tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41047795260102647562011-11-27T18:31:54.290-05:00The tribulations of an aspiring fiction writer.Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1401100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-13812409763616342832011-08-18T10:35:00.001-04:002011-08-18T16:33:00.882-04:00

It's been quite a looooonnnnnggggg time since I posted anything here. Been really swamped with lots of stuff. However, I've continued writing and publishing. To catch everyone up on my writing endeavors, I'm going to list a bunch of links to some of my stories and articles. I hope you enjoy them. Bewildering Stories. This is to my Bio page. Lightning Flash Magazine. Lightning Flash

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-314280523376245992011-03-11T11:25:00.004-05:002011-03-11T11:48:28.526-05:00

I just submitted another story that I hadn't planned on writing, but ended up doing so anyway.This latest story was the result of a class assignment when I was in the writing studies program. Two stories actually emerged from one assignment. I wrote a story about a character that loses his hair and submitted it. After I turned it in, I got an idea for another hair loss story. So I wrote it

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-76025593416348525772011-03-01T22:55:00.004-05:002011-03-01T23:08:10.709-05:00

For the second time in as many months, I've submitted a story that I pulled out of mothballs that wasn't the story that I'm currently re-working.It's not that I don't want to submit the story I'm working on, but I keep having ideas that I think make my other stories work better. So I've been spending time working on those stories.I find that I'm not one of those writers that can knock out a

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-8027945146287281282011-02-21T09:24:00.002-05:002011-02-21T10:01:50.798-05:00

In my previous post I mentioned that I was pulling out a story that's been sitting for quite a while. Well, I'm still working on it, but in the meantime, I pulled out another story that's been sitting neglected almost as long.I worked on it this weekend and submitted it to a paying market yesterday. Yep. A paying market. I figured it's about time I test the water and find out if I actually

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-26195842331655792302011-02-07T13:14:00.003-05:002011-02-07T13:24:20.386-05:00

I've been working on a story that I recently pulled from retirement. I started working on it years ago when I first began taking courses in the Writing Studies program. The story went through several incarnations for several classes, but I never seriously thought about publishing it--until now.Why? I had an epiphany. Well, actually, a new idea popped into my mind recently and I think it will

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-51832988883246656702011-01-30T11:42:00.002-05:002011-01-30T11:52:07.165-05:00

Now that I'm out of school, I'm finding that it's easier to tell myself that I'm going to write something and then start but not finish. When I had deadlines for class assignments, I could sit down and bang something out. Now I have no such deadlines, so it's harder to sit down and bang something out.So now I've got to discipline myself to set deadlines. I know it's also easy to push back

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-27040801977847086382011-01-12T10:08:00.005-05:002011-01-30T11:53:27.576-05:00

Just touching base. Haven't really done anything of any real significance regarding my writing since before Christmas.I have quite a few ideas in my mind, but haven't put anything on paper yet. Unfortunately, I got comfortable doing nothing much. Now I've got to motivate myself to get back into the groove.It's really easy to fall into a sense of complacency, and harder to jump-start yourself

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-63791178480496374302010-12-23T09:20:00.004-05:002010-12-23T09:54:24.831-05:00

They liked it! My story will finally see the light of day. Well, they liked it after they suggested more changes to the ending. The ending I re-wrote still fell short in some areas. Errors and inconsistencies were pointed out. I quickly addressed those issues and will admit that I was a little sloppy with my ending.I got a little bit careless with my details and consistency, but a third

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-13043570046917776762010-12-15T12:04:00.002-05:002010-12-15T12:17:11.672-05:00

Well, they liked my story, just not the ending (see my post of Nov. 16).Turns out that my story is a good one, but the ending is not so hot.They liked the characterization and setting, but felt the ending lost it and didn't deserve to be part of the story. The ending actually does a disservice to the rest of the story. Ironic because it was the ending that helped me create the story.I don't

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-15531209950019134982010-11-28T13:25:00.002-05:002010-11-28T13:31:08.968-05:00

Well, I just received an email from Lightning Flash Magazine. They didn't accept my latest submission. So it's back to the drawing board for the story I submitted. I think I'm going to change it from first person to third. I'm thinking it might work better as a narrative instead. I like the story so I'm sticking with it.As for submitting something to them in the future, I'm not ruling them

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-30732421749636779612010-11-16T09:59:00.003-05:002010-11-16T10:40:06.547-05:00

Back in early October, I submitted a story to a publication that I've been working on for the past two years. The publication has since ceased, although Duotrope Digest says it's temporarily closed. A note from the editors says they ended it. Oh, well.Anyway, my story began as a class assignment. Last year, I submitted it to a publication. At first it was accepted and scheduled to be

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-20549359272892537122010-11-10T11:17:00.002-05:002010-11-10T11:42:42.661-05:00

As a follow-up to yesterday's post, I decided to take a look at the publications I've been submitting to since I started in earnest in February 2008.Since then, I've submitted 45 stories a total of 85 times. Some of those stories are rewrites. Of that number, eight publications have rejected me without publishing any of my submissions. I've received 7 rejections from one publication, 5

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-38094659274399956332010-11-09T11:09:00.002-05:002010-11-09T11:18:11.771-05:00

Some of the literary publications out there seem nearly impossible to get published in. An acquaintance of mine asked me about one particular journal and was surprised I haven't been published in it yet. I've submitted two stories to them and both were rejected. I did get a boost in my confidence, though. One of the rejected stories was accepted elsewhere--unedited.Someone told me once that

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-45743903611722801242010-11-08T10:33:00.002-05:002010-11-08T10:37:58.513-05:00

Yes, it's been quite a while since I posted. And, yes, I'm still writing, just not publishing. Getting more rejections than anything. I've got a bunch of ideas in my mind, on my voice recorder, and written down various places, but nothing successful yet.I've even got a few short stories in various stages of completion. Just nothing anyone seems to be interested in. However, I do have two

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-52380479106394314602010-10-04T10:39:00.002-04:002010-10-04T10:47:02.848-04:00

Since writing is not a full-time endeavor for me, I'm discovering that as things intrude upon my writing ambitions (like life), I'm having trouble getting back into the swing of writing. It's really easy to fall out of step with your muse.Between this post and the last, I've only worked on one story idea and submitted it.I have a lot of ideas swimming in my head, but not a whole of lot of

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-15185367752894369502010-09-15T10:30:00.007-04:002010-10-04T10:48:10.908-04:00

Well, Lightning Flash Magazine liked my story. They published it in their current issue: Issue 3.My contribution: "Rent Free," is the second of my submissions that they've published.They are a fledgling publication and are eagerly seeking new writers. I recommend checking them out and submitting. The stories they publish are in the science fiction, horror, fantasy genre. So if you have a

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-6730811760544621352010-09-12T09:48:00.002-04:002010-09-12T10:01:38.052-04:00

I don't have much to report--yet. I'm still plugging away writing stories. Most of which are in various stages of development. Some are on paper, some are being formed in my mind, and some are already written, but need to be re-worked.I just got another rejection, but I'm not letting it discourage me. I have accepted that such occurrences are par for the course. Its still a bitter pill to

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-78897968032778401112010-08-27T09:32:00.002-04:002010-08-27T10:09:38.766-04:00

I'm in the midst of a creative slowdown. Bummer.My creative juices seem to have thickened up. They're just not flowing freely like I want them to. I'm not calling this episode writer's block, but I'm experiencing a meltdown of sorts. In sports terms, I'm in a slump.I need to regroup. I'm doing that by listening to Nora Roberts' alter ego. I'm spending time listening to J.D. Robb's In Death

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-7766969477287934672010-08-17T09:00:00.008-04:002010-08-17T09:28:52.223-04:00

On two occasions I've waited for what I considered a long time for a publisher response and got lucky and unlucky. For both publications, I waited seven months before hearing from them. One accepted my submission, the other rejected my submission.Waiting for weeks or months to find out that your work has been accepted is a great feeling. Waiting that long only to find out that your submission

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-2355538780436829022010-08-02T10:58:00.004-04:002010-08-02T11:02:51.756-04:00

My latest installment of the adventures of the father and son characters I created are now available at Bewildering Stories.I hope you enjoy their latest antics.

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-31488984706942338412010-07-28T10:30:00.005-04:002010-08-02T10:58:03.974-04:00

Okay. At least I know that my mechanics are good. My substance needs work. I need to be more engaging. My readers have to have more of a vested interest in my characters. I have to begin writing my stories in such a manner that my readers will identify somehow with my main characters; they need to care more about them.So now I'm asking myself what is it about my character that will get

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-45879727017244602482010-07-20T08:52:00.004-04:002010-11-16T11:07:10.685-05:00

I'm getting used to the rejections (sort of), but I got knocked for a loop the other day when I got one the same day I submitted a story.I mean, like, wow! I was really impressed with the swiftness of the response. The fact that I got rejected so quickly took a little while to get used to. Actually, it was within three hours of submission that I got an email response from the editor.I spent

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-44808523514707086672010-07-15T09:31:00.006-04:002010-07-15T09:55:17.344-04:00

As I explore other avenues of publishing, I am paying closer attention to where others are getting published.Whenever I see a magazine I'm interested in, I browse through the table of contents and take a look at some of the stories that others have written. I get a feel for the type of stories that the publication accepts. If I encounter any stories that pique my curiosity, I will read them.

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-27741343084441312182010-07-12T08:48:00.003-04:002010-07-12T09:00:00.161-04:00

Yesterday, I submitted a short story to a magazine. Today, I got a reply:"Thank you for submitting to [Publication name omitted]. We appreciate the chance to read your work. Unfortunately, this piece is not for us. It's an interesting tale, but there isn't enough character development for our tastes, and the exposition and descriptions sometimes felt overdone to me. The narrative voice also felt

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-27535094845185844402010-07-05T19:44:00.008-04:002010-07-05T20:21:11.261-04:00

I've been trying my darndest to get more of my stories published and to get more of them published in other magazines. Well, I finally did it. I got a story published in another magazine! Whoo-hoo!That now makes thirteen published short stories and two forthcoming. A total of fifteen stories will have seen the light of day by August.Since February 2008, I've submitted forty-one stories a

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-8043090804883199302010-06-29T09:17:00.008-04:002010-06-29T10:00:40.141-04:00

My latest published story, "One is the Loneliest Number," started out as an exercise that my faculty adviser gave me when I was working on my thesis.As I mentioned in my post of June 9, one of the things my adviser asked me to do was take a second look at some of the stories I had already published and write them from other points of view. The story he suggested I use was "Bully Factor."Since

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-20194974827247704152010-06-20T08:43:00.005-04:002010-06-20T08:56:46.747-04:00

Bewildering Stories has accepted another of my stories! This one was one I submitted to several other publications. All of which rejected it. Only one of those publications said that the story had potential. The rest were standard form rejections.However, I felt very strongly about it and felt it was publishable in its current form without any modifications. I refused to make any changes and

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-38516428649249017602010-06-09T09:49:00.009-04:002010-06-29T09:59:09.008-04:00

I've gone from rejection to acceptance within a week. Bewildering Stories has accepted a story I submitted back in January. I submitted it as a short story of approximately 1500 words. I inquired about it's status earlier this week and got a response back saying that it was well written, contained no grammatical errors, no misspellings, and my transitions were good, but it read more like an

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-83883193205343026362010-06-02T12:25:00.002-04:002010-06-02T12:31:01.172-04:00

Well, another publisher rejected my story. But I'm not done yet. Another publisher has yet to ring in. And in the meantime, I'm going to send my story to other markets before I decide to revisit and revise it.I'm convinced, it's good enough for someone to accept without my having to edit it first. I'm determined to stick to my game plan before I consider rewriting it. If it comes to that,

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-52365531090098925512010-06-01T09:13:00.003-04:002010-06-01T09:21:14.406-04:00

Well, I just got a rejection that was very encouraging.The editor told me my prose flowed, he liked the beginning and the ending, but the middle lacked a sense of urgency.I have a idea of how I can do that. In the meantime, the story was submitted to two other publications (holding true to my decision to send simultaneous submissions). So I'll wait until I hear either way from the other two

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-22264683388482408212010-05-19T10:17:00.004-04:002010-05-19T10:41:18.613-04:00

How long should a writer wait before inquiring about the status of their submissions? That's debatable, but it seems that some publications take a lot longer time to respond than others.A couple of days ago, I heard from a publication three and a half months after submitting to them. The result was a rejection. It just seems a little disconcerting to wait three months or more to learn whether

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-35887018445812452552010-05-10T15:39:00.006-04:002010-05-10T15:46:34.856-04:00

Bewildering Stories has published another of my flash fiction stories involving the father and son characters I created: "Rich Pop, Poor Pop"This story is the latest in their adventures. I have a bunch of things in my head that I haven't put to paper yet. I should really do that before I forget what it is I want them to do.The feedback I've been getting has been quite positive. I think I

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-81708316331752945352010-04-27T08:20:00.004-04:002010-04-27T08:26:57.357-04:00

I'm having limited success with getting my stories published in other venues, but Bewildering Storiess has published another one of my flash fiction stories.I seem to have found a niche for my father and son adventures. It was purely unintentional, believe me. But as long as it's working, I'll continue to write about them.Please enjoy "Space Stuff."

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-18246761066784280082010-04-19T15:20:00.004-04:002010-04-19T15:28:51.389-04:00

Today I was hoping to tell everyone about the latest short story I was going to have published in this week's issue of Bewildering Stories, but it was pulled from the official schedule nearly at the eleventh hour. Although it was included on the schedule, it didn't quite make it past the editorial board.Bummer.Anyway, the managing editor did tell me to redo the story with another plot and

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-55196019454847238442010-03-28T23:34:00.006-04:002010-04-19T15:30:14.447-04:00

I've slowed down my writing pace a whole lot. Those rejections have a chilling effect on one's productivity, but I'm beginning a new approach.I've created a few rules for myself. Every story I write from now on will ask the following questions:* Is there a plot device used? In other words, is there an object or character in the story whose sole purpose is to advance the plot?* Is there some

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-91557513515022872612010-03-08T20:04:00.005-05:002010-03-08T20:25:59.658-05:00

Well, I've had enough time to get antsy about going to work. I did spend a half day Feb 24 and decided I had gone back too soon. Last week, I worked the full week but only half days. Today, I worked my first full day. It wasn't bad. I also had the pleasure of sharing with my coworkers another successfully published short story.Yep, you guessed it. It's in Bewildering Stories. It's the

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-78692938137995591812010-02-23T09:15:00.002-05:002010-02-23T09:23:11.855-05:00

Yep. It's happened again. That pesky little entity called life reared up and knocked me down. Well, not literally, but almost. I guess all that shoveling snow finally caught up with me and my ticker. After spending an unexpected stay in the cardio wing of an area hospital, I'm back home thinking about my experience and about all of the stories I can get out of it.Right now, I'm not doing

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-74218541294430152202010-02-10T16:50:00.003-05:002010-02-23T09:14:46.127-05:00

The snow storm we're being pounded with is relentless. It's the second this year (the first of the year was just last Friday, and I've got a story idea brewing from it) and the third of the season, and they're talking about more snow on Monday. Whew! Official snow accumulation has already broken the blizzard record of 1995-1996.Meanwhile, I've been shoveling (it's the kind that's wet and heavy

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-87455331269415155202010-01-31T22:03:00.006-05:002010-01-31T22:33:19.274-05:00

This week marks two achievements for me. The first is my bound thesis will finally arrive from the bindery on Friday. Whoo-hoo! The second is Bewildering Stories has published another of my short stories.This year also marks a new strategy. I will no longer send out one story and sit back and wait to hear from the publisher. I intend to write whenever I have the time to do so, polish

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-31550535012938307082010-01-25T07:22:00.002-05:002010-01-31T22:31:41.301-05:00

In the inaugural post of this blog, I mentioned a resource for writers called Duotrope. I'd like to mention another one I recently discovered. It's called Litmags.org.Like Duotrope, Litmags.org allows you to join, keep track of submissions, donate, and look up a host of literary magazines that can become potential conduits for your writing.

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-12207078440320127332010-01-24T18:45:00.005-05:002010-01-24T19:22:02.405-05:00

First, let me say Happy New Year.Now on with my good news. I have finally earned my M.A. in Writing Studies.I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to get the two signatures I needed to have my thesis copied and bound on time, but my adviser and the program director came through. I got the final signature the day before the deadline for bindery processing. That evening I took my signed thesis

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-17584759079254573762009-12-21T11:17:00.002-05:002009-12-21T11:24:32.416-05:00

I had an enjoyable time at the reading despite the fact that I went first (alphabetically). I also had to follow a featured guest reader: an alumni from the class of 2000 who is now an author. He read several passages from his latest book.My adviser was there and thought I did well. Now all I need is for him to go over my changes and sign off on it so I can get the program director to sign

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-77578024306420915662009-12-14T13:59:00.003-05:002009-12-21T11:26:27.394-05:00

I also heard back from the program director. Between them I had a few things they recommended I make changes to (or think about) if I didn't want to make the changes.My thesis is now 108 pages, but that includes the signature page, acknowledgment page, introduction and table of contents pages.Thursday evening I have to give a reading. All masters candidates are required to read from their

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-37542128732292577292009-12-03T11:13:00.008-05:002009-12-03T11:28:21.110-05:00

My Adviser surfaced. I got an email from him yesterday. We are in the process of performing the "When-are-you-available" dance. I'm hoping that we can meet sometime Friday. The semester ends Dec 19. I'm starting to get a little antsy.In the meantime, I'm still writing and submitting and experiencing that common state of rejection that all writers go through.BTW, I haven't gotten any feedback

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-31903198447067579592009-11-26T14:13:00.003-05:002009-11-26T14:17:50.527-05:00

My Thesis is now in the hands of both my adviser and the program director. Between the two of them, I should finally find out how well (or badly) I've done.In the meantime, I've included a widget to Christmas Music. I do hope you stop by and take a listen. Who knows, maybe they'll inspire someone to write the next big Christmas story.

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-76912325627025810682009-11-20T09:15:00.005-05:002009-11-20T10:26:32.706-05:00

It's still touch-and-go with my adviser, but I'm plugging away any way. I just finished my umpteenth draft of my thesis (it now stands at 101 pages and includes a combination of 12 short and flash stories.)I really didn't know what taking an independent study course would be like. I didn't know what to expect. Had I known it would be this problematic, I might have opted to spread out the

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-64538905172673586762009-11-11T09:43:00.007-05:002009-11-11T10:32:52.797-05:00

Okay. I'm about to break one of my own superstitions. I'm about to post a work in progress.I've been working on this story for quite some time now and I'm not sure it's worth my efforts to continue. I believe it has potential, but I'm spinning my creative wheels and going no where with this story. Maybe it's not meant to go anywhere. Anyway, I've posted it here for everyone to workshop.It'll

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-45733848210973037132009-11-04T09:47:00.004-05:002009-11-04T10:05:18.843-05:00

My adviser and I haven't been meeting as regularly as I would like. Partly because of illness. Hopefully, we'll be able to hook up this Friday. In the meantime, I've completed work on the initial draft of my thesis. It's 102 pages in length and now has a working title. There are a total of twelve stories in all.I've put the stories in an order that makes sense to me. The shorter flash

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-16888572587136214822009-10-08T09:59:00.004-04:002009-10-08T10:17:38.886-04:00

Well, Jury Duty was interesting--as usual. I was able to come up with a few ideas for future stories. Actually, since I've been going to jury duty for over thirty years, I sat down with myself and started reminiscing about all of my jury duty experiences. Since they're all cumulative, I think I can come up with a bunch of stories that will keep me busy writing for months.I still find it

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-42254478073560513712009-09-25T06:59:00.003-04:002009-09-25T07:03:16.728-04:00

Today, for the umpteenth time in over thirty years (that's once every two years for three decades), I will be performing my civic duty.I'm going to use this most recent experience as a practice ground for getting ideas for stories.

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-44104993688155916512009-09-21T07:45:00.006-04:002009-09-21T08:07:38.312-04:00

I just finished working on my adviser's latest assignment: a second rewrite of my "Bully Factor" story. But this time, I had to give more detail about the narrator. I emailed it to him yesterday. I feel comfortable with what I wrote, but I think I could do more. I tried to give the reader more insight into the narrator's personality.What I did for the rewrite was give some background about

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-66160537165738980422009-09-15T09:11:00.007-04:002009-09-21T08:09:42.318-04:00

Well, I finally met with my adviser for the first time this semester. He had a lot to say and a lot to get me started thinking about.One of the first things he did before we met was give me a writing assignment. Since my area of interest is in flash fiction, he asked me to rewrite the last short story I published and turn it into a flash fiction story.During the hour and a half in his office,

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-23053264026300182882009-09-06T15:02:00.005-04:002009-12-03T11:21:27.807-05:00

It's been quite a while since my last post. In that time, I've submitted a total of five short stories to my faculty adviser. (I've already passed the minimum page requirement.) I've met with him once and am scheduled to meet with him again this coming Friday. We haven't set a definite time yet. He's supposed to get back to me with the specifics.I've even had another story accepted by

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-3352249533481401172009-08-23T15:26:00.003-04:002009-08-23T15:41:49.157-04:00

Well, I finished working on the draft of that third story I was going to submit when I submitted first two. I got an email from my adviser letting me know he got the two. Now I've got to wait to see if he got the latest one.I said before that I held back on it because I needed to add more to it. I finally ended up with a 33-page short story. I think (if my adviser lets it stand) I can break

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-78417184393311363662009-08-11T09:13:00.004-04:002009-08-11T09:18:18.367-04:00

Bewildering Stories published another of my short stories! Here's the link to it.Enjoy!

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-76454892175814449782009-08-06T15:18:00.002-04:002009-08-06T15:25:27.475-04:00

I know that I said I was going to submit three stories to my thesis adviser, but I only turned in two. I got an idea to add something to the third story and, well, more ideas kept pouring in. Now I've got a story that's taken off in another direction. I've written a lot more exposition which, I believe, fleshes out the story, gives it more background. But now I've got to give that background

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-11420297894751316682009-08-02T22:50:00.007-04:002009-08-02T23:18:27.460-04:00

After straightening out a few registration snafus, I'm now currently working on four short stories and reading other novels.My wife and a coworker have hooked me on yet two more romance/adventure writers. Not only am I fan of Gena Showalter, but now I'm reading J. R. Ward's "Black Dagger Brotherhood" series and J. D. Robb's "In Death" series featuring detective Eve Dallas. In addition, I'm

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-24805001046628628832009-07-16T15:44:00.002-04:002009-07-16T15:53:28.942-04:00

Even though my classes are over, I'm still working on my thesis. I'm still getting used to working on my own. Independent study is a concept I'm wrapping my mind around. Anyway, I've been working on two of the stories I want to include in my thesis, but since I'm somewhat close to them, I've asked others to read them for me and give me their opinions.It's very helpful to get as many people you

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-89529506008311144252009-07-09T09:24:00.003-04:002009-07-09T09:33:00.546-04:00

Now that I've finished my classes and have begun to turn my attention toward my thesis, I'm also beginning to delve more into the art of short fiction. I recently discovered a blog of blogs about flash fiction: Blogs About: Flash Fiction.I've only given them a cursory glance, but a few look promising and pertinent to my interests. As I find the time to go through them, I'll post my impressions

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-2812041088185384172009-07-08T09:38:00.002-04:002009-07-08T09:48:47.993-04:00

I've been quite busy getting ready for my thesis work. Problems with my tuition remission forms and my registration (which have not yet been fully resolved) have intruded upon my plans to begin working in earnest on my project.My thesis will be a collection of short stories that I have been working on as well as story ideas I am currently incubating. In the meantime, I've been submitting

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-85483390115105968562009-06-21T16:11:00.006-04:002009-06-24T15:52:35.478-04:00

Yesterday, I went to a literary reading at a quaint neighborhood bookstore (there aren't many of those left) to hear a reading from a book author.Nancy Boxer read from her book, The Cavekeeper's Daughter. In a nutshell the story is about a little girl living in Siberia about twelve thousand years ago whose family and village fall victim to an earthquake and tsunami and the extraordinary

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-65957130481459862432009-06-15T09:52:00.003-04:002009-06-15T13:17:14.492-04:00

Well, all of the workshops are finished and everyone now knows what people thought of their respective pieces. Now we get back to the business of reading short stories from established writers.We finished reading selected stories from Jhumpa Lahiri and are now beginning to read selected stories from Steven Millhauser. I can't believe that there are just four classes left and summer I will be

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-71520763308965915442009-06-10T10:00:00.003-04:002009-06-10T10:10:25.349-04:00

I'll begin by saying that everyone in the class (including my instructor) offered some very useful suggestions of what I could do with my story and where I could go with it. Overall, they seemed to like it. I haven't looked at any of the written comments on the short story I had workshopped yet, but I will eventually so that I can get a better idea of what readers might be expecting from my

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-35307522983820093402009-06-09T09:18:00.004-04:002009-06-09T09:39:07.810-04:00

Believe it or not, but tonight is the first class of the second half of the summer session, and the first night of workshops. I'm one of the students being workshopped. Despite having gone through workshops several times, several classes ago, it's still evokes anxiety--no matter how good (or bad) you think your work is.Workshops are quite similar to submitting a piece to a literary publication

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-12287181104791444562009-06-02T09:05:00.005-04:002009-06-02T10:14:20.443-04:00

This semester's class is much more enjoyable than I had anticipated. The format is certainly a lot different. Tom Coyne has assigned a list of short stories we must read before each class. During class, one person reads an excerpt from one of the short stories, another person leads the class through the evening discussing each of the assigned readings, and another person imparts to the class a

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-14723118299456204552009-05-27T09:14:00.000-04:002009-05-27T09:15:05.633-04:00

Yesterday I stopped in to meet the faculty member who will be my mentor for my thesis project. I was informed by a reliable source that he's "pretty good." My initial impression of him is positive. I believe I will have the flexibility I desire to work on my thesis.I have a rudimentary plan mapped out with room for adjustment. In other words, I will be able to work on plan B if plan A doesn't

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-26059977592000531012009-05-21T11:06:00.003-04:002009-05-21T11:31:33.663-04:00

I've heard nothing but positive things about my instructor. That's encouraging news, but I'm take a wait-and-see stance.As I mentioned yesterday, on Tuesday he assigned John Gardner's book to read by today. As much as I would like for that to happen, it's not going to. I'm not a fast reader, and working all day and having to deal with home life issues doesn't present me with too many options.

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-53828461927240597482009-05-20T11:26:00.004-04:002009-05-20T12:13:46.082-04:00

Last night I went to the first class of my final class in the writing studies program. It looks like it's going to shape up to be an intense course for the next six weeks. My instructor is Tom Coyne. Some of you may know him through his books: A Gentleman's Game: a NovelA Course Called Ireland: a Long Walk in Search of a Country, a Pint, and the Next TeeA Paper Tiger: an Obsessed Golfer's

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-75934985510674045032009-05-14T10:43:00.005-04:002009-05-14T10:55:04.232-04:00

I said the next time I posted, I would put up my final paper. Well, here it is. I think you can tell I really identified with Sondra Perl's "Felt Sense" theory.Enjoy.Sondra Perl, a Composition Theorist I Can Identify With Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-80842333828451363532009-05-12T16:29:00.004-04:002009-05-12T16:51:24.667-04:00

I got my grade for my course and for the paper. I received an A- for the course and an A- for my final paper. Whoo-hoo! Now all I have left is the fiction writing course I'm taking this summer and my thesis. I don't foresee any problems with the fiction course. I bought my books today. There are five required:Tales of the Jazz Age by F. Scott FitzgeraldEverything Ravaged, Everything Burned

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-8022430554433490632009-05-03T13:17:00.006-04:002009-05-03T13:37:32.423-04:00

Whew! The semester is finally over. Now I get a two-week break and then I'm back at it again for the summer for six weeks. After that, I begin working on my thesis. Hallelujah.I turned in my final paper for class and have been checking to see if my grade has been posted online. Not yet. But my first flash fiction story was published in Bewildering Stories.Flash fiction is the type of

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-22010161700002145582009-04-22T15:17:00.005-04:002009-04-22T15:34:09.812-04:00

My instructor went over the prompts and suggestions for what we can do for our final paper. I actually got off to a slow start, but it's picked up. Now I'm in the editing stage. I've got five full pages completed. It could go to more, but I think I'll keep it short and simple.I'm doing my final paper on Sondra Perl. Of all the composition theorists we studied this semester, Perl is the one I

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-54437182750254330732009-04-16T09:34:00.005-04:002009-04-21T10:07:51.955-04:00

I'm still having a hard time trying to figure out what I want to say in my final paper. It is 40% of my total grade. So I want to make sure I get as much of that 40% as I can.In the meantime, the summer course I registered for is full. Good thing I registered when I did. I'm going to be busy for two evenings a week for six weeks beginning in May. During that time I'm going to have to be

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-21035030672451894212009-04-14T16:46:00.008-04:002010-04-12T22:40:18.607-04:00

I didn't do too badly on it. At least now I have some idea of how my final paper should be written. My instructor's main concern was my lack of more specific critical analysis of theory put forth in the article I chose to review.The final paper (a draft is due for peer review on April 20th) is due April 27th. I just hope I don't lose sight of the assignment, which is to select a theorist I

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-10288509825040340122009-04-07T09:11:00.004-04:002009-04-07T09:25:06.453-04:00

As I mentioned in my last post, last week my instructor emailed the class and informed us that due to her hospitalization, class was canceled, but we were still responsible for keeping up with the readings.We finally had class last night and discussed those readings. She's doing better, but due to being in the hospital for five days, she's a little behind in grading the papers. I'll let you

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-34546524274346075942009-03-31T10:13:00.003-04:002009-04-14T16:36:48.678-04:00

Sondra Perl is the composition theorist I identify with the most.I was rather pleasantly surprised to find that someone who actually is not wordy and speaks in terms the average person can understand and still get her point across in an academically acceptable fashion. The reading assignment we read that she wrote was succinct.The article we read was called "Understanding Composing." Basically

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-84537513765394335462009-03-19T09:16:00.004-04:002009-03-19T09:44:52.225-04:00

I turned in my paper on Monday night. We had an opportunity to re-write it, but I've put so many re-writes into it that I decided I just couldn't do anymore. I'm thinking about posting it here (once I get it back). If you read it here, I did okay with it. If not....In the meantime, we were given preliminary instructions for our final paper. We have to chose one of the composition theorists

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-73910727681312214292009-03-16T10:36:00.002-04:002009-03-16T10:43:26.154-04:00

Today is the first day back from Spring Break and my second paper is due (the week before we had off due to a snow storm). It's a five-page critical review. I chose an article about how technology is changing the way people are expected to write at work and how educators need to change they way they teach writing in school to better prepare people to write in the workplace.I'll let you know how

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-14989974292283925982009-02-25T13:57:00.003-05:002009-02-25T14:02:51.598-05:00

Try this:In the 1980s the singing group, the Bangles, wanted us to “Walk like an Egyptian.” Since the 1970s, composition theory academicians want us to write like this:Blank (name omitted to protect the academic elitist) is discussing and describing the writing process as she sees it, and as how others have described it and asserts the writing process is both writer-based and reader-based. Both

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-19967192460881157412009-02-11T09:16:00.005-05:002009-02-11T09:39:51.571-05:00

Wow! I did it again. Bewildering Stories has published another one of my short stories!My latest effort is titled Wind Rider. This now makes three short stories I've had published in a 12-month period.According to my Fiction Writing Workshop instructor (last semester), he said that getting two stories published in that time period is a good percentage. With that in mind, I won't be *too*

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-59470713405266304502009-02-10T13:40:00.006-05:002009-02-10T14:13:00.065-05:00

I'm still trudging through this composition theory class. I'm getting a clearer understanding of what's going on, though. Because it's a theory class so much of what we're reading and discussing is about the various philosophies of writing. It turns out that composition theory is a relatively new area of study (which might explain why there's a lot of verbose pomposity in much of the writing),

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-10280097082621111612009-02-03T10:16:00.003-05:002009-02-03T10:39:15.472-05:00

Well, last night was the second class of the semester and I feel like the proverbial fish out of water.The class is a composition theory course and though the concepts are not foreign to me, they are not easy for me to grasp. Theory is basically a term used to imply philosophy. And the philosophical theory in this class is geared toward teachers. I am not a teacher, The few students in the

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-19278148800570895942009-01-19T18:37:00.006-05:002009-01-19T18:59:28.003-05:00

Tomorrow is the start of the spring semester. My latest class begins a week from today (since today is a holiday, classes officially begin tomorrow). I have one more class to take after this before I begin working on my thesis. I thought I knew what I was going to do for my thesis. Now I'm not sure if I want to work on a short story, a series of short stories, or work on a research project.So

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-62730298585246527822009-01-07T09:37:00.003-05:002009-01-07T09:59:37.289-05:00

During my Christmas hiatus, I worked on revising one of the short stories I submitted for my class last semester. It was a humorous dialogue between two characters. I submitted the piece to Bewildering Stories. And guess what? They accepted it! Wow! That now makes five stories that they've accepted. Holy moly. I think I can count my blessings and consider myself lucky.***The final grade I

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-37800798837998958102008-12-17T21:06:00.004-05:002008-12-17T21:28:12.608-05:00

After I get a paper back that was workshopped, I read through all the comments. Then I go through the comments and collate them into one document. In other words, if I write a paper and give it out to 15 people to read, when those 15 people give me back my paper with their comments, I read each person's responses individually.I look for common complaints or observations and make note of those.

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-41275717030062929932008-12-04T21:57:00.008-05:002008-12-17T15:37:35.816-05:00

If you're serious about your writing, then you need to do three things:1. Read one issue of a publication (or at least a few stories) to get a sense of the type of things they publish.2. Read and follow the submission guidelines carefully and precisely.3. When a magazine rejects your work, gives you a constructive reason why, and indicates they would be interested in seeing more of your work,

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-57158057496632425872008-12-03T20:18:00.011-05:002008-12-03T20:49:28.965-05:00

I'm so happy I'm almost giddy. Bewildering Stories just accepted another one of my short stories. Well, this one was more of a flash fiction piece, and it's also an experimental piece.Writing flash fiction is what I originally started out trying to do, but it just turned out that my short stories fit the bill.So far, I seem to have a knack for pretty good dialogue. So with the piece I just

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-91187045760125162982008-12-02T20:07:00.003-05:002008-12-02T20:25:01.914-05:00

I'm still struggling with writing vignettes. A short story I submitted was once again well-written, but was still considered a vignette by the publication. So it's back to the drawing board.I haven't been able to devote the time I would like to writing my short stories because I've been spending a lot of time recuperating from carpal tunnel surgery, work shopping papers for class, and working

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-63851928507597116192008-11-17T09:25:00.005-05:002008-11-17T10:33:04.662-05:00

I've had another short story accepted! Is that way cool or what? Bewildering Stories has accepted another one of my efforts.I know it's been a while since I posted anything here, but that's because I've been VERY busy with my class. I also had a deadline to meet with the ejournal I write for: Associates: the Electronic Library Support Staff Journal. The link to my specific article is here.

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-8180306792528879392008-11-04T12:49:00.005-05:002008-11-04T13:03:13.662-05:00

My first short story, titled "The Water Cooler Conspiracy," was published in the weekly online literary magazine Bewildering Stories.I'm really tickled. It's been a long hard process, but the reward is worth it. I originally submitted this story in March and after a series of communiqués with the managing editor, and a major rewrite, it was accepted. It's the first of, what I hope, are many

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-69370343437688742852008-10-29T10:28:00.003-04:002008-10-29T10:38:44.681-04:00

I really do need to take my own advice sometimes. I just finished working on a short story, read it over, had others read it over, looked for grammatical errors, checked for misspellings, and felt really good about what I'd written. But instead of letting it sit for at least a couple weeks, I let my energy and over enthusiasm for what I'd written override my normally cautious nature and sent it

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-38953122080308135952008-10-18T21:37:00.001-04:002008-10-18T21:40:41.273-04:00

You've just finished working on your masterpiece. It's the best thing that you written. You feel confident enough to be able to send out to an editor. You've got all of the eyes dotted and all of your tees crossed. All the commas are in the right place and everything seems to be in order. It's the perfect manuscript. Now is the time for you to put it away without sending it out to anybody.

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-76032317478540970992008-10-15T09:40:00.005-04:002008-10-15T09:58:22.812-04:00

My first shirt story accepted for publication has now appeared on the Bewildering Stories official schedule page. It's scheduled for publication on November 10. I'll post a link to it when it gets published.The entire process of submitting it, getting it accepted, working with the managing editor on suggested changes and corrections, to it appearing in the upcoming issue has taken eight months.

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-63852144959828468752008-10-09T13:32:00.004-04:002008-10-09T14:05:27.107-04:00

6. Detached Autobiography is basically when the narrator is viewed as reliably objective--even if they're discussing something which involves themselves. The narrator can stay detached and completely objective. 7. Memoir or Observer Narration is basically when the narrator is describing the actions of others with whom the narrator is interacting and observing.8. Anonymous Narration -- Single

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-51230613782944168802008-09-30T09:45:00.003-04:002008-12-17T12:27:28.787-05:00

First there was Interior Monologue where you're inside the head of the protagonist listening in on their thoughts. Then there was a Dramatic Monologue where you're listening to the spoken thoughts of a protagonist. And now there is Letter Narration, Diary Narration, and Subject of Narration.Letter Narration is basically a story told in the form of a letter or letters from one or more

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-54500487766384773972008-09-27T14:38:00.001-04:002008-09-27T14:40:02.237-04:00

You know how you read your own writing and it sounds great and then you read the work of someone else and theirs seems to put yours to shame? Well, I'm experiencing that feeling that my work is a tad short of some of the works I'm reading from others. We've begun the work shopping part of class and I must say, the stuff everyone else is writing is quite good. But I recently got some

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-2949301262879832702008-09-22T22:31:00.004-04:002008-09-23T09:25:53.386-04:00

You know how when you fix a meal and after tasting it realize it's missing something? Some seasoning or ingredient that will make it taste oh so good? Well, I've discovered that some of my short stories are missing an ingredient of some kind.Many of the rejections I'm getting are encouraging. My stories are well-written but lacking in some specific ingredient.The erotic romance I wrote was

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-73158784518701386802008-09-21T20:20:00.000-04:002008-09-21T20:20:13.360-04:00

I'm still working on my first-person story assignment, but the story is not the one I originally intended to work on. When I sat down to work on the story I intended, another idea popped into my head. So I went with that. It's still written in first person, but now it's been written as a dramatic monologue.Did you know that there are 11 points of view? Well, 11 according to the book Points

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-55517353854669359962008-09-18T13:17:00.004-04:002008-09-18T13:26:51.787-04:00

I'm currently working on a story that I submitted to a literary magazine a while ago. It got rejected because it was more tell that show. I wrote it in third person. I think what the character has to say is important, but now I think that it can be better told in first person.It's going to take considerable rewriting, but I think I can pull it off. It's due on Monday so as soon as I get back

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4104779526010264756.post-79470352985213228582008-09-13T18:08:00.004-04:002008-09-13T18:20:47.300-04:00

I have a little bit more than 500 words, but I don't think the story works well if I were to cut it any shorter. What I've written in no way resembles the scene that I was attempting to emulate. However, I do believe it works well as it is. It's more of a generic compilation of a variety of scenes from various science fiction story lines.Anyone reading my short story would in no way recognize

Michael D. Brooksnoreply@blogger.com0