How to Write Winning Short Stories: A practical guide to writing stories that win contests and get selected for publication by Nancy Sakaduski

How to Write Winning Short Stories: A practical guide to writing stories that win contests and get selected for publication Reviews

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  Stan

  How to Write Winning Short Stories is full of great writing advice. Much of it applies to all fiction writing (well, all long format fiction writing), but the author speaks directly to how writing short stories differs in the application of good writing skills. From the outset, "winning" is very broadly defined. In the end, "winning" depends on your own goals for your short story. The author runs through various facets of "winning" with your short story. Since she runs a writing context for short stories, her choice is appropriate. If you want to write short stories, you'll get plenty of inspiration and instruction here!
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  Karen Mead

  Very informative. I've always been somewhat mystified by short stories as a format. After all, if I'm really interested in the characters or a concept, I'd probably want to write a novel and not just a few thousand words, right? What's the point of dipping into a whole world and then scampering away from it?
  
  Sakaduski not only explains the appeal of short stories specifically, as opposed to other forms of fiction, but made me eager to start writing them. Some of the chapters feature writing advice that's a little generic and doesn't apply to short stories specifically, but the book makes good on the promise of the title.
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  Terri Clifton

  The author Nancy published one of my very first short stories and I have now worked with her several times. Her developmental editing taught me a lot and I've gone on to be published in anthologies and journals. I was thrilled to see she wrote this book, and I still refer to it when editing and entering.
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  Angela La Voie

  An easy afternoon read with some handy pointers on writing short stories. Good references on fact-checking and fair use that might be familiar to a journalist but less so to a creative writer. Also a concise primer on general creative-writing tips. The material lends itself well for incorporation into a writer’s existing checklists for revision and copy editing.
• 
  Bob Wilson

  Packed with helpful insights.
  Fantastic book, filled with lots of helpful and practical tips. Love how the author covered all facets of writing short stories and did so in a way that was thorough, yet concise. Excellent in every way.
• 
  Holli Keel

  Decent advice and tips for writing short stories.
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  Adalynd

  Good
  
  Enjoyed reading, good information, I liked the checklists best, very helpful to the writing process . It's worth jotting down notes, highlighting as you go.
• 
  Dennis Mitton

  Covers it all
  
  Great book that covers short story writing from the title to conclusion. Readable and actionable. A goldmine of useable advice.
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  Becca Chopra

  Lots of good info for aspiring short story writers.
• 
  Suzanne

  If you are interested in writing short stories this book could help you.
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  Cassandra Ulrich

  This book contains a lot of great advice on how to give your short story the best chance of being published. I recommend this book to every writer.
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  Weldon Burge

  A superb guide to writing short fiction. If you strive to write outstanding short stories, you can't go wrong with this book by your side.
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  Jack Clubb

  Loved this book.
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  David Hammerstein

  I love this book. It offers a concise, clear and practical guide to writing short stories. Nancy Sakaduski clarifies key differences between short stories and novels. The book explains the fundamentals of short stories: theme, structure, setting, characters and dialogue. It also discusses editing, legal considerations and marketing. The book suggests ways to change a story’s pace; more details would have been helpful. The book is extremely well written, thereby facilitating a quick read. The layout is visually appealing. I strongly recommend this book to emerging and established authors.
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  Jess Schira

  I thought this book was really well done. It provided a great deal of information about constructing short stories, including examples. I was impressed with the checklists at the end of each chapter and will use them the next time I sit down to work on a WIP.
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  Krystina Schuler

  A good solid book on how to write a story (short or otherwise).