15 Days to Write and Submit a Short Story: Workbook

by J.H. Bunting

A companion to the #1 bestselling writing reference book, Let's Write a Short Story!. A workbook for writers who want a step-by-step guide to writing and publishing short stories. 15 Days to Write and Submit a Short Story is packed with more than 25 prompts, a dozen quotes from famous authors, and 57 pages of practical inspiration. After just a little more than two weeks, you will have written and submitted a short story. We will also How to dissect literary magazines to understand what they want to publish.Edgar Allen Poe’s advice for writing a powerful short story.How to know when your story is finished and good enough for publication.How to avoid having your work rejected in the first 30-seconds.

Genres: Writing

41 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2014

About the author

JH Bunting is a bestselling author, novelist, and dad. He leads The Write Practice, an award-winning community of creative writers. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia with his wife Talia and three kids and enjoys coffee and corpse reviver no. 2s. You can follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting) and find his creative writing under the name Joe Bunting.

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it interesting initially how it was broken down into small "assignments". Unfortunately, I'm not sure that the method is feasible to an average person. It just encourages basics that most people know which is if you want to write better then you need to write everyday.

[Kristi Hudecek-Ashwill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a how-to guide on writing an effective short story and actually get it published. It didn't take long to read, but implementing the ideas will take 15 days. It's meant to be used with the book, "Let's Write a Short Story" by the same author.

I never make New Year's resolutions. I despise doing it because I always fail. However, this year, I am determined to get published again. I have been published twice, but not since 2015. I'd like to change that. I think this workbook and the book that goes with it will help me. I'm going to try until I make it.

This book is filled with great tips, helpful links, and sound advice. Take a half an hour to read it and put it to work. It might be the best thing you can do for your writing career.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plenty of helpful tips for writers looking to get started with short stories, even if the time frame seems daunting. You can benefit from this even if you don't read the companion book. Experienced writers will probably find it very basic. The book would have been improved by a section on watching out for dishonest publishers and unreasonable contract terms.

Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book through StoryCartel in exchange for this unbiased review.

[Josiah DeGraaf · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got this book in some writing ebook bundle. Problem was I didn't realize it was only a workbook to another ebook until after I finished reading this book, and I don't have the main book this is based on. =P The workbook alone was not very helpful, but that's probably because it wasn't meant to be stand-alone. I'll re-visit this review once I get the chance to pick up and read Bunting's main book.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

The formatting is off, which is kind of annoying. At 41 pages, it is also short enough that it could have been easily incorporated into "Let's Write a Short Story" without making people buy an entirely new book It also refers to the book a few times instead of explaining the concept discussed. Therefore, while useful if you don't know how to begin or if you need help breaking down writing into daily tasks, I wouldn't recommend actually purchasing it.

[Deborah Trahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joe Bunting offers more than common sense in this workbook that writers can put to work immediately. I appreciate Bunting's no-nonsense approach to crafting a well-written short story, as well as the quotations from his favorite authors such as Gaiman, King, Faulkner, and O'Connor.

[Lyvita]

I have the paperback book as well. This is my go to when I begin to drift. I have set up a cheat sheet in my binder using these guidelines. Thanks for the help Joseph Bunting.

[Marichus Real · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was given a gifted copy by Story Cartel in exchange for an honest review.
I am not a writer, but I’m a reader who was curious about the book. However, it is more a summary of a book than a proper book.
It has some good advice; to read out the work and see how it sounds. On the other hand, sometimes is so ambiguous I don’t think the writer-to-be is going to understand; “Add specificity and depth to the scene” How the hell I’m going to do this? is what the writer-to-be would think.
One thing I don’t like is “However, be sure to choose whom you imitate carefully. For example, you may not want to imitate Stephenie Meyer or E.L. James.” I don’t understand why the author says that. Maybe he doesn’t like them. They probably are not the best writers ever but both of them have sold millions of books and that is one great reason to respect them. If the story is catching and interesting, readers can forgive typos and lack of style.
One piece of advice, please check this sentence: Day 5 “The old person he used to be must to be destroyed,...”

[Lizette Vega · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book free in exchange for an honest review. Over the last few days, I have heard a lot about Mr. Bunting and his work. The gentleman comes highly recommended for his writing wisdom. Although 15 Days to Write and Submit a Short Story: Workbook advises the reader to work through a chapter at a time (or one hour a day), I read it in one sitting to get the gist of the program. Overall, there is nothing disagreeable about the book; there are useful tips and writing prompts included. However, the book left me wanting more. Granted, 15 Days is an accompaniment to the Let’s Write a Short Story, and is not a solo act; even so, I felt like the content would have been more valuable at the end of the chapters in the regular book. Somehow, I don’t believe there is enough subject matter in the workbook to warrant a second book.

[Chigozie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the frankness and bluntness of the language in which it was written and the urge to take action, even if one was not in the mood to do so. It made a good read, but left me craving for more (the main text, I guess - which was referred to often in the workbook). I would have liked to review the book and not the workbook so I will try to get a copy of the book. I also liked the brevity and the simple language in which it was written.

I recommend this workbook to writers who have read the book itself. Using the two books will be a lot more helpful than reading the workbook alone. I received a free copy from Story Cartel in return for an honest appraisal. This is an honest appraisal.

[Ana SC · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a digital copy from Story Cartel in exchange of an honest review. Honestly, I find it a good starting point for someone who has no background with creative prompts or writing methods. However, past beginners, I think the book lacked some actual content. The division is well done, easy to comprehend, but too practical for someone who needs a greater view of the method - it's great to be practical, but not this much on a help guide.

[Tivra]

I received this book from Story Cartel in exchange for my review. I am a fan of Joe Bunting's Write Practice and was happy to have this copy for review. I like the practical touch of it. It felt just not that much material although it is probably the nature of these kind of books. I will go through the practices later myself.

[Aimee DuFresne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good guide for those looking for some structure to their writing process. Best for new writer's and those looking to begin writing but keep procrastinating. I received a copy of this book from Story Cartel in exchange for my honest review.

[Leticia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has an interesting overview of the process of writing, editing and submitting a short story. You can read it quickly and it isn't deeply detailed but it's good as a workbook on setting up a system for writing short stories.