I sat in silence as the footage played in front of me. It flickered and danced, as it the film could not believe what it was showing, as I could not believe what I was seeing. Silently, tears streaked my face, trembling as they reached my jaw and then dropping to my shirt unheeded.
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To learn more about OneWord, visit OneWord.com
My OneWord profile: http://oneword.com/members/eileenmaki/
This week, I have a Submission Resource that looks pretty exciting, if I do say so myself. 🙂
(I’ve also added a link for this Resource on my Resources page.)
penduline press publishes works by writers and artists alike. Read the current issue, Issue 9 HERE or read issues 1-8 HERE. Make sure you read at least one issue to get a feel for what they like and publish. The work in their publication has an edgy feel that is definitely different than many publications I’ve ever read. 🙂 I hope you like it.
From the penduline press website:
Penduline (pronounced PEN-djoo-lyne) is a Portland-based literary and art magazine that seeks to create a presence for emerging as well as established graphic artists and writers of sudden fiction, flash fiction, prose poetry, poetry, and short stories.
If you’re interested in submitting your work for consideration in the next issue of penduline, please read through the Submission Guidelines and follow them carefully. They are currently accepting submissions for Issue 10 which are due by August 31, 2013, so get a move on! Bookmark their site and look forward to the next call for Submissions if you miss this one.
Good Luck and Happy Writing!
~ Eileen 🙂
This week, I have a Submission Resource for women only. (Sorry guys, I am looking for a Submission Resource for Men to even the score!)
(I’ve also added a link for this Resource on my Resources page.)
damselfly press is a publication that celebrates and uplifts women writers. Established in 2007, damselfly has published 24 issues and is currently at work on issue number 25 which is scheduled for release October 15, 2013. Submissions for issue 25 are due by September 15, 2013. As usual, you should read some of their previous issues to see if your writing is a good fit for damselfly. To read past issues, access the damselfly archives HERE.
From the damselfly press website:
damselfly press seeks to promote exceptional writing by women. We welcome work from female writers of all experiences. We accept fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. We are interested in work that is honest and explores human nature. We think there is truth even in fiction.
If you’re interested in submitting your work for consideration in the next issue of damselfly, please read through the Submission Guidelines and follow them carefully.
Good Luck and Happy Writing!
~ Eileen 🙂
I have found a really great writing resource for you guys! I think you’ll really be excited about this one. It’s pretty robust and it’s free. 🙂 You do have to join the site, but I think it’s worth it.
(I’ve also added a link for this Resource on my Resources page.)
From the Silver Pen website:
Silver Pen, an IRS recognized 501(c)3 non-profit organization, encourages and fosters creative writing careers by providing workshops and forums for peer reviews and discussions. In addition, Silver Pen provides expertise and advice by editors, publishers, and published writers and is continually working to expand its services and the potential of its members.
Some of the really cool features of the Silver Pen website are the Guided Writings and the Workshops. You can only access these resources as a member.
Membership
When you sign up for Membership, the blurb says you are signing up for a free 6 month trial membership. At first I thought this meant you would have to pay after the first 6 months. However, when I signed up for the trial membership to check it out, I discovered that a full membership is also free:
So, don’t let the ‘free trial’ scare you off!
Guided Writing
The Guided Writing section is where you can build your story piece by piece. You get helpful hints and tips as you go and other Silver Pen members can post comments on your work to try to help you along.
There are samples, snippets and tips for each section of a guided writing. This is a super cool tool to help the writer build a solid story, get some feedback and make a finished product that is polished!
Workshops
Workshops work on a points system. You can post chapters or in-progress pieces here and other members can offer advice or suggestions. This can be a really useful tool when working on your story, poem, or other piece of work. There are categories for Stories, Poems, Flash, Creative Non-Fiction Essays and Novella & Novella Chapters. So, no matter what your piece is, you can get some guidance and assistance in these workshops.
The Blog
There is also a Writing Tips blog as part of this website. The blog is chalk full of super useful stories, suggestions and resources for writers.
So what are you waiting for? Head on over to Silver Pen and join up. Youth ages 13-18 can also sign up with a free membership.
**NOTE** If your material is ‘adult’, which means it contains sexual content and/or violence, be sure to sign up for the 18 and over membership and to post your material properly so minors do not accidentally access your materials.
Happy Writing!
~ Eileen 🙂
While perusing the ‘net, I found this awesome Fiction and Poetry Submission Resource.
(I’ve also added a link for this Resource on my Resources page.)
Haunted Waters Press (HWP) recommends reading one of their issues before submitting your work to see if your piece is a good fit for their publication. If you go HERE, you can Preview the Summer 2013 issue or purchase it in digital or print formats. If you’re going to preview the issue, make sure you click on the Preview link underneath the image of the cover. I clicked on the Sample link and my browser (Chrome) didn’t like it. But the Preview option worked perfectly. 🙂
From the HWP website:
We seek previously unpublished works unless otherwise stated in the call for submissions. We welcome both the profound and the quirky. We are open to most styles and genres of fiction including speculative, dark, experimental, and literary. We love flash fiction of any word count as long as it tells a complete story. We enjoy all forms of poetry including experimental, rhyming, free verse, and invented form. While we welcome deep, meaningful poetry, we also enjoy works that are witty, peculiar, or offbeat. Works of creative nonfiction should be real stories about real people, events, and ideas and should be eloquently written, thoughtful and compelling. As a general rule, we do not accept erotica. Profanity and violence, if used, must be integral to the story. We do not accept simultaneous submissions.
As noted above, HWP accepts Fiction and Poetry. Make sure you read the Submission Guidelines before submitting anything so you can be sure to follow their requirements.
Happy Writing!
~ Eileen 🙂
This week, I have another excellent Poetry Submission Resource for all you poets out there. And if you normally write fiction, give poetry a try. It is very satisfying with short-term completion euphoria.
(I’ve also added a link for this Resource on my Resources page.)
While researching submission venues, I came across this one for Poetry works. This is a contemporary publication that enjoys being eclectic and representing a diverse group of poems in each issue. Rattle has been around for 17 years and they really know their stuff!
From the Rattle website:
Rattle is published in several forms, in effort to find as many readers as possible, but the primary version has been our print issue, originally twice per year, but now appearing quarterly in March, June, September, and December. Each issue is roughly 100 pages of poetry, essays, and an interview with a contemporary poet. Summer and winter issues are open; spring and fall issues focus on a specific stylistic, ethnic, or vocational group. Recent tributes have focused on sonnets, African American poets, cowboy poets, visual poetry, and nurses.
There are several arenas at Rattle you can submit work for. Read the Submission Guidelines before submitting anything so you can be sure to follow their requirements.
Happy Writing!
~ Eileen 🙂
Those of you who have known me for many years, know that my first love was Poetry. The first piece I ever had published was Poetry. And when I have writer’s block and can’t work on the fiction piece I’m currently working on, I write Poetry. I love the classics: Poe, Frost, Tennyson, Browning and Dickinson. My favorite poet will always be Walt Whitman. But now matter how much I love Walt, there are plenty of new poets that I enjoy as well. Poetry is a view to someone’s soul. Good Poetry gets inside you and speaks that unspeakable language that our hearts all know. And so, this week I am offering a Poetry Submission Resource for all you poets out there!
(I’ve also added a link for this Resource on my Resources page.)
THRUSH is a Poetry Journal I have enjoyed for the last year or so. They publish poetry of all genres and formats. If it’s good and they like it, they’ll publish it. Their publication is made available six times every year in the months of January, March, May, July, September and November. You can read their latest July edition HERE and you can read past editions HERE.
Submissions are rolling throughout the year and you can submit up to 3 poems at once for consideration. Although this is not a paying submission resource, being included in the THRUSH Poetry Journal is an honor. They publish anthologies and chapbooks as well as their regular publication. THRUSH is very supportive of their contributors. They promote your work whenever possible as well as nominate poets for awards and other honors.
For consideration in THRUSH, your submission must be accompanied by a cover letter, a short bio and include “Poetry Submission” in your email subject line. Please read their Submission Guidelines carefully to be sure your submission is considered. I hope you like THRUSH as much as I do!
Happy Writing!
~ Eileen 🙂
Hello Ladies and Germs!
As part of a regular Saturday feature, I will be sharing at least one resource with you guys every Saturday.
This Saturday, I’m sharing a gaggle of random word generators. What can you use these for, you ask? I love random word generators for inspiration. Some of these generators will give you multiple words. Try using all the words in a poem or piece of short fiction. Use each word as the start of a chapter for a longer piece. Use your imagination with these words and let them carry you through to a wonderful piece of writing.
So, without further ado, here are some top notch random word generators. (I’ve also added links to my Resources page.)
Creativity Games – Can generate 1-8 random words
Word Generator – Generates random word and its definition
Text Fixer – Generates 6 random words
Random Word Generator – Generates up to 5 random words, allows for length and beginning letter criteria
List of Random Words – Generate between 5 and 100 words, allows for length, syllables, beginning letter and word length and will display the random words in a bulleted list, numbered list, paragraph or table.
Fourteen Minutes – Makes new words that are made up and really have no meaning. You can specify beginning letters.
Word Constructor – Uses letters from the word you enter to create a similar but different word.
Wordsmith – Generates a random word from their word-a-day archive, gives definition and some quotes as well.
Coyote Cult Random Word Generator – Generates a random word. You can click on the word to view the definition.
10. OneWord – Generates a random word and gives you 60 seconds to write about it
I hope you find some inspiration! Share your work with me, I’d love to see it.
Happy Writing!
~ Eileen 🙂
As a new feature, every week, I’m going to use a random word generator. It might be OneWord, it might be something else. I will put 15 minutes on my timer in my Write or Die desktop edition and I will write something for 15 minutes or until I feel like the piece is done. (I’m sure 15 minutes will be over before I feel like the piece is done!) Then, I’ll post the writing here for you to enjoy!
So, here comes the first ever Wordy Wednesday entry….
Today’s Wednesday Word is: Derived. Resource Used: OneWord
Writing Piece – Unedited, 15 minutes of straight writing using Write or Die Desktop version
Derived
The fact that Paul was a prick was derived from the fact that he had never spoken a genuinely nice word to anyone in his entire life. We all despised him and wished him dead. Imagine our surprise when he made our day and ended up dead.
It was a Friday and we all got to work at our regular times, somewhere close to 8 in the morning. Some before 8, some (that would be me) slightly after 8. Paul never showed up before 9. He would waltz in, sloshing coffee from his alcohol-smelling take-out coffee cup and yelling ‘Good Morning!’ to anyone who would listen. He didn’t really mean it and we all knew that. He just wanted to appear like a good manager, even though he was anything but.
That Friday, we all got settled in to our desks, checking emails, chatting with one another about the shows we watched on TV or who called who for dates. It seemed everyone dated everyone in that damned office. Well, I never dated where I worked, so I always said no when co-workers asked me out. Especially managers. They were never the smart choice for dating in the workplace. It never ended well and when it inevitably went south, you were the one who lost your job, not them.
So it was nearing 9 o’clock and we were expecting Paul any moment. The office got noticeably quieter as workers hunkered down with their nose to the grindstone in anticipation of their boss’ arrival. 9 came and went and pretty soon, it was nearing 10 o’clock. We all started glancing around, peeking above our cubicle walls, waiting to see if someone was going to say something about Paul not being there yet. I was a natural leader and others often looked to me for answers. Pretty soon, eyes turned my way, silently asking me what was going on.
Sighing, I locked my computer and walked towards Paul’s office. Stopping at Renee’s desk, I asked her if she had heard from Paul.
“No,” she said, not even bothering to look up at me.
“Ok,” I said, “Have you seen him yet this morning?”
She quirked an eyebrow and glanced at me, her purple eyeliner was smeared on her left eye. She flipped a hand out to the side in the general direction of Paul’s office, “Do you see him anywhere?”
I stood there silently for a moment, thinking. “I need him to sign some authorization forms for the company meeting purchases. Do you know when he’ll be in?”
Renee swept her hair back from her shoulder, took a lazy drink from her coffee mug and then decided to bless me with a response. “No,” she said.
I glared at her and stalked back to my desk. My co-workers all looked to me for an answer and I just shook my head and shrugged my shoulders to indicate I did not have an answer for them. Sitting in my chair, I scooted up to my computer just as my cell phone began to ring.
The ringtone told me it was my brother, James. I shook my shoulders in a little chair dance to ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ before I answered the call.
“What up, James?” I said cheerily. I loved my brother and we were very close. True, it was unusual for him to call me in the morning on a workday, but I was always happy to talk to him, no matter the time of day or what I was doing.
“Hey, Claire,” he started. His voice sounded weird and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Something was wrong. “I have some news for you. It’s not being released to the public yet, so I can’t share details with you, but your boss’ body was found in an alley downtown.”
Never one for political correctness, my brother the detective just spit it out. I was stunned for a moment.
“What?” I finally managed to say.
“I know, right?” Was his response. “I was the first responder and I recognized him right away. He’s definitely dead, Claire, and from what I’ve seen it looks like it was not an accident.”
“What?” I said again.
“Did you hear me?” He sounded puzzled now.
“Yes,” I stammered, “Yes, I can hear you, James. I just can’t believe what you’re saying.”
“Claire, there’s more. The reason I am calling you is to give you a heads up. I’m going to be pulled from the case and you’re going to be questioned.”
“What?” I was feeling like a moron with a very low vocabulary at this point. “Why?”
“When I got here, he had his cell phone in his hand.” James began. I could hear a siren approaching in the background.
“Claire,” he sounded scared now, “the number on his phone was yours. You were the last person to speak to him on the phone apparently. So I will be removed from the case and the new detective will want to speak with you ASAP.”
“I didn’t speak to Paul, James. Why was my number on his phone?”
“I don’t know, Sweetie, but his phone indicated that the call to your cell phone connected. I gotta go.”
“Wait, James!” I almost yelled into the phone. “Who will get the case instead of you?”
James was silent for a moment and I dreaded his answer, knowing what he was going to say.
“Mark,” was all James said and then he hung up.
Great. Mark. My ex.
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Well, what did you think?
Happy Writing!
~ Eileen 🙂
Wistful for the days when his life was not in danger, Tyler crouched with his back to the warehouse wall to catch his breath. Glancing around the corner of the building, he could see movement coming from in side the warehouse. It wasn’t safe to go that way for sure. Ahead of him, across what seemed like miles of asphalt was brush and trees. If only he could get there safely.
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To learn more about OneWord, visit OneWord.com
http://oneword.com/members/eileenmaki/
Eileen Maki 