KillerCon 4 Story Competition
KillerCon, one of the premiere author conventions, holds several competitions for authors to show off their mad skillz. For 2012, they had the Gross-Out Contest, a horror-themed erotica contest, plus a 15-minute competition where authors had to write a story with several key words or phrases. Note: Bad words coming, continue only if you’re comfortable […] Inspiration From Reality Shows
Now that we have Netflix, Tonya (my better half) is watching every episode of Cake Boss. Of course, I’m writing, plotting, and planning my short stories and novels while this goofy show is playing in the background. After episode 16 of season 3, where they travel to Italy, it struck me that some reality shows […] Villains
The protagonist is the one character most writers dwell on. It takes a fine balance between making them likeable and having them seem either arrogant or totally worthless. A good protagonist usually makes or breaks a story, while the antagonist, or villain, is usually tossed in as a reason for the protagonist to exist. This […] The Write Environment
Is it time to consider writing professionally, at least part-time? Writing professionally means writing as though you need to pay the rent – tomorrow. You need to devote time to your craft. You need to develop effective habits. Remember the old adage, Practice Makes Perfect? It’s wrong – practice makes improvement. Developing a good writing […] The Horror Family
One thing that still surprises me is how the horror/dark fiction genre authors treat each other. For the most part, I’ve decided that the genre is really one large family. Perhaps because the genre isn’t as fractured as others, it removes the cliquishness that can pop up in other fields. Science Fiction, for example, has […] HWA’s Halloween Haunts 2012
Facebook for Authors
Originally posted in the Horror Writers Association newsletter. The vast majority of an author’s fans have a Facebook page. Writing is a business, and savvy authors take advantage of this marketing tool. Love it or hate it, an author should use this avenue for connecting with their fanbase. There are three separate types of Facebook […] Websites for Improvement – Part 1
There are thousands of websites that contain useful information for authors. I’m going to post a series of sites that can help writers in their never ending quest to improve their craft. I will typically post three at a time. Let me know if you have any suggestions! http://www.economist.com/styleguide/introduction The Economist publishes a well-established magazine […] Sailing the Digital Seas: Researching Publishers
Recently, the blogosphere was all atwitter concerning the story of Mandy DeGeit, a new author who discovered the story she submitted to an anthology wasn’t the same as the story that was published under her name. Heavyweights like Neil Gaiman and Jonathan Maberry waded in to give their take on the carnage. Authors who […]