The plethora of short story markets makes it a highly desirable form for any writer – established or novice. For many writers, however, the dream of writing saleable short stories proves far easier than the reality. Fine tuning an idea or plot outline into a polished short story is far harder than it appears.
In Think Outside the Square, Australian author Cheryl Wright guides writers through the short story process – from character, to plot idea, through to completed story and even marketing.
Wright, herself a successful and published author of short stories and articles (also published under the pen name Andrea Higgins-Wright), shares examples from her own stories, encouraging the reader every step of the way. Each section is backed up with exercises, making the book not just a how-to-write book, but an interactive writing workshop.
Readers will get most benefit from the book if they work through it one section at a time, reading what Wright has to say about each aspect of short story writing and studying her examples before trying the exercises for themselves. Readers who do this will finish the book with complete stories or, at least, plenty of outlines and ideas for stories of their own.
A great tool for any writer – either the novice, or the more experienced writer looking for some fresh inspiration.
Think Outside the Square: Writing Publishable (Short) Stories, by Cheryl Wright, 2003
Available from Writer2writer.com and booklocker.com