Fiction Tips Weekly

Cyrusfiction Productions Presents

2012-01-29T02:09:00.000-08:00

I am proud to announce the opening of Cyrusfiction Productions. My new production company focusing on the production of video book trailers and promo swag for authors. My first production under the new label is a teaser video for Mark Edward Hall's new thriller Apocalypse Island. You can see the video here:

Apocalypse Island Book Trailer

Cyrusfiction Productions prides itself in putting out quality promotional items designed to enhance an authors image.Prices will be posted in a few weeks, stay tuned for my upcoming projects which include William Cook's newest release Blood Related, and Jeani Rector, editor of the Horror Zine upcoming anthology Feast of Frights from the Horror Zine.

Enjoy and uh...Circle of Seven, eat your heart out!

-Cyrus

The 11th Annual Screamfest Horror Film Festival & Screenplay call for entries is now open

2011-05-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

In 2007, Screamfest discovered and premiered PARANORMAL ACTIVITY

Could you be next?

Screamfest launches careers. Are you next?Winning screenplays have been optioned and purchased. Four of our past Screamfest winning directors have now directed for Sam Raimi and others have been attached to studio films as a result of Screamfest.

Screamfest takes place Oct. 14th – 23rd, 2011 at Grauman’s Mann Chinese 6 at Hollywood and Highland in Hollywood. Screamfest showcases talented genre filmmakers and writers from around the world to the entertainment industry in order to help further their careers.

Film judges include producer Craig Perry (Final Destination, American Pie), Emmy-winning special effects master Greg Nicotero, producer Joe Daley (Clive Barker’s Seraphim Films) and legendary producer and director Sean S. Cunningham (Friday The 13th).

Moviemaker Magazine listed Screamfest Horror Film Festival as one of the “25 Festivals Worth the Entry Fee.”

Film submission date deadlines:

Early deadline: June 15, 2011

Final deadline: August 15, 2011

Screenplay submission date deadlines:

Early deadline: June 15, 2011

Regular deadline: September 5, 2011

Final deadline: November 1, 2011

FTW Presents Author JE Gurley

2011-04-26T00:14:00.000-07:00

JE Gurley was born in Corinth, MS in 1954, a city steeped in Civil War history - Shiloh, Brices Crossroads, Tenn. River, Battle of Corinth. He incorporates history in his stories whenever possible. He writes science fiction, horror and fantasy novels as well as short stories. He is a retired Atlanta chef and now resides in Tucson, AZ with his wife, Kim, and two cats, Elsie and Shoes. His Recent novel, Hell Rig

is one of the newest releases by Damnation Books. It is a rich blend of supernatural horror, voodoo, world oil commerce, and the living dead. This enticing story has no end of action and suspense. Beautifully written.

Lisa Love had always thought of the Vodun Loas as Saints. She was not prepared for the death that stalked the decks of rig #13 as Loas take sides in a battle that could destroy the gateway between life and death.

You can find Gurley and his works at Damnation Books, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and at his official website. He will be attending the 2011 World Horror Convention in Texas. He invites all that have the wherewithal to him at the convention where he will be signing copies for the general public

Other works by Gurley include The Legend of Tallor The Avenger & Other Tales from the Seven Lands, and Father Blood: Demon Spawn. Gurley delights in the macabre, and writes in the science fiction, horror, and dark fantasy genres. You can contact him at james_gurley@yahoo.com

FTW Presents: UK Author Fiona Dodwell

2011-04-10T11:38:00.000-07:00

Fiona Dodwell lives with her husband in the UK. She has studied a peculiar mix, from theology and drama to film studies and psychology. She is passionate about horror, both in film and literature, and grew up nurturing her dream to one day write horror herself. Over recent years she has written many poems, short stories and novels.

The Banishing - her first full length horror novel - is now available in paperback and e-book with publisher Damnation Books.

Melissa must quickly find the answer to these questions, because Mark is changing, and fast. Soon her fight will be for her life, as well as for her marriage.

Fiona on the Web:

Wordpress, Amazon UK, Amazon US, Facebook, One Writer's Journey, The Dark Fantastic, Conda's Creative Center, Fang-Tastic Books, Goodreads, One Hot Mess, Lybrary, Mobi, The Hive, Paperback Swap, Diesel e-Book Store, Powell's, RJ Sullivan, Paddyfield.

Member of Australian Horror Writer's Association Debutes in the U.S.

2011-04-03T00:02:00.000-07:00

After joining the Australian Horror Writers Association in 2009, Greg Chapman was fortunate enough to be selected for its mentoring program, under the tutelage of Brett McBean. Since then, his aspirations for a career as a dark fiction author are off to a flying start. While this is his debut novella publication in the United States, he has many more to write and is currently illustrating a graphic novel for authors Rocky Wood and Lisa Morton.

Jessica Newman’s tragic childhood has come

back to haunt her. Her father, a Catholic deacon she hasn’t seen since he was found not guilty of her mother’s death during an exorcism ritual, has turned up dead in Scotland, with a wound to the head.

Forced to take her family to Scotland and deal with her father’s estate--a derelict mansion in the Grampian Ranges--Jessica begins to question her mother’s death and what role her father played in it. The house and its dark basement―could provide more answers than she bargained for.

What chills your blood? Vampires? Zombies? How about a tour of Hell? Do you dare to step inside the mind of a madman? This is a taste of some of the tales of terror by dark fiction author Greg Chapman.

Other Places you can find Greg Chapman and his exciting supernatural tales:

Cyrus Wraith Walker Produces Hell Rig Trailer

2011-03-15T23:47:00.000-07:00

Wraith Watch: Mark Edward Hall (A Master of Horror)

2011-02-06T11:23:00.000-08:00

Spotlight On Mark Edward Hall

Mark Edward Hall is a premier novelist and short story teller. His most recent story, "The Fear," was picked up by Triskaideka Books, for their Master's of Horror: The Anthology, released Jan, 2011. The story is also offered on Kindle and in an audio book form, read by Danny Davies.

His first published novel, The Lost Village, gained recommendation for a Bram Stoker award and was nominated for the small press Tombstone award. It was re-issued by Damnation Books and is available in trade paperback and for the first time, as a Kindle download. His stories range from good old horror fiction with substance, to supernatural and psychological thrillers.

Previously, Damnation Books published a novella by mark titled, "The Haunting of Sam Cabot," published, Sept 1, 2009. The ninety-eight paged novella tells a story of Sam Cabot who move off the grid in order to live the quiet life with his Wife and young son. Little does he know that he will soon spend his summer living with dead things.

Mark was first published in 1995, his short story, "Wasps," later was re-titled, "Bugshot," after its first appearance in Raven's Tale magazine. After that it appeared several more times in various publications before finding its way into Mark’s new collection, "Servants of Darkness." He has written 5 novels plus about 30 short stories, several novellas, and is quickly establishing himself in the conventional small press publishing arena.

Born in Brunswick, Maine, in 1948, Mark still lives in Maine with his wife Sheila. He attended school in Durham, Maine, with Stephen King and Chris Chesley. He is a talented songwriter, and loves anything macabre.

Though he made the decision to be a novelist at the age of 18, the Vietnam War sidetracked Mark, as did other career endeavors. He may not have started at the same time as his fellow school chums, but the psychological and supernatural impact of his novels and novellas are befitting for this new period, in which critics take Horror fiction is more seriously. Mark is a serious writer, for a serious age.

Coming December 1, 2010, Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator

2010-11-26T15:33:00.000-08:00

Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator

The Zombie Apocalypse Meets Reality TV!

Title: Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator

Author: Karina Fabian

Category: horror, humor, science fiction

ISBN-13: xx (print) xx (e-book)

ISBN 10: xx (print) xx (e-book)

Format: Trade paperback, e-book

Publication Date: December 1, 2010

Pages:

Price: $US (print) $US (e-book)

Available from: Damnation Books, www.damnationbooks.com

More Info: www.fabianspace.com

By the 2040s, the shambling dead have become and international problem. While governments and special interest groups vie for the most environmentally-friendly way to rid the world of zombies, a new breed of exterminator has risen: The Zombie Exterminator.

When zombie exterminator Neeta Lyffe gets sued because a zombie she set afire stumbles onto a lawyer's back porch, she needs money, fast. So she agrees to train apprentice exterminators in a reality TV show that makes Survivor look like a game of tag. But that's nothing compared to having to deal with crazy directors, bickering contestants and paparazzi. Can she keep her ratings up, her bills paid and her apprentices alive and still keep her sanity?

Reviewer comments:

”At long last, a zombie book with some life in it!" humorist Walt Staples

From zombie exterminators to dragon detectives to nuns in space, Karina Fabian likes to create stories that make readers laugh, cry and think. She enjoys her more mundane adventures as wife to Col. Rob Fabian, USAF and mother of four.

Order the Zombie Cookbook directly from Baker & Taylor, Ingram, or the publisher, Damnation Books, P.O. Box 3931, Santa Rosa, CA 95402-9998; or via the Internet at http://www.damnationbooks.com. Also on www.amazon.com and www.fictionwise.com.

FTW Spotlight: Rising Novelist, Starr Gardinier Reina and her new novel "In the Name of Revenge"

2010-11-03T01:48:00.000-07:00

Trust is everything, especially to Italian mob boss Carlo Mancini. Inducted into the Mancini family, Russian muscle Pavel Ivanovich is believed to be a prized asset, so much so that Mancini entrusts him to court his spoiled daughter with expectations of marriage. Little does Carlo know, his faith and trust are misplaced because Pavel has a separate mission: to avenge his parents' grisly murders. Trust is everything. Will Pavel’s personal agenda get in the way?

FTW: So what is the history behind creating the story "In the Name of Revenge."

SR: "I love to read and write mystery/crime/suspense novels. In addition, investigative methods have always interested me, as have FBI and crime organizations. Realizing crime is certainly not the way to go, I decided to have the FBI take control. The Ivanovich series was born. This is an avenue I can explore, delve into and share with my readers the passion I hold. The antagonist Pavel Ivanovich leaps off the pages vowing revenge on those who ruined his life. In the series, Ivanovich triumphs over crime and brings along with him Teresa Mancini, oddly enough, a crime boss' daughter. As a pair, they spar but fit together nicely in a weird sort of way. The Ivanovich series combines suspense and crime at its best with humor and rallies to bring page-turning stories with surprises readers don't see coming."

Biography Spotlight

According to Suspense Magazine, Starr Gardinier Reina is a new star who has arrived in the writing world. Apart from being an award-winning author for her short story "Cut", Reina has appeared in a blaze and made her mark on the literary world with her fiction novel "In the Name of Revenge". She is known for her works' distinctive voice, making every character stand out.

Reina is the artistic creator of the Ivanovich series featuring Pavel Ivanovich in "In the Name of Revenge". Flanking Ivanovich's side in "Deadly Decisions" (to be released February 1, 2011) is Teresa Mancini, who vies with Ivanovich for readers' attention. She is also the author of young adult novella "Cruel Whispers" and its sequel novel "Cruel Past".

Reina is an executive editor for Suspense Magazine. She has been interviewed in the newspaper and on the radio with relation to her fiction work. She has been a co-host on Suspense Radio.

She has won three Best Speaker awards as well as Best Evaluator at the Voice Ambassadors chapter of Toastmasters. Reina is a member of Sisters in Crime, Los Angeles Chapter and nationally. She has always been active in events. As co-chair and main coordinator for the West Coast Author Premiere, she arranged the weekend-long event to help authors from all over network, learn and share their work with the public. Reina has also been instrumental in compiling authors and planning a local author event at Barnes and Noble in Ventura, California along with the store’s event manager.

WhoDunIt is Reina's free quarterly newsletter that has many benefits for not only authors but readers as well.

Purchase the book and find out more about Starr Reina!

www.QueenWriter.com
http://www.queenwriter.com/index.html
http://www.queenwriter.com/store.html
http://www.queenwriter.com/press.html
www.SuspenseMagazine.com
http://www.amazon.com/Name-Revenge-Book-Ivanovich-ebook/dp/B003R7L4MG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1288205516&sr=8-1
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/In-the-Name-of-Revenge/Starr-Gardinier-Reina/e/2940011064203/?itm=1&USRI=in+the+name+of+revenge#TABS
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/18047
http://www.suspensemagazine.com/starrreina.html
http://www.suspensemagazine.com/Cut.html
http://www.suspensemagazine.com/ThatPlace.html
http://www.suspensemagazine.com/suspenseradio.html
http://www.suspensemagazine.com/SuspensePublishingAuthors.html
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/suspensemagazine/2010/07/25/suspense-radio--pilot-episode
http://indiebooksblog.blogspot.com/

FTW Proudly Presents Mark Edward Hall and his new release The Lost Village.

2010-09-04T10:06:00.000-07:00

An Interview with Mark Edward Hall
By Cyrus Wraith Walker

Mark Edward Hall is a premier novelist and short story teller. His first published novel, The Lost Village, gained recommendation for a Bram Stoker award and was nominated for the small press Tombstone award. It has just been re-issued by Damnation Books and is available in trade paperback and for the first time, as a Kindle download. His stories range from good old horror fiction with substance, to supernatural and psychological thrillers.

Mark was first published in 1995, his short story, "Wasps," later was re-titled, "Bugshot," after its first appearance in Raven's Tale magazine. After that it appeared several more times in various publications before finding its way into Mark’s new collection, "Servants of Darkness." He has written 5 novels plus about 30 short stories, several novellas, and is quickly establishing himself in the conventional small press publishing arena. Some of his credits include The Lost Village, The Haunting of Sam Cabot, and very soon Soul Thief.

Born in Brunswick, Maine, in 1948, Mark still lives in Maine with his wife Sheila. He attended school in Durham, Maine, with Stephen King and Chris Chesley. He is a talented songwriter, and loves anything macabre.

Though he made the decision to be a novelist at the age of 18, the Vietnam War sidetracked Mark, as did other career endeavors. He may not have started at the same time as his fellow school chums, but the psychological and supernatural impact of his novels and novellas are befitting for this new period, an age in which Horror fiction is taken more seriously, and comes awfully close to the terrors that befall us in this modern age.

1. Mark, why is the Horror genre your chosen platform for writing fiction?

I grew up with TV shows like the Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits and Boris Karloff’s, Thriller. Early on, I read Dracula, I Am Legend, the works of Poe, Hawthorn and H.P. Lovecraft. I was just drawn to those sorts of tales. They seemed to tell me more about the human condition than what society as a whole was trying to feed us. Also, my grandmother Luella was a medium and fortune teller and because I was the only grandchild interested, she chose me as a listening post for her oral tales of ghosts and the supernatural. To me these types of stories were thrilling. They still are, actually. Because Gram would never have considered writing any of her stories down, most of them have been lost. But I immortalized her in my tale, The Hero of Elm Street. If she’s in a place where people can look down on what’s happening now, I’ll bet she’s getting a big kick out of all this.

2. Do you consider what you write to be “horror stories,” “psychological/supernatural thrillers,” or some other label? What label if you were to label your own stories would you give and why?

All of the above and more. I hate labels. I just write the stories that please me and let others put labels on them.

3. When did you start writing?

In high school I wrote poetry and first began writing songs. When I was eighteen, I started writing a novel at my older sister’s kitchen table. I was determined to make it work. We were from a small town with lots of sinister little secrets, at least in our minds. The novel was going to be a blend of Peyton Place with some macabre elements thrown in for shock value. It never got finished and when I got drafted and went off to serve my country the manuscript got lost.

4. Do you have to be in a special mood to start writing?

No. I write every day whether I’m in the mood or not. Usually I am. I don’t believe in writer’s block. But there are those days, of course when other things take precedence and it’s not possible to write. On those days I formulate stuff in my head and write it down later.

5. Do you have a certain method that you use when you write?

Nothing astounding. I get up, make coffee and sit down at the computer. I always have tons of different projects going all at once and I work on whichever one I’m in the mood for on that particular day, unless I’m writing on commission for a magazine or have a deadline to meet.

6. Out of all the stories you have written, which is your favorite?

A novel no one has read yet. I’ve been working on it for more than ten years. The working title is Angel Island. Even though The Lost Village is a big novel, 258,000 words, this one is bigger. I call it my magnum opus. It blends elements of horror, fantasy, science fiction and adventure. I hope some day it will see the light of day.

7. How do you get inspiration for your stories? Does it come from day-to-day events, a word or phrase you may hear, suggestions you get from fans, personal experience, dreams, or all of the above?

This is an easy one: all of the above.

8. What about the deep psychological ingredients found in your characters, do these come from any personal experiences?

I think all writers draw from personal experience. It’s difficult to pinpoint these experiences exactly, but yes, somewhere in the complex architecture of our minds things bubble to the surface and become ideas, and most ideas come from personal experience. Unless there’s some sort of cosmic place that we have no conscious knowledge of that just hands us ideas. Maybe, but unlikely.

9. Are you interested more in the psychological, or the supernatural aspects of your stories?

I’m interested in both but I tend to dwell on the psychological. And from that comes the supernatural. For me it’s a natural progression.

10. What are your personal feelings about spiritual influences people say they experience from certain buildings or places?

I think people experience things all the time that cannot be explained through conventional knowledge. There are possibly realms beyond which science and rational thought have not yet gone. That said, I believe in logic and reason first and foremost.

11. In your own experience, have you ever come across any ghosts, ghouls or anything that goes bump in the night?

I’ve had strange experiences in my life; I won’t deny it. But I don’t dwell on them. I tend to look for the rational explanation. I’m like Mulder’s character in the X-Files. I want to believe. I’m not the kind of person who automatically believes every conspiracy theory or ghost story or UFO sighting just because it’s the popular thing to do. I believe in rational thought processes and solid evidence gathering. Probably not what horror fiction fans want to hear but it’s true. I’m in love with the possibilities of the unknown. That leaves it open to speculation, which is what I like to do. Reality is much too elusive.

12. Do you get letters from people that say they have actually experienced things similar to what you write?

I’ve gotten letters saying that the reader has experienced a connection in some way to a particular story or character, or that the story or character has somehow changed their perception of a belief or an idea, which is strange when you consider that what I write is so fantastic. But I think people are searching and I think answers come in strange packages. I think there’s a lot of truth in fiction and I believe that certain people can see through the “lies” to a truth they might not have known existed until they read it in a story.

13. As a child, did you read horror stories and go to see horror movies?

Yes, absolutely!

14. In your biography on your website, you mention that horror fiction has undergone a renaissance of sorts; to what new beginning or regeneration are you referring?

Let me start by saying that I don’t believe horror fiction will ever go away. It has its ups and downs for sure, but as long as there are unknowns attached to life on Planet Earth horror fiction will be around.

Stephen King ushered in a new era of horror fiction in the seventies. There’s no doubt about that. Until that happened post World War II America had no tolerance for such things. It was a time of optimism. The world had just been through the horror of horrors.

Then inevitably came the cold war, quickly followed by fifties Sci-Fi movies. I loved them. I thought they were really cool and I still do. Those movies were a way of saying, listen, everything may not be right with the world after all. There’s some serious shit coming down. We’re just a push of the red button away from Armageddon and you had better be worried about it

There were some notable horror writers working at that time, people like the great Shirley Jackson and John Farris, but it wasn’t until William Peter Blatty published the Exorcist in 1971 that horror fiction began its true renaissance. Then came King and everything changed. Everybody wanted to be a horror writer and the market was flooded with mostly bad imitations. I think horror fiction took a bad turn in the eighties and into the nineties and I really believe a lot of people lost their taste for it. There were some writers of note, however. Robert McCammon, Clive Barker, and you can’t ignore Dean Koontz. And there have been lots of good ones emerge since then, of course.

Now, with the internet and POD publishing and devises like Kindle there is a new renaissance, and once again a lot of bad fiction is popping up on Amazon. Anybody can publish their own stuff, but I believe the public is becoming more sophisticated in their tastes. They know good stories from bad. I think the trend is toward better quality. At least this is my hope.

15. Some of your stories would make good movies, have any been optioned to the screen?

I have had some interest, and one particular movie producer has indicated an interest in turning my short story, The Nest, into a film, but I haven’t yet been given many details. Nothing is finalized so I don’t know what will happen.

16. With so many good stories out there, why do you think that Hollywood seems to continue making tired remakes of old stories instead of embracing the new?

I think it’s because the old stuff is familiar and safe, and a lot of film companies aren’t willing to spend megabucks on an unknown. It’s purely economic.

17. Embracing the latest of technology, I’m speaking mainly of the internet, what control over one’s own writing career has been regained?

I don’t think much control has been regained. The internet allows anybody to self-publish, but that doesn’t mean the work is good or that it will gain a wide audience. If it’s poorly written and the story doesn’t hold up it’s not going to go anywhere. The truth is, there’s no substitute for the filter of a good editor. Also, the reading public is more sophisticated than they’re given credit for. They know a bad story when they see it. That’s not to say that everything put out by traditional publishers is good. A lot of it isn’t. Just check the reader reviews on Amazon of some of the world’s bestselling authors. Publishers are reluctant to go with new talent. It’s a crap shoot. There’s comfort in the tried and true.

18. Do you actually believe in the things you write about, at least in part?

I believe in writing good stories. I like to be entertained and I like to entertain. I enjoy the process of bringing characters and situations to life on the page. I don’t believe those characters or situations exist in the real world. That would make me a nut job. Might make for a good book, though.

19. Several of your stories deal with average people beleaguered with great difficulties. You deal a lot with human nature. Is there a philosophical side to your stories?

Sure. I think all good fiction is about ordinary people caught up in extraordinary circumstances. If it’s not about that, then what would it be about? That’s just my opinion, of course.

20. Do your stories end for you when you are finished writing them, or do they sometimes continue in your imagination?

Oh, a lot of them continue in my imagination. I’m never really through with a story. I always think I could make it better or that I might come back later and continue it or write a sequel. They’re like my children. I care about their welfare.

21. Do you think it is important to keep your readers guessing?

Yes I do. This is my predominate goal in writing. Keeping readers guessing. Never giving them the truth of the story until the last possible moment. And the bitch of it is, sometimes there is no truth. Always an ending but not always a truth. Sometime this frustrates even me. But hey, that’s life.

22. Which do you like better, short stories or novels?

Novels. But I like short stories almost as much.

23. Since many of your stories deal with the psychological and supernatural, have you ever felt in any physical, mental, or spiritual peril from such forces, influences, or individuals?

I can’t answer this question here. I will, however, answer it sometime in the future in the form of an essay or non-fiction work that has been brewing in my mind for a while. So, I guess that would be a ‘yes’ with conditions.

24. With the new direction that horror fiction seems to be taking, do you think that the old attitude that horror stories are just cheap shots, that all you have to do is write a very simple story, has changed?

I’m not sure about that. I can’t write simple stories. I think there are those that can and do. If they’re good simple stories they will find an audience. Case in point: Jack Ketchum’s Off Season. Simple, but a terrific story. My stories have to be multi-faceted, multi-dimensional. It’s very difficult for me to write a simple story. I think today, for the most part, publishers are looking for stories with substance.

25. Do you enjoy reading other people's horror stories?

Absolutely. I like to see what’s out there, what’s being written.

26. Who is your favorite author of all time?

Clive Barker.

27. Which is harder to write, a story that appeals to the intellect or one that hits you at a visceral level?

I can’t speak for others, but I like my stories to do both and I try to make sure it happens simultaneously during story development.

28. Is there a certain fascination that drives most of your stories?

Not really, other than I want to write as good a story as I’m capable of and I want to be surprised by what comes out. I’m always pushing myself, trying to break boundaries. I strive to write a better story than the last one.

29. Have you had a subject that you have wanted to write about but have never been able to do it?

No.

30. Breakthroughs in technology have advanced at a startling rate. It is no longer inconceivable to imagine things like one might have seen in say, John Carpenter’s They Live. Reality is quickly taking the place of delusional conspiracy theorists such as those that purport things like “voice to skull weaponry.” One of my stories Eternity V2K is based on such a shift after Holosonic, a sound technology company, scared the bejesus out of New Yorkers by using such technology to beam an advertisement into the craniums of unwary passers by.

That being said, Mark, do you see a time when fact will go beyond any kind of fiction a writer can conceive?

Unequivocally no! The dreamers have always been the ones who spur innovation, never the other way around.

To date Mark Edward Hall is one of my favorite premier authors. You find his serial novel Soul Thief at his website in the list below. He is in the process of posting a chapter per week. I highly recommend any of Mark's publications. He is on his way to being a contemporary master of horror.

The Official Mark Edward Hall website

You can purchase The Lost Village and other works by Mark Edward Hall at these locations:

Amazon
Damnation Books
Barnes and Noble

Combining Character and Plot driven prose.

2010-06-24T16:18:00.000-07:00

Plot driven

For fiction, especially popular fiction, thrillers, mysteries, sci-fi, etc, a story's plot usually follows a causal chain of events. Life for the most part is not causal. Things that happen on any given day are unrelated, random, and unconnected.

Plot is, for all general purposes, a causal chain of events that follow Aristotle's beginning, middle, and end Dramatic Curve.

Usually what makes a "fiction story" is the components of Freytag's triangle above.

1. Introduction of the problem

a. The beginning of the story starts with some problem, some conflict, some event that is a dilemma in the lives of the characters.

b. Some stories star In Medias Res (in the middle of things) or, put better, in the middle of the action.

i. The enemy came from every side, every angle. Droplets of blood covered their bodies like sweat, their eyes spoke of vengeance.

2. Rising action: complicating the problem

a. This part takes up the greatest part of your story. It is where the problem and the protagonist's attempts to solve the problem gets complicated by numerous antagonistic interventions. The antagonist whomever or whatever it may be complicates the problems solution to greater and greater tension levels until things finally exploded. First it might be the guys in the black SUV's, secondly it might be the protagonists wife, thirdly the whole city against him, maybe even the military…the world. What odds are at stake, depends on the story itself, but that tension line spirals upward to full effulgence, to the climax or "final conflict."

3. Final Conflict

a. This is where the protagonist is at the highest jeopardy. He either defeats the antagonist or gets defeated. In some thrillers and mysteries, it is back to the place where the story began.

4. Dénouement, resolution, or catastrophe

a. All looses ends are then tied. Anything in the story that may have caused a question should be resolved either before or by the final conflict. You briefly show this resolution in the falling action and resolve part of the story. It is customary for the dénouement to be short

In the design of plot, the events are all related and causal. That stain in his shirt from breakfast causes an auto accident causes the intense argument causes the chase causes discovery causes the kidnapping causes the deception causes the exploding ending.

It is important to keep in mind that all of the great writers testify that they never start with plot but rather only with plot in mind. They start with character.

Character Driven

I use a technique I learned somewhere in a book on writing, to form a character driven prose. I forget what author came up with it. It may have been Orson Scott Card or one of the other writers from the Writer's Digest Series on the components of writing fiction. The technique involves five developmental steps. These are easy to identify in just about any character driven story. They are:

1. emotion (an emotional development motivating the character)

2. decision (Motivation then drives decision)

3. action (decision made leads character to action)

4. conflict (action on either the protagonist or the antagonist side leads to conflict)

5. emotion (when conflict is resolved the character enters an new emotional state)

Character driven prose must follow an emotional development, or knowledge development of the main protagonist and even the antagonist.

Combining the two

If we apply the logical emotional development normally found in character driven prose, E-D-A-C-E, to the plot driving design in Freytag's Triangle, within the the introduction and the rising action sections we get a story that is both character driven and plot driven at the same time. See diagram below.

I hope this article has been helpful, especially to those who have been frustrated by literary fiction teachers that claim that popular fiction is not character driven. I have heard such claims out of the mouths of professors. Yet for all their efforts to persuade, I have found that most of them have rarely picked up a Stephen King novel, or any other of the various brand name genre writers and seen for themselves how such genre stories are VERY driven by character and therfore just as literary as any other piece.

Attention Romance Writers. Here is your chance at publication.

2010-06-20T20:06:00.000-07:00

Eternal Press Call For Submissions:
The Holidays are just around the corner! We are currently seeking submissions that pertain to the holidays. Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza, Samhain, New Years, Valentines, St. Patrick’s Day…any holiday at all! This call for submissions will be open until the end of August..so don’t delay…send in your sub now!

Eternal Press Submissions Guidelines

We are currently accepting:
Novellas, and full-length manuscripts from 20,000-140,000 words.
Genres: Romance, Erotica, GBLT and BDSM, Paranormal, Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Suspense, Thriller, Historical, Young Adult.
We are particularly interested in:
* Erotica
* Paranormal (vampire/shapeshifter/witch)
* GBLT
* Romance
* BDSM
* Young Adult
* Longer length novellas and novels
How to Submit to Eternal Press:
Submit a cover letter in the body of the email that contains the following:
* Genre
* Word Count
* Brief Synopsis
* A bit about you
* Your marketing plan should we accept your manuscript for publication.
* Although we like to encourage open, free and creative expression, do let us know whether the piece contains any questionable content. For instance, we allow rape under certain circumstances, but it should not be meant to titillate. Writing about child abuse is one thing, but we aren't interested in seeing the acts described in detail.
We do put disclaimers about content if it could potentially disturb our consumers, so do let us know in advance.
Attach the following to your cover letter in .doc or .rtf format (no .docx):
* For stories under 50k: The complete manuscript with your contact information, title, word count, and genre at the top.
* For novels 50k +, the first three chapters and the last chapter, with your contact information, title, word count, and genre at the top
* Your manuscript should contain either 1-1/2 or double spacing and one inch margins. Use a 12 pt. Book Antiqua font.
Send to Eternal Press with a subject line: SUBMISSIONS_your name_book title to... submissionseternalpress@gmail.com

For more info on our submissions guidelines please visit our website at www.eternalpress.biz
Thank you
Candace Clayton

Yolanda Sfetsos on Writing Fiction

2010-06-08T20:51:00.000-07:00

The Importance of Keeping Notes

Hi there! Firstly, I want to thank Cyrus for inviting me here today. It's great to be here.

You know, when I was thinking about writing this post, I was going to chat a little about my latest Damnation Books release, BOUNDLESS. Instead, I decided it might be a better idea to chat about something else. Something that relates to writing in general. It's also how I shape my ideas into stories.

I have to admit that I'm not much of a plotter. I've tried it, and can usually put together an outline for the first five chapters without a problem. But can't get past that point. I'm probably closer to a pantser than anything else. When I say closer, I mean that I've morphed a little during the last few years. There was a time when all I needed to know was my main characters and the basic story, before I started writing. But nowadays, I like to pick up a notebook and pen, write down all of the ideas I have for the story to make sure it all makes sense. That means a one-page outline detailing the general plot. That's usually enough to get my creativity flowing.

After that, I find myself adding to these notes all the time. Things pop out on nowhere, almost as if the story's already forming somewhere in the back of my brain and has decided to slip out one bit at a time. I love the process!

For me, taking notes is an ongoing thing. I think it's important to keep detailed notes of all of your ideas and stories. Trust me, it helps when you write more than one novella/novel set in the same world. And if you're like me, and usually forget to grab a notebook and pen to take with you when you're out walking, make sure you've at least got your phone with you.

Here's my tip for the day: If you're out and about and inspiration strikes, pull out your phone and get typing. You should never let anything slip away. I've got Quickoffice on my Nokia phone, and not only does it let me type notes up, but I can then download them straight to my computer. Technology has helped the note-taking evolve, so there should never be any excuse for you to lose anything valuable. ;)

Thanks for reading!

Alyce Kerr, Faith Healer Trilogy

Now available from Damnation Books.

Or visit my website for information about the print versions.

---

Yolanda Sfetsos
http://www.yolandasfetsos.com/

Yolanda Sfetsos lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband, daughter, and cat. She loves to spend most of her days writing stories. Her muse doesn't like genre restrictions and is always happy to toe the dark edge of storytelling. When she’s not writing she spends as much time as possible with her small family. She also enjoys watching movies, TV shows and reading.

Radio Interview with One World One Voice.

2010-06-07T11:20:00.000-07:00

I am happy to announce that I will be a guest on the One World One Voice show on Blogtalk radio, hosted by Raven Starr. June 12th 3:00 PM Pacific Standard Time. I will be talking about the Horror Genre, and my new novella Painter's Green.

Listen to One World One Voice on Blog Talk Radio

Attention Horror Fans! The new seriel novel by Mark Edward Hall is now live!

2010-04-19T09:16:00.000-07:00

Hurry don't be late, the new serial novel Soul Thief by Mark Edward Hall is now LIVE!

Tune in each week for a delightfully frightening new chapter at:

Soul Thief, Free Serial Novel, Chapter One Now Live.

Book Cover For Painter's Green

2010-04-02T21:47:00.000-07:00

Here is the long waited official book cover for Painter's Green. The artist at Damnation Books did a fabulous job I think.www.damnationbooks.com

-Cyrus Wraith Walker

Available June 1st at Damnation Books.

Cyrus Review of The Haunting of Sam Cabot by Mark Edward Hall

2010-01-23T08:46:00.000-08:00

A Cyrus Wraith Walker Review

5.0 out of 5 stars The Haunting of Sam Cabot, December 16, 2009
The Haunting of Sam Cabot
By Mark Edward Hall

Review by Cyrus Wraith Walker, Fiction Tips Weekly (Portland, OR USA)

What scares us is how close to the surface horror stories like The Haunting of Sam Cabot brings us, concerning things we choose not to allow in our cognitive awareness.

The realization of how we deal with, deny, ignore, and suppress fear, loss, death, or change, and how those things just might be the consequences of our own decisions or simply our feelings of guilt derived for taking responsibility for those things.

The fabric has always been about suppression, and Mark Edward Hall serves a good dish. You cannot serve in the armed forces and a war as Mark did without being spoon-fed tons of things that you are expected to suppress, ordered to suppress, and things that you cannot bear--even of your own fruition--to let to the surface because to do so would challenge ones sanity. We are a repressive/suppressive society. We are trained to do so from birth.

Is Cabot a ghost story, or a story of madness? Does the presence of ghosts or supernatural phenomena in one's life materialize because we cannot find a scientific explanation or a psychological explanation to use as evidence to continue wearing the false mask of reality we wear when suppressing truth? The answer is yes, just in case you didn't know, however, for those that are permanently gone there is no recognition only "REALITY" you know, but the reality we build is usually a tool to keep what we have repressed suppressed.

The Haunting of Sam Cabot makes us horribly aware that that is exactly what it is! Ghosts or spiritual phenomena then are as real as the psychological or scientific evidence we concoct along with our spiritual or other belief systems. Monsters do exist. Why, because, we must have evidence! We must suppress the truth! The truth will kill us, so we will become preachers, scientists, and psychologists, and we will attend Mass and counseling sessions, and get that diagnosis from the experts because we must not get to close to . . . the TRUTH!

General Story and Plot: 5 Stars

In an interview with yours truly Mark spoke of how stories such as I am Legend, as well as the works of Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, and show like The Twilight Zone, and The Outer Limits, spoke to him, telling him more about the human condition than what society as a whole feeds us. The author does a fantastic job at bringing that to the surface.

Written in first person from the perspective of the protagonist, you get the sense that as Sam Cabot makes his slip into madness but oddly notices his madness. After wondering if the piece would be better written in a third-person omnipotent view the reader tricks his/herself into making judgments as to what information is sound and grounded in reality and what is not. This is how the author grabs us and makes us see our own denial of things that we repress. Even in the climax where things get very strange we make excuses about the narrative, about the author, about anything besides what we really fear. Therefore I give the 5 Stars for Story and plot.

Narration/Scene/Overall Length: 4 Stars

The major area I thought could be improved upon was the handling of various narratives, which I thought could be transpired into more dramatic scene work. This book has the potential to be even more gripping and of a greater, more satisfying length if the reader was made to experience certain sections as opposed to just being told through Sam's conscious stream. I would like to have seen some more of the nightmare sequences dramatized to subtle transition just like the first key nightmare sequence was. It may just be my own desire to have more Sam Cabot so I regretfully give this area only 3 ½ for desired improved upon length.

Placement within the Genre: 5 Stars

The book fits nicely into the psychological/supernatural form of the horror genre. It fulfills expectation when we realize that reality is not necessarily the truth but a fabrication to be used to keep what we have repressed in suppression. Because of this the story fulfills the purpose of the genre. The Haunting of Sam Cabot would make an excellent screenplay. 5 Stars for placement.

This book is intended for an audience of young adult and up. It is by far repugnant in any way but rightfully has a rating of three by the publisher Damnation Books for Sex and Violence.

Style: 5 Stars

Mark's colloquial informal style makes the story and the reader comfortable enough with the characters to identify intimately with them. He then uses this advantage as a tool to stir up doubts in the readers mind about a character causing a sense of distance or something not right. Like a movie director manipulating diegesis leading the viewer to infer things before hand, so does this technique appear in Marks style.

Quality: 4.7 Stars Accumulative
1. Coherence: 5 Stars
2. Clarity: 5 Stars
3. Originality: 4 ½
     Even though the story draws heavily on other stories such as The Shining and The Amityville Horror, it does so to develop our expectations in order to present a surprising twist. For this reason I still give 4 ½ Stars for originality.
4. Forcefulness: 5 Stars
5. Conciseness: 5 Stars
6. Fullness of Development: 4 Stars
      As stated earlier I felt that there could be more development in the way of expanding too much narrative into more exciting scenes.
7. Fluidity: 5 Stars
8. Does it suit the intended audience: 5 Stars
9. Quality of the printed version: 3 ½ Stars
     As the face of publishing has changed, it has been increasingly more difficult for publishers to make a profit. Certain things occasionally are done to try to keep the price of a title competitive. For that reason I give only 3 ½ Stars to the quality of the printed version. Even though the cover is very nice, the print itself suffers because the Kerning and Leading, spaces between letters and lines is a bit scrunched. While this definitely reduces the retail price of the book it makes it a bit cumbersome to read.

Personal Affect: 5 Stars

I have forever battled the ignorance we cling to in the name of repressing what's true. Stories such as The Haunting of Sam Cabot help that plight. Through the story’s insanity, sanity is confirmed. A realization takes place that we all tend to believe without question that our personal perspective is correct until we face ourselves with objectiveness only to find out we were dead wrong.

Painter's Green to be published

2010-01-08T04:56:00.000-08:00

Painter's Green to be published through Damnation Books
Category: Writing and Poetry

Hi all

"You've got mail," the voice said. It was coming form the basement.

"Who's there?" I called grabbing my steely Psycho-prop knife before daring to venture int the dark underbelly to see who the intruder was.

As I approached the final run, the voice spoke once more, "YOU'VE GOT MAIL!" I nearly stabbed my computer.

The message had rolled in the night before, and my computer was turned off for the evening. Yet there it was blinking and speaking to me, daring me to check the mail.

So ... I did.

The e-mail was from Kim Richards of Damnation Books announcing that they were sending me a contract and wanted to publish my supernatural horror novella, Painter's Green. Here I thought a demon had possessed my computer and that it was intending on swallowing my soul but relief, and then YAHOOOOOOO! I guess it took a few moments to sink in. You understand it was 3AM.

Anyway enough of that dribble before you begin to hate me. Painter's Green is scheduled to be released in June. See Damnation Books in may to see my title on the new release list. Please visit them sooner, they have a wonderful backlist of terrifying novels you can order in either electronic format from the damnation site or in hard copy from Barnes and Noble, or Amazon.

http://www.damnationbooks.com

The following is the blurb I chose to be on the back of the book, and select excerpts.

Blurb:

Terry Painter is more than worried as he watches his town slowly die. He has to reach farther and farther to keep the family business, The Brushville Paint Contractors, afloat. In an attempt to clean out his shop and compile information that would allow him to start the only paint store for miles around, he stumbles onto something remarkable. A special blend of paint his father created called Painter’s Green.

At first, it all seems so ridiculous, that his old man actually thought of getting rich off a special color of paint. However, a little curiosity leads him to discover that not only does Painter’s Green replenish itself, but also it causes whatever and wherever it’s applied to flourish after just one single coat. Is it some kind of blessing from above? At first, that is what Terry thinks. That is, until he is called to paint the local funeral home.

To Be Released June, 2010

By Damnation Books

www.damnationbooks.com

Excerpts:

“This here’s a special paint, son,” he had said, “Ma own special mix of blue, yeller and a particular, uh . . . ingredient grey . . .

. . . After a watch-pot-ten, and a lot of strain holding the mixer in place, the substances mixed into a rich, thick, almost glowing shade of the most mesmerizing color I had ever seen . . .

. . . The old dead plant’s were gone and replaced by thriving mammoth almost pre-historic growths. A thought crossed my mind, a crazy thought, a thought you wouldn’t repeat in the presence of sound company. What if it’s the paint? . . .

. . . “Two thirds of the damn towns gone crazy! Their killing each other over that damn can. Ya even got that big galoot that was with Jennifer runnin’ round out there, breakin’ heads for that stuff. What the Sam hell you got in that can?” . . .

I hope you enjoyed this little taste, and will enjoy the book as well. I will keep you informed as to the progress.

-Cyrus Wraith Walker

Preditor Plagiarist!

2009-12-14T23:40:00.000-08:00

Recently an author friend of mine who just had a novella published fell prey to a plagiarist that has been doing his dirty business for a while now by claiming authorship of trusting authors that have sent him a manuscript or two. Furthermore he has attempted to attribute his alias name as the author of works that are published by real authors and they have appeared alongside the real publication on sites such as Amazon with fabricated ISBN numbers stolen from publishers like Lulu.

This article is reprinted by permission of J.A. Aarntzen:

David Byron and NVH Books
7/18/2009 11:32:00 AM
by J.A. Aarntzen

David Byron, the man behind NVH Books and now NVF Horror Cafe, agreed by contract to publish my Mosquitoes In Heaven novel in April, 2009. In May 2009 when the book was ready to print, I sent David $400 for 25 copies of the novel. To date, mid July, I have yet to receive any of the books and have not heard from David outside of automated email responses. He is out of the book business now but is into promoting independent films. Beware of this man for his business operations are shady.

Beware David Byron and NVH

David Byron, also known as Dan Byron and Iron Dave, contacted me through email about a year ago. He was then starting up his New Voices in Horror (NVH) online magazine and inquired if I would be interested in submitting a story for it. I sent him "Talking Libra" and this story was featured in the premiere volume of NVH Magazine.

A few months later David inquired if I would like to be interviewed for an upcoming NVH issue. I agreed to do this as well. The interview never did appear in any editions of NVH.

In February or March of this year, David decided to go into the book publishing business and asked through a general email for submissions. I sent him my just completed manuscript "Mosquitoes in Heaven". David liked it and it was going to be the first novel published by NVH Books. David had his people edit the book and once that was complete, he provided me with a cover. I was pretty impressed and was looking forward to having a good relationship with my new publisher.

In the meantime David also went into an agreement with another author whom I won't identify outside of saying that his first name is Stuart and that he is an Englishman that lives in Spain. Stuart started sending me emails and he was greatly looking forward to having his first novel published. Even though Stuart was excited he was a little reticent about sending Dave money for copies of his books. He asked me if I thought David was above board and I had no reason at that point to think otherwise. Dave had afterall featured my story "Talking LIbra" in his online magazine and I had actually seen it there.

It was time for me to make my order. I wanted fifty copies of my book but strangely Dave talked me down to twenty-five. We agreed on a price of $400 and this I sent to him through PayPal. This was near the start of May. David told me that it would take two to four weeks before the books arrive. Stuart had also sent Dave the same amount of money for his books at about approximately the same time.

About two or three days later both Stuart and I received emails from David's email address. The emails were not from David but from his brother. His brother informed us that David had a stroke and would be incapicatated for a time. The brother did say though that he would be looking after Dave's business and that we could expect our books shortly.

After about three weeks my books and Stu's books had not arrived. I started receiving worried emails from Stuart. I told Stu not to worry. These things take time.

In the meantime there are new emails coming from NVH Books saying that they are not going to accept any new submissions and that they were going out of the publishing business.

When I contacted the brother and asked about my books, I was told about a new emergency in the family. Their mother had broken her arm and required the constant care from both brothers. This seemed rather a flimsy excuse but I was still told that my books were coming.

Stuart was getting very worried at this time. I told him to still wait. I still had some faith in Iron Dave. But when two more weeks lapsed without any books, I suggested to a very concerned Stuart that he perhaps check out the ISBN numbers on our books. Both books had one. When Stuart did this he discovered that our ISBN numbers actually belonged to Lulu Books and had nothing at all to do with NVH Books. Stuart wondered that maybe Dave was using Lulu Books to print our books but both of us thought it unlikely.

Both of us contacted Dave but we were now only receiving automated responses about NVH no longer existing. Dave nor his brother were answering any more.

Still more generic emails came from Iron Dave. He collapsed NVH Magazine and was now opening up a new website devoted to horror films. It was called New Voices in Film (NVF). He was out of promoting authors and was now promoting independent film makers. He kept his original mailing distribution list and he had the gall to send Stu and me these emails about his new operation even though he had never come through with his original contract obligations with either of us.

Both Stuart and I were in despair about what had happened to us. We sent Dave nasty and threatening emails but with no real response from him. We both really had no recourse to stop this man as he was an American and we were not, Stu being in Spain and me in Canada.

In late June I posted a message on my other publisher's author's forum warning the authors there about David Byron and NVH. And I am only now posting this news release here at Author's Den. I am angered about what had happened but I am not obsessed by it. I have learned a lesson although I really don't know what lesson I learned. Dave was legitimate at first as witnessed by his publishing of my story on his e-zine and Dave had talked me down from fifty to twenty-five books. These seem to be incongruent with what I would associate with a scam artist. But I have not received my books. Stuart has not received his books. Both of us are out money. Either Dave and his brother are very inept businessmen or they have taken shadiness to a more insidious level where you almost feel guilty about exposing them.

The one good thing that has come out of this is that Stuart and I are now good friends and we exchange emails on what it is like to live in each other's countries and we hardly mention Dave at all.

So in closing I wish to thank Iron Dave for introducing me to my displaced Englishman friend and for allowing me to having a news event to report here at AD. And I would like to warn any author or film maker to stay away from David Byron and any of his NV scams.

Addendum

After I posted this news article, I received an email from Stuart. He had some interesting news. It appears that his book which is titled "The Well of Despair" now appears on Amazon but it is authored by somebody named Jack Burnett. When I looked this title up on Amazon and clicked on the book cover, it can be clearly seen that the name of the author of the book is not Jack Burnett but my friend Stuart and furthermore on the inside it also shows that the book is copyrighted by Stuart.

I searched Amazon for my title, "Mosquitoes in Heaven" but was unsuccessful in finding anything. But when I searched Amazon for Jack Burnett, lo and behold, among the dozen or so listings under this name were several issues of NVH Magazine!

I have a feeling that my book is out there somewhere under a different title and different author name.

So beware not only Iron Dave, David Byron, Dan Byron, but also now Jack Burnett!

So there you have it. If you too have been a victim of this guy there are a couple of websites I would like to share.

1. Entertainment and copyright attorney

http://www.ivanhoffman.com/

2.Publishing Law Website

http://www.publaw.com/

3.Internet Crime Complaint Center

http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx

Horror Publishers

2009-09-25T18:15:00.001-07:00

Domestic Publishers

This list includes the US book publishers I found that handle Horror. Though they all have their specific areas of preference, some wider than others, they are large publishers and list themselves as handling fiction in many genres including horror. A good percentage of them handle new, unagented authors. The only one listed that only takes agented authors is Kensington, I think.

All the publishers I have listed, including the small press publishers, are conventional publishers. They are not subsidy publishers. You will never be asked to spend any of your own money on print, advertising, marketing, etc. (If any of them do, I need to know about it because I am supposed to report them. The listing these came from, lists only publishers that are not subsidy publishers. Report to cyrusinfo@gmail.com ) Some pay advances, some pay just royalties, some pay royalties way above the typical 15% retail.

Depending on how patient you can be, be wary of turnaround times. Some of these respond to queries in a month, some in six months. Some publish within three months after acceptance, some as much as two years conventionally.

1. Arche Books Publishing www.archebooks.com
2. Tom Doherty Associates, LLC., www.torforge.com
3. Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc. www.ellorascave.com (Though they say horror, they look to mostly publish romantic. Got any romantic horror novels???)
4. The Invisible College Press. www.invispress.com
5. Kensington Publishing Co., www.kensingtonbooks.com
6. Leisure Books www.dorchesterpub.com
7. New American Library www.penguinputnam.com
8. Raven Hawk™ Books www.ravenhawk.biz
9. Teacher Curriculum, LLC. www.goteachit.com
10. Torquere Press www.torquerepress.com
11. Vivisphere Publishing www.vivisphere.com
12. Windriver Publishing, Inc. www.windriverpublishing.com

Canadian Publishers

1. Kunati, Inc. www.kunati.com
2. Loon in Balloon, Inc. www.looninballoon.com

Small Press

The small press listings are many, but I would use them as a last resort. They publish far less titles per year and do not have the marketing abilities of the larger publishers.

1. The Market List www.marketlist.com This is a good resource for genre writers and they seem to have a focus on Horror fiction.
2. Arjuna Library Press http://marketlist.com/writers_resource.asp?id=3303&title=ARJUNA%20LIBRARY%20PRESS
3. Contemporary Press www.contemporarypress.com
(original form pulp fiction!)
4. Elder Signs Press, Inc. www.eldersignspress.com (royalties, outright purchases, advances.)
5. Denis Kitchen Publishing Co., LLC. www.deniskitchen.com ($1-5,000 advances)
6. Leocrota Press www.leucrotepress.com (stakes a lot on style and attitude)
7. Ooligan Press www.Ooliganpress.pdx.edu
8. Top Publications, Ltd. www.toppub.com (prefers books that appeal to a large mainstream audience)
9. Wolf Pirate Publishing www.wolf-pirate.com
This one is interesting, their recent titles include: The Unforgiven, The Lady of The Lake, and The Serpent and the Saul.

Last but not necessarily least,
Internet
http://redrosepublishing.com/bookstore/
www.damnationbooks.com

Damnation Books

2009-09-01T00:03:00.000-07:00

Hello Dearest readers,

Today the first day of September, marks the launch of Damnation Books.

Co-founder, senior editor, and CEO of Damnation Books, Kim Richards, has announced that during the launch of this extraordinary eBook publisher, that the books they are offering are to start out at variable pricing. If you are among the early birds and order now, you will get some of the best new names in the genre for just pennies. Yes, I said pennies! I placed my order already for the first short story and got it absolutely free. Every time someone orders a title the price goes up, so, it's important to check them out right away. Titles such as the long anticipated Novella, Mark Edward Hall's The Haunting of Sam Cabot and Apartment 14f: An Oriental Ghost Story by Christian Saunders, are among the many titles selected for their launch. Sizes range from short stories to full fledged novels.

Visit them at www.damnationbooks.com

You won't be disappointed.

Sincerely,

Cyrus Wraith Walker

Dark Fiction Update: Important!

2009-08-27T17:30:00.000-07:00

Dark Discoveries' , Publisher/Editor-in-chief, James R. Beach, sent out announcements recently to all the people who subscribe and contribute to Dark Discoveries. He wanted to make sure and let us and all who love dark fiction to know that the prices will be going up in December so as to give everyone a chance to subscribe or purchase single issues at the lower price. Time is running out fast, so if you love this kind of fiction now is the time to get an issue or two or three or four or five . . .

.....................Here’s a taste of what’s in the current issue as well as what has been slated for you in upcoming issues:

Issue #14: 50th Anniversary Twilight Zone Special – Featuring Richard Matheson, George Clayton Johnson, Earl Hamner Jr., William F. Nolan, Marc Scott Zicree, Roger Anker, Christopher Conlon, Tony Albarella and more.

Issue #15: Lovecraft Special – Featuring H.P. Lovecraft, Brian Lumley, H.R. Giger, Dan O’Bannon, S.T. Joshi, Wilum Pugmire, Cody Goodfellow, Allen Koszowski, David A. Riley and more.

Issue #16: Horror Comics/Pulps Special – William F. Nolan, Frank M. Robinson, Hugh B. Cave, EC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Weston Ochse, Paul Bens Jr., and more.

Issue #17: Dark SciFi Special – Dennis Etchison, Joe Lansdale, John Shirley, Philip Jose Farmer, Harlan Ellison, Philip K. Dick and more.

Issue #18: Forgotten Horror/SciFi TV Shows – William F. Nolan, Hammer House of Horror, Light’s Out, John Tomerlin, Darkroom, Thriller and more.

Please check out the website: www.darkdiscoveries.com to order a subscription or to pick up any in-stock back issues before the prices go up!

Dialogue

2009-07-26T00:18:00.000-07:00

DIALOGUE

Writing good dialogue, or if you prefer, great dialogue, talks a feel for dance that happens between the expressions of fiction namely: Narration, Description, Thought, Exposition, and Action. The goal once again in our fiction is to Show, not Tell. The more you can show your readers a thing as opposed to telling them, the more vividly you create that movie in their heads. Every time we do something as writers that jerks a reader, or an editor out of the story, we risk jerking them away from our prose altogether.

What a new writer needs to know about dialogue is how it is constructed, what components are involved, and about the do’s and the do not’s to writing dialogue that carries the story without distracting the reader. An example of this would be just because we can place an adverb with an identifier tag and have it be grammatically correct, does not mean we should.

“Thank you,” she said crossly. Will never replace “Thank you,” she said, crossing her eyes, “It’s…wonderful.”

Constructing Dialogue

RULE OF THUMB#1: Use of quotation marks:

Use quotation marks to indicate words spoken by the characters.

He gets cranky when he doesn’t have his morning coffee. Why should I give a shit? You’re gonna answer the question? He does get cranky. Maybe I will, maybe I won’t, what’s in it for me? How about not losing your good time? You want to stay in prison for the rest of your life? How about not being dead? I’d rather be here then dead. I thought you were some kind of tuff guy. Flip off Screw. Well then, I guess you’re dead already.

“He gets cranky when he doesn’t have his morning coffee.” “Why should I give a shit?” “You’re gonna answer the question?” “He does get cranky.” “Maybe I will maybe I won’t, what’s in it for me?” “How about not losing your good time?” “You want to stay in prison for the rest of your life?” “How about not being dead?” “I’d rather be here then dead.” “I thought you were some kind of tuff guy.” “Flip off Screw.” “Well then I guess you’re dead already.”

RULE OF THUMB#2: When the speaker changes so does the paragraph.

Always start a new paragraph when the speaker changes.

“He gets cranky when he doesn’t have his morning coffee.”
“Why should I give a shit?”
“You’re gonna answer the question?”
“He does get cranky.”
“Maybe I will maybe I won’t, what’s in it for me?”
“How about not losing your good time?”
“You want to stay in prison for the rest of your life?”
“How about not being dead?” “I’d rather be here then dead.”
“I thought you were some kind of tuff guy.”
“Flip off Screw.”
“Well then I guess you’re dead already.”

RULE OF THUMB#3: The reader needs to know who is speaking

Use Identifiers in order to tag your dialogue.

McMurphy said, “He gets cranky when he doesn’t have his morning coffee.”
“Why should I give a shit?” said Shiv.
“You’re gonna answer the question?” said Deputy Jakes.
“He does get cranky,” said Shiv.
“Maybe I will maybe I won’t, what’s in it for me?” said Shiv.
“How about not losing your good time?” said Jakes.
“You want to stay in prison for the rest of your life?” said McMurphy.
“How about not being dead?” said Shiv.
“I’d rather be here then dead,” said Shiv.
“I thought you were some kind of tuff guy,” snarled Jakes.
“Flip off Screw.” Said Shiv.
“Well then I guess you’re dead already.” Jakes said.

While this may be correct grammatically, with the exception of (“Flip off Screw.” Said Shiv.), it is a bit cumbersome and lacks any real substance. There are other problems also with this bit of dialogue, which I will cover later in this article. But for now let us focus on implementing the missing components.

RULE OF THUMB#4 Use narrative sentences to show the character's concurrent acts, thoughts and/or perceptions.

You want the reader to be able to visualize the dynamics of the conversation.

RULE OF THUMB#5 Eliminate identifiers that are not necessary.

RULE OF THUMB#6 Do not use adverbs with or in place of the word “said”.

He said, she said, but not He said crossly, or snarled Jakes.

McMurphy, playing the role of good cop, said, “He gets cranky when he doesn’t have his morning coffee.”
“Why should I give a shit?” said Shiv, hip to their little game.
With hands on the table and leaning in real close, Deputy Jakes reinitiated his interrogation, with a demand, “You are gonna answer the question!”
“He does get cranky,” said Shiv, smirking, an act intended to incite Jakes anger. “Maybe I will maybe I won’t, what’s in it for me?”
Jakes’ hands now balled into fists. “How about not losing your good time?” he asked, gritting his teeth so they squeaked.
Mcmurphy helpless to do much else, tried to reason, “Look you don’t want to stay in prison for the rest of your life do you?”
“How about not being dead?” said Shiv. “I’d rather be here then dead.”
“I thought you were some kind of tuff guy,” snarled Jakes. (Try to snarl this line. You could however say that What Jakes said next sounded more like a snarl than words.)
“Flip off Screw.” (Unnecessary Identifier)
“Well then I guess you’re dead already.” Jakes said, just before he launched across the table grabbing Shiv by his shirt.

This is a little better, but it still lacks flow and edge. Remember that this is dialogue in a story not a movie or television show.

RULE OF THUMB#7 Eliminate unnecessary dialogue and narration to keep the flow dynamics.

McMurphy, playing the role of good cop, said, “He gets cranky when he doesn’t have his morning coffee.”
“Why should I give a shit?” said Shiv, hip to their little game, “Just another dumbshit screw.”
With hands on the table and leaning in real close, Deputy Jakes reinitiated his interrogation, only this time with a difference, “Answer the fuckin’ question!”
“He does get cranky,” said Shiv, smirking, an act intended to incite Jakes anger. “Maybe I will, maybe I won’t, what’s in it for me?”
“How about not losing your good time?”
“How about not being dead? I’d rather rot in here than be dead.”
“I thought you were some kind of tuff guy,”
“Flip off Screw.”
“Well,” McMurphy said, “I guess the man’s dead already.” His voice of reason came too late. Jakes launched across the table grabbing Shiv by his shirt, and proceeded to beat the sarcasm off Shiv’s overconfident mug.

*You’ll notice I added a line also, to create tension. This also brings me to rule #8

RULE OF THUMB#8 Make it real.

The judgment had come down; it was to be a death sentence. Shiv gripped the end of the barred frame to his cell as the airlock released. The door slammed shut smashing his pinky. “Oh buttercup,” he said.

Well, I think you see the problem. And yes, there will be critics that may comment on the use of profanity or prejudice statements made by your characters but how stupid it would sound to have a hardened criminal make a statement like that. Even Jakes when he loses his cool spouts off in an unprofessional manner. I think this ads realism, and makes the story more genuine. Language is of great importance in portraying your character correctly.

RULE OF THUMB#9 Use proper punctuation

Punctuation needs to be invisible, improper punctuation is the worst when you have a tension-building piece of dialogue. Even the exclamation point I use in the dialogue above is more than questionable.

a. Harry said, "Your attention please."

If the sentence begins with a speech tag, the comma goes directly after the last word before the quote, followed by a space, then the quotation marks, then the first word of the quote is capitalized. If the sentence ends with the end of the quote, the period goes right after the last letter of the last word, then the quotation mark, then a space before beginning the next sentence.

b. "Your attention please," said Harry.

If the sentence ends with a speech tag, and the quotation would normally end in a period if it was written by itself, the last word of the quote is followed directly by a comma (instead of the period), then the quotation mark, then a space, then the next word (unless it is a proper noun) begins with a lower-case letter. If the quotation contains more than one sentence, the speech tag CANNOT be placed here. It must be either at the beginning, as in Example 1; at the first punctuation stop, as in Example 4; or eliminated altogether, with the speaker identified by a preceding sentence.)

c. Harry said, "Your attention please,” then sat down.

If the quotation is embedded in the middle of a sentence, where the sentence begins with a speech tag and continues after the quotation, the last word before the quote is followed immediately by a comma, then a space, then the quotation mark, then the capital letter to begin the quote. The last word of the quote is followed immediately by a comma, then the quotation mark, then a space, then the sentence continues with a lower-case word (again, unless the word in question is a proper noun).

d. "Ladies and gentlemen," said Harry, "your attention please."

If the quote begins and ends the sentence, and is broken up somewhere midway by a speech tag, the last word of the initial quote is followed immediately by a comma, then the quotation mark, then a space, then the speech tag begins with a lower-case word (unless it's a proper noun); then when the speech tag ends and the quote resumes, the last word of the tag is followed immediately by a comma, then a space, then the quotation mark, then the quoted sentence resumes and the next word begins in lower-case (unless it's a proper noun).

These rules apply to spoken sentences that would normally end in a period when written by themselves; the period becomes a comma if the sentence continues after the quote. However, if the quoted sentence ends in a question mark (?) or exclamation point (!), and the sentence continues after the quote, the question mark or exclamation point does not change to a comma, the first letter of the first word after the quote is still lower case, and the overall sentence still ends in a period: a) "Where did they go?" she asked. b) "Unbelievable!" shouted the announcer.

RULE OF THUMB#10 Don’t overdo dialect:

Another way to make your dialogue real is by the use of dialect. For this, we use phonetics. DO NOT OVER DO IT!

In the example above, I have used the word “gonna” and eventually replaced it with a more emotionally charged statement. You must listen to how people talk. In my novella Painter’s Green, Terry Painter recollects words from his father. They go like this:

“This here’s a special paint, son,” he had said, “Ma own special mix of blue, yeller and a particular, uh . . .
ingredient grey. Der ain’t no color like it in da whole worl’ an’ one day, Terry ma boy, I’m gonna sell it see? Yeh, we’ll make a fortune. Imagine: houses, cars, boats and fences, all painted with ma own special color. Me Al Painter, see? Yeh.”

“Whatta ya call it Dad?”

“Jus’ like it sais on the can der son, it’s called Painter’s Green, so dey all know where it come from, Al Painter, see? Yeh.”

Here is a story that takes place in the desert in a little town of Brushville, Oregon. Brushville sits in the middle of Christmas Valley and the Oregon desert. These are country folks, contractors, with little education. The dialect tells us that. And though I may have overdone this, I’m going to let the editors decide. I have known someone, my grandfather, who actually spoke like this. He had a third grade education, though he wasn’t stupid. He was self-taught in the fields of construction, diesel mechanics, and farming and everything he put his hands to.

Your character might speak with an accent’a because he is French, or, he might be a man from Mexico city in which case:

Paul could see there was slight irritation in the man’s face, furrow lines stood out like red incisions across his forehead.

“Si?” he said with a grunt.
“Eduardo, I’m Paul Cochrane. Do you speak English?”
“Jes I speaka de engliais, what ees it jou are wanting?” a frown.

Horror Market Report

2009-07-14T14:40:00.000-07:00

Hello readers,

I have a few tasty tidbits for those of you that delight as I do in writing Psychological and Supernatural thrillers/horror.

Weird Tales currently has a new fiction editor Ms. Ann VanderMeer. Unlike editors of the past Ms. VanderMeer accepts simultaneous submissions.

http://www.weirdtales.net/

Damnation Books is scheduling their launch for sept. Definitely worth checking out. They publish not only short fiction but can help with that first novel.

http://www.damnationbooks.com/

Dark Discoveries is currently closed for submissions but will re-open in August. At that time James Beach will be increasing the pay rate but he will be dropping simultaneous submissions.
This is a knock out magazine. I highly encourage buying a sample.

http://www.darkdiscoveries.com/

Check them out and good luck. You reach me for submission advice at:

cyrusinfo@gmail.com

Plot

2009-07-06T12:51:00.001-07:00

Let us start with a definition of what plot is:

Plot is a chronological series of causal events, which increase in intensity and rising action towards the climax of a story, and gives structure in order to achieve the over-all effect intended by the author’s vision. Plot answers the question “what?”
You would do well as a writer to realize that our lives are very plot-less. Each event happens usually without causing the next event. If we were to put the chronological events of one of our days on paper, it would not make for very good reading: Got up, showered, brushed teeth, made breakfast, went work, went shopping and went home—anybodies life.

Let us break down our definition piece by piece.
1. Plot is a chronological series:
Covering a period, plot begins at some point and progresses through to a later point in time. This could be very short, or cover hundreds of years.
2. Plot is a series of causal events, cause and effect. One thing leads to another and another and another and another to end: Noisy neighbors woke him up early, still sleepy he jammed the toothbrush into his gum, instead of going to work he had to see the dentist, so he missed getting blown up by the bomb in the building.
3. Thirdly, plot follows as a structure that gives backbone to the story. There is a beginning, middle, and an end.
4. Arranged properly serves as a vehicle to convey a vision, a moral, a theme.
NOW THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PART PAY CLOSE ATTENTION
Real writers do NOT sit down, draw up an outline and plot from which to derive a story. If you do, the critics will see right through it and your story will be tainted with the shadow of an amateur never gaining extraordinary creative energy. It is not story that comes from plot it is plot, which comes from story. Then you outline the thing to make connections not previously made. I hope you understand this. Plot and outline stifles originality, inspiration and spontaneity of creating story. I told you about the use of the right side of the brain where the muse lives. In addition, yes, there are fictitious notions of the muse but if you realize that the phenomenon of the muse is a brain function that gives way to creative energy then you begin to understand.

SO RELAX IF YOU THINK YOU ARE A SUBSTANDARD WRITER OF FICTION BECAUSE YOU FAIL TO COME UP WITH A PLOT.

Stories are dynamic things organic in nature and tell themselves. All you have to do is create a field in which those stories to grow. Then you can cultivate them. Make them award winners. Plot will emerge and character will take control, and you will have reached the goal of producing a character driven prose.

When you sit down before the blank page for your first draft, you may not even know the what. The most I would burden myself with is the basic mechanics of drama. Aristotle gave us the model in which we still adhere to today. The model is referred to as the dramatic curve. Find a story that does not make use of it and I will guarantee it will not be much of a story.

“Drama begins when a problem begins and ends when the problem is resolved”
-Aristotle

In short, the dramatic curve:
a) The beginning (The Problem)
b) The Middle (The Conflict)
c) The End (The Resolution)
d) The Denouement (Life Now)

In the book Good scripts, Bad Scripts by Thomas Pope, Pope presents various theories on variations of the curve begin with tension, begin with an initial problem or more like real life at the height of worse or most exciting part, but that is where plotting and outline come in but first you must make that field and let the story grow out of it.

Sit down and begin to write, does not matter if you know or not. When I wrote my short horror story The Gemination of Benjamin Lore, the only thing I knew was a guy was to be possessed by the mind of his twin. Until I started to write which for whatever reason started the protagonist in a therapy session with a psychologist, I had no idea that the twin brother (antagonist) was a bedridden, non-responsive insensible that just lays there and drools. This came up on its own, and pushed itself on the story. The possessing created the conflict and tension, and the resolution was not anything I expected. By the time I had finished the first draft, there wasn’t much plotting to do.

Aristotle, Horace and even modern day authors such as Louis L’Amour, agree and give this advice. Find the beginning of the story, and then start after that. Aristotle termed the technique in medias res, “In the middle of things”

Ever wonder why George Lucas started the Star Wars films at episode four? Especially when he had written the whole space opera from beginning to end to begin with? Because chronologically it was not as exciting. And how many years did we all think it was Luke that would eventually save the day. But Luke was Anakin’s offspring but he was not the chosen one. Anakin was. So in the end as the prophesy foretold, It was Anakin who set balance to the force, it was Anakin’s conflict as Darth Vader that eventually led him to throwing the Sith Lord down the reactor chamber. But Lucas started in medias res and as a result we had years of anticipation for that final climax which would have been cut short because the story wasn’t about Luke at all. It was about Anakin Skywalker.

So sit down and write your story from beginning to end. That completes the first draft and now the plot should be prevalent. Now we can get to this business of outlining in which we work with the overall effect.

The outline is the overall effect of your story, unlike the plot, which is the chronology. Think of how many crime novels have started with the killer getting ready to commit that last and most heinous of all his crimes. The one where he eventually has his final conflict and is stopped forever. Much more intriguing than following the story from the serial killers childhood. But to do that the writer had to think about the story as a whole.

1. Break down your chronological first draft into scenes. Start at the beginning of the chain of events and follow it through to the end. Remember that that first event will not necessarily be where you start the final draft of your story.
2. If we did this with Star Wars immediately, we would see a problem. The story is too huge to write in one single novel. Other problems may occur to you such as age and time period of a character remember that what you want is a sort of domino effect, for every action there is a reaction, but you want that connection from on event to another to be unbreakable and tight. THE CHARACTERS MUST BAHAVE IN A LOGICAL FASHION FOR EVEN THE MOST INCREDIBLE FANTASY STORY TO BE CREDIBLE TO THE READER. In this process, you might notice scenes that should be deleted. You also may come up with extraordinary ideas to insert strengthening the piece.

A note here about using coincidence in your plot. It is best used in the beginning of a plot to set off a causal chain. If you use coincidence in the middle somewhere it could damage the credibility if the story. For coincidence to work, the odds must be long, and it must be linked to some other secondary factor. You can forget your umbrella we all do that, but just before the rail car you would have taken crashes killing everyone aboard? This sort of thing excites us as to the powers hidden deep beneath the fabric of the senses world. A good study of the outline plot would reveal problems with such things. As would the re-writing of the causal chain of events backwards, using the word because.
I. This happened because,
II. This happened and it happened because,
III. this and so on.

From Outline to Story.
Once you’ve done this tedious work, you can now concentrate on what I mentioned earlier concerning where to begin your story. In The middle of Things. Pick the most entertaining and exciting or horrific event and shift your outline from there. Moviemakers use note cards, upon which scenes in chronological order are written. Then to make the effect of the theme they shift these around in order. There are probably an infinite number of combinations you can make. But given an example of a story with five scenes, we could do these sorts of variations:

A-->B-->C-->D-->E-->F (Here we have the chronological order of the plot)
C-->A-->D-->B-->E-->F (Here we start in the middle and flash back, progress, flash back and end)
D-->E-->F-->A-->B-->C (The outline followed by George Lucas in Star Wars)
F1-->A-->B-->C-->D-->E-->F2 (Frame in which the story is made credible being told by somebody else or first person narrative)

The beginning of the story should set up the reader for questions. A horrible crime is taken place and the police cannot catch the guy—WHY?

Benjamin is tormented by his retarded brother and believes he is trying to ruin his life—WHY?

Increase the stories intensity by following scenes that increase in tension.

Resolve the problem with some major event which happens in the future or brings the reader back to the middle or any way you like to put it.

Then end in denouement and get out of the story quickly. A lot of time with this is the way life is now. Do not belabor the ending by tying up loose ends that should have happened all before the climax or because of it.

I hope this article helps. It would be a book to get much more detailed than this. I plan to add 12 categories describing the various types of plot. Check back from time to time as additions come slowly with labor.

Writer's Software

2009-06-29T10:32:00.000-07:00

You will be thrilled to know that I recently added Writing software to my store. I selected various titles so do a little research before you purchase anything. Make sure it is the software for you. No matter if you use software specifically designed to lay out manuscripts, or just Microsoft Word, you should familiarize yourself with proper manuscript format. Have fun, and I hope this helps you to craft the perfect story.

Sincerely,

-Cyrus Wraith Walker

Punctuation

2009-06-28T17:46:00.001-07:00

Finally the punctuation guide is finished and has been posted for your disposal at the site. Visit the Fiction Tips Weekly Site for that article and more. Also see the bookstores I have both here on this blog and at the bottom of the first page of the site. If you need some books on writing fiction I have selected some great publications that used to be offered through Writer's Digest. Because the store is through Amazon your purchases will be completely secure.

Thanks again for your support, I love being able to help new writers get started.

Sincerely,

Cyrus Wraith Walker

To my readers

2009-06-22T20:53:00.000-07:00

Greetings,

There has been some urgency by future fiction writers for me to hurry as fast as possible in finishing every category article on the Fiction Tips Weekly site:

http://sites.google.com/site/fictiontipsweekly/

I assure you I am writing as fast as I can. That being said I know you are hungry for answers so in the meantime email me on the subject or category you need help with. (please use the category specific name off the site map list at the site, for example: Elements of Fiction, Character.)

Please email me only on categories I haven't written an article for or on categories that you want more information on and I'll see what I can do.

cyrusinfo@gmail.com

Hope I can help
Sincerely,

-Cyrus Wraith Walker

Action

2009-06-20T17:45:00.000-07:00

Action

And . . . action!

Johnny was nobody’s fool. He quickly scooted out of sight using the immediate obstacles to cloak his disappearance. He vanishes out of thin air, maybe the guy isn’t human, Officer Mundane had said. But it was just misdirection on Johnny’s part, swiftly moving behind the dumpster, between the buildings and from tree to tree beyond. Sweat dripped from his brow as he painstakingly betrayed their line of vision. By the time he reached the car, he was grasping at his chest. He fell to the ground retching what had been his meal for that day.

Action is a most useful Mode or Expression – as I like to call it – of fiction. If we look this up in some resources, we usually get a short little explanation that (Action) is used to demonstrate the events as they happen in a story thus helping the readers feel as though they are participating. All fine and dandy, and the more action/reaction you can weave successfully into your story, the more involved your reader will get. But, while (ACTION) is just that, the action that takes place in a story, the skilled writer can use certain types of actions to imply the emotional or physical state of the character. This is in good keeping with the Show, don’t tell rule of writing fiction.

I am talking about body language.

Gestures,

Facial expressions and reactions,

Tone of voice, and Breathing

Balled hands into fists!

Yeah that’s the stuff! Below I have compiled some body language to help you see what I mean.

Your character is:

· Confident so she – walks brisk and erect

· Ready and aggressive so he – stands with his hands on his hips

· Bored so she – sits with her legs crossed, her foot kicking out slightly

· Open and relaxed so he – sits with his legs apart

· Defensive – so she crosses her arms across her chest.

· Dejected so he – walks down the street with his hands in his pockets, his shoulders hunching and his face reddening

Any way you get the idea. Here is more

Body Language: Hand to cheek
Character reacts to: Evaluation, thinking

Body Language: Touching, slightly rubbing nose
Character reacts to: Rejection, doubt, lying

Body Language: Rubbing the eye
Character reacts to: Doubt, disbelief

Body Language: Hands clasped behind back
Character reacts to: Anger, frustration, apprehension

Body Language: Locked ankles
Character reacts to: Apprehension

Body Language: Head resting in hand, eyes downcast
Character reacts to: Boredom

Body Language: Rubbing hands
Character reacts to: Anticipation

Body Language: Sitting with hands clasped behind head, legs crossed
Character reacts to: Confidence, superiority

Body Language: Open palm
Character reacts to: Sincerity, openness, innocence

Body Language: Pinching bridge of nose, eyes closed
Character reacts to: Negative evaluation

Body Language: Tapping or drumming fingers
Character reacts to: Impatience

Body Language: Steepling fingers
Character reacts to: Authoritative

Body Language: Patting/fondling hair
Character reacts to: Lack of self-confidence; insecurity

Body Language: Quickly tilted head
Character reacts to: Interest

Body Language: Stroking chin
Character reacts to: Trying to make a decision

Body Language: Looking down, face turned away
Character reacts to: Disbelief

Body Language: Biting nails
Character reacts to: Insecurity, nervousness

Body Language: Pulling or tugging at ear
Character reacts to: Indecision

Body Language: Prolonged tilted head
Character reacts to: Boredom

Copyright©2009 by Cyrus Wraith Walker
.

Character

2009-06-11T17:12:00.000-07:00

So many short story and novel publishers today are preferring character driven prose over plot driven prose. Stephen King in his book On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, states that first and foremost, “story must be paramount.” Most of the books you can pick up that deal with plot explain that outlining a plot is what amateurs do. A three dimensional character is what we are after. One who thinks and breaths and eventually takes over the story in a secret collaboration with your Muse that will send all your best plotting efforts into the dumps and you too if you don’t comply with their wishes.

The wonderful thing about writing fiction is when you sit down before the page in your comfortable narrow space free from all distractions and you don’t let the left side of the brain complicate things by simply putting the pen to the paper and beginning to jot out some dribble without thinking about, you suddenly find yourself in the right side of the brain. Dreams, Van Goghs, Picassos, and Lovecrafts, come from the right side of the brain.
It is where the Muse lives. Mine likes to hide behind the earwax on occasion so that he can chastise me should I get distracted by those Left side attacks.

Characterization is one of the five elements of fiction. Plot, Setting, Theme, and Style make up the other four.
If you want to write a character driven prose than the character must be the driving force behind your story. All characters in the story are participants and all collaborate with your muse. Commonly one thinks of the character of a story as being a person. Our world of storytelling has become a breeding ground for many different types of personas, identities, and entities their existences spawned from fiction.

When it comes to bad teeth THE SPOON sees all!

If we categorize the types of characters typically found in a story we come up with:

Point-of-view character: the character, by whom, the story is viewed. The point-of-view character may or may not also be the main character in the story. Think of the narrator point of view we hear in the movie Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and Road Warrior.
Protagonist: the main character of a story. Often the hero in some form but occasionally, and to the author’s who create such characters credit, can actually be the bad guy. This twisting of Protagonist and Antagonist roles give fresh flare to a story and intrigues the reader.
Antagonist: the main opposition to the protagonist
Minor Character: a character that interacts with the protagonist. The voice of reason is a common important minor character. They help the story move along. In The Rings Trilogy, Sam acts as the voice of reason for Frodo. So does Gollum to a point but Gollum is more a foil character
Foil Character: a (minor), this adverse little creep often hinders the protagonist and helps in escalating the tension along the dramatic curve.

Prompt of the Day

2009-06-07T12:17:00.000-07:00

Today I Thought I would challenge the reader to do a little workshop free write. In Creative Writing Workshops, you often are given Prompts. I was recently published in the new North of North spring 2009 ten year anniversary anthology for Write Around Portland. The workshop piece that led to the publication? I was asked to write for 5-10 minutes on The Smell of Coffee. You can view this piece by clicking the picture on this blog that leads you to my MySpace profile and look through my blog there. The title that ensued was Decaf was it, Or Just Idios?

So show me what you got. Get out your pen. and write on this prompt for ten minutes. You can share with me what you have written in the comments section. Good Luck.

The Prompt? You guessed it! The Smell of Coffee

The Expressions Of Fiction

2009-06-05T13:43:00.000-07:00

In Basic what you see when you pick up your favorite novel is a dance in creative awareness composed of seven distinct parts, modes, or expressions. They are Narration, Description, Dialogue, Action, Thoughts and Exposition.

Part A Narration:

Narration carries the story. It moves the story from point A to Point B. It defines for the reader tense and voice. It moves your character or sets your character into a certain place and time. It functions to change the same for your character. Narration is the legs, feet and shoes of the prose.

Part B Description:

The very best fiction draws the reader into a state I like to call autopilot. Description causes a sensory experience for the reader. Good fiction causes a movie in the reader's head. This brings me to a vital point. Movies give us what? Sight and sound. that is all you get. However a gifted writer can take the reader to much deeper level. The reader can see, hear, smell, taste and touch. They can feel the gritty texture of sandpaper, taste the tangy sweetness of a Mango and smell sulfur from the smoke of an extinquished match.

Part C Dialogue:

Dialogue brings your character to life. We can tell the character's mood, intellect, ethnicity, mental status, and many other things. "Quid Pro Quo, Clarice, you tell me things and I tell you things. Enthrall me with your Acumen." Recognize it? What does it tell you about Dr. Hannibal Lector?

Part D Action:

The action that takes place can also help to define the character's mood and further our visualization. There is a couple golden rules to writing good fiction. 1. Write what you know, and for the purposes of part C, SHOW DON'T TELL. If I combine dalogue with action, I never have to say James was furious.

"Dammit Heather, I told you once already but I guess I have to repeat myself. We - are - through!" Throwing up his hands James stomped across the floor. His hands fought with the doorknob. The small glass unicorn given to Heather by her mother fell from the shelf as he slammed the door shut behind him.

Part E Thoughts:

Thoughts give readers extra sensory insight into the character's mind. Stuff we always wanted to know concerning our wives, husbands, or significant others - penney for your thoughts - Ok bad cliche.

In the case of furthering our character, thoughts are essential in some places because it gives personality to our character and insight to the reader. Thoughts sometimes contradict actions. In Stephen King's The Shining, King opens the story with the interview, and while his character Jack Torrence is putting his "PR smile" forth his thoughts give him away when King puts in italics Jack's thoughts of the hotel manager. "Officious prick!"

Part F Exposition:

In good fiction, you will find very little of this. Exposition is the systematic explanation of a subject. Think textbook type stuff. Occasionally the story has something in it that warrants a little exposition. In addition, while the literary and film world have avoided this because of the preset notion that readers and moviegoers alike want who dunnit not how dunnit the course of expostion changed with the CSI shows. But we don't want to let that carry us away in writing pages or even paragraphs of lengthy boring exposition just because we are afraid that our readers might not know a particular, say, psychological condition. In my story The Gemination Of Benjamin Lore, I have a protagonist, Benjamin Lore, whose mind is being possessed by his brother Dewey who suffers from some extreme kind of Akinesia or something. In other words Dewey is non-responsive and bedridden. Just lays there and drools. When Mr. Lore takes counselling sessions with his Psych Dr. Normer, the good doc thinks it is a psychological condition on Ben's part. An altered state of consciousness (ASC) subscale called dissociation in which the sufferer can actually experience alterations of identity, memory, and includes auditory hallucinations and sensations or impressions that some outside forces are acting on the person forcing or causing them to commit actions for which their own personality is not responsible.

You see the problem with presenting this important fact to the reader without boring them. So I worked it into the dialogue were Dr. Normer is explaining to Ben the condition. Of course, Ben is actually getting possessed by his brother who merely wants to experience life.