I got two acceptances this week, one I already told you about at Crossed Genres (and I hope you went to vote). The other one was my short story "Trouble Arrived" for the Hellbore and Rue anthology. This is a collection of stories about magic-practicing women. Mine is set in the bayou and has voodoo and an exotic beauty, booze and a mean big, city gambler. What more could you want? I will of course keep everybody updated as to the publication process, but I do know the editors are hoping to get it out by the end of the year.
Another common error young writers make is telling a story, rather than showing a story. This is probably because many of the short stories they have been exposed to are fairy tales, which have a distant point of view and summary-like narration. They start with phrases like "There once was..." and use direct characterization, like "She was the kindest girl in all the land." When we write, we need to show our stories, using vivid verbs, specific details, and deep point of view. Here's an example of a passage that is told. The action is summarized and the reader feels as if the action is happening far away: It was June of 1943. Eric's older brother had gone away to become a fighter pilot. Eric wanted to be a pilot too, so he got in the family's crop dusting plane and started it up. He flew it out of the barn and crashed it into the old oak tree in the yard. He hit his head. The doctor had to come. His brother came back, injured from the war. The two healed...
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