Some of my favorite story ideas come when I pair a themed anthology call with my own life experiences. For example, my first published story (“Going Viral”) was part of an anthology about world-changing events and drew on my early career working in a small academic research lab that struggled to keep its funding. A […]
EQUUS: Must Love Horses
When I first got into fiction writing, I took a class that focused on short stories. These are a wonderful medium not only to practice the craft, but also to learn about giving and receiving critique. Although I focus most of my energy on novels these days, I still dabble in the short story world. By […]
Beth Cato on Writing Novellas
Today I’m pleased to host Beth Cato, an accomplished novelist, short story author, and baker. About the Author Beth Cato hails from Hanford, California, but currently writes and bakes cookies in a lair west of Phoenix, Arizona. She shares the household with a hockey-loving husband, a numbers-obsessed son, and a cat the size of a canned […]
Short Story Writing Tips from Kate Heartfield
Today I’m pleased to have a guest post from my friend and agency-sister Kate Heartfield on the craft of short story writing. This is an area where I’ve struggled as a writer, but she’s found tremendous success. I asked her to come by and share some advice for aspiring short story authors. The timing is […]
The Time It Happened
Like many writers, I started out writing short fiction as part of a creative writing class. It was brutal. I wanted to write fantasy, and quickly found that 5,000 words is almost never enough room to build a compelling world, create a magic system, and tell a good story. Even so, over the course of […]
