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Monday, September 30, 2019

It Pays You To Write A Short Story



A short story is a love affair; 
a novel is a marriage." 
- Lorrie Moore


In this modern, fast-paced culture ...

An intense love affair is often preferred over an all-consuming marriage.

You would think then that the short story would be more popular than it is ...


Which Brings Us to My
Not So Subtle Request
to gamble $0.99
on my latest:




Stephen King, at the start of his career, thought of a short story as a quick kiss in the dark from a stranger.

And like with kisses, some short stories are better than others!

In the beginning of his writing struggles, Mr. King thought of his short stories as a series of pinatas he banged on --

not with a stick but with his imagination. 

Sometimes they broke and showered down a few hundred dollars.  Other times they did not.

It was an easier market to sell short stories then.  Now, not so much. 

SO WHY SHOULD WE BANG 
ON THE PINATAS 
OF SHORT STORIES 
IN THIS HARSH MARKET?


1.)  IT HELPS YOU WRITE LEAN

Each scene in your novel should be spare and lean so that the drama stands out like stirring chords in a soundtrack.

The limited space in a short story forces you to keep only what is absolutely needed 

to paint the scene and leave the rest behind.

Like Elmore Leonard advised -- Leave out the boring stuff.


2.) SHORT STORIES APPEAL TO OUR MICROWAVE CULTURE

Many readers feel that they do not have the free time to commit to a whole novel.  

They want entertainment in bite sizes.

Why do you think James Patterson writes mini-chapters?

Short stories can be read in a doctor's office or before you drift off to sleep.


3.) WRITING SHORT STORIES SAVES THOSE NEAT IDEAS THAT ARE NOT UP TO FILLING OUT A NOVEL.

How many times have you come with intriguing ideas 

that you know do not have the essence of an entire novel with its many character arcs?

You have this riveting scene with sizzling dialogue that seems to exist all on its own

 with no future beyond that moment.

A short story is perfect for that idea.


4.) SHORT STORIES PROVIDE THE PERFECT BRIDGES TO MAINTAIN INTEREST IN YOUR NOVEL SERIES 

A book can take anywhere from one to two years to complete.

Publishing short stories with the same characters can keep the interest high in your world or with your prose.


5.)  SHORT STORY ANTHOLOGIES INTRODUCE YOU TO A WHOLE NEW AUDIENCE

Also be careful in submitting your story to anthologies whose cause or company of authors mesh well with your voice and personality.

Getting your "prose voice" out there may well draw you additional fans. 

Do You Write Short Stories?

Do You Read Anthologies of Short Stories?

Why?  Why Not?

Just Because this makes me laugh: 


Thursday, September 26, 2019

A SIDE-EYE LOOK AT LIFE


 Short stores take a side eye view of life 
through their
own slanted lenses.


 I have always loved speculative fiction
from science fantasy to horror
to history that could have been.

Short stories often fearlessly 
occupy a space of weirdness,

 smudging the line between
horror and literariness
 with far less trepidation than novels.

 From novels we retain certain lines 
or flashes of images.

But the best short stories stay with us 
wholly formed,
 often for years at a time

 The best thing about short stories 
is that they are short.

Think of how little effort
 it would take to read one right now. 

It is not even necessary 
to spend very much.

My latest collection 
of short stories
sells for 99 cents.


Many complain that 
they just get interested 
in one character
only to be snatched away to another
in the next story.


I address that in my latest collection
by having 2 stories each
on my 2 most 
fascinating characters.

And I end the collection with a story
told from the perspective
of a man only talked about in the 2nd and 3rd.

And in between them,
I tell tales that reflect
Montaigne's belief that 

"The finest thing in the world is knowing how to belong to oneself."


My short stories are my way of 
expressing my belief that


Reality is a complex affair, involving many different elements interacting across multiple scales in time and space.

It is a constantly revolving, evolving jewel whose dim facets tease us with flashes of clarity.

We think we know about the world but often we do not even know ourselves. 




Housed as we are within our minds, it is natural to feel as if we are uniquely flawed.

But that is because we are not sufficiently aware of what is going on in the minds of those around us ...

the longing, misery, compromise, and awkward reaching out to others.

 
Reading short stories allows us to quickly dip in and out of the minds of others

One after another,

Letting us in on the fact that we are not so alone in the struggles, heartaches, and questioning

that comprises Life. 
 

Give my latest collection 
of short stories
a try, 
will you? 

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

HOW TO PROMOTE YOUR NEW PAPERBACK


So you've written a new book 
coming out in paperback and Kindle




Twitter, FB, and Book Tours
just don't work like they used to.


 Especially if you do not
have a lot of internet
friends.

 So what do you do?

 1.) Look over your back list and make a few of the later ones 99 cents.

People will take a chance on 99 cents, and if they like how you write, they may take a chance on your latest.

2.) Put a link to your book in your email signature.

(I  would do that to mine, but I am cyber illiterate!) 

3.) Do a book signing at your local book store if you can wrangle it.

4.) Start dating Miley Cyrus 

(Hey, she dates either sex!)  

Ah, no. Some prices for success are too steep to pay!

5.) Have an audio book done for your novel.  Take a snippet of it and post it on your blog and YouTube.

In this fast-paced world, people can find time to listen on the road or exercising when they cannot for sitting down to read.

Ah, why am I talking about this?



Because I have a new collection of short stories out in both paperback and Kindle editions.

 And soon, it will be out in audio as well.


 What I don't have are friends that will shout out my book!

Well, I do have the gracious
T. Powell Coltrin
 
 Now, I have to answer the questions
 she sent me to post on her blog
 
 If any of you would like to help a harried rare blood courier in his Quixotic Quest to find an audience for his books,
 
please comment down below.
 
 
Midnight might stop snickering at me if you do. :-)

Monday, September 23, 2019

MUSIC CAN WOUND or HEAL



Do you have a song that tugs and tears 
at your heart whenever you hear it?

Or a melody that sweeps you
 back into the past?


Long ago, it was joked by my friends that no matter how pretty a passing girl was, 

I only had eyes for Kathryn, my fiancée.

The song of that name became Our Song.  

The version by The Flamingos became the one we danced to.


 You see we took part in dance competitions, not for the pursuit of winning 

but simply for the thrill of dancing
in one another's arms.


Until that chilling day when 
Kathryn's right foot began to drag.


A brain tumor.  

The night before the surgery, 

Kathryn insisted, despite her weakness and dragging foot, to dance to Our Song.


For the last time as it turned out.


I haven't danced since, 
and 
whenever I heard Our Song
I went dark inside.


But tonight, the song came on my computer via Pandora, and it no longer wounded but, in a sense, healed.

It came to me then, that what I had recently written in my WIP was true ... at least for me:

"One day, you will be driven to your knees 

not by the weight of your loss but by gratitude for what came before that loss.

 I will not lie to you. The ache will always be there, but not the emptiness, 

because to cling to the emptiness, to take solace in it, is to disrespect the gift of the love you were given.”


I believe our ability to create 
and appreciate music
 is at the center of 
what it means to be human.

What do you think?