4 Reasons to Write Short Stories

By Stefan Bachmann, @Stefan_Bachmann

Part of the How They Do It Series

JH: Please help me welcome Stefan Bachmann to the site today to share why you should write that short story idea that's bouncing around in your head.

Stefan was born in Colorado, and now lives in an old house outside of Zürich. His debut, The Peculiar was a New York Times Editor's Choice as well as a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2012, and was translated into eight languages. Its companion The Whatnot was released in September, 2013.

His newest book The Cabinet of Curiosities, a collection of scary stories he wrote together with authors Emma Trevayne, Claire Legrand and Katherine Catmull, will be released on May 27th, 2014, from Greenwillow/HarperCollins.

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indie Bound

Take it away Stefan...

Twisting Legality for the Sake of the Plot

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Even when we're writing realistic fiction, writers sometimes have to stretch credibility to make a story work. Novels are often about larger than life situations and adhering to real life rules would take all the fun out of them. This is especially true in juvenile fiction, where plots focused on kids doing things the child reader could never do is part of the appeal.

Sometimes writing things as they would really happen actually hurts the story, as in this reader question:

Q: I asked a question on a writing forum and someone brought up an issue of legality within the novel's plot. My MC is a 12-year-old boy who is recruited by a secret part of the FBI for various reasons including his recent alien abduction. I was trying to decide if the parents should know about his job or not. A commenter asked about the legality of having his parents not know. Of course in the real world that would be an issue but how/when do you worry about those things in fiction? Specifically in a sci-fi or fantasy setting where the rules of real life are already being broken? When do you twist legality for the sake of plot?

Laugh and Cry Like A Nine-Year-Old

By Vonna Carter, @VonnaCarter

Part of the How They Do It Series   

JH: I'd like to welcome Vonna Carter to the blog today to teach us all how to be childish. This is a very undervalued skill, believe me, especially if you happen to write for children. If you don't write for the younger readers, then you can still learn how to tap into your inner child to make your stories stronger.
The books Vonna read between the ages of eight and fourteen opened windows to fantastic worlds. Now she writes books her eight-to-fourteen-year-old self would have loved—stories of magic, mystery, humor and love.

To find an agent who would be an ideal match for her writing, Vonna compiled a list of conferences where agents who represented middle grade literature, young adult literature, and picture books would be speaking. She made a similar list for editors. Happily, Vonna found her perfect agent—Kristen Miller of D4EO Literary Agency. But to help others find their agent or editor, Vonna posts the Agents at Conferences and Editors at Conferences lists on her blog, VonnaCarter.com, and updates them throughout the year.

Take it away Vonna...