Author Ideas 101 - Flash Fiction and Short Story Compilations

Whether you've written a few novels, or have yet to complete your first, you likely have a slush pile of unfinished, barely started or merely outlined story ideas. I propose that these incomplete thoughts are worthy of further consideration, and if not in the form you originally proposed them to yourself, than perhaps as a piece of flash fiction or a short story?

If you're anything like me, you have scenes and dialogues - that in a moment of inspiration - you had to jot down. Sometimes these moments turn into minutes or even hours. You may not be working on a story that will be suitable for this flash of genius, but if the scene has a beginning, middle and ending, or can be expanded upon, you might just have yourself a tidy little short, or work of flash fiction.

I have been surfing through my own pile of start-ups and see merit in each of them. Some are honestly a paragraph - a witty piece of banter between two people - where others are stories which developed on their own with no clear end in site. Revisiting them, I have managed to find an end in some, expanding on others to complete a piece of flash fiction, or simply edited a short story I had written years before.

My point is that these stories caught in moments of inspiration weren't for nothing. Inspiration brings life to any thought, and when we write that thought down it becomes a story. So why wait for the right novel to include your unique dialogue and character piece? Do something with them now!

I'm currently working on a number of stories from my slush pile; even one which features characters from my trilogy. A look at life for those I didn't kill off. Just 4-5,000 words. But enough to tickle anyone's interest who'd read the trilogy and wondered about a fourth book.

This practice can also be helpful in moments of writer's block. Revisit a train of thought you never completed. You know you have them in that folder marked 'Unfinished' on your desktop. People love a story they can finish quickly on a trip into work or and afternoon in the sun. A compilation of these stories just makes sense.

www.mikepoeltl.com

Using design to sell your books isn't just for the covers anymore

It was once true that the book cover design sold your books for you. While that may still be the case, there are several new ways in which design can sell your books.

They're called Infographics. Pick a quote of substance from your book, pull it right from your characters mouth, they won't mind, you gave it to them after all. Then hand it over to a designer and ask that they create a design around the quote, and give credit where it is due, name your character as the person from whence the quote originated. This helps create a level of reality, character building, if you will, and so potential readers become interested in this character; especially if they can relate to the quote, or experience some emotion when they read it. Just be sure the quote is suggestive of your character, so the reader can become familiar with your character’s personality even before they read your book. This becomes a potential selling point to those who either take offence at the quote or appreciate the comment and want to understand why your character said what they did or thinks the way they do.

Every chance we have as authors to pull in another reader could mean the difference between success and failure. If you can create these designs yourself then all the better. Post them to Facebook, twitter, Instagram, google+ and everywhere in between.

The below examples are from The Judas Syndrome trilogy featuring quotes from two of the main characters which speaks to their individual personalities.

To enquire about this specialized service and to see more samples visit Quote infographics

Michael Poeltl