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KJ Aartila
Stories (321/0)
A YA Story Looking for Input
*** This is basically an excerpt from a YA/Upper Middle grade story looking for critique.*** My main questions would be - from the perspective of a reader of this genre - does the story grab your attention? What needs to be added to make it more interesting? And, of course, if you notice any grammatical errors or clumsy sentences, feel free to point them out also. Add any critiques to the comment section, or PM if you would like it to be kept more quiet.
By KJ Aartila11 months ago in Critique
Literary Citizenship
Before I even knew what it was, I wrote a bit about Literary Citizenship in these two previous articles - The Benefits of Reciprocity for Writers and Giving and Receiving Feedback. I recently ran across the actual term for it while reading a book by Jane Friedman called “The Business of Being a Writer,” where she gave credit to editor Rob Spillman for coining the term. Literary Citizenship is described as “activities that support reading, writing and publishing in the literary community.”
By KJ Aartila11 months ago in Writers
A Collection of My Young Adult/Upper Middle Grade Stories
I am an author of primarily Young Adult/Upper Middle Grade fiction with a main focus on kids developing self-awareness through their relationships with other people, friends and horses. This is a collection of fictional short stories, poetry and a short, personal biography that fit into this category. I hope you enjoy this inspired collection so far! I invite you to subscribe at no charge to my Youtube channel, also where you can watch horse videos, and be notified of updates and opportunities!
By KJ Aartila11 months ago in Confessions
Tethered
TETHERED The ego is heavy. The realization hit me the other day, as I was working with my horse. I am in the midst of learning a new mindset for interacting with my horses, but I had the horse I was currently working on wearing his halter, while I had ahold of the lead-rope. Nothing unusual, or abusive in any way and he was used to this. I only wanted to get a few tangles and burdock out of his mane.
By KJ Aartila11 months ago in Journal
Watership Down
A busy warren; a story about bunnies - Not as expected. **************************** I found Watershed Down to be a weird story about rabbits that, in some ways, I enjoyed as a kid. It wasn’t until I got older that I realized it was about a whole lot more, which made it a much more intriguing story.
By KJ Aartila11 months ago in Poets
A Plea to Spammers. Top Story - July 2023.
New (and older) Vocal users - let me appeal to your business sense and desire to make money. Spamming people’s stories with your links is not the way to go about it, nor is posting AI only created content. I can only imagine any gain in results, if there are any, are quickly lost. You are only hurting your attempts to create viable business by creating a disrespected reputation instead! If you want to be successful as a creator, it’s a long-term investment of your time and money.
By KJ Aartila11 months ago in Journal
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