We'll send our best work every month.
Since Chris is critiquing short stories on Mythcreants now, I figured I would copy pay homage to her posts and do a critique of my very own. So I searched the internet for the finest short story with which to dazzle you. Instead, I found The Doorway* … read more »
If you went to a typical school in the western part of the world, then you grew up studying the classics: books by authors such as Bronte, Shelly, and Dickens, just to name a few. And it’s tempting for today’s unpublished writers to imitate them. … read more »
We’ve had good fun examining the beginnings of popular works. But beginnings don’t exist in a vacuum; they set up for the middle and end. So this time we’ll look at an entire short story: Beyond Lies the Wub by Philip K. Dick. Dick wrote … read more »
Refining your prose is a long process requiring practice and patience. This learning curve is even harder when you don’t know what needs to improve. These seven pillars of good prose can help you evaluate your work at the sentence level and give you something to strive for. Read more »
So far I’ve written six critiques of best selling books that I think are bad. Needless to say, I am not easily impressed. Then my commenters had the gall to ask for something positive. What do you think I am, a magical praise-emitting unicorn? Well, it took some doing, … read more »
Some writing techniques seem so simple that we take them for granted. That is, until we have to use them ourselves. So I sympathized with Jo when she asked: I am a bit confused about describing spatial relationships in fiction. How close or how far away … read more »
If you are currently alive, there’s little doubt you’ve at some point heard a prose story referred to as “cinematic.” This means the story is in some way like a movie or television show, and it is the highest of compliments. Motion pictures, be they … read more »
A while back, I compared books on writing fantasy. Now it’s time for science fiction to get the same treatment. We’ll also look at science fiction plus fantasy, because the rest of those have to go somewhere. Read more »
Writers receive lots of advice on making their scenes feel real. But what if a scene isn’t real in your story? Even stranger, your protagonist might not know this. They could think the carnivorous, striped umbrella chasing them down an alley is genuine. Dreams like … read more »
It’s time for I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore.* The cover I have looks like it was made after the film adaptation. It has cinematic shots of three beautiful people staring intently out at me, a big shiny blue light, a huge explosion, and … read more »