Do you write short fiction but long to s-t-r-e-t-c-h those tight little 55ers, flash pieces, and short stories into longer, publishable work? Do you have binders full of short pieces with characters you’d love to flesh out? Are you dying to tell the rest of these stories? If so,The Short and Long of Itis for you! Award-winning short fiction writer Paul Alan Fahey shows you how to expand and adapt your brief creations into longer, more satisfying stories, plays, novellas, and novels pitch perfect for publication in the e-age. This book will help you practice expanding your short fiction. Through detailed examples and hands-on exercises, you’ll learn how to: Adapt 55 fiction into flash fiction;Adapt flash fiction into short stories and plays;Adapt flash memoir into personal essays;Write a tight logline;Develop a story theme;Build three-act structure; andDevelop characters and enhance backstory.So grab a copy today and start writing longer stories tomorrow!

The Short and Long of It

Philip: Officer, we were on our way to the movies in Burbank   and—


Officer Ruiz: Burbank’s north of here. You and your wife come with me.


Mother glances at Philip, smiles over the man’s mistake.


Mother: Officer, this is my son, Philip. Not my husband.


Officer: Whatever. I’ve got a nice cozy spot for both of you.


Mother (To Philip): Shit. He’s taking us to jail.


Mother and Philip settle into the back seat of a patrol car. We hear the riot sounds: sirens, muffled shots, and the whoosh of helicopter blades in the background.


Mother: That officer should be ashamed of himself. Arresting two seniors. (Looks at Philip) Uh…I mean, two middle-aged people like us.


Philip: Well, thank you for that, Mother.


They hear a voice from the front of the car.


Chapter 26