#PWPoePrompts Week Four

Why yes, I DID almost forget to post this...

#PWPoePrompts Day 22: MC Hogwarts House.

My MC? Probably a Ravenclaw and/or Slytherin.

...But having said that, bear in mind that I've *ahem* never actually read Harry Potter or watched the movies. I only know about it through "cultural exposure" if you will. pic.twitter.com/YOBDof7AMq

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 22, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Day 23: Writer's Block Tips

I did this for Revision Tips on Day 5, so why not again today?

Remember, the first step towards recovery is admitting to the problem... pic.twitter.com/iI35Jhp8aD

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 23, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Day 24: Line f/ Earliest Work.

...or "PTSD Day."

I once tried writing a book when I was in my early teens; dreadful concept, only made it a few too-fast paragraphs. I remember the MC having a pile of rocks large enough to make a "fortress with sizable barracks." pic.twitter.com/BsDhR4mzXq

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 24, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Day 25: Who I Ship

Well, first I ship the chicken across the river because the wolf won't eat the corn. Then I go back, ship the corn across, carry the chicken back, and then--

Oh wait...wrong kind of shipping.

(But why can't the wolf swim in this puzzle?) pic.twitter.com/XcmWd4kkAq

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 25, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Day 26: #ThankfulThursday

Among the many, many things I'm thankful for, I'm happy for the publications of a good number of my short stories--and a novella that was recently accepted! I hear I've got a good track record for my 3ish years of submitting stuff.

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 26, 2018

#PWPoePrompts

Here's another thing for my #ThankfulThursday; I just passed 100 followers! I'm in the triple digits!

(...It's a big deal for me, OK?)

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 26, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Day 27

How I hope my readers feel after reading my MS:

(Whether or not it's sarcastic is up to them.) pic.twitter.com/OpZAAo8ajg

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 27, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Day 27 (again)

Here is another acceptable reader response to my MS--heaven knows it's my reaction. pic.twitter.com/QLS6q7U1jM

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 27, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Day 27: Reader reaction to my MS - THIS IS THE LAST ONE I SWEAR: pic.twitter.com/GnUcvLeX20

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 27, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Day 28: Setting Inspiration

The inspiration for the main setting of my MS, I'm proud to say, is Aperture Science from the games PORTAL and PORTAL 2. Heck, the original mental draft of my MS sounded an awful lot like Portal fanfic.

For science! pic.twitter.com/j7pBugWeqj

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 28, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Week Three

Another good week in the ol' #PWPoePrompts Twitter forum this week. Stick around until the end of this post; I have some exciting non-Poe-Prompts news as well!

#PWPoePrompts Day 15 – What I’m looking for in a mentor:

COULD:
Have fun while reading
Be brave
Know next steps to successful publication

SHOULD:
Have a good author track record
Be honest
Have a good sense of humor

MUST:
Be Stark Raving Hazelnuts pic.twitter.com/WQWYHckkQw

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 15, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Day 16: #MusicMonday Writing Playlist

Dear #scifi writers: when writing science fiction, there are three soundtrack albums that you mustn't pass up - they're excellent background music to set the mental theme!

- PORTAL STORIES: MEL
- INVISIBLE INC.
- TRON: LEGACY pic.twitter.com/lhPyNs2Pdb

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 16, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Day 17

My non-writing interests, you ask? How about:

READING
Piano
Martial arts (TaeKwonDo 2nd degree black belt here)
Cartooning
Graphic design
Legos
Nerf guns
Running
Swimming
PC games (PC as in Personal Computer, not Politically Correct)
Not being bored pic.twitter.com/w2RGpK0SN0

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 17, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Day 18

Last line of “Stormlock: Activation”: “And, unlike the Professor, they knew exactly what they were going to do.”

BONUS – Last one-liner of “Stormlock: Activation”: “Oh, you know me. Just go chasing a thunderstorm.” pic.twitter.com/eNlRhXL1Rw

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 18, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Day 18

Well…considering that my MS’s secret sci-fi facility does most of the antagonizing…here are some pictures of what kind of inspired the aesthetic. pic.twitter.com/Fys24dG4gF

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 19, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Day 20: Dream Cover Inspiration

I like the sci-fi cover design of the Exo series here; it definitely caught my eye on the shelves. I have yet to read the series--my last experience with YA alien invasion books wasn't that positive (friggin' 5TH WAVE). pic.twitter.com/mgMRe7Exrw

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 20, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Day 21: #ShelfieSaturday

OK, I recently graduated from college, so I don't have shelves. I have bins. And I'm not taking pictures of my many book-bins just sitting around, sorry.

Instead, here's some of my sci-fi library laptop backgrounds... pic.twitter.com/hmNAlBv0K4

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 21, 2018

And last but not least...!

Great news! Got an email from Silver Pen Writers this morning; they'd like to publish one of my novellas in an upcoming edition of Silver Blade Magazine!#scifi #amwriting #amwritingscifihttps://t.co/V90Sgcsp3thttps://t.co/QIGD9YhCJY pic.twitter.com/CiUORUr4M5

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 21, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Week Two

A lot of WIP things this week--my favorite!

#PWPoePrompts Day 8:

I do have a favorite craft book: it’s called “Mini Weapons of Mass Destruction” by John Austin. Weaponized office supplies, people. It doesn’t get better than that (and I just found out there are sequels). pic.twitter.com/wK1aLM7YbT

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 8, 2018

(Suddenly, the writer realized that "Craft Book" in the #PWPoePrompts Day 8 prompt may have meant WRITING craft. Good thing that he had read Stephen King's "On Writing", arguably the best writing craft book in the universe.) pic.twitter.com/usVkBPR6aY

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 8, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Day 9

For a modern fiction book, I favor Weir’s “The Martian” for its diverse cast in every sense.

But I admit to The Bible as being my favorite. Considering how country-specific mythological gods could be, a God who calls all the nations is big for diversity.

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 9, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Day 10

First line of Stormlock: Activation: “The Professor was hiding.”

BONUS – First one-liner: “The point is, by giving you this account, I feel as if I’m inviting a fresh landfill thunderhead to rain down upon my person.”

(Want more lines? Ask for a type…) pic.twitter.com/XGzOFzFrjT

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 10, 2018

Someone stop me reading all the #PWPoePrompts MS first lines! I thought I'd feel insecure about my own contribution, but instead... pic.twitter.com/yQk5x96joN

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 10, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Day 11

Did a MS word search for “fly” and got 22 results, including…

“Just letting you all know that I don’t sparkle in the dark when I fly, OK? That’s a dampening electrical field. Moving on.”

and…

“The next test went splendidly until the flying drones.” pic.twitter.com/UCWaMASFi7

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 11, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Day 12

Zamrenom Corsello: INTJ type who’s probably using humor as a coping mechanism and disguise for his machinations. Think a Sherlock/Deadpool hybrid that was raised in a library.#ThursdayAethetic = a short MC video/gif that I made... pic.twitter.com/OyNufnvwsj

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 12, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Day 13

My MC’s fears include, but are not limited to:

Ignorance
Lack of control
Being trapped
Betrayal
Heights
Boredom
Cliché
Negaurum Gold
Failure
Having his real plans discovered pic.twitter.com/za6TwCU3jt

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 13, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Day 13 - Extra

Here's one of MY fears: that my readers will begin to echo my mental editor. pic.twitter.com/eNoabKTD7b

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 13, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Day 14: Comp titles

...which apparently means "Comparable books to your WIP." So my work tends to smell like:

- THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY (Stewart)
- H.I.V.E. (Walden)
- MAZE RUNNER (Dashner)
- PORTAL/PORTAL 2 (Valve)

Strange, one of these is NOT a book... pic.twitter.com/PfPUnugJa2

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 14, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Week One

Good times on the #PWPoePrompts so far! Here's my contribution compilation for Week One; do try to ignore the low numbers. Being a new tweeter has its drawbacks.

#PWPoePrompts Day 1

Ben Sonnek here! I'm looking for a home for my YA/sci-fi/fantasy novel “Stormlock: Activation”; glad to be here (if only before my inevitable conflagration from untested weaponry)!

(My remains can also be found at: https://t.co/xXEeSKTSfq) pic.twitter.com/1riNuB3v2w

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 1, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Day 2

My Writing Snacks: whatever’s on hand, but not too much of it.

When writing good stuff, one tends to forget he hasn't stopped eating.

Disregard my advice, and your manuscript’s page count could be directly proportional to how much you weigh. pic.twitter.com/vm5475v4n3

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 2, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Day 3:

My Writing “Nook” = Normally my room, using the bed as a couch, but I can make do in any environment where I can sit in a corner and not be disturbed.

If my wishes were granted, though, my writing nook would look something like this… pic.twitter.com/z1i9ZYvfIS

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 3, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Day 4

In my youth, I was that weird kid who always read science-nonfiction books; but in my teen years, I favored Riordan’s original Percy Jackson series, Brian Jacques’s Redwall series (ESPECIALLY “Taggerung”), and anything Trenton Lee Stewart. pic.twitter.com/vm4TaqBaXg

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 4, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Day 5 – The 5 Unavoidable Stages of Revision:

While every work may not require a complete revision (maybe just some heavy editing), my best writerly advice is to get used to these 5 stages. Always read the MS once again. Twice. Three times… pic.twitter.com/HL09vyddVi

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 5, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Day 6#FridayReads, let’s see…I’d recommend…

- One Punch Man (manga series)
- Bone (graphic novel series)
- Creature Tech (graphic novel)

Yes, these are all visual works, but hey, it’s Friday. We’re tired. pic.twitter.com/2bv28C9eRH

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 6, 2018

#PWPoePrompts Day 7

Anticipated 2018 books? I can’t rightly say. I’m trying to get caught up on already-released books that I want to read, so I don’t keep up with new releases. Best I can do is breeze through the Barnes & Noble YA section, looking for anything interesting. pic.twitter.com/XbjVTknzdK

— Benjamin Sonnek (@ultrasonnek) July 7, 2018

July: Month of #PWPoePrompts!

This month is going to be a little different.

While I was hunting around Twitter for anything remotely useful, I happened across Pitch Wars
(@PitchWars), which is--according to the Twitter page--a "mentoring program ending in an agent pitch round."

For July, in order that the #pitchwars people can get to know each other better, Pitch Wars is putting on a series of Twitter writing prompts, one for each day of the month. Here they are:

...so guess what I'm doing today?

That's right! I'm writing up a bunch of responses to these prompts ahead of time because I suck at doing these kinds of things on the fly.

Want to see my contributions to this Twitter stream? Well, you can either follow my feed at @ultrasonnek or, if you don't want to click on that conveniently placed link, you can come back to this blog; I'll be putting up weekly collections of my own #PWPoePrompts so you can see a week's worth in one go.

It'll also save me from having to compose another blog post halfway through the month.

Enjoy! I certainly plan to do so.