Musings of a Hopeful Author

 Let me just start off by saying, short stories are hard! They are not something I feel comfortable with at all, but I have really enjoyed the challenges they have presented anytime I've tried to write one, especially if there are rules and restrictions on the story itself. I know that's a little odd, but the challenge is the fun part to me. I like that the prompts make me think in terms of genres I don't read often or write ever and to then have to incorporate the theme and character on top of that? Well, it's not easy. But at the end of the struggle knowing that you've come up with something halfway decent and somewhat engaging? That's a pretty cool feeling. Know what's even better?  MAKING IT TO ROUND 2!!!  That's right! My story was in the top 5 for my group, so I am moving on to the second round to try my hand at another story and see what I can come up with.  The prompts for round 2 were issued last night at midnight. My groups prompts are:      ...

 I'm happy to report that I completed the short story challenge and got it submitted with hours to spare. Victory! It's a sweet, sweet thing. Now I guess it's time to wait and see what feedback I get on the story. Don't expect to make it to the next round, but I do look forward to the feedback I should be getting. So, until April gets here with the results, I am going to turn my mind and attention to other things. What other things? Well, I think it's gotta be at least a little bit towards werewolves. I mean, how do I not after that last post? I think I've got a good bit of back story figured out that will be introduced as needed, but it's good for me to know where the characters are coming from, even if this is a werewolf story! Haha. I've also got a decent idea of what I want to happen at least as far as bare bones go. I've still got to work on some of the plot points and some of the conflicts I think we need for this story that might not be needed...

I'm not sure what exactly I was thinking, but I signed up for a short story challenge that kicked off this past Friday. I'm not exactly good at short stories because I tend to like complicated plots with lots of back story, but sometimes it's fun to step outside of one's comfort zone. I've spent the last few days trying to come up with a worthy story to fit my prompts. What are my prompts you ask? Genre: Historical Fiction Subject: Vengeance Character: A seamstress I was excited when I saw the genre. I love historical fiction. I was less thrilled when I saw the subject, but thought it was still workable and then my brain came to a bit of a stop when I saw the character. After that rather unfortunate pause I couldn't stop imagining a giant needle wielding woman running through the streets making all kinds of sewing pun threats.  Fortunately, I was eventually able to move past that to start brainstorming. And while I won't bore you with the various ideas, let...

 As is evident by my lack of posts over the last few weeks, I took a bit of a break over Christmas and New Year. And obviously let that extend a bit until I finally decided today is the day I shall get back at it!  The struggle is real! I will say, in my couch potato status of late, I have done a good bit of reading. And part of that reading has consisted of some trashy reads. Apparently, I fall for click bait regarding sites who tease you with romances about werewolves? Never in a million years would I have thought that would be something I would read or click on, but I guess we learn something new about ourselves all the time. And what makes it worse? The stories I click on are horribly written. Not just clunky plots but atrocious writing and no editing. And yet, I can't seem to help clicking. Well done internet interest algorithms, you got me! So, after not finishing a single one of those stories, because I refuse to pay for poorly written stories (at least have someone pro...