Julie Duffy's Blog, page 129

Writing Flash Fiction Gems – Small, Precious, and Slower Than You’d Think

What Is Flash Fiction? There are, of course, as many definitions of Flash Fiction as there are writers. Length: The closest point of consensus I could find is that Flash Fiction ought to be not more than 1000 words. (One journal points out that, in China, this fiction is described as a story you can … Continue reading "Writing Flash Fiction Gems – Small, Precious, and Slower Than You’d Think"

050 – Cycles in a Writing Life

This week I talk about the different cycles we go through in a creative life: fertile and fallow, frenzied and fatigued…and how you can make the most of them.   Also in this show: concrete steps for preparing for StoryADay May, including a description of Story Sparks and a reminder to make your own rules … Continue reading "050 – Cycles in a Writing Life"

Let’s Talk About Flash Fiction

In which I encourage you to write Flash Fiction and tell you about an upcoming online workshop. The online workshop will happen on April 22, 2017 from 4 PM until late. There are 10 tickets for full workshop participants (writing exercise, critique and discussion) and 40 reduced-price tickets for audience-only attendees. Sign up now

Why Write A StoryADay in May?

How Do You Write A StoryADay For A Month? First of all let’s start with the better question: Why write a story a day for a month? It’s not to write 31 brilliant stories that will instantly get published and make you rich and famous. It’s not so that you can prove how long you can … Continue reading "Why Write A StoryADay in May?"

[Q & A] How To Start Writing Again

Q. How do I start writing again after a long time? A. Keep your expectations low. Don’t expect to produce a masterpiece, or even a coherent story. Set goals like “freewriting three mornings a week for 20 minutes” and then build on that by doing exercises like working to writing prompts, or writing about your … Continue reading "[Q & A] How To Start Writing Again"

[Reading Room] Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers by Alyssa Wong

If you like horror and dark fantasy, you should definitely be reading Alyssa Wong's work!

SWAGr – Accountability for April 2017

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 – Accountability for April 2017"

[Writing Prompt] Redux & Progression

In the last of my publication-related writing prompts, we sound a note of optimism, courtesy of Helios Quarterly Magazine. Stories for this market should ‘illuminate the dark’, and examine the human condition. They are looking for a variety of lengths (anything from 100 word to 10,000) so check out the guidelines. The deadline for this … Continue reading "[Writing Prompt] Redux & Progression"

[Writing Prompt] Medieval Mayhem

Sticking with this month's theme of writing for publication, today I bring you another prompt associated with a themed issue. This time it's from Splickety Magazine...

[Reading Room] A Medieval Romance by Mark Twain

I failed utterly to see the ending coming...