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Take a story by a writer you really, really admire - preferably a short short story that won't take for ever to reproduce. Analyze it in minute detail: from word choice to sentence length. Now, choose a different setting and different characters with different dreams from that of the originals, and write a copycat story, following the exact structure and tone of the original.

New Australian publisher of short stories and novellas. Must be by a Brisbane writer or have some connection to Brisbane. Pays $10 for a story and wants all world-wide rights for a year after the anthology is published, then rights revert to the author.

Site of a local writer of short stories and flash fiction.

I've belonged to this for more than ten years. It is a huge community of people who write, at all levels of experience. Mostly Americans, but many from all around the English-speaking world. There is a free course you can do to see if you like it, before paying to join. If you join, there are many interest groups, self-moderated. I belong to one focusing on literary short story writing, invitation only, full at the moment and not taking members. There are groups writing every kind of genre you can think of. The standard varies hugely from group to group, and from course to course.

In summary: write for 25 minutes bursts with short breaks in between. Time it properly and focus on your work.

A fabulous post by YA author Libba Bray on her writing (or not) process. Hilarious but true. Recommended reading.

I spent ages one day checking the dates on my spices and tossing out the ones that were old. At the end of that time I had no writing and lots of empty spice bottles - in alphabetical order. I loved this article. I'm sticking to short stories. Novels sound even more horrifying to try to produce.