Lately, my go-to book for ongoing writing development has been Crafting
the Personal Essay by Dinty W. Moore. The book contains plenty of good
exercises and examples, and I’d like to think that some of the suggestions have
helped me refine my techniques as I’ve been preparing some pieces for
submission to Chicken Soup for the Soul and other venues.
As for fiction writing, improving my plot development continues to be one
of my main focus areas. I have some ideas I like, but putting it all together
in a way that sustains reader interest and builds to a conclusion hasn’t been
my strength. Where I have succeeded in developing a good plot, I think it’s
been partly by accident, as the story line has built itself.
To try to shore up that particular area, I’ve taken a suggestion I saw
online and tried to look at plotting through a screenwriting lens, using a
particular article from storymastery.com, entitled “Story Structure: The 5 Key
Turning Points of All Successful Screenplays”, written by Michael Hauge. The
article includes concrete examples and a breakdown of screenplay structure. We’ll
see in the coming months whether applying some of those techniques can translate
into greater success in developing fiction that escapes the slush pile.
Recent Publications
My review
of Microcosm Publishing’s Bikes Not Rockets: Intersectional Feminist Bicycle
Science Fiction Stories (Bikes in Space issue #5) appeared on The
Future Fire, November 12, 2019. An interesting read for fans of science
fiction with a feminist twist.
“The Last Exodus,”, [clearing the land],
[hypno-teacher breaks down], and [a swim in Arcadia’s … ] were published in Scifaikuest
November 2019 online edition. (Link below).
What I’m Working On
I’m fine-tuning a review of Guy Gavriel Kay’s
A Brightness Long Ago. Sending this one out will finally clear the backlog of reviews I’ve
been chipping away at for awhile.
Reviews of Jack Campbell’s military science
fiction novel Ascendant, John Marrs’ futuristic thriller The Passengers, and W. Michael Gear’s space opera Outpost have been
sent out to prospective markets, and a review of Suzanne Palmer’s space opera Finder was
accepted by New Myths, with publication date to be confirmed.
I’m also working on a few creative
non-fiction pieces for submission to Chicken Soup for the
Soul and other publications.
Coming Soon
Several poems are scheduled to come out in
various publications in early 2020. I also have a poem scheduled for an
upcoming issue of Third Wednesday.
