First Step in Publishing Short Stories - Reading
by Vivian Gilbert Zabel
When I took composition classes in college, I often became
frustrated with all the reading I had to do, story after story
after story, many times thousands of pages per assignment. Yet
as we discussed the stories and what made them interesting or
what didn’t, I was earning how to write. Even today, as I read
and review, I learn more about what makes a good story and what
doesn’t.
I used the reading, discussion, and then writing idea when I
taught, too. I tried to highlight one or two concepts per
story, then had the students write something using those
concepts and any others we had already covered. First, though
came reading and reading and reading.
As I read the September, 2005, issue of The Writer, I
discovered an article GOOGLE ADSENSE by Erika Dreifus titled
“Learning short-story writing by example.” She agrees with my
university professors and me: “We learn by reading closely and
reading as writers - attending to the ways others employ the
elements of fiction: setting, plot, character, theme, and so
on.”
So where can a person find short stories to study, ones that
will help learn correct story writing? Of course books of short
stories are found in all book stores. In fact Holly Jahangiri
and I have a collection of short stories for sale at Amazon.com
or Barnes and Nobles.
Plus many bookstores connected to colleges have anthologies for
sale. If someone couldn’t afford to buy an anthology or
collection, used bookstores or libraries carry them.
Web sites can be found that have stories and advice for
writers. The Internet is an interesting and impressive source.
Some magazines still publish short stories. Searching in cyber
space will locate many that do.
The best help found in reading, though, is to read well-written
short stories, and read, read, read.
Sources:
1. Dreifus, Erika, “Learning short-story writing by example,”
The Writer, September 2005.
2. Notes and lesson plans by Vivian Zabel
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Vivian Gilbert Zabel taught English, composition, and creative
writing for twenty-five years, honing her skills as she studied
and taught. She is a author on Creative Writers (
http://www.Writing.Com/ ), and her portfolio can be found at
Writing.Com/authors/vzabel. Her books, Hidden Lies and Other
Stories and Walking the Earth: Life's Perspectives in Poetry,
can be found through Barnes and Noble or
Amazon.com.
Source: http://www.Writing.Com/
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