Tag: Short story

Resuming Fiction!

It’s been a while since I posted my last short story, or even a proposal for one. I’ve been busy, stressed, ill, dealing with issues and many more excuses you really don’t want to know about.

In the past couple of weeks though, as things have cleared up, I’ve managed to finish up a first version of one of the stories I proposed oh so many moons ago:  The Song, a Sci-Fi Noir story. The bad news is that I’ve decided to do something else with that particular story as soon as I’ve put it through a few revisions and test reads. I’ve never submitted a short story for publication in a magazine, and it’s something I’ve wanted to do but I’ll admit that it terrifies me. I don’t know if I’m even half the writer needed to pull that one off. But you know, fear is the mind killer after all, so I won’t let that stop me. Continue reading Resuming Fiction!

The Witch of the Wilds

My son, if you’re reading this, then it’s your turn and I’m not around to take your place.

But despite the pleas I’m sure you’re hearing now, urging you to hurry and join the rest of the hunters, I beg you not to follow them, not yet, not until you read this. For in these pages you’ll find something you’ll need if you are to survive the night in the woods, if the spirits and monsters don’t devour you first. Continue reading The Witch of the Wilds

Detectives & Dames – Writing the Hardboiled Genre

During my holidays between Christmas and the end of 2016, I decided to jump into one of my story projects and get it going. I had my second novel to finish editing (second draft at around 40%), but decided to instead push on one of the story premises I’d posted some time ago, the Sci-Fi noir “The Song.”

As I sat at home, thinking what I should write, which story to pursue, this one kept coming back to me, with new details, new side-stories that branch off from the main one as the character listens to more of the same hypnotic melodies.

The Song is different to the other premises in that I had already written a few pages of it before I proposed it as another one-shot, and going back to it and advancing I remembered just how difficult it is to write Hardboiled stories, a genre I often and wrongfully call the same name as its film counterpart, “Noir.” Continue reading Detectives & Dames – Writing the Hardboiled Genre

Fiction Update – New Premises Incoming!

It’s been a few months since I set up the page for people to vote on the short stories they wanted me to write. I have already written two, the first ones people voted for, Fringes and Lion’s Claw.

I sent them to one of my proofreader, my brother in law, but haven’t heard back from him yet. Then again, my sister had a little baby girl last month so they’re a bit busy. I’m going to try to find another proofreader/beta reader for the stories next week to hopefully get these new stories up and running here. Continue reading Fiction Update – New Premises Incoming!

Back to Ficton – Winners and New Challengers!

Last week I mentioned some of the short stories I’ve been thinking of writing, leaving you with the premises for each of them and asking you to vote on which one you’d like to see the most. As tends to be the case with polls on The Mental Attic, everyone who voted picked a different story, leaving me with a massive tie.

I’m used to this, so I made the call on which story to write first, picking one I had worked on for some hours already. Lion’s Claw, with its non-magic fantasy setting was my pick and I wrote most of it, leaving it just shy of the last scene, as it’s a big confrontation sequence that I need to think to make sure it’s believable. Continue reading Back to Ficton – Winners and New Challengers!

Back in Fiction!

I’ll be honest, I was planning on having the first of my new short stories for you today, but I did go through a giant rant the other day about taking the time to make the stuff I write be as good as it can be, so I decided against it, so I can finish it properly, edit it as I should and polish it to near perfection for a story I came up with while riding the train back from the Bristol GeekOut Meetup.

But I do want to let you know that I have fun stuff coming, some stories I’ve had bouncing around my head for a while, some of them already started but never finished, in various genres, none of them Romance because if there’s one thing I learned while writing my third novel it’s that romance is not my thing. I’m a sucker or romance, that’s true, I know what makes good narrative romance and what’s bad one, and I can tell a good intense scene if I need to, but an entire novel based on the genre…yeah, not this guy, at least not yet anyway.

Right now I have five stories to work on, two of which are in progress and the others are barely an interesting premise in my mind. Continue reading Back in Fiction!

Writing Challenge 2 – Spy Story

In late 2015, I announced a writing competition here on The Mental Attic. The challenge was to write a story based on a song. I first set the song, but later revised the rules and opened up the competition to whatever the writers desired. They could write in any genre and setting, including established works aka fan fiction material. The prize for the winner would have been 5 novels of their choice.

I say, “Would have been” because we received no submissions, not a single one. I promised that at the end of the competition I would publish my own song-story and I will, it just needs to wait a bit on me finishing up some other work. It’s a fun story, just need to put it down on virtual paper.

But that’s not the only reason I’m here today talking to you all. While we didn’t receive a single contribution for the Song Story competition, it doesn’t mean there won’t be others. In fact, the next one starts right NOW! Continue reading Writing Challenge 2 – Spy Story

On Style & Format

During my first roundup of current events, I mentioned I like writing the fiction for the blog even though it’s the least read part of it…something that makes quite sad to be honest. And I mentioned I might explain a few things about it, on form & style. Continue reading On Style & Format