for writers
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The Power of Fear: How Short Horror Stories Can Jumpstart Your Writing
Read more / watch…: The Power of Fear: How Short Horror Stories Can Jumpstart Your WritingThink horror stories are just campy gore-fests? Think again: short horror fiction can be an incredibly effective way to enhance your writing and share meaningful messages in a powerful package. Writers often sideline short stories in favor of novels, but short stories offer many benefits. They can help writers bolster creativity, hone razor-sharp crafting skills,…
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Five Things I Wish I Knew As A New Indie Author – video essay
Read more / watch…: Five Things I Wish I Knew As A New Indie Author – video essayVideo essay: award-winning, best-selling novelist and Reach Your Apex instructor shares the five things she wishes she’d known when she was starting out as an indie author.
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Surreality Beyond Cockroaches
Read more / watch…: Surreality Beyond Cockroachesby Sage Tyrtle Which proverb is Irish? a) Do not board a ship without an onion. b) Never bolt your door with a boiled carrot. c) A foolish woman blames her own cabbage. Answer: Never bolt your door with a boiled carrot. (Onion is Dutch, cabbage is Danish.) I came across this global idioms quiz…
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Tips On Dialogue From Accomplished Authors
Read more / watch…: Tips On Dialogue From Accomplished AuthorsImage: memorable dialogue from the very uptight Tyrell Wellick in the TV series, “Mr. Robot.” As Reach Your Apex instructor and award-winning author Premee Mohamed says dialogue can be the most noticeable thing about your story—for better or for worse. Famed writing coach Robert McKee warns that poorly written dialogue can kill an otherwise great…
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The Three Paragraphs That Sell Your Book (No Matter How You Publish It)
Read more / watch…: The Three Paragraphs That Sell Your Book (No Matter How You Publish It)by Elijah J Mears Time to read: It is a truth universally acknowledged that an unpublished writer in possession of a good manuscript would rather peel off their own skin than market that manuscript. But alas, no matter how you plan to publish—whether you’re going for the long slog in the querying trenches or the…
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First Writers Workshop of 2025 Announced
Read more / watch…: First Writers Workshop of 2025 AnnouncedOne of our most popular live workshops is open again for registration: Keep It Short – Writing Effective Flash FictionApex Magazine Managing and Flash Fiction Editor, Rebecca E. Treasure leads this 90-minute interactive workshop, providing pro tips and direct feedback on your work. February 25, 20254:00pm EST | 3:00pm CST | 2:00pm MST | 1:00pm PST…
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You Have One Minute: Hook Me!
Read more / watch…: You Have One Minute: Hook Me!I’ve read thousands of submissions in the slush pile and over time I’ve gotten better and better at determining quickly if a story is a good fit. Sometimes it’s obvious in the first paragraph—I’ll still read at least the first page, but my suspicions are often proven right within that first page, that one minute…
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Building a Patron Economy: Empowering Creatives
Read more / watch…: Building a Patron Economy: Empowering CreativesMaybe you’ve heard of this thing called the “creator economy?” In and around 2020 it was a hot topic in technology circles. The success of existing platforms like Patreon and Kickstarter, combined with all that time we had on our hands due to the pandemic, meant artists of all kinds were finally going to be…
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For Writers: Writing the Novel – For Short Story Authors
Read more / watch…: For Writers: Writing the Novel – For Short Story AuthorsSo you’re a short story writer. You’re happy with your craft, and you already know what a short story is: It’s not a novella (generally up to 40,000 words) or a novelette (typically over 7,500 words – 19,000 words). Awards make it all the more mind-boggling when guidelines start talking about “long story” (over 15,000…
