Greetings from Tim Geigner!

So Marcus invited me to share some of my writing here. After reviewing some of the past posts, I know that I’m in good company (some of the poetry I’ve read here is really good). I currently have a techno-thriller novel out to a couple of agencies, one of which has been showing steady interest. Having said that, I find the biggest hurdle I have to overcome is the opening of my first chapter. I know this isn’t exactly an uncommon problem, but I’m so confident in the bulk of the work that it feels odd to be so emotionally shaky about the opening. In any case, I thought I’d throw it up here as an introduction and let other writers offer their thoughts. And thank you for having me!
Continue reading “Greetings from Tim Geigner!”

Introducing Tyler Brown

My name is Tyler Brown and I am looking forward to adding my own brand of science fiction to Stranger Than Truth. I have a couple stories I am currently editing with Marcus Carab to put up on the site shortly.

I will also be joining the NaNoWriMo writing spree this month with a story about a time traveler and the amazing business wear he possesses in The Man In the Ten Billion Dollar Suit.

I hope you enjoy it.

Guns, Magic & Parrots: Welcome to Sticky City

This week we’ve seen the NaNoWriMo beginnings of Elizabeth Kurz, Geoff Micks, Halton Stoves and Tasty Yumyum, and we’ve had teasers from Ian Worte, Ekstasis Amor, Drew Beaudoin and Tim Dallimore. Meanwhile, I’ve been falling further and further behind on my NaNoWriMo word count. I don’t even want to type out the number—suffice to say it’s around a quarter of what it should be.

That being said, I’ve finally hit a reasonable groove, and I’m ready to present the first few pages of my presently untitled work, to be temporarily referred to as A Sticky City Story. I realized that whatever I wrote for NaNo had to be something I could have some psychotic fun with, so I send you into this fictional world with a warning: it will be surreal; it will be whimsical; it will contain elements of science fiction and mystic realism; it will be filled with unreliable characters and related to you by unreliable narrators; and it will very likely be full of plot holes until I edit it in December.

For the tone and style I took a little inspiration from Kurt Vonnegut and Samuel Beckett, with a splash of Cory Doctorow (though I’ve only read one of his novels). The structure (a series of short chapters from various points of view, which by the time I am done will number in the dozens) is inspired by one of my favourite novels, a WW2 epic by Louis de Bernières.

Read on and enjoy—and may I be the first to say: Welcome to Sticky City.

Continue reading “Guns, Magic & Parrots: Welcome to Sticky City”

My Attempt at NaNoWriMo 2009, Part 6

Clementine
Time for the next chunk of my NaNo ’09 effort. In this part we get introduced to some new characters (the first of whom was going to play linchpin at a crucial moment in the story I didn’t even get close to reaching), and also get more from Cam & Jeromy. We’re getting close to the end now, but there is some very exciting action to come.

If you missed them, check out parts one, two, three, four and five first.

Continue reading “My Attempt at NaNoWriMo 2009, Part 6”

My Attempt at NaNoWriMo 2009, Part 5

Further we plunge into my failed attempt at NaNoWriMo last year, and we are approaching the halfway point! This chunk is much longer than the last, but I think it’s quite entertaining—Jeromy & Cam, many of whose dialogues are based on real conversations between myself and my good buddy Tim, are without a doubt the characters I fleshed out best.

Don’t forget about parts one, two, three and four.

Continue reading “My Attempt at NaNoWriMo 2009, Part 5”

My Attempt at NaNoWriMo 2009, Part 4

This part is short and sweet, introducing some important new characters (only one of whom I got to using, though I had very specific plans for the rest). The more I revisit this effort from last year, the more I think there is something worth salvaging here, and I play to give it a go after NaNoWriMo.

If you missed them, check out parts one, two and three first.

Continue reading “My Attempt at NaNoWriMo 2009, Part 4”

False Starts: Gizmo’s Boys

I think my favourite part of writing fiction is starting at the beginning. For that reason, I have a lot of tenth-started stories sitting around, some of which I think have some potential, others of which definitely don’t.

I hate letting good words go to waste, so from time to time if I find an old false start that I think has some value, I’ll post it in the Writer’s Journal. Here’s the first, from a sci-fi concept I was toying with that was going to explore a world of human enhancement:

Continue reading “False Starts: Gizmo’s Boys”

My Attempt at NaNoWriMo 2009, Part 3

This is part three of my scruffy, unedited attempt at last year’s NaNoWriMo. It’s the longest chunk yet, and I wouldn’t blame you for skipping it, though it does kind of establish half the plot. Boy, this needs work.

If you are going to tackle it, don’t forget to read parts one and two first.

Continue reading “My Attempt at NaNoWriMo 2009, Part 3”

My Attempt at NaNoWriMo 2009, Part 2

I’ve got some really exciting ideas in mind for November, which I’ll be revealing soon. In the mean time, here’s the second chunk of my attempt at NaNoWriMo last year. If you missed the first bit, check it out first.

In this chunk we meet a few new primary characters, though truth be told I never ended up figuring out what to do with the first one. I was keeping him in my pocket, but I might remove him if I ever start trying to untangle this mess.

Continue reading “My Attempt at NaNoWriMo 2009, Part 2”

My Attempt at NaNoWriMo 2009, Part 1

In preparation for NaNoWriMo 2010, I’ve been going back over my unfinished attempt at last year’s event. I got close to 18,000 words, and though that’s a far cry from the goal I think I began formulating some pretty good ideas in the semi-satirical, soon-to-be-sci-fi story I was writing.

So as November approaches I’ll be posting my 2009 work in chunks after I tidy them up a little bit, and I’d love to hear your feedback. I fear it will get a bit rambling at points, but I think it starts strong:

Continue reading “My Attempt at NaNoWriMo 2009, Part 1”