Category Archives: Commentary

Call the tech guy!

Posted on May 4, 2014 by mtdecker

Okay, it’s not as traditional as the dog ate my homework but… my desktop won’t boot and I can’t get to my most recent edits… I was going to edit this afternoon, I really was, but my desktop has decided … Continue reading →

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Musings on the importance of the first line

Posted on April 28, 2014 by mtdecker

A lot of people talk about having a hook, or if we are going for a fishing metaphor lure, that catches the reader’s attention long enough to hook them and draw them in… but there’s a lot more to it … Continue reading →

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Poetry Part 2: Is there poetry without rhythm?

Posted on April 26, 2014 by mtdecker

The answer, in my not so humble opinion, is yes… and no. Rhythm is in everything we do.  It is the tick of the clock, the movement of the pendulum, the very beat of our hearts is rhythmic.  Rhythm can … Continue reading →

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Musing on voice, its advantages and disadvantages

Posted on April 24, 2014 by mtdecker

The predictability of being unpredictable. As I’ve stated earlier, I’ve been writing for flash fiction contests for over a year now, and although almost all the judges judge ‘blind’ (they collect the stories without the author’s information) they almost always … Continue reading →

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Flash Fiction – a Matter of Opinion

Posted on April 22, 2014 by mtdecker

It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost a year since I started entering flash fiction competitions but I’ve learned a lot in that year: the most important lesson I think is to trust your instincts and don’t get too … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Flash Fiction, Point of View, writing | Tagged | 2 Comments

A few thoughts on voice and cover letters.

Posted on April 21, 2014 by mtdecker

A lot of writing workshops and classes will talk about style and voice. These are the spices that flavor your writing and make them yours. Finding your voice as a writer is very important: it helps you establish a rapport … Continue reading →

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Awake

Posted on February 17, 2014 by mtdecker

Here I am, up way too early.  So what do I do? I write about it… It’s weird.  since I’ve started judging flash fiction, I’ve been less inclined to write it.  The thing is, it’s not some secret ‘I’ve seen … Continue reading →

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Poetry: Part 2 Interrelationships

Posted on January 18, 2014 by mtdecker

As stated in the overview, emotion, rhythm and meaning are building blocks of poetry.  In Part 1 we discussed them in relationship to words, now it’s time to think about their relationship to each other. One of the best examples … Continue reading →

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FlashFriday – Vol 2-6 – Anatomy of a story

Posted on January 18, 2014 by mtdecker

This time, rather than reverse engineer my story’s progress and comment after the fact, I decided to write down the entire process.   As you may or may not know, FlashFriday is a flash fiction (short story/micro fiction) contest that … Continue reading →

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Flash Friday Vol.2 -5 Adventures in Judging part 2

Posted on January 13, 2014 by mtdecker

1/10/2014 – Stay up until Midnight to see the picture and see if anything strikes me as interesting.  – I have a few ideas, but a long day ahead of me so I go to bed. I have a few … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Flash Fiction, general, Judging, writing | 1 Comment