https://www.facebook.com/perryelisabethauthor/photos/gm.2408114565929675/1885053211570405/?type=3&theater

Reading a short story is a good way to keep up with your reading without having to sacrifice hours or days of your time to finishing a book. Some short stories have as much literary merit as full-length books. In fact, many famous writers either began their writing career with short stories or continued to write short stories while working on their books. Some of these famous writers are: F Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, J D Salinger, V S Naipaul, Mark Twain, Joyce Carol Oates, William Faulkner, and many others.

I also began my writing career with short stories, and my first published work was in the Broward Community College magazine where I was a student. The title of that story is A Pair of Blue Skates. I will see if I can find it somewhere. If not, I will try to rewrite it and republish it for you to see.

So why am I telling you all this? Today is Read A Short Story Day, and for the occasion, Perry Kirkpatrick has organized a Short Story Day, which runs from Nov 1 – Nov 4, where you can download short stories by different authors in a variety of genres, all free of charge for your reading pleasure. The title of my story is The Unwelcome Wedding Guest. Go to Read A Short Story Daydownload your copy and sign up for my newsletter. After you have read it, please come back here and share your thoughts with us.

Now that the elections are over, we can go back to what we enjoy the most – reading. The days are shorter, the nights are longer and cooler, just right to snuggle up with a good book.

But before you reach for that book that’s been gathering dust on your nightstand, stop and think for a moment. What do you look for in a good book? What makes you pick up the book in the first place? I would guess the first thing would be the cover, but you don’t just want to admire the cover, you want to read what is between the covers.

So what tickles your fancy? Is it the plot, the characters, or the beautiful prose? For me, I would say all three, and if you can place all of that in a breathtaking setting, you have a fan for life.

Notice I didn’t mention genre, even though there are certain types I will not read. Horror, vampire and detective novels with lots of blood and gore turn me off. As does erotica.

There was a time when I would have included sci-fi, fantasy and dystopian novels in the list. Then one of my friends decided to venture into worlds unknown and wrote her first sci-fi novel, Story In The Stars, and I was hooked. Then along came Hunger Games and I was drawn in, hook, line, and sinker.

So what was it about these two books in particular that kept me turning the pages?
1. Plot – this has to be compelling enough to keep me reading. While I love descriptive passages, they shouldn’t be so long that they draw me out of the story. Also, even though it is fiction, the plot should be believable.
2. Characters – I must fall in love with them. I must understand their motive and be able to defend them even when they slip up, as real people sometimes do.
3. Prose – Think of it as the special ingredients you add to a meal to make it mouthwatering and appetizing. Every morsel you bite should stimulate your taste buds for more. So it is with your writing. If it is flat, with grammatical errors, typos, lacking flavor, then it will not appeal to your reader no matter how great the story line is.

What kinds of books do you like? What is on your bookshelf or in your kindle right now? If you are looking for a book with a compelling plot, lovable characters, and flavorful prose, pick up a copy of Coming Out of Egypt, now available for just .99c on kindle. Or you can download it for free on Kindle Unlimited.

My E post in the A-Z challenge is for eyestrain, something I know a lot about. And, I daresay, other writers do too. Eyestrain is actually a repetitive injury caused by straining one or more of the eye muscles. This happens through reading, writing, computer use, driving and any other activity which requires holding the eye muscles in one position for a long period. In addition, poor lighting, glare and poor vision can lead to eyestrain.

You can correct eyestrain through surgery, or you can soothe your eyes with eye-wetting drops. I have found yoga eye exercises a good way to deal with sore, burning eyes. These exercises help to relax and strengthen the eye muscles, while relieving tension. They also help to bring much-needed blood flow to the eyes. A good practice is to take breaks from your computer during the day, find a quiet spot and perform these exercises. Your eyes will feel cool and refreshed when you return to work.

If you are interested in learning these exercises, the following video may help: