Blog Archives
Hone your writing skills in these micro-focused classes! I start teaching September 28!
Back to class! I’m thrilled to announce Trisha J. Wooldridge and I will be hosting an online Master Toolbox Series for writers that micro-focuses on specific skills. There’s one session a month and, at $35/each, they’re affordable; you can take just one, multiples, or, if you wish, all of them at a discounted price. They’re also keyed to any skill level. Proceeds support both the New England Horror Writers and 34 Orchard. Details and how to register below.
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Tools of the writing trade need a sharpen? Need to pick up some new ones? No worries! Beginning in September, 2022 and monthly through February, 2023, the New England Horror Writers will present two hour Zoom webinars (which will include exercises and time for Q&A) that delve deep into the specifics of craft and business skills!
Open to the general public and NEHW members, each class will focus on a specific topic. Instructors are Kristi Petersen Schoonover and Trisha J. Wooldridge.
If you’re looking to build some new skills, these micro-focused, affordable classes are the way to go—and yes, we have plans to offer subsequent sessions with different topics every fall-winter going forward!
Here’s the full schedule:
Wednesday, September 28, 2022 – 7—9 pm
Story Openings Blueprint
We’ve only got one sentence to hammer that “you must keep reading me!” message home—and many writers don’t realize that sometimes, a piece getting moved out of slush is dependent on the strength of that one sentence. From do’s and don’ts to mining and can’t-miss criteria, this class gives the blueprint for great openers.
Wednesday, October 12, 2022 – 7—9 pm
Excess Hardware: Wordiness and Filter Phrases
We build stories from words and phrases—but sometimes we use more hardware than necessary to get the job done! This course teaches how to thoroughly inspect the piece to identify extra words and filter phrases and how to remove them for a cleaner reading experience.
Wednesday, November 16, 2022 – 7—9 pm
EnTITLEment: Top-Notch Titles
A title isn’t just a label in My Documents. A good one should tell the editor or reader something about the story—right down to its tone. EnTITLEment provides the tools to nail a top-notch title every time, so that it not only stands out in an editor’s inbox—it pops in a ToC!
Wednesday, December 14 – 7—9pm
The Architecture of the Submissions Process
There’s more to the submissions process than just clicking send. We’ll offer plenty of insider tips on everything from formatting, market searching and close reading of guidelines to cover letters and bios to ensure pieces get considered. We’ll also cover other mechanics like tracking and how to develop structured—but easy—processes that guarantee we don’t inadvertently screw ourselves.
Wednesday, January 25 – 7—9pm
Dampproofing Dialogue
At best, dialogue can say a lot about characters, make them leap off the page, and be incredibly memorable; at worst, it can waterlog the pacing, tell instead of show, turn the story into a boring lecture and quite literally, say nothing. We’ll not only study how to write effective dialogue that makes characters feel organic, we’ll look at formatting, dos and don’ts, and how to make choices about what comes out of people’s mouths.
Wednesday, February 22 – 7—9pm
Nailing Theme
When it comes to theme, many of us probably didn’t feel like the sharpest tool in the shed that was high school English—but as writers, understanding theme is crucial: it’s the support beam of the story. We’ve got a fool-proof, easy way to identify theme and thematic statement, and we’ll teach its use in building a story that will stand the test of time.
Class materials will be sent to registrants ahead of time via email and are included in the $25 NEHW Member/$35 NON-NEHW Member fees. You can sign up for any combination of classes. Want to buy access to ALL SIX webinars? You can do that too: Member price for all six webinars is $130; Non-member price is $175.
Registration for NEHW Members:
https://wickedcreativellc.submittable.com/submit/231651/nehw-members-master-toolbox-webinar-series
Registration for Non-paid Members:
https://wickedcreativellc.submittable.com/submit/232874/nehw-non-members-master-toolbox-webinar-series
The Stars Were Right! at NECRONOMICON PROVIDENCE 2022
Narragansett Beer is…awesome! That is all.
A little whirlwind tour of my experience at NecronomiCon Providence 2022. Enjoy! There are links at the end of the gallery for anything you might wish to know about further.
What an amazing weekend. See y’all in 2024, NECRO PEEPS!
LINKS
Here are links to things mentioned in the captions, in case you want to check them out!
NECRONOMICON PROVIDENCE IS COMING: I’ve got a reading! An art show, panels, parties and a ball!
Even as I juggle fifty million projects (an anthology, the 10th anniversary of Bad Apple, 34 Orchard, HWA-CT business, a short story deadline and critiques I owe people)…I’m getting ready for NECRONOMICON PROVIDENCE, in Rhode Island August 18—21, 2022! The main website for the event is here: http://necronomicon-providence.com/welcome/
I made my own schedule book so I can choose all the things I want to go to. See all those flags on the right? Yeah, I’m gonna be BUSY!
Here are some of my cast-in-stone plans. Would you like to join me? Some events require a ticket (one-day passes are available HERE: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/necronomicon-providence-2022-tickets-143546536555) but some events are not only open to the public, but free! Please note, according to their website, masks and proof of vaccination will be required for all indoor events. Policies are here: http://necronomicon-providence.com/policies-privacy/
In between whatever I’m doing, I’ll be taking in panels—both pop and academic, readings, at least one performance, a few short films, and hooking up with friends old and new. I’ve got my wish list ready to go, but it’ll be a busy weekend, and it’s very fluid.
Before I get started, Read the rest of this entry
In CT? Visit me at BOOK FIEND READER’S FEST this Saturday, June 25!
Come say hello at Book Fiend Reader’s Fest this Saturday, June 25, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Cheney Hall, 177 Hartford Road, Manchester, CT. The event is free!
Sponsored by Silk City Steampunk and Oddball Newt, this celebration of steampunk, sci-fi, horror, paranormal, fantasy, mystery, and supernatural authors will feature sword fighting demos, food trucks and plenty of other fun. There will be opportunities to buy books and have them signed, shop for some cool and unique gifts, attend some panels—and even join us for tea at the end of the day for informal chats with writers (the tea is the only thing there’s a charge for—it’s $10, and you can pay at the door. See the above poster for more details).
I’ll be manning the New England Horror Writers table with writer Trisha J. Wooldridge. We’ll have most of the books in the Wicked series on hand, as well as books by both of us and by other NEHW members. Writer Gevera Bert Piedmont—well known for fantastical lizard stories—will be in the booth next to us!
I will be joining other writers on a panel called The Horror! The Madness! The Creeping Sense of Doom!—about writing horror. It’ll run from 12:45 to 1:45 in the Panel Room. I’ll also be available for chats at the tea.
Come on by if you’re so inclined. I’d love to see you there!
This weekend’s Writing/Submissions/Marketing Workshop in Westford, MA: Yes, you can pay at the door; No, you don’t have to be an NEHW member
This weekend’s Writing/Submissions/Marketing Workshop, sponsored by the NEHW, is YES, open to people who didn’t register. You can just pay at the door (I got a few emails about this, so I figured I’d throw it up here, too, just in case), and NO, you do not have to be an NEHW member. This is open to all.
The full day is TOMORROW, SATURDAY, APRIL 9, from 9:30 am – 6 pm at Atelier Pro-Kreative in the C.C. Sargent’s & Sons 1877 mill building on 69 Broadway Street, Westford, MA.
Event Description: After some networking time with morning refreshments, instructors Kristi Petersen Schoonover, Scott T. Goudsward, and Trisha J. Wooldridge will lead a three-hour workshop on writing, submitting, and marketing short stories, with the option of additional critiques for submitted writing samples. In the afternoon, authors and editors from NEHW’s Wicked Women and Wicked Creatures anthologies will be signing, selling their own work, and taking part in a giant Q&A. Opportunities to network, purchase anthologies and authors’ publications, and socialize will happen before the workshops, during lunch, and at the end of the event.
Here’s the schedule for the day, and pricing. The only thing not available “at the door” would be the critiques, so I didn’t put them here.
Costs for the event are tiered and a la carte:
Full day of 3-hour workshop, breakfast, lunch, networking, signing, author Q & A:
NEHW members: $50 Non-NEHW members: $60
Afternoon only, including lunch:
NEHW members: $25 Non-NEHW members: $30
Schedule
9:30-10:00: Light morning snacks, coffee, tea, water
10:00 -10:50: Workshop Part 1: Crafting Short Stories
11:00-11:50: Workshop Part 2: Submitting and Selling Short Storie
12:00-12:50: Workshop Part 3: “I sold a story! Now what?” Marketing & Promo
1:00-2:15: Lunch and Networking, Shopping Time
2:30-2:50: Author Signing (& Shopping Time)
3:00-4:30: Wicked Q&A
4:45-6:00: Individual Critique feedback in private, Social & Networking Time
If you can make it, we’ll see you tomorrow! If not, YES, I will be posting photos next week.
Writer? Get your short story shine-on this coming Saturday, April 9!
Want some insider tips on writing, submitting, and marketing your short stories and selling to mags and anthos? Then don’t miss this workshop with me and experienced publication editors this coming Saturday, April 9, 2022, from 9:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. in Westford, Massachusetts!
Bonus? Lunch and a stellar signing event with the writers included in Wicked Women (which contains my story, “Arbor Day”) and Wicked Creatures (which includes my story, “Carving Grace”)!
Here are the details—I really hope to see you there!
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Writing, Submitting, and Marketing Short Stories/Making Anthologies will be held at Atelier Pro-Kreative in the C.C. Sargent’s & Sons 1877 mill building on 69 Broadway Street, Westford, Mass.
After some networking time with morning refreshments, Read the rest of this entry
The perfect accompaniment to “Carving Grace” …
Acapella group VoicePlay performs “Hoist the Colours.”
Our month of celebrating figureheads has come to an end. If you’d like to know more about real figureheads and their mythology, there are loads of resources—I didn’t spend any time this month talking about the real things because honestly, there are experts out there who have researched and published information that is much more eloquent and accurate than anything I could’ve written; there’s no point in paraphrasing something someone else did much better.
Here are some links if you’d like to learn more about figureheads and what it requires to make them:
The Historic England Blog: A Brief History of Ships’ Figureheads
https://heritagecalling.com/2019/01/31/a-brief-history-of-ships-figureheads/
Martin Jeffrey—Ship’s Figurehead Carving (he’s a real figurehead carver)
Daily Art Magazine: Wild Women of the Waves – Art of Ships Figureheads
https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/art-of-ships-figureheads/
Need a little bit of atmosphere to take with you? Here’s an acapella version of “Hoist the Colours” by a group called VoicePlay that’s absolutely unforgettable.
VoicePlay’s rendition of “Hoist the Colours”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO8NEsx9m58
“Hoist the Colors,” while many think it’s a legitimate sea chantey, is not. It was written by Hans Zimmer for one of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean films, but that doesn’t make it any less creepy. It’s so good it’s really hard to tell it’s not authentic—and I think it’s a perfect fit with “Carving Grace.”
Haven’t read “Carving Grace” yet? If you’d like to—and you’d like an anthology full of lots of other fun creepy creatures—you can pick up a copy of Wicked Creatures here: https://bit.ly/WickedC
Need original monsters? WICKED CREATURES antho features my story “Carving Grace” and lots of unique creeps!
Monster anthologies—there are so many! Wicked Creatures is crammed with seriously unusual ones, though—everything from a mumble man to scary train beings. And it’s now available!
The antho features my short story “Carving Grace.” In it, living figureheads scour the streets of Timber Inlet in search of happy souls to punish. Grace, who struggles with depression, thinks she’s safe … until Read the rest of this entry
“Carving Grace” accepted for WICKED CREATURES anthology!
Woman with Roses, a ship figurehead from the permanent collection at Mystic Seaport. It is believed to be a likeness of Belva Lockwood, a women’s rights advocate who did too many important things to list them all here. Of all the figureheads I saw in the exhibit, this one reminded me the most of the creatures in “Carving Grace.”
I’m thrilled to announce that my short story, “Carving Grace”—about vengeful figureheads—has been accepted to the New England Horror Writers’ Wicked Creatures anthology, slated for publication in this fall! If you love haunting stories set by the sea, you’ll like this.
I’m sharing this TOC with many talented writers; here’s the complete list:
“Weatherman and the Monk” – Nick A. Zaino III
“Silver Leaves and Moth Wings” – Dave Bernard
“It Whispers in My Brain” – Peter Dudar
“Massive Entity-17 Bernardo Carpio” – Ken Vaughan
“The Ookie Birds” – Paul McMahon
“Wood You Love?” – Rob Smales
“Ulcinium” – Frank Raymond Michaels
“Kobold” – John Foster
“Flutter” – John Grover
“Burning Bright” – Errick Nunnally
“The Night has a Chill” – Katherine Silva
“Birth of a Creature” – Cindy O’Quinn
“Heart of Frankenstein” – Trisha Wooldridge
“Harvest” – Morgan Sylvia
“Quality of Mercy” – Richard Alan Scott
“Dragon’s Scales” – Victoria Dalpe
“Lavinia” – Patricia Gomes
“The Thing in the Window” – D.E. Ladd
“Carving Grace” – Kristi Petersen Schoonover
“There is no 21:38 Westbound” – John Buja
“Sick and the Cursed” – Timothy Flynn
“The Mumble Man” – James A. Moore
“Keep on Trucking” – Daniel R. Robichaud II
“Fifteen Years From Now” – Howard Odentz
The anthology will be edited by Dan Keohane, David Price & Scott Goudsward.
I’ll keep you posted on when it’s available!
“Arbor Day” is here—join me for a reading with other WICKED WOMEN at the virtual COFFEEHOUSE OF THE DAMNED tonight at 7 pm!
I’m thrilled to announce that my short story “Arbor Day”—creepy trees and bodies is all I’m going to reference—is now available in the newest New England Horror Writers anthology, Wicked Women!
Want a preview of this awesome antho and my story as well? Tonight at 7 pm, I’ll be reading with Christine Lajewski, Jennifer Williams, Elaine Pascale, Sara Marks, and Morgan Sylvia, and I’m the last one of the evening.
You can watch the open ZOOM meeting here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89312013237…
Want to hear more about my story? You can get behind the scenes at Morgan Sylvia’s blog here: https://morgansylvia.com/2020/12/20/wicked-women-blog-hop-kristi-petersen-schoonover/
Want to purchase Wicked Women? You can do that in paperback and Kindle here: http://bit.ly/WWArborDay
