How to Write Short Stories That Sell With Alan Baxter
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- čas přidán 4. 07. 2024
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Alan Baxter is an award-winning author of dark fantasy, horror and sci-fi with 6 novels and over 70 internationally published short stories as well as writing for video games. He's British but lives in Australia and he's also a Kung Fu instructor and British National Champion.
The changes in Alan's writing life since he was last on the podcast and the markers of success for an author.
Whether there is a recent increased interest in Dark Fantasy.
On the way Alan's hybrid author business works.
Defining short story, novelette, novella and novel.
How Alan is inspired and how he decides whether to use an idea for a short story or a novel.
The differences between an award-winning short story and one that doesn't sell or receive acclaim.
Why Alan writes more short stories than novels.
The markets writers can submit short stories to and whether the market for short stories has grown with the rise of ebooks.
You can find Alan at alanbaxteronline.com
10:00 Is when they get to the topic of the video.
Kierra Uniq Arigatooooo! 😊
thank you
thanks
Thank you!
Kierra Uniq these comments are life
I use to read short stories by Alfred Hitchcock back in the 60's. A group of my friends would read them out loud while we went camping. It was scary fun.
You’re so special. Don’t ever lose that spark that’s so infectious to me.
I’m trying to write a short story, I’ve never done it before and it’s definitely proving to be much harder than I initially thought. However, the message I want to convey is important so I’m not going to give up.
How's it going?
@@Hauptstufe
Well, not too good, I mean, not as far as my short story goes. I just feel so lost on how to do it.
I do have some small parts written but putting it all together has been more than difficult.
Thanks for asking, it might be exactly what I need to finally cross the finish line.
@@pilgrim985 do you read a lot?
@@Hauptstufe
No, not a lot. I read about 3 books a year, about 300 pages per book.
I find it challenging finding time to read so I lean heavily on audiobooks. Libraries have them on loan too…Masterclass is great but expensive. Maybe a Domestika class with writing exercises would help.
Very helpful video. I hope readers enjoy one of my novellas because of the surprise ending. Three Strangers Rob a Gangster by Peter Brighton.
Excellent Interview and guest!!! I am from Dominican Republic in the Caribbean Sea and I really appreciate your work Joanna, God Bless you.
Thanks, I've got an interview scheduled on indies in the Caribbean in 2022 :) I just appeared on this show with a Caribbean author - czcams.com/video/a_4AY7wWp6c/video.html
Great interview. Really useful for me because I write short stories.
I find it quite interesting. When I came about my first literary piece, The Animal Mind. It was out of the blue. So, I have decided to work on my short story writing skills, by being educated on a video of this kind. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for the video. I am working on few urban fantasy short stories. All this information will come in handy. I also think that the ebb and flow of genres/subgenres is a good thing.
Really great interview thank you again!
This is perfect timing. I'm planning to write a short story soon.
Some friendly advice for you. 'I'm planning to write' is the procrastinator's mantra. Don't waste time telling people on here like you're begging for attention or kudos...get your head down, get your arse glued to your seat for a few days and hammer that story out - three drafts and a final polish. Then you can say 'I'VE WRITTEN' instead of 'I'M PLANNING TO WRITE'. Just get off here and write it already. Best of luck with it and God speed. I'm sure it will be great if you quit trying to validate yourself on here. Get it written and put it on a website/approach some magazines who print short stories. There are NO quick routes to fame writing shorts - hard enough with novels. Get used to collecting rejection slips - you're gonna get a lot of them for various reasons, some of which have nothing to do with the quality of your work whatsoever. Quit DREAMING and start DOING!! Best motivational advice I can offer you. Watching these things offer good points of reference/tips , but you need to start applying the seat of your pants to your writing chair and get it done. You have no clock to work towards and no pressure from anywhere - ideal writing conditions. Doesn't matter if you get 2000 words a day even if its shit - it's exercising the writing muscle and condition the mind and it boils down to the indisputable FACT that you have applied 2000 words to a once vacant page as opposed to being a 'coffee shop writer', a fantasist who talks about it but does absolutely fuck all about it, using every excuse known to mankind as to why you've got sod all to show for it. Allow me to demonstrate...THE MAZEThe sweat was rolling down her face as she stared into the abyss. She had stared death in the eye and walked away from it. The rig, had it impacted, would have crushed her car beyond belief, killing her and her two teenage daughters instantly.There you are! 45 simple (albeit hardly awe-inspiring) words to start a short story from out of nowhere and completely off the top of the head. If you DO it, you have something to SHOW for it instead of a red face when in two months those same people you were ranting about it to actually start demanding to read it. If you have nothing by then, you'd better change coffee shops because no-one you talk to about it will take you or your writing seriously. Sad fact of humanity - people love to take the piss so shut them up instead of starting them up - WRITE or be WRITTEN OFF.
I am not a troll. I am someone who likes to encourage others to write. I have been writing since I was 12 but had other interests to pursue so kept it as a first love hobby I can always fall back on. I DO have some experience albeit of the amateur standing lol I just love the idea of creating something aout of nothing and the general writing process itself. Its been the best gift from God and means of life therapy I could ever have asked for. My comments below are intended to spur you on, so please take it as such. As I said, I wish you the best of luck with your writing.
You totally came across as trollish, addendum notwithstanding. I doubt Ms. Millner was expecting a long-winded attack on procrastination from a mantra monitor.
By the way, your brief story "start" offers three cliches in a row and twice uses "stare." Repetition can be poetic and useful. Here, it felt careless. That "off the top of your head" thing, huh? You do include a moment that can lead to motivating character change or an epiphany, which is good.
Naturally, you are free to write cliche-riddled prose. I believe everyone should write as they wish, in whatever style makes them happy. Or not write. Or procrastinate. Or furiously crank out skyrocketing page counts. But since you're big on giving advice, just take that as a friendly "motivational" comment from someone who has edited fiction.
Oh, and since it matters to you: I wrote 1600 words yesterday on a short story first draft. "I plan to" write 2000 today. (smile)
Get to it then! ;)
Two years on, did you end up writing a short story?
Great interview, keep up the good work.
Good work! Great insights into what goes into writing a short story. Thank you for your efforts!
Glad it was useful!
Insightful stuff. Thanks
Peace & Prosperity 🙏🏼
Interesting interview. Love the Andorian Devil. ;)
Jon in rural BC, Canada
how can I connect with Alan baxter am also a writer with great visions so I hope to reach some author
Al's site is here - www.alanbaxteronline.com/
One best book is the logic has find mind.
V good site 👏 📚 🖋 ✌️ 🇮🇪
I can write short motivational stories but I don't know how to sell it
Check out this interview and Matty's book on the topic - czcams.com/video/kk19-rc2Y5Q/video.html
Brett lott
2011? really? omg faceplants into keyboard. I'm wasting my liiiiife
hey, keep writing short stories if you win such cool demon head trophies.
Isn't James Patterson doing those bookshots - only 150 pages... I know they are not a short story (by definition) but they are bite sized shorter works. He is brilliant and clearly he knows what he's doing.
@MR PEEVES He hires ghost writers to write his books. If they were co-authors they would get credit for their work. IMO, ghost writing is kinda dubious. But writers gotta get paid somehow.
I’m a empath and that man has a monkey behind his shoulder. It’s finger is in it mouth, it a sweet monkey like a little girl looking up at her dad. It’s a light color med build. Don’t know what it means this never happened to me before! I promise I’m not crazy this just is the way o mean lol. Maybe it mean something to this man or even the woman! Sorry about that but thanks I’m writing my first I’m researching everything!