Feature Friday #4 (Bloggers & Books)

Another week, another Feature Friday highlighting some great bloggers.  I missed out on last week due to Hurricane Matthew, but I’m excited to get back into the rhythm.  This week I wanted to highlight a few bloggers who are writing amazing content, coming up with creative solutions, and sharing their experiences.  All said, these three are offering up great posts every week.

The first spotlight shines for Sharon Hart over at curioushart. Sharon is a regular contributor here on QE and also writes some spectacular posts.  Those posts include flash fiction, writing advice, and enjoyable insights into life in general.  Her personality and experience as a teacher really shine through in her posts and make them very enjoyable to read.

Sharon was kind enough to share an experience with me, and it was so insightful I wanted to be sure to share it with all of you.  I’ve talked about the struggle of writing a book blurb in the past, and Sharon’s method of tackling it is pretty ingenious.

Since April 2016, I have been participating in a weekly flash fiction writing exercise. Each week I download a picture prompt and I write a story of 150 words or less related to the picture. This practice has really sharpened my vocabulary, grammar, and content. It has turned out to be useful as well.

I had been struggling for weeks to write an engaging and informative back cover description of my book. I finally decided to treat it as a flash fiction story. It worked. Using the same process I use for the flash fiction, I was able to craft a decent description.

I highly recommend the exercise.

What I love about this bit of advice is it highlights the importance and usefulness of consistent writing practices.  Even this blog, for me, has impacted my writing in a positive way.  I feel the more often we sit down and flex our writing muscles the more multifaceted they become.

The next blogger I wanted to spotlight is Sinister Dark Soul (or as I like to write, SDS).  Another regular contributor here on QE, SDS writes complex, compelling, and sometimes frightening poetry.  Can we expect anything less from someone who has a site tag that says, “Do you feel safe?”  After reading a few of his pieces…the answer is usually “no.”

SDS is one of my daily stops for dark and intriguing posts.  I will say, many of these posts are not for the faint of heart.  Regardless of your tolerance for macabre writing, there is an undeniable quality in his words and strong themes which carry over from one piece to the next.

The layered and overlapping world SDS has created is vast and growing.  If there was a central location in his world, it would be Black Winter.  It is populated by some of the most interesting characters I have found in poetry.  It’s not a place you want to vacation (unless you are a very dark soul yourself).  I don’t have a specific post to recommend because I enjoy them all.  With that being said, if the darker side of life (or death) appeals to you, SDS will surely make your most sinister dreams come true.

The last blogger I wanted to highlight is M.L.S. Weech.  It’s no secret, Matt and I are old friends from our time in the Navy as renegade combat cameramen.  I also edit his books.  However, I’m not featuring him for those reasons (though, you should check out his upcoming book Caught).  I’m featuring him because he has been writing some truly outstanding posts since transitioning his blog to WordPress.

Matt not only writes books, he also teaches other people how to write (both personally and professionally).  These traits and background make him a wealth of knowledge and this is reflected in his posts.  I would encourage you to check out his Writing Tips category.  It is populated with posts ranging from writing mechanics, to staying motivated.  His book reviews are also brilliantly written.  They tend to avoid bias, spoilers, and focus on the mechanics the author used in the book.  Each one is an essential case study into the writing style of the author.

I wanted to take a moment to thank all three of these folks for (1) contributing regularly on my page, (2) being a source of inspiration, and (3) consistently encouraging enjoyable discussion about both fiction and non-fiction.  You all keep me inspired to continue learning everyday.

That’s it for today!  If you would like to be featured next Friday, contact me.  It always helps if you let me know what specific post you would like to be featured.  My goal with Feature Friday is to connect like-minded individuals with one another.  The blogoverse is a giant place, and it’s nice to be able to provide some navigation. Until tomorrow, keep reading, keep writing, and as always – stay sharp!