S.L. Viehl's Blog, page 32
January 30, 2016
Sub Op
Timeless Tales magazine has an open call for short stories for their upcoming sixth issue: "Timeless Tales exclusively publishes retellings of fairy tales and myths. We only accept submissions that are retellings of the fairytale or myth listed as our theme. We don't accept original fairy tales or stories outside of our current theme.
These are the known upcoming themes:
#6. Psyche and Cupid (Submission window Jan 25, 2016 - Feb 25, 2016) -- NEW: Now accepting poetry!
#7. TBD (usually decided by a poll, so subscribe to our newsletter if you want to vote).
Additional Rules:
Length: Up to 2,000 words. Under 1,500 preferred.
Genres: As of 2016, we are now accepting poetry! In general, please be creative! We love to see modernizations, sci-fi retellings, prequels, continuations, mash-ups, etc. Just no eroticism, please (see Content section).
Formatting: Please put your story's title and the author's name in the file name of your submission. Example: "Pandora's Choice by Zeus Smith.doc". Too often, we'll get a ton of submisions all labled "Pandoras Box.doc" and it makes it harder to keep track of them.
Content: While Timeless Tales is not targeted specifically at children, it is a fairly conservative magazine, especially when it comes to language and sexual content, so I intend to keep the stories in the PG-13 range or below. However, I have a deep appreciation for the darker side of many original fairy tales, so don’t assume I only want “happy” stories.
Pay Rate: As of 2016, we have slightly raised our rates. We now pay a flat rate of $20 per piece accepted--both poetry and fiction. You'll also get a free year of our audio narrations (usually reserved for our patrons).
1. We do NOT accept multiple submissions.
2. We DO accept reprints as long as the author has the rights to the story. But please include in your cover letter the details of where and when the story was previously published.
3. We DO accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us by email immediately if your story has been accepted elsewhere."
For more information, check out the submission guidelines page.
These are the known upcoming themes:
#6. Psyche and Cupid (Submission window Jan 25, 2016 - Feb 25, 2016) -- NEW: Now accepting poetry!
#7. TBD (usually decided by a poll, so subscribe to our newsletter if you want to vote).
Additional Rules:
Length: Up to 2,000 words. Under 1,500 preferred.
Genres: As of 2016, we are now accepting poetry! In general, please be creative! We love to see modernizations, sci-fi retellings, prequels, continuations, mash-ups, etc. Just no eroticism, please (see Content section).
Formatting: Please put your story's title and the author's name in the file name of your submission. Example: "Pandora's Choice by Zeus Smith.doc". Too often, we'll get a ton of submisions all labled "Pandoras Box.doc" and it makes it harder to keep track of them.
Content: While Timeless Tales is not targeted specifically at children, it is a fairly conservative magazine, especially when it comes to language and sexual content, so I intend to keep the stories in the PG-13 range or below. However, I have a deep appreciation for the darker side of many original fairy tales, so don’t assume I only want “happy” stories.
Pay Rate: As of 2016, we have slightly raised our rates. We now pay a flat rate of $20 per piece accepted--both poetry and fiction. You'll also get a free year of our audio narrations (usually reserved for our patrons).
1. We do NOT accept multiple submissions.
2. We DO accept reprints as long as the author has the rights to the story. But please include in your cover letter the details of where and when the story was previously published.
3. We DO accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us by email immediately if your story has been accepted elsewhere."
For more information, check out the submission guidelines page.
January 29, 2016
Southie
Here's a lovely longish video that takes you on a pretty stunning snapshot tour of the south of France (background music, and a tiny bit of bull fighting at the end):
French Taste from Paul Wex on Vimeo.
January 28, 2016
Recomposition Book #1
Before I get into the details of my first composition book makeover, I should explain the slightly-off weirdness of the pictures I took. On the day I started this project the little video display window on the fancy new Nikon my guy bought me last year stopped working. Basically I had to point the camera and shoot blind, then download the pictures before I knew how they came out. Fortunately Target has a very nice return policy; they took back the camera and gave me a brand-new replacement without a bit of fuss.
Onto the project: for this one I kept it very simple and uber-green by raiding the paper recycling bin for two pieces of the thin cardboard (mine were inserts from two of the wall calendars I bought for this year), a wallpaper border remnant, and a piece of pretty scrapbook paper. I also used a paper trimmer, scissors, a small paintbrush and some washable school glue:
The covers of the composition book are really flimsy card stock, so I needed to reinforce them first. I cut the two cardboard pieces to fit the front and back covers, glued them on, and let the notebook dry overnight (and to keep everything from warping I sandwiched the notebook between two bigger, much heavier books):
I fit the wallpaper border remnant as the outside cover for both the front and back covers, and folded the ends over inside before I glued that on and left it to dry overnight:
I then covered the insides of the front and back covers with pieces of the scrapbooking paper, glued that down, and left that to dry overnight:
Here's the end result:
I liked how elegant the composition book looks now, and it's certainly sturdier. I was especially happy to finally use that wallpaper border remnant, which is one I found when we moved into this house (the previous owner's wife had them decorating the ceilings in practically every room.) I also didn't have to cut the wallpaper to fit; it was the perfect size for the covers.
More recomposition idea linkage:
Dream a Little Bigger has a tutorial here on how to re-cover a composition book.
Ashley Hackshaw has a post here about turning a composition book into an art journal.
Ellison Lane has directions here on how to sew a quilted cover for a composition book.
Momtastic has instructions here on how to give a composition book a chalkboard cover.
Onto the project: for this one I kept it very simple and uber-green by raiding the paper recycling bin for two pieces of the thin cardboard (mine were inserts from two of the wall calendars I bought for this year), a wallpaper border remnant, and a piece of pretty scrapbook paper. I also used a paper trimmer, scissors, a small paintbrush and some washable school glue:
The covers of the composition book are really flimsy card stock, so I needed to reinforce them first. I cut the two cardboard pieces to fit the front and back covers, glued them on, and let the notebook dry overnight (and to keep everything from warping I sandwiched the notebook between two bigger, much heavier books):
I fit the wallpaper border remnant as the outside cover for both the front and back covers, and folded the ends over inside before I glued that on and left it to dry overnight:
I then covered the insides of the front and back covers with pieces of the scrapbooking paper, glued that down, and left that to dry overnight:
Here's the end result:
I liked how elegant the composition book looks now, and it's certainly sturdier. I was especially happy to finally use that wallpaper border remnant, which is one I found when we moved into this house (the previous owner's wife had them decorating the ceilings in practically every room.) I also didn't have to cut the wallpaper to fit; it was the perfect size for the covers.
More recomposition idea linkage:
Dream a Little Bigger has a tutorial here on how to re-cover a composition book.
Ashley Hackshaw has a post here about turning a composition book into an art journal.
Ellison Lane has directions here on how to sew a quilted cover for a composition book.
Momtastic has instructions here on how to give a composition book a chalkboard cover.
January 27, 2016
Short Story Prompt Challenge
If you'd like to write more short stories but are coming up short on ideas, here's a list I saw over on Tumblr that offers a weekly prompt you can use:
"52 short stories in 52 weeks
1. A story entitled “A New Beginning”.
2. A story about rising to a challenge.
3. A retelling of a fairytale.
4. A story about three siblings.
5. A story set in London.
6. A story about finding something that has been lost.
7. A story about a journey.
8. A story set during a war.
9. A creepy story.
10. A story featuring a countdown.
11. A story set at a full moon.
12. A story about a contest or competition.
13. A story that takes place entirely inside a vehicle.
14. A story from a villain’s perspective.
15. A story set at a concert or festival.
16. A story that begins with a gunshot.
17. A story set in a country you’ve never been to.
18. A story about a historical figure.
19. A story set in a theatre.
20. A story written in 2nd person narrative.
21. A story set on another planet.
22. A story written from the perspective of someone dead/undead
23. A story about a birthday.
24. A story that ends on a cliffhanger.
25. A story set at the summer solstice.
26. A story about nostalgia.
27. A story that features a song or poem.
28. A story that ends at sunrise.
29. A story opening with the words “F*** you!”
30. A story about a magical object.
31. A story set at sea.
32. A story about a curse.
33. A story set 100 years in the future.
34. A story about loneliness.
35. A story that features a real recent newspaper article.
36. A story written from an animal’s perspective.
37. A story about a scientific discovery.
38. A story set on another planet.
39. A story with only one character.
40. A story about a secret.
41. A romance that ends in tragedy.
42. A tragedy that ends in romance.
43. A retelling of a recent Hollywood movie.
44. A story that takes place the year you were born.
45. A story about a near-death experience.
46. A story about anger.
47. A story about a magic spell.
48. A story set in a strange small town.
49. A story about justice being done.
50. A creation myth.
51. A story set at Christmas.
52. A story entitled “The End”."
I usually write short stories to test-drive my world-building, but I've also used them to help build characters, tell a story from a different POV, or explore a particular theme or myth. Give one of these a shot, see what you come up with on the page, and you might surprise yourself.
Source: Writing Therapy
"52 short stories in 52 weeks
1. A story entitled “A New Beginning”.
2. A story about rising to a challenge.
3. A retelling of a fairytale.
4. A story about three siblings.
5. A story set in London.
6. A story about finding something that has been lost.
7. A story about a journey.
8. A story set during a war.
9. A creepy story.
10. A story featuring a countdown.
11. A story set at a full moon.
12. A story about a contest or competition.
13. A story that takes place entirely inside a vehicle.
14. A story from a villain’s perspective.
15. A story set at a concert or festival.
16. A story that begins with a gunshot.
17. A story set in a country you’ve never been to.
18. A story about a historical figure.
19. A story set in a theatre.
20. A story written in 2nd person narrative.
21. A story set on another planet.
22. A story written from the perspective of someone dead/undead
23. A story about a birthday.
24. A story that ends on a cliffhanger.
25. A story set at the summer solstice.
26. A story about nostalgia.
27. A story that features a song or poem.
28. A story that ends at sunrise.
29. A story opening with the words “F*** you!”
30. A story about a magical object.
31. A story set at sea.
32. A story about a curse.
33. A story set 100 years in the future.
34. A story about loneliness.
35. A story that features a real recent newspaper article.
36. A story written from an animal’s perspective.
37. A story about a scientific discovery.
38. A story set on another planet.
39. A story with only one character.
40. A story about a secret.
41. A romance that ends in tragedy.
42. A tragedy that ends in romance.
43. A retelling of a recent Hollywood movie.
44. A story that takes place the year you were born.
45. A story about a near-death experience.
46. A story about anger.
47. A story about a magic spell.
48. A story set in a strange small town.
49. A story about justice being done.
50. A creation myth.
51. A story set at Christmas.
52. A story entitled “The End”."
I usually write short stories to test-drive my world-building, but I've also used them to help build characters, tell a story from a different POV, or explore a particular theme or myth. Give one of these a shot, see what you come up with on the page, and you might surprise yourself.
Source: Writing Therapy
January 26, 2016
On the Indy Front
I'm back, and also finally getting into the how of indy publishing. It's a lot more complicated and worrisome than I ever imagined. Everyone has different opinions on which is the best way to go, but facts are few and far between. I think I've gotten more info from comments left here at PBW than anywhere else, so let me thank everyone who has made recs in the past.The cost involved with using a publishing service is a lot more than I expected. I'm often reminded of the old days of vanity print publishers, and how they used to swindle writers into paying way too much for print books that ended up sitting in boxes in their garages. My sister's father-in-law, who was a university professor, got scammed big time by those folks. Anyway, some of these service providers seem to be doing the same thing, only in electronic version.
Of course I'm cheap, too, but I was willing to invest a little fee-wise in my first title. I already have by commissioning the cover art. However, I don't think I should have to pay a thousand dollars to indy publish in e-book and print on demand. These providers tend to change their pricing and range of services whenever they like, and in most cases the fine print is pretty daunting. I am definitely not interested in giving any service a percentage of my sales, so that also eliminates most of them.
I'm back to the daunting reality that I have to figure out how to do all the publishing stuff myself. Fortunately there are authors who are sharing the wealth, like Bill Peschel, who offers a ton of indy publishing advice on his blog. For example, this post shows you how to create the best .pdf for publishing your book with CreateSpace, with step-by-step instructions along with screenshots (and when you do release that new book for career writers, Bill, you've got a sale right here.) Right now my plan is to write and indy publish a test run short story first under a new byline. That way I can screw it up without disappointing or pissing off my readers. Then, once I've got the procedure down, I'll move on to my own longer byline works. So that's where I am on the indy front.
In the meantime, for those who are interested in indy publishing via Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing, I found a simple tutorial here by author Graeme Shimmin on how to do it in (basically) three steps. Also, for those of you who are interested in designing your own covers but don't want to invest in a pricey photoshop program, Dereck Murphy's DIYBookCovers.com has a whole page of interesting free tutorials, templates and tools here that include showing you how to design cover art in MS Word.
January 25, 2016
Off to Write
I'm taking off today to finish up a big project for a client. See you tomorrow.
January 24, 2016
No Just Write Today
I'm finishing up a big job this weekend, so I'll have to skip Just Write this week and take Monday off, too. See you on Tuesday.
January 23, 2016
Something for Saturday
Books of the Dead Press has an open call for Suspended in Dusk 2, a dark fiction and horro antho: "Show me something that plays on the theme of light/dark (Wendy Hammer did this in the original Suspended in Dusk with her story Negatives) , or don’t… show me a person, people, society on the edge of the proverbial abyss (Chris Limb did this with Ministry of Outrage). Show me a story of someone on the grey fringes of normal society (Karen Runge, Hope is Here!). Show me a person, or people undergoing some kind of change,.. willing or otherwise. Knowing or otherwise (Shane Mckenzie, Fit Camp). Show me something that is brought into the light, but everyone would’ve been safer if it had been left alone where it was (Benjamin Knox, Keeper of Secrets).
Submission Guidelines:
1. Try and scare me or creep me out. Or show me something dark and pretty. No subject off limits although try and make sex and violence relevant to the plot and characters. If you’re going with a common trope, put a fresh spin on it.
2. Submit all stories to simon.dewar83@gmail.com with the following in the subject line Suspended in Dusk 2 – –
3. Submission deadline 29 Feb 2016
4. Word count – 3000 – 7500 words.
5. 12 pt Times New Roman. Standard manuscript format.
6. Italicise your italics, don’t underline.
7. No Pictures within your manuscript.
8. Please ensure you’re able to use track changes.
9. No simultaneous submission to other markets.
10. No Multiple submissions. Send your best story.
Author compensation:
$25USD plus print and ebook copy."
For more information see the submission guidelines page.
Submission Guidelines:
1. Try and scare me or creep me out. Or show me something dark and pretty. No subject off limits although try and make sex and violence relevant to the plot and characters. If you’re going with a common trope, put a fresh spin on it.
2. Submit all stories to simon.dewar83@gmail.com with the following in the subject line Suspended in Dusk 2 – –
3. Submission deadline 29 Feb 2016
4. Word count – 3000 – 7500 words.
5. 12 pt Times New Roman. Standard manuscript format.
6. Italicise your italics, don’t underline.
7. No Pictures within your manuscript.
8. Please ensure you’re able to use track changes.
9. No simultaneous submission to other markets.
10. No Multiple submissions. Send your best story.
Author compensation:
$25USD plus print and ebook copy."
For more information see the submission guidelines page.
January 22, 2016
Over There
Visit Japan in January via this lovely video (background music):
January in Japan from Scott Gold on Vimeo.
January 21, 2016
Recomposition
One project I started but never finished last year was making over a standard school composition book. I got as far as buying the materials before work dragged me away. It's actually good that I stayed too busy to go back to it, as my initial idea was pretty complicated. While doing some pre-spring cleaning in the office this week I found these two extras:
The composition book, also known as a copy book, study book, student book and a lot of other regional terms, is one of the few things I loved about school. I always had one with me, and they often kept me out of trouble. After using the first couple of pages for schoolwork I would devote the rest of the pages to journaling, short stories and even some sketches. I wouldn't have wasted the first pages except they made excellent camouflage for when the teacher would walk by my desk (which is how they kept me out of trouble.) I still get a warm, fuzzy feeling every time I see one. I think my mom used to buy them for five or ten cents each.
Composition books remain pretty cheap; I always see them at dollar stores, and the two I have here I got on sale at Target last January for fifty cents each. Let's see what I can do with them this week to make them less schoolgirlish and more fun.
The composition book, also known as a copy book, study book, student book and a lot of other regional terms, is one of the few things I loved about school. I always had one with me, and they often kept me out of trouble. After using the first couple of pages for schoolwork I would devote the rest of the pages to journaling, short stories and even some sketches. I wouldn't have wasted the first pages except they made excellent camouflage for when the teacher would walk by my desk (which is how they kept me out of trouble.) I still get a warm, fuzzy feeling every time I see one. I think my mom used to buy them for five or ten cents each.
Composition books remain pretty cheap; I always see them at dollar stores, and the two I have here I got on sale at Target last January for fifty cents each. Let's see what I can do with them this week to make them less schoolgirlish and more fun.
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