Monday, April 8, 2013

My First Published Short Story

So, last night I was sitting in a restaurant eating dinner with my wife and three kids. I checked my Gmail account while we waited for our food (I ordered a balsamic chicken wrap because I am on my third week of Insanity and I had visions of Shaun T. kicking my ass), and low and behold there was a message from John Raab (CEO of Suspense Magazine). Now normally when I receive an e-mail from Suspense Magazine it's to tell me about the upcoming issue, but this one was from Mr. Raab himself. I opened it and it said something about contributors copies. What!? I opened the attachment and there was my name Spell by Sean Hunter. Whoop! Whoop! It also took 3rd place in their 2012 Armstrong Short Story Contest. I submitted the story on October 19, 2012 and received notification on April 7, 2013. Bottom-line, PATIENCE.

I am so happy because it was so unexpected. Truth be told, I was ready to write this one off in my 2012 copy of Writers Market as a "No Response." Ha! If you are interested in reading the story, please check out www.suspensemagazine.com or the link below. My story is on page 47. As always, thanks for reading.

www.suspensemagazine.com/April2013Issue.html

Friday, March 15, 2013

50 First Sentences

Hi All,

I am currently taking a course with the amazing Kat Howard on Lit Reactor. The first assignment was for each of us to come up with 50 first sentences of potential short stories. This exercise was so beneficial. It forced me to sit down, bang them out, and release the inner editor inside of my head (her words sort of, not mine). I recommend you give it a try, Here are the 50 I came up with. Thanks for reading!

1. The shovel was blue.
2. The boy walked down the path kicking a pebble along the hard scrabble of dirt.
3. When I was kid, I used to think that people from Earth were good, but now I don’t, because they’re not.
4. Before the infection began, life had been simpler.
5. Galen walked down the hall to go outside, but before he did, he grabbed a handful of Lego’s, stuffed them into his coat pocket.
6. She was as cute as a button, or so the cliché went, but she was more than just a cliché.
7. Their marriage had been crumbling long before she had refused to touch him.
8. The third moon rose through the purplish haze above the planet.
9. There is an unspoken rule that says if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.
10. As he lay among the scuttling hermit crabs, he felt a slight twinge of electric shock pulse through the gray matter of what used to be his brain.
11. The fat man got into his Chrysler and knew today it was going to happen.
12. Long ago, there had been five of them.
13. I have a problem, perhaps more of an annoyance than anything.
14. There was a package inside that had gone unnoticed for days.
15. Things had always come easy for Scott.
16. Perhaps one of the worst things about dying is that you don’t realize you’re living until it’s too late.
17. The museum had stood for over one-hundred years.
18. You say bullshit, I say, “Thank you."
19. He grabbed a pack of Camel non-filtered from his dresser drawer, shook one loose, and clenched it hard between his teeth.
20. Scars were entrenched on his face like some sort of irregular jigsaw puzzle.
21. Shelly walked into Nordstrom’s.
22. She wrapped the surgical tubing around her left bicep, tied it in a knot, found an acceptable vein with the tap of two fingers, and went down the wrong path.
23. They were in the squalor of a land now destroyed.
24. You people don’t know shit about nothin’.
25. They thought they were normal, whatever that means.
26. Sometimes I sit alone in the dark and try to think of ways to scrub my brain clean.
27. Damn it feels good to be a gangster.
28. Skies were blue, clouds were gray, and the sea was red.
29. When Francis McGrath woke up that morning, he grabbed his socks, looked out the window, and saw what was about to happen.
30. About the same time he learned to walk, he learned to kill.
31. There’s a funny thing about heroine; life’s not easy when your mother loves it more than you.
32. He was awoken in the morning by a thunderous boom, as if the world was collapsing into itself and he was in the center.
33. Thirty-three disciples were not enough.
34. Tick-tock went the clock.
35. Among the bramble bushes and low lying whips of thorns, there was an idol.
36. Bones were placed high above on pikes as a warning to all who entered, to those who dared to accept the challenge.
37. When a family begins to crumble, it can be a beautiful thing.
38. Reincarnation of the soul can happen if you wish, but there is a catch.
39. There was a jagged edge on the scimitar reminding him of the wound that had healed over, leaving a false impression of victory.
40. It wasn’t his fault his parents had named him Richard with his last named being Hunter, but he could not take it any longer, something had to be done because it was just plain cruel to be cursed with a name like Dick Hunter.
41. Every time I think about going back, a feeling creeps in as if there are a million tiny worms, with tiny teeth, trapped inside tiny bubbles gnawing at my gut.
42. Claire could not remember how she had gotten here.
43. Granite Computers, Inc. was in the process of developing their breakthrough product—a game changer as they like to call it—and Brian was at the forefront of the testing.
44. A lone yellow banana slug made its way over the rock and into the tall grass.
45. Butterflies and hummingbirds are out to get me.
46. A dried and cracked leather scabbard held an ivory-handled saber as it rested against his hip.
47. I want to tell you a story, but I must warn you, there is no happy ending.
48. When the phone rang, he sprang up from the sofa, raced to answer it, but when he listened to the person on the other end; he realized he had made a mistake.
49. Lawrence wanted friends, but he had none except for the moles on his face.
50. After she graduated with a nursing degree, she had visions of becoming an Angel of Mercy, but would up with the Angel of Death as her preceptor.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Reading Is Fundamental

Ask any writer how to become a better writer and they will most certainly tell you to read. Steven King once boiled down his most excellent book On Writing into six words. Read a lot. Write a lot. That's it. There are no secrets to great writing, but you must read everything. For example, while I was listening to Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen on my audible.com account, I was reading The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum, Talk about a complete messing of the mind. But, it's that type of reading that prevents you from getting bogged down into one particular genre and allows your writing style to find itself and flourish.

Here are some ways I have found to sneak in reading whenever possible. Some of these options cost $$$, but most are free.

1. Go to www.audible.com and sign up for an account. If you have a long commute to work (like me) this is one of the best ways to get some reading done on the fly. Just make sure you pump the sound through your Bluetooth or Aux jack. Don't wear headphones in your car like a complete tool.

2. Kindle allows you to share books between devices. So, if you are reading on your Kindle and have the Amazon Kindle app loaded onto your smartphone, you can pick up where you left off.

3. Nook. I also have a Nook Simple Touch, but truthfully, I don't use it too much. Don't get me wrong, it's a great device and you can actually let other Nook users borrow your downloaded titles.

4. Good old fashioned paper. I love, love, love hard cover books. I once drove five hours each way to pick up a Stephen King collection in Maine. The coolest thing about the visit; I got to see where the film crew stayed while filming Graveyard Shift. The owner of the house even threw in an original screenplay of Graveyard Shift that was left behind after the crew finished. Talk about cool.

5. The Public Library. Just make sure you put your books in the microwave for 20 seconds when you get home. There has been an epidemic of bedbugs lately as they like to live in the bindings of books. Look it up on the Internet if you don't believe me. After all, everything on the Internet is true. Right?

So, there you have it. Read a lot. Write a lot. No excuses.

Thursday, March 7, 2013

My First Successful Query

I am not a published author, so take my advice with some skepticism. This is only how things worked for me, but I know what it's like out there when all you want is for someone to acknowledge the time and effort you put into something. It's tough out there.

Ahh. You never forget your first. Your first love, your first book that made you want to become a writer, your first fuc-- ahem . . .okay we won't go there, but you get my drift. Anyway, I just wanted to take a couple minutes of your time and post my revised query letter that actually got me my first request to see my manuscript PUDGEY. Maybe nothing will come out of it. Maybe the agent will hate my manuscript. Maybe it will take 20 requests before I find someone. (I hope not) But it is a start.

You can probably garner by now that The Pudgey Writer and PUDGEY the manuscript go together like PB&J. Get it? Hahaha, see Pudgey is the character in my manuscript, so I titled this blog the Pudgey Writer because of the Pudgey connection and-- What do mean just stop it right now? Okay, where was I?

There is a website called www.litreactor.com where writers can get help from trained professionals such as authors, agents, grammar specialists. I encourage everyone who is serious about writing to check it out. The classes can be pricey, and most books on writing are pure bullshit, but I promise the classes on Lit Reactor are not.

I took a class titled "The Art of the Query Letter" with Bree Ogden, who, by the way, is pure awesomeness. She is way cooler than me. To say she went above and beyond taking her time to answer everyone's questions and polish each query letter would be an understatement. I don't know where she finds the time to do what she does. I had such a positive experience with Lit Reactor, that I already signed up for another class with Kat Howard for a Science Fiction/Fantasy course on March 14. Even if you think you know how to write, I believe it is still essential to get out there and network with other writers and attempt to market your stuff. Did I mention I have an MBA? I guess it means I'm supposed to be wicked knowledgeable in Marketing and Business stuff. PSSSTT . . . I'm really not.

Well, enough of my babble. Hope this helps some writer out there going through the same stuff that I am. BTW - I added in some points of note to the actual query. If you have any questions, please fell free to drop me an email.

THE QUERY LETTER

Dear Ms. XXXXX, (Be professional here and spell their name correctly)

After reading your bio and learning that you're a fan of literary horror and enjoy dark, edgy stories with emotional conflict, I think you will enjoy my manuscript, PUDGEY, as it takes a look into the dark side of power and revenge. (The first paragraph personalizes your query to the specific agent. Don't get too creepy here, like I love the furniture in your living room. Get it? And don't kiss their ass because they hate that too.)

Twelve-year-old Pudgey Woodwick is bullied and overweight. To make matters worse, he is thrust into suburbia after his parents’ divorce. After a tragic accident, Pudgey’s over-protective brother, Jack, develops a Hyde-like alter ego filled with rage—the sort that can kill without a second thought, especially the ones who leave him no other choice. But he is not a murderer, more of a reluctant killer. (This is your hook that grabs the agents attention, you literately have about 30 seconds of their time. I spent about 40 hours worth of work on this page for 30 seconds of someones time. That's like training for a downhill ski race that lasts only 26 seconds.)

As Pudgey discovers Jack’s hideous ability, things turn darker. Children are being murdered in Pudgey's town of Northgate, and Jack is a suspect. Although Pudgey is prepared to do anything to keep the threadbare strands of his family intact—even if it means helping his big brother cover up a murder or two. (This is your plot to kind of sum up what it's all about. What is the conflict? What is the MC's goal?)

In a true test of brotherly love, Pudgey will try to save Jack from his dark half while keeping their secret intact. But as Jack struggles to quell his inner demons, he may need to release them one last time when karma rears its ugly head. His naïve and lonely brother has just become friends with a peculiar individual responsible for the recent events—the Northgate Killer. (This is where you send it home, lay down some intrigue, and drop the mic)

At 82,000 words complete, PUDGEY is a dark psychological thriller written in the retrospective first person voice and will appeal to readers who enjoyed John Lindqvist's Let Me In and Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In this tragic tale of good versus evil, all is not as it seems on the surface when innocence is stolen and lives collide . . . because the scariest monsters are the ones inside all of us. (Make sure you put in the word count, maybe some comps of other books. DO NOT compare yourself to other authors or say you are the next Stephen King! You will look like a douchebag. Trust me on this.)

Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,

Sean Hunter
sean.m.hunter@gmail.com
(508) XXX-XXXX
seanmhunter.blogspot.com
Follow me on twitter @seanmhunter (put your blog info and contact info in the letter ending)

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Don't Let Your Dreams Die

As I slog through writing another short story with hopes, dreams, and aspirations of becoming published one day, there is always that bothersome bugbear known as "self-doubt" in the back of my mind. Are my stories good enough? Do I write better than a fifth grader? Why am I sacrificing so much of my life to put words on paper?

The answer, I think, is that I need to dream big. I want to feel a connection with fans one day. I want people to say that my work mattered. I want my kids to be proud of me. Maybe this is some sort of ego fulfillment, but it is something I need to do.

So when I wanted to build two Pinewood Derby race cars for my boys this week, wanted to put some more finishing touches on the dollhouse I am building for my daughter, wanted to read, and love my wife, and bake things in the Easy Bake oven, and build Lego's, and try to be everything to all people, I NEEDED to write after all of the other things in order to keep my dream alive.

Because if I let my dream die, I think that will be the end.

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Why I Write

This is an actual e-mail that was sent to me by one of my employees. It is one of my motivations for breaking out of corporate America one day through writing. I have an MBA, mind you, and this is something I never learned in business school. I will eventually have this e-mail framed professionally one day.

Do you have a motivating factor that keeps you going?