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

Flora took her time in answering. “Trust is a funny word, isn’t it, Polly? Besides, at our age, there are more important needs, wouldn’t you agree?”


Polly nodded then smiled at her old friend. If she was worried, she hid it well. “All right then. Let’s order, shall we?” (845 words)


The following flash fiction provided the backstories of the six female characters in the novel, Too Long Among the Dead:


What Sarah Rememberedby Paul Alan Fahey


It was a Sunday morning. The wind that had cooled considerably over night swept across the arroyo through the eucalyptus grove and up the mesa. The woman called Sarah sat in her chair on the veranda and wrapped the cotton shawl more tightly around her shoulders.


From her spot, she could look down through the acacia branches to the small town. Cars turned right onto Crystal Springs Road. The hum of their motors grew louder as they approached Ralston Manor.


Chapter 46