Last name, maybe – Manson? What starts out like a peaceful, Quaker farmhouse somewhere out in nowhere turns out to be a quiet, isolated cult of about 20 men and women. The men eat dinner first, then the women – but significantly less food is available. Sex is part of the initiation, sometimes in a…
Reasons You Can’t Sleep “There are two kinds of people in Alaska,” said the bartender. “Those who are born here and those who come here to escape something. I wasn’t born here.” I wouldn’t know if it is true, but it’s a fabulous movie line. She, the bartender, says this after realizing that detective who…
Deep breath. Okay, Woodbury Avenue is “finished.” Sort of. For more about the actual story, click here. But for more about the process, then just keep reading. When it comes to writing, what I just did was the easiest part – writing a first draft. That’s easy for a few reasons. First, because it’s new,…
Roughly a year ago, I posted 18 chapters and about 50,000 words and thought I had a really good story about two people in a plane crash. Not so. Over the past two months I revised those same 18 chapters and, with the help of some great people, I now have 25 chapters, 75,000 words,…
Warning you now – this is a loooong chapter, slightly over 4,100 words. I think I can break it into two chapters, but it is begging me to leave it as one. I will put a mark where I think it can be broken. Question 1 addresses that. Thanks again to those of you sticking…
My continued thanks for coming back again. This chapter is one that is supposed to give the story some direction. I don’t know if that’s clear, or if that is clear enough. I hope it works for you. If not, I know that you will let me know. What I don’t know is if it…
A previous reader said that the next two chapters, 5 and 6, might need to be reversed. Some opinions are that by chapter 5 a book needs to clarify a conflict, to set the direction for the rest of the story. As it is written now, that happens in chapter 6. Chapter 5 is…
My continued and unending thanks to those who are helping. FYI – I’ve gone back to the first chapter, made some changes, and set the text in red in case you want to glance through to see what was changed or added. I will also do that for other chapters as I revise using your…
My thanks very much to those who carefully read and commented on chapter 1. You are some very generous people with your time. I know there are lots of other things you could be doing or reading, and it’s flattering and humbling that you’d choose to read here. To clear up a few things –…
Roughly a year ago I posted a full novel, one chapter at a time, in order to get some feedback, and several of you were more helpful than I could have imagined. After having revised it once, I am re-posting a few chapters but can send you more if you’re interested. Saying “thanks” is not…
brainsnorts inc. 