The Chopping Blog

A good manuscript catches my attention right away and does not let it go. I am most drawn to voice-driven narratives, where I find something relatable about the protagonist right away, and I find myself invested in their journey from the start. I am also most interested in stories that feel fresh, where I am learning as I read, whether what I am learning is something about the protagonist and their perspective on the world or some new world in itself.

A police car passed the shelter three times but didn’t see the troubled watcher within. A sheen of ice covered the pavements and empty roads. Night, time of dreams, unfolded itself. Ash began to shiver, her fingers sore, feet numb. Silence hung black as a blanket. The hours cycled and Ash counted each on its way. The dead sat with her.

The night before the voices started I was arrested for keying Arsehole onto the side of a brand new Ford Mondeo. By the time I recognised the flashing blue lights, Beth and Mandy had fled.

There are twelve important characters in this story: the princess, the blind, the lone wolf, the assassin, the vigilante, the criminal, the good, the silent, the sane, the insane, the wanderer, and the waitress.

A lot of mainstream fiction is formulaic and predictable. It is the rebels of self-publishing and the web who find the courage to experiment, to carry the fire through the darkness like mediaeval troubadours. But writers fail in their mission when substance is outweighed by cleverness. Stream of consciousness passages may floor us by the power of their beauty. Like Belgian chocolate, though, a little goes a long way.

The Darling Axe is now offering online writing and editing workshops. Stay tuned for upcoming (2020) classes on novel outlining, worldbuilding, self-editing, developmental editing, and starting a novel with teeth.

It was very difficult to whittle down all these great submissions to a shortlist of ten. There were so many interesting stories from such diverse voices. But, lines had to be drawn, so here are the stories and writers that I have passed along to Michelle Barker for final judging:

Keep things simple and to the point. Authors are trying to attract my attention, so a simple, straight-forward email is the best way to approach me.  I don’t need bells and whistles, just simple prose with a well-considered email and a well-presented synopsis and opening three chapters.

New Chief of Police Brandon Mattson is starting over. Recently divorced and needing a break from big-city crime, he's headed home to Forks, WA. But the former detective's respite from homicide is short-lived when a young woman's body washes ashore...

What I realized was that the initial failure was not due to the quality of the work, or a misjudgment of style. Books either have their time and their niche or they don’t. Writers must stick to their gut feeling. Write from the heart, not with an eye on the market.

Learn to read. Read to enjoy, but learn also to think. Thinking as you read—about what and how the author is doing to craft the story and the experience—is the most essential lesson in storytelling.

A big congratulations to our client Zach C. Etka on his recent book release! His heart-pounding, bloodthirsty adventure, Valcore: The Ancient's Rise, is now available on Audible and has been re-released on Amazon.