‘When we talk about editing short stories, and we do, a lot, we talk about cutting every word that doesn’t have to be in a story. But I’m not sure it’s always so simple…’ ANGELA READMAN examines the effects of Lish’s edits on Raymond Carver’s short stories.
In this exercise, which brings the action of your stories to life, LYNDA NASH tells us to forget Show and Tell and banish the ‘rules’ to Writing Room 101: ‘That old adage ‘show don’t tell’ is the bane of many a beginner writer’s life…’
Announcing the Charleston & Chichester Award, for a Lifetime’s Excellence in Short Fiction…
‘I start a story because some concrete image or situation prompts or pesters or forces me to. And I don’t know where I am going when I start…’ Author DAVID CONSTANTINE talks to THRESHOLDS about the art of writing stories.
In her essay, GINA CHALLEN recommends Panos Karenzis’ collection of short stories Little Infamies: ‘a collection of nineteen gently interlinking tales all set in a fictional village in rural Greece…’
MASTERCLASS PODCAST: In the first of our Short Story Masterclass podcasts, Steve Wasserman talks to award-winning author Sarah Hall about killer stories and the sexiness of the short story form.
‘Creative writing prompts are a great way to get the juices flowing when faced with that most terrifying of sights: the blank page.’ RIN SIMPSON
NICHOLAS ROYLE wonders if writing aids such as the ‘Write or Die’ app are really beneficial or if they just lead to more Pointless Writing.
In The Sound of Music, Maria sings: ‘Let’s start at the very beginning. It’s a very good place to start.’ That might be the case if you’re an ex nun in the Swiss Alps but it doesn’t work so well in short story writing.
LYNDA NASH offers a few tips on adding the necessary suspense to a short story.
