I have 'me' time.

Blissful free time.  To write.  To brainstorm story ideas, plot twists.  To explore new interests.

So what have I done since August 1st?  What did I accomplish?

Well ...

I've rearranged my home office.  Bought a new faux-leather, swivel chair.  New file folders.  Colored pens and index cards.  Two large bulletin boards.

I joined a few social networking groups: Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, TriggerStreet.  Met and emailed tons of new writer friends.  Attended several local and out-of-state writing conventions.

And I've prograstinated.

Yep.  Like my dear, alter-ego Phil Adams, I've done everything but write.

Why? When I was so excited to plunge back into novel writing, how could I sit in my office, in my new faux-leather, swivel chair, and no produce one paragraph or sentence of prose?

My simple answer ~ I've taken up script reading.

I may not be writing, but I venturing into a whole new realm of artistic expression.

And I'm liking it. 

After several months of soul searching, I have decided to close the magazine.  We've been publishing short stories from writers around the world for 8 years.  Now I'd like to focus on my own writing.

I notified our staff and submitted closure notices to Ralan.com and Duotrope.com market listings.  Ralan was shocked ~ but he knows how markets come and go.  He wished us well and respects our lengthy run, the achievements we've accomplished in encouraging and publishing fledgling writers.  We helped many writers attain their dream of having their story published.

The online website will remain live so our blogs and online contact information can be updated.  But as of July 31st, AlienSkin Magazine will cease publication. 

Staffers were a little surprised that the June/July 2010 issue will be our last, but most of them saw it coming.  They knew submission reading and responses took a huge chunk of time out of evenings and weekends.  Time I will soon be able to devote to novel writing.

I'm sure many writers will be sad to see us go.  Many newbie writers will find it a bit harder to attain their first fiction sale and publication, but there are plenty of other markets out there that need good stories.  Other markets will indeed give your story a chance.

While I'm a sad we did not achieve my original 10 year publishing goal for AlienSkin, I'm excited to have more time to write!

Day to day, and as weekends came and went, I felt like a hamster inside a locked cage, running circles within a spinning wire wheel.  I wasn't making progress.

On weeknights, writing beyond 1 am jeopardized how alert I was to tackle my day-job the next morning.  Getting out of bed, getting ready for work, and being at work became a struggle.  I moaned and groaned.  During my day job, I daydreamed.  I needed twice as much coffee to get through the day.

By the weekend, I was miserable ~ way behind on my writing objective.  Sitting down to write on a Saturday, knowing I had a good 15 hours of ‘alone time’, I felt the pressure of having to play catch up, to regain the words or pages I needed to keep the week on course.  The pressure weighed on me.  It bogged me down.  And, like most writers, when I'm stressed, I can't write.  My creative juice doesn’t flow as it should.   The little voice of my muse becomes too faint to be heard.  I end up facing hours of writer’s block.  I develop half-ass scenes that inevitably need to be rewritten.  I waste time.

It was agonizing!  All my character and narrative voices were screaming at me.  They wanted to be heard.  They wanted to be written.

I used to produce and accomplish so much...

In the last three months, short stories, novel chapters, script scenes, Twitter and blog posts have all back up or fallen to the wayside.  Laundry, dishes, and clutter about my house have piled up.  Hubby’s complaining that the fridge is bare.  I would hear him opening and closing kitchen cabinets in search of edibles to cook.  We'd end up ordering out.

I’ve also been devoting more time novel writing, moving away from churning out short fiction.

With those meatier endeavors well underway, and with my list of non-writing obligations having settled into a managable schedule, I've finally found time to return to maintaining this blog.  It hadn't been updated for quite a while, and as my Home Page, it was a constant reminder of how busy and negligent of the little things I've been.

The 'making' of New Year's resolutions helped prompt this undertaking a bit.  I've added blogging to my resolution list.  Hopefully it will not be one that will fall to the wayside as the year progresses.

My list of writing-related projects for this year includes:

1. Finish  Fantasy Novel
2. Finish Steampunk Novel
3. Finish 1st Draft Lineage Screenplay
4. Polish 1st draft of Lineage Screenplay
5. Submit 2 Horror Tale to Markets
6. Complete 6 Flash Tales
7. Submit Those 6 Flash Tales to Markets
8. Complete 10 Micro Fiction Pieces
9. Submit Those 10 Micro Fiction Pieces to Markets
10. Compile Collection of Previously Published Flash & Micro
11. Tweet Daily ~ Personal Account
12. Tweet AlienSkin Response Results

With due diligence, I'm cofident 2010 will be a more productive and profitable year for writing.

For now, I wish you all a

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

A couple of summers ago I had the pleasure of discovering one of Dean Koontz's true story-telling treasures.  His novel, Odd Thomas.

While the book filled bookstore shelves in 2003, I hadn't grabbed a copy of it until 2007.  Had I known what I was missing, I would've been the first to preorder a hardback copy of the book years ago.

Koontz's first novel in this series is packed with core characters you immediately identify with as a reader.  Who could not be compelled to read about a young, short-order cook who can see the dead?  Odd Thomas is truly odd.  He is frequently visited by Elvis, beloved by his friends, estranged from his loony mother, and he has a keen psychic sense that he doesn't always understand, but tries diligently to hone in order to help others and in order to try and live some semblance of normal life. 

I really enjoyed reading about him and his plethora of friends: the morbidly obese mystery novelist, and closet culinary guru P. Oswald 'Little Ozzie' Boone; his girlfriend, Bronwen 'Stormy' Llewellyn; Police Chief Wyatt Porter; Elvis fan, Terri Stambaugh, owner of the Pico Mundo Grille; and Elvis 'The King' himself.

Koontz delivers the story elements we all crave, drama, suspense, humor, and chills.  This novel is rich with a homey feel, and a powerful sense that something just isn't right in this oh so normal little town.  I devoured it over a weekend, relishing every morsel Koontz fed to me.  Craving such a infrequent delicacy in a fictional tale, I looked forward to the second novel, Forever Odd. 

The second book reeled me in from the beginning just as its predecessor had done, but then it seemed to ramble.  First person narratives can be tricky.  Characters tend to reminisce too much, or babble on about things unimportant to the tale at hand.  Too many divergences from the central plot causes readers to lose focus on the story at hand.  However, the fault with Forever Odd was not that of master storyteller Dean Koontz.  It was me, twirling on a bright yellow inner tube, as I floated along the gently flowing waters of the lazy river at my favorite resort spot in Orlando.  I must have been a tad distracted. 

After setting the book aside for a whole year.  I picked it up again this past May and I was immediately reminded of how much I had missed Odd.   Like book one, I gobbled up this book in two days, and failed to find section of it where I had originally thought the story meandered away from its central plot.

Characterization has always been the main strength behind Koontz's most popular novels.  His characters pop on the page as alive as your or I.  They seem so familiar.  They possess character traits we've seen in others, our siblings, our spouse, our family members or neighbors.  His characters, like the characters in all well written works of fiction, make you care.  They make you curious.  They possess the subtle quirks that make you giggle or smile.  Their depth of character comes across naturally as the story unfolds.

I've read numerous Dean Koontz books, I've liked most of his characters, both the protagonists and the antagonists, but I truly love Odd and the characters that populate his unique little world.

So, enthralled as I was after reading the first two books and equally disappointed that I had completed them, I immediately went and bought, Brother Odd.

This weekend, while my family is away to the sandy shores of Lake Erie, I will immerse myself once again into all things Odd.  I'm sure I will enjoy reading about Odd Thomas' latest challenges and woes, his minor and major victories.  I expect I'll come away delighted and I'll be happy knowing there's yet another book out there waiting to be read.  Yet another about koontz's remarkable young hero, Odd Thomas.

No I haven't bought that one yet.  It's titled, Odd Hours.

But odds are, I will.

What have your read lately?  Find yourself a good book, savor that simple pleasure of sitting down and reading.

Metal Man, Honorary Guest at the Gallows, Tattooed Mistress, Killer Poker, and Bubble Song will appear in #4 Issue of The Fib Review, coming July 20th. Wahoo!

Bringing characters to life in flash fiction is as imperative as having a captivating plot.

Ignore either element, by under-developing character or plot, and you ruin your story. You will fail to engage your reader, and your story might as well line the bottom of a parakeet cage.

Putting all the elements of Character, Conflict, Action, Dialogue, and Resolution into a flash fiction tale is tough because of the limited amount of words you have in which to tell your story. Each word you use to construct sentences, to convey ideas and images, does matter.

You, as an artful storyteller, must paint a visual picture inside your reader’s mind of the world, moments, and characters within your tale. That world, that moment, and that character must seem real to the reader. Don't rely on stereotypes to get the reader to visualize your character.  Convey your character and what is going on within your story as you see it. 

Since it is your story, you have to tell it to us in a way that makes us see what’s going on.

In reviewing thousands of story submissions over the past 7 years, I can tell you that writing flash and micro fiction is truly and art. When you read a story that combines all story elements clearly and concisely, employing engaging characters and an intriguing plot, you come away satisfied.

As a writer, I can assure you flash fiction is a challenge.  Rewriting and tweaking is a must.

Flash fiction, like any other piece of fiction, relies on how well you can paint a picture with words. Your words must come alive for the reader.  Your story must touch them in some way.  When viewers of art appreciate what they see they walk away feeling enlightened. If your story lingers in the minds of your readers after they have finished reading it, you have succeeded in painting a vivid picture that touched them.

Developing an Engaging Character Quickly Catches a Reader's Interest

Since flash fiction hinges on making every word count you want to attract reader interest immediately.  Within the first 2-3 sentences of the story and most definately by the 2-3 paragraph.

Your characters have to be developed well enough to ensure tthey evoke Reader Empathy.  You want readers to identify with your character and to care about what happens to them.

How do you do this?

By providing a character that does 2 things:

1. The Character Offers Something Unique.

2. The Character Offers Something Familiar.

Characters that offer something unique, in who they are, what they do, feel, or think within the story, intrigue reader.

Characters who also provide something familiar, be it a job, circumstance, inner turmoil, outward reaction, or physical attribute, raises empathy. Readers begin to identify with the character. They say, "Hey, that could be me.", and ask, "What would I do in that situation?"

How to Convey Well-Rounded, Believable Characters in Flash Fiction

When word count matters, it is important to Show not Tell.  In flash fiction there isn't enough words alloted to allow your to reveal much of backstory.  There isn't time for lengthy descriptions about your character's physical appearance.  You can't waste space or words depicting their myriad of quirks and interests.

The best way to Show who your character is and to Tell readers about your character is ensure the character in your story is an Active Character.

By using Action and Character Introspection, you reveal how your character thinks and feels.

Active Characters react to what is happening to them. They respond through their actions, what they say, and what they think.  And they must respond in a believable manner.  If their actions defy logic, given their circumstances, there must be a reason why they reacted in such an illogical manner.  You must convey that reason to the reader through either dialogue or character introspection, i.e. by revealing the character's thoughts.

Unique Characters exists above the norm, above preconceived notions of who and what they are, i.e. above stereotypes. They have impact and appeal both internally and externally like the contents of a best-selling novel with a glossy and enticing front cover.

Character Action is not just the play-by-play of what the character does physically, but what the character says and thinks ~ how the character speaks and thinks in response to what is happening within the story.

An Example?  Sure.  I’ll give you a good one from a story we published in the April/May issue of AlienSkin Magazine called, Five Reasons You’re Not in Heaven, written by D. R. Dane.

See if you can pinpoint something Unique and something Familiar in this brief depiction of characterization.

Roland Hatter cringed slightly under the tightening grip of the table restraints. The man in the white coat wheeled an IV stand around and inserted three lines, two into his arm and one into his leg.

"I’m scared," said the man lying on the bed.

"Mr. Hatter," said the doctor. "You want to go to Heaven, don’t you?"

This opening sequence makes you want to read more doesn’t it? There are two offers of Uniqueness in Character in this snippet.

One is presented in our first glimpse of Roland Hatter. He is a man strapped to a table. You might argue that it is the situation that is unique not the character, and you would indeed be partially right.

Readers would read on to see what develops of this situation.  But, they would also read on to see what Roland Hatter does.  They want to know why he is restrained. They're curious to know if he will escape or if he will he be tortured in some way. Such curiosity makes Roland Hatter and his predicament interesting to us.

The second uniqueness in character offered in this short piece comes from the Doctor by way of what he has to offer. How can he offer Heaven? How can he ensure his patient will go to Heaven? What sort of Heaven is he referring to?

The Doctor also makes us want to read on.

The Familiars within the piece are easy to spot.

Roland’s apparent fear. The Doctor’s actions with the medical equipment and his conveyed demeanor of calmness in how he responds to Roland’s fear.

As an opening, this introduction of the characters makes them stand out.

The writer has succeeded in making us want to read more. We want to know the fate of Roland. We want to know what the Doctor is about to do to him.

Until June 1st, you can read this story in its entirety at AlienSkinMag.com.

Yes, I did it.  Finally, at the urging of fellow writers and friends, I’ve joined Twitter.com.

I’ve entered my tweet, chose my lovely background, customized my colors, and selected a few fiction writers to follow.

Where can you find me to tweet back?

Try http://twitter.com/KayPattersonASM.

See what your Alien Queen is up to when she not blogging or writing under the gun of a looming deadline.

So, it you’re a-twitter too, drop me an invite and we’ll play some follow the leader, talking shop on fiction writing!

Well some of the boys here at AlienSkin have recently had fun meeting and greeting each other.  I’m referring to the link-up of our beloved Dr. Dume, Kevin Hillman, and Sgt. Shelsky, Rob Shelsky.

Rob and his dad were vacationing in the U K.  While they were there, they arranged to meet up with Kevin for a round of pub hopping and story swapping.  Reading their subsequent blog posts about their meeting reminded me of how much fun it is to sit around with another writer, or with a bunch of writers, and just talk shop.

There’s nothing we writers love more than to gab on about our writing.  Be it our latest short story endeavor, our novel-in-progress, our current bout of writer’s block, our recent publication or most recent, stinging rejection ~ oh wait, scratch that, none of us like to talk about rejections ~  we do like to talk shop.  After all, we are storytellers.  We fill blank pages with words, speaking our minds and our heart’s desire, why should we be afraid of sharing our thoughts with a receptive audience of our own kind?

I find getting together with other writers inspiring.  The ideas and topics we toss about challenges me to go home and write ~ not right away of course.  One always enjoys good company ~ but, when the visit is done, home to my PC I run.

Local writers groups are good for this sort of camaraderie, if you can find one near your hometown.  Now they are prevalent online, amass online actually.  You can find writers on: Twitter.com, MySpace.com, Yahoo Groups, Critters.org, Facebook.com, and a plethora of other sites, Chat Rooms and Market-Hosted Bulletin Boards.

But, BE WARNED, such sites can be addicting.  They can cause you to ignore your WRITING!

And as a writer, your number one goal should be to WRITE!

Music Lover, Horror, Print ~ Twisted Tongue Magazine, Issue #9
Febrauary-March-April 2008

Tattoo of the Viking Queen, Horror, Print ~ Twisted Tongue Magazine, Issue #9 Febrauary-March-April 2008

Weed Killer, Horror, Print ~ Twisted Tongue Magazine, Issue #9
Febrauary-March-April 2008

Mid-Summer Catch, Horror, Print ~ Twisted Tongue Magazine,
Issue #10 May-June-July 2008

On the Grounds of the Evil Eye, Horror, Print ~ Twisted Tongue Magazine, Issue #10 May-June-July 2008

Maude Hatter's Wicked Garden Party, Horror, Print ~ Twisted Tongue Magazine, Issue #11, August-September-October 2008, Editor's Choice Award Winner

Season of the Snow Beast, Horror, Print ~ Twisted Tongue Magazine, Issue #11, August-September-October 2008

The Other Woman, Horror Poem, Print ~ Twisted Tongue Magazine, Issue #11, August-September-October 2008

Suicide Sally, Horror Poem, Print ~ Twisted Tongue Magazine, Issue #11, August-September-October 2008

Witch Jelly, Horror Poem, Print ~ Twisted Tongue Magazine, Issue #11, August-September-October 2008

On the Hunt in the Urban Jungle, Horror, Online, Apollo's Lyre, August-October 2008

I am truly honored to have my story be Editor's Choice.  Thanks Claire!

Another of my tales is currently online.  On the Hunt in the Urban Jungle can be found and read in the August Issue of Apollo's Lyre.  Apollo's Lyre is published quarterly, so you have plenty of time to read my story and stories from the other featured writers. 

Some argue that it can't be done.  They say a good story can't be told so precisely.  Others have done, just that.  They've written wonderfully worded tales in this new medium, call Flash Fiction.

At AlienSkin Magazine, we confine flash fiction to the parameters of 500 words minimum and 1,000 words maximum.  While this may seem a daunting task to those of you who are used writing longer fiction, stories can be told using less words.  We receive a large volume of flash fiction on a regular basis. Enough so, that we are converting to an All Flash Magazine.  Our readership and online stats show that our Flash Fiction and Micro Fiction sections receive the most reads each and every issue. 

People love surfing the net.  They love to pop into a site, read and item or two ~ items that quickly catch their eye ~ and then they pop out again on to the next site.

Readers enjoy good stories.  They seek them out in print, online and as podcasts.  They devour flash fiction during their lunch hour, between classes, during their ride home from school or work on their PDA.  They savor more tales after super on their home PC, on their multifucion cell phones, and again, their PDAs.

Flash Fiction Sells.  More and more markets seek very short stories.

But how can you, as a writer, be so precise and utilize such limited space to craft a well-rounded tale?  How can you cram characters, conflict, action, and dialogue into such a short piece?  Is there a formula for writing flash fiction that differs from writing short stories?

It can be done ~ it has been done.  And the formula for writing such a short story differs only slightly from writing fiction that generally falls within the 2,000-5,000 word range.

Flash Fiction Facts

In Flash Fiction:

• Only 1 or 2 characters are active. Name them.
  Readers identify with realistic characters.
• One Point of View prevails throughout the story.
• Scenes are limited to 1 or 2; 3 on rare ocassions.
• Dialogue is clipped for dramatic effect. Nothing is
  wasted on polite, etiquette speech.
• Conflict may involve internal turmoil or external stressors.
• Action must be concisely described and appropriate
  for the story.
• Description of setting and characters are minimal, yet vivid
  and concise.
• The first sentence must hook the reader.
• The story problem must be conveyed quickly, generally in
  the first 3 to 5 sentences.
• A resolution to the story problem must occur by the before
  the tale is complete. 

Why Some Flash Fiction Fail

The primary reason a writer fails to create a marketable piece of flash fiction is in the exclusion of one of the basic foundations on short story writing.

The tale typically lacks:

1.  A realistic, defined character that the reader identifies
    with and cares about.
2.  A life-changing problem that is within the central
    character’s ability to solve or one that is indeed
    solved by the central character.
3.  Appropriate dialogue. Often such tales contain
    dialogue that is lame, melodramatic, or unrealistic
    given the story’s circumstances.
4. Proper Point of View. Omnipresent point of view may
    distance the reader from the story. And first can’t be
    used if you end up killing off the viewpoint character.
5. A satisfying ending. The ending does not have to be
    a happy one, but it has to make sense and the main
    character has to be affected or changed by it.

Other times, a Flash Fiction story fails because it:

1. Relies on a gimmick or twist ending that most often
    seems tacked on.
2. Contains a cliché or overused plot. It is true that most
    storylines and themes have been used repeatedly in
    fiction, stories convey them in a different and unique way.
3. Utilizes generalities in describing action, character, and
    setting instead of specifics and vivid imagery.
4. Raises more questions than it answers once the story
    has ended.  Loose ends within the story have not been
    neatly tied up. They remain unraveled, causing the story
    to lack clarity.

Still not sure if Flash Fiction is for you?  Not certain a satisfying tale can be written in so few words?

Read the Flash Fiction section in AlienSkin Magazine.  We publish at least a dozen of them in each issue! 

It keeps us from climbing the walls and from biting our fingernails down to the quick as we wait and wait for that all important editor reply. And we must wait, for just as it took us time to think up that neat story idea, to write it, rewrite it, edit it and submit it, we also must wait for that story

In March I took two editors up on their offer to submit more stories to them.  I submitted four micro tales and three poems to Claire Nixon, of Twisted Tongue Magazine.  I sent three additional tales of various length flash fiction to Molly Feese and CD Allen, the editors of Scotopia Press, for their Dark Distortions II anthology.

In May received offers of publication on all four of my micro fiction pieces from Twisted Tongue.  My horror tales, On the Grounds of the Evil Eye, and Mid-Summer Catch, will be published in Issue #10, which is due out in print form in Juy.  Two more tales, Season of the Snow Beast, and Maude Hatter's Wicked Garden Party, will appear in Issue #11, this Septembr. The first three tales will be reprints since they had originally appeared online at MicroHorror.com.  PDF copies will be available online through the publisher mid-July and in September also!  So drop by Twisted Tongue and take a peek and my Micro Fiction!

Basic Short Story Plot Structure

Yeah, I know every one of you are smirking because you feel you already know this ~ or at least you think you do.

From what I see, reading through the hundreds of stories we receive each month at AlienSkin Magazine, many writers don’t.  You have a fairly good idea of what story structure is, but many of you fail to know how to build a chronologically solid plot structure for your story.

Some of the stories we receive are just base ideas that have not been fleshed out enough to offer enough conflict or complications for the main character to truly engage the reader and to maintain their interest until the end of the story.  They fail to see where dramatic scenes should occur.

If there are no Dramatic Scenes, the story wallows in ho-hum.  The writer receives a rejection letter. Hopefully, it will be a rejection letter hinting at what the story is lacking.  Such hints may be worded as "The story failed to maintain our interest" or "We feel the story needs work to heighten the tension and drama within the piece".  Those are two phrases we have used on our rejections letters from AlienSkin Magazine.

So let’s take a look at the standard plot structure of a chronological story as noted by Robert C. Meredith and John F. Fitzgerald in their article for The Writer’s Digest Handbook of Short Story Writing, entitled, Dramatizing Conflict in the Short Story.

Can you guess where the Big Scenes should occur?

Beginning:

1. Set the scene, giving a sense of where, when.
2. Introduce the main character or characters and establish
    the point of view.
3. Suggest in the tone and style of your writing what type of
    story the reader is reading (sci-fi, horror, fantasy, mystery,
    suspense, etc.)
4. Offer the background circumstances that eventually lead to
    the story’s main complication.
5. Trap the reader into reading the rest of the story with a
    narrative hook. Present a minor problem that later results
    in the main complication, or arouse an interest in the main
    character’s welfare.

Middle:

1. Present the main complication.
2. Present a series of events in which the main character
    tries to solve his/her problem only to meet with failure.
3. Present a situation of anticlimax in which it appears the
    main character will finally resolve the main complication,
    then have his/her efforts end in a disastrous failure.
    Have the failure be so bad that the reader will become
    convinced there is no hope of a satisfactory solution.
4. Have the failure of Step 3 of the Middle force the main
    character to make an agonizing decision. Have the decision
    point to the solution of the main complication.

End:

1. The solution of main complication happens here. The
    solution must be satisfactory and must be believable
    to the reader.  The main character must be changed
    in some way by the end of the story.

Now to find where the Big Scene/Dramatic Scenes should occur, we look for places within the above structure where two forces meet.

These places are primarily in the Middle, #1 - #4. There could even be one in the Beginning at #5.

In flash fiction, there would most often be one Big Scene. Thus, the whole Middle section would be squeeze into one dramatic scene.

Longer fiction, of 5,000 words or more, would have four dramatic scenes, those of the Middle.  You may even have five dramatic scenes.  If you did, you would utilize the last scene in the Beginning to give you the total of five scenes.

For stories in the mid-range of 2,000 to 3,500 words which we accept at AlienSkin, a tale would possess between 2-3 Big Scenes.

So if you guessed the Middle is where the Big Scenes and major action happens, you’re right!