Weekly Posts from The Horror Tree for 11/05/2021
Nov 06, 2021 2:46 am
Word of the week: Petrichor– the metallic, earthy scent after the rain.
October is gone already. I hope you all had a wonderful (and spooky) Halloween. Good luck to everyone participating in NaNoWriMo this month. Will you be writing a novel in November? Don’t forget to take a moment for self-care, and remember the mantra “write now, edit later.” But for now, it’s my favorite time of the week! Time to round up articles and fiction from around the web for you to enjoy, dear readers. Our articles this week discuss editing, character arcs, inciting incidents, and writing violence. I hope each of you find something useful in these links.
As always, you can find me (Holley) lurking on Twitter @HLCornetto. Here are the latest articles on writing from around the web.
Sponsor:
This month we're being sponsored by Were Tales which includes some amazing authors (including some who write for and frequent Horror Tree) so you should pick up a copy today!
Horror Tree / Trembling With Fear Update:
Still learning the ins and outs of SendFox as our new newsletter format. Not much to add here quite yet!
With the success of drabbles in our Trembling With Fear releases, we're looking to be expanding on our ability to share drabbles. Keep your eyes peeled for a new opportunity coming soon. We'll also be looking for an editor with Wordpress experience to help out here.
Speaking of Trembling With Fear", our Halloween issue is out for those who missed it! If you're feeling festive though, be sure to check out our window for our holiday special!
Also, this will be my final request to please share your feedback with your thoughts on our video refresh posts - https://www.patreon.com/posts/video-refreshes-57593581
Articles:
Friends, enemies, and everyone in between. Here are the latest articles worth your time that we've found from around the web!
Craft:
Writing in the Dark: We’ll Fix it in the Edit
Jane Friedman: Maybe It’s Not Your Plot
General:
Luna Station Quarterly: On Breaking Rules: The Inciting Incident
Helping Writers Become Authors: Humanizing the Bad Guy (or, Some Thoughts on Writing Violence in Fiction)
Free Fiction Roundup:
The first story this week is also the longest, but it’s well worth the read. “Reflections on an Invisible Girl” by Mary Maxfield is strange and interesting with a touch of the surreal that raises interesting questions about identity and belonging. Eliot Li’s story “Her Teeth” surprised me. It is macabre, but also manages to be touching and strangely sweet for a story about teeth. We also have “Amundsen Sea” by Graham Robert Scott which manages to use atmosphere to create and sustain the horrific tale. Our last story this week is by C.M. Saunders. “The Wailing” combines horror and folklore, and has an excellent, haunting closing line.
Now, on to the fiction:
“Reflections on an Invisible Girl” by Mary Maxfield. Catapult.
“Her Teeth” by Eliot Li. Flash Frog.
“Amundsen Sea” by Graham Robert Scott. Necessary Fiction.
“The Wailing” by C.M. Saunders. Twenty-two Twenty-eight.
If you post any writing content during the week and think it would be a good fit for us to feature, do reach out and let us know at contact@horrortree.com
Thank you Patreons! As always, the site's lifeblood is in your hands and we truly appreciate your support.
Looking To Help Horror Tree?
Here are the main things we're looking for:
- Advertising and either Site or Contest sponsorships!
- Article writers (articles, interviews, reviews, crowdsource compilations, etc.)
- Sharing guest posts with us or reaching out for us to be a blog tour host.
- The obvious one here is also to become one of our Patreons!
If you're interested in contributing and think you have something that would help out PLEASE don't shy away from contacting us! (contact@horrortree.com)
Top Articles Of The Week Excerpts:
🗒️ Ongoing Submissions: (mac)ro(mic)
Payment: $15 Theme: works that focus on expressing, not impressing We want your heart, your soul, the pieces that are a part of you.
We want stories that are worlds in words, pieces that tell a (mac)ro story in a (mic)ro word count.
We want works that focus on expressing, not impressing.
Above all else, we want stories that connect.
Our only restrictions?...
🗒️ Move over Plato: The Allegory of the Horror
Move over Plato: The Allegory of the Horror By Rebecca Rowland I see allegory in everything.
Perhaps it’s a side effect after decades of teaching high school English.
Perhaps it’s the curse of having chosen to pursue a graduate degree in literature after finishing college (not for any career preparation but in order to postpone joining the work force: I admit it!
).
Or, perhaps it’s simply a quality of being a horror writer.
Though we’re often pushed to the back of the literary prestige line, authors of the scare-narrative are cultivators of a masterful magic show that both ignites readers’ imaginations and, quite often, pokes at their most tender trigger points like mad scientist filmmakers splicing subconscious images into montages....
🗒️ Ongoing Submissions: The Deadlands
Payment: 10 cents per word, 5 cents per word for reprints Theme: Speculative fiction that concerns itself with death–but also everything death may involve.
Note: Reprints welcome The Deadlands is a new monthly speculative fiction magazine.
We will publish short stories, poems, and essays about the other realms, of the ends we face here, and the beginnings we find elsewhere.
It will be a journey into the unknown, to meet those who live there still, even though they may be dead.
Death is a journey we all will take, but we’d like to peek at the map before we go....
🗒️ Taking Submissions: Paradoxical Pets
Deadline: February 11th 2022 Payment: $.01 per word advanced against royalties Theme: Wondrous pets Note: Reprints Welcome Paradoxical Pets is open to stories about wondrous pets, be they alien, magical, artificial, or common pets with some special power.
Fantasy or science fiction are welcome.
Word Balloon Books sells print editions at comic cons, Ren Fairs, and book festivals.
We’ve noticed that most books at these event target adult readers, so in 2022 we’re launching a line of anthologies appropriate for readers 10 and up.
We’re open to challenging themes and subject matter, but language, graphic violence, and sexual content should be rated G.
Child or teen protagonists preferred....
🗒️ November 2021: Tarot Cards for Writing–Scratch That–Author Inspiration
Some of you may be gearing up for NaNoWriMo, others may be wrapping up your final drafts before publication, or planning out your writing goals for next year.
And some may even be taking a rest-and-recharge sabbatical before the end of the year, or between seasonal cycles.
I thought, then, I’d shift the tone of the reading for this month.
Instead of a spread that serves as writerly inspiration, I’d thought I’d draw cards on behalf of writers themselves; writers, even us horror/dark fiction writers, could use a boost, I think.
So, I hope you enjoy November’s tarot card reading.
Enjoy the fruits of your creative harvest!
Ace of Rods: This card is a reminder to not only be mindful of growth and accepting of new opportunities, but to also maintain the fire that feeds your forward momentum....
🗒️ Ongoing Submissions: Tabletops & Tentacles
Payment: $25 and a contributor’s copy Theme: Fantasy, sci-fi, horror and noir themes.
T&T is a fiercely independent geek ‘zine which means two things: We are always looking for fresh voices and interesting takes on short fiction, columns and reviews.
And we don’t have a lot of money, as the magazine is published out of the love of the geeky world we live in.
That said, we believe in paying our contributors and will pay what we can.
As more people discover the magazine, we will hopefully be able to increase the rates we pay contributors.
AUTHORS: Author guidelines and submissions: We are currently seeking short fiction – 1,000-6,000 words with a specific interest in fantasy, sci-fi, horror and noir themes....
🗒️ Taking Submissions: Night Terrors anthology November 2021 Window
Deadline: November 30th, 2021 Payment: 1 cent per word ($10 for every 1,000 words prorated, $50 for every 5,000 words prorated, and so on) Theme: Short horror stories that focus on ghosts, the supernatural, paranormal, monsters, and dark tales.
Scare Street is now accepting submissions for its Night Terrors anthology.
We’re looking for unpublished short horror stories that focus on ghosts, the supernatural, paranormal, monsters, and dark tales.
We want dark, creepy, weird, and unsettling fiction that are expertly told.
Give us character-driven narratives with clever but logical twists at the end, creative and fresh takes on common horror tropes, terrifying monsters, and suspenseful tales....
🗒️ ‘It Calls from the Doors’ Blog Tour – Blockbuster Made Me Do It
Blockbuster Made Me Do It by Paul O’Neill At the bottom of our sad, gusty high street, my track-suited friends and I wasted afternoons at our local Blockbusters.
Long gone now, of course, but they were all the rage back then.
You could waste a lot of time in that vivid blue atmosphere.
I can still taste all that plastic.
Empty cassette cases (they were empty to stop us from knicking them) lined the walls from top to bottom.
A vivid memory stands in my mind of carrying the empty cases of Poltergeist 3, Child’s Play, and Toys....
🗒️ Taking Submissions: Close to Midnight
Deadline: November 14th, 2021 Payment: 8 cents per word Theme: Horror We are very excited to announce a new call for submissions which is now open!
Please read through the details for submissions carefully before submitting your stories and make sure to include the project name in the subject of your email.
Close to Midnight A New Collection of Horror Stories We are very excited to open submissions for this new anthology, edited by Mark Morris (“…one of the finest horror writers at work today” – Clive Barker)!
Close to Midnight is the third book in the Flame Tree Book of Horror series, and follows Beyond the Veil, which is out now!
Mark has once again approached an impressive range of authors but we’ve reserved space for four new stories from the online submissions.
This is a prestigious anthology and will be published worldwide in hardcover and paperback....
Enjoy,
Horror Tree
