K. Marvin Bruce

If you’ve ever read any of my stories, I hope that they aren’t the worst you’ve ever seen.    I know individual tastes vary, but those of fiction editors vary maybe a little too much.  Stories written specifically for certain magazines rejected.  The word “subjective” always  slathered on like burn ointment. Sometimes I wonder about the essence of storytelling.  It has changed over time as I found out when my friend Fantasia had to read The Scarlet Letter in high school.  She complained about the overly descriptive narrative that made the plot sometimes hard to follow.  I explained how gothic it was.  Even that didn’t help. No doubt, over time, writing preferences change.  Or should I say reading preferences?  Many of us had to write descriptively in school.  When we carry it over into our fiction we find editors who don’t like our verbosity.  Flash fiction is all the rage in this internet culture of constant cl...

My best friend ever has gone away.  As a writer, I lead a lonely existence—often it means spending hours isolated with my thoughts.  I know that my fan-base is tiny, my voice unheard.  My best friend listened, encouraged, and provided inspiration. Recently she moved away and when I awake it is now later than my consistent 3:30 a.m., bursting with ideas.  Now I find it hard to rise by 4:00, and the ideas are like a visit to the dentist.  I want Fantasia back, but I know that can’t happen.  Where does the forlorn writer go to find inspiration? Like Willy Wonka, my work lately has been suffering.  I limit myself to editing since new ideas just can’t be conjured.  Writing means that free time is largely spent alone—not the best way to make friends.  I certainly don’t influence people.  Yet, I can’t stop trying. Writing, as rational and heady as it is, is a matter of feeling.  I try to express my complex and troubling...