Writing - be patient, the story will come

'The End' might not be, after all.  Stories have a habit of refusing to go away, insisting that there's still life smouldering between the lines, no matter how many times it's been discarded or rejected.

For years, I've advocated, 'never throw away your failed tales'. I've resurrected several and they've been sold subsequently. Certain stories - or their theme or idea - are just not ready; whether that's the treatment, the characters, or the lack of writing experience; for some reason the story needs time to gestate.

A writer friend, Ray Foster, can certainly endorse this viewpoint. A story that evolved in 2000, changed and morphed in the intervening time until finally being accepted for an anthology this year, the third in an ongoing annual series, Spectacular Tales. Let him tell you about it here.

Of the many instances where I too have found that time was necessary to let the story grow, perhaps the first adventure of Tana Standish is apt. It began as a short story in the early 1970s, transformed into a 50,000-word novel in 1975, and was rejected by Robert Hale due to its paranormal elements (a psychic spy), though their rejection did say 'it's better than many books that are published'. Years later, I returned to the manuscript, piled up a great deal more research, and it was finally published in 2007 as The Prague Manuscript (84,000 words). Then the publisher ceased publishing and the manuscript languished until I revised it yet again and it was published by Crooked Cat in 2014 as The Prague Papers (75,000 words). Since then, another novel in the series has resulted, The Tehran Text (85,000 words) and a work-in-progress is 60,000-words and counting, The Khyber Chronicle.

So, take heed of Ray's closing comments, and never give up.

The Magnificent Mendozas - review

My thanks to western aficionado and fellow scribe Ray Foster for reviewing my novel The Magnificent Mendozas (2014).

Here's an excerpt:
'... Armed with a strong cast of characters the story flows with lightning speed that takes it into "unputdownable" territory.

'Ross Morton is a writer who entertains and knows his craft (check out Nik Morton's book "Write A Western In 30 Days"). There will be those who will think of a certain movie and there is a tip of the hat to it but this is not the major element as events encompass more "heroes" than the title suggests.'

Please check out the full review at Ray's blog, 'Broken Trails' here

I enjoyed writing this one as for some years I'd wanted to pay homage to that classic western movie. When I read that at the time the Mexican authorities were a little irate that their countrymen were all seemingly depicted as helpless peons, I thought about switching it around, and make the Mexicans the heroes - male and female - who help out a gringo township. Then the fun started, inventing suitable heroes. Then it seemed obvious - use seven circus performers!  Inevitably, there are changes of viewpoint when scenes shift; I was striving for a cinematic effect. And as Ray hints in his review, a number of the townspeople do heroic things too.

I must admit to being surprised that in the new movie of The Magnificent Seven, while they played with the ethnic mix, they didn't dabble with gender.


The Mendoza troupe comprises Mateo, the leader, and his wife Josefa, both expert knife-throwers; Antonio Rivera, sharpshooter; Juan Suaréz, gymnast and trapeze artist with his companion Arcadia Mendoza, who is also good with bow and arrow; José, younger brother of Mateo, a trick rider who lusts after Josefa; and Ramon Mendoza, escapologist. In order to penetrate the cordon of desperado sentries and free the townsfolk, the troupe employs many skills – tightrope walking, knife-throwing, archery, horsemanship, sharpshooting and escapology.