Story for Critique 002: The Coffin Route by John McGowan

Reblogged from Morgen's Online Short Story Writing Group:

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Welcome to Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group and the second story on this blog. This 1,796-word literary story is by John McGowan. Please do comment in the section below telling us what you liked about this story and, what if anything, the author could do to improve upon it. Thank you – it’s very much appreciated!

Comment / feedback sought: John is hoping to find out what works and what does not work with this piece of work, and welcomes suggestions for how it could be improved.

Read more… 2,558 more words

We look forward to your comments!

 

Guest post: The Making of a ‘Good’ Villain by TJ Perkins

Tonight’s guest blog post, on the topic of villains, is brought to you by Y.A. fantasy, mystery novelist, guest blogger and interviewee TJ Perkins.

The Making of a ‘Good’ Villain

It is said that in order to create really great characters that your readers care about you must absorb yourself into their psyche; you must take a part of your own personality and place it into ‘them.’  I’m sure many of you have done that – think back – go on…ahhhh, so you remember how that damsel in distress was a part of you when you were going through a tough time, or how the great warrior in your latest fantasy novel resembled your thoughts and feelings on a matter.  This is all great and wonderful for the good guys in a story, but what about the bad guys?

The same holds true for the villains – yes, the author’s darker side.  Sure, everyone wants to see the hero triumph, but in order for that to happen you have to have a really good bad guy, someone that will challenge your hero, someone who will throw out all the obstacles that he can to make the hero really struggle.  But to love the hero one must also love the villain.

It’ll take an exceptional villain, one with much evil, dastardly doings and underhandedness to capture your reader’s hearts.  He or she will have to pull out all the stops and really be nasty to the hero, doing all they can to destroy him and thwart the whole saving the world thing.  But how do you do that?

Unfortunately, my friend, you’re going to have to get evil.  Yes, that’s what I said.  You need to think mean and nasty, and allow the dark corners of your demented mind (and yes, I know you have them) to trickle out.  You have to actually draw out from your being all the demented, twisted ideals from the very fabric of your soul and entwine these ideals throughout the story.  The villain will challenge the hero from the very beginning and the storyline must have a balanced roller-coaster ride of really bad stuff happening, then a lull, then more bad stuff happening.  All of which the villain is instigating.

If you’re having trouble coming up with great ideas for the bad guy to do to the good guy think of opposites.  Example:  In a store line someone may allow another person to cut in line.  What’s the opposite?  What mean thing could be done?  I’ve found a lot of negative, dastardly stuff in cartoon movies, anime, or even by watching some of the best villains in current HBO shows.

There are actually a lot of great ideas out there, you just have to look.  Once you find them you must embrace the dark side, allow your villain to be the most evil, scheming, conniving villain he/she can be, and make your readers love to hate him/her.  Give them a twisted since of humor.  Make them sarcastic.  Make them a complete asshole.  The choice is up to you.

Go, now, and create.  Enjoy the dastardly events that will make your hero miserable and the reader cheer, yet cry, when you villain is defeated.

Happy Writing!

That was great, thank you, TJ. Great to have you back.

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TJ Perkins is an award-winning author of the mystery / suspense genre. Her writing style has been compared to that of Mildred Wirt Benson A.K.A. Carolyn Keen (Nancy Drew).  Mystery books for ages 8-14 are Mystery of the Attic, On Forbidden Ground, Wound Too Tight and the first 5 books in the Kim & Kelly Mystery Series.

TJ has recently expanded into the world of fantasy for teens. Publisher Silver Leaf Books has contracted to release Shadow Legacy, a 5-book series of fantasy.  The first installment of this new exciting series, Art of the Ninja: Earth, is an award-winner and has been classified by readers and reviewers as a cross-genre of fantasy/manga.

TJ lives in Baltimore, MD with her 2 cats and an imagination that’s bursting at the seams.

You can read sample pages of TJ’s writing (www.authorsden.com/tjperkins), see the book trailer (www.silverleafbooks.com), check out TJ’s blog, follower her on Twitter, friend / like her on Facebook and find her books at Goodreads (all her books are available on Kindle, Nook, iPad – just look them up by TJ Perkins).

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If you would like to write a writing-related guest post for my blog then feel free to email me with an outline of what you would like to write about. If it’s writing-related then it’s highly likely I’d email back and say “yes please”.

The blog interviews return as normal tomorrow morning with non-fiction author Yves Johnson – the six hundred and ninth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further. And I enjoy hearing from readers of my blog; do either leave a comment on the relevant interview (the interviewees love to hear from you too!) and / or email me.

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** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app!

See http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008E88JN0

or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008E88JN0 for outside the UK **

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel!) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do, and a feature called ‘Short Story Saturdays’ where I review stories of up to 2,500 words (and post stories of up to 3,000 words), or posted for others to critique (up to 5,000 words) on the new Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group. Alternatively if you have a short story or self-contained novel extract / short chapter (ideally up to 1000 words) that you’d like critiqued and don’t mind me posting it online in my Red Pen Critique posts, then do email me. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays and poetry for Post-weekend Poetry and Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group.

 

Guest post: How A Good Story Affects Your Credibility As A Writer by Jemma Hayes

Tonight’s first of two guest blog posts is brought to you by Jemma Hayes.

How A Good Story Affects Your Credibility As A Writer

When it comes to creative writing, people often find themselves falling short of the ideal story that could really launch their career. However, taking some time with your piece and creating a masterpiece can pay off big time, for those dedicated enough to do it right, at least. Such a good story can influence your credibility as an author in general, and this means a number of different things for you.

Upgrading Credibility 

So what does this exactly mean? Well credibility in creative writing is often how well you are perceived and respected within this rather exclusive world. While there might be plenty of people that get to pass through from time to time, few get an opportunity to impact and change this community of novelists and poets. Being a credible and respected contributor means that you may be consulted upon for insight into the industry and/or have your work studied in academic settings.

Better Deals 

A good story will not only appeal to more readers, it will also give you a much better opportunity to reach more readers with future releases. For one, you can likely assume a competitive set of deals for your upcoming works, whether or not they are currently under contract. Publishers authors that can make them money, and with a good story, you can show publishers that you are worth their time and effort.

Ride The Circuit

Don’t assume that you are going to have to constantly churn out new books every month, as you can likely negotiate your time frames. You can likely also spend some time promoting buzz and popularity for this latest work of yours (such as book signings or participating in public events) and showing people why they should care about what you have created for them.

But all of this doesn’t mean anything without first creating a credible story that will get you on your way. Without this story, there is no considerable credibility or options for impressive book deals. Even though it largely seems anymore that we live in a world of rehashed ideas, it’s up to great thinkers and writers like you to break the mold. Always remember that authenticity matters – and with this comes credibility!

Thank you, Jemma.

Jemma Hayes explores her career as an academic and author in her writing, and most recently elucidated on the best degrees for intellectuals.

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If you would like to write a writing-related guest post for my blog then feel free to email me with an outline of what you would like to write about. If it’s writing-related then it’s highly likely I’d email back and say “yes please”.

Next up is The Making of a ‘Good’ Villain by Y.A. fantasy, mystery novelist and interviewee TJ Perkins, then the blog interviews return as normal tomorrow morning with non-fiction author Yves Johnson – the six hundred and ninth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further. And I enjoy hearing from readers of my blog; do either leave a comment on the relevant interview (the interviewees love to hear from you too!) and / or email me.

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app!

See http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008E88JN0

or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008E88JN0 for outside the UK **

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel!) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do, and a feature called ‘Short Story Saturdays’ where I review stories of up to 2,500 words (and post stories of up to 3,000 words), or posted for others to critique (up to 5,000 words) on the new Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group. Alternatively if you have a short story or self-contained novel extract / short chapter (ideally up to 1000 words) that you’d like critiqued and don’t mind me posting it online in my new Red Pen Critique Sunday night posts, then do email me. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays, poetry for Post-weekend Poetry and Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group, and novel extracts for Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group.

 

Extract 002: The Dreamt Child by Yvonne Hertzberger

Reblogged from Morgen's Online Novel Writing Group:

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Welcome to Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group and the first novel extract submitted for this blog (yesterday's was a replay of a Red Pen Critique). :) This 837-word extract is by epic fantasy novelist Yvonne Hertzberger. Please do comment in the section below telling us what you liked about this story and, what if anything, the author could do to improve upon it.

Read more… 1,867 more words

Yvonne would love your feedback!

 

Author interview no.608 with non-fiction writer Karen Kilby

Welcome to the six hundred and eighth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, biographers, agents, publishers and more. Today’s is with non-fiction author Karen Kilby. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further.

Morgen: Hello, Karen. Please tell us something about yourself, where you’re based, and how you came to be a writer.

Karen: I live in Kingwood, Texas, which is northeast of Houston.  It’s known as the “Liveable Forest”, not typically what one might think of in Texas.  I never thought about being a writer but was encouraged by close friends and family to share my God moment life experiences with others.

Morgen: I think we in the UK think of Dallas when we think of Texas, all high-rise buildings in the cities and ranches on the outskirts. You write non-fiction, how do you decide what to write about?

Karen: My life experiences have given me more than enough material for writing my short stories.

Morgen: I find the same. It doesn’t take much (often just one word) to get a story down. What have you had published to-date?

Karen: I have over thirty stories published in Chicken Soup for the Soul series and other faith-based books.  Becoming a Woman of Purpose – A Thirty One Day Devotional is my first complete work.

Morgen: The Chicken Soup books are incredibly popular over here, and books like them. Is your book available as an eBook? Do you read eBooks or is it paper all the way?

Karen: Yes – it is available as an e-Book however, I prefer good paper!

Morgen: Most people do. I have so many books in my house that I don’t think I’ll ever run out, even if I don’t buy anymore, although I do love the Kindle app on my iPad. Did you have any say in the titles / covers of your book? How important do you think they are?

Karen: Yes, my publisher, Tate Publications, gave me wide range in the title and design of my cover.  I believe these are very important elements in the success of my book.

Morgen: It’s a great cover. Clean a simple. What are you working on at the moment / next?

Karen: Gathering stories for a second book and submitting individual stories to Chicken Soup.

Morgen: Do you manage to write every day?

Karen: No, I do not write every day. Mostly when the mood hits me or a memory recalled.

Morgen: Do you do a lot of editing or do you find that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?

 

5a.m. Flash 100113 – Free debut thriller eBook by Mark Dawson 10-12 January

Mark Dawson’s debut thriller ‘The Art of Falling Apart’ is free on Kindle between 10th and 12th January. His three novels can be found at http://www.amazon.com/Mark-Dawson/e/B0034Q9BO8.

Already translated into multiple languages, Mark Dawson’s previously best-selling tale of sex, drugs (and rock and roll) makes its Kindle debut.

Synopsis

A story of greed, duplicity and death in the flamboyant, super-ego world of rock and roll. Dystopia have rocketed up the charts in Europe, so now it’s time to crack America. The opening concert in Las Vegas is a sell-out success — but secret envy and open animosity have begun to tear the group apart.

The lead singer, Vid, is on a roller-coaster of self-indulgence and egomania…Jared, the lead guitarist, resents being shouldered out of the limelight… Spin, the warm-up DJ, just cannot resist dangerous extra-marital adventures… nor can their manager, Alex, resist the lure of personal gain that greed and duplicity could bring him.

Then one of them dies, in an apparent accident, and there begins to unravel a chilling saga of dark emotions, cynical manipulation, and murderously ruthless self-interest.

Whether you are a vinyl junkie or you watch the pop world in fascinated horror, you will find The Art of Falling Apart as bewitching as the world it depicts.

Praise for The Art of Falling Apart

‘The spirit of our times captured in an engrossing new work … This earthy, tragi-comic first novel marks him out as a talent to be watched.’ Birmingham Post

‘Mark Dawson takes us for a rollicking ride through the trashy backstreets of the rock and roll dream … with a tasty sting in the tail to boot.’ Classic Rock.

‘Written in an innovative style, with plenty of intrigue and action, Dawson beautifully weaves the plot together … a brilliant debt novel from a very talented writer.’ Subject.

‘Grips you like the Boston Strangler’s handshake. Essential reading.’ Later.

‘An entertaining life at the low lives of high-rollers.’ Jockey Slut.

‘An impressive first novel. Edgy vibrancy.‘ Manchester Evening News.

‘The style of writing fits the action perfectly. If you’re gagging for band lunacy, check this out.‘ Metal Hammer.

‘A classic tale of sex, drugs, rock and roll – and murder … a fascinating read for anyone with even a passing interest in the treacherous machinations of the music industry.‘ RTE

‘A soap opera of scandalous behaviour … the time to read this is now.‘ The Big Issue

Mark Dawson works in the film industry. The Art of Falling Apart was his first novel, with his subsequent novels ‘Subpoena Colada’ and ‘The Black Mile’. The Art of Falling Apart is available, free for the next three days, at http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Falling-Apart-ebook/dp/B00AG0BC8S.

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** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app!

See http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008E88JN0

or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008E88JN0 for outside the UK **

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel!) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do, and a feature called ‘Short Story Saturdays’ where I review stories of up to 2,500 words (and post stories of up to 3,000 words). Alternatively if you have a short story or self-contained novel extract / short chapter (ideally up to 1000 words) that you’d like critiqued and don’t mind me posting it online in my new Red Pen Critique Sunday night posts, then do email me. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays and poetry for Post-weekend Poetry.