Julie Duffy's Blog, page 130

[Writing Prompt] Utter Fabrication

This week’s prompt comes from Mad Scientist Journal who are putting together a special edition with a theme that really tickles me! The Prompt Write the fictionalized story of an unusual building  When I first read this prompt, I assumed the building had to be real. That’s not the case, but it’s an interesting idea… … Continue reading "[Writing Prompt] Utter Fabrication"

[Reading Room] A Haunted House by Virginia Woolf

This story is definitely not bound by the rules of "rising action", or "character arcs"...

[Writing Prompt] Diamonds And Toads

In keeping with this month’s theme of “Publication”, this prompt comes from a market that is actively looking for short stories right now! The Prompt Write a Fairytale With The Theme “Diamonds & Toads” This prompt comes from Enchanted Conversation (see their guidelines here) and the reading period is open until March 30, 2017. They pay … Continue reading "[Writing Prompt] Diamonds And Toads"

[Reading Room] Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang

From Stories of Your Life by Ted Chiang This is the (long) short story that was the basis for the movie Arrival, a movie I loved. I read the story after seeing the movie, and it was a little hard to separate the two. I’m glad I did it in that order because there is … Continue reading "[Reading Room] Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang"

Ep 049 – Publishing Short Stories

This month is all about publishing; how, why, and why not.  I don’t talk much about publishing at StoryADay because the focus has always been on creativity. However, seven years in, I think we could stand to talk a little about what might be your ‘what next’.  (Please excuse the slightly tremulous voice this week. … Continue reading "Ep 049 – Publishing Short Stories"

SWAGr – Accountability for March 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 March 2017"

[Reading Room] Your Mama’s Adventures In Parenting by Mary Robinette Kowal

Last week I talked about reading and writing stories with divided storylines that come together at the end. The example I gave, Shakedown by Elizabeth Gonzalez, had a fairly traditional narrative structure. While it wasn’t clear how the two storylines would interact, at first, it was an easy-to-read story. Shaking Things Up This week’s story … Continue reading "[Reading Room] Your Mama’s Adventures In Parenting by Mary Robinette Kowal"

[Writing Prompt] Sleight of Hand

Yesterday I reviewed Shakedown by Elizabeth Gonzalez, a story that doesn’t seem to be able to make its mind up whether it wants to be about the renovation of an old steam train, or about a fiesty old man in a Pennsylvania mountain town. It’s a wonderful example of a quiet climax: no car chases or bullets … Continue reading "[Writing Prompt] Sleight of Hand"

[Reading Room] Shakedown by Elizabeth Gonzalez

I picked this book up because a, it was written by a Pennsylvania writer and b, because of the glowing review written for it by Karen Russell and short story writer and novelist whose writing I love (literary but not stuffy). (Incidentally, this is a great way to discover new writers: rely on recommendations and … Continue reading "[Reading Room] Shakedown by Elizabeth Gonzalez"

Get The Results You Want, For Your Writing

Get the free Get Results Worksheet, and catch all the ideas this post gives you Let’s be honest: fame and fortune would be nice, but it’s not really the reason we write, is it? We write because we need to. It should be enough but sometimes we want more. This post will lead you through three … Continue reading "Get The Results You Want, For Your Writing"