  Action/Adventure
This week: Small Ball and other Analogies Edited by: Legerdemain  
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Playing Small Ball
I wanted to address something in my newsletter this week about the great American novel. I hear about so many people trying to write this fabulous novel like Stephen King, Anne Rice or Stephenie Meyers. Nothing wrong with swinging for the fence! But at the same time, remember that to write a novel like that, you have to have a bat bag full of material to base the story on. And when you write it, the word count has to prove that out, including enough to handle some edit cuts.
What if it doesn't pan out like you wanted? Maybe your character's story is finished being told in 30,000 words? Nothing wrong with that! Hang on to it and more of the story might come to you. Or you might end up editing it down to a really decent novella. The creativity is still there, the characters still have something to say. You merely have to find a market for that size story in the end. And even if you don't find a market, don't delete it. More may percolate to the surface at some point and you can continue on.
If you don't have something in the works that will hit it out of the park, play some small ball. Just like in baseball when you don't have a hitter that can whack a home run, the team can still be productive playing small ball. Get on base by writing a few short stories. Check out some daily prompts and see where the ideas take you. It keeps you active creatively and the characters and ideas might flesh out to something more.
So keep swinging, and Write On!
This month's question: Do you enjoy daily contests and prompts? Do they pan out to be publishable?
Answer below  Editors love feedback!  |
Excerpt: You are lying on a bench, trying to keep hold of your senses. You came to Mexico City
to work on your thesis about Yaqui Indian sorcery, where a student arranged for you to
meet a local man who was supposed to be very knowledgeable on the subject. The old
man met you at a bus stop and offered you a lemon drop, now you feel as if you’ve
been drugged. The man is standing above you now, chanting gibberish and staring
deeply into your eyes.
"I know what you're up to, don't try to pull any of that mind expanding Castaneda stuff on me
with your hypnotism and drugged candy!" You exclaim, gasping for breath.
"Life is like a journey to Ixtlan, you never know what's going to happen next." He replies calmly.
Excerpt: you were walking home one day when you saw a a key lying on the ground with a note next to it. The note reads, "This key is magical. Insert into someone and they will freeze. Turn right and they will open up like a suit for you to step into and assume their identity, by possessing them. Turn to the left to mind control them. You pick up the key, and go home thinking it won't work, but praying that it will, as you really need a break from being you. You arrive home and the first person you see that would be fun to use the key on is..
| |  | Invalid Item
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#2151402 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: “It is I, Tonya.”
The voice sounded vaguely familiar, but not enough for an identification. “Who is I?” she wanted to know.
“Don’t you mean ‘who am I’? And are you saying you don’t know who you are?”
| | | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#2151029 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: "Fine. We've been read your will. You gave your body to the University Hospital, so legally we're O.K. with what we're doing." There was a pause. I felt drops of his sweat drip onto my arm, or I think I did.
A new prompt will be posted every day in the forum at the bottom of this page at approximately 11:00 pm WDC time. (Eastern US time). The prompt will have the date of the next day, the day it is due. After the prompt is posted,you'll have about 24 hours to post your entry.
Each day around 12pm NOON WDC time, one of our dedicated volunteer judges will judge the previous day's entries and post a writing prompt. The contest for that prompt ends before NOON (11:59am WDC time) the next day. All entries that follow ALL of the prompt requirements will be judged according to the creativity in responding to the writing prompt only. This means that grammatical errors WILL NOT be a determining factor in deciding the winner!
| | | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#2068944 by Not Available. |
Excerpt:Peter admired the Christmas lights in his sister's yard as he walked up the sidewalk and knocked on the bright red front door. Inside the dogs could be heard barking loudly the screams of his niece's Jakie and Grace growing as they ran up the hall each girl grappling with the handle each wanting to be the first to open the door.
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This month's question: Do you enjoy daily contests and prompts? Do they pan out to be publishable?
Answer below Editors love feedback!
Last month's question: If you had a reviewer confuse narrator/author, how did you respond?
GeminiGem survived GoT  responds: Readers/reviewers confusing author and narrator is an interesting point. I have caught myself using the pronoun "you" instead of a character's name when discussing something in a review. I do correct it, but it signals to me that the voice is strong enough to assume it is the author speaking.
I have had people ask about this sort of thing in reviews of my writing. Since I have a tendency to put pieces of myself and my world in most everything I write, it is a legit question, for sure. I think it is cool when people spot it, especially when it isn't a well-known thing about me.
Monty  sent: In answer to your question I reply with my explanation. |
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Action/Adventure: March 14, 2018 Issue [#8806]
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