Holly Walrath's Blog, page 18

Submitting Short Fiction: Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Genre Edition

I have a new article up on Medium today for writers of short fiction who want to submit their work to Science Fiction, Fantasy, and other Genre publications! This is meant to be an exhaustive, detailed, step-by-step guide for new writers. 

By the way, I've published this for members on Medium, but if you're not a member and you'd like a copy, please let me know and I'll send you one. I'm also teaching an online workshop in May with Writespace about this very topic! Registration is open now at $190 until April 27.

Read the article here . . .

Poetry: Break of Day

I have a new post up at Medium with a poem reprint. This poem originally appeared in Page & Spine (2016).

Head over to Medium to read it...

February Poetry Challenge

In February, I'm doing a poetry challenge where I write one tiny poem a day. Thank goodness for tiny post-its! I got this idea randomly and decided to roll with it over on my Instagram page. 

But you can also follow along here if you don't have Instagram. 

It's funny because you'd think that compressing a big concept into a tiny space would be really hard, but I've actually found it to be quite compelling. There's a reason haiku are so popular!
​

Forming a Critique Group 101

I'm starting a new series on Medium for new writers. My first article is on finding a critique group . ​It can be frustrating to find a critique group if you’re a new writer. Groups often don’t take new members or don’t advertise when they do. That’s why it’s usually easier to just start your own group. I recommend getting out in the community and meeting other writers, then finding those that truly get your voice and what you’re doing with your writing. 

Read the full article here . . . 

The Ones Who Walk Away

I have an essay up at Medium today, on the anniversary of Ursula K. Le Guin's death, about her famous short story, "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas." If you haven't read this powerful story, I suggest you get thee to a bookstore and pick up her short story collection, The Unreal and the Real. It will make you rethink your worldview.  

Read the essay here...

New Post at Curious Fictions: Defining ARt

I posted a reprint essay over at Curious Fictions for my subscribers -- "Defining Art." 

I wrote this essay several years back when I first started writing. It's about what Art is and how we make our legacies as creative people. As a writer, I often wonder what lasting effect my work will have when I am no longer here. I'm fascinated by artists who only became popular after their deaths. 

If you want to read more essays and stories by me, you can subscribe over at Curious Fictions to receive exclusive content! Curious Fictions is a website similar to Patreon but with a science fiction/fantasy focus. Discover cool stories from new writers and help support my writing by joining! Subscribe at Curious Fictions

Working with a Freelance Editor to Boost Your Writing Career

I've got a new article over at Medium.com on working with a freelance editor. Over my four years of editing, I've come to learn that many writers don't understand what it means to work with a freelance editor. Working with an editor can be a big boost to your writing career, especially if you want to publish your work. I'm glad to share my experience, and if you have questions, please feel free to email me or leave them in the comments!

Five Writing Tips I’m Carrying into 2019

Over at Medium, I'm sharing five writing tips that I'm carrying into 2019. It's a bit of a "Here's what I learned" mixed with "Here's what I still need." 

Y'all, writing is hard. It's constant work. It's a balancing act. You're never really done. I wanted to recap some things that I'm keeping with me for 2019, but I know I'm still learning. 

​What did you learn about your writing last year?

New Poem in Kaleidotrope: All the Glory of Her Earthly Shell

I have a new poem up today at Kaleidotrope - "All the Glory of Her Earthly Shell." Big thanks to Fred for publishing this one. It's very personal to me, so I'm glad it found a home at Kaleidotrope. 

What I Wrote in 2018

Here's to You, 2018!

2018 was one wild ride of a year for me. I published my first chapbook. I took many workshops, attended many conferences, and met many new friends. I wrote a lot of things and learned a great deal while writing. 

I've been thinking about how the new year is an arbitrary date. We tell ourselves that it's time to rethink what we've done and to plan for the future. But the truth is that writing is always there. It's a well of creativity that you constantly have to refill, rethink, and renegotiate. As arbitrary as it might be, I love the new year. I love the idea that I might be able to make a difference in my future just by the power of positive thinking. 

In the words of Ursula K. Le Guin, we need to "see through our fear-stricken society and its obsessive technologies to other ways of being, and even imagine real grounds for hope.”

I hope your new year is fantastic and full of all the things you love and enjoy. I hope we make it to next year feeling a bit less angry about the world. 

Here's what I wrote in 2018: 

Books
Glimmerglass Girl, Finishing Line Press  ​ Poetry
I published several speculative poems eligible for the Rhysling Award: Star*Line 41.4 (October 2018) - "A Terrible Meat Eating God"Liminality Issue #17 (Autumn 2018) - "Dead-Eye Girl" Nice Cage (Issue 006, Climate Change And/Or Die, Summer/Spring 2018) - "Boll Heart," "And Farther Death Goes," "A Deep Enough Abyss" Really System(Issue 19: Stymy a Seller, Summer 2018)- "Orbital Debris" Undead: A Poetry Anthology of Ghouls, Ghosts, and More (Apex Book Company, July 17, 2018) - "Sea Fog" I also published a few realist poems this year: Texas Poetry Calendar 2019 (Kallisto Gaia Press, 2018) - "Dear Childhood"Terse Journal (Oct. 3, 2018) - "What it Feels Like to Play Video Games as a Woman" "Erasure" (after Ralph Waldo Emerson) - in ARTHouston Magazine Issue#7 (September 2018) Storyscape (Issue 20, July 2018) - "A Woman" (erasure of William Faulkner)and "She was a Nice Little Nothing" (erasure of Jack Kerouac) ​Isacoustic, April 14, 2018 -  "espejitos"​ Short Stories
​ I'm particularly proud to have published several stories in pro-paying publications this year. The following stories are awards eligible:Daily Science Fiction (August 13, 2018) - After the First Comes the LastRobots & Artificial Intelligence Short Stories (Flame Tree Publishing, September 2018) - StardustFireside Magazine (February 2018) - knick knack, knick knack​ Nonfiction
Here are the essays and reviews I published this year: ​Cotton Xenomorph (9/17/18) - ​YUM-DERDOME: Oh My Sweet Pickle Babies
Up the Staircase (8/1/18) Review: Dear Judas by Melissa Jennings
Trish Hopkinson's Blog (7/29/18) 6 Resources for Submitting Your Work
Cotton Xenomorph (6/21/18) Manifestos: Six Principles of Flash Fiction
​Entropy Magazine (6/15/18) Review: Consolation Prize by Tyler Robert Sheldon  That's it! Whew! As per usual, I am supremely grateful to the editors who continue to support my work and think it's worthwhile enough to grace the pages, or cyberspaces, of their publications. 

I have one more thing to be grateful for. This December, I decided to finally launch a small press and magazine. Now, there's not much to share right now as the ink is not quite dry yet on this new venture, but I promise to post soon about my plans. 

Now, who's ready for 2019? Let's do this.