Why not turn that novel into a short story?

May is almost over and so is National Short Story Month.

Did you submit a short story? Wish I’d spent my time on NSSM instead of reading, studying and ripping my current work in progress (WIP) apart. Now I’m considering just burying it in the back of my closet and denying its existence.

Is Your Idea a Short Story or Novel?

Makes me wonder if my “novel” be better as a short story???

There are three days left in National Short Story Month. Three days, hmm. Not sure I can write something worth reading in three days.

No, let me revise that statement. I can write something, but getting it ready for prime time is the challenge.

Ding, ding, ding! Light bulb moment. Why not try? I love a challenge. What about you?

Did you submit a short story for the month of May frenzy?

Do tell. And do share any success stories.

Maybe it’s too late to get in those submissions for National Short Story Month but it’s never too late for inspiration to strike.

On Twitter check out  #ShortReads or  for a list of people, places and stories. And follow @ShortStoryMonth for more….

FREE contest Alternating Current (There’s still time!)

The Fiction Desk (There’s still time!)

Every Writer Magazine

Fiction Writers Review

Story A Day

Every Day Fiction

Flash Fiction On Line

The Stoneslide Corrective

Nano Fiction

Reading the Short Story

Flavor Wire 

Get a FREE trial subscription to Found Press.

Okay, is that enough to get the juices flowing?

No? Then watch a pro – Steven King.

Time to start clicking those keys. Happy writing!

 

Choosing a Genre—Anatomy of a Best-Selling Story Part 7

How serendipitous (I know-big word) the timing. I don’t believe I could have ordered a better follow-up for my last post. Thank you Kristen, I know my readers will enjoy your latest post at Warrior Writers.

 

I love comments, tell me what’s happening with you and if you’re not already, please follow me @jeancogdell on Twitter or jean.cogdell on Facebook!

Author Kristen Lamb's avatarKristen Lamb's Blog

Screen Shot 2014-07-30 at 10.42.33 AMUnderstanding structure helps us write cleaner and faster. Whether we plan every detail ahead of time or just intuitively have the architecture in our head, structure makes the difference between a workable first draft and a nightmare beyond salvage.

I know a lot of you are chomping at the bit right now to get writing. All in due time. Today we are going to talk genre and why it is important to pick one.

Understanding what genre you are writing will help guide you when it comes to plotting your novel. How? Each genre has its own set of general rules and expectations. 

If we don’t pick or we get too weird, we will confuse agents and readers because there is no clear idea of where this sucker should be shelved. It will also make plotting more than problematic.

Fifteen years ago, when I first got this brilliant idea to…

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More Websites and Links for Book worms, Bloggers and Writers

Thanks to Chris The Story Reading Ape’s Blog for connecting me to a new Blogger-

I love all the Links for readers and writers alike.

Lots to dig into tonight.

Marje @ Kyrosmagica's avatarM J Mallon YA Author and Poet

thA8J808YB writing

Soon, on Tuesday 5th of May, there is to be a Writers’ resources evening at Cambridge Writers,  the group that I am a member of, so with this in mind, I thought I would do a little warm up, and type up some helpful website links for Writers, Bloggers and Book Worms.

http://www.cambridgewriters.net/

I have been gathering the details of this list for some time so hope that it will be a useful resource.

So to kick it off my first discovery was Wasafari, who are they you might ask?
“Wasafiri is Britain’s premier magazine for international contemporary writing. Published quarterly, it has established a distinctive reputation for promoting work by new and established voices across the globe.”

Book review/Bookish sites:

book-man-umair-badar-saleem

Netgalley https://www.netgalley.com/

Bookbridgr http://www.bookbridgr.com/

and Lovereading.co.uk http://www.lovereading.co.uk/

Read books for free: https://storycartel.com/search

Author’s resources:

creative-writing-388067__180

Tips for authors on how to make book trailers: https://effrosinimoss.wordpress.com/2013/12/02/tips-for-authors-book-trailer-made-easy/

Tips on writing…

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Get the info you need to publish on Kindle

Do you ever wonder…

How hard it is to self publish?
Should you self publish on Kindle?
Is there a secret to self publishing?
I don’t know about you but I love to do things the easy way.

Graeme Shimmin, Commercially published novelist shows you, not just the easy way but the right way, in 3 steps how to self publish.

He explains, in specifics, what every writer needs to do and how.

  • How to sign up on KDP
  • Understanding your copyrights
  • Converting to the correct format
  • Finding and selecting a book cover
  • Publishing Territories
  • Pricing and Royalty

Get Graeme Shimmin’s article:

How to Self Publish on Kindle in Three Easy Steps 

Read how he makes self publishing simple.

Did you find this helpful? Then click and share with your Twitter and Facebook friends.