Fantasy Prompts
5 Writing Prompts for Fantasy Authors
Prompts are an excellent resource for writers. Even if you have a work in progress, you can use prompts for writing exercises, or to give yourself a breather from your main project. I’m often tweeting that I’m working on something new when I shouldn’t be. Most of these short story starts are sitting unfinished, but
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Contest Entries
Guilt – Furious Fiction October 2021
Guilt
by Gabrielle Steele
My first shower today was scalding – an attempt to feel something. My second is icy, a barrage of rain soaking me through while my umbrella hangs limp beside me. The nothingness only deepens. I’m not really there as I stare through the drab grey bricks of the courthouse. I’m lost in another rainstorm, on the day that shattered my world like a rock through a window.
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Editing Tips
How to Work with Beta Readers
I often see other writers ask how to find beta readers. Though I’ve only been working with beta readers for a half a year, I thought it would be worth writing a mini guide for people who want extra eyes on their manuscript for the first time. Step 1: Find the courage to ask a
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Contest Entries
The Clean-Up Guy – Furious Fiction September 2021
The Clean-Up Guy by Gabrielle Steele
Maggots. Always maggots. The job would be a damn sight better if they stopped sprouting near worksites. Leo descended into the dark basement, jaw clenching a little more with each wriggler that popped underfoot. He could’ve used spotlights, but the boss said he was better working blind. A familiar stench explained why – ruptured bowels. Great.
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Uncategorized
Winter’s Legion – Poem
Winter’s Legion
by Gabrielle Steele
Summer wanes and the nights close in,
Dragons fly south to sandy Nim,
To lose their fiery reverence,
Invites snow griffins’ insolence,
In autumn time they do rehearse,
To drumming of their wingbeats’ verse,
[…]
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VSS365
Lock, Mock – VSS365
How I hate that retched #lock,
My aching heart it does #mock,
What lies beyond vapid door?
Open, please, I do implore,
For my eyes become useless,
Glazed from unyielding darkness,
Who out there does hold the key?
Please, dear knight, come rescue me.
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VSS365
Rock – VSS365
The light of inspiration breaks through the darkness, like a rock barricade overwhelmed by the pressure of water once trapped behind it.
Memories
The Crisp That Opened a Door
The crisp crunches in my mouth, transporting me to a Sunday afternoon twenty years ago. At the family farm, Nana has laid out the weekly feast. Soft, buttered bread, platters of meat, sliced egg, salad, crisps, and so much more at the savoury end. And the sweet end? Chocolate buns, Victoria sponge cake, rock cakes, and, if I’m lucky, a trifle. No one frowns when I heap up my plate, nor when I go back for more. It’s always savoury then cakes, and perhaps a slice of bread after that.
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Quote
Listen to your characters
“First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow him.”
—Ray Bradbury
Though I loosely outline some stories, I’m a pantser a heart for one simple reason: the characters dictate my stories. More than once, I’ve had an idea for a scene, only for it to go in a completely different direction when my characters decide to do something else. Know your characters, and they’ll tell you where to take the story.
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