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

Patricia arranged her suitcase. She rolled up her stockings and tucked them into a corner, then her underclothes, skirts, sweaters, and freshly ironed blouses on the top. She was good at this, and, smiling to herself, wondered if she’d been a professional packer in another life.


She walked into the bathroom and checked her make-up. “All systems go,” she said aloud. For a moment she considered packing her medication but decided she didn’t need it. Not this trip.


With suitcase in hand, Patricia strode with confidence down the darkened corridor. She was about to reach the lobby, when the night nurse stopped her.


“Going away again, are we, dear?” (167 words)


“Look William, it’s a sign!” Dora said, as they turned off Highway 17 and headed for a weekend in the Santa Cruz Mountains. She pointed to a wooden placard swinging from a rusty chain.


“Of course it is, hon,” he said. “I can see it’s a sign.”


Chapter 39