Esther Chilton
-
Now it’s getting tricky…here’s V, W and X: V is for Victory: The victory in your short story could be a big one – a country taking victory in a hard fought war. You could take a particular character in the war, perhaps a soldier and tell the story through his eyes. Or your main…
-
Banish the Bow! Last week my tip was how to open your short story and grab your reader’s attention straight away. This week my tip is about ending your short story: Don’t feel as though you have to tie your story up in a nice little bow. Many readers like a story with an open…
-
I did wonder if last week’s challenge would stump a few people and stump a few it did. I challenged you to take a fairytale e.g. Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Hansel and Gretel etc and give it a modern twist. Thank you to those who did take part and their entries can be read…
-
This week, I move away from fiction and bring you a weekly travel writing competition. ‘The Daily Telegraph‘ invite writers to send in stories of their travel experiences for the ‘Just Back‘ slot. 500 words is the upper limit and if your holiday story is published, you’ll receive £200 in a currency of your choice.…
-
Well, here’s a warning if ever I saw one!:
-
Almost there…here’s S, T and U: S is for Spy: The word ‘spy’ immediately conjures up an image of James Bond hurtling down a mountainside on skis or careering round corners in a fast car. Your story can involve that type of spy but think outside the box. A spy could also be a sister,…
-
Can’t think of a way to open your short story and to ensure you hook your reader? Shock them! It’s important to grab your reader’s interest in the first few paragraphs. It’s even better if you can do it in the first sentence. The shock factor is a great way of achieving this and for…
-
Before I launch into this week’s challenge, I wanted to mention the problems some of you are having with getting hold of my book, ‘The Siege and Other Award Winning Short Stories’. If you’re in the UK or US, it’s pretty straight forward and you can download it from Amazon UK or Amazon US. I…
-
This week, I’ve found a short story market for you, which accepts stories from all across the globe – the annual ‘Ink Tears International Short Story Competition 2014‘. With the first prize a very nice £1000, it’s a competition not to be missed. There are are also prizes for the runner-up and four highly commended…
-
I wouldn’t recommend this one!:
Esther Chilton 