Guest Bloggers

Components for a great story – by Guest Blogger Francis H. Powell

Guest Blogger Francis H. Powell writes about creating a great story. Confronted with a blank screen, poised to  tap away,  how to go about creating that great story. Perhaps one primary consideration is the theme.  Maybe the theme should  be a ghostly shadow within the confines of the story, not screaming at the reader, but there none the less.  It may make the reader think about their own lives, there might be a moral to be learned, but a writer should not take on the role of a preacher. Then there has to be a plot, all the conflict or struggle that the main character or characters go through. The conflict should develop in intensity and excitement, reaching some kind of climax.  If you are writing a novel there may be a number of conflicts interspersed, but a short story will have only one principal conflict. Moving onto story structure, …

Guest Bloggers

Guest Bloggers Wanted

Thursdays are Guest Bloggers days on The Write Spot Blog. If you have tips about the craft or the business of writing, you could be a guest blogger. Email your idea to Marlene. Perhaps you have tips about: ~How to find time to write ~ Ways to develop characters ~How to incorporate location in writing ~Writing Resources ~Helpful writing websites ~How to research ~How to write realistic action during a dialogue scene Being a guest blogger is a great way to share what you know about writing. Think of it like writing an article for a writing magazine. What is your special writing tip? BLOG HOP – Before participating as a Blog Hopper, I wondered what that meant. I could not picture it. Right now, I’m part of a St. Patrick’s Day Blog Hop, organized by author and blogger Francis H. Powell. Here’s how it works: Click on Blog Hop….

Prompts

Freewrites: develop character, plot, setting, mood Prompt #228

What kinds of writing prompts do you want? Let me know and I’ll try to create prompts that will inspire writing. Freewrites are a way to organize your thoughts, gather information, create characters, develop plot, set the scene, make discoveries, and more! What have you discovered while freely writing? Share your thoughts, ideas, creations, inspirations here, on The Write Spot Blog. Today’s writing prompts are oldies but goodies. Character Development Develop Character, Prompt #4 Your Character Has a Secret #7 Grow Your Characters #48 Location Location, or place as character #8 A place where you find satisfaction #25 A room from your childhood #62 Plot/Conflict/Problem The trouble started when . . . #3 What happened here?. . . #23 The problem . . . #50 Memoir How to Write A Memoir Favorite Place from Childhood #11 Best gift #28 What games did you play? #32 Write about a time you…

Just Write

Valentine’s Day Blog Hop

The Write Spot Blog is fortunate to have a friend like Francis H. Powell. Even though we have never met in person, Francis is an important part of The Write Spot’s history. He invited us to join a Blog Hop last Halloween and last Christmas and now. . . drum roll. . . Valentine’s Day Blog Hop. Before participating I had heard about blog hops, but didn’t really know what they were. Here’s how this Blog Hop works. When you click on Valentine’s Day Blog Hop (in future Write Spot posts), you land on Francis’ Blog Hop Landing Page. Scroll down and click on a name. Here is a brief summary of talented and creative writers participating in this Blog Hop. Francis H. Powell, author of Flight of Destiny and creator of fabulous Blog Hops. Latoya Wilson has beautiful photos on her website. She hopes her writing offers a warm…

Quotes

Missed my deadline

Missing a deadline . . . Not a good thing, right? One might agonize about missing a deadline to the point of being incapacitated. Not my author friend, Sandy Baker. Sandy recently sent an email with updates about all her books. She had high hopes of Adventures Of The Hotel Sisters being published in time for Christmas presents. When that didn’t happen, she simply said, “Missed my deadline! Hotel Sisters is going to be late–always good for a New Year’s, after-the-holidays late gift!” I love her easy-breezy attitude. It’s good to know what you can and what you can’t do . . . What you have control over and what you have no or little control over. And if you make a mistake, take ownership. You don’t have to be dramatic nor overly explanatory, just a simple statement of facts. I missed my deadline. And then get on with the…

Book Reviews

Flight of Destiny by Francis H. Powell

Reviewed by Anthony Jones Flight of Destiny is a great collection of quick reads that will linger with you after you’ve read them. Powell has mastered his craft and, more importantly, clearly acquires his material from an authentic place. I’m a huge fan of surreal/disturbing/magical realist stories and am always on the lookout for authors who work in that genre. I find it frustrating, however, that the majority of them usually “fake it.” It’s usually pretty obvious that they’re engaged in a race to the bottom in a mad scramble for the oddest or most disturbing ideas they can come up with. The ethic of weird = interesting ironically results in nothing weird at all. Instead, it usually amounts to little more than sophomoric stories with no arc and no emotional engagement. Not so with Powell. His stories are genuinely unnerving and very original. He doesn’t just throw weird random…

Prompts

Spooktacular or . . . ??? Prompt #199

Join the festivities. Click on Halloween Blog Hop. Scroll down, click on a blogger’s name and you will be transported into a new dimension. WRITING PROMPT: Spooktacular or Spectacular or Meh . . . What was Halloween like for you as a child? Did you go trick-or-treating? Costumes: Homemade or store bought? Bag to hold goodies: Pillowcase, plastic bag, plastic pumpkin, or ??? You can also write from your fictional character’s point of view. Writing Prompt: Describe your childhood Halloween. OR: Describe a perfect All Hallow’s Eve.    

Guest Bloggers

The perfect evil character by Francis H. Powell

In this guest blog post, Powell discusses the perfect evil character. Readers love an evil character, literature is strewn with them. I would say an interesting evil character is often multi-faceted, never straight forward, they themselves are often in a way, victims. Who can forget the Stephen King character Jack Torrance, who has slipped into insanity, a danger to his wife and child as well as other people who cross his path. He is interesting in that he himself has been victim, having watched his father, who he adored, abuse his mother. There is this baggage, along with the fact that the hotel where he and his family reside over a bleak winter is slowly taking control of him. Evil characters are full of character flaws, Jack Torrance, for example, has a major problem with alcohol. There are a whole range of character flaws a writer can imagine. Many evil…