Like many of us in the copywriting trade, my journey towards this profession began in creative writing classes at school. Crafting stories every week was a rare opportunity to cut loose on something I actually enjoyed.
If, like me, you still have a fiction itch to scratch, I recommend checking out Mash Stories.
They run a free to enter 500 word short story competition with the prize of having your story turned into a podcast and your brief epic shared with all the other ‘Mashers’.
The beauty of Mash Stories is that you have to include three keywords in your story, thus cutting back on the hours otherwise spent devising a story within limitless boundaries.
In the current competition, the keywords you have to include are: carpenter, taxes and vinegar. So if you can think of a clever way of welding (or mashing) them together, why not give Mash Stories a try?
Want to be a fiction writer? Start growing your audience and write 6 books first
I’ve been in Berlin this summer on a working holiday, of sorts. Along with ticking off all the history walks, I’ve been attending workshops (run by the founder of Mash Stories) on how to become a fiction writer.
What I learned was that the days of handing a manuscript to a publisher and waiting for the cash to roll in are truly over. You now have to do all the promotion yourself. This means growing your following, building an email list, managing multiple social media channels, reaching out to influencers etc.
In fact , everything on the ‘to do’ list of today’s content marketer.
So if you ever want to make the jump into fiction, start working on your content marketing skills and growing your following first.
You should also write at least six books before you even think about publishing. The first two will probably be rubbish and you need a back catalogue to upsell if you want to make any money.
Think I’ll stick to copywriting for now.
6 thoughts on “Frustrated Fiction Writer? Unleash Your Creative Talents with ‘Mash Stories’”
Comments are closed.