Writers, Make An Investment In Your Own Writing Talent

Posted on May 15, 2013 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette
Invest in America Logo.

Invest in America Logo. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Old Soldier use to study the stock market.  I’m not kidding.  I even bought some stock; but that didn’t last long.  I couldn’t keep making the $50.00 a month investment.  That was the deal.  I had to invest $50.00 every month.

My short career as an investor did not go to waste.  The Old Soldier took the advice of the most successful and celebrated investors and he applied it to being a writer.

I would invest in my writing talent.

Any successful investment strategy is built on knowledge of the field, investing skill and taking the long view.  You really do have to do your homework.  Not just invest but study the companies you are investing in.

And you must be willing to learn from the successful investors who are recognized as the best at what they do.

In other words, a writer must do exactly what successful investors do.

And with a little luck, your investment will eventually begin to pay off.

*****

The Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette is a blog of creative writing and female sexuality.  This blog is published near the University of Pittsburgh.

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Writers Of Erotica, Should You Use A Pen Name?

Posted on April 26, 2013 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette

fro3037dcprofimedia0009145837_1Do you write fiction?  Is there explicit sex in some of your fiction?  Should you use a pen name for your stories about sex?

Hello hello hello, my brother and sister readers and writers from all over the world!  It’s a mostly sunny day in Pittsburgh and the high will be around 60 degrees.  After posting this, the Old Soldier is going for a nice walk down to the public library and then through Schenley Park.

Like everybody else, writers have many different elements in their personalities.  And art that deals with explicit sex has a long and honorable tradition.

Still, a writer of sexually explicit fiction has many things to consider before putting his or her name on a story about sexuality.

The Old Soldier has a piece of advice for you: “Do whatever you think is best for you.”

*****

This magazine (blog) is for readers and writers who appreciate serious writing and brazen sexuality in the same online publication.  The blog is published near the University of Pittsburgh.

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The Best Advice I Can Give To Struggling Writers

Posted on April 20, 2013 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette
Woman As Art

Woman As Art

What advice did I get from my father when I came back from the Vietnam War and told him I wanted to be a writer?  He said to me, “Writing is a hobby for rich white boys.”

My father is dead now.  I don’t want you to think he was wrong about everything.  He was right about a lot of things.  He had a great deal of street knowledge; but he was wrong about writing.

I renewed my library book: American Isis, The Life and Art of Sylvia Plath by Carl Rollyson.

The cover of Letters Home

The cover of Letters Home (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When I was a young writer, I wish someone had given me the advice that Alfred Kazin gave to Sylvia Plath when he was teaching at Smith and she was a student there.  He told her, “You don’t write to support yourself; you work to support your writing.”

So, the Old Soldier is saying to you.  Put yourself into a position to make a living at something you love or at least like so that you can support your writing habit.

Then you will have the best of two worlds.

*****

This blog is for readers and writers who can appreciate serious writing and brazen sexuality in the same online publication.  The blog is published near the University of Pittsburgh.

*****

Flash Fiction: Barbara’s Adult Video by Guy Hogan

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Write About What You Know Then Make Things Up

Posted on January 18, 2013 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette
Woman As Art

Woman As Art

“Write about what you know” is always good advice for a flash fiction writer.  It keeps you from making foolish mistakes in characterization, locale, motivation and storyline.  Your life will provide you with all the material that you need to keep turning out one flash fiction story after another.

But since you’re writing fiction and not history, the fun parts of the story are the parts that you make up.

Keep reading and keep writing that flash fiction.

*****

The Old Soldier likes to try new things when it comes to food.  There’s a Mid-Eastern food store right across the street from my apartment building.  So, a couple of days ago I went over and bought a tomato, a green pepper and a small tube of goat’s milk cheese.  I never had goat’s milk cheese before.

It had the texture of cream cheese and tasted faintly of lamb.  Interesting.  You can only eat a little bit at a time.  I like it.  It’s a little rich; but hey, for a writer, life should always be an adventure.

English: Goat's milk cheese

English: Goat’s milk cheese (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

*****

Be sure to check the front page for the latest updates.  The Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette is an online magazine of serious writing and brazen sexuality.

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How To Become A Happy Blogger

Posted on November 21, 2012 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette

Woman As Art

Are you a blogger?  Maybe you should read this post.

I’ve been a blogger for over ten years now.  This blog is my most successful blog.  It’s four years old.  All the other blogs are deceased.  What have I learned about blogging?

Okay, here are a few things.

There seems to be two kinds of bloggers.  There are bloggers who blog about themselves and there are bloggers who blog about a subject.  The bloggers who blog about themselves usually don’t get too many visits every day unless they are celebrities.  The bloggers who blog about a subject can get hundreds on up to thousands of visits every day.

This blog is averaging 814 hits every day for November 2012.  This blog is a subject blog.  The subject is flash fiction.  Of course, it covers lots of things (like blogging), but its core subject is flash fiction.

Bloggers who blog about themselves usually just want to share their lives with an audience, their pain and joy, their losses and accomplishments.

Mena Grabowski Trott, American blogger

Mena Grabowski Trott, American blogger (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Subject blogs have to give useful advice, support or practical help to their core audience who are interested in the core subject of the blog.

Whatever kind of blogger you are, there are three things you need to be a happy blogger.

  1. You need to have a passion for your blog.
  2. You need to be able to express yourself clearly.
  3. You need to set aside time to blog on a relatively regular schedule.

These three things may seem simplistic and self-evident, but all three are necessary and are the bare minimum for being a happy blogger.

This is the Old Soldier blogging somewhere near the University of Pittsburgh.

*****

The Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette is a blog of serious writing and brazen sexuality.

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