I’m A Baby Boomer

Posted on December 24, 2009 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette

Me in the bandanna a few years ago at a Doors tribute band concert

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Flash Fiction: Ask These Three Questions

Posted on December 31, 2009 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette

Before a flash fiction writer begins writing a flash fiction story, the writer should ask these three questions:

1)  Does the story begin as close as possible to the climax or payoff?

2)  Is there at least one round character in the story?

3)  Is the story about a significant event?

These three questions will help in the writing of any flash fiction story…

Well, it’s the last day of 2009.  In 2010, the Gazette will continue to explore the mystery that is flash fiction.  We flash fiction writers want to capture all of life a few hundred words at a time.  And that’s entertainment.

Happy New Year!

Girls Gone Wild

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Flash Fiction: Show Don’t Tell

Posted on December 30, 2009 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette

How many times have you heard the old saw, show don’t tell?  The Old Soldier gets a flash fiction story in by email every day from an online magazine; and I occasionally get a submission at the Gazette.  I see a common mistake in these stories, some written by writers who should know better.

Because flash fiction is so short, writers have a tendency to summarize.  Summary speeds up time.  Well written flash fiction should slow down time.  How do you slow down time?  You write in scenes.  Now since flash fiction is so short, usually one scene will do.

Give your story a quick setup and then get into the action.  The action should make up the majority of the story even if it’s only 300 words long.

You don’t believe it can be done?  Just go to the sidebar on the right and scroll down to Great American Flash Fiction Stories To Read. 

You’ll find dozens of very short stories that are excellent examples of writing in scene, of show don’t tell.

The Five Elements of Dialogue in Flash Fiction

10 Great Flash Fiction Tips

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Subscribe To The Gazette

Posted on December 30, 2009 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette

You can now subscribe to the Gazette.  What do you get when you subscribe to the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette?

You get the best in flash fiction, articles on writing flash fiction, articles on blogging for fun and profit and commentaries on the world from the best flash fiction publication on the Internet delivered every day to your inbox with no muss and no fuss.

Just click on “Subscribe” at the top of the page or in the sidebar on the left.

Be a part on the hope, love, lust, the craft of writing and the life on the page that is the Gazette.

Tell your writing friends all about it, too.

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The Flash Fiction State Of Mind

Posted on December 30, 2009 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette

It is my argument that to become a good flash fiction story writer a writer or blogger must have a flash fiction state of mind.

What is a flash fiction state of mind?

A flash fiction state of mind is the ability to take an everyday situation and to turn it into a significant event.

Now you will find flash fiction that tries to present big events.  The genre is not built to do that.  The reader knows such a story is artificial; but the small event fits perfectly into the length of the very short story.

And in the very short story you can present life, love or war.  The flash fiction writer will present the telling small moments.

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Blogging For Fun And Profit

Posted on December 29, 2009 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette

I’m just a small time blogger trying to make a buck.  Are you trying to do the same?  Well, I’ve learnt a few things about blogging for fun and profit and I’ll share it with you and it won’t cost you a penny.

Just go to the sidebar on the right and you will find concise and helpful articles about blogging and making money…

Beneath the articles about blogging are some of the best flash fiction stories on the Internet.  There are stories about love, lust and life.  Tell your friends about the Gazette…

This is the Old Soldier drinking beer and blogging in Pittsburgh on a cold but sunny Tuesday afternoon…

The Four Elements of Great Content

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Here’s How To Write Great Content

Posted on December 29, 2009 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette

Whether you’re a writer writing articles or a blogger blogging posts, you want readers.  One way to get readers is to produce great content.  How do you produce great content?  Check this out: The Four Elements of Great Content…

I was watching Charlie Rose on public television last night.  He interviewed a writer from Turkey.  The writer said two things I thought all writers, especially flash fiction writers, can learn from.

The writer’s novels sell all over the world even though he alway writes about Istanbul and its people.  He said the reason his books sell all over the world is because, he writes about humanity and the human heart is the same everywhere.

Short Story Ideas That Work

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Successful Bloggers Take The Long View

Posted on December 28, 2009 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette

Success means different things to different bloggers and writers.  But if you want your blog to grow you have to plant seeds every day that will be constantly blooming in the future.  Here are three things you can do to grow your blog.

1)  Add new content constantly and regularly

2)  Target an audience

3)  Give your audience information that it can use

…Well, the snow is falling in a light flutter in Pittsburgh.  It’s around 4:00 pm.  I just finished a cup of vanilla ice cream.  Ice cream makes a great dessert summer or winter.

This is the Old Soldier reporting from Pittsburgh.

Tainted Love

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The Gazette’s New Year’s Resolution 2010

Posted on December 28, 2009 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette

The Old Soldier is going to make a resolution for the following year that I know I can keep.  The Gazette will continue to provide content and links that include entertainment, insight, inspiration or useful advice and tips for the new blogger and writer. 

The Gazette is constantly updated with new material.  Let the Gazette be your source for all things that have to do with blogging, flash fiction and writing…

The Old Soldier loves cereal, especially Total whole grain wheat flakes.  Add some 2% milk and sliced bananas and you’ve got a meal that not only taste good but is good for ya.

The One Thing a Writer Must Know About Writing Flash Fiction

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New Bloggers: What’s Your Niche?

Posted on December 27, 2009 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette

If you are a new blogger you need a niche if you want to make money.  What is a niche?  A niche is an area of expertise that you feel comfortable with and that you can turn out an endless amount of content about.  It can be anything.  Just make sure it will entertain your readers or help them solve a problem.

My niche is flash fiction, writing and blogging.  I do all three.  I can write all day about them.

So, if you’re just starting out as a blogger, choose your niche wisely.

This is the Old Soldier reporting from Pitt Panther basketball country.

How Much Money Will You Make Blogging?

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Three Definitions Of Flash Fiction

Posted on December 27, 2009 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette

1)  Flash fiction is a significant event given closure.

2)  Flash fiction captures a moment in time.

3)  Flash fiction is a very short story on a long subject.

Good morning bloggers and writers.  It’s the Old Soldier here in the heart of the Steelers Nation.  Right now it’s around 9.00 am and I thought I’d do a little blogging before making a beer run and coming back to watch the game.  Do you know there is still talk here in Pittsburgh about the Steelers making the playoffs?…

Well, looks like the Obama Administration is going to pass that health care package.  This is big, big news.  If this bill does the things the Democrats say it will the Democratic Party may be the majority party for years to come.  I think this is what the Republicans are really frightened of.

If the bill doesn’t do what Obama thinks it will do, the Democrats will pay the price.

Afghanistan: Obama’s War

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Lady Gaga, The New Madonna?

Posted on December 26, 2009 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette

Lady Gaga, Lady Gaga, Lady Gaga.  I’ve heard so much about Lady Gaga that I started reading about her on the net.  Now you have to understand that the Old Soldier is definitely retro, classic rock.  I’m a Baby Boomer.  But Lady Gaga is everywhere.  She even meet the Queen.  So I had to find out something about her.

She sells lots of music and she knows how to market herself.  Some critics even say she has talent.  Well, for the first time today I heard her on the radio.  It sounded like disco-eurotrash.  Hey, I can dig it.

The lesson every blogger and writer can learn from Lady Gaga is how to market yourself.

I Made Love To Lady Gaga

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Bloggers And Writers: How To Write Believable Characters

Posted on December 26, 2009 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette

Okay, you’ve read all the articles about creating believable characters for your flash fiction, short stories and for your novel.  Let me break it down for you.  There are only three kinds of characters.

A flat character has no internal conflict.

A round character does have internal conflict.

A dynamic character has internal conflict and has the capacity to change.

Here’s another tip.  Never make a bad character all bad and never make a good character all good.  There’s a little bit of good in the worst of us and a little bit of bad in the best of us.

That’s how you write believable characters.

I Made Love To Lady Gaga

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Thinking Like A Flash Fiction Writer

Posted on December 26, 2009 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette

It takes a certain mind-set to be a good flash fiction writer.  First a writer must want to tell a story in a few hundred words.  And the writer must have the ability to tell a story that takes place in a short amount of time but that still captures an event that signifies a change or a realization, something that wasn’t there before.

If the story is about a realization, one or more actors in the story are not the only ones who can have the realization.  Often times it’s the reader who has the realization…

Writing ideas can be found everywhere: in your personal life or in the things that you read or in your imagination…

What’s Your Fiction Writing Style?

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How To Write Great Flash Fiction

Posted on December 25, 2009 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette

Let me start off by saying Merry Christmas!

Now let’s get down to the business of writing flash fiction.  A flash fiction story is much more than short.  A flash fiction story is complete.  It’s complete whether it’s 100 words long or 1,000 words long.

A good flash fiction story has so many elements in it that a short blog post like this one could never cover all the elements; but don’t worry.  The Gazette has everything you wanted to know about writing flash fiction but were afraid to ask.

Just go to the sidebar on the right and scroll down to “More Flash Articles.”  And it’s all free…

You will also notice in the sidebar on the right articles on blogging for the new blogger and some of the best flash fiction on the Internet…

Well, sometime today I’m going to have to wash out my crock pot.  I cooked stuffed chicken breasts in it last night.  It’s been soaking overnight.  I had one of the chicken breasts last night and it was mumm mumm good…

I’ve become addicted to blogging like so many other people; and since I took early retirement I can blog all day and when people ask me what line of work I’m in I don’t say I’m retired on social security.  I tell them I’m a blogger.  I’m proud of being a blogger.

And like millions of other bloggers I make a little money from it.  And just like millions of other bloggers I’m slowly growing the circulation of my blog so I can make a little more money.

How about you?

Blogging: Boosting Your Page Ranking

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How To Write Great Erotic Flash Fiction

Posted on December 24, 2009 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette

1)  Get rid of the dirty words

2)  The best sex stories are really relationship stories

3)  Give the reader just enough but not too much

Where can someone find examples of stories like these?  At the top of the page under the tab, “Sexy Flash Fiction.”…

It’s Christmas Eve and the Old Soldier is sipping on a tall glass of beer while four stuffed chicken breasts cook in the crock pot.  The stuffed chicken breasts are for tomorrow.  I’m eating canned corned beef today.  No, I didn’t stuff the chicken breasts.  I bought them that way at the store…

I don’t think the health care bill will have a public option in it but the Democrats should still pass it.  The Old Soldier can go to the VA Hospital; but the bill will cover 30,000,000 Americans who have no health insurance.

Pass the bill.

Blogging: Boosting Your Page Ranking

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24,000 Hits

Posted on December 23, 2009 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette

The Gazette keeps chugging along.  It just passed 24,000 hits.  I’m just a small time blogger trying to learn my craft.  If you’re like me stick around and I’ll tell you what I’ve learnt so far. 

Dialogue is one of the most important tools a writer has to make a story come alive; and the essence of good dialogue is tension.  Here’s a piece of erotic flash fiction for your reading pleasure: The Topless Dancer

A blogger must be there for the reader.  Blondie: Call Me is about putting your reader first.

This is the Old Soldier reporting from a cold but sunny Pittsburgh.

Short Story Ideas That Work 

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Flash Fiction: Lesbian Lust

Posted on December 21, 2009 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette

Lesbian Lust is our erotica for today…

Well, the Steelers finally won a game and the Democrats passed the Senate health care bill.  The onside kick by Tomlin was a brilliant call.  The play wasn’t executed properly.  Look at the tape.  The Steelers players just needed to let the ball go one more yard and they were in a position to do it.  They got impatient; and the Democrats in the House might have to take the Senate bill just the way it is.

New bloggers and writers are welcome to become part of the Gazette family.  The Gazette is constantly being updated.  Just look at all the links in the sidebar on the right.  And let your friends know about the Gazette.  They’ll thank you.

This is the Old Soldier reporting from Pittsburgh.

Short Story Ideas That Work

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New Writers Check This Out

Posted on December 20, 2009 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette

The Gazette has hundreds of articles and links to make you a better blogger and writer.  You don’t have to search all over the web for a place that gives good advice and tips about blogging and writing.  You’ll find it all here with some of the best flash fiction published today.  And the Gazette is constantly being updated…

It’s a few minutes before the game, football on a cold day in Pittsburgh.  I have no prediction to make except that the Steelers, after winning a Super Bowl, will probably not even make the playoffs this year.

This is the Old Soldier reporting from the heart of the Steelers Nation.

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Sex In The Winter

Posted on December 19, 2009 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette

The Steel City got hit by three inches of snow last night and it’s still falling.  The Old Soldier is about to go out in the cold and snow to get some supplies; but before I do let me assure you that besides hot chocolate and thick socks there are other ways to keep warm.

How about a sexy story on a chilly day or night.  I’m talkin’ about the best in erotic flash fiction.  The Gazette has the best erotica on the web.  Tired of stories full of dirty words and unrealistic sex?  Looking for stories that actually tell a story about relationships?

Just go to the top of the page and click on the “Sexy Flash Fiction” tab and enjoy.

Short Story Ideas That Work

10 Great Flash Fiction Ideas

Obama Should Bring Back The Military Draft

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