I’ve never done this before: today, I’m writing about one of my own stories.
This is a story that I wrote during StoryADay May 2017.
I’m sharing it in today’s Reading Room post to demonstrate what you can do with a writing prompt that seems to suggest you must write a particular type of story. Continue reading “[Reading Room] The Girl Who Circumnavigated The Globe In An Act of Her Own Making by Julie Duffy”
Occasionally, however, a book comes along that I really think you should know about. This week, it’s The Business of Being A Writer by Jane Friedman.
Jane has been around the business of writing and publishing for a while now and really knows her stuff.
Here’s the start of the review I posted to Amazon:
I read a lot of self-help and inspirational books, and writing advice (heck, I write some). Most of it is the “Woohoo! You can do this!” type necessary to psyching yourself up to do the difficult business of wrangling words and sharing them.
This book is not one of those books.
This book is your older, wiser, best friend who loves you, and sits you down to say,
“Girl, I believe you can do it if you want to–you know I do. But first, let me show you what ‘it’ really looks like… Continue reading “[Reading Room] The Business of Being a Writer by Jane Friedman”
I knew a man who only read non-fiction because he “didn’t see the point” of fiction. Would it surprise you to know that this man was one of the least empathetic I never knew?
I firmly believe that fiction is more powerful than non-fiction, as a way to help us understand each other’s truths. So I used Black History Month as an excuse to seek out short fiction by writers of color. I picked up this collection at my local library, and the first story in the collection has already confirmed my belief.
“I’d Rather Go Blind” is the story of a moment in a pre-teen boy’s life during the ‘hot and forbidding’ summer of ’67. In fact, that’s the opening line, Continue reading “[Reading Room] I’d Rather Go Blind by Jabari Asim”
This is a flash piece I stumbled across on Twitter.
It was an interesting format: a screenshot/image of a formatted short story, attached to a tweet.
And it’s really odd. Delightfully odd. It’s the kind of thing that makes me go: Yes! See this? THIS is why I love short stories.
Normally I try to provide some Lessons For Writers with this little reviews, but today I think I’m just going to say: go and read this. It’ll take you a minute.
I particularly like the way he promises one thing, delivers something else, but doesn’t forget his promise.
Sometimes writing (and reading) are just…fun.
What do you think of the story? Leave a comment
It reads like a simple story, but is, in fact, a skillfully crafted tale that hides its author’s hard work well.
This is an excellent example of how to build a story world that feels real, while still telling a story about characters we care about.
It also comes with the fabulous gift of a blog post unpacking how the author went about writing it. Continue reading “[Reading Room] The Worshipful Society of Glovers by Mary Robinette Kowal”
This is literal flash fiction, with the flash of a meteor leaving an impression on the eye of the protagonist.
It also leaves the reader with a flash-bulb impression of the two characters he comes across on the beach.
Every line paints pictures of the scene, cramming vivid scenery into our brains in a very few words: Continue reading “[Reading Room] Meteor by Josh McColough”
The only qualification to be a ‘Superstar” is a desire to write and support your fellow writers.
A supportive group of committed writers, who meet virtually, support each other’s efforts, and inspire each other.
Registration for 2024 open now-June 8, 2024
A 6-part journey through the short story.
Starts Jan 3, 2025
