Weird Circular #14 November

The November Weird Circular

November 01, 2017

November's Weird Circular is live with submission ideas, prompts, and more!

Welcome to the Weird Circular

Dear Fellow Writers of the Weird:

It's #NaNoWriMo! Are you writing a novel this month? NaNoWriMo takes place during the month of November and it's when writers across the globe come together, as we each try to write 50,000 words in 30 days.

My NaNoWriMo plan includes writing 10 short stories in 30 days, at roughly 5,000 words each. When I first started out, this kind of project would have seemed daunting to me. But I've learned (somewhat) what my limits are as a writer. NaNoWriMo doesn't work for everyone, but it can be a fun experiment to see what processes work for you as a writer.

Yes, I guess it does seem a little weird to write so much in one month, but hey, we're nothing if not weird, right? This month's prompts are meant to keep you going in a

work in progress

,

so they can be applied outside of NaNoWriMo too. Enjoy!

- Holly 

Submission Calls

Wigleaf. Open during the last week of every academic month. Flash Fiction under 1000 words. 

Other Upcoming Submission Windows: 

Need more submission ideas? Check the

newest markets,

, Duotrope's

,

, or Literary Mama's

.

YOU SHOULD BE WRITING

Prompt #1: This prompt comes from the classic writing guide, The Art of Fiction by John Gardner, adapted for an ongoing work in progress. Working within the constraints of your project (A novel, a short story, a poem series, an essay), write three separate sentences, each describing a separate emotion. Try to pick a very specific emotion: trapped, confident, intent, curious, guilty, reckless (versus: loving, happy, sad, etc.) You can do this exercise without a specific project in mind, too. Make the sentences as long or as short as you want. Don't use the emotion in the sentence - try to convey it without "telling". Bonus Round: Pick the strongest of your three sentences and expand it to include either a character, setting, or dialogue. 

Prompt #2: Write down a list of lies. Perhaps they are lies your main character might tell, or they are lies about you, like those Facebook polls that ask people to guess which is a lie. Pick the juiciest one. Let that lie that be the starting sentence of your next scene, chapter, poem, or essay. Bonus Round: Write a scene in which someone is trying to find out the truth. You can expand this from the previous if you want or write a whole new scene/section. Maybe it's a dialogue, or else you can try writing in 2nd person. What does your main character do to hide their secret? 

Prompt #2: Write a flashback. Maybe your character is remembering an important time in their life, the first time they met someone, or it can be a very small memory which focuses on detail: What objects were in the room? Draw on your own memory if you want and craft that into your character's memory. This can be done with poetry too: Write a poem where the "turn" is a memory that reveals new information. Bonus Round: Write a daydream. What is your character's wildest hope? What comforts them when they lie down to sleep? Again, you can do this with your own thoughts too, if you're writing creative nonfiction, or with poetry. Make up a totally absurd daydream if you want. 

Editing tip of the month: There's no editing in NaNoWriMo :) That's the beauty of it. Let yourself take a break from editing this month. No, really. Put that story/poem/novel in the drawer. Sometimes, it's really important to just let yourself not look at a thing for a while. If you really feel desperate to edit, you can do some "meta" exercises: Write about what the piece is trying to say. Write summaries of the piece. Write about your writing goals. 

Inspiration from the Ether

♛ Weird Story of the Month: The Husband Stitch by Carmen Maria Machado ♛

➳ Craft Article of the Month:How to Prep for NaNoWriMo in 7 Days ➳

☢ Weird Inspiration from the Real World: Ghosts of the Tsunami ☢

News From Your Corporeal Host

  • My flash fiction "knick knack, knick knack," inspired by Princess Mononoke, was accepted by Fireside Fiction.

  • I'll be at World Fantasy Con in San Antonio November 2-5. Come say hi at my panel, "Goblin Market Poetry Slam" Friday at 10:00pm! 

  • If you're doing NaNoWriMo, add me as your buddy. My username is Hwally.

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