The Word-Witch

Or Wicked Witch. Whatever. I'm the witch. It's not a compliment, I'm sure of that. Picky, pedantic, pushy. A few other words. Why? Some people get offended when I give them a critique of their work. Maybe I'm not as nice as I could be, maybe I don't want to lay on the sugar, but …

Read an eBook Week @ Smashwords

Only a few days to wait ... My books here, but there will be many more options. https://www.smashwords.com New to Smashwords and free for Read an eBook Week: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1071423 An anthology, 7 short stories themed on the things we seek: Night Driver – light sci-fi, outback Australia, the Nullabor Plain, truckersMind-Walk – contemporary, ACD, choices, …

Life, Art, and Worn-Out Shoes

A short story on the dark side. Fiction. Gaffa tape bound the sandals together. A silver badge of honour at the front to hold the toe to the sole, and black at the back to connect heel and sole. The gap in the middle couldn't be fixed until she had glue. Ania didn't have glue, …

The Final Page

FFFC#107 IMAGE from Pixabay The pen rests, the ink dry. I've run out of time, the sands are sliding my words into oblivion, my wick burned out. The last page is writ, and the message is out there. All I have to do is wait. And wait. No one comes, not to learn the lesson, …

Isn’t today Friday?

I think I thought today was Friday and it was time to write a post, but apparently, yesterday was Friday and the dog went to the vet. Remember? Oh, yes. Which means today must be Saturday and I don't need to write a post. Or, it means I'm a day late, and two dollars short, …

Your first pages – 5 more book openings critiqued by a literary agent, YA author @AJ_Dickenson (and me!) at @Litopia

Want to be critiqued by professionals? See how it’s done with Roz and Agent Pete

Nail Your Novel

I’ve just guested again at Litopia, the online writers’ colony and community. Each week they have a YouTube show, Pop-Up Submissions, where five manuscripts are read and critiqued live on air by literary agent Peter Cox @agentpete and a guest, or sometimes two (this time we had longtime Litopia member and YA author Andy Dickenson @AJ_Dickenson).

The format is simple. Five manuscripts, each with a short blurb. We hear the opening pages, then discuss how they’re working – exactly as agents and publishers would consider a manuscript that arrived in their inbox.

As always, the submissions had many strengths. Issues we discussed included the importance of voice in contemporary fiction, the age of the protagonist in a YA novel, whether we’ll want to read novels that feature the Covid-19 pandemic, a lyrically written fantasy that seemed too nebulous, how to begin an action thriller with a sci-fi element…

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An Element of Change

A short story, 500 words. Dark. Brown grass. Who needs to mow brown grass? Not Ted. He had a beer, a bit of tree stump to sit on, and distance from the house. All he’d done was mention the new neighbour, and the list of jobs fell from her mouth like a shovel-load of shit. …

See Beyond the Onset of Shadows

I needed a lift today, and I saw a post with this man's name: Paulo Coelho And I found some of his quotes: Paulo Coelho Quotes When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it. There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of …

Missed the Starter’s Gun

When I mentioned I'd be doing a post a week (should've said once a month), I thought it wouldn't take much extra effort around all the other stuff and the new course and the two new series (or serials - not sure yet). What I didn't count on was the extra workload that comes from …

Past, Future, or Now

A short story: Lasting The last Sunday of the month, the last Sunday of the year, the first light of sunrise. The phone alarm wakes me on the last day. No sounds filter through the window, just light. I roll onto my side and open one eye, not too wide in case I see what’s …