Weird Circular #37 October

The October Weird Circular

October 01, 2019

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

Welcome to the Weird Circular

Dear Fellow Weird Writers,

I am afraid that this month's circular has been taken over by ghouls. You may want to cross your heart before you read on and hope not to die! This month is my favorite month of them all, and not just because it happens to be creepy and crawly. In Texas, it finally gets to feeling like fall. But also, this year it's shaping up to be pretty great. This week I learned that my chapbook

won the

. Thanks to everyone who voted for me. You are my favorite legions of undead!

Your corporeal host,

Holly 

(P.S. Check out my upcoming

!) 

Submission Calls

Upcoming Submission Windows: 

  • The Other Stories Podcast, deadline Oct. 7: Theme: Beyond Death: Horror Short Fiction (around 2k words). Pays $5/story. 

  • Scum, deadline Oct. 7: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, reviews under 1k words or 50 lines. Pays $60 AUD. 

  • Wizards in Space, deadline Oct. 18: Speculative short fiction (up to 5k words) Poetry (Up to 75 lines). Pays $40. 

  • The Overcast Podcast, deadline Oct. 31: Speculative short fiction (1k-5k words). Pays .01/word. 

  • Heliopolis Chapbook Prize, deadline Oct. 31: Poetry and Prose chapbooks (16-32 pages). No fee to enter. Pays $150 + 25 contributor copies.

  • Escape Pod Podcast, reopened to submissions until 2020: Sci-fi short fiction (1.5k-6k words.) Pays .08/word.

Need more submission ideas? Check the

newest markets,

, Duotrope's

,

, or Literary Mama's

.

YOU SHOULD BE WRITING

Prompt #1:

Write a story, poem, or essay about poison.

Bonus Round:

Twist your poison and

in some way.

Prompt #2:

 Pick your

. Write your ghost into being. 

Bonus Round:

 Need more ghosts? Find out which ones

. 

Prompt #3:

 I stole this from a recent Codex contest. Write a "scary story to tell in the dark."

Bonus Round:

Extra points if you can mimic the voice and storytelling style of the

 (My favorite is "The Viper.") 

Editing tip of the month: Rearrange your drafts on a regular basis. Print them out if you can and put them in a place where you can see them and access them. This way their ghosts won't haunt you as much as if they were locked in a drawer. Never give up on a draft. Keep picking away at it. 

Inspiration from the Ether

♛ Weird Story of the Month: Out of Skin by Emily Carroll ♛

➳ Craft article of the month: Ursula K. Le Guin's Daily Routine   ➳

♫ This month's writing music is from Classical MPR ♫

News From Your Corporeal Host

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