Hello and welcome. Do you have a writing question or a topic you would like to see discussed on The Write Spot Blog? Perhaps I can research and discover answers. Also, you are welcome to contribute as a guest blogger. ~600 words something inspirational or informational for writers. Have you read a book that you love and want to tell others about? Send an email to me. Let’s talk. ~Marlene
Category: Just Write
Analog: Science Fiction and Fact
“When the weather outside is frightful, the perfect thing to do is curl up inside with some science fiction and let it transport you to warm alien lands.” — Analog: Science Fiction and Fact Analog: Science Fiction and Fact (ASF) is “considered the magazine where science fiction grew up.” When editor John W. Campbell took over in 1938, he brought to Astounding [original name] an unprecedented insistence on placing equal emphasis on both words of ‘science fiction.’ No longer satisfied with gadgetry and action per se, Campbell demanded that his writers try to think out how science and technology might really develop in the future, and, most importantly, how those changes would affect the lives of human beings.” Campbell chose the name “Analog” in part because he thought of each story as an “analog simulation” of a possible future, and in part because of the close analogy he saw between the imagined…
Fourth Genre: Explorations in Nonfiction
The editors of Fourth Genre: Explorations in Nonfiction invite you to “submit writing that is lyrical, self-interrogative, meditative, and reflective, as well as expository, analytical, exploratory, or whimsical. They encourage submissions across the full spectrum of the genre. The journal encourages a writer-to-reader conversation, one that explores the markers and boundaries of literary/creative nonfiction.” Personal essay subjects can be about nature, environmental, travel, memoir, and more. General submission dates: August 15 – November 30. Fourth Genre Steinberg Essay Prize submission dates:: January 1-March 31 Click here for guidelines.
Fourteen Hills Press ready for your submission
Since its inception in 1994, Fourteen Hills: The SFSU Review contributes to a vibrant literary tradition on the West Coast centered in the San Francisco Bay Area. Its commitment to presenting a diversity of experimental and progressive work by emerging and cross-genre writers, as well as by award-winning and established authors, has earned it a reputation for literary excellence. Being independent means its aesthetic is dynamic and fluid, ever changing to meet the needs of the culture and the historical moment as the staff perceive them. As an international literary magazine, Fourteen Hills has developed a reading audience that goes beyond the San Francisco Bay Area to the international community. Staffed exclusively by graduate students in the creative writing program at San Francisco State University with the oversight of a faculty advisor, Fourteen Hills publishes original poetry, fiction, literary nonfiction, and cross-genre work created by writers in the US and abroad. It also welcomes and prints representative contributions from…
How to flesh out villains.
Do you have a villain in your story? Is this scoundrel executing gruesome acts? Is it hard for you to get into the head and heart of the “bad guy?” Does he or she have a heart? Here’s an idea about how to flesh out your baddie. . . so that he/she is someone you can live with for the duration of your writing. Do a freewrite. The antagonist was once a child. What were his/her passions as a teenager? What games did they play as children? What delighted this child? Write about his/her first car. Choose a prompt and write as if you were answering from the villain’s point of view. Imagine you are a neighbor or a relative of the undesirable person. Write about the mean person from someone else’s point of view. What is the turning point, or the chain of events that changed this innocent toddler…
Big Brick Review – ready for your submission
The Big Brick Review Annual Essay Contest open for submissions from now until February 17, 2016. The Big Brick Review seeks personal essays that build on the narrative of our lives, finding new insight to old struggles . . . old insight to new struggles . . . and all shades-of-gray in between. For 2016, the contest theme captures the color of brick and is loosely based on the concept of ‘red/read’—which authors can interpret as creatively as they choose (it’s an adjective! it’s a verb! It means different things in different contexts!). Essays must be narrative non-fiction (that is, they must explore a truth of a human experience as interpreted/experienced by the author) and will be judged on overall strength of writing, compelling content/theme, and interesting style/voice. For more info, visit Contest.
The Sixth Sense
We have previously talked about the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. Today, we’ll talk about the sixth sense. The sixth sense can be described as telepathy, intuition, perception, imagination. . . those traits that use the mind to create and understand. Some people believe the sixth sense is the ability to problem solve; using our minds to read and interpret signals, to pick up or sense energy. NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar started reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes series during his 1969 rookie road trips. He was “fascinated by Holmes’ remarkable ability to see a world teeming with subtle but revealing clues where others saw only the mundane.” September 27, 2015 Parade Kareem realized that Holmes used his power of observation to pick up clues missed by others. Kareem did the same with basketball. He observed players’ moves and habits and used that information…
Wordrunner eChapbooks
Wordrunner eChapbooks has published 25 online chapbooks — 10 fiction, 5 memoir and 5 poetry collections, each featuring one author, and 5 themed anthologies by multiple authors. Wordrunner is pleased and proud to be showcasing these diverse and talented writers. Theme for next submission is “Devices” (technology’s impact on our lives and relationships): Fiction, memoir and poetry. There is no fee to submit and authors are paid. Submissions will open from November 15 through January 15, 2016. Guidelines will be posted after November 15, 2015. Note from Marlene: Start writing now, so you have time to revise, edit and submit. Jo-Anne Rosen is the publisher/editor of Wordrunner. Jo-Anne’s fiction has appeared in many publications. Two of her stories were performed at the New Short Fiction Series in Hollywood, California, on October 12, 2014. Jo-Anne is a book and web designer and a small press publisher. Jo-Anne established Wordrunner Publishing Services…
Vary sentence structure
Have you heard about varying length of sentences? Here’s what Mary Gordon says about that: “One of the things that I try to do is to have a paragraph that begins and ends with a sentence of approximately the same length and verbal structure. . . . in the middle, the sentences tend to be longer and more complex. It allows for a kind of velocity to happen . . . A shorter sentence you actually have to read more slowly . . . If you are a writer, you have more power than the greatest tyrant in the world because of punctuation. You get to tell people how to breathe . . . a sentence that has very little punctuation, you actually have to read more slowly because you’re not stopping to breathe. So it’s a slowing down and then a kind of build up – a crescendo and…
Joyland – Regional Literary Magazine
Joyland is a literary magazine that selects stories by region. Each regional editor works with authors with some connection to their area. Living in the respective city or region for any amount of time is qualification enough for submission. If you’re unsure, send to the region nearest you. Joyland publishes short fiction, novel excerpts, and literary non-fiction between 1200 and 10,000 words ( slightly under or over is fine). Joyland Submission Guidelines Rejection Guidelines Published work by Regions