Published in 5x5 Fiction - I Thee Dead

I have a story published by 5x5 Fiction HERE. 5x5 Fiction is devoted to complete stories (not rantings or poems) exactly 25 words long, told in exactly 5 sentences, with each sentence comprised of exactly 5 words. Don't laugh or poo-poo these little stories, they're tough to write. Fun too.

Some people think short pieces are easy. In fact, I read recently in a writing magazine that short stories are easier to write and publish than novels. I disagree with that one hundred times over. Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Of course, the author of that article could have been talking about self-publishing, but I don't think so. Writing short means writing tighter, painting a more visual picture, and to do this, we have to make every word count. I submitted five or six little 5x5s; only one was accepted. I can't remember how many times I rewrote and revised all my submissions, examining every word. I'm thrilled, proud and honored that even one made the cut.

I teach a NF writing class at McNeese University's Leisure learning.  In my class we learn by doing. Some of my assignments are to write to specific markets I share. Maybe I should say I bombard my students with markets, and I don't always limit the markets to NF. Once I learn the interest of each student and where their writing heart is, I search out places for them to submit their work. While you may think 5x5 Fiction is an unlikely 'venue' for my NF students to send their work, I believe anytime we see our name in print, it's like a shot of B-12 or maybe a shot of Red Bull. We feel energized. We feel creative. We feel like real writers, ready to submit to more markets. Getting published is addictive. We want it--over and over and over again.

Last semester, my students and I wrote numerous 5x5s and submitted our work. Read Karen Teigen's piece too. We're both thrilled to be "5x5 Authors" now. :) Read all the stories and submit your own; let me know if you get accepted.

If you're interested in my writing class, here's the blurb. If you have questions, email me.

This online course covers the basics of nonfiction writing. You will learn by doing, discuss and research markets for your work and come away from this class with the fundamentals of being a freelance writer for magazines and newspapers.

Nonfiction Bootcamp
February 7 - March 13