Hi Friends,
Because writer’s block is your muse entertaining its imagination, this issue includes:
A sip…
Writing is an escapist activity. And there is nothing like a cocktail to help one ease into an escapist frame of mind.
Try the Boat House Punch, your muse will appreciate the escape from the ordinary.
A shout out…
Although the second of four children, Toni Morrison was the first African American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, the first African American woman editor in fiction at Random House, and often advised one to write what one wishes to read.
She began penning her debut, The Bluest Eye, in 1965 while single-parenting two children. It was written over a period of four years, published when she was thirty-nine years old, and is considered important, non-awarded required reading by many colleges and universities.
Her commentary on African American life and race relations is well documented in her novels, plays, children’s books, essays, personal papers, and draft text for original scores of classical music. Amongst her many tributes and awards, the US Post Office celebrates her artful exploration of diverse African American voices and experiences with a forever postage stamp.
A sentence…
Prompts gleaned from The Bluest Eye:
“Lonely was much better than alone.”
“Anger is better. There is a sense of being in anger. A reality and presence. An awareness of worth. It is a lovely surging.”
“Love is never any better than the lover. Wicked people love wickedly, violent people love violently, weak people love weakly, stupid people love stupidly, but the love of a free man is never safe.”
“She left me the way people leave a hotel room. A hotel room is a place to be when you are doing something else. Of itself, it is of no consequence to one's major scheme. A hotel room is convenient. But its convenience is limited to the time you need it while you are in that particular town on that particular business; you hope it is comfortable, but prefer, rather, that it be anonymous. It is not, after all, where you live.”
“We courted death in order to call ourselves brave and hid like thieves from life. We substituted good grammar for intellect; we switched habits to simulate maturity; we rearranged lies and called it truth, seeing in the new pattern of an old idea the Revelation and the Word.”
A few contests…
The Academy for Teachers – Stories Out of School Flash Fiction Contest is open for submissions.
On the Premises - Picture This Contest is open for submissions.
A few grant and scholarship opportunities…
The Horror Writers Association offers multiple professional development scholarships and grants.
A few submission opportunities…
Flash Fiction Magazine is seeking submissions from new and established authors.
Smokelog Quarterly is seeking flash narratives that aim for more than just a surprise ending or twist.
Readers Digest is seeking submissions of funny stories.
A few useful tips…
The ideal word count by genre includes:
Memoir – 80,000 words
Mystery – 40,000 to 80,000 words
Novella – 22,000 to 40,000 words
Short Stories – 1,500 to 7,000 words
Middle-Grade Fiction – 60,000 words
General Fiction - 90,000 to 110,000 words
Young Adult Novel – 55,000 to 75,000 words
Science Fiction/Fantasy/YA Fantasy - 100,000 to 110,000 words
A few sessions & workshops…
July 30th
July 31st
August 1st
August 2nd
Be Here- Drop In for Mindful Writers
August 3rd
August 4th
August 5th
A final thought…
This substack contains an affiliate link, and C. Elyse will earn a commission if you purchase books using that link.
Thanks for reading,
Thanks for such useful information.
This is a great format for a newsletter on writing! I also appreciate the fine collection of links. Thanks.