Esther Chilton
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Capital Speech! Always use a capital letter at the beginning of a passage of speech e.g.: “Would you like to buy my book?” Most writers get this right, but, if ownership is assigned before speech, some writers become confused and don’t think a capital letter is necessary because the speech isn’t the start of the…
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Last week saw the last in my current series of writing challenges. The results were brilliant. Please read them below. This week, I’m starting a new series of writing challenges – flash fiction. I’m going to start off small. This week, I’d like to see your tales in ten words. Here is an example: Fear…
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‘The Writers Bureau’ hold an annual short story and poetry competition. Details can be found on my ‘Markets For Freelancers’ page. They have now announced a new competition for a flash fiction story of up to 500 words. International entries are welcomed. Each entry costs £5, or three stories for £10. Subscribers to Freelance Market…
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Thank goodness for the words of enlightenment – otherwise you’d have no idea what you were buying:
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A number of you have contacted me to say how much you enjoyed this series so I thought I’d give you some opening words to help you shrug off the writers’ block and to inspire you into writing a cracking story: I’ve always had a thing about the cupboard under the stairs. You would think…
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Short and Sweet When you use an abbreviation, a full stop is used after the abbreviated word. However, even though a full stop appears after the abbreviated word, the next word doesn’t need to start with a capital letter e.g.: When you go on holiday, pack plenty of suncream, a hat, sun glasses etc. as…
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Well, here it is – the last in the ABC of My Weekly Writing Challenges and yes, it’s Y and Z‘s turn. My themes for those are Yearn and Zombie. I can almost hear you shouting, “Eeek!”, so for some prompts and ideas click on the following link: https://esthernewtonblog.wordpress.com/2014/08/25/monday-motivationsthe-abc-of-short-story-ideas-part-nine/ Last week, the challenge was to…
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Some time ago, I added a cat magazine to my ‘Market’s For Freelancers‘ Page. So I thought it was about time I redressed the balance and added a dog magazine. ‘Dog Fancy‘ is a US publication, which uses mainly freelance contributions. They are always on the look-out for new contributors. They require articles of between…
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I think the person who placed this ad needs a little help with his maths:
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The sixth and final part in my series of how to open a short story and grab your reader’s interest looks at introducing your readers to your main character and making them care for that character. This guarantees they’ll become instantly involved in your story. Here are some examples: * How I wished Mum wasn’t…
Esther Chilton 