I have this friend named Mike who happens to be a great guy with one major pitfall.
Without fail, every time Mike says something which he intends to be funny he has to follow it up by explaining to his quiet, confused audience that it was actually a joke.
Note: If you have to tell your audience when to laugh, you’re not doing it right.
Writing is like building a home in that good writers view from the work of others. They learn, copy, and expand.
Simply put: good writers read.
At some point in my life I fell into the habit of introducing myself as a poet. My opening line was always “Hi, I’m Michael; and I’m a poet.”
Without fail 96.32% of the time the response would be “I used to write poetry as well, but I grew out of it.” The other 3.68% would probably snicker and point (at 6’2″ I don’t exactly fit the stereotype of lit–geek). I find this strange because I rather enjoy poetry, immensely if I dare add.
So I started to wonder, how can you make sure you never “grow out of” poetry? Here’s what I came up with:
As an author, you want to make your readers happy, right? You want to have outstanding writing that not only makes you feel good, but makes others feel good. You want people to read your work and say, “Hey, this person really knows how to write. I like their stuff.”
You don’t want to make your readers hate you and your work. Well, if you want your readers to like you, here are six things not to do.
STOP!
Put your pencil down.
Step away from the computer. (But not so far away that you can’t read this).
There will be no word-crafting today. I repeat: there will be no word-crafting today!
Sorry.
Today, we’re talking to Stefanie Freele, a novelist, poet, and short story writer who lives in the Northwest. Stefanie is a Pushcart Prize Nominee and has published short fiction in Glimmer Train, PANK, Sou’wester, Word Riot, R.KV.R.Y Quarterly Literary Journal, Vestal Review, and many more. In the last eight years, she has published 99 short stories. Isn’t that remarkable?
Stefanie and I are going to be talking about the hunger for publication, how to know when your short story is finished, and the world’s need, or lack thereof, for more donut stories. You can find Stefanie’s work on her website, stefaniefreele.com, as well as her book of short stories, Feeding Strays, and her novel, Surrounded by Water.
Thanks so much for joining us Stefanie!
