I suspect that not a lot of people do it any more, read fiction that is. I didn't for many years.
It's just too effortless to be transported into someone else's story with all the new media available to us. There are those big beautiful television screens we can enjoy in our homes. And then there's all those streaming apps, audible books and podcasts that we can open on the phones we carry in our pockets.
But reading a work of fiction gives our minds a work-out. We join with the author in creating the scenes in our imagination. We interlace ourselves into the characters, identifying with them, sensing the feelings and subjective experiences we have inside are within them as well. This is magic. It is more personal in the reading than it could ever be watched on a screen. But it is a bit of work, the sort of work that leaves us feeling connected to something rather than observing it separate from ourselves. It can leave us feeling more satisfied than if we'd just been a watcher.
I write to explore human nature and I believe my readers have the same goal as they read. With reading that exploration is more private and deeply personal than it is with stories acted out for our viewing. We hear the dialogue spoken inside our heads rather than hearing it through our ears. We become more engaged with understanding and feeling the elements of the plot. We create the story out of the words on the page much like the author did in putting the words onto the page in the first place.
But if you've gotten this far down this webpage, I suspect you know this. You probably read fiction.
And so ... do I have some great little offerings for you!
It's just too effortless to be transported into someone else's story with all the new media available to us. There are those big beautiful television screens we can enjoy in our homes. And then there's all those streaming apps, audible books and podcasts that we can open on the phones we carry in our pockets.
But reading a work of fiction gives our minds a work-out. We join with the author in creating the scenes in our imagination. We interlace ourselves into the characters, identifying with them, sensing the feelings and subjective experiences we have inside are within them as well. This is magic. It is more personal in the reading than it could ever be watched on a screen. But it is a bit of work, the sort of work that leaves us feeling connected to something rather than observing it separate from ourselves. It can leave us feeling more satisfied than if we'd just been a watcher.
I write to explore human nature and I believe my readers have the same goal as they read. With reading that exploration is more private and deeply personal than it is with stories acted out for our viewing. We hear the dialogue spoken inside our heads rather than hearing it through our ears. We become more engaged with understanding and feeling the elements of the plot. We create the story out of the words on the page much like the author did in putting the words onto the page in the first place.
But if you've gotten this far down this webpage, I suspect you know this. You probably read fiction.
And so ... do I have some great little offerings for you!
So let's get to it.
Years ago we lived in Bancroft, Ontario, Canada. We had a little apartment at the end of the lake, just across from Paudash General Store. The story of Peter takes me back there ... to the people, the scenery, the snow... Here's the clickable link to Peter.
You may have already checked out my award winning story The Four of Us. It placed 9th in an international field of 567 entries. The link is on the landing page of this website and you can also access it from here.
Last spring I entered the same contest again but didn't place (only the top 3% of stories are awarded or given honorary mention). The story is still one of my favourites so I will post it here. The contest provides a choice of five characters to include (I chose a dog walker) and five contexts in which to set the story (I chose an RV park). Then from there a specific element had to be included: for this one it was a scroll. By the way, there's a Great Pyrenees dog in the story. The banner photo on the page with this story is of my Great Pyrenees (Lady) and me enjoying the moment. Here's the link.
You may have already checked out my award winning story The Four of Us. It placed 9th in an international field of 567 entries. The link is on the landing page of this website and you can also access it from here.
Last spring I entered the same contest again but didn't place (only the top 3% of stories are awarded or given honorary mention). The story is still one of my favourites so I will post it here. The contest provides a choice of five characters to include (I chose a dog walker) and five contexts in which to set the story (I chose an RV park). Then from there a specific element had to be included: for this one it was a scroll. By the way, there's a Great Pyrenees dog in the story. The banner photo on the page with this story is of my Great Pyrenees (Lady) and me enjoying the moment. Here's the link.
And there's a whole bunch more ...
these are a few of the recent ones.
Consider a scenario: A very conservative religious older couple adopts a parrot who has been taught to swear in both official languages by the sailors down at the marina. But that’s not all that story is about. It is also about grace and about the hardest of hearts being able to soften and grow. It is a very funny story that will keep you chuckling throughout.
Or another scenario: An old piano tuner discovers that the rooms the pianos reside in and the people who play them impact on the health of the piano. Harshness in conversations taking place in the piano’s presence can deposit bitterness on the strings. But the real story is about healing and finding solace in the most unlikely of relationships.
Yet again, another one: A boy raised with the notion that he can be anything he wants to be in life finds that life is not about achievement and success but is about something entirely different. He learns it from a rather unlikely source.
Or how about: an Alberta ex-pat, moving to another part of Canada, finds a whole different sort of people there. But that's not the only story. He opens a belated gift from his deceased father, finding frustration and a fit of wisdom in what he was so quick to ignore before.
You can obtain a personal copy of these stories by return email. Write to me at [email protected].
Do you feel like upping the game a bit?
I have two new novels in process. I am always looking for beta-readers to provide prepublication feedback on my writing. The feedback you provide could be as simple as a text message sharing a comment or emotional experience of the piece. Or, it could be more extensive if you wish. Any critical feedback I can get helps me as a writer.
So here are the two projects.
I have just finished a re-write of the sequel novel to An Incoming Tide. It digs deep into the impact of trauma and the recovery process, tracking the next year in the lives of characters who survived the murder mystery in that previous novel.
If you like the short story genre, I have a novel that is comprised of short stories. Each of the stories (complete in itself) focuses on the same central character of the novel and also contributes to the overall plot of the novel. Saving Steven is fictionally autobiographical as I visit the context of my childhood and reflect on the process of now being in my senior years. It is also redemptive and healing.
Being a beta-reader offers a unique opportunity to look inside the process of writing fiction. If you are up to it, we will engage in conversation about what you've read. What a rare opportunity this can be for you... the chance to engage with an author and help shape the stories that he writes! If you are game to take up this opportunity, please be in touch with me at [email protected].
Gosh, I'm excited about this. Let's go.
So here are the two projects.
I have just finished a re-write of the sequel novel to An Incoming Tide. It digs deep into the impact of trauma and the recovery process, tracking the next year in the lives of characters who survived the murder mystery in that previous novel.
If you like the short story genre, I have a novel that is comprised of short stories. Each of the stories (complete in itself) focuses on the same central character of the novel and also contributes to the overall plot of the novel. Saving Steven is fictionally autobiographical as I visit the context of my childhood and reflect on the process of now being in my senior years. It is also redemptive and healing.
Being a beta-reader offers a unique opportunity to look inside the process of writing fiction. If you are up to it, we will engage in conversation about what you've read. What a rare opportunity this can be for you... the chance to engage with an author and help shape the stories that he writes! If you are game to take up this opportunity, please be in touch with me at [email protected].
Gosh, I'm excited about this. Let's go.
By the way, the top and bottom images on this page were taken when I visited the Vigeland Sculpture Garden in Oslo, Norway.
