Dirk Bannion, Author

So glad to see that, despite the chaos, art and the written word remain a strong priority on #bluesky. We're doing a good job, folks. Don't stop.

I imagine he's more inspiring than distracting. 😄

It's been a long time since I've managed to be productive in adding net new words to my novel. And it bothers me that that's the case, but I know I'm not alone. How do you deal with dry spells?

I think, like just about everybody, it's a combination of the two. I've heard over the years from many people that I have some sort of natural talent, and I suppose that's fine. But the fact is I've worked hard to learn how to do what I do. And I hope that that shows in the finished product.

My favorite is anything involving bodies of water. Killer shark? Check. Haunted lake? Right on. Hikers boiled in a hot spring? I'm there.
I think I rely too heavily on the "maybe it's ghosts, or maybe he's just insane" trope. Just make up your mind! 😜
#horrorwriterschat

Huge thanks to @taggartrehnnauthor.bsky.social . Please follow all these great folks (including me, why not? 😄) and Taggart while you're at it.

I like that. I'll start leaving my laptop open and see if it helps. Thanks!

I'm consistently inconsistent, and I know I need to change. So help me out:
What's your writing routine? Do you have one? Does it make a difference?
#WriteLife
#WriterLife

“She rose until he could see her slender neck and narrow shoulders. The same yellow sweater she’d been wearing that night more than a month ago.

‘Hello, dear,’ the man said, voice quavering and quiet. ‘I’ve missed you.’”

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The Train - Dirk Bannion The train was late. The 4:05 under 37th Street was still nowhere to be seen at 4:09, but none of the handful of us waiting on the concrete under the buzzing lights were getting antsy or glancing at wa...

Just realized I never added the link. 😁
dirkbannionbooks.com/the-train/

Here's a new/old flash fiction piece. I actually wrote it two years ago and unearthed it while hunting through my eternal Google Drive. I was pleasantly surprised. Check it out.
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“The light froze, and the meat spoke. ‘This is three-zero-nine. I need an ambulance to Rockford Beach—possible drowning.’

The creature had heard similar sounds before, just before feeding, but usually they were inarticulate screams.”

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As a civilization, we've somehow all agreed that Bonnie Tyler's performance in Total Eclipse of the Heart isn't the result of a serious break with reality, and I'm not sure how I feel about that.

“Sal took a few steps toward the girl. He bent at the waist and asked the girl if she was okay.

Then he cried out. His body crumpled and tumbled into the girl and over the side of the pier with her, and into the water.”

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“Julio’s boot connected with one of the eyes, which sunk deep. The thing shuddered and froze, then doubled its efforts. Keeping half its legs beneath it, anchoring it to the sand, it whipped another tentacle around Julio’s throat.”

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Done and done

The Kind of Day I'm Having “Have you ever sat down on the john feeling normal, but then real soon you realize ‘oh shit, this is gonna be one of those deals.’” “Sir?” “And you quick clench and scramble and waddle around…

The writing prompt was, "Write a scene with two people discussing a sensitive subject, using dialog only." https://buff.ly/4bhqOFh

❓ Hey authors! A question:
Step back from your current WIP (or don't, I'm not your mom) and show me the silliest, most comedic snippet you've written. Google Doc links might be best.
I'll start:

“The man was no longer there. Instead, a pale, pulsing mass of flesh lurched toward him, with skin that seemed perpetually out of focus--a bulbous mound on a roiling pile of snakelike legs and two huge, alien eyes.
In an instant, it was upon him.”
Beta? https://buff.ly/4jWNwGy

Thanks for that reminder! I apparently forgot how Bluesky works for a moment. 😁

I just finished listening to the audiobook of Dr Sleep by Stephen King, and I think it's in my top five of his work. And I'm a huge Stephen King fan. Probably read everything he's written.

I just finished listening to the audiobook of Dr Sleep by Stephen King, and I think it's in my top five of his work. And I'm a huge Stephen King fan. Probably read everything he's written.

🤣

I'm only 10% into it right now and it's already one of my favorite books I've read in years. So good.

Late to the party, but I'm reading Best Served Cold right now and it is one of the best books I've read in a couple years.

“The man knelt in the surf, unmoving.

‘Sir? The beach is closed.’ Julio said. ‘I’m going to need you to vacate the premises, sir.’

The man didn’t say anything, or even turn to acknowledge he’d heard. And he didn’t move.”

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I would say if they all go in roughly chronological order, it would be a nine part series. (It's an ennealogy, and it's classy. I had to look it up. 😄)
If the three trilogies are able to be read on their own without any dependance on the other two, then it might be good to market them that way.

She’d chatted up the dour receptionist and feigned a desperate need to use the bathroom, then slipped past the rest room and into the warren of halls that surrounded the main squad room.

(Reporter sneaking into a police station. 😲)

I just noticed how many times my short stories include "An elderly man in a porkpie hat". I'm running through a bunch of them and I've decided it should be a drinking game. What a weird thing to turn into an idiosyncrasy. I've never even seen an elderly man in a porkpie hat, far as I can remember.

Sometimes that's all you need