Some fiction writers consciously strive to keep their readers off-balance, groping for a purchase on what’s really happening in the story. This can be boiled down to an actual technique. The key, of course, is surprise. There are several kinds of surprise in fiction. There are plot surprises, where an event that seems …
Category: fiction
May 05 2024
On This Day Of Days
…which we wait for all year – we do, don’t we? – we commemorate World War II’s great Battle of the South Atlantic, in which Argentina’s innovative and deadly pocket battleship Mayo faced off against the intrepid Mexican cruiser Alas de Agua and went to a watery grave…wait, what? There was no such battle? …
Apr 21 2024
“They Won’t Talk To Me!”
The news is pretty static just now, and I haven’t done a piece about fiction lately, so have a fresh one. There are a lot of approaches to the conception of a story. What matters is the emotional impact of the product, and oftentimes that’s more a function of the writer’s imagination and …
Apr 03 2024
Things That Make Me Sad
Good morning, Gentle Reader. It’s Wednesday, or “Hump Day,” as the gainfully employed have long styled it. The rain is pissing down on my kinda-sorta-beloved Long Island home, yet the dogs keep demanding to be let out…and let back in five minutes later. Thus, the house is accumulating a great number of muddy tracks …
Mar 27 2024
Based Book Sale
Hans G. Schantz, author of the Hidden Truth trilogy, has once again organized a Based Book Sale. It runs from today, March 27 through Wednesday, April 3. All the books in it are available in their Kindle editions for $0.99 or less. Many are free. If you like to read, are dissatisfied with the …
Mar 03 2024
Attention: Free Fiction!
From March 3 through March 9 is Smashwords’ Read-An-Ebook Week. In recognition thereof, nineteen of my books are free downloads at Smashwords this week. If you’re unacquainted with my fiction, stop over there and sample it while it’s free. What have you got to lose?
Feb 14 2024
An Observation About Characterization
Regard the following snippet from a novella from P. S. Power: “It’s a danger of taking responsibility for others, of course. A strong leader might have to make decisions that others wouldn’t. I can’t even tell you it’s wrong for you to be doing it. Just be careful. Taking on too much at …
Feb 09 2024
Truer Words Were Never Spoken
This spoke to me so powerfully that I could not refrain from snagging it: Every writer wants to believe that his books are good. How many believe they’ve produced even one book that’s great? How many would even want to? If only…sigh. (Applause to The Feral Irishman.)
Feb 06 2024
A Snippet For Discussion Purposes
The following is a segment from my novel-in-progress, working title Ex Nihilo (yeah, yeah, again with the Latin): “Father,” Sarah Lydell said, “why is there evil?” It was the question toward which Father Raymond Altomare, pastor of Onteora Parish, had been building for five weeks. The group of seniors from Foxwood High …
Jan 09 2024
Plausible Villains
“No villain comes in black, screaming obscenities. All evil has children, homes, regard for self, fear of enemies.” – Greg Bear, Anvil of Stars A writer straining to produce drama faces several challenges. One that perpetually bedevils me is the construction of a villain in whom the reader can believe. There have …
Jan 04 2024
Closing The Escapes, Defiling the Heroes
The Totalitarian Prime Directive is simple: Permit no escape. After all, the evidence is copious that oppressed and subjugated people will flee if they can. Therefore, the totalitarian must block all escape routes, station men with guns at each of them, and shoot those who attempt to breach them as an example to others. …
Nov 05 2023
The Escapist Imperative
Not long ago, I encountered a gentleman who ran an unusual business: he positioned himself as a writer’s “pre-agent.” That is, he assisted aspiring writers in persuading an actual literary agent to represent them. (I have no idea what percent of his customers actually acquired representation, but he didn’t do badly…for himself.) As you …
Oct 30 2023
A Writer’s Crosses
Have you wearied of the door-to-door religious solicitors who insist that you really need to learn about the Latter Day Saints, or the Jehovah’s Witnesses, or the Seventh-Day Adventists, or what have you? You find them annoying, do you? Well, that’s perfectly understandable, especially if you’re comfortable with your faith and don’t feel a …
Oct 22 2023
New Fiction (Sticky; Scroll Down For Updates)
It’s finally available: Paul Larsen’s B&B in Ogunquit, Maine is running him off his feet. Desperate for someone to share the load, he hires pretty, appealing Carol Holm as his assistant manager. Carol is desperate to be gone from Onteora County, New York, where she’s made some highly placed enemies. As time passes …
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