Friday Fictioneers – Old Salt

January 29, 2025 ~ Neil MacDonald ~ 38 Comments

The sea pours endlessly, bean green over blue. Must go down to the sea again. Pieces of eight, pieces of eight, and a stately Spanish galleon to prize.

In truth, I don’t walk with a seaman’s roll, nor stump on a peg leg. My hair is mousy brown and my eyes a watery blue, but dear Jeanie finds me comely enough.

Dreams diverge ever from the map, and I rage against the dying of the light. Yet, when the lobster pots are mended, I can only trudge out once more on the Spanish main.

Friday fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here

Friday Fictioneers – Hamster Wheel

January 22, 2025 ~ Neil MacDonald ~ 38 Comments

Their road is smooth. And elevated. Ours is pitted and low, separated forever by the barrier. They travel in comfort by limousine under warm light, while we trudge stolid in the half-dark. Oh, to be one of them, at ease and pampered.

But still, and this is a terrifying thought, we both travel the same turning wheel. Maybe it turns only because we travel. Could it be there is a world we can both reach beyond the wheel? Walking is just eternally pitching forward and catching yourself before you fall. What if we tried going sideways?

Friday fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here

185. Spines: Would you trust a robot to craft your book?

January 20, 2025 ~ Neil MacDonald ~ 6 Comments

Would you trust an AI to edit and produce your book?

Spines is, in the spirit of the tech bros, a disrupter. It describes its mission on its website as “Harnessing the power of cutting-edge AI, Spines revolutionises every facet of the publishing journey, including proofreading, formatting, cover design, distribution, and marketing across all major channels and platforms.” They aim to cut, from months to weeks, the process of producing a book.

What exactly do they offer? They deny that are a vanity publisher or self-publishing service, but, of course, that is exactly what they are. What is different is the automation. The Israeli start-up plans to produce 8,000 books this year.

Predictably, the community of authors and publishers have been scathing in their criticism. “These aren’t people who care about books or reading or anything remotely related,” said author Suyi Davies Okungbowa. “These are opportunists and extractive capitalists.”

So what does the customer get? Oddly, for a publisher, they don’t list their books on their website. To find their books I had to go here. I examined a sample of 18 of these books

What do they charge?

Authors are charged between $1,824 and $5,496 for a print on demand service. By comparison, an established self-publisher, Troubador, charges £600 (about $730) to produce an e-book and £2,295 (around $2,800) for 200 printed copies. So Spines are not offering significant cost savings for cutting out human labour.

How well are their books selling?

To estimate the sales of these 18 books, I converted the Amazon Book Sales Rank into numbers of books using TCK’s calculator. On average, the sample sold 1.29 books a month. Six of them sold none at all and the largest sales were 4 a month.

The books are also not attracting a lot of marketing attention. On average, these books received 4.29 review.

How good is the production quality?

To assess this, I looked at the cover designs for the two fiction books in my sample. Design is, of course, an art, not a science. Personally, I found the covers stereotyped and banal, but I am not the target readership. Since I am assessing AI publishing, I gave two AIs a crack at the cover analysis. Both were assessed as high quality by Joel books. The Last Descendant got a rating of B from ebookfairs, while Thicker than Water got a C.

How well are the books edited?

This is the acid quality test of the hyped AI tools. A careful editor and proof-reader will ensure that the text is free of errors and that the words flow, as well as paying attention to structure and consistency. I examined only The Last Descendant, and only the first paragraph and the cover blurb. The cover blurb has one spelling mistake. The first paragraph contained six grammar mistakes, ranging from unnecessary commas, overuse of two words and one confused word. Judge for yourself:

“The vibrant atmosphere of the office holiday party at 12 Greenway Plaza in Houston, TX, enveloped Jason as he moved through the crowd. Laughter, music, and the aroma of LES BBQ, filled the air, creating a festive ambiance. Surrounded by employees, Jason basked in the joy of the season, drink in hand, and the sounds of celebration surrounded him. Jason Martinez was a man who knew how to make an impression. His brown skin and muscular frame contrasted with his crisp white shirt and black pants, giving him an air of confidence and authority. His face was framed by a neat and lined-up barbarian-style beard, which added a touch of ruggedness to his handsome features. His eyes sparkled with intelligence and ambition, and his smile was charming and persuasive. On his right hand, he wore a Bochic Burma ring, a stunning piece of jewelry that featured a single ruby encrusted in diamonds. The ring was a symbol of his success and power, as well as his taste and style. Jason was a man who had everything he wanted, and was not afraid to show it.”

The spelling and grammar mistakes aside, this opening paragraph has several problems. Sentence variety is low with little variation in length and structure. There is no character complexity—Jason is simply handsome, rich, and powerful. There is, as yet, no tension or plot to engage the reader, simply a character description, making for a slow-paced read. The description is all told by the narrator, rather than shown in Jason’s actions or thoughts.

Conclusion

Going with Spines is not cheap, offers no marketing support, and the editing is noticeable by its absence.

Friday Fictioneers – Skinny-dipping in the snow

January 15, 2025 ~ Neil MacDonald ~ 39 Comments

It had seemed such a good idea. A bottle of wine, a group of friends, a drive in the snow to the hot springs—what could go wrong? Skinny dipping—that’s what. Rob’s body’s better than mine, if you like the buff, chiseled look.

Everyone says I’m lucky. That means Lisa’s way out of my league. There’s going to be drinking, and horseplay, and then fooling around. And Lisa will rejoin her league.

“Hey, guys. I’ll go search for some wood and build a fire. It’ll be cold when we get out.”

Leadership. Yes, that’s the thing. Lisa respects initiative.

Friday fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here

Friday Fictioneers – The Haunting

January 8, 2025 ~ Neil MacDonald ~ 42 Comments

There’s a glow. Call it a radiance, if you like. Whatever the description of choice, this spot’s different. Elsa insists this is where the fae folk meet, but Hank scoffs and explains space-time anomaly.

I just sense this as the place where you live. Yes, I know ours is a forbidden love, and yes, I know they’ll call me crazy. But I feel you slide in to take possession of my body. A haunting, perhaps, but one I’ve come to crave.

To yield control is such pleasure. Less so, maybe, for Elsa as my hands close round her throat.

Friday fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here

Friday Fictioneers – The Glad Game

January 1, 2025 ~ Neil MacDonald ~ 26 Comments

I blame Mum. Mum was glum (see what I did there?). So, when Hettie rebelled, as all kids do, she became an irrepressible optimist. “Thank you, God, for breaking my leg, so I’d have the time to stay home and finish these books.” That kind of Pollyanna thing.

So, when the sea wall broke, and the town flooded, Hettie exclaimed, “It’s just like Venice” and bought a gondola.

Under those circumstances, nobody can blame me for strangling my sister, right?

Friday fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here

Friday Fictioneers – The Once and Future King

December 25, 2024 ~ Neil MacDonald ~ 27 Comments

The snows came early that terrible winter, blanketing the moors in formlessness. On the high crags, the Seat of the Kings disappeared under a great drift. And so the land passed into a deep sleep that lasted a thousand years.

I tell you, my boy, it’s said the old kings will come again, when our peril is greatest. Somerled, Angus Og, and Malcolm. They will wake, shake their shaggy heads and stride forth with swords of fire to cleanse the world.

But, consider this—maybe we longer have need of kings.

Friday fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here

Friday Fictioneers – The Ball of Kirriemuir

December 18, 2024 ~ Neil MacDonald ~ 24 Comments

“Cook, are you entirely certain of this?”

Cook favoured me with a look of withering contempt. “Have you ever known me to be unsure of anything, Steward?”

“But, so many?” And then the killer argument occurred to me. “What if they crap on everything?”

Cook kissed her fingers. “Stop fretting, man. It will be a triumph—a dainty dish to set before a king.”

Certainly, I could imagine the dramatic effect of four and twenty blackbirds revealed in the pie, but doubted the guests would be swift enough to catch, kill, and eat them.

Friday fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here

Friday Fictioneers – Antechamber to the Afterlife

December 11, 2024 ~ Neil MacDonald ~ 32 Comments

The wall directs you straight on into the blue abyss. But the carpet invites proceeding at an angle towards a deeply shadowed arch. Make a sharp turn, and a steep and rickety ladder beckons upwards.

To be honest, I’d expected the sounding of trumps, archangels with fiery swords, at least an old man with jangling keys. The exquisite torment of choice was the last thing I’d anticipated.

Walk the red carpet one last time, Harve. Was that the voice of a serpent, or a phantom in my head?

Perhaps I’ll just sit a spell and consider my options.

Friday fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here

184. On surprise and delight in writing

December 10, 2024 ~ Neil MacDonald ~ 2 Comments

Do all stories (let alone all scenes) need surprise? No. But it is essential to some genres. There is no joke without a punchline, and no punchline without surprise. Or consider the classic mystery tale—we should be surprised by the unveiling of the murderer’s identity in the denouement.

Let’s consider what surprise is. Our brains are (among other things) pattern recognition machines. The story sets up a pattern of expectations, and then a twist violates those expectations and reveals a different pattern of meaning lurking beneath. We see the world in a different light. The brain judders as it shifts frame. Our experience of this is surprise.

Take the example of the joke. Two elderly gay men are sitting at a booth in a bar. A beautiful woman walks past, with all the attributes heterosexual men find attractive (you can spin out this description at some length to reinforce the pattern of expectation). One man turns to the other with a sigh, saying “You know, it’s a times like this, I wish I’d been born (add a dramatic pause here) lesbian.” You see? The heteronormative pattern is subverted. Our laughter is the physiological expression of the surprise.

But this is not the only way in which pattern shifts work. If the surprise comes at the beginning rather than the end, our response is different. World-building in fantasy or sci-fi might be an example here. We are told from the start that the rules here are different from those in our world. Consider, for example, The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard (simply because I happen to be reading it at the moment). In this world, time is literally a dimension like space. There are a series of valleys, each with a similar settlement. As you go west, each valley is ten years into the future. As you go east, each is ten years in the past. The gendarmerie patrol the borders between the settlements to prevent temporal meddling. Our attention here is not captured by the headlong rush to the denouement, but by curiosity about how the consequences of the set-up will unravel. I would describe my emotional response to this as delight, not surprise.

Several years ago, I was given a pattern-changing piece of writing advice—“If you’ve got a surprise, give it away right from the top.” It’s worth noting that this is exactly what Dostoevsky does in Crime and Punishment. We know that Raskolnikov has murdered the pawnbroker. What makes the story gripping is his subsequent reactions.

The idea of delight is, I think, an interesting way of framing the question of whether you should build a story out of a chain of surprises. If every chapter, scene, paragraph and sentence contained a surprise, it would rapidly become exhausting to read. But what if they all contained a delight, a slight shifting in our sense of the world? Howard offers such delight in The Other Valley through the wordcraft. To take an example from the point in the book I happen to have reached, “My bedside lamp illuminated raveled nests of hair and grit on the floor.” Not perhaps the best example, but it shows the poet’s eye in the image of the “raveled nests”. The metaphoric assimilation of detritus to bird nests is a small moment of delight, an amuse bouche between courses.

Metaphor can, I suppose, be considered a form of surprise, shifting our patterned expectations. When we say “My love is like a red, red rose,” our understanding of both the love and the rose change. Sometimes, this poetic play of perception can have world-changing consequences. When James Clerk Maxwell perceived light, electricity, and magnetism as being waves in an underlying medium, he achieved the second great unification in physics.

Metaphor is at the heart of creative reperceiving of the world, both in the arts and the sciences. Oftentimes, it is the small delights of metaphor rather than the headlong dash to the denouement which keep me gripped.