Just a collection of inspiring writing examples

The Art of Dying
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/12/23/the-art-of-dying?verso=true

Kenyon Review

Polygamy

Gulf Coast

Electric Literature

All you Have to Do is Kill Her Off

Strange Horizons Fiction: The Serial Killer's Astronaut Daughter, by Damien Angelica Walters

Another fantastic story on Strangehorizons. I should make a donation to this wonderful magazine this year.

Great use of First person POV / Present tense. I like the edgy humour, the beautiful tight wording. The way the dialogue brings characters to life. The stunning TITLE for this story. How could you read the words 'The Serial Killer's Astronaut Daughter' and NOT want to read on?

I checked the author's website and was surprised to find some other work that sits in the Horror camp. A couple of other pieces I read were a lot darker than this. Then again, there's a dark and interesting undertow in this story.

Strange Horizons Fiction: The Serial Killer's Astronaut Daughter, by Damien Angelica Walters:

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The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter

The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter - by Trent Hergenrader

This tale about the daughter of a selkie made me cry. I loved the exquisite writing.

Why was I moved to tears? Because Trent Hergenrader made me feel the huge gap left by the mother's absence. I felt the daughter's sadness and need for love, her isolation. 

On the first reading I thought the ending showed the girl left stranded between 2 worlds. But on the second reading I'm not so sure. The last sentence - In my hand, the shimmering auburn coat felt warm and dry. Maybe this means she chooses her mother's world?

The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter:

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Flash—"Dedication" by Stephen Graham Jones—April 30, 2012

I read this piece during lunch today and it blew me away.  An example of a 'simple' outpour of emotion that builds up into something powerful and moving.


Interestingly, I didn't have any problem with the lack of paragraph breaks, with the density of the writing. I loved the way I was carried along in a rush of emotion. 


The last two sentences are perfect.


I'm going to experiment using this kind of emotional outpour as a way of finding the elements for a story.  Not stopping for paragraph breaks, just letting stuff pour out in one rush should help me turn off the inner editor when drafting something up. 

SmokeLong Weekly—"Dedication" by Stephen Graham Jones—April 30, 2012:

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