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Hi everyone. I'm in dire need of help with my novella, The Ancients. I'm going to be posting another chapter or two soon. I'd be willing to swap read-reviews. I'm hoping to at least try getting my book published. Operative word try. I'd be very grateful for those willing to give me various viewpoints. I might not agree with some, but certainly I won't be cantankerous, stubborn.

Thanks,

Mike

I'm very happy to know that we're gonna have a contest launched next week, and I like John Hamler's idea a LOT! I could have a great deal of fun with that:-) Thanks Sol, John, and everyone else who's contributed here!!

Mike

LOL. Good one, MJ! What if Santa wore a black suit with red trim, had only one eye, in his forehead, shot fire out his mouth and backside(his black suit wouldn't be affected), had smaller dragons instead of reindeer, and delivered dug-up corpses in lieu of presents? :-)

You're right, Gray. A horror story contest with visceral and/or psychological elements would be cool!

5,000 words minimum...well, not impossible, Seabrass, but maybe a bit daunting. Then too, if the story arc is well done and the plot is fairly intricate, then probably it wouldn't be that tough of a task. Hopefully, we'll get many more opinions on word count, genre, etc. But I'd say we're off to a pretty good start.

If we happen to go with the Stephen King idea, the winner/s, in lieu of money, get to meet SK. Kidding:-)

Good idea, Karen. I will do that. And please feel free to post your ideas for contests or whatever. It's pretty easy to post new topics.

Hey, M. L. Dana. Sorry for the late reply. A much less famous writer than her, Robert McCammon resonates with me strongly. His writing and storytelling challenge me a great deal. I just finished his The Queen of Bedlam, and let me tell you, it was just awesome!! I'm not saying you have to read it, but if you like a story that's very long, is a mystery, and takes place in New York and London in the very early 1700s, then you might check it out. It's the 2nd book in a series, the first, also great, was Speaks the Nightbird. Both books and the others that go with have plenty of humor, too.

Didn't mean to get off the topic of Annie Dillard. I just thought this might tie in some.

Hey M.L. Dana. I've heard the name, but I've never read her. That said, writing one's heart out is often what I do. I've written a lot of bunkum, but I'd say I've also written some good stuff, though rating stories and other writing is highly subjective, imho.

Bird by Bird is another great book about writing. I forget the author's name. Peter Elbow has written some good works about writing.

I'll read the article and let you know what I think.

LOL, Ryan! Good and funny points:-)

Another would be to have aliens seize the Titanic and the crew. Have the aliens "program" them to practice Nihilism. Then they could convert the ship into a robotic snake with the alien's answer to nuclear power. Send crew and ship forward in time to 2017 and turn 'em loose on the world! Then out of nowhere, gigantic versions of Ghandi, Jack Kennedy, and Wolfman Jack show up to oppose the nihilists. The war comes to a standstill.

The aliens show up and try to take control of the big 3, but they get devoured. WJ vomits all over the ship and its crew, offing them. So they drown, after all. Every one of them. But Ghandi and Kennedy are plagued by their consciences, so they bring back to life the aliens and the crew. The ship is restored.

Peace is made, but the Wolfman is PO'd. He stalks off, finds millions of psychopaths, and returns. Round 2...The robotic snake, formerly the Titanic, crawls up WJ's backside, destroying all of the giant's insides. Ghandi and Kennedy think the Wolfman's death should be undone, that it was "Unspeakably violent." After using telekinesis to get the crazies to off themselves, the nihilists tell Ghandi and Kennedy where to get off... The aliens, fed up with it all, go back to their planet. Ghandi and Kennedy try to undo WJ's death as the nihilists bombard them with self-destructive thoughts.

After much time, they manage to shield their minds from the nihilists. WJ's back. Again, he vomits on and drowns the nihilists before immediately going after Ghandi and Kennedy. He pursues them all over the planet.

The three of them fall into a gargantuan sinkhole. End of story.