Author Archives: slforrester

I read Octavia E. Butler’s novel Kindred back in August, and it’s a book that has stuck with me long since I closed it and returned it to the public library. There– that should be review enough. ***** I adored this book. I have recommended it to friends. It’s the kind of book that makesContinue reading “Book Review: Kindred, by Octavia E. Butler”

Back in November, I entered a writing contest with my original story Return to Madness. I did not win through to the next round, but I did receive some good input from my judges. With that input– along with a couple of minor self-edits– I have reworked the story a bit, while remaining within theContinue reading ““Return to Madness” Judges’ Feedback and Rewrite”

I’ve fallen a bit behind in posting my Twitter compilations. The following are the “best of” from my November stories. For the first half of the month, I used a random word generator to give me prompts, then I gave up on that method and just started writing whatever came to me. Hope you enjoy!Continue reading “November 2020 Twitter Fiction”

Three or four years ago, I went on a “social media fast,” and within days I had written several thousand words of a story I had the idea to make into a web serial. I still plan to revisit that someday. I was quite serious about it, but certain events prompted me to put thatContinue reading “Highs and Lows”

The following flash fiction story is my entry into the NYC Midnight flash fiction writing contest. I was assigned a genre (horror/thriller), an action that must be included in the story (chewing gum), and a word that must appear within the story’s text (grip). I titled the story Return to Madness, then after submission thoughtContinue reading “Short Story: Return to Madness”

For years, I’ve resisted joining Twitter, as I didn’t have much to tweet about. Then, I discovered Twitter Fiction, and I finally had a reason to sign up. I started up in October, during the #writetober2020 challenge (in which one-word prompts are given for each day of the month and you write a story inContinue reading “Twitter Fiction, October 2020”

It’s that time of year again, when aspiring writers all over the world tackle National Novel Writing Month– one month to draft a novel! Will it be messy? YES Will it be stressful at times? YES Will I be staying up later than usual? Probably. Will I regret a single moment? N-O 🙂 This year’sContinue reading “NaNoWriMo 2020!”

As if I didn’t have enough to do with my time, I accepted an invitation to join a book club with some other local women I know. I’m actually pretty happy about it, but at the same time, uh… That’s one less evening a month I’ll have to devote to writing. But it’ll be goodContinue reading “And Now I’ve Gone and Joined a Book Club…”

Alternately titled: Yes, It Is Possible To Like a Person Without Loving What They Write. The last couple of months, I have enjoyed watching and following the YouTube Channel of traditionally published YA author, Alexa Donne. I like her, I like her videos, she has some fantastic advice to share with aspiring writers interested inContinue reading “Book Review: Brightly Burning, by Alexa Donne”

Last week, my family watched Spiderman together– the one starring Tobey Maguire. It’s one I’ve seen a few times before, but this was my first time watching it while being educated about story structure. I have to say, I was impressed. What is it about this movie that makes it such an excellent example ofContinue reading “Spiderman: The Perfect Plot?”