Mini-Exercise: First Lines

Here’s a mid-January challenge for you. Take the following sentence and use it as the first line of a short story. Stories should be anywhere from 300 – 3,000 words. Please do not change or alter any part of the sentence below. The story should be horror, science fiction, or fantasy. Feel free to send me your stories.

Okay, you ready? Here is your first line:

I hated driving at night, and tonight was the worst when my car broke down in the middle of nowhere.

Get Smarter in a Week!

Has anyone seen the 'Get Smarter Guide'? Supposedly if you challenge your brain on a daily basis, you should become 40% cleverer within a week. Some of those challenges are showering with your eyes closed or using a mask, walking around your house blindfolded, using the 'wrong' hand to brush your teeth or move your computer mouse, playing games like Scrabble or Charades, doing the daily crossword or Sudoku puzzle, and take your bike or walk to work instead of drive.

Anyone have any thoughts on this or any other brain challenges to add? Should we put it to a test of our own? :-)

What Readers Want: An Interview

Ever curious to know what my readers are interested in, I decided to try my hand at interviewing one. Here is the response I received from one reader, a college student from Iowa and probably one of my biggest fans, Emily. Thanks, Em! I'm always looking for new interview subjects. If you think you might want to participate in an interview to be posted here, please contact me.

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SP: What genres do you like to read?

Em: Horror, Sci Fi, Mystery, and Thrillers.

SP: What is it that you like most out of your favorite genre?

Em: I like the suspense. Any book is good if it keeps you wanting to come back for more. The more suspense that builds up, the more I want to read it....

SP: Why did you pick that genre to fall in love with?

Em: Well, I've always been a sucker for sci-fi, suspense horror kind of things. It just kind of happened, I never have really been into the romantic type of stories. I've read both romance and horror genres, and the horror always interested me more. Of course, a story that has both romance and horror can be good as well.

SP: When you read a story, do you like to identify with the main character?

Em: Sometimes....

SP: If you can't identify with at least one of the characters, does that turn you off of the story?

Em: No

SP: Is there anything you would definitely not want to read?

Em: Call me crazy, but I love the gore aspect. I hate reading anything about animals being tortured. I have always loved animals, and I hate to see or read about them getting hurt....

SP: Would you continue to read a story if the main character was killed off, or furthermore, read other stories from the same author afterwards?

Em: Yes, I would, just to see if it turns out good. However, I prefer for the main character not to die, considering a lot of times, it destroys the story in my opinion.

SP: How often would you say you do any reading for enjoyment?

Em: To be honest, not very much. Books I have read lately haven't been good...I just can't find the right one....I like to read books that start out with a hook and continue to interest me all the way through. Books that are so good that I don't want to put down.

SP: What factors influence whether or not you want to pick up a book?

Em: Definitely the description they put on the back (or inside cover). I always read those, and ones that sound interesting I read. That's my number one reason for buying a book. If the book was really good after I am done reading it, most likely I would then look up other books by that same author.

SP: What, if anything, are you reading now?

Em: A little of both -- fiction and non-fiction.

SP: Do you prefer strong male leads or strong female leads, or does it not matter as long as the story is good?

Em: Doesn't matter to me. Any story can be good with either a male or female lead.

SP: Tell us a little about yourself.

Em: Um, okay. I'm 19 and currently going to college over in Iowa. Taking courses in speech, english comp II, american government and math this semester. I like hockey and Supernatural. My favorite book (I believe is a biography actually), is A Child Called It. Really sad story, a little graphic, but really well written. I have read it a couple times already.

Living the Dream!

Okay, folks, I’m inviting everyone to participate in this post. It’s all about living your dreams. What is yours? Are you living it now? If so, where did you begin? How long did it take for you to achieve what you wanted? What kind of obstacles did you overcome? If you’re not living your dream, what’s stopping you?

My dream has always been to write. Ever since I could remember, I wanted that little place in the country where I could spend my days writing and enjoying life. Well, I’m not exactly living that dream. In fact, I’m not even close. But I have no one to blame but myself. I spend more time researching the issue on how to become a writer than I actually spend on honing the craft and selling my work. I have too much knowledge rolling around inside my head that it gets confusing at times and I don’t know where to begin. But I feel, and I’ve been told as well, that 2007 is my year, so after all this time, I’ve finally found my footing and decided to get serious.

If you write full-time, if you write part-time, if you’re living a dream now, how did you do it? Come on, tell us your story and allow the rest of us to gain some insight into the workings of a successful, happy lifestyle. Do you have some advice or helpful tips for the rest of us?

Blog Review: House of Sternberg

Okay, folks, it's Blog Review time. Let me start off by reviewing the blog of a friend of mine. His name is Stewart and the blog I refer to is the House of Sternberg at http://house-of-sternberg.blogspot.com/ . I love visiting this site. There's always a smorgasbord of information available. I never know what to expect when I go there. And best of all, you'll notice that he adds new posts on a daily basis.

Some of my favorite, most recent posts from him include:

• The Hall of Fame
• Interesting and Fun Lists
• The Death of Literary Classics
• The Dead Pool
• Concept Then Plot

Make sure to check out some of his images, where he's put his face on some of the classics. I love his creativity.

So if you ever get bored some day, stop in and visit him. Say hi, post a few comments or two, and enjoy yourself.

Books by Email?

I signed up awhile back to receive free horror book excerpts in my email from the Dear Reader organization. I was introduced to this club by the Horror Writers Association. If you love horror, this preview club is perfect for you. Once you sign up, you receive the first few chapters of a new horror novel every week in your email, and best of all, this email list is free to join by going to http://www.dearreader.com/horror.html . To find out about their other preview clubs, visit their home page at http://www.dearreader.com.

Today, I just learned about another email preview club from Bantam Dell Publishing. It's a mystery and thriller book club called Booked for Breakfast. Each Monday, a new Bantam Dell author/title is featured and you'll be sent a portion of that book via email each day. You also have a chance to win free copies. To join this list, go to http://www.randomhouse.com/bantamdell/bookedforbreakfast/ .

Happy Reading!

Exercise: My Character Resolves To . . .

Okay, here is your assignment, should you choose to accept it.

Make a list of ten resolutions for one of your main characters. It could be a list for your hero or villain. Try to come up with some creative resolutions and not the usual humdrum ones we all think up. Losing weight, stop smoking, etc. -- no no's. But how about if your hero resolves to destroy the Demon Lord's den or your villain resolves to kill three martial artists this year? Well, I'm sure you get the gist of it and come up with something more creative. So get cracking. Feel free to comment with your lists.