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Tag: short stories
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My book on TV!
For about a week now, my book of short stories, HOW TO MAKE A KILLING JAR, has been on newscaster Keith Baldry’s bookshelf! I’ve seen it on the news almost half a dozen times now! Look for the woman in the orange dress…!!!
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THREE Pushcart Prize Nominations!
For this year, 2023, THREE short stories from my book, How to Make a Killing Jar, have been nominated for a PUSHCART PRIZE! They are: The official announcement by Chicken House Press is here: PUSHCART PRIZE NEWS
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Favourite Opening Lines from The Best American Short Stories 2014
A good opening leads you into another world–the world of the story. Here are a few that got my attention from The Best American Short Stories 2014: From David Gates‘ “A Hand Reached Down to Guide Me” : The name Paul Thompson won’t mean any more to you than my name would, but if you’d…
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Indirect conflict: foils in “A Day at the Races”
Often, when you hear the word “CONFLICT” you might picture two people fighting–battling each other, duking it out, or fighting against a snowstorm or hurricane. What you might not think about is conflict that is created the way Jason M. Jones does it in “A Day at the Races.” Take a look at this excerpt: Your mother…
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Ace Baker will be with the CTA in February and at the ACT in September !
So far this year, I’ve scheduled two opportunities to present ideas about writing to others, and the first is coming up very soon. I’ll be in Coquitlam on February 20th presenting ideas to a group of teachers as part of their CTA (Coquitlam Teachers Association) district-wide professional development day, CREATING CULTURES OF LEADERSHIP. A colleague, Greg Sutherland, and…
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Official Journey Prize nominations by PULP LITERATURE !
“Victory Girl” Nominated by Pulp Literature The editors at Pulp Literature have been incredibly kind to me this year… My poem, “Big Red Schoolhouse,” was selected by past Poet Laureate George McWhirter as the winner of The Magpie Award, and was subsequently nominated by Pulp Literature’s editors for a National Magazine Award. One of…
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“FLY FISHING” writing technique with Susan Pieters!
I’m no angler… and I’m not sure whether Susan Pieters knows how to fly fish or not—but she’s a gifted writer who uses fly fishing technique in at least one of the tales she tells. Let me show you how… In fly fishing, the lure itself is light, made to appear to be a…
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Great openings from Best American Short Stories 2013 !
I’m making my way through my copy of The Best American Short Stories 2013, and I wanted to share with you some of the best opening lines. Remember, an opening line can get YOU going on your own writing. The trick is NOT to read the complete story until AFTER you’ve written your own story.…
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Opening paragraphs #001: Strength AND vulnerability, at the same time!
For today’s starting paragraph, I decided to go with one that packs quite a punch. First, read how Megan Mayhew Bergman begins “Housewifely Arts”: I am my own housewife, my own breadwinner. I make lunches and change light bulbs. I kiss bruises and kill copperheads from the backyard creek with a steel hoe. I change…
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A real-life Indiana Jones? Long starter from nonfiction…
Talk about adventure! Here’s the beginning of a NONFICTION article, “The El Dorado Machine,” by Douglas Preston: The rainforests of Mosquitia, which span more than thirty-two thousand square miles of Honduras and Nicaragua, are among the densest and most inhospitable in the world. “It’s mountainous,” Chas Begley, an archaeologist and expert on Honduras, told me…