Labor Day Writing

Labor Day is quickly approaching and there are ways to celebrate with writing challenges, prompts, and events.

Mini 1000 - A writing challenge that runs from the Thursday before Labor Day through Labor Day, where participants write 1,000 words a day for five days. This can result in a short story, essay, flash fictions, poems, or the first chapter of a novel or memoir.

Labor Day Writing Prompts - Write about family vacations, Labor Day celebrations, or things that require work but are loved.

WriterCon - An event that takes place over Labor Day weekend in Oklahoma City, where writers can learn about writing, marketing, and publishing.

Joyce Carol Oates "Labor Day" Revision Workshop - A MasterClass lesson that covers topics such as writing short fiction, developing voice, and exploring classic works of fiction.

How about you? How are you celebrating Labor Day? What projects are you working to complete?

Templates, Titles, and Thinknetic

I suppose I take it for granted that most writers understand formatting. A special thanks to John Floyd at https://www.sleuthsayers.org for reminding me this may not be true. In fact, we could all use a refresher, or glimpse into fellow practices, lest we get stale or find ourselves in a rut. Floyd has shared the Shunn's Modern Manuscript Format as well as his own personal version here.

Another interesting read on that blog is by Bob Mangeot, called A Title So Good I Couldn't Use It. While titles themselves cannot be copyrighted (unless it's a proper noun, trademarked, franchise, or some such) there are times when authors need to be ready to let go of, or change their titles. It's not uncommon for reader's groups, critiques partners, editors, or publishers to fail to connect with, or outright hate, a title. An author needs to be ready to decide if the title they created is worth holding onto if it might be a lack of publication and/or payment.

Another interesting read I came across this week was Garry Rodgers sharing about a group he discovered called Thinknetic. This site offers a variety of mental models, exercises, and other tools. For more, see his post Twenty-one Cognitive Tools for Making Smarter Decisions.

How about you? Have you read any of these posts? What are your thoughts on them? Did you read anything else this week that you would like to recommend?

Lee and Capote's Monroeville: The Literary Capital of Alabama

I recently enjoyed a trip to Monroeville: The Literary Capital of Alabama.

For those of you who don't know, this is the birthplace, home, and inspiration for Harper Lee and her book To Kill a Mockingbird. It was also the home of Truman Capote and inspiration for much of his own writing.

Lee and Capote were inspired not only by the environment, but a lifelong friendship that began as young children.

Here, I visited the courthouse where Lee's father worked as a trial lawyer - the inspiration for ATTICUS. Hollywood teams created a near exact replica of the building for the movie version. This original is now a museum celebrating local authors with a primary focus on both Lee and Capote.

My husband and I enjoyed a leisurely lunch at the Courthouse Cafe' down the street from the museum. This delightful restaurant offers a variety of simple salads, sandwiches, soups, home cooked meals, and desserts. The decor celebrates the courthouse, the authors, and small-town living.

The town square around the courthouse offers a walking tour and scavenger hunt "Sculpture Trail". The trail includes sculptures honoring more than a dozen additional local authors with brief information available on each writer.

I then went to the original site of Lee's family home which is now the location of Mel's Dairy Dream. However, right next door are the remains of the house where Capote spent so much of his childhood.

Our final stop was the graveyard where Harper Lee is buried. Upon visiting her grave, I noticed the headstone was covered in pennies and seashells. Pens and flowers both adorned the location as well. All of these are tokens left behind by visitors so the family will know someone has visited to pay their respects and honor their memory.

I enjoyed the day very much and highly recommend this stop to any fan of Lee or Capote's work.

How about you? Have you ever visited Monroeville? Have you enjoyed any of the stories created by Lee or Capote?

National Book Lover's Day

I hope you're enjoying an excellent read today!

If you've never heard of this celebration, National Book Lovers Day harnesses all the excitement bibliophiles feel about books into one celebration on August 9th. *Bibliophile – a person who has a great appreciation for or collects books.

A day for all those who love to read, National Book Lovers Day encourages you to find your favorite reading place, a good book (whether it be fiction or non-fiction) and read the day away. However, why should we only celebrate for a signal day? I hope you're able to enjoy reading every day. If not, at least give yourself the weekend to partake.

Curious about the history of this day, or how others are spending it? Check out:

https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-book-lovers-day-august-9/

How About you? WHAT ARE YOU READING?

IWSG: Using AI

It’s time for another group posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic. If you’d like to join us, click on the tab above and sign up. We post the first Wednesday of every month. Your words might be the encouragement someone needs. You can also join us on twitter using the hashtag #IWSG, or on the Facebook page.

Now, IWSG hosts have changed up the format in an effort to make it more fun and interactive. Every month, they will announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG Day post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

Don’t forget to visit others that day to see their answers. Want to join, or learn more? Visit our - Sign-up List.

August 7 question - Do you use AI in your writing and if so, how? Do you use it for your posts? Incorporate it into your stories? Use it for research? Audio?

MY ANSWER - I never use AI, nor do I have any desire to do so. I do, however, know quite a few educators who use it.

What about you? Do you use AI in your writing and if so, how? Do you use it for your posts? Incorporate it into your stories? Use it for research? Audio?

15 August Deadlines: Some Due Today

 1) DarkLit Press: In the Gallows Wake – A Pirate Horror Anthology - This is a fiction anthology of “piratical horror stories that are certain to plunge readers into the heart of darkness on the high seas, where cursed pirates and spectral ships reign with terror and betrayal, promising no soul safe passage through their nightmarish waters.” And, “Diverse voices in pirate stories transform the high seas into a vibrant canvas of human experience, weaving a rich tapestry that blends historical accuracy with untold narratives, ensuring every wave and whisper carries the weight of authenticity and boundless imagination. This approach not only breathes life into the sails of traditional tales but also charts a course toward a more inclusive and multifaceted exploration of freedom, identity, and adventure.”

They also accept reprints.
Deadline: 1 August 2024
Length: 4,000-6,000 words
Pay: $0.01/word
Details here.

2) The First Line Journal
They want fiction (all genres) and poetry that begins with pre-set first lines, one for each quarterly issue. For nonfiction, they want critical articles about your favorite first line from a literary work. For fiction and poetry, for the Fall issue, the first line is:
“When she was eight, Alice Henderson briefly held the world record for filling her mouth with marbles.”
Deadline: 1 August 2024 for the Fall issue
Length: 300-5,000 words for fiction; 500-800 words for nonfiction
Pay: $25-50 for fiction, $25 for nonfiction, $10 for poetry (less postage fee for international writers – see guidelines)
Details here.

3) Zombies in the New Normal Anthology
This is a fiction anthology – they want real-world based zombie horror. They have detailed guidelines about the kind of stories they want, including, “At its heart, this anthology is about America and the sometimes blind resilience to carry on. These stories hint at that resilience and acceptance of this “New Normal.””
Deadline: 1 August 2024
Length: 3,000-12,000 words
Pay: $100
Details here (scroll down). 

4) The Other Stories Podcast
This is a horror/sci-fi/thriller fiction podcast from Hawk & Cleaver. They accept themed fiction submissions of up to 2,000 words. Some upcoming themes are: The Tarot, deadline 1 August; Shakespeare, deadline 1 September; and Bleeding Hearts, deadline 1 November 2024.
Deadlines: See above
Length: Up to 2,000 words
Pay: £15
Details here, here, and here.

5 - 7) Motherwell: Holidays as a Parent, and more
Motherwell is a general-interest magazine on parenting; they accept essays, and work in other formats, on parenting. They accept perspective pieces, personal essays, essays on the ‘parenting and food’ theme, and more. They’re currently also looking for completed essays on ‘Holidays as a Parent’ theme. “We’d love to invite submissions about what the holidays (e.g. Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Thanksgiving) mean to you and your family. Or anything regarding how they make you feel about being a parent. We are open to a range of formats and lengths: personal essays, humor pieces, listicles, anecdotes, etc. These submissions will go through our regular paid/unpaid process (see dropdown menu). All formats welcome and please include a word count (we tend to cap at 1,200).” Please note, some submissions to this magazine (shorter pieces, alternative formats, and more) are unpaid.
Deadline: Unspecified
Length: Up to 1,200 words for essays
Pay: Unspecified
Details here.
(Motherwell has more than one category listed on Submittable; please be sure to submit in the correct one.)

8) Blessing the Boats Selections by BOA Editions – this isn’t a contest, but an open submission period for a poetry collection by women of color in the US; one selected poet gets $5,000, and a publishing contract, details here;

9) And PEN has a few grants for writers, including the PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants, which support the translation of book-length works of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or drama in English; the grants are $2,000-4,000, and the deadline is 1 August 2024; details here and here

10) Children’s and Young Adult Novelists, the grant is $5,000, and the deadline is 1 August 2024; details here and here

11) Literary Oral History, for literary works of nonfiction that use oral history to illuminate an event, individual, place, or movement; there are two grants of $15,000 each, the deadline is 1 August 2024, details here and here

12) PEN/Bare Life Review Grants which recognize literary works by immigrant and refugee writers; there are two grants of $5,000 each, deadline 1 August 2024, details here and here. Please check all the PEN grants for detailed eligibility, and other requirements.

13 and 14) There are also the Granum Foundation Prizes – the Granum Foundation Prize and the Granum Foundation Translation Prize, for works in progress, to help US-based writers complete substantive literary projects, including novels, memoirs, books of poetry, short story collections, and works in translation. The Granum Foundation Prize is $5,000, with up to three finalist prizes of with $500 or more each; and the Translation Prize is $1,500 or more. The deadline is 1 August 2024; details here.)

15) Chicken Soup for the Soul: Change your habits & attitudes / change your life

The deadline for submissions is AUGUST 31, 2024. Habits. Attitudes. Breaking bad habits and replacing them with good habits play an important role in self-care. Change your attitude and you can change your life. And self-care - including mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual wellbeing - is vital to ensuring that your needs are met. It's probably what we neglect the most. We are looking for true stories about how you realized a certain habit or attitude was detrimental to you, what you did to change that, and the difference it made in your life.

Here are some ideas that might prompt you to recall a story you'd like to share:

- Your strategy for making new habits that are better for you
- Your strategy for breaking bad habits
- How you made a conscious decision to change
- How changing your habits and attitudes reduced your stress and improved your fitness, health, relationships, work, fun...
- How proper self-care improved your life
- What changes did you make to put yourself first on your "To-Do" list?
- Did you eliminate people from your life, or at least reduce your exposure to them, as part of your plan? And if you couldn't, did you at least change how you reacted to them?
- Did you take back control of your life? Take back the power?
- Did stepping outside your comfort zone help you create new, better habits?
- How deviating from your routine helped you break a habit
- Did keeping a journal help?
- How you made a new, good habit and conquered an old, bad one
- Breaking familiar patterns and how that helped
- Baby steps to change - step by step
- Learning to say "no" - setting boundaries
- Learning to ask for help
- Did you work with someone to make the changes? An accountability partner? A family member or friend?
- Did you teach someone else how to break bad habits, make new ones, change their attitude, reclaim their power?
- Have you become more assertive or outspoken? Changed how someone treated you?

DUE August 31, 2024.