What kind of short stories do you write?

Yes, Musicluv. If you are going to do a book with lots of characters and places you may want to start out with a notebook or folders in your computer. I do that for each book I right to help compile stuff about characters and events. Make character sheets and write an outline of your story so you have a "road map" of what your story is going to be about. Take a writers course in school. Join a writers group for networking and support. All these suggestions will be very helpful in getting you start on your part to writing well and getting published. =)

Thats cool, i wish you the best of luck.

i have written mostly articles related to travel and I am almost on the verge of converting them into a e-book. I am trying to do it on amazon and would go for all out marketing campaign for the same.

Well, it isn't all that fun, because I "have" to take math and science too.. But I did so love my "Creative Writing Fiction" class, because my textbook was really helpful and good. It is called "On Writing" written by Stephen King. If anything, I strongly suggest you get this book, even if you are not a fan, which I am not, but found his tips so helpful.

OOooo... I am so envious. Havasu is getting ASU (Arizona State Univ) soon and I am seriously thinking of taking a creative writing course. It would be great to have a degree in writing. Right now I have a AA in Graphic Design which came in handy when I decided to design my first novel, Realmwalkers. I did the cover and the interior page design which saved me a lot of money. Now I think it would be neat to go back to college and study creative writing. I will post here is I do it. Right now, I am beginning to prepare for the autumn book signings. =)

After 3 days, I CAN FINALLY READ and POST in MYLOT!! I hear service is still sporatic so I am going to answer my posts while I still can... I do have that book, Carmel. It was recommended at my writers group so I went and got it. I started reading it and I must admit it was eye-popping in some places. I haven't finished it yet but I will take it on the road with me when I go on vacation in August. Ah, so you have to take those boring classes too? Boooo! I wonder if I can go back to taking math and science. Oh well, good luck just the same, Carmel. Let me know when you graduate! =D

Online businesses take a lot of time and work, Tedifa. I have tried a few work-at-home businesses but never really got ahead much. The time spent on it was not worth it to me. Writing was the most satisfying then as it is now. I hope you get your book written and published. If it's about an offline business, there may be many who will want to read it. Good luck!

That's the genre I write most of the time. I enjoy it alot. I have a new short story out right now that you might like to check out? I call it "The Priestess and the Ravenknight" and you will find the story at my Realmwalkers Tiaera blog (see profile). What you need to do now, Mayuko, is to commit to writing more than you have been. If you want to be a writer you need to write and write and write. Find friends to help you by proofreading your work. Start small by doig short stories and posting them in places like Triond.com. That's a good place to get started. Go take a writing course or go to the library and borrow writing books. The Internet is also a great place for learning about writing. There are so many many blogs and websites where you can meet other writers and LEARN! =) Good luck!

A children's book? That will most like require graphics or sketches. Children's books are so fancy nowadays. The artwork is amazing and eye-catching. If you can draw, then doing some of that work will definitely save you a lot of money. When I wrote my first novel with co-author, Jack Shepherd, I drew all the illustrations inside it. My book, Realmwalker has 21 black and white full page illustrations and another 12 half page ones. But Realmwalkers is NOT a children's book. It would be considered YA (young adult) and Adult. If you want to see some of my artwork and learn more about my novel, check out my profile. Also, as I have mentioned in other posts, try to find a writers group. The group here in Havasu helped me a lot in getting my story written and eventually published. Almost every city has at least one. They don't cost much to join and you can also meet some new friends who will help you with your writing. Good luck!

There is nothing wrong with writing non-fiction stories, Suni! Riempie made a good suggestion too. Short stories are one way to solve the problem of not having enough time to write. Do you use a travel journal to document your experiences when you travel? I do. I also sketch and stick flat items like tickets and photos and postcards in it. You can also do that on the Internet too or you can simply blog about such things. Blogs are free and easy to use. Travel journals don't have to be expensive either. You can get a blank book/journal nowadays for just a few dollars. Start there and try to write every day. Do you belong to a writers group? Does your local collage have writers classes?

I like writing short stories for a collection as it is different from a novel where you take a longer time to complete the project. As well, you can write a variety of different stories in different genres to make up a full collection. Short stories give you the opportunity to read a short story in one go and give you a fix. I have two published collections and also write short stories for magazines when invited to do so. Certain short stories have been republished several times.

How wonderful it is to meet you, Riempie9. Your genre is very unusual, but because of the non-fiction importance of apartheid I have no doubt many read your work. It definitely sounds like you are writing what you know. Am I correct? Are these stories the result of your life experiences or of research?

Yes, I also enjoy short stories. I have started a new one at my Tiaera blog (http://tiaera.blogspot.com) It's called "The Priestess and the Ravenknight." I am currently working on part two for next week. I also agree with you on how important it is to have that "hook" in the first page to get the interest of the reader. I try my best as any serious writer to entertain my readers whether its at one of my blogs, my stories or even here in MyLot. =)

It sounds like you have a good sense of humor. I wish I could write humor. I don't seem to have the wit or cleverness good comedians need to be successful. I have tried horror, but that too is difficult for me. Maybe I need practice and I need to read such books and stories so I can see how the other writers do it.