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Search tags: How-to-Write-Short
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review 2017-04-09 11:18
Cardamom Pod to Chew: "How to Write Short Stories And Use Them to Further Your Writing Career" by James Scott Bell
How to Write Short Stories And Use Them to Further Your Writing Career - James Scott Bell

Sushi is flipping delicious regardless of whether or not it's fashionable. It is tasty, tasty, tasty goodness, just the same as Toad in the Hole or a bowl of tomato soup with white plastic bread and butter. That is, when it’s not shit, but I guess it depends what we mean by shit. I've always found the real enemy of literature to be "good writing" - stuff that's OK and technically competent but utterly lacking any spark. Of course that covers a massive ability spectrum, but I think it accounts for the great majority of what finds its way to a lot of slush. Absolutely agree about the paucity of really good writing Bell writes about. I used to read short fiction slush back in the day (Analog, Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, Omni, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Amazing Stories (the revamped version)), and a few others). I read several hundred thousand stories and only found a few authors who really had the goods.

 

If you're into self-publishing and “verbless” sentences, read on.

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review 2015-12-12 00:00
Writing Flash Fiction: How to Write Very Short Stories and Get Them Published
Writing Flash Fiction: How to Write Very Short Stories and Get Them Published - Carly Berg I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, and I rate it as three stars.

“Writing Flash Fiction” by Carly Berg, is written for newbie writers who have little or no experience in publishing fiction works, especially shorter ones. It covers an array of topics that are worth consideration, and the guidance provided gives enough detail for one to start.

Some of the topics presented used to be routinely accepted in the publishing world. However, with the recent changes in publishing, especially independent (or self) publishing, some of those elements are no longer always appropriate for everyone. For example, critique groups and agents are capable of more harm than good, especially for writers just beginning a career in this field. This is not to say that they can’t be of good use, but full consideration must be given. Some guidelines readily accepted ten or fifteen years ago are considered pitfalls today.

I would have like the author to balance out the book with the subject of independent (or self) publishing, beyond the standard “vanity press” reference. Much has changed and the writers need to understand the opportunities that are available in the independent publishing world, as well as the traditional one. Writers who wish to forge their own careers and retain more control over their works are given more opportunities today as opposed to just five years ago.

The author paints a realistic picture of the expectations an author should have. She also provides examples of flash fiction for writers to review, so they can get a feel for the tone, pacing, etc. of this kind of writing. So it was a good book, but I felt it could have been more complete.
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review 2013-10-15 18:02
Review: How to Write Short by Roy Peter Clark
How to Write Short: Word Craft for Fast Times - Roy Peter Clark

Initial reaction: Great read. I was impressed with the way Clark broke down the advantages to writing short and taking inspiration from shorter forms of text in order to improve one's writing. Some of these cues I've already incorporated in my own writing without realizing it, but it also gave me pointers as to how to think better using those skills.

Full review:

I'll admit that I haven't read that many guides to economizing writing in the contemporary spectrum, but Roy Peter Clark does a fine job of giving great pointers on how to do so in "How to Write Short: Word Craft for Fast Times." In the narrative, he explains just how our society is full of fast writing - from Twitter, to song lyrics and poetry, to status updates and quick notes. He explains that knowing how to utilize measures of quick writing can actually help improve your writing in general, and uses the narrative to explain the whys and hows of doing this.

I'll admit much of this I knew from my own writing style, because of a love for poetry and music, but he does a great job of walking through each of the different facets of writing short and how it is useful. He also shows how people can be inspired by short writing and provides tips at the end of each chapter on how to put it into practice. I would rank it among my favorite guides, much like my read of his "Help for Writers", to writing and would highly recommend it.

Overall score: 4/5 stars

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher Little, Brown and Company.

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text 2013-10-14 17:00
Currently working on the reviews for... 10/14/2013
William Gibson - Gary Westfahl
Sins & Needles - Karina Halle
All of You - Christina Lee
Out of Play - Nyrae Dawn,Jolene Perry
Japanese Animation: East Asian Perspectives -
How to Write Short: Word Craft for Fast Times - Roy Peter Clark
"You Can Tell Just By Looking": And 20 Other Myths about LGBT Life and People - Michael Bronski,Ann Pellegrini,Michael Amico
Why We Write: 20 Acclaimed Authors on How and Why They Do What They Do - Meredith Maran

This is more for my own personal notes, but I'm currently crafting reviews for the following books above for this week.  Some of these are carrying over from where I didn't get to them last week, so I'm prioritizing those first.

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review 2013-10-07 06:59
Write Now! YPRL Short Story Competition 2012 by YPRL (Editor)
Write Now! YPRL Short Story Competition 2012 - YPRL

This is a collection of short stories compiled from the Yarra Plenty Regional Library 2012 competition for the best short story.  I read this because I intend to enter a short story of my own into this years competition and wanted to see what I was up against and what it took to win.

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