Top Stories
Stories in Critique that you’ll love, handpicked by our team.
Picking the Right Moment to Start. Honorable Mention in Self-Editing Epiphany Challenge.
You’ve likely heard some of this conventional writing advice before: Start “in media res” A reader can tolerate proportionally as much exposition as the plot has achieved momentum – Stephen King (I think) Begin in the moment and feed the reader details as the plot progresses
By Stephen A. Roddewig10 months ago in Critique
A Writer in Paris
A writer in Paris. Do they exist? How does one even get such a title.Or is it just an ‘instagram vs. reality’ fictional character, in a fictional world, Sex and the City type-thingy? It’s got to be a monologue or some sort of identity crisis that someone coins themself within their mind to make them feel like their craft is of great importance -right?
By Natasha Collazo10 months ago in Critique
beginning-endings. Runner-Up in Self-Editing Epiphany Challenge.
The following is an excerpt of a draft of the opening of a novel which I hope to someday write. This piece is being submitted for Vocal's "Self-Editing Epiphany" Challenge, and will therefore include my analysis and reflections following the conclusion of the excerpt. Cheers, friends!
By Gabriel Huizenga10 months ago in Critique
Self-Editing Epiphany
Like any challenge I first read the description of what the challenge is about and what the judges are asking from us as creative writers. So in this challenge "Self-Editing Epiphany they ask us to share an excerpt that I would consider both imperfect and brimming with potential! Immediately I thought of the story I shared in the "Unreliable" Challenge. This challenge asked us to write a story from the perspective of an unreliable narrator.
By J.W. Baird10 months ago in Critique
Can I whip it into shape?
How hard could it be, to write an absurd story? After all, life is one constant struggle reigning in absurd behaviour and thinking. Strolling alongside the creek with my daughter and beloved dog, I shared my ‘brilliant’ story ideas. Then I hustled home to record them before they fell out of my sieve of a brain.
By Angie the Archivist 📚🪶10 months ago in Critique
Self-Editing Epiphany
People Pleaser: A blessing or a curse? I am the youngest of six, to a mother that struggled her whole life with Bi-polar disorder, before there was positive treatment. She was the daughter of an English teacher and the oldest granddaughter to a preacher. Because of this, she struggled to let the mask fall and get the help she needed.
By Kelli Sheckler-Amsden11 months ago in Critique
The Dumbest Criminals
Barry & Gary were a couple of absolute spanners! Dumb as rocks those two blokes were, they became a laughing stock in London, nobody took them seriously. Not even your old gran would be threatened by their pathetic attempts at threats, they looked as dim-witted as they appeared too. Both of whom were balding and pudgy, looking like aged bulldogs that do nothing but grumble, sleep and shit all day long. If they didn't look so bloody hilarious, they might've been shot in the head, both of them, long before this story. Gangsters kept the two spanners alive, just to point and laugh at them, I suppose. Barry & Gary were "wannabe thugs", who often preyed on teenagers instead of grown men like themselves, yet they would still get battered by the rowdy chavs more often than not. Whenever the police were knocking about, they'd both shit themselves and leg it, like a couple of rats! The two men were cousins who grew up in the nicer part of Essex, but always wanted to appear tough and rough, putting on fake cockney accents and walking with their arms stretched out, looking like your mam carrying the shopping bags home. This went on for years, trying to appear like the hardest men in London, only to fail every time. So, of course they got desperate. Started bars fights and always lost, began pick pocketing and always got caught. Always ran whenever a knife was pulled out on them or something. They decided to rob a barbers one day, that's right. Not a bank, not a shop, not even a restaurant, a barbers. It was a start I guess, how hard could that be? They often visited the same place to get their haircut, so nobody expected them to try and rob the place. They entered on a Saturday morning at 9AM.
By Joseph Roy Wrightabout a year ago in Critique
Watching Twilight For The First Time
This is sort of weird for what an avid reader of young adult fiction I was back in my teens, but I never actually read much of Stephanie Meyer’s famous Twilight. I briefly borrowed one of the books from my cousin, skimmed a few pages, and then gave it back because I didn’t like it. And that’s where it ended for me.
By angela hepworthabout a year ago in Critique
The Table 2
An empty table where are the people to enjoy the space. (An empty table could mean a lot of things to me. One reason for an empty table is because there is no family. Another reason for an empty table there could be no food, but still another reason for an empty table could be that no care to show up just to be together food or no food. A table's purpose to bring together those who care and share what is important with one another. I know in today's society its main purpose is to be a vehicle to serve and eat food with very little meaningful conversation except for maybe 'Pass the butter." or "Pass the ketchup." No one really shares their day around the table anymore maybe because they are so busy from school and work and other activities. There is one day or two that there is that allows for conversation even though there is a lot of passing around of food. One just has to listen to the others around the table.)
By Mark Grahamabout a year ago in Critique
The Writing Teacher
Who was your writing teacher in school? Writing is a skill that starts with learning how to hold a pencil or writing instrument. The teacher would go around the room making sure everyone was holding the pencil in the right way whether right-handed or left-handed. We would move on to 'writing' lines (vertical and horizontal, smiles or we called them rockers). After a few weeks of these forms, we moved into learning letters then numbers to cursive writing. The end of the basics and just learning how to combine cursive letters joined together into words and sentences like the old adage 'The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.' to writing our own stories and thanks to my second-grade teacher and the English teachers since then I thank them to showing me the gift of the written word and the skill of handwriting.
By Mark Grahamabout a year ago in Critique
