Let Me Help You Get Published

Cover of "The Great Gatsby"

Cover of The Great Gatsby

Hello hello hello, my brother and sister bloggers, writers and Flash Fiction Fanatics.  F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of my favorite writers.  Most critics agree that The Great Gatsby is a great novel, but even Fitzgerald got rejection notices.

It’s the Old Soldier here with some words of encouragement and practical help to get you published.

The Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette is always looking for writing talent to showcase.  I want to publish you as much as you want to be published.  I will work with you to get you into this magazine, the most dynamic flash fiction blog on the Internet.  If you Google “flash fiction” you will find The Gazette holding fast at #3, or at least it has been for the last few days.  So, if you get published by The Gazette, people will see your work.

Take a chance and send me something.  What do you have to lose?  I’ll get back to you in a few days with either an acceptance email or with a short critique on how to improve your chances of publication for your next submission.  You can’t beat that with a stick.

Just read and follow the submission guidelines.  The submissions tab is at the top of the page.  Good luck.

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  • Let me help you become a better writer
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Pittsburgh Is Calling

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Some very exciting things are happening here at the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette.

Are you a writer?  Are you a blogger? 

Have the most dynamic flash fiction magazine on the Internet delivered to your inbox.

You get articles on writing and blogging.  You get insightful commentaries.  You get great flash fiction about love and hope and dreams and despair and friendship and sex.

You get a writing contest.

You get an editor who wants to publish you as much as you want to be published.

The free email subscription tab is at the top of the page.

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  • Become a better fiction writer overnight
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How To Tell If You’re Serious About Writing

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There are a lot of aspiring writers out there.  You know who you are.  Will you be one of the millions who after a few years of trying to make it as a writer will decide to give up writing?

I know a few of the reasons why people give up on writing.  The fields too crowded.  You really can’t make money at it.  You don’t have the time to spend on writing when you have other priorities.  There are any number of excuses we writers use not to write.  I’ve used them myself.

The Old Soldier has some tough love for you.  A writer who stops writing was never serious about writing in the first place.  That writer only thought he or she was serious about writing.

Hello, my brother and sister bloggers, writers and Flash Fiction Fanatics.  A serious writer keeps writing.  That’s all there is to it.

If recognition comes, fine.  If money comes, great.  If fame comes, even better.  But writers write.  And they read.  And they study writing.  Yes, they study writing.  And they keep writing. 

Are you really a serious writer?

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  • Read the best Ebook of flash fiction ever published on the Internet
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Flash Fiction/The Music Of The Doors

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Since I got my high-speed Internet connection from Verizon, I’ve been watching music videos.

Hello, my brother and sister bloggers, writers and Flash Fiction Fanatics.  Yes, the Old Soldier grew up with the music of Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, John Densmore and Robby Krieger who were better known as The Doors.  I’ve been reliving my youth watching and listening to the videos of The Doors.  But I was missing out on the sound because I only had a single ear piece. 

Recently, I got a double ear piece.  What a difference in the sound.  Now I can hear what The Doors really sounded like live. 

The mystery and raw power of The Doors was built on several things.  One thing that definitely contributed to the band’s mystery was the amount of sound the group got from only three instruments: drums, keyboard and guitar.  But it’s a full sound.

And this is part of the beauty and mystery of the flash fiction story: that within the confines of a few hundred words a complete story can be told.

Flash fiction writers, break on through to the other side.

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  • Read the best Ebook of flash fiction ever published on the Internet
  • Download your copy of Compressionism: The Pittsburgh Stories
  • Click on the Ebook tab at the top of the page

How To Write A Flash Fiction Story

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I love cake.  I love pie.  But with flash fiction you don’t get cake or pie.

The answer to how do you write a flash fiction story is simple.  Start a few hundred words from the resolution.

Is it really that simple?  Yes it is.

Now of course, the story has to make sense.  The writer has to know how to begin the story.  Still, the fact remains that a writer of a flash fiction story must begin the story as “close to the resolution as possible.”

Hello, my blogging and writing friends and my Flash Fiction Fanatics.  Think of a flash fiction story as a meal.  There are no appetizers.  There is no dessert.  There is just a plate of food and a drink.  That’s it.

The author of a flash fiction story must make sure that the one plate of food and that drink are nutritious.

That’s how you write a flash fiction story.

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  • Read the best Ebook of flash fiction ever published on the Internet
  • Download your copy of Compressionism: The Pittsburgh Stories
  • Click on the Ebook tab at the top of the page

Looking For Short Stories: 300-700 Words

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The writing contest will soon come to an end.  It ends on October 1, 2010.  So,  you don’t have much time to send in your best flash fiction story.  Submitting flash fiction to the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette is easy.  Read and follow the Contest/Submissions guidelines (you’ll find the tab at the top of the page) and then send me something.

If you really want to give yourself a good shot at being published, every story accepted for publication is automatically entered into the contest, read some of the stories that have already been published by The Gazette to get an idea of what the readership of the magazine likes to read. 

The Gazette is committed to publishing aspiring writers.  Calling all bloggers, all writers and all aspiring authors: send me something.

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  • Read the best Ebook of flash fiction ever published on the Internet
  • Download your copy of Compressionism: The Pittsburgh Stories
  • Click on the Ebook tab at the top of the page

A Publication For Aspiring Writers

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Judy Garland was right.  There’s no place like home.

Looking for a flash fiction publication that not only entertains but also informs?  You’ve come to the right place.

If your dream is publication, if your dream is recognition, if your dream is a home for your writing talent, let me suggest a free email subscription to the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette, the most dynamic flash fiction blog on the world-wide web.  Every issue will be delivered to your inbox.  The subscription tab is at the top of the page. 

There’s no place like home.

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  • Read the best Ebook of flash fiction ever published on the Internet
  • Download your copy of Compressionism: The Pittsburgh Stories
  • Click on the Ebook tab at the top of the page

The Main Reasons For Rejection

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This publication receives a lot of submissions.  The Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette is constantly on the look out for flash fiction writing talent.  What are the main reasons for rejecting a story for publication in this magazine?

Hello hello hello, my brother and sister bloggers, writers and Flash Fiction Fanatics.  The Old Soldier knows the thrill of publication and the agony of rejection.  Rejection is one of the reason for publishing this blog.  I wanted there to be at least one more publication where a writer had a real chance of being published.

But even with the best of intentions, an editor has to reject some stories for some very basic reasons.  Of course, poor writing is one of them.  The fact that the writer obviously did not read and follow the submission guidelines is another.

Here at The Gazette, the main reason a story is rejected is because the story reads more like an essay instead of a piece of fiction.  In other words, there is too much telling and not enough showing.  To put it another way, the author does not let the characters of the story interact with each other enough.

Think of a flash fiction story as a play.  When an author does too much telling, it’s as if the playwright walks on stage, sits down and tells the audience about the play.  Then the playwright walls off, the curtain comes down and that’s it.  The play is over.

In “show don’t tell,” the the playwright comes on stage, makes a few very brief remarks, walks off stage and then the actors come on and they act out the play.

“Show don’t tell” is the kind of stories I want to publish here at The Gazette.

So, when you submit a flash fiction story to this magazine be sure to read and follow the submission guidelines, and be sure to “show don’t tell” your story.

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  • Read the best Ebook of flash fiction ever published on the world-wide web.
  • Download your copy of Compressionism: The Pittsburgh Stories
  • Click on the Ebook tab at the top of the page

Bette Davis And Flash Fiction

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You may ask, what does Bette Davis have to do with flash fiction?  Let me answer a question with a question.  Why do readers read a short story?  I know why I read a short story.  I want to find out what happens.

Hello hello hello, my brother and sister bloggers, writers and Flash Fiction Fanatics.  Reading is a journey of discovery.  A flash fiction story is a short journey of discovery.  Discovery is the key word here.

In a novel, a writer can do a lot of explaining so that the reader can get to know the story in great depth.  A flash fiction writer can’t do this.  There’s no room.  What can a flash fiction writer do to give depth to a flash fiction story?  Let the reader’s imagination provide depth for the story.  In this way the writer only has to explain just enough to make the ”actions” of the characters hint at “what is not directly stated in the story.”

If a character is afraid of something, don’t tell the reader that the character is afraid.  Have that character “act” afraid.

If a character is in love, don’t tell the reader the character is in love.  Have the character “act” like he or she is in love.

See what I mean?

In this way the reader will discover the story and the story will have depth without a lot of explaining by the writer.

I think Bette Davis would approve.

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  • Read the best Ebook of flash fiction ever published on the Internet
  • Download your copy of Compressionism: The Pittsburgh Stories
  • Click on the Ebook tab at the top of the page

Flash Fiction Ga Ga Ga

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No, I’m not one of Lady Ga Ga’s Little Monsters, but I am a Flash Fiction Fanatic.

Hello my brother and sister bloggers, writers and Flash Fiction Fanatics.  Look at all the great flash fiction on this blog.  It’s flash fiction madness.  Be careful.  You may get the madness, too.

Check out all the articles on blogging and writing.  Read about the writing contest.  Give a quick glance at the sexy stories.  It’s enough to make you throw up your hands and shout “Hallelujah!”

Take out your free email subscription right now.  The subscription tab is at the top of the page.  But I warn you.  You may become a Flash Fiction Fanatic, too.  Ga Ga Ga.

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  • Read the best Ebook of flash fiction ever published on the Internet
  • Download your copy of Compressionism: The Pittsburgh Stories
  • Click on the Ebook tab at the top of the page

How To Make Your Characters Seem Real

The Oxford Book of English Short Stories

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A flash fiction story doesn’t have room for a lot of characters. 

Hello my brother and sister bloggers, writers and Flash Fiction Fanatics.  The Old Soldier is here with a tip about writing flash fiction.

In a flash fiction story, two characters are often enough.  Three characters are fine depending on how good the writer is at creating ebb and flow in a very short story; but every character in a flash fiction story should have his or her own agenda.  Each character must want something different.

Usually, if two characters want the same thing, you can get rid of one and the story will be better off.

Of course, there are plenty of exceptions to this theory.  Just keep in mind when you’re writing a flash fiction story, that each character must be absolutely necessary and that the more distinctive each character is the better off your story will be.

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  • Read the best Ebook of flash fiction ever published on the Internet
  • Download Compressionism: The Pittsburgh Stories
  • Click on the Ebook tab at the top of the page

How Flash Fiction Is Like Golf

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I am not a fan of golf.  Sometimes when I’m working on an article for this blog and I’m stretched out on the sofa with a couple of thick pillows under my head and a pen and notebook in my hands (I’m old school) I’ll turn on the TV for background stimulus.

I find that a golf game (I love those long, green driveways) with the sound turned off is very conducive to thinking about flash fiction.  Why, I don’t know.

I know very little about the game of golf.  But there is one striking resemblance that golf seems to have to the flash fiction story. 

It’s only the last few putts that decide the game.

A flash fiction story cuts all the long drives, if you get what I mean, and deals with the situation just before the resolution.

I think the end game of golf and the flash fiction story have a lot in common.

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  • Read the best Ebook of flash fiction ever published on the Internet
  • Download Compressionism: The Pittsburgh Stories
  • Click on the Ebook tab at the top of the page

Writers Just Want To Have Fun

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Remember the Cyndi Lauper song, “Girls Just Want To Have Fun”?  Well, girls aren’t the only people who want to have fun.  Flash fiction writers want to have fun, too.

Writing a flash fiction story is not the easiest thing in the world to do, especially a well-written flash fiction story.

Hello hello hello my brother and sister bloggers, writers and Flash Fiction Fanatics.  We writers love to write.  Some of us have to write.  Without writing, the world would seem like a much bleaker place.  Serious writing is hard work.  There can be a lot of stops and starts.  And sometimes there is the terror of the blank page or the empty computer screen.

But at the end of the day, at the end of a very short story that we know readers will enjoy, the effort to put the right words in the right place is worth it.

Now that’s big fun.

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New Flash Fiction by Billy T. Antonio

Coat of arms of the Philippines

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This is the best part of being editor of the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette: showcasing the work of a flash fiction writer.  Hello hello hello, my brother and sister bloggers and writers.  The Old Soldier is feeling pretty spry today.  I just did a Google search for the key words “flash fiction.”  And guess what.  The Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette was in the top ten responses.  The Gazette may not be there tomorrow, but it sure was there today.

So, how would you like to be a guest writer for the most dynamic flash fiction blog on the Internet?  Don’t wait too much longer before you send me something.  The writing contest closes on October 1, 2010.  So, send me something.  Be sure to read and follow the submission guidelines.  The submissions tab is at the top of the page.

Now for our feature presentation.

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Father 

“Whenever I can I visit father,” Carlos said. “You should do the same.” 

“I will,” I said. 

Carlos, my younger sibling who got married before me, never fails to remind me every time we see each other. It sounded like an obligation when he says it. We don’t see each other often though. Only on special occasions. His son’s or his daughter’s birthday. Christenings. Christmas. My birthday. Carlos thinks like father. He took after our old man’s serious disposition. To him all things no matter how commonplace it is must be taken seriously. 

“You have more time than I,” Carlos said. 

“I have tons of work in school waiting to be done.” It sounded like a lame excuse to my ears. 

“You’re free Saturdays and Sundays. I’m not. Sometimes I even have to work on Sundays when the company requires us to.” 

“I have graduate school on Saturdays,” I said. 

“You should visit him, though.” 

Carlos works in a feeds manufacturing plant. We both finished the same course. He never took the Licensure Examination for Teachers. He opted for a job in a company rather than teach. 

“He’s our father,” he said. “And he’s living alone.” 

My brother took our father’s advice. He has a seven-year old daughter and two younger sons. They often disagree. But you can tell that they both try to understand each other. Carlos always runs to our father whenever he is in need or in trouble. 

“I do visit him,” I said. 

“But not as often as I do,” he said. 

“I’ll try to do so more often.” 

“You should. Besides, I need to spare some time with my children,” he said.

The End

Bio: Billy T. Antonio was born in San Carlos City, Pangasinan, Philippines. He is currently pursuing a Master of Arts degree at the Urdaneta City University, Urdaneta City, Philippines. He was a fellow for fiction of the 44th U.P. National Writers Summer Workshop in Baguio City. 

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  • Read the best Ebook of flash fiction ever published on the Internet
  • Download Compressionism: The Pittsburgh Stories
  • Click on the Ebook tab at the top of the page 

This Free Subscription Is For You

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How do I know that a subscription to the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette is for you?

Do you enjoy reading flash fiction?  Do you enjoy writing flash fiction?  Do you blog?  Are you looking for a writing contest with a cash award?  Do you want to work with an editor who wants to publish your work as much as you want to be published?  Let me ask you this.  When you submit a flash fiction story for publication, do you want to receive a response in a few days instead of a few weeks or months?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then a free email subscription to the most dynamic flash fiction blog on the Internet is for you.

The subscription tab is at the top of the page.

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  • Read the best Ebook of flash fiction ever published on the Internet
  • Download Compressionism: The Pittsburgh Stories
  • Click on the Ebook tab at the top of the page
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