Julie Duffy's Blog, page 105

[Write On Wednesday] Writing For The Solstice

Today’s post is part of series of posts encouraging you to write stories for minor holidays. Writing and submitting a story for Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day or Christmas, means you’re up against a lot of competition in an editor’s inbox. Everyone writes for those holidays. But editors still love a timely, topical story. Why not take … Continue reading "[Write On Wednesday] Writing For The Solstice"

[Reading Room] Needle In A Timestack by Robert Silverberg

Cute and slightly terrifying story of two men competing for the same woman, but this time they have the power to go back and change the past. (Compare this to Geoffrey A Landis’s story where nothing the time-traveler did in the past could affect the future in any way.) Silverberg does a great job of … Continue reading "[Reading Room] Needle In A Timestack by Robert Silverberg"

[Write on Wednesday] National Handwriting Day

Today’s post is part of series of posts encouraging you to write stories for minor holidays. Writing and submitting a story for Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day or Christmas, means you’re up against a lot of competition in an editor’s inbox. Everyone writes for those holidays. But editors still love a timely, topical story. Why … Continue reading "[Write on Wednesday] National Handwriting Day"

[Reading Room] Ripples In The Dirac Sea by Geoffrey A. Landis

I found this story in The Time Traveler’s Almanac, (Ann & Jeff Vandermeer, Ed). This is one of the best time travel stories I’ve ever read, and I’m a huge fan of the sub-genre. Although this story was first published in 1988, I haven’t seen anyone else treat time travel and it’s consequences like this. … Continue reading "[Reading Room] Ripples In The Dirac Sea by Geoffrey A. Landis"

SWAGr for July 2018

Every month we gather here to discuss what we’ve achieved and commit to making more progress in our creative lives in the coming month. We call it our   Serious Writer’s Accountability Group or SWAGr, for short! (We’re serious, not sombre!) Leave a comment below telling us how you got on last month, and what you plan to do next … Continue reading "SWAGr for July 2018"

109 – Writing For Minor Holidays

Minor holidays are a great opportunity for writers to show editors why they need to publish *this* story *now*. Forget about the over-subscribed holidays of Valentine’s and Christmas. Instead, write about some oddball holidays.  All StoryADay’s prompts in June will be tailored to these odd little holidays and anniversaries. Listen to this episode to find … Continue reading "109 – Writing For Minor Holidays"

[Write on Wednesday] Different Selves

When I was 12 years old and living in Scotland, I had a friend whose parents were English. We walked home from the bus stop together every night, chattering away in colorful local accents and colloquialisms. But as soon as my friend reached her front door, she would call out, “Hallo, Mummy, I’m home!” in … Continue reading "[Write on Wednesday] Different Selves"

[Reading Room] The Death Ship by Richard Matheson

It’s tough to read Matheson’s stories now because his are the quintessential Twilight Zone type story (they were turned into several of the best TZ episodes) and have been ripped off, parodied and lovingly copied so many times that they feel cliched. But concentrating on that takes away from the exquisite, concise, clear writing, characterization … Continue reading "[Reading Room] The Death Ship by Richard Matheson"

108 – June is for Revisions

This month at StoryADay we’re all about revisions. This episode takes a look at how to revise your short stories without becoming overwhelmed, and invites you to think about submitting a story to StoryADay’s showcase: Storyfest, coming up on June 23-24.   Another new episode of Write Every Day, Not “Some Day”

[Write on Wednesday] Revisit An Older Story

One of the only ways to get better as a writer is to learn to revise our stories. This month, at StoryADay we’re focusing on revision. Keep reading for a free lesson on how to achieve the right revision mindset, and for news about this year’s StoryFest! The Prompt Take a story you have written … Continue reading "[Write on Wednesday] Revisit An Older Story"