I’m co-chairing our local critique group meeting Monday evening, since our regular chairwoman is on vacation this week. My duties will be keeping track of who’s reading and in which order the critique-ers will speak. This is good, because I don’t think I could handle running the chat room all by myself. SCWA meets every…
Many writers struggle with “writer’s block.” They say they just don’t feel inspired to write, that the muse just isn’t there any longer. I call bullshit on that idea. Writing –professional writing, that is, where you expect a paycheck — isn’t something you only do when you feel the hand of God reaching down from…
Robin Gainey did a great webinar for my writing conference about “First Page Perfect.” Here are some of her suggestions: In the perfect first page, the main character must be sympathetic and introduced in a setting: Here are some things she recommends you not do: Robin says you should read and question. Read your story…
I’m running the short story past the critique group before I submit it to the anthology, so I’m thinking about “What makes a good short story?” First, of course, you need an idea that you can develop into a plot — and no, the two aren’t the same thing. Your idea will be something like…
I’ve sent off three stories so far: The Insecure Writer’s Support Group for their “Dark Matter” anthology, Shoreline of Infinity with a humorous story about velyr at a sci-fi convention, and On The Premises with a story about smells. I’m also working on a story (due tomorrow of course) for my 12 Stories in 12…
Working on a short piece for the Insecure Writers’ Support Group’s Annual Anthology – it’s sci-fi with a theme of “Dark Matter.” You know there are velyr, right? I’ve got a scout Ship that comes out of hyperspace too close to a pulsar. The EM burst shorts out their Augmentation and they have to figure…
This is a short prompt-driven story for a writing challenge I’ve joined. The prompt is Red Lipstick: “Will you shut up and put the damn stuff on already?” Tel ran a hand through his hair and glared at his drummer, blue eyes narrowed. Jason’s brown eyes blazed right back. “I didn’t sign up for this,…
Here’s a short sample of a scene I’ve been working on. Tell and Lontano are flying to Atlanta, Georgia to record their new album with the band. “I could definitely get used to this.” Tell dropped into the window seat and stretched out his long legs. He peered out the window at the tarmac, squinting…
So I tried this writing analysis website recently – I might have found why my science fiction isn’t “grabbing” the editors … I write likeAgatha ChristieAbout Agatha Christie | Analyze your text I mean, I adore Dame Agatha — who doesn’t like a good whodunnit? But shouldn’t I be writing like Isaac Asimov or Robert…