Q: How do I begin a story that needs a lot of explanation? For example, when it takes place in another time or if the character has an extraordinary skill? A: In writing any story, you have to start somewhere and fill in the background details as you go. You can’t cram everything into the first …
Q: Can I submit a novel excerpt to magazines before my novel is finished? A: Some magazines and journals accept unsolicited submissions of novel excerpts, but most do not. Always read writers guidelines to see what individual publications look for. Some writers find that a portion of their novel can stand alone as a complete short …
Q: Is it ever appropriate to kill off or maim a character in the first sentences of a short story? A: Conflict of this nature has the potential to sabotage a story. It can come off as forced, appealing only to the reader’s sense of shock. It can also render the rest of the story anti-climatic. …
Q: Do I italicize the title of a short story? What about poem titles? A: Titles of individual short stories and poems go in quotation marks. The titles of short story and poetry collections should be italicized. For example, “The Intruder,” a short story by Andre Dubus appears in his collection, Dancing After Hours. This can get …