Weird Circular #36 September

The September Weird Circular

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

Welcome to the Weird Circular

Dear Fellow Weird Writers,

It's nearly fall. Around this time of year I get antsy and start having all kinds of ideas. But execution is pretty much impossible because it's so dang hot out still. Everyone in the north is starting to enjoy their Pumpkin Spice Lattes. 

It's hard to concentrate on writing sometimes. But you know what? That's just fine. We're not just writers, we are human beings and we need to experience our world to write about it.

Holly 

Submission Calls

Upcoming Submission Windows: 

  • Porkbelly Press Charcuterie, deadline 9/8: Chapbook reprints (8-26 pages of poetry, prose poems, hybrid form, or creative nonfiction). Pays in contributor copies but makes screenprint or letterpress,  handbound and numbered editions.

  • Story Seed Vault, deadline 9/24: Microfiction based on science (up to 200 words). Pays $2-3 AUD.

  • The Arcanist Flash Fiction Contest, deadline 9/29: Theme: Monsters. Contest Fee $5-10. Flash Fiction (under 1k words). Winnings $75-200 USD

  • Barnhouse, deadline 9/30: Flash Fiction or Fiction (up to 2k words). Pays $20.

  • Split Lip Magazine, deadline 9/30: Fiction (1k-5k words), Poetry (1 poem). Pays $20-50.

  • Lackington's, rolling deadlines. Current theme: Birds. Speculative fiction (1.5k-5k words). Pays .01 CAD/word, $25 minimum. 

Need more submission ideas? Check the

newest markets,

, Duotrope's

,

, or Literary Mama's

.

YOU SHOULD BE WRITING

Prompt #1:

I'm feeling silly today, so I'm borrowing from Chuck Wendig.

and pick one of his 10 prompts to try out. 

Bonus Round:

Need more prompts?

Be as silly or as serious as you like. 

Prompt #2:

 Grab an anthology off your bookshelf or head to the bookstore. Look at the first sentences of stories. What are they doing for the story? What do they tell you about the story? How do they work?

Bonus Round:

 Write 10 first sentences for 10 different story ideas. Then pick your favorite and run with it.

Prompt #3:

 This is a character exercise. Write down a list of things your character would think, but never say out loud. Try writing this in-scene with the character reacting to what's happening around them. 

Bonus Round:

Bonus points if you can weave this into your story, poem, or book in a way that seems effortless. Try to make it feel like the reader is experiencing what the character is feeling in their head.

Editing tip of the month: Make an accountability date with yourself. Pick a date a few months out and write down what you want to have accomplished by then. Make a calendar entry to remind yourself to check back in. Even if you haven't met your goals, it can be useful to have a deadline. If you need help, ask a friend to meet you and chat about your goals.

Inspiration from the Ether

♫ This month's writing music is from Wavesource ♫

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