M. Lori Motley

I’m surprisingly cool today, even though I’m submitting three stories to various online markets: one anthology, one e-mag and one to the Accentuate short story contest’s “Endless Love” theme. I’ve already subbed one story to the contest, but have another that will fit the theme. It will be the first time I ever have more [...]

Ponderous – From Weekend Wordsmith I sat at my desk, hot to the bone, sweating in the city’s summer heat, and thought about the weight of the world laying across my shoulders. It was ponderous… and it whined. People on TV with $200 hair-cuts and $600 shoes talked about how to reduce stress. Old men [...]

I just finished reading “Ex Post Facto” by Steven Thor Gunnin in “Elements of Time,” short story anthology from Accentuate and Twin Trinity Media. The day seems normal enough when a family of four gets on a plane for a much-needed vacation. When another passenger seems to recognize the father, however, things change quickly. A [...]

In a novel or short story you need characters that seem as real as possible and act in ways that make sense to the reader. Some people make a grand production of creating characters, filling out a 25 page character sheets, writing character episodes and even drawing artwork of their characters to get a real [...]

For the past 3 years, I’ve attended the Muse online writer’s conference. Tons of information and tons of writerly camaraderie. There are also multiple publishers who attend and — besides teaching classes and answering questions — accept pitches during the conference. After carefully researching all publishers attending the 2010 conference, I may have to prepare [...]