Writers Richard C. White and Fred Adams Jr. spin these two fantastic yarns, with artist Gary Kato providing the twelve interior illustrations and Michael Youngblood the cover.
AIRSHIP 27 PRODUCTION – PULP FICTION FOR A NEW GENERATION!
Available now from Amazon in paperback and soon on Kindle.
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Rosemary Claire Smith: The bulk of my published fiction consists of short stories. They were where I began my writerly journey. I still love them and just finished one yesterday. I don’t have an ideal length, but the ones that garnered the most attention are the longer ones: 8,000-14,000 words. I love the challenge of flash fiction and find the 1,000-word limit great inducement for cutting every extraneous word and sentence. Those left are expected to do double and triple duty.
Sheela Leyh: I know that it's more than 1000 words. Anything 1000 words or less gives me a major headache to write. I do write poetry from time to time. I do comb through my words for more impact when writing shorter.
John Morgan 'Bat' Neal: The most recent story I have written is 806 words. It doesn't need one word more.
Mari Hersh-Tudor: Went to Penguicon, a great one for writers. One of the panels was about How To Keep Your Short Story from Turning Into A Novel. Some of my notes from the panel were:
Jessica Nettles: I don't have an ideal length. Each story has a way of finding its length. I know that sounds metaphysical, but that's how it works in my world. Sometimes, I am writing to a specific word count, and I work hard to get to that word count and make the story work in that frame. That's good exercise for me. Other times, I'm writing for me, so I can go as I feel like going and let the story find its way.
When I was nineteen, I read a NYT bestselling memoir. The story was shocking, harrowing, and unputdownable. I remember telling a close, speed-reader friend of mine how “well-written” it was. Intrigued, she immediately went and read it. She came back to report that yes, it was gripping, but it wasn’t well-written. I thought this was a bit of a snobbish remark because, well, is was written by a bestselling author with a successful career as a journalist for the New York Times, so she had to be good at writing—right?
In the following years, after reading more broadly, particularly the classics, my tastes elevated and I concluded that my friend was right. That memoir was decently written, but it wasn’t astonishing. At the time, I didn’t have the repertoire to judge the difference between a compelling page-turner and well-written prose.
But what constitutes “good writing”? Does good writing come down to voice and aesthetic? Or clarity and minimalism? What is that chef’s kiss ingredient that makes the prose just so *pinches fingers and relaxes eyelids* mmm-hmm? This is a difficult question to answer because good writing is found in a variety of styles, voices, and expressions. But often good writing is just one of those things that one begins to recognize intuitively rather than filtering it through a rigid set of rules. It’s one of those you-know-it-when-you-see-it type things.
Of course, writing is also story i.e. characters, setting, plot, and themes, but I’m specifically referring to prose here. I do think there are methods to determine the merit of a story itself, though I will not be touching on that today. That is a feast of a topic deserving of a series. This essay is more like grapefruit: fresh, bite-size, compartmentalized, and creatively healthful.
There are two primary styles of prose writing: transparent prose and stained glass prose. Now if you’ve been subscribed here for a while, you may be aware that I occasionally share rants opinions about stuff and things (and the stuff I dislike I stuff inside the things) but on this topic specifically, I’m actually not going to pick a side because I truly love both.
Read the full article: https://writerfullyalive.substack.com/p/your-prose-style-has-a-name-do-you
Superbeings called the Exceptionals arose during World War II and helped defeat the Axis. After the war, they became national heroes to a new generation. By the 70s, their glamour had worn off, and the Federal Government, afraid of their abilities, ordered them to retire or be imprisoned. It seemed the age of heroes was over. Then, a few decades later, a mysterious invasion of a nightmarish alien spore began spreading chaos throughout the world. Anyone infected became a murderous, ranting maniac. Whole towns were destroyed overnight. The United Nations begged the US to reinstate the Exceptionals. Once they entered the battle, the tide turned. Mankind was saved. Once again, characters like the Crimson Howl, the Automatic Man and the Swami were being hailed as saviors.
But what if the alien horror wasn’t what it appeared? What if a devious mastermind had orchestrated the entire catastrophe as a way of manipulating the government to unleash the Exceptionals? Super-beings that in the end would serve him alone. Writers Paul Landri and Jason Clarke whip up an action-packed sequel to their best-selling novel, “Return of the Crimson Howl,” and in doing so set the stage for an even darker adventure.
Pulp Factory Award-winning artist Ted Hammond provides the cover and Sam Salas the black and white interior illustration, with Rob David the overall book design.
ARISHIP 27 PRODUCTION – PULP FICTION FOR A NEW GENERATION!
Available now at Amazon in paperback and soon on Kindle.
Bobby Nash: When I start a series, I have an idea of where the overall story is going. I usually have loose plots for at least two books when I start on book one. My series tend to be stand-alone A plots with subplots and character bits that move from book to book. I want readers to get a beginning, middle, and end in each book. Then, I tease the next one at the end and hope it brings them back for more.
Ef Deal: I began with characters and a setting. I had not planned a series; I just researched a rich vein of history, science, and music. As I researched, ideas for conflict/plot emerged, and I found myself with too much for one story. I mean, these women had lives to live, too much for a one and done. I’ve always believed that a story needs a future, so my characters conceivably could go on for another 70 years. Sadly, I may not be able to write it all.
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All worldbuilding always happens as part of the writing process. If I need to know something about the world, I make it up. I am basically discovering the universe at the same speed the reader will.
Rosemary Claire Smith: I thought I knew so much more than I actually did. Important characters walked onto the stage midway through. For some, their ultimate fate changed in small or large ways as I worked on it.
Dan Kemp: I did not know much, but since my thriller series (Athenaeum, Inc) happens in our 'real' world, I don't have to build much. Reality supplies the weirdness.
Jay Peterson: Only got the one series, but I knew it was going to be one the moment it started showing up.
Sara Hinson Bond: In order to keep everything straight across multiple books. I start a series Bible and the second lore gets added to a book I start expanding on it. I have notes on magic systems, character bios and political history, etc. I don't know all the details, though, and they come up as they are relevant to the story.
When I started the first book of my Iron and Earth series, I just had a vibe and a character. By the time I fished draft one I knew my entire story arc over five books. I had a mythos, a magic system, and a mystery to uncover over multiple books within a few pages, and by the end of the first book I knew exactly where it was taking me.
Sam Kelley: I learn as I outline and write and expand upon that info during rewrites & edits.
Julia Benson-Slaughter: When I started writing The Littleton Chronicles, I’d been collaborating with my writing partner on a series that he started several years ago. We’d spent two years expanding his beginning story bits and building the world for that series (Chronicles of the Covenant) when we each got the urge to venture off into a separate, but connected, universe. So there was a basic foundation in place for all three universes, dealing with their creation and early evolution. A big part of the story in all three is how they diverge into different worlds, but will, LONG into the future, all converge back to the same point.
American tycoon, E.C. Endicott wants to develop hundreds of acres of the Amazon jungle to fatten his own commercial empire. He thus threatens the lost Kingdom of the Mouku, a magical tribe whose people possess shape-shifting abilities.
One of these is Panambi, who works in the port town of Rocinante as a barmaid in her role as Miss Mariposa. When she learns of Endicott’s arrival and the threat he poses to her people, she enlists the aid of two big-game hunters, Patrick MacDonald and Ji-ho Chio. Theirs is an almost impossible task unless Panambi can recruit the aid of the Onkas, the magical black jaguars of the hidden jungle, at the same time keeping her own secret.
Writers Michael Panush and Charles Santino offer up a fresh, exciting jungle adventure set against the mysterious backdrop of the Amazon Jungle. Here are strange characters, exotic animals and danger everywhere. It’s a pulse-pound tale illustrated by artist Ron Hill with a dynamic cover by Ted Hammond.
AIRSHIP 27 PRODUCTION – PULP FICTION FOR A NEW GENERATION!
Available now in paperback and soon on Kindle.
