The Church of Dead Girls by Stephen Dobyns: The Effective Use of Imagery in Horror
It’s not every day that I have my cake and eat it too, but The Church of Dead Girls by Stephen Dobyns was a delicious combination of my two favorite things—horror and gorgeous imagery. Dobyns starts strong with a brilliant prologue that describes the Church of Dead Girls. The prose is stunning and so well-crafted […]
American Psycho: The Unlikable & (Possibly) Uninteresting
“He’s the boy next door, aren’t you honey?” “No I’m not,” I whisper to myself. “I’m a fucking evil psychopath.” American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis was published in 1991, both shocking readers and drawing rave reviews from critics. The movie, starring Christian Bale was released in 2000 and has become a cult classic. So […]
Psycho by Robert Bloch: Motif of Light & Darkness
“I think perhaps all of us go a little crazy at times.” The first time I watched Psycho, I was in college, and I’ll never forget the infamous shower scene. That handful of seconds is scorched into my memory in stark black and white. So perhaps that the filter that I unconsciously brought into Robert […]
How to Write Better Point of View Characters aka Not Cats
Cats … aka why your point of view character matters so much. Don’t believe me? Just get me started on the number of cat stories that come rolling through the FFO slush pile on any given week and you’ll get a rant of epic proportions. Actually, my cat rant has become something of a running […]
Flash Fiction Friday Writing Contest | October 6, 2017
It’s all the music this week for your flash fiction writing challenge. Music is probably the only real magic I have encountered in my life. There’s not some trick involved with it. It’s pure and it’s real. It moves, it heals, it communicates and does all these incredible things. Tom Petty And here’s a video […]
Flash Fiction Friday Writing Contest: September 29, 2017 – The Smashup
Here’s your writing prompt for this week’s challenge! It’s a genre smash-up. Not just a mash-up. A SMASH-UP. Congratulations to Dafydd McKimm for winning last week’s contest! Yes. One of your genres is … wait for it … pro-wrestling. You see, I’m a bit of a Glow addict. Why? Because wrestling is storytelling in a […]
Flash Fiction Friday Writing Contest – September 22, 2017
Here’s your writing prompt for this week’s contest: An Appetite to be Appreciated Congratulations to HL Fullerton for the winning entry in last week’s contest! Rules: You have from now until Sunday, September 24 at midnight EST to write and post your entry in the Forum. Entries must be under 1000 words and fit the theme of […]
Flash Fiction Friday Writing Contest – September 15, 2017
Here’s your writing prompt for this week’s contest: A Mysterious and Inexplicable Phenomenon Congratulations to Shawn Proctor for the winning entry in last week’s contest! Rules: You have from now until Sunday, September 17 at midnight EST to write and post your entry in the Forum. Entries must be under 1000 words and fit the […]
Flash Fiction Friday Writing Contest – September 8, 2017
Here’s your flash fiction writing prompt for Friday, September 8: The Rising The rules: You have until Sunday, September 10, at midnight EST to submit your entry in the Forums. It must be under 1000 words and adhere in some way to this weeks theme. Entries will be judged on creativity, interpretation of the theme, […]
Flash Friday Writing Contest: September 8, 2017
Next week will be the first Flash Friday Writing Contest. The rules: The rules: The prompt will go live at 1:00AM EST. Write like a wild thing. Post your 1000 word or less submission in the Forum before Sunday at midnight. I’ll choose a winner before Thursday. Winner will be chosen based on adherence to […]