Word Magic
As you may know, I mentor writers and authors. Although many of my students begin their careers by writing short fiction, few have goals for this short material. They look at short stories and novellas as practice material for their real goal: writing a novel. Of course, this is laudable. I’m a big fan of exercises and writing journals. The … Read more
Bored with your fiction? Why not plot a novella, and write it? Not only do novellas improve your sales, they’ll improve your craft skills as well. I love novellas, because I can write and publish them in a few days; this makes them a wonderful promotional tool. Tip: try writing a novella as a prequel to an upcoming novel. My … Read more
When you’re plotting fiction, here’s the essence: your plot is what your characters DO. We discussed developing characters in our second article in this novella-writing series, Writing Short Fiction: How To Develop Characters (Novella Series 2). When you focus on what your characters do, and WHY they do it, plotting your novella is simple, even if you’re a dedicated pantser, … Read more
Are you thinking of writing a novella? Your questions about short fiction in general, and novellas in particular, inspired me to create the novella series of articles; the articles are free reads. Novella series: current articles You can read the first two articles in the novella series now. Read now: Write A Novella: Want To Write Short Fiction? (Novella Series … Read more
When you’re writing short fiction, you pack a lot into a little. So writing short stories and novellas is excellent training in improving your fiction in general. I encourage any of my students who are new to writing fiction to start with short fiction. Not only is a novella easier to control than a novel, it teaches you how to … Read more