Weekly Posts from The Horror Tree for 3/18/22
Mar 18, 2022 8:01 pm
Hi there,
Word of the week: keloid– raised pinkish scar tissue at the site of an injury.
Welcome back, readers. I hope March is treating you well. This Sunday (March 20th) marks the first day of spring, and it has me thinking about rebirth and renewal. As writers, we often include seasonal themes in our work, and I’ve read many horror stories that take place in autumn, winter, and even summer, but I can’t think of nearly as many that take place during the spring. What say you, readers? Do you have any horror favorites that take place in the springtime? I’m thinking I need to add some to my TBR list.
As always, you can find me (Holley Cornetto) lurking on Twitter @HLCornetto. Now, onto the latest articles on writing from around the web.
Horror Tree / Trembling With Fear Update (This section updated by your fearless editor and chief, Stuart C.!):
Whee, just planned out the 2 classes for my MBA that I'll be taking this year still which will finish out my core classes and after that, it is on my electives. We have a few interesting things in the works right now that might be related to non-fiction, best of dealios, possibly a Discord server, and a workshop. More on all of these soon but there is a LOT in the works! :)
As a side note, for those who are looking to contribute to the site as a one-off and aren't comfortable with the monthly donations of Patreon, Steph suggested we set up a Ko-fi account. So, that is now also a way to help keep Horror Tree running! You can find us right here: https://ko-fi.com/horrortree. We'll be adding some content and other various things to it in the near future. :)
Newsletter Sponsor:
Be sure to pick up a copy of 'The Name of Fear Collection Today!
Articles:
This week we are starting off our articles section with “10 Tips on How to Title Your Horror Story.” Titles are an important, yet often overlooked part of the writing process. How do your chose the right words or phrases that will capture the mood, tone, and content of your story? Perhaps this article can shed some light. In “The Value of Percolation,” we learn that percolation is the period in which the writer allows the story to rest before going back in for revisions. In this article, percolation is broken down into three phases: interruption; the tuned, scavenging mind; and conscious reflection. I found much of the information in the article resonated with me, particularly the struggle to accept something isn’t right with a story, and being openminded about finding a solution.
For those of you who love flash fiction as much as I do, Maria Haskins wrote an article at SFWA with “!0 Hands-On Tips for Writing Flash Fiction.” Our last article this week comes from Craft Your Content, and provided 22 suggestions on how to improve your writing for 2022. I hope you enjoy!
General:
Ginger Nuts of Horror: 10 Tips on How to Title Your Horror Story
Jane Friedman: The Value of Percolation
Craft:
SFWA: 10 Hands-On Tips for Writing Flash Fiction
Craft Your Content: 22 Ways You Can Be a Better Writer in 2022
Free Fiction Roundup:
Our first story this week is from Luna Station Quarterly. “The Goddess of Fear” was a thoughtful and compelling piece of fiction that speaks to overcoming fear, and learning to choose ourselves. This piece resonated with me, as the protagonist struggled between her own wants, desires, and fears, and those of Jon, the beast. Jakob Millard’s flash “Mycology” was a creepy little tale of a girl who just wants to care for her mushrooms. Finally, “Spirit of the Caribbean” injects a bit of extreme horror and gore into a brief flash piece.
“The Goddess of Fear” by Ivy Grimes at Luna Station Quarterly.
“Mycology” by Jakob Millard at Coffin Bell Journal.
“Spirit of the Caribbean” by E.J. Delaney
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!
- Someone to help create videos for social media (we have tools, but not time!)
- 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)
🗒️ Taking Submissions: Halloween Ghost Anthology
Deadline: May 31st, 2022 Payment: $0.06/word Theme: Ghost stories Do you love All Hallow’s Eve?
Ghost stories?
Tales from beyond that leave you feeling unsettled while walking to the kitchen at night?
The orange-and-black vintage Halloween aesthetic?
Haunted houses with shuttered windows?...
🗒️ Taking Submissions: Otoroshi Journal 2022 Summer Issue (Early Listing)
Submission Window: April 1st-30th, 2022 Payment: $1 per accepted piece Theme: horrorku, horror themed tanka, haibun, see below for details The Submission may include any or all of the following: · Up to seven (7) horrorku or horror tanka [we will rarely publish 5/7/5(7/7)] · Up to three (3) haibun [title + prose + haiku/tanka — no more than 100 words] · Up to five (5) pieces of cover art All submissions must be original, unpublished work that is not under consideration by a print or web-based journal.
Posts in closed, critique-oriented groups and social media sites are acceptable for submission, but public posts on forums such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are not.
By submitting a piece to us, you are guaranteeing that it is your original work and not under consideration or published anywhere else in the world.
E-mail submission is required.
Type poems into the body of the e-mail; no attachments of poetry will be opened....
🗒️ Taking Submissions: Nightmare Sky
Submission Window: May 1st-31st, 2022 Payment: $0.01 per word, minimum of $20 payment Theme: Astronomy or night-sky themed horror stories about humans and our connection to the stars.
Nightmare Sky: Stories of Astronomical Horror Submission window: May 1 – 31, 2022 Since the dawn of humanity, we have looked to the stars with awe.
They call for us to gaze upon their brilliance while we sit around campfires and make up tales of their histories.
Tales that are often fraught with horrors.
The very dust of their explosive pasts traveled lightyears across the unknown, and now that dust pulses through our veins, drawing our eyes up, back to our origins....
🗒️ Taking Submissions: khōréō April 2022 (Early Listing)
Submission Window: April 1-April 30th, 2022 Payment: 8 cents per word Theme: Fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and any genre in between or around it, as long as there’s a speculative element.
Note: You must identify as an immigrant or member of a diaspora in the broadest definitions of the terms.
This includes, but is not limited to, first- and second-generation immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, undocumented migrants, persons who identify with one or more diaspora communities, persons who have been displaced or whose heritage has been erased due to colonialism/imperialism, and anyone whose heritage and history includes ‘here and elsewhere’.
khōréō is a quarterly publication of stories, essays, and art: fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and any genre in between or around it, as long as there’s a speculative element.
We’re especially interested in writing and art that explore some aspect of migration, whether explicitly (themes of immigration, colonialism, etc.
), metaphorically, or with a sly nod and a wink....
🗒️ Contest: 50-Word Stories April 2022 (Early Listing)
Submission Window: Payment: 1 winner each month will win $10 Canadian Theme: A story at exactly 50-words If you’d like to have a 50-word story that you wrote featured on FiftyWordStories.com, first make sure that you understand exactly what a 50-word story is, and then read the submission requirements below closely.
Submissions System Each month, submissions will be open between days 1 and 15 of that month.
Any stories received on days 16 to 31 of a month will be deleted, but can be resubmitted the following month.
You may only submit one story per month.
From the stories received in those 15 days, the best stories will be selected to be published that same month.
Only enough stories will be selected to publish two stories per weekday.
There is no payment associated with stories....
Memento Mori By Kelly Florence You never know how tragedy will affect your life or what gifts may come out of it.
This was the case for me when I simultaneously lost my husband but met my best friend during one summer.
I was twenty-three years old, spending three months in the intensive care unit of a hospital next to my twenty-four-year-old husband.
He was diagnosed with lupus only two years prior.
Lupus is an autoimmune disease that causes the body to attack its own tissues....
🗒️ Taking Submissions: Dose of Dread April 2022 (Early Listing)
Submission Window: April 1st – 15th, 2022 Payment: 2c/word Theme: Un-themed, general horror flash fiction.
Preference to dread-inducing stories.
**STARTING IN 2022, SUBMISSIONS OPEN JANUARY, APRIL, JULY, AND OCTOBER (1-15th of each month)** Submissions CLOSED.
Un-themed, general horror flash fiction.
Preference to dread-inducing stories.
Length: 500 – 1,000 words.
Firm....
🗒️ Taking Submissions: Cosmic Roots And Eldritch Shores April 2022- EARLY
Submission Window: April 1-2, 2022 Payment: 8 cents per word for original, 2 cents for reprints Theme: Well written original work in science fiction, fantasy, myth, legend, fairy tales, and eldritch, in written, podcast, video, and/or graphic story form, and from around the world.
Note: Reprints welcome Submissions Schedule We have a new submissions schedule as of June 1, 2020: The first and second day of every month, 12 am of the 1st to 12 am of the 3rd, E.
S.
T.
Only one submission per person.
For reading impaired individuals, our submissions manager and ‘forget password’ have a captcha compatible with screen readers.
We pay 8¢ per word for new fiction, 2¢ per word for fiction reprints, 2 – 6¢ per word for new fact-based work, 1- 4¢ per word for reprinted fact articles....
Enjoy,
Horror Tree
