https://www.sycoffelt.com/blog daily 0.75 2026-05-26 https://www.sycoffelt.com/blog/writing-a-short-story monthly 0.5 2026-05-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/efbf6838-829c-4156-aa91-1750092f3943/betidraws-wolf-9766240.jpg_Image+by+Betidraws+from+Pixabay.jpg Blog - Writing a Short Story? - In Little Red Riding Hood, Little Red is tasked with taking goodies to grandmother, and warned to follow the straight and narrow path, no matter what. The reader just knows something else is about to happen. Image by Betidraws at Pixabay https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/2dd7b493-2d7f-4f11-b2e9-7accf6318e9b/maxxdionline-doll-9362823.jpg_-Image+by+Mike+Delis+from+Pixabay.jpeg Blog - Writing a Short Story? - Make it stand out Image by Mike Delis at Pixabay https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/ebb7feb2-f1be-43d5-9d8b-f6ec92f0ffb2/majabechert-wheelbarrow-202048.jpg_Image+by+majabechert+from+Pixabay.jpg Blog - Writing a Short Story? - Make it stand out Image by majabechert at Pixabay https://www.sycoffelt.com/blog/writing-short-fiction-for-publication monthly 0.5 2026-04-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/34c3f9d6-25a6-40e2-a906-489d45a57121/trek_jason-butterfly-7949342.jpg_Jason+from+Pixabay.jpg Blog - How I Learned to Write Short Fiction for Publication - Make it stand out Image by Jason at Pixabay https://www.sycoffelt.com/blog/why-i-write-horror-stories monthly 0.5 2026-03-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/aff235fc-57a7-4e07-8f81-9e0774b82fb5/image1+%282%29.jpeg Blog - Why I Write Horror Stories - Make it stand out Susan Higgins is an illustrator and writer whose work explores the interior landscape of human experience through both image and narrative. https://www.sycoffelt.com/blog/planting-amp-drafting-weeding-amp-editing monthly 0.5 2026-02-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/d93c3d29-d086-4d7a-a8be-005a7432ee90/IMG_4429.JPG Blog - Gardening & Writing: Mostly the Same - For me, once I’ve prepared the soil, I lose my mind a little and plant where the seedlings or seeds lead. One year, I planted delicata squash with melons and ended up with a mess of squash bugs. Lesson learned. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/c7e78fde-0e79-459b-ba02-4bf17d580b87/summa-work-in-the-garden-2432111_1920+%281%29.jpg_Image+by+Maria+from+Pixabay.jpg Blog - Gardening & Writing: Mostly the Same - To make the task easier I’ve tried a hoe, a hori hori garden knife, a cultivator, a dandelion weeder, and sometimes a shovel. Sadly, there’s no good way to get rid of weeds, and did I mention they simply grow back? (Image by Maria from Pixabay) https://www.sycoffelt.com/blog/gardening-amp-writing-amazingly-the-same-january-31-2026 monthly 0.5 2026-01-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/7c454d6c-9d31-4cf3-877b-d9cfa43552d3/488892335_4079115905680897_5413389699697636077_n.jpg Blog - Gardening & Writing: Amazingly the Same - Patient Preparation Back when I decided to leave corporate America for an acreage in rural Kansas, the person taking my job gave me a farewell gift, a plaque that read, “If you have a library and a garden, you have everything you need.” I amended “library” to “PC.” I mean, the library is a given. Right? I intended to spend this next part of my life trying to live out my childhood dream to write novels. But spending all day every day inside felt unhealthy. So, I made gardening my hobby. Imagine my surprise on discovering how much writing and gardening demand the same skills and mindset. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/93f3fc57-1df1-431d-875a-abf643551092/IMG_5462.JPG Blog - Gardening & Writing: Amazingly the Same - For years, I watched my next door neighbor till his soil (he had a tractor) and plant seedlings, only to repeat this effort when spring rains rotted his baby plants. Thinking I knew the solution to the rain flooded garden, I had my husband build raised beds, then brought in topsoil. Prepping the soil was hard work, but also hard was deciding what to write. Did I have a worthy premise to become a novel? If you’ve followed me from the start, you already know that early on I switched to short fiction. Rather than drowning myself with the ins and outs of a novel, I decided (somewhat naively) that starting with short stories would be easier. It turned out, though that my raised beds idea worked. I only planted once each season despite the spring floods. Choosing short fiction also ended up being the right direction for me. I wrote 30 plus short stories that first year, and of these, six were eventually published. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/1cb844e5-901a-45cc-bbca-55374f1d1418/IMG_5176.JPG Blog - Gardening & Writing: Amazingly the Same - The End Result The end result in both gardening and writing, depends on how you begin. If you want luscious produce, if you want a story that sticks with readers, pay attention to starting with strong seedlings and a solid premise. Next Month Planting and drafting might as well be the same thing. Ditto for weeding and editing. Look for the blog on February28, 2026. https://www.sycoffelt.com/blog/writing-every-day monthly 0.5 2025-12-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/202c760a-bf28-4e99-bafa-3060798e3a61/pencil-1891732_1280.jpg_Image+by+congerdesign+from+Pixabay.jpg Blog - Writing Every Day? - Thirty years ago, I took a job that combined supervision with grant writing and learned to juggle managing a team with looming deadlines. About ten years in, I took a more straightforward job in a larger organization, writing grants and business proposals. Deadlines, often extremely short deadlines, governed my work life. By necessity, I wrote for hours every weekday and often weekends. (Image by congerdesign from Pixabay) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/9cbd82e3-092a-4232-93c4-aa8cb979a9bd/woman-3599869_1280.jpg_Image+by+Enrique+Meseguer+from+Pixabay.jpg Blog - Writing Every Day? - Wondering how to nurture your creative soul? Practicing three habits daily help me and may help you. (Image by Enrique Meseguer from Pixxabay) https://www.sycoffelt.com/blog/why-i-write-short-stories monthly 0.5 2025-11-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/f0481e7b-cf63-4fb0-8ba7-8724dd9ab915/working-791849_640.jpg Blog - Why I Write Short Stories - Make it stand out Image by Karolina Grabowska from Pixaby https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/d46d665f-4871-420f-b1e1-277f2b811a9b/muslim-7520627_640.jpg_Image+by+Iqbal+Nuril+Anwar+from+Pixabay.jpg Blog - Why I Write Short Stories - Make it stand out Image by Iqbal Nuril Anwar from Pixabay https://www.sycoffelt.com/blog/cllgygj8r3ms8s8cctj43ic5a5uyuv monthly 0.5 2025-10-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/a047bdaa-5c9d-4e1d-b9bf-18162288b320/AdobeStock_1464287543.jpeg Blog - Writing in the Dark - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.sycoffelt.com/about-me daily 0.75 2025-10-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/5b4667b0-e591-4ea0-abcc-65f3362d8b7e/SYCoffelt-1.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/cd586d69-b023-4fc8-9d30-ed3bfcdc419a/AdobeStock_1294840883.jpeg https://www.sycoffelt.com/contact-us daily 0.75 2025-10-29 https://www.sycoffelt.com/home daily 1.0 2025-12-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/2fe28237-6ad1-4afd-a8a6-dc014cef2632/LSQ_3D_PB.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/77110853-7852-4746-9a92-2d01e1d3b3c1/DarkMoonDigest.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/d48bc3f0-4e92-4dfe-94b6-d1cc865e3722/FallIntoFantasy2025.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/887ea3f7-69e5-4c22-89d1-fca8354ac1dc/StupefyingStories.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/f9199466-e0af-488d-961c-ce60643e1d5e/The_Lost_Librarians_Grave.jpg https://www.sycoffelt.com/novel daily 0.75 2025-12-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/2fe28237-6ad1-4afd-a8a6-dc014cef2632/LSQ_3D_PB.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/d0cec8c1-80e3-449e-a0c0-bf25e07c3c7d/LicensePlate+copy.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/4ecf3c0a-b7eb-41b7-b1ee-5760c4c4c32f/AdobeStock_1641003082.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/130a37d2-84ab-492b-a8e0-b51705e0c1ba/AdobeStock_888033543.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/a047bdaa-5c9d-4e1d-b9bf-18162288b320/AdobeStock_1464287543.jpeg https://www.sycoffelt.com/stories daily 0.75 2026-05-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/45a5519a-b01f-44e6-8136-02f2951103b6/Spells___Fangs_official_book_cover.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/4191fbaa-ace9-4f28-8a7c-be13b18806da/Arcanist.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/77110853-7852-4746-9a92-2d01e1d3b3c1/DarkMoonDigest.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/de43007c-d90d-4a1b-bad2-26acc6a57b17/CockroachConservatory2.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/00c74f4d-0d4b-4d65-8e2e-f8a025dc5ec5/AudientVoid-9.webp Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/c5421ae9-35e9-41ba-9533-f8e1094e9b92/LastGirlsClub9.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/ed97c26b-b9b7-4490-bb5f-51f681a608cb/LastGirlsClub8.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/f9199466-e0af-488d-961c-ce60643e1d5e/The_Lost_Librarians_Grave.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/d48bc3f0-4e92-4dfe-94b6-d1cc865e3722/FallIntoFantasy2025.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/f6f225c1-2a02-4a09-a28c-a8d978749a10/Tales-of-Fear.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/807e2470-89aa-4dd9-a891-2714ab2a478e/Lycanthropicon.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/c6d3fe19-beea-47a7-a8b1-8a8c05114087/Noncorporeal-III.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/887ea3f7-69e5-4c22-89d1-fca8354ac1dc/StupefyingStories.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/9890c8c9-f000-4468-a526-37653074df90/Accursed.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/687fc6e862a1a562d5b82dc8/b4948535-173b-4f8d-98b1-fdd5cb45b79e/Pocketful_of_Posies.jpg Stories