May 28, 2013
A-Minor Magazine has just re-opened to submissions this week. They are an online journal that has developed a good reputation. They publish poetry and fiction as well as art. A-Minor Magazine has been around for three years. A-Minor Magazine publishes quarterly and is associated with A-Minor Press which publishes full length work. It is good…
Word Riot is one of the most respected online journals of all time. They are also well established, they were first founded in 2002. Word Riot is known to publish edgy work by emerging poets and writers. They publish flash fiction up to 1,000 words in length, and narrative fiction, short stories, novel excerpts, and…
“Tell all the Truth but tell it slant–” is a famous quote by Emily Dickinson. It is a principle many writers have adopted both in fiction and non fiction. In this exercise the point is to tell a story you know well. It does not have to be your story though, it can be the…
May 22, 2013
This writing prompt is a little different. Instead of requiring you to write words with a pen, this writing exercise is all about crossing things out with a sharpie. This week the writing exercise is to create an erasure. An erasure is a poem that starts out with a piece of existing text, but instead…
When you read a book you know when it is finished, because you have reached the final sentence on the last page of the last chapter. When you are writing a book it is hardly that straightforward. When you have finished writing the last page of the final chapter, you will probably need to go…
Ilk is an online poetry journal that has been around for over a year now. They just reopened to submissions. They publish work that is creative and experimental but still has a narrative arc. Ilk is easy to read and well organized, they have published a lot of established and emerging authors. They are new…
Moon City Review recently reopened to submissions. They publish short stories, non-fiction, and poetry. They are a print journal, well bound, and with an excellent taste in artwork. They are based in the Ozarks and some of what they publish concerns the region, but the bulk of the fiction and poetry they publish is unrelated…
May 16, 2013
Most people that self publish these days focus on e-books, but there there are still a lot of people that prefer holding a real book in their hands instead of tablet. Also it is nice to see your name in print. If you have already decided to self publish but are not yet certain if…
A fable is a fictional story that features animals, plants, mythical creatures, inanimate objects or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to an interpretation of a moral lesson or point. Fables are all around us. They were told to us as kids and we repeat them as adults. Fables have…
Farrago is a brand new online journal that plans to publish twelve issues a year. Farrago will publish essays, short stories, and poems. The first issue will be published in June. If you want to be considered for this first issue you must submit before the end of May. Farrago’s well designed website and striking…
Cold Mountain Review is a twice yearly print publication that is interested in essays, narrative non fiction, short fiction, and poetry. Cold Mountain Review has been around for 35 years. They are only open for submissions until the 30th of May, after that they will not consider submissions until August. Cold Mountain Review is published…
May 9, 2013
Pick a book from your shelf that you haven’t read recently. This book should be one that you enjoy. It can be a book of poetry, or prose, even a play or non fiction. It should not be a dictionary or an encyclopedia. Start a 10 minute timer, and then open to a random page….
Switchback is a journal published by the MFA (Master of Fine Arts) program at the University of San Fransisco that has just re-opened to submissions. They accept short works of fiction, non fiction as well as poetry. They are an online journal that also has an e-book edition. Switchback is well respected, and has a…
Kestrel is an established and respected journal with two print issues a year. They just re-opened to fiction, poetry and non fiction submissions. They are published by Fairmont State University, yet they publish work from all over the world, although they claim to be “specially happy to publish work by West Virginian and Appalachian writers”….
May 1, 2013
Fiction on the Web (FotW), was founded in 1996, which makes it one of the oldest online literary journals. In fact it is the oldest online journal that focuses solely on publishing short fiction. They have had hundreds of thousands of readers over the years. However they also have rather high acceptance rates. FotW is…