Short Fiction. Write it. Sell it.

Monday, October 20, 2014

This little blog hit 50,000 views today!

Thanks to everyone who stops by to take a peek.

And a special thanks to my loyal commenters:
Chris, Tamara, Mary Jo, Mary Ann, Bettye, Elizabeth, M D'Angona and Joyce.

Wishing you all WW sales in 2015.

11 comments:

Jody E. Lebel said...: Comment from Author Joan Dayton, who has sold to WW twice ... check out Aug 11th mystery story in archives ... left me a message on my FaceBook page:

"I'd skip my morning jolt of caffeine before I'd miss reading your blog. BTW, thanks for the four stars for my story!"; October 20, 2014 at 5:07 PM
Chris said...: Congrats on so many hits, Jody. You must be doing something right. I'm looking forward to the day when I can read your thoughts on one of my m-ms... course, I have to sell a darn story there first.; October 21, 2014 at 5:54 AM
Jody E. Lebel said...: @ Chris. Thanks. I'm sure I'll be slicing and dicing one of your stories in the near future. In fact, I'd better go find my bloody apron and get ready. :); October 21, 2014 at 7:44 AM
Joyce Ackley said...: Congratulations, Jody. Wishing us all success with our WW mysteries (and romances, too!) The mini-mystery you looked over for me? Waiting to hear, and I hope it's good news!; October 22, 2014 at 9:42 AM
M D'Angona said...: 50,000 views...awesome job! It's a great location online to get the gist about all the Mini-Mysteries from WW and the insight from fellow authors.

P.S. I just got my 2nd acceptance in the mail yesterday....get the red pen handy!; October 22, 2014 at 3:03 PM
Mary Ann said...: Way to go, Jody! I know you put a lot of hard work into the blog. I find it very useful to keep up with all the mini-mysteries that are published in Woman's World, and get a kick out of your snappy remarks, too. And way to go Mr. D'Angona on another sale!; October 22, 2014 at 3:08 PM
Jody E. Lebel said...: @ Joyce. That story has a great chance of getting a contract. It's all up to the whims of the editors now.

"May little angels blow kisses their way, and fill their heart with kindness towards your submission."

Forgive me, I just had a Hallmark card moment.; October 22, 2014 at 3:53 PM
Jody E. Lebel said...: @ M. Woo-hoo. I'm POSITIVE it's because you read this blog. lol

When's the pub date? How long ago did you submit? Details! We want details.; October 22, 2014 at 3:55 PM
Jody E. Lebel said...: @ Thanks, Mary Ann. It sure makes it easier when folks leave comments. Then I know I've hit a nerve, or am on the right track, or on occasion off base. I also like to hear how other parts of the country, and the world, handle their thugs and crooks, and how they do their police work. I submit to mags in the UK, South Africa and Australia, so I find this type of info useful.; October 22, 2014 at 4:02 PM
M D'Angona said...: Of course, reading this blog helps with all submissions. What works, what doesn't work, etc.
The publish date is 12-11 I believe. Sometime over the summer I sent it through. I really don't keep track of mail-out dates. I just write, toss it in the mailbox and forget about it. Again, the stories I don't feel will make it through...do and those I feel strongly about get rejected.; October 23, 2014 at 9:23 AM
Jody E. Lebel said...: @ M. Wow, you and Tamara, another contributor to this blog, both have stories in the 12/11 issue. Two of my peeps! I'm so proud of you guys.

Keep on keepin' on, gurls.; October 23, 2014 at 9:50 AM

78 Pages full of tips. Click on cover for link. Only $1.99.

Viewers of this blog are from 105 countries and 6 of the 7 continents.

United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Barbados, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Chile, China, Columbia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guam, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordon, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Macau, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, , Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar [Burma], Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe.

Want help with your story?

My day job puts me in contact with real cops, detectives, FBI agents and DEA guys. I have worked thousands of cases from the homeless guy on the Metrorail who got arrested for jumping the turnstile -- that’s right, arrested for not having a quarter -- to the Tamiami Strangler, a serial killer who strangled hookers along the famous trail in Miami. I produce court transcripts for a living.

Who better to look at your mystery stories to see if the police procedures are true, the clues are solid and the whole thing works? I will not hesitate to point out the good, the bad and the ugly in your story. Both of my WW mysteries made it to Johnene. From there? Cross your fingers.

The line-by-line edit, which also includes grammar, spelling and proofing, will offer suggestions on how to improve problem spots. The cost is $29 payable by PayPal. 72-hour turn around time.

I’ll also take a second look once you’ve revamped your story, but this time I’ll only look for glaring errors assuming all the details you chose to put in you want to stay in.

Send your story as a Word e-mail attachment to ladyrprter at aol dot com, and the fee to PayPal using ladyrprter at aol dot com for the payee

I'm looking forward to rummaging through your story's drawers...heh heh.

WW Mystery Writing Tips

Not every crime has to be intentional. An accidental killing is manslaughter as opposed to murder.

Long gone are the days when fiction was meant to instruct us. Today, fiction must entertain. If you bore the reader, you lose a fan. Keep losing fans and you will not have a writing career, you will have a hobby. Take a hard look at your WIP (work in progress). Here are four areas where your story might be lagging.
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Your tag line is the hook that gets someone interested in reading your work. It's one of the most important lines of your story. Take time to make it sparkle.

Criminals don't always think the crime through--especially if the crime is one of passion or revenge--but don't have them make stupid or stilly mistakes just to get your story written. Make the mistakes something that you just normally don't think about. Like the pruning skin in this story.

You don't always have to have crime scene details to make a mystery story work. Cozy mysteries sell well if you make the characters interesting.

Don't be fuzzy with your clues. Make up good ones and own them.

I've noticed that WW loves female cops and really loves little old ladies.

Once again WW chose a story with a female cop and little old ladies. Just remember to use the proper words for the crimes and before you say things like, he jimmied the lock, understand just what that is.

You've only got 700 words. Make them count. Don't waste words on things that don't matter. And NEVER give a clue and then later in the solution change it to the opposite. That's not fair. Just how is the reader supposed to figure it out then?

There are many ways to lay out the solve-it-yourself story. You don't always have to have the reader guess who the perp is. This week's story was presented with a fresh angle. We knew who did it. The question was did she cover her tracks well enough to fool the police?

As writers we often ask the reader to suspend disbelief a bit, but don't overdo it. Keep it as real as you can or you'll lose the reader.

If you have four suspects, have four good motives. Otherwise what's the point in having four suspects? It is almost a sin to have four suspects and not have even one decent red herring in the bunch. That's just a waste of words.

When the reader expects one situation, and gets another, that's really a form of a red herring. I expected a tired old theory and was given the surprise of a fresh twist. As the reader I was tricked...and that's a good thing.

When you reuse characters be sure to make them interesting and likable. Being cranky is not the same as being interesting. Be careful to not let one of them become mean. It's hard to like someone who calls people names and teases them about their not so glorious past.

Don't introduce a main character too late in the story. The reader feels cheated.

You don't always have to have police involved for a mystery to work. Be realistic if you are going to use animals in your story. Lassie wasn't real.

Write in more than one good motive. Two or three people could have done it, but only one has the means and opportunity to go with that motive.

I realize you only have 700 words to get in your story, but use every one of those words wisely. Don't repeat to fill the space. If your story is really done in 350 words, your story is too simple.

Try not to use the same old tired solutions. We're writers. Come up with something new and interesting. Treat the readers to a challenge. If I see one more muddy footprint on a white carpet...I'm going to hurt somebody.

Readers like to follow the same characters. Once you sell a mystery to WW, try building up a following by using the same police characters in future stories. Do us all a favor though... make them likable.

I know I'm repeating myself (talk about deja vu) but please try your very best to come up with a fresh twist or interesting solution that hasn't been done before. We want WW readers to LOVE this mystery page...not become bored with it.

Don't use too many names in your story. It just confuses the reader. The story this week handled this extremely well. You knew who you were reading about from the character's description. It all flowed well and never pulled the reader out of the story.

A short story is really just a very short novel. The same rules apply. Give us characters we will love and care about. Don't have them doing silly things.

Once again we have someone not acting right. Check your facts. Check your facts. Check your facts. Did I mention you should ALWAYS check your facts? Getting the details right should just be a given.

Make sure the solution makes sense. Common sense. Put yourself in their shoes. What would you do? Think? How would you act? Don't throw in a rotten fish just for smell.

Know the proper use of words. Men don't leer at each other -- generally. lol. Don't make up a silly details to fit your story line. Make sure everything works and people act in character.

Short Fiction. Write it. Sell it.

Monday, October 20, 2014

11 comments:

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