My literary flash fiction, The Fifth Friend, appears in the latest issue (Vol.6, No.1) of the San Diego-based Grasslimb Journal.
On a personal note, it is an honour to appear alongside author Ralph Robert Moore. Drop by his site, read some of his work, you'll become a fan too.
18-Aug-2008
20-Jul-2008
Out of the cage
"Like birdsong heard through a closed window, you had to open—just a little—and listen."
-In the Cage with Ghosts.
It's done. I finished the latest draft of In the Cage with Ghosts (formerly In the Cage of Ghosts) yesterday morning. It came in at almost 6000 words. So much for 3000 or even 4000… I dunno, is it possible for me to write something longer than a flash but shorter than 4000 words these days? I fear it's not. But I'm almost happy with how this latest piece turned out. Anyone who knows me will know I am highly self-critical, so when I say that I'm almost happy it is a positive statement, believe me. In the Cage is dark, it's psychological, and its two central character are both outsiders; yes, two for the price of one. I've posted this current draft on the writing workshop Critters Bar and so far it has received very positive feedback. So, fingers crossed, I should have it ready to submit for publication soon.
Next, it's back to the novel, which has been set aside for the last two weeks, and perhaps on to the prep work for my next short story – no idea what that will be yet. Watch this space, as they say. Maybe this one will come in at target length!
The hard-working folks over at GUD Magazine are making their final selections for Issue 4 at the moment. One of my stories, Manny Prior's Halloween, has made the shortlist from over 2500 submissions. It goes without saying it will be fantastic if Manny (one of my favourite character creations to date) makes the final line-up, but I know in this game not to raise my hopes too high. I will let you know the outcome either way.
As always, thanks for dropping by.
26-Jun-2008
Long story short
Some important writing lessons I had to relearn this week while working on the first draft of In the Cage of Ghosts:
1) Too much detail suffocates an otherwise good story.
2) Consider what it is you want to say in the confines of the story’s 3-4k words and factor that into the style in which you choose to write.
Seems obvious now. But maybe it took writing 3.5k words of Cage for me to see its flaws, fundamental though they may seem. It became painfully obvious that in spite of all the planning and notes I had made a fatal error when it came to plot arc and time scale. The story as originally planned took place in one location over a few hours. Characters had to move (emotionally) from point A to point B. The story depended on that shift. But reading it back in first draft I didn’t buy it. And if I didn’t, what hope readers would?
Thankfully, the problem was obvious: overwriting and lack of focus on story and brevity. I simply ran out of room. In order for it to work as is, Cage would need to bloat into something approaching novella length. But the story won’t support that. So, what’s the solution?
Bite-size chunks. Instead of one or two drawn-out scenes, I’m opting for a half-dozen or more ruthlessly short scenes, with the story as a whole taking place over a longer time period of several days.
Long story short, I’m starting over.
1) Too much detail suffocates an otherwise good story.
2) Consider what it is you want to say in the confines of the story’s 3-4k words and factor that into the style in which you choose to write.
Seems obvious now. But maybe it took writing 3.5k words of Cage for me to see its flaws, fundamental though they may seem. It became painfully obvious that in spite of all the planning and notes I had made a fatal error when it came to plot arc and time scale. The story as originally planned took place in one location over a few hours. Characters had to move (emotionally) from point A to point B. The story depended on that shift. But reading it back in first draft I didn’t buy it. And if I didn’t, what hope readers would?
Thankfully, the problem was obvious: overwriting and lack of focus on story and brevity. I simply ran out of room. In order for it to work as is, Cage would need to bloat into something approaching novella length. But the story won’t support that. So, what’s the solution?
Bite-size chunks. Instead of one or two drawn-out scenes, I’m opting for a half-dozen or more ruthlessly short scenes, with the story as a whole taking place over a longer time period of several days.
Long story short, I’m starting over.
09-Jun-2008
Touching the Monkey: The best of www.tqrstories.com
01-Jun-2008
Let's face it...
...when planning a story, many writers ask themselves the question, "What if...?" Here is the chance to ask the question of yourself (literally), and have a little fun in the process...
Visit Face of the Future, click on Face Transformer, upload a portrait-style picture, and off you go. Here is a selection of my results, there are other style options to choose from on the site:
What if I were a child again?
An old man...
An Afro-American...
An East Asian...
A West Asian...
An Apeman...
An El Greco painting...
What are you waiting for?
Visit Face of the Future, click on Face Transformer, upload a portrait-style picture, and off you go. Here is a selection of my results, there are other style options to choose from on the site:
What if I were a child again?
An old man...
An Afro-American...
An East Asian...
A West Asian...
An Apeman...
An El Greco painting...
What are you waiting for?
07-May-2008
City Slab
I am thrilled to announce that pro horror mag City Slab have accepted my short story, Lost Lying on Your Back, for publication in a future issue.
More details when I have them.
More details when I have them.
21-Apr-2008
Premature Evaluation
I went back and forth on it, but I finally did it. I posted chapter six of The Ballerina, the Boy, and the Thing in the Water on a writers' workshop site, stood back, and waited for the lions to start tearing...
Call me self-destructive, but that's what I did. Why? Because sometimes (quite often, in fact) I am weak-willed and low on self-belief. It's the amateur in me, I guess, seeking praise and encouragement. A quick pick-me-up during a quiet time. Often, it can prove to be a costly mistake.
This time I was lucky. On the whole, the feedback was positive and encouraging, especially considering that what they read was an excerpt from a much longer work and therefore difficult to slide comfortably into.
I had shied away from letting anyone read or hear more than a few sentences or paragraphs from this, my latest attempt at a novel. I've been burned in the past, see. Some time ago, I began writing a horror tale, The Black Tree. Even got a cover designed for it by the hubby of a friend - and dare I say fan? - of mine. Eight thousand words in, I decided to post everything I'd written so far on a workshop site. The first two people who read it were, it is fair to say, not that impressed. They weren't nasty about it, just...unenthusiastic. Since then, two or three others have read the opening chapters and expressed the exact opposite opinion. Typical. For the record, I'm currently with the second group. However, at the time, those initial responses tainted the entire project for me, gave the thing an air of time wasted and, were I to continue with it, potentially more time wasted. So, I shelved the book. A stupid stupid mistake.
I guess what I am trying to say here is beware allowing yourself to slip into the mindset of the amateur. Try to avoid premature evaluation. Spoils the whole process. It can sneak up on any one of us, too, if we're not careful, especially when we've been out of the game for a while (like me recently - I've been "on hiatus" due to illness and a simple enjoyment of married life, though some might compare one thing to the other...) Anyway, this overeager mindset can make us do things that could potentially threaten the completion of our project, be it a short story or a novel. As I said, I was lucky this time. People enjoyed the excerpt. But unless you're an egomaniac - which I'm not - or thick-skinned - which I am but some shots still get through - then green-gilled newbies and weak-momented old-timers alike should heed this simple advice:
FINISH THE DAMN THING FIRST.
It is harder to turn one's back on a finished (first draft, at least) and potentially strong project than it is to abandon an unfinished and ostensibly weak one. Finish the damn thing first.
So, with that in mind, what did I do after posting Chapter Six and exposing my work to a potential mauling? I went ahead and posted the opening salvo of my latest and yet-to-be-finished short story!
Finish the damn thing first.
Call me self-destructive, but that's what I did. Why? Because sometimes (quite often, in fact) I am weak-willed and low on self-belief. It's the amateur in me, I guess, seeking praise and encouragement. A quick pick-me-up during a quiet time. Often, it can prove to be a costly mistake.
This time I was lucky. On the whole, the feedback was positive and encouraging, especially considering that what they read was an excerpt from a much longer work and therefore difficult to slide comfortably into.
I had shied away from letting anyone read or hear more than a few sentences or paragraphs from this, my latest attempt at a novel. I've been burned in the past, see. Some time ago, I began writing a horror tale, The Black Tree. Even got a cover designed for it by the hubby of a friend - and dare I say fan? - of mine. Eight thousand words in, I decided to post everything I'd written so far on a workshop site. The first two people who read it were, it is fair to say, not that impressed. They weren't nasty about it, just...unenthusiastic. Since then, two or three others have read the opening chapters and expressed the exact opposite opinion. Typical. For the record, I'm currently with the second group. However, at the time, those initial responses tainted the entire project for me, gave the thing an air of time wasted and, were I to continue with it, potentially more time wasted. So, I shelved the book. A stupid stupid mistake.
I guess what I am trying to say here is beware allowing yourself to slip into the mindset of the amateur. Try to avoid premature evaluation. Spoils the whole process. It can sneak up on any one of us, too, if we're not careful, especially when we've been out of the game for a while (like me recently - I've been "on hiatus" due to illness and a simple enjoyment of married life, though some might compare one thing to the other...) Anyway, this overeager mindset can make us do things that could potentially threaten the completion of our project, be it a short story or a novel. As I said, I was lucky this time. People enjoyed the excerpt. But unless you're an egomaniac - which I'm not - or thick-skinned - which I am but some shots still get through - then green-gilled newbies and weak-momented old-timers alike should heed this simple advice:
FINISH THE DAMN THING FIRST.
It is harder to turn one's back on a finished (first draft, at least) and potentially strong project than it is to abandon an unfinished and ostensibly weak one. Finish the damn thing first.
So, with that in mind, what did I do after posting Chapter Six and exposing my work to a potential mauling? I went ahead and posted the opening salvo of my latest and yet-to-be-finished short story!
Finish the damn thing first.
26-Mar-2008
At long last...
Chapter Six of The Ballerina, the Boy, and the Thing in the Water is finally done.
You will, of course, have no idea how happy I am to be able to type the sentence above. To put it into perspective, I started Chapter Six on November 26th, 2007, and only completed it yesterday, March 25th, 2008! That is one day shy of four months to write a 4750-word chapter. Ridiculous! However, I believe it has been worthwhile. Many of the story elements are coming together, fitting better than I would have ever expected from what is just a first draft. I feel the Beginning of the novel has now come to a close and I am about to embark on the fantastic voyage that will be its Middle. Damn it, I wish I could reveal more!
You will, of course, have no idea how happy I am to be able to type the sentence above. To put it into perspective, I started Chapter Six on November 26th, 2007, and only completed it yesterday, March 25th, 2008! That is one day shy of four months to write a 4750-word chapter. Ridiculous! However, I believe it has been worthwhile. Many of the story elements are coming together, fitting better than I would have ever expected from what is just a first draft. I feel the Beginning of the novel has now come to a close and I am about to embark on the fantastic voyage that will be its Middle. Damn it, I wish I could reveal more!
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