S.L. Viehl's Blog, page 163

Headscratch Ten

Ten (Weird) Things That Happened Last Week

A marketing person sent me a Kirkus review for one of my novels. I usually don't read them, but said review was so glowing as soon as I opened the e-mail it practically blinded me.

So, has someone at Kirkus been drinking their lunch lately?

A mere three bucks bought me two hardcovers and a trade paperback.

This is odd because I generally don't find books at the dollar store that I actually want to read. I also didn't know they were getting remaindered hardcovers from Wal-Mart, so I will be checking out their book aisle more often. If anyone wants to check to see if one of their local $1 store carries the same titles, I bought these at Dollar Tree.

After losing fifteen pounds I thought I would hit a plateau, but nope, got on the scale and saw I lost two more pounds.

Giving up all forms of sugar might actually be worth the enormous amount of pain and suffering involved.

I entered an unpublished novel in a contest.

It's a genre I haven't published in, the entries are judged blind (no author name on the manuscript) and for me entering a contest is coloring way way way outside the lines.

I got through three weeks of art class without being kicked out for being a smartass.

Or a dumbass, no less.

I used craft foam for the very first time.

I used craft foam for the very last time, too.

A colleague surprised me by confessing her secret love for the books I wrote years ago under an old/retired pseudonym.

It's nice to be the author of secret love books. Next I'd like to write someone's completely obsessed with, utterly addicted to, must tell all their friends about them novels.

Under certain conditions of my choice I agreed to do something I haven't done in nine years.

I'll let you know what it is if I have to make good on my offer. In the meantime, you can cross off the What the Heck is It? list me getting married again, dyeing my hair blonde, or writing a memoir about my writing career. Those I won't do for a billion dollars, so the eligible bachelors, unguarded retinas and publishing corporations of the world are still safe.

With my trusty camera I photographed a picture perfect sunset.

And for once I didn't have to use that "straighten picture" fixit thing in photoshop to correct the level of the horizon.

Without noticing it I stepped - barefoot - on a huge wolf spider in the garage.

Yes, and hearing and feeling that crunch is something I could have gone my whole life without experiencing. Stephanie Tyler, I finally get your phobia. Oh, and I haven't lost that much weight, so RIP Monsieur Araignée.

Anything weird happening in your corner of the world? Let us know in comments.

Practical Guides

Writing Fiction by the Faculty of Gotham Writers' Workshop and edited by Alexander Steele, is what I consider the most complete writing how-to I've found out there, and it's the guide I've most often recommended or handed out to writers at all stages of the game who want to better understand the major elements of story. It's not Novel Writing 101 in a book, and like most scholarly books on writing written by teachers it suffers from a literary skew, but it does a very decent job of explaining theory and the big basics, and it offers some interesting exercises to apply what you've read about in each section.

Other writers swear by Robert McKee's Story, which I've read, but it's a book of story theory for screenwriters, and you have to adapt everything in it to apply it to novels (which isn't a bad thing; you could do a lot worse than learning about story from a screenwriter.)

While I've been scouring the how-to aisles for years in search of better, I haven't yet found it. Most of the authors who write how-tos are either not working novelists, or have very limited practical experience. The few that I've read authored by veteran working writers (Stephen King would be a shining example of this) were mainly memoirs dressed up as how-tos. Interesting as they can be, they're more about the author's particular journey to superstardom, which I don't think is practical or especially applicable to the average novelist.

I can't read everything, so I know I've probably missed some good soup-to-nuts how-tos out there, and I wanted to ask you guys for some recommendations. If you could have only one book about novel writing in your reference collection, what would it be? Let me know in comments by midnight EST on Monday, May 7, 2012. I will 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.

*A BookWish is any book of your choice that is available for order from an online bookseller, up to maximum cost of $30.00 U.S. I will throw in any applicable shipping charges involved.

Twinkling H2O's Class

My art class wrapped up yesterday, and after three weeks of studying and practicing, I think overall the experience was an excellent one.

The class, Mastering Twinks, focused on a product that I've used and loved for five years: Dreaming in Color's Twinkling H20 watercolor line. These paints, which are unlike any I've ever tried, are self-blending watercolors infused with varying amounts and colors of ground mica. This makes them very hard to photograph, but you can see the mica shining in this photo. This makes the colors reflective in various ways, from soft and subtle twinkle to a hard metallic glitter, depending on the shade. Collectively they are dazzling.

I've been experimenting on my own with them on paper and fabric with some amazing results, and I wanted to learn more about the paints as well as techniques I could use with them, so I signed up for the class.

Our instructor, Dion Dior, is a very talented artist, and she conducted the class in three lessons: Twinkling Techniques, Colors, and Masterpieces. All of the lessons came in .pdf form, which we downloaded and followed. We also discussed the various lessons and exercises on a private forum discussion board, and posted our works on a Flickr group account where we also chatted about tips and techniques.

I probably spent two to three hours a day studying and working on exercises and projects for the class, and in the process I learned at least a dozen new techniques. I was familiar with only about half of the other art supplies we combined with the Twinks for our homework, so the exposure to new methods and mediums was excellent. I'd say the most important for me was how to employ masking fluid with watercolor; I've always wanted to try it but felt too intimidated by my own ignorance to give it a shot.

The work could be as easy or difficult as you wanted it to be; I committed to doing every exercise and project so I could get the full benefits, so it was a lot of work. I also experimented a little on the side and came up with a variation on one technique that allowed me to transfer the impression of a metallic lace into the paint. I tried at first to do my lessons at night, but found I was too tired to produce at my optimum level, and so I switched to first thing in the morning. Starting out every day with a couple of class assignments put me in a great, lasting creative mood that carried over into my writing time.

The class is not super expensive, and with registration you receive a gift card with which you can purchase most of the required colors for the class. Twinks are not cheap, so if you want to buy more of the colors Dion uses in her examples for the lessons you can probably expect to spend another $20.00 - $40.00 on watercolor. The rest of the supplies depend on what you keep on hand for your art. I already had plenty of watercolor paper, brushes and palettes on hand, but I also invested in some supplies that I don't normally use, like gesso and oil pastels and water-soluble crayons. JoAnn's carries a very reasonably-priced art supply line, "Simply Art" which covered most of these needs. I did make a couple of trips to the pro art supply store in the city to get specific, uncommon items like black gesso and hot-press watercolor paper, which were more expensive, but not required (I was really determined to try everything Dion taught in the lessons.)

I didn't know what to expect from the other people in the class; the last time I took an art course was in high school. Back then we were all grumpy teenagers who mostly kept to ourselves. My group in this class seemed very diverse; hailing from all parts of the world. I'd say they were a little shy -- and it's tough to put your work out there for everyone to comment on -- but those who were more active were unanimously supportive. There was absolutely no negativity from anyone, and that did surprise me. Skills ranged from beginner to professional, so it was a good mix.

Dion Dior is a terrific instructor. She said we could ask her any questions, and we did, and she answered all of them. She shared plenty of her personal methods, made astute observations and was universally encouraging to everyone. If she ever gives a real-life art workshop in my area, I plan to sign up and sit in the front row.

As for me being in the class, I didn't try to hide who I am -- I did register as Lynn Viehl -- but I also didn't talk about my profession, and it never came up once from anyone else. That was a nice little online vacation for me, to simply be a student.

I didn't love all the lessons -- stencils are still not my friends -- but I'd say 95% of them helped me make some real progress with my art. The other 5% were just not for me or were techniques I was already using. That's pretty good for a class using a medium I've already worked with for a long time. The final project was a real challenge, but by the time I reached it I was fully prepared to take it on.

I'd recommend this class to anyone who does decorative art, journaling art, mixed media, or who would like to try something truly different in the realm of watercolor (but if you're anti-sparkle, this is definitely not the class for you.) You'll get a real work out of your existing art skills, and you'll definitely learn quite a few new things.

To see a slide show of more of my work from class, click here.

Beauty in 3:23

Joerg Niggli artfully uses time lapse and tilt shift to film a day in Venice, Italy, from daybreak to sunset (for those of you at work, this one has background music):

The ATC Dilemma

Back in January I was inspired by the Japanese legend of a thousand cranes and my love of cards to commit to a creative project for 2012: use as many artistic skills and techniques as I could to make one thousand artist trading cards before December 31st.

This idea was a bit more ambitious than my last year-long art project back in 2009, when I pledged to take at least one photo of something ineresting every day. I wasn't sure I could keep up, but over the last four months I've been working steadily and posting to the photoblog pics and monthly updates on the project. I'm more than a third of the way toward my goal; as of tonight I have 342 cards finished.

Actually the project has been a blast. I'm trying all sorts of old and new techniques, and I've already sewn, quilted, sculpted, glued, recycled, painted, photographed, beaded, pressed, sketched, written, hammered, woven and/or assembled 342 cards. Because the cards are small (ATCs are 2.5" X 3.5"), and I'm always doing something different with them, I haven't gotten bored. If anything I could probably make five thousand ATCs.

Over the weekend I put the cards I made in April into the desk-size storage chest where I'm keeping all the finished cards, and I realized two things. One is that the chest already is getting pretty full:



The other thing is -- after I've finished the project -- what the heck am I going to do with a thousand ATCs?

Yes, as it happens I didn't think that far ahead. I could keep them, of course, but the whole idea of Artist Trading Cards is to give them out, usually by trading with another artist. Only I don't know a thousand artists. I don't want to sell them or auction them off because I'm doing it for fun, and art-wise I'm strictly an amateur anyway. For various reasons a few of the cards are too personal to give away, so I will be keeping those, but the rest I'd like to send out into the world somehow.

Considering all of the above, what do you think I should do with the cards I am willing to part with? Let me know in comments.

Titles That Brand

Harry Potter and Twilight are two mammoth author brands. When anyone says the name Harry Potter, one inevitably thinks of Harry's author, J.K. Rowling. The same is true of Twilight; that single word forever owns Stephenie Meyer. Both are series titles; Rowling used Harry Potter as a title prefix for her global-bestselling novels, while Twilight began as the title of Meyer's first novel and went on to become the brand name for her entire series, the movies, the merchandising, etc.

On a far more modest level I've branded and rebranded my works and myself with multiple titles: Darkyn, PBW and StarDoc have proven to be the most popular. I coined Darkyn and StarDoc; PBW is shorthand for my blog title. Single, easy-to-remember words can be powerful brands for lesser-known authors, especially multi-genre/multi-series writers like me. You may not remember which pseudonym I'm currently using, but PBW will stick to the roof of your mind because 1) it's extremely short, 2) it's simple and 3) it's an identifier: PBW, aka Paperback Writer, aka that chick with the writing blog.

Branding is an art all on its own, and you can spend years chasing the right word(s) that define you and/or your writing. Your first idea may not be your best, either. Before inspiration struck me one night in the shower, I called my SF medical adventure stories the Border FreeClinic series. Back in 1998, I dubbed my Darkyn tales the Darkling stories (which wasn't bad; it simply wasn't right.)

For novel branding, I prefer brand words that tell a story in a single glance. Star + Doc = galactic physician. Dark + Kyn = shadowy relatives. When I had to come up with a title for the books my publisher had me write as a spin off of the Darkyn series, I worked for weeks combining and recombining words without success. Finally I threw out everything and meditated on it. I knew I wanted to use Kyn for the connection to the original series, but what to pair with it? Who were these characters? I knew them as ordinary mortals with extraordinary abilities whom the Darkyn should really dread. And that was when the light bulb came on; dread was the word I needed to complete the series brand. Kyn + dread - a = Kyndred.

To find brands for your works or yourself, the best place to start is with word lists. Begin jotting down every word that describes you, your stories, your style, or anything that is strongly related to you or what you write. You don't have to automatically go for one-word or simple branding; the keyword here is memorable. For example, you may not know who Daniel Handler is until you hear his pseudonym: Lemony Snicket. Marjorie Liu's series title Dirk & Steele invokes images of honed, bladed weapons (which aptly applies to her characters.) Patricia Briggs's Alpha and Omega pulls double duty by reflecting on the soup-to-nuts hierarchy of her werewolf pack's social structure as well as the unusual relationship between her protagonists, an alpha and an omega werewolf.

Don't instantly discount your pseudonym as a brand - I can't ever recall any of the titles of author Carl Hiassen's novels, but I remember his name due to the surname. I do the same with Susan Elizabeth Phillips because hers is probably the longest author name I know, plus it's as elegant as her writing.

If you can't think of memorable words off the top of your head, hit the thesaurus and make some synonym lists based on your keywords. Focus on words that invoke an immediate emotional reaction, or that invoke instant imagery. Once you have a couple of pages, play with the words by pairing them with each other as new compound words, changing the spelling slightly and/or recombining parts of them to form coined compounds. You can also feed your lists to Wordle and generate a cloud that will shuffle the words around and create interesting groupings; I find this works best if you select a horizontal or mostly horizontal appearance so that you get a more linear cloud.

To run a fun test of how memorable your brand is, add it to a list of similar words, show it to someone for a minute, take the list away from them and ask them which word they remember first. If they say your brand word(s), it's probably the winner.

Story Marathons

The May '12 issue of The Writer has a good article by Rochelle Melander on achieving story success through participating in online writing marathons. While I knew about NaNoWriMo and NaNoEdMo, there were a bunch of others for fiction that I didn't know existed:

3-Day Novel Contest: write a novel (no specific length, but 100 pages is called "average" on the web site) in 72 hours during Labor Day weekend, which is September 1st-3rd this year. Fee for registration; cash prizes offered.

Camp NaNoWriMo: the summer camp version of NaNoWriMo; write a 50K novel in one month, takes place June 1st - 30th and again on August 1st - 31st

JulNoWriMo ~ July Novel Writing Month: write a 50K novel in one month, takes place July 1st - 31st

NaBloPoMo ~ National Blog Posting Month: post daily on your blog for one month; web site offers monthly theme challenges (PBW notes: This one isn't geared toward fiction, but it might help you revive your weblog.)

NaPiBoWriWee ~ National Picture Book Writing Week: write seven picture books in a week; takes place May 1st - 7th

WeSiWriMo ~ Web Series Writing Month: set your own goals and create a regularly-produced entertainment series (podcasts, serial stories, webisodes, web-comics, you name it) for a web-only audience; takes place August 1st - 31st

Given the ever-expanding popularity of NaNoWriMo, I'm not surprised to see there are so many spin-offs; marathons are a great way to inspire collectively. Participating in a group effort to write instills camaraderie and competition in a healthy format. Plus marathons are a fun way for writers to get a lot of work done in a relatively short period of time.

One thing Rochelle mentions in the article is the necessity of passion for your project. You never want to marathon a book based on a lukewarm ho-hum flickering spark; ideally your story should be the one that won't leave you alone, that wakes you in the middle of the night, or barges into your thoughts when you're writing something else. If there is something in your head that does nothing but throw petrol on the fires of your imagination, you've probably got a marathon-worthy concept.

Writing marathons give you the opportunity to be the writer you've always wanted to be, and that's no small thing. I think they're even more valuable for training purposes. There is no better practice at creating on demand than marathon writing, and as a pro you will need to do that. Aside from the rigors of writing according to a contracted schedule, publishers often drop extra projects in your lap that have to be done in a short period of time. This can be anything from writing cover copy to series proposals to jumping your deadlines (one time a publisher made a significant schedule change and offered me a much earlier slot, which resulted in me having to write a novel I'd only outlined in three weeks.)

For working novelists the writing marathon gives us a chance to take a break from the contracted work and explore some new territory. I find marathons help me recharge my batteries so that when I do go back to the contracted work I have more energy, better focus and a fresher perspective. Using marathons to try different genres or approaches to story can help an established writer increase their range and possibly open new opportunities to publish in a different area of the market.

Of course marathons aren't for everyone; the pressure can be overwhelming for writers who don't respond positively to tight deadlines and/or high-volume productivity. Then there are the artistic considerations. Some people really do need ten years to properly write a book, and there's nothing wrong with that except without financial support from some quarter it's quite difficult to make a living at writing that way.

Are you guys tempted by any writing marathons out there (I'm eyeing that one for picture books; that sounds like fun.) Are there any other writing marathons you know of that you want to share? Let us know in comments.

Sub Op Ten

Ten Things About Submission Opportunities

The University of Pittsburgh has a call for submissions for the Drue Heinz Literature Prize: "The Drue Heinz Literature Prize recognizes and supports writers of short fiction and makes their work available to readers around the world. The award is open to writers who have published a book-length collection of fiction or at least three short stories or novellas in commercial magazines or literary journals. Manuscripts are judged anonymously by nationally known writers; past judges have included Robert Penn Warren, Joyce Carol Oates, Raymond Carver, Margaret Atwood, Russell Banks, Rick Moody and Joan Didion. The prize carries a cash award of $15,000 and publication by the University of Pittsburgh Press under its standard contract. The winner will be announced by the University Press in January." Length: 150-300 page manuscript, no entry fee, no electronic submissions, opens May 1st, 2012; deadline June 30th, 2012.

Family Circle magazine is holding their annual Fiction Contest: "Submit an original (written by entrant), fiction short story of no more than 2,500 words, typed, double-spaced and page numbered on 8-1/2x11paper. Entries must be unpublished and may not have won any prize or award. Include your name, address, daytime telephone number and e-mail address (optional) on each page and send to: Family Circle Fiction Contest, c/o Family Circle Magazine, 805 Third Avenue, 22nd Floor, New York, NY 10022. LIMIT: Up to two (2) entries per person will be accepted but each entry must be a unique short story. No group entries. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to reject, disqualify, modify, edit, and revise any entries, subjects, stories, or related materials that Sponsor deems to be nude, obscene, defamatory, profane, offensive, lewd, pornographic, false, misleading, deceptive, or otherwise inconsistent with its editorial standards, audience expectations, or reputational interests or that Sponsor believes may violate any applicable law or regulation or the rights of any third party. By entering this contest, entrants consent to a background check, and Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to verify any element of any entry or related materials and to disqualify any entrant. One (1) Grand Prize winner will receive a prize package including a check for $750.00, a gift certificate to one (1) mediabistro.com course of his or her choice, up to a value of $610.00, one (1) year mediabistro.com AvantGuild membership valued at $55.00, and a one (1) year mediabistro.com How-to Video membership valued at $99.00. Total approximate retail value of grand prize package $1,514.00. One (1) Second Place winner will receive a check for $250.00, a one (1) year mediabistro.com AvantGuild membership valued at $55.00, and a one (1) year mediabistro.com How-to Video membership valued at $99.00. Total retail value (?RV?) of second place prize package $404.00. One (1) Third Place winner will receive a check for $250.00 and a one (1) year mediabistro.com AvantGuild membership valued at $55.00. Total RV of third place prize package $305.00." No entry fee, no electronic submissions, see contest page for more details. Deadline: September 7th, 2012.

Fanstory.com has ongoing, multiple fiction contests with various prizes; check out their contest page here.

The Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize is now open for entries: "A $12,000 advance and publication by Graywolf will be awarded to the most promising and innovative literary nonfiction project by a writer not yet established in the genre. Robert Polito, Director of the Graduate Writing Program at the New School, will serve as the judge. The 2012 prize will be awarded to a manuscript in progress. We request that authors send a long sample from their manuscript, as well as a description of the work, as detailed below. We expect that we will work with the winner of the prize and provide editorial guidance toward the completion of the project. The Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize emphasizes innovation in form, and we want to see projects that test the boundaries of literary nonfiction. We are less interested in straightforward memoirs, and we turn down a large number of them every year. Before submitting your manuscript for the prize, please look at the books previously published as winners of the prize for examples of the type of work that we are seeking. 'This prize seeks to acknowledge—and honor—the great traditions of literary nonfiction, extending from Robert Burton and Thomas Browne in the seventeenth century through Defoe and Strachey and on to James Baldwin, Joan Didion, and Jamaica Kincaid in our own time,' says Robert Polito. 'Whether grounded in observation, autobiography, or research, much of the most beautiful, daring, and original writing over the past few decades can be categorized as nonfiction. Submissions to the prize might span memoir, biography, or history.'" No entry fee, electronic submissions only, see contest page for more details. Deadline: August 31st, 2012.

The University of Iowa holds an annual short fiction contest for writers who have not yet published a book: "The manuscript must be a collection of short stories in English of at least 150 word-processed, double-spaced pages. We do not accept e-mail submissions. The manuscript may include a cover page, contents page, etc., but these are not required. The author's name can be on every page but this is not required. Stories previously published in periodicals are eligible for inclusion. There is no reading fee; please do not send cash, checks, or money orders. Reasonable care is taken, but we are not responsible for manuscripts lost in the mail or for the return of those not accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. We assume the author retains a copy of the manuscript. Award-winning manuscripts will be published by the University of Iowa Press under the Press's standard contract." No entry fee, no electronic submissions, contest opens for entries on August 1st. See contest page for more details. Deadline: September 30th, 2012.

The Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize "shall be awarded annually for the finest scholarly work in English on Abraham Lincoln, or the American Civil War soldier, or a subject relating to their era. The $50,000 prize was co-founded and endowed by businessmen and philanthropists Richard Gilder and Lewis Lehrman, principals of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History in New York and co-creators of the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the largest private archives of documents and artifacts in the nation. The Institute devotes itself to history education by supporting magnet schools, teacher training, curriculum development, exhibitions, and publications, as well as endowing several major history awards. Mr. Gilder and Mr. Lehrman established the Prize in 1990, together with Professor Gabor Boritt, Director Emeritus of the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College. Since founding the Prize in 1990, Mr. Gilder and Mr. Lehrman have bestowed some $1 million on the annual winners, including special prizes. The Prize will generally go to a book but in rare instances an important article or essay might be honored. When studies competing for the Prize show similar scholarly merit, preference will be given to work on Abraham Lincoln, or the Civil War soldier, or work aimed at the literate general public. In harmony with the last preference, in rare instances the Prize may go to a work or works of fiction, poetry, the theatre, the arts, a film, scholarly article or editing project, provided they are true to history. In rare instances, the Prize may go to a historical project, such as an inspired conference or an editing project, such as an inspired conference or an editing project. In rare instances, the trustees may grant the award to a work or service related to Lincoln, or the Civil War soldier or their era, not included in the foregoing description. As many as two prizes may be awarded each year. It will be awarded for works published only during the designated year of the Prize." No entry fee, see contest page for more details, deadline November 1st, 2012.

Although today (April 30th) is the deadline for this contest, I thought it was worth posting because they accept electronic submissions, there is no entry fee, and someone out there may have something ready to enter right now: The New England Crime Bake Al Blanchard Award gives a $100 cash award, publication in Level Best Books' tenth Crime Fiction anthology, and admission to the Crime Bake Conference to the best "crime story by a New England author or with a New England setting. Story must be previously unpublished (in print or electronically), Story must not be more than 5,000 words in length, Story may include the following genres: mystery, thriller, suspense, caper, and horror. (No torture/killing of children or animals.)" Rush over to the contest page for more details because again the deadline for this one is TODAY.

Chaosium has an open call for a two-volume anthology: "Over the river and through the woods does not always lead to grandma’s house or happy endings – especially if grandma’s house is infested with zombies… or if grandma is really a Lovecraftian being in disguise. Once Upon an Apocalypse is a two volume post apocalyptic anthology laden with the undead and otherwordly mythos crossing into the realm of fairy tales, nursery rhymes and other timeless stories. For both volumes we want stories with strong narrative lines, stronger characters and a clear blending of the theme and the fairy tales. For Volume One imagine Cinderella arriving at the ball and discovering it filled with zombies. Or how different the story would be if it were Snow White and the Seven Zombies. Give us new horrors with Alice in Zombieland, and a Prince who climbs Rapunzel’s hair to get away from and find a way to defeat – you guessed it – zombies. In Volume Two we want a strong dose of Lovecraft thrown in. What happens to the townspeople in The Boy who Cried Cthulhu? Pinocchio is going to have a much harder time getting out of the Old One than the whale; a wolf would have been preferable to Little Red Riding Hood and the Byahkee and the Little Mermaid has so much more to worry about then her legs and a missing voice when she faces a Deep One. Once you choose a story to change it’s your call how far you will take it. Make the apocalypse clear and give some meaning as to why the dead are meandering through the streets and munching on the breathing or why the Elder God has paid the town a visit. Plague, prestilence, bio warfare, meteor shower, tail of a comet… be creative. Because we don’t want duplicates of themes, you will be able to follow the progress of the anthologies on our blog (http://onceuponanapocalypse.com) or facebook page (www.facebook.com/OnceUponAnApocalypse) where we’ll keep a current list of themes/tales accepted. For example, if we get a Sleeping Beauty story and it’s awesome, that will be it for the book." Length" "Stories should be 2K – 4K in length (please query for stories under or over our limit. We will consider them if they are of exceptional merit). Payment: "$.03 per word, no royalties and 3 free books and additional copies at 50% off cover." No reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details. Reading period is open "now through July 31, 2012 – or until filled."

Shimmer e-zine is open to submissions of "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, slasher horror, and other familiar genre types, but we’ll read anything." [PBW notes: Nicely put, and they also accept subs from authors outside the U.S.] Length: Up to 5K. Editor notes: "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 and Rights: "We pay 3 cent per word, minimum $10. You’ll also receive two copies of the issue in which your story appears. Additional contributor copies available at the subscription rate. We purchase First Serial rights and electronic rights. 120 days after publication, most rights revert to the author, but we retain the right to continue selling back issues of the magazine, the right to archive your story, and non-exclusive anthology rights." No reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details.

Underwords has an open call for a FutureDaze, a YA Science Fiction Anthology, and would like to see: "...fiction and poetry that sparks the imagination, twists the heart, and makes us yearn for the possibilities of a world yet to come. At a time when every other YA book features vampires, werewolves or other fantastical creatures, Futuredaze will be an anthology for the next generation of science fiction readers. We’re looking for hard science fiction, soft science fiction, and everything in between. Think Jules Verne, Isaac Asimov, George Orwell or Ray Bradbury with a YA focus. While we adore fantasy, Futuredaze is not the right anthology for fiction or poetry based in worlds where magic or the supernatural are the driving forces. Futuredaze‘s primary mission is to inspire a love of science fiction in today’s teens and young adults—providing them with a launching pad of quality fiction that will inspire them to further explore the many branches of the genre. Give us your stories of far-flung futures, interplanetary travel, and technology just beyond our reach. Give us near futures with eerie similarities to the present. Give us robots, extra terrestrials, brave new worlds and Andromeda strains. Most of all, give us good writing. Whether you’re a pro or still looking for your first sale we want to see the widest array of fiction and poetry possible. If you’re unsure whether your piece is right for Futuredaze, please submit it and let us determine if it’s a good fit. Our only requirement is that your story or poem operates within a science fictional universe and is written for young adults. Please no explicit sex, foul language, or gratuitous violence." Length: Fiction ~ 6,000 words max; Poetry ~ "up to 5 poems at one time." Payment:" Paying $200 per story and $25 per poem for first North American anthology rights, payable upon publication. One-year after publication, all rights return to the creators." No reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines page for more details. Submission period opens May 1st, 2012 and lasts "until filled."

Catch and Release

My guy and I were walking by the lake last night so I could photograph the sunset when I spotted something happening near the water's edge (click on any image to see larger version):



When I zoomed in with my camera lens, I was amazed. The head of a little four-foot gator (and yeah, for gators, that's little) had surfaced, and he had just caught a fish:



Lil Gator was all ready to enjoy some sushi. The problem was the fish, which was roughly as big as the gator's head -- too big for him to swallow whole:



At first glance I figured Lil Gator would either have to let it go, or bite off a chunk and let the rest fall back into the water. Meanwhile, interested fisher birds started to gather on the rocks, and another little gator surfaced to cruise toward the commotion.

The dilemma and the pressure didn't stop Lil Gator from trying to swallow the fish whole, but after a couple of futile attempts he began working on the problem by shaking it and turning it around and gnoshing on it:







The whole process took a good ten minutes, but in the end Lil Gator's efforts worked, and he gulped down all of the fish:



Watching Lil Gator earn his sushi feast reminded me of how it is with writing (because of course everything is about writing.) When you latch on to a story idea, it can be huge. Much bigger than your head. No matter how good it looks, you realize how tough it'll be to make it work. Getting it done is going to require a lot of effort, with no guarantees. You might lose your momentum, choke in the middle of things, or something in life might even swoop in and take it away from you.

You can let it go and hunt for something smaller and easier to swallow, or you can work your story, bit by bit. Turn it around, come at it from different sides, and break it down into manageable pieces. As for the fear that for some reason you'll lose it, that never changes. But if it's any comfort, the story waters are chock full of fish just waiting to be caught.

The Pointe

As a kid I took ballet for quite a few years, so this fascinating video made my toes curl in happy and painful memories: