Flash Fiction Chronicles

June’s Table of Contents

Here is a catalogue of posts from this past week.

How to Inspire the Muse by Sylvia Spruck Wrigley

Creative flashes are similar to flash fiction, both take you for a brief foray to another place. I like to use them to change my mindset and achieve a different focus for a short time. I read voraciously but I can sometimes find that reading-for-inspiration can lead to reading-as-work-avoidance and in extreme cases, reading-all-day-long.   More…

Writing Short by Michael Ehart

As always, the story is the thing. The best flash carries with it all the things that make any other story work, a beginning, middle and end, a protagonist who changes or makes their surrounding change in a meaningful way, strong dialog, vivid description, and some sort of payoff for the reader. It can be difficult to shoe-horn all of these elements into such a small word-count, but good flash fiction stories generally do.  More…

Getting Published by DJ Barber

There is no race. Take your time. Make it neat. Follow the Guidelines. Write something every day. Join and participate in a writing group. Get feedback. Give feedback. Read books of genres you write. Try to write in some genre you haven’t before—you might surprise yourself. And don’t be shy—write what you love, hone it, perfect it. And when it’s ready, submit it!!!  More…

Excuses, Excuses by Erin Kinch

Writing as a hobby isn’t a bad thing. Tons of people do it. But I want something more. And if I want that something more, then I have to banish the excuse monster and his whispers about laundry, returning phone calls, and surfing the Internet, and get writing.

 

Of course, even still, the odds are against me. There are way more aspiring authors/novelists out there than those that get published every year. But, to quote one of my favorite movies, “Your odds go up when you file an application.”  More…

Thoughts on Dialogue-Only Flash Fiction by Jordan Lapp

The biggest reason for rejection? Both voices sound the same. With dialogue-only stories, you’re basically saying as a writer that you’re so good at writing dialogue that you don’t need all that mundane stuff like description, setting, and plot. You can do it all in the spoken word. Well, if you can’t even make two character sound different from each other, you’re in trouble.  More…

AT EVERY DAY FICTION, we get a lot of “Dialogue-only” stories. These are stories with zero description, just (at minimum) two characters talking to each other.

I can count on one hand how many of them we’ve ever accepted (and have fingers to spare).

The biggest reason for rejection? Both voices sound the same. With dialogue-only stories, you’re basically saying as a writer that you’re so good at writing dialogue that you don’t need all that mundane stuff like description, setting, and plot. You can do it all in the spoken word. Well, if you can’t even make two character sound different from each other, you’re in trouble. As an editor, I should be able to point to a random line of dialogue and say, “Oh, that’s character A speaking.”  I can tell because of his/her (way of speaking/accent/personality/etc).

Other good reasons for rejection are:

• You’ve inserted a random line of description at the end. If you have description at all, you need it everywhere. Otherwise it just looks like you tried to write a dialogue only story and failed.
• More than two characters. Two is hard enough. I’ve never seen a successful dialogue only story with three characters. The reader just gets confused.
• Info dumps. Just because it’s in dialogue, doesn’t mean it’s acceptable.
• The story sucks. A “clever” format like dialogue-only can’t save this.

Dialogue-only pieces make for great exercises, but poor stories. Disagree? Prove me wrong. And then submit that proof to EDF’s slush pile.

Jordan Lapp is the managing editor of Every Day Fiction.  He is a member of both the Codex and Spec 24 writing groups. He recently won first place in the prestigious Writers of the Future contest. In 2007, he decided to combine his love of blogging with his passion for fiction and became a founding member of Every Day Fiction.  He blogs at http://www.jordanlapp.com/withoutreallytrying/. 

LATELY, I’VE BEEN FIGHTING THE EXCUSE MONSTER— that insidious little voice inside my head that whispers excuses for not writing. I’m too tired. I’m too busy. I have no ideas. The list goes on and on.

Now, there is a difference between a reason and an excuse. Sometimes, you really do have writer’s block or you just worked a ton of overtime and are brain-fried. But, other times, you’re just giving into the excuse monster.

I guess it’s the same for any aspect of your life. You have to put time into something to get something out of it or to get to the next level. If I don’t spend time writing stories and honing my craft, I’m won’t have stories to submit or ever improve in my craft. Both of those mean that this writing thing is never going to be any more than a hobby for me.

Writing as a hobby isn’t a bad thing. Tons of people do it. But I want something more. And if I want that something more, then I have to banish the excuse monster and his whispers about laundry, returning phone calls, and surfing the Internet, and get writing.

Of course, even still, the odds are against me. There are way more aspiring authors/novelists out there than those that get published every year. But, to quote one of my favorite movies, “Your odds go up when you file an application.”

What about you guys? Career or hobby? What do you think? And what do you think will help you achieve your goal?

Erin M. Kinch lives and writes in Fort Worth, Texas. Visit her blog, Living the Fictional Dream at www.erinmkinch.com for links to her published stories and more of her musings on writing. A version of this post was originally posted on her blog on 7/10/08.

YOU WRITE. You have some great ideas for a story, a review, a play, perhaps, even a novel. You have reams of scribbled ideas, short stories, a flash or two. But you want and dream of the satisfaction of getting published, not just a writer, but the right to now call yourself a published author.

Author. Has a nice ring to it, huh? And you don’t have to be famous to write the title of your published story in italics. And when someone asks: “Oh. Anything I’ve heard of?” You don’t have to sheepishly answer that your unpublished. You can proudly tell them where and when. (and hopefully, they’ll go look!)

Writers and actors have much in common. Ask one what they do and you’ll get a list of credits—Jack Nicholson and Stephen King obvious exceptions. But don’t think professors, nurses, firefighters, and sales clerks don’t brag about their achievements too!

But there is a void between the published and unpublished. Once there it might well be easier to attain that next publication. And it is frustrating when an editor requests you put any credits you might have in your cover letter and your stuck admitting you’re unpublished. Not that it matters to most editors, they’ll accept or reject your submission on its own merits. But I know what it feels like to write at some point in that cover letter, “I’m unpublished.” It’s like the job interview where you must admit you have no actual experience in the position for which you are applying.

Actors don’t just show up in Hollywood and land a leading role in the latest blockbuster. Neither should a writer expect to have Stephen King’s Carrie experience. So what to do?

Well, you’ve joined that reading group, have sought advice from them and online at sites such as Flash Fiction Chronicles and others. You’ve made a pact with yourself to hone your skills and write every day. Your group likes what you write. (and hopefully your group isn’t polite and genteel, but brutally honest) Then the next step, intimidating as it might be, is to send that manuscript to a market.

But what market?

If you’re minimally computer literate there are sites which separate the wheat from the chaff for you. Two I would recommend are: Duotrope’s Digest and Ralan’s Webstravaganza.

Read everything on each site they have to offer before you submit a manuscript anywhere. Their advice and instructions on how to navigate their sites will save you time and rejections from markets.

Now comes something very important. Send your story to an appropriate market!
If you send your space opera, no matter how great it is, to a market that specializes in horror, your not only going to get a rejection letter, the editor is going to know you never read their submission guidelines (which many markets direct you to before you submit—and many are very picky about writers who do not bother to read their guidelines) So when you send that nice little horror story in the future, that same editor upon seeing who’s submitting might just delete it unread. Things like that can and do happen. It’s best to keep editors happy, just like traffic court judges! Little things mean a lot. Read The Guidelines!!!

If you still live in an uncomputerized state and write on an old IBM Selectric or some such, fear not. For there is a journal called Writer’s Digest which produces lists of every market imaginable in a large book titled, Writers Markets. And you don’t have to go to Barnes & Noble and plunk down $50. to get it. Just go to your local library, it’s probably right there collecting dust.

Don’t worry if your are computer-less! Many markets, especially professional-rate-paying markets, want hard-copies via Snail-Mail—no e-mails at all! And there are still numerous small and local journals and weekly newspapers just dying to have some local writer send a story be it fiction, non-fiction, or poetry. But you must look for these, they may not be laying about on every newsstand.

And one other point: Your manuscript must appear professional. Many markets, right in their guidelines, will tell you specifically how they want submissions formatted—follow what they suggest exactly—you are, after all, competing with other writers. Never forget that! You might have a nice little fantasy that you’ve sent to the perfect market, but your manuscript is single-spaced, no space between paragraphs, typed in a small font, and, well, not very neat in appearance.

It will generally take much more memory space, or paper and postage, to format your manuscript as the editors want. But like that traffic court judge, they look at these things all day long! If you care about what you write—make your manuscript look like you do. The editor will pick up on that, appreciate it, in fact. Like many things, it’s easy for the editor to just quit reading a sloppy manuscript and send it to the oblivion of the rejection pile—so make it neat, clear, and follow those writer’s guidelines!!!

I began writing seriously a few years ago. The Rejection-Connection, that was me! And I deserved all the rejections, too! But I wrote every day, worked on my voice and flow. Tinkered with dialogue and genre. Started using prompts. Joined a writing group. And finally have had at least a modicum of success.

That kind ear of your spouse, or sister, or neighbor is not the best one to read to. Get in a group. They’re not emotionally involved, meaning: They’ll most likely speak the truth. If what you wrote stinks, they’ll tell you so.

And lastly, don’t get bottled up by genre. You may do one thing well, but bear in mind the more differing types of writing you do, the more and more markets open up for you—remember that competing with others aspect I mentioned.

There is no race. Take your time. Make it neat. Follow the Guidelines. Write something every day. Join and participate in a writing group. Get feedback. Give feedback. Read books of genres you write. Try to write in some genre you haven’t before—you might surprise yourself. And don’t be shy—write what you love, hone it, perfect it. And when it’s ready, submit it!!!

DJ Barber writes stories, flash, poems, and novels. He was born in the northeast and lives in the northwest. When not writing he has a wife and two dogs that keep him busy.  He has been published online at Every Day Fiction, Moon Drenched Fables, Tales From the Moonlit Path, Big Pulp, Every Day Poets, and Everyday Weirdness.

In print, DJ has been published by Darker Intentions Press, Odyssey Magazine, has a short story in the anthology, Damned in Dixie, and has a flash in the Best of Every Day Fiction 2008.

DJ would like to remind everyone that even a broken clock is right twice a day.  DJ’s website is located at http://canyonsofgray.blogspot.com.

IT IS GENERALLY ACKNOWLEDGED that writing short fiction requires a different skill set than writing longer pieces like novels. As some of us have found out, writing micro fiction, or flash, requires yet another set. Yes, it is all about telling a story, and the basic mechanics of grammar, word choice, and all the other tricks and tropes learned by hard hours at the word processer all apply, but the actual telling of a story becomes much different when constrained to 1000 words or less.

Fiction, at least the type of fiction that rewards a reader with something more than time killed, requires that the writer have something valuable to say. The story must tell some important truth or revelation about the human condition, else it lacks a heart. With so few words in a flash story, there is almost no way to hide that absence. So, even more than usual, the writer must ask the question, “Why am I writing this?” Without pages of snappy dialog and detailed description, there is not enough camouflage to hide this lack.

As always, the story is the thing. The best flash carries with it all the things that make any other story work, a beginning, middle and end, a protagonist who changes or makes their surrounding change in a meaningful way, strong dialog, vivid description, and some sort of payoff for the reader. It can be difficult to shoe-horn all of these elements into such a small word-count, but good flash fiction stories generally do.

More than any other form, the right words become vital. I am not usually one to agonize over finding the perfect way to say something, unless I am writing flash. In that case I have no choice. The least bit of rhetorical flabbiness pokes the reader in the eye. There just isn’t room for “Albrecht found himself staring out of the window, reflecting on the fact that he hadn’t seen the sun light up his garden for nearly a fortnight, and the oppressive and constant drizzle had begun to affect his mood in a way that matched the sodden turf that lined the edge of his prized and now over-watered begonias.” Depending on the amount of room available, that might become “It rained for nearly two weeks, until Albrecht’s mood was as damp as his lawn.” Or even, “Al was tired of the rain.”

Getting there can be as difficult and time consuming as writing a much larger piece. In fact, most of my flash pieces start as a larger first draft, often times as much as three times as long as the finished product. This lets me fit in all of the parts of the story I wish to tell. Then I work on making it shorter, sharper and more succinct. Thoughts and sentences are made shorter, and sometimes combined. Under the constraint of word count, passive voice is easy to lose, as are bloated constructions. Best of all, it lets me pick the best way to say something in mid-context, rather than building the story one agonizing toothpick at a time.

In the end, writing a good flash piece can be as satisfying and frustrating as any other writing endeavor, all to produce something read in the amount of time it takes for the average visit to the water closet. The SpW (Sweat per Word) factor can be astronomically high, and inversely proportionate to the financial rewards. But then, none of us ever expected to get rich and famous writing flash did we?

AFTER A LONG DAY AT WORK or arguing with family or just simply dealing with trivialities, I find it close to impossible to sit down and simply begin writing. My muse is a sulky teenager who, having been ignored all day, is not particularly interested in spending time with me now. Maybe I’m romanticising the whole process but it does seem impossible, to me, to simply sit down and start churning out words. I need to tempt the muse to me and so I’ve come up with fast activities to help me shift into the right mindset: creative flashes.

Creative flashes are similar to flash fiction, both take you for a brief foray to another place. I like to use them to change my mindset and achieve a different focus for a short time. I read voraciously but I can sometimes find that reading-for-inspiration can lead to reading-as-work-avoidance and in extreme cases, reading-all-day-long. So when I’m struggling to find a place to start creating, I find small artistic things to do which focus my mind on being active rather than passive acceptance. These activities also serve to remind me of how many different ways there are to be creative.

Part of the point is to warn my brain and my body that we are shifting to a different type of activity, where creativity is key and editing (and chores and worries) are left behind for a short while. I like quiet and simple tasks that I can do anywhere with very little preparation.

Here are some examples of some of the ways I start my creative time:

• Decorate a miniature Zen garden. These are sold all over the world and usually don’t cost very much. Someone bought this one for me as a joke but I really enjoy it as a means of interrupting my thoughts and changing gears.
• Make a low effort slow-cook meal. Perfect dishes are the ones where you throw a bunch of ingredients together and then simply wait. It makes me happy to know that good food is happening while I am writing, as if I’m being doubly creative. Some examples of dishes with under 15 minutes preparation: Boston Baked Beans, Braised Brisket, Tuscan Oven Grains and Greens or even a quick Chocolate Cake.
• Get the camera out and take photographs of every day items from new angles. You don’t have to leave the house, you don’t have to create a masterpiece. Just focus on the detail. Some inspirational ideas: screws, feet, the sky or just collections of ordinary things with bright colours.
• Identifying unfamiliar things. I go for a brief walk with the goal of identifying just one bird, any bird at all as long as it’s not a sparrow nor a pigeon. You could do the same with flowers or spiders or even cars. All you need is a local website that helps you to know what features you are looking for.
• Make an interesting looking drink. Orange juice with a shot of grenadine. A glass of water (in finest crystal!) with a slice of lemon and a sprig of mint or thyme. A martini, carefully measured, with a perfect olive and a swirl of lemon peel. If you have a sweet tooth, try making this rainbow drink with four flavours. Obviously the drink should taste nice but part of the point of this exercise is to make something both pretty and functional to enjoy as you get working.
• Make an active decision to daydream. Put on a track of music: an old favourite, a new release or even just whales whistling. Then turn towards the window and watch the sky.
• Create easy online art. I’m a big fan of Jackson Pollock by Miltos Manetas where you simply move the mouse to draw, left-click to change colours and within seconds you have a pretty picture. If you want more control, you can use art.com artPad where you can swap between splashing paint and drawing with a brush. Or just get out paper and a bit of paint! I am not particularly artistic so I love the ability to click a few times and end up with something pretty.
• Customise a notebook. I buy cheap notebooks and then print out pictures to glue onto the covers. The edges end up curling up and it doesn’t look very professional but the images make me smile and there’s something soothing about cutting paper and gluing it as if it were the only thing that ever mattered.

And then I sit down and write.

Sylvia Spruck Wrigley was born in Germany, spent her childhood in Los Angeles and now lives in Spain where she writes within striking distance of the Mediterranean. Her flash fiction has been published in Every Day Fiction, Boston Literary Magazine, MicroHorror, Dark Tales Magazine, and Fear and Trembling. You can find out more about her on http://www.intrigue.co.uk/

Here is a catalogue of posts from this past week.

From the four corners of your mind: Unblock  featuring Sarah Hilary, Kerry Madden, K. C. Ball, Michael Mallory, A. H. Ream, Kathleen Piche, and Angela Carlton on the phenomenon of Writer’s Block.

SH wrote:  Take time out and try doing a jigsaw. Seriously.  I think it must because you’re exercising the same muscles and synapses but without pushing too hard on the story angle. 

KM wrote:  I warm up by writing a letter, and then I open the “New Novel File” just to edit the first page of the book I’m working on. If that goes okay, maybe I’ll write a few lines of dialogue in a new scene to see if a scene is even possible.

KCB wrote:  …my most intense and lasting writing lessons were as a newspaper reporter.  Sitting at a typewriter (later a computer monitor), clock ticking and editors shouting for copy, there is no time for writer’s block.

AHR wrote:  I think writer’s block happens when you expect final draft quality out of your first draft effort.

MM2 wrote: … I use the magician’s trick of misdirection, but instead of flourishing with my left hand while I hide the quarter with my right, I misdirect my mind by doing other work usually related to writing (editing, general research, checking my submissions log, correspondence, etc.) until the clog clears.

KP wrote:  I find that when I put my derriere in the chair and start typing, it’s amazing what occurs.

AC wrote: Sometimes shaking things up and doing something different triggers the right brain. …more

Unblock Some More, Please! continued with helpful advice from Clifford Garstang, Syrie James, Gillian Bagwell, Carson Pierpont, C. L. Holland, and Alex Burns.

CG wrote:  I have a favorite book at hand and if nothing else works I simply open the book and start reading and typing. In fact, I’ve been working on typing a whole book.

SJ wrote: When I find myself unsure of how to proceed with the novel or screenplay I’m writing, I find it’s almost always because I have not done enough research. 

GB wrote: I just tell myself that I will sit and write for 15 or 20 minutes, and then I can stop.  Almost always, once I’m writing, I become engaged, and before I know it, it’s two hours later. 

CP wrote: One technique that I use for writer’s block is to step into the scene myself. I freeze time, put it on pause, and picture myself stepping into the scene as though I’m stepping onto a set of props and dummies.

CLH wrote:  I’ll write something so far out of my comfort zone that it’s a whole new challenge. Last time I switched to sci-fi, and now I have a whole new world and set of characters to play with.

AB wrote: The cure I like best is to read a story (or watch a movie/television show) that you think is really great. Something that really exemplifies the medium. …more

Getting the words to spill by Martin Reed finishes up our three day discussion of Writer’s Block

As you write, keep a list of ten to twenty words or phrases to hand. They can be anything*. Single words to lines of poetry to snatches of conversation. I keep them at the end of the document I’m typing into. If you feel yourself drying up, glance quickly at the next phrase, delete it, then carry on writing fast. Speed is important here. Switch off your left brain and write as quickly as you can with your right, letting that phrase flavor your writing. …more

Finding Time by DJ Barber

Rule 1 is write every day. Sometimes as little as a sentence, or less! But do something every day! If you’ve been spirited away to some quiet restaurant take a moment when the others have run to the ladies, or gone to grab another round, or even have struck up a long conversation across the table, to grab a napkin and jot down a bit of something you can work up into a thought, paragraph, or chapter later on. …more

Fear and Trembling: Interview with Scott M. Sandridge by FFChronicles is a discussion of the horror/dark tales genres.

Anything that scares or shocks you or both is technically horror, so horror is the one genre that can be found in almost every other genre fiction to one extent or another, so there’s really no separation, per se, but a sliding scale of degrees.

The primary purpose for dark fantasy is not to scare or shock you; although, such elements will be found in it to one extent or another. No, dark fantasy is the anti-hero version of all the other fantasy subgenres (except perhaps sword & sorcery which is a whole other discussion entirely) …more

Scott M. Sandridge is the managing editor of Fear and Trembling and the author of over a dozen short stories and 60+ reviews. His work has appeared in Anthology Builder, Every Day Fiction, Mindflights, and Ray Gun Revival as well as two “best of” anthologies (Distant Passages, Volume 1 and The Best of Every Day Fiction 2008), and was a Top Ten Finisher in the 2008 P&E Readers Poll. His podcast novel, The Silverblade Prophecy, was recently nominated for the upcoming 2009 Parsecs award. More information can be found at http://smsand.wordpress.com.

Q & A

Flash Fiction Chronicles: Scott, tell us a little about Fear and Trembling and your own involvement with the horror genre and with the e-zine.

Scott: Fear and Trembling is a magazine of Christian Horror for Double-Edged Publishing. We seek horror that has the classical feel (e.g. the Hammer horror films, Stoker, Poe, and Lovecraft) that is suitable for Christian and non-Christian readers alike.

Ironically enough, I primarily write space opera-style science fiction and heroic fantasy (although I have been told my fantasy can get pretty dark). I’ve only had two Horror flash fictions published. I was reading slush for Ray Gun Revival when John Kuhn asked me if I wanted to join F&T’s editorial team. At first I read slush for both webzines while also helping John Kuhn out with proofreading and promotion. When John Kuhn left his managing editor position, I decided to take up the reigns temporarily until a better managing editor could be found. A year and a half later, I’m still there.

FFC: When was the e-zine founded and what is its mission?

Scott: F&T went live in June of 2007, and its mission is to provide good, spine-tingling Horror that doesn’t blatantly violate Christian principles but can also be enjoyed by everyone. Sometimes, doing so can feel like walking on a razor’s edge, but so far we’ve managed to not cut ourselves too bloody with that razor.

FFC: Where does the title, “Fear and Trembling” come from?

Scott: The simple answer is I don’t know. F&T is the brainchild of John Kuhn and Taylor Kent, and I have no clue what goes on in their warped psychotic minds….

FFC: Your tagline is “We’ll Scare the Death out of You!” so it’s obvious F & T is an e-zine that focuses on the genres of horror, dark tales, and fantasy. What do you consider the basic conventions of horror fiction? What kind of conventions would separate horror from dark tales or fantasy?

Scott: Anything that scares or shocks you or both is technically horror, so horror is the one genre that can be found in almost every other genre fiction to one extent or another, so there’s really no separation, per se, but a sliding scale of degrees. I think that if the story’s primary purpose is to scare or shock you (e.g. Brian Keene’s City of the Dead) then it is Horror in the genre sense. The primary purpose for dark fantasy is not to scare or shock you; although, such elements will be found in it to one extent or another. No, dark fantasy is the anti-hero version of all the other fantasy subgenres (except perhaps sword & sorcery which is a whole other discussion entirely), for in dark fantasy the main character is often the monster (e.g. White Wolf’s Vampire: The Masquerade – Clan Novel series, or Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty Norville series) and the concept of Good Vs. Evil tends to get blurred a bit—even the usual “good guys” tend to have, well, a few personal problems.

FFC: Speaking of genres and sub-genres, I saw a reference to “splatterpunk” in one of your interviews with Ty Schwamberger, author of the novel Night School. What are “the sub-genres” in horror these days?

Scott: Dark fantasy and dark science fiction (which are more cross-genres than sub-genres), splatterpunk (the gore-fest slasher flick), classic horror (like the old-style Hammer horror films), Christian horror (which often tends to center around faith and the crisis of), zombie fiction and vampire fiction (yes, they’re so prevalent now that they’ve been made into their own subgenres), supernatural horror (e.g. Stephen King novels and movies), supernatural romance (don’t ask), dark erotica (again, don’t ask), torture porn (e.g. Saw), bizarro, and surreal fiction. I think I got it all pretty much covered…for now.

FFC: Any new trends in genre?

Scott: Zombie and vampire fiction has been on the rise again, and Carrie Vaughn has breathed new life into werewolves (and it’s about dang time, too). Surreal and bizarro fiction has been rising up from the underground, and Lovecraftian goodies (or should I say baddies?) abound.

FFC: The guidelines specify, “We want atmosphere. We want hair-raising conflict. We want to get to know characters—real, multi-dimensional people we are able to care about—who just happen to be facing horrifying realities. We want to face those realities with them, to hang on through the twists and frights of the plot and to root for them all the way.” If a writer wants to submit to F & T, is there anything beyond the general guidelines they should know?

Scott: Yeah. Send me a story that features the Dover Demon, and I’ll be your friend for life. Of all the urban myths out there, I’ve yet to see a story about that bizarre little critter. I mean, the Jersey Devil’s getting some attention (thanks to Robert Dunbar), but poor DD just keeps feelin’ left out.

Hmmm…I wonder if there’s a theme-related contest brewing in my mind…we’ll see.

FFC: Let’s talk a little about the “horror” slush pile. At what point in reading through a submission do you realize you might consider that story or not. What are the turn-offs? What makes you sit forward in your chair to read?

And you pay?

Scott: It might be different for the other slush readers (but something tells me otherwise), but for me it’s the first three sentences. If you can’t grab my attention and hold it for at least that long, don’t expect me to read the whole story. I just don’t have the time to waste. Even if my slush readers did, I don’t. Nothing personal. That’s just how picky I am. And my slush readers tend to be even picker than me.

Now, if, by the time I’m halfway through, it feels like you’re not really going anywhere and are just meandering along, you’re going to lose my interest, period. Sorry. But get ready for a rejection.

Usually, if I can manage to read all the way to the end without skipping parts, then you’ve got a very good chance of getting accepted.

And yes, we pay. It’s only $5 for now, alas, but at least it’s not FTLOI (yet).

FFC: How many stories might you get in a given month? What percentage is usable? How many do you publish?

Scott: We tend to see about 20-30 stories per month. Of those about 20-25% are good, and of the good ones we might pick half or all of them, depending on whether or not we’re already well-stocked for accepted stories.

FFC: As a lover of horror and its related genres, who do you recommend aspiring horror writers read?

Scott: Stephen King, Edgar Allen Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, H.P. Lovecraft, Brian Keene, and Eugie Foster (especially her dark fairy-tale remakes). There are plenty of others, but they’re good to start with.

FFC: Anything else you’d like to add?

Scott: Yes. The Dover Demon rules!

Well, okay, the Jersey Devil is kinda cool, too.

FFC: Thanks, Scott, for taking the time to help writers better understand the horror genre.

Scott: Anytime.

Find Fear and Trembling on the net at http://www.fearandtremblingmag.com/index.html

Guidelines: http://www.fearandtremblingmag.com/guidelines.php

Finding time. Most of us have a life besides writing, and even if you don’t commute to some horrid little cubicle, drive a bus, work nights at the hospital, dig in the ground, or construct buildings—you still must walk the dog, get the kids to school, get to school yourself, or make friendly with neighbors and family.

My muse will keep me up nights, get me itchy when I’m out with friends or family, nag at me incessantly at times. All of which keeps me focused on writing, but it isn’t always practical to put your life on hold to write.

And so I attempt to put aside a time of day, for me it is mid to late afternoon. I also find the midnight hour alluring since the phone is mute and my mate is away many a night working the graveyard shift.

But mornings still come at precisely the same hour every day so that later bit of time can be a bother if you lose track touching up the short story or novel chapter a bit too late and the alarm sounds too soon after you’ve nodded off.

 Rule 1 is write every day. Sometimes as little as a sentence, or less! But do something every day! If you’ve been spirited away to some quiet restaurant take a moment when the others have run to the ladies, or gone to grab another round, or even have struck up a long conversation across the table, to grab a napkin and jot down a bit of something you can work up into a thought, paragraph, or chapter later on.

The other issue is when the muse abandons you, leaving you blocked up and frustrated as it spends time with a younger, more attractive writer, or whatever the muse does when it’s not being a nag. The best idea I believe is to go to some prompts, Even if you have zilch, you can write them down and save them for more inspirational moments which surely will return.

And lastly, don’t beat yourself up! The editors of all and sundry markets will be happy to do that for you. Your job is to write, practice it, hone it until it’s sharp and witty, and become your own biggest cheerleader. Put aside a chunk of time every day—and write, write, write!

DJ Barber writes stories, flash, poems, and novels. He was born in the northeast and lives in the northwest. When not writing he has a wife and two dogs that keep him busy.  He has been published online at Every Day Fiction, Moon Drenched Fables, Tales From the Moonlit Path, Big Pulp, Every Day Poets, and Everyday Weirdness.

In print, DJ has been published by Darker Intentions Press, Odyssey Magazine, has a short story in the anthology, Damned in Dixie, and has a flash in the Best of Every Day Fiction 2008.

DJ would like to remind everyone that even a broken clock is right twice a day.  DJ’s website is located at http://canyonsofgray.blogspot.com.