S.L. Viehl's Blog, page 150

Freebie Ten

Ten Things You Can Have for Free

Freeware caution: always scan free downloads of anything for bugs and other threats before dumping the programs into your hard drive.

Softology's Anagram Generator "creates anagrams and lexigrams; generates reverse dictionaries; word search function allows wildcard search on dictionary; allows you to see if your phone number spells anything interesting; searches for palindromes; search for words that rhyme with other words. Ideal for song writers, musicians and poets. Includes English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Dutch and Spanish dictionaries; solves Jumble puzzles. Saves all results as txt files for future viewing/editing/printing. Non-encrypted dictionaries allow full customisation of words if required. Manually edited English dictionary trimmed to generate interesting anagrams at a much faster speed" (OS: Windows XP/Vista/7)

Clipboard Master is a "handy utility designed to keep all previous texts, pictures and files copied to the clipboard in a list, for later use. Organize your text modules and snippets and paste them in any Windows program whenever you like" (OS: Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista/2008/7 [32-Bit/64-Bit])

Chronories is a Mac freeware that sounds as if it writes for you:  "Note down today's most precious information - or let your Mac do the tedious labour for you. Entering your mood, where you've been and what you did is just a click away. Thanks to Chronories, you will never forget writing your diary again. And if you don't have anything to say? Well, Chronories will gather its fraction of the information anyways and fill in that information for you."  [PBW also notes:  I'm not sure what to call it (an auto-journaling program?) but if this is something you'd find useful, do check it out.] (OS:  Designer notes on web site:  "Chronories requires a Mac running Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, Mac OS X 10.7 Lion or Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.")

Compositions is a "a minimalist text editor which allows you to focus on the content. It features a clean white background, and a full screen mode that gets rid of almost all of the interface chrome, leaving just the text on the screen.  Using Snapshots, you can take a snapshot of your document at any time, which is saved with the file and available from any device running Compositions. So if you are planning on making large changes to a document, you can snapshot it before hand, and then if you decide to go back, simply restore to the earlier version.  Using Dropbox, your documents are kept in sync across all your devices. Any time you are finished with edits, or if you want the latest downloaded to your device, you simply tap the sync button and it will do all the work. If any conflicts arise, it will ask you to resolve them, or you can set it to always auto-resolve. And since the app uses Dropbox, you can always visit Dropbox.com in a browser to restore a deleted file, or go to an earlier version if needed" (OS:  Mac OS X)

Elefant Software has an entire page of freeware programs here designed specifically for disabled users; includes several mouse-replacement programs like SteadyMouse for users with hand tremors.

Ian Pegler's FreeFilmSoftware.co.uk web site offers some free screenwriting, story boarding and story writing programs (OS: Windows)

Img Transformer is a "free image resizer, converter and image editing application that can work directly from Windows Explorer.  It can open over 30 different image formats.  It also works as a normal Windows application, where the user can select the images to convert from a file browser or via drag and drop.  Easily change the original image size, format, color depth and resolution and apply adjustments such as brightness,contrast,gamma and individually adjust RGB values.  Rotate, flip and resize images in batch mode with a simple right mouse button click - 18 different file output formats are supported including export to PDF.  Images can be sharpened or blurred, watermarked, overlaid with text and converted to grayscale, sepia or negative.  Crop or change the canvas size and the resolution of images.  Settings can be saved as a pre-sets and reapplied to subsequent image transformations.  Before applying changes it is possible to view a preview of the result.  Custom frames can also be added to images in batch mode" (OS:  Windows)

My Daily Digital Journal is a "secure personal journal for everyday inspirational living.  Write your daily thoughts, opinions, and life views in your own journal. It also includes a password login dialog box for keeping prying eyes out of your personal business.  Insert special characters, emotional icons, pictures, and images into your writing for a more colourful display of your thoughts and ideas. The journal also incorporates an auto save feature for your convenience. There is no need to save your work, it is all done automatically. When you run the application for the first time, simply press enter when the Login window is displayed. You may choose your own password in the settings dialog. Just don't forget your password" (OS:  Windows)

Storybook is "a free Open Source novel-writing software for creative writers, novelists and authors. Starting with the plot to the finished book — with Storybook you'll never lose the overview. Storybook helps you to keep an overview of multiple plot-lines while writing books, novels or other written works" (OS: Windows 7/Vista,/XP, Linux)

Writers D'Lite has "just enough functionality to start you on writing that important novel, short-story or article, without any bells and whistles to distract you. Get writing from the first moment you start the application. It has all the important functions and text formatting needed to get you busy. It also has custom page settings for easier viewing of your document. Keep the cursor at eye level for best focus and writing. Full statistics are visible on the status bar, keeping you abreast of your text document as you type. There is also no java or .Net required to run this application, keeping it very small and portable and very useful. It has all the necessary editing short-cut keys for power users. See the blue question mark for more info{F1-key}" (Windows, designer also notes available in a portable version.)

Hiveword

Recently while I was poking around the Writers Knowledge Base site, I discovered Mike Fleming's Hiveword, an amazing web-based story organizer that is easy to use, provides quick and easy outlining of scenes, characters, settings and plotlines, and generates terrific compilation lists of the same. In addition to these features Hiveword also stores your work online for you in a private account, so it's like a virtual version of a novel notebook. Here are details on some of Hiveword's different features along with some screenshots (and click on any image to see a larger version):



Your Hiveword account includes a dashboard with all your works in progress arranged by title, along with when they were created, stats on how much work you've done on them, and the last time you updated the info.  For those of you who like me are quantum writers and work on several projects at the same time, this can help you track your progress and productivity on multiple WIPs.



Each story you archive on Hiveword has a main title page where you can record a subtitle, what name you're writing under, and a summary of the story.  Here I've plugged in the summary for my novel crash dummies' book, and the summary area is a great place to work on a draft of your outline or synopsis.



As you compile scenes on Hiveword, it keeps track of them, and generates a list of them for each project.  This is great because you can track how often you switch settings, POV, plotlines and keep track of who appears in what scene.



Hiveword also compiles lists of your characters as you make them up and provides an at-a-glance summary of things like attributes, occupations, motivations, etc.  If you're working on a project with a big cast of characters I don't have to tell you how valuable this is.



The service also compiles lists of settings in the story, as well as a snapshot of your description of them.



There's a button on the settings list page that offers you the option to you generate place names if you need them, and provides maps and links to info about the generated results.  By selecting the "add setting" button you can add any of the results you like directly into your story.



You can also use a similar button to generate random character names, and add those you like from the results to your story.

There is much more to Hiveword than what I've mentioned, so it's worth taking it for a test-drive yourself to see all the features.  Hiveword is so great at helping organize your story info and elements that it's like having your own personal story assistant.  You can use it for other purposes as well, such as outlining those bright, shiny and very distracting new story ideas so you can get out of your head.  For those of you who are series writers, Hiveword would serve as an excellent encyclopedia to keep a running record of your characters, settings, plots and details from every novel.  If you're on the phone with an editor, you can consult Hiveword on details from your book for pitches, editorial discussions or to answer those pesky impromptu questions (like "Hey, what Chapter did Marcia find out John was also the demon thief?")  You pantsers might not have to backtrack through your manuscripts as much if you take a few minutes after your work sessions to record details of what you've already written in a Hiveword file.

The very best thing about Hiveword is that right now it's free for anyone to use, so you don't have to pay to play with it (and according to Mike Fleming's blog, he's keeping it free for National Novel Writing Month.)  If you're thinking about writing your first novel this November, want to become more organized with ongoing projects, or simply want to play with novel-writing software to see what it can do for you, I highly recommend Hiveword.

Winner

The winner of the Little Ideas giveaway is:
 Freyrryn, who wrote:  I've recently started collecting 'tools' to get back into my old hobby of leather working... mostly small accessory bits and favorite bookmarks.
Freyrryn, when you have a chance please send your full name and ship-to info to LynnViehl@aol.com so I can get your package out to you.  My thanks to everyone for joining in.

Little Ideas

I've gone and fallen in love with Tim Holtz's idea-ology line of art products, which a steampunk-loving friend introduced me to a few months back as inspiration for my jewelry-making as well as my 1K Cards Project.  The line mixes antique, metal and artful grunge themes and materials to create that industrial chic that mixed media artists love, andoffers unique materials to play with that I think readers and writers can have fun becoming idea-ologists, too.  And since Jo-Ann has practically the entire line on sale this week for 30% off, I thought I'd share some of what I'm doing with my stash (and you can click on any image to see a larger version.

If you've ever wanted to play with a paper version of magnetic poetry, this pad of chitchat stickers is sheer perfection.  The pad features 1088 tiny word stickers printed with words in a typewriter-style font; you get two sets (six pages total) of the words, half on white and half on grocery bag-brown card stock backgrounds.  I used my pad to compose some ATCs for the project, and found that the words stick very nicely, even to a metal surface.  $4.99 for the pad; I paid $3.49 for it on sale at Jo-Ann.

These metal philosophy tags by idea-ology come in a set of twelve, and feature a single inspirational word along with some numbers so they resemble old fashioned stamped key tags.  They're great for jewelry-making and innumberable art projects; I've already used a dozen to make some steampunk pieces.  If you string them like medals I bet these would make fun awards for any creative club.  I bought another set to use them as anchors for some promotional BookLoops; $4.99 regular price, got mine on sale for $3.49 at Jo-Ann.

I've always looked around for a not-childish set of of mini alphabet flash cards to use with my art projects, and here's one that comes with 72 count (mostly letters but numbers 1-9, too.)  These will help spell out a set of 26 ATCs I'm making to pay homage to back-to-school month, but you can also use them to embellish journal covers and pages, to creatively tab a novel notebook or anything you keep in alphabetical or numerical order.  $3.99 regular price; Jo-Ann has them for $2.79.

If you like the look of vintage film strip, this spool of mini transparent plastic movie frames is beyond cool.  It feels and looks like the real thing, and when used as a border for matted photos or journal pages adds a neat antique look.  I do want to mention that because it's made of plastic this ribbon remains in a curly state (you experienced mixed-media artists probably know some clever way to use a hair dryer or something to solve that) so it isn't very glue-friendly, but I secured my photo border on the ends with double-sided foam tape, which worked fine.  This spool was a gift from my pal, but I checked Jo-Ann's web site and they have it for $3.49 on sale.

What I like most about this product line is that nothing costs an arm and a leg; the materials only look like they do.  For example, with the philosophy tags I can make a dozen cool BookLoops for under $5 (a spool of organdy ribbon from the dollar store + the 12 tags as anchors = $4.49 total.) Tim Holz also has some instructional videos here that show you more creative ways to use some of the other idea-ology products.

I'd also like to share some of the idea-ology wealth, so in comments to this post name a creative way you'd like to use one of these products (or if you can't think of one, just toss your name in the magic hat) by midnight EST tonight, September 14, 2012.  I'll draw one name at random from everyone who participates, and send the winner one set of all the products I've mentioned in this post (the chitchat pad,the philosophy tags, the mini alphabet deck and the movie frames ribbon.)  This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.

Winner

The Publishing Fairy came through for me again, and the winner of yesterday's BookWish giveaway is:
 Deb Salisbury, who wrote:  Nancy Athertons's Aunt Dimity mysteries always make me happy. I reread them whenever I'm blue.
 Deb, when you have a chance please send your ship-to info and title of the book you'd like, and I'll get Miss Magic Dust to put her wand to work.  My thanks to everyone for joining in and giving us so many great recs for happy reads.

In Lieu of a Post

I had a lousy day yesterday, and I'm not happy with the post I had written to appear today, so to bail me out (again) I've summoned the Publishing Fairy, who has taken pity on me and agreed to give someone who stops in here today a book that they want (she's such a pushover.)

If you'd like to be that someone, in comments to this post name a book or author that makes you happy (or if you can't think of one, just toss your name in the magic hat) by midnight EST tonight, September 12, 2012. I'll draw one name at random from everyone who participates and grant the winner a BookWish*. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.

Also, a note on that last bit -- I am blessed with an amazingly supportive readership, not only here in the U.S. but around the globe.  Keeping my giveaways open to everyone no matter what country they reside is my own little Books Without Borders project -- and a chance to say thanks for that support.  So if you do live outside the U.S. and worry about this, please don't hesitate -- enter the giveaway, and if you win, I will get it to you, no problem whatsoever.

*A BookWish is any book of the winner's choice available for order online and that costs up to a maximum of $30.00 U.S. dollars (I'll cover any additional shipping costs involved.)

Poetry Sparks

Whenever I need inspiration for a particular storytelling task the first place I usually run to is my collection of poetry books.  Great poets have the gift of expressing concepts with the most uncommon words and phrases, and gleaning and recombining fragments from these verses often results in a unique title or story idea.

To try this yourself, pick up a few poetry books at the library, grab a notepad and pen, and start reading.  When you find a phrase that has appeal to you as a title concept or story inspiration, jot it down (and remember to note the author and the title of the poem so you can go back to it, cite it, etc.)  

Here's a list of title sparks I made while reading through The Poetry of Pablo Neruda:
habit of dreams (Joachim's Absence)fallen night (We Together)between garrisons and maidens (Ars Poetica)the moon dwells (Sonata and Destruction)her dark star (The Night of the Soldier)I listen to my tiger (The Young Monarch)garden in the dark (Single Gentleman)dreaming of bandits (Sexual Water)the midst of rain (Autumn Returns)stones of silence (What Spain Was Like)Habit of Dreams would be a great title for a story about a person with a sleep disorder (or a dream addiction); Fallen Night I'd probably change to Knight Fallen and write about an honorable warrior's tumble from grace.  Between Garrisons and Maidens is a little long but just gorgeous; I could see that titling a story about star-crossed medieval lovers, or perhaps the person who carries their secret messages for them.  Of the remainder, I really love I Listen to My Tiger; that is just begging to be a title of a story about a very ferocious pookah. 

Poetry is also a great place to find story sparks; poets tend to load up their verses with devious imagery and ideas.  If you're in an inspirational lull you might find a word or phrase that spontaneously jump starts your muse.

Here's a list of some story ideas I got while reading through Ranier Marie Rilke ~ Prose and Poetry:
shadow's falling (The Book of Hours)signs of winter (The Fourth Elegy)angel gaze (The Seventh Elegy)Lords of the House of Lament (The Tenth Elegy)with early death (The Tenth Elegy)fall of light (The Sonnets to Orpheus, #22)racks no longer required (The Sonnets to Orpheus, #9)shade or shine (The Sonnets to Orpheus, #29)night without objects (The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge)those who burned their letters (The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge)The two that jumped out at me first were #4 and #10; both instantly inspired story ideas based on the exact wording.  The other eight are more conceptual for me; for example I can imagine a story about the day all the shadows in the world disappear (#1); a freak snow storm in July in one of the hottest places on the planet -- which is about to become the coldest (#2); depending on how you want to interpret the word "rack", a near-future day when all stores, or shoes, or torture is made illegal (#7).

Sometimes when you mine poetry you'll get a mixed bag, especially if you read through an anthology with verses written by many different poets.  Here's a mixed sparks list I put together while sifting through Poetry That Lives Forever:

When his wings enfold (Of Love, Kahlil Gibran)A whiplash unbraiding (A Narrow Fellow, Emily Dickinson)Not yet in quiet lie (Daybreak, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)speak silence (To the Evening Star, William Blake)with spiders I have friendship made (The Prisoner of Chillon, Lord Byron)too hot the eye of heaven (Sonnet XVIII, William Shakespeare)all the pleasures prove (The Passionate Shepherd to His Love, Christopher Marlowe)at sundawn stirred (A Child's Laughter, Charles Algernon Swinburne)halls of pleasure . . . aisles of pain (Solitude, Ella Wheeler Wilcox)\the one less traveled (The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost)Of this group I'd say I could turn #4, #7 and #10 into titles, and the rest into stories.  I'm particularly struck by Dickinson's imagery of a whiplash unbraiding with #2; I can see a really great story idea about an unfair flogging going very wrong unfolding as well.  #5 sounds a bit Renfieldish, but I've written a book about a prisoner who could control spiders (and any other insect near him) and you can have a lot of fun with that kind of creepy superpower.  Swinburne's at sundawn stirred made me think of daylight vampires for some reason; what if you put a spin on the mythology so that they couldn't tolerate the dark?  And Wilcox's halls of pleasure . . . aisles of pain conjures up all kinds of storytelling ideas: the memoir of a gifted opera singer with a perpetual, terrible case of stage fright; a YA about a popular kid becoming the target of a bully; a religious cult who lures in victims with unbelievably wonderful spiritual elation that they must never question, until the day someone does and they find out what really creates all that endless bliss . . .

Getting sparks from poetry is also a great way to break through a writing block; try looking for words and phrases that create instant imagery and resonate on some level with you.  Once you have a list of ten, write out a short premise on what they brought to mind, and then choose one and write one page about it.  If the idea doesn't hold your interest, go back to your list, choose another premise and repeat.  Even if you don't end up with a complete story, it's great writing practice and might help you get past whatever is blocking you.

Sub Ops Ten

Ten Things About Submission Opportunities

Just a heads-up for you regular SF story mag subbers, Stanley Schmidt, the long time editor of Analog magazine, has at last retired; the new editor's name is Trevor Quachri.  Mr. Schmidt doesn't know it but he inadvertantly helped me sell three of the StarDoc novels and get the series back into print, so I'm happy to wish him the best of luck with his retirement.

Black Chicken Studios, Inc., wants to find skilled writers to draft text for Devil's Advocate, an upcoming supernatural crime-romance game:  "Writers must be able to write efficient, colorful prose based in a supernatural romance scenario (think the situations of Angel, the wit and verve of Ocean's 11 and the quirky law of Ally McBeal). The game is set in modern day Las Vegas, so consider the time and place when you phrase your writing.  The target audience for the game is teens and adults, so the writing must be accessible. However, writers are encouraged to write in their own voice, as long as their style remains reasonably acceptable considering the era the game-world is set in (edgy, experimental text would be out of character, for example)."  Length:  "Writing assignments will involve Scenes to be featured in the game. Each Scene will consist of 10-20 paragraphs of text, with each paragraph being no more than three lines (NB: Lines, not sentences. We're hoping to keep things tight!) The goal is to keep the prose snappy and engaging."  Payment:  "The pay is $10 per assignment, with each assignment consisting of the creation of 20 events (NB: Not $10 per item written, $10 per assignment of 20 total items)."  For more details and links, see the market listing over at AbsoluteWrite.com's market forum here.  Captive Unicorn Publications is looking for submissions of erotic romance and classic erotica in various lengths to become part of an erotica library/new venture with what sounds like a manufacturer of sexual aid products :  "Works must have a clearly defined plot which results in character development either in a sexual or emotional context, or preferably, both; Sex must be prominent and explicit, with rich descriptions of the characters’ mental and physical experiences; A romantic relationship between the primary characters is high encouraged, but not required; Characters may be married or single and of any sexual orientation; Submissions may not contains: pedophilia, incest, bestiality or necrophilia; Consensual sex only (references to non-consensual sex must be used for character development only and not in the context of the current action); Integration of Liberator™ branded products is acceptable, but not required; when included, usage must enhance the pleasure of the characters and be specifically related to the plot or character journey. References must be subtle, not blatant."  See guidelines for more details, and as I'm not clear on what these products are, do check this one out thoroughly before you submit anything.

The, ah, somewhat grumpy folks at Crowded magazine are looking for spec fic [and please note that my comments are in the square brackets]:  "Science fiction, fantasy, horror, whatever. If you aren't sure what speculative fiction is, google it. Then submit your story elsewhere. This is Crowded Magazine, not Clueless Magazine."  [I love the hostility, don't you?  It practically sparkles.]  Also:  "Most magazines have guidelines describing the fiction they want to see. These guidelines invariably include plenty of editorial chestnuts as to what makes a good story. To be honest, we really don't know what makes a good story."  [Comforting, that.]  "We know what we like when we see it. But we're willing to offer a few nuggets of wisdom that will help propel your fiction through the slush pile and into the magazine:  Speculative fiction is, arguably, a populist art."  [Dude, no one is going to argue with you.  Like ever.]  "We're not looking for the next Faulkner. We're looking for stuff that people would read for entertainment. And, anyway, the slush reading is crowdsourced, so you're better off gunning for the unwashed masses as opposed to a specific editor's fetishes for gender bending or melodrama."  [Editors have fetishes?  Okay, now I want more details.]  "No purple midgets, gay pirates, or unicorns. Actually, that's a lie. If you have a great story about a unicorn-riding purple midget battling a fleet of gay pirates, drop it in the queue. Really. We don't see enough of that kind of thing."  [Now I think he's just toying with us.  Ah, well, maybe that's his fetish.]  "In theory there are no restrictions on profanity, gore, sex, violence, and so on, but in our opinion stories that rely on profanity, gore, sex, etc for their whole effect are unlikely to be any good."  [Right, so no Fifty Shades of Spec Fic.]  "The story must have a speculative fiction element. Note that purple midgets may or may not be considered speculative fiction, but unicorns probably are. Do not submit fan fiction."  [Gotta wonder if the magazine is ever going to be as entertaining as these guidelines for it.]  Length:  20K or less.  Payment: "5¢/word."  No reprints, electronic submission only, see guidelines for more details and chuckles.
Grumpsjournal.com has an open call for their special The Journal of Unlikely Architecture publication:  " This will be a single issue of fiction published under the Unlikely Story umbrella in which designing buildings, building buildings, and/or exploring, inhabiting, utilizing or dismantling the buildings themselves feature prominently.  What we’re looking for:  Beautifully-written fiction, characters that grab us by the throats and refuse to let go, worlds that draw us in and demand to be explored…and buildings. Genre isn’t particularly important to us—speculative, mainstream, slipstream, and the unclassifiable tales in between—we’ll read anything; all we ask is that something pertaining to buildings is integral or significant in your story. The building element can be literal or metaphorical, hallucinatory or behavioral or metaphysical, or any combination thereof. Your story may focus on a single building, or a city, but the constructed environment must be crucial to the narrative. Not quite sure what we’re talking about? Think of Gormanghast, Being John Malkovich, House of Discarded Dreams, Talking Heads' Don't Worry About the Government , The Architecture of Desire, Dark City, Fall of the House of Usher, Inception, and Monty Python's Crimson Permanent Assurance . In case it is unclear, we're happy to consider stories involving all manner of purposeful structural elements, such as bridges, dams, tunnels, and tombs of sufficient scope.  There are no barriers as to levels of profanity, gore, or sexuality allowed, but be sure to use them well if you do use them. There is no requirements for bugs in your story for the Journal of Unlikely Architecture; neither is there a prohibition against them."  Length:  "We’ll consider stories up to 8000 words, but prefer stories of 5000 words or less. We’re open to flash fiction and fiction in non-traditional formats, but we do not publish poetry or non-fiction."  Payment:  "We pay 1¢ per word for stories between 1000—5000 words. Stories over 5000 words receive a flat fee of $50. Stories under 1000 words receive a flat fee of $10."  Original fiction preferred over reprints, electronic submission only, see guidelines for more details.  Deadline:  When filled.

Innsmouth Free Press wants fiction submissions:  "We have a special interest in stories inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, but the Weird in general is our territory. We showcase 5 to 7 stories during February, June and October.  Some stories are solicited. We also hold open reading periods."  Also from their guidelines page:  "We have no restrictions on settings or time periods. Henry VIII’s court, Peru, Imperial China, 1920′s Innsmouth, or modern New York are all fine with us. In fact, we like unusual times and settings. Creative is good.  We accept a variety of genres as long as the story is Weird: historical, SF, horror, satire, dark fantasy, etc. We don’t mind some humor to go with your grim. A little light makes the shadows darker. No erotica please, specially if it involves our friend Cthulhu.  We like reading stuff from and about women and minorities. We have also published stories from many international writers. Submissions in English, French and Spanish are accepted."  Length:  "1,300 to 5,000 words."  Payment:  "Short stories from 1,300 to 5,000 words will be paid 1 cent per word (CAD)."  Note on reprints:  "We will consider reprints, but give high priority to those stories that have not been published on the Internet. When submitting a reprint, please state this, as well the work’s publishing history and confirmation that you retain rights to publish it. Reprints will be paid $25 CAD via PayPal."  Electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details.

Kazka Press has an open call for their At Year’s End: SFF Holiday Stories antho, and is looking for:  "... stories set against year-end holidays (Yule, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Samhain, Bodhi Day, New Year, Chinese New Year, Watch Night, Pancha Ganapati, Saturnalia, The Invincible Sun, etc.); Science Fiction / Fantasy (SFF) themed; Avoid cultural appropriation; Invest us in the story immediately. Five-hundred words is not a lot. Don’t waste 395 words meandering. Get right to the heart of the thing; Remember: these stories don’t need to be about the holiday. They just need to be set against a holiday. We’re much more interested in an engaging story that occurs on Thanksgiving or Chinese New Year rather than a story about those holidays. Just make sure the holiday forms a clear, present backdrop."  Length:  "500 word (or less)" (firm).  Payment: "5 cents a word + 1 contributors copy of each format."  Query on reprints, electronic submission only, see guidelines for more details.  Deadline:  November 2, 2012.

Perihelion SF would like to see fiction submissions:   "We are looking for well-written, original science fiction, that is, “hard” science fiction. No fantasy. No horror. No fan fiction. No poetry. Stories do not necessarily have to restrict themselves to robots, rocket ships, and extraterrestrials. However, the science and/or technology must be integral to the story. If you remove the science, the story falls apart, or disappears altogether. If the plot can be easily reconstituted as a western, a swashbuckler, or a bodice-ripper, it is probably not for us, either." [ Ouch; someone doesn't like romance.]  Also from their guidelines page:  "We aren't fixated on political correctness. We don't object to explicit language, violence, or  sexual situations, as long as it is necessary to the plot. We like humor and satire. We really don't care if you are a minority, transgendered, or purple; the story is the focus and not the author."  [Purple authors, you have been duly warned.  Makes me wonder, though, what about the pink ones?  Or the brown ones?  And then there are all those yellow, red, freckled and mixed tone writers, too.  Maybe there's an in for us, but sorry, you purple authors are definitely OUT of the picture.]  Length:  " Stories should be anywhere from 1,000 words to around 7,000 words in length. Those limits are firm, so please do not send us your latest novel. We don't publish installments, so please do not send us Part 1 as a story."  Payment:  "Currently we are paying one cent per word, up to a maximum of $75 per story, on acceptance. This rate will undoubtedly grow as we do."  No reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details.

Shimmer e-zine is looking for fiction submissions:  "Unusual and beautifully-written speculative fiction stories with full plots and strong characters. The best way to understand what we are looking for is to read an issue of the magazine. We’re most drawn to contemporary fantasy, and seek out stories with a strong emotional core. We like unusual stories with a fluid and distinctive voice, with specific and original images. Send us your odd unclassifiable stories–though we prefer traditional storytelling mechanics to experimental approaches.  We’re less likely to be interested in sword and sorcery, hard SF, space opera, paranormal romance, and slasher horror, but really, we’ll read anything."  Length: "We like our fiction short – under 5000 words. If your story is longer than 5000 words (and yes, 5100 words is longer than 5000 words) but you believe we would love it, please send us a query briefly describing the story along with the first page of the story."  Payment:  "5 cent per word, minimum $10. You’ll also receive two copies of the issue in which your story appears."  No reprints, electronic submission only, see guidelines for more details.

Eggplant Productions is looking for submissions for their Spellbound ezine, a publication aimed toward 8 to 12 year-olds:  "We’re looking for stories involving magic, myth, legend and adventure in a fantasy setting. We’re especially interested in young protagonists and showing girls in a “heroic” role are welcome."  Length:  2.5K or less.  Payment:  "2½¢/word".  Query on reprints, electronic submission only, see guidelines for more details.

Most of these ops were found among the many wonderful market listings at Ralan.com.

Winner

The winner of the Get Back to Writing Journal giveaway is:

Marina, who wrote: My desk looks like an unfortunate accident in a craft shop.

Marina, when you have a chance please send your full name and ship-to info to LynnViehl@aol.com so I can get your package out to you.  My thanks to everyone for joining in.

Winner

The winner of the Get Back to Writing Blog giveaway is:

Gigi, who wrote: I'm contemplating starting a secong blog about the rural life and using it to promote rural communities as the next new place to live.

Gigi, when you have a chance please send your full name and ship-to info to LynnViehl@aol.com so I can get your package out to you.  My thanks to everyone for joining in.