The Writer August 2016

“A short story is the ultimate close-up magic trick – a couple of thousand words to take you around the universe or break your heart.” —Neil Gaiman Whenever I finish a novel, I feel like I’ve just exited another world, some far-off planet, as if I’m stealing my way out of Alice’s rabbit hole and heaving myself onto dry land. I’ve spent hours, days, weeks with these characters; we part ways as old friends. I exit a good short story feeling like someone’s just punched me in the gut. I’m hunched, doubled-over; the story lingers in my thoughts for days. I still remember the goosebumps on my arms after finishing “The Lady, or the Tiger?” or seeing Madeline’s face, hearing her fingers claw at the tomb’s door for weeks after…

“Write a short story every week. It’s not possible to write 52 bad short stories in a row.” —Ray Bradbury Writing short stories takes hard work. I’m not just referring to the work of drafting or to the never-never-done land of revision, to laboring over the right image, painting believable characters or creating sentences that cut. If you are someone like me, someone who writes with a tremendous amount of self-imposed pressure to get the story right, but also with an allegiance to one’s culture and history, then you can understand how challenging it is to face the blinking cursor. The particular pressure I face as a writer who is the daughter of Guatemalan immigrants is not unlike the pressure many writers of color, and those who write from marginalized…

In our interview with Heidi Pitlor (page 22), Pitlor said one of her best pieces of advice for writers is to read a lot, and there’s no denying she’s one of the best-read writers in the country thanks to her work as series editor for The Best American Short Stories. But while Pitlor may have the advantage of subscribing to dozens of literary journals, the beginning short fiction writer may not be as lucky. Here are some ways to sample a lot of American short fiction without subscribing to every literary journal on the newsstands: The Best American Short Stories This is Pitlor’s best recommendation for fledgling short fiction writers. “It gives you a sampler of what’s in a lot of different magazines, and it does have [a list of]…

I want to traditionally publish my novel. Can I submit directly to a publisher? The short answer is yes – with diligence and for a reason. If you are submitting directly to a publisher, ask yourself why. If it’s because agents have turned down your fiction submission, perhaps it isn’t ready. Before you begin submitting to anyone, make your book the best it can be. Most big publishers don’t accept unsolicited submissions. Refer to the LMP or the market listings in this magazine for the contact information of those that do. Also, know your genre: This doesn’t mean knowing what your book is, but knowing who your book is for. Do your research. Submit to publishers specializing in the type of book you’ve written. Follow the guidelines. No exceptions. If…

“When you read a short story, you come out a little more aware and a little more in love with the world around you.” —George Saunders NAME Colin Wright WEBSITE exilelifestyle.com How have your many experiences abroad helped your writing change and grow? Everything we do feeds back into the work we produce. For me, it’s changed everything, over time and iteratively. Sometimes it’s been more direct: When writing collections of stories from the road, for instance, there’s a direct link between what happened and what ends up on the page. More often, though, it’s the little things. Radically different people with wildly different perspectives inform the characters I write. Different architectural styles or even color palettes inform the locations. Paces of life and cultural backgrounds inform the structure and…

I’ve entered many short story contests and I’ve placed in a few, but haven’t won yet. I feel like I’m missing something. What are judges looking for? Placing in contests is no small feat. Congratulations! Figuring out how to make the leap to the winner’s circle can feel like a mystery. Your best course of action is to keep writing, continue to strengthen your work and submit more. There are few ways to anticipate what a judge is looking for. Most reputable contests are going to value strong craft, and some contests give a brief description of what they hope to see in a winning entry. You could read work that has won that particular contest in the past. This will be most useful if the contest has had the…