THE MOST COMMON SHORT STORY MISTAKES + how to stand out! (from a litmag slush reader)

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TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - intro
1:28 - it's not a story
2:13 - narrative is too distant
3:14 - the end is actually the beginning
3:59 - no sense of the protagonist
5:15 - no sense of setting or storyline
6:18 - familiar narrative elements
7:37 - the 'so what? story
9:00 - clarity issues and unclear plot
9:54 - tone undermines the story
11:08 - general blandness
12:12 - 5 ways to stand out in the slush pile

→All my published work: https://linktr.ee/shaelinbishop
→If you want to support my channel, you can tip me on ko-fi! https://ko-fi.com/shaelinbishop

MY SHORT STORIES:
☾Tabula Rasa - The Temz Review: https://www.thetemzreview.com/fiction...
☾How to Slaughter - The Common: https://www.thecommononline.org/how-t...
☾After Hours - Vagabond City Lit: https://vagabondcitylit.com/2022/04/1...
☾Daughter of a King - Vagabond City Lit: https://vagabondcitylit.com/2022/03/2...
☾Cherry and Jane in the Garden of Eden - The Puritan: https://ex-puritan.ca/cherry-and-jane...
☾Zugzwang - Plenitude: https://plenitudemagazine.ca/zugzwang/
☾Elise Holding a Deer Mouse, 1829 - CAROUSEL: http://carouselmagazine.ca/c45-bishop/
☾I Will Never Tell You This - The Puritan: https://ex-puritan.ca/never-tell-you-...
☾Solarium - Minola Review: http://www.minolareview.com/shaelin-b...
☾Barefoot - The Fiddlehead [print only]: https://thefiddlehead.ca/issue/282
☾Wishbone - PRISM international [print only]: http://prismmagazine.ca/2020/04/19/pr...
☾Wishbone - video reading: https://vimeo.com/420052282
☾Hold Me Under Till I See the Light - The New Quarterly: https://tnq.ca/story/hold-me-under-ti...
☾Beautiful Animal - Room: https://roommagazine.com/issues/twine
☾How You'll Feel After the War - PRISM international: http://prismmagazine.ca/2021/10/20/pr...

FAQS
→How old are you? - 26
→How long have you been writing? - Since I was 8
→Where do you live? - I keep that private for safety reasons, but I grew up in Vancouver.
→Where did you go to university and what did you study? - I keep my university information private, but I majored in writing with a concentration in fiction.
→What are your pronouns? - They/them or she/her
→Where can I read your books? - None of my books are published yet, but you can read my published short fiction in my linktree (linked above!)
→So when will your book be published? - I don’t know! I’m in the revision process right now, but I can’t predict exactly when I’ll have a book published. But I’m working on it!
→Do you plan to traditionally publish or self publish? - Traditionally publish
→Will you read my book/story/chapter/mentor me? - Unfortunately I cannot accommodate these requests because editing/critiquing is a labour intensive task that I can’t afford to do for free alongside my job, my own writing, and running this platform. If you would like to hire me for paid editing work, contact me privately on twitter or instagram.

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OUTRO MUSIC: "l u v t e a [acoustic]" by Autumn Keys

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