebooting your creativity…largely by taking a break from your writing.

 

Links:

Bookriot’s Best Books of 2017, So Far

The Nature Fix by Florence Williams (af)

 

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084 – Learn To Love Revision

Now that StoryADay May is in the rear view mirror, it’s time to dig out some of your stories and see what you can do to spruce them up.

Now, before you panic, I have a whole episode for you on learning to love revision. Give it a listen. Your stories are worth it!

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084 – Write About A Writer – the last prompt of StoryADay May 2017

in today’s prompt, you get a chance to write about a writer. This is not something I suggest often, but I think you’ve earned it.

Also: news about StoryFest 2017 (https://storyaday.org/storyfest-2017)

 

Find more about this prompt: https://storyaday.org/20170531-writer/

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