CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

Last week, we looked at the business return of writing short stories and publishing or selling them - but we only looked at it in terms of pure monetary earnings for time spent, and there are other business benefits that can be calculated, depending on why you chose to write the short story in the first place, since we can create with additional purposes to telling a good tale. We can, for instance, write for a specific market. An anthology opportunity might come up, where we get to work with other authors to produce a collection, either writing to a specific theme, or in a specific world or setting. Many of these anthologies won't pay a professional rate, and definitely won't be guaranteed an equivalent monetary return for time. You need to first decide if that's an acceptable trade, but you need to make that decision based on a number of other, both positive and negative, factors: the opportunity to be part of the anthology - since these don't come up all that of...

River’s Edge released on August 10, 2018. It is a stand-alone science-fiction short story about first contact and colonisation. What’s it About? When my mother told me to run, I ran. I ran all the way to the river and then stopped—because the river was a frightening place, and forbidden by the raiders who came to take their annual toll of settlers. Faced with the choice of being taken, or taking my chances in the river, I took a step back, and hoped that somewhere, across the river I’d find help. Here are the first 500 words of that story: River’s Edge First 500 Words I stood at the edge of the river, both feet firmly planted amidst the sweet meadow grass, the toes of my boots scant inches from the water. What would it be like, I wondered, to take that one step more? Behind me bugles rang, and I glanced back, trying to see through the cover of the trees, trying to gauge if I really had a choice about the river, or if I was honestly thinking of facing the fate roa...