Weekly Posts from The Horror Tree for 12/03/21
Dec 04, 2021 4:41 am
Hi there,
Word of the week: Bruxism – involuntary and habitual grinding of the teeth
It’s December! For many of you, that marks the end of NaNoWriMo, and the beginning of what I like to call NaNoRevMo, where we all read back the drafts we wrote in November while silently weeping into a pint of Ben & Jerrys and mapping out revisions. Joking aside, no matter whether you met your goals or not, be proud of yourself for what you did accomplish, and the words that you were able to get down on the page. Writers are often harder on themselves than they are on others. Remember to celebrate your wins. Share them! Shout about it loudly and proudly on Twitter, Facebook, or even in the middle of Starbucks, if you’re feeling brave.
As always, you can find me (Holley) lurking on Twitter @HLCornetto. Now, onto 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 (This section updated by your fearless editor and chief, Stuart C.!):
Our love and hate relationship with SendFox continues. I think we're over the bulk of the issues. (Though, if it gets limited again we'll be jumping platforms!) I've got a few changes currently in the works and another week of my current MBA class so I'll soon have a month of breathing room AND the next class should be easier than this one.
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. If you're interested, please reach out to contact@horrortree.com. Now, back to Holley!
Articles
For our article selection this week, I’ve rounded up a variety of topics I hope you find helpful no matter where you are on your writing journey. Helping Writers Become Authors continues their excellent series on writing structure. You may recall a few weeks ago reading the first in this series, “The Two Halves of the First Plot Point.” This week, the series moves to the midpoint of a story and discusses structure in the midpoint. Though it may seem unusual to highlight a series in this way through the newsletter, I do think this particular series is well done, and something many writers will benefit from. In addition, there is a craft article about writing character emotions. In the business section, I’ve included an article written by Richard Thomas, and featured at LitReactor, where he asks several successful authors “What’s the Best Money You’ve Spent on Your Writing Career?” The answers are varied and may surprise you. Lastly, diy MFA shares with us tips and tricks to help recapture the joy of writing. For many writers, this time of year can feel overwhelming, and things we once felt joy in may feel more like obligations or responsibilities. Hopefully, this article will help you, as it did me, think of small changes you can make to shake yourself out of the funk and find your happy place once more.
Craft:
Helping Writers Become Authors: The Two Halves of the Midpoint
Writer’s in the Storm: How to “Go Deeper” Into a Character’s Emotions
Business:
LitReactor: What’s the Best Money You’ve Spent on Your Writing Career?
General:
diy MFA: Recapture Joy in Your Writing
Free Fiction Roundup:
I’m ecstatic to share this week’s recommended fiction. Throughout the week I’ve read some fantastic pieces of fiction, making notes and trying to decide which pieces to include. The first piece I’d like to bring to your attention is “Please Hold” by Georgia Cook. I’ve read several of Cook’s stories at this point, and it is no exaggeration to say I’m a fan. This story was funny and horrifying, and perfect if you need a good chuckle. Second, I have Laney Gaughan’s story “Syrup-Tapping Season” from Luna Station Quarterly’s latest issue. This story is creepy and nostalgic and wonderful in ways I can’t quite describe. I absolutely loved everything about it, and I look forward to reading more stories from Gaughan in the future. “Wretchbane Midnights” by Erica Ciko Campbell is a bizarre and touching story, particularly if you read the author’s note at the beginning (which I highly recommend that you do). I wish more publications included a space of at least a few sentences to allow the author to share the inspirations for their stories, or at least where the author’s head was as they wrote it. (Daily Science Fiction does this, and I often find these notes as interesting as the stories themselves!) To round out our weekly collection, I’ve selected “The Perfect Holiday” by Diane Nantis. Though I usually like to say a little something about each story I include, I think that reading this one blind is the best way, so reader, my lips are sealed.
Now, on to the fiction:
“Please Hold” by Georgia Cook. Metastellar.
“Syrup-Tapping Season” by Laney Gaughan. Luna Station Quarterly.
“Wretchbane Midnights” by Erica Ciko Campbell. Starward Shadows Quarterly.
“The Perfect Holiday” by Diane Nantis. Dreadstone Press.
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: Dark Recesses Spring 2022 Issue
Deadline: February 15th, 2022 Payment: 5 cents per word Theme: horror/dark fiction QUARTERLY PRINT MAGAZINE Breakdown of content: 8 fiction pieces (approximate word lengths) – 1x 5000, 1x 3000, 1x 2500, 2x 1500, 3x 500 3-5 non-fiction pieces – 1 article, 1-2 briefs, 1 interview and/or review – Fiction: We are looking for horror/dark fiction pieces between 500-5000 words firm.
Common sense when submitting please.
We do not accept stories that involve the sexual abuse/exploitation of minors direct or implied.
We are not looking for pure shock value.
All components of your story should have merit.
Gore for gore’s sake is not what we are looking for.
Our pay rates 5 cents per word All payments are made in US funds via PayPal.
We accept submissions during the following reading periods , with an expected response time of up to 16 weeks.
This way we are able to accommodate all the submissions we receive....
🗒️ Taking Submissions: Contrary Spring 2022 Issue
Deadline: March 1st, 2022 Payment: $20 Theme: We ask our fiction writers to imagine their readers navigating a story with one finger poised over a mouse button.
Can your story stay that finger to the end?
“Turning words into art is unnatural.
It begins with a contrary attitude.
It says, I am unhappy with the way things are and desire to make things different.
Rather than represent the world, I will make something wildly and savagely new....
🗒️ Taking Submissions: Cthulhu FhCon
Deadline: April 15th, 2022 Payment: 3 cents per word Theme: A convention that interacts with a Lovecraftian God, details below!
Somewhere in the world, there is a hotel on an island in the middle of a large river.
This hotel was designed and built in the 1980s, and its labyrinthine corridors and structural design make no sense at all to the modern eye.
And all the while, the deep, dark, swirling waters of the river conceal its secrets.
Unknown to all but its mad designer, this hotel was built as an altar to the Old God that rests under the dark, flowing current.
Whether that altar contains the Old God and ensures his slumber, is built to one day call him from his rest, or has some other nefarious purpose is unknown.
But it’s a heck of a place for a bunch of fans to throw a con.
What horrors or humors will happen at the convention?
What’s the gaming room like?
What happens at the panels, or in the dealer’s room?
Who shows up at the room parties?
Where the hotel is, and what sort of story happens within it, is entirely up to the author—but some sort of interaction between the Lovecraftian-style Old God in the river and the convention must be a focal part of the story....
🗒️ Taking Submissions: Gothic Ghost Story
Deadline: April 30th, 2022 Payment: £5 Theme: Wintry tales of ghosts and hauntings Note: Female writers and those who identify as women One of the guilty pleasures of Christmas, is that moment when you pull a favourite book from the shelf and reread it for the umpteenth time.
Those wintry tales of ghosts and hauntings have become part of a much-loved tradition in this country.
Black Angel Press want to add to this genre by providing a collection of new tales from female writers; this includes those who identify as women and both new and experienced writers alike.
We are looking for quiet gothic darkness and whilst stories can be set in the traditional Victorian environment, we are also very much open to any who take the gothic tropes and place them in the present – or even the future.
The anthology will consist of 20 stories and be a mixture of invitation and submission....
🗒️ Taking Submissions: Mythic Magazine 2021 Winter Window
Deadline: January 31st, 2022 Payment: 1 cents per word Theme: Diverse sci-fi and fantasy fiction.
MYTHIC is seeking diverse sci-fi and fantasy fiction.
We publish both new, original fiction.
Authors are encouraged to submit their stories during the specific reading periods listed below.
Reading Periods June 1 through July 31 December 1 through January 31 Guidelines Works should be between 2,000-6,000 words.
(No wiggle room above or below.
) 1.) Submit in Standard Manuscript Format We prefer Times New Roman or Courier and 12 point type....
🗒️ Playing With New Toys – The Supernote
I’m not quite ready to delve into a full review of the Supernote but they bill it as a product “For Those Who Write” from Ratta, and I have to say, it really is.
Initial impressions have me quite enjoying many aspects of the Supernote and undecided on a few choices.
As I said, it is still too early for a full-on review but I’ll be sharing a few thoughts on it below as well as including the general specs and details that are provided.
I do have put a disclaimer here.
I did receive my Supernote in exchange for my honest review....
🗒️ Video Recap: Will authors be replaced by robots?
Today, we’re revisiting Ken MacGregor’s recent article where he asks the very important questions: Will authors be replaced by robots?
It really was a fun read and we’re highlighting some of Ken’s views in this one.
(Editor’s note: To be honest, I’m still not convinced he isn’t a robot writing this just to fool us all into believing he’s a human.
He refuses to take a Captcha Test for me… -Stu) So.
now is the time to watch: Will authors be replaced by robots?
Please let us know what you think and if you want us to continue doing these recap videos!
🗒️ Taking Submissions: Steel True, Blade Straight
Deadline: April 30th, 2022 Payment: Contributor’s copy Theme: New material inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s work (Sherlock Holmes AND not.
) Steel True, Blade Straight The Belanger Books Anthology of Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Inspired Stories, Poems, and Scholarship 2022 Annual Description: This anthology will have stories, poems, and scholarship inspired by and about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes.
While the anthology will contain new Sherlock Holmes stories, the intent would be for at least 25% of the material to be stories and poems inspired by the life and non-Sherlockian writing of Sir Arthur.
Another 25% of material would be scholarship on Holmes and Doyle.
All proceeds from the Anthology will be donated to The Beacon Society, a 501c(3) nonprofit scion society of The Baker Street Irregulars (BSI), that serves as a link to other scion societies, providing teachers, librarians, children museums, and children theaters with local resources to bring the magic of Sherlock Holmes to life.
Guidelines: Stories – 3,000 – 10,000 word submissions that connect to the writing of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle....
🗒️ Ongoing Submissions: The Hungur Chronicles
Payment: The pay for original stories is $25.00; for reprints, $12.00. Theme: Vampires or creatures with vampiric themes Note: Reprints Welcome The Hungur Chronicles presents short stories, poems, articles, and illustrations related in some way to vampires, especially those on other worlds.
Blood is an addiction as well as food for vampires, but in other cultures on other worlds, some other substance may be the object of their desire and need.
You may recall an episode of Deep Space Nine in which a woman had a need for, and knew ecstasy from, ideas.
The object of desire on some worlds might be vegetation, or a mineral, or water (perhaps on a desert world).
In The Skylark of Space by E.
E.
“Doc” Smith, the salt in human blood was the desired substance.
In “Tree Hugger” (available from our Shop), the substance was sap.
We will also consider stories of vampires on Earth.
However, most of those stories have already been done, in one way or another, and we are not interested in recycling old ideas.
To make an Earth-based vampire story work, it must have something fresh and new.
Something with an unexpected twist.
It need not be gaudy; simple often works.
Just different and unexpected.
The Hungur Chronicles is published on Walpurgisnacht (or 1 May) and Samhain (or 1 November).
The first issue will be released on Walpurgisnacht 2021. The editors of The Hungur Chronicles are Terrie Leigh Relf and Robert “Bad Bob” Bellam.
We’re looking for original stories of between 3,000 and 8,000 words.
We will consider reprints within those parameters, but we will probably use one, and at most two, in an issue.
The pay for original stories is $25.00; for reprints, $12.00. We’re looking for original poems, preferably shorter than 100 lines.
We will use up to three, and no more than four, in...
Enjoy,
Horror Tree
