Short Stories: Ten Tips to Get Writing

short stories once-upon-a-time-719174_640In my last post, we discussed Ten Reasons (+1) to Write Short Stories. This week, we’ll dive into some tips on how to craft a solid short story. Short stories are a different animal. You don’t have 70,000 words to paint a picture, build back-story, or play out the action. However, you must still incorporate all the components of good fiction. Theme, plot, protagonists, antagonists, concept must intertwine to bring impact to your story.

Most short stories tend to be 3,500 words or less. That’s not a lot of words if you’re used to writing lengthy prose. You have to make every word count. While there are no “rules” to writing short stories, here are some tips to help you get the most out of your short fiction pieces. Continue reading “Short Stories: Ten Tips to Get Writing”

Ten Reasons to Write Short Stories

short stories once-upon-a-time-719174_640Short stories are everywhere, but how do you know if you should be taking time away from your novel to hammer out a couple of short fiction pieces? For the most part, short stories are not very lucrative. If you’ve published a couple of novels, it might even be harder to look at short stories as the best use of your time.

If you’re on the fence, here are a few reasons you might want to consider adding short stories to your repertoire. Continue reading “Ten Reasons to Write Short Stories”

LinkedIn Publishing Platform Provides Outlet for Blogs

LinkedIn Publish a Post programAre you looking for a way to get more eyes on your content? Do you want to get more mileage from your existing blog posts? LinkedIn is stepping up their game with LinkedIn Publisher. At the beginning of the year, LI selected about 500 “influencers” to publish long-form posts on LinkedIn. Now, LI has decided to roll out the program to all LinkedIn members. The roll-out is gradual and you’ll be notified on your homepage when you’ve been granted access to the publishing tool.

Here’s the good news … you’ll be able to use LinkedIn Publisher to republish blog posts! This a perfect way to extend the life of work you’ve already done. If you go this route, you’ll want to make sure to follow a couple of suggestions. Continue reading “LinkedIn Publishing Platform Provides Outlet for Blogs”

Putting Your Demons to Work in Your Writing

author demons evil-530640_1280Demons. We all got ‘em … what do we do with ‘em. History is full of accounts of famous authors and their addictions. By no means is this post a psychological treatise on alcoholism and addiction, nor is it a preachy “get you act together” post. Everyone one of us deals with something. What we do with it makes all the difference in the world.

If you look back in history, some of it still living, you can find a Hall of Fame of great writers that struggled with some form of addiction or abuse. William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Edgar Allen Poe all have well-documented lives relating to alcohol and its association to their writing … and their death. Many of the early authors may not have linked their demons and health. Continue reading “Putting Your Demons to Work in Your Writing”