Taven Moore

As always, beware the comments section if you plan on writing something, so as to avoid being influenced. I look forward to seeing your responses! The yellow lines on the highway sped by in a blur, and we flew through the night, and we felt free. But we weren’t, and we knew it. We were running away from something, and running away was never the path to freedom. I thought about asking John to turn back. I thought about suggesting…

I'm cheating a little and posting a book AFTER I've read it ... but I wanted to make sure it was a good one. The fun thing about this one is that it's a book of short stories! So even if you don't like all of them (which I did not) you are almost certain to love some of them (which I most definitely did!). Many many thanks to Faith Williams for rising to the challenge of suggesting it for me. The Starlit Wood Packed with award-winning authors, this anthology explores an array of fairy tales in startling and innovative ways, in genres and settings both traditional and unusual, including science fiction, western, and post-apocalyptic as well as traditional fantasy and contemporary horror. The first and last stories were predictably my favorites, but it was super fascinating to read through all of the different genres, styles, and interpretations. Even if a particular story wasn't to my liking, I still learned a lot from reading them. My favorites included ...

As always, beware the comments section if you plan on writing something, so as to avoid being influenced. I look forward to seeing your responses! Reporters are trained to develop a sixth sense, a nose for when a story smells fishy. And something about this one wasn't right. First of all, ...

Writing Alone So you want to be a writer. But it's difficult. I get it. I'm not making fun, because I 150% get it. Finding the time to do it is difficult enough even before adding in feelings of self-doubt and loneliness. Maybe you don't have any writing friends. Maybe you DO, but they all live far away or have their own super busy lives that don't mesh with yours. If you've ever done NaNoWriMo, you understand the true value of a strong writing community. The camaraderie, the readership, the companionship -- it's heady. It's like going from a world of black-and-white to technicolor ... and when it's gone it's like watching the last leaf fall from a tree and fly off in a chilly breeze. Even those who are very self-motivated can find it difficult to maintain writing when it seems like you're spilling words out into the darkness. I get it. But there are solutions. And they don't involve moving to Canada or Florida to live close...

As always, beware the comments section if you plan on writing something, so as to avoid being influenced. I look forward to seeing your responses! The wind whispered through the dark, empty trees like a warning in a foreign language. Winter was coming, and with winter …

This post was inspired by February's reading -- Ready Player One. This post is spoiler-free, but the comments may not be. You have been warned. I recommend it. I did feel the first half was a little slow, but the second half made up for it and the concept was brilliant. Concept As it happens, the "concept" is what I want to talk to you about. As writers, we often find a great "what if" and want to roll with it. What if Vampires took over after World War 1 and now people are raised as cattle in "pleasant" camps? What if there is a magic key that turns any locked doorway into a portal to a magical land? What if a teenager discovers that she is actually half-unicorn on her 16th birthday? In the case of Ready Player One, you could say, "What if the real world was horrible so most people escaped into a virtual reality realm for their everyday lives?" That's a great idea, and the author does a fantastic job with it. The book...

New week? New prompt! As always, beware the comments section if you plan on writing something, so as to avoid being influenced. I look forward to seeing your responses! "How did you know?" I asked, not sure I wanted the answer. I thought I had been careful. I thought she …."

New week? New prompt! As always, beware the comments section if you plan on writing something, so as to avoid being influenced. I look forward to seeing your responses! I've lived in this town my whole life, and most of the time that's fine by me. But in the late fall when the sky fills with birds migrating south for the winter, traveling thousands of miles, I get homesick for places I've never been. Places like ….

New week? New prompt! As always, beware the comments section if you plan on writing something, so as to avoid being influenced. I look forward to seeing your responses! Perhaps it was a dream, she thought. Perhaps if she pinched herself, she would wake up. But she didn't want to wake up. She wanted to stay in this dream world where ….

"Action without planning is fatal, but planning without action is futile." I've tried to find attribution for that quote without luck, but it seems to be popular in Project Management circles. I heard it at a company meeting about strategic planning and business initiatives. Writing is In Everything Me? Every company meeting I'm in, all I can think about is how it's a lesson I associate with writing. Company-level vision and goals? Writing. Agile project development and SCRUM principles? Also writing. Getting through slumps in diet or workout? Random podcast about getting your career as a comedian started? ... You get the picture. Planners and Pantsers and Weaponry We've talked about planners vs pantsers in the past, and I think it's one of those Hatfield and McCoy situations that makes people draw a line in the sand and stand behind it, weapons out. *draws a line* There's a line, and on this side of it, I'm a planner. BUT. ...

Perry and I have been propping each other up on the writing front for a while now, but I've loved seeing some Saucy faces in the comments and on Facebook, so I figure we should get the band back together. Even if just in a small way. Obviously, no pressure to contribute (or even share your contribution if you don't feel like it) but if you participate, I'd love to see your story in the comments! ... on a related note, avoid the comments until you've written yours, just to be safe. I know I can be accidentally influenced by reading how other people respond to a prompt and I'd hate to accidentally squash your voice. Also, these prompts are the equivalent of an artist's sketch. Repeat, these are WRITING SKETCHES. Perfection is in no way a goal here. All we're doing is stretching our writing muscles with something small and flippant. That being said, the first prompt is .... *drumroll please* At first, we thought the black liquid was oil, that w...