Tips to Never Run Out of Ideas I write a lot and in many areas: magazine columns, newsletters, multiple blogs, nonfiction books, memoirs, and I recently added short stories. But this doesn’t sap my creativity; I still have more ideas than the time to explore them. Here’s how I fuel my writing: Keep a List […]
From Micro-fiction to Novels, How Long Is Each Type of Story? Last week we celebrated the short story, a work of fiction between 1,000 and 7,000 words. But what about shorter and longer works? Let’s start by looking at the types of fiction. Types of Fiction At the shorter end of the spectrum is flash […]
The Basic Manuscript Setup Editors Expect from a Professional There are two main points for the proper way to format your submission. First, there are common basic criteria that almost all people agree on. Second, most publishers and editors will tell you what else they expect in their submission guidelines. So, follow these basic formatting […]
Write short stories to master the art of fiction writing May is short story month. I share this news in advance so you can consider how you want to celebrate. You might want to spend the month reading short stories or perhaps focus on writing a few. But regardless, give short stories some consideration in […]
The main benefit of writing short stories before writing a novel is to identify and learn how to fix problems with our writing style and voice. And every writer has them. Here are some other benefits: For those who write nonfiction, the same rationale applies to writing articles, blog posts, editorials, and so forth. In […]
Celebrate Brevity In my post “Writers Should Start Short and Then Go Long,” I talked about the benefits of writing short stories. I’ve catalogued mine and analyzed them. You should analyze your short stories too. Here Are My Results So far, I’ve written 23 short stories (plus one that turned into a novella). Most of […]
Hone Your Skills on Articles and Short Stories Before Attempting a Book In “How to Write a Book,” I posted that the best approach for aspiring book authors is to start out with shorter pieces. No one wants to hear that, but it’s true. Shorter pieces let writers experiment and learn—quickly. Feedback is fast. And […]
A reader emailed me. He said you recommended starting by writing short stories. Unfortunately, I’m already near finishing my first novel (which took years of planning). I skipped the step of starting with short stories. What should I do? The main benefit of writing short stories before writing a novel is to identify and learn […]
Three Steps to Help Editors Say Yes to Your Work There are three key periodical submission tips to follow when sending content to online outlets and print media publishers. I list them from least important to most important, but if you don’t get past the first one, you’ll never get to the second. And you […]