Weird Circular #5 February

The February Weird Circular

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

Welcome to the Weird Circular

Dear Fellow Writers of the Weird:

February's theme is all about resistance... How do you get your voice out into the world as a writer? I know a lot of writers who aren't keen on submitting their work. It's scary putting something you love out there for people to see. What if they don't like it? What if it fails? Or worse, what if nobody notices? It's tempting to believe these fears. But we have to resist. The beautiful thing about sending your work out is you're starting a conversation.

Some writers get along fine writing for themselves and never publishing. And that's a perfectly valid choice. But even if that description fits you, I encourage you to think outside the box this month and consider how your writing can interact with the world. We live in a world full of darkness and light. Art is empathy. It's connection between people. Even between yourself and the voice inside you. I encourage you to pull on that thread a bit this month. Follow it and see who's on the other end. 

My weird story of the month this month isn't a story at all, it's a poem. But I think you'll find it an accessible and important one. When I'm struggling to understand the world, I often turn back to poetry. Art is powerful and can give us hope. 

- Holly 

February Submission Calls

Amazon.co.uk Storyteller Award, Opens Feb. 20th (For indie authors): The prize is open to all authors who publish their book through Kindle Direct Publishing on Amazon.co.uk between 20th February and 19th May 2017.Readers will play a significant role in the competition with the award shortlist compiled based on a number of factors that measure customer interest in the titles, followed by an esteemed panel of judges - made up of both Amazon experts and literary authorities - selecting the Kindle Storyteller 2017 winner. The prize will be announced at a central London ceremony in July, with the winning author being rewarded with a cash prize of £20,000 and a marketing campaign to support the book on Amazon.co.uk, as well as the opportunity to have their book translated for international sales.

Neon Books, Poetry Chapbook Proposals, Deadline Feb. 28: In 2017 Neon Books will publish another chapbook-length individual work. We’re currently looking for the right manuscript to develop and publish.

Other Upcoming Submission Windows: 

Need more submission ideas? Check the

newest markets, Aerogramme's

, Duotrope's

, or Literary Mama's

.

YOU SHOULD BE WRITING

Prompt #1: First line. In this challenge, I give you the first line of a poem, story, or nonfiction, and you write the rest. Start with wherever the line takes you, then see how far you can go. "This is what our dying looks like."(First line of Jericho Brown's poem, Another Elegy) Bonus Round: You can also play this game backwards. Make this line the last line in your piece and write you way toward it. What kind of story would end this way?

Prompt #2: On empathy: Write a response piece to something you've read, heard, or seen this week. Write it in dialogue only. If you're writing a poem, this might mean that each line is a new voice. For a short story, you might only use dialogue with no tags. Try to have a conversation with the world, focusing on talking to someone, something that is unfamiliar to you. See where this takes you. Later if you feel like you want to include description, scene or setting, feel free to add that. Bonus Round: Write a story, poem, or nonfiction from the point of view of someone you disagree with. This is particularly fun and challenging to pull off in nonfiction, where I encourage you to keep the point of view yours, but as if you are imagining someone else's views. How do you weave the two together?

Prompt #3:

 This one's about pure language. Pick three words from the list below and work them into a poem, story, or essay. Use free association to start if you need to by picking one word and seeing what it sparks in your mind. Write on that one word until you feel yourself losing steam, then pick another and keep going. 

resist             revolution                   blind                   powerless             hope               crowd                 faith               chain                   cavern        mistake            demesne         evanescent            twilight          body         furtive          offing            oligarchy         susurrous      vestigial        pieces         broken          

Bonus Round:

Challenge yourself to include all the words in one piece. Or else, make your own list of random words using this website: http://www.textfixer.com/tools/random-words.php

Editing tip of the month: Sometimes as writers I think we forget the power of time. Look at your notebook/computer files and find the oldest piece you've ever written. Consider this piece and take one line, one paragraph from it. You can make a whole new story from it, or else you can consider how to rewrite that piece. If you're struggling to edit a new piece you've written, consider whether you're forcing yourself to deadline. Would that work benefit from a week, a month in a drawer?

Inspiration from the Ether

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