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BOGO Sale at Storyville

From now until the end of the year, Storyville’s At your Own Pace Short Story Mechanics class is buy one get one free! Purchase a full class for yourself or someone you love, and get an extra one to gift to someone else. These include the lesson packets with the reading material and exercises including […]

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Kind Words About My Short Story Mechanics Class

If you’ve ever thought about taking my Short Story Mechanics class–either at LitReactor.com—or as is noted here, at Storyville in the “At Your Own Pace” version, you may want to read this blog post by Keily. This thrills me to no end. This is why I teach. “Personally, I was shocked by how much I’d […]

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New Storyville Column—Ten Lesser-Known Stephen King Books Worth Reading

I have a new Storyville column up at LitReactor today entitled Ten Lesser-Known Stephen King Books Worth Reading. ENJOY!

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New Storyville Columns—UPDATE!

  Boy, I’ve been bad about updating my Storyville columns. So, here is an update, all of the new columns in one list. Enjoy! Storyville 19 Happy Not Sappy Storyville 20 Where To Submit Your Stories Storyville 21 My 10 Favorite Short Stories Storyville 22 Writing Dialogue Storyville 23 Best American Short Stories—Resource Storyville 24 […]

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Storyville Column is up – Top Ten Authors You’ve Never Heard Of Before

Where to start, yeah? For this column I talk about ten powerful voices in contemporary literature that you may never have heard of before. Each one of these voices is somebody that has impressed me with their words, destroyed me with the honesty and emotion, and become a name that I will follow for the […]

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New Storyville Column is Live – Writing Dynamic Settings

My latest Storyville column is all about writing dynamic settings. I’m a big believer in grounding your work in reality, whether you write literary stories that focus on an internal monologue, or fantastic stories set in distant galaxies. I hate stories with floating heads that don’t tell me where I am. So, here are some […]

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New Storyville Column is Live – Dissecting “Maker of Flight”

My new Storyville column is now up, and in this column, I dissect one of my favorite bits of short fiction, “Maker of Flight.” Why do I love this story? Partly because it has a sweetness at its center—it’s one of the few stories of mine I can actually read to my children. Every once […]

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New Storyville Column is Live – All About Narrative Hooks

New Storyville column is now up, all about writing narrative hooks. I focus on some of the work of southern gothic author Ron Rash. How do get your audience’s attention with one line? Icebergs and red herrings, what are those? In medias res, have you heard that said before? It’s Latin. And which of these […]

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New Storyville Column on Writing Sex is Now Live at Lit Reactor

My latest Storyville column over at Lit Reactor is all about writing sex scenes! What’s the difference between pornography, erotica and simply a powerful sex scene? What words should you use (and avoid)? How do you create sexual tension? Sex is a part of life, and the power it introduces into every intimate relationship will […]

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New Storyville column on endings is now LIVE

My latest Storyville column over at Lit Reactor is all about endings, twisted and otherwise. What do we talk about? Beginnings, icebergs, fulfillment through resolution, to twist or not twist, deus ex machina, and caring about your characters. Hope it helps. ENJOY!

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