Once again I'm too tired for too much of a writerly ways but just before I sat down I hit a part of my current read that made me want to throw the book into the trash. Let's get back into this. Please find better ways to put your characters in jeopardy than to make them absolute idiots. I hit a passage where the protagonist is trying to convince someone she wants to question that she's a friend and she loves the same video game as this person, acting on details given to her by someone who had played but never finished. So when the conversation turns to the game's end, rather than say 'I haven't finished yet' she tries to pretend she knows the ending and of course is found out. I'm like really? Are you this dumb? Well based on all the other dumb things she's done yes.
There has to be a point when we sit down with our characters and our plots and ask ourselves, is this the only path to tension and conflict? Do we need them to do things that makes the reader's eyes rolls? Is there a better way to put them in danger that doesn't make their IQ look smaller than their shoe size?
Open Calls
Christmas Spirits Christmas ghost stories
Wrath Month Fantasy, science-fiction, and horror short stories that embrace punk and queer rage.
Space Malfeasance Think crime taking place in space
Incensepunk Magazine High tech, high church. A literary magazine on the intersection of faith and sci-fi. (it's all religions welcome)
Aethon Is Open To Novels Baynam Books Is Open To Novels, Novellas, Novelettes, and Short Story Collections 14 Magazines and Anthologies Accepting Historical Fiction There are some really interesting ones in this
Syncopation Literary Journal: Now Seeking Submissions 102 Poetry Manuscript Publishers Accepting Submissions (2025 Update) Other 2025 supernatural stories
From Around the Web
Are We Pitch Eventing Too Much? What's the Best Way to Tell (and Write) a Story? Read This Before Your Next Podcast Guest Interview How to Explain Away Plot Holes – Believably Writing in the Age of Short Attention Spans: Crafting Stories that Stick Enfys J. Book: Five Things I Learned Writing Queer Rites 17 Exciting Fantasy Novel Ideas for Authors Book Launch Ideas for a Successful Event Paperback vs. Hardcover Books: Which Is Right For You?From Betty
Filling In Your Story’s Middle Five Ways to Make a Selfish Character Likable Six Pieces of Misunderstood Storytelling Advice 23 Magic Types to Mix and Match Into 1,000+ Unique Systems The Burden of Your First Five Pages Diving in the Toolbox: Creating a Plot-Subplot Template Joy to the World: Finding and Sharing Joy as a Writer Tag Your Dialogue with Big-Time Power! Reader Friday-Fun With Words The Art of Misdirection Making Nice Guys & Girls Realistically Flawed Character Secret Thesaurus: Concealing a Sexual Identity Publishing scams are rampant. How to be vigilant. A Writer’s Journey Through the Jungle of Social Media When You Don't Feel Like Writing Use These 6 Ways to Get Started ( ironically this was going to be tonight's post until I hit that annoying passage in the book)
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allbingo is doing their Valentine's Day themed prompts LOTS to pick from.
