The First Rule of Writing

Tags

Author Goals, Craft, Reading, Storytelling, Writing Tips

Have you ever watched any of the Gordon Ramsay shows? If you haven’t, you’re missing out because the guy is entertaining as hell. Some of the insults he hurls at the cretins in the kitchens have me wheezing with laughter. Granted, it must take courage to work with him because he’s like a General commanding an army, shouting out orders and scaring the bejesus out of the new recruits.

He’s abrasive, he’s impatient, but we forgive him for it because he’s passionate and let’s face it, he knows what he’s talking about.

But there’s something else I noticed about him outside of these on-screen antics: He is constantly tasting new dishes. He also does a lot of traveling to eat in places renowned for their food. Not just five-star restaurants, but tiny family owned places famous for their cooking. He does a lot of research into ingredients, where they came from, how they’re grown. Why does he do all that? Because in order for him to keep the magic in his cooking, he has to continue to observe and learn how others do it. He has to taste it and see it to know it.

I’ve found the same to be true for writing so I thought I’d pass along what I’ve learned. A sometimes overlooked but vital component in the writer’s journey is that they must continue to read to keep their writing vibrant and original. Why?

Three main reasons:

1. It gives you a front row seat to effective storytelling and narrative, characterization and dialogue, tension and pacing.
2. It expands vocabulary (Does anyone else have a little book into which they jot down cool words they want to use?)
3. It reinvigorates the imagination – Have writer’s block or stuck in a scene? Reading can loosen that knot faster than a tenured sailor on a clipper ship.
4. Okay, here’s a bonus part to this: It’s fun!

Has anyone else ever been reading a book only to stop, scratch your head, and wonder if it was written by an author who doesn’t read in the genre they’re writing or maybe at all? I see the emotion or setting they’re reaching for but they just can’t seem to effectively articulate it. I can’t help but feel this is because they haven’t seen how it’s done. One can argue that it’s a matter of talent but I feel it is more inexperience coupled with a lack of investment in learning. Pouring over books on craft is important to know the tools to writing, but reading novels/short stories/novellas demonstrates how to wield them.

But I don’t have time for reading!

Obviously, to be a writer you have to actually write books and time is limited–especially for those doing this gig on the side–but really, one has to make the time for it. I wish I had a more eloquent (or diplomatic?) response to this. Reading time is not wasted writing time. The mind is working on one’s own writing while doing it. And step AWAY from Netflix. Watching storytelling is not nearly as helpful as reading it on the page—I’ve had to beat back my lazy side when it tries to win this argument with that logic. Resist!!

Read Effectively

It’s fun to sink into a story, but a mentor of mine pointed out that it’s important to pay attention as well. I love dissecting how a book made me feel the way it did, figuring out what the author did (or didn’t do) to grab my attention. My internal monologue goes something like this: “Hm, I liked that side character. Why? How did the author make him/her distinct from the others? I’m dying to read more about the romantic subplot. How come? How did the author hook my heart?”

I observe it, take notes (yes, I’m a big nerd. are you really surprised?), and mash all that literary goodness into my own work my own way. If only dissecting frogs were this fun, I’d have totally snagged an A back during my bio/chem lab.

The biggest realization I’ve gotten from reading? Writing is not all “learn by doing”. It’s also “learn by observing”. Personally, when I’m not writing—or changing a diaper—I’ve got my face in a book. With eBooks priced at $2.99 or less (or on Kindle Unlimited or even free a lot of times), cost isn’t the barrier it used to be for this crucial aspect in a writer’s life.

All. The. Time.

The first rule of writing for me is this: Read. Read widely and voraciously. Think like a chef. Words are the ingredients. Spend time with them outside of the kitchen.

Any writers out there live by this one? What other fundamentals help you along in your writing?

A Matter of Perspective

Tags

#amwriting, Craft, Fantasy, Indie Author, Self-Publishing

I love YA books.

There, I said it. I’m not a teen (or anywhere close to that age, ahem) but I love the genre and gorge on it regularly in all its forms (Mature YA, YA/NA). All books include an element of self-discovery and reflection, but it’s my opinion that these themes are especially poignant when centered around a protagonist living those years when you’re still unsure of who you are.

Something I’ve noticed about the YA/NA genre is it tends to be written in the first-person, present-tense point-of-view (POV). Seems logical since first-person POV can feel more intimate (the reader follows the protagonist’s direct voice) and present-tense lends a sense of immediacy–And young adults definitely (at least what I’ve witnessed from my teen nephews and cousins) live in the Right Now with some rough sketches of what the future might look like. It’s the charm and the madness that is them. And hey, those are tough years as they try to get a grasp on what the hell this life thing is about and how they should handle it…That’s what I remind myself of when one of them makes a creative move on the highway and narrowly avoids causing a massive collision that would’ve resulted in twisted metal, shattered glass, and calls to First Responders.

Currently I’m about halfway through a draft in the first book of a planned YA/NA Fantasy trilogy titled Sundered Kingdoms. Each book will be centered around one character’s perspective and thus I put things in the first-person, present-tense form. I’ve done first-person, past-tense before in my first novel and enjoyed the process. Switching into present-tense takes some attention but I do like the immediacy of it.

And then…

One of my (very) early betas came back saying that he found it difficult to engage with the first-person, present-tense format and felt it was throwing off the read for him. Granted, early drafts are ugly bastards by nature with rough sections of monologue-ing and info dumping which will be mopped up in subsequent drafts, but the commentary did give me pause. The plot is most definitely through the eyes of a single character and I want to keep it in her voice. I took that to mean it should be in first-person, but does it have to be?

There are a lot of opinions out there as far as when first person vs. third person POV is best. So, let me ask all you readers and writers out there:

If you are reading a story that is from a single character’s perspective, do you expect or prefer it to be in first-person? Or are you cool with a single third-person POV throughout a novel?

The Serial Series: Is it a writer gimmick?

Tags

Book Marketing, Craft, Dystopian, Indie Writer, Science-Fiction, Self Published Book, Speculative Fiction

While working to market my Sci-Fi/Dystopia series Insurrection, I’ve been reaching out to book bloggers asking for a review of the first installment, Subversive. For those who don’t know, this is a short-story series that will run for five installments, like episodes in a mini-series. Each book is told from a different character perspective. Each is a complete story and interconnected with the others.

Recently, a blogger who had agreed to review Subversive returned saying he would be unable to post a review because he does not feel serial series books are fair to readers. (Full disclosure: He does state that in his review policy but I, er, missed it. *blushes*)

Curious about this view of serial series, I wanted to ask what others thought. Below is the e-mail reply he sent to me and I’m posting it here with his permission:

“Subversive is a glittering example of why I don’t (review serial series books) and I admit I should have examined this book more closely before I agreed to review it. Although it is well written, and I could see that the story line had the potential to eventually develop into something worth reading, as a lifelong reader who has been disappointed repeatedly by authors who use this approach to publishing, I cannot encourage it. Likewise, giving you a low review when the work could be made into a five-star effort is not fair to you.

For a reader, this book is a passage to nowhere except the next book. There is no end. There is only a beginning. For a reader, it’s a bit like having a sentence with a subject and no predicate. An incomplete thought to be solved by putting another nickel in the slot machine. I feel that approach to publishing is unfair to readers.”

My opinion? Although I respect this blogger’s perspective on the subject, I tend to disagree with the philosophy, not just because I’m writing a serial, but because personally, I love them. In the book serials I’ve read I find each book to be its own complete tale, even if there are cliffhangers at the end. If I love the premise and the characters, it’s great to come back to them again and again, like visiting old friends. Some examples? The Anita Blake books, The Emperor’s Edge, A Song of Ice and Fire. There are many more. To me, it’s like watching an episode in a TV series. I’m not upset that I’ll have to tune in next week to see another installment. Sometimes I’m in the mood for a movie that tells the story in one go. Other times, I like when a story is drawn out. The same is true for literature in my, uh, book. (unintentional pun)

What do you think of the serial series format? Does it feel like the author is nickle and diming you into buying another book rather than tying off the journey completely? Or do you enjoy new adventures with the same characters and universes, no matter how many installments there are?

Silent Night

Tags

#amwriting, Craft, Indie Writer, Inspiration

As is typical of Minnesota, it releases us from winter’s snow and ice only to plunge us into summer’s wrath, as if the place is irritated it has to warm up for any portion of the year and makes us suffer for it. Tuesday a huge storm cell rolled through the Twin Cities and, naturally, as I left work that day the thing was just making its debut. Timing is ALWAYS perfect for me when it comes to these things. There I am, driving home, obsessively looking in my rearview mirror, watching as this mass of roiling black clouds chases me down the highway.

The sky turned green. Streets flooded with torrential rain. Howling winds ripped trees from their roots. Thunder and lightning crashed hard enough to rattle the windows and make me wonder if Thor could be something more than mythological. Of course, if he looks like Chris Hemsworth I might be willing to convert.

Then BOOM! The nearby transformer explodes and everything goes dark. Thus began our two-day stint without power. This was made all the more awesome by the fact that my daycare is closed for the week (where they didn’t lose power), the air temperature the following days was 90 degrees without a breeze and two out of my three kids had a fever. I shuffled us over to my mother’s house but my mom has this aversion to using air conditioning, thus keeping her house at a balmy 84 degrees (still cooler than my house).

When the Xcel Energy truck showed up at last to repair our transformer, people came out of their houses in droves. We sat on the curb watching the guys work on it, our stares fixed on their movements, hopes and prayers thick in the air. Then someone yelled from a kitchen window that the lights came on and a cheer went up. A block party almost broke out except we all ran home to huddle around the cool air coming out of our vents.

Yes, I’m being dramatic here but it was a tough couple of days. And I did feel a little guilty about my internal (and external) complaining as I remembered other places that had storms in the past which knocked out power for weeks, sometimes months at a time. I can’t even imagine it.

But something interesting arose from all this chaos…the complete lack of it at night. When the kids were in bed, the coolers of food squared away, and the paper plates disposed of (don’t hate me for using them), I sat down at my table to write. By candlelight.

I may or may not admit to feeling a tad Jane Austin as I did this. I had taper candles too. There I was, scribbling along the page, adjusting the angle of the light as the wax burned down, the flame flickering when my breath swished past it. Writing in such an environment, surrounded by shadow beyond the candle’s corona, narrows one’s focus to what’s in right front of you: the page.

This is what it was like every day for writers of the past (except maybe for the full belly, ball point pen, and superior state of health). There’s a silence to the night when the world is that quiet, when the house is soundless but for the scratch of your pen and the thoughts in your head. I experienced an odd contradiction of emotion as the hours rolled by. I felt both more connected to my work and more isolated. Fulfilled and empty. Satisfied and yearning. I attribute this a bit to distraction withdrawal, but also I think it’s because the night has two faces when distilled to its primary essence of silence and darkness. It embraces and it smothers. Soothes and frightens. The intensity of the atmosphere takes creativity to amazing places. There are only the words and the page. It was “A lonely impulse of delight.” to quote Yeats. Beautiful and strange.

Have you ever written by candlelight? What was it like for you?

First Page Critique: REBORN

Tags

Craft, Fantasy, first page critique

Check out this awesome first page critique that a seasoned author provided to a Fantasy writer on the Killzone Author Blog. This blog always has fantastic craft and marketing articles, and their first page critiques are no exception. Have a look!

First Page Critique: REBORN

NaNoWriMo: The Results

Tags

#amwriting, Craft, Fantasy, NanoWriMo, Writing Tips

Long story short, I didn’t make it. Of the 50,000 word goal, I clocked in at 46,532 words by end of day on November 30th. Thus, this round goes to NaNo. Missing a couple of days of writing because of the holidays (Damn you, turkey and pecan pie!) along with some toddler colds, sealed my fate. I typically average about 1,000 words a day. Pushing that to over 1,600 definitely required a reordering of my life to get it done (Guess I’ll have to find out about Glen’s fate when The Walking Dead is available on Netflix). Sometimes that daily goal happened. Sometimes it didn’t.

While my competitive side feels some disappointment, the writer side of me is actually pretty stoked to have gotten 46k n’ change onto the page. This dragon novel I devoted to NaNo will probably top out at 75,000 words, meaning that the first draft is halfway done after just one month’s work. Woot! Sure, I haven’t slept in 30 days, but sleep deprivation is the fuel of creativity, right? Someone said that once, didn’t they? It’s possible I hallucinated that…

Things I learned from my first bout of NaNo:

I’m a hybrid Pantser/Plotter: I like to invent as I go and allow for adjustments but I need the foundation and frame of the house to build at a steady pace. In other words, I need to know where I start, what (generally) happens in the middle, and the ending.

Research before getting too far: As it turns out, when one is writing a Fantasy novel set in medieval ages, there’s a crap ton of research required to get the day-to-day details right: from the housing, to the way people cooked, to how they traveled, to the animals they kept. You’re essentially writing historical fiction. Thankfully I’m nerdish in my love of research so I had a lot of fun with this. I officially know the difference between a bliaud and a jerkin.

Know your people: This being my second novel, I became keenly aware of how easy it can be to overlay personality types from a first novel onto new protagonists. I got to know those characters so well that it’s hard to put them away. My solution? Write up a personality description of the main players to get a feel for them and for reference (especially helpful with dialogue and to keep behavior consistent). Some examples I have jotted down: Taciturn but with a great sense of integrity and courage. Witty with a wry sense of humor that hides fear and loneliness. Practical, sharp tongued but with a kind heart and honest disposition. Actually, it kinda looks like an online dating profile.

Reality Check: I determined that 1,000 words is a good daily goal for me and my life at the moment. My hubs is a great support and totally picked up the slack during NaNo to allow me to give it my all, but long-term, that 1,600 count is a touch high. I’m comfortable with that. Work/Life balance, as they say.

And anyway, doing the math on this gig, if I average 1,000 words a day I can complete a rough draft in approximately two months. Allowing for revisions, beta reading and an editor, (and any other curve balls of life) I can aim to publish two quality novels a year, along with a smattering of short story works I’ve got brewing. In all, not too bad for this mama.

So, what do I think of the work I completed during NaNo?

The story is solid, but thank God for revisions.

So how did NaNo go for everyone else? Did you make it to Mt. 50,000?

NaNoWriMo: Of Mice and Migraines

Tags

#amwriting, Craft, Fantasy, NanoWriMo, Writing Tips

November in Minnesota heralds the coming of winter. Weather takes a turn for the worse. Clouds, rain (possibly mixed with snow), cold, and darkness around 5 o’clock at night. That pretty much sums up the atmosphere and mood around the neighborhood (as well as on the roads). But for me, November, with its shifting barometric pressure, means headaches — scratch that — migraines.

That’s right, migraines so bad my consciousness tries to burrow into my rib cage to escape the agony. Since I’m full time nursing my baby I can’t take any of the roter rooter migraine medicine. Ibuprofen is all that’s available to me, and let me tell you, taking an ibuprofen to ease a migraine is about as effective as using a wash cloth to dry out a bath tub full of water.

The result? I get behind on writing. And reading. And laundry. And…well, you get the idea. Part of this “author” thing is perseverance in the face of setbacks/distractions and I am happy to report that I still managed to get to 37,000 words in my novel. There are definite ugly patches in this manuscript. In fact, I think I switched a pet from a dog to a cat without bothering to edit anything in the early sections. It’s going to be a fun re-write, people. With a week and a day left to NaNoWriMo, that leaves a lot of blank space to cover to reach 50,000, but I’m hopeful.

I wanted to pass along a helpful tip that I use to get myself back in the game when interruptions of life – work, KIDS, migraines, KIDS, illness, etc. – disrupt the creative flow. Many writers say it’s important to have a good writing “space” to be productive. Something with a window, good lighting, maybe cup of coffee or tea steaming nearby, and no distractions. I’ve read mention of having good air flow in the area too, maybe a lovely breeze caressing one’s hair and face so one may reach creative nirvana. They probably mean something like this:

Yeah, I’ve got the kitchen table at night. It faces the wall. Forget the cup of Chamomile tea, I’ve got two baby monitors to keep an eye on three kids who may or may not be squawking instead of sleeping:

Pay no attention to the cereal bowl over there. If this picture panned out farther, you’d see a basket of unfolded laundry. Fine, two baskets of laundry. Hey, at least the stuff is clean, okay?

If you’re at all like me and don’t have the time, space, or resources to nestle into a cozy distraction-free writing bungalow, visualizing and finding the words for a scene can be difficult. My method? Sounds.

For example, while writing a scene in which my protagonist was travelling through a prairie, I struggled to integrate the sensory detail. Why? Have another look at my writing space. That, and the fact that I haven’t recently traversed a prairie, had me drawing a blank. So I pulled up YouTube and searched for “Prairie sounds”. Boom, up came a ton of results. With these I was able to immerse myself in the audible detail of a prairie. Suddenly I could feel the hot sun on my back, the tall grass brushing by my legs, smell the wild flowers and warm earth, and yes, also hear a distant river and the buzz of insects.

I’ve done this with thunderstorms too, and man, there are plenty of options in that category. From rain in a country setting, to the sound of it on urban streets, from raging thunder, to a few rumbles, you’ll find whatever you need to get you there. Sounds have given me that extra nudge to sink into my story and tamp down the block. Usually I require silence to write, but this is the one exception. Sure, it may normally be used for insomnia or anxiety, but as it turns out, it’s also useful for one Hawaiian author living in the Midwest, surrounded by the grays of November (and baskets of laundry). Maybe it’ll be helpful to you too.

What’s that you ask? The reference to mice in this post’s title? Well, funny story, the start to cold weather doesn’t just drive people inside but certain small rodents as well. As I went from my car in the garage to the house, fumbling with my keys in the dark because the automatic garage light went out the day before, I heard a strange keening. My husband, hearing my car pull in, flipped the lights on at that moment, treating to me to the sight of two mice screeching at each other in mid-combat. I’m not going to lie. My shriek hit an octave somewhere above glass shattering as I scrambled inside. Several mouse traps later, and one grisly clean up of the loser of that mouse battle, and the garage is rodent free again. Later we discovered something had chewed a hole in the bird seed sack stored out there. Now I understand why my mother keeps seed in old coffee canisters. My point with this anecdote? Distractions are endless. The real work of an author is to persevere in spite of them.

Lessons from the Crypt

Tags

Craft, Inspiration, NanoWriMo, Shakespeare, Speculative Fiction

Lately I’ve been reading Shakespeare again. I know what you’re thinking (Nerd!) but hear me out. After all, the guy was a speculative fiction author. Fairies, ghosts, witches, you’ll find all of these creatures in his work. And seriously, who doesn’t love Puck?

I also find reading him helps steady the cadence and structure of my writing. This might sound strange since it’s challenging just to understand what the hell characters in his plays are even saying, but it’s so worth the effort. There’s a reason why they call him the master.

It’s often taken for granted just how integrated certain lines from these stories are with the common vernacular. Many don’t realize they are actually quoting Shakespeare when they use them.  A few examples:

“Murder most foul.”

“The lady doth protest too much…”

“To sleep–perchance to dream.”

“All the world’s a stage…”

“This above all: to thine own self be true.”

“To be or not to be, that is the question.”

“The rest is silence.”

And this is only from Hamlet. So, why are they remembered so well? In a word: Simplicity. It’s what I notice most about his works. He uses simple words to convey weighty themes like love, grief, and betrayal. This is a good reminder as we approach NanoWriMo. It’s so easy to fall into purple prose with wildly uncommon word choices. We think we’re weaving poetry when really we’ve just wandered into metaphor mania.

Put the Thesaurus down and back away slowly

The puzzle of language has always held a fascination for me. It drove me to learn several languages. Those unknown vowel and consonant combinations would stare back at me like a wall I couldn’t see past. The curiosity to know what they said, unfiltered by translation, became a fire that consumed me. Living abroad, I was that student who’d randomly flip through the language dictionary just for the fun of learning new words. (Okay, go ahead and say it. — Nerd! — I know.)

Miraculous lines of code, that’s language, even if you speak only one. For the speculative fiction writer, it translates into a universe of worlds. Shakespeare did it with just twenty-six letters and he didn’t reach for complicated words to accomplish this, not even in some of those amazing soliloquies. One of my favorites — and I have many — is from Hamlet in the crypt, that moment he indulged in grief and frustration, when he wondered aloud if we put up with so much cruelty in life because the confrontation of it may consequent our deaths, and so through fear, we do nothing:

“…Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprise of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry
And lose the name of action.”

*ecstatic shudder*

Proof that the lyrical and the memorable do not have to come from ten-letter words or complicated metaphors to be effective. Simplicity. It’s the lesson I continually learn.

West Texas to Mission Control

Tags

Book Marketing, Book Sale, Craft, First Paragraph, Free Advertising, Paranormal

Roger. Transmission received, West Texas.

Below we have the first paragraph of a YA Paranormal novel. As always, to remain unbiased no cover will be shown and the title is found at the end of this post. My comments on the flip side:

From the Prologue:

Ann Marie stood at the edge of the room as she watched her children sleeping peacefully in their beds. She fought the overwhelming urges coursing through her body and the motherly instinct that told her to grab them and run for her life. No doubt she could make it to the edge of the woods that surrounded her house before they caught up to her, but then what would she do? She was only one person; she would not be able to fight them on her own. She wasn’t strong enough to do any real damage to Braedon, the man who had spent the last couple of years searching for her.

This paragraph does a great job of presenting the fear and anxiety Ann Marie is going through. We know several things about her right away: She’s a mother. People are chasing her and she doubts her ability to defend herself against them. Kudos on calling out what may be the main antagonist already.

There are a few suggestions that I think would help to ratchet up the tension even more.

Let’s examine this section by section

Ann Marie stood at the edge of the room as she watched her children sleeping peacefully in their beds. She fought the overwhelming urges coursing through her body and the motherly instinct that told her to grab them and run for her life.

I’d love to see these sentences reversed or even merged into one. The first line establishes a sense of place (although I think “threshold of the room” is a better word choice and would take out one of the “edge” words in this paragraph), but it doesn’t grip the reader like the second one. The second line says “Hey! *smack* Something serious is happening here, pay attention!” Move that one to the front.

I’d also recommend replacing the word “motherly” with “primal”. The first sentence already states these are her children so “motherly” feels repetitive. And consider revising the wording of that last fragment, “run for her life”, as she can’t be a singular subject if she includes her kids in the running. Maybe, “run like hell”?

No doubt she could make it to the edge of the woods that surrounded her house before they caught up to her, but then what would she do?

Again, good sense of place. She’s alone with her children in a house by the woods. The kids are sleeping so it’s likely nighttime. All good elements to elicit fear. Cutting away “No doubt” would make the line cleaner, more declarative.

She was only one person; she would not be able to fight them on her own. She wasn’t strong enough to do any real damage to Braedon, the man who had spent the last couple of years searching for her.

“She was only one person” reads a bit awkward. How many people would she be? And kill that semi-colon!

I’d pare this down to one sentence. It’s essentially saying the same thing in those first two lines.

The last line mentioning the antagonist is a touch expository and feels more like the author “telling” the reader information. Keep things zoomed in to Ann Marie’s perspective. Would she say that to herself? Doubtful since it’s information she already knows. The reader will still want to know who Braedon is even with little to no details. It just needs to infer “bad guy” and we’ll wait a long time to know more.

Flight Director’s proposed adjustment to the flight path

They were coming. It was only a matter of time. Ann Marie watched her children sleep, battling the primal urge to gather them up and run like hell. Instead she went to the window and peered between the curtains at the surrounding woods veiled in shadow. Their concealing thickets tempted her for the briefest of moments. Even if they made it, what then? Fight them all on her own? And Braedon was sure to be among them. She let the curtain fall closed with a shiver. At her best, she never did any real damage to him. Their encounters over the last two years made that as clear as the fact that he’d never stop hunting her.

Amaranthine (Willow Shadows Book 1) by Lanie Jacobs

This book went on sale for $0.99 today through October 24th. Check out the book trailer!

What do you think of this first paragraph? Would you keep reading? Other suggestions or tips?

Want to test out your hook? Email your first paragraph to me at FineFablesPress@gmail.com

Writing Contest: Short Story

Tags

Book Marketing, Craft, Dystopian, Fantasy, Free Advertising, Paranormal, Science-Fiction, Steampunk, Writing Contest

Sharpen your pencils and dust off those keyboards! The next writing contest is at hand!

Up to 50 entrants will be allowed to compete for fabulous prizes. 

No entry fee required.

The theme?

Short Stories!

The last contest had a brutal word restriction of just 500 words, so this time I’m throwing in another thousand and allowing stories up to 1500 words. I am nothing if not generous, right?;)

Now for the twist!

Each story must use one of the following prompts as the basis of their story:

Prompt One: Suitcase

Prompt Two: Landscape

Prompt Three: City View

Prompt Four: Knight

Interpret these scenes however you’d like. Pay no attention to the title as far as your writing. I labelled them only for reference purposes.

Guidelines are as follows:

1. Must have at least one self-published book (please provide a link in your e-mail)

2. Must be a subscriber to the quarterly Amid the Imaginary newsletter published through Fine Fables Press

3. Story must be 1500 words or less and in one of the genres of the blog–Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Paranormal, Dystopian, Steampunk. (I’ll allow Horror this time as well, just to include all the subcategories in Speculative fiction.)

4. One entry per person and once submitted the entrant cannot resubmit

5. Story format should be in PDF: Please also title your story, indicate which prompt you’re using by its label, the genre, and include your name in the document (not just the e-mail).

DEADLINE to submit: Noon, 12:00 pm (U.S. Central Standard Time) on Sunday, November 1st. No exceptions.

Email your submission to FineFablesPress@gmail.com, Subject: Writing Contest Submission

Be sure to adhere to the guidelines listed above as it may impact the judgement of your entry if you do not.

On to the good part!

This writing contest is sponsored by Tweet Your Books: Effective Twitter book promotion for authors.

They Tweet your book, blog or author website to 550,000 select and genuine users: readers, editors, publishers & writers who follow them on their Twitter accounts.

1st Place

• Sponsored Prize: 30 Day Set & Forget Package: a minimum of 7 Tweets per day for 30 days. 
• Winning story published in the Amid the Imaginary newsletter and on the blog’s website.
• Author Interview published on Amid the Imaginary blog
• 30 day listing on the blog’s “Featured Authors” page with book cover image of one of the author’s books, including purchase and website links.

2nd Place

• Honorable mention in the Amid the Imaginary newsletter and story published on the blog
• Author Interview published on Amid the Imaginary blog
• 30 day listing on the blog’s “Featured Authors” page with book cover image of one of the author’s books, including purchase and website links.

3rd Place

• Honorable mention in the Amid the Imaginary newsletter and story published on the blog
• • 30 day listing on the blog’s “Featured Authors” page with book cover image of one of the author’s books, including purchase and website links.

Contest Judges:

• The Commander at Planetary Defense Command
• Molly Z.: An avid reader of speculative fiction and a fan of self-published authors
• And yours truly, your friendly neighborhood Hawaiian girl

We’re looking forward to reading your entries!

Please remember to carefully review the guidelines above. We’ll accept the first 50 submissions, and once again, that deadline to submit is 12:00pm (U.S. Central Standard Time) on Sunday, November 1st, 2015.

Questions? Please comment on this post or on the Facebook announcement so everyone can see the answers. Technical difficulties? Then e-mail the question to me directly at FineFablesPress@gmail.com