Think Outside the Square: Writing Publishable (Short) Stories (ePub)

As a new writer, I wanted to write saleable short stories.

I scoured the bookshops, but couldn't find anything to teach me how to write them. I read gazillions of short stories and bought a ton of books on writing, but still couldn't find anything specifically geared toward writing short stories.
    
And let's face it, writing short stories is completely different to writing novels, or any other form of writing. It's a specialised area, and if you don't understand the concepts, you simply won't sell your work. And that's what we're all aiming for, right?

I studied the craft of writing for many years before it all fell into place.  Suddenly I understood the 'secrets' that other writers had been coveting.  Finally I understood why some stories sold, and others were a complete waste of time and effort - and solicited the big 'R' (rejection). 

Then I wrote the story that completely changed my life. 

I'd struggled for years to sell my work, and the sale of this one story totally changed everything. 

Around 14 years ago, I earned more than $500 on the sale of this one short story, then all of a sudden I was selling my writing all over the place. 

After receiving emails from writers all over the world - asking how I did it, wanting to know what I did that was different to everyone else - I decided to write this book; the book I needed back in those early days. And other writers need today.

The book has been written as an interactive workshop. You won't be told what to do, you'll be shown how to do it.

You will be guided through every stage of writing your story; you'll learn how to brainstorm better outcomes, build realistic characters, give your character a unique voice, prepare your manuscript, and much, much more.

Here are just some of the things you will learn:
 

  The Best and Easiest Way to Create Memorable Characters

  How to Make Your Settings Authentic

  Why you Need to Fit your Character to his/her Surroundings and What Happens if   You Don't

  Why it's Better to Let the Reader Imagine your Character's Appearance, and How   to Avoid giving a Physical Description (it's easy when you know how!)

  How to Write Realistic Dialogue that Fits the Character

  Why you Should Use Action Tags - Instead of 'he said' 'she said' All the Time

  Free and Easy Ways to Find Outstanding Ideas

  Why Point of View is Crucial, and How to Use it Correctly

  How to Write Dazzling Opening Sentences - and Why you Must

  How to Use Emotion, Conflict, and Motivation - and the Differences Between Them

  How to Write a Twist at the End - and Why you Should

  Why it's Important to Create Stunning Titles - and How to Come up with Them

  How to "Show, Don't Tell" – Everyone Talks about it, But Never Explains it!

  Using Layers to Add More Depth (to your characters).

As mentioned above, Think Outside the Square was written as an interactive workshop.  I want you to work your way through the book, to write as you learn, using the summary and exercise/s provided in each section. You may even end up with a story at the end, or at the very least, the bare-bones for one.

This is not a book to only read.  If you're looking for a book that will simply tell you what to do, you've chosen the wrong book!