Every weekday I post a set of poetry prompts on poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com and a set of story prompts on the script, novel and short story blogs (and poems, script / novel extracts, stories at the weekends). As you’ll see by the headings, you’ve missed a few but they’re listed on the relevant group’s Exercises page so you can always find them there…
Poetry Writing Exercises 095: Friday 17th May
Here are your four poetry exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: spies, recognize, spot, aunt, pack
- Random: hiding from a friend
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- One-word prompt: group
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what it says on the tin. You can use it at the beginning of the poem or include it later, and being poetry it doesn’t have to be exact – just be inspired by it.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the poem but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- Single-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = an object, a location, a colour.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Title = The title for your piece.
- Haiku poem= 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
*
Story Writing Exercises 099: Friday 17th May
Here are your four story exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: throw, hit, low, enter, blur
- Random: S/he’s spending Christmas with her/his ex
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- One-word prompt: eye
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what they say on the tin. You can start the beginning of the story with them or a later sentence but they’re a great way of kicking off.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the story but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- One-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = two characters, an object, a location, a dilemma, a trait. Mix them all together and you have a plot… hopefully.
- First person piece or monologue (a one-sided conversation).
- Dialogue only = this is where you literally just write a conversation between two people. No ‘he said’, ‘she said’ or description, just speech and the reader has to be able to keep up. :)
- Second-person = some of you will know that I champion. The prompt can be in any style but has to be written in second-person viewpoint… oh, what a hardship. :)
- Title: This is the title of your story.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
Tips
- Don’t forget your five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell
- Show don’t tell: if your character is angry, don’t tell us he is, have him thumping his fist on the table.
- Colours: Include at least one colour in your story. It does add depth.
- Use strong verbs and avoid adverbs: Have a character striding instead of walking confidently.
- Only use repetition to emphasise.
- When you’ve finished the first draft, read the story out loud. It’s surprising how many ‘mistakes’ leap out at you when you read out loud… assuming you have any of course!
*
Pictures above courtesy of morguefile.com
** 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, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) 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. If there’s anything you’d like to take part in, take a look at Opportunities on this blog.
I welcome items for critique for the online writing groups listed below:
Morgen’s Online Non-Fiction Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group
We look forward to reading your comments.
Tags: adverbs, author, blog, books, competitions, creative writing, crime, critique, erotica, exercises, feedback, fiction, film, five senses, flash fiction, free verse, haiku, haiku poem, hendecasyllabic, humorous, humour, iambic pentameter, literature, monologue, Morgan Bailey, morgen bailey, mystery, non-fiction, nonfiction, novels, pantoum, plays, poem, poet, poetry, poetry collection, poetry exercises, poetry magazine, poetry slams, prose, rhyming, rhyming poetry, romance, science fiction, scripts, scriptwriting, short stories, short story, sonnet, tanka, terza rima, thriller, triolet, tv, villanelle, writer, writing, writing exercises, writing group, writing poetry, writing workshop
Every weekday I post a set of poetry prompts on poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com and a set of story prompts on the script, novel and short story blogs (and poems, script / novel extracts, stories at the weekends). As you’ll see by the headings, you’ve missed a few but they’re listed on the relevant group’s Exercises page so you can always find them there…
Poetry Writing Exercises 094: Thursday 16th May
Here are your four poetry exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: awake, free, fugitive, way, live
- Random: garden duty
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- Thursday Title: Something similar
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what it says on the tin. You can use it at the beginning of the poem or include it later, and being poetry it doesn’t have to be exact – just be inspired by it.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the poem but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- Single-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = an object, a location, a colour.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Title = The title for your piece.
- Haiku poem= 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
*
Story Writing Exercises 098: Thursday 16th May
Here are your four story exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: pump, vein, dark, taste, obey
- Random: Her/his partner wants a threesome
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- Mixed bag: surgeon (character 1), chocolate taster (ch.2), rabbit (object), library (location), phobia of kittens (trait), foot stuck in something (dilemma)
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what they say on the tin. You can start the beginning of the story with them or a later sentence but they’re a great way of kicking off.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the story but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- One-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = two characters, an object, a location, a dilemma, a trait. Mix them all together and you have a plot… hopefully.
- First person piece or monologue (a one-sided conversation).
- Dialogue only = this is where you literally just write a conversation between two people. No ‘he said’, ‘she said’ or description, just speech and the reader has to be able to keep up. :)
- Second-person = some of you will know that I champion. The prompt can be in any style but has to be written in second-person viewpoint… oh, what a hardship. :)
- Title: This is the title of your story.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
Tips
- Don’t forget your five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell
- Show don’t tell: if your character is angry, don’t tell us he is, have him thumping his fist on the table.
- Colours: Include at least one colour in your story. It does add depth.
- Use strong verbs and avoid adverbs: Have a character striding instead of walking confidently.
- Only use repetition to emphasise.
- When you’ve finished the first draft, read the story out loud. It’s surprising how many ‘mistakes’ leap out at you when you read out loud… assuming you have any of course!
*
Pictures above courtesy of morguefile.com
** 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, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) 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. If there’s anything you’d like to take part in, take a look at Opportunities on this blog.
I welcome items for critique for the online writing groups listed below:
Morgen’s Online Non-Fiction Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group
We look forward to reading your comments.
Tags: adverbs, author, blog, books, competitions, creative writing, crime, critique, erotica, exercises, feedback, fiction, film, five senses, flash fiction, free verse, haiku, haiku poem, hendecasyllabic, humorous, humour, iambic pentameter, literature, monologue, Morgan Bailey, morgen bailey, mystery, non-fiction, nonfiction, novels, pantoum, plays, poem, poet, poetry, poetry collection, poetry exercises, poetry magazine, poetry slams, prose, rhyming, rhyming poetry, romance, science fiction, scripts, scriptwriting, short stories, short story, sonnet, tanka, terza rima, thriller, triolet, tv, villanelle, writer, writing, writing exercises, writing group, writing poetry, writing workshop
Every weekday I post a set of poetry prompts on poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com and a set of story prompts on the script, novel and short story blogs (and poems, script / novel extracts, stories at the weekends). As you’ll see by the headings, you’ve missed a few but they’re listed on the relevant group’s Exercises page so you can always find them there…
Poetry Writing Exercises 093: Wednesday 15th May
Here are your four poetry exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: sleep, fear, way, turn, forget
- Random: the corner of the room
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- Sentence start: Out water…
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what it says on the tin. You can use it at the beginning of the poem or include it later, and being poetry it doesn’t have to be exact – just be inspired by it.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the poem but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- Single-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = an object, a location, a colour.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Title = The title for your piece.
- Haiku poem= 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
*
Story Writing Exercises 097: Wednesday 15th May
Here are your four story exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: gas, fast, tense, deep, reason, trace
- Random: S/he’s allergic to cats / dogs
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- Sentence start: Every time I look at you…
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what they say on the tin. You can start the beginning of the story with them or a later sentence but they’re a great way of kicking off.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the story but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- One-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = two characters, an object, a location, a dilemma, a trait. Mix them all together and you have a plot… hopefully.
- First person piece or monologue (a one-sided conversation).
- Dialogue only = this is where you literally just write a conversation between two people. No ‘he said’, ‘she said’ or description, just speech and the reader has to be able to keep up. :)
- Second-person = some of you will know that I champion. The prompt can be in any style but has to be written in second-person viewpoint… oh, what a hardship. :)
- Title: This is the title of your story.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
Tips
- Don’t forget your five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell
- Show don’t tell: if your character is angry, don’t tell us he is, have him thumping his fist on the table.
- Colours: Include at least one colour in your story. It does add depth.
- Use strong verbs and avoid adverbs: Have a character striding instead of walking confidently.
- Only use repetition to emphasise.
- When you’ve finished the first draft, read the story out loud. It’s surprising how many ‘mistakes’ leap out at you when you read out loud… assuming you have any of course!
*
Pictures above courtesy of morguefile.com
** 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, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) 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. If there’s anything you’d like to take part in, take a look at Opportunities on this blog.
I welcome items for critique for the online writing groups listed below:
Morgen’s Online Non-Fiction Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group
We look forward to reading your comments.
Tags: adverbs, author, blog, books, competitions, creative writing, crime, critique, erotica, exercises, feedback, fiction, film, five senses, flash fiction, free verse, haiku, haiku poem, hendecasyllabic, humorous, humour, iambic pentameter, literature, monologue, Morgan Bailey, morgen bailey, mystery, non-fiction, nonfiction, novels, pantoum, plays, poem, poet, poetry, poetry collection, poetry exercises, poetry magazine, poetry slams, prose, rhyming, rhyming poetry, romance, science fiction, scripts, scriptwriting, short stories, short story, sonnet, tanka, terza rima, thriller, triolet, tv, villanelle, writer, writing, writing exercises, writing group, writing poetry, writing workshop
Every weekday I post a set of poetry prompts on poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com and a set of story prompts on the script, novel and short story blogs (and poems, script / novel extracts, stories at the weekends). As you’ll see by the headings, you’ve missed a few but they’re listed on the relevant group’s Exercises page so you can always find them there…
Poetry Writing Exercises 092: Tuesday 14th May
Here are your four poetry exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: artist, tutor, Jane, unlimited, card
- Random: Tuesday Title: Fortune favours
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- Tuesday Title: Fortune favours
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what it says on the tin. You can use it at the beginning of the poem or include it later, and being poetry it doesn’t have to be exact – just be inspired by it.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the poem but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- Single-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = an object, a location, a colour.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Title = The title for your piece.
- Haiku poem= 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
*
Story Writing Exercises 096: Tuesday 14th May
Here are your four story exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: strange, not, what, lightning, vein
- Random: S/he has frequent hiccups
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- Tuesday Title: Please forgive me
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what they say on the tin. You can start the beginning of the story with them or a later sentence but they’re a great way of kicking off.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the story but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- One-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = two characters, an object, a location, a dilemma, a trait. Mix them all together and you have a plot… hopefully.
- First person piece or monologue (a one-sided conversation).
- Dialogue only = this is where you literally just write a conversation between two people. No ‘he said’, ‘she said’ or description, just speech and the reader has to be able to keep up. :)
- Second-person = some of you will know that I champion. The prompt can be in any style but has to be written in second-person viewpoint… oh, what a hardship. :)
- Title: This is the title of your story.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
Tips
- Don’t forget your five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell
- Show don’t tell: if your character is angry, don’t tell us he is, have him thumping his fist on the table.
- Colours: Include at least one colour in your story. It does add depth.
- Use strong verbs and avoid adverbs: Have a character striding instead of walking confidently.
- Only use repetition to emphasise.
- When you’ve finished the first draft, read the story out loud. It’s surprising how many ‘mistakes’ leap out at you when you read out loud… assuming you have any of course!
*
Pictures above courtesy of morguefile.com
** 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, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) 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. If there’s anything you’d like to take part in, take a look at Opportunities on this blog.
I welcome items for critique for the online writing groups listed below:
Morgen’s Online Non-Fiction Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group
We look forward to reading your comments.
Tags: adverbs, author, blog, books, competitions, creative writing, crime, critique, erotica, exercises, feedback, fiction, film, five senses, flash fiction, free verse, haiku, haiku poem, hendecasyllabic, humorous, humour, iambic pentameter, literature, monologue, Morgan Bailey, morgen bailey, mystery, non-fiction, nonfiction, novels, pantoum, plays, poem, poet, poetry, poetry collection, poetry exercises, poetry magazine, poetry slams, prose, rhyming, rhyming poetry, romance, science fiction, scripts, scriptwriting, short stories, short story, sonnet, tanka, terza rima, thriller, triolet, tv, villanelle, writer, writing, writing exercises, writing group, writing poetry, writing workshop
Every weekday I post a set of poetry prompts on poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com and a set of story prompts on the script, novel and short story blogs (and poems, script / novel extracts, stories at the weekends). As you’ll see by the headings, you’ve missed a few but they’re listed on the relevant group’s Exercises page so you can always find them there…
Poetry Writing Exercises 091: Monday 13th May
Here are your four poetry exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: find, aloof, food, backwards, tuneless
- Random: write a sonnet about writing a sonnet
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- Monologue Monday: Write a first-person poem about a neighbour
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what it says on the tin. You can use it at the beginning of the poem or include it later, and being poetry it doesn’t have to be exact – just be inspired by it.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the poem but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- Single-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = an object, a location, a colour.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Title = The title for your piece.
- Haiku poem= 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
*
Story Writing Exercises 095: Monday 13th May
Here are your four story exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: side, lose, other, act, forgive
- Random: S/he cries at the slightest thing
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- Monday Monologue: It’s her/his first ever visit to…
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what they say on the tin. You can start the beginning of the story with them or a later sentence but they’re a great way of kicking off.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the story but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- One-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = two characters, an object, a location, a dilemma, a trait. Mix them all together and you have a plot… hopefully.
- First person piece or monologue (a one-sided conversation).
- Dialogue only = this is where you literally just write a conversation between two people. No ‘he said’, ‘she said’ or description, just speech and the reader has to be able to keep up. :)
- Second-person = some of you will know that I champion. The prompt can be in any style but has to be written in second-person viewpoint… oh, what a hardship. :)
- Title: This is the title of your story.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
Tips
- Don’t forget your five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell
- Show don’t tell: if your character is angry, don’t tell us he is, have him thumping his fist on the table.
- Colours: Include at least one colour in your story. It does add depth.
- Use strong verbs and avoid adverbs: Have a character striding instead of walking confidently.
- Only use repetition to emphasise.
- When you’ve finished the first draft, read the story out loud. It’s surprising how many ‘mistakes’ leap out at you when you read out loud… assuming you have any of course!
*
Pictures above courtesy of morguefile.com
** 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, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) 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. If there’s anything you’d like to take part in, take a look at Opportunities on this blog.
I welcome items for critique for the online writing groups listed below:
Morgen’s Online Non-Fiction Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group
We look forward to reading your comments.
Tags: adverbs, author, blog, books, competitions, creative writing, crime, critique, erotica, exercises, feedback, fiction, film, five senses, flash fiction, free verse, haiku, haiku poem, hendecasyllabic, humorous, humour, iambic pentameter, literature, monologue, Morgan Bailey, morgen bailey, mystery, non-fiction, nonfiction, novels, pantoum, plays, poem, poet, poetry, poetry collection, poetry exercises, poetry magazine, poetry slams, prose, rhyming, rhyming poetry, romance, science fiction, scripts, scriptwriting, short stories, short story, sonnet, tanka, terza rima, thriller, triolet, tv, villanelle, writer, writing, writing exercises, writing group, writing poetry, writing workshop
Every weekday I post a set of poetry prompts on poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com and a set of story prompts on the script, novel and short story blogs (and poems, script / novel extracts, stories at the weekends). As you’ll see by the headings, you’ve missed a few but they’re listed on the relevant group’s Exercises page so you can always find them there…
Poetry Writing Exercises 090: Friday 10th May
Here are your four poetry exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: feel, consume, sand, easy, smile
- Random: treating an instrument as if it were a girlfriend
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- One-word prompt: remote
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what it says on the tin. You can use it at the beginning of the poem or include it later, and being poetry it doesn’t have to be exact – just be inspired by it.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the poem but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- Single-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = an object, a location, a colour.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Title = The title for your piece.
- Haiku poem= 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
*
Story Writing Exercises 094: Friday 10th May
Here are your four story exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: monster, find, better, babe, snack
- Random: She’s found underwear in the family car
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- One-word prompt: break
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what they say on the tin. You can start the beginning of the story with them or a later sentence but they’re a great way of kicking off.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the story but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- One-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = two characters, an object, a location, a dilemma, a trait. Mix them all together and you have a plot… hopefully.
- First person piece or monologue (a one-sided conversation).
- Dialogue only = this is where you literally just write a conversation between two people. No ‘he said’, ‘she said’ or description, just speech and the reader has to be able to keep up. :)
- Second-person = some of you will know that I champion. The prompt can be in any style but has to be written in second-person viewpoint… oh, what a hardship. :)
- Title: This is the title of your story.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
Tips
- Don’t forget your five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell
- Show don’t tell: if your character is angry, don’t tell us he is, have him thumping his fist on the table.
- Colours: Include at least one colour in your story. It does add depth.
- Use strong verbs and avoid adverbs: Have a character striding instead of walking confidently.
- Only use repetition to emphasise.
- When you’ve finished the first draft, read the story out loud. It’s surprising how many ‘mistakes’ leap out at you when you read out loud… assuming you have any of course!
*
Pictures above courtesy of morguefile.com
** 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, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) 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. If there’s anything you’d like to take part in, take a look at Opportunities on this blog.
I welcome items for critique for the online writing groups listed below:
Morgen’s Online Non-Fiction Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group
We look forward to reading your comments.
Tags: adverbs, author, blog, books, competitions, creative writing, crime, critique, erotica, exercises, feedback, fiction, film, five senses, flash fiction, free verse, haiku, haiku poem, hendecasyllabic, humorous, humour, iambic pentameter, literature, monologue, Morgan Bailey, morgen bailey, mystery, non-fiction, nonfiction, novels, pantoum, plays, poem, poet, poetry, poetry collection, poetry exercises, poetry magazine, poetry slams, prose, rhyming, rhyming poetry, romance, science fiction, scripts, scriptwriting, short stories, short story, sonnet, tanka, terza rima, thriller, triolet, tv, villanelle, writer, writing, writing exercises, writing group, writing poetry, writing workshop
Every weekday I post a set of poetry prompts on poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com and a set of story prompts on the script, novel and short story blogs (and poems, script / novel extracts, stories at the weekends). As you’ll see by the headings, you’ve missed a few but they’re listed on the relevant group’s Exercises page so you can always find them there…
Poetry Writing Exercises 089: Thursday 9th May
Here are your four poetry exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: sweet, home, lady, tonight, thrill
- Random: in normal clothing
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- Thursday Title: Thursday’s girl
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what it says on the tin. You can use it at the beginning of the poem or include it later, and being poetry it doesn’t have to be exact – just be inspired by it.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the poem but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- Single-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = an object, a location, a colour.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Title = The title for your piece.
- Haiku poem= 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
*
Story Writing Exercises 093: Thursday 9th May
Here are your four story exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: sketch, ill, new, hang, care
- Random: S/he collects something unusual
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- Mixed bag: traffic warden (character 1), fruit picker (ch.2), cough sweets (object), bookshop (location), forgetful (trait), lost wallet (dilemma)
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what they say on the tin. You can start the beginning of the story with them or a later sentence but they’re a great way of kicking off.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the story but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- One-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = two characters, an object, a location, a dilemma, a trait. Mix them all together and you have a plot… hopefully.
- First person piece or monologue (a one-sided conversation).
- Dialogue only = this is where you literally just write a conversation between two people. No ‘he said’, ‘she said’ or description, just speech and the reader has to be able to keep up. :)
- Second-person = some of you will know that I champion. The prompt can be in any style but has to be written in second-person viewpoint… oh, what a hardship. :)
- Title: This is the title of your story.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
Tips
- Don’t forget your five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell
- Show don’t tell: if your character is angry, don’t tell us he is, have him thumping his fist on the table.
- Colours: Include at least one colour in your story. It does add depth.
- Use strong verbs and avoid adverbs: Have a character striding instead of walking confidently.
- Only use repetition to emphasise.
- When you’ve finished the first draft, read the story out loud. It’s surprising how many ‘mistakes’ leap out at you when you read out loud… assuming you have any of course!
*
Pictures above courtesy of morguefile.com
** 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, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) 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. If there’s anything you’d like to take part in, take a look at Opportunities on this blog.
I welcome items for critique for the online writing groups listed below:
Morgen’s Online Non-Fiction Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group
We look forward to reading your comments.
Tags: adverbs, author, blog, books, competitions, creative writing, crime, critique, erotica, exercises, feedback, fiction, film, five senses, flash fiction, free verse, haiku, haiku poem, hendecasyllabic, humorous, humour, iambic pentameter, literature, monologue, Morgan Bailey, morgen bailey, mystery, non-fiction, nonfiction, novels, pantoum, plays, poem, poet, poetry, poetry collection, poetry exercises, poetry magazine, poetry slams, prose, rhyming, rhyming poetry, romance, science fiction, scripts, scriptwriting, short stories, short story, sonnet, tanka, terza rima, thriller, triolet, tv, villanelle, writer, writing, writing exercises, writing group, writing poetry, writing workshop
Every weekday I post a set of poetry prompts on poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com and a set of story prompts on the script, novel and short story blogs (and poems, script / novel extracts, stories at the weekends). As you’ll see by the headings, you’ve missed a few but they’re listed on the relevant group’s Exercises page so you can always find them there…
Poetry Writing Exercises 088: Wednesday 8th May
Here are your four poetry exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: judge, fish, baker, derby, drum
- Random: a party at a village hall
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- Sentence start: Cross over…
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what it says on the tin. You can use it at the beginning of the poem or include it later, and being poetry it doesn’t have to be exact – just be inspired by it.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the poem but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- Single-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = an object, a location, a colour.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Title = The title for your piece.
- Haiku poem= 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
*
Story Writing Exercises 092: Wednesday 8th May
Here are your four story exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: office, drab, flow, feed, silent
- Random: S/he has no-one who cares about her/him
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- Second-person sentence start: She won’t look you in the eye until…
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what they say on the tin. You can start the beginning of the story with them or a later sentence but they’re a great way of kicking off.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the story but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- One-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = two characters, an object, a location, a dilemma, a trait. Mix them all together and you have a plot… hopefully.
- First person piece or monologue (a one-sided conversation).
- Dialogue only = this is where you literally just write a conversation between two people. No ‘he said’, ‘she said’ or description, just speech and the reader has to be able to keep up. :)
- Second-person = some of you will know that I champion. The prompt can be in any style but has to be written in second-person viewpoint… oh, what a hardship. :)
- Title: This is the title of your story.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
Tips
- Don’t forget your five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell
- Show don’t tell: if your character is angry, don’t tell us he is, have him thumping his fist on the table.
- Colours: Include at least one colour in your story. It does add depth.
- Use strong verbs and avoid adverbs: Have a character striding instead of walking confidently.
- Only use repetition to emphasise.
- When you’ve finished the first draft, read the story out loud. It’s surprising how many ‘mistakes’ leap out at you when you read out loud… assuming you have any of course!
*
Pictures above courtesy of morguefile.com
** 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, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) 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. If there’s anything you’d like to take part in, take a look at Opportunities on this blog.
I welcome items for critique for the online writing groups listed below:
Morgen’s Online Non-Fiction Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group
We look forward to reading your comments.
Tags: adverbs, author, blog, books, competitions, creative writing, crime, critique, erotica, exercises, feedback, fiction, film, five senses, flash fiction, free verse, haiku, haiku poem, hendecasyllabic, humorous, humour, iambic pentameter, literature, monologue, Morgan Bailey, morgen bailey, mystery, non-fiction, nonfiction, novels, pantoum, plays, poem, poet, poetry, poetry collection, poetry exercises, poetry magazine, poetry slams, prose, rhyming, rhyming poetry, romance, science fiction, scripts, scriptwriting, short stories, short story, sonnet, tanka, terza rima, thriller, triolet, tv, villanelle, writer, writing, writing exercises, writing group, writing poetry, writing workshop
Every weekday I post a set of poetry prompts on poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com and a set of story prompts on the script, novel and short story blogs (and poems, script / novel extracts, stories at the weekends). As you’ll see by the headings, you’ve missed a few but they’re listed on the relevant group’s Exercises page so you can always find them there…
Poetry Writing Exercises 087: Tuesday 7th May
Here are your four poetry exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: risk, worship, hall, transmission, table
- Random: learning something new
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- Tuesday Title: Twisted
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what it says on the tin. You can use it at the beginning of the poem or include it later, and being poetry it doesn’t have to be exact – just be inspired by it.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the poem but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- Single-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = an object, a location, a colour.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Title = The title for your piece.
- Haiku poem= 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
*
Story Writing Exercises 091: Tuesday 7th May
Here are your four story exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: best, 2012, speak, customer, saying
- Random: S/he’s too shy to meet someone new
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- Tuesday Title: Secret admirer
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what they say on the tin. You can start the beginning of the story with them or a later sentence but they’re a great way of kicking off.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the story but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- One-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = two characters, an object, a location, a dilemma, a trait. Mix them all together and you have a plot… hopefully.
- First person piece or monologue (a one-sided conversation).
- Dialogue only = this is where you literally just write a conversation between two people. No ‘he said’, ‘she said’ or description, just speech and the reader has to be able to keep up. :)
- Second-person = some of you will know that I champion. The prompt can be in any style but has to be written in second-person viewpoint… oh, what a hardship. :)
- Title: This is the title of your story.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
Tips
- Don’t forget your five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell
- Show don’t tell: if your character is angry, don’t tell us he is, have him thumping his fist on the table.
- Colours: Include at least one colour in your story. It does add depth.
- Use strong verbs and avoid adverbs: Have a character striding instead of walking confidently.
- Only use repetition to emphasise.
- When you’ve finished the first draft, read the story out loud. It’s surprising how many ‘mistakes’ leap out at you when you read out loud… assuming you have any of course!
*
Pictures above courtesy of morguefile.com
Tags: adverbs, author, blog, books, competitions, creative writing, crime, critique, erotica, exercises, feedback, fiction, film, five senses, flash fiction, free verse, haiku, haiku poem, hendecasyllabic, humorous, humour, iambic pentameter, literature, monologue, Morgan Bailey, morgen bailey, mystery, non-fiction, nonfiction, novels, pantoum, plays, poem, poet, poetry, poetry collection, poetry exercises, poetry magazine, poetry slams, prose, rhyming, rhyming poetry, romance, science fiction, scripts, scriptwriting, short stories, short story, sonnet, tanka, terza rima, thriller, triolet, tv, villanelle, writer, writing, writing exercises, writing group, writing poetry, writing workshop
Every weekday I post a set of poetry prompts on poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com and a set of story prompts on the script, novel and short story blogs (and poems, script / novel extracts, stories at the weekends). As you’ll see by the headings, you’ve missed a few but they’re listed on the relevant group’s Exercises page so you can always find them there…
Poetry Writing Exercises 086: Monday 6th May
Here are your four poetry exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: result, tiger, crisp, same, mound
- Random: write a haiku about writing a haiku
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- Monologue Monday: Write a first-person poem about going to a concert
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what it says on the tin. You can use it at the beginning of the poem or include it later, and being poetry it doesn’t have to be exact – just be inspired by it.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the poem but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- Single-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = an object, a location, a colour.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Title = The title for your piece.
- Haiku poem= 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
*
Story Writing Exercises 090: Monday 6th May
Here are your four story exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: unite, whatever, live, juice, belong
- Random: S/he speaks three foreign languages
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- Monday Monologue: your character is painting a ceiling
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what they say on the tin. You can start the beginning of the story with them or a later sentence but they’re a great way of kicking off.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the story but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- One-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = two characters, an object, a location, a dilemma, a trait. Mix them all together and you have a plot… hopefully.
- First person piece or monologue (a one-sided conversation).
- Dialogue only = this is where you literally just write a conversation between two people. No ‘he said’, ‘she said’ or description, just speech and the reader has to be able to keep up. :)
- Second-person = some of you will know that I champion. The prompt can be in any style but has to be written in second-person viewpoint… oh, what a hardship. :)
- Title: This is the title of your story.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
Tips
- Don’t forget your five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell
- Show don’t tell: if your character is angry, don’t tell us he is, have him thumping his fist on the table.
- Colours: Include at least one colour in your story. It does add depth.
- Use strong verbs and avoid adverbs: Have a character striding instead of walking confidently.
- Only use repetition to emphasise.
- When you’ve finished the first draft, read the story out loud. It’s surprising how many ‘mistakes’ leap out at you when you read out loud… assuming you have any of course!
*
Pictures above courtesy of morguefile.com
** 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, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) 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. If there’s anything you’d like to take part in, take a look at Opportunities on this blog.
I welcome items for critique for the online writing groups listed below:
Morgen’s Online Non-Fiction Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group
We look forward to reading your comments.
Tags: adverbs, author, blog, books, competitions, creative writing, crime, critique, erotica, exercises, feedback, fiction, film, five senses, flash fiction, free verse, haiku, haiku poem, hendecasyllabic, humorous, humour, iambic pentameter, literature, monologue, Morgan Bailey, morgen bailey, mystery, non-fiction, nonfiction, novels, pantoum, plays, poem, poet, poetry, poetry collection, poetry exercises, poetry magazine, poetry slams, prose, rhyming, rhyming poetry, romance, science fiction, scripts, scriptwriting, short stories, short story, sonnet, tanka, terza rima, thriller, triolet, tv, villanelle, writer, writing, writing exercises, writing group, writing poetry, writing workshop
Every weekday I post a set of poetry prompts on poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com and a set of story prompts on the script, novel and short story blogs (and poems, script / novel extracts, stories at the weekends). As you’ll see by the headings, you’ve missed a few but they’re listed on the relevant group’s Exercises page so you can always find them there…
Poetry Writing Exercises 079: Thursday 25th April
Here are your four poetry exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: tumble, naked, black, hair, soap
- Random: A family reunion
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- Thursday Title: Famous for the young
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what it says on the tin. You can use it at the beginning of the poem or include it later, and being poetry it doesn’t have to be exact – just be inspired by it.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the poem but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- Single-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = an object, a location, a colour.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Title = The title for your piece.
- Haiku poem= 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
Tips
- Don’t forget your five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell
- Show don’t tell: if your character is angry, don’t tell us he is, have him thumping his fist on the table.
- Colours: Include at least one colour in your story. It does add depth.
- Use strong verbs and avoid adverbs: Have a character striding instead of walking confidently.
- Only use repetition to emphasise.
- When you’ve finished the first draft, read the story out loud. It’s surprising how many ‘mistakes’ leap out at you when you read out loud… assuming you have any of course!
*
Story Writing Exercises 083: Thursday 25th April
Here are your four story exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: power, surprise, take, new, Paris
- Random: S/he’s just been jilted at the altar
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- Mixed bag: teacher (character 1), florist (ch.2), mobile phone (object), street (location), one leg slightly shorter than the other (trait), hiccups (dilemma)
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what they say on the tin. You can start the beginning of the story with them or a later sentence but they’re a great way of kicking off.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the story but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- One-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = two characters, an object, a location, a dilemma, a trait. Mix them all together and you have a plot… hopefully.
- First person piece or monologue (a one-sided conversation).
- Dialogue only = this is where you literally just write a conversation between two people. No ‘he said’, ‘she said’ or description, just speech and the reader has to be able to keep up. :)
- Second-person = some of you will know that I champion. The prompt can be in any style but has to be written in second-person viewpoint… oh, what a hardship. :)
- Title: This is the title of your story.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
Tips
- Don’t forget your five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell
- Show don’t tell: if your character is angry, don’t tell us he is, have him thumping his fist on the table.
- Colours: Include at least one colour in your story. It does add depth.
- Use strong verbs and avoid adverbs: Have a character striding instead of walking confidently.
- Only use repetition to emphasise.
- When you’ve finished the first draft, read the story out loud. It’s surprising how many ‘mistakes’ leap out at you when you read out loud… assuming you have any of course!
*
Pictures above courtesy of morguefile.com
** 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, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) 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. If there’s anything you’d like to take part in, take a look at Opportunities on this blog.
I welcome items for critique for the online writing groups listed below:
Morgen’s Online Non-Fiction Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group
We look forward to reading your comments.
Tags: adverbs, author, blog, books, competitions, creative writing, crime, critique, erotica, exercises, feedback, fiction, film, five senses, flash fiction, free verse, haiku, haiku poem, hendecasyllabic, humorous, humour, iambic pentameter, literature, monologue, Morgan Bailey, morgen bailey, mystery, novels, pantoum, plays, poem, poet, poetry, poetry collection, poetry exercises, poetry magazine, poetry slams, prose, rhyming, rhyming poetry, romance, science fiction, scripts, scriptwriting, short stories, short story, sonnet, tanka, terza rima, thriller, triolet, tv, villanelle, writer, writing, writing exercises, writing group, writing poetry, writing workshop
Every weekday I post a set of poetry prompts on poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com and a set of story prompts on the script, novel and short story blogs (and poems, script / novel extracts, stories at the weekends). As you’ll see by the headings, you’ve missed a few but they’re listed on the relevant group’s Exercises page so you can always find them there…
Poetry Writing Exercises 076: Monday 22nd April
Here are your four poetry exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: brown, government, sweet, brothers, question
- Random: A white line
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- Monologue Monday: Write a first-person poem about a trip to a new country
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what it says on the tin. You can use it at the beginning of the poem or include it later, and being poetry it doesn’t have to be exact – just be inspired by it.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the poem but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- Single-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = an object, a location, a colour.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Title = The title for your piece.
- Haiku poem= 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
*
Story Writing Exercises 080: Monday 22nd April
Here are your four story exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: impervious, position, check, burn, quick
- Random: His/her partner’s a clone of his/her mother/father
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- Monday Monologue: your character is about to propose
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what they say on the tin. You can start the beginning of the story with them or a later sentence but they’re a great way of kicking off.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the story but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- One-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = two characters, an object, a location, a dilemma, a trait. Mix them all together and you have a plot… hopefully.
- First person piece or monologue (a one-sided conversation).
- Dialogue only = this is where you literally just write a conversation between two people. No ‘he said’, ‘she said’ or description, just speech and the reader has to be able to keep up. :)
- Second-person = some of you will know that I champion. The prompt can be in any style but has to be written in second-person viewpoint… oh, what a hardship. :)
- Title: This is the title of your story.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
Tips
- Don’t forget your five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell
- Show don’t tell: if your character is angry, don’t tell us he is, have him thumping his fist on the table.
- Colours: Include at least one colour in your story. It does add depth.
- Use strong verbs and avoid adverbs: Have a character striding instead of walking confidently.
- Only use repetition to emphasise.
- When you’ve finished the first draft, read the story out loud. It’s surprising how many ‘mistakes’ leap out at you when you read out loud… assuming you have any of course!
*
Pictures above courtesy of morguefile.com
** 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, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) 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. If there’s anything you’d like to take part in, take a look at Opportunities on this blog.
I welcome items for critique for the online writing groups listed below:
Morgen’s Online Non-Fiction Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group
We look forward to reading your comments.
Tags: adverbs, author, blog, books, competitions, creative writing, crime, critique, erotica, exercises, feedback, fiction, film, five senses, flash fiction, free verse, haiku, haiku poem, hendecasyllabic, humorous, humour, iambic pentameter, literature, monologue, Morgan Bailey, morgen bailey, mystery, novels, pantoum, plays, poem, poet, poetry, poetry collection, poetry exercises, poetry magazine, poetry slams, prose, rhyming, rhyming poetry, romance, science fiction, scripts, scriptwriting, short stories, short story, sonnet, tanka, terza rima, thriller, triolet, tv, villanelle, writer, writing, writing exercises, writing group, writing poetry, writing workshop
Every weekday I post a set of poetry prompts on poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com and a set of story prompts on the script, novel and short story blogs (and poems, script / novel extracts, stories at the weekends). As you’ll see by the headings, you’ve missed a few but they’re listed on the relevant group’s Exercises page so you can always find them there…
Poetry Writing Exercises 075: Friday 19th April
Here are your four poetry exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: break, critical, outrage, cut, living
- Random: an old sixpence
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- One-word prompt: ghost
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what it says on the tin. You can use it at the beginning of the poem or include it later, and being poetry it doesn’t have to be exact – just be inspired by it.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the poem but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- Single-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = an object, a location, a colour.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Title = The title for your piece.
- Haiku poem= 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
Tips
- Don’t forget your five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell
- Show don’t tell: if your character is angry, don’t tell us he is, have him thumping his fist on the table.
- Colours: Include at least one colour in your story. It does add depth.
- Use strong verbs and avoid adverbs: Have a character striding instead of walking confidently.
- Only use repetition to emphasise.
- When you’ve finished the first draft, read the story out loud. It’s surprising how many ‘mistakes’ leap out at you when you read out loud… assuming you have any of course!
*
Story Writing Exercises 079: Friday 19th April
Here are your four story exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: laugh, skip, step, growl, light
- Random: S/he’s obsessed with the colour yellow…
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- One-word prompt: seat
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what they say on the tin. You can start the beginning of the story with them or a later sentence but they’re a great way of kicking off.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the story but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- One-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = two characters, an object, a location, a dilemma, a trait. Mix them all together and you have a plot… hopefully.
- First person piece or monologue (a one-sided conversation).
- Dialogue only = this is where you literally just write a conversation between two people. No ‘he said’, ‘she said’ or description, just speech and the reader has to be able to keep up. :)
- Second-person = some of you will know that I champion. The prompt can be in any style but has to be written in second-person viewpoint… oh, what a hardship. :)
- Title: This is the title of your story.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
Tips
- Don’t forget your five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell
- Show don’t tell: if your character is angry, don’t tell us he is, have him thumping his fist on the table.
- Colours: Include at least one colour in your story. It does add depth.
- Use strong verbs and avoid adverbs: Have a character striding instead of walking confidently.
- Only use repetition to emphasise.
- When you’ve finished the first draft, read the story out loud. It’s surprising how many ‘mistakes’ leap out at you when you read out loud… assuming you have any of course!
*
Pictures above courtesy of morguefile.com
** 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, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) 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. If there’s anything you’d like to take part in, take a look at Opportunities on this blog.
I welcome items for critique for the online writing groups listed below:
Morgen’s Online Non-Fiction Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group
We look forward to reading your comments.
Tags: adverbs, author, blog, books, competitions, creative writing, crime, critique, erotica, exercises, feedback, fiction, film, five senses, flash fiction, free verse, haiku, haiku poem, hendecasyllabic, humorous, humour, iambic pentameter, literature, monologue, Morgan Bailey, morgen bailey, mystery, novels, pantoum, plays, poem, poet, poetry, poetry collection, poetry exercises, poetry magazine, poetry slams, prose, rhyming, rhyming poetry, romance, science fiction, scripts, scriptwriting, short stories, short story, sonnet, tanka, terza rima, thriller, triolet, tv, villanelle, writer, writing, writing exercises, writing group, writing poetry, writing workshop
Every weekday I post a set of poetry prompts on poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com and a set of story prompts on the script, novel and short story blogs (and poems, script / novel extracts, stories at the weekends). As you’ll see by the headings, you’ve missed a few but they’re listed on the relevant group’s Exercises page so you can always find them there…
Poetry Writing Exercises 074: Thursday 18th April
Here are your four poetry exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: bone, bore, bunk, budge, bend
- Random: Michael’s started crying
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- Thursday Title: Rare and True
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what it says on the tin. You can use it at the beginning of the poem or include it later, and being poetry it doesn’t have to be exact – just be inspired by it.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the poem but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- Single-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = an object, a location, a colour.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Title = The title for your piece.
- Haiku poem= 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
Tips
- Don’t forget your five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell
- Show don’t tell: if your character is angry, don’t tell us he is, have him thumping his fist on the table.
- Colours: Include at least one colour in your story. It does add depth.
- Use strong verbs and avoid adverbs: Have a character striding instead of walking confidently.
- Only use repetition to emphasise.
- When you’ve finished the first draft, read the story out loud. It’s surprising how many ‘mistakes’ leap out at you when you read out loud… assuming you have any of course!
*
Story Writing Exercises 078: Thursday 18th April
Here are your four story exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: determined, ostentatious, notorious, alert, clock
- Random:S/he’s wearing head/earphones to avoid…
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- Mixed bag: student (character 1), pilot (ch.2), bunch of primroses (object), café (location), stutter (trait), can’t speak each others’ language (dilemma)
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what they say on the tin. You can start the beginning of the story with them or a later sentence but they’re a great way of kicking off.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the story but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- One-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = two characters, an object, a location, a dilemma, a trait. Mix them all together and you have a plot… hopefully.
- First person piece or monologue (a one-sided conversation).
- Dialogue only = this is where you literally just write a conversation between two people. No ‘he said’, ‘she said’ or description, just speech and the reader has to be able to keep up. :)
- Second-person = some of you will know that I champion. The prompt can be in any style but has to be written in second-person viewpoint… oh, what a hardship. :)
- Title: This is the title of your story.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
Tips
- Don’t forget your five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell
- Show don’t tell: if your character is angry, don’t tell us he is, have him thumping his fist on the table.
- Colours: Include at least one colour in your story. It does add depth.
- Use strong verbs and avoid adverbs: Have a character striding instead of walking confidently.
- Only use repetition to emphasise.
- When you’ve finished the first draft, read the story out loud. It’s surprising how many ‘mistakes’ leap out at you when you read out loud… assuming you have any of course!
*
Pictures above courtesy of morguefile.com
** 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, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) 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. If there’s anything you’d like to take part in, take a look at Opportunities on this blog.
I welcome items for critique for the online writing groups listed below:
Morgen’s Online Non-Fiction Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group
We look forward to reading your comments.
Tags: adverbs, author, blog, books, competitions, creative writing, crime, critique, erotica, exercises, feedback, fiction, film, five senses, flash fiction, free verse, haiku, haiku poem, hendecasyllabic, humorous, humour, iambic pentameter, literature, monologue, Morgan Bailey, morgen bailey, mystery, novels, pantoum, plays, poem, poet, poetry, poetry collection, poetry exercises, poetry magazine, poetry slams, prose, rhyming, rhyming poetry, romance, science fiction, scripts, scriptwriting, short stories, short story, sonnet, tanka, terza rima, thriller, triolet, tv, villanelle, writer, writing, writing exercises, writing group, writing poetry, writing workshop
Every weekday I post a set of poetry prompts on poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com and a set of story prompts on the script, novel and short story blogs (and poems, script / novel extracts, stories at the weekends). As you’ll see by the headings, you’ve missed a few but they’re listed on the relevant group’s Exercises page so you can always find them there…
Poetry Writing Exercises 073: Wednesday 17th April
Here are your four poetry exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: fail, trivia, master, touch, right
- Random: Old-fashioned party
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- Sentence start: As it lay alone…
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what it says on the tin. You can use it at the beginning of the poem or include it later, and being poetry it doesn’t have to be exact – just be inspired by it.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the poem but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- Single-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = an object, a location, a colour.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Title = The title for your piece.
- Haiku poem= 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
*
Story Writing Exercises 077: Wednesday 17th April
Here are your four story exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: pale, dust, glass, sleep, old
- Random: S/he’s unwrapping a birthday present
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- Sentence start: Sarah had always planned to…
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what they say on the tin. You can start the beginning of the story with them or a later sentence but they’re a great way of kicking off.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the story but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- One-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = two characters, an object, a location, a dilemma, a trait. Mix them all together and you have a plot… hopefully.
- First person piece or monologue (a one-sided conversation).
- Dialogue only = this is where you literally just write a conversation between two people. No ‘he said’, ‘she said’ or description, just speech and the reader has to be able to keep up. :)
- Second-person = some of you will know that I champion. The prompt can be in any style but has to be written in second-person viewpoint… oh, what a hardship. :)
- Title: This is the title of your story.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
Tips
- Don’t forget your five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell
- Show don’t tell: if your character is angry, don’t tell us he is, have him thumping his fist on the table.
- Colours: Include at least one colour in your story. It does add depth.
- Use strong verbs and avoid adverbs: Have a character striding instead of walking confidently.
- Only use repetition to emphasise.
- When you’ve finished the first draft, read the story out loud. It’s surprising how many ‘mistakes’ leap out at you when you read out loud… assuming you have any of course!
*
Pictures above courtesy of morguefile.com
** 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, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) 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. If there’s anything you’d like to take part in, take a look at Opportunities on this blog.
I welcome items for critique for the online writing groups listed below:
Morgen’s Online Non-Fiction Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group
We look forward to reading your comments.
Tags: adverbs, author, blog, books, competitions, creative writing, crime, critique, erotica, exercises, feedback, fiction, film, five senses, flash fiction, free verse, haiku, haiku poem, hendecasyllabic, humorous, humour, iambic pentameter, literature, monologue, Morgan Bailey, morgen bailey, mystery, novels, pantoum, plays, poem, poet, poetry, poetry collection, poetry exercises, poetry magazine, poetry slams, prose, rhyming, rhyming poetry, romance, science fiction, scripts, scriptwriting, short stories, short story, sonnet, tanka, terza rima, thriller, triolet, tv, villanelle, writer, writing, writing exercises, writing group, writing poetry, writing workshop
Every weekday I post a set of poetry prompts on poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com and a set of story prompts on the script, novel and short story blogs (and poems, script / novel extracts, stories at the weekends). As you’ll see by the headings, you’ve missed a few but they’re listed on the relevant group’s Exercises page so you can always find them there…
Poetry Writing Exercises 072: Tuesday 16th April
Here are your four poetry exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: walk, face, crack, fall, spend
- Random: Sarah is sitting in the middle of the road
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- Tuesday Title: Tim’s Top Ten
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what it says on the tin. You can use it at the beginning of the poem or include it later, and being poetry it doesn’t have to be exact – just be inspired by it.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the poem but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- Single-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = an object, a location, a colour.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Title = The title for your piece.
- Haiku poem= 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
*
Story Writing Exercises 076: Tuesday 16th April
Here are your four story exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords:
diocese, anthropologist, judge, drum, parliament
- Random: Two characters liking the same thing until…
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- Tuesday Title: In charge
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what they say on the tin. You can start the beginning of the story with them or a later sentence but they’re a great way of kicking off.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the story but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- One-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = two characters, an object, a location, a dilemma, a trait. Mix them all together and you have a plot… hopefully.
- First person piece or monologue (a one-sided conversation).
- Dialogue only = this is where you literally just write a conversation between two people. No ‘he said’, ‘she said’ or description, just speech and the reader has to be able to keep up. :)
- Second-person = some of you will know that I champion. The prompt can be in any style but has to be written in second-person viewpoint… oh, what a hardship. :)
- Title: This is the title of your story.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
Tips
- Don’t forget your five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell
- Show don’t tell: if your character is angry, don’t tell us he is, have him thumping his fist on the table.
- Colours: Include at least one colour in your story. It does add depth.
- Use strong verbs and avoid adverbs: Have a character striding instead of walking confidently.
- Only use repetition to emphasise.
- When you’ve finished the first draft, read the story out loud. It’s surprising how many ‘mistakes’ leap out at you when you read out loud… assuming you have any of course!
*
Pictures above courtesy of morguefile.com
** 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, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) 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. If there’s anything you’d like to take part in, take a look at Opportunities on this blog.
I welcome items for critique for the online writing groups listed below:
Morgen’s Online Non-Fiction Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group
We look forward to reading your comments.
Tags: adverbs, author, blog, books, competitions, creative writing, crime, critique, erotica, exercises, feedback, fiction, film, five senses, flash fiction, free verse, haiku, haiku poem, hendecasyllabic, humorous, humour, iambic pentameter, literature, monologue, Morgan Bailey, morgen bailey, mystery, novels, pantoum, plays, poem, poet, poetry, poetry collection, poetry exercises, poetry magazine, poetry slams, prose, rhyming, rhyming poetry, romance, science fiction, scripts, scriptwriting, short stories, short story, sonnet, tanka, terza rima, thriller, triolet, tv, villanelle, writer, writing, writing exercises, writing group, writing poetry, writing workshop
Every weekday I post a set of poetry prompts on poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com and a set of story prompts on the script, novel and short story blogs (and poems, script / novel extracts, stories at the weekends). As you’ll see by the headings, you’ve missed a few but they’re listed on the relevant group’s Exercises page so you can always find them there…
Poetry Writing Exercises 071: Monday 15th April
Here are your four poetry exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: dirt, swerve, memory, drive, bed
- Random: Scared and in a hurry
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- Monologue Monday: Write a first-person poem about an old friend
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what it says on the tin. You can use it at the beginning of the poem or include it later, and being poetry it doesn’t have to be exact – just be inspired by it.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the poem but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- Single-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = an object, a location, a colour.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Title = The title for your piece.
- Haiku poem= 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
*
Story Writing Exercises 075: Monday 15th April
Here are your four story exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: sublime, anarchy, glasses, business card, headsets
- Random: She’s a self-defence teacher
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- Monday Monologue: your character is meditating
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what they say on the tin. You can start the beginning of the story with them or a later sentence but they’re a great way of kicking off.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the story but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- One-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = two characters, an object, a location, a dilemma, a trait. Mix them all together and you have a plot… hopefully.
- First person piece or monologue (a one-sided conversation).
- Dialogue only = this is where you literally just write a conversation between two people. No ‘he said’, ‘she said’ or description, just speech and the reader has to be able to keep up. :)
- Second-person = some of you will know that I champion. The prompt can be in any style but has to be written in second-person viewpoint… oh, what a hardship. :)
- Title: This is the title of your story.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
Tips
- Don’t forget your five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell
- Show don’t tell: if your character is angry, don’t tell us he is, have him thumping his fist on the table.
- Colours: Include at least one colour in your story. It does add depth.
- Use strong verbs and avoid adverbs: Have a character striding instead of walking confidently.
- Only use repetition to emphasise.
- When you’ve finished the first draft, read the story out loud. It’s surprising how many ‘mistakes’ leap out at you when you read out loud… assuming you have any of course!
*
Pictures above courtesy of morguefile.com
** 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, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) 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. If there’s anything you’d like to take part in, take a look at Opportunities on this blog.
I welcome items for critique for the online writing groups listed below:
Morgen’s Online Non-Fiction Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group
We look forward to reading your comments.
Tags: author, blog, books, competitions, creative writing, crime, critique, erotica, exercises, feedback, fiction, film, five senses, flash fiction, free verse, haiku, haiku poem, hendecasyllabic, humorous, humour, iambic pentameter, literature, Morgan Bailey, morgen bailey, mystery, novels, pantoum, plays, poem, poet, poetry, poetry collection, poetry exercises, poetry magazine, poetry slams, prose, rhyming, rhyming poetry, romance, science fiction, scripts, scriptwriting, short stories, short story, sonnet, tanka, terza rima, thriller, triolet, tv, villanelle, writer, writing, writing exercises, writing group, writing poetry, writing workshop
Welcome to Flash Fiction Friday and the sixty-ninth piece in this series. This week’s is a 780-worder by erotica commercial short story, non-fiction author, poet, interviewee and spotlightee Elizabeth Cage. This story will be podcasted in episode 24 (Sunday 5th May).
Fantasies by Elizabeth Cage
Jonathan had always been a greedy man.
Okay, so I realise a lot of blokes fantasise about having sex with two women. Fair enough, I suppose. I mean, if you presented me with the opportunity of having a threesome with two hot guys, preferably Daniel Craig and Johnny Depp, then no doubt I’d give it a go. So I had some sympathy with Jonathan’s fantasy. But three women? Well, that is sheer piggery, in my view. Still, a girlfriend aims to please, so I decided to make the necessary arrangements, in secret of course. I believe it is the element of surprise that elevates a fantasy from a mere standard meal to a gourmet feast…
Lying here, my wrists tied to the bedpost with black tights and my ankles lashed to the foot of the bed with my company tie, I tremble with anticipation. My girlfriend, Lexi, had a delicious glint in her eye as she pulled the knots tight. We’ve been together for a while now and she understands my needs so I had the feeling she might do something like this to celebrate my birthday – and my recent promotion.
‘Is he ready?’
I don’t recognise the woman’s voice coming from downstairs. It isn’t Lexi. Who has she brought in? I experience a rush of excitement, tinged with a little fear. What if she has enlisted Carla, our sexy next door neighbour? Or perhaps the gorgeous brunette who works in the local betting shop? Lexi knows I fancy her.
‘Nearly ready.’
What’s this? Another voice, different again. I hear footsteps coming up the stairs, approaching the bedroom. I know they are outside, deliberately making me wait, to increase my anticipation. Slowly, the door opens, but I can’t see who’s there because Lexi has used a towel to blindfold me. I wish she’d chosen something softer, or at least used fabric conditioner in the wash, because the material feels all scratchy on my face.
‘Here – you’ll need this.’
Another woman? How many has she invited? I’m beginning to feel unexpectedly nervous.
‘Well, he’s certainly ready for it.’ Ah, at last. A familiar voice.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: agent, Amazon, author, author spotlight, Barnes & Noble, Best Lesbian Erotica, Best Lesbian Erotica 2010, biography, Black Lace, books, burlesque performers, characters, children’s, Chimera Books, Cleis Press, commercial, creative writing, crime, critique, Desire, Elizabeth Cage, Erotic Readers and Writers Association, erotica, Erotica For All, Facebook, fantasy, feedback, fiction, Fifty Shades of Grey, For Women, forum, Goodreads, guest blog, guest blog post, guest post, historical, In the Buff, International Journal of Erotica, interview, Jane Wenham Jones, Kobo, LinkedIn, literature, Lucy Felthouse, Miss Glory Pearl, Miss Maybe, Morgan Bailey, morgen bailey, Morgen with an e, multi-genre, murder mystery, non-fiction, Northampton, novelist, novella, novels, paranormal, Penelope Friday, pinterest, poet, poetry, publisher, rejection letters, rejections, romance, Scarlet, science fiction, screenwriting, scriptwriting, second person viewpoint, self-publishing, short story, Smashwords, story author, story authors, submissions, The Hotspot, The Mammoth Book of Lesbian Erotica, Tina C, Twitter, vampire, Wanton Words and Burlesque Bombshells, western, writer, writing, writing competitions, writing events, writing magazines, Xcite, Xcite Books, YA, youtube
Complementing my daily blog interviews, today’s Author Spotlight, the one hundred and fiftieth, is of novelist and short story author Jenny Worstall.
Jenny Worstall is a teacher, musician and writer. Born in Portsmouth, she spent her childhood years in Dartmouth, Bath, Shaftesbury and Naples, and is now settled in London with her husband and two teenage children.
Singing in choirs has always been a passion and Jenny has performed most of the standard choral works with various choral societies (including the London Choral Society when Simon Rattle was Chief Conductor and the BBC Symphony Chorus where she met her husband).
Jenny’s first teaching post was in an East London comprehensive; she moved on to a grammar school in Surrey and then became Head of Music at a girls’ school in Kent. Starting a family meant giving up full time work in schools, giving her the chance to build up her piano teaching and at last find the time to do some writing.
Her first novel, Make a Joyful Noise, is the sparkling and sharply observed tale of a choir preparing for a Christmas performance of Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast in which we follow the adventures of a host of characters who are mercilessly sent up by the author: Tristan the lecherous anti-hero, Lucy the staggeringly trusting young music teacher, Claire the shameless and scheming temptress, Miss Greymitt the elderly, slightly confused and arthritic choir accompanist and a host of singers with nothing but resonance between their ears.
And now from the author herself:
The idea for Make a Joyful Noise came from my involvement in the world of classical music, a rich source of inspiration as it tends to nurture mighty egos. I decided to take a performance of one of my favourite choral works, “Belshazzar’s Feast” by William Walton, make it the backdrop for a pair of love stories and then inject it with comedy. “Make a Joyful Noise” is a line from the libretto of Belshazzar’s Feast (selected and arranged from the bible by Osbert Sitwell – a terrifically dramatic and colourful libretto), and it is true to say that just as all does not smoothly for King Belshazzar and the inhabitants of Babylon in Walton’s score, so the characters in the novel suffer from hopeless yearnings, romantic misunderstandings and the unfortunate consequences of their own misguided actions.
I started the first draft of Make a Joyful Noise when my children were very young; the main thinking and planning went on in my head, then when I could find the time, I scribbled it down. I played the piano a lot before I had children but once they were around I found that when they were awake, they wanted to join in with the music and I always had an extra pair of hands “helping “me play, but if I played when they were asleep the music woke them up. In a strange sort of way, I think writing took the place of the piano for me for a while.
The novel falls into both a musical and choral genre but is also unashamedly a romcom. I love reading Barbara Pym, Katie Fforde and Jilly Cooper, and these writers have certainly influenced me to write about affairs of the heart in a light and humourous way. The musical influence comes from the score of Belshazzar which I always had beside me when writing. The chapter headings in my book are taken from the libretto: “The Idols and the Devils”, “Yea, we wept”, and so on.
Many readers have told me that they recognise characters in the novel as various musical types and have certainly met people just like them (good, so it seems realistic). Others have told me they know exactly who the characters are (for example Tristan is apparently “definitely” Simon Rattle – he isn’t by the way! Nothing like). Make a Joyful Noise is a work of fiction. That means it is all made up.
If my novel was made into a play for radio then I can suggest a voice that would be perfect for Tristan – Bill Nighy. His voice is just the right combination of honey-strewn gravel with a hint of depravity. I wonder if he is free?
At the end of Belshazzar’s Feast, poor King Belshazzar is slain in a mysterious manner after yet another evening of debauchery involving praising false gods, music and feasting. At the end of my novel Make a Joyful Noise, Tristan…well, you will just have to read it to find out.
You can find more about Jenny and her writing via…
***
The blog interviews will return as normal tomorrow with multi-genre author Cyra McFadden – the six hundred and first of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, biographers, agents, publishers 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). 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.
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Welcome to Flash Fiction Friday and the sixty-sixth piece in this series. This week’s is a 754-worder by poet, novelist and short story author Ron Chavez.
A Time in the Trees
Back then, living in the middle of a horse pasture in Arroyo Hondo, I lie on the top bunk of my RV and look out my front top window. In the far distance, a threatening heat haze swirls below the timberline of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the west. The sun climbs high with uncommon relentless heat. The birds perched on pine fence posts sing in what seems like wails of unrelenting woe…
Patches of piñion trees stand dead and dried in a dusky brown ugliness in the sloping foothills, contrasting sharply with the heavy parched green of the tall pines in the mountain peaks above. Already a mirage-like heat haze is shimmering down along the ridges, in and out of the trees. What few clouds the magnetic pull deep inside the bowels of the mountains is able to muster, the raging hot winds scatter. Below, the land lays cracked and sun-baked, sucked dry of any hint of moisture. The wild grass withers and yellows in the far-running western llano. Crops wilt to short stubble in the fields. The Taos News reports how two men throw blows over disputed rights to acequia water. One old man is slammed on the side of the head with a shovel when he stands firm and tall in defense of his share of water. Tempers flare. Life long friends fight and argue. The people of the land are at the sharp edge of civil intolerance
The relentless drought is also taking its toll on the fauna. Brown bears, gaunt and stark-eyed slide down from the mountains in a weak, tail dragging gait, scrounging for human garbage, needing to avert the horror of slow starvation.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: acequia water, Arroyo Hondo, author, flash fiction, llano, New Mexico, novelist, Pecos River, poet, poetry, Puerto de Luna, Ron Chavez, Route 66, short stories, short story, Taos News, Taos Pueblo, Tewa tribe, writing
I run a fortnightly critique group as well as critiquing other authors’ writing which I really enjoy, so I started creating podcast episodes doing this. Because this was not only time-consuming but also restrictive being audio-only, I decided to switch from audio to text and will now be running future ones on the blog. The first nine episodes have already been blogged (and are listed on the http://morgenbailey.wordpress.com/red-pen-critique page) with new episodes being run here every Sunday evening (UK times).
Please remember that it’s only one person’s (my) opinion and you, and the author concerned, are welcome to disagree with my interpretation – I will never be mean for the sake of it, but hope you find that I’m firm but fair. I type my comments as I read through the story as a reader would think as they read, although they would most likely be reading, not analysing, unless they’re writers too!
Regardless of what genre you write I hope that this helps you think about the way fiction is constructed and that you have enjoyed reading another author’s work, the copyright of which remains with them.
***
The story in this post was kindly emailed to me by Aaron whose short story ‘On the Edge’ I critiqued in episode no.7.
If you have any feedback on this or aspects of my website or blog, I’m always delighted to hear from you – my email address is morgen@morgenbailey.com.
And if you’re feeling brave enough to send me a short story or novel extract (with a brief synopsis please) – 3,000-words maximum – for these red pen blog sessions then feel free.
So without further ado, Aaron’s story, then my feedback…
Circles
A Roman cohort on the march was not a quiet thing. More than 400 men each carrying a third of their own bodyweight, in kit that was mostly metal, produced a great deal of clanking.
‘Sir, these Britons. They don’t all happen to be deaf, do they?’ said Marius Sextus. He was trying to get his name known, and Centurion Brevus, alongside them on horseback, was as good an officer as any to try to impress.
‘Not as far as we know. Although they are probably stupid. And mad.’
‘Mad, sir?’
‘Of course they are. Trying to fight us the way they do. If you could call it fighting – all that yelling, and throwing stones at us. As I say, insane. But what makes you think they might be deaf too?’
‘Because maybe we hardly ever find any of them because they can hear us coming from ten leagues away!’
‘Jupiter, that’s a good one. I think I might just have heard it before, though. Yesterday, I think it was.’ Brevus was apparently of the view that new men should be broken, rather than bedded, in. He picked up his pace and moved further up the column. Marius saluted, and swore under his breath.
Marius wondered whether Brevus was created miserable, or whether the weather here was driving him that way. Only three hours after noon, and already the dusk was approaching. Even here in the southwest of the island, it was cold enough at night for the armour to freeze to your skin if you weren’t careful, and the water in your pigskin bladder rarely completely unfroze before midday. Gods only knew what it must be like in Hibernia.
Ten minutes later, one of the cavalry scouts returned from his evening reconnaissance. The rider was looking excited as he dismounted and walked to report to the Cohort Commander. From Marius’ place towards the back of the column, he couldn’t hear the discussion, but the scout was using a lot of hand gestures. Twice, he swept his arms around to indicate circles. This seemed odd – granted, the circle was the standard patrol route, but everyone knew that; why bother telling the Old Man something he would already know?
Whatever had been said prompted an order to halt soon after. Marius now had the dilemma that every soldier in history faced – is this particular stop going to be long enough to make it worth dumping my pack, given that if I do, I’ll only have to pick it up again later? All around him Legionaries stamped feet, stretched limbs and generally tried to keep warm until the officers’ conference that was apparently taking place had finished, and the soldiers would either resume marching, or set up camp.
After a few minutes, Titus, the Decurion, gathered his seven men round him.
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Tags: Aaron, creative writing, critique, feedback, historical, red pen, Roman, self-publishing, short stories, short story, writing
Tonight’s guest blog post, on the topic of rejections, is brought to you by short story, humour author and novelist and interviewee Melodie Campbell.
“Much as I love history sex and violence…” Rejection Slips and other Ciphers
All writers share one experience in common: Rejection. Yes, that single three-syllable word can pack more punch than a swat team of grammarians in a first year college class. I’ve known grown novelists crushed by the impact of a lone one-page letter in a returned SASE. (You can tell by the thickness of the envelope that it ain’t holdin’ no contract.) In New York, it is rumored that spurned essayists have been seen to (gasp) forgo imported and guzzle down domestic in their haste to heal the pain.
Rejection is the hurtin’, cheatin’ country song of the writer’s world.
We all know that tune. Usually sung off-key, by editors who can’t do what we authors do, but have the power to keep us out of print.
Rejection slips serve only one useful purpose as far as I can tell: they prove to Revenue Canada and the IRA that we are indeed working writers and deserve all those measly tax deductions.
But wait – is there more?
In case you missed it, there is a hierarchy of rejection slips! If you write for a living, or merely for the loving, you will undoubtedly have a collection that cries out for classification.
Keep them. Treasure them. Devote a drawer to them. (Better still, a steamer trunk.) Make your own list of rejection translations and get to know the lingo.
Here’s my list, to get you started:
- “…unfortunately, it does not meet our requirements at this time.” This means No. Allow yourself ten minutes to rant, and then try another market.
- “…does not meet our current needs, but we would welcome seeing more of your work.” Hey – you’ve reached them! Maybe they can’t use this piece, but they like your style. Send more. Persist. Be relentless. That’s how I first got into Star Magazine. I wore them down.
- “….if you would consider revising, I would happily have another read of it.” Go, go, go! Whenever an editor gives direct encouragement, run with it. Act immediately. Revise and re-mail. Invite her to dinner. Walk his dog. Do what you have to. But don’t lose his interest.
I cherish personal replies from editors, not only for the time they take to write, but also for the hidden messages within. Some are priceless. Here are a few gems from my personal file (er…trunk):
“…not for us, but I think the ‘Idler’ uses satire.” That’s right, pass it off to the competition and hope it sinks ‘em. The ultimate publisher power play.
“…we found your novel an interesting and compelling work, however…” Shucks. I should have known they don’t publish ‘interesting and compelling’ works.
And my own personal favorite: “…much as I like history, sex and violence…” Well, gee, that’s interesting. But exactly how does this relate to my returned manuscript? By the way, what are you doing Saturday night?
That was great, thank you, Melodie!
Melodie Campbell has over 200 publications, 6 awards, and was a finalist for the 2012 Derringer and Arthur Ellis awards.
She is the Executive Director of Crime Writers of Canada.
Library Journal says this about Melodie`s third novel, The Goddaughter (Orca Books)
“Campbell`s crime caper is just right for Janet Evanovich fans. Wacky family connections and snappy dialogue make it impossible not to laugh.”
I then invited Melodie to provide an excerpt from The Goddaughter: We got through the border with no problem at all. Of course, it’s much easier getting through borders without a semi-frozen dead body pretending to be asleep in the back seat.
You can buy The Goddaughter: Amazon.uk and Amazon.com.
And A Purse to Die For: Amazon.uk and Amazon.com.
Follow Melodie’s comic blog at http://funnygirlmelodie.blogspot.com and visit her website www.melodiecampbell.com.
***
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 fantasy novelist Ginny Atkinson – the five hundred and sixty-fifth 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 now donate and receive a free eBook.
Unfortunately, as I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t review books but I have a feature called ‘Short Story Saturdays’ where I review stories of up to 2,500 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 reading it / talking about and critiquing it (I send you the transcription afterwards so you can use the comments or ignore them) 
on my ‘Bailey’s Writing Tips’ podcast, then do email me. They are fortnightly episodes, usually released on Sundays, interweaving the recordings between the red pen sessions with the hints & tips episodes. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays and poetry for Post-weekend Poetry.
Tags: Arthur Ellis award, critique, Derringer award, feedback, guest blog, guest post, humour author, interviewee, Janet Evanovich, Library Journal, Melodie Campbell, novelist, Orca Books, rejection, short story, Star Magazine, writing
Welcome to Post-weekend Poetry and the forty-ninth poem in this series. This week’s piece is by poet, short story author, scriptwriter and lyricist Ken Temple.
Seasons
The wind elopes with golden leaves,
Forsaking sad and naked trees,
The glade lies still and holds its breath,
As winter steals into its bed.
The sudden touch of icy fingers,
The frosty breath that chills and lingers,
Slows life and sends it off to dream,
As plant and beast lie in wait of spring.
Under a pristine, snowy blanket,
Life slows and slumbers and it dreams,
Hardly a creature stirs the silence,
And frigid stillness reigns supreme.
The snowy veil ebbs and parts, behold:
Warm sun rays loosen winter’s hold!
And life awakens from its slumber,
With renewed zeal and full of wonder.
Like dark, but jewel-sequined fingers,
Tree branches drip with melting ice,
Emerald buds in warm rays linger,
As they life’s waking emphasize.
Spring waxes in a blur of speed,
And so is planted summer’s seed.
The days grow long, lake waters warm,
And the glade basks in night bird’s song.
Butterflies dance in fragrant air,
Awash with fresh grass essence.
Old trees stand solemn and austere,
Aloof in their senescence.
Again the wind strips down the trees,
Again life slows and goes to sleep.
Year after year, the dance goes on,
As life wanes and then is reborn.
***
Thank you, Ken.
Ken is a keen martial artist, pupil of the old-Japanese culture, avid chess / shogi player, video game and movie junkie and a rabid, foaming-at-the-mouth zealot of German-made cars.
He also loves comics and good music, but then, he says, who doesn’t?
He can be found on Twitter: @TempleKenjamin and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Ken.Temple.Animus and blogs at http://poozestan.tumblr.com and http://animusnews.wordpress.com.
***
If you’d like to submit your poem (40 lines max) for consideration for Post-weekend Poetry take a look here.
The blog interviews will return as normal tomorrow with historical author RJ Berry – the five hundred and sixty-fourth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, biographers, agents, publishers 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 now donate and receive a free eBook.
Unfortunately, as I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t review books but I have a feature called ‘Short Story Saturdays’ where I review stories of up to 2,500 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 reading it / talking about and critiquing it (I send you the transcription afterwards so you can use the comments or ignore them) on my ‘Bailey’s Writing Tips’ podcast, then do email me. They are fortnightly episodes, usually released on Sundays, interweaving the recordings between the red pen sessions with the hints & tips episodes. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays.
Tags: author, creative writing, Ken Temple, lyricist, poem, poet, scriptwriter, short story, writing
Welcome to Flash Fiction Friday and the sixty-first piece in this series. This week’s is a 922-worder by multi-genre author guest blogger, interviewee and spotlightee Marion Grace Woolley, which won first place in the Swanezine Short Story Competition in December 2011.
Carte Blanche
We’re like the sea, you and I. Rolling to a thick, deep rhythm that only we can hear. That invincible river of truth running between two distant shores, the type of truth you can drown in.
Some nights, that’s exactly what happens, dragged beneath the surface of my own consciousness. Pulled under by the crocodile teeth of my own lies, ready for that final death roll. I wake, sweat drenched and sour in my own scent. Afraid that I will never be able to rise again, back to the cool oxygen that my body craves.
That’s the thing about cravings. Some things you crave because, without them, your flesh would die. You need to breathe, to eat, to drink. But other things – you need them just as much, but, in needing them, you’re killing yourself.
You never understood that, did you? You never quite got it.
And now it’s too late. Every day of our lives I tried to explain it to you. Tried to show you; make you aware. At first I thought you hadn’t noticed – I really was that subtle. Pouring your champagne before mine. Helping you into your coat as we left the restaurant. Would I have noticed? Probably not.
But as time went by, I started to suspect. I knew you better than that, see. To me, you’re like crackle glass. There’s nothing transparent about you. If you were ordinary, I could look straight through you and know all there is to know. I could see our future on the other side of you. I could look you over, and look away.
But you’re not. Your clarity changes with the light. Those thick fractures within you, they fascinate the eye. I could gaze at you for a lifetime and never see the complete picture. It takes a complicated person to be that beautiful. It takes intelligence to break itself upon the jarred rocks of self-realisation and denial.
That’s how I knew that you were choosing not to acknowledge me. You were fully aware of my craving, yet you chose to overlook it. You chose to withdraw into the facetious playroom of childhood innocence. You chose to be stupid, blind and dumb.
And every part of me wanted you more for that.
I couldn’t help what happened that night. The fairy lights twinkled as bright as stars around the garden trellis. Your husband and his fat, porky guests quaffing port like pigs in a mud hole. Drunk on their own fine taste and sense of self-worth. I watched you smile, like a string of pearls strung around a pauper. That fake, false way that I watched you cultivate over twenty years of marriage.
I missed the girl in you. I missed the part that was real; that was genuine. Where did she go? Sometimes when we’d take tea, or walk in the country, I’d imagine that I caught a glimpse of her. For a moment she would return as if from some far-flung adventure to the outer shores of existence. ‘I was always coming home,’ she’d say, then just as soon be off on her next escapade, far beyond my grasp.
I loved you from the first moment I saw you, standing in your skinny gym slip at St. Mary of the Immaculate Heart’s. I cherished those all-girl dances we used to attend. They were our salad days. Where no man could touch you, because none were invited.
Every sentence begins with ‘I’, because I never knew what you thought or felt. Did you ever look at me sideways in the showers? Did you ever wonder? Did you ever, for one brief moment, in the dark-enraptured night, consider what it might have been like?
Each of your boyfriends came and went, so literally. Yet I was always constant. After every heartbreak, after every betrayal – wasn’t I always there, just as I ever was? Perhaps you believed my inventions, those imaginary boyfriends who never called and never sent me flowers. Surely you knew that there was only ever one. One person, out of the entire world, that had my full attention.
It had to be said. As we sat beneath the eaves of your grand affluence, staring out across the night-cooled lawns towards the lake. It had to be said.
The sting of your hand across my face burns still. That hot horror as you realised what I had been trying to tell you all our lives. And in that moment, as your eyes flashed and your pearls broke and scattered, I knew that you had known. I knew that, in your own way, you had expected this moment to come.
I suppose, if we’re now to be honest, I had always known your reaction. What caused me to provoke you, I cannot say. The empty look of your Gould-guzzling guests, your husband’s hollow laugh; the sheer plasticity of it all? The faintest recognition in the depths of my soul that there could be another life behind all of this. Something real. Something meaningful.
And now, there is nothing. Should I regret opening my mouth? Because I do, with every ounce of my being. If, by staying silent, I could look upon you every day for the rest of our lives – look, but never touch – I would sign my name to that contract. But it’s too late. That river of truth touches both our continents, but forever keeps us worlds apart.
Should you ever return to the country of our birth, you shall find me waiting. Here, beneath the eaves.
I asked Marion what prompted this piece and she said…
Carte Blanche was written specifically for the Swanezine Short Story Competition in December 2011. Incredibly, it beat 214 other entries to take the (cash) first prize. So, an afternoon well spent.
I’ve been a long-standing supporter of a scriptwriting community called Celtx. They used to run short competitions on their forum, based on prompts. Their 14th competition, in 2008, asked for a ‘script over 5 pages of a meeting between two formerly-close friends that haven’t seen one another for over a year.’
I titled my seven-page entry Meet Me Next June. It was set in a café where two formerly-close friends, June (ho ho) and Emily, were experiencing a less-than-comfortable reunion. Friends for years, they had fallen out when June finally confessed her feelings and tried to kiss Emily. It’s a theme that I had been holding onto for a while.
At the time of writing Carte Blanche, I had been enthused by the Muse. Every now and then – rarely – you meet someone who captures your imagination. It’s never a deliberate thing, but it has the effect of wiring you into the mains, rather than running off double As.
Possibly for that reason, this story was one of the easiest to write; it just flowed onto the page. I think I knew, when I got to the end, that I’d written something special. It’s a hefty thing to say, but I still class this as one of the best pieces I’ve written to date. See what you think.
It was great. Thank you, Marion.
Marion Grace Woolley studied at the British Record Industry Trust (BRIT) School of Performing Arts, Croydon. After obtaining an MA in Language & Communication Research from the University of Cardiff, she declared that she’d had enough of academia and decided to run away to Africa.
Balancing her creative impulses with a career in International Development, she worked and travelled across Africa, Australia, Armenia, and a few other places beginning with ‘A’. In 2009, Marion helped to oversee the publication of the first Dictionary of Amarenga y’Ikinyarwanda (Rwandan Sign Language), a project of which she was immensely proud to have been a part.
The same year, Marion was shortlisted for the Luke Bitmead Bursary for New Writers. She is the author of three novels and an associate member of the Society of Authors.
She now lives in Gloucester, although the travelling bug hasn’t gone away. You can find out more about Marion and her writing from her website and see her book trailer on YouTube.
***
If you’d like to submit your 1,000-word max. stories for consideration for Flash Fiction Friday take a look here.
The blog interviews will return as normal tomorrow with psychological thriller novelist Rebecca Reid – the five hundred and fifty-fourth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, biographers, agents, publishers 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.
Unfortunately, as I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t review books but I have a feature called ‘Short Story Saturdays’ where I review stories of up to 2,500 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 reading it / talking about and critiquing it (I send you the transcription afterwards so you can use the comments or ignore them) on my ‘Bailey’s Writing Tips’ podcast, then do email me. They are fortnightly episodes, usually released on Sundays, interweaving the recordings between the red pen sessions with the hints & tips episodes. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays and poetry for Post-weekend Poetry.
Tags: Amarenga y'Ikinyarwanda, British Record Industry Trust, Bursary, Celtx, competition, Croydon, flash fiction, Luke Bitmead, Marion Grace Woolley, Rwandan Sign Language, School of Performing Arts, short stories, short story, Society of Authors, Swanezine, University of Cardiff, writing
Welcome to Post-weekend Poetry and the forty-seventh poem in this series. This week’s piece is by novelist, short story author, poet and illustrator Sophie E Tallis. You can read my interview with Sophie here.
Insincere
People thought I was being ‘Stevie Smith’, very angst and prone to drama.
If you’re old you’re ‘clinically depressed’…understandable really…all those wrinkles staring back, more years behind than in front, a slow decay of time and body.
If you’re ‘middle-aged’ you’re simply in a rut. “Snap out of it!” they say, you’re not the self-obsessed youth you used to be, no time for such indulgences.
If you’re young you just can’t win. The loudest voice in the room but nobody’s listening.
Insincerity drips off the young who have a predisposition for blue… My youth has flown away now, my student days a haze – melancholic writings to paraphrase.
But then as now, my blue is simply a part of me, not showy, not angst…quite healthy now actually.
No longer just wearing black, colour creeps and leaves its residue, a hue to match my mood.
So no, I’m not waving or drowning, not making a statement, not needing help, quite happy, contented, as much as I can be, not full of old rage and hated resentments. Moving on, moved on… nasty neighbours but nice place, like the view…not insincere, not pretentious…simply blue.
***
I asked Sophie what prompted this piece and she said…
The inspiration behind ‘Insincere’ was really based on the misconceptions and generalisations people have about other people. We are always so keen to pigeon-hole.
Even though I am a naturally happy, bubbly character, as with all of us, that is not the only facet to my personality. Many of us have a duality about us, more so perhaps for semi-public figures. As a teacher, not only do you lose some of your anonymity but part of your job is to make the children in your care feel comfortable and happy while they are learning. Therefore, even when I’m feeling awful or down, I’ll often have a fixed smile on my face for the children’s sake. It’s not a conscious act, but just something I do quite naturally. However, it does perpetuate the misconception that I’m always a ‘happy shiny’ person. Those that know me well, know that I’m somewhat of an onion, with many layers and not all of them light!
Just like me. Thank you, Sophie.
Sophie E Tallis is an epic fantasy author and illustrator, poet and short story writer. Originally from a sleepy village north of Bristol, she currently lives in the Cotswolds with her family and her two enormous white wolves!
She works as a full-time teacher and has been inspiring young children for the past 14 years. However, her first passion has always been for writing stories and poetry, which she has done since she was a child.
A painter and artist, she divides her time between writing, teaching and her artwork. She adores travelling when she gets the chance, and has a profound love of landscapes, particularly those of New Zealand and Dartmoor, which she finds very inspiring.
She enjoys stargazing, playing chess, watching films (particularly fantasy & sci-fi), ‘world-building’ and buying yet more bookcases for her growing library! She describes herself as a lover of wild places and the written word and is a bit of a self-confessed nerd! When asked what her interests are, she usually smiles and replies, “EVERYTHING!”.
Sophie’s debut novel ‘White Mountain – book 1 of The Darkling Chronicles’ is now available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.
***
If you’d like to submit your poem (40 lines max) for consideration for Post-weekend Poetry take a look here.
The blog interviews will return as normal tomorrow with science fiction & fantasy author Sarah Ettritch – the five hundred and fiftieth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, biographers, agents, publishers 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 and I also have a blog creation service especially for, but not limited to, writers.
Unfortunately, as I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t review books but 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 reading it / talking about and critiquing it (I send you the transcription afterwards so you can use the comments or ignore them) on my ‘Bailey’s Writing Tips’ podcast, then do email me. They are weekly episodes, usually released Monday mornings UK time, interweaving the recordings between the red pen sessions with the hints & tips episodes. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays.
Tags: author, debut, illustrator, interview, novel, novelist, poem, poet, poetry, Safkhet Publishing LLP, short story, Sophie E Tallis, Sophie Tallis, writing
Welcome to the five hundred and forty-seventh of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, biographers, agents, publishers and more. Today’s is with dark fiction author Steven Miscandlon. 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, Steven. Please tell us something about yourself, where you’re based, and how you came to be a writer.
Steven: Hi Morgen. I’m from the west coast of Scotland originally, currently living in exile in the north-east of England. It’ll be a familiar tale to you by now, but yes, ‘I started writing at a very young age ….’ There were various scribblings as a child, and even then they tended toward the horrific. (I definitely remember at least one Dracula story.)
In my late teens and early twenties my first proper works – mainly science fiction – were published in various indie zines. I also used to write reviews and articles for the same publications. When I was twenty-one, I had a story published in ‘West Coast Magazine’ which was, at the time, Scotland’s leading literary journal — it featured ‘up-and-coming’ Scottish writers including the likes of Des Dillon and Irvine Welsh, so I was very happy to be seen in there.
I self-published a collection of my short fiction and poetry, ‘Forever Lost’, in 1994. It received some very nice reviews, from as far afield as Australia (which, in those largely pre-Internet days, felt like quite a big deal).
For years after that, real life kind of got in the way and the writing fell by the wayside. It’s only in the past two or three years that I’ve really started to get back into the swing of things and begun to think of myself as a ‘writer’ again.
Morgen: Nice reviews from Australia is still a big deal. What genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?
Steven: I tend not to think too much about genre. When I released my recent short story collection, ‘Into the Shadows’, I labelled it broadly as ‘dark fiction’. There are a couple of horror stories in there, and one that’s pure sci-fi. Most of the others I suppose fall approximately into what might be considered the dark end of the crime genre.
It’s funny, I have never for a moment considered myself a ‘crime writer’ but, objectively, I guess that’s where many of my stories fit. I’m not really a big reader of crime fiction, but it’s a playing field that lets writers explore dark emotions, threat and peril, vengeance and repercussions – all the things I like in storytelling.
Morgen: Crime’s my favourite and although I’ve just published a chick lit novel, the rest of my writing is quite dark. What have you had published to-date? Do you write under a pseudonym?
Steven: In terms of fiction books, just my two short story collections, ‘Forever Lost’ (1994) and ‘Into the Shadows’ (2012). As well as the stories I had published in various magazines in the early nineties, my more recent work has appeared online at venues such as Thrillers, Killers & Chillers and At The Bijou. My short story ‘This is Glasgow’ appeared in the ‘True Brit Grit’ crime anthology in 2012.
I don’t have a pseudonym as such, but I also write non-fiction and have a couple of ebooks out, one about property letting and the other a business management guide. To keep them separate on Amazon etc., I’ve published the non-fiction titles under ‘S. J. Miscandlon’ while the fiction stays under Steven Miscandlon.
Morgen: Easier when it comes to receiving payment. You’ve self-published, what led to you going your own way?
Steven: When I put out ‘Forever Lost’ way back in 1994, self-publishing was pretty much an ‘alternative’ scene, not directly competing with traditional publishing as seems to be the case now. In the early nineties I was involved with quite a few indie zines of various sorts, including publications in the sci-fi, gothic music and poetry scenes.
It’s probably a cliché to compare it with the punk ethos but, yes, there was definitely an alternative, underground vibe to a lot of the publications that were kicking around at the time. I also did some review work back then for a zine that publicised anarchist / counterculture publications, so that gave me an interesting insight into what was out there, and showed me that there were various alternatives to mainstream publishing.
Anyway, my main reason for self-publishing ‘Forever Lost’ then was to give myself full editorial control. I was grateful to all those publications that had printed my work … but once too often I’d seen a story of mine go out with typos (introduced by the editor), dreadful layout or accompanied by a wholly inappropriate graphic or photograph. Self-publishing meant it would look how I wanted it to look. I could be responsible for not only the writing, but also for the layout, the illustrations, everything. Call me a control freak, but that appealed to me.
Fast forward to today, and pretty much the same reasoning still applies. My partner, Julie Morrigan, was first to dip her toe in the ebook market in 2011, and has self-published (to date) two successful novels and three short story collections. Julie previously had a number of non-fiction books published by the traditional route, and together we’ve seen what a frustrating experience that can be. I honestly don’t see self-publishing as the ‘easy option’ for people who can’t get a publishing deal (which some folk seem to write it off as) but rather as a perfectly viable – and in some cases preferable – alternative to traditional publishing.
Morgen: Self-publishing definitely has a better name for itself these days and most authors who’ve gone that route (myself included) have sought agents (or publishers) and realised this suits them (for now ). Do you have a favourite of your books or characters? If any of your books were made into films, who would you have as the leading actor/s?
Steven: Funnily enough, the characters I’ve probably had most fun writing feature in an as-yet unpublished story. A bunch of villains who’ve just done a bank job together, including Basher Bazhenov, Fingers Bob, Italian Tony and Bullshit Billy. For some reason, in my head Fingers Bob is played by Michael Keating (the guy who portrayed Vila in Blake’s 7).
Morgen: Michael Keating’s brilliant, good choice. Did you choose the titles / covers of your books? How important do you think they are?
Steven: Book covers always have been, and probably always will be, of the utmost importance. They provide the visual hook that can draw a reader to investigate an author they don’t know. That’s no less true with ebooks. I actually design book covers on a freelance basis (http://stevenmiscandlonbookdesign.weebly.com/portfolio.html) so produced my own cover for ‘Into the Shadows’.
Morgen: It’s very striking. Do you do a lot of editing or do you find that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?
Steven: I fully recognise the value of rewriting and editing your own work … but for the most part my writing arrives more or less fully-formed. I think that’s because I tend to write in my head, and only commit it to paper once I know what’s what. I might note down key phrases or descriptions in the interim, but I find that once the story has been written, I rarely make major changes to it other than the odd word tweak here and there.
Morgen: I’m generally the same, although I’m doing a novel for NaNoWriMo which is quite unstructured at the moment. I’m only 10,000 words in so a long way to go and I don’t usually plot but I do wonder whether a bit more than a page of scribbles would have been useful this time. What point of view do you find most to your liking: first person or third person? Have you ever tried second person?
Steven: I’m very much a first person kinda guy. I think it gives an emotional immediacy that’s a bit harder to impart in third person. We all go through our lives with this internal monologue running in our heads, and first person is a great tool for showing that our thoughts and feelings are often at odds with what is going on around us.
I’m not a fan of second person. I’ve seen it used quite well, but because it’s such an unusual style I think it pretty much always comes across as something that’s been done as a writing exercise, rather than a story that came out that way naturally.
Morgen: I love using second person but only for short pieces. It’s very tiring to read and write so a novel would have to be something special in that point of view. So you write short stories, how about poetry or non-fiction?
Steven: Short stories are my thing. I love them. My favourite books growing up tended to be horror story anthologies, and I still rank the likes of M. R. James, H. P. Lovecraft and Ambrose Bierce among my favourite writers. Another of my favourites is Philip K. Dick, but again it’s his shorter stories rather than his novels that I’m drawn to.
To be honest, I don’t have a great deal of interest in writing anything longer. Some people see that as the natural progression for a writer – from shorts to novels – but I much prefer the short story format.
I haven’t written any poetry for years, but it did used to be part of my repertoire. In my early twenties I had pieces published in a few poetry anthologies and magazines (including Storm Constantine’s dark fantasy magazine ‘Visionary Tongue’).
I do write non-fiction – that’s my day job. At the moment I’m a staff writer for a health and fitness magazine, write blogs about European insurance regulation for a consultancy, and write product and company profiles for a range of engineering and science websites. I’ve written for corporate clients in all sorts of fields, from financial services and property developers through to a weight loss clinic and a martial arts film review site.
Morgen: What’s your favourite favourite aspect of your writing life?
Steven: My favourite part has to be playing with words. I mean, they’re great, aren’t they? There’s nothing quite like lining up just the right words in just the right order to give you a sense of satisfaction.
Morgen: Absolutely. It’s mine too. What advice would you give aspiring writers?
Steven: My advice to aspiring writers would be: ‘Never give too much credence to people who like to give advice to aspiring writers.’ There seem to be a lot of folk out there whose purpose in life is to tell other writers what they should and (more often) shouldn’t do in order to be a successful writer; how to write great characters, how to convey emotion, how to write realistic dialogue, how to use foreshadowing, how to beat writer’s block, and so on and so forth. This advice, all too often, is being regurgitated by people who have no real credibility or success as writers themselves. The Internet is awash with people who claim to be ‘experts’ – and most of them are nothing of the sort.
Morgen: Great advice, thank you. Is there a word, phrase or quote you like?
Steven: The quote that springs to mind is: ‘The quickest way to do many things is to do only one thing at a time.’ According to the Internet, that one comes from motivational speaker Christopher Westra. But then, what would the Internet know?
Morgen: More than me on some things, thankfully. Are you involved in anything else writing-related other than actual writing or marketing of your writing?
Steven: I also edit and proofread (http://www.mlwritingservices.co.uk/services-for-authors.html), and have worked on a freelance basis with self-publishing authors, small presses and major publishing houses. I find editing other writers’ work – both fiction and non-fiction – extremely enjoyable, and have worked on some great projects recently, including the revised edition of Horace Silver’s cult crime novel ‘Judas Pig’ and a high-profile UNESCO publication for HarperCollins.
Morgen: What do you do when you’re not writing? Any hobbies or party tricks?
Steven: I enjoy photography. My photos have appeared in some pretty outlandish places, from a French book on street performance and dance, to a UK parliamentary campaign group’s presentation on Scottish gang culture.
Morgen: Since I’ve been doing the covers for my books (which I love doing, I can see why you do it professionally) it’s made me look at photography differently; the composition, leaving space for the title, name etc. Are you on any forums or networking sites? If so, how valuable do you find them?
Steven: I’m on Facebook, but more for the banter than for the marketing. I use LinkedIn, which by turns I find interesting and frustrating. I signed up for Twitter recently, but I’m still not sure exactly what it’s for. I don’t think I could go so far as to describe any of them as ‘valuable’.
Morgen: Ah yes, LinkedIn, probably how we met. Where can we find out about you and your writing?
Steven: I have a website at http://www.intotheshadows.co.uk (still a bit of a work in progress) and my Amazon author page is here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Steven-Miscandlon/e/B0086VWC5G
Morgen: Thank you very much, Steven.
I then invited Steven to include an extract of his writing and this is from the short story ‘Hard Landing’:
The space in the middle of the building is a pit, an abyss, a well. Not the kind of well you draw water up from, but the kind you fall down into. Nietzsche said something about looking into the abyss; that it looks back at you. I disagree. I think it’s more likely that you’ll fall in. Or that someone will push you in.
I flick my cigarette over the side, watch the still-glowing tip tumble down into the darkness. A wisp of smoke lingers in the air, like a bitter memory. Anyone watching that casual action would see a cool, calm demeanour. A stone cold killer, ice in his veins. But it’s not like that, not on the inside. Nerves of steel? Sure, but only if that steel is a badly tuned guitar string, plucked and still resonating its greasy, uneasy tone.
My nerves are shredded, my stomach in knots. Because the reality is, if you’ve just killed a man, that’s how you feel. It might not show on the surface, but underneath it churns. I can see the look on his face, still — not fear, not exactly. More … surprise. Yeah, that’s it. Surprise that I was pushing him over a tenth-floor balustrade into the abyss. Like, despite the fact that I’d chased him up here, he still hadn’t known what was coming. Hadn’t expected me to knock away his hands as he’d grasped frantically at my lapels in a desperate attempt to cling onto dear life. Too late, buddy. Too late.
*
And a synopsis of ‘Into the Shadows’…
Murders and violence. Dark shadows and darker deeds.
Would you rent a flat whose last occupant was a murderous cannibal?
How would you deal with a dead body washed up on the beach?
Do you know whether what you see around you is even real?
‘Into the Shadows’ collects ten of Steven Miscandlon’s short stories written and published between 1993 and 2012, covering a range of genres from crime and horror to science fiction.
‘Into the Shadows’ contains violence, cruelty and adult language.
**
Steven Miscandlon cut his writing teeth with various independent magazines in the early nineties, and by the age of twenty-one had been published in ‘West Coast Magazine’, the leading Scottish literary journal which helped launch the careers of writers such as Irvine Welsh.
His self-published collection of short stories and poetry, ‘Forever Lost’, was released in 1994, and received positive reviews in the UK and internationally. More recently, Steven’s short stories have been published online at venues such as Thrillers, Killers & Chillers and At The Bijou. His short story ‘This is Glasgow’ was featured in the British crime anthology ‘True Brit Grit’.
His latest release, ‘Into the Shadows’, collects a number of stories written and published over the past twenty years, in genres ranging from crime and horror to science fiction.
***
If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and are thinking “ooh, I’d like to do this” then you can… just email me and I’ll send you the information. They do now (January 2013) carry a fee (£10 / €12.50 / $15) for the new interviews on this blog but everything else (see Opportunities on this blog) is free.
If you go for the interview, it’s very simple; I send you a questionnaire (I have them for novelists, short story authors, children’s authors, non-fiction authors, and poets). You complete the questions, and I let you know when it’s going to go live. Before it does so, I add in comments as if we’re chatting, and then they get posted. When that’s done, I email you with the link so you can share it with your corner of the literary world. And if you have a writing-related blog / podcast and would like to interview me… let me know.
Alternatively, if you’d like a free Q&A-only interview, I now have http://morgensauthorinterviews.wordpress.com on which I’ve rerun the original interviews posted here then posted new interviews which I then reblog here. These interviews are Q&A only, so I don’t add in my comments but they do get exposure on both sites.
** 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, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) 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. I welcome critique for the four new writing groups listed below and / or flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays. For other opportunities see (see Opportunities on this blog).
The full details of the new online writing groups, and their associated Facebook groups, are:
Morgen’s Online Non-Fiction Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group
We look forward to reading your comments.
Tags: agent, Amazon, author, author spotlight, Barnes & Noble, biographers, biography, books, characters, children’s, creative writing, crime, critique, dark fiction, erotic romance, erotica, Facebook, fantasy, feedback, fiction, flash fiction, Goodreads, guest blog, guest blog post, guest post, historical, interview, Kobo, LinkedIn, literature, Morgan Bailey, morgen bailey, Morgen with an e, multi-genre, murder mystery, mystery series, non-fiction, Northampton, novel, novelist, novels, paranormal, paranormal romances, pinterest, poetry, poetry collections, publisher, rejection letters, rejections, romance, science fiction, second person viewpoint, self-publishing, short stories, short story, short story group, Smashwords, Steven Miscandlon, story author, story authors, story writer, submissions, Twitter, vampire, western, Wordpress, writer, writing, writing competitions, writing events, writing group, writing magazines, YA, youtube
Welcome to the Short Story Saturday review slot and the fifteenth in this series. This week’s review is of 1,546-word story The Outside World (which comes from his collection ‘The City Heroes & Other Stories from the Heart of Africa’) by children’s author Omoruyi Uwuigiaren.
***
One of the first things we’re taught as a writer is to avoid clichés and this story opens with one of the classics ‘dead as a doornail’. Whilst some of the language is a little flowery for adult readers, I can imagine children finding it charming as it’s not talking down to them but with them as they read.
I’m actually a big child myself, loving anything animated, and this story would make a good short film.
The characters in this piece are animals (cats) rather than humans but it doesn’t make them any less human and they are in fact very eloquent which adds charm to the writing. The names Ruyi has chosen for them are great, with Dag, Fred and Pork amongst them.
Like all good stories we have a dilemma early on and they discuss their predicaments and possible solutions.
It’s very hard to avoid ‘telling’ in any form of writing but there are some times when the dialogue is enough. For example, when we learn by what he is saying that Pork is alarmed so we don’t also need to be told that he is.
What Ruyi does well is let us learn of the human behaviour from what the cats are saying about them and the humans’ actions (not pleasant) and that makes the piece all the more realistic.
Any reader should learn / be entertained / moved by their stories they read and I’d say this has all three. By what is said of the cruelty, yet not told in a direct fashion so as to scare younger readers, it should hopefully be impressed on them that this is not acceptable and if they care about the characters they will care about animals in real life. It’ll certainly make me listen closer when I’m walking past a group of cats when I’m out for a walk next.
Writing for children is clearly Omoruyi’s comfort zone and if the rest of his collection is anything like this story, you’ll be in for a treat.
***
Thank you Omoruyi for inviting me to read your story.
Omoruyi Uwuigiaren’s writing achievements include articles, cartoons, editorials and nine books. Guardian, Vanguard newspapers, Town Crier Times, Moronic Ox Literary and Cultural Journal, the Publicist International and other literary journals have published his works.
The book which this story comes from his collection ‘The City Heroes & Other Stories from the Heart of Africa’ which is available at http://www.open-bks.com/library/moderns/the-city-heroes/author.html, and Omoruyi blogs at http://omoruyiu.blogspot.com.
***
Unfortunately, as I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t review books but I review stories of up to 2,500 words on this ‘Short Story Saturdays’ feature. 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 reading it / talking about and critiquing it (I send you the transcription afterwards so you can use the comments or ignore them) on my ‘Bailey’s Writing Tips’ podcast, then do email me. They are weekly episodes, usually released Monday mornings UK time, interweaving the recordings between the red pen sessions with the hints & tips episodes. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays and poetry for Post-weekend Poetry.
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 and I also have a blog creation service especially for, but not limited to, writers.
Next up is my author spotlight of novelist and children’s author Barbara Ebel, then the blog interviews will return as normal tomorrow with non-fiction author and White House correspondent Fred Lucas – the five hundred and forty-first of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, biographers, agents, publishers 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.
Tags: children's, critique, literature, Omoruyi Uwuigiaren, review, short stories, short story, writing
Welcome to Flash Fiction Friday and the fifty-ninth piece in this series. This week’s is a 900-worder by multi-genre author Donald E Schwarz.
Faulkner’s Ghost by Donald Schwarz
I’ve always considered myself too cynical, but you can forget about Roger Corman. They look just like they did in life, the only way you know it’s a ghost is because they can’t possibly be where you see them. They are always totally unaware of their surroundings, so absorbed by their own thoughts that they have lost their place in time. Come to think of it a lot of ‘living’ people are like that too, just to confuse things even further I suppose.
We were in the park it must have been about 11:30. I was seeing this Earth Mother cannonball. Not usually my type but she was smart enough so I got involved. We were sauntering along a sun-speckled path lined with daisies. We were having one of those deep conversations, the kind that she would later tell me were actually lectures. It was all very metaphysical we were passing through shafts of light that penetrated the foliage of the trees, surrounding us in gold dust before plunging us back into shadow.
She dejectedly paused to pick a daisy. She had this unhealthy need to constantly compare her work to the dark Russian masters of literature; there is no better way to prevent one’s self from ever writing anything. She was so paralyzed by it that I felt compelled to give her a Tolstoy-ectomy.
She settled herself down on a bench and began to pluck the petals… “To be a writer… Or not to be a writer…”
I took the partially plucked flower from her and stuck it behind my ear for emphasis. “If you have a choice, then why torture yourself? Joys of creation… BARF! Do something fun, like advertising.”
Her voice grew wistful… “I don’t have a choice. It’s just each time I start writing something I read it and say ‘it’s not War and Peace’ and I give up.”
“You are aware that War and Peace is not scripture, right? Tolstoy did what he had to do to reflect the time in which he lived. Stop obsessing. Why not try Faulkner? He’s free and easy, might loosen you up.”
She mulled over the possibility. Her eyes became sort of glazed and her lips moved ever so slightly as if she were reading something. Suddenly her eyes grew wide and she shook her head. “I know he’s a great writer, but I can’t stand to read him. More than any other writer I always hear his voice when I’m reading and he’s speaking this private language of men that no woman can possibly understand, that no woman even has the right to listen to. It’s like walking into an old time Memphis bar, the kind that has a sign saying: ‘Booths for Ladies’ and hearing someone telling the most wonderful stories in this slow drawling voice. And then everything stops and they all turn to look at you and wonder what the hell you’re doing there so there is nothing to do except leave. Utter disappointment…”
Her paralyses began to return so I nudged her gently. “Think of it this way: imagine a baseball pitcher who didn’t have a catchy name like “Vida Blue” or “Catfish Hunter” but the pedestrian moniker Irving Kolodna. This guy had so little charisma that his own wife couldn’t remember what he looked like. He had broken every pitching record in the book yet no one even noticed. Anyone in their right mind would have given up, but he genuinely loved the game. To keep himself interested he started doing things like getting 3 and 0 behind the batter, just to show that he could retire the side on 9 consecutive strikes.”
She just stared at me until I stopped talking. “That is exactly what I mean, man patois, just like Faulkner!” Her attention was then suddenly drawn by something and her face lit up as she pointed, “Look!”
She was gazing off down the path behind me and there he was. Faulkner. All 5’2″ of him with a Faulkner-esque iron grey haircut and a Faulkner-esque iron grey moustache, walking along in a Faulkner-esque pose, eyes down, hands clasped behind his back, intensely preoccupied, totally unaware of his surroundings with his two hound dogs. Even they looked preoccupied.
I grabbed her hand. “Don’t let go, no matter what happens…”
I pulled her onto a side path at a brisk pace; when we turned back of course he and the hounds were gone.
Another strange thing about ghosts, they only appear in the exact center of your field of vision. There is also that folklore that they always appear at noon…
Earth Mother stopped walking and began to giggle. I was concerned that perhaps she had actually snapped, but when she spoke her observation seemed utterly sensible…
“When you stop to think about it, if you get to take your dogs along, how bad can it be?”
Just then an angel, with stiff terracotta robes, floated past us on an updraft. Her face was an unhealthy yellow and her wings news-print grey. She held a stone tower cradled in her arms.
My companion was flabbergasted, “What on Earth!”
I raised my eyebrows, “That was Saint Barbara of the Thunder, she was de-canonized and her cult suppressed. I guess you can’t blame her for being pissed…”
I squeezed Earth mother’s hand and we double-timed it out of the park. It was five past twelve…
***
Normally here I would ask the author what prompted this piece by Don sadly passed away in August and his writing colleague Victoria King-Voreadi said…
Although it may sound as crazy as a box of frogs, Don insisted it was an actual occurrence. He and the young lady in question were both grad students, both living in Greenwich Village in NYC in the early 70′s. Perhaps his was a shared hallucination, a lot of wild things were going on at that time. Generally Donald was the most superstitious person I have ever known to date. It seems odd that anyone with a double Masters in mathematics would believe in ghosts, the I Ching or Tarot cards but that was Donald – a fascinating amalgam of contradictions.
Thank you, Victoria… and to Donald for writing such a great story.
***
Donald E. Schwarz was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and lived his entire adult life in New York City with a brief hiatus working at Technion in Israel developing an irrigation project for Mexico.
He studied mathematics at CUNY before going to Israel. Upon returning to Manhattan he worked for an ad agency designing computer models until changes in the industry made his position obsolete. After that he drove a cab to support his writing habit, spending most of his time ‘holed up’ in the New York Public library.
Interrogation Tango was his first literary effort to be published, but his real passion was writing screenplays. You can find out more about him and his debut novel (co-written with Victoria King-Voreadi) at http://donschwarz.iguanabooks.com. I shall be interviewing Victoria (who will talk about her work with Don on Saturday 5th January).
***
If you’d like to submit your 1,000-word max. stories for consideration for Flash Fiction Friday take a look here.
The blog interviews will return as normal tomorrow with thriller novelist, short story and non-fiction author, spotlightee and fiction interviewee Alana Woods – the five hundred and fortieth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, biographers, agents, publishers 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.
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 and I also have a blog creation service especially for, but not limited to, writers.
Unfortunately, as I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t review books but I have a feature called ‘Short Story Saturdays’ where I review stories of up to 2,500 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 reading it / talking about and critiquing it (I send you the transcription afterwards so you can use the comments or ignore them) on my ‘Bailey’s Writing Tips’ podcast, then do email me. They are fortnightly episodes, usually released on Sundays, interweaving the recordings between the red pen sessions with the hints & tips episodes. I am now also looking for poetry for Post-weekend Poetry.
Tags: author, Donald E Schwarz, Faulkner, flash fiction, Greenwich Village, I Ching, multi-genre, New York City, Roger Corman, short stories, short story, Tarot cards, Tolstoy, Victoria King-Voreadi, War and Peace
Complementing my daily blog interviews, today’s Author Spotlight, the one hundred and twenty-ninth, is of Elizabeth Cage.
Elizabeth Cage is a writer, speaker and fundraiser. Her stories, poems and articles have appeared in numerous magazines including Scarlet, Desire, Forum, For Women, In the Buff, The Hotspot, and the International Journal of Erotica, as well as The Mammoth Book of Lesbian Erotica, Best Lesbian Erotica 2010 (Cleis) and her fiction regularly appears in the fiction anthologies and e-books from Xcite. Her collection, Kissing Velvet, was published in 2003 by Chimera. She also does guest blogs, author talks, interviews, events and workshops.
And now from the author herself:
Talking Dirty
I write what some people call erotica. I don’t label it myself. I can’t think of a label because whenever I do, it involves someone else’s value judgement, which in turn relates to how we perceive language. I write other stuff too. I’ve been a published writer for 35 years, but started writing erotica around 1999. I kind of stumbled into it, but that’s another story.
I’m one of those people who uses swear words in everyday life so it’s the norm for me. When folk debate the difference between erotica and porn, what are referred to as sexual swear words often seem to find a way into the argument. Does the language we use define the genre? Is it that simple? Do euphemisms make it erotica and swear words mean it’s porn? Does it actually matter?
When we write for publishers, some editorial briefs are very specific about what kind of language they want (or don’t want). Since I naturally tend to use certain expressions when I write about sex, it can be an interesting challenge for me to write an erotic story without using particular nouns. Language can be as subjective as any other art form and provoke a range of emotional reactions. The most exciting thing about it is choosing and arranging words to create imaginary landscapes.
I’ve always been fascinated by language, the fact that some words are banned, or frowned upon, yet it is the context they are used in, surely, that can create disharmony? And who decides which words are good or bad? How do you define a swear word? Like the rest of language, they change and evolve.
From a writer’s viewpoint, erotica is a particular challenge with regard to finding new and different ways of describing sex, and even if the sheer variety and scope of the encounters our characters experience is as infinite as the imagination, the actual craft of describing this without becoming hackneyed and repetitive is quite a feat. When I re-read some of my work, I find that I have sometimes over-used certain phrases to the detriment, perhaps, of the reader experience.
One of the great joys of being a writer is exploring language, playing with words and pushing boundaries. I never set out to offend. In the end it is about being true to oneself, writing with authenticity and integrity and hoping that we give pleasure in the process. Whatever kind of language that entails.
You can find more about Elizabeth and her writing via… http://elizabeth-cage.blogspot.co.uk and http://www.elizabethcage.com.
And now a taster of her books…
Second Helpings: Surely everyone deserves a second chance? Three sexy stories. Quirky, romantic erotica with a twist. Available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.
Crimson Kisses: An exploration of the darker side of love… Available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.
Love Bites: Passionate encounters in unexpected places. Three sensual, quirky, erotic tales. Available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.
***
The blog interviews will return as normal tomorrow with historical novelist Jenny Barden – the five hundred and twenty-seventh of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, biographers, agents, publishers 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.
You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything… and follow me on Twitter where each new posting is automatically announced. You can also read / download my eBooks and free eShorts at Smashwords, Sony Reader Store, Barnes & Noble, iTunes Bookstore, Kobo and Amazon, with more to follow. I have a new forum, friend me on Facebook, like me on Facebook, connect with me on LinkedIn, find me on Tumblr, complete my website’s Contact me page or plain and simple, email me. I also now have a new blog creation service especially for, but not limited to, writers.
Unfortunately, as I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t review books but I have a feature called ‘Short Story Saturdays’ where I review stories of up to 2,500 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 reading it / talking about and critiquing it (I send you the transcription afterwards so you can use the comments or ignore them) on my ‘Bailey’s Writing Tips’ podcast, then do email me. They are fortnightly episodes, usually released on Sundays, interweaving the recordings between the red pen sessions with the hints & tips episodes. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays and poetry for Post-weekend Poetry.
Tags: author, Best Lesbian Erotica, Black Lace, burlesque performers, Chimera Books, Cleis Press, commercial, Elizabeth Cage, Erotic Readers and Writers Association, erotica, Erotica For All, Fifty Shades of Grey, Jane Wenham Jones, Lucy Felthouse, Miss Glory Pearl, Miss Maybe, non-fiction, novella, Penelope Friday, poet, short story, Tina C, Wanton Words and Burlesque Bombshells, writer, Xcite Books
Complementing my daily blog interviews, today’s Author Spotlight, the one hundred and twenty-eighth, is of paranormal romance novelist and short story author Elizabeth Kolodziej.
Elizabeth J Kolodziej is a young fiction writer originally from Torrance California. She is a smart and original thinker who has researched the origins of vampires, werewolves and witches for many years. Kolodziej writes her books from the knowledge she has gained while trying to be as original and inspiring as possible. Her books encompass both true folklore facts along with innovative ideas motivated by the great writers around her.
And now from the author herself:
The first book in The Last Witch Series is Vampyre Kisses, which is accompanied by Werewolf Descent and soon to be released Witch Devotions. A book that took a lot of emotional effort to write considering the main character was dealing with a similar issue to myself. Death. Something that is never easy to get through.
However, I was able to overcome the bad times and move forward to receive terrific reviews from websites such as Reader Favorites, Bitten By Books and Reader Views.
Continuing forward I am putting out novellas for side characters from The Last Witch Series including Zou Tai’s Salvaged Pieces of a Werewolf Lost and Mac’s The Witch’s Guardian.
The most fun is introducing new characters with novellas such as From Demons, With Lust and Demon Protection Plan. Both stories have characters that will be featured in the fourth book in The Last Witch Series, Demonic Charms to be released in 2013. When it comes to cross overs I am all about it!
However, there is a brand new genre I am entering. Steampunk. Though my take on it is going to be steampunk zombie young adult romance I have smushed together as The Zombiepunk Series.
The first book is Gravely Inanimated: A Tale of Woe and Romance. I plan on it being a major success since the band V is for Villain will be making an appearance in the book. If you don’t know them check them out!
You can find more about Elizabeth and her writing via…
her website, Twitter, Like her on Facebook, friend on Facebook.
Buy links: Amazon (ebook), Amazon (paperback) and Barnes and Noble.
***
The blog interviews will return as normal tomorrow with memoirist Rodica Mihalis– the five hundred and twenty-fourth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, biographers, agents, publishers 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.
You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything… and follow me on Twitter where each new posting is automatically announced. You can also read / download my eBooks and free eShorts at Smashwords, Sony Reader Store, Barnes & Noble, iTunes Bookstore, Kobo and Amazon, with more to follow. I have a new forum, friend me on Facebook, like me on Facebook, connect with me on LinkedIn, find me on Tumblr, complete my website’s Contact me page or plain and simple, email me. I also now have a new blog creation service especially for, but not limited to, writers.
Unfortunately, as I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t review books but I have a feature called ‘Short Story Saturdays’ where I review stories of up to 2,500 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 reading it / talking about and critiquing it (I send you the transcription afterwards so you can use the comments or ignore them) on my ‘Bailey’s Writing Tips’ podcast, then do email me. They are fortnightly episodes, usually released on Sundays, interweaving the recordings between the red pen sessions with the hints & tips episodes. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays and poetry for Post-weekend Poetry.
Tags: author, demon, Elizabeth Kolodziej, interview, novellas, paranormal romance novelist, romance, short stories, short story, spotlight, steampunk, vampire, vampyre, werewolf, witch, writing, young adult, zombie
You can do them in any order.
You can do them in any order.
