I’m Bruce Harris and I’m now, I’m happy to say, a published writer of short fiction and poetry. My collection ‘First Flame’ was published in 2013 and includes twenty five stories which have all won prizes, commendations or listings in U.K. competitions, and last year this was followed up by an anthology of published and award-winning poems called ‘Raised Voices’.

I’m also the editor and compiler of Writing Short Fiction, which is aimed at helping people who are where I was when I first decided to make a serious effort at creative writing. The sore eyes in my title can be the lot of aspiring writers everywhere when they’re up against it, as it’s so easy to be in the writing business. I was already retired when I started seriously writing fiction; I’d written educational research-based articles for various papers, including a couple of national dailies, and I thought transferring would be not too difficult.  Ahem. I needed help, particularly when my first efforts were greeted with the blank silence which the internet can do so well. Few of us can do it all on our own, and the more help sites there are around, the better. The short fiction scene is not exactly awash with them.

This one, Short Stops, offers enormous amounts of stuff in all sorts of ways, and my heartfelt congratulations to Tania for putting it together. Thanks also for allowing me to mention another help site, with advice, resources, questionnaires, and most recently, prize-winning fiction contributed by eleven writers. There is also a Tips from the Top section, in which these writers offer their thoughts, techniques, exercises etc. in many different aspects of the short fiction genre. Worth a visit?  Why not?  It’s right there at Writing Short Fiction – no memberships, no passwords required. Be my guest!