Critique Groups Are A Writer’s Best Friend – #CritiqueGroups #Fantasy #Giveaway @Fallenwood1

By Leslie D. Soule (Guest Blogger)

Often, I can come up with brilliant ideas all on my own (at least, I think they’re brilliant), but much of the time, a story can really get a lot out of being shared with others and critiqued. Prior to the pandemic, I belonged to a writing group in Sacramento, California, called Stonehenge, and we met at a pizza place and shared whatever story we’d been working on, and got commentary from the group on how it could be improved, to make it even better. It was in this group that I worked on stories like “A Case of May”, which is a horror story that was picked up by Terror House Publishing.

I remember explaining what I had of the story, at the time, to the group. One of the members said, “Ghosts have RULES?!”

Haha. Guess I hadn’t quite explained that part.

There’s certainly something to be said, for telling your story to others and seeing how they react to it. After all, they are your audience. In the case of a writing group, your group members are your beta readers.

I’ve often “borrowed” ideas given to me by other people, if it would make a story more interesting (always with permission from the person who came up with the idea). Such was the case with “A Case of May”, where a friend of mine came up with a far more clever ending than what I’d originally envisioned.

So I would highly recommend finding or creating a writing group, because it will not only provide a sense of community, but will most likely also make your writing quite a bit stronger.

“A Case of May” can be found at: https://terrorhousemag.com/case/

Blurb

The Fallenwood Chronicles is the ongoing story of Ash Kensington, a young woman who finds herself transported into a fantasy world, where she must take up arms in a battle of Good vs. Evil, against the Dark Lord Malegaunt. Tragedy strikes her life in the real world, but she finds friends in Fallenwood, like her mentor Will Everett, a talking cat named Greymalkin, and a court jester named Terces. Working together, they battle against the odds as Ash faces attacks from the world and from within. Eventually Ash finds the strength within herself, to attempt the fight against Malegaunt, against overwhelming odds, come what may

Excerpt

Her heart raced and she breathed slowly, trying to calm her frazzled nerves. Glancing around, she wondered how far off the road she’d wandered. She knew it had been midday when she’d started running, and now looking up into the star-filled sky, it had to be late into the night. A rush of air greeted her the moment she reached this strange part of the forest, before her eyes had temporarily forsaken her. The wind whipped around her from all sides. She backed away from where she stood, and the wind felt like it was whooshing up from a precipice. Ashley paused to allow her eyes to adjust to the dark. When her sight returned, she realized that she was standing nowhere near a cliff—it was just an unfamiliar area of forest.

Suddenly, a ball of fire hurtled overhead in an arc toward her. Her mind screamed at her to run, but she found that her legs wouldn’t move. The flaming orb continued its descent, burrowing itself into the soft ground only inches away from Ashley’s boots. Two men rushed toward her, arguing all the while as Ashley stood immobilized. Her bones were in revolt. Her brain scrambled for an alias to give out to the men if they asked, but she could only come up with Ash, because she was looking at the little pile of soot at her boots. “Deflected,” the man in the lead announced.

About the Author

Leslie D. Soule received her M.A. in English from National University. She is a scholar, artist, citizen journalist, and martial artist. She has been an established writer for a decade, and has novels published by Melange Books, Terror House Press, Gypsy Shadow Publishing, and Nat 1 Publishing. The Fallenwood Chronicles is her 4-book fantasy series and features the novels Fallenwood, Forgetting Fallenwood, Betrayer, and Retribution.

Twitter handle: @Fallenwood1

Buy Links

Book One: https://www.amazon.com/Fallenwood-Leslie-D-Soule-ebook/dp/B00OJR1KEA/ref=sr_1_2

Book Two: https://www.amazon.com/Forgetting-Fallenwood-Leslie-D-Soule-ebook/dp/B00HOXV4OW/ref=sr_1_1

Book Three: https://www.amazon.com/Betrayer-Fallenwood-Chronicles-Book-3-ebook/dp/B073RRKRGM/ref=sr_1_1

 

Book Four: https://www.amazon.com/Retribution-Fallenwood-Novel-Leslie-Soule-ebook/dp/B08D6T81QM/ref=sr_1_1

The author will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to one randomly chosen entrant during the tour.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway