Diane Corso

Diane Corso is a San Francisco Bay Area blogger at The Corso Papers, where she enjoys writing about bad (and good!) horror films. Her latest novel, Broken Things, placed second in the Horror/Paranormal category of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association Contest for 2023. She recently guested on the podcast Nashville, CA on two of her favorite horror films, Ravenous and Midsommar. She lives in San Francisco with her husband of 17 years and their cat, Scout.

http://www.thecorsopapers.com
See profile
Award Category
Writing Award 2023
Writing Award Sub-Category
2023 Best Written Genre
This submission is private and only visible to judges.

Comments

Kirstie Long Tue, 15/08/2023 - 12:47

I'm intrigued as to where this story goes. I liked the inner voice and the fact it leads you into the character - who she is, her backstory and why she's there.

Well written and now I want to know more!

Tammy Letherer Sat, 26/08/2023 - 20:56

Nicely done beginning. My comments are rather granular. The first sentence is a strong declarative sentence, but it isn't until the second sentence that the protagonist's consciousness comes into focus, meaning the opening is briefly omniscient (?). It tripped me up. Also, the use of the Logical Me tags was unnecessary and clunky. I would simply state the thoughts directly to match the pacing. Good work!

DCorso Fri, 01/09/2023 - 04:06

Thanks so much for your feedback and very helpful comments. We can definitely use fewer tags in general, and Maggie's no exception. Just be glad I did a sweep for crutch words. ;)

Paula Sheridan Thu, 31/08/2023 - 18:24

This is a comment from a publisher judge who asked us to post this comment:

Really interesting start- a secluded cabin in the woods is always an excellent location to encounter (the paranormal? Our own inner ghosts? One and the same? Both?) Some of the tags Maggie uses to describe her own voice feel clunky. We’re curious how a first-person narrator who seems like she will spend a good deal of time alone in the cabin will drive the plot- an interesting literary problem to solve.