Ruyi's World of Books & Stories

Lots of us write short stories. But when we think of making money from our writing, we tend to get hung up on the idea of publishing a novel—or, better yet, a series of novels. Short stories are ways to explore new ideas and techniques or are giveaways for our email newsletter readers, but they don’t pay the bills. Not so fast. For a long time, short stories were actually a fiction writer’s best way to break into paying work, and they can still form a strong part of your author career. Selling short fiction into paying markets nets you exposure, new readers, and, oh yeah, some cash! Sure, most literary magazines and fiction markets don’t pay a ton, but it never hurts to add another tool to your kit, giving you another distribution channel and a way to bolster your professional career. There are new literary magazines opening all the time, especially online, and so it’s impossible to come up with a definitive list of all the paying markets currently accepting submissi...

Getting paid to write is the goal of every dedicated author—and it’s even better if you can get paid to write only a couple of words at a time. That frees you up to go write more things elsewhere, keep your releases coming regularly, and always be providing your fans with new work to enjoy. This is one of the reasons flash fiction is so great. We’ve talked before about what flash fiction is and how you can use it to promote your books, but did you know you can also get paid to write super-short stories? Paid Flash Fiction Markets Believe it or not, there are actually quite a few paying markets for flash fiction! You’ll never make as much as you would selling a novel or a short story, but you can get paid to write flash fiction and start building your publishing credits up. If you belong to a writing marketplace website like Poets & Writers , Writers Digest , or Duotrope , you can search their listings for magazines and journals that are currently accepting flash fic...

The shootings had alerted the guards at the station in the national park. Cameras had been mounted on all corners in the park. One of the guards in the control room checked the monitors to find out what led to the shooting. He saw Dante chasing an intruder in one of the monitors. Then, he picked up his handset and called Sizwe, the head of operations. Sizwe was in the next office reading a newspaper when his phone rang. He dropped the paper by his side and grabbed his handset from the table. “WHAT?” Sizwe answered the call. He sat up, gazing at the ceiling. “We have an intruder!” the man in the control room disclosed. He yawned. “Where?” asked Sizwe and adjusted. “I think he came for Dante!” “The rhino?” “Yes, sir.” “SHIT!” Sizwe banged the table as his countenance fell. “Keep your eyes open and watch his movement. Keep me updated. I am going there right away!” Sizwe dropped the call. He placed his handset in his pocket. He rose from the chair and made for the door. Onc...

Matthew 3:17 English Standard Version (ESV): And behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” "He was still speaking when behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” - Matthew 17:5 As said in the maiden edition of this series: "children are born. Sons are given," Isaiah 9:6. God's earnest desire is that we grow to be sons, know whom we are to Him so He can present us to the world Himself.  And then we can exercise Kingdom authority with discretionary powers to bring His Kingdom's will on earth or the territories we reside. The presenting of son are backed up by the command: 'Listen to him!" Even without the command, the authority of the one doing the presentation suffices in determining the degree of power to be wielded by the son (Person) presented. It means, "This person is an...

For some inexplicable reasons, Sahara Reporters seem to be veering off the track of ethical and consecutive journalism into something undefinable with each passing day. It's quite un fortunate that the prolific and fiery SR, a very reputable online magazine that used to be a frontline warrior in social activism should find it worthy to discard professionalism and patriotism in favour of cheap and divisive kind of journalism by propagating unverifiable inciting materials which may unleash a dangerous mayhem that could set Nigeria ablaze for the second time.  One will expect SR, an entity considered by many as a reliable source of information, to exercise caution and restraint while enlightening or entertaining the public if not for the sake of its reputation at least, for the sake of innocent people who will pay with their lives any unleashed misadventure. Having arrived this far, I also expect SR to keep its objectives in tandem with the noble objectives of journalism that has alw...

First I want to appeal to Almighty Allah to help me in this song not to deviate, these useless children of thieves and unemployed. Igbos in Nigeria have no sun. Chorus: Igbos (Inyamirin) are ungrateful people and fools Igbos are a curse to Nigeria, whose existence and birth as a people in Nigeria is useless, that abortion is greater than the birth of the bastards. Let’s drag and drag and see who will sleep in the sun, Igbo land, in the beginning, has no name, they were helped to get name and identity. And that’s the beginning of their trouble. Chorus: Igbos (Inyamirin) are ungrateful people and fools Igbos are a curse to Nigeria, whose existence and birth as a people in Nigeria is useless, that abortion is greater than the birth of the bastards. Please let’s ask, who is an Igbo, it’s Igbo that suffered and said he needs water and that’s how we started calling them Inyamuri. Chorus: Igbos are a curse to Nigeria, whose existence and birth as a people in Nigeria is usele...

The idea of humanity was first developed by the Greeks in the 5th century BC. They conceived mankind as a group defined beyond gender, race, and class, by a characteristic common to all humanity. To the Greeks, that characteristic, which held humanity together was ‘reason’ . This idea was further developed by the Romans who added virtues such as sympathy and kindliness to the Greek’s conceptualization of humanity. Thus, since Greco-Roman antiquity, to be human has meant one thing: being civilized i.e. having good habits, and governing one’s life rationally. One was not born human. One had to become human, through the indoctrination of attributes such as good habits and through the liberal disciplines that during the Italian Renaissance (14th-16th century AD) came to be called the ‘humanities’. About 500 years after the Renaissance period, by the year 2039 AD, the concept of humanity- and the world as we know it- will be buried in the sand of times. Gone will be halcyon days...