Episode 217: Write Dangerously — Interview with Yang Huang

Hey there word nerds! Today I am delighted to have Yang Huang on the show! Yang is an author and former engineer. She grew up in China’s Jiangsu province where she  participated in the 1989 student uprisings, and moved to the U.S. to attend Boston College. Her debut novel, Living Treasures, won the Nautilus Book… Read more »

How Themes Are Presented in Short Stories

We concentrate so much on novels here in Theme: A Story’s Soul that we’ve yet to discuss shorter forms of literature. This wasn’t a conscious decision, though. Novels contain an incredible variety of examples of literary themes in action, which makes them fantastic resources for studying a particular theme in depth. Yet short stories radiate… 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 »

Selling Short Stories, Part 1: Know Your Value

I just read Playing the Short Game, by Doug Smith.  It had some very valuable insight about the short story market.  Over the next few articles, I’ll be distilling some of his insights about short stories, as well as adding a few of my own.  This week I’ll be preparing the soil, so to speak,… 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 »