N.E. White's Blog, page 9

Welcome to Pacific City – A Review (Part 2)

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In this second installment of my review/story-analysis of our Welcome to Pacific City anthology, I tackle two stories that immerse the reader in fiery and strange sensations. I guess, superhero stories tend to do that, huh? By drawing us out of our ordinary world, these stories allow us to touch on emotions and experiences we couldn’t otherwise. Join me as we walk the path of fire and redemption.

If you’d like to read the first part of this review series, click here. To find out more about how you can get an early copy of Welcome to Pacific City, click here.

His Trail of Cinders by Jeremy Megargee

As an editor, one thing that is very appealing about story anthologies is the variety of story types one can include. His Trail of Cinders is a narrowly focused story. It starts out hot and does not let up as we follow the formation of, well, let’s just say a magmatic personality.

Have you ever felt the urge to cut someone off in traffic? Ever wish you could “stick it to the man”? What if one day you could? What if one day you had all the power you ever wanted? Would you use it for good? Or to satisfy your baser desires?

His Trail of Cinders doesn’t answer any of those question. Instead, it allows us to experience what it might be like to just do it (whatever ‘it’ might be).

This story did not appeal to all our readers/editors. Like I said, it has a narrow focus, but it builds on our main character’s thoughts, emotions, and sensations as he gives in to his inner desires. If you like to be drenched in sensory details while someone goes volcanic, this story is for you!

If not, skip it. There’s the other side of the coin in the very next story…

The Congregation by P.J. Richards

This next story, The Congregation, is similar to His Trail of Cinders. Narrow in focus, but steeped in sensory details.

Our main character is searching for a self in a changing landscape. And like in our own world, a church offers solace and the comfort of community. Wouldn’t superheros need that too?

The Congregation drops us into scene of crucial transformation. While doing so, the author does a great job of bringing her church to life; the colors, sensations, and rituals feel real and important. This origin story builds an interesting mythology for Pacific City; one that I hope will be realized more fully in a sequel.

That’s it for today. Look for more to come later this week.

Feeling generous? We’re running a Kickstarter campaign: check it out here.

Until next time,

N. E. White

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Welcome to Pacific City – A Review (Part 1)

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Putting together an anthology of short stories is not as easy as one might think. Yes, we could accept any old story that came our way, but why would we do that? Our reputation (what little we have) is at risk, and while we may have lost all shame, we still have pride! (ahem)

Regardless, in a series of blog posts this month, I aim to reveal some editorial insights while doing mini-reviews for each story in the upcoming SFFWorld.com’s shared-world anthology: Welcome to Pacific City. I’ll take each story we chose for the anthology and break it down. I’ll have to be vague. I don’t want to give away the stories or their punchlines, but what I hope you’ll get out of my mini-analyses is the following:

It’s all subjective.

It really is. I, nor the other two readers/editors for this project, cannot say, with any honest veracity, exactly why one story shines over another. A story just appeals or it doesn’t. Sorry, I won’t be giving away the secret to a good story.

However, on the flip side, there are obvious reasons why a story does not work: poor writing, redundant writing, confusing writing, crappy plot, no plot, no characterization, over-characterized, etc., etc.

You get the picture.

In other words, once you master the basics of fiction writing (what are those?), what makes your story shine is, well, your story.

With these mini-reviews, I’ll peal back the curtains and show our thought processes. What attracted us to a particular story? What elements appealed? What didn’t? Let’s get into it!

Park Life by Igor Ljubuncic

This story drops us into a familiar, frustrating city scene: mid-morning traffic with some dude trying to force-clean windshields. It’s a tricky beginning. Written from the windshield jocky’s perspective, the story risks losing an unsympathetic reader (who likes those people who foist their services upon you?).

But the author includes sensory details that drew me in; and not only that, the author presented those details in an authentic and amusing way. This kept my interest; enough so that I got into the story. When our main character, presumably a homeless man trying to earn a few bucks on the mean streets of Pacific City, is presented with a problem, I’m in. I want to see how he’ll resolve that problem (helping a little old lady).

It’s not easy for an author to take a mundane chore and turn it into a superhero story but Igor Ljubuncic succeeds. And when the arch-enemy emerges, you can’t help but cheer on our hero and laugh at his antics.

All our readers/editors had similar reactions to this story: not so sure about the beginning, but loved the story in the end. This goes against the adage of opening with a stunner; with something that grabs the reader and doesn’t let go. This story doesn’t do that, but I’d say it does something better: it engages your senses and turns a daily chore into an adventure.

Who doesn’t like that?

There are Doors by Jennifer Rachel Baumer

With the #metoo movement heavy in the air, I’m hesitant to tackle this story. Not because of the subject matter, but rather because some might think we picked this story just because of the subject matter.

But this story was likely written long before current events. I first read it sometime in mid-2017 and I’m sure the author ruminated on this topic long before that. Our patriarchal society, with all its faults, is nothing new.

There are Doors is a story about boundaries, physical and mental. It starts with our heroine, Wendy, entering an asylum for the criminally insane. The author takes her time letting us get to know Wendy and why she’s there. And, more importantly, why she let’s herself be there.

It’s easy to rush through a story, especially if there’s a lot of action. But this story asks the reader to slow down, to contemplate, to really see the horror of our complacency. Why do we stand by? Allowing men in power to use that power for personal gain or satisfaction?

Our heroine doesn’t stand by. But as we all know, there are consequences for doing that.

All our readers for this story didn’t mention this is their initial review. In all honesty, we focused on the editing. How the story needed a good copy edit. We simply didn’t mention the actual subject of the story. But we all said accept it.

Sometimes a story touches on subjects that are too hard to talk about. We can’t even talk around or about a story. But I think that just means we have to keep reading and writing our stories until we can.

And until we can change it.

That’s it for today. Look for more to come next week.

By the way, we’re running a Kickstarter campaign (check it out here). We’ve surpassed our original goal, but we could do better! Please support our writers with a generous backing; you too can be immortalized in digital print.

Until next time,

N. E. White

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Back from the dead

Appropriate that I should come back from the dead before the Day of the Dead, isn’t it?

Hey Everyone! (waves)

I’d like to explain why I haven’t been around, but it’s really quite boring (I got bored). So, instead, I’m going to write about what’s going on right now:

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In real life, Pacific City, Oregon is a sleepy, cozy, coastal town that rarely sees the kind of action you’d find in Gotham City or Smallville. But in our Pacific City, things are different.

For another year, SFFWorld.com’s writers and editors (specifically Andrew Leon Hudson) have come together to create a super anthology. We’ve filled pages with stories about heroes and villains set in our special world.

If you’d like an early copy or would like to be immortalized in digital print, check out our current Kickstarter. We’d like to increase the fees to our writers, and your contributions would help us do that.

For the duration of our Kickstarter campaign, I’ll be posting mini-reviews on each story. I might even let you in on the reasons why we chose a particular story. Don’t worry, I’ll keep my reviews as vague as possible so as not to spoil all your reading fun.

Until next time,

N.E. White

 

Favorite Fantasy Fems

Some time ago, I was reading Kat Goodwin’s blog. It’s a treasure trove of information and inspiration. You should check it out.

Anyway, I was reading this particular post regarding women in films and it got me thinking about female characters in general. More specifically, it got me thinking about fictional women I’ve read that have inspired me to do or be better.

And guess what, WONDER WOMAN is here! I can’t wait to go see it. Enjoy the trailer until you can go, too.

Anyway, here are my favorite five female characters in Fantasy/Science Fiction (literature):

Damaya/Syenite/Essun from The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin
Sabriel from The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix
Juliette from Hugh Howey’s Silo series
Shenza Waik from The Magister’s Mask by Deby Fredericks
Lorena Tesserak from my own Ghost Stories

That’s my list. What’s yours?

Filed under: Fiction, inspiration, Reading, writing Tagged: favorite characters, favorite female characters, female protagonists

Visiting the Islands

Check it out! Soon to hit the web – some grand adventures!

ANDREW LEON HUDSON

I haven’t been blogging much recently — just one post in 2017 — but I’ve had good reason.

Since late last year, I’ve been working on a shared world project with a few writerly friends, gradually developing the concept and setting, before we dived in and started to write. We’re now less than a week away from launching our project, with websites, graphics, promotional materials and other efforts all waiting to explode from hiding!

Want a little taster of what we’ve been up to?

ARCHIPELAGO is a swashbuckling historical fantasy serial — think Treasure Island and Moby Dick with a hint of Master & Commander, as filtered through George R. R. Martin on a weekly basis. The project is part collaborative and part competitive: each of the contributors enter the scenario from a different point of view, exploring the unknown until we meet in the middle, where we’ll vie for supremacy…

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Filed under: writing

Life’s Lessons 1.0

I rarely do this.

Wait.

That’s not true. (I’m such a liar.)

I used to waffle on and on about the world at large, but a few years ago, I decided to stop. Lately, I’ve focused on my fiction writing so that’s all I’ve blogged about.

But…

Now I want to go back to waffling.

Gird your loins…

Life’s Lessons 1.0

(The ‘1.0’ because I’m sure I’ll add to these as life goes on…)

#1 – Your mother and the dentist are right.

Yes, brushing and, more importantly, flossing your teeth once a day – every day – really does make a difference. Not only can flossing prevent gingivitis, but it gets rid of the bacteria-laden plaque between your teeth where your toothbrush can’t get at. If you leave that stuff in your mouth, it is amazing what terrible things it can lead to. Poor oral hygiene has been linked to heart disease, diabetes, and respiratory illness.

I used to be one of those folks who rarely (there’s that word again) flossed her teeth. I just didn’t do it. I figured, I had super saliva and didn’t need it. But that’s not true. As old-age set in, and my bad habits flourished, my teeth soon told me I was on the wrong path. So I took charge and made it a goal to wipe out all the little samples of dental floss I had accumulated over a lifetime (well, really, about 10 years).

And you know what?

I reversed a lot of the gum issues I was having. I have perfect teeth again. Nice!

For further reading, try this link, this one, and then this one (lots of ads on the last one).

#2 – A smile goes a long way.

It is always better to greet folks with a smile, but it is easier to offer no expression at all.

Get over it and just smile.

I’m one of those people with a naturally ill-disposition. I’m just always in a bad mood and it is up to YOU to make my day better.

I don’t really think that, but that’s my general attitude. With any social interaction, it’s like the world has to make up for the fact that I have to deal with other human beings. It is a terrible way to go through life, but that’s my default. I have to make a conscious effort to not automatically hate the person next to me on the freeway while were stalled in traffic. Sometimes, I just don’t bother, and you know what? By the end of the day, after one terrible encounter after another, I hate myself.

The fact is, we are all in this together, folks. And believe it or not, if you offer a smile, someone will probably offer one back. Those smiles tend to multiple and before you know it, traffic is easing along again.

#3 – Everyone is winging it.

I used to think everyone, except me, really knew what they were talking about. That when they read the same text-book I read, they managed to grasp the concepts better, and had a deeper understanding of stuff than I did.

But after working over 20 years in my profession, and spending the last 10 years trying to figure out how to write fiction, I realized everyone is winging it.

Folks we call ‘experts’? They are just better at winging it than the rest of us.

So don’t fret. Do the best you can with the knowledge you have now. Continue to learn – always. Eventually, you’ll get good enough to fool yourself.

Until next time, brush your teeth, smile, and remember you’re an expert in something to someone.

Filed under: Life Tagged: Life, life's lessons, unsolicited advice

Doors

Can be amazing symbols of opportunity.

In fiction, particularly fantasy and science fiction, doors are often gateways to other realms.

But more often than not, they are simply doors; meant to keep inside stuff in and outside stuff out.

And sometimes, the door itself is not enough to do that last job.

So that’s when you need a door guard – like this one:

Door guard at the TzeShan Monastery. Photo by Michael Lai of “A Diary of a Retiree”.

Already… a story is brewing…

 

Filed under: inspiration, Wednesday Writer, writing Tagged: door, door guard, doors, inspiration

One of these days…

I’ll do an anthology about dragons. But not today.

So, it is official.

Well, as official as it gets around here.

This year’s SFFWorld.com anthology’s theme will be…

(drum roll, please)

Heroes and Villains.

I know, I know. There are heaps of other hero/villain anthologies out there.

But here’s where ours will differ:

your heroine/villain need not be super – we’ll take plain old heroes and villains as well as superheroes and supervillains along with anything in between
your heroine/villain can be a she/he/xe/they or an alien slug (I’m thinking of you, Jon) – the more diverse, the better
your heroine/villain will have to play (or die) in our shared world – details to come when we put out the official call for submissions, but think a coast city on the edge of a vast continent

Put your thinking cap on and get ready to write us the best hero/villain short story you can come up with. I’m excited about this year’s crop of stories, as I hope you will be, too.

Until later, be heroic (or villainous).

Filed under: anthology, Wednesday Writer Tagged: anthology, heroes, heroes and villains, SFFWorld.com, short story anthology, villains

Writing Update

The year started out so well, but I now find myself at the end of January with far too little writing tasks completed and far too many of life’s distractions.

I’m sorry to announce that NewNoWriMo 2017 is canceled.

Check back in a couple of months. Hopefully by then, I’ll be back in the swing of things.

Until then, I leave you with this:

Filed under: NewNoWriMo, writing Tagged: Ira Glass, NEWNoWriMo, writing update

Are you a dragon?

Today is ‘Appreciate a Dragon‘ Day.

Don’t believe me? Click on the link above.

Is there really an appreciate a dragon day? Who comes up with these things?

No disrespect meant towards (mythical) dragons, but really? A day all for massive lizards?

Here’s the thing though: Dragons have played a huge role in many cultures around the world.

There are European Dragons, Asian Dragons, African Dragons, and even American Dragons.

Pretty much every where you look, there’s a dragon.

Just what is a dragon?

Physically, a dragon is often reptilian in nature, with or without legs. Some have the ability to fly and/or take any shape – even the shape of a human.

Regardless of their form, dragons represent power. Power over nature (particularly water) and sometimes people, too. In that sense, dragons often embodied many traits that a god would, but unlike gods, mythical dragons often interacted with humans on an intimate level (ahem!).

In Asian cultures, it is not uncommon to be walking about the countryside and encounter a dragon by happenstance. Whereas in European culture, dragons were associated with specific, dangerous locales. Or vice versa. Like most mythical tales, from place to place, the story shifts from one telling to the next. But one thing is for certain, dragons mean something to most of us.

For me, a dragon represents everything I want to be: wise, powerful, strong, and knowledgeable.

What do dragons mean to you?

By the way, if you’re in the USA, today also happens to be Martin Luther King Jr. Day: a modern day dragon if I ever saw one.

 

Filed under: A Grand Notion, inspiration Tagged: appreciate a dragon day, dragon, dragons, Martin Luther King, Martin Luther King Jr.