Deborah Adams's Blog, page 6

10 places to submit your writing in June 2025

I’m usually swimming in great places to submit—more places than I can write for, anyway. For 2025, I’m going to share a few of them every month. None of these charge fees (according to the information I have), and all should be open for submissions at least through the end of the month.

Intrepidus Ink

They like “individual, free-thinking characters who fight, struggle, love, risk it all, lose everything, gain it back, shoot for Mars (or Mississippi), and overcome.”

Words With Weight Magazine

“…youth...

Finding Your Character’s Energy Motivators: Part 5—Ether

We discussed the four lower Energies in those previous posts. Now we come to the first of the higher level Energies—Ether.

This isn’t the ether that you learned about in chemistry class, nor is it the ether that some people think of as sky or heaven or the greater reaches of the atmosphere.

Ether, in the context of energy, is more closely related to the substance that permeates and surrounds everything, a substance that vibrates and moves itself and other energies. It is also called chi or qi or A...

GNOME MATTER WHAT THEY SAY

I’ll include some links with each monthly recap, and I hope these will be of help to you. Please let me know if that’s really so.

Last month I told you about attending the Poetry Society of Tennessee conference, where winners of the 22 categories in the Festival Contest were announced. One of those categories had two independent judges, each of whom chose winners and honorable mentions without consulting the other. Only one poem made it onto both lists. One. So yes, good poetry is often in the ey...

Real American Heroes : The Six Triple Eight

American Women's Army Corps (WAC) Captain Mary Kearney and American WAC Commanding Officer Major Charity Adams inspect the first arrivals to the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion at a temporary post in Birmingham, West Midlands, England, in February 1945. Archive Photos/Getty Images

The only Women’s Army Corps unit of color to serve overseas in World War II.

“One of the many obstacles facing African-American WACs was a reluctance within the U.S. Army to assign the women to specialised role...

Find Your Fictional Characters’ Energy Motivators : Part 4 - Air

The Air Energy is associated with the ability and willingness to love and to serve others.

Loving

Compassionate

Empathetic

Peaceful

Centered

Content

A healthy Air Energy is built on balanced Earth, Water, and Fire. With Earth providing a stable and secure base, Water providing positive self-image and flow, and Fire providing determination and vision, Air Energy can move us forward with gentle determination, the way a spring breeze carries pollen to create new life. Characters with Air equilibrium seem ...

b.read.crumbs : I Believe Dolly Parton Can Save Us

I don’t take direction well. This month’s prompt–Create your writer’s manifesto—reminded me of the credos that we were assigned to write in Mrs. Drello’s high school English class. Naturally I defaulted to listing things I believe, my personal credo, rather than crafting a manifesto, because I know a lot about my beliefs and very little about “intentions, motives, and views” required for a manifesto. My list got lengthy in a hurry! In a mild attempt to stay on-prompt, I pulled out the lines rela...

Find Your Fictional Character’s Energy Motivators: Part 3, Fire

Using an ancient philosophy of energy can help you create better characters

The Fire Energy is associated with willpower, ambition, motivation, self-esteem, and manifestation.

Confidence

In control of one’s life

Responsible and reliable

Self-disciplined

Energetic

Able to turn ideas into action

Duties and obligations are met without complaint

Sharp mind

A healthy Fire Energy is built on balanced Earth and Water. With Earth providing a stable and secure base, and Water providing positive self-image and flow...

Write Your Yoga Story—and so it begins

Posted on May 13, 2025 by Deborah-Zenha

I had a cunning plan. I’d offer a workshop, Write Your Yoga Story, as both a digital program and a hard copy-snail mail program (via Stamp Fans), but I couldn’t work out the timing. The final decision is to offer the course only via Substack for now—one lesson per week for six weeks—with an option to offer the hard copy in-your-actual-mailbox version later if there’s enough interest. Send an email to let me know if you’d prefer the hard copy, ’kay? dksadams...

Find Your Fictional Character’s Energy Motivators Part 2 – Water

The Water Energy is associated with sexuality, emotions, creativity, and imagination. People who maintain a healthy Water Energy balance are fearless free spirits who live in harmony with the earth and all its beings. They are bold (and why shouldn’t they be?) and can trust their instincts. Their heads and their hearts work together, they are compassionate, and they consider the work of caring for others an honor and a privilege. People with strong and balanced Water Energy seem to flow through ...

Find Your Fictional Character’s Energy Motivators – Part 1: Earth

The Earth Energy is associated with our survival instinct, our sense of security and well-being. Think of the foundation tier of Maslow’s Hierarchy. When our basic needs are met and our base is balanced, we feel secure, physically and mentally healthy, and we are comfortable in the world. A character with a healthy Earth Energy would be nurturing, welcoming, often maternal. That character’s core belief would be I’m at home here, on this earth, in this place.

When our base is shaky, we’re fearful ...