Published inThe Writing Cooperative·Sep 20Member-onlyHow (Not) to Swear In FictionA guide to writing in, writing around, and writing out curse words — I’m no Puritan. I like to swear. I think it’s fun to pepper them into conversation… when in the appropriate company and in the appropriate circumstances. Maybe it is just my perception as an adult, or maybe it is the rise of cable and streaming television that doesn’t have the…The Short Of It6 min readThe Short Of It6 min read
Published inThe Writing Cooperative·Sep 6Member-onlySelf-Publishing Retrospective: What I’d Do Differently Next TimeAnd what I’d recommend for other self-publishing first-timers — In December 2022, I self-published a book of short stories Object Impermanence: Weird and Fantastic Stories with modest but earnest expectations. I didn’t expect to take the indie charts by storm, but I wanted to learn the self-publishing process, wanted to have a book of fiction with my name on…The Short Of It5 min readThe Short Of It5 min read
Published inThe Writing Cooperative·Aug 26Member-onlyRedraft with Purpose: A Guide to Getting Beyond the First DraftHow to rewrite short fiction with a plan — So you had a story idea, and you wrote it into existence. You’ve completed the first draft. Huzzah! But what’s next? Well, first, give yourself a pat on the back. A lot of people won’t ever make it this far. But while the first draft is often about bringing something…The Short Of It6 min readThe Short Of It6 min read
Published inThe Writing Cooperative·Aug 9Member-onlyCan You Write a Short Story in One Draft?The art of one and done — I’ve recently written about the story drafting process before. But that begs the age-old question — do you always have to write more than one draft? Can you, in fact, write a story in one draft? One and done? Hit it out of the park on the first go? Homerun…The Short Of It4 min readThe Short Of It4 min read
Published inThe Writing Cooperative·Jul 12Member-onlySoft Skills Every Aspiring Author NeedsIntangible qualities for a long-term writing life — Let’s start with definition time. What are soft skills? They are intangible, transferrable skills that can be used and are useful in manys sort of professions. Knowing how to code in HTML, perform CPR, or fix a transmission — those are tangible, career-specific, hard skills. Knowing how to communicate, manage…The Short Of It7 min readThe Short Of It7 min read
Published inThe Writing Cooperative·Jun 28Member-onlyDialogue Basics Every Fiction Writer Needs to KnowFundamentals for fantastic dialogue — I won’t go so far as to say dialogue will make or break a piece of fiction. But I will say that realistic and engaging dialogue makes a story more readable, and poorly done dialogue is jarring. …The Short Of It4 min readThe Short Of It4 min read
Published inThe Writing Cooperative·Jun 14Member-onlyA Story Inside a Story: Using Framing Devices in FictionA story about stories within stories — Creative writers along all facets of fiction need to know about framing devices. You’ve read or seen one even if you haven’t known the name for it yet. Framing devices are a secondary story that frames the main story. The secondary story appears, at the minimum, at the beginning and…The Short Of It5 min readThe Short Of It5 min read
Jun 7Member-onlyRecommended Reads from the Authors I’ve Read the Most Books FromA surprising top 10(ish) countdown — After seeing someone else write a similar article, I trekked through my own Goodreads records and calculated which authors I had read the most books from. From the outset, I suspected that it would be a lot of children’s and YA authors with series that I read as a tween…Book Recommendations9 min readBook Recommendations9 min read
Published inThe Writing Cooperative·May 31Member-onlyIs The Short Story Dead?Dissecting the past, present, and future of short fiction — Is the short story dead? Are short stories dead? A bit of a strange question for someone who has been writing a column on short stories since 2020 and published a collection of short fiction within the last six months. …The Short Of It6 min readThe Short Of It6 min read
Published inThe Writing Cooperative·May 10Member-only(Almost) Every Type of POV Writers Need to Know AboutThere is more than just the first and third — Point of view is one of the elements of story. As the lens the reader sees the story, POV can shape character, plot, and theme in subtle and powerful ways. In that way, writers should fully equip themselves with the knowledge of all the possible different POVs out there for…The Short Of It9 min readThe Short Of It9 min read
