A Paying Market For Writers And So Much More…

May 29, 2012 — pittsburghflashfictiongazette

The Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette is going to showcase the work of another flash fiction writer the first week of June.  And that writer will be sent a $10.00 fee through PayPal.

Hello, everybody!

It’s the Old Soldier here reporting from Pittsburgh.  One of my proudest moments as an editor/publisher was when the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette became a paying market for flash fiction writers.

I want the publication of a new story by a guest writer the first week of every month to become a PFFG tradition.  That’s where you can help.

Interior view, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh,...

Interior view, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This magazine publishes sexual, mainstream and literary fiction.  Previously published stories are fine.  Just read and follow the guidelines.  Submissions are now open for July.  The submissions tab is at the top of the page.

Good luck!

*****

I came back from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh a little while ago.  Now that I’m retired, I think I’ll start visiting the public library on a regular basis.  A writer should never stop learning.

*****

Read.  Study. Write.  Submit.

*****

Click the follow button so that you don’t miss a single issue of the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette.

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Thank You For Your Support

May 29, 2012 — pittsburghflashfictiongazette

It’s the Old Soldier here on duty at his workstation at 6:00 a.m. because he loves his job.  The Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette gets readers from all over the world.  Your support brings tears of joy to the eyes of the Old Soldier.

Thank you!

*****

Hello hello hello, my brother and sister bloggers, readers, writers and my Flash Fiction Fanatics.  What adventures will we share today?  The Memorial Day holiday is over.  For me, Vietnam is a fading memory, a part of my long-lost youth.  I was one of the lucky ones.

*****

I would like to welcome those of you who are new to the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette.  I guess the best way to describe this online magazine is that it is the Playboy Magazine for serious writers and bloggers.  Make your own judgement.  The PFFG is a paying market.  Explore the site.  This magazine is definitely not for everyone.  There are too many naked women and too much of a focus on things about sex; but if you like what you see click the follow button so that you don’t miss a single issue of the most dynamic flash fiction publication on the Internet.

*****

Read.  Study.  Write.  Submit.

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The House That Flash Fiction Built

May 28, 2012 — pittsburghflashfictiongazette

Every writer needs a spiritual home; and if you are a writer of flash fiction, my house is your house.  This is the Old Soldier.  Welcome to my house, the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette.  It has over 2,800 pieces of content that have been put together over a period of more than three and a half years.

In this magazine you will find posts on blogging, writing, sex, current events, poetry, life in general, the world that we live in, poetry and of course flash fiction.

Explore the site.  Click the follow button.  Have fun.  And tell all your friends about the house that flash fiction built.

*****

Read.  Study.  Write.  Submit.

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Behind The Scenes (May 27, 2012)

May 27, 2012 — pittsburghflashfictiongazette

I finally made it back.  The Old Soldier pushed himself hard, marching from his apartment, down South Craig Street, pass Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, through Schenley Park, over to the campus of Carnegie Mellon University, back through Schenley Park, stopping at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, back up South Craig Street and then home.

It was around 90 degrees outside and I got a little light-headed.  I had to fill up my water bottle at a fountain in Schenley Park but everything turned out fine.  Now I’m back at my workstation and it’s not even 1:00 in the afternoon.

South Craig Street has a lot of ethnic shops and restaurants.  In the window of one shop on a plaque was this: Live as if you were to die tomorrow.  Learn as if you were to live forever.  Mahatma Gandhi

You can’t beat that with a stick!

*****

English: Academic Buildings of Carnegie Mellon...

English: Academic Buildings of Carnegie Mellon and the Cathedral of Learning (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Well, Friday is the first of the new month.  That means I’ll be going to karaoke at Del’s in Bloomfield (Little Italy) and I’ll be publishing a new report on female sexology by The Love Doctor and a new flash fiction short story by a guess writer, both this coming weekend.

There was nothing new on the news shows on television this morning.  Just the same old crap about the presidential campaign, local and international politics and growth and austerity.  It gets kind of tiresome.

The Old Soldier is glad that he has his library books on Andy Warhol and ancient Greece to read and karaoke to look forward to this Friday.

*****

Keep reading and keep writing that flash fiction.

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Behind The Scenes (May 26, 2012)

May 26, 2012 — pittsburghflashfictiongazette

The Old Soldier just came back from a lovely walk around the neighborhood.  It’s hot as hell out there; but I guess I’d better get use to it.  I know I’m not going to heaven.

Hello, everyone from North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa.  And a special hello to fans in Japan.

The Old Soldier lives in Oakland, the same neighborhood that the main campus of the University of Pittsburgh is in.  I graduated from Pitt with an MFA in fiction writing in 2006; and today I did something that I haven’t done in at least one year.  I walked through Wesley W. Posvar Hall. 

Wesley W. Posvar Hall, University of Pittsburgh

Wesley W. Posvar Hall, University of Pittsburgh (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There’s a plaque on top of a pole outside the building: Barney Dreyfuss (1865-1932) Owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates, 1900-1932, and legendary baseball leader influential in initiating the first modern World Series, 1903.  He led the Pirates to 6 National League and 2 World Series titles and was vital to building Forbes Field here, 1902.

But the Old Soldier is getting ahead of his story.  When I left my apartment I walked deeper into Oakland, pass the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the Carnegie Museum of Art, pass the library then on into Schenley Park. 

Man, was it hot outside.  I had a bottle of frozen water with me and I sipped on that as I walked deeper into the park, pass Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, into Anderson Playground and on through South Oakland before I ended up inside Wesley W. Posvar Hall.  I had the entire building to myself.  The air conditioning felt so good.  I just walked through the building, feeling like a 50-something-year-old grad student and teaching assistant again.  Which I was just a few years ago.

The 1909 Pirates in a poster celebrating their...

The 1909 Pirates in a poster celebrating their National League pennant. Frank Chance of the Chicago Cubs and John McGraw of the New York Giants, two teams the Pirates beat for the pennant, are being made to walk the plank. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Then it was back outside again into the hot sun, back across campus and back to my workstation.

Right now The Doors are on the music television station doing Backdoor Man.

*****

Keep reading and keep writing that flash fiction.  Click the follow button to make sure you get every issue of the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette.  It’s free.

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This Flash Fiction Writing Workshop Is Free

May 26, 2012 — pittsburghflashfictiongazette

 

How’s everyone doing on this Memorial Day weekend?

The Old Soldier is doing great.  It’s warm and sunny in Pittsburgh and the blogging day has begun.  The Old Soldier is on duty and it’s not even 10:00 a.m. yet.  Retirement can make you lazy; but I’m not going to let that happen.  I’ve got a magazine to publish.

The Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette is a magazine published by a flash fiction writer for other flash fiction writers.

Because of the Internet, the popularity of flash fiction has exploded.  And the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette is part of that explosion.  For a while there, online writing workshops were very popular.  Many of these workshops charged a fee; but you don’t need to pay a fee to learn how to write flash fiction.  You just have to be able to read.

underword: flash fiction

underword: flash fiction (Photo credit: piglicker)

Take a look at the sidebar on the right.  Not only will you find great examples of flash fiction but if you keep strolling down you will find dozens of articles on how to write flash fiction.

Then when you’re ready to submit your story for publication there is a submissions tab at the top of the page.  And this magazine is a paying market.

You can’t beat that with a stick!

So, what are you waiting for?  Send me something.  Oh, if you’re not a writer but you like entertaining reading, you’ll find plenty of that on this site.  And that’s free, too.

*****

Andy Warhol, Campbell's Soup I, 1968.

Andy Warhol, Campbell’s Soup I, 1968. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Welcome to everybody from all over the world.  Yesterday, the Old Soldier walked to the public library and he picked up some new reading material (to go along with his other library book about Andy Warhol): Spartans (A New History) and a new history of The Peloponnesian War.  A writer never stops learning.  The Old Soldier can find useful insights about being the editor/publisher of this magazine in everything he reads.

*****

Click on the follow button so that you don’t miss a single issue of the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette, the most exciting flash fiction publication on the Internet.

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What Is The Importance Of Flash Fiction?

May 24, 2012 — pittsburghflashfictiongazette

How often have we writers heard that art is a mirror held up by the artist to the times that the artist lives in?  If art is a mirror, what does the popularity of flash fiction say about the times that we live in now?

Flash fiction is short.  It does not take long to read.  Even so, it is complete.  It is a fragment that captures a truth about something much larger than the fragment itself.  Flash fiction reaches out, then disconnects.  Flash fiction is the art of social fragmentation.

I think flash fiction is perfect for the times that we live in.

*****

English: Andy Warhol

English: Andy Warhol (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It’s around 11:00 p.m. in Pittsburgh.  The blogging day has come to an end.  Earlier today, the Old Soldier walked to the public library, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, and he checked out two books on Andy Warhol.

Andy Warhol.  Andy Warhol.  Andy Warhol.

Andy Warhol is a source of inspiration for me.

*****

Andy Warhol, Campbell's Soup I, 1968.

Andy Warhol, Campbell’s Soup I, 1968. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Click the follow button to make sure that you don’t miss a single issue of the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette, the most exciting flash fiction publication in the world.

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Behind The Scenes (May 24, 2012)

May 24, 2012 — pittsburghflashfictiongazette

The great experiment with a new format for the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette is over.  Instead of the new one column format, this magazine is back to the old and better three column format.

This was a learning experience for the Old Soldier. 

When WordPress picked the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette to take part in the new advertising program, the Old Soldier thought he would maximize the number of ads to appear on this site by putting only one post on a page when before there had been 10.  This meant that the sidebar on the right ran down most of the page.  It was ugly.

So, I went to a single column for the entire publication.

This meant most of the links in the sidebar on the right were no longer available to my readers.  It meant that a reader could only read one post at a time.  It meant that the PFFG lost readers.

English: The logo of the blogging software Wor...

English: The logo of the blogging software WordPress. Deutsch: WordPress Logo 中文: WordPress Logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So, now the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette is back to a three column format with 20 posts on the front page and 10 posts on each of the following pages.

*****

Hello hello hello, all my brother and sister bloggers, readers, writers and my Flash Fiction Fanatics.  The high will be 80 degrees in Pittsburgh today on a mostly sunny day with the possibility of thunder showers.

Countries using the Euro de jure Countries and...

Countries using the Euro de jure Countries and territories using the Euro de facto Countries in the EU not using the Euro (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Old Soldier gets his financial news from the Nightly Business Report on public television and now it looks like Greece might leave the Euro Zone.  Why should that concern me?  Why should that concern you?

It means that the financial contagion of Greece could easily infect the rest of Europe and a European infection will definitely infect the United States.  We will all be a little closer to a world-wide depression if Greece leaves the Euro Zone and the rest of the Euro Zone cannot stop the infection.

*****

Whew!  That’s a lot of heavy thinking for 9:00 am.

Click the follow button so that you don’t miss a single issue of the most dynamic flash fiction publication in the world.

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Telling The World About The Excitement Of Flash Fiction

May 23, 2012 — pittsburghflashfictiongazette

The blogging day has begun.  It’s 8:00 am in Pittsburgh.  Hello, world!  Yes, the Old Soldier is in great spirits.  And why shouldn’t I be in great spirits?  I may be working-class but that’s okay.  A lot of people in the United States are working-class.  I’m healthy and retired and I’m a full-time blogger.

You can’t beat that with a stick!

But enough about me.  The Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette is not about me.  It’s about you.  It’s about entertaining and informing you.  It’s about flash fiction.  It’s about reading  flash fiction and it’s about writing flash fiction.

It’s about publishing flash fiction writers.  That’s the best part.  And flash fiction can be more than just entertainment.  When it’s good enough, it is art.

Blog of the day once again

Blog of the day once again (Photo credit: the Italian voice)

Because of the new format of the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette, things are in different places.  But if you look at the button of every page in this magazine you will find all kinds of interesting categories and departments that will help you to become a better flash fiction writer.

Then when you are ready to submit your story for publication, send it here.  This magazine publishes a new flash fiction story the first week of every month.  And the writer is paid a $10.00 publishing fee through PayPal.

Writers retain all rights.  Now you know why I’m in such good spirits.  And if you like flash fiction, you should be in good spirits, too.  I mean if other things are going okay for you in your life.

The Old Soldier knows there’s more to life than writing flash fiction, but good flash fiction makes life just a little sweeter.

underword: flash fiction

underword: flash fiction (Photo credit: piglicker)

The submissions tab for flash fiction is at the top of the page.  Read and follow the guidelines.  Now don’t send poor English and copy full of proofreading mistakes.  I’m a serious publisher.  So, you have to be a serious writer.

Good luck.

*****

Click the follow button so that you don’t miss a single issue of the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette.

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Creative Writers, Are Writing Degrees Worth The Money?

May 22, 2012 — pittsburghflashfictiongazette

The Old Soldier has a BA and an MFA in fiction writing.  He got both of them from the University of Pittsburgh.  So, I think I can write with a little authority on whether or not a writing degree is worth all the money that it cost to get.

Recently, I was walking down the street enjoying the summer-like weather and trying to come up with some content to blog about.  I remembered a news report that I saw on public television about how much debt college students were taking on trying to get their degrees.

There is a hot debate going on now in the United States about the cost of higher education.  Because the economy will be very tight for years to come, most college students will never find a job that will allow them to pay back their student loans.

A crowd of college students at the 2007 Pittsb...

A crowd of college students at the 2007 Pittsburgh University Commencement. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I was awarded a fellowship for flash fiction that paid for my graduate studies; but I still owe money for my undergraduate studies.  I got both my degrees when I was in my late 50s and never could get a job that was going to allow me to repay my student loans.  Now I’m retired.  I had to take early retirement in order to get social security in order to keep my apartment.  I guess it was foolish of me to think that a 59-year-old man with a new MFA in fiction writing could really find a decent paying job to help him pay back his student loans.  I was smart enough to get the fellowship, but not smart enough to get a good job.

A degree

A degree (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I will die still owing money on my student loans because the interest keeps building up and up and up.

Will going to college for a writing degree help you to become a better writer?  In my opinion, definitely yes.

Will you be able to find a job with a writing degree that will allow you to pay for that degree?  In my opinion, probably not.

*****

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