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Challenge Questions
As I Normally Do… I am getting questions on these new challenges. So here are some answers. — When can I start? With the short story challenge, you start when you turn in a story to me. That starts the clock ticking and each week you need to turn in a story following the instructions. Any time in the next month or so. With the novel challenge, you write me and tell me you are starting. Two months later from that date is the deadline, so you can make sure you are ready to start before you tell me, just don’t have any words written. This can be any time…
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Costs of Creation
Crystal Ball Gazing… In one of the Futures workshops, part of an assignment was to look into their crystal balls and tell me which publishing trends they might be watching for the future. And what might develop in the future. Fun exercise and I have done it here a few times over the years. — A large number of the writers doing the assignment said they were watching AI audio. I agreed with that. Why? Because right now the costs of audio are too high. The cost of creation, in other words. And often that cost is in time rather than money. But to me time is by far my…
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Never Give Up
Much Harder to Say Than Do… But this week at the Writers of the Future I heard a lot of fantastic stories about success because the writer just kept pounding the markets. I remember that when I started out. From 1974 until 1982, stories out, no sales. And then I started following Heinlein’s Rules and sales started. First year I sold six short stories. (One to Writers of the Future.) But I wrote 44 and had them all in the mail. All the time. If a manuscript was rejected, I sent it back out often within hours. So rejection was a way of life. I put all the rejections in…
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Challenge Still Open
I’m Home and Back At Everything in the Morning… But wanted to answer one question about The Great Challenge. You can start any time you want and you don’t have to tell me. The first prompt goes up on the 14th. But you can start when you want. How will I know you are starting? I will get a story from you. That starts the streak. I will have a list of those in the challenge and will note when you hit a week and then read your story in the middle of the week. If you miss a week after you have started, I will send you a note…
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Some Questions About the Great Challenge
Got Some Good Questions Today… So let me try to answer them quickly tonight. — First of all, if you are taking another workshop such as the short story workshop, those stories would count. If you are coming to the Anthology workshop, or one of Kris’s Vegas craft workshops, those stories you write for the workshop would count. Just write one story per week and turn them in to me (or Kris, if in one of her workshops.) — Yes, this challenge will go longer than 52 weeks if writers are still writing. The first week to start is April 14th, when the first prompt will appear. And first deadline…
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The Great Challenge
A New Writing Challenge… For the last few years I have done quarterly challenges that many people have enjoyed. And a lot of novels or stories have come out of those challenges that I enjoyed reading. So a new challenge, with a brand new form. One a little saner and a little crazier in the same breath. And again, the fee goes toward two workshop fees. Kris and I have been talking about this one for a while. Here are the basics… Every week, on Teachable, a new story prompt will appear. That prompt will be a video prompt that will be short, maybe with a writing tip with it,…
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New Line! New Line!
Whose Line Is It Anyway?… Because it has been a week to not remember, and Kris and I needed some laughter to cut the stress and worry, we went to see Whose Live Anyway (Basically Whose Line is It Anyway?) Ryan Stiles, Greg Proops, Jeff B. Davis, and Joel Murray. Stunningly funny. Worth it if they come to a place near you. I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. And the show being in Vegas made it even funnier because of the crowd. The four of them had a blast with the crowd. Greg was doing a bit before introducing the other three and he asked the crowd…
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Just Finished… The Lonely Silver Rain
By John D. MacDonald… It was the last Travis McGee novel, published a year before MacDonald’s death in 1986. I think I have read it six or seven times now over the years, always taken in by how MacDonald did Travis. I have typed in so many parts of those books, studying the style, the simpleness of it, yet how complex and clear he wrote. At some point I will try a character like Travis. Someday. In the meantime, I practice a lot of what MacDonald did on my Cold Poker Gang series. And speaking of that, the new Cold Poker Gang series book is nearing an end, I hope.…
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We Learn From All Story
Even Television Shows… Kris and I started watching the revival of Magnum P.I. which was very similar to the old one. But this new version has a lot of heart and more themes. We were actually surprised by the quality, as it is clear many others have been since it just got renewed for a second season. On thing they did right was add in a couple of elements on the team. (If you don’t understand team in fiction, this would be a good show to study and then take the Teams workshop.) There is a detective who does a great job of slowly becoming part of the team over…
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One Week To April Workshops Starting
I just Realized It Was Only A Week Away… Someone want to go find out where March ran off to? Wow. Just wow. And we are starting the Emotions in Writing workshop in one week as well. Got to have the Depth in Writing workshop to take that one. Overall, a great list of workshops in April, that’s for sure. I think all of them can really help a person’s fiction writing. Sign up directly at Teachable.com Class #31… Apr 2nd … Endings Class #32… Apr 2nd … Point of View Class #33… Apr 2nd … Writing Mysteries Class #34… Apr 2nd … Speed Class #35… Apr 2nd … Teams in Fiction Class #36……