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The September Weird Circular
Holly Lyn Walrath
September 13, 2023
Welcome to the Weird Circular
Dear Weirdos,
Forgive my absence, I got stuck in the abyss. My favorite season of the year is upon us, the season of pumpkin heads and changing colors and soft, dim darkness. Have you been struggling to make space for your writing? Me too. One thing I've learned is that writing is sometimes a season. For me, it's been a season of sticky heat and lost energy. But the season is changing, and I have the power to change with it. You do too.
Your corporeal host,
Holly
My latest workshop starts 10/2. Come write spooky poems with me this fall!
News From Your Corporeal Host
I have a new book out from Aqueduct Press in April 2023: Numinous Stones--A Chapbook of Horror Pantoums about Grief, Queerness, Gender, and Feminism
My latest 4-week workshop is all about dark poetry!
Check out my self-paced workshops:
I have some new blog posts up:
Submission Calls
Upcoming Submission Windows:
September
Weird Horror: Deadline 9/15: Flash Fiction (500-1k words), Short Stories (up to 6k words). Pays .5¢ per word
Shortwave Magazine: Deadline 9/15: (1k-4k words) Pays .05/word
Flash Fiction Online: Deadline 9/21 (Open 1-21 of each month): Flash (500-1k words).
Reckoning: Deadline 9/22: Short Fiction (Up to 20k words) Pays .10/word. Poetry (1-10 pages). Pays $50/page.
October
Heartlines Spec: Deadline 10/1, Theme: Long-term relationships. Short Fiction (up to 3.5k words), Poetry (up to 5 poems).
Cast of Wonders: Deadline 10/31, Theme: Halloween. Short Fiction (up to 7.5k words). Pays .08/word
Need more submission ideas? Check the Grinder's newest markets, Duotrope's calendar, Heavy Feather Review, SFPA's Markets, Moksha's Open Publications, or Literary Mama's Blog
My new poetry collection is out from Aqueduct Press! Numinous Stones
YOU SHOULD BE WRITING
Exercise
Write a story or poem that is an ode to darkness. Have you ever thought about what darkness is made of? Darkness is the absence of light - it is a lack of something. It absorbs light. Human vision can't even distinguish it because our eyes react to light. Fascinatingly, when you combine the three main colors of red, green, and blue, the mixed colors will appear white in light and black in darkness. In our culture, we associate the color black with horror, shadows, evil, and depression. But in other cultures, black colors mean good health or prosperity. Writers have personified darkness for ages, from Shakespeare to Dante.
Bonus Round
How can you subvert a reader's expectations in a piece about darkness?
Exercise: Write a story or poem set in a graveyard.
Bonus Round: Give the setting something unexpected to surprise the reader. All is not as it seems. But avoid cliche (we all expect a graveyard to be haunted!)
Exercise: Write a story or poem where an animal plays a key role in the plot. WIthout this animal, the story wouldn't exist.
Bonus Round:
Bonus points if the animal can talk ;)
Editing tip of the month: When line editing, sound is everything. Listen to an audiobook in the same genre you're writing in - YA, poetry, etc. What makes the author's voice unique? Now do the same with your own work. Read or listen to it with a Text-To-Speech app. Listen for your voice.
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