Fiction By Committee

Do You Know Your POV?

noreply@blogger.com (S. Tracy Frank) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 02:18:00 +0000

One of the critical things a new writer deals with is determining from which POV (point of view) they will be writing.
Omniscient? First-person? Third-person limited? Or third-person unlimited? Do you know the differences and which works best for the story you are telling?

Check out Alan Rinzler's The Book Deal blog "Ask the editor: Do publishers have rules about POV?"

He talks about the Great POV Debate and gives descriptions about the four typical points of view. In addition, Rinzler writes about Refocusing the POV, Excising a distracting omniscient voice, Creating a narrative voice to fit the story, as well as providing POV Tips and Tricks.

It's great information that can be used to improve your writing.

Exercise No. 4

noreply@blogger.com (S. Tracy Frank) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:52:00 +0000

The Sounds of a Setting

Properly describing the various settings in our stories is critical and something we should practice on a regular basis.

Please describe a bar/club setting in which you would hear the sounds of Drunksouls (on the player provided). If you just listen to the first one or two songs, your writing will be significantly different than if you listen to the entire album. It's your choice, but I would suggest listening to the entire album.

Exercise No. 3

noreply@blogger.com (S. Tracy Frank) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 03:55:00 +0000

For this third exercise on Fiction By Committee, write an 8-10 paragraph story using the photos as your setting. Use the comment button to send me your work and I'll post it for others to review.

New Project For The Committee (That's you)

noreply@blogger.com (S. Tracy Frank) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 03:40:00 +0000

The next project for "The Committee" (that includes you) will be to complete the poem "My Crowded Heart."

I've started the poem and now you can finish it. Just start after the line "or hate which brings anger and disdain." Just use the "Comment" link to submit your finished version of "My Crowded Heart."

My Crowded Heart
My heart, it is a crowded place
filled with the contradictions of love and hate.
I am a man so only one can I control,
the other, unchecked, will decide my fate.

So which do I control
in the struggle for my soul?
Love which brings pleasure and pain,
or hate which brings anger and disdain?

Okay, members of the committee, it's your turn. Get writing.

And the winner for Taking Aimes is ...

noreply@blogger.com (S. Tracy Frank) — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 03:21:00 +0000

Round one is over and it's time to announce the winner of the $25 gift certificate.
I don't know if the poll wasn't working or if there was some confusion over voting but round one ended in a tie.
So I held a random drawing with the three entries and JB Shine was the winner.
JB Shine just needs to email me using the same account that was used to enter the submission and tell me if the Amazon.com or iTunes gift card is preferred and an email address where it should be sent (it must match the account used to submit the entry). So, JB Shine - contact me using the link under my profile and I'll get the certificate sent to you.

As the response to this community storytelling exercise was less than what I had hoped for, watch for some changes in Fiction By Committee.

Time running out for first round

noreply@blogger.com (S. Tracy Frank) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 01:03:00 +0000

Time is running out to participate in the first round of submissions (and a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com or iTunes) and to vote for your favorite submission.
Comments (your addition to the story) must be received by midnight (Pacific Time) on Monday, April 14, 2008 with voting ending at midnight (Pacific Time) on Wednesday, April 16, 2008. Good Luck and Good Writing. And don't forget to vote for your favorite.

Help decide who wins the $25 gift certificate

noreply@blogger.com (S. Tracy Frank) — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 16:03:00 +0000

You can help decide who wins the $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com or iTunes. Just read the submitted comments by clicking on the "submissions" link at the top of the column to the right. Then decide which one you like best and cast your vote in the poll in the right column. You don't have to submit a comment to vote, but you should as you could win the gift certificate.

Still in the running for the $25 Amazon.com or iTunes gift certifcate

noreply@blogger.com (S. Tracy Frank) — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 21:50:00 +0000

Even though they didn't meet the original intent of this blog, sister2brother, maxdive2 and JB Shine are all still in the running for the $25 gift certificate from iTunes or Amazon.com. Whomever gets the most votes, gets the gift certificate. You can also enter to win the certificate, just start your submission from the end of "The Story - Taking Aimes."
And don't forget to vote.

Submissions should all begin at same point in the story

noreply@blogger.com (S. Tracy Frank) — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 16:04:00 +0000

Thanks to JB Shine for his submission, bringing our current total to three.
I did want to point out that all the submissions SHOULD be beginning from the same point in the story (at the end of Taking Aimes - The story. "...But this time, those qualities may end up costing him his life." Start your submission at this point.) The submissions SHOULD NOT be linear, building on one another. They should each be starting from the same point in the story, so they each should have different characters and events. The idea was to get a number of submissions competing to be the next part of the story and have you all vote for the one that you liked best. ONLY that one submission would then be added to the story and more submissions would then compete to be added. If the submissions are all based on the one before them, the original intent would not be possible. So if you're going to send in your submission, don't start at the end of JB Shine's submission, START AT THE end of The Story - Taking Aimes (click on the link at the top of the right-hand column titled Chapter 1, under the header The Story - Taking Aimes, to read the entire original entry from which your story should start).
And don't forget to vote for your favorite submission. The writer of the submission which gets the most votes will receive a $25 gift certificate and their submission will be added to Taking Aimes. And we'll begin the process all over.

You can win a $25 Amazon.com or iTunes gift card!

noreply@blogger.com (S. Tracy Frank) — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 02:51:00 +0000

Yes, you can win a $25 gift certificate from iTunes or Amazon.com. Right now, sister2brother and maxdive2 each have a 50-50 chance of winning because they have submitted the only comments. If you enter by submitting your addition to Taking Aimes, and you get your friends and family to vote for your submission, you could win the $25 gift certificate. So get writing and tell the folks you know to visit fictionbycommittee.blogspot.com to vote for your submission. And don't forget to click-thru on the google ads to make them help pay for the gift certificate. If there are enough click-thrus on the google or Amazon.com ads, the gift certificate for round 2 will be even more. Bookmark this page and get writing.

Win a $25 Amazon.com or iTunes gift card!

noreply@blogger.com (S. Tracy Frank) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 02:33:00 +0000

As this is a new blog, it is taking a while to attract viewers and to get people to submit their copy to become part of Taking Aimes. So, as I'm not above bribery, I've decided to give a $25 gift certificate from either Amazon.com or iTunes to whomever submits the copy which receives the most votes in this first round. So, submit your copy (by clicking on comments in the first post titled The Story - Taking Aimes) and you could win a $25 gift certificate. Don't forget to vote and tell all your friends and family to come to fictionbycommittee.blogspot.com to vote for your submission. You could win the $25 gift certificate. To give people a chance to enter, I've extended the deadlines for the first round of submissions. Comments (your addition to the story) must be received by midnight (Pacific Time) on Monday, April 14, 2008 with voting ending at midnight (Pacific Time) on Wednesday, April 16, 2008. Good Luck and Good Writing.

Please note

noreply@blogger.com (S. Tracy Frank) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 02:26:00 +0000

I want to thank sister2brother and maxdive2 for their submissions. I also want to point out the way this works is that all the submissions should start from the end of The Story - Taking Aimes, rather than building on one another. So, don't start your submission based on the other comments, start them from "...It was those qualities that had keep him alive through many difficult situations in the past. But this time, those qualities may end up costing him his life."
Thanks

Current Submissions

noreply@blogger.com (S. Tracy Frank) — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 23:03:00 +0000

Comment 1
How could have things gotten so bad?
All he needed was a little money to get him through the hard time that he was dealing with right now. Damned banks wouldn't give him any money and he had no friends who had that kind of money. He hardly had ANY friends! So the only way that he could get the money that he needed was to go to the "man".
Everybody knew who that was!
Submitted by sister2brother
(don't start your submission at this point. Start it at the end of The Story - Taking Aimes).

Comment 2
Actually the "man" wasn't a man in the traditional sense. Petruchio, as he was known to his friends, was the ugliest transvestite in Portland Oregon. A transvestite with an attitude and $10 million dollars.
Petruchio had cornered the sponge market back in the Nineties and proceeded to invest heavily in the Dot.com stocks....getting out days before the incredible collapse of Worldcom. He walked away with a small fortune and lived La Dolce Vita in Portland on Chatauqua Street..right across from Discovery Park.
In some ways, he lived a somewhat frugal life , but was extravagant in others. He drove a bright yellow Hummer and dressed his many Chihuahuas in Blazer togs. He had his own clothes line. (not a line of clothes, but an actual clothesline with monogrammed clothes pins)
Petruchio would walk his dogs in Discovery Park while they were dressed in little Trailblazer outfits and pretend they had just won the National Championship. This was probably the closest thing the Blazers would actually ever get to a real championship. He even spread the rumor that one of the dogs had been arrested for assault and drug possession...just to make it feel more like the real thing.
Petruchio was indeed a man to be reckoned with.
submitted by maxdive2
(don't start your submission at this point. Start it at the end of The Story - Taking Aimes).

Comment 3
But Petty (as Petruchio had been nicknamed by his enemies – and his questionable friends) had a weakness, one he thought a secret from those around him. He had a weakness for barrel-chested and broad-shouldered men.With this repugnant knowledge chilling his brain, Parker Aimes traversed the rancid alleyway, cautious in the dimming light, not wanting trouble to find him before he saw it. The doorways began to meld into the stained bricks lining the alley walls the further he moved from the street. Parker’s eyes ached from peering for the one door that might lead to his questionable salvation; the door that had been described by Bennie the Snake as ‘shade o’black dat as ya feelin’ kinda sic’. Not comforting words by a long shot…Parker found the door and he drew in a deep breath. He stared at the gray doorknob, tilted at an angle and idly wondered what, or who, had ran into the wrong end of the jutting metal, causing the bend between bulbous know and the scarred metal door.He shivered, knowing that once he stepped over the threshold nothing would ever be the same. Not for Doreen. Not for Mom. And, as sure as rain in the springtime, would never be the same for him.The things a man will do for money…and love.
submitted by JB Shine
(Don 't start your submission at this point. Start your submission at the end of "The Story - Taking Aimes."

Please help spread the word of Taking Aimes

noreply@blogger.com (S. Tracy Frank) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 01:42:00 +0000

If you don't have time to submit your addition to the story, please don't forget to vote or recommend http://fictionbycommittee.blogspot.com to your family, friends, or on-line buddies. This is an exercise in community storytelling and I want, and need, the community to be as diverse as possible.

First submission received

noreply@blogger.com (S. Tracy Frank) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:49:00 +0000

Thanks to sister2brother who sent in the first submission (click on comments in the post at the bottom --The Story - Taking Aimes -- to read).

Deadlines for 1st round of comments and voting

noreply@blogger.com (S. Tracy Frank) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:19:00 +0000

The deadline for the first round of submisssions (comments) for "Taking Aimes" is midnight (Pacific Time) on Monday, April 7, 2008.

Deadline for voting for your favorite submission (comment) is midnight (Pacific Time) on Wednesday, April 9, 2008.

The Story -- Taking Aimes

noreply@blogger.com (S. Tracy Frank) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 23:06:00 +0000

Even though he turned 49 last month, Parker Aimes was still a bulldog of a man -- broad-shouldered and barrel-chested, quick-tempered and tenacious, impatient and aggressive. These qualities had keep him alive through many difficult situations in the past. But this time, those qualities may end up costing him his life.

(It's your turn. Start telling the story from this point by posting a comment using the link below.)