Statistics For February:
Free Subscribers: 1505
Paid Subscribers: 75
Total Cash Payout: $287.50
Total Stories Submitted: 159
February was a much slower month so make sure to tell your friends about our little corner of the internet! Remember, anyone can submit to “shortstorystack@gmail.com” and 50% of all subscriber money goes back to the winning author.
Bonus: 3 Free Websites To Improve Your Writing
The Most Dangerous Writing App
Everyone has struggled with getting that first draft out, and this app solves the problem by increasing the stakes - keep writing, or you are forced to stop your progress. You can still download anything written, but the timer element creates a ticking time bomb in the background.
This app solves the distraction problem since the temptation to check email, online videos, or your phone essentially disappears. It can also solve the tendency for many writers to hop between writing and editing since you need to keep hitting the keys. Keep writing and save the editing for later!
Test it first to get used to it, but this is one of the few productivity hacks that work.
Link: https://www.squibler.io/dangerous-writing-prompt-app
This website helps you write like Hemingway by highlighting the areas where you could improve on clarity, simplicity, and understanding.
Like all tools, this is meant to highlight what you have written in order to make sure it is an artistic choice. Key highlights include using passive voice, adverbs, and overly complex sentences.
Famously, dropping in actual writing by Hemingway still yields areas of improvement.
Link: https://hemingwayapp.com/
This is a thesaurus that is truly unique. I would use it not as a replacement for a traditional thesaurus but as something to use in conjunction. OneLook combs the internet not just for similar words but also words that are only vaguely adjacent. It’s good for when you may be looking less for a word replacement and more of an idea replacement.
For example, the entry for “story” includes both “truth” and “fiction” along with the unexpected entry “portrait.”
Using OneLook, the phrase “to tell a story” can quickly become “to paint with truth and fiction.”
Link: https://www.onelook.com/thesaurus/
Recommendation on Creating Workflow: The next time you need to write, start with the Most Dangerous App, drop the admittedly bad rough draft into Hemingway, and use OneLook and the Webster’s 1913 dictionary to edit and explore.
Enjoy!
-Mike
Thanks, Mike for these great tips.
Thanks for mentioning them. Glad they're free!