Six Sentence Sunday: "Dead Links"

I'm joining the Six Sentence Sunday movement with this excerpt from my technothriller, Dead Links. If you're not familiar with it, the idea is to post six sentences from a work in progress or published novel.

The waiter's gun poured bullets into the cushions of the booth. Tufts of foam burst out of the holes to dance in the air like snow. The chatter of the Spectre ignited screams all through the restaurant, as well as the thunder of chairs toppling over and footsteps pounding from others trying to escape.

Amanda ran along the wall of booths, zigzagging to keep from giving their attacker a clear shot. A framed lithograph of an ocean scene shattered as bullets traced a ragged line across it. Glass rained down onto a screaming man sitting at the table.

If you'd like to read the rest of it, you can get the full novel at the Amazon Kindle Store.

Machine of Death: 'Alien Abduction' [Story]

The following short story was written for the second volume of the sci-fi anthology, Machine of Death: A Collection of Stories About People Who Know How They Will Die. The story was rejected, so I'm presenting it here for free. If you're not familiar with it, Machine of Death is a collection of short stories about a machine that takes a drop of blood, and prints out a card with a phrase that tells you exactly how you will die. It doesn't say where or when, and sometimes the card is so vague that you don't even know what it means, but it's never wrong. The title of every story is taken from a machine of death card. So here's my take on it:

UPDATE: I've moved this story to my new writing-only blog. You can read it here.

Not-So-Pointless: More Thoughts on NaNoWriMo

I admit, since I wrote that last post on National Novel Writing Month, I have softened my tone. I do think there is value to the speed-writing approach. I have so many novels plotted out that I think would be great, but never get around to writing because it seems such a monumental chore. To think I can churn them out in a month makes it easier. Other novels I've started, and then let taper off after my enthusiasm waned. For me, the hardest part is getting something down on paper (er, in my case, down on hard drive). Once the first draft is complete and I have something to work with, it takes some pressure off.

My last completed novel took me three months to write, and then I spent another two months revising and editing. I have to admit that most of the best parts of the novel came in the revision, not the first draft.The novel I wrote in November is extremely rough, but how many writers do nail it on the first draft, anyway? I don't. I was surprised at how much of it came out well, actually. In fact, some of it may be my best writing ever. My biggest concern is how to add another 40,000 words to make it a saleable length. I don't think writing 10,000 words of the main character eating breakfast is going to cut it.

Pointless: NaNoWriMo

In case you didn't know, National Novel Writing Month (more commonly known awkwardly as NaNoWriMo) was in November. The month is dedicated to writing an entire novel, and the goal of everyone who participates is to write 50,000 words in one month. I've heard of it for years and never participated. Well, this year I had a novel idea that I really wanted to do, and it was October anyway, so I signed up. And I did it. It was a close call for a while there, considering on Nov 15, I had only written 17,000 words, but I made a burst of speed in the end by writing at work.

In the end, I found myself disappointed by the whole experience. I'm happy I finished the novel, but I realized that the whole exercise is kind of pointless. First of all, technically 50,000 words is not a novel. That's a novella. Second, the FAQ discourages focusing on things like character, plot, and revision, just brute force. Well, I could write 50,000 words of garbage, but that doesn't do me any good. I also discovered that a few of the "winners" cheated by starting the month with more than zero words to begin with. I also discovered that while many people who participate do publish their works, most never actually go back and polish up their NaNoWriMo works. It's a good writing exercise to get past writer's block, but I can't take it too seriously. Still...I won. And I have a first draft. Which is a good start.

Dead Links: Free thriller novel ebook

It has begun...check out this free ebook, a thriller novel called Dead Links about the Internet, addiction, and mind control. Here's the summary:

A popular psychologist is shot to death by a jealous husband. A millionaire dives into a bonfire of his own creation. A woman starves to death in front of her computer next to a kitchen full of food.

The owners of popular websites are dying, and freelance journalist Amanda Katt wants to know why. Could it have something to do with Arachne, one of the most popular sites on the Internet? When Amanda Katt sets out to answer that question, she gets more than just another story. Someone has found a way to make a website more addictive than any drug. It will make people go anywhere, do anything, and kill anyone to protect it. As Amanda races to unravel the mystery of Arachne's power, she finds herself plunged into a world of death and deception. She soon discovers that Arachne is everywhere and so are its followers, and that she's the only one who can stop it before it's too late.

Check it out at Nigelgmitchell.bravehost.com