Skip to content What is pararhyme? We all know what rhyme is: cat rhymes with mat, love with dove, and other pleasingly overused examples. But pararhyme is a little different, because, as its name suggests, it sits somewhere between full rhyme and no rhyme. The subtleties of pararhyme – sometimes known as slant […]
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If you’re a short story writer who wants to get published, you’re always on the lookout for the best writing advice. You want to know: What elements are always found in good short stories? And how do you write a fully developed plot with multidimensional characters in 3,500 words or less? Fortunately, Writer’s Relief has the answers that will help you write amazing short stories.
In this installment of our Ask Writer’s Relief series, we’ll take a look at some of our best articles about writing short stories, as well as a few great resources we’ve found on the Internet.
Below is a list of informative articles—some written by our staff, others taken from various sources—that can help you improve your short stories:
5 Important Elements Of A Short Story. This article gives you a clear definition of what a short story is and lists the essential elements. Check out the examples by famous short story authors.
How To Write A Short Story—8 Expert Tips. Don’t confuse short with easy! Short stories take skill and practice, and you might not be completely happy with your first few tries. This step-by-step list provides some great tips on how to make the process smoother.
Short Stories: Start Off With A Bang. Usually it’s the first page or so of a novel that need to capture a reader’s attention. For short stories, it’s the very first sentence! In this article, we share some advice on how to craft an opening sentence that will keep your audience reading.
5 Ways To Shorten Your Short Stories. Editors take word count very seriously. If you find yourself consistently writing stories that are longer than 3,500 words, these tips will help you trim your work down while still maintaining the integrity of your story.
8 Techniques To Up The Drama Factor In Your Short Stories. Your short stories must have all the emotion and intrigue of a longer work. If you’re having trouble injecting some excitement into your stories, use the techniques in this article to build drama.
8 Things Literary Magazine Editors Love To See In Short Stories Right Now. What editors look for in short stories can change over time. In this article, we use our years of experience and research to bring you the eight elements editors consistently love seeing in shorter works.
Short Story Checklist: Techniques For Getting Short Stories Published. It’s time to start submitting your short story! But before you do, take a look at our checklist and make sure you’ve used all the techniques and elements that will maximize your chances of getting an acceptance.
Question: What’s your best advice for short story writers who are trying to improve their skills?
It’s down to the final five books in the running for the Aspen Words Literary Prize! This $35,000 annual prize recognizes fiction writers who explore the major social issues of our time. The winner will be announced in April 2020, but you can choose your next great read from the shortlist in this article Writer’s Relief found on npr.org.
See the list of finalists for the Aspen Words Literary Prize here.
There’s a lot of things that agents do: sell books, edit, negotiate, offer advice and consultation. However, there are a lot of things that don’t fall within our purview. We hope to help guide you on your career path and offer suggestions when to consult other experts (lawyers, accountants etc).
While most agents handle a wide range of support to their clients sometimes writers build up unrealistic expectations for an agent’s range of work. Literary agents aren’t magicians; we hate to admit it, but there are some limitations to what we can do.
Since we’ve already reviewed what you can expect from your literary agent, here’s what not to expect.
Yes, in the age of smartphones, we’re never really unplugged. And as an agent, I’m connected in many ways: Twitter, Instagram, and email in the palm of my hand. However, all agents have personal rules about how we communicate with our clients and how often. Just because we tweet at 9 p.m. on a Friday, doesn’t mean we’re going to respond to your email at that time.
For my clients that have day jobs or live in other time zones, I make myself available during “off” times. However, you can’t expect that treatment every time, from every agent. I do this on a triage system. Most things in publishing can wait until Monday at 9am.
Not all agents are expert editors or choose to spend their time as an agent doing rounds of edits. It’s no secret that agents polish client manuscripts, but not all agents call themselves “editorial agents” and work through draft after draft.
If that’s something you’re looking for, make sure to ask this question when an agent offers you representation.
When I’m editing with a client I tell them: “My background is an agent, not an editor. I will edit this to the point where I think it is saleable and then we’ll need an editor to take over.” I want every project to be in the best shape possible and I will work through 1-3 rounds with a client to get it there, but I am agent first, always.
There’s a high level of trust involved in an agent-author relationship — on both sides. Authors have to trust that their agent is doing their best, and agents have to let authors write. Don’t micromanage your agent by telling them how to do their job. Sign with an agent you trust and respect from the start.
I’ll always consult with my authors on social media best practices, how to engage professionally with their editor, marketing goals, and what to expect from their relationships with their editor, publicist, and other partners in the process. Bring up any issues and we’ll work through them, but the minutia of the job is best left to the expert: the agent—that’s why you hired us.
I’m always, always here to have conversations about your vision for your career; I want to hear your goals and dreams. However, remember that I will be doing lots of work behind the scenes at all times so just because you don’t hear from me doesn’t mean I’m not working hard for you.
This is a hard one to swallow: writers can’t expect that agents will love everything they write. Sometimes it’s a concept that isn’t working. Sometimes it’s a whole draft.
Be prepared that it will be a collaborative relationship. An agent’s job isn’t to pat you on the back and tell you you’re wonderful. An agent’s job is to manage your career to the best of their abilities. We’re on your side and we want what’s best for you in the moment and long term.
So when we say that a concept or project isn’t working, it’s not to crush your dreams. It’s to help you get to the BIG idea that is going to take flight and make a splash in this crazy, competitive industry.
To some this might be a surprise: agents don’t sell everything they pitch to editors. Even the best of the best have to shelve projects sometimes.
It’s our job to explore all options, share editors’ feedback and consult on what the next steps should be. We don’t always sell debut novels, and we might go back and ask our client to write another one. We’re not magicians and we can’t make every experience a perfect one, but we use our judgment based on years of experience to steer things in the right direction, whatever that direction is: to a deal, or back to the drawing board. We can’t control the industry. We can only control what we represent.
We can’t make something out of a partial concept — unless it’s a nonfiction project, but that’s a whole other story. Novels have to be complete, and they have to compel us to sign them and get editors excited about them too.
Many writers think that once they get an agent, life will be easy. Unfortunately, signing with an agent is only one part of the puzzle. We aren’t going to save you, fix your writing or finish your book. We’re here to help professional writers get book deals. Once you get an agent, that’s when the work begins!
Have you worked with an agent? Was it what you expected?
This is an updated version of a story that was previously published. We update our posts as often as possible to ensure they’re useful for our readers.
Photo via Roman Samborskyi / Shutterstock
The post Working With a Literary Agent: 6 Things You Shouldn’t Expect Them To Do appeared first on The Write Life.
Editor’s note: This course only opens for enrollment a few times each year. It’s about to open on Feb. 27-March 6. If you’re interested, get on the waiting list to be notified with details!
I don’t have a college degree, but I’m obsessed with academics. I love learning.
I just kind of abhor everything else about school.
Still, I’ve often wondered whether I’d enjoy a master’s program, especially one in creative writing, where your job is basically to write a novel. How cool would it be to get the guidance and education you need to write a book, plus the structure of someone actually expecting you to write a book in the end?
But, then there’s the whole school thing…grades, tuition, attendance, those old-fashioned lecture halls with the unreasonably tiny desktops made only for right-handers.
So I was super excited to get the opportunity to give this online course, DIY MFA 101, a test run for The Write Life.
The course gives you the information and structure you’d get with a traditional master of fine arts degree in creative writing, but without the hair-raising cost or demanding schedule.
DIY MFA 101 is designed for anyone who wants to write fiction or creative (narrative) nonfiction, especially aspiring authors who are ready to write a book.
It’s the best fit for new writers who want to learn the fundamentals of the craft, such as how to develop characters and organize a scene.
The course will teach you the habits and skills you need to write a novel or creative nonfiction book, plus the next steps to take to build your brand, expertise and career as an author.
The course includes 10 modules, a private Facebook group and group discussion calls, so you won’t miss the opportunity to chat with your instructor or bounce ideas off classmates. Each module includes a few 20- to 30-minutes videos, accompanied by worksheets. You can also download just slides and audio or transcripts of the videos if — like me — you’re more of a reader than a viewer.
The modules are split into three categories, the same ones you’ll see across all DIY MFA products: Write with Focus (mastering the craft), Read With Purpose (developing your expertise) and Build Your Community (building your platform).
In its own words, DIY MFA 101 “is a graduate-style education you can fit around your life.”
That’s my speed. At just $499, it’s also in my budget — no student loan debt required.
DIY MFA’s founder, Gabriela Pereira, actually earned an MFA in writing (and an MA in human development to boot!), so she knows what a comprehensive writing course looks like.
She has a Master in Fine Arts in writing for children from The New School in New York and has taught several writing courses for organizations in the city. She’s an author of fiction and the “DIY MFA” nonfiction book.
Pereira’s experience means the MFA course offers a unique perspective. It satisfies my academic itch with lessons about things like responding to a genre of literature and developing your expertise that you won’t see in most online courses that approach writing from a commercial angle.
The MFA theme of the site is more than a gimmick; the information in this course truly feels like something you would learn in graduate school — but more affordable and digestible.
This course also provides lasting value to help you actually write a book: The printable worksheets build to a “playbook” you can use again and again for future projects, a huge value for fiction writers who need to track details of characters and scenes.
I recommend this course for anyone who’s serious about writing a novel or memoir.
A master’s degree is a gigantic commitment of time and money, one that most writers aren’t willing or able to accommodate. DIY MFA 101 gives you a grad-school-inspired writing education with actionable steps you can apply to a career beyond academia.
The course follows the same philosophy you’ll get through DIY MFA’s blog, free email-based membership and book, but goes more in-depth and gives you a guided, step-by-step process. If you’re just dabbling with the idea of writing, you would be better off starting with one of the other offerings and diving into the course once you’re more ready to work on a book.
This MFA course is incredibly well organized and comprehensive, so I don’t have major complaints. Because I’m not a fiction writer, I would love to see this course (or another from DIY MFA) focus on informational nonfiction. Courses on writing nonfiction rarely focus on the craft, and DIY MFA seems well-suited to fill that gap.
Thinking about enrolling in DIY MFA 101? Here are all the details you need to know.
This 10-week program includes ten modules, full-to-the-brim with material to help you write more, write better, write smarter.
Your investment for the course is $499 or a payment plan with three monthly installments of $199. It’s not a small fee, but it’s also a drop in the bucket compared to what you could pay for a traditional MFA.
You’ll receive:
This post contains affiliate links. That means if you purchase through our links, you’re supporting The Write Life — and we thank you for that!
Photo via Gorodenkoff / Shutterstock
The post This Course Gives You a Graduate-Level Writing Education for Less Than $500 appeared first on The Write Life.
“The article should be 800 words…maximum.”
I can’t count the number of times an editor has assigned me a word count for a piece. In the world of writing, word count matters more than we might think. Many publications determine how much to pay for freelance writing jobs based on article length.
Word count matters for book writers, too. How many words in a novel? Did you know novels should be at least 50,000 words? And that memoirs should be under 100,000 words, but biographies can be up to 200,000 words?
As a writer, do you compose drafts in Google Docs? (Here at The Write Life, we’re pretty big fans of track changes in Google Docs.) You may be wondering how to see the word count in Google Docs.
Good news — it’s simple.
When it comes to word count, there are three types of writers: Those who look at the word count after completing a draft, those who prefer to check in every once in a while and those who want to see the word count throughout the entire process.
If you fall into either of the first two categories, here are two strategies for viewing word count in Google Docs. (If you’re in the third group, don’t worry, there’s a method for you, too!)
1. In the upper left corner of Google Docs, click on Tools and scroll down to Word count.
A box will pop up that displays the number of pages, words, characters and characters excluding spaces in the Google Doc. Take a look and press OK when you’re ready to hide the box.
2. There’s a second way to check your word count in Google Docs: use the shortcut! Just hit Ctrl+Shift+C for the box to appear.
Do you get the hunch that chapter three of your novel is running a bit long? There’s a way to check word count in Google Docs without copying and pasting the chapter’s text into a separate document.
Highlight the relevant text, then either select Word count under Tools or use the Ctrl+Shift+C shortcut for the box to pop up.
This time, the box will display how many pages, words, characters and characters excluding spaces are in this chunk of text with respect to the total number in the Google Doc.
This strategy is for the third category of writers. Let’s say an editor instructs you to keep an article under 1,200 words. You don’t want to finish a draft only to discover it’s 1,800 words, then make heavy edits before you can submit the piece.
Just keep track as you go!
Either click on Word count or use the shortcut to bring up that little box. Then select Display word count while typing. A small rectangle pops up in the lower left corner of the Google Doc that displays the word count.
Click the rectangle’s arrow to see the number of pages, characters and characters excluding spaces. Is the rectangle becoming annoying? Click that arrow and select Hide word count to get it out of your hair.
Once your document exceeds 3,676 words, the rectangle no longer shows the number of words. (Why that number? I have no idea.) It will just say View word count, and you can click on the rectangle to see the details.
Be aware that Google Docs does not include certain things in its word count. It doesn’t count anything in the header, footer or footnotes, even if you highlight the words in those sections and select Word count.
Google Docs also doesn’t count symbols, such as # or $, in its word count. It does count them as characters, though.
It does include em-dashes, which look like — this. (Curious about how to type an em dash? It stumps a lot of writers, but we’ve got a simple guide.) Keep in mind, it only counts an em-dash as a word if there are spaces on either side of it. If you type it like—this, Google Docs doesn’t count the em-dash.
For example, I count 63 words in the above paragraph when I count manually, because I take symbols into consideration. But when I highlight the text and count using Google Docs, the word count appears as 60, because Google Docs didn’t count either of the symbols or the em-dash without spaces.
Counting words can be a little like losing weight. Some people prefer to step on the scales constantly, others like to check in every once in a while, and some just do a final weigh-in when they’ve completed their diet. Whichever method works for your writing style, there’s a way to check word count in Google Docs.
Photo via Rido / Shutterstock
The post How to See Your Word Count in Google Docs As You’re Writing appeared first on The Write Life.
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