  Short Stories
This week: Like a Boss Edited by: Shannon  
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Welcome to the Short Stories Newsletter. I am Shannon and I'm your editor this week. |
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"A goal is a dream with a deadline." ~ Napoleon Hill
I've heard writers say deadlines are negative inspiration, but they're better than no inspiration at all. I couldn't disagree more.
I look at it this way: professional kickers in the National Football League practice hours each day perfecting their craft. They train themselves to kick harder and farther--to be better than everyone else so come game day they can make that impossible shot like Denver Broncos kicker Matt Prater's record-breaking 64-yard field goal kick on December 8, 2013. He aimed for the goalposts (a writer's deadline, metaphorically speaking) and nailed that sucker right down the middle.
The video won't play from here. Just click the "Watch on YouTube" link. It's only 28-seconds long.
Like a boss! Well, it wasn't right down the middle. It veered a little to the left, but you get my point.
Deadlines (and prompts) are why I love entering WDC contests. The combination inspires me, and not in a negative way. Years of entering prompt-based contests with looming deadlines on writing.com gave me the courage to enter a four-round international flash fiction challenge last year in which contestants were emailed genre/location/and object prompts at midnight eastern time on a Friday and given 48 hours to write and submit a story of 1,000 words or less. I thought, Shoot, I got this! I've been doing this for years! I made it all the way to the semi-finals--top 300 out of the original 2,100 writers. Not too shabby for a newb, and something I would have never accomplished without WDC.
So what did I do? Signed up for their next challenge, of course!  I got my prompts for round one Friday night.
Challenge yourself. Everything takes practice. No one steps onto a football field for the first time and makes a 64-yard field goal, and very few people sit down at a computer for the first time and hammer out a New York Times bestseller. Set goals and train yourself to meet deadlines by entering prompt-based contests. There are a lot to choose from on WDC.
Do deadlines repel or inspire you? Can you function under a looming deadline? Share your thoughts, comments, and experiences and I'll include them in next month's newsletter.
"I crave deadlines. If I don't have a deadline, I become a total slacker,
which is why I always have so much on my plate." ~ Lori Wilde
Thank you for reading.
P.S. Everyone who responds to this newsletter will receive an exclusive trinket. I will retire this month's limited-edition trinket on February 22, 2017, when my next short stories newsletter goes live.
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I hope you enjoy this week's featured selections. I occasionally feature pieces written by members who haven't visited the site for a while simply because the writing corresponds with that week's purpose and/or theme; a writer's unwillingness/inability to visit the site regularly doesn't render their existing work less valid.
Thank you, and have a great week!
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And a few great contests to inspire your muse.
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The following is in response to "Looking Forward to 2017"
QueenOwl ~ A New Day Dawns  writes: Thank you, Shannon, for this waker-upper. It's prodding me to do what I neglected to do this 2016 year. I hope to get back to the swing of writing this coming year. No promises. Just a resolve to get things done, which were overshadowed by the illness and inevitable passing away of my beloved baby sister.
Acme  writes: 2017 is the first that I don't have resolutions ready for. 2016 was such a crazy and hectic year, where nothing went to plan, that I feel a little wrong footed. Reading your newsletter has made me realise that I don't have to plan big, but a few writing goals could be just what I need to focus on in my craft. All the best for year ahead.
Osirantinous Capricornus  writes: Congrats on making the semi-finals, Shannon. That's amazing! And I can see why it was a boost. My goals kind of look a bit like yours, bar the newsletter writing because I'm not that game yet! Though my main one is to push my novel to a completed draft that I can give to a beta reader/developmental editor. It'll be 21 years old soon; really, it's time to finish. Best of luck with your goals, and in entering those off-site contests again!
Dragon is hiding writes: Love the Brad Paisley quote!  not so much about setting goals because I'm terrible at keeping track and keeping myself accountable, but the quote was definitely awesome.
Graham B. writes: I set a resolution to write at least a thousand words per day. Do you think that's good way to meet writing goals, or is it better to set goals by completed works, as you seem to have done? Maybe both? I find the daily goal to work better for a procrastinator like me. In this case the goal works out to minimum of 365,000 words per year, which would be a Stephen King-sized novel, or more than two-thirds of the LOTR trilogy. That's serious progress! Perhaps I made writing sound like a daily grind - like brushing your teeth. But Stephen King has suggested doing this very thing (writing every day, not brushing your teeth). I hope you meet all of your goals, and then some. Have a great new year!
Prosperous Snow celebrating  writes: I've begin thinking about my goals for 2017. I know I want to continue editing the fantasy newsletter. I also know I want to learn to use my smart phone for more then just telephone calls and texts. Other then that I haven't decided on any other goals. I will finalize all of my goals by Saturday, December 31.
Elizabeth writes: I have set a number of goals for 2017. I don't make resolutions, because these always seem so forced and unattainable. I set goals for the year, that I can complete in the year in order to help me explore certain areas of my interest better. I participate in a reading challenge every year, and generally aim to have read at least fifty books. I also read a lot of magazines and articles. I have created a film challenge that I have participated in throughout this year, and have set up a new one for 2017. I also try to explore more music, particularly by using genre and country statistics, which allows me to get outside of my comfort zone to find really different things I would not hear otherwise. I try to experiment with my tastes in TV as well, knowing that I can get into a bit of a rut of rewatching shows I have seen a hundred times. As I am sure you can tell, I am a media geek. I try to learn at least one new thing a day as well.
I use checkli.com to maintain a lot of these since it gives me a stable way to keep track of whether or not I have met my goals, and to see which goals I have remaining. As it stands right now, my writing goals for 2017 are:
Write at least one blog post per week
Finish writing my novel from NaNo 2016
Write at least one short story per month
Write at least one poem per month
Write at least twenty-five reviews on Goodreads
Write at least twenty-five reviews on WDC
Enter WDC contests at least six times throughout the year
Start a new novel for NaNoWriMo 2017
Jeff  writes: My writing resolution this year is definitely to be more productive (it's pretty hard to be less productive than writing nothing, but still), and in order to accomplish that, I think it means I'm going to actually have to read less.  This year I set all-time highs in the number of books, screenplays, comics, and podcasts I consumed... but in retrospect I can definitely see points where I opted to read instead of write. So while I'll still read as much as possible, I might have to put writing in first position ahead of it... even if that means reading less than a hundred books or listening to less than six hundred podcasts. 
RedButterfly writes: The interesting question you asked was if we have writing goals for the coming year? I'm glad to say that I do. My goals for 2017 are to write one novel and a collection of short stories. My other goal is to continue to hone my painting skills: colored pencils and various types of paint. The two type of creativity go hand in hand, because when I switch between the two forms of creativity they feed (enhance)one another by exercising the two sides of my brain. I tend to be very intellectual and my atttention to my visual arts moves me out of my head and into my body, that in turn encourages my imagination to flow freely into my writing. I've been preparing for this period of creativty all of my life. I always knew it was coming, but I didn't know when. Luckily, I learned at a very young age to trust my intuition.
I'm searching for some highbrowl WDC members who read only highbrowl "English Literature" and want to discuss "the Craft of writing Fiction." and knit pick about the placement of verbs and correct puncuation in and the perfect sentence. This is who I am and if there are any like minded writers out there please let me know. I'm starving for serious conversations about the craft.
QPdoll writes: Congratulations on making it to the semi-finals in the international short story competition! I'd say that was a success for sure. I have stopped with making new year's resolutions, but I think I'll create a goal of reading a certain number of books per year. I'll not make it to near the number that you will, but I'll definitely make it a point to read more in 2017.
Rebecca writes: My New Years Resolution this year is:
1. Enter at least 2 contest that i have never entered before.
2. Donate to a raffle/ auction.
3. Read/Review at least 4 pieces a month.
4. write two short stories of my own.
5. And to read more . I lack in doing this , as I work a lot.
"A book is a dream that you hold in your hands." - Neil Gaiman
Casper Bailey writes: My writing goals are short-term ones for 2017. 1. One story project at a time for 30 days. And 2. I'm entering one contest for fun.
BIG BAD WOLF is Merry  writes: A new year comes with new things. Here's a new thing for me, making Youtube videos about my berry garden.
eyestar~* writes: Congratulations on your expanded scope in writing and successes. Itis cool to realize that when you step up and step out--you get a positive glimpse of yourself. I liked Brad's quote--really inspiring and on track for writers. I don't really do resolutions, but do make choices and do daily targets toward what I'd like life to be like. I like to follow the energy and priority in the moment. I appreciate that you have a dream and go toward it with vision and steps. Thanks for sharing your journey.
Lisa Noe  writes: I think you did a good job with this newsletter
I liked the goals you set for yourself. I also set some goals for my self this year although I didn't intend to. I wrote the "Dear Me:" letter and accidentally set some goals. I am not an accomplished or polished writer so I will practice my short story writing, God Knows I need to! Lisa Noe~kittylove 
Hanna ~ Be Kind 💕 writes: I make resolutions every year, but when I was younger most of them were silly things like "get a new puppy" or "buy this toy or outfit". Now I make resolutions like "be a better person " and "improve my health". As I've gotten older I've learned to let the useless things fall away (not that a cute little puppy is useless in any way) and I've realized what is most important. The person you grow up to be is important, but whether you wear designer clothes or Target/Wal-Mart brand is not. As far as writing goals... I need to rewrite my book Beautifully Privileged and I need to start reviewing more often.... once or twice a week would be good. 
Natechia dos Reis writes: My goal is to read 100 books and enter a few contests. I've started this year by entering the challenges which I enjoy and a poetry contest. My aim is to become more proficient in writing flash fiction. Thank you for this newsletter.
Grateful Jess  writes: My biggest goal in 2017 is finding a job and getting approved for immigration to Canada. Like you with the short story contest, I will be pushing myself outside of my comfort zone to make things happen. I will actually be looking in occupations I never considered, but I can do and they are needed in Canada. It's amazing how life can mirror writing goals.
LinnAnn -Book writer  writes: I love the quote up by the picture of the little girl on the stack of books. Nice site and well put together.
KingsSideCastle  writes: Great Newsletter. I love resolutions because they help you identify what you want to accomplish early on. Even if the goals prove different to complete they at least give you a direction to strive in. Best of luck in completing your writing goals this year. ^_^
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Short Stories: January 25, 2017 Issue [#8054]
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