Tag: fiction

Writing Fear: How to Craft a Horror Protagonist and Get Under Their Skin with Tatiana Schlote-Bonne – 4/26, Online Workshop

Posted on by Ryan Collins

This workshop will guide you through creating a compelling protagonist and antagonist for a horror novel or short story. Questions we’ll consider: What scares your protagonist and why? What does the antagonist reflect about your protagonist’s fears? Why is your protagonist the right main character for this story? Generative writing prompts will help us figure out these elements of our stories and more. Using sensory details, we’ll place our protagonists in scenes where they must face their greatest fears–it’s good for them! 

Iron Pen 2025 Results / Info for Awards Ceremony on 3/22

Posted on by Ryan Collins

Thanks so much to everyone who participated in Iron Pen 2025. We received many terrific entries, and our excellent judges— Kristin DeMarr (nonfiction), Peter          Hadlandsmyth (fiction), and Jacob Duncan (poetry), who are last year’s winners in each category—had very difficult decisions to make in their evaluations and wonderful things to say about so much terrific writing. We appreciate everyone’s time and talents in making this year’s contest one of the most competitive we’ve ever had.

Without any further ado, here are the winners of the 2025 Iron Pen Contest, by category…

Iron Pen 2025: Rules, Info, Prompt Announcement 

Posted on by Ryan Collins

Thank you all very much for participating in the fastest writing contest in the Midwest! We appreciate your writing courage & quick imagination, and we look forward to seeing all of your terrific submissions. 

Before we get to the prompt (which will also be available via phone on the MWC’s outgoing voice message at 309-732-7330, via the home page and the Iron Pen page on the MWC website, and on our Facebook page), a few guidelines and other important bits of information: