WHO ARE WE? WHAT DO WE DO?
- The Brandon Writer’s Collective provides an environment where we inspire, encourage and support one another to achieve our writing goals.
- We create opportunities for professional development, to enhance our knowledge and improve our craft.
- We enjoy the written word in all its forms and gain strength from the diversity of our membership.
THis winter
The members of the Brandon Writers' Collective have tasked themselves with a short story topic for each July and August. Copy will be submitted and edited with the intention of having it ready for sale early in the new year!
Here are the topics:
Curious to learn how the topics will be tackled by the group who write in an incredibly eclectic bunch of styles including horror, romance, fantasy, science fiction? Join our community of readers so you'll be one of the first to know when it's ready!!
Here are the topics:
- July - Mulligans: a second chance to perform an action, usually after the first chance went wrong through bad luck or a blunder.
- August - The Power of Silence
Curious to learn how the topics will be tackled by the group who write in an incredibly eclectic bunch of styles including horror, romance, fantasy, science fiction? Join our community of readers so you'll be one of the first to know when it's ready!!
An Interview with Brandon Author Daniel McMillanBY RENEE CRONLEYDaniel McMillan is a busy man, but he was gracious enough to meet with fellow members of the Brandon Writers’ Collective Wednesday evening for a couple of hours to talk about his book and writing process. His debut dystopian science fiction novel, Eve of Ascension, has received a great deal of attention since being released June 1st, 2019.
Thanks for meeting with us, Dan. Tell our readers a bit about yourself. Well, I'm a lifelong lover of sci-fi and fantasy, but I have a deep appreciation for any story that is well told, regardless of the genre. I grew up reading comics and novels, and was captivated by the elements that make up a story—the portrayals of the characters, the unexpected plot developments, or just the way the story came together in the end. I believe it was that fascination that led me to develop my own ideas for telling stories. How long have you been writing? I started writing when I was a kid. I had teachers who were very supportive of me in that area. When I was about 12, I spent an entire summer putting together what turned out to be a retelling of Star Wars. Many of my friends were obsessed with the visuals or the weapons from the story, but my obsession was with the fact that someone created that story. Someone manufactured a brilliant story in their mind, wrote it down and brought it to life. I thought maybe I could do that too. Can you describe your writing process? It really varies with the project. When I get an idea for a story, I start by breaking it into scenes and visualizing the events playing themselves out in my head. Depending on how my internal narration handles telling that story, it becomes a short story, a novella, or a full out novel. Then I use the appropriate process for each of those. Short stories and novellas get handled similarly, but I have a whole different process for producing a novel. Novel outlining is much more involved as there are a lot more characters and events to be woven together. I use recipe cards to outline each scene, including the character and whose point of view will be used. When I plot a novel, I usually end up with several pages of written notes and can easily go through 300 recipe cards as I alter and refine the story. A short story or novella is much more streamlined and can usually be put together on a single page. I outline everything though, no matter how long or short I expect the finished product to be. Read the rest of the interview on our new Applause! page where we will celebrate our writers accomplishments. |
join us!To be a writer is to write. If you have decided that you want to bring your writing out of the dark and into the light of day, join us for one of our workshops, meetings, presentations and more!
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