WOW! Women On Writing | Workshops | Writing Contests | The Muffin

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About five years ago, I took a WOW! class taught by author Melissa Grunow called “Ashes, Ashes: Writing Personal Narratives About Childhood.” Until that point, I had only scratched the surface in my essay writing and I quickly realized that I needed to “dig deeper,” no matter how painful it was. Melissa was so kind and empathetic with my essays, challenging me to drop my habit of using cliches and helping me process epiphanies in my work.

I didn’t realize how much pain I had buried until I began writing about it. Whether journaling about the tragic accident that took the life of one of our dogs, a childhood injury that caused a huge fight between my parents, or the exploration of a lifelong friendship that began in middle school and still continues through this day, I wrote and rewrote. I let go of guilt, blame, and shame. I discovered the power of writing through trauma, no matter how hard it is.

That was my first courageous step with my writing. While I had mostly focused on fiction prior to that class, I worked on more essays. I wrote several variations of an essay about an experience I had with a friend of my step-father’s who was trying to groom me. It became a creative nonfiction essay about the time he asked to take me for a drive and the time I had to walk miles home at night after missing the bus and was picked up by a complete stranger. I never would have thought the two occurrences would have worked together in one piece, but they did. Although I’ve submitted these essays to various places, they haven’t been published yet . . . But writing them has been healing.

When I’m in need of inspiration, I often look to author Sarah Freligh. I crave the exacting nature of her work, especially the way she can evoke a time, a place, or a mood with a minimum of fuss. Her stories of women and girls are drawn with a poetic precision that cuts like a knife.

Sarah is the author of five books, including Sad Math, winner of the 2014 Moon City Press Poetry Prize and the 2015 Whirling Prize from the University of Indianapolis, and A Brief Natural History of Women, published in 2023 by Harbor Editions. Recent work has appeared in the Cincinnati Review miCRo series, SmokeLong Quarterly, The Sun Magazine, the Wigleaf 50, and in the anthologies New Micro: Exceptionally Short Fiction (Norton 2018), Best Microfiction (2019-22), and Best Small Fiction (2022).

Among her awards are poetry fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Saltonstall Foundation.

WOW: Welcome, Sarah! Thanks for taking time to talk with me. You’ve been busy this summer! Let’s start with your newest collection, A Brief Natural History of Women. I love the way these micro stories draw me in to a clear and sometimes devastating view of the lives we lead. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind these stories, and how these characters came alive for you? Do you have any tips for authors struggling to embody their own characters?

Sarah: I’m so happy to be here, Myna. Thanks!

The stories in my new book are, in a way, a continuation of the micros that were included in my previous collection, We. I was intrigued with and inspired by the first-person plural point of view, the so-called voice of the collective, and the possibilities therein for who might be speaking and why and how; that is, what they might be inclined to say given the safety one finds in a crowd. The characters in those stories are less singular, more archetype, and it was fun exploring how that would work within the word limitations of a micro. For instance, by focusing on the collective in “A Brief Natural History of the Girls in the Office” (Milk Candy Review), I was able to cover a lifetime within a particular office in a relatively short compass.

My process for exploring character is to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. I’ll usually start with a basic description—“X is Y”—and work toward the details that convey that character’s uniqueness, starting with a physical description. “Blond, blue-eyed and tall” is a great description of the thief who stole your purse, but it’s not particularly useful for capturing a character’s particularity. A crescent-shaped scar above his eyebrow from when his father threw a bottle opener at his head? Now we’re talking. I do the same with action and dialogue and thought and see what shakes out. I get to know that character, know which details to select from the accrued pile of them that best captures and conveys their essence. In doing so, I often begin to formulate and understand the underlying conflict that fuels the piece.

WOW: One of your recent stories, “Girl Talk” (Fictive Dream), was selected for the prestigious Wigleaf Top 50. I think this story is a great introduction to your work. What themes does this piece explore? How does this dovetail with your body of work?

Sarah: The Wigleaf 50 was such a lovely surprise in a month filled with lovely surprises! It occurred to me, in rereading the story online, that I’ve started more than one story in which girls or women sit around drinking and talking—and not only talking, but talking frankly. I explored that again earlier this year in another Fictive Dream publication, “A Way.” The fascination for me, I think, is that they’re in a safe space and the barriers inhibiting these women from speaking truths are dismantled in those spaces and so anything is likely to happen. I go back to that well often for inspiration.

In “Girl Talk,” the narrator listens but doesn’t disclose her relationship with Buzzy, however brief and one-sided. It’s something she keeps to herself, like a diary you might lock and hide from your sisters. Ultimately, there’s the push/pull between what’s being said out loud by her friends and what she’s thinking, which is quite different and tender, even, in its own way for what will never be again.

WOW: You’re an acclaimed poet, as well as an award-winning flash writer. How do these forms converge for you? Do you make a distinction between prose, poetry, and prose poems? When you begin writing a new piece, do you know which form to take?

Sarah: Lately, a lot of stuff has begun with a first sentence containing the elements necessary to ignite a story—character, conflict, a sense of place and a bit of mystery—and I’m off on a new story.

That can work the other way, too. “We Smoke,” which was included in my book Sad Math, started its life as a poem. For months, I fooled around with various structures and line breaks and it stubbornly refused to yield up anything surprising or new. Frustrated, I took down the fence of line breaks and let the horses out and—voila!—it was a story, the first written in the collective POV of “we.” More importantly, writing felt fun again, new in a way that it hadn’t for a while. Which is a longwinded way of saying that that particular piece, later included in the Norton anthology, New Micro: Exceptionally Short Fiction, reminded me that it’s best to start with an idea, inspiration and let that take shape. Let the words fill the form, determine the form. It will tell you what it wants to be, if you listen.

I think a flash can also be a prose poem but—my two cents—the terms are not interchangeable. There’s causality in a story, an implicit if/then that isn’t necessarily required of a prose poem. A prose poem is images and sound without lineation. That’s it.

WOW: Reading your new collection, I wondered if your stories, “Oh, The Water” (Empty House Press), and “That Girl” (X-Ray Lit), began in a different form? Or did these come straight to the page in prose form?

Sarah: Both started as prose, but the structure initially was more linear in both—and the stories were much, much longer. I started fooling around with a mosaic narrative, pieces or glimpses of images that, taken together, allow the reader to see the entire picture. Elmore Leonard once advised writers to take out everything the reader skips over and it was true here. There was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing, too much of it, actually, especially in “Oh, the Water” that didn’t add anything to the story or to our understanding of the characters and their conflict. They’re moving farther away from their terrible tragedy—and each other—but it’s really rooted in those places, each of them marking a different place in their grief journey.

WOW: I would be remiss if I didn’t ask about the brevity of your work. One of my favorite of your stories is only 50 words (“Those Girls” in 50 Word Stories), but it contains so much life. Do you feel the micro form is significantly different than traditional flash? How do you layer so much atmosphere and emotion into such short pieces? How does the use of metaphor come into play?

Sarah: Like most of my stories, this one was much longer in the initial draft—that throwing-things-at-the-wall method of writing that I mentioned above. Hundreds of words later, I realized that the POV was not that of a single narrator, but of a Greek chorus of disapproval. Unlike some of my other “we” stories, where the group is central to the story, this one is narrated from the periphery—we know about them only through their tut-tutting judgment of Olga. I realized at some point that a simile—like a car—would take it sideways, make it longer and that I had to go straight for the juicy and make Olga the fast car/girl. I fooled around for a long time with the car details, so that the comparison to Olga would resonate, but not lose any of the economy of the form. That’s what metaphor does, I think—more bang for your buck.

WOW: I was fascinated when I heard how your story, “A Brief Natural History of the Automobile” (Smokelong Quarterly), came together for you. Please share this experience with us! And, with that in mind, how do you know when a story is “ready?” What would you say to a writer facing a similar quandary with a story?

Sarah: It feels absolutely right to be talking about “A Brief Natural History of the Automobile” and “Those Girls” in the same space, as writing one allowed me to finish the other.

I began writing “ABNHOTA” in the late nineties. The reason I know or remember that is because I found an early version of the story in some electronic files that were pulled off a long-ago desktop computer—a GIGANTIC HP that took up my entire studio apartment—and the address on the story was that very studio apartment. So I must have been sending the story out for possible publication and eventual rejection. Every couple years or so, I’d go back to the story and fool with it, changing the point of view from first person to second person and spatchcocking the narrative into fragments.

In the fall of 2021, I was taking an online workshop with Sara Lippmann and I volunteered, dumbly, to hand out for the first round of critiques. This was a week before class started and I had nada, zip as far as anything prepped and ready and so I dived into some old files and unearthed this story. Having written “Those Girls” allowed me to see how the metaphor of the car could be expanded to encompass the entirety of the narrator’s life—i.e., she IS the car—and how that, in turn, allowed me to understand the change that’s vital to a story: She’s driven and ultimately she drives. I did a quick revision and the version that I handed out to the class was very similar to the story that Smokelong published.

I guess I’d say, “Don’t give up,” but that’s pretty facile and hollow. It’s maybe more that we write what we write when we’re supposed to—when we’ve accrued the knowledge that allows us to pull off what we couldn’t before. So, yeah: Don’t give up. Hang around until you’re ready to write the story.

WOW: I want to talk about your poem, “Wondrous,” (listen at The Slowdown). This piece encapsulates love and grief in a way that sneaks up on the reader, and I cry every time I read it. Four years after Sad Math was released and seven years after it first appeared in The Sun Magazine, this poem received more than a million shares on social media. I’m struck by the wrongness of a million people sharing your work without purchasing it. How did you react to this? And how do you reconcile it now? Has this experience changed the way you approach the business side of writing?

Sarah: That was a very wild time, the end of National Poetry Month in 2019. A friend was sharing a poem a day on her Facebook page and asked if she could include “Wondrous.” This friend is a very good poet so I was honored that she chose that one. At the end of a week, I think the poem had gotten 750,000 shares and a lot of comments as well—I actually tried to acknowledge each one with a thank you for the share or thank you for reading my poem. The original post included the publisher and the year of publication, which was great. It was free publicity and that viral post sold a lot of books.

Since then, the poem’s been shared without acknowledgment of the publisher or the book or—at times—the author and that’s just wrong. Moon City Press does good work and I want to see them remunerated for it, but that’s not going to happen if the poem is out there, unacknowledged.

That said, I do wish I had a nickel for each time the poem is shared on social. It would be great if social media linked you to an author’s PayPal or Venmo where you could drop a nickel into the till and THEN read the poem. But alas . . .

WOW: That would be a nice solution! Now, let’s talk about your workshops. Your foundation class, “Less is More,” sells out months in advance. So many award-winning stories have originated from these entry-level classes! How do you drag so many great ideas out of your students?

Sarah: Like any good dinner party, you set the table just so and invite some good people and give them a couple of things to talk about. With my classes, it’s talk AND it’s write. I comment on everything that people post and try to respond to the comments as well. Asynchronous can be lively and interactive and highly collegial and my classes always are—all credit to the wonderful writers, like yourself, who show up!

WOW: Thank you. I always look forward to your workshops. Your prompt style really clicks for me, and I always love interacting with the other writers. As a teacher, do you see any common stumbling blocks that plague new flash writers, either in your classes or in general?

Sarah: Yeah, the write it and immediately send it syndrome. Some pieces do come out fairly whole and perfect, but I don’t know of any story that doesn’t benefit from a little time away from it prior to revising—enough time between the heat of creation and the cooler head of revision. There are always little tweaks (and sometimes big, monster tweaks) that a story can benefit from.

WOW: Your advanced workshops attract some of the top micro writers in the field. How do you keep people coming back? Do you structure the advanced classes differently?

Sarah: The prompts are a tad more challenging, I think, and go beyond the basic aspects of craft. I try to make the prompts open-ended as a little creative wiggle room is necessary for really good writers. And it’s important to scaffold, much like the New York Times crossword: Monday is going to be gentle and Friday’s prompt is going to be a little trickier. The third Friday of a three-week class, then, is the corker.

WOW: Do you vary your prompts and discussion topics from one year’s classes to the next? Is there any specific style of prompt that students seem to connect with most easily?

Sarah: I vary the prompts now and then, but really prefer to add classes. It’s fun to design them, to do something new and different and see how it flies. Last summer, I was building the Five by Five class and the work has come out of that has been nothing short of stunning. I’m ENVIOUS. This summer, I’m working on the Get It Down/Fix It Up. It’s pesky but it’s coming together.

As far as prompts go, I don’t think there’s one with universal appeal. Some people love visual prompts, others run as fast and as far as they can from them. A prompt that seems to have struck a chord is the first one in the Five by Five class, the literary territory one that involves the map.

WOW: “Literary territory” is such an evocative term. Can you share another prompt with our readers?

Sarah: Sure. Here’s one from Much More Than Less that’s generated some really wonderful work:

1. Start with a how or why title— “How to Make Your Mother Cry,” “Why I Live at the Laundromat,” “Why I Don’t Date Men With Children,” “How to Lasso the Moon”—and on and on.

2. Now write a story that answers the question—or better yet, don't!

250 words or fewer.

WOW: That’s sure to generate some interesting ideas! What about your own new ideas? What’s next for you?

Sarah: I’m going to do another informal “August Micro a Day Challenge” and invite others to join me. I was 31-for-31 last summer, despite traveling, and I’m happy to say that one of those micros, “McDonald’s,” was chosen as the second-place winner in the October 2023 Bath Flash Fiction Contest.

I’m also working on a series of longer stories that revolve around a sort of clueless guy named Chuck, all of them narrated by various women throughout his life. So maybe a novel in stories about Chuck, though Chuck never steps to the plate (or hasn’t yet).

WOW: Can’t wait to meet Chuck! We have to wrap up now, but it would be a shame if we ended the interview without a quick mention of your superpowers!

Sarah: I am a very good swimmer and a master of parallel parking, a superpower I acquired when living in Philadelphia. Also, I’m among the 3 percent of drivers who know how to drive a stick shift, which maybe guarantees that my Kia won’t get stolen.

From parking to prompts to poetry—thank you so much for talking with me, Sarah!

And now, writers, are you ready to join Sarah’s August Micro a Day Challenge? If so, give her a follow on Twitter. Or, if you’re looking to level up your flash, or compress your micro writing to diamond-sharpness, take a look at her upcoming class schedule. You can see more of Sarah’s work on her website!

Radar Poetry is accepting submissions for their Coniston Prize contest. You can submit three to five unpublished poems in a single document. The award recognizes an exceptional group of poems. They encourage you to submit poems that are intentionally cohesive in some way, whether connected by subject matter, theme, voice, style, or imagery. The winner of the Coniston Prize will receive $1,000 and publication. Up to 10 finalists will also be awarded $175 and publication. The winner and finalists’ work will be featured in the October 2023 Coniston Prize Issue. Fee: $20

The Red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine is accepting submissions for their poetry prize. Five finalists will be published in their 2023 issue. Each poem must fit onto one 8.5 x 11 inch page. There will be three prizes: $1,000, $500, $250. Fee: $15

The Bennett Nieberg Transpoetic Broadside Prize awards a single poem written by a trans poet who has yet to publish their first full-length book. The prize consists of $500, 10 limited edition letterpress broadsides of the winning poem, and a feature in the upcoming issue of Gasher Journal. Final judge is [sarah] Cavar. Submit ONLY 1 unpublished poem on any subject/theme with a brief author bio. No fee.

the other side of hope is seeking submissions for it's mother tongue | other tongue issue. They consider poetry written in any language (apart from English). It's open to refugee, asylum seeker, and immigrant poets only (worldwide). Send up to two poems written in your own language. They pay £50 per published poet. No fee.

They publish quality poetry of any genre and length congruent with their themes. The theme for August is form poems. Submit up to three unpublished poems. Pay: $7 per poem. No fee.

Quarter After Eight is accepting poetry manuscripts for their chapbook contest. They want: "Give us your weirdos, your wrong ways, and your wild ones. Experimental is good, strange auras are even better. Baffle us, make us laugh, make us feel a complicated feeling we have to talk to somebody about." Manuscripts should be 20-30 pages in length. The winner will receive a $500 cash award and 25 beautifully designed printed copies of their chapbook. Five finalists will be chosen by the editorial team at Quarter After Eight, and judge Kaveh Akbar will select a winner, as well as first and second runners up. Fee: $15

Submit 50-90 page poetry book manuscript with title page and table of contents. The winner will be awarded a $1,000 prize, publication, and 10 copies. The runner-up may also be offered publication. Fee: $26

Poetry chapbook manuscripts of all styles are welcome—we have no theme or aesthetic preference. The judge this year is Danez Smith. The winner will receive: digital publication, 50 complimentary physical copies, $2000 award, royalties on physical copies sold, and creative agency for cover art/design and editorial process. Manuscripts must be between 20 to 30 pages, single-spaced, not including the title page, acknowledgments page, or table of contents. Fee: $20.

The Off the Grid Prize recognizes the work of older poets and highlights important contemporary voices in poetry. Winners receive $1000 and publication, promotion, and distribution of their book in print and audio formats. We are looking for work by poets over sixty, ripened in craft and vision, and sufficiently sprightly to promote their work through readings and networks. Manuscripts must be typed, paginated, and at least 50 pages in length. Fee:$25

The Poetry Archive is accepting poetry for 2023, as part of its mission to collect poems for future generations. Open only to poets over 18 years of age. Poems must have been written within the last year. Each recording should be a video of yourself reading your single poem with a maximum length of 2 minutes reading time. We would like you to tell us your name, the name of the poem and then read the poem. After the deadline, favorite poems will be considered for the Poetry Archive Now: WordView Collection. Each poet selected will be given $100 and the chance to share their poem on the website. No fee.

Black Sunflowers Poetry Press is seeking polished mini collections of poetry. They prefer a set of themed poems but are open to all submissions. Submit chapbooks 24-36 pages in length. Successful poets will have their chapbook published and distributed by Black Sunflowers press within 1 year of close of submissions. You will receive £150 plus 20 copies of the chapbook. Fee: $3

Munster Lit Centre accepting submissions from new, emerging and established poets from any country for their chapbook competition. At least one of these winners will be the highest scoring manuscript entered by a poet with no solo collection (full-length or chapbook) previously published. The other winner may have previously published poetry books. Up to 25 other entrants will be publicly listed as “highly commended." Manuscripts must be between 16 and 24 pages in length. 1st prize receives €1000, chapbook publication and 25 complementary copies, and featured reading at the Cork International Poetry Festival (with three-night hotel stay and full board). 2nd prize €500 and the same non-cash prizes as the first prize winner. Fee: €25

This contest is open to emerging playwrights for an full-length play in English, of at least 65 pages. Translations, musicals, adaptations, and children’s plays are not accepted. The winning play will be selected by the series’ current judge, Jeremy O. Harris. The winner of this annual competition will be awarded the David Charles Horn Prize of $10,000, publication of their manuscript by Yale University Press, and a celebratory event. No fee.

Fractured Lit is seeking stories of strange love, unrequited love, renewed love, scandalous love, and more. "I want to read stories that do not shy away from taking the traditions of the romance genre with nontraditional touches. Think ‘Marriages That Have Fallen into Misery’ stories and turn them on their heads. I am looking for pieces from the perspective of the everyday couple, the lipstick left at the scene of an argument, two galaxies desperately in love with each other but separated by great distances, houses gutted from the loss of a family who no longer lives there, a ‘love cube’ between the four seasons, and stories that are varied in their ambitions with the romance centering at the core." Submit up to two stories of flash/microfiction of 1,000 words or fewer each per submission. Pay: $50 for original micro fiction and $75 for original flash fiction. No fee.

Uncharted Magazine is accepting submissions for it's short story award under the theme of "The Aftermath." The story must be within one of three genres: science fiction/fantasy, thriller/horror, or mystery/crime. They are offering the winner of this prize $2,000 and publication, while the second- and third-place winners will receive publication and $300 and $200, respectively. Maximum word count is 5,000 words. Fee: $20

The winning author will receive $1,000 and the winning story will be published on the Gival Press website. In addition, Gival Press hopes to publish an anthology of the winners of this award along with the best short stories submitted to the contest over a period of several years in a future anthology of short stories. Submissions of a previously unpublished original (not a translation) stand-alone short story in English must be approximately 5,000 to 15,000 words of high literary quality. Fee: $25

Luna Station Quarterly publishes short fiction by women-identifying writers. Do you hear the hoofbeats? Do you feel the soft muzzle? Do you see the beautiful mane? We’re talking about HORSES, of course. For this year’s themed issue, we’re looking exclusively for stories featuring horses, filtered through the lens of Luna Station’s mission, of featuring female-fronted speculative stories. Stories should be 500 to 7000 words in length. Pay is $5 per story. No fee.

Ligonier Valley Writers invites entries to 18th Annual Flash Fiction Contest; this year's topic is Jack-O'-Lanterns. In 1,000 words or less, tell us a story. The first prize winner will receive $50, second prize $25, and third prize $15. Damian Dressick, author of the flash fiction collection Fables of the Deconstruction, will judge. No fee.

Submit your flash fiction stories under 1,000 to Third Wednesday Magazine. Three winning stories will receive cash prizes of $100 each and a print copy of the contest issue due to be published in September of 2023. Fee: $6

Submit one short story with a maximum of 6,000 words. $500 prize for first place winner in each category. Publication in Hunger Mountain for first-place winners and runner-ups. Fee: $20

It must be a fiction short story, not an essay or poem, 1,000 words maximum. We want a feel-good fantasy story, if not feel-good, make someone in the story happy. Soft revenge and kismet are under the umbrella of feel good or satisfying, (No outright horror, gore, or overall nastiness.) Irony and humor are always appreciated, as well as a good twist. Pay: ½ cent a word. No fee.

PseudoPod is a genre magazine in audio form. They’re looking for horror: dark, weird fiction. They run the spectrum from grim realism or crime drama, to magic-realism, to blatantly supernatural dark fantasy. They publish highly literary stories reminiscent of Poe or Lovecraft as well as vulgar shock-value pulp fiction. They are looking for short fiction (1500 - 6000 words), and flash fiction (1500 words and under). Pay is $.08/word for original fiction, $100 flat rate for short story reprints, and $20 flat rate for flash fiction reprints (stories below 1500 words). No fee.

The Masters Review’s Short Story Award for New Writers is a bi-annual contest that recognizes the best fiction from today’s emerging writers. This year’s guest judge is none other than Jai Chakrabarti. The winner receives a $3,000 prize, along with online publication. Second- and third-place winners will receive $300 and $200 respectively, along with online publication. All finalists will receive agency review from our six partnered literary agencies. Submit unpublished stories under 6,000 words. Emerging writers only; writers with book-length work published or under contract with a major press are ineligible. Fee: $20

The Off-Season is an anthology of disquieting and disturbing New Weird horror set in landscapes and communities on the edge of the sea. Think ocean-loving cults, crumbling seaside mansions, empty resort towns, strange fisherwomen, beachside arcades, eerie lighthouses, literal tourist traps... Word count: 2,000 - 4,000 words. Pay: $0.05/word, paid prior to publication. No fee.

Nadia Bulkin and Julia Rios are excited to read your submissions for Why Didn’t You Just Leave, an anthology of original horror short fiction. Stories that focus on all the possible reasons why people don’t just leave haunted places – including finances, family, legal restrictions, health, etc. Stories about “ordinary” people and places (including apartments, workplaces, schools, military bases, hospitals, churches, etc.) as well as extraordinary situations. They encourage submissions from writers of marginalized and traditionally-underrepresented groups. Word count: 500 - 5,000 words. Pay is $0.10USD per word + 1 contributor copy. No fee.

Gemini Magazine is accepting submissions for their flash fiction contest. Maximum word count is 1,000. Entries must be unpublished. Any style or subject is acceptable. Grand prize is $1,000, second prize is $100, and four honorable mentions receive $25. Fee: $7

Apparition Lit is a speculative fiction magazine that publishes themed issues four times a year. They will be open to short, speculative fiction stories between 1k - 5k on the theme "RECLAMATION." Pay is $0.05 per word, minimum of $50 dollars for short stories and a flat fee of $50 per poem. No fee.

Inkd Publishing is seeking submissions for its June 2024 anthology, Hidden Villains: Betrayed. They want: "Bold, imaginative fantasy, horror, and sci-fi sculpted to thrill and entertain readers with the bizarre or delve into the shadows. Finish it off with a twist of betrayal!" Story must be within the fantasy or science fiction genre. Word Limit: 2,000 to 8,000 words. Accepted contributors will receive 02 per word plus royalty share from all Draft 2 Digital sales. A paperback author’s copy will be provided for US authors. Authors outside of the US will receive at least a digital copy; paperbacks with depend on shipping costs determined on a case by case basis. No fee.

For stories on any topic up to 250 words. Open to writers worldwide. Publication in our annual anthology offered to writers of the top 30 stories. Top twenty finalists invited to the annual Flash Bash at the Scottish Art Club. Top three prize winners receive: first prize £2,000, second prize £300, third prize £150. Free membership of the Scottish Arts Club offered to all prize winners. Fee: £7

The MUPress Novella Prize is awarded to a novella-length manuscript of original fiction. The winner receives $1,000 against royalties, a standard contract, publication by Miami University Press and 20 copies of the book. Manuscripts must be 18,000–40,000 words. Fee: $25

The Underdogs Press is seeking submissions for its The Underdogs Rise vol 2. Your story must have science fiction or fantasy elements. They want stories about underdogs that take fantastical worlds or places but want characters to be the focus. They are looking for manuscripts 3,500 - 12,000 words. Accepted authors will be paid $.03/word and receive a contributor copy of the standard mass market paperback. No fee.

No Bad Press Books is seeking submissions for their LGBTQ+ Alice in Wonderland themed anthology, Queens of Wonderland. Throw some iconic characters into space. Put them in an urban fantasy. We’d love to see a cyberpunk or decopunk (or any punk!) version. A classic Lewis Carroll version would be good too. Feel free to take any of the characters (don’t forget about the White Queen or the Dormouse) or use any of the world-building from the classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland or Through the Looking Glass and what Alice Found There you wish. 1,500-5,000 word count. Pay is $20. No fee.

They have posted six horribly designed mock-up book covers to use as prompts. Write a story/novella 3,000 words or more based on one of their covers. Any level of spice. These will be rated 18+, so go wild if you must. 1 submission per cover. Pay is royalties, plus $25. No fee.

SciFidea is a sci-fi brand launched in Singapore. The Chief Editor Tang Feng and Senior Managing Editor Lynn Sun aim to encourage and develop science-fiction literature and help authors monetize their works. Judges include author Nancy Kress, Phoenix Alexander, Derek Kunsken, Robert J. Sawyer, Michael Swanwick, Clarkesworld Magazine publisher Neil Clarke, Tor Books editor-in-chief Patrick Nielsen Hayden, and Locus Magazine publisher Liza Groen Trombi. Submit 30,000-100,000 words. Only finished stories will be accepted. Stories must conform to the concept and characteristics of the Dyson Sphere scientific theory. 10 winners will receive $20,000 each. Finalists who don't win will receive $2,000 each. No fee.

For this contest, write a creative, compelling, well-crafted story between 1,000 and 5,000 words long based on their photograph. Use it as a setting or incorporate it in some way. No fiction aimed at readers younger than 12, no exploitative sex, no over-the-top grossout horror, and no stories that are obvious parodies of existing fictional worlds/characters created by other authors. Other than that, they’ll take anything from the most super-realistic literary drama to crazy farces (real-world or otherwise) to any variant of science fiction or fantasy you can imagine. 1st Place: $250; 2nd: $200; 3rd: $150; Honorable Mention: $75. No fee.

The Academy for Teachers have announced their flash fiction contest. They are looking for stories where the protagonist (or the narrator) is a K-12 teacher. Stories must be unpublished and between 6 and 749 words. The winning story will be published in A Public Space's print edition and the author will receive $1,000. Any adult, whether a teacher or not, is eligible to submit. No fee.

Seneca Review Books, in conjunction with the TRIAS writer-in-residence program at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, is continuing its a biennial book series to encourage and support innovative work in the essay. Cross-genre and hybrid work, verse forms, text and image, connected or related pieces, and "beyond category" projects are all within the ambit of the contest. Please submit an original manuscript of 48-120 pages. Along with publication the author will receive a $2,000 prize and a reading with HWS Colleges. Fee: $27

Prairie Schooner's annual summer nonfiction contest is open to all types of creative nonfiction essays up to 5,000 words. The winner will receive $1,000 and publication in their Spring 2024 issue. This year's guest judge is Siddhartha Deb. Fee: $20, which includes a copy of the Spring 2024 issue of the Schooner.

Herstry is looking for true stories 500 - 3,000 words on the theme of periods. “It’s a messy business, but not one that should be hidden away or called a taboo. Tell us about starting your period. Tell us about the time you bled through your jeans in a public place. Tell us about period sex and period pain. Give us an ode to the menstrual cup or your favorite period food. Maybe you had to work to get your period back after years of irregular cycles. Maybe you don’t have one at all; we want to read it all.” HerStry is always happy to share stories anonymously—if your story is selected for publication, simply let your editor know you would not like your name shared. Pay is $20 per piece. Fee: $3

The Barnhill Prize honors Anne’s generous spirit of support for all who love to read and write; her lifelong empathy with those who mine their childhood experience to understand themselves now; the natural vulnerability in her compelling prose and poetry; and her boundless generosity in sharing her writing passions with the world. Essays should be double-spaced and no more than 3,500 words. Writers must be residents of North America. The author of the winning essay receives a cash award of $250. Guest judge is Neema Avashia. Fee: $10

Submit one original, unpublished piece of creative nonfiction, no more than 6,000 words. $500 prize for first place winner. Publication in Hunger Mountain for first-place winners and runner-ups. This year’s judge is Negesti Kaudo, author of Ripe. Fee: $20

Kari Howard loved stories that left readers feeling as though they had just met a new friend. Writers fortunate enough to work with her as their editor found themselves challenged to weave the music of everyday life and the passion of extraordinary love into the fabric of stories illuminating the most important issues of the day. Kari’s family and friends, together with the International Women’s Media Foundation, are honored to offer grants to support the narrative journalism she championed. Grants will be for a maximum of $5,000. Applicants may be a print journalist or a print journalist leading a multi-media team. Projects reported and published in English anywhere in the world are eligible. All reporting and publishing must be completed within six months of the award of the grant. No fee.

BW/DR is a monthly magazine that publishes critical essays and traditional reviews about film. They publish interviews, profiles, formal analysis, cultural criticism, personal essays, and humor pieces. They're looking for writing that is savvy and insightful about filmmaking, but that also grapples in some way with the business of being alive. Essays should be 2,500-4,000 words. The theme for their October issue is westerns. Pay is $50-$200 per essay. No fee.

We know that using the power of positive thinking helps you to achieve your goals and lead a happy, purposeful, and productive life. Almost anything is possible if you think you can. You can dream big, overcome challenges, create the best life possible for yourself, and turn adversity into opportunity. How did you “think positive” and how did it change your life? Tell us your success story about using the power of positive thinking! Nonfiction stories should be a maximum of 1200 words. Pay is $250 and ten free copies of the book your story appears in. No fee.

Surveying the scope of critical art writing today, the board, advisory board, and editors of Gulf Coast recognize the significant lack of venues and support for young and mid-career writers working across the United States. The Toni Beauchamp Prize in Critical Art Writing seeks to address this lacuna by bringing exposure to writers who are dealing with the spirit of the age and unafraid to ask difficult questions. The 2023 Beauchamp Prize will be judged by Micki Meng. The Beauchamp Prize will consider submissions of work that have been written (or published) within the last year. There will be one first place prize of $3,000 dollars, and two runners up, awarded $1,000 each. The winning essay will be featured in GC's printed journal, and the two runners-up will be considered for publication. No fee.

A biographical entry must be a true story of an individual(s) known to the author personally, not a fictional or historical character. Autobiography, of course, must be a true story about the author's life, the whole or an episode. Stories must be between 1000 - 10,000 words in length. There are no international limitations. Stories from any country are fine, although they must be written in English. Language in the stories should be free of words or scenes not suitable for children, since many children read the stories and some actually post their stories. First prize in each category will be $200. Runners-up will receive $100 (except for Winners Circle category). Winners, runners-up, and finalists in each category will receive certificates of recognition suitable for framing. A writer may enter up to two pieces. No fee.

Have you ever had to off-load your possessions when your life changed? Do you love looking through strangers’ belongings? Tell us about finding an unexpected treasure in a box full of junk or parting with your kids’ baby clothes. Did your parents sell that childhood memento you still wish you could get back? Would you haggle over a one-dollar shirt? Sell us on your true stories about yard sales. The Sun doesn’t specify a word count, but typically, they are looking for true stories around 250 words. No fee.

Broken Sleep Books are a working-class, small, innovative press, who publish a range of poetry and prose, from a range of writers. Their primary focus is in increasing access to the arts, in ensuring more people are able to engage with creativity regardless of their socioeconomic status. They particularly wish to dismantle the gentrification of creative arts, and we encourage more working-class, LGBTQ+, and POC writers to submit. They are seeking nonfiction prose, 40 – 150 pages in length. Send a sample of 40 – 70 pages. Pay is 10% royalties and five free author copies. No fee.

Creative nonfiction authors are invited to submit an essay of up to 3,500 words on the subject of their choice to be considered for the Diana Woods Memorial Award in creative nonfiction. Winners will receive $250 and their work will be featured in the next issue of Lunch Ticket. No fee.

The Bad Day Book is a humorous de-motivational motivational book. A compilation of stories detailing different people’s funny bad days. The perfect gift to those you know who are having a bad day, or a pick-me up for your own rough times. Stories should be about bad things, but that are still funny. They are seeking stories on the themes of college life, parenting, kids, and teenage years. Stories MUST be personal and true events that have already happened. They prefer stories under 1200 words. All stories 199 words or less will be paid $45; over 200 words will be paid $75. No fee.

Founded in 2018, Lucky Jefferson's mission is to publish social change. They feature writers who have never been published, are underrepresented, and those who have sought to pursue writing later in life. Two finalists (one poetry and one prose) will each receive $100, publication, and a swag box. 20 finalists will receive publication in Lucky Jefferson's digital 365 Collection. Send no more than 5 poems or prose pieces in a submission. Keep it short and sweet. No fee.

We'Moon is like a combination literary journal, art magazine, and poetry digest all rolled into one. They publish a lunar calendar, a handbook in natural cycles and most importantly a collaboration of women. Poetry: should not exceed 35 lines. Prose: six pieces of writing maximum, limited to 350 words. They also accept artwork and photography. Small honorarium offered. No fee.

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) has established two $2500 Scholarships to assist in the professional development of horror writers: The Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Scholarship (for women only), and the Horror Writers Association Scholarship. Membership is not necessary to apply. The application includes a writing sample, financial plan, and introductory letter of need. There are also Diversity Grants ($500 each), a Dark Poetry Scholarship ($1250), the Rocky Wood Memorial Scholarship for Nonfiction Writing, the Dennis Etchison Young Writers Scholarship, and Young Adults Write Now endowment program for libraries. No fee.

Quarterly West is now accepting entries for the 2023 Chapbook Contest. They anticipate publishing at least 3 excellent chapbook manuscripts, to be available at AWP. The contest winner will receive a cash prize of $1000, publication, custom cover design, and 20 author copies. Please keep your submission to 18 - 52 pages. No restrictions as to subject matter or form apply. The contest is open to chapbooks of poetry, short fiction, non-fiction, or any combination or hybridization.The judge for this year’s contest is Jess Ardnt. Fee: $10

Issue #17 will center on the question of human bodies in (and out of) place. What brings us into profound relation to place—and what pulls us out? In a social world that feels less and less place-dependent, and a physical world that is being reconfigured by climate change and habitat loss, how do we sustain our connection to physical place? How does being in profound relation to place change everything between, around and about us? They welcome writing in all forms up to 5,000 words. No fee.

They are considering the following: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, book reviews, literature analysis, art, interviews and hybrid works. "A heatwave unleashes a world of intensified emotions and burning desires. It becomes a catalyst, fueling fervent pursuits and igniting passionate encounters. Within its scorching grip, boundaries are pushed, vulnerabilities embraced, and personal growth intertwined with the heat of longing. Relationships crackle with electric energy as individuals delve into the depths of their desires. In the heatwave's intensity, passions are forged, transforming hearts and lives in profound ways. A Heatwave Issue will focus on intense passion, ranging from romance to solar flares, through the compelling lens of literature, art and photography." No fee.

"There is only one category: the Story. There is truth in any story, and the reason you choose to tell a particular story may be the most important story of all. But, before we get too philosophical, here's the point: submissions should tell a story. It doesn't matter if you consider it fiction, nonfiction, or poetry—if it tells a story, it fits." Grand Prize: $1,000 and a 2-year ($100) gift certificate to Duotrope. Five additional prizes of $200 will be given for stories that excel in the merits of Humor, Passion, Depth, and (any form of) Love. An additional $200 prize will be awarded in a wild card category, to be determined by the entries. We'll call this one the Bonus category. Additionally, winners and Honorable Mentions will be published in and receive a free copy of the annual Stories That Need to Be Told anthology. Word Limit: 10,000 words. Fee: $20

With 2023 now halfway behind us, there’s no better time to take stock of your subscriptions. You might feel called to reshuffle your social life, revolutionise your political ideals, launch a local tabloid, or at least clear out those pesky emails that have been clogging up your spam folder. For our next issue, #31 SUBSCRIBE, The Suburban Review wants to know what compels you to rush to the mailbox, turn on your notifications, or put your money on the line. Send us binge-worthy fiction, literary essays that are bound to spark a cult following, and poems that’ll have us signing on for a sequel. Fiction: 2000-2500 words (payment AUD $275), 1000-2000 words (payment AUD $200) 500-1000 words (payment AUD $150); Creative Nonfiction: 2000-2500 words (payment $275), 1000-2000 words (payment AUD $200), 500-1000 words (payment AUD $150); Poetry: Suite of three poems (payment AUD $275), Over 30 lines (payment AUD $175), Under 30 lines (payment AUD $125); Comics and Art: 2 page comic B&W or Colour (payment AUD $200), 1 page illustration B&W or Colour (payment AUD $100), 1 page cover art (payment AUD $300). No fee.

The third year of their annual prize, jointly presented by Morley College London and the Rachel Mills Literary Agency, awarded to a previously unpublished aspiring authors of colour. For 2023 they will be offering two independent prizes, one for works of fiction, and one for life writing and creative non-fiction. The winners will receive £500 prizes, and those shortlisted will be given individual editorial consultations with an agent on their work. Submission requirements include writing samples and a summary. No fee.

Straighten the paintings, sweep the porch, and welcome us HOME in Block Party’s 5th issue. HOME is your first apartment with the broken locks, the friend who ties your laces, the songs you sing in the car. HOME is where you fit, where you can kick your shoes off and feel wrapped in warmth. Above all else, HOME is Block Party’s best issue yet. Come on, let’s go HOME. Fiction and Creative Nonfiction: 2,500 words or less. Poetry: 100 lines or less. Pay is $10 per piece upon publication. No fee.

A quarterly publication, Alaska Women Speak is seeking prose, poetry and visual art for Autumn 2023: Apologies. They publish poetry, fiction, memoir, creative non-fiction, and essay. They also publish some book reviews and work from visual artists for cover and in-text placement. Prose: 3,000 words for fewer. Poetry: 4 poems max. No fee.

The Lorelei Signal is a quarterly SF/Fantasy electronic magazine - one that will feature strong / complex female characters. This does not mean your female character has to be the main hero or villain in the story. What it does mean is no shrinking violets, or women who serve only to get into trouble so the male hero can rescue them. Stories should be no longer than 10,000 words. Submit a max of 1 story or 5 poems during the submission period. Pay: $15 for short stories, $5 for poems and flash fiction, $5 for reprints. No fee.

Submit up to two flash fiction pieces or two flash nonfiction pieces of no more than 750 words each. Submit up to three poems per submission in a single file. Winner will receive $500 plus publication in an upcoming issue of Blue Earth Review. They may offer publication to additional finalists. Fee: $5

You may submit up to 3 poems or works of flash (1,000 words/less for flash) per entry. Please put all three in the same file attachment. Prizes: $100, Art prints from Best of Math Class, Publication in GS 15 (June/July 2024). Fee: $6

Orca is a literary journal that publishes literary writing. Unpublished fiction, nonfiction, and poetry only. Fiction up to 8000 words; Nonfiction 2000 to 8000 words (query if longer). 3 poems with a total maximum word count of 1000. Pay is $50 for stories 2500 words or longer, $25 for stories under 2500 words and for poetry, plus a one-year pdf subscription. Fee: $3

khōréō is a quarterly publication of speculative stories, essays, and art. They’re especially interested in writing and art that explore some aspect of migration, whether explicitly (themes of immigration, colonialism, etc.), metaphorically, or with a sly nod and a wink. Fiction: under 5,000 words. They are also looking for art and voice actors. Currently, nonfiction is closed. Pay is $0.10/word for fiction; $500 for custom cover art and $100 for cover art drawn from an artist’s existing portfolio; and $55 - $111 for audio narration. No fee.

South 85 Journal is seeking submissions of previously unpublished poems of 50 lines or fewer and unpublished fiction of 850 words or less. They will select one winner in each category to receive a cash prize of $500. Four semi-finalists in each category will be chosen for publication in South 85 Journal. Fee: $12

Speculative City publishes provocative works that are centered within a cityscape. They are looking for fiction, poetry, and essays within the theme of the magazine’s upcoming issue–megacity. Pay is $20 - $55 according to the category and length of their submission. They do not include submissions with lengths exceeding 5500 words. No fee.

Unpublished UK and Ireland nature writers are invited to submit their book proposals. The winner receives a £10,000 publishing contract with Canongate Books. This includes editorial mentoring. If they do not already have a literary agent, then they will also receive an offer of representation from Caro Clarke of Portobello Literary Agency. No fee.

The Hare teaches us freedom and the value of knowing when to speed up, when to slow down, and when to revisit something we may have missed.

Hare's Paw Literary Journal is limitless - representing the ability to walk between our own stillness and the world around us, identifying what matters and what intrigues us, regardless of societal demands. Hare's Paw publishes authentic, strange, soulful, and even joyful work that allows all voices to be heard. If you've ever had a hard time placing your work, consider Hare's Paw Literary Journal your home. All poetry submissions must be no more than 10 pages and no more than 5 poems. All fiction submissions must be no more than 4 pages, single spaced. Music submissions as MP4s accepted as long as they have not been published on any other platforms. Fee: $3

3Elements Literary Review is a themed literary journal, and all THREE elements (the specific words, Hunger, Stiletto, Cartwheel) must be included in your story or poem for your work to be considered for publication. Your story or poem doesn’t have to be about the three elements or even revolve around them; simply use your imagination to create whatever you want. You can use any form of the words/elements for the given submission period. There is no minimum word count, but please keep your fiction and nonfiction submissions under 3,500 words. Poetry must be under two typed pages. No fee

Aesthetica invites writers to enter the Creative Writing Award. Prizes include: £5,000 prize money; (£2,500 for the Poetry Winner, £2,500 for the Short Fiction Winner); Publication in the Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual; Full membership to The Poetry Society (Poetry Winner); A free 10-week Online Course from the Poetry School (Poetry Winner); Consultation with Redhammer Management (Fiction Winner); Selection of books from Vintage; One year print subscription to Granta. Guidelines: Poetry entries should be no more than 40 lines. Fiction entries should be no more than 2,000 words. Fee: Poetry £12 | Short Fiction £18

Split Lip is a literary journal that’s totally bonkers-in-love with voice-driven writing, pop culture, and the kind of honesty that gets you right in the kidneys. They publish memoir under 2,000 words, flash under 1,000 words, poetry (submit only one at a time), fiction 1,000 - 3,000 words, interviews/reviews, and more. Pay: $75 per author for poems, memoirs, flash, fiction, and art, $50 for interviews/reviews, and $25 for mini-reviews for our web issues. No fee.

Ghoulish Tales has opened submissions for its bi-annual horror magazine. They are looking for “fun horror that aims to celebrate all things spooky. Note that we said fun, not funny. Comedic stories are definitely allowed, but it’s not all we’re looking to receive. We want stories that remind us why we love the horror genre.” They are also interested in nonfiction about the horror genre. Short stories: 5,000 max. Nonfiction: 3,000 max. Pay: 10c per word. No fee.

This writing contest is awarded every two months, with a total Prize pool of $3,800 USD and publication for our winners. The current categories are Short Fiction (up to 5000 words), Poetry (up to 70 lines), Nonfiction (up to 5000 words), and Manuscripts (Novels, Story Collections, Poetry Collections, and Nonfiction). Fees: $15-$25

Translators and authors of multilingual texts are encouraged to submit their work for The Gabo Prize. The winner, selected by a guest judge, will receive $200, and the winning piece will be published alongside two semi-finalists in the upcoming issue of Lunch Ticket. No fee.

This year’s contest celebrates 30 years since the release of Val Wood’s award-winning debut, The Hungry Tide. They are looking to receive entries that focus on the ebb and flow of the ocean and the rivers that lead to it, as The Tide itself rolls in as the central focus of this year’s competition. Entries should be packed with originality and creativity that paint a picture and take the reader on a memorable journey. The story can cover any genre as long as it is not unnecessarily violent or gruesome. The competition is open to anyone over 16 years of age. Entries must be 2,000 maximum. The winner of the Open Prize will receive £100 and their entry will be published on the website. No fee.

BWG is accepting stories on the theme of: The Wolf of Winter: Stories of hardship...or wolf stories! All themes are broadly interpreted. They accept most genres of fiction, as well as memoir and poetry. Submissions must be 2,000 words or fewer. Published stories will receive $50 USD for featured authors, or $20 USD for stories published on our &More page, and $10 USD for poems. No fee.

The Kindle Storyteller Award is a £20,000 literary prize recognising outstanding writing. It is open to writers publishing in English in any genre, who publish their work through Kindle Direct Publishing. Readers play a significant role in selecting the winner, helped by a panel of judges including various book industry experts. You must make your book available for sale as an ebook and paperback through Amazon. To enter, add StorytellerUK2023 in your "keywords" metadata field when you publish your book on KDP Amazon UK. No fee.

Deadlines: July 31 (nonfiction) and August 31 (fiction). Our favorite writing community offers quarterly contests judged blindly with multiple cash prizes and more for 20 winners, up to $1,350 (fiction) and $1,175 plus a gift certificate to CreateWriteNow (nonfiction), an affordable critique option, and a 300-entry limit on each contest. Previously published work is accepted! What’s not to love? This season's guest judge is Literary Agent Fiona Smith with Beyond Words Literary Agency. Fee: $10 (Flash Fiction) and $12 (Nonfiction).

August 9 is National Book Lovers Day! Proclaim your love of books by submitting to The Book Ends Review, which is seeking Features up to 3,000 words (interviews, personal opinion, list, etc); Creative Nonfiction (up to 3,000 words and up to 3 pieces); Fiction (flash of 1,000 words and short story 1,001 – 3,000 words); and Poetry (up to 5 pieces; prose up to 2,000 words and standard with no line limits). Deadline: August 31. No fee.

August 2 is National Friendship Day! Celebrate by submitting to the Sundog Lit 2023 Collaboration Contest! “Writers, gather up the members of your dream team because we’re opening up submissions for our annual Collaboration Contest! We’re looking for writing teams of two or more people to submit their fiercest story, poem, essay, or hybrid piece of 1,000 words or less. Entries will be read anonymously (please do not include identifying information on your entry documents or risk disqualification), and we ask that you submit only one piece per entry.” Award: $300. Deadline: August 31. Fee: $3 (if you can)

How do you find time to write a novel? Does the sheer number of words seem overwhelming or is it putting you off even getting started? I’ve spent the last few years researching the organizational tips and techniques that are most translatable to the writing life, some of which I’ll share with you here.

Which of the following best describes your situation?

1) You struggle to find time in a busy schedule to turn up and write your novel.

2) You keep writing the same section repeatedly and/or don’t seem to make progress.

3) You’ve got a detailed plan but can’t seem to turn up and write the book.

4) You’ve written lots of different scenes—perhaps they’re in different parts of your computer in no particular order—but they need bringing together.

5) You suspect you have writer’s block.

6) You just don’t feel inspired by the subject matter anymore.

7) You turn up to write but you’re so distracted by other things you can’t focus.

Let’s imagine there are seven novelists who are all facing the above difficulties when it comes to managing their time. I’ll come back to them later but first, there are three organizational techniques that will help all seven of our writers, and they are:

• Working on their writing space

• Learning their ‘when’

• The power of chunking

When talking to my students, the problem they present with might be ‘having no time,’ but space is often the real but hidden issue. So, let’s get this out of the way first. Think about the space you typically write in:

• What’s great about it? List at least three things you love about the space.

• What’s wrong with it? List at least three niggles or irritations about your space.

Let’s look at that from a different perspective now:

• What top three qualities would your ideal writing space have?

• What are your top three deal breakers? What definitely has to be excluded from your writing space?

Add more than three of each if you want to go in deep.

Don’t try to get to the perfect version but instead figure out how you could get more of what you love and less of what you don’t, even if it’s only slightly more. For example, if you currently write in a café but silence is on your list of top three priorities for your writing space, you could switch to a public library. Similar, but usually quieter!

I read a fascinating book by Daniel H. Pink called When, which confirmed what I already knew: I like writing early in the morning! Just like space, not working at your best ‘when’ could be the root of the problem, so it’s useful to know when your energy levels peak and dip during the day. If you’re not sure:

• Keep a log for a couple of days.

• Try writing at different times to discover which feels best.

• Take a habit you’ve already installed in your life: does the time you do it help you to stay on track?

Look back at your notes on your writing space, including the deal breakers, and decide when you are most likely to get at least some of the conditions you crave. You might not be able to achieve your ideal space and ‘when’ right now, but you can still take small steps towards each.

Now I’ll take those seven problems that our fictious novelists face and give you a time management solution for each. Remember that these solutions have their foundation in the three organizational techniques I’ve already suggested.

Keep a diary of how you use your time for a week and identify fallow time or anything you could stop doing, delegate, or get help with. Could you get more efficient at everyday tasks? Don’t sacrifice relaxation or sleep. You need those too!

Use Brian Tracy’s ‘Eat That Frog’ technique, from the book of the same name. Take one difficult scene. Don’t write anything else until you’ve finished a draft of it. Schedule these sessions as if you are going to a place of work. Warm up, in the same way you’d warm up for exercise, by trying some fun writing games first. If in doubt, write the final scene of the book, then the most climactic scene. Writing non-chronologically like this can get you out of a fix.

Turn your plan into a writing to-do list by creating a list of instructions to follow. For instance, write scene where Mandy kills Clive by pushing him overboard. Next ask what you loved about the story in the first place. Once you have a sense of that, write in character, using first person, without a plan, for one writing session, then reconfigure your plan.

WOW! offers virtual book tours, review tours, radio/podcast tours, PR packages, and more. Check out our book promotion services and email us at blogtour@wow-womenonwriting.com. We'd love to hear about your book!

By Kelly Sgroi

I grew up watching my uncle and brothers play soccer, and I even played some soccer myself. I married a man who played soccer and now I have two kids who play - you guessed it - soccer. But it wasn’t until my kids got serious about soccer that I realised my writing rejections were teaching me some important lessons.

Because rejections are universal.

By Linnea Gradin

For many aspiring authors, finishing and publishing their first novel is their ultimate goal. Completing it promises an immense sense of accomplishment, but the road there is often long and arduous, so it’s easy to get stuck on the way. Add to that the pressure of putting everything you want to say into a single story, and the fear of the blank page can start to hinder your writing progress.

It’s for this reason (and many others) that I’m a huge proponent of the short story. Below, I’ve outlined five ways this shorter format can help you beat procrastination and become a more effective writer — both in terms of skill and routine.

By Sue Bradford Edwards

Well, I’ve done it. After Cathy extolled the virtues of Substack, I started seeing it mentioned here and there. Some of the newsletters I've been reading for years had even migrated, unbeknown to me, to Substack.

This week I decided to step off the cliff. I know that sounds impetuous, but I’d been noodling this over since I saw Cathy's May post. If I was going to do a newsletter, what would I do? What do I know enough about to compile a monthly or bi-weekly newsletter? Writing. Books. And creativity.

By Cathy C. Hall

For those of you just joining the Twitter saga, a quick recap:

1. My Twitter account was hacked in March.

2. Said account was locked and suspended.

3. I sent a mountain of documentation to regain access.

This week, in the midst of website-building, I was debating whether or what social media buttons to use. But first, I figured I should check on the old Twitter account since I’d heard nothing from Twitter Support.

By Renee Roberson

I used to be a voracious reader. But somehow over the past few years, the number of books I’ve read dwindled. I’m not sure if it had to do with the fact that I stopped visiting the library in person during the pandemic, I was working a contract job that required me to work a lot of nights and weekends, or if I simply got addicted to all the shows the streaming services offered me at the touch of a simple remote. It’s also difficult for me to read a lot while I’m working on a large creative project and in the last year, I’ve completely revised a young adult novel and began a developmental edit on a suspense thriller.

By Bobbie Christmas

Q: Which of the sentences below sounds best?

John's mother told him,

A. "I'm beginning to regret giving birth to you."

B. "I regret giving birth to you."

C. "I wish I never gave birth to you."

A: I assume you are striving for the most realistic dialogue possible, rather than what sounds the best, so I will give you a fourth choice. It is the most realistic because I actually overheard it in person. Yes, I witnessed a mother saying to her fortyish son (whom I was dating at the time), "I wish I'd never given birth to you." This quote is the most realistic, but it is devastating for a child to hear. It could end a relationship between parent and child. Don't use it unless you intend for it to have dire consequences, as it did in real life.

By Sue Bradford Edwards

I’m not a huge horror fan. I like books with atmosphere that sets your nerves on edge. I don’t even mind the jump scare. I know, I know. My college student will contradict that. My fight or flight instinct is well honed, and I will jump. But that’s to be expected with horror. I don't mind it although it annoys those around me.

What I don’t love is extensive gore. This is especially true when it is misogynistic. All the victims are women? And you’re doing what to them? Bye. I’m gone. But if the victims are evenly distributed and the monster doesn't go after just one demographic, I'm all in.

One of the best horror novels I’ve recently read is HIDE by Kiersten White. Not only is she queen of the creeping feeling of dread, but she based the whole thing on a folktale.

By Renee Roberson

When I first started my podcast, I did not anticipate the ways in which it would evolve, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the content I’ve been able to create and tie back into "Missing in the Carolinas." While at first I focused solely on missing persons cases, I realized I could use other true crime topics I’m passionate about to create new episodes. 

For example, I’ve produced a lot of episodes in the past year that tie into trending true crime documentaries that feature high profile cases in the Carolinas. It seems like every other day there are new documentaries released, along with true crime shows like Dateline and 20/20. I found an article on the DigitalTrends website written by Christine Persaud that explores our country’s obsession with true crime. 

By Nicole Pyles

It's unfortunate how easy it is to lose hope about your own writing success. Submission after submission, rejection after rejection, there seems to be greater evidence to stop bothering than to bother. But every now and then, a surprise comes in.

Recently, I had that experience.

Prior to this acceptance, I had taken my short story through another round of revisions, hoping it would lead to an acceptance. I had to muster up all my energy to do this, and not lose sight of my goal: publication.

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