Briony Heneberry shares her personal reading list of promising writers on Wattpad. Check out her reviews below!
Briony Heneberry’s ‘Authors To Watch’ Reading List
Eva Wilde Vs The Zombie Apocalypse - jenmariewilde
What I like about zombie stories, rather than vampire stories, is that generally there is a greater emphasis on the testing of humanity under stress. I’m no stranger to writing about the undead, but Jen’s ‘Eva Wilde Vs The Zombie Apocalypse’ is written from the perspective of a protagonist much younger than I’m used to.
Aside from my growing interest in the story itself, what really drives me to watch Jen’s progress, is her genuine desire to improve the quality of her writing. It can be tough taking even constructive criticism when you start out, but Jen has already shown that she’s willing to take on board comments directed at making her writing more effective.
Return To Sender - seeMISARCHIST
The expression in this short story is superb.
It can be difficult to establish a realistic context for a setting in a short story because you’ve a limited amount of space for exposition. The motives and the rawness of this protagonist’s emotions, however, are poignantly, beautifully, and horrifically conveyed through rhythmic diversity, carefully selected adjectives, and often-distressing figurative language.
It’s not a happy story, but it is a good one.
There are an awful lot of emotionally cliché, sad-sack stories on Wattpad, about how horrible someone’s life is and how they wish it was over. I don’t buy into this because I have my own demons to deal with, but Aaron Clifford’s ‘The Nothing Cupcake’ caught my eye; titles are important.
It starts quiet seriously, and has you wondering why on Earth someone would wish themselves erased from existence completely; it’s hilarity from then on. It’s not nearly as nihilistic as it first seems; there is clever humour in the way Aaron describes small details like counting out change, or noting the exact time an event occurs.
You’re still left with questions by the end… questions and a craving for cupcakes.
(Title Undecided) - kaitbannan
When I read a story, I like it to be about something. I’m not quite sure if I got that from kaitbannan’s as yet untitled story, but I know I got something: something enough for me to vote, and comment, and add it to my reading list.
Though I’m not sure what plot might develop, I do know that kaitbannan’s character development and attention to detail in descriptions, will produce truly multi-dimensional images in a reader’s mind. In merely a page, she has shown that even something as mundane as getting up and going for a run can be interesting and immersive.
Poetry in Motion - EmmaMillard
Dun dun duuuun. Poems!
It takes something beyond the ‘dark and crimson blood soaked, tragic, gloomy, wind swept, tear-streaked’ trite concoctions of so much poetry to impress the likes of me. Don’t get me wrong, there is a place for the heart-felt and heart-string tugging, and I’ve certainly written my fair share, but Emma’s ‘Poetry in Motion’ collection will make you smile.
Her poems have true ‘bounce’ and are not bound by any particular rules or form, which is perhaps what I like most about them. They’re sometimes silly, sometimes childish, sometimes serious, and sometimes sad; they’re diverse in theme and topic, accessible and entirely enjoyable, every one.
Ready for more? Check out Briony Heneberry’s featured story on Wattpad, “Reluctant Death”:
Micaela Godfrey’s life is thrown into disarray after the death of her unborn child; she loses faith in her God and her marriage falls to apathy and emptiness.
What she finds, however, is that her world is not limited to the personal tragedy she has suffered, and that whispers of the past draw her to a future of endless possibility.
What was once a clear line between right and wrong begins to blur, and reality, she begins to see, may be shaped by thought if a will is strong enough. For her, darkness now moves in the form of corrupted magic, that would seek in her a secret she does not remember, and her fated calling will test even the most stalwart resolve of which she imagined herself capable.
Good guys and bad guys, light and dark, the mundane and the magical: traditional roles get tested in a world like our own, but where truly opening your eyes may mean you see something that you wish you hadn’t.
Reluctant Death is not a fluffy bunny story; there are no sparkly vampires or shirtless werewolves strutting around, and the affections of the heroine cannot be won until she is truly a whole person in her own right. What she needs is to find something that was torn from her, and to find it in herself; what she needs is to remember the power that has always been hers, and the responsibilities that come with it; what she needs is to find the courage to accept who she is, and will always be, and walk that fine line of right and wrong in the name of something far bigger than herself.