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  • 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
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Random Acts of Description

I've never been a writer who enjoyed using much description.  I never thought the color of the carpet, the shadows on the flocked wallpaper or the nuances of a woman's dress did much to drive a story.  At least, that's what I used to think. Lately I've been reading more gothic short stories where the effect of the light on objects, the influence of color on mood, and the idea of space shapes impressions of the scene. As a result, I've been trying to use a bit more description in my writing.

Cole Matthews

Cole Matthews in Prompts

2024 Writing Events

As the new year approaches, it's time to start thinking about what's on the agenda for 2024. We've already announced one event for 2024, and the first story for Carlos' tribute has been posted.  I'm super excited to announce what else we have planned for next year.  It should be a great year with lots of opportunities to participate in site events! So without further ado, here is what's coming up in 2024.  2024 Writing Events Long May You Run - A Tribute to Carlos Hazday - Due December

Valkyrie

Valkyrie in Announcements

Ask An Author 3.0 #35

December is here, and you know what that means... There's one song I'll be muttering under my breath for the next three weeks. No, it's not Mariah Carey's Christmas song. The husband is already wanting to strangle me for singing Trixie Mattel's "All I Want For Christmas is Nudes" nonstop the past couple of days. But you're not here to hear me sing, and if you are, you've come to the wrong blog article.  December also means y'all get another Ask An Author! Let's see, lemme dig around. I know

astone2292

astone2292 in Author Interviews

Romance Deep Dive

Romance stories focus primarily on character relationships and development.  There is a strong trope in most if not all, the sub-genres for Romance for a Happily Ever After (HEA) or Happy For Now (HFN).  Violating the HEA/HFN trope should not be done lightly or at a whim, as this tends to turn off readers of this genre.   Sub-genres: Contemporary Romance, General Romance, Historical Romance, Paranormal Romance, Regency Romance, Romantic Fantasy, Romantic Sci-Fi, Romantic Western

Myr

Myr in Genre Deep Dives

December CSR Feature: Mr & Mister Danvers: Initiation by LJCC

Welcome to our last CSR feature of 2023! 10 years of features needed something dramatic with flair, and what is more dramatic than a spy thriller? So you can put down your holiday nog (or grab it if you need some spirits and enjoy them together!) and focus on this story for a fun journey of twists & turns you'll never expect.  Mr & Mister Danvers: Initiation by @LJCC Length: 59,674 Description: Greg Danvers, a former London police sergeant now a part-time waiter, ten

Cia

Cia in CSR- Can't Stop Reading

Weekly Wrap Up (Nov. 26 - Dec. 02)

Its starting to feel a lot like Christmas... Well, I hope you all are getting in the festive spirit  Maybe not so much myself. The past two weeks and been nightmarishly busy at work and I don't know if I'm coming or a going. Hoping maybe tomorrow will get me out of my bah humbug mood, as we go out to the forests and find Christmas Trees! I won't be getting one as there isn't enough in room my condo, but at least it is the first Christmassy thingy I'll be doing   So what happened l

wildone

wildone in Weekly Wrap Up

Invoking Nostalgia

Invoking Nostalgia Our lives, more often than not, come down to our ability to connect our current selves to our previous selves from the past. Being younger, more naive, more eager and energetic...remembering the lessons that we’ve learned, and the sometimes tragic mistakes we made that we’ve learned them from. Whenever you look at a younger photograph of yourself...you have to replay a ‘story’ in your head that will somehow cause you feel as though you and that person in the photograph are

Comicality

Comicality in Writing Tips

Preparation Prompts

Soooo, the Holiday season is afoot. Some are already talking about Christmas parties and ‘oh my, what do I get whoever?’. I am the lucky Prompt Team member who throws their Santa hat in the ring. PT# 185 Someone finds an Advent calendar in a rusty box among the Christmas decorations. Twenty-four empty little paper bags are waiting for a small daily gift given from December 1st to 24th. What do they fill them with and who gets them?   PT# 186 Let yourself be i

Aditus

Aditus in Prompts

Author Guess Who #17 - Reveal!

Ooooooh! Did I give y'all enough time to put your guesses in? I know @Valkyrie has been a wee bit antsy to find out who this month's AGW participant was. Let's see if anyone got it right... This author... has 13 stories logged! This author... has written over 139,000 words! This author... is...  Mancunian   Check out these stories they've written!   Thanks for participating, @Mancunian!  Keep your peepers open. December's edition is right around the cor

astone2292

astone2292 in Author Guess Who

Poetry Deep Dive

Poetry is literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm.  There are different types and forms in the sub-genres.   Sub-genres: Free-Verse, Haiku, Limerick, Sonnet, Lyric, Ballad, Cinquain, Rhyming, Epic Poetry, Blank Verse, Mixed Forms, Translation   Top 10 Most Read - Limerick tim's Bits and Pieces by Mikiesboy Timmy's Journal by Mikiesboy Fire

Myr

Myr in Genre Deep Dives

November CSR Discussion Day: When Opportunity Knocks by kbois

This month's feature was a mix of so many characters, pets, and details that you needed a LONG month and a bit of a holiday to finish it all. I hope you enjoyed kbois' story, When Opportunity Knocks! Make sure you add your comments below, but first, you get to enjoy this interview.  I say, I say… who does it better, the chicken or the chicken hawk? Well, the chicken hawk has better eyesight, but chicken tastes better, and there are so many ways to cook it, so I’d have to go with the c

Cia

Cia in CSR- Can't Stop Reading

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