Author Archive: Anne Leigh Parrish
Short Fiction: By The Wayside
She’s a woman who discards anything which causes sorrow or blocks her path. A man she cares for does both, and she leaves him. She takes only what she really values, an old set of books, a few china plates of her mother’s, an abstract painting she’d found in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She abhors […]
I Published My Book! Now What?
Once upon a time my writing life centered on writing, getting a short story published, writing another story, and so on. It went this way for decades. People asked me from time to time why I didn’t get a collection together, and publish an actual book. Finally, I did. All The Roads That Lead From […]
Short Story: Artichokes
My mother loved artichokes. She trimmed the stems and steamed them in a shallow pan. When they were cool, she paired them with a vinaigrette sauce. One by one we gently peeled off the leaves and dipped the tender part in our individual glass bowls. Eventually we made our way down to the heart. This […]
Truths and Lies about Self-Publishing
Some say self-publishing is the greatest invention since sliced bread. Others say it’s ruining the industry. A lot of people have weighed in on this hugely popular phenomenon. Now, it’s my turn. I’ll address a few commonly held ideas and say if they’re true, or false. Self-published books are low quality. False. However, there is […]
Tips On Getting Feedback
Writers hear it all the time – connect with your reader. Give the reader what he wants. Manager her expectations. Don’t confuse them. Surprise them. Keep them interested. These are all worthy goals, but they’re after the fact. First, you write, then you get feedback. Feedback lets you gauge how well you’re getting your message […]
How to Avoid Writing Burnout
Writing is hard work. We all know that, right? We take an idea, move it along, push it this way, that way, leave it alone, return to it, and sometimes scratch altogether. Once we’ve got something substantial, we tear it all apart and put it back together again. We offer our pages to the world, […]
Reviews, a Game of Give and Take
We all know how much the world of publishing has changed in the last few years. The gatekeepers have been swept away by self-publishing. Anyone can write a book, and offer it for sale on Amazon. And anyone can write a review and post it. So much democracy! So much freedom! Is this a good […]
In Defense of Head-Hopping
In writing, head hopping is defined as using an omniscient third-person narrator to hop from the head of one character right into another. This is thought to cause confusion for the reader and leave them wondering whose thoughts they’re supposed to follow now. I understand that the idea of keeping a sharp line between the […]
The Unnoticed Writer
Over the last couple of days there’s been fair amount of buzz around the fiction writer Edith Pearlman. Her “break-out” story collection, Honeydew, is forthcoming from Little, Brown & Company. Pearlman is 78, and has published a number of story collections with small presses. In 2011, her collection Binocular Vision: New and Selected Stories earned […]
Mistakes to avoid in Short Story Writing
As the fiction editor for Eclectica Magazine, it’s been both a privilege and pleasure to read story submissions. Finding the handful of pieces that take my breath away is what it’s all about. The good ones shine through, those that are brilliant positively sparkle. That said, it’s too bad that so many stories that come […]
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