How I Write

From Ideas to Completed Project

Everyone has a different approach to writing. Jeff Ambrose just posted a short note on how he massages ideas into various stories. Read his slant on the matter and see what you think. I believe whatever works for you is great. But if you need help getting off dead center, then experiment - try different approaches to getting a story from brain to paper. Dean Wesley Smith, for example, is in the midst of a 100 short story challenge and he starts with a title and goes from there. 


A lot of times I will just start writing based on an intriguing scenario. I simply start off with an opening hook (usually in media res) that grabs a reader’s attention. Well, my attention anyway.  And then I fill out that opening scene or develop the main character in order to get the story going and until I run out of steam (usually at 500 to 1000 words).  At this point I let my story idea(s) simmer a bit (and maybe gather more ideas) and return to the manuscript later with a basic plot and very often an ending in mind. 


This second step can come on the heels of writing my opening hook or many weeks later – or even longer! If you've seen my WIP list, you know I have a bunch of story starts just waiting around for my subconscious brain to return to them. Now, if I know the ending then I can power through on my third swipe at the story and maybe have something worth reading by the time I come up for air. Ambrose calls this the 'idea honing' stage. If I don’t know the ending of the story, I’ll just keep cycling back (I edit as I go) until I get there and discover what just happened. If I'm happy with the result, it's a wrap. If not, I go back and simmer.


That’s my current approach, at any rate. It may change as I move from short stories to novellas and on to novels. How do you go about the writing process?

Indie Publishing Bootcamp

The bullet points for this post are completely "borrowed" from David Gaughran's recent post, Why Is My Book Not Selling? Go ahead and visit David's site for an expanded discussion, but for now, read the summary below and let me know if we've missed anthing.

(These points, btw, have been borrowed in one form or another from other successful writers. Feel free to rework them for your own purposes and spread the word to emerging writers everywhere who will benefit by these basic principles of indie publishing.)

So, what does it take to find and keep an audience for your stories? Here's a 2 minute bootcamp (we might call it Publishing 101):

• Write a compelling story. Find your voice and use it. Readers will discover your unique storytelling style if you write enough material and make it available. Get some beta readers to proof and edit even if you're good at this yourself. 
• Create or purchase great cover art. Catch your potential readers' interest with professional artwork that doubles as a paperback cover as well as an icon for online browsing (ie, it has and easy to read title and byline).
• Write a fantastic blurb. Typically the blurb introduces the reader to the main character, hints at the story's crisis, and hooks the reader with your creative voice. Entice, don't explain.
• Price your story right. You may need to experiment here, but the current shake down seems to be that short stories sell for 99 cents to $1.50; short collections of stories and novellas run from $1.99 to $3.99; longer collections and novels start at $4.99 and go up from there. Test it and see.
• Provide a free sample. Called try before you buy. Make 10% to 20% of your story available for preview or free download. Also, if you post a free short story (called a loss leader) include one or more samples of your longer works along with links for easy purchase.
• Format properly. Experiment with Smashword's meat grinder until you get it right. Then take what you've learned and upload your Kindle version. Make it available as a paperback POD as well. Hit all the outlets you can...which is really part of the last bullet...
• Learn to market - but not at the expense of writing your next story. Download Gaughran's PDF version of Let's Get Digital for free. It's a great summary of "how to self-publish and why you should."  

So. Are those all the basics you've heard of? I can probably come up with a few more that may form the basis of Indie Publishing 102. But this will get us started for now. Feel free to add your two cents. And let's begin selling our best.

(Note: I cross posted this blog entry elsewhere online.)

Top Secret Project

Well, I guess it's not super secret anymore since I'm telling you a bit about it, but the reason I haven't blogged for a few days is that I'm plotting out a series of interrelated, or serial, novellas.

The style will be quite different than my normal fun and fancy. I guess I'd describe the genre as gritty realism (thriller/suspense/psychological), with multiple flashbacks, and told by an unreliable narrator.

Speaking of which, do you like unreliable narrators? Does the storytelling keep you guessing or make you mad?

Grammar Nazi BeGone!

or The Confessions of a Former Grammar Nazi

Yep, I was one. I use to believe that grammar rules were absolute. But times have changed and so have I. Or rather, the rules have changed and I finally got a clue. Let's say it together: Grammar - that indefinable set of examples of syntax and word usage - changes over time.

That's right, indefinable. Oh, we claim there is this thing called Standard English Usage. But who decides just exactly what is standard at this point in time? What passes as standard here in America is different than the standard in Great Britain.

Now, granted, we all utilize a kind of Textus Receptus of English vocabulary, sentence structure, spelling norms, etc. All well and good. As a result of this usage we've developed a set of "rules" that explain what we've come up with. They tell us how we've been using English after the fact. Did you catch that? These "rules" are descriptive in nature. Not prescriptive.

Bottom line? What passes as proper grammar is simply not written in stone. But many people insist that it is. Meet the grammar police. They'll correct you if you write or say something that doesn't jibe with their sense of propriety. They have rules and they're sticking with 'em.

Well, I have rules too. In future posts - consider this an occasional series - I'll tackle a few examples of what I think are just dumb grammar practices that some insist should be standard practices for everyone everywhere. Feel free to participate. But if you're into hard and fast rules, beware. I may turn my new anti-snooty cream on you: Grammar Nazi BeGone!

PS This is all in good fun, btw. Future discussion will likely include split infinitives, place of prepositions, double negatives, text-speak, etc. What are some of your most passionate beliefs regarding grammar?

Duffy vs Adele

In this corner, Duffy weighs in with her debut album, Rockferry (2008). This album boasts some great songs, even though the radio hit "Mercy" (a good song, mind you) gave the wrong impression as to the totality of the album's style. "Warwick Avenue" is more representative of the collection's feel and showcases Duffy's range, vocal strength, and versatility. "Distant Dreamer" is probably my favorite song (it builds, baby, it builds), but "Stepping Stone" is a haunting tune and lyric. I like the variety of song styles on this CD as it provides something for every mood. Rockferry is a great debut album, too bad her 2010 Endlessly didn't do as well - I probably would have bought it if I'd been reminded of it on the radio.

In the opposite corner is Adele boasting her second studio album 21 (2011). I'm a bit behind the curve here having only recently purchased her CD, evidently a followup to 19, her debut from 2008. Both titles are indicative of her age at production, which underscores how remarkably mature her voice is for her age and experience. The first track (and radio release), "Rolling in the Deep," is a good song and a fair representative of the rest of the album's sound, but it is a bit repetitive. In fact, most of the songs rely on a catchy hook and then play it for all its worth. The other radio hits are "Set Fire to the Rain" and "Someone Like You" but my favorite is probably "Turning Tables." I like this collection overall, but the songs do start to sound the same after awhile.

So, which album is better? Duffy vs. Adele. Imagine a Venn Diagram (I'm introducing Compare/Contrast to my 6th grade Language Arts class).

First of all, they're both young women with moving and inspiring voices. They both sing a popular form of "new blues" or Motown-inspired British soul. They're both from England (okay, okay, Duffy is Welsh). And both albums are about the loss of love and the "screw you, I'm over you" feminine independence of our current and last decade (think of them as providing the soundtrack for Sex and the City). Oh, and the cover art for each album features the singer in b/w with downcast eyes. The disappointment of unrequited love!

+ Typical lyric from Duffy: "I will never be your stepping stone. Take it all or leave me alone." (4th track, "Stepping Stone")

+ Typical lyric from Adele: "Next time I'll be braver, I'll be my own savior standing on my own two feet." (3rd track, "Turning Tables")

There are differences as well. As alluded to, Adele's song selection is consistent in the new blues tone and style whereas Duffy's album is a mix of rhythm, blues, soul, and pop. I think Duffy's range is greater since Adele starts to whine a bit in the higher register. And...hmm, I'm sure there are other differences, but this post is already running longer than usual.So you'll have to do your own Venn diagram. Or T-chart. And let me know.

Bottom line. If you like one, you'll probably like the other; their albums round out this corner of the contemporary female pop/blues genre. What's my preference? Well, if you put an MP3 player to my head and told me to choose, I'd have to lean toward Duffy. Can you say the same?

Fill Your Submission Pipeline

Writing is a pipeline business. To get acceptances to come out the one end you have to push submissions into the top of the line. Push. And keep pushing. Don't think one little sub is going to be an oil gusher.

I think beginner writers - and many of us who can no longer be considered beginners - make a common mistake:  we put our little baby in the top of the pipeline then run around to the other end and look for it. Helloooo in there. Where are you little story? Did you get accepted yet?

Then, 3 months later, a little fart escapes out the pipe's end, a depressing, hissing noise that lets us know our story was declined. So we mourn that little story's passing for a few months until we get up the courage to put it (or another one we finally finished) into the top of the pipeline. And we run around to the end again to wait, call, beg, wonder, fume...

That's called Riding the Pipeline to Heck method of submitting stories. One at a time. Wait, worry, wilt. Repeat. Yikes!

Here's the reality. You want acceptances to come out the back end of the pipeline? You have to stuff the front end. Truth is, a number of stories will get lost in there. But if you keep the pipeline full of activity (writing more stories, submitting more stories), then inevitably you'll start getting a flow of acceptances.

Simple business model. Keep the pipeline full.

Are you a writer or an author?

Great post at Dean Wesley Smith on Writer vs Author.

— A Writer is a person who writes. — An Author is a person who has written. — A Writer is always focused on the story they are writing at the moment, always focused on the story coming next to write. — A Writer is always focused on the future. — An Author is always focused on what they have written. — An Author is always focused into the past. — A Writer is a person who writes the next story. — An Author is a person who spends their time promoting their last story. — A Writer gets feedback from the simple act of writing and finishing stories. — An Author must get feedback from external sources such as reviews, sales, promotions, editors, workshops, and so on.

And some final thoughts from Dean:

Each person must decide why they write. Is it to be published and get acclaim?  Then you are more than likely an Author. If you write because you love to tell stories, love the fear and the joy and the excitement of entertaining yourself while telling stories, then you are more than likely a Writer.

It Wasn't Rejected, It Was Declined

Okay, so maybe it's a matter of semantics. But you have to admit, rejection has such a negative connotation that even saying the word is difficult. It feels personal and permanent. Loser. Unworthy. Reject. See what I mean?

I prefer the word declined. This seems less personal. Passive, in fact. Do you want some more mashed potatoes? No thanks, I'll decline. No big deal. Passing on a good thing for now. You're potatoes were wonderful, Aunt Molly, really. I'm just stuffed. Hear what I'm saying?

That being said, I got my first reje...er, declination of 2012. I felt sad...for a few seconds...for the market that passed on my story! Then I turned around and submitted it to another magazine.

In fact, I was hoping I'd get the inevitable out of the way early in the year. Since Christmas I've sent 7 stories "off to market" and have been sort of waiting for the shoe to drop. Well, the first publication (of many, I'm sure) to decline one of my stories finally came through and we can now put that concern to bed. It's time to wake up and start submitting.

Oh, and remember. Babe Ruth led the league in strikeouts in 1927...the same year he hit 60 home runs.

For discussion: How do you approach so-called rejection?

Why do we envy published writers?

It's not like they're making much money going the traditional publishing route. Check out the math from Kristine Kathryn Rusch as she talks about how "writers will work for cheap."

Math doesn’t lie, y’all. Most of you traditionally published midlist writers—you’ll never earn your measly $5000 advance back, y’know, the one paid in installments over three years? The thing you licensed most of your rights for to get 5,000 or 10,000 or maybe, if you’re lucky, 20,000 copies of your book into stores in the first six months of publication.

What happens after six months? The paper editions go away. Out of print, out of sight, out of mind. The e-book will remain in print, but you try earning back an advance with inaccurate sales reporting, and some kind of math that turns 25% of net into 8% of retail.  Good luck with that.  If you get any royalties at all, they’re years down the road.

You’ve licensed almost everything you could on that book for an extra 5,000 or 10,000 sales in a six-month period that is rapidly disappearing in your rearview mirror.

So just because someone has an agent and a traditional publishing deal doesn't amount to much. Are they making money. That's the, well, the bottom line. For me anyway. Not that we need envy anyone who makes money either, but it seems to me that earning a living trumps any false fame one might perceive he or she gets from actually publishing a book with a traditional publisher.

 What do you think? Do you write for fame? For fortune? To get your name on a book, even if you do it for cheap?

Pick One For Me To Finish

So far, so good. But then, this is only the first week! In my quest to Write 1 Sub 1 each week this year (my New Year's resolution), I've completed one story and submitted it already.

Now I have to come clean, I only needed 500 more words to finish that story. But heh. Whatever it takes, right? And to keep me motivated these first few months, I just have to turn to my list of WIPs. These stories are just begging to be completed. They have titles and a beginning but little else.

Here's where you come in. In the sidebar is a poll. Pick the title (or two) of the story you want me to finish by the end of the month. The poll is open until January 10th. So vote soon and often. Well, just kidding about the often part. But vote! Let me know your favorite title. Thanks!

(Oh, and if you comment here with your prediction of the winning title of the story that I'll finish, I may pick a random winner to...er, win something. :)

UPDATE (Jan 11, 2012): Polls are closed! The winning title is "Yes Allie, That's a Bogeyman Under Your Bed." It beat "The Curious Case of Kevin Klaag" by one vote. "To Tame a Demon" came in third. So here's what I'll do. I'll start on these stories right after I finish this week's W1S1 challenge, "Or the Highway." And for those who commented, Deb and Chris, your reward is to be my beta reader for the Klaag piece since you both voted for it and it came in second. (Plus, I'm wanting to submit it to the Monsters! anthology and will need the feedback, if you're willing! :)

But I'm not a...

...fill in the blank.

 Go on, admit it. You've said that phrase in protest to something or other in your past. Someone recommends a book. "But I'm not a reader." A friend suggests you take Zumba together. "But I'm not coordinated." Your Language Arts teacher asked you to write a story in middle school. "But I'm not a writer."

And so you let the nottas control your life. The truth is we are (and can do) anything we decide to be (or do). It's a matter of choice. Oh sure, there're some genetic limitations that limit an insignificant number of our choices in life. But those miniscule exceptions prove the rule - we can choose to do and be and create! We have the ability to choose what our life looks like.

At least have the guts to say, "I choose not to read, dance, or write." For at the point that we admit "we are choosing" we take ownership of our current state.

So, if you were not happy with 2011, then you chose not to be happy with it. You didn't read that book, not because you aren't a reader but because you chose not to read it. You didn't write that story, not because you aren't a writer but because you chose not to write it.

The good news is that you can do something different this year. And you can choose to be happy with the results. So, what's holding you back? Be someone different this year. Create something. Do it.

Christmas Break Outing

The Kansas Underground Salt Museum was a fun and enlightening family field trip this week. Taking a break from feasting and lazing around the house, we took a trip to one of the 8 Wonders of Kansas.

Hey, don't laugh. We have them! Among the finalists that Kansans voted on are the largest ball of twine, largest hand dug well, and Big Brutus. And they're all on our list to see in 2012.

Back to the salt mine - it's a real, working site that probably provides salt gravel for your roads in the winter. In addition to an underground museum, the mine hosts Underground Vaults and Storage, a place where government records, movie films, and anything else imaginable is stored.

There are so many organizations that want to use this mine, it's crazy...do you know? Because a mine is a terrible thing to waste. :)

Hey, Traditional Publishers Here's An Idea

The Passive Guy posted an excerpt from Joe Konrath's neener neener Happy New Year wishes to all the editors who rejected his best selling indie novel, The List. This prompted some interesting discussion. One person, William Ockham, wrote:

The question that came to my mind when I read this is why don’t the big publishers have an e-book only (or e-book + POD) imprint? Surely, all the editors who rejected that book for traditional publishing can’t be idiots, so lets assume that the book was too big a risk to publish the usual way. Why don’t the big publishers take the “not quite good enough for ‘real’ publishing” manuscripts, put them through a low-cost assembly line (copyediting, cover art, etc.) and send them to Amazon and B and N? They could charge a lower price for these ‘inferior’ goods and make a ton of money. I am increasingly convinced that if you are a stockholder in a traditional publishing house, you should be suing the company for corporate malpractice (that’s a joke, I know our host is a lawyer).

This prompted David Forbes to say:

I love William’s idea of e-book only imprints. Though the standard publisher stance at the moment is that it’s not that much cheaper *for them* to do e-books since only 25%, or thereabouts, is tied up with the actual physical media.

That’s what needs to change. Publishers have to *dramatically* lower some of their so-called “fixed” costs so that they *can* create e-book only imprints that can get books to market in weeks to a month or two rather a year to a year and a half. Time will tell if they realize this before Amazon and others eat their lunch.

Which in turn led Ockham to state:

If the publishers want to lie to themselves and say it isn’t much cheaper to publish e-books, there’s not much that can be done, but as our host points out, publishing is not a healthy business. The slush pile is an asset that can be converted very easily into a brand new revenue stream.

Remember, an editor has read these manuscripts and should have a fairly good idea which ones can be turned into a decent quality e-book for $5,000 or less. Pay no advances, but give the authors a 50-50 royalty split ($3 on our $6 e-book). If you figure the distributor (Amazon, et al.) gets $1, that leaves $2 a copy for the publisher. If these editors can’t pick manuscripts that will sell 3,000 copies in a year, why do they have jobs?

They should be able to do this with essentially zero risk. They need to start now while their name still means something.

I think this idea has merit. Anyone else have a reaction?

The Right Way to Critique

Came across a link at Deb Walker's blog about an intriguing call for entries from Edmund Schubert, editor of Orson Scott Card's InterGalactic Medicine Show. At Magical Words (a site for aspiring writers), Schubert offered to critique the first 200 words of the first 20 authors who posted excerpts from their short stories.

I was pleasantly surprised by how he worded his feedback. I learned a lot from reading his responses - as much from how he said something as what he said. Of course, he set the ground rules from the beginning: "So that we’re clear, I’m going to post my comments about your short story in a direct fashion. I don’t intend to mock anyone or be brutal, but I need to be honest or this exercise is a waste of everyone’s time." Fair enough!

Here's one example (I may post more in the future):

A writer* posted:

If one could trudge across the Atlantic, that’s how I might have described my progress back from London, where the streets were cool, the men were well-dressed, and when they weren’t, they at least had the decency to give a polite, “morning!” before darting nakedly down an alleyway in search of a Lycanthrope Emergency Box. The muggy North Carolina summer seemed to suck out not only my energy, but every ounce of expectation I’d had for a good break between semesters.

A buffalo-sized man in little more than a greasy apron and an orange hunting cap shunted me out of line in Target. I watched in horror as his gray-sprouted backside rippled away from me and noticed that he was also wearing pristine timberlands with the price tags still attached.

He slammed a tent-sized pair of sweatpants in front of the clerk. Her thin ponytail quivered as she scanned the barcode.

“F-five-twenty-”

“Y’all think I walk around like this for fun?” he barked. “You happen to look up last night, hun? This is what my tax-dollars pay for!”

“The town is really growing up!” my mom said, taking my attention away from the train-wreck of Lycanthrope-Human relations occurring a few feet away. She gestured out the window. “We have a Starbucks now.”

Schubert responded:

Your opening is an interesting mix of confusion and intrigue. I think “If one could trudge across the Atlantic, that’s how I might have described my progress back from London…” means that your narrator has just returned from London, but I found it confusing and had to read it more than once to come to than conclusion. Openings need to be crystal clear, but slush readers aren’t going to take the time to figure things out; they’re just going to reject anything that doesn’t make sense and move on to the next one.

On the plus-side, you’ve created a really intriguing blend of everyday normalcy and werewolf madness, and that is clear. And it’s not ‘told;’ it’s very deftly shown through details.

The other thing I’d ask you to address is that I don’t yet have a sense of what is driving your narrator. What does she want? That needs to be established strong and clear very early on in short stories, and I don’t any hint of that yet, beyond “a good break between semesters.” That’s not enough. I doubt it’s the main thing, but you need to get to the main thing ASAP. What does she want? 

You’ve created an intriguing setting for a story (a world were lycanthropy is a common problem that borders on mere nuisance its so common), but you need a specific situation/problem that impacts and drives your character specifically.

Now this is the right way to critique, imo. Helpful, honest, and still encouraging. As an editor, I wish I was able to respond with as much detail to every submission, but of course it's impossible. Schubert doesn't either - this was just a special event, if you will. But pretty cool idea. What are some of your experiences with feedback and critique from editors? Do you want it? Ignore it? Use it?

(*BTW, the above story excerpt is copyrighted by its author - I'm just using it here as an example, but since it's posted online I figure that's okay. Just know that it belongs to someone else. :)

A Shepherd Boy's Christmas

Based on the Master Story from Luke 2:8-20

            In the hill country of Judea some 2000 years ago there was a little shepherd boy tending some lambs for his father.

            “Hazaiah,” his father called, “bring the little ones back to the flock. It is getting late and we must set up camp.”

            “Yes, father.” Hazaiah obeyed and with his little stick herded the five young lambs back to their mothers. 

            Sheep are affectionate animals and when treated well are almost like pets, following their masters from place to place. Hazaiah's father, Melki, had told his son not to get too attached to this bunch. The owner of the flock would soon be taking them for sacrifice since the five lambs were without blemish.

            Hazaiah knew all about that but still he would run with his animals and care for them as if they were his own. He even named them.

            “Father,” he said, “can Rhappa sleep with us tonight? It is getting cold and she is the smallest of the herd.”

            “No,” said Melki. “That is why there is a herd so that they can protect each other from the cold. Our job is to protect them from wild animals. All of them, my son, not just Rhappa. Come, help me pitch the tent."

Continue reading this Christmas devotional story at FWD: Thoughts.

Christmas Break At Last

Quick updates for those who care, or pretend to, or even for those who don't.

1. I passed my PLT (Principles of Learning and Teaching) and have just one more major hurdle before I'm fully certified as a 6-12 Language Arts teacher. This will come next spring.

2. Speaking of spring - I just have one more semester in my Transition to Teaching program and I didn't flunk this past semester. So that's good.

3. Speaking of not flunking, I completed my CE requirements for licensing in another area of business (not teaching). So I can continue making money there.

4. Speaking of making money (there sure is a lot of speaking going on here, well that makes sense as this blog is called bloggin' outloud!), I have an editing job for a friend that I'm going to complete before Christmas. I'll tell you about it when the book is published.

5. Oh, and since you brought up Christmas, I'll be sharing a short story that I wrote with my congregation titled, "The Joy of a Shepherd Boy" on Christmas Eve. I'll post a link to it soon so that you may enjoy it as well.

I think that's about it for now. If I don't get the chance to say it again next week, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Christmas Fiction

In the mood for a story? Here are some holiday themed selections from ResAliens.com - short, speculative fiction with a spiritual twist.

1. "A Gift Long Forgotten" by R. Scott Russell - a science fiction encounter with an ancient civilization.

2. "Traveled So Far" by Stoney M. Setzer - a flash piece and a surprise journey of discovery.

3. "Sleigh Ride" by Charlie Bookout - Jesus chats with Santa about the meaning of it all.

4. "The Debut" by Francis W. Alexander - What? Did you think Santa was the same person year after year?

5. "The Little Star" by Nick Ozment - a Christmas fable in a star spangled setting.

Which story did you enjoy the most? Comments welcome. And, by the way, Merry Christmas!

Write 1 Sub 1 Challenge

Write1Sub1 Reloaded

Yep, I'm almost thinking about maybe considering potentially participating in the Write 1 Sub 1 Challenge - possibly!

The goal? Write a story a week each week in 2012. And then submit a story for publication each week in 2012. As an editor, I do read and comment on stories quite a bit, but I've gotten away from actually writing them. So my New Year's resolution? Write more stories!

But I know me...if I don't have support, it'll be a tough row to hoe. But now there's a web community to help me reach my goal. You can read more details here, but here's the overview:

Here's the challenge, should you choose to accept it:

• Write and submit a short story or poem every week (or month), starting the first week of January and ending the last week of December.
• Goal: 52 new submissions in 52 weeks (or 12 in 12 months).
• You don't have to write and submit the same story within the same week -- although that's what Bradbury did. Often it pays to set a story aside for a while and come back to it.
• The length of your story can be as short as Twitter fiction (140 characters) or as long as a novelette (15,000 words). Any style, any genre: whatever you write.

Now, perhaps it's time to conceivably get ready...

Coriolanus: Epic Hero, Political Failure

This post is an essay on Coriolanus by Williams Shakespeare - not the new movie starring Ralph Fiennes. Although I do want to see the movie.

The original play from the early 1600s is a political drama centering on the heroic life and tragic end of General Caius Marcius. The play is set primarily in Rome during the 5th century B.C. following the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of the republic. General Marcius is given the honorific “Coriolanus” after an epic battle against the Volscian city of Corioli in which he defeats the enemy almost single-handedly.

Such an example of extreme valor is worthy of epic recognition, and indeed Coriolanus is an epic hero; he’s proud, arrogant, and condescending, with little patience for the common person or even his fellow soldier. However, the mythic age of heroism is quickly coming to an end and Coriolanus finds himself out of place in the newly formed Roman republic.

One question this play poses, then, is: can a fundamentally anti-social hero survive the demands of the body politic? In other words, is there a place in modern society for a classic hero? By examining the life of Coriolanus, we’ll discover that the answer in most cases is no. Assuming the mantle of champion practically necessitates failure as a politician. Because this is generally true, the drama ends in tragedy due to Coriolanus’s inability to be anything other than what he was born to be – an epic hero.

Stories Recently Read

I shudder when I have to read anything longer than a short blog post or news story on a computer screen. Laptop, desktop, doesn't matter - I hate the glare, the wide screen, the inflexibility of it. Great to surf, a pain (for me at least) to use as an e-reader.

Kindle changed all that. I now send documents to my handheld and read family newsletters, Christmas greetings (yes, those long family updates), articles, short stories and more (oh, and uh, books) on my e-reader. For longer blog posts and free short stories posted online I'll even copy and paste them into a word doc and, as mentioned, email them to my Kindle. It's pretty slick.

So I'd saved a bunch of short stories on my Kindle to read "later." With time in short supply, later never happened. But round trip flights for Thanksgiving provided the right opportunity to catch up on my penchant for short fiction. Here's a quick take on some of what I read.

Two Poker Boy stories ('The War of Poker' and 'Just Shoot Me Now') by Dean Wesley Smith. The series is fun and fanciful, and features Poker Boy, a superhero in the gambling universe who answers to Stan, the God of Poker, as well as Lady Luck herself. With the help of a colorful cast of characters, the sometimes reluctant hero solves problems that fortunately (or unfortunately as the case may be) come his way - usually one per story! I started reading Dean's challenge stories awhile back and enjoy most of what I find on his site. Each story is free until the next one is posted and then it becomes available for 99 cents at sites like Amazon, Smashwords, etc.

This past week I also read 'The Wages of the Moment,' a Jukebox Story, which is another series of short stories by Dean. This one features a time travel machine that happens to be a...jukebox. Admittedly lighter fare, I appreciate the fact that Dean doesn't take himself too seriously in writing these pieces. He also provides a little blog entry on how each story in this self-challenge came about, how long it took to write, and anything else that seems pertinent to the creative process. I don't think he'll reach his goal of 100 new stories for 2011 (due to some life interruptions), but what he's done so far has been inspirational - and provided some reading pleasure during my recent holiday travels.

Three more, briefly:

'The Woman Who Was Afraid of Lightning' by Jeff Ambrose is a quirky, slightly horrific piece that was pretty well written, had me hooked, but didn't quite satisfy my curiosity as to the supernatural occurrence that frightened the woman. But maybe that was the Lovecraftian influence, and if so, then it met its own expectations fairly well.

'The Peacock's Tower' by David Barron is definitely an odd bit of a steampunk/fantasy mash-up that wasn't particularly my cup of coffee. It's free on Smashwords, so go decide for yourself.

'A Pleasure to Burn' by David Bain is a reflective, somewhat horrific ghost story. Sort of a ghost story. The protagonist is definitely haunted by his past. Pretty good yarn.

What have you been reading?

Castle of Endless Woe Reviewed

The Castle of Endless Woe
by Ty Johnston

This is a solid novelette set in the same world as the author's epic fantasy trilogies known collectively as The Ursian Chronicles. The setting of this story is vivid and the pacing is steady, and like a novel it takes awhile to warm to the plot. But by a third of the way in I was hooked.

Johnston is a deliberate writer, choosing words and images with care. His characters are soundly developed with just enough ambiguity to keep you guessing as to their drives and motives.

As for the suspense, it definitely simmers but doesn't quite boil over, in my opinion, and ultimately the mystery surrounding the Castle of Endless Woe isn't fully explained. Not all loose ends need to be tied up, but I was expecting a bit more revelation as to the evil residing in the haunted manor. However, if you enjoy storylines with an episodic feel to them, this long short story will provide some engaging entertainment while leaving you wanting more.

(Note: I downloaded a free promotional version of this story. It's now 99 cents at Amazon, which is not a bad deal for an afternoon of reading pleasure.)

Winterland Reviewed

Winterland, a novella by Mike Duran, is part psychological fantasy, part intrapersonal suspense, and part allegorical thriller. Think Pilgrim meets the Phantom Tollbooth, but in Purgatory. The premise works well enough - and has since Dante took his journey of redemption - but as in many allegory-esque tales, the tension slips now and again due to the inevitable and somewhat predictable outcome. (But hey, we all knew Dorothy would return from Oz, so this doesn't necessarily mean this type of story can't work.) 

Duran is a solid writer (his novel, Resurrection, is published by Charisma House) and the opening hook pulls you in fairly quickly. Our heroine, Eunice, on her way to see her dying mother, winds up in a car accident on a SoCal freeway. She slips into a between-worlds darker dimension (Winterland being the opposite of the Faery's cheerful Summerland) where she must reach her mother before it's too late! (See what I mean about the tension level? At this point I started skimming a bit to get to the action that never quite reaches a climax.) 

Along the way, Eunice has to travel through the Swamp of Mlaise and face her family's generational demons of license, legalism, perfectionism, and regret. While not a straight up Everyman tale, the symbolism is fairly transparent. But again, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's just a particular style of storytelling, one that I'm not overly fond of. I'd give it a 6 out of 10, but if you like your morality fables spiced up with a bit of suspense, this novella might be right for you. It's competently self-published and at $2 isn't a bad bargain.


(Note: I received a free promotional copy of Winterland with no obligation to review it. Mike Duran blogs about Faith, Culture, and Composition at deCOMPOSE.)

Review of "Magnus Kir"

Magnus Kir by Dean Hardy
Published by Ambassador International
Reviewed by Lyn Perry (I purchased my copy.)

Magnus Kir is a walled city in a wild world. It is ruled by a benevolent, enigmatic king who seeks to protect the people from the dangers without and provide for the citizens within. But young Zack wants to experience more than the safe, predictable life he's been accustomed to. And so the adventure begins.

For the reader, however, the adventure is fairly tame. Zack goes on what amounts to a safe and predictable journey of self-discovery which eventually leads him back to the city he once tried to leave. While there is a bit of suspense as Zack encounters a few strange and mysterious characters (including the lost prince of the kingdom), the overall narrative leaves no doubt as to the final outcome. All's well that ends well.

In this short YA novel, author Dean Hardy leans heavily on the allegorical tradition (sort of a cross between Pilgrim's Progress and The Phantom Tollbooth) and ends up with a fairly solid effort for a first time novelist. The story is okay, especially if you enjoy simple, straightforward tales interlaced with moral truths. While Hardy is over generous with ellipses (a punctuation annoyance) and is a bit wordy (some sentences are redundant), this is a solid choice for your young middle schooler. I rate it a 6 of 10 stars.

~*~

Dean Hardy, Bible Department Chair at Charlotte Christian School in North Carolina, is also the author of Stand Your Ground, an introduction to apologetics for young adults in high school or college. The book includes thirteen chapters that engage the various intellectual challenges that Christian college students face on university campuses. Hardy takes readers on a spiritual and intellectual journey, addressing such issues as the nature of truth and reality, the investigation of other worldviews, the evidence for Christianity, critics' arguments against Christianity, and the relationship between apologetics and evangelism.

Also, read Dean's essay, "The Metaphysics of Magic: Writing Christian Fantasy from a Christian Worldview." And feel free to connect with him at the Magnus Kir Facebook Page.

Review of "The Worker Prince"

The Worker Prince by Bryan Thomas Schmidt
Published by Diminished Media Group, October 2011
Cover art by Mitch Bentley (high res image worth a look)
Reviewed by Lyn Perry (I received a free advance copy.)

The Worker Prince is a YA space opera novel with a straightforward and recognizable plot, solid but predictable action and characters, and a clear, if a bit heavy-handed, moral. It's a good first effort by an emerging author (I rate the novel 6 out of 10). Here is a bit of critique interlaced with an occasional spoiler.

After reading the prologue, you'll easily spot Schmidt's influences. He borrows from the Moses/Kal-El mythos and the first portion of the book is devoted to our protag Prince Rhii's journey to self-awareness. Instead of nephew to the High Lord Counselor, Davi (his nickname - and true name) discovers that he's actually the son of Worker parents. The Workers are the last enslaved people of the Borali Alliance and are ruled by the Prince's uncle, a somewhat one dimensional tyrant named Xalivar.

Upon witnessing the injustices done to the Workers, Davi sets out to undo decades of prejudice and slavery by advocating for their freedom. This sets the Prince at odds with his uncle and while his adopted mother, Miri, initially seeks to placate her son and maintain the status quo, she eventually reveals to Davi his origins and becomes his advocate (and her brother Xalivar's adversary). So the story unfolds and ultimately escalates into a foreseeable confrontation between the banished Prince and ruling High Lord.

Of course, there are a few twists and turns along the way, including a test of friendship, a bit of romance, and a feuding duel with a lumbering ox of an ex-classmate named Bordox. (Which, by the way, makes for a fun prequel short story by Bryan Schmidt titled "Rivalry on the Sky Course" which I published at ResAliens this month.) The novel is unsophisticated, but keep in mind that the quintessential space opera, Star Wars, isn't very complex either. So you'll forgive the author when you realize the Worker battle training and final standoff against the Alliance echo Luke Skywalker's rallying of the troops to face the Empire.

So overall, The Worker Prince is a nice bit of sci-fi adventure with a generous dose of anti-bigotry thematic elements. The writing is competent although a bit lackluster at times. The opening action is engaging and promises a rolicking space adventure, unfortunately the anticipated suspenseful thrill ride gets bogged down by the occasional dialog heavy exposition. In addition, the third person omniscient POV gets a bit tiresome as the reader never has to infer the interior life of the main characters - I'll tell you what I think instead! My suggestion for the next novel - go with 3rd person limited and show more of the characters instead of telling us everything about their motivations.

As mentioned, I'm giving this a 6 out of 10, which is still a recommended read on my scale. If you like your YA novels straight with no chaser, this new release might be just what you are looking for. Plus, it's a safe, clean bet for your middle schooler. To help you decide, here is 4 of 5 star review by another indie author, R. L. Copple. (Or read it on Goodreads and find more reviews.)

Guest Column - Humor in Flash Fiction

Note: Our Guest Columnist is Camille Gooderham Campbell, Managing Editor at Every Day Fiction. I asked her to share some thoughts on writing flash fiction, EDF's specialty. Here's what she has to say.

Back in the early days of Every Day Fiction, we decided that we’d make a point of scheduling something humorous for every Monday. Mondays are hard enough, we thought, without adding a gritty tale of abuse, terminal illness or abject poverty to the mix. And so, over the past four years, we’ve done our best to make sure that the start of the week brings a laugh from EDF.

However, finding enough humorous pieces to fill our Mondays hasn’t proven to be as simple as all that, for two reasons: genuinely humorous storytelling isn’t the easiest thing in the world, and even leaving writing skill aside, we don’t all share the same sense of humour.

Many of the unsuccessful humour submissions that we see at EDF fall into the category of joke-telling rather than storytelling:

Since to some extent jokes are stories, there’s no clear line between a joke and a story, and a flash fiction piece can play both roles through character development and narrative skill. A joke virtually never develops its characters; when a man walks into a bar, he doesn’t have any characteristics that don’t function as part of the joke – he’ll be tall or ugly or a priest as the punchline requires, but that’s it. In a joke, the setup exists only to serve the punchline, rather than the humour serving the story. The difference is a matter of perception and taste, and has a lot to do with the way in which the piece is delivered. Told as a story, it comes alive as a story; told as a joke, it is reduced to a joke. (from my essay “Connecting the Dots” in The Best of Every Day Fiction Two)

Unfortunately, since perception is a subjective thing and tastes differ from person to person, and especially with flash fiction since so much of the story has to be sketched in, implied, hinted at and left to the author’s imagination, the difference between a joke and a story is an imprecise grey area. A humorous story is an exercise in tightrope walking, with half the readers ready to shoot it down for being only a joke and the other half ready to find it unfunny and either boring or offensive.

There’s no formula for success in writing humour, but after reading too many flash fiction submissions to count, I’ve come up with three tips that seem to be relevant more often than not:

* Develop real characters and settings. Make them as real as anything in your head. Give that tall ugly priest a secret lover and a weakness for chocolate, give that bar a grotty washroom and watered-down booze. Even if you only hint at those dimensions when you pare your story down to the bones of flash, you’ll be thinking of them as real and they will come across as real.

* Tell the story naturally; don’t editorialize or try too hard to be funny. If you’ve got a genuinely humorous concept, it will make people laugh without any additional window-dressing and finger-pointing.

* Value the flow of the story as a whole over individual witty lines; falling in love with a particularly clever turn of phrase can impair your inner editor, and a great line isn’t great when it has to be shoe-horned into the story.

Writing a good story is only half the battle, though, since you then need to match the story to the right publication for a good fit.

When you choose where to send your finished piece, keep in mind that not all publications have the same level of tolerance for humour involving bodily functions. Whether we’re talking about comedy of the gastrointestinal system or the lighter side of getting sexy, there’s a delicate balance between funny and gross, and the line falls in different places for different magazines. Think about the target readership when deciding if a piece is appropriate for a particular venue; for example, at EDF we know that many of our readers are eating while they read and may also be at work (on a coffee or lunch break, right?), so we’re cautious about stories that push the gross factor. We’ve seen some very funny pieces that are just too extreme for us.

Finally, remember that humour is largely a matter of taste, and that goes for editors and publishers just as much as for any other reader. There’s no benchmark of humour, no way to authenticate whether something is or isn’t funny – the reader either laughs or doesn’t laugh, end of story – so if a piece gets rejected on the basis that it isn’t funny, recognize that it wasn’t funny to that editor, and try a different market. Collecting a stack of twenty-five “it wasn’t funny” comments might suggest something, of course, if only that your sense of humour is fairly esoteric and you might be hard pressed to find an editor who shares it.

[Thanks, Camille, for sharing your take on humor (American spelling ;) and flash. I have a similar opinion regarding the difference between jokes and short stories. I talk about it in Part 3 of my short series on writing flash fiction. Read Part 1 and Part 2 as well. - Lyn]

What Doesn't Pass for Flash Fiction

Flash Fiction and How to Write It - Part 3
Read Part 2 Here
Read Part 1 Here

Okay, you come up with a great idea for a flash fiction piece. You're going to add some setting details and characterization so it won't just be snippets of conversation or a brief bit of infodump. You've even got a story set-up to deliver the punch line.

You're now ready...wait, what did you just say? A story set-up to deliver the punch line? Okay, hold the bus. I think you have flash fiction mixed up with something else. You're not trying to sneak in a pun story here, are you? Ha, caught you red handed. (Because I've done it myself!)

We just admitted succumbing to a common pitfall of writing flash. The shaggy dog. The Feghoot. The elaborate story joke. Outrageous, creative, groan-worthy, sometimes even laugh out loud funny. But not flash fiction.

At least in my opinion. Some markets want exactly this, but normally flash ends with an Aha! not an Argh! While a twist ending or a surprise turn of events may be a satisfying (and logical) conclusion to a flash story, the intentional story deception (too strong a word?) for a cheap laugh simply disappoints and frustrates the reader.

Now I don't mind pun stories, in fact, I love wordplay and can pass that internet pun test with both feet tied behind my back (quite a feat!). But I want to know from the beginning what I'm getting into. If you enjoy these type of humorous set-ups, then here are a couple I think you'll like. Okay, those are examples of what flash is not.

So what does pass for flash fiction? Can flash be funny? Sure! But the story shouldn't be a string of red herrings and the ending can't be a non sequitur to the plot. As mentioned, the flash ending should be a natural denouement to the climax - or simply end at the climax or reveal itself (think The Tell-Tale Heart). It can be a bit jokey, but the point is that flash is not an extended joke.

This may be a fine line, but in a closing example, here's my story, "Spam Fiction" published by Every Day Fiction which I think (obviously, I'm biased) presents a bit of humor but within the structure of a real story. A few more of my flash pieces are available in a short collection at Smashwords. Enjoy.

And all the best as you have fun with this popular form of story telling.

[Note: This series continues with a Guest Column by Camille Campbell, managing editor of Every Day Fiction. You can read her blog at Copy. Edit. Proof.]

Micropublishing - Claim Your Indie Niche

“Dear Sir or Madam, will you read my book?”

– The Beatles

Micropublishing Trends

It seems everyone wants to be a paperback writer. Or at least an e-published author. And with the advent of web-based self-publishing tools like Lulu and CreateSpace (for print-on-demand books) and Smashwords and Feedbooks (featuring a variety of electronic formats), anyone with a bit of talent and know-how can claim the title of published author.

This is not a bad thing. In fact, the surge in self-publishing, especially via electronic means, has led to an unprecedented number of people earning (at least some) income as freelance authors, small business owners, and indie or small press publishers. That’s me, a small press publisher. So small that I use the term micropublishing to describe what I do.

Micropublishing, according to Wikipedia, at least this week, is “when an individual or group uses efficient publishing and distribution techniques to publish a work intended for a specific micromarket.” I can buy that. Very small presses find a niche and fill it by publishing a select group of authors that larger publishing houses might not discover.

And the more options available for the reading public the better. This is why the trend is a good thing. Yes, I know. Everyone and her dog can publish a book nowadays. Doesn’t this dilute the industry? No. The simple yet difficult task of marketing and distribution will prevent most books from ever being read. The stark reality is that while everyone has the opportunity to become a published author, we still have to ask the public to buy and read our book.

Here are some thoughts on that topic from just one micropublisher, me, poking about in the dark as he discovers the path toward publishing success.

Claim Your Niche

If you are an author or a micropublisher, find your voice and stick to it. Gareth L Powell (on whose blog this article originally appeared) is a “science fiction author.” He lets people know it. He updates his blog with current content. He crafts consistent, quality material. He stays on topic. Go and do thou likewise.

My zine is ResAliens.com which is short for Residential Aliens (alluding to both the speculative and spiritual elements of the stories I publish). So my particular niche is “spiritually infused speculative fiction.” That may turn you off. I understand. You’re not my market, evidently. With 6 billion people on the planet, though, I figure there are probably a few others who might be interested in this sort of thing. My job is to simply let people know what I do and update my site regularly with consistent, quality material. You could do worse.

Maintain a Good Reputation

Nothing turns me off more than an arrogant writer or an unfriendly publisher. You probably feel the same way. And because there are so dang many authors and micropublishers out there, I have no problem crossing them off my look-into list. On the other hand, I want to build a reputation as being a friendly and approachable publisher. So even if I do cross someone off my list, I don’t tell anyone.

So, again, if you’re an author or publisher, here are a couple things that I believe will build some goodwill and help in the marketing of your product.

First, interact politely and promptly with your fans. You have them, you do. People who friend you on Facebook, follow you on Twitter, or comment on your blog. Stay in touch with them. And answer your dang emails. ;)

Second, treat other writers as peers. We’re all in this together so why not think of other authors or venues as team mates. We're not in competition! Repeat that. Remember those 6 billion people on the planet? More than enough readers to go around.

Third, share the love. Cross-pollinate and help promote or at least hat tip others. See my second point. One suggestion is to read and post reviews of fellow writers' books, articles, or stories.

To Blitz or to Build, That is the Question

Define your strategy to market and distribute your work and then work the plan. How? Social networks like Facebook and Twitter are obvious platforms for getting the word out. Blogging, mailing lists, and posting reviews are also standard and acceptable forms of marketing. But behind these strategies is the simple principle of asking for help. Gareth put out a call for guest columnists. I ask people to review my zine. Since there’s no such thing as a self-made person (we all need some help along the way), we might as well ask others to assist us in accomplishing our goals.

And if they say no, well, there’s 6 billion people out there. Keep asking, keep working, keep honing your skills as a writer or publisher. If your audience likes your voice, identifies with your niche, senses your good reputation, and knows of your vision, then you’re on your way. And if the quality and consistency is there then you will become not just a published author but a bestselling published author. After years of quality persistence, you’ll become an overnight success!

[Note: This article first appeared at the blog of science fiction author Gareth L. Powell, May 2010.]

Darkside Isn't That Dark, Really

In fact, the novel Darkside by S.K.S. Perry (no relation to yours truly), if not exactly light, is quite witty, fast-paced, and seriously genre-bending. The story is about a guy named James Decker who dies in the process of saving a young woman from being attacked. But he finds that he really isn't dead...well, sort of.

From the blurb:

Haunted by the ghosts of his father and grandfather, [James Decker] learns that the woman he rescued is in fact an Innocent, the physical embodiment of hope. As it turns out, seeing dead people is the least of James' worries. It's the trolls, goblins, vampires, and other assorted creepy-crawlies that make being dead a living nightmare.

Turns out Darkside is what all these dark creatures living in the Otherworld call our reality. And that's just one of the rules of the afterlife James has to learn as he finds a new lease on life protecting the Innocent from further harm. With wry humor and snide first person remarks, Perry transports you from one realm to the other and back again in a quest you'll not likely forget - if you don't die laughing first. A bit slow in the middle, but overall, a solid debut novel.

The frolicking adventure continues in Darkside: Waking the Dead, which I just loaded on my Kindle! By the way, Darkside, first novel is available for only 99 cents!

Flash Fiction Tips & Pitfalls

Flash Fiction and How to Write It - Part 2

So you're interested in flash fiction? Join the club! It's become quite a subcategory of fiction writing these past few years. However, the form as been around since at least 600 BC when Aesop told his tales. With the internet, though, quick stories that can be read in a flash are all the rage. And now that there are even different types of flash, it's probably simply a category of writing, no sub about it.

For example, there's microfiction (generally, anything less than 500 words). There's postcard fiction, or micro-bursts, with just enough prose to fill an index card. Some markets can get a little gimmicky here (but still fun and challenging) and insist on no more than 200 words, 100 words, or exactly 55 words! There's even nanofiction, Twitter-sized stories told in 140 characters or less.

But are these really stories? Some say yes and point to Ernest Hemingway's (probably apocryphal) 6 word flash: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." A story? Not in my opinion. But an emotional vignette? Sure.

As I pointed out in Flash Fiction and How to Write It - Part 1, a story traditionally has three critical elements (the Big 3) - characterization, setting, and plot. (Although, I have to admit there are a number of good stories without a plot - Per Petterson's novels come to mind. What he has, though, is tension, an important component of plot.) Scenarios, sketches, vignettes are just that - sections of a story that may contain the seed element of the piece, but that's about it.

The pitfall I want to address briefly is our tendency as writers to present an idea, slap a few words around it, and call it good. These may be great ideas, engaging, intriguing, and all that, but the essence of the story doesn't even hint at or imply any setting, protagonist, or conflict/resolution. A complete story, at least from my perspective, needs more.

Take my three separate twitter-bytes, for instance, published by Thaumatrope.

• I married a serial killer. Fortunately, he only murders strangers. But lately we’ve drifted apart; he said he didn’t know me anymore...
• “I think our baby is a changeling!” I told my Stepford wife. So I wasn’t surprised when my doppelganger showed up and said I had to leave.
• “Tell me how to write horror,” I beg my muse. “Write what you know,” she replies and pulls out a stiletto. “Here, let me show you instead.”

All fun (well, I thought they were fun!) and spooky, and with an interesting hook. But no setting, maybe a protagonist, and no real plot - just a twist resolution. Ideas, really, simply seed stories which can be expanded into short stories, obviously. (In fact, I did expand this last one into a microhorror you can read here, but it's still not a full blown story, imo.)

So after all this discussion, does it simply boil down to a continuum of story length from nano, micro, flash, to short? Since story telling is an elusive art (as we often say about art, "I know it when I see it"), then probably yes. But somewhere along the continuum of a story the more traditional elements begin to appear and when it seems to satisfy a writer's (or reader's) penchant for completeness, then you've got a full tale well told. What are your thoughts?