WCMarchese

An ocean in a snow storm. The boat motor just blew out. You can't see 20 feet in any direction. Snow is blasting from everywhere and the key just broke off to the below chamber where you could have taken shelter and waited out the storm. Being the motor is out, you aren't sure if you should use the electricity because you remember someone told you it wouldn't replenish the battery, and you might need it in an emergency.   You sat down with the fluffy coat--at least you were able to grab that before the key broke.   Why again, you ask yourself, as the snow pelted your red and numb face, were you going to see him/her across at the island? Then you feel a hand grab at your shoulder. You look back and see it disappear into the messy water. Just snow falling everywhere.   You wait.  Just here writing at a cafe in lower Manhattan, looking across the water to Jersey City. That scene came to me. Trying to kick start back into writing mode after the holiday...

I've noticed that there is a difference between writers who do this halfheartedly and writers who go about it wholeheartedly. What is that difference?  What is the line that separates OK fiction from good fiction and good fiction great fiction? Stephen King said in his book On Writing: "While it is impossible to make a competent writer out of a bad writer, and while it is equally impossible to make a great writer out of a good one, it is possible, with lots of hard work, dedication, and timely help, to make a good writer out of a merely competent one."  There is a definitive point, or moment, or realization, where that distinction is clear--but perhaps it moves and shucks and jives to get out of the way. The reader knows something is up, feels it subconsciously perhaps, but just can't put their finger on it.  Stephen King also said: "We need to experience the mediocre and the outright rotten; such experience helps us to recognize those things when ...

   From the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain, to trick or treaters and colorful costumes, Halloween is here and for some it's a nuisance, others it means candy and costumes. There are horror movie marathons and it’s the best time of the year for horror channels like Chiller and Fear.net.  But to me it's almost muse-like. Around this time of the year I get a feeling. All the old horror movies I've watched come out and play in my mind. I am entrenched in an ongoing story that plays itself out every year around this time. I sometimes sit down with my laptop at my side, waiting for inspiration to come.  Sometimes nothing comes, but just sitting there in this stew of thought is like filling up a gas tank of a car. And it runs my thoughts for the rest of the year.  For a horror writer, this is the Mecca of days, but I don't necessarily have to write. Just the look and feel and essence creates energy in me. It's positive thinking. If you envi...

   I was listening to this interesting podcast debating if "aspiring" should go before "writer" if you weren't published yet. The guest on the podcast explained that we are all writers, just some are paid and some aren't. I agree.     That question always comes up around get-togethers, family functions, etc. "So what do you do?" And unless you consider your day job to be your career, then you are most likely saying "writer." To which comes the fun of explaining yourself--or feeling you need to, anyway.     Most times, you'll get a face with the mouth pulled down and eyebrows pulled up, "Oh, really? What do you write?" Then you go on about what you're doing, etc. You might impress them a bit, you might get a sympathetic face and a, "well, good for you."     In my situation, I say, "horror."     "Excuse me?"     "H-horror." Cue hand gesticulation and nervous cle...

  Most writers have horror stories, of which I have a few to to share. Hopefully it helps in some way. The story begins with a website that went by the name iPublish--from what I know it's no longer running, at least in their old name. Aspiring writers had frequented this site seeking a friendly critique and maybe even publication. If I remember correctly, they promised a lucky (talented) writer a book deal. There was more, but this was a while back, and my memory is getting old.  A writer could post thier story and your "peers" would critique it. Depending on your score, you would move up and down the ranks. You could even reciprocate--if you liked. You could get feedback for a novel, or short story, or go for the gold and try for a publishing contract.    Who knew? Maybe even an agent or editor was lurking about, looking for new talent.  It sounded like a good idea, a site where experts and armatures in the industry could meet ...

Bad Agents    Every writer has to go through rejection as they send in submissions. At times, a writer will also experience corrupt and scam literary agents, as if we don't have enough to worry about.     There was a site I talked about in a prior post called   Preditors and Editors . It is a great site to research agents and publishers as well as other categories to educate yourself before you get burned. As I almost did:     I was on an express bus home from work one evening when I noticed I received a voicemail. I was kind of upset because my carrier didn't let the call go through. So I listened to it and it was from one of the literary agencies I had sent my novel to prior. My stomach fell into my pelvis, frozen, I had thought I blew it--but then a rational part of me said I hadn't, come on, people leave messages all the time--but there was always that feeling deep in the back of my mind. So I worried, and waited, and starte...

So I came to a point in my novel where POV plays an important roll. There are many things you can do with the proper POV--and I believe those choices are up to the writer. They will know, with the proper understanding of the different POVs, what to use to best tell their story. I like to bombard myself with all the information there is to know about the subject and then let my subconscious take over and make its own direction. Of course, there are plenty of helpful sites out there to assist. I decided that a part of my story needed a POV similar to the one Ann Rice used in  Interview with a Vampire .  So I did a quick search and found a great site about it.   http://www.jennycrusie.com/books/non-fiction/anne-rice-a-critical-companion/anne-rice-a-critical-companion-chapter-three/ Interesting stuff. Just thought I'd share. Now back to work! Keep writing. WCM