Rick Cook Jr.'s Blog, page 4
March 29, 2016
The Wings Take Shape – Part Eight
Tuesday comes along, and with the dawning of this day, new words form up into a story for you to drink up like water in a desert.
Another chapter of The Wings Take Shape is coming at you!
If you’re new to the story, head to Part One and start from the beginning!
Last week, Captain Renee Mollen and her Winged Riders hid in the bloody wood, the Red Forest, seeking shelter for a little rest in the dangerous forest. Renee was worried about Jon, who had turned into a cougar in front of everyone, r...
March 27, 2016
Breaking the Author – Week Twelve
It’s March 27th, 2016! Let’s do that update thing I do.
I had goals for Week Twelve, and this is what they were:
Write Shapes 2 Part 8 Write Week 3 for Writing Game Year 2 Continue broad edits on Writing Game Year 1 Finish line edits on Shapes 1 Maintain the blog Submit a short story, not necessarily ShibbolethI did pretty good this week, and I had family in town during the latter part of the week, so I’m calling that a pretty big win.
I’m through two of the stories for the Writing Game Ye...
March 24, 2016
Should You Enter Writing Contests?
It’s Thursday and I want to bring you a strictly opinionated post today. The subject matter is something I hold true and is not touted as “the correct answer”, so be warned to take with grains of salt!
I’ve talked about submitting short stories and the like to editors for magazines, e-zines, journals, anthologies. Most of the time submitting stories for publication consideration to these types of things is free, costing only time and effort. If they’re not free, it’s usually the price of post...
March 22, 2016
The Wings Take Shape – Part Seven
Another chapter is here for your viewing pleasure! Part Seven of The Wings Take Shape is coming at you.
Last week, Captain Renee Mollen and her squad were taken captive by foreign soldiers at the trading town Danver’s Table. Amidst questioning, Renee distracted their guards long enough for her twin sister, Sergeant Marie Mollen, and her adopted Sergeant Regina Hughes to free themselves and mount a rescue of the rest of their Winged Riders.
They free the Wings and take control of Danver’s Tabl...
March 20, 2016
Breaking the Author – Week Eleven
It’s March 20th, 2016, which means it’s time for the Week Eleven update!
My goals for Week Ten were:
Write Shapes 2 Part 7 Write Week 2 for Writing Game Year 2 Continue broad edits on Writing Game Year 1 Finish line edits on Shapes 1 Maintain the blog Submit a short story, not necessarily Shibboleth
I’m still having trouble completing all my goals for a week, as you can see, but I’m making progress on both writing and editing goals, and those are my most important goals, along with maintai...
March 17, 2016
Using Slang and Dialect in Writing
Well howdy y’all! Ah sure hope you’s doin’ fahn this’n here Thursdy mornin’!
Okay. I’ll stop. It’s torture for the eyes, reading that.
Accents, slang, dialects! These are methods one may use to add a sense of local color or flavor to a story, or even just a scene in an unfamiliar location to your characters. But one must be careful when writing out these accents and dialects because if you get too focused on replicating a form of speech perfectly in the written word, all you’re doing is causi...
March 15, 2016
The Wings Take Shape – Part Six
Tuesday has arrived and with it another chapter in the epic tale of The Winged Riders as they struggle against a great force, seeking to take back the empire that was stolen.
Last week, morale was low in Captain Renee Mollen’s Winged Riders as they searched the countryside for any signs of life capable of joining her on her insane mission to retake the capital. They came upon a village still standing at long last, Danver’s Table, and got their bearings from the leader of the town, Danver Jr.
...March 13, 2016
Breaking the Author – Week Ten
It’s March 13th, 2016, which means it’s time for the Week Ten update!
My goals for Week Nine were:
Write Shapes 2 Part 6 Write for the Writing Game Year 2 Continuebroad edits on Writing Game Year One Finish line edits on Shapes 1 Maintain the blog Submit Shibboleth short storySo you can see I still haven’t finished line edits on Shapes 1. Part of that is I am still reconciling some of the broader aspects of the worldbuilding, because if I’m going to publish this story, I need it to have a...
March 10, 2016
Project Management as a Vital Author Skill
It’s Thursday and I want to talk about a thing that I’ve mentioned once or twice, but that I haven’t really delved into in detail.
Sometimes you’re working on one story, and for whatever reason another story is jostling for space in your brainmeats. Getting distracted from one story to work on another can often result in a full stop on productivity on the first story, and that is no bueno.
What I discovered last year was that I had the capacity to work on multiple projects at the same time, b...
March 8, 2016
The Wings Take Shape – Part Five
And Tuesday comes, bringing whispers of fiction on the wind…
It’s time for the next part of The Wings Take Shape, the second entry in the serial novella series I run on this here blog.
In Part Four, the last known Winged Riders scrambled to gain information and plan their next move. Jonathan Sawyer, Skinchanger, grappled with his emotions over the slaying of an enemy while in his wolf form, Swiftstrike.He felt like he might be losing himself.
Captain Renee Mollen and Sergeant Marie Mollen, tw...
