Quote I Love: What stirs your respect

Posted on October 24, 2012 by SloanParker

On writing characters…

“It does not matter whether your intent is to portray someone real or someone heroic. To make either type matter to your readers, you need only find in your real human being what is strong, and in your strong human being what is real . . . How do you find the strong or human qualities in your protagonist? What will be most effective to portray? The answer to those lies in you, the author. What is forgivably human to you? What stirs your respect? That is where to start.”

Donald Maass, The Fire in Fiction

Overheard at Writers’ Brainstorming Weekend

Posted on October 1, 2012 by SloanParker

Recently I spent a weekend at a house on a lake with my local writing group. We alternated between writing and helping each other brainstorm story ideas. Here’s some of what was overheard during the weekend:

“The Fire Lube and Goo stories.”
“Life’s too short to spend it in retail.”
“We can’t help because of the prime directive.”
“I showed the neighbors my ta-tas.”
“Now that we got our juices flowing…”
“He doesn’t play our reindeer games” (about our only man who left the room when we started killing off characters with poisoned Viagra)
“I was a whiny bitch.” (from our only man)
“What’s wrong with his nipples?”

And perhaps my fave…

“My hero’s nickname is Meat.” Followed by… “His friend’s name should be Buns.” And then you know where I went… “It can be an m/m. Slap the Meat and Buns together.”

And of course that led us to…

“You gotta give him a T-shirt that says Eat the Meat“

I love this group of writers! There aren’t words to express how reaffirming and energizing it is to hang with other people who get the drive to spend hours and hours creating characters and stories from nothing but your imagination.

Three-Word Scenario: Everything About You

Posted on August 9, 2012 by SloanParker

I shared my latest Three-Word Scenario on my site today. Stop by my website to read my gay m/m romance scenario using the following words. Or check it out below.

7/6/2015: Edited story link and added text below.

Everything About You
by Sloan Parker

I stopped with the jigsaw puzzle piece held in mid-air and stared back at Joe. I couldn’t have heard him correctly.

He was on the couch across the room from me, leaning forward with his elbows propped on those strong, muscular thighs. He had a crooked smirk on his face, that innocent, yet wicked expression usually reserved for the moment right before he was about to attack my dick with his lips. I could almost see a halo over his head and a red pitchfork in his hand. Maybe I had heard him correctly after all.

He added, “I think that piece is part of his beak.”

“What?”

He pointed at the puzzle piece in my hand.

“Oh.” I inserted the three-sided section into the last empty space that made up the red-winged blackbird’s beak.

Now that Joe had asked the question, and the words were hanging there between us, I felt like the biggest dork with the folding table before me covered in puzzle pieces sorted by shape and color. For weeks now I’d been putting together the puzzles my grandma had left behind when she’d passed away. I met his gaze again and studied him.

“What?” he asked.

“Why now?”

“I’ve been watching you put together these bird and rabbit puzzles since the funeral, and I realized something tonight.”

“What?” That I’m the biggest dork on the planet who can’t figure out how to say good-bye to his grandma?

“I love everything about you, and I want to marry you.”

Part 5 of More Than Just a Good Book & Another Giveaway

Posted on July 5, 2012 by SloanParker

Part 5 of MORE THAN JUST A GOOD BOOK is now available on my website. You can read part five here or download parts 1-5 of the serial story in one PDF. Hope you enjoy reading Mark and Scott’s continuing story. I probably won’t work on the next installment until I get the last of HOW TO SAVE A LIFE sent off to a couple people for feedback. I’ll keep you posted on the progress of both.

Want to be among the first to read the next installment of MORE THAN JUST A GOOD BOOK? You can sign up for my newsletter here. I announce the link there first, along with a giveaway for free books in every issue and other exclusive content.

Also, I’m guest blogging at Jessica Freely’s blog today, talking about the importance of reading for me as a writer and giving away a PRINT copy of MORE. Stop by and leave a comment to enter. The giveaway ends on Monday, July 9th at 11:59 pm EST. The winner will be contacted via email.

Quote I Love: Write Only What You Love

Posted on June 13, 2012 by SloanParker

“Love. Fall in love and stay in love. Write only what you love, and love what you write. The key word is love. You have to get up in the morning and write something you love, something to live for.”

–Ray Bradbury