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I Am a Terrible Would-be Novelist

December 13, 2020 by in category From a Cabin in the Woods by Members of Bethlehem Writers Group tagged as , , , ,

I am a terrible would-be novelist. I hack and struggle at it, only to discover my heroine in chapter one started as a red head and somehow became a blonde in chapter 29, and I’ve been at the damn story for nine months and am still nowhere near the finish.

In contrast, my short stories come to me fast and often. They’ve been awarded prizes and recognition and two of them have been read aloud by The Liar’s Leagues in London and Hong Kong. My recent collection of short stories (“Off the Rails”) won two Indie awards and some nice reviews.
This disparate mix of writing success does not surprise me. I discovered early that folks have a distinct talent for different components of the same activity: As a teenager, I discovered that I could run a mile faster than most kids. Fast enough for a couple of high school state championships. Fast enough for a college scholarship. Fast enough to run pro for a couple of years.

In contrast, was lousy as a sprinter and could never run a good marathon. I would be on that road for hours with kids, young women, young men, and several oldies, streaming past me. No matter how hard I tried, my mind and body could not form a relationship to enable me to be long distance runner.

Did that make me a bad runner? No. I just had to recognize where my talent lay. But I continued to run marathons for the experience and fun of it, knowing I would never be brilliant, but I would improve. And I could celebrate my improvement. Running is a sport that I love, both the short form and the long form.


Same as my writing.


picture of the author Jerome W. Mcfadden

Jerome W. McFadden is an award-winning short story writer whose stories have appeared in 50 magazines, anthologies, and e-zines over the past ten years. He has received a Bullet Award for the best crime fiction to appear on the web. Two of his short stories have been read on stage by the Liar’s League London and Liar’s League Hong Kong. His collection of 26 short stories, entitled “Off the Rails” was published in October, 2019, to great reviews. He is also the co-editor of the BWG Writers Roundtable e-zine.


The Bridge

A Short Story by Jerome W. McFaddn

“You gonna jump?” he asked.


She stood on the outside of the railing, one hand gripping the barrier, the other helding a small clutch bag tightly against her side. Her red cloth coat looked too thin for the cold weather.


“It’s a way long way down,” Duane said, “Gonna be a thrill, like a bungee jump without the happy ending.”


“Leave me alone,” she snapped, not bothering to look at him.


“Don’t get mad at me. I ain’t making you jump. I just stopped to watch.”


“Go away.”


“It’s a free bridge. You can jump. I can watch.”


Silence.


“Can I ask you a question?”


“I don’t want to talk about it.”


Duane smiled. “That wasn’t my question.”


A return to silence.


“If you’re gonna jump, do you need your purse? Got any money in there?

Credit cards?”


She turned to face him. “I’m jumping off the bridge and you’re trying to mug me?”


“I’m not trying to mug you, for chrissakes,” Duane said. “I’m panhandling. You jump, you no longer need your purse. I could use any money or credit cards you have in there. It’s ain’t like you’re gonna worry about paying the bills.”


“Go to hell.”


“You may make it there before I do.”


She sighed, “If I give you the purse, will you go away and leave me alone?”


“I’ll make you a deal. If you have a cell phone or any ID in your purse, I’ll call whoever you want and tell them you took the plunge.”


She surprised him by sinking down to position the purse on the ledge, next to her feet. “Come and get it if you want it that badly.”


He started to crawl over the railing but backed off. It was scary out there on the other side. So he lay across the railing, balancing on his belly, his legs dangling in the air as he stretched one arm out for the purse.


He was surprised to feel her hands on his collar and the back of his belt, pulling him over the railing. He scrabbled for a hand hold but she was too fast and too strong. He tumbled over and over for a long time before hitting the hard, cold water.


The woman picked up her purse, not bothering to glance down at the river.


“Annoying bastard,” she said to herself as she hiked up her skirt and coat to climb back over to the railing, “But at least he made me feel better!”


Jerome W. McFadden’s Award Winning Short Story Collection

OFF THE RAILS: A Collection of Weird, Wicked, & Wacky Stories
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December Featured Author: Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC

December 7, 2020 by in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Contests, Featured Author of the Month tagged as , , , , , ,
Christmas babbles surrounding the title of the post

About Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC

The Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC (BWG), is a community of mutually supportive fiction and nonfiction authors based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The members are as different from each other as their stories. BWG also publishes quality fiction through their online literary journal, Bethlehem Writers Roundtable, and their award-winning  A Sweet, Funny, and Strange Anthology series.

Each anthology has an overall theme—broadly interpreted—but includes a variety of genres. All but the first anthology include stories from the winner(s) of The Bethlehem Writers Short Story Award.

Their first anthology, A Christmas Sampler: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Holiday Tales (2009), won two Next Generation Indie Book Awards: Best Anthology and Best Short Fiction.

Released December 1, 2020, the latest title in A Sweet, Funny and Strange Anthology series is Fur, Feathers, and Scales: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Animal Tales.

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About Fur, Feathers and Scales

The award-winning “Sweet, Funny, and Strange” series of anthologies from the Bethlehem Writers Group, continues with this collection of twenty-five tales about real, legendary, or imaginary animals. From snakes to ducks to unicorns, there are tales here to match any mood, provide a chuckle, or warm a heart.

Among our tales, Peter Barbour recounts a legend in “Why Bats Live in Caves,” Jerome W. McFadden asks the question of what animal to choose to be in “Recycled,” A. E. Decker shares an appreciation of cephalopods in “Tipping Point,” Ralph Hieb imagines an unconventional pet in “Buttons,” and Diane Sismour, in “Critter,” reveals that mules are not the only equines that can have a stubborn streak.

In addition, we are happy to present the winning stories from the 20 I 9 and 2020 Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Awards. Angela Albertson, our 20I9 winner, shares her heartfelt “Oranges and Roses,” and our 2020 winner, Brett Wolff, gives us a good laugh in “Hubbard Has a Fancy Bra.”

This eclectic assemblage of stories includes terrific tales from beloved BWG authors including Courtney Annicchiarico, Jeff Baird, Jodi Bogert, Marianne H. Donley, DT Krippene, Emily P. W. Murphy, Christopher D. Ochs, Dianna Sinovic, Kidd Wads­worth, Paul Weidknecht, Carol L. Wright, and Will Wright.

So cuddle up with your favorite pet-real or imaginary. No matter. You’ll find just the right story to share.


Next up for BWG

A bird on a tree branch

BWG is working on their Seventh anthology, An Element of Mystery: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Tales of Intrigue.

In connection with this anthology, they are hosting The Bethlehem Writers 2021 Short Story Award

The 2021 Short Story Award will open on January 1, 2021.  The theme will be An Element of Mystery (broadly interpreted).

BWG is seeking never-published short stories of 2,000 words or fewer.  First Place will receive $250 and publication in their upcoming anthology: An Element of Mystery: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Tales of Intrigue or in Bethlehem Writers Roundtable.

The final judge of the 2021 Short Story Award is New York Times best-selling author Charlaine Harris.


BWG Workshops and Critique Groups

Besides anthologies, yearly writing contests, and The Bethlehem Writers Roundtable, the group hosts twice monthly writing workshops/critique groups for local members and a monthly digital workshop/critique group for long distance members.  You can see the schedule of BWG meetings and events, including author signings  here.


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Announcing Fur, Feathers, and Scales

November 13, 2020 by in category From a Cabin in the Woods by Members of Bethlehem Writers Group tagged as , , , ,

Fur, Feather, and Scales available for pre-order November 13 at the special price of 99¢

The award-winning “Sweet, Funny, and Strange” series of anthologies from the Bethlehem Writers Group, continues with this collection of twenty-five tales about real, legendary, or imaginary animals. From snakes to ducks to unicorns, there are tales here to match any mood, provide a chuckle, or warm a heart.


Among our tales, Peter Barbour recounts a legend in “Why Bats Live in Caves,” Jerome W. McFadden asks the question of what animal to choose to be in “Recycled,” A. E. Decker shares an appreciation of cephalopods in “Tipping Point,” Ralph Hieb imagines an unconventional pet in “Buttons,” and Diane Sismour, in “Critter,” reveals that mules are not the only equines that can have a stubborn streak.

In addition, we are happy to present the winning stories from the 20I9 and 2020 Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Awards. Angela Albertson, our 20I9 winner, shares her heartfelt “Oranges and Roses,” and our 2020 winner, Brett Wolff, gives us a good laugh in “Hubbard Has a Fancy Bra.”


This eclectic assemblage of stories includes terrific tales from beloved BWG authors including Courtney Annicchiarico, Jeff Baird, Jodi Bogert, Marianne H. Donley, DT Krippene, Emily P. W. Murphy, Christopher D. Ochs, Dianna Sinovic, Kidd Wads­worth, Paul Weidknecht, Carol L. Wright, and Will Wright.


So cuddle up with your favorite pet-real or imaginary. No matter. You’ll find just the right story to share.

The special price is only good from now until December 1, 2020.


FUR, FEATHERS AND SCALES: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Animal Tales
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Other Sweet, Funny, and Strange Anthologies

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What to Write About? by Ralph Hieb

October 13, 2020 by in category From a Cabin in the Woods by Members of Bethlehem Writers Group tagged as , , ,

I’m trying to think of something to write about. So far no luck.


I can write about anything I am familiar with, but that would take the fun out of this particular exercise.


This writing will be on something I am not familiar with, so I’ll go to the internet and see if there is something I’m interested in.


Well after looking at the internet for a bit I got bored and started to see what was happening on Face Book. This is where I spent the next hour or so looking at what my friends were doing. Not much, but I still checked out their pictures and stuff.

What am I doing?

Oh yeah. I’m supposed to be looking for something to write about. I brought up Word and stared at the curser: nothing happened. I write about ghosts and stuff like that, I know something is supposed to happen. I minimized it and checked on my emails. Nothing interesting there.


Again I maximize Word. The curser just sits there doing nothing. I hoped it would do some writing on its own like in all the paranormal shows. But no, my curser only stays at the beginning of a line.


I minimized Word again. And change over to the internet once more. Nothing there either, but I see I have an unfinished game of match the pictures on Miss Fishers Murder Mystery site. It’s something to pass the time while I try to think of what to write about. After another twenty or thirty games.


I maximized Word again, still nothing.

Change the View?


I’ll go to the living room and watch some television. A good game show followed by a car repair show. I guess then another car show, maybe two.
I have an idea. Maybe since it is October I’ll write something about Halloween. Where at the end of it, the vail between the living and the dead thins.


It is said that ghouls and demons along with other creatures of the night escape from their dimension to walk freely amongst the living. There might be a story there, nah.


I do enjoy sitting on my front steps handing out candy to children wearing their costumes of super heroes and arch nemesis. The kids do not realize that the costumes are a disguise, making them safe from the evil.

Where’s My Muse?

I know, throw in some ghosts. I’ll ask Spirit, she’s my muse and hates being called a ghost. If she can’t help me, no one can.

Okay. Now I’m ready to tackle that super short story. Sitting down at the computer again, I maximize Word. But I am greeted by the lonely curser, the only thing on the page. This is getting frustrating. I know that if I wait long enough some ghost or spirit will type a message or at least unintelligible words on the screen. But still no.


I’m getting to the point of helplessness. What can I do to remedy this situation, go back to see what’s on the internet or maybe read a good book for inspiration? It appears that Spirit is not going to help me.


I have run out of ideas. There seems to be only one course to follow. I maximize Word, watch the curser, still staring at me. I folded my arms and stare back at the screen. This is a staring contest I intend to win.


Ralph Hieb grew up in New Jersey. After spending time overseas serving in the military, he returned home to New Jersey. While attending college he met his wife Nancy.

During the time he spent stationed Europe he didn’t miss an opportunity to travel around. Sightseeing and enjoying the culture are things that he still loves to this day.

Both Ralph and Nancy enjoy traveling to places that they have never been to, though sometimes they like to revisit former destinations. They want to visit Australia and New Zealand someday.

Ralph enjoys reading paranormal novels. He decided that he should try and write one. He is currently writing short stories, but a novel is in the future.


Ralph’s Books


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The Shape of Fiction by Carol L. Wright

September 13, 2020 by in category From a Cabin in the Woods by Members of Bethlehem Writers Group tagged as , , , ,

The Shape of Fiction

Writers are accustomed to thinking about writing with a 3-Act structure, often shown as an incline plane of action rising gradually throughout the story towards the climax. But another way of looking at stories is their shape based not on action, but on the rise and fall of the protagonist’s fortunes—good or ill.


As I understand it, the notion of these story shapes was first proposed by Kurt Vonnegut. Inspired by his research into stories from various cultures while studying anthropology at the University of Chicago, he discovered common patterns of the fortunes of the protagonists. He found that there is not one universal pattern, but several designs, just as the rise and fall of volume and intensity give shape to different styles of music. These shapes cross cultures and time periods to create the stories we love to read and retell.


To visualize these shapes, he used a simple graph. The vertical axis, or what he calls the G-I axis has good fortune at the top and ill fortune at the bottom. The higher on the vertical axis a character is, the happier they are. Conversely, the lower they are, the more miserable they are.

The G-I axis is bisected by a B-E horizontal axis. This takes the story left to right from the beginning (B) to the, uh, well Kurt Vonnegut has various ideas for what the E stands for, but let’s just call it the ending. It looks a bit like this:

The Shape of Fiction: Kurt Vonnegut Sentiment Scale on a simple graph

Interestingly, his theory was proven when researchers at Washington State University and the University of Vermont did a computer analysis over 1700 stories. (https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20180525-every-story-in-the-world-has-one-of-these-six-basic-plots ) Text-mining of these stories revealed six basic story shapes, most of which Vonnegut had already described. They graphed each, renaming Vonnegut’s G-I axis to “sentiment scale.” They found that each of the 1700 stories conformed to one of these six shapes:

1. Man in a hole

Our protagonist begins high on the sentiment scale but, by mid-story, finds themselves in low ill-fortune. But, don’t despair. Good things follow, and by the end of the story, our protagonist is once again up in the good-fortune range. This shape is often found in mystery stories and adapts well to the three-act story structure we’ve been taught.

2. Rags to riches

This shape has the main character begin on the lower end of the sentiment scale, but then they rise steadily throughout the story to the upper portion of the G-I axis by the end of the story. An example of this is the story of Little Orphan Annie who starts out as an orphan in a miserable workhouse and becomes the ward of the extremely wealthy Daddy Warbucks, or the story of another orphan, Oliver Twist. Everyone loves a happy ending.

3. Cinderella

From the obvious example, our protagonist begins very low on the sentiment scale, but then rises to a high good-fortune point—only to have it snatched away. Despite being once again in the lower portion of the G-I scale, the protagonist’s despair is not as low as it was. As the story progresses, the protagonist moves back up again to the top of the sentiment. (You have to see Vonnegut describe this one and others on YouTube below.)

4. Riches to rags

This shape is just the opposite of #2. The protagonist begins in the upper range of the sentiment axis, but who falls into poverty and despair. A simple tragedy.

5. Icarus

If you know the Greek myth about Daedalus and his son Icarus who escaped from the island of Crete by flying with wings made of feathers and wax, it won’t be hard for you to envision this shape. Starting around the midpoint of the G-I axis, it rises into good fortune, then falls into the ill fortune range before falling further to the bottom of the G-I scale (when the wax melts because Icarus flies too close to the sun). Not a happy ending.

6. Oedipus

Named for another Greek tragedy, this pattern falls (as Oedipus wanders toward Thebes, killing Laius along the way). But then it rises (when Oedipus defeats the sphinx, becomes king, and marries the queen with whom he has several children and plans to live happily ever after). Oh, but our protagonist is not destined for a happy ending. The story ends with a plummet to the low ill-fortune range (when Oedipus discovers Laius was his father and he has married his mother—who then kills herself. Oedipus puts out his own eyes). A less than cheery shape.

I must confess that I was surprised that every one of the stories studied fit in one of these six shapes. But Vonnegut tells us about two more shapes.

A flatline story shape

While he tells this shape is boring, he also says it often can be found in primitive cultures. There is, however, one Shakespearean classic that employs this shape. Things start low on the sentiment scale, stay low, and end low. Can you guess which one this is? See the video link above to get the answer.

And one final shape Vonnegut offers for your consideration—one we don’t often see—where the protagonist starts at the bottom . . . and goes down. Which story is this? Here’s a hint: Kafka!

All this brings new meaning to the question: What kind of shape is your story in?

In addition to writing posts for From A Cabin in the Woods, Carol was interviewed on A Slice of Orange here.


Books by Carol L. Wright


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