Nov 2014 – Best Of The Web For Short Story Writers

Best Of The Web

Need a little inspiration? Here are the Top Ten articles and blogs posts I’ve found over the past month, to help you power through writing problems, get more creative and hone your craft.

  1. Jungle Red Writers: Literary Agent Paula Munier on PLOT PERFECT – How NOT to get sunk by plot problems.
  2. The 12 Best Hashtags for Writers – Marcy Kennedy – Don’t let social media overwhelm you. Bookmark this useful article today.
  3. My First Author/Illustrator Skype Visit: What I Learned, What I’d Do Differently Next Time – Inkygirl: Guide For Kidlit/YA Writers & Artists – via @inkyelbows – Great insight for whenever you are doing outreach/marketing (esp if you write for kids).
  4. Rewriting: The Middle Way – Charlotte Rains Dixon – A quick and liberating second look at rewriting.
  5. Character Driven-Flash Fiction « Flash Fiction Chronicles – Especially for short story writers: Yes, you CAN have great characters in short fiction, and here’s how!
  6. 4 Ways to Improve Plot/Climax in Your Writing | WritersDigest.com – Superb, though-provoking article. Aimed at novelists but useful for short story writers, too. Just miniaturize everything he says 😉
  7. Writer as Coder: The Iterative Way to Write a Book : zenhabits – An interesting take on writing as a collaborative process: you and the readers, in it together.
  8. Writer Unboxed » Losing One’s Marbles – No More Excuses!
  9. Where my freelance writing clients come from – Want to make a little money writing? It’s not easy but with determination and focus you can do it. The Urban Muse shares a look behind the curtain.
  10. When Your Plate is Too Full : zenhabits – No simple answers here, but effective ones.

Have you read any good posts recently? Share them in the comments.

Best Of The Web for Short Story Writers April 2014

Writing by Night
Writing by Night by bluelectric, Creative Commons License

Every month or so I bring you my favorite links from around the web, that touch on creativity, productivity and writing (from the perspective of a short story writer. I tend to stay away from articles on novel structure, ‘getting an agent’ and other publishing-related questions. We’re here to write, right?)

Here are my favorites from my past month of studying this craft: Continue reading “Best Of The Web for Short Story Writers April 2014”

Best Of The Web For Short Story Writers March 2014

That author is a thousand books to a thousand persons.
Before and After: Do a Little Work, Every Single Day. « The Happiness Project
http://gretchenrubin.com/happiness_project/2014/01/before-and-after-do-a-little-work-every-single-day/

Guest blogger Caroline McGraw talks to Gretchen about how working a little every day can make big scary tasks (writing a completed work) less scary and less hard.

Tips for Young Writers | Elizabeth Spann Craig
http://elizabethspanncraig.com/1627/tips-young-writers/

This guest post by Aidyl Ewoh could just as easily be called “Tips For Writers”. Great stuff here from “Surround yourself with positive people” to “Consistency trumps quantity” to “Read a lot” and “Find a writing community”… This blogger is singing my song!

Tales from the Den of Chaos: Belief and Possibility
http://www.denofchaos.com/2014/01/belief-and-possibility.html

A rumination on the magic of the “New Year”, which we writers can apply at any point in the calendar:
“…human belief is an incredibly powerful thing. When we believe something is possible, no matter how enormous a task it may be, if we really believe we can do it…we will. As long as we do not succumb to doubt, as long as we are willing to keep getting up after we’ve taken a fall, as long as we see these failures not as hard-stops but rather as learning how not to do that totally possible thing – we will do it.”

Flash Fiction Chronicles’ Favorite Short Fiction list 2013
http://www.everydayfiction.com/flashfictionblog/an-ffc-list-in-honor-of-short-story-month-2013/

Yup, I’m late discovering this post, but if you’re looking for something to read (or for places to send your own fiction) this is a great starting point.

3 Writing Tips You Can Steal From Animators
http://thewritepractice.com/animator-tips/

Three great tips here. Not the usual rehashing of story structure tips or character tips or how to make your dialogue sound real. Instead, this article talks about three great ways to actually make the writing happen.

flax-golden tales: simple steps « erin’s emporium of discount dreams & well-worn wonders
http://erinmorgenstern.com/2014/01/flax-golden-tales-simple-steps/

This is both a short story and an admonition to other artists, from Erin Morgenstern, author of the wildly successful novel The Night Circus. Read it slowly, then follow her advice!

When You’re Feeling Self-Doubt & a Lack of Motivation : zenhabits
http://zenhabits.net/down/

Not writing advice but great living advice that will help you get back to your writing on a day when you’re not sure you’re really a writer. (Hint: you are. Use the steps in this article to get yourself back to a place where you can be)

Action Reveals Character – Books & Such Literary Management : Books & Such Literary Management
http://www.booksandsuch.com/blog/action-reveals-character/

“In real life, it’s not what a person says that shows us who they are, it’s what they do…” Lovely short article on how to make your characters reveal themselves with subtlety.

It Takes The Time It Takes « terribleminds: chuck wendig
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2014/01/20/it-takes-the-time-it-takes/

Chuck Wendig talks about his 20-year-long overnight success, and gives hope to the most impatient among us.

Ten things you can write in ten minutes or less – Time to Write
http://timetowrite.blogs.com/weblog/2014/01/ten-things-you-can-write-in-ten-minutes-or-less.html

What to write when you don’t have time to write 😉

Strategy of Loophole-Spotting #3: the Tomorrow Loophole. « The Happiness Project
http://www.gretchenrubin.com/happiness_project/2014/01/strategy-of-loophole-spotting-3-the-tomorrow-loophole/

Do you put off until tomorrow what could be done today?

Write Until You Die
http://killzoneauthors.blogspot.com/2014/01/write-until-you-die.html

James Scott Bell advocates never giving up on creativity, and offers some suggestions on how to do that! (Includes an adorable picture of Herman Wouk)

What Does 2 Billion Book Sales Look Like?: InfoGraphic | Lovereading UK
http://visual.ly/what-does-2-billion-book-sales-look

This is just awesome. Go and look.

Best Of The Web for Short Story Writers – November 2013 Edition

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)

 

 For writers having a hard time

http://timetowrite.blogs.com/weblog/2013/10/for-writers-and-other-creative-people-having-a-hard-time.html

“Life is sometimes hard. Things go wrong, in life and in love and in business and in friendship and in health and in all the other ways that life can go wrong. And when things get tough, this is what…

Best of the Web for Short Story Writers Aug 23, 2013

I do a lot of reading about writing, sifting through the fluff and the downright wrong, so you don’t have to. Here’s what I’ve found in the past month or so that you should find pretty inspiring. Dive in.

Forever Young

Stop Trying To Go Viral – by Dan Blank

Start reading websites for writers and you’ll inevitably find a whole bunch of articles about how you *must* be developing a ‘platform’ so that readers will flock to your books. Dan’s article introduces a little sanity into the debate.

And on that note, I particularly enjoy Chuck Wendig’s quote on the topic of platform: “Here’s the thing: a writer without a platform can still get published if he has a kick-ass book, but a writer with a great platform isn’t likely to get published if his book is better off being dragged out behind the barn and shot in the head.”

Along the same lines, you might want to pay particular attention to the last two paragraphs of Seth Godin’s short blog post: You Could Just Make Something Awesome Instead.

Simplify: Let Go Of Your Crutches by Leo Babauta

Not directly about writing, but if you’re looking for some motivation to help you stop stalling on your next (or current) story, take a deep, cleansing breath and go and read Leo’s article.

Mindy King’s Rules for Writing In A Voice from The Happiness Project

A short article about how a TV writer reminds herself to write characters who are more than cardboard cutouts. Really useful. (Your list may vary from Mindy’s but it’s an exercise you might want to try.)

Related: Elizabeth S. Craig’s recent post about voice. She give a great piece of advice about how to hold onto a character’s voice once you’ve found it and then gives you a rabbit-hole of further reading links to fall down. Go, enjoy!

Jealousing Is The New Writing Exercise bt Liz Argall

This is an exercise I have long advocated (It’s part of the Copycat Writing class in the StoryADay Warm Up Course). Liz’s writes about it in a way that will make you want to try it! (This page loaded oddly in my browser. You may need to scroll down.)

10 Ways For an ADD Writer to be OOH! SHINY! by Kristen Lamb

Because we’re all a little bit ADD…

And along the same lines:

What Do You Focus On by Charlotte Rains Dixon

“What you put your attention on, grows”. Seems simple when she puts it like that, huh? Tips and tricks for turning your writing habit into something you focus on and relish.

The Single Largest Cause of Writer’s Block Might Not Be What You Believe by Kristen Lamb

Kristen’s on fire this month! This is well worth a read.

Top Ten Pieces of Writing Advice gathered by Flash Fiction Chronicles

You may have seen some of these quotes from great authors littered abour the Web, but here are ten of the best in one place.

The Encyclopaedid of Ethical Failures by the US Department of Defense (Downloads as a .doc file)

Looking for a plot or a crisis ripped from, well, not the headlines but a Department of Defense list of its own cock-ups? Read through this instructional manual produced by the DOD and I defy you not to get a story idea or two!

BONUS (about reading, not writing)

How school reading lists have changed over the past 100 years from GalleyCat.
(I’m all for kids reading modern writers but I’m a big sad to see that nothing on the 2012 snapshot was published earlier than 1953. What say you? — Ed)

Best of the Web for Short Story Writers July 1-14, 2013

Here’s the current round-up of Great Reads for short story writers this month:

Charlotte Rains Dixon: Can Writing Set You Free?

“–Writing can free you to be who you are meant to be. Truly, there’s no faster path to self-knowledge (and yes it is important) than writing…”

Write To Done: The Secret Fear of Every Writer — And How To Subdue It

“We don’t talk about this hidden fear because if our life is writing, then everything we are is wrapped up in what we have to say. If we doubt what we have to say, don’t we then doubt who we are?”

Killer Chicks: What You Put Into it

“The real question most days is, how hard do I want to fight for it? It’s so easy to get discouraged and feel like I’m working twice as hard and getting half as much. When I start to feel that way, I have to stop and remind myself that this isn’t an all or nothing endeavor.”

Time To Write: For Those Of Us Not As Cute As Mickey

“We do what we really consider most important at the time, so this post isn’t about doing more. It’s about giving up excuses… ”

Angela Booth: Just Write

“You’ll second-guess yourself every moment of every day as you write…”

ZenHabits: Why Fear of Discomfort Might Be Ruining Your Life

Not exclusively aimed at your writing life, but easily applied to it…

GalleyCat: Avoiding The Passive Voice…With Zombies

A fun and foolproof way to identify the passive voice…

Women On Writing: What Veteran Writers Know

It’s all about the rewrite…

Bestseller Lee Child On Creating Suspense

“Trusting such a simple system feels cheap and meretricious while you’re doing it. But it works. It’s all you need…”

 

What great articles have YOU read this month so far?