creative writing

Feeding Frenzy Launched at Bakka-Phoenix

Feeding Frenzy: Curse of the Necromancer On March 10, 2018, Feeding Frenzy launched at my favorite Science Fiction and Fantasy book store. Bakka is one of the most unique book stores in North America, family-owned and delightfully supportive of SF&F writers. I was invited, along with seven other  authors, to take part in the store’s […]

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Win a Watty Award With a Past Winner’s Proven Advice

Feeding Frenzy: Curse of the Necromancer Wins a Watty Award Have you ever read a story on Wattpad and wondered if you could win a Watty Award? This post explains how I used serial fiction techniques to write a novel, finish it, and learn while practicing in public. Winning the Watty Award was just the

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Art Deco portrait of a blonde beauty

I Failed at my 2022 Goals but Won the Creative Writing Game Anyway

In January 2022, I set myself three clear writing goals. I failed at my 2022 goals, completely dropping the ball on my fishy kids’ spy novel. There were small wins. I submitted short stories, and some received the best kind of rejection letters, which ends in “send us more.” In my impatience, I published a

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A strange flying unicorn critter puts a magician's hat on a rhino-bunny

The Steak Trick: Top 5 Tips to add Sizzle to your Writing

Dean Wesley Smith’s steak trick for accountability On Medium, I haven’t set specific publication goals. Instead of aiming for an article a week or daily blog posts, I’ve written when the Muse struck. The result has been heartfelt articles, written on a whim, without regularity. I need to follow the steak trick for accountability My

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T’was the Night Before Pitch Night

  The Night Before Pitch Night…  A Christmas Spoof for Writers By Maaja Wentz (after Clement C. Moore)   ‘Twas the night before pitch night, like inside a dream, The writers were trying their best not to scream; They drafted their log lines concisely with flair, In the hopes that big contracts soon would be theirs.

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Coming Second (after W.B. Yeats)

Turning and turning in a plastic gyre The Garbage Patch grows silently. Things fall apart, degrading into plastic pills and Floating Barbie heads are loosed upon the world. The plastic-dimmed tide concentrates in filter feeders. The innocence of tossing bone over shoulder Should have died with the Neanderthals. The best want more stuff, while the worst Slave

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10 Reasons to Write Wattpad Serial Fiction

Why Should you Write Serial Fiction on Wattpad? Have you thought about writing serial fiction on Wattpad? I have used Wattpad to conquer writer’s block and overcome my ongoing fear of rejection. Before I started posting stories on this platform, I had multiple drawers full of short stories and novels which I had not submitted

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Writing Contest – Pitch Contest

Writing Contest a Digital Dare for Writers Who Love to Pitch Ideas Inspiration Department: This is the easiest writing contest to get you started Are you a creative fiction writer? Do you love writing? Do you want practice pitching ideas? Are you looking to find new fans online? Cliffhanger Castle is the first serial anthology of its

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1, 2, 4, 6: A System for Writing Success

Writers: Experiment with 1, 2, 4, 6, and Increase Productivity This article is inspired by Scott Meyer’s blog post about writing success for screenwriters. In it he advocates “1, 2, 7, 14,” as a structure for becoming a more productive writer. Under his plan you would read one screenplay per week, watch two movies per week,

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