<img class="size-medium wp-image-1424 lazyload" alt="I used to be content to just Google my name from time-to-time. Now I search for myself on Amazon..." src="https://ericswyatt.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/screen-shot-2013-05-09-at-7-53-52-pm.png?w=300" width="300" height="226" /> I used to be content to just Google my name from time-to-time. Now I search for myself on Amazon… I don’t have my copy of the Spring 2013 issue of New Plains Review in my hands just yet (and their w

I met Kelly Fordon while I was pursuing my MFA. She was working on a novel told from the point of view of a U.S. Congressman’s young daughter. The chapter I read had a cameo by Richard Nixon. I was hooked. Kelly is also a published poet and all-around great person to hang out with. (I also featured a link to one of her stories in a Friendly Friday post a while back…) Good versus Evil in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” <img class="size-medium wp-image-1196 lazyload" title="2607_7

I was asked to write a post on the topic: How do I know when a story is ready for submission? My fine writing friends over at the 5Writers blog posted my response. You can read it here. #guestpost #5writers #blog #submission #story #fiction

I wonder if Steve Jobs ever felt this way. (Yes, I’m starting this blog post by comparing myself to Steve Jobs.) I wonder if, as he held the iPhone 4 in his hand and described the innovations and advancements, if he looked back at the original iPhone with a bit of a wince and grimace? So far, the publishing side of the writing life has been a little like having the iPhone 4 sitting on my desk, and being asked to go out and hold up the first iPhone and say, “See this? I wrote

There’s an oft-quoted adage, “Write what you know!” which is simultaneously true and untrue. It is untrue because, as fiction writers, we are constantly adding details and experiences we don’t know from personal experience. Certain truths underpin our prose, but we express those things through characters and events and surroundings we don’t know from first-hand knowledge. It’s called “Writing the Other” and we do it all the time. But, on another level, the old adage is true.

I have an affinity for geographically-centered fiction. What I mean is, I think the “place” of the writer and the story he writes are very important to the writing, even if the place only serves as background and research for the writer. On Twitter recently, I stumbled across a relatively new literary magazine called Midwestern Gothic, with a focus on stories, poems, and photography that highlight the midwest. Midwestern Gothic (ISSN 2159-8827) is a quarterly print literary j

Tuesday this week I presented part one of an adaptation of an exercise in “What if?” by Bernays and Painter. You can get your own copy from Amazon right here. The exercise for today is the same as Tuesday’s so if you’ve already read the details, feel free to jump down to the prompts! ********** For this exercise you need a story of your own (likely, an early draft, though I would advocate doing this with a story that is just stuck and lifeless…one of those stories you know is

There is some fine fiction (and poetry and non-fiction) at storySouth, and this week I’m highlighting the headliner short fiction story for Issue 31 (Spring 2011): And the Rain Fell Through Her Fingers, by Richard E. Dansky (story link below). First Lines: “I miss you,” she told me, and the phone crackled static into my ear. “I miss you too,” Really, it was all I could say. “Is the hotel room nice, at least?” “There’s no cable. For two hundred bucks a night, you’d think there

Today and Thursday this week, I’m going to be giving you an adaptation of an exercise in “What if?” by Bernays and Painter. You can get your own copy from Amazon right here. The exercise for today and Thursday is basically the same, with some different questions being asked to stimulate your writing. For this exercise you need a story of your own (likely, an early draft, though I would advocate doing this with a story that is just stuck and lifeless…one of those stories you k

After a holiday weekend, most of us probably have plenty of writer’s inspiration: time spent with family, time spent with friends who enjoy too many adult beverages, time with people who probably SHOULDN’T be anywhere near fireworks but have a pickup truck full of them…it’s all rich writer’s ground. But, just in case you are looking for something to give you a jump start this week, here is Unblocker #4, for your consideration… Unblocker #4 Write a scene featuring two of your

So, I have this story. It’s called, “The Silence of God is Impossible to Bear”. This was a story that I wrote several years ago, and it was part of my application package to the Queens MFA program. I re-worked the story twice before I sent it in to the Queens staff, and it was–obviously–strong enough to help me make the cut. It still needed work. I did two more editing passes and took the story with me as my large group workshop submission for my first on-campus residency. Th