GaryMitchellWrites

I've always been a fan of science fiction and fantasy. I can still remember the first science fiction book I ever read: The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet. I was in 4th Grade at the time. Having read so much of this genre, I naturally was attracted to writing it. I started my first novel when I was 28. It wasn't very good. I was a dabbler - good ideas but no idea how to execute. When I moved to Rochester, NY, I discovered a wonderful local resource - an organization called Writers and Books. For a fee, anyone could attend classes in writing taught by local authors. The SF class was taught by Nancy Kress, a well-regarded writer with many novels and short stories under her belt. She was a natural teacher. The other people in the class were phenomenal as well - some of whom have been very successful in getting things published. Students would write a complete short story and everyone would give it a detailed critique, including a through appraisal by Nancy. It was the kind of environment in which it was easy to learn. It wasn't long before I got the knack and was putting together some competent pieces. Through my connections in class I was able to join several local critique groups - a combination of help and therapy. And that's how I learned to write. If I were to to offer advice to any beginning writer, it would mirror my own experience. Find other writers. Find ones that are really good. Join a critique group with these writers. Listen. Write. Write some more. If you've got any talent, you'll thrive. Too much of what I read has clearly not had the benefit of this kind of education and input, and it shows. Just because something's been published doesn't mean it's any good.

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On this page and in my blog I'll chronicle my SF and Fantasy writing experiences. Hopefully some of this will strike a chord with you. I'll throw out some snippets of projects I'm working on. Feedback is welcome. 

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To begin, let me catalog the things I've had published up to this point. All short stories. I'm working on a couple of novels and like every writer, I have high hopes for their acceptance. I'll give you a few peeks into my progress with this work. But to return to the point of this paragraph:

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Short Story: An Exultation of Angels - available on Amazon: A fallen Angel tries to save the world from the wrath of a god gone mad.

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Short Story: The Risen - available in a short story collection on Amazon called The Muses Hand. The collection was put together by one of my writing critique groups. Every story is a quality piece of work. If you want to see the kind of thing that comes from professional input, buy this collection and read it it closely. My story, The Risen, is about the great-grand daughter of a local Civil War hero who must thwart Kim Jong-un's plans to steal a little slice of eternity

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Short Story: Time Enough for Love - available in 2034: Writing Rochester's Futures, a collection put together by R-Spec Press. Visit r-spec.org to buy a copy. My story is about a love powerful enough to transcend the boundaries of time.

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Short Story: Like Pharaoh Unto Joseph - available in another collection put out by R-spec Press: Rochester Rewritten. Available in print through r-spec.org. A man sets out to bargain with the devil, the Egyptian deity Sekhmet who has a table at a local flea market. I really enjoyed writing this one and put a lot of effort into the language aspect of story-telling. This story was read at a local alternative performance venue called the Fringe Festival, and turned into a streaming audio download that can be found on disturbingfrequencies.com - give it a try.

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Short Story: Life Lesson - published on the website/magazine Daily Science Fiction. As with all things accepted by this group, it's short.

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That's it for this point in my writing career. You can see other things I've written by visiting the Military and Landmark Guides tabs of my blog. I've also had a mystery short story published by Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine - When Mourning Stirs the House. It's a retelling of the classic Helen of Troy story with a twist. I have a few draft mystery pieces in my back pocket waiting for me to devote the time required to whip them into "ready for print" shape.