Friday, December 6, 2013

Free today and tomorrow, Writing Character-driven Short stories: an easy to use, plain-English guide to story focus, structure, and the transformational character arc

I have this love hate relationship with Short Stories. Maybe it's some kind of symbiotic thing. I've been trying to figure it out for years. On one hand, it's probably the workshop I've done the most real life experimentation in, and the one that consistently fails to connect. Maybe it's the format. It's on my back burner to figure out a way to get it across better and to stop hitting the spike strip when the workshop runs out of steam. Maybe a series of youtube videos, or those vine things? Or just some therapy.

I'm grateful as hell nobody has told me it sucks, but the same little voice that told me "paranormal historicals, they're going to be big" or "action-adventure romance. Are you listening??" tells me I need to stop running from it. As part of my self-imposed therapy, I spent the last two months with the CMOS, banging my head against colons and semi-colons, and the difference between i.e. and e.g.

If you'd like to get a copy of Shorts, it's got a handy (and very useful) template guide and some troubleshooting tools that aren't limited to short stories. It's also got a discussion of story time, something that cries out for a couple of slides. It's free today and tomorrow. It's only for the kindle, but if you don't have a kindle or live where you can't get a copy, email me at jodi  henley @g mail .com and I'll send you a free pdf.



2 comments:

deanna said...

I didn't tell you yet (aagh), but I got this the day you offered it, for my computer's Kindle app. It's great!

A couple months ago I read all of Practical Emotional Structure. It springboarded me into all kinds of pre-thinking for the book idea I have. I figured out core events and an inciting incident... :) Tnen, reading just a ways so far into Short Stories has helped a lot with focus. I think I always start out wishing to include everything and then later I rather randomly cut out stuff and hope it works. This is the first time I've been able to keep a focus in my head. Now if only I can get time to write it down...

That's all to say thank you very much for your books!

May your Christmas be blessed and the New Year bring you the right amount of good things.

Unknown said...

lol, Deanna. Thank you for your kind words. I'm sending you a copy of my work on the filter so you have it. I think it'll help a lot more than Shorts. :) And an updated copy of Shorts. And...argh! Too many workshops all at once, lol. I'm just digging out of the avalanche of work I put off. Happy belated New Years and Merry, blessed Christmas to you and yours. I'm glad God brought you into my life. :)