Pretending to Write
Welcome to the digital home for author Chris Watson, with original writing, conversations with writers, a space for creativity, and a podcast about writing and more
“Go away, I’m pretending to Write!”
Chris Watson
I am a father, a sailor of small boats and tall ships, a passionate storyteller, a podcaster and blogger, and a professional writer for corporate and nonprofit organizations for more than 25 years. Written works in progress include a fantasy series, The Stormspire Quartet, the first of which, A Murder in Fire and Fog, is the product of my lifelong fascination with epic fantasy and a good murder. In a less fantastical voice, I am also well along with a series of historical short stories and in the beta reader phase for my novel-length murder mystery, Seeing the Elephant, all set in the fictional town of Shelton’s Cove, Maine.
Need a kickstart to get writing? Check out the weekly writing prompt and give yourself 30 minutes of creative time to see what emerges!
Write a complete story in a 100-word piece of micro fiction
Pretending to Blog
Writing to a Prompt: AR-15, It’s All In the Branding
This week, a member of my Sunday writing posse set us a challenge for the weekly assignment: Write something using the prompt AR-15. Seriously? I was a bit stumped. Do I try to work a semi-automatic rifle into my murder mystery? Do I write something about the concept...
A Writer Who Respected Her Audience and Her Characters
RIP Beverly Cleary. I adored her books as a child and now, as a parent, I've loved them all over again as I read them to my daughter and then watched her become a huge fan of reading as a result. I think she can recite Ramona the Pest word for word by now. I also...
Changing States
I learned about voting as a kid in Rhode Island. Every few years, they would wheel into our schools a massive booth with switches, a giant lever, and a grey curtain that would swish clink shut on metal bearings. An adult would stand up in front of us and explain the...
Explore Some Original Work
A Murder in Fire and Fog
The port of Selmar is burning, and this time, it isn’t young Blazemaster Melsera Ailenway’s fault. Instead, she finds herself defending the city, solving a murder, and protecting a young Windrider with far more power than he should possess from an enemy determined to kill them both.
Welcome to the world of Amastria and an excerpt from my hopefully-soon-to-be-published novel, A Murder in Fire and Fog.
Library of Lives
Inspired by a writing group prompt and a touch of Edgar Allan Poe and the creepy side of Ray Bradbury, Library of Lives is a 1,000 word story that won the 2021 Christmas Lake Creative “Rising Stars” Flash Fiction competition in the Freeform category. I hope you enjoy this visit to an unusual library in Barcelona.
Seeing the Elephant (excerpt)
I’ve been a passionate fan of mysteries since I was a kid and starting with Donald J. Sobel’s Encyclopedia Brown Books and the Hardy Boys series, then moving on to Chandler and Hammett, Christie and Mosley, Connelly and Lippman.
Seeing the Elephant is my first complete mystery, a contemporary set of murders set on the rocky coasts of Maine. It’s in the beta reader process at the moment, so there’s work still to be done. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this excerpt.
Pretending to Podcast
Enjoy this sample from The Epic Pencil podcast and click below for access to all of the episodes.