Zen Fiction

This is extreme examination of fiction books. We take excerpts from popular novels (one page in length) from various chapters and we read them, trying to understand the writer's voice, writing structure, and more. Over time we'll have a clearer definition of how we do our analysis. This book will have notes every now and then. Enjoy! Oh, and if you were wondering, the main purpose of this is to learn how to write better fiction.

In Finding Christmas: The Story of Joseph, Joseph bumps into an old man who grants him three wishes that will be granted to him on Christmas. He just has to meet him every Sunday of Advent leading up to Christmas. Joseph hopes for a miracle because he is poor and torn between two women - one from the past and one from the present. He wishes to be married, have a baby, and to be a millionaire. Will these wishes come true in this holiday romance short story?

The stories of the Bible from an alien perspective, Renewable Energy explores the purpose of life and how to get a second chance at it while being caught in the middle of a great battle for "soular" energy.

Lulu is a sweet and quirky girl who loves playing in nature! She loves to spend time with the animals and wrestling in the mud. The other girls don’t like to play with her and the boys only make fun of her. There are times when Lulu feels like she never fits in. But when Lulu discovers an opportunity to catch the moon, she soon learns about the value of true friendship, courage, and why you should always embrace who you are.

Aaron loves Grandma, and while traveling around the world he calls her to say hello in the native language of the country he is visiting. At the end of his journey, Aaron ends up in Grandma's kitchen. Was he really traveling from one country to another, or was it his imagination?

Brian Sutton moves into a new house, with his son Mark. Everything is normal for the first week, then things begin to change for the worse. Brian wakes at 3:13 a.m., to his son carrying on a conversation with an unknown man. Brian rushes to his son's room, worried someone has broken in, but when he checks the room, his son is asleep in bed. Before Brian can figure out what is going on, the door at the end of the hallway opens up, and his son walks out of the bathroom.

Amy was born with a facial flaw. She has a large purple birthmark on one side of her face and has spent her whole life being on the receiving end of stares and ridicule. She resigns herself to a lifetime of loneliness until a handsome blind man arrives at her church...and sees the beauty she has on the inside.

Dale was once a peaceful town until a bloodless body shows up at the local park. Ivan doesn't think much of it until he meets a family in trouble and they throw him into their world full of vampires and nightmares!

Maggie has been put down all of her life. Pregnant and broke, she is works as a waitress to make ends meet before her baby arrives. The baby's father now wants nothing to do with her and she faces the shame of judgmental parents. A shy dishwasher, however, takes an interest in Maggie's plight and begins helping her out. Will he be the one person to lift her up?

An author writes a book and controls the characters. What happens when the author is actually the character in someone else's book, and that author is my character? Some people's fantasies are other people's realities. And some people are aware while others are not.

Children are constantly complaining about the monster in the closet. As parents, we just shake it off as childhood fantasy. But what if the monsters are real? What if they want something from our children?Jerry is a Collector, and each night he is sent into bedrooms to gather specimens to study so that experts can either fix his world, or help them find a new one.

Get ready to laugh-out-loud with "The Fart-tastic Dancer"! Meet Billy, the boy with epic farts and silly antics. But when his pranks go too far, a sweet little girl named Lulu and her lovable furry friends decide it's time to teach him a lesson about kindness and respect. Join them on a wild adventure filled with stinky farts, flying boogers, and a muddy mess. Will Billy transform from a gross jokester to a beloved star? Find out in this hilarious and heartwarming tale that will have you giggling from start to finish.