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

In 2012, when I began writing and publishing e-books for JMS Books, one of my projects was to expand Your Mother Should Knowinto a novella around 20,000 words. While reading the story through and making notes about the new scenes I wanted to add—based on the story’s logline and theme—I discovered the story didn’t have much of a second act and moved far too briskly toward the climax and resolution. There was absolutely no discernable midpoint to the piece where the main characters made a commitment to complete their journey come hell or high water. I’m sure you’ve heard of theatrical plays having second act problems. Motherwas a good example of this dilemma. The good news was I had a starting point for the adaptation—expanding the second act and creating a midpoint.


First, let’s review the story’s logline:


Chapter 25