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Author: Ace Baker
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A Plunger is a Writer’s Best Friend
I call CTRL plus F a plunger, because, well, it sucks the SH*@! out. When you hit “control find” and put in THOSE dead words, you may find a lot of crap you need to clean out. I usually start with the word “that” and move on to “be” verbs like “am,” “is,” “are,” “was,”…
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Writing Scale for May 28th
Write about your silences… then, write about a time when you SHOULD have kept quiet, but didn’t.
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Power punch: use strong words to set mood!
Check out this opening paragraph from Anthony Doerr’s short story, “The Deep”: Tom is born in 1914 in Detroit, a quarter mile from International Salt. His father is offstage,unaccounted for. His mother operates a six-room, underinsulated boardinghouse populated withlocked doors, behind which drowse the grim possessions of itinerant salt workers: coats the color ofmice, tattered…
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STRONG STARTS: Dawn Miller’s “Howl”
STRONG STARTS: Dawn Miller’s story “Howl,” in The Things We Leave Behind Storytellers are sometimes tempted to do the “James Bond”—start with a chase scene, an explosion, something quick and frantic to get the heartbeats going. Truth is, the opposite is often more effective. Early on, it’s important to include detailed description so readers can…
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Ways to Get Back in the Saddle
Okay, it’s long overdue that I revive this web site. I may do a major overhaul if my computer geek son builds a new one for me, but in the meantime, as Rafiki would say, “It is time.” Things have been crazy, and as many of you know, I went a bit “hermit” during COVID…
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I have a MAGPIE…I’d love a RAVEN!
Don’t worry–I don’t keep wild birds captive in my home. All I mean is that I just heard some good news: Dear Authors, Congratulations! If you are receiving this email it means one or more of your stories has made it onto the long list for the Raven Contest. . . Pulp Literature is a high-quality…