Story Quarterly has announced that they have a new online system for receiving submissions year-round.
Their SQ Fiction Contest is accepting entries until September 30th. First Prize is $2,500, Second Prize is $1,500, and Third Prize is $750. Plus there are ten finalists who will receive $100.
The Secret Universe
"Whatever the tasks that your soul has agreed to, whatever its contract with the Universe is, all of the experiences of your life serve to awaken within you the memory of that contract, and to prepare you to fulfill it."-- Gary Zukav
Do you think that’s true? Do you believe we’re born with a purpose imprinted on our DNA, and it’s up to us to decipher the code, find the key that unlocks the secret universe housed within us?
Do I think it’s true? I’d like to. I believe I have a purpose, but was it something I was born with or something I have chosen on my own? It’s the old nature v nurture argument. Fate v free will.
I believe that I choose the path I stumble down, but I like to also believe that it’s my destiny to walk this path, and fate has some tricks up her sleeve, the sly fox that she is. But does God take an active role in my life? Is He that much of a control freak? (It’s kind of creepy to think so, but just because it’s creepy doesn’t make it false. You meet a lot of creepy characters on the road and you choose how or if you will deal with them.)
Can it be both? Can life be determined by nature and nurture, by fate and free will? Why the hell not? It’s comforting to think there’s a plan, that it’s not all chaos and random events, especially when shit hits the fan. You have a way to make sense out of something that is seemingly senseless, and who doesn’t want that?
So maybe it’s not God who’s the control freak. Maybe it’s us. Maybe we’re so insecure with our lives that snuggling up to God or fate or whatever term you want to use, is the only way we can fall asleep at night. Maybe it’s the only way we can get up and face the big bad universe in the morning.
Do you think that’s true? Do you believe we’re born with a purpose imprinted on our DNA, and it’s up to us to decipher the code, find the key that unlocks the secret universe housed within us?
Do I think it’s true? I’d like to. I believe I have a purpose, but was it something I was born with or something I have chosen on my own? It’s the old nature v nurture argument. Fate v free will.
I believe that I choose the path I stumble down, but I like to also believe that it’s my destiny to walk this path, and fate has some tricks up her sleeve, the sly fox that she is. But does God take an active role in my life? Is He that much of a control freak? (It’s kind of creepy to think so, but just because it’s creepy doesn’t make it false. You meet a lot of creepy characters on the road and you choose how or if you will deal with them.)
Can it be both? Can life be determined by nature and nurture, by fate and free will? Why the hell not? It’s comforting to think there’s a plan, that it’s not all chaos and random events, especially when shit hits the fan. You have a way to make sense out of something that is seemingly senseless, and who doesn’t want that?
So maybe it’s not God who’s the control freak. Maybe it’s us. Maybe we’re so insecure with our lives that snuggling up to God or fate or whatever term you want to use, is the only way we can fall asleep at night. Maybe it’s the only way we can get up and face the big bad universe in the morning.
Say Cheese
I guess I'm just a big cheese ball, but I like the smileys. Here are my favorites:
:x - my lips are sealed
:^) - big nose
:(=) - big tooth smiley
8) - bug eyes
:*) or :o) - clown
:Đ - croatian smiley
:'-) - I'm so happy I'm crying
: # - curse
:B - big tooth smiley
:-! - foot in mouth
:o - yelling
:D - huge smile smiley
:* - kiss
:-: - mutant smiley
,-) or ;-) - wink wink smiley
:\ - confused smiley
=:-) - punk
([( - robocop
B) - sunglasses smiley
x) - twisted
X-[ - user just died
:-F - vampire missing one tooth
x( - very angry
[:-) - walkman/listening to music
>^..^< - cat
[:] - robot
~~~~~8} - sssssnake
:x - my lips are sealed
:^) - big nose
:(=) - big tooth smiley
8) - bug eyes
:*) or :o) - clown
:Đ - croatian smiley
:'-) - I'm so happy I'm crying
: # - curse
:B - big tooth smiley
:-! - foot in mouth
:o - yelling
:D - huge smile smiley
:* - kiss
:-: - mutant smiley
,-) or ;-) - wink wink smiley
:\ - confused smiley
=:-) - punk
([( - robocop
B) - sunglasses smiley
x) - twisted
X-[ - user just died
:-F - vampire missing one tooth
x( - very angry
[:-) - walkman/listening to music
>^..^< - cat
[:] - robot
~~~~~8} - sssssnake
Grammar (groan)
I thought I knew the basics, I really did. But every time I turn in a chapter to my critique group, I get it back covered in red ink.
So I go over to Google and search for grammar help. Results: 19,600,000. No effing way am I going to filter through that much crap. I add "wiki" to my search string (I
wiki) and hooray! I found How to Use English Punctuation Correctly.
Problem solved (as long as I actually take the time to check my grammar before turning in anything).
So I go over to Google and search for grammar help. Results: 19,600,000. No effing way am I going to filter through that much crap. I add "wiki" to my search string (I
wiki) and hooray! I found How to Use English Punctuation Correctly.Problem solved (as long as I actually take the time to check my grammar before turning in anything).
Are You Feeling Me?
Coffee House for Writers has a newsletter I enjoy reading called Fiction Fix. Lots of useful information for the beginning and experienced fiction writer, plus you can register for workshops and join communities (there's even a critique group).
In this month's newsletter Ocieanna Fleiss talks about creating characters the reader can identify with, in her article: Are You Feeling Me? Basic information, but a good refresher on creating characters.
In this month's newsletter Ocieanna Fleiss talks about creating characters the reader can identify with, in her article: Are You Feeling Me? Basic information, but a good refresher on creating characters.
Hear Voices?
"Many people hear voices when no one is there. Some of them are called mad and are shut up in rooms where they stare at the walls all day. Others are called writers and they do pretty much the same thing." — Meg Chittenden
Quote on Fantasy by Jane Yolen
"In fantasy stories we learn to understand the differences of others, we learn compassion for those things we cannot fathom, we learn the importance of keeping our sense of wonder. The strange worlds that exist in the pages of fantastic literature teach us a tolerance of other people and places and engender an openness toward new experience. Fantasy puts the world into perspective in a way that 'realistic' literature rarely does. It is not so much an escape from the here-and-now as an expansion of each reader's horizons."
~ Jane Yolen
Here is a link to her website: http://www.janeyolen.com/
~ Jane Yolen
Here is a link to her website: http://www.janeyolen.com/
Essays on Storytelling
I found a wonderful site on storytelling called a story is a promise. Here is a link to a thirty minute youtube video about storytelling: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSG_WZJ_Vec. Very informative. Glad I spent the time to watch it.
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