It’s not easy to publish an essay collection unless you’re already a well-known author (or a celebrity), but it is certainly not impossible. There is a market for individually published personal essays—for example: newspapers, themed anthologies, literary magazines, trade and professional journals—but selling a compilation of them takes extra marketing savvy.

At Writer’s Relief we are often asked how writers can get their collection of essays published, and we recommend the following tips to help essay writers approach editors and literary agents with greater confidence and success.

How can I generate an editor or agent’s interest in my book of essays?

Publication credits. If you’ve previously published essays in reputable literary journals, make sure to include these credits in your query letter. We highly recommend that you build your publication credits before approaching an editor or agent with a collection of unpublished essays. The market for an essay collection is limited unless you have significantly newsworthy experiences or have a background that proves your writing has mass appeal. Wide publication credits will help indicate readers’ interest in your work.

If you are still in the process of building credits, investigate local venues for your essays—newspapers, newsletters, etc. There are also free specialty publications covering every imaginable topic (check out coffee shops and bookstores) that may be receptive to personal essays. (Hint: you can find many of them in our Writers Classifieds!) Start locally but aim for national exposure for the best results. If you’ve published a personal essay in a reputable national literary magazine, you’ve increased your odds of selling a collection by quite a bit.

Theme. Collections do well when they include essays with a common theme. For example, David Sedaris is best known for his humorous essays, and C.S. Lewis once published a collection of religious essays. Other themes may include women’s studies, travel, sports, or city life. Unique themes get attention—people love to read about real-life experiences that are highly unusual—but even the most outrageous stories must be backed by good writing.

How can I find editors or literary agents who work with essay collections?

Research, research, research. Study the essay collections at local bookstores and libraries—and don’t forget to investigate the nonfiction areas such as travel, cooking, or parenting. Note who publishes these collections and what kind of essays are selling. Check the books’ acknowledgment pages for possible references to literary agents or editors.

Study book reviews and buy compilations of essays (for example, The Best American Essays) to learn where each was published. And don’t forget about networking. Writers’ groups, college English departments, conferences—get to know fellow writers and ask questions.

Search for literary agents who welcome  essay collections. You can find thousands and thousands of resources online and in bookstores. You’ll need to examine literary agency listings carefully in order to determine which are best for you. And, if you’re short on time, Writer’s Relief can help you. We maintain a database of information—current and constantly updated—to help you target your submissions more successfully. We’ve been helping writers get their work published since 1994.

REMEMBER TO CHECK OUT OUR LIST OF WRITING CONTESTS and ANTHOLOGIES! You won’t find a better list anywhere (AND IT’S FREE!) of upcoming anthologies, special-themed journals, and contests. 

It is common practice for journals and literary agents to reject previously published writing, but what exactly does previously published mean? Why are most literary agents and editors unwilling to take a chance on work that has already appeared elsewhere? When is it appropriate to submit previously published work?

The answers to these questions have become increasingly hard to pin down as the Internet takes on a huge role in the writing world.

The definition of previously published:
Back when print publishing was the sole option for sharing work, previously published was a black-and-white term. If your poems, stories, or essays appeared in a book, journal, anthology, textbook, or any other widely read publication, your work was considered published. If it didn’t, it wasn't. Simple. But now, more complicated questions arise.

Previously published poems, stories, and essays:
Literary journals don’t want previously published writing because editors want to ensure that their publications are fresh, new, and unique. In other words, editors want to be first to discover your writing. Also, editors would prefer to stay away from any rights entanglements.

Is work considered previously published if I post it on a blog, Web site, large social-networking site, or online literary journal?
If you’ve posted your writing on any of the above sites, it is generally considered previously published.

Is my work considered previously published if I post it in a writing forum or Web board?
If the forum or Web board is private and intended for the purposes of encouraging feedback or community support, then most editors and literary agents will consider the work unpublished. But just in case, you may want to take it down once you’ve received feedback so it doesn’t appear online.

If the forum in question is public (that is, if nonmembers can see what you’ve written), then your work will likely be considered previously published.

What if I published my work on my blog or other Web site, but then I take it down before submitting it—is that considered previously published?
This can be tricky. Try not to publish your work online if you plan to submit it elsewhere (like print journals). If you did post online, no one can stop you from taking your work down and then submitting it, but be warned: Editors may not like this tactic.

Once your work is removed from the Internet, do a search of random lines from the work to make sure it is not appearing anywhere. (Warning: Google and other search engines will often archive old Web pages, so simply deleting something from the Web doesn’t mean it’s gone!) If an editor finds your “unpublished” work online, you might look irresponsible or, worse, devious.

If I publish an excerpt online, does that mean the whole work or part of the work is considered previously published?
Generally speaking, excerpts are okay to publish online, as long as they are on the short side (relative to the work in question).

Previously published novels and books:
The rules for determining what is previously published change when you move into the book-publishing business. Literary agents and publishers at traditional publishing houses have different expectations and goals than editors of literary magazines, so the concept of what it means to be previously published can shift.

It’s no secret that literary agents are keen marketing experts. The success of their business relies almost entirely on their ability to find and represent books that are not only well-written but also potentially lucrative. Because of this, work that is available online can sometimes be unappealing for a number of reasons. First, if the book is already being published and the writer is making money, the agent is cut out of those profits. Second, if a book is posted online as a free download, why would readers pay to read it?

The laws (and the industry jargon) are still trying to catch up to the technology. Keep in mind that the following points are general guidelines: Each literary agent or editor may have his or her own definition of what is considered previously published.

Click here to learn more about How to Get An Agent For Your Self-Published Book.

Is a hard copy self-published book considered previously published for the purpose of finding a literary agent?
The subtext of the question above is: “Can I pitch my self-published book to literary agents?” If you’ve published a book or novel on your own or with a third-party POD publishing house, and you still retain the copyright, you can pitch it to most literary agents. That said, always be forthcoming about your book’s history.

Is a self-published book offered in electronic format considered previously published?
The majority of literary agents are willing to consider a book that has been published electronically (published in a digital, nonprint format) as long as the author holds all rights. However, you may need to remove your book from online bookstores and take your book down from the Internet.

If I publish an excerpt from my book online or in print, does that mean the work is considered previously published?
Generally speaking, it's okay to publish excerpts online, as long as they are on the short side (relative to the work in question). Be sure you maintain the copyright if you’re going to publish a portion of your book prior to publishing the whole thing! Otherwise you could end up publishing your book, minus your previously published first chapter!

Writer’s Relief does NOT work with previously published poems, stories, or essays; however, we will work with self-published books on certain occasions.

The flip side: Publishing your work online can be beneficial
The Internet can be a wonderful resource, especially for those who don’t have critique groups or workshops available in their area. Unfortunately, very talented writers who just happened to workshop their writing online are getting caught in the cross fire between editors, agents, and the rapidly evolving question of “What is previously published writing?”

There are journal editors and literary agents who don’t really care about work published on small Web sites. Did you put a story up on a message board for critique? Have you posted a chapter of your manuscript on your blog? As long as the work isn’t plagiarized from someone else, some literary agents and editors don’t mind if the writing has appeared online.

But until the industry fully adjusts to the presence of the Internet, many literary agents and editors are going to simply reject work they consider to be previously published. At this point, the best option for writers is to play it safe until the rules become clearer.

Remember to check out our Free List of Writing Contests, Conferences, Calls for Submissions, Services, and More!

As a general rule of thumb: If you plan to submit your work to long-established literary journals and magazines or to literary agents and editors, DON’T post it publicly online first.

The genres of short prose writing can be very confusing. For example, some writers will call their personal essay a story, and others will call their essay a memoir. To make matters even more complicated, a number of literary magazines are beginning to accept what is commonly called mixed genre writing. It’s important to understand the difference between the types of short prose, whether you’re writing an essay, short story, memoir, commentary, or mixed genre piece.

What is a short story?
A short story is a work of fictional prose. Its characters may be loosely based on real-life people, and its plot may be inspired by a real-life event; but overall more of the story is “made-up” than real. Sometimes, the story can be completely made-up. Short stories may be literary, or they may conform to genre standards (i.e., a romance short story, a science-fiction short story, a horror story, etc.). A short story is a work that the writer holds to be fiction (i.e., historical fiction based on real events, or a story that is entirely fiction).

Short Story Example: A writer is inspired by a car explosion in his town. He writes a story based on the real explosion and set in a similar town, but showing the made-up experiences of his characters (who may be partly based on real-life).

Short Story Example two: A writer writes a story based on a made-up explosion, set in a made-up town, and showing the made-up experiences of his characters.

What is a personal or narrative essay? What is an academic essay? What’s the difference?
Though factual, the personal essay, sometimes called a narrative essay, can feel like a short story, with "characters" and a plot arc. A personal essay is a short work of nonfiction that is not academic (that is, not a dissertation or scholarly exploration of criticism, etc.).

In a personal essay, the writer recounts his or her personal experiences or opinions. In an academic essay, the writer’s personal journey though the subject does not typically play a large part in the narrative (or plot line).  

Sometimes the purpose of a personal essay is simply to entertain. Some personal essays may have a meditative or even dogmatic feel; a personal essay may illustrate a writer’s experiences in order to make an argument for the writer’s opinion. Some personal essays may cite other texts (like books, stories, or poems), but the focus of the citation is not to make an academic point. Rather, emphasis is on the writer’s emotional journey and insight.

Personal Essay Example: A writer pens the story of his experience at the scene of a car explosion in his town. The work is short enough for publication in a literary journal and focuses on the author’s perspective and insight.

What is a commentary?
The personal essay form and commentary may sometimes overlap, but it may be helpful to make some distinctions. A commentary is often very short (a few hundred words) and more journalistic in tone than a personal essay. It fits nicely as a column in a newspaper or on a personal blog. The writing can be more newsy than literary.

Some very short nonfiction pieces may be better suited to newspapers than to literary journals; however, literary magazines have been known to publish commentary-esque pieces that have a literary bent.

Commentary Example: A writer tells the story of a car explosion in his town to illustrate the point that the police are not vigilant enough about people throwing flaming marshmallows out their windows.

What is a memoir?
Memoir generally refers to longer works of nonfiction, written from the perspective of the author. Memoir does not generally refer to short personal essays. If you’re writing a short piece based on your real-life experiences, editors of literary journals will identify this as a personal essay. If you’re writing a book about an experience, it’s a memoir. A collection of interrelated personal essays may constitute a memoir.

Memoir Example: A writer composes a full-length book about his experiences after a car explosion in his town.

Learn more: Creative Nonfiction: How To Stay Out Of Trouble

What is a nonfiction short story?
There’s no such thing as a nonfiction short story. Short stories are inherently fiction (with or without real-life inspiration). Personal essays are not fictional.

Example: None.

So what is mixed genre writing?
Mixed genre writing is creative work that does not sit comfortably in any of the above genres. Mixed genre writing blends some elements of fiction with elements of nonfiction in a very deliberate way. Some examples:

Mixed Genre Example One: A professional accountant named John Jones is writing a story about a man named John Jones, who is John Jones and lives John Jones’ life—except that the fictional John Jones one day decides to leave his real-life accounting job, and live his dream of being a rock star (since the real-life John Jones is thinking of doing the same thing).

Is this a short story? An essay? If ninety percent of the story is true and ten percent is fiction, then what should the writer call this?

Mixed Genre Example Two: A writer decides to compose a family history, using pictures and documents from her family albums. But sometimes her story veers into fiction. She finds herself embellishing elements or omitting characters; and, the result is a story that’s better than the one she might tell if she were to stick to the facts.

Again, is this an essay? A short story? If half of the story is made-up, but half is very obviously true, it might be best called mixed genre.

NOTE: Sometimes the term mixed genre is defined in terms of the novel or book. A mixed genre novel might be a novel that mixes science fiction elements with characteristics of a legal thriller. Or a mixed genre novel might also be a work that plays fast and loose with fact and fiction. If you’re going to refer to your book as mixed genre, be clear about what you mean.

Learn more: Genre Fiction Rules: Find Out If Your Novel Meets Publishers' And Literary Agents' Criteria For Publication

Tips on Writing Mixed Genre
If you’re going to write mixed genre prose, do so with care. Mixed genre writing often has a kind of self-aware, almost tongue-in-cheek, element to it—a wink to the reader who is not fooled by the mixing of fiction and nonfiction, even if the lines are blurry. Mixed genre can be considered experimental, and as such, it’s important that the writing be exceptionally smart in order to live up to the demands of the (mixed) genre.

Why is mixed genre writing so often self-referential? Writing mixed genre and passing it off as an essay or a short story could make editors think that you are trying to dupe them, so it helps to include something in the work that makes reference to itself as being a mixture of fact and fiction. These “meta” elements can help put the reader at ease.

Who is publishing mixed genre short prose?
The primary markets for short prose are literary magazines and journals. Writer’s Relief frequently helps writers target their work to literary journals. For more information on how to find markets for your short prose, please read Researching Literary Markets for Your Work if you plan to research on your own. Or learn about Writer’s Relief submission services if you’d like help targeting your submissions.

Imagine for a moment that you’re the editor of a well-known literary journal. Every day, hundreds of short stories cross your desk in a relentless stream, blurring together, melting into one huge pile of “no.” 

And then—BAM! A story out of left field strikes a chord deep within you. Now that’s something you might want to publish. It goes in the other pile, the much smaller and elusive batch of wonderful “yes.”

That’s a scene any writer would love to see play out starring their own short stories, but floating to the top of that river of submissions takes effort, persistence, and a couple of tricks up the sleeve. Here are a few ways to make your story stand out: 

1. Open with a bang. Unless he’s turned into a giant cockroach, starting your story with your main character waking up is as average as it gets. You have a small space in which to tell your story, so get straight to the point—try dropping the audience in medias res (right into the heart of the action), and get them excited for the ride.

2. Keep it short. Pack a punch in very few words. Throw away unnecessary frills. For more on this issue, read: Why Length Matters. 

3. Create larger-than-life characters. Dull characters make for dull short stories. While you want your characters to be relatable, you don’t want them to be ordinary. If they are dynamic, have their own unique voices, and approach their world in their own distinctive ways, there’s a good chance they’ll stick in a reader’s mind and so will your story.

4. Paint your world vividly. Whether it’s a bustling metropolis or the middle of the unforgiving Sahara, the setting in which your story takes place influences everything that happens within it. Don’t just plop your characters into a generic town—create your own world and reveal to the audience the intricacies therein.

5. Keep the stakes high. There’s a certain aspect of human nature that likes to experience intense situations vicariously. Never let the lifeline of your story run flat. Every decision your characters make should propel the story forward, keeping the plot taut and engaging. The higher the stakes, the bigger the catharsis your readers will experience when the conflict is resolved. 

As always, Writer’s Relief helps writers target their stories to the literary journal editors who are most likely to enjoy them. For more information about this process, please visit an overview of our services.

1. Get the look. If you want people to take you seriously, you’ve got to present yourself in a serious way. When making your submissions to agents and editors, skip the bright-colored paper, the “clever” query letter intros (editors get sick of them fast), the thumbnail image of your face on the manuscript. Just be brief, straightforward, and businesslike. Also, follow industry standard formatting and have your work proofread. Interestingly enough, it’s often the veteran writers who are more inclined to appreciate proofreading than the newbies—but that’s probably why they earn veteran status to begin with.

2. Write to the right people. The first mistake of making submissions is taking the “blanket” approach: wallpapering the whole country with your query and cover letters. A few well-placed and specific queries truly mean much more than 50 that are almost well-placed. Queries that are almost well-targeted will almost get you published. Do the research (or hire someone who will) to make your submissions matter. (NOTE: We’ve found that writers who take this seriously tend to be more successful. Submitting selectively is a sign of a writer who knows what she or he is about. Selective writers put so much love into their manuscripts that they won’t submit to just anyone. Selectiveness is a very good sign because it demonstrates the right attitude for success.)

3. Be the tortoise, not the hare. Make submissions part of your writing habit. Submitting your work in dribbles and drabs is NOT a strategy; it’s a crapshoot. Sustainable and steady wins the race. To a certain extent, submissions are a numbers game. When you submit more regularly, it’s likely you’ll get published more often and more regularly. And the more you build up your bio, the more likely you’ll be well-received. Don’t give up on a story just because twenty places rejected it. Plan to submit to at least 100 markets. AND create a schedule to lock yourself into making submissions. When you create a calendar for your submissions (and deadlines for your writing so that you can make submissions) you will see your publication rate increase.

4. Organization is your friend. Some people are naturally well-organized but others are not. To truly make the most of your submissions, you need to keep track of who read what, who liked what (and why), who rejected what (and why), who wants to see more work from you, and who acquired what rights. It is a TON of work (that’s why Writer’s Relief takes on this burden for our clients). When the acceptance letters start coming in, you’ll thank yourself for the extra effort.

5. Chin up! Last but not least, work to maintain a good attitude. Negative thinking, getting glum about rejections, and believing yourself less than worthy... It’s easy to fall into those traps. Positive thinking takes real work when you’re getting bombarded by rejections (and you WILL get bombarded—it’s part of the process). Start looking at your rejection letters as proof of your dedication, devotion, and all-around awesomeness. Attitude is often the only difference between a nobody and a rising star. Every rejection brings you closer to acceptance, so submit regularly and chip away at those numbers. If you’d like to stay positive and motivated, we’re willing to give you a free E-book, Rejoice in Rejection (details here). We know it will help!

If you’re not able to develop a submission strategy on your own, or you just don’t have the time and patience for it, do yourself a real favor and check out Writer’s Relief. We can take on as much or as little of the submission process as you like so that you can focus on what you love: writing.

At Writer’s Relief it’s our business to work with our clients to develop a submission strategy that 1) keeps them focused on writing, 2) eases the stress and frustration of the submission process, 3) circulates manuscripts regularly (with no spamming) to generate interest, and 4) targets the BEST literary agents and editors (those most likely to enjoy the writing in question).

For more tips on making strong submissions, visit:

How To Write Cover and Query Letters That Get Attention 

Why Length Matters When Submitting Your Stories And Poems For Publication

How To Build Up Your Writing Bio Super Fast

Seven Techniques You Must Know To Make Editors Notice Your Poetry

We’re approached by countless writers every year who want us to help them submit their short story collections to literary agents. The short story is a unique art form that many writers enjoy. But few writers ever truly understand how to get a collection of short stories published.

It takes talent to make short stories work. Some novelists begin their careers writing stories and working their way up to longer works (novels or memoirs). Other writers prefer to work in the short form and, eventually, find themselves with a stack of stories inches high, wondering, “Why not turn my short stories into a collection?”

Short stories are becoming increasingly popular, not only because they are mini works of art, but also because busy people have shorter attention spans. There are hundreds of literary magazines and journals looking to publish individual stories (and Writer’s Relief keeps tabs on all of them), but finding a home for a collection of short stories is no easy task.

Major publishers want novels because they sell and infrequently consider novellas or collections of short stories. Short story collections are harder to place because editors are unwilling to take chances on unknown writers; unless you’re Alice Munro or William Faulkner, you will find it considerably more difficult to sell your work. Publishers tend to do some marketing for their novels, and perhaps if the same marketing momentum were applied to short story collections, authors of short stories would stand a greater chance of landing a deal with the big boys.

Before you protest about the number of successful anthologies on the market, be aware that anthologies are generally collections of stories by a number of different authors—collections appealing to those who are looking for a particular theme or subject matter. Anthologies of work by a single, unknown author are very difficult to sell.

Don’t let us thoroughly discourage you from trying to get your collection published—there are some things you can do to increase your chances.

Publish selected works. It’s easier to sell a collection if you’ve had at least a few short stories previously published in reputable literary journals. Submit individual stories to quality magazines on a regular basis, and with each publication credit, your credibility will increase. At Writer’s Relief we highly recommend that writers build their credits first rather than approaching agents with a collection of unpublished stories. National exposure in quality magazines is key to attracting an agent or editor’s attention.

Theme. It also helps if the stories have a common theme or subject to tie them together. James Herriot was a country vet, not an aspiring author, but his collection of stories had a cohesive theme, and the series is still popular today.

Go for a novel. Some agents recommend scrapping the whole idea of a collection and refashioning the collection into a novel. They might also recommend selling the collection as part of a two-book deal, with the story collection designed to generate interest in the second book, which would be an actual novel.

Win big. Enter as many short story writing competitions as possible. An award-winning story can land a publishing deal. It can also boost a writer’s self-confidence—always a bonus.

Market. Many writers get frustrated and end up self-publishing their work, especially if they’re simply looking for limited quantities to give to family and friends. But for a writer looking to sell a decent number of books and see his or her collection at the major bookstores, the marketing process can be a nightmare. When you self-publish, you are responsible for nearly all the marketing and publicity efforts.

Consider small presses. There are far more small presses than big publishing houses, and they tend to specialize in niche marketing. They also tend to publish out of love for the genre and may be more receptive to a short story collection if they love the quality of your work.

Get an agent. If you have an agent, your chances of selling a collection are better than for unagented writers. To be a writer who gets an agent for a short story collection, you’ll need a strong bio. Also it may help in your query letter to mention that you have a novel in the works.

Get schooled. Short story collections are far easier to sell when their authors have top-notch credentials: publication credits in quality magazines, awards, grants. Graduating from a quality MFA program is a plus as well.

To learn more, check out How To Write A Query Letter For A Short Story Collection. We help writers submit their individual stories for publication because we’ve found it’s the best way to help writers improve their bios (so that they can be competitive when approaching agents). If you would like Writer's Relief to help you submit your individual short stories for publication, or if you would like us to consider working with you on a collection, please give us a call!

Guest writer Suzan L. Wiener has had numerous articles, short stories, poems, and other shorter pieces published in major publications such as Cross & Quill, Verses, Impetus, FellowScript, etc. She also has her love poetry E-book up at http://72.249.118.251/taxonomy/term/83464, and her greeting cards have been published through several major greeting card companies.

On the Internet you need to start your story where the action is. That is most important. You need to build the conflict (action) to keep the editor and reader interested. The climax of your story must be credible. For instance: If you are writing a story for children, don’t have an adult solve the child’s problem. Have the child solve it. Otherwise the editor will lose interest.

I always do a plot outline when I write short stories. Here is a rough outline that I follow to help organize my story:

I. Major characters—
            List the main character(s)
II. Minor characters—
            List the minor character(s)
III. Complications (should always move the story forward)
IV. Subplot (if any)
V. Crisis (turning point)
VI. Resolution (end of story)

Below are several tips to help you get that most-welcomed acceptance.
 
1. Write about something you love—write from the heart and from experience.

2. Look for a new spin on an old concept. (There aren’t really any unique ideas anymore, but when a person can put a new spin on old idea, that makes it interesting.)

3. Don’t be afraid of lesser known e-zines. If you do a Google search for “fiction guidelines,” you will likely find many places you’ve never heard of before. Just always make sure any magazine that you submit to is open to your kind of story. (Writer’s Relief editor’s note: OR you can ask us for help identifying the best markets for your writing!)

4. Network. Having friends who also write fiction opens up a lot of new markets to you. Don’t be afraid to share markets. You might find that your friend has had a good experience with Internet markets, or you might pass your own information along.
 
If you follow the above rules, you will most likely see a publication acceptance in your inbox.

Writer's Relief editor's note: For more help with your short stories, check out this link: Short Story Checklist: Techniques for Getting Short Stories Published. Enjoy!  

REMEMBER TO CHECK OUT OUR LIST OF WRITING CONTESTS and ANTHOLOGIES! You won’t find a better list anywhere (AND IT’S FREE!) of upcoming anthologies, special-themed journals, and contests. Find it by visiting:
http://www.writersreliefblog.com/post/Anthologies-Contests.aspx 

Guest write Cindy LaPenna is a writer and librarian from Pennsylvania. She is the author of Around Bangor, a pictorial history about the town where she grew up. Her articles and poetry were published in several newspapers and various Web sites.

Good writing always starts with a sentence or paragraph that hooks the reader and makes him or her want to read more. Listed below are several examples of how writers can begin works of both fiction and nonfiction.

With A Declarative Sentence
Cultivating a winter garden is an easy, natural way to lift your spirits.

Ask A Question (Note: Some literary agents feel this method is overused.)
Have you ever looked out the window on a winter day and wished you were basking in the sun on a Caribbean island?

Summarize
Beauty, relaxation, and stress-relief are some of the many benefits you'll experience from winter gardens.

Quotation
O, Wind,
If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?
—Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Ode to the West Wind”

Fragmentation
Short days. Long nights. Snow. Ice. Cold. It was a season John dreaded.

We used the winter theme for a reason, and that is to show that several techniques can work not only for different writings, but also for one particular story. One specific technique, fragmentation, for example, might add more interest or inject more sincerity into a story than asking a question or stating a fact.

Read each opening aloud, along with a paragraph or two of your story, to see which one sounds the best. The gist and content of a particular piece will help you determine which technique is best.

Some other commonly used openers are:

Shock ’Em
Danny had it all—charisma, power, and fame. No one knew that at the end of the day, he made his way home to sleep, alone, in the car he called home.

Descriptive
The tiny orange kitten sat on the sidewalk, crying for its mother, its fur wet and matted.

Factual
The childhood toys known as teddy bears are named after Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States.

Hypothetical
If you could change your life today, in any way you can imagine, what would it be like?

Use these techniques as guidelines, but add your own creativity, personality, and writing style. Keep the writing fresh and original and avoid clichéd language to keep your readers reading to the end.

Writing fiction from real-life experiences isn’t as easy as it sounds. Fiction writers—writers of short stories and novels—must know when to use real-life details and when those details don’t work well in prose. Putting your real life in writing can be inspiring, but it can be dangerous too.

Creating Fiction From Personal Experiences:

Life is a wealth of material for writers. Most fiction is autobiographical to some extent, as writers draw from their real-world experiences—a first kiss, graduation, birth, death, marriage, divorce, career changes, the assassination of JFK, the invention of Spam (both kinds). Sometimes a story is created from the tiniest real-life detail. You notice a little boy digging in the sand at the local playground, and this sparks an entire spin-off—a full-length novel about a man who makes a living digging wells. (Sounds boring but of course you’ll make sure there’s a clever hook, won’t you?)

Creating Fiction From Other People’s Experiences:

Grab a National Enquirer and take a look at the headlines. Surely, there’s something that calls to your creative side in “Man Captures Muck Monster” or “How to Make Millions with Beet Juice.” Or drift back to your childhood/adolescence, and think about someone you haven’t seen since. Did Mary Sue, the terribly shy, mistreated girl who never spoke, become a radio personality or a serial killer? There are many possibilities.

On-the-Job Training:

There are many well-known authors who have used their work backgrounds to create believable, technically correct fiction. John Grisham and Patricia Cornwell come to mind. Grisham made a name for himself writing legal thrillers based on his experiences as an attorney; Cornwell worked in a medical examiner’s office and turned this experience into a series of medical examiner thrillers. The inside knowledge these two authors possess contributed to their success and made their fiction believable.

Warnings About Writing Fiction Based On Real Life:

Consider this story: Once upon a time there was a man who was born, went to school, became a teacher, got married, had two children, and died at the age of 82. This man collected stamps, was afraid of flying, and once broke two ribs in a silly fraternity stunt back in college. During his lifetime, he helped his children and his students become better, more well-rounded people, which is a great accomplishment. But is it a novel?

Most fiction stems from real life, but if you think about the lives of ordinary people, there’s not usually a novel to be had. Real life is messy and complicated and doesn’t follow the rules of fiction; it’s also boring at times…mundane. The trick is to lift characters, events, tragedies, and triumphs from the pages of real life and create a new existence for them—using literary techniques and a good dose of creativity to make them more exciting, more interesting, more disturbing—more worthy of being read.

Just be careful that you’re being honest with the way you show real life in fiction. If you become too emotionally attached to turning your real-life story into fiction, you may lose sight of those elements that differentiate a smooth, well-crafted story from a real-life tale. Emotion can be a stumbling block if a writer isn’t flexible.

Also, sometimes a real-life story simply won’t “feel” real in writing. For example, a story about a jaded “loose cannon” Italian cop who solves mafia murders in New Jersey might be cliché and unbelievable—whether he’s real or not. When real life becomes too unbelievable for good fiction, writing nonfiction is often a better choice.

Disguising a real-life story as fiction doesn’t necessarily ensure that you’ll avoid lawsuits. In a previous article on creative nonfiction, we discussed the possible legal ramifications of using real people in your fiction. Exposing the school principal’s quirky bedroom habits is a risky proposition that could lead to a lawsuit. Better to model a character after the principal; as a writer, you can improve on his character to better suit your story, and no one will be humiliated or prevent your child from graduating elementary school. The same holds true for transplanting Cousin Ida into your fiction; she’s a true character in real life, but she’ll likely need some tweaking if she’s going to feature in a story.

Since and because. These are two little conjunctions that cause problems for some folks and represent yet another gray area in terms of accepted usage. Merriam-Webster lists because as a synonym for since and vice versa, but there are subtle differences.

Since is used in a temporal sense.

Since the weather changed, my allergies have improved. 

An easy way to test if since is appropriate is to substitute “from the time when.”

Since she was a toddler, music has been an important part of Cheryl’s life.

We have visited nearly every hobby shop in San Francisco since we moved to California.

When talking about cause and effect, use because. This leaves very little room for confusion, as the word itself spells out its purpose.               

Because of the new medication, my allergies have improved.

Also correct: Since I discovered this new medication, my allergies have improved.

Because we were missing so many ingredients, we had to find a new recipe.

Unfortunately, this does not clear things up completely.

According to more than one dictionary, since can also be used to mean because:

Since he emphasized how important it was, I ran right out and mailed it.

(I mailed something because it was important.)

Some folks insist that this is incorrect; and while it does lend itself to confusion (because would have made it more clear that this is a cause-and-effect situation), it is not necessarily incorrect. Some style guides insist on sticking to since for time-related usage, which helpfully removes any doubt. In most areas of creative writing, though, people have been happily using this construction for years and are unlikely to stop just because they’re told it’s wrong.