Jump to content

Blogs

Featured Entries

  • Valkyrie

    2025 Anthology - Big Announcement!

    By Valkyrie

    Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Joyous Kwanzaa to all who celebrate! I'm still in a bit of a food coma from Christmas dinner, but I wanted to bring a reminder and also some important news for next year's anthology.  First, submissions for Carlos' tribute event are due tomorrow, so be sure to put the finishing touches on your stories and post the link in the thread in the Writer's Circle.  Second, I decided to do things a little differently this year, and instead of having a committee decide
    • 14 comments
    • 224 views
Genre Deep Dives

Western Deep Dive

Sub-genres of westerns focus on the western United States, the frontier in general, and the rugged individuals that tend to populate such places.  The sub-genres can range from the historical context, the present day, or the weird with fantasy and aliens invading the west. Sub-genres: Weird West, Western Historical, Western Modern, Western Romance, Western Sci-Fi   Top 10 Most Read Western Modern Change of Heart by sojourn Riding Lessons by Andrew To
Myr

Myr in Genre Deep Dives

4
Signature Feature

December Signature Feature: Phases of the Moon by Mann Ramblings

This month I admit I couldn't pass up another "family" story... but with a dose of last month's paranormal feature. Have you read the last story @Mann Ramblings posted, Phases of the Moon? Well, maybe this week will convince you if you haven't!  Length: 146,674 Description: Under the phases of the moon, Jimmy Coutreau is hunting, following the howls that don't belong. A loner by choice, he finds himself fascinated by Sawyer Thomas, a man who doesn't belong in his world, but here
Cia

Cia in Signature Feature

2
Weekly Wrap Up

Weekly Wrap Up (Dec. 10 - Dec. 16)

On the 8th day of Christmas, by true love gave to meeeeee, divorce papers!!! 😮    Well, that isn't how the song goes  But if any of you do get divorce papers on Sunday, I am so sorry    To tell the truth, all I can remember from that song is the five golden rings, two turtle doves and a penguin in a pear tree  This shall lead into the question of the week! Hmmm, do I have a question of the week every week? So rather than just asking what your favourite Christmas song is, I want to know
wildone

wildone in Weekly Wrap Up

8
Writing Tips

Character Combos

Character Combos As many of you guys already know...I absolutely LOVE to work with ensemble casts in my own work! It gives me so much freedom and extra room to build characters up (or tear them down) without having to resort to long bouts of exposition to do it. I’ve always thought that the true identity of a character was more impactful by centering on their positive or negative interactions with the other characters in my stories then just talking about them, second-hand. It says soooo muc
Comicality

Comicality in Writing Tips

0
Prompts

Happy Holidays?

The holidays aren't always the picture of perfection depicted in Hallmark movies or on holiday cards.  In fact, it's pretty safe to say that the opposite tends to be more true to reality for most people.  We all have that relative with opposite views who loves to start in at the dinner table, or a busybody who's all up in everyone's business and then proceeds to pass judgment on it.  Then there's making sure the food is perfect, the table is set, and the house is clean.  Planning for the holiday
Valkyrie

Valkyrie in Prompts

5
Author Guess Who

Author Guess Who #18

You know what I like about the holidays? There's the food, the gatherings, the booze. But there's also games, and it's time to play! Right here, right now. Get your guessing hats on because it's Author Guess Who! For those who aren't familiar, we have a lovely interview with a mystery author. It will be your job to deduce who it could possibly be, which may or may not be easy. After you've taken some time to think about who it might be, make your guess in the comment section!  Let's get int
astone2292

astone2292 in Author Guess Who

17
Genre Deep Dives

Science Fiction Deep Dive

Sci-fiction sub-genres explore the possibilities of what might be generally through the power of technology.  There are certain sub-genres of science-fiction that have some very strong tropes that you must follow (The tropes themselves define the sub-genre).  Be aware of them when tagging your stories.   Sub-genres: Apocalyptic and Post-apocalyptic, Cyberpunk/Tech Noir, Dystopian, Hard Science Fiction, Libertarian Sci-Fi, Military Sci-Fi, Science Fantasy, Soft Sci-Fi, Space Opera,
Myr

Myr in Genre Deep Dives

4
Reviews

Featured Story: Aunt May’s Magic

It is the time of the month for another spectacular review from our Review Team. This month @spike382 gave us the review.   Aunt May's Magic by Mancunian Reviewer: spike382 Status: Complete Word Count: 3,008   I was actually having quite a debate with myself about which story I would read for my last review of 2023. There were a couple of classic stories, that I wanted to draw new readers to, and a few newer stories that I thought would also be fun to take a look
wildone

wildone in Reviews

5
Weekly Wrap Up

Weekly Wrap Up (Dec. 3 - Dec. 9)

It is starting to look a lot like Christmas   I may have mentioned we had a big dump of snow before Halloween, but that was all melted off since the first week of November. Then we have had temps in the mid to high teens without a drop of moisture until last Thursday. We got a good dumping of snow. I would like my Christmas to be white, but not looking like it as the temp will be in the mid teens (celcius) again next week. Maybe I will have to make a trip to the North Pole   In the mea
wildone

wildone in Weekly Wrap Up

8
Writing Tips

Endgame

Endgame There was a time when a majority of people saw the world in black and white. Well, some still do...but, for the most part...we’ve all grown to realize that things aren’t always that simple. The days of some mad scientist doing awful things simply because he’s crazy and terrible are kind of coming to an end. There are reasons for people that do the things that they do. Sometimes they’re selfish reasons, yes...but it’s not just a matter of good and evil all the time. Everything can’t b
Comicality

Comicality in Writing Tips

0
×
×
  • Create New...