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Flash Fiction Challenge
Short Story

2021 February Flash Fiction Challenge: Guidelines

Join us in February for our first ever February Flash Fiction Challenge! Write a new short short story each day in February with daily writing prompts from editor Moriah Richard.

  • By Moriah Richard
    Jan 7, 2021
Richard_1:2
Writing Techniques

What Is Flash Fiction?

WD editor Moriah Richard outlines the short short form and answers the question, “What is flash fiction?”

  • By Moriah Richard
    Jan 2, 2021
Edgerton_12:15
Writing Techniques

Expanding a Short Story Into a Novel

Author Les Edgerton explains the differences in structure between a short story and a novel, and he provides writers tips for how to expand their short stories into something more substantial.

  • By Les Edgerton
    Dec 22, 2020
Stohlman_10:31
Writing Techniques

Five Reasons to Write Flash Fiction: Understanding the Literary Love Child of the Short Story and Poetry

In this article, award-winning author Nancy Stohlman breaks down the difference between flash fiction, prose poetry, and short stories and explains what keeps readers on the hook.

  • By Nancy Stohlman
    Oct 31, 2020
Stohlman_10:18
Interviews

Nancy Stohlman: Creativity in a Flash

Author Nancy Stohlman discusses why flash fiction is changing the way we tell stories and the shifting landscape of creativity in 2020.

  • By Robert Lee Brewer
    Oct 18, 2020
jacob_m_appel_perseverance_the_key_to_writing_success
Interviews

Jacob M. Appel: Perseverance the Key to Writing Success

Jacob M. Appel, the author or editor of 19 books, including his most recent short fiction collection, Winter Honeymoon: Stories, shares how perseverance leads to writing success, what he believes all writers unconsciously try to do with their writing, and more.

  • By Robert Lee Brewer
    Sep 13, 2020
john_mcnally_renewed_interest_in_the_magic_of_short_stories
Interviews

John McNally: Renewed Interest in the Magic of Short Stories

John McNally, the author or editor of 18 books, including his most recent short story collection, The Fear of Everything, discusses what renewed his interest in the short story, what his goals in writing are, and more.

  • By Robert Lee Brewer
    Sep 3, 2020
Notes on Fiction Writing
Vintage WD

Vintage WD: Notes on Fiction Writing

In this 1941 Writer's Digest article, one writer talks about knowing the ins and outs of the genre in which you're writing, and the one thing they all have in common: writing a good story.

  • By Writers Digest Staff
    Jul 16, 2020
Back to Fundamentals-ShortStories
Vintage WD

Back to Fundamentals: Vintage WD

In this 1938 Writer's Digest article, Leon Byrne emphasizes the importance of learning and getting back to the fundamentals of craft, particularly when writing short stories (though we find his advice applicable to novels as well).

  • By Writers Digest Staff
    Jun 18, 2020
Image placeholder title
Short Story

Short Training for Your Long Game: How Writing Short Stories Can Help You Hone Your Novel-Writing Skills

Even if you’re focused on writing a novel, writing short stories can be a wonderful creativity tool to help you strengthen elements of your fiction, experiment with characters and simply stay loose.

  • By Guest Column
    Feb 17, 2018
noelle-sterne-author
Short Story

A Shocking (and Fun) Short Story Writing Technique

You’ve probably been taught that short stories follow the time-revered rule: Limit your story to a specific time, place, event, interaction, or character’s evolution. I say, do the opposite. Here's how.

  • By Guest Column
    May 17, 2017
anne-r-allen
Short Story

9 Ways Writing Short Stories Can Pay Off for Writers

BY ANNE R. ALLEN Bite-sized fiction has moved mainstream, and today’s readers are more eager than ever to “read short.” Here’s why writing little stories is paying off in a big way.

  • By Guest Column
    Jan 7, 2015
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