Gang of Three

My small writing group met last night. The gnocci was excellent. As usual, my group, the Gang of Three, had great suggestions. They were looking at Furnace Angel.

I have aimed Furnace Angel at three horror magazines that accept simultaneous submissions. I was 500 over the maximum word count for one of the magazines and 500 under the maximum word count for the other two.

One of my GoT said that I needed to more clearly show one of the antagonist's flaws by showing more of him in action--an excellent suggestion, since those flaws motivate much of the story. She suggested that I reduce a particular conversation in order to find room for the new addition. My dialogue was somewhat tightly written, so now that conversation is rather spare, but I think the sacrifice was worth it.

My other GoT partner said that she did not feel that I provided enough threat to motivate the final, terrible choice of the protagonist. She suggested fleshing out the protagonist's loved ones, who were threatened, and providing some portents that keep the level of threat high going into the final passage. Again, I think the story is stronger for it.

All this help, and I get to read their excellent writing, as well. Oh, and the gnocci, too.