Damn that was bad. Anyway, I was recently asked to write a short story for a science fiction anthology. It had some pretty particular guidelines which focused on near future, near earth events. As part of the project, I started with a timeline - of things which have yet to happen. So I simply gazed into … Continue reading Move over Nostradamus here comes Nostradaruss
Okay...okay...I've finally come up for some air. And HOLEEE CRAP is this place a mess. Dust. Enough post-its to encircle the earth, and a whiteboard that looks like somebody tossed a loaded scrabble board at a spider's web. Of course I'm only up for a moment (yes, I'm aware they have pills for that) and then … Continue reading Adventurous Readers Wanted
Ooops. Behind on my posting this week. I'm trying to put the finishing touches on my collection of short stories set in the Crimson Son universe. So far, everything is on schedule for June. It will be a digital only release with a possibility for paper in the future. The collection is an interesting mix of … Continue reading The ‘Cane Train and Other Stories
We're at that part in the story where the hero moves up to the championship bout, gets his face smashed in and has to nurse his wounds over a beer. Then some scrappy bartender says "keep your head up kid" and gives a speech worthy of Oscar night and suddenly, the hero is back in … Continue reading Training Montage
As my last post noted, I may have failed miserably at my goals for the year in an epic, super-heated, transmuted-to-plasma-crash-and-burn sorta way, but I have proven one thing this year: I can write shitty fiction. Errr, well, this guy named Dirk Masters can. HE wrote this really terrible story and sent it into a … Continue reading Coming to a Toilet Near You…
Third time's a charm. That's what everyone says. It probably has its roots in a pagan, numerological thing which means it's both bullshit and also true on some odd, universal level. Sometimes, I make similar, seemingly profound statements and then go on to completely ignore them. (Well, maybe often.) I compared short fiction and novels … Continue reading Three, the Magic Number
by Tom Howard There’s nothing more exciting than digging through form letter rejects and finding one that says, “We love your story and would like to publish it. Contract forthcoming.” Some assign you an editor right away, some don’t touch the story after they’ve bought it. There are probably as many different types of acceptances … Continue reading Acceptances and Beyond
As mentioned last time, I created a rough draft for the Unresolved Sexual Tension theme, completed a first pass and was on to my next step: Critique Group. So, I sat down with my crit group last night and passed around my short (almost flash fiction) story. They loved it. That is, if it were … Continue reading Getting Submissive with Duotrope
This is a continuation of last week's post. I'm going step by step through my typical process for drafting, editing and submitting a short story. Why? Do I think this will add value to what other writers are doing? Do I think I'm the best person to provide this advice? No and no. I'm partly interested … Continue reading Still Unresolved Sexual Tension
Going to pop the hood for a second and let everyone see how I work. Wait a minute. Don't let the salacious title fool you. I'll get to that in a second. But when I'm referring to work, I'm referring to writing. A writer's modus operandi is always a topic of conversation with other writers. … Continue reading Unresolved Sexual Tension
