Every aspiring author’s dream is to get a publishing deal and share their story with the world. If it were easy, everyone would do it. It’s the struggle that’s part of the payoff when you finally pull it off.

There is no one-stop way to get a publishing deal. At least not if you want to go with traditional publishing. If you self-publish, the Amazon Kindle store is probably the best way to go.

For the book I’m working on, that was not the road I wanted to take. I wanted a real publisher with an editor and everything. Someone…

Haruki Murakami’s routine is one to envy, but it requires discipline. He wakes up before 5 a.m. and writes first thing. In the morning, his focus is at its peak, a moment when he can work on the most essential work of the day, which is usually writing a novel.

Then he works out. His discipline is reflected in his running routine. He aims to run every day or at least six days a week. That is a commitment. When he gets back home, he focuses on work that’s doesn’t require much concentration. He concludes the day by relaxing, reading…

Submitting your short story to publications is still the best way to (start) building your writing career. There are hundreds of journals in the US alone.

Authors like Bukowski and Stephen King started their careers getting their short stories published in magazines like Esquire or Playboy. Their work was noticed and they got the traction they needed to land publishing deals for their future work.

The question is: what is the best way to submit your short story to journals? Finding the right journal for your work is time-consuming, especially if you have no clue about the publication landscape.

You…

There are countless ways to approach short story writing. The challenge is mainly to finish one that’s engaging, authentically you, well-structured, and inhabited by great characters.

The following ten steps will help you tackle these challenges and publish a well-written gem of a story.

#1: Find your style

Every author has a style. How that style comes across depends on the choices you make, your experiences, and your influences. Don’t worry too much about finding your writing voice yet, it’s going to be an amalgamation of the things you’ve read and what appeals to you in stories.

My style comes from studying the craft…

Every once in a while you stumble upon a book that is more than a gem of a read. It’s a compass for life, a roadmap to happiness. A book that decreases anxiety and silences other inner demons. A book you wish everyone would read. Perhaps that’s why Tim Ferriss has recommended the book so many times on his podcast. Past summer I finally read it and there’s so much wisdom in it I might as well have copied the entire book here, but you should read it and experience it for yourself instead.

The book I’m talking about is…

Coming up with story ideas is a process that has always fascinated me. I love that feeling when an idea suddenly rushes over you unexpectedly. That jolt of energy that makes you want to create.

Magical moments like these happen serendipitously, which is the beauty of it. That doesn’t mean that you can’t help the universe of ideas a bit to find you.

Towards the end of 2019, an idea for a book found me that has been right under my nose ever since I stepped into my grandparents’ home. …

“The world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before.” — Neil Gaiman

What do you experience when you create? I get transported to new worlds and imaginary places. It soothes me when I write. Never before have I found something that makes it so easy for me to get in a flow state. What does creating do for you?

Creating something that didn’t exist before is like magic. It truly makes life interesting. What would we do without art, exhibitions, books, movies, TV-shows, or inventions? It helps us through the good and the bad times…

“A short story is a different thing altogether — a short story is like a quick kiss in the dark from a stranger.” — Stephen King

Stephen King, Charles Bukowski, Ray Bradbury, and Kurt Vonnegut all have one thing in common: they started their careers writing short stories. And with them a whole lot of your favorite writers. How can you start writing short stories if you’re a beginner?

First, what is a short story? Neil Gaiman has a good definition: “Short stories are tiny windows into other worlds and other minds and other dreams. …