Arthur Klepchukov's Writing
Join my revision workshop on October 15, 2022 from 5:00 - 6:30pm Eastern: Still staring at the same words for your next draft? Learn how to revise in this playful, hands-on workshop by experimenting with techniques that go beyond writing–like creating movie posters, floor plans, caricatures, mind maps, and typography bombs. Your next draft needs… Continue reading Attend My Revision Workshop at The Writer Unboxed OnConference
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash When are traditions worth breaking? When can they heal other patterns that hurt? My latest short story publication, "Evergreen Promises," explores these questions and appears in print in Palooka #12: Evergreen Promises “I’ll never buy a real Christmas tree again,” I say as I flip on the car’s emergency lights. “Huh?” My stepdaughter… Continue reading Acceptance Isn’t Always Publication, or How “Evergreen Promises” Got Published
I love how fiction warps the mind. Today's example… I think I only dream in present tense, though time is surreal in dreams. When recounting a dream, I think I do so in past tense, though with the occasional foray into present tense. Surely some dreams are exciting enough to relay in real time. The… Continue reading Dream Tense
Photo by Tapio Haaja on Unsplash Can flash fiction be a pensive cup of slowly sipped tea, among all the espresso shots of flash fiction? Pull up a chair on the balcony and let's find out. My latest publication, "Imperfect Balconies," appears in Nevermore Journal. The story is free to read online. Here is the opening: Imperfect BalconiesWhen… Continue reading How a Neglected Setting Led to my Quietest Flash Fiction Publication
What makes a boy grow up to become an arsonist? My first co-written short story, "sparkbirth," is now published in Down & Out: The Magazine. Here are the opening lines: sparkbirthWhen I turned eleven, Mom forgot to buy more birthday candles. So instead of eleven little sticks, I got two. She pretended 1 + 1 made… Continue reading How Writing a Screenplay with My Best Friend Led to Our First Story Publication
Happy New Year! My latest flash fiction publications, "afterglow" and "Dialing Islands," are published this morning in MacQueen's Quinterly. Both are free to read online. Here are the openings of both stories: afterglowShe wonders aloud what his orgasms are like. He lacks the clarity to inhabit what just happened, but he wants to try before the… Continue reading “afterglow” and “Dialing Islands” Published in MacQueen’s Quinterly
aisles of ideas is a 2-minute short film that answers "what does the library mean to you?" Watch aisles of ideas below or on Vimeo: The film premiered at the KCLS Reel Fest on Monday, September 28, 2020 and earned 3rd Place! Watch the other lovely films from the premiere: https://youtu.be/Z0JF_aPWbqs Congrats to everyone who… Continue reading Awarded 3rd Place in Library Film Festival
What does the library mean to you? That was the question posed by King County Library System (KCLS) Reel Fest in January. I had 2 minutes to answer on film. I got my family to help. Together, we made "aisles of ideas." We shared my experiences reading inspiring words, writing, submitting, and seeing it go… Continue reading Attend my Short Film Premiere Monday, Sept 28
How do you say goodbye to a brief universe inside you? Find out in my latest flash fiction, "Glimmering Sidewalks," published in the first zine from The Racket: Quarantine Journal. What amount of effort went into getting "Glimmering Sidewalks" published? 300 words2 drafts15 submissions14 rejections, 6 encouraging rejections These numbers are on par with my… Continue reading How Leaving San Francisco Got Me Published… in a San Francisco Zine
How much does chivalry really cost on a summer night where young ideals are alive and well? Find out the dollar answer and its unexpected justification in "The Price of Chivalry," my most recent short story publication, available now in From Whispers to Roars: Volume 2, Issue 2. What amount of effort went into getting… Continue reading How Long Did It Take for My First Submittable Acceptance to be Published?
What happens when a luggage thief picks the wrong target on the early-morning airport train? Dive into the mind of a snarky antagonist in "A Damn Fine Town," my first short story publication, available now in Down & Out: The Magazine, Vol. 1, Issue 4.
A brief conversation with a lone songbird in downtown San Francisco. A vulnerable state before free fall. I explore these ideas in my latest flash fiction publications "Dawnsong" and "lying is the girl" out now in KYSO Flash.
Why should a novel writer devote precious writing time to short stories? After five novel drafts, two years of submitting shorter fiction, and seven publications, here are my reasons.
What expectations transcend distance and life changes? I explore that in under 400 words in my latest flash fiction publication, "Reading Willow" in The Common. What amount of effort went into getting "Reading Willow" published? 2 drafts5 submissions2 rejections2 withdrawals These are lucky numbers, especially given that this story didn't earn any encouraging rejections. Read on… Continue reading “Reading Willow” Published in The Common
What can a newborn teach his father about shaving? Read my latest flash fiction publication, "bleedin’ peach" in KYSO Flash. Also, see the effort that went into getting this story published.
I've attended and hosted Shut Up & Write(!) meetups in the San Francisco Bay Area since 2013. Now I'm starting a D.C. meetup.
My first online publication appears in Necessary Fiction. "Rivet Here" is a story is about a new kind of relationship that blossoms in a small town when all the men leave for World War II. Read the story and its journey to publication.
Accomplishments come with costs. These were mine for 2017.
Speaking of sharing rejections, check out this anti-resumé.
Within an hour of our IndieGogo campaign meeting its goal, I got a call telling me I’d been awarded a North Carolina Arts Council Artist Fellowship. It’s a huge, huge honor. It’s also the fourth time I’ve applied for it, and to me, that’s part of why it’s an honor.
A couple years ago I was having dinner with a playwright, Bekah Brunstetter, and her director David Shmidt Chapman. We talked about how rejection is just part of the landscape for all beginning artists, no matter how talented or hardworking they might be or how successful they might appear. David said he’d love to publish his “anti-résumé” someday—a list of all the things he didn’t get.
Ever since, I’ve wanted to publish my own. So I’ve gone through the last six years’ worth of spreadsheets in both prose and playwriting, to literary journals, workshops, conferences, theaters, graduate schools, play…
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What it took to get to my first published piece of fiction.
Arsenal of Words 