Write the Crap Out of It is a book about the craft of short story writing. Each section discusses a particular aspect of the short story writing process and ends with an exercise to put what you have learnt into practice. You really should do all 27 exercises in the book.

Each exercise has been developed to teach and challenge you as a writer. The online writing community on Deadlines For Writers is an extension of this book. Once you have completed your exercises you can post it under your profile on the site. You post one exercise and comment on four other posts for that exercise. It is a wonderful place to learn and grow.

Here are some of the things you will learn:

1. The importance of writing goals
2. What a short story entails
3. How to evaluate short stories
4. How to develop your process
5. What to look for when you read short stories
6. How to start a short story
7. How to create goals for you characters
8. How to figure out the viewpoint character
9. How to create those characters
10. Why is the antagonist so important?
11. How to introduce conflict
12. How to use an easy process
13. How to lengthen and shorten your short story
14. How to show and not tell
15. How to include setting and description
16. How to experiment
17. How to use viewpoint
18. Which tense is the best for your story?

Each one of the topics and exercises will encourage will you to write and explore new stories and then challenge you to rewrite those stories. You really should do all 27 exercises in the book. To join the community you can buy the eBook and follow the sign-up instructions carefully.

I hope you enjoyed this post. It is one in a series of posts celebrating short stories, our online writing community and the launch of this awesome book.