Weird Circular #23 August

The August Weird Circular

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

Welcome to the Weird Circular

Dear Fellow Writers of the Weird:

Did you know, writing is hard? I'm in a state of self-promotion overload because my book is coming out this month. And this is an important part of writing, the putting your name out there, telling people about your work, marketing and emailing portion of a writing career. But it's hard, perhaps harder than just sitting down to write at times. 

I say this a lot, writing is hard. Because I want you to know that persistence is more important than writing the most beautiful, perfect, shining draft. The longer you work at something, the better you get at it. So this month, I want you to give yourself permission to do the hard work that you need right now. Don't give up. Keep going. Keep writing. Look inside yourself for the inspiration you need. 

I did a writing retreat in July and went to Readercon, which was a lot of fun. But it also taught me that sometimes I don't put enough time into writing. It's hard to sit and be still and meditate on my thoughts. But it's also important and gives me life. 

- Holly 

Submission Calls

Upcoming Submission Windows: 

Need more submission ideas? Check the

newest markets,

, Duotrope's

,

, or Literary Mama's

.

YOU SHOULD BE WRITING

Prompt #1: (Borrowed from Brandon Melendez) Write a poem with lines that all start with "I hate myself for..." Then go back through and replace the word "hate" with "forgive." 

Check out some lovely examples on

Prompt #2: Write a piece about building something beautiful. 

Bonus Round: Tear that beautiful thing down. See the beauty in destruction. 

Prompt #3: This prompt is from Ursula K. Le Guin, based on her story "Half Past Four." This is a short story prompt. Write a story with 4 characters: Their names are James, Marta, Daniel, and Nova. There are no other requirements to the story except that it have those 4 names.

Bonus Round: Write a new story with the same 4 names and completely different scenarios. For inspiration, read Le Guin's story in her book

and see how she does this. It's quite extraordinary! 

Editing tip of the month: Go through your work and highlight anything that is purely expository i.e. providing information. Do you have a lot of straightforward info-dumps or do you perhaps need more? What is pertinent to the point? 

Inspiration from the Ether

➳ Craft Article of the Month: Rituals of Escape ➳

☢ Weird Inspiration from the Real World: What if the Earth Turned Into a Giant Pile of Blueberries? ☢

News From Your Corporeal Host

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