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Throwback Thursday: Popping Off

Posted on 19/09/201914/09/2019 by Ndrw

It’s Thursday, and time, therefore, for another quick trip down memory lane. Of all the flash fictions I’ve published on Penstricken over the years, I think this one is my personal favourite. I was originally inspired to write this story by the quote from Plato: ‘I am about to die, and that is the hour in which men are gifted with prophetic power’, but it quickly turned into a story about greed, family and how people face their own mortality. A little grimmer than what I usually go for, but I was pleased with it.

I hope you like it too.

100 Word Story: Popping Off

First published 11/02/2018

It’s time I subjected you all to another one of my under-performing flash fictions I nevertheless believe in. I actually had quite high hopes for this one and submitted it to a couple of places in hopes of publication but no cigar as they say in Cuba. But that’s what blogs are for!

As ever, what follows here is entirely my own work and has not been published anywhere else in the world, whether on print or online, nor do I expect it to be. And so, without further ado, I give you…

POPPING OFF

by A. Ferguson

My family have a curse. One hour before death, we become omniscient. Foreknowledge, insight, everything. Can you imagine?

I’m at the office and it’s happening to me now. I’m only thirty-one.

Imagine that.

I should phone Janice, but when I think how she badgered dad with questions at his Hour…

Stuff it. I’ll write her. Might as well use up the office stationary.

‘Jan,

Saturday’s lotto numbers: 4, 7, 12, 22, 34, 36, 5.

You’re welcome.

Nick’

I need to post this quick. I’ll be out of time soon.

‘Kate, family emergency.’ I call to my supervisor. ‘Can I pop off early?’

THE END

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Monday Motivation

Posted on 16/09/201914/09/2019 by Ndrw

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ATTENTION AUTHORS:

I’m still looking to interview fiction authors here on Penstricken, especially new or indie authors. Whether it’s books, plays, comics or any other kind of fiction, if you’ve got something written, I want to hear about it. If you’re interested in having your work featured on Penstricken, be to sure to drop us an e-mail or message us on Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest.

You can check out our previous interviews here:

Author Interview: Jacob Klop

Posted on 15/09/201915/09/2019 by Ndrw

‘A thin crack is all it takes for wickedness to coil into our world. Winding through the delicate minds of innocents and the twisted desires of killers, it preys upon the crippled pieces of our souls.’

Jacob Klop: husband, father, accountant and author of The Community, has just released an excellent new collection of short horror stories, collectively entitled Crooked Souls.

I had the pleasure of chatting with Jacob about his new book, the writing process, and what he feels makes for a great story.

How did you get into writing?

I always took creative writing as my optional courses throughout university, but my brain sent me into accounting and then life/kids came along. About five years ago I wrote the first couple chapters of The Community and then set it aside. I showed it to my wife a year and a half ago and she said it was good enough to be published. Since then, I’ve been obsessed. I believe I was born to be a writer in my heart but my brain sent me in another direction.

It must be quite a challenge to find time for writing while you’re still working as an accountant on top of your family/life commitments. Any tips for juggling it all?

Honestly, I believe the best strategy is to do your best to set a daily goal. Three hundred words a day and you’ll have a first draft of a novel in a year. I aim for a thousand words, but my kids are older now.

What kind of process do you go through when you write? Do you have a particular process that works for you?

I do. I like to write a chapter then do a first edit of the chapter before moving on. I find that tackling the first edit in one chunk can be overwhelming.

Often when you talk to some authors they’ll tell you that they’ll have their stories all planned out and then as they write, their characters will take on a life of their own and take the story off in unexpected directions. Do you ever find this to be the case or do you like to stick doggedly to a plan?

For my short stories I often only have two or three sentences outlining a general plot when I start and they can take a life of their own. My novels need a bit more planning though. As I write I tend to improve my original version/thoughts when I think of better ideas.

So let’s talk about your new collection of short horror stories, Crooked Souls. There’s some really compelling stories in here, each with their own tantalising, grizzly themes running through them. What inspired you to write this book?

I had the idea for one of the stories ‘Trick or Treat’ from years ago so I wrote it for fun in between novels. I had so much fun writing it that I just kept going with more short stories. It helps that my wife is addicted to short horror stories, so I always had a fan to show my work to.

Is horror your ‘usual’ genre then, or do you dabble?

Oh, I’m a dabbler. My first novel was dystopian fiction. I have a completed Sci-fi and MG Fantasy that I need to do final edits on and I’m currently working on a sci-fi in a cyber world with an augmented detective as the main character.

Going back to Crooked Souls, I was quite struck, in a good way, by how in some of the stories the more fantastical horror themes are blended together with ‘real life’ monsters: nurses who get off on the suffering of patients, sleazy groups of men hoping to take advantage of a lone woman and so forth. Would you say horror, despite its fanciful surface themes, has something valuable to say about the darkness of real life?

I suppose it can, but personally, I’m just doing my best to entertain the reader with realistic characters facing horrifying situations. Once the story is in my readers hands it’s up to them to take whatever they want from them.

So what makes for a really great story in your opinion? What ‘does it’ for you personally as a reader?

In my opinion, great stories are driven by a combination of strong character development and an entertaining plot peppered with enough description for the reader to visualise what’s happening. As a reader I want to see what’s happening and feel like I’m getting into the mind of the character. I want to feel immersed in the story.

Do you have any particular author heroes?

Robin Hobb is my favorite followed by Dan Simmons probably. Lately I’ve been reading a variety of indie authors.

And finally, do you have any tips for new writers working on their first book?

Just do it. Don’t hesitate. Get writing, but keep reading and keep writing. I thought my first novel was great, but set it aside for about six months. When I returned to it, I cut out two thousand words because I’d essentially continued to grow and improve as a writer.

Crooked souls by Jacob Klop is available to buy now on amazon.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT Jacob Klop’s AUTHOR PAGE.

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Throwback Thursday: A Fight Scene Worth Reading

Posted on 12/09/201907/09/2019 by Ndrw

Well, Penstricken has been around for quite a while now, doggedly posting writing tips, reviews, flash fictions and author interviews every Sunday without fail. So I thought it was time to start doing Throwback Thursday posts every week, where I’ll be revisiting a few of my old favourites from yesteryear.

This week I’m revisiting an old post exploring the tricky subject of writing a decent fight scene. Enjoy!

A Fight Scene Worth Reading

First published: 11/09/2016

We all know (instinctively at least) that conflict, of one kind or another, is at the core of every good story. Whatever the protagonist’s goal may be– to get the girl/boy, to vanquish evil or simply to get through the day in one piece –there is always something or someone who will seek to prevent it from happening. In fiction, as in life, conflict between two characters often leads to fisticuffs. It can be an exciting moment in your story where the tension finally erupts and your audience are beside themselves with anticipation of what the outcome will be… Or it can be tedious, pedestrian, predictable and downright boring.

I am thinking particularly of fight scenes in novels, short stories and other forms of written fiction, since fight scenes in film and theatre are (at least to some extent) more a matter of choreography than writing. As a reader, I often find that even in the best books, it is badly written fight scenes that can really ruin my enjoyment of the story, whether it’s a quick wrestling match between two minor characters or an epic battle between ten vast armies of elves, dragons, wizards and goblins. It’s not that I think fight scenes are unimportant (sometimes they’re necessary) or unexciting (well-written ones can be thrilling); they’re just difficult to get right.

So, first things first. Ask yourself if you really need a fight scene. If it doesn’t help the story to move forward in some concrete way then the answer is probably ‘no’. Some reasons you might want to include a fight scene include:

You need to kill off a character (‘need’ being the operative word; only kill a character off if it is necessary to help the story progress)
You need to release tension between two characters and create a turning point in their relationship. Although it might not be a good philosophy to live your real life by, physical altercations in fiction often help to clear the air between two characters. In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, ‘Family’, Captain Picard and his brother have a constant simmering tension between the two of them until they have a good old punch-up in the middle of the vineyard. Alternatively, a fight could change your characters’ relationship from restrained dislike to open enmity.
Organised violence might be a central part of the story. For example, The Hunger Games centres around an annual televised battle to the death; thus, characters are expected to fight. War and spy novels are also likely to include such fights where violence is ‘just part of the job’, rather than personal.

If you’ve decided that you’ve got no choice and that you must include a fight scene, there’s a few things you should be aware of. You probably know the first commandment of writing: ‘Thou shalt show; thou shalt not tell’. Well, if you’ve ever tried to write a fight scene for a novel or short story, you probably know that it is blooming difficult to write a fight scene and fully observe this rule. Even in written fiction, a good fight still needs to be ‘choreographed’: each character moving to attack, defend and respond to the other characters movements. It’s difficult to accomplish this in words without resorting to a simple description of who attacked who and how, and for this reason I would be inclined to keep it as short as possible and keep the technical details to an absolute minimum. Even though it might lack the details of who struck who and how, this will help to preserve the excitement and pace of your fight scene. What you really want to capture is the sense of chaos and brutality involved. Which of these do you think is the most exciting?

Enough was enough. Willy had really done it this time and John was going to teach him a lesson he would never forget. He reached back with his right hand and punched Willy squarely in the nose, drawing blood from his nostrils. Willy said, ‘Ow! Why did you do that man?’ and clumsily karate chopped John’s left shoulder with his right hand.

Or…

Something snapped inside John. His hand flew towards Willy and touched his nose with a crunch. Blood was on his hand and all over Willy’s shirt. Spluttering with fury, Willy launched himself towards John, his hands launching out aimlessly.

Another thing to consider is the thoughts the protagonist who is involved in this fight. Internal dialogue allows you to maintain that character-driven quality which separates a good story from a boring one and it also helps to break up tedious descriptions. However, beware! In a fight, it is unlikely that characters have time for long drawn out and complex thoughts. The pace of the scene must still be maintained. For example,

John laughed inwardly at Willy’s pathetic retaliation. A karate chop? Really? What did he think this was, a ’60s TV drama? Doesn’t he realise that in the battle for life and death, one must keep a cool head or else they will be overcome by their rage and will surely be defeated? This is just like that time in high school when I got into a fight with Tom over some girl we both fancied. Gosh, what was her name again? I can’t even remember, I just remember how embarrassed I felt for him, even as we were fighting.

That’s too much internal dialogue for a fight scene. I don’t care if your character is the most introspective and reflective of all God’s creatures; there is supposed to be a fight happening while he’s having these thoughts. Writing lengthy internal dialogue like this makes it seem like either 1) the fight has been temporarily postponed for a moment of reflection or 2) John has become so consumed by his own thoughts that he doesn’t realise Willy is now bludgeoning him to death with a hammer. Instead, something like this would be more appropriate:

John laughed inwardly at Willy’s pathetic retaliation. His rage was his weakness.

See how much shorter that is – and yet it communicates almost exactly the same idea: John’s confidence that he will triumph over Willy because Willy is ruled by his emotions.

Ultimately, a fight scene is like any other part of your story: it is there to move the plot along by what your characters do and think and say. The reason fight scenes are so tricky is that they are such complicated physical acts with very little rational thinking or dialogue involved and it is easy to make them boring. The bottom line, then, is that fight scenes should be used as sparingly as possible and be sure to keep them snappy. Only include what is necessary and as far as possible, focus on the characters as people rather than a technical blow-by-blow account of the action itself. A good fight scene should be like a pressure valve; quickly and decisively releasing the tension which has already been building up for a long time. Get it right and your reader won’t be able to put your book down, at least for a few more pages.

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ATTENTION AUTHORS:

You can check out our previous interviews here:

Monday Motivation

Posted on 09/09/201907/09/2019 by Ndrw

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ATTENTION AUTHORS:

You can check out our previous interviews here:

7 Useful Writing Tip Posts

Posted on 08/09/201907/09/2019 by Ndrw

It’s that time again! Time for me to take a step out of the spotlight and draw your attention to some of my favourite fiction/writing blog posts which I have come across in recent days. This week I’m focusing exclusively on writing tips, so if you’re a writer who finds yourself stuck in a rut (we all do from time to time), why not have a look at some of these posts by my fellow bloggers and see if they can’t help you come unstuck (so to speak)?

As ever, these posts are listed in no particular order. And so, without further ado:

‘Infographic: Writing Tips from Famous Authors’ by Nicholas C. Rossi

‘Top 10 Writing Tips by Author Terry Tyler @TerryTyler4 #Top10WritingTips’ by Shelley Wilson

‘Writing Tips I Can’t Stand!’ by Madame Writer

‘Creative Writing Tip’ by Jason Youngman

‘7 Tips to Writing Factions in Fiction’ by Charles Yallowitz

‘Top 5 Most Important (Yet Least Talked About) Tips for Writing Flash Fiction – Guest Post By Marie Korman’ by Marie Korman

‘Writing Tips: 7 Ways to Write Funnier Fiction’ by Dan Brotzel

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Monday Motivation

Posted on 02/09/201931/08/2019 by Ndrw

As most of you will know, I normally only ever publish posts on Sundays. However, from now on, I’ll also sharing a Monday Motivation in the form of a handy little quotation about writing, to get all my fellow writers in the zone for starting a new writing week.

The usual 500-1,000 word posts will continue to appear every Sunday as normal.

Enjoy the change.

ATTENTION AUTHORS:

You can check out our previous interviews here:

5 Ways to Beat Writer’s Block

Posted on 01/09/201931/08/2019 by Ndrw

Some say there’s no such thing as writer’s block. The rest of us know better. However it is not an insurmountable problem and should never be regarded as an excuse not to write. In my experience, it can usually be traced to a simple fear of writing badly or because we don’t ‘feel inspired’ enough. But you don’t need to be inspired to write. With a little diligence, you’ll be able to knock out those words each and every time you sit down to write whether you feel like it or not. And, just to get you started, I’ve listed a few simple tricks and habits you can get into to help you on your way.

They work for me anyway. And so, without further ado:

set goals and be consistent

Figure out those times and days when you can write consistently and stick to it come hell or high water. Not only that, but try to establish for yourself particular goals for these sessions.

For instance, I don’t have a lot of time to write on days when I’m at work, but I do have a little bit of time in the evening and so, in order to make the best of that time, I always set myself a specific word count to reach. In my experience, making writing a habit with goals does much to prevent writer’s block from ever happening in the first place.

Read Widely

Of course, it would have been remiss of me not to include this one. Your teachers told you at school reading was good for you and they were right.

If you already consider yourself something of a bookworm but are still struggling for inspiration, why not choose something new to read, outside of your usual preferred genre. Are you into sci-fi? Why not read a western. Are you into steamy romance novels? Why not try a thriller? Broad reading broadens the imagination, and a broad imagination means a broad pool of ideas.

Use Writing Prompts

There are, of course, many different types of writing prompt [2] out there, and you’ll find some more useful than others. but if you’re stuck a writing prompt can sometimes give you the shot in the arm you need to get your creative juices flowing again.

They take a bit of discipline to use wisely. It can be tempting to look at a prompt and instantly reject it because it seems to obscure or uninteresting, and while I certainly wouldn’t recommend using any old prompt, there is something to be said for forcing yourself to write something based on what you get, even if it’s rubbish. As long as you’re forcing your imagination out of bed and into work, it will have been a worthwhile exercise.

Free Writing

I have lauded free writing as a means of sparking the imagination before and with good reason. In my experience, most writer’s block can be traced back to a simple reluctance to actually start writing, usually because we feel undecided about exactly what we want to say or how best to say it. The best way to overcome this tendency is to write anyway and free writing is a prewriting technique which allows you to do just that without concern over whether or not what you’re writing is good or not.

If you’re not sure what free writing is, click here to read my humble little explanation of what it is and how to do it.

Watch TV or Play a Game

Here’s one your teachers didn’t tell you about. I often find watching a wide variety of TV has a similar effect on my imagination as reading lots of books.

It’s no substitute for reading, of course. But ofttimes I find, especially if I’m feeling a bit jaded with the written word after a gruelling writing session, that watching a new film or TV show (even the news or a documentary) expands the imagination while tricking you into thinking you’re actually having a day off.

Alternatively, playing a computer game with a story works pretty well too. Ideally, of course, you’ll play a game with a rich narrative you can lose yourself in but anything which stimulates the imagination and allows you to relax will do.

Just make sure you’ve still got time to write afterwards.

Do you ever struggle to get started when it’s time to write? Why not share some of your best tips for overcoming or avoiding writer’s block in the comments?

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ATTENTION AUTHORS:

You can check out our previous interviews here:

50 Character Motives For Your Story

Posted on 18/08/201919/08/2019 by Ndrw

If you’ve been looking around my blog for any length of time, you’ll have noticed that I often bang on about giving characters strong motives. That’s because it is very important to do so. Motives are what get your character up in the morning and form the basis for all the specific things your character is trying to achieve. For this reason, they are essential for making your audience understand and care about your character’s goals.

Often your character’s motive will be a deep seated hunger, or longing, which your character hopes to satiate by achieving their goals. Alternatively, they may be driven by some chronic fear, past trauma or intense feelings towards another person or persons. Some motives will have obviously dark overtones, while others may appear more positive or neutral. Don’t let that restrict you though. ‘Positive’ motives can still be turned to darkness in the hands of a well written bad guy and the reverse is also true. For instance, a man motivated by love for his family might murder his teenage daughter’s boyfriend. That’s a positive motive gone bad.

I’ve listed a few possible character motives in the image below and I would encourage you to play around with different ways of interpreting and applying them. Most motives (including those not on this list) can be used in a variety of ways, giving you an almost limitless pool of material from which to create character after character, and therefore, story after story.

Have you tried experimenting with any of these motives? What gets your characters out of bed in the morning? Share your own insights and experiences in the comments below!

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Book Review: Mark of the Raven

Posted on 11/08/201910/08/2019 by Ndrw

SPOILER ALERT:

Anyone who has not read Mark of the Raven by Morgan L. Busse is hereby advised that this post may contain a few unavoidable spoilers.

I love a good old fashioned high fantasy set in faintly medieval inspired magical worlds and Christian fantasy Mark of the Raven by Morgan L. Busse promised to be exactly that. The protagonist, Lady Selene of House Ravenwood, has the ability to enter and even manipulate the dreams of other people and stands to become the head of her royal house. As she learns, under the cold instruction of her mother, to use her gift to spy upon and even assassinate the enemies of her house she becomes torn between the dark destiny set before her and the dream of a more peaceful way of life.

In general, an enjoyable book. I liked it. It didn’t knock my socks off but it was okay.

Most of the drama in this story focuses on Selene’s own internal conflict. Oh, yes, there’s an apparent threat to the Great Houses from the encroaching Dominia Empire but this never really matures into any direct conflict for any of the main characters. Instead, the main characters are simply squabbling about how best to deal with the threat of invasion, or indeed, if such a threat even exists. That side of things, however, is fairly by-the-by, for which I was immensely grateful as it could have become incredibly boring otherwise. Selene’s internal conflict about her own destiny and whether or not she can (or even should) carry out her mother’s instructions for the sake their house and their people is far more interesting, and the author very wisely focuses on this throughout and it is this particular arc which is concluded by the end of the novel. As part of a series, the conflict with the Dominia Empire and the break-down of relations between the great houses is left very much open and will, I trust, be fulfilled in the following instalments.

The world-building was strong, if not particularly mould breaking. It was easy to imagine the sights, sounds and smells of Rook Castle and the Magyr Mountains and the history of the world is also well developed and feeds directly into the story in a way which seems natural and believable. I did feel like the religions practised by the main players (in particular the followers of the Light and of the Dark Lady) were a little underdeveloped, which seemed like an especially odd thing to leave so half cooked in a Christian fantasy. On the plus side, this prevented the story from feeling obviously preachy. Indeed, I have a sneaking suspicion that the true allegory lies in the inter-house politics and the Dominia threat, where I suspect the different houses possibly represent church denominations and the Dominia represent all the forces of hell or something along those lines. If that is the case, however, it is not delivered in a way which ruins the story or makes the reader feel preached at. The author clearly knows how to incorporate theme effectively.

My only major criticism of this novel is that it was a little predictable, especially the outcome of the relationship between Selene and Damien. Pretty much from the first moment we saw the noble and true Damien, servant of the Light and all round good guy (who certainly wouldn’t ever dream of marrying a lady of Ravenwood!), I knew he was going to end up marrying Selene. I was not remotely surprised by this and I frankly got a little fed up waiting for it to happen, especially given Selene’s obvious attraction to his soul and Damien’s fascination (though certainly not love or desire, no sir-ee!) with her. I will say this however: exactly how the two characters got from ‘stranger’ to ‘husband and wife’ stage wasn’t quite how I expected it to happen and it was, therefore, still worth reading.

Speaking of characters, the main players in this story (specifically: Selene, Damien, Selene’s Mother and, to a lesser extent, her father) are fairly well developed, if a little unremarkable. They are all distinctive enough and driven by clear motives to accomplish specific goals. There are loads of other characters (twenty four if the ‘character list’ at the start of the book is to be believed), each distinctive enough in their own ways, however some of them feel a little superfluous, as if they are only there to make up the numbers at the summit.

All in all, an easy enough read with jut enough excitement and intrigue to keep me going, but a little predictable at points and slow to begin with. If you like Christian fantasy, you’ll probably enjoy it in a ‘no fuss’ sort of way. Even if you’re not particularly interested in religious fiction, you’ll probably still enjoy this book well enough without feeling like its intruding on your beliefs. A nice, safe bit of easy reading fantasy.

My rating: 🌟🌟🌟

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