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- The September Weird Circular
The September Weird Circular
This month's Weird Circular is live with submission ideas, prompts, and more!
Welcome to the Weird Circular
Dear Weirdos,
I don't know about you, but I am READY for spooky season. Pennywise, take me away! Fall is my favorite time of year. In the summer, I feel just totally morose. The second there's a little cold snap and a breeze that isn't a million degrees, I'm alive again.
I have been working really hard this summer to get back into writing on a regular basis. I'm pretty proud of what I've accomplished so far. I've been writing a lot more regularly through keeping up with my friends for accountability, having a Discord weekly check-in, and just trying to revitalize my writing joy. How has your writing been this summer?
Speaking of writing, this month's theme is micro/flash fiction! I'm teaching a workshop on this starting in
.
Your corporeal host,
Holly
News From Your Corporeal Host
The Smallest of Bones is nominated for an Elgin Award! Voting ends 9/15!
I'll be the keynote speaker at the Roanoake, TX Writers Conference, talking about poetry :)
My self-paced workshops are on sale at the Poetry Barn:
I'm teaching two workshops this fall:
Micro and Flash Fiction - Starts in October
Journaling for Writers - Starts in December
My short story "The Asylum" is available in the Other Terrors anthology from the Horror Writer's Association
I wrote a round-up of the best speculative poetry of 2022
I have a new story out in Crone Girl's Press Anthology A WOMAN UNBECOMING. Read about my story in my personal essay "Science Fiction, Women’s Rights, and Abortion"
New Article: My Top Five Current Writing Distractions (And How I’m Planning on Overcoming Them)
Submission Calls
Upcoming Submission Windows:
September
Dose of Dread, deadline 9/18, Theme: Halloween. Flash Fiction (500-1,000 words). Pays $.03/word.
Reckoning, deadline 9/22, Theme: Ocean. Poetry (3-5 poems up to 10 pages), Short stories and creative nonfiction (up to 20,000 words)
Mocha Memoirs Press, Crack in the Code Anthology, deadline 9/30, Theme: Robots/AI who have gone off their programming. Short Stories (up to 7500 words). Pays .08/word.
Brigid's Gate Press, Gothic Romance Anthology, deadline 9/30. Theme: Gothic Romance. Women authors only. Short stories (2k-6k words). Pays .08/word.
Crystal Lake Publishers, Unspeakable Horror 3: Dark Rainbow Rising, deadline 9/30, Theme: Horror by LGBTQIA authors with a queer theme. Short Stories (up to 6k words). Pays $.10/word.
Weird Horror Magazine, deadline 9/30. Short Stories (up to 6k words). Pays $1.5 /word.
October
TDOTSPEC, The Science Fiction Tarot Anthology, deadline 10/4. Theme: Tarot. Short stories (up to 7.5k). Pays $.03/word.
Merciless Mermaids: Tails from the Deep Anthology, deadline 10/7. Theme: Mermaids. Short Stories (up to 5k words). Pays $.06/word.
Underdog Press, The Underdogs Rise, deadline 10/31. Theme: Writing by BIPOC with an underdog theme. Short Stories (3.5-5k). Pays .03/word.
Need more submission ideas? Check the
newest markets, Duotrope's
,
, SFPA's
, Moksha's
or Literary Mama's
.
My book of poems is eligible for the
YOU SHOULD BE WRITING
Exercise
: Make a list of 10 interesting, bizarre, or unique situations. For example: A pregnant runaway teen, a boy who discovers a new land at the bottom of a well, trees that come to life, etc. Let yourself brainstorm. Then make a flash fiction story based on that situation.
Bonus Round
: Subvert the expectations of the reader. What does the reader infer about the situation? What are common "tropes" about that situation played out in TV or movies? How can you surprise the reader?
Exercise: Try writing a flash fiction story in a new form. Here are some to try: Epistolary (in the form of a letter), Fragments (numbered short paragraphs), Dictionary (Define a word and make a story about it). For more ideas, check out Sophie van Llewyn's list of Unusual Structures in Flash.
Bonus Round: Come up with your own structure and make up a name for it.
Exercise: Write a 1500 word story. Then, cut it down to 1000 words. Then, cut it down to 500 words. Which version is best?
Bonus Round:
Write a 100-word story. Expand it to 500 words. Expand it to 1000 words. Which version is best?
Editing tip of the month: Here's a pep talk. Love yourself. Writing is hard. If you're struggling with mental health stuff, just know that you are not alone and a lot of writers are also struggling right now. I believe in you. If you don't believe in your writing, just know I do.
Inspiration from the Ether
♛ Weird Book of the Month: Ordinary Miracles by Elizabeth Wilder ♛
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