Eh heh... just pretend I posted this two weeks ago.

http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/4-ways-to-improve-plotclimax-in-your-writing

They mention that Act 3 is like it's own mini story; it has a beginning, middle and end.  I think for the sake of time, writing just the third act, making it its own story, would be the best route.  You can completely ignore that advice though.  Your choice.  :)

So I'm super late posting this.  Sorry!  But right now I think I can qualify as a thunt, someone who keeps posting to their blog even though no one ever reads it.  (If someone out there does still read this, leave me a comment, and I'll be sure to be more timely with my updates!)

Anyway, here's the link for the week.  http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/catherine-coulter-9-simple-ways-to-be-a-better-writer

These tips are very short, and sort of nit-picky.  Write something and then read it over.  Are you going against this advice?  Should you?  (Sometimes the answer is yes, but you have to have a very good reason.)  Try a little reworking.  Does that work better?

Don't you hate it when the villain is more interesting than the hero?  How do you fix that?  Easy!  Give the hero a goal!

Listen to it here.
Read it here.

This week, give your hero a clear goal.  Have them act in addition to/instead of reacting.

They say if you want to be a writer, you have to read.  A lot.  Well, I've recently discovered that dissecting something similar to what you want to write is even better.

So this week your assignment is to find a short story that you really like, one that you want to emulate.  Read it carefully and take notes.  How does the author transition from scene to scene?  How does he or she show character development?  What sensory descriptions are used and where?  

When you're done, look through all your notes.  What have you learned?  I bet there's quite a few things that you picked up on.  Take one of those and apply it in your own writing this week.  Good luck!

This article was written with novels in mind, but I think that every single piece of advice can be translated over to writing short stories.

http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2010/08/09/how-to-write-the-ending/

So this week, focus on the ending.  Start writing there first and work backwards, or just plan it out and build up to it.  Or simply think up what you think would be a great ending, and just write that.

Do you think you really want to know?  You do?  Oh.  Okay then.

http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1004812-Conflict-in-the-Short-Story

This is a great article that is short and sweet and is chock full of good information.  They start off by defining the different types of conflict found in writing, and go on to describe how to develop it in your stories.

So your challenge this week is to pick one type of conflict and write about that.  If you want to push yourself, pick a type that you don't usually write.  I'd advise only picking one.  After all, this is only a short story, and you have limited space and time.  But in a novel, you could tackle two or more!

This great little article has what you need to know about pacing.  What is it?  How is it used?  What techniques do I need to know?  What do I need to avoid?  http://www.writersstore.com/techniques-to-establish-pacing

Be on the lookout for how you pace your short story this week.   I think one of the key things to remember is that the rule of "show, don't tell" doesn't always hold true.  Sometimes, you just need to sum up the boring bits and get to the good part of the story quickly.  (Especially true for a short story!  Every word counts.)

I really like the idea of specific exercises like the one I gave last week.  I like them especially because it means I don't have to look for an article.  (If you have a suggestion, please let me know.)

Your exercise for this week is to write a story entirely out of dialogue.  How are you going to tell the characters apart?  How are you going to convey conflict?  How are you going to describe your setting?  Well, your dialogue will have to do more than just be people talking to fill the silence.

Ernest Hemingway once compared writing to an iceberg.  You can only see 10% of it.  The other 90% is hidden below the surface.  

My father is a huge fan of Bradbury's so I grew up hearing all about his work and reading some of it myself.  Great stuff.  If you haven't, go get some of his short stories or a copy of Fahrenheit 451.  

And check out this great writing advice he left, just for us: http://www.openculture.com/2012/06/ray_bradbury_on_how_to_write_and_why_literature_saves_civilization.html

If I recall correctly, this piece of advice was spoken by Mary Robinette Kowal on an episode of Writing Excuses.  Her advice was to sit somewhere and describe the area you were for 20 minutes.  She said it was hard, hard enough to push you.  You get all of the easy things out of the way at the very beginning, then you go through a phase of not knowing what to write.  Then you start finding the really telling, fine details.

So that is your assignment for this week.  Pick a spot, any spot.  It could be in the woods.  It could be at a train station or a restaurant.  It could even be in your nearest Walmart parking lot.  Sit there for 20 minutes and just write what you see, hear, touch, smell, and taste.  Taste might not work out so well if you're sitting in the Walmart parking lot.

Once you've completed that task, write a story in that setting (or one very similar).  Use those details you listed to really ground your readers.  Make the story come to life through your sensory images!

And then come back and tell me how it went.