R. C. Beckett

R. C. Beckett  was given a collection of Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazines as a teenager and read hundreds of the stories -- he was hooked and started writing fiction in 2013.   He loves to write hard science fiction, but can't help adding a bit of humor.  Publications:  "Exit Mars" and "Exit Earth" (available on Amazon).  "Exit Pluto", the third in the Exit series, should be published in the near future. He is finishing up a new novel, Legacy of Earth. He lives in Golden Colorado and is a member of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers.  Walking his dog is key to his writing since that's when he imagines plots for his stories.  He also volunteers as a webmaster for non-profit companies including SpecFicWriters.

Dots and Dashes for Fiction Writers

by

In a recent critique session, the subject of punctuation arose. Should a fiction writer use exclamation points, colons, and parenthesis? What is the right way to use the hyphen (-), dash (—), and ellipsis(…)? Experienced fiction writers rarely use exclamation points. It has the same problematic effect as typing in …

Writing and Critiquing Fantasy

by

During the pandemic of 2020, fantasy writing experienced an astounding increase in popularity, perhaps a form of escape, with a massive increase in stories written for adults. The statistics compiled by WordsRated.com show fantasy book sales in 2021 increased 45%, compared to 2020. This was the largest increase among all …

Your Character’s Thoughts

by

At a glance, it used to be easy to identify what a character was thinking, hearing, seeing, or saying BECAUSE the author would write: he thought, she heard, he saw or she said… The current trend is to remove such markers or filters to reduce the “narrative distance” between the …

Pixlr E Review – Free Online Image Editor

by

Image editing is helpful for authors who need images for blogs, newsletters, social media and other marketing activities. Those who self-publish often prefer an inexpensive image editor that is not too complicated. Photoshop is the standard for marketing professionals, but it has a very steep learning curve, not to mention …

The Improving World of Self-Publishing

by

Over the past decade, it has become obvious to everyone that creating and reading fiction will be done through the e-book. Although Amazon (Kindle Digital Publishing) is the gorilla in the e-book world, it is still basically an e-book publisher. Amazon keeps that position because it provides end-to-end services from …

3rd Person Omniscient POV

by

The third person omniscient point of view is the most open and flexible POV available to writers. As the name implies, an omniscient narrator is all-seeing and all-knowing. — David Mamet Once a writer decides to use a third person point of view (POV) the next question is: what is …

Short Story Elements

by

Short stories are fun to read because they pack an unexpected emotional punch. However, “short” does not mean easy to write, or a formless type of expression. Quite the contrary, they are written and rewritten numerous times with herculean effort to be efficient, banish loose ends, conclude with a plot …

Writing the Great Ending

by

Writers are a creative group of people who have invented several satisfying ways to end a story. The Straightforward: The story problem is solved, conflict is resolved and the main character’s journey ends. This is the most common ending, a “happy ending”. The Shocker: Typical of horror, crime and thriller …

Plot is the Beating Heart of a Story

by

What allows an author to convert something familiar, important or truthful into a story that is interesting? Simple answer: a plot. A story is NOT your diary, your years working as a gallbladder surgeon or the truth that advertisements lie. Readers want a plot that pulls them from the beginning …