Sunday, November 3, 2024

Safe

Apassionata

You'll be safe, he said. But nothing was further from the truth. I wasn't safe at all. The irony, the sarcasm, the criticism, the mockery. Day after day. I was not safe. When I left, I left for good. I walked away and became invisible. I changed my name. I hid myself among strangers. My looks, my job. Everything changed. The day he knocked on my door, I just had to get rid of him. The strangers understood. The cops are still looking for him. He's in the Madden's crypt, in Mrs. Madden's coffin. He'll be safe there... or not!
100 Word Stories

Sunday, October 27, 2024

Get Me Out of Here!

Slaughterhouse

 The very moment the Ferris wheel started rotating, there was this weird grumbling sound, followed by a sharp metallic groan. He yelled "get me out of here" to no avail. His blood pressure hit the roof when he heard a snapping sound. That was it, he was going to die. The wheel tilted to one side and crashed against the rocks. Yes, "thank you, god, I just broke my back, my legs and an arm, but I'll be fine". Why, you may ask. Well, insurance. A fortune. He never told anyone about that wrench he had stuck in the engine.
100 Word Stories

Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Moxie Madness Workshops

 

Milk Wood


All scheduled events take place at the Forest Coffee Bar (unless otherwise stated) or in the writing room at Book Island (Sundays at 12 noon PT). Please be aware that the clocks go back in the US on the 3rd November and on the 27th October in the UK, and we go by Pacific Time (PT), also known as SLT in Second Life®.


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*Write What Haunts You - Hosted by Robinette Waterson
Friday 1st November, 2024
8am PT / 11am ET / 4pm GMT

People have themes that fascinate them, which they come back to again and again. These themes influence what books they read, movies they watch, topics of conversations with friends, the kinds of vacations they take, the artwork they are drawn to, their daydreams, and their nightmares. In this workshop, Robinette will show you how you can access these ideas so you stay excited and motivated for 30 days and 50,000 words.

About Robinette: Robinette Waterson is a writer of Victorian steampunk erotica, historical novels, and assorted ephemera. In Second Life®, Robinette role plays in historical sims, generally playing a strong-minded woman with a zest for life.

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*Memoir: Interrogating the Past - Hosted by Keykey Underwood
Tuesday 5th November, 2024
8am PT / 11am ET / 4pm GMT

Although memoir tells stories in the first person through the lens of the author’s personal experience, it’s not really about the writer. Find out what memoir is really about. This workshop will discuss types of memoir, why we write memoir, character and time in memoir, and perhaps, some legal and ethical considerations.

About Keykey - Keykey, a native Clevelander, is the former director of The Chautauqua Writers Center in Chautauqua, New York. Her debut novel, Painting Bridges, (Bottom Dog Press, 2013) was praised by Michelle Ross, book critic for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, as “an introspective, intelligent and moving novel.” Her second novel, Resurrecting Rain (Golden Antelope Press, 2020) won a Royal Palm Literary Award from the Florida Writers Association and was a semi-finalist for a Tucson Festival of Books Literary Award under the title New Moon Rising. Her poetry chapbook, Missing Persons, (Ward Wood Publishing, 2013) won the London based Lumen/Camden prize and was cited by Times of London Literary Supplement (November, 2014) as one of the best small collections of the year.

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*Do I know you? - Hosted by Wolfie Wolfgang
Thursday 7th November, 2024
8am PT / 11am ET / 4pm GMT

Do I know you? Do I really?
Join novelist Colin Bell as he leads a creative workshop encouraging writers to experiment and play with characterisation. During the session he will consider some of the characters in his own work. Would he recognise them at a party, down a dark alley, or as a stranger on a train? We will also do some writing exercises to see how these ideas could work for us. Whatever your level, you can improve how you present your characters. If I know you then I might remember you too!

About Wolfie - Television producer-director Colin Bell’s poetry collection, Remembering Blue (2019) and his novels, Stephen Dearsley’s Summer of Love (2013) and Blue Notes, Still Frames (2016) are published by Ward Wood Publishing. His third novel, Over the Hills is a Long Way Off, will also be published by Ward Wood. His poetry has been published by Acumen, Cinnamon Press, Frogmore Press, Shot Glass Journal, Soaring Penguin Press, The Fib Review, and a number of anthologies in the US and UK. Several of his fibs have been set to music as the song cycle, Fibonacci Poems (2017) for tenor voice and piano by American composer Tim Risher. In 2020 he was made Musepie Press’ Featured International Poet and his Fibonacci poetry has been twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize. A Producer-director of arts documentaries and then Executive Producer, Music and Arts, he has made arts programmes for ITV, BBC, Channel Four, and for broadcasters in the USA (WNET and Disney), in Japan (NHK) and Germany (WDR). Colin Bell’s website: https://wolfiewolfgang.com/

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*Finding Your Historical Fiction Voice - Hosted by Finn Bookmite
Friday 8th November, 2024
8am PT / 11am ET / 4pm GMT

Finding your historical fiction voice
• Are you a “wouldst thou” or a “would you”?
• Do you feel that writing the fourteenth century in modern vernacular is justifiable?
• Should someone have told Shakespeare that Ancient Rome didn’t have striking clocks?
• Is it important that the reader finds out the complete process of making a toga from shearing the sheep to the exact type of seashell needed to make the dye?

In this not-totally-serious talk, we shall look at what readers want from a good historical novel, and what jars their senses. We shall examine things like vocabulary pitfalls and the eternal conundrum of pleasing the history buff while not overloading the story with our research!
We shall do this in a spirit of kindness – especially towards me – and collaboration by looking at all the things I got wrong! Our one aim is to open up a way forward for anyone who wants to write historical fiction.

About Finn - Finn has loved the ancient world since reading her first Greek myth, Theseus and the Minotaur. After reading Classics at Oxford, she taught at a British boys’ school for twenty-five years, but then her family moved to Qatar. There wasn’t much call for Latin teachers, so she became a prison visitor, animal rescuer and writer of historical novels and poetry. Now she is back in the UK, and a full-time author.

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*Discovering Your Characters - Hosted by Ercila Robbins
Saturday 23rd November, 2024
8am PT / 11am ET / 4pm GMT

Did you ever want to start your novel with a full description of your character? Where did he come from? What does he look like? What is motivating him? What is his goal? What are his strengths and weaknesses? How does he treat his mother? Well, don’t. Don’t ever begin a novel that way. Writing a character should be like meeting someone on a street corner and then working up to becoming friends. Developing a character takes time, pages, and chapters. Let’s talk about character building, from the ground up, one scene at a time. You don’t know anything about this person until they tell you or you watch them engage with others. Neither should your reader.

About Ercila - Retired criminal attorney and author of six crime novels – and more in the works. Ercila is also a former journalist and newspaper editor, and a published poet. She is a mother, grandmother, and veteran.

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*Maintaining a #WritersLife like a boss, even when life takes a detour - Hosted by Emz Maizie
Sunday 24th November, 2024
8am PT / 11am ET / 4pm GMT
Keeping your writer’s life active even when your personal life spins out of control. How to maintain a healthy work-life-writing balance without burning out.

About Emz - Author, artist, voice actress, and editor, Emerian Rich is best known for being the Horror Hostess of HorrorAddicts.net, an internationally acclaimed podcast, now in its 19th season. She runs HorrorAddicts.net Press and has major roles in two non-fiction magazines. She is the author of the Night’s Knights vampire series, has been published in over 40 fiction anthologies, has 90+ nonfiction credits, and writes romance under the name Emmy Z. Madrigal. Find out more at http://emzbox.com.

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See you at Milk Wood!

Monday, October 21, 2024

Moxie Madness in November!

 


Moxie Madness is a month of extra inspiration & effort at Milk Wood, the Virtual Writers home. And this is our new challenge!

Due to the recent controversy over the use of AI and last year's child safeguarding issue, we felt we could no longer (in all conscience) continue to promote NaNoWriMo, their forums, or website.

So, this will start a new event called Moxie Madness where we'll attempt to write a novel in 30 days. 

We've been running these events for over fifteen years and know how challenging they can be, but over the years we've developed a supportive and fun program to help get you over the hurdle. It won't be easy, but you won't regret it; we'll be right beside you, offering support and encouragement to help you reach the finish line. 

The challenge begins on 1st November and ends at midnight on 30th November.  Our Second Life® Moxie word meter will be up and working on the 1st at our virtual writing area. You will need to join the Virtual Writers, Inc. group in order to use our participant titler. This allows you to keep track of your word count through the meter.

So, how does this work?

1. Join our Virtual Writers, Inc. group (found in search), and our Discord server: https://discord.com/invite/6hzEBJw4NR. As mentioned, we're working on creating our own forum especially for the challenge. We'll let you know when it's ready to be launched via our site. Make sure to subscribe: http://www.virtualwriters.org

2. Then, grab our gift box (the wooden one on top of the shelving unit) at the Forest Coffee Bar (and at our Camp Moxie information hut). It’s packed full of resources and special goodies for writers. Plus, you’ll find our all-important event schedule. Be sure to add the write-in dates and workshops to your calendar so you don’t miss anything.

3. Next, sign up for the TrackBear app https://trackbear.app/ and join our Moxie Madness Leaderboard (sign up code is: 2b85a6dc-e424-4868-a904-988bc0e06def).

4. Next, wear our Moxie titler (found in the gift box), activate the Virtual Writers, Inc. group so you are also wearing the group tag, touch the word meter (the old school computer), wait for the instructions then type your new word count into the chat box. Remember to update your word count daily.

5. If you're a Plotter (vs a Pantser), open up the box containing the Prep Worksheets and look for the plot storyboard, and character development notecards. Moxie Madness is a demanding challenge and preparedness is key. Use your time wisely and join us for our daily write-ins as we get ready for the challenge. If you need some inspiration, click on one of our plot bunnies (they're scattered about the sim). Or, try our prompt dice game. You'll find it on the counter at the Forest Coffee Bar.

6. On 1st November you can begin the challenge proper. Try to write at least 1,667 words every day. If you'd prefer to create your own writing goal, then that's perfectly fine. Being a Moxie Maverick is okay with us. This is your challenge. Just keep a note of your goal so we can cheer you on like the others. You might want to try the spreadsheets on the resource list, in addition to TrackBear. They're a great way to keep track and they're rather handsome looking, too. Lastly, remember to update your daily word count at our meter in Milk Wood as well as on the TrackBear leaderboard, this is important for the group, so we can see how well we're doing as a whole. For regular pep talks and advice, check out our website http://www.virtualwriters.org. 

We have hot chocolate and muffins, laptops, notebooks, pencils, and some of the most supportive writers in Second Life®!


Sunday, October 20, 2024

Classical Music

 

Goatswood


She couldn't find her violin. She shuffled through the pile of bags waiting to be placed in the train. Where's the violin? Where is it? She ran around like a lunatic, grabbing people's arms and repeating the question over and over again. In the distance, a man walked away with a violin case. Why not? She had rejected him. She had mocked him, saying she had played him like a fiddle. Really? So, he was taking the fiddle. No more fiddling with people's feelings. She would have to face the music, and it wouldn't be the classical version of it.
100 Word Stories

Sunday, October 13, 2024

Banana Split

 

Milk Wood

"A banana split, please."
The two witches looked at each other, puzzled.
"We don't have banana splits."
"What do you have?"
"We have the Death Cap."
The customer laughed."Autumn Skullcap."
The customer laughed again.
"And the Destroying Angels special."
"Fascinating! OK, let's have the special then."
"Are you sure?"
The customer nodded.
"I feel adventurous!"
They prepared the potion and watched him trot off, sipping from his bottle of Destroying Angels.
"Did we tell him the mushrooms were poisonous?"
"I don't think we did and I don't think he read the sign."
"We can't fight stupid, can we?"
"Nope."
100 Word Stories

Sunday, October 6, 2024

Finding

 

Goatswood


The man in the cave wanted to be left alone. However, when they spotted him wandering about, they thought it was a great finding. A real caveman. Alive. Yes! Interviews, a book, a TV series, a movie, the money stacking up in their bank accounts. Did they think about the man in the cave? Nope. So, the man in the cave decided to treat them as he would any other animal. No, he didn't eat them. He just hung them upside down from a tree and watched. It was highly entertaining. Well, what a shame they didn't last long.
100 Word Stories

Sunday, September 29, 2024

Always?

Home

The chainsaw hanging behind the door didn't go too well with the sweet little quote on the wall. "After all this time. Always." After all this time? Always? That could mean something completely different. He had to go. What are you doing, she asked. Nothing, nothing, just looking for my shoes. Leaving? Well, I... He tapped his watch. Where was the damn door, he thought. She turned around to grab something and to his horror... Is this what you're looking for? He always thought the sound of church bells would be the last thing he would hear. Nope, it wasn't.
100 Word Stories

Sunday, September 22, 2024

Wasp

 

Waterland


The shovel was crap. The ground was too hard. The body was, let's say, unbendable. And no one volunteered to help. Then, there was the wasp. He tried to kill it, but he kept hitting the body, adding cuts to it. It really annoyed him that the coroner would think this guy had been tortured with a shovel. He had a reputation to protect. So, he paid some low level dude who drove by to dig the hole and dumped the two in it. Not his neatest work but even a hitman has a bad day every now and then.
100 Word Stories