Novel
Dialogue and Flashback
FROM THE AUTHOR: I am writing my first real novel. I excel at descriptive language (growing up loving Tolkien will do that) but writing dialogue is new to me. Things like pacing and mundane stuff like formatting are enigmatic right now. I believe ive made progress, and im ready to test it out on a critical community.
By Thomas Speer4 months ago in Critique
Reflections on A Languishing Manuscript. Top Story - July 2026.
Years ago, I was president of a town’s writing group, but it disbanded. Ten years ago, a character appeared in my mind and poured onto the page, words frothing from my fingers like sudsy waves at the shore. My hip replacement cemented my decision to retire, and recovery meant long hours outdoors on sunny days with my aging dog. Her love and devotion grounded me. I finished the book that summer. Two years later, my faithful companion was gone, and the manuscript remained untouched, saved in a file that moved only when the computer did, still unseen.
By Andrea Corwin 4 months ago in Critique
Trials of Tobit
--The following is an unfinished children's story I was writing based on the book of Tobit from the apocrypha. No matter your view of religion, one can find happiness in the simple adventure of children. My patron abandoned the publishing project, so this book went unfinished. Please let me know if you think it should be completed. -- Thomas
By Thomas Speer4 months ago in Critique
Truth or Dare
By the time the impromptu foursome made it to the green, the tension was tighter than a Delta blues combo in a New Orleans dive bar. Masie missed her birdie putt on purpose so that Ben could ask Josh for a truth instead of her. After Josh sank his bogey, she said, “Why don’t you ride with Marty and let Ben ride with me? Otherwise, I’ll walk the course.”
By Harper Lewis 4 months ago in Critique
The Birth, Dissection & Evolution of a Story Never Written
For as long as I’ve had the desire to entertain readers with creative fiction writing, I’ve had a mermaid tale in my mind, just dying to come to life. It started out as a simple story idea, but has gradually evolved into something much greater.
By Justiss Goode4 months ago in Critique
Getting Ahead Of Myself
For years, I played around with a story about Fairies and Goblins. One day, I opened my laptop, launched my writing program, and created an outline. Eventually, I had created an entire fantasy world. I was very excited to share it with the world.
By Crystal Nicole4 months ago in Critique
Conversations
Not Quite There challenge - The Prompt: Share a story that never fully came together, along with what’s holding it back. On Friday I was told I could have the extension I was asking for to continue to complete my book and the rest of what I proposed. How could I not be done with it. I received my grant to write the book back in December of 2024 and it is the middle of 2026.
By Denise E Lindquist4 months ago in Critique
The Novel That Bit Me. Honorable Mention in Not Quite There Yet Challenge.
Fir the Next Great (American) Novel challenge (which, despite the title, didnae actually huv tae be American), Ah hud two ideas an' two entries. Baith included Glasgow as almost a central character. One wis heavily inspired by Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh an' a real-life experience that happened many years afore Ah started writing.
By Paul Stewart4 months ago in Critique
Oliver Twist is a sham. Runner-Up in Critique Challenge.
Characters are wooden and two dimensional. The book imbued with Victorian hypocrisy. Oliver Twist, far from shining a light on inner city poverty and crime, is voyeuristic and nauseatingly sentimental. In the end, Oliver is plucked from London's 'wickedness' only to join his benefactor in a life of rural privilege.
By Raymond G Taylor4 months ago in Critique
