On To Publication.... My Journey To Sales, Part 3

Once I understood how short stories work (limited number of characters, limited duration OR telescoped time passage, limited backstory, larger proportion of text devoted to climactic scene), I felt more comfortable writing short fiction at the same time I was working on my novels.

A friend and fellow writer--the late, great Violet Windell--invited me to go to a Midwest Writers mini-workshop, a one-day local deal. It changed my life. The also late and also great Dick Stodghill presented a talk ...