Writing in Colors

I've heard rumors and seen posts recently about publishers turning books away for "using a black character."  Apparently, if you are a white writer it's racist to include blacks in your manuscript. Would the same publishers have an issue with a black author depicted white characters in their stories? Probably not so much. The argument would be that whiteness floods our media in all lights – Irish white, Italian white, rich white, poor white, redneck white, junkie white, CEO white, and so on and so on, meaning there are several examples to pull from at any time whereas blacks are typically wrapped up neatly in little stereotypical packages.

Part of being a writer is a willingness to take risks, explore ideas and concepts that get people thinking and talking –good, bad, ugly, indifferent, doesn't matter so long as you poke the bear in the right spot. But a writer being censored simply on the basis of using a character that has a darker pigmentation? I find that difficult to believe.

Have we become so delusional in our plight as a society to be colorblind that skin tone alone denotes racism? If that is indeed the fact, I find it pathetic as fuck.

You heard me.

Beneath the Eye of the Willow

As a member of quite a few writing groups on Facebook, writing prompts are easy to come by and readily available.  Tonight I asked for one outright. I wanted something fresh and new, untainted by the dirty hands of another writer.

I was given "Beneath the eye of the willow..."  Brings to mind peaceful images such as this, no?

Yeah. Not so much for me. This was the visual I was gifted:

I have come to the conclusion that I need intense therapy. There is obviously something very wrong with my thinker.


Anyway, I rarely sit and do random writing exercises. I write with the intention of finishing a project, or at least making relevant progress on one. Or two. Tonight I flexed the writing muscles until I became quite frustrated and irritated with myself. First, because I don't typically write fantasy pieces but decided to boldly attempt my hand, and secondly, I had no idea where I was heading or why. First official case of writer's block I've experienced, and it was self induced. Ugh.

Here's the unfinished story as it stands on my computer. I invite you all to add to it, alter it, finish it, ball it up and throw it away, whatever. I will post anything sent with appropriate credits, but as this is a new and, thus far, widely unknown blog, don't hold your breath. If I revisit this and pull together anything remotely worthy, I will use it as a stand alone post.

I feel you've all been properly warned, so here goes nothing....


In the Land of Thorns, willow trees are the harborer of souls. When the D’wier folk pass, they sleep soundly within the belly of the willow until a new host body is freed and able to inhibit. Long are not the hours or days that pass before a soul is refreshed and released, for the D’wier are a dainty and fragile species.
   
Elirdia wore a mask of heavy human skin, a gift from the tribe elder. The mask, the shield of a contorted grimace, was pockmarked from an adolescence riddled with acne. It would ensnare her twin flame as day faded into night.

The D’wier drifted across the planes often to the village of human remains. They were unallowed on the surface of existence. They dwelled between the realm of the dead and the living, but were occasioned the gift of flesh so long as it were not properly buried under rites. Lately, war had brought in many casualties that were left behind in open graves as soldiers marched forward, and the D’wier were rewarded with the human flesh that would protect their fragile bodies from the elements as they cared for the willow trees, they're sole purpose for existence.

Eliridia, just having breached childhood, was in the throws of the ritual that would bring forth her twin flame. All suitors would have to prove their worth to the tribe elder, and all would have to participate in the ritual, but only one could be the victor. It was written in the stars long before the first breath of life.

The ritual began at dawn, and the day grew long and muggy as the danced. The tribe elder stood outside the circle of D’wier folk and tapped the old knotted branch of the willow to the beat of the drums. Eliridia was becoming heavy from fatigue, but her body was stroked by the gods– she would not fall until her twin flame was received.

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My First Novel

The words above have become my inspiration, my life's blood.

I grew up reading Stephen King. I will venture to say he is still my favorite word wizard, closely followed by Dean Koontz. Same genre, similar style, so much suspense I'm careful not to begin a book by either without the assurance I can handle a few nights without sleep, for I will spend them turning pages in sweat smeared delirium.

This is what I hope to accomplish, what I dream to master – the art of telling a story in such a way that the reader is spellbound, hooked by the eyelids as night creeps past, captivated by carefully intertwined terror and euphoria.

This morning I wrote 1800 of my 300 word goal in what I hope to be my first novel. My go-to genre is suspense-thriller, but I'm trying my hand with the addition of scifi for The Collectives, the story of a teenage brainiac that has been selected to participate as a beta tester for a new social media platform where words have consequences and thoughts are transformed into living nightmares.

And that's all I'm saying for now. Start tuned for snippets to come.

Happy reading, happy writing!

Free Writing Course

Unlock the Six Step Story
A free training course for fiction writers!

Create a new short story, the easiest story you will ever write, in the popular fiction-writing course that's been turned into an email sequence: a series of six emails, two a week, guiding you through the creation of a completely new story.

A framework for the plot will be provided. Participants will provide the setting and the protagonist. Each part of the series will take about ten to fifteen minutes to write.


Here's how to works:

Firstly, each email message contains a quick technique for training yourself in the arts of fiction (plot, setting, narration and so on).

Secondly, the series guides you (step by step) through the process of planning and writing out a short story.

By the end of the sixth email, you will have done all the hard work for a completely new tale.

The best part of the process: this new story will arise out of your specific situation, your environment and location, and your own voice.

If you do sign up, and find that the course is not for you, you can unsubscribe at any time.


Reviews:

Sylvia: "Right now, what I like best is that this step-by-step building-block approach forces me think about each essential element of a story and how they naturally build upon one another."

Osvaldo: "I just want to say thank you for taking the time to come up with these emails. Because of it I’m writing."

Question:  What are the genres?

Wallace:  That's a great question! For me, I think the genre is flexible, depending on the writer, but the series probably works best with urban fantasy, speculative fiction, magic realism, horror, or (literary) character-based stories. This is just because it's about a real person, who lives where you live, but who gets help from a weird or taboo source. So probably not hard sci fi, space opera, or fantasy -- one parameter is that we set the story in the present day...


Question:  What is the premise?

Wallace:  A character with a problem, who has just suffered a major setback or defeat, visits a strange place. This strange place is a location in her local area that has always seemed mysterious, magical, taboo, or risky. However, in that strange place, to her surprise, she receives an offer of help. The people or objects of the strange place want to help her, and when she returns to her regular life, she immediately achieves a stunning success.

At last, she seems on the verge of achieving her ambition. Her friends are amazed. And for a while, everything seems like it is going to work out, but then...

Sign Up Now

Follow Daniel Daniel David Wallace on Facebook

Free Book Online

A friend turned me on to a free online novel. Yes, I know there are many, but this one has me by the hairy little brain cells. 

The plot is unique in ways I cannot describe with human words. I'm not yet sure to which genre it belongs, but I'm guessing it spans several. I have only made it about ¼ of the way in, but I was hooked from page 1. 

The creativity and surrealism have a hypnotizing effect. A rare find indeed. I'm enjoying the journey and can only hope the ending lives up to my expectation. 

Only 100 free copies available. Grab one before they're gone! 

Soldier On
By Greg Manuel

He is the soldier. That is all he knows. He has lost his platoon, his squadmates are dead, and he has lost himself somewhere along the way. Lost in a war-torn Europe that is unforgiving at the best of times. What else can he do but put on foot in front of the next? He must find something, something that shall give him back who he is. He doesn't know where to start... "Soldier On" is a fantastical journey into the mind of a man that has lost everything that is himself. Along the way, he will meet a wide menagerie of people, from gods to cowboys, that will help and test him along the way. This short story is the first in "Broken Pieces" series of stories.

More by Greg Manuel

Happy Reading!

Author Spotlight – Cayce Berryman

This week's author spotlight is on Cayce Berryman, author of Child of the Moon. 

Child of the Moon is an ongoing and unedited free novel about Malek, the Child  of the Stars, who protects the realm of peace that comes after a mortal dies though he must feel the pain and sorrow of each soul as if it were his own.

Chapters 1-19 from Child of the Moon  Available Now

Check out Cayce's other Published Works

Cayce Berryman is also a professional editor. She offers a Free 10 Page Sample Edit to show writers insight on what to expect from those that will handle their manuscript.

"I don't simply want the work. I want to help you improve."  – Cayce Berryman 

In addition to writing and editing, Cayce runs a group on Facebook,   Author's Tale, where writers collaborate, and share tips and advice to other members. The group offers writing opportunities as well as workshops. A sub group has been established for an upcoming anthology of short stories, Heart of A Child, by selected group members. Submissions open June 1, 2017.

Don't forget to follow  Cayce Berryman on Facebook

Happy reading!

Story Evolution

I have a sneaky suspicion that I'm not a conventional writer. When I write, I take a central idea and a main character with a few personality traits. Sometimes I base them on parts of myself, sometimes I use the traits from a friend or family member, sometimes I see someone sitting on a bench at a public park and imagine who they are based on body language, clothing style, facial expressions, interactions with others, etc, and sometimes I just create one using a questionnaire (posted below.)  I do not create any character before I have chosen the story idea I'll be using, and in that way, I'm probably very much like most writers.

My MC (main character) typically begins as a one dimensional creature. For instance: MC is A Bad Guy, he does bad things, he's unkind, selfish... you get the idea.  There. I have everything I need to start writing – a basic plot for a story and a fairly non-descript MC.

Now I just find a cozy spot and start writing. What comes to me comes to me, and I don't get to stop it, I follow my mind wherever it decides to take me.  I follow blindly along wild tangents and random thoughts that spring to life with this brainstorming/freewriting experience. I don't look back. I don't try to force myself down paths that haven't shown themselves.  I simply write and write and write until I'm sick of freaking writing. Then I put it aside and go find something to do, like watch an episode of Family Guy, my all time favorite way to decompress into a brain dead bobblehead.

Well, ok. Not every episode will have the effect, but I think they made this just to prove me wrong. Point made. Moving on...


The next day, I take a look at what I have written, and an outline starts to develop in my head. I circle what I think works well but don't delete anything, regardless how irrelevant or elementary it may seem. You never know what may become an integral part of the story later, so erase and delete are unallowed! I typically copy what I've chosen to work with and paste it into a new document with.

Now, I have a fairly solid of where my story begins; I have an idea where I'm headed at that point, and that gives me a focus.

Awesome, right?

My favorite post of writing is how the characters naturally start to evolve as the story progresses and becomes multifaceted, multidimensional.

If you've get to have a viable basis for your MC or other key characters and need that prior to proceeding, the following items will help you get started:

So, I'm currently in the last phases of a short story in writing for an anthology, and I'm deep into this story. It's alive and breathing.

I originally wrote this in first person point of view (POV) with a MC that is a bright, responsible orphaned teen that had a slight southern draw. Yet, the more I got into the story, the more I played with the southern slang, which I'm well versed in because I grew up in the south, and suddenly I had a smart little teenager with a very thick southern draw.

She became incredibly adorable and I feel right in love with her. The accent and slang added some light to a dark story, even a bit of comic relief here and there.  And you start to think... Well, well well, look at this little gem we pulled out of random thoughts and wild, flying ideas. This right here just might be the best big thing... 

Now, as first person POV, I realized I'd have to write the entire piece the way the MC would see and say it, and that was a bit too hillbillish for what I was trying to achieve.

So then the story telling itself evolved.  Keeping the story with the original POV would have given readers the wrong image. They are intelligent, young adults dealing with a dark adult topic.

I can't effectively deliver the story correctly if all they see is this :

I went with the obvious: I changed the POV to third person, and have redone what I have written so far to reflect that change. It's enhanced the piece remarkably, and not the story is spilling into the paper effortlessly, as if I'm recalling a memory. truly amazing the direction this change has taken the story.

The Point? 
Don't be rigid when your write. Don't convince yourself you're not allowed to deviate from the original plan, no matter how hard you worked on creating one. Let those moments of epiphany play out and see what happens. You might just find a happy little surprise when it's all said and done.

Happy writing!

Sabercore23 Book Cover Artist

Book Cover Artist Spotlight

Sabercore23 Art Studio specializes in,but it's not limited to, book cover artwork for the Horror, Fantasy, and Sci-Fi genres.

 
 
Breathtakingly beautiful pre-made (ready to print and use) or custom design book cover artwork by Wendy Muchlis, artist, freelance illustration, and digital photomanipulation art. Wendy has a dark art style and has been used by authors and publishers across the globe.


Gallery Showcase Examples


   

See More Book Cover Art

Follow Sabercore23 on Facebook and Linked In

If you choose Sabercore23 Art Studio for your book cover design, please Email me, and I will do a blog feature on your book for one of our weekly Author Spotlights! 

*** All artwork displayed on this blog post is copyrighted by Wendy Muchlis,  Sabercore23 Art Studio.

Story Idea Generators

At some point, all writers find themselves staring at a blank page, struggling for a single tangible idea for a story. These websites might help you get those fingers moving.

Writer's Den

Generate random storyline and character outlines for novels, short stories, movie scripts, and more.
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The following sites allows you to fill in the blanks to create a story. Obviously, this isn't how your masterpiece should be written, but it can be quite helpful if used as an example to get those creative juices flowing.

Short Story 

Sample:

Dancing Butterflies
by Jen Snow


K'lish looked at the enchanted torch in her hands and felt stressed.

She walked over to the window and reflected on her Dense surroundings. She had always hated Muggy Brazil with its joyous, jittery jungle. It was a place that encouraged her tendency to feel stressed.

Then she saw something in the distance, or rather someone. It was the figure of Mawen, the forgetful queen with curvy lips and fragile eyes.

K'lish gulped. She glanced at her own reflection. She was a scheming, arrogant, tarwater drinker with wide lips and hairy warts. Her friends saw her as a wonky Warrior. Once, she had even made a cup of tea for a jolly baby owl.

But not even a scheming person who had once made a cup of tea for a jolly baby owl, was prepared for what Mawen had in store today.

The wind blew like dancing monkeys, making K'lish confident.

As she stepped outside, Mawen came closer, a strange smile on her face.

"I am here because I want the Kingdom of Thorn," Mawen bellowed, in a peculiar tone. She slammed her fist against K'lish's chest, with the force of 4337 frogs. "I frigging hate you, K'lish."

K'lish looked back, even more confident and still fingering the enchanted torch. "Mawen, exterminate," she replied.

They looked at each other with forgotten feelings, like two leaking, large lizards laughing at a very popular storm, which had tribal music playing in the background and two breathtaking butterflies dancing to the beat.

K'lish regarded Mawen's curvy lips. She held out her hand. "Let's not fight," she whispered, gently.

"Hmph," pondered Mawen.

"Please?" begged K'lish with puppy dog eyes.

Mawen looked unstable, her body blushing like a blue-eyed, pulsing blade.

Then Mawen came inside for a nice drink of tarwater.

THE END


Fantasy Fiction

Sample:

Ocean, an Elf
by Jen Snow

In a castle there lived a scrawny, sticky elf named Ocean. Not a ribbed sensational, sunny castle, filled with spells and a slimy smell, nor yet an evil, derelict, frosty castle with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was an elf-castle, and that means comfort.

One day, after a troubling visit from the goblin, Rhiannon Glona, Ocean leaves her castle and sets out in search of three golden coins. A quest undertaken in the company of wizards, fairies and curvaceous trolls.

In the search for the goblin-guarded coins, Ocean surprises even herself with her diligence and skill as a swordsman.

During her travels, Ocean rescues a blade, an heirloom belonging to Rhiannon. But when Rhiannon refuses to die, their friendship is over.

However, Rhiannon is wounded at the Battle of Kingdom of Thorn and the two reconcile just before Ocean engages in some serious death spells.

Ocean accepts one of the three golden coins and returns home to her castle a very wealthy elf.

THE END


Blurb Generator

Personally, I have always found the most difficult part of the creative process is writing the blurb. I love this idea. Fill in the blanks, then edit to fit. Viola!

Sample:

Kingdom of the Thorn
A Fantasy Novel
by Jen Snow

"I'm going to need Golden Coins, big, Golden Coins."

During a wake in Kingdom of Thorn in 2002, a baby is born and dies before she can take her first breath.

During a wake in Kingdom of Thorn in 2002, the same baby is born and lives to tell the tale. That baby becomes 15-year-old Ocean, an optimistic and generous navigator.

What if there were second chances? Third chances? Fourth chances? Would you eventually be able to save the world from sinister giants who attack each other? Would you even want to?

The Navigator Of Kingdom Of Thorn follows Ocean and her clever daughter, K'lish , as their idyllic lives tumble through turbulent events in High Elven Hills, again and again.

However, when one of the sinister giants bites off Ocean's fingers with crippling effect, it looks like her quest is over.

Without fingers, will Ocean be able to save the day?

Jen Snow explores spells and Golden Coins to full effect in the Fantasy novel to end all Fantasy novels.

___________

What are you waiting for?  Go get creative! 

Author Spotlight: Sheritta Bitikofer

I will be highlighting an author weekly. This week the spotlight is on Sheritta Bitikofer, author of The Enigma. 

"So, I’ve got a new novel coming out! It’s a little different than the two you just got a sneak peek of, though it keeps with the paranormal genre. It leans more to young adult and sweet romances.
It’s a story that’s been near and dear to my heart for a long time and the novel that ignited my passion for writing books. Allow me to present, The Enigma! It’s available for Pre-Order and releasing on 5-13!
“A graveyard late at night wouldn’t seem like the ideal place to meet someone. But for teenager Katey McCoy, that encounter with the handsome stranger with the striking blue eyes would alter her life in ways she’d never imagined.
Orphaned as an infant, bounced around foster homes, labeled as a discipline problem, and now under the thumb of an abusive foster mother, Katey’s been slipping deeper into depression. Who would want a girl with such an ugly face, an imperfect body, or wild hair? But Logan Keith knows the truth about Katey: she’s beautiful. Her flaws are in her head. Besides, he has issues, too. And a secret that could tear apart their growing relationship.
Logan is a werewolf—a loup-garou—with his own troubled past and a flaw that’s considered a handicap in his world. A secret, supernatural world he soon introduces Katey to. Although Logan longs to make Katey part of his pack, it may be impossible for them to be together. In his pack’s history, there’s never been a female werewolf. No woman has been able to survive the transformation. Will Logan’s desire give Katey the escape to a better life and the love she’s always dreamed of, or will he be signing her death warrant?”
– Sheritta Bitikofer

Pre-order The Enigma
Follow the author on Facebook

Happy reading!

Sneak Peek

I am currently working on my first autobiography, title pending but I'm leaning toward:
Forgotten: An Autobiographical Anthology of Short Stories and Poetry, the Words of an Abused, Tortured, and Neglected Child

Here's a sneak peek. It is the beginning of one of the short stories to be included – the story of abduction at age seventeen and the subsequent, daring escape.

Would love your thoughts, so please take the time to leave a comment :)

______________

Tennessee Nightmares

I ran hard, strands of sweat-slicked, auburn hair clung to my face. My heartbeat, pounding in my eardrums like thunder, muted the crackling of crisp, dead leaves and the snapping of twigs as my bare feet hammered down on the cold, unyielding earth beneath me. I ran with clenched teeth and raw, reddened eyeballs that hadn't seen sleep for far too many nights. I ran, taking frantic, panicked looks behind me, terrified he had woke to find me gone, knowing he would come – I quickened my pace, fuelled by fear. I ran desperately searching for a way out of those horrifying woods and for someone to help me, anyone—

_____________

Also, follow my Author Page on Facebook for more updates.

Books About Abuse

I am a survivor. I'm still in therapy, which has ramped up lately due to a particular repressed memory being triggered. How it was triggered, I haven't a clue, but it caused me to start writing with frenzy, grasping a reality of time zooming past me. Weeks felt like days, days like hours, hours slipped from under my finger before I was aware I was trying to hold them in place. The clock is ticking louder.

Write write wrote wow edit edit edit delete delete, the memory flooded my mind, swallowed it whole. I became obsessed. Somehow I had opened a door the can't be closed until the story is done, until I've cleansed myself from the memory completely. My mind lost control, bended and twisted, tiny chunks broke and washed away in the flood waters.

Then I paused. Is therapy making me sicker? 

I've concluded some memories are not to be explored. They are locked away for a reason.

It's time to leave the pen on the table, a damn difficult task I'll admit, and engross myself in a book instead. Oddly, I find comfort in the miles of blood spilled onto pages by others that have walked a path not far from own.

Some may think profiting from another's pain is exploitation. There is an argument there, can't deny it. However, I feel there's far more weight on the on the other side of the coin:  Awareness.

I have an interest for a different reason altogether – assuring my sanity. I need verification I'm not alone, that what I'm going through, what I struggle with daily, is normal for an abuse survivor, that I'm not crazy.

Following are the books I chose. I will post a review of each when finished. You know, in case my opinion matters to anyone 😄

__________

Hush: Moving from Silence to Healing After Childhood Sexual Abuse
By: Nicole Braddock Bromley

Overview
Childhood sexual abuse is running rampant, yet it's the best kept secret in our nation today. Its victims grow into adulthood with their little child's heart trapped in the pain and torment of their past. Nicole Braddock Bromley shares her own story and the steps to moving from silence to healing. Hush exposes the harsh realities of childhood abuse, explains the pain it causes, examines the false beliefs it creates, and empowers survivors to begin a personal journey toward healing by breaking the silence.

With words of understanding and comfort, Nicole tells the real-life stories of those whose voices would otherwise never be heard. She is straightforward enough to pierce the hearts of those in a survivor's circle of influence, yet careful to tread lightly on what could be tender words.

Reader Review
"As a survivor myself, I immediately felt a heart connection with Nicole like no other author I've read on this trajic subject. I found myself nodding my head throughout the whole book, identifying with the many horrific sins done to us at the hands of those we trusted."
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Tortured
By: Victoria Spry

Overview
As a child, Victoria Spry was brutally beaten, neglected, and starved by the woman she called Mummy. To the outside world Eunice Spry was a devoted parent, but behind closed doors she was an evil tyrant. Instead of protecting, loving, and caring for Victoria, she forced bleach and urine down her throat, knocked out her teeth, tied her up naked, and made her live in squalor. It took 18 years of heartache and despair before she found the courage to expose her mum.Tortured is Victoria’s gripping story of survival.

Reader Review
"Horrible is not a strong enough word to describe the life Victoria had... It's very heartbreaking, not for those with a queasy stomach. But at the same time people need to know this sort of thing goes on and that they need to speak up if things look suspicious in a family home..."
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Taking Flight
By: Donna Faye

Overview
Stella di Imbrogliado has always made the most of bad situations – but when her life takes a major detour and her loved-ones betray her, she reroutes her journey altogether. With nothing left to lose, she departs her old life by enlisting in the U.S. Air Force.

In this bizarre new world where orders are shouted, showers are a social event, and sweat is the ultimate beauty aid, she taps her unimagined strength and begins to see that her worst day may have been the biggest blessing of her life.

Then there’s Gabe McCreary, a wounded warrior who is battling post traumatic stress, missing home, and adjusting to his changed physique – moving forward seems to be his biggest battle yet.

When their lives collide, the draw is instant. Despite their turbulent histories and enough baggage to ground an airliner, they just work. Through night terrors, a temporary duty assignment, and her unfortunate vomiting spell they learn how to laugh and live again.

Reader Review
"You know how you read a good book and days/weeks later the characters pop back into your head and you are wondering what they are up too... Well yeah, this book does that!"

Audio version coming soon. 
___________

Incandescent Mind: Issue One, Summer 2016
Sadie Girl Press. Featured Author: K. N. Johnson

Overview
K. N. Johnson's flash fiction piece, Namesake, is about her struggle as a teen witnessing a close family member's breakdown after she stopped taking her medication for bipolar disorder.
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Happy reading!

Dream Journals

A dream journal is a kickass story idea generator.

Nothing finer for a writer than to wake from a dream that would make one hell of a story AND remembering every detail.

I just woke with an entire story plot, complete with characters and an awesome twist, strong enough to be an episode of Black Mirror. That's quite rare. Score!

If you are an aspiring author, keep a dream journal. Write your dream in full detail as soon as you wake because, as I'm sure you know, the details will slip from your memory as fast as a leaf in hurricane winds.

If you are like me and can't focus your eyes until a full half hour after waking, keep a recorder close at hand (I suggest downloading a voice recorder app onto your phone.) Upon waking, speak the dream in all its weirdness, every remembered detail – you never know what could become a key element to a story line.

If you have no desire to write, keep a dream journal anyway. Dreams are a great way to explore and understand the deeper part of your psyche. There is a ton of dream interpretation info on the Internet. Just Google the keyword(s) + dream interpretation, and watch as the magic of symbolism reveals its beautiful self. You might be quite surprised what your subconscious self is trying to communicate to your conscious self.

If nothing else, it's always entertaining to look back at your dreams.

Happy writing, happy dreaming, happy day to you all!