Writing Round Up, Cool Exercise, and Submission Opportunity
Write Better Now
Every Monday, we’re sending out a quick round-up of what we talked about and some cool links to check out to help all of us become better writers.
As a reminder, on Wednesdays the WRITE BETTER NOW podcast comes out here (and everywhere).
Later in the week there is a bonus post for paid subscribers because, honestly, it’s super kind of you to support me that way, and I want to make sure to make it’s worth your while. Thank you for being here.
HERE WE GO!
On the podcast, we talked about how to make your characters flawed.
And we followed that up with some more discussion about the types of flaws and how they play into character development in a really important way.
And don’t forget our last round-up of links. . .
Writing Exercise of Awesome
Here are a few writing prompts that are from Indigo Extra and they are all about writing emotion and diving a bit deeper into that aspect of story.
“You are tired and arguing with your best friend over whose turn it is to wash the dishes. It gets out of hand.
You receive a letter saying, "We would like to publish your novel." How do you react?
What was the last strong emotion you felt? If this emotion was a type of weather, what weather would that be? Now place a character feeling the opposite emotion in those weather conditions.
Your teenage daughter gets on the train to go to uni, you wave her off, then stand on the platform as the train pulls away.
Think of an emotion. Now describe how your protagonist's body reacts when they feel this emotion.”
Cool Links By Other People and a Place to Submit!
A massive list of character vices and virtues is here.
A cool character development checklist from Adventures in YA Writing.
Zimbabwe prize-winning novelist gets suspended sentence, fine over protest
Out novelist Andrew Sean Greer completely rewrote his new book. He made it better by making it Less
A Modified Villanelle for My Childhood by Suzi F. Garcia
Diet Milk Magazine
Diet Milk Magazine is a biannual literary magazine devoted to Gothic prose, poetry, and art. Neatly genred or genre-bending, classically styled or modern, we want your prettiest, most pungent dread.
Give us withering romance, creatures that lurk and lure, families to be feared and houses that haunt; give us isolation and creeping, oppressive unwellness. Quietly thrill, terrify, and leave us wanting more.
For all our important links, including website, twitter, and support, check out our campsite.bio page! This hub will direct you to anywhere you want to go, as well as put you in contact with our official email.
IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER (FREE)
OPEN
Closes on Monday, October 31, 2022 11:59 PM UTC
From October 1st - 31st, Diet Milk Magazine will be accepting micro and flash fiction for its December series, IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER. Thirty-one works will be chosen, to be posted each day of December to our website and boosted on twitter.
At the end of the month, all pieces will be compiled into an easy-to-read .PDF and made available for free (though donations are appreciated!) on our issues shop.
GENERAL GUIDELINES:
All submissions must fall under the Gothic umbrella, but aren't required to be a specific genre
No reprints or multiple submissions
Simultaneous submissions permitted, though we ask to be informed promptly if your work is accepted elsewhere!
Submissions should be .doc, .docx, or .pdf format
If you receive a rejection, you may submit again (with new work) immediately
M I C R O F I C T I O N
Authors may submit up to three works of micro fiction (300 words or less) at a time.
F L A S H F I C T I O N
Authors may submit up to three works of flash fiction (400 - 1000 words) at a time.
Responses, Rights, & Payment
Please allow up to two weeks for a response. After that, send a gentle nudge via email
Diet Milk Magazine asks for first serial rights. Upon publication, all rights revert back to the creator. A contract will be provided upon acceptance
Authors of micro and flash fiction are compensated $3 and $5 per piece, respectively. All payments made via PayPal