From the Editor's Desk
Hi and
welcome once again to Fiction Factor! And, as always,
welcome to our new subscribers.
Last issue I congratulated our own Managing Editor, Tina
Morgan, for being one of the authors to receive an Eppie
Award for The Complete Guide to Writing Science
Fiction, published through Dragon Moon Press.
This issue - it's time to congratulate Fiction Factor!
We've been listed again in the Writer's Digest Top 101
Writing Websites for 2008. Big thanks from us to all
those loyal subscribers who nominated us for the 6th year
running and of course big thanks to the judges at
Writer's Digest who felt we deserved to be included in
the listing - but even bigger thanks go to the people who
work hard every week to keep Fiction Factor coming out to
you.
You've met me - Lee - and I'm sure you're all familiar
with Tina - our wonderful Managing Editor. But there are
also people who work behind the scenes to keep our
writing-community forum running smoothly every day. Terry
and Jo (also known as R-Tech and Jo on the forum) have
been doing a brilliant job of making sure everyone feels
at home on the forum for the past 4 years and we love
having them with us!
If you haven't taken a moment to meet our staff, you can
find us all here: http://www.fictionfactor.com/staff.html
During the past three months, I've been working hard with
designers, programmers, web-hosts and web-coders to come
up with a new website design that's flexible enough - and
big enough - to cope with a complete overhaul of all our
10 writing sites. It's been a difficult and
time-consuming process, but after three months, we
finally have some success! They're a lot more streamlined
- and the coding behind it all will allow us to continue
to grow as our content expands.
This means over the next three or four months Tina and I
will be frantically transposing content over to the new
sites. We hope there will be no disruption to the
availability of any of the sites during this time, but
you never can tell with a project of this size. We've
already shifted the entire Fiction Factor group to a new
server capable of the massive traffic loads without a
hiccup. Now to get the rest of the sites done...
Oh for a few extra hours in each day! ;)
Enough about that. Let's get into the writing stuff!
Did you know that the topics featured in each issue of
Fiction Factor are chosen from the most active topics on
our forum each month? The forum is always busy and
everyone's very friendly and helpful. If you have a
writing question, feel free to ask. Not only will
everyone do their best to help you out, but we'll
probably end up featuring it in the ezine as well!
http://fictionfactor.1.forumer.com
This issue Holly Lisle asks if your novel has a hearbeat.
Tina Morgan looks into the looking glass at ways to
describe characters and Lee Masterson looks into building
character through perception. Tina Morgan also reviews
"A Time To... Volume 2" by Carol Heightshoe.
It's time now to grab a beverage of choice, sit back, and
enjoy this issue of Fiction Factor!
Lee Masterson
Editor-in-Chief
http://www.fictionfactor.com
"A professional writer is an amateur who didn't
quit."
-- Richard Bach
 Create-A-Character
Clinic
Can you create a great character that editors
can't turn down?
Holly Lisle can and she can show you how too!
Learn to bring all your characters to life with
sparkle - from a full-time author of more than 30
published novels!
Click here for more
details: http://tinyurl.com/yqqawa
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 I Wanna Win!
Tips for becoming an award-winning author,
written by an award-winning author!
Whether you want to win contests of simply hone
your writing skills, this ebook can help you
today!
Click here to begin winning today! http://tinyurl.com/2nc3f6
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Does Your Novel Have a Heartbeat?
by Holly Lisle
You've read through what
you've written---your first few scenes, your first
chapter, your completed novel---and you've discovered
that your words don't move you. They don't make you want
to keep reading. They don't make you laugh or cry. If
writing is bleeding on the page, well, you might have
scratched yourself, but you don't need a transfusion. And
you don't know what went wrong.
When you started writing,
did you know what story you were telling? This is
trickier than it sounds. You might have known your
characters, you might have known your world, and you
might have known your plot...but even with this much
planning done, it's entirely possible that you had not
yet located your deep layer, the heart of your story, the
engine that drove you to write it in the first place.
Odds are very good you did
not know your theme.
Your theme is nothing more
and nothing less than the heart of a novel. It is not a
grade-school exercise in tedium, that single droning
sentence you wrote that told your reader what you were
going to tell him. In a novel, your theme is a living,
vibrant, critical thing. It is your particular passion in
this particular novel summed up in a handful of words. It
is what you need to say.
Need. That's the critical
thing in a theme. If you're writing novels, if you are
doing something this complex and challenging, you're
doing it because something in you needs to write. You
have something to express, some particular point of view,
some set of life experiences, some driven hunger that you
must put down on paper. You NEED. And you need to say
what you need.
You can read the
online version of this article here: http://www.fictionfactor.com/guests/heartbeat.html
 Create A Plot
Clinic
Have you ever lost interest in your story only 20
pages from the start and not know how to get it
going again?
Best Selling Author of more than 30 novels, Holly
Lisle, can show you exactly how to structure your
story for maximum effect. Learn to fix problem
plotting while you write!
Jump Start your novel today: http://tinyurl.com/2z3ant
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 Query Tracker
• Searchable database of
Literary Agents
• Keep logs of your query
and manuscript submissions
• View and share statistics about Literary
Agents
Fre*e and easy to
use.
Get your fre*e Query Tracker
download today!
Click here for more details: http://QueryTracker.net
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Adding Character Depth Through Perception
By Lee Masterson
How do
you describe your character's physical appearance? It's
not always easy to describing your characters without
resorting to the cliched "She looked in the mirror
and saw..."
Likewise, setting the scene for each part of your story
is an important element of building your fictional world.
In fact, some authors go to great lengths to describe the
weather patterns, the scenery and the passing traffic in
detail so that the reader has a sense of the world around
the characters.
This kind of descriptive narrative can sometimes be long
and cumbersome. It can also bog down the pace of your
story if not done right - especially when all the experts
are saying Show - don't tell!
Many authors are careful to explain exactly what is going
on in their fictional worlds. What people look like, what
objects around them look like, what characters are
thinking about, how the weather is behaving, the precise
color of an object, what characters are seeing around
them... This means the author is telling
the reader what to see.
But not many authors actually take the time to write HOW
their characters are seeing the things that are going on
around them. This is where the author should be showing
the reader what's happening. Your own characters are a
perfect tool to use when you need to show events or
appearances or even moods.
Let me explain...
Every person on the planet sees life through their own
personal perceptions. How they choose to interpret those
perceptions is largely up to that person and can be
affected by a multitude of factors.
These differing perceptions are what make us unique as
human beings. What excites one person may repel another.
What one person sees as attractive, another may find
repulsive. What one character yearns for may send another
character into panic attacks.
For
example: A sunny day might brighten the mood of one
character and seriously frighten a person with a phobia
of skin cancer. The same sunny day would therefore have a
completely different effect on the latter character and
would skew many of his other perceptions, too.
The same is true for personal relationship preferences.
Some people are attracted to curvaceous women, while
others are repelled by them. Still others prefer the
gorgeous occidental features of Asian people while others
veer toward the svelte, slinky blonde types.
Because we all have such different tastes and opinions,
these perceptions of what we find appealing and
unappealing will color your descriptions of those things.
Remembering to use these differences in character
perspective can add depth to your characters by showing
your readers much about their personalities - all without
actually using narrative to TELL your readers what's
going on.
You can see
the rest of this article here: http://www.fictionfactor.com/articles/perception.html
 Did
you know...
Authors who have sold short stories have
a 92% higher chance of having a novel accepted by
an editor or publisher?
Lee Masterson's step-by-step ebook can show you
how.
Click here for more details: http://www.fictionfactor.com/order2.html
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 How To Find Your Writing
Discipline
Have you always wanted to write - but
can't find the time?
Do you keep making excuses for why you can't
write?
No matter what's going on in your life, Holly can
help you find the discipline to write your novel!
Get writing today! http://tinyurl.com/6fwvuu
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Gazing into the Looking Glass -
Bringing Your Character to Life
by Tina Morgan
(excerpted from The Complete Guide to Writing Science
Fiction - Chapter 10 - Bringing Characters to Life)
Descriptions:
When/Where
Before
writing this chapter, I looked for writing articles about
character description and while I found several that
talked about physical traits; I didn't find any that
covered character description from the point of timing.
What I did
find reaffirmed the idea that we need to read and
research the genre we're writing to develop a good feel
for what works with fans of that genre. Science Fiction
tends to be more straightforward and less flowery than
fantasy. There is a difference in style and tone.
One way many
new writers try to hook their reader is to describe their
character so the reader can "see" them. In
order to take a look at how professional authors handle
this, I chose several books off my bookshelf and examined
when and how the author described their protagonist.
In Liz
Williams' Nine Layers of Sky,
the first hint of description we find is on page six when
Elena is standing outside at a police checkpoint. "Ice
crackled in her hair; she could see a frosty blonde
fringe just above her eyes." The next
snippet comes on page 33 when Atyrom is scolding her for
not eating and he says, "You're already
as thin as a crack."
On the first
page, of Orson Scott Card's Enders Game,
we learn that two people are discussing a child and that
one of those people is a man. No description, no idea of
age or physical abilities. On page ten, Ender gives us a
description of his brother, Peter, but we still don't
know what Ender looks like. By page seventeen we finally
learn that Ender is six years old, but we still don't
know what color his hair or eyes are.
Both books
rely on the character's situation and not the character's
description to capture the reader's interest.
You can see more of this article here: http://www.fictionfactor.com/articles/lookingglass.html
Review
of A Time To...Volume 2
edited by Carol Hightshoe
reviewed by Tina Morgan
Carol
Hightshoe continues to amaze me with the quality of
stories she chooses for her e-zines: The Sorcerous
Signal and The Lorelei Signal. She's brought another delightful
collection together to commemorate the second year of
publication. In "A Time 2" the stories are
well-written, thought provoking and moving. While many of
the authors are new, their style and delivery is rich and
strong.
Well worth the time and money, A Time 2 is a must read
for the science fiction and fantasy lover. I'm looking
forward to the next anthology...
You can
read the full review here: http://www.fictionfactor.com/reviews/timeto2.html
 Writers Wanted!
Great Pay Quick Jobs
Best Selling Author Nick Daws exposes
little-known writing markets willing to pay great
rates for writers willing to work now!
Click here for more details: http://tinyurl.com/tr2ga
|
 How to Beat
Writer's Block
Writer's Block isn't just about being stuck
wordless - it's the thought of all the hard work
ahead of you bringing you down
But you can bring back the thrill of creating
stories easily with Holly Lisle's audio course on
beating writer's block for good!
Click Here to jump start your writing again: http://tinyurl.com/5b9b39
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Writer's Announcements
If you have any writing news or
announcements about your successes with writing, we'd
love to hear about it! Post your publishing announcements
on our forum and we'll get them in the newsletter for
everyone to see!
You can add your Woo-Hoo to our Announcement Forum Board
here:
Writer's
Announcements - http://fictionfactor.1.forumer.com/index.php?showforum=6
This week's news:
Tina Morgan, along
with Jeanne Allen, Piers Anthony, Milena Benini, Orson
Scott Card, Ian Irvine, Wil McCarthy, Simon Rose, Carol
Heightshoe, Bud Sparhawk, Michele Acker, Bob Nailor,
Michael McRae, Darin Park and Kim Richards are very
pleased to announce their collaborative book, The Complete Guide
To Writing Science Fiction, was awarded the 2008 Eppie Award for the
Non-Fiction: Self-Help Category.
Lee of Fiction Factor writes: I couldn't help
myself - I had to put our very own Fiction Factor woo hoo
in the announcements section - we made the Writer's
Digest Top 101 listing AGAIN! Woo hoo! :)
Judy Reveal writes: On April 1, 2008,
"Cheating Death" by Judy Reveal became a
reality as an ebook and will be published as a paper
version later this summer and will soon be available for
KindleBooks via Amazon.com
Congratulations everyone! Jump over to the forum and keep
the great news coming!
~ "Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used
by mankind." -- Rudyard Kipling ~
Writing Courses
You can see the full list
of available courses here: http://www.fictionfactor.com/courses.html
How to Beat Writer's Block - and Have Fun Writing
from Now On!
Have you ever wanted to shut out your pesky Inner Critic
and just enjoy the pure creativity of writing? It's
easier than you think - once you know how. Presented by a
best-selling author of more than 30 published novels,
Holly Lisle will guide you through breaking Writer's
Block, re-connecting with your Muse, learn to get past
what was stalling you in the first place and enjoy
writing again.
Click
Here for your course and your bonuses!: http://tinyurl.com/26uy95
Writing
Great Horror Novels!
Join a multi-award winning, best-selling horror author
Kenyon Charboneaux and learn what it takes to write great
horror novels! Limited spaces available - be quick!
http://horror.fictionfactor.com/course.html (This link will take
you to Horror Factor)
Thriller Writing Course
Learn how some of the masters of the modern thriller get
readers' spines tingling. Masters like John Grisham, Dan
Brown
Michael Crichton, James Paterson, Patricia Cornwell and
more. Join our thriller course today and get your
thriller career up and running.
http://www.fictionfactor.com/thriller.html
Romance Writing Course
Increase your chances of writing a great romance
manuscript and having it accepted for publication. Join
our romance course today and launch your romance writing
career!
http://romance.fictionfactor.com/course.html - (this link will take you to Romance Factor)
 Write Any Book
in Under 28 Days
Best Selling Author Nick Daws has written 30
books in 3 years. He can show you how too!
Click here for more details:
http://www.fictionfactor.com/bookstore/28days.html
|
 Create-A-Culture
Clinic
Have you ever wanted to create your own
realistic world? Best-selling author of more than
30 novels shows you how to create religions,
philosophies, governments and lifestyles that
will make your fiction story feel real!
Click here for more details: http://tinyurl.com/26uy95
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Paying Market Listings
You can find the complete
Market Index here: http://www.fictionfactor.com/markets.html
Happy Market Hunting!
(Disclaimer: Mention of a market/ contest in Fiction
Factor is not necessarily an endorsement. Check all
guidelines in full before submitting)
Unpeakable Horror: From the Shadows of the Closet
http://www.darkscribepress.com/submissions.shtml
Dark Scribe Press is seeking short story
submissions for an anthology of queer horror tales.
We are looking for edgy, provocative dark genre fiction
– horror and dark psychological suspense only.
We are not interested in science fiction/fantasy,
mystery, or splatter punk for this anthology. We’re
looking for stories about those terrors that populate the
closets of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals. Terrors
can be of any shape, size, and theme – supernatural,
psychopaths and slashers, vampires, werewolves, zombies,
urban legends, ghosts, witchcraft, demons, and original
horrors of any kind.
Deadline: 15th May 2008
Payment 5 cents per word.
Submission Guidelines: http://www.darkscribepress.com/submissions.shtml
Interfictions 2
http://christopherbarzak.wordpress.com/2008/04/11/a-call-for-stories/
The Interstitial Arts Foundation will be publishing a
second volume of Interfictions. We invite submissions for
an Anthology of Interstitial Fiction, to be published by
Small Beer Press under the auspices of the Interstitial
Arts Foundation in ??? of 2009.
What We’re Looking For:
Interstitial Fiction is all about breaking
rules, ignoring boundaries, cross-pollinating the fields
of literature. It’s about working between, across,
through, and at the edges and borders of literary genres,
including fiction and non-fiction. It falls between the
cracks of other movements, terms, and definitions. If you
have a story idea that’s impossible to describe in a
couple of sentences, it may be interstitial.
We’re looking for previously unpublished stories
that engage us and make us think about literature in new
ways. Rather than defining “interstitial” for
you, we’d like you to show us what genre-bending
fiction looks like.
Our submission period will be from October 1, 2008 to
December 2, 2008. Do Not Submit Before!
Heliotrope
http://www.heliotropemag.com
Heliotrope Magazine is looking for exceptional fiction
that does not exceed 5,000 words. We are most interested
in Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery and Horror. If your
story is somewhere in between or is something you
can’t label – we are interested in that as
well. We pay 10 cents a word for fiction. Payment will be
made upon publication and in U.S. currency.
Submission Guidelines: http://www.heliotropemag.com/node/2
Brio
Magazine
http://www.briomag.com/
Seeking
short fiction up to 2,000 words to suit teenaged girls.
Romance stories, sibling rivalry and situations faced
daily by teen girls are especially welcomed. Brio’s
target audience is teenaged girls from 12-15 and Brio
& Beyond’s target audience is older teenaged
girls from 16-19.
Both Brio and Brio & Beyond pay between 15 and 35
cents per word on acceptance.
Submission Guidelines: (downloadable) http://www.family.org/sharedassets/correspondence/pdfs/GeneralInformation/Brio_Writers_Guidelines.pdf
Harvest
Hill
http://www.gravesidetales.com
Graveside Tales is now open to submissions for an
upcoming Halloween-themed anthology entitled Harvest
Hill. We are seeking stories from 4,000 to 6,000 words.
The pay rate is $.01 per word and a contributor’s
copy. All rights of work revert to the author after two
years from the publication date.
The set up:
Harvest Hill, a little town in East Tennessee, seems like
an idyllic place most of the year. But it is not always
so, and especially not on Halloween--every Halloween.
From just after midnight of Oct. 30 until midnight Oct.
31, horrors break loose both big and small. And this has
been happening as far back as the 1500s.
The treats we want:
Place your story in Harvest Hill, TN. You can set it on
any Halloween of any year from 1550 CE until the end of
the 20th century.
Horror is the essential genre here but the stories can
include elements of crime, black humor, dark fantasy or
even mild sci-fi. Sexual and gory situations are fine as
long the plot justifies them. You may use standard
Halloween images, but strive to execute them in new and
amazing ways.
We will be looking especially for strong
three-dimensional characters, as well as unusual
disturbing situations. Think about your setting and the
characters in it--what are the hidden things that have
been near the surface, just waiting for an unseen push to
tear free? Tell us those stories.
Do your research, but do not get bogged down in it. We
will check your setting against general history as it is
knowable, and so should you. Pay careful attention to the
time line of Halloween itself, including its varying
names and rituals.
Submission Guidelines: http://www.gravesidetales.com
Aphrodite
Unlaced
http://www.aphroditeunlaced.com
Aphrodite
Unlaced is now accepting exclusive submissions for
publication of sophisticated, romantic erotica. We seek
contemporary, historical, mystery and paranormal genres.
We do not seek works dealing with aliens, sci-fi, horror
(vampires, werewolves) or futuristic fantasy. Selected
works will be offered as e-books for individual online
purchase and download. We're seeking writers, experienced
and new, who can supply some serious HEAT, but within a
selective romantic framework. We're looking for
provocative tales that are sensual, smart, and above all,
sexy.
Submission Guidelines: http://www.aphroditeunlaced.com/guidelines.htm
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