Esther Chilton
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Fabulous Five If you’re finding it difficult to come up with subjects to write a story about, clear you mind and then jot down the next five things that come into your mind. It can work wonders for kick-starting that creative writing process. Here’s the five things that came into my mind when I tried…
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My new challenge series on flash fiction, which kicked off last week with stories in ten words, produced some amazing stories in so few words. Take a look at the fantastic results below news of this week’s challenge. So, from ten, we now go to twenty-word stories. If last week’s entries are anything to go…
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This week’s market for you is a travel magazine, ‘Transitions Abroad’. They describe themselves as ‘an inspirational yet practical planning guide for cultural immersion travel, work, study, living and volunteering abroad’. There are lots of feature articles on the homepage so you can see the type of piece they’re looking for as well as the…
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I know what you’re thinking – just how lucky is Paul’s girlfriend?!
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Well, I hate to say it, but it is all Dad’s fault. I couldn’t wait to tell him about my e-book of short stories. “It’s not a proper book though, is it?” he said. “Yes,” I replied indignantly. “But I can’t hold it,” he said, miming the action of holding a book as if I…
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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…
Esther Chilton 