Interview with RB Frank

As editor of a literary magazine, my love for quality short-form writing knows no bounds. And as part of the job, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know several excellent writers. RB Frank is witty, versatile, and packs a punch in a limited number of words. Purely out of curiosity, after becoming a true… Read more »

#5onFri: Five Reasons to Write Short Fiction

Many writers picture their name on the cover of a book and march toward that goal in a straight line, not stopping to enjoy other great opportunities to get published along the way. If that sounds like you, you might be missing out on some very rewarding writing time. Writing a short piece of fiction… Read more »

Opening Doors Through Poetry and Short Fiction

Web Editor’s Note: Please join me in welcoming Brenda Joyce Patterson, poet, writer, librarian,and the newest columnist for DIY MFA! In her column, Writing Small, she’ll be talking about the world of short fiction and poetry!  Raise your hand if you read poetry. How about short stories? I so wish I could be a fly on… Read more »

Build Your Platform With Flash Fiction

With the publishing landscape changing, there is a heavy focus on the author platform. As writers, we are no longer required to just write. We need to write, master social media, maintain a spiffy website, and populate a blog. We have to become real people to our readers and potential readers. The world requires more… Read more »

7DayStory: FREE Short Story Workshop and Q&A

Join me and Julie Duffy of StoryADay.org us for a FREE Short Story Workshop next week. We’ll be talking about the tiered revision process that inspired our collaborative project–7DayStory–and you’ll have a chance to ask both of us questions about writing, short stories, and the 7DayStory Challenge. Here are the details: 7DayStory Workshop and Q&A… Read more »

Introducing: The 7DayStory Challenge!

You don’t write because someone told you to write. You write because you MUST, because you can’t NOT write. But that doesn’t mean you must write alone. Next week, we’re teaming up with our friends over at StoryADay.org and hosting a week-long short story challenge called 7DayStory. The idea is simple: just write and revise… Read more »

Short Fiction Suggested Reading

I struggled to come up with a perfect suggested reading list for this month’s Master Class on Short Fiction, but I kept finding myself hitting the wall.  Some of you may have heard me lament the absence in the world of a perfect short story anthology .  I’ve found ones that are OK but never… Read more »