Romance is in the air with the coming of Spring!
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The Short Story: Need, Limits, and Theme #amwritng
After reading your post, I went back to my story and gave it a once over. Such great information in this post. Loved it.
When writing a short story, it helps to know how it will end. I suggest you put together a broad outline of your intended story arc. I’m a retired bookkeeper, so I have a mathematical approach to this. Divide your story arc into quarters, so you have the important events in place at the right time.
Assume you have a 4000 word limit for your short story.
You have less than three paragraphs before a prospective editor sets your work aside. If those paragraphs don’t grab her, she won’t buy your story. Pay attention: you absolutely must have a good opening paragraph.
The first 250 words are the setup and hook. The next 750 words takes your character out of their comfortable existence and launches them into “the situation” –will they succeed or not?
The next 2,500 words detail how the protagonist arrives at a resolution.
The final 500 words…
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The Dark Side of the Moon
Karen Dowdall has written a jaw dropping short story. Here’s hoping she turns it into a novel.
https://mythsofthemirror.com/2019/03/01/march-speculative-fiction-prompt/
They are gone. All of them. I am alone on this planet. A planet now little more than a dustbin of old dreams of what could have been. They didn’t heed the warnings of what was to come without change.
Perhaps, it would have happened anyway. The change in the atmosphere was a warning, dismissed as fake news, until it wasn’t. The storms grew more violent, the sea raged over embankments, sea levels rose exponentially, displacing millions of families and communities around the planet. Fierce and deadly land wars began, food shortages were everywhere. All signs that something terrible was about to happen.
It started slowly at first. The air began to lose oxygen gas, nitrogen gas, and argon gas. It was replaced with greenhouse gases released from fossil fuels: nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, and methane. The Atmosphere, Biosphere, and the Geosphere showed overwhelming signs that complete degeneration would…
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In the Night Wood by Dale Bailey
For those who love a true “Once Upon a Time” tale.
A FOREST. A BOOK. A MISSING GIRL.
Charles Hayden has been fascinated by a strange Victorian fairy tale, In the Night Wood, since he was a child. When his wife, Erin – a descendant of the author – inherits her ancestor’s house, the couple decide to make it their home. Still mourning the recent death of their daughter, they leave America behind, seeking a new beginning in the English countryside.
But Hollow House, filled with secrets and surrounded by an ancient oak forest, is a place where the past seems very much alive. Isolated among the trees, Charles and Erin begin to feel themselves haunted – by echoes of the stories in the house’s library, by sightings of their daughter, and by something else, as old and dark as the forest around them.
A compelling and atmospheric gothic thriller, In the Night Wood reveals the chilling power of myth…
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A Psychological Thriller
“Twisty and powerful, ingenious and moving, The Woman in the Window is a smart, sophisticated novel of psychological suspense that recalls the best of Hitchcock.” ~Amazon review. This novel is now on my TBR list. I’ve read excerpts and it looks good. Also, soon to be a movie.
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Unraveling the mind of the Trump Supporter
A recent review paper published in the Journal of Social and Political Psychology by Professor Thomas Pettigrew of UC Santa Cruz cites 5 traits Trump supporters have in common.
1 Authoritarianism: A rigid hierarchical view of society. This trait is triggered by fear of outsiders and by exaggerated threats to gain allegiance.
2 Social Dominance Orientation: (SDO Syndrome). This refers to those who prefer a hierarchy of high status to low status. Those with SDO Syndrome are typically dominant and driven by self-interest.
3 Prejudice: “Dog Whistles” are codes that appeal to those who are subject to bigotry. Bullying and slandering typically incite this syndrome.
4 Lack of Inter-group Contact: A division of zip-codes and isolation of whites are a strong predictor of the lack of true and meaningful interaction with minorities and immigrants.
5 Relative Deprivation: A skewed perception of what one is entitled to whether of economical or social status.
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New Releases 1/8
Book People has compiled a varied look at a number of books, many for YA but also for adults. Brief, but insightful book reviews.
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Enthralling and Heartrending
Book Review of Washington Black, Five Stars
Stepping into this novel is like stepping into the life of a young negro slave in 1830’s Barbados. Faith sugar cane Plantation is ruled by Erasmus, a hard, evil master. But the young slave, Washington known as Wash, has an unknown talent discovered by the brother of Erasmus, Christopher known as Titch. Christopher, who is as kind as his brother is harsh, takes young Wash under his wing to help him construct a contraption known as a Cloud-Cutter, similar to a hot air balloon. Titch and Wash embark on a series of death defying adventures, but mostly, they are dangerous for Wash who upon his escape from the island with Titch is sought dead or alive by Erasmus. Over the course of years as Wash becomes an adult, we readers embark on a voyage filled with pathos, joy and heartbreak. This is a beautifully crafted novel. I highly recommend it for those who love history and dynamic storytelling.
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Got Books to Sell? Try These 22 Book Marketing Tips – by Frances Caballo…
These are excellent tips for writers!
on Social Media Just For Writers:
How many book marketing tips have you tried?
Probably every single one that you’ve read about, right?
What makes book marketing so tough isn’t that you run out of ideas to market your books. It’s that you have so many different plans.
Well, if you want to make it as a writer, get ready for the marathon of writing and marketing. You’ll always be doing both from now on.
To make life easier for you (or harder?), I’ve assembled a checklist of my top book marketing tips for you.
Continue reading HERE
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Merciful Crows
A new and exciting series from Margaret Owen. Due to be released in 2019. Read the first Chapter at Tor.com
