How do I write thee? Let me count the ways….
Or maybe not.
Still, there are plenty of ways to write a poem, and this week, Robert Lee Brewer shared five techniques that have helped when he’s “been stuck in a rut.” Check the comments thread, too.
Since I’m a fan of prompts, I’ll also point you to poet Diane Lockward’s recent post featuring sites that provide poetry prompts.
Enjoy, and have a great weekend. See you back here on Monday!
As promised two weeks ago, I’ve compiled what I am calling here a guide to journals and magazines that publish flash nonfiction/micro-essays.
Before I present the list, I need to issue a few clarifications and caveats. First, this list by no means includes *every* journal or magazine that might publish your piece of flash nonfiction. For the most part, I’ve omitted publications that specify only that submitted essays should run “no longer than” or “up to” 5,000 or 8,000 words. It’s entirely possible that the editors of these publications will welcome something more along the lines of 500 or 800 words. But unless I’ve discerned a *specific* editorial interest in shorter-form nonfiction–whether through my own research into guidelines and past issues or through sources listed at the end of the post–I haven’t included them here.
I’ve also had to break my usual blog-and-newsletter-rule about limiting listings to paying journals only (and only publications that don’t require reading fees). But I’ve done my best to signal to you which journals state outright on their sites that they’ll pay for your work–look for the $–and which ones are equally upfront about charging fees.
If you know of a journal or magazine that’s specifically interested in flash nonfiction and micro-essays that should be added to the list, please share your knowledge (bonus points for links, too) in comments. Thank you!
Without further ado… Continue reading ›
When I began reading this recent post on Robert Lee Brewer’s “My Name Is Not Bob” blog, I thought I was reading my own words: “I’m often slow about adopting new things. As such, I realize many bloggers already employ images in their blog posts on a regular basis.” But then Robert continued: “In fact, I even started using them more regularly in the final months of 2011 (and my traffic increased).”
Um. Well. Yes, I’ve known for awhile that I should include more photos on my blog posts. But I just haven’t been very good about doing so.
Robert’s post provided another needed push. If you’re interested in adding some imagistic life to your blog, I recommend that you read it, too. (See also the useful comments section.)
I’ve also been encouraged–if only slightly overwhelmed–by an excellent resource that was kindly recommended to me via Twitter. My thanks to @franmerlie for sending me to “15 Best Places for Designers to Get Free Stock Photos Online.” That, my friends, is the chief Friday Find of this post.
Enjoy the weekend, and I’ll look forward to seeing you back here on Monday.
If you follow me on Twitter, you may have caught my delighted announcement last Saturday about a just-accepted essay. In fact, last week was pretty remarkable, because I received two essay acceptances. But the Saturday acceptance was notable for a couple of reasons.
First, that acceptance came after the same piece (or some iterations of it) had been rejected several times. Nowhere near as many rejections as some of my short stories have suffered on their way to publication–but still, finding this piece a home was by no means a super-smooth (or super-swift) process. By the time this essay is published, nearly one year will have elapsed since I began sending it out.
Second, the accepted piece exemplifies something that seems increasingly integral to my writing practice: the micro-essay (also known as flash nonfiction). I have two other new micro-essays circulating right now (yes, one of them developed from the poetry exercise I mentioned not long ago). If you add up the word counts of the three pieces–the one that was just accepted and the two newer ones–you don’t even reach 1500 words.
I’m only beginning to understand how and why this focus is developing for me. Which is why I was thrilled to discover “Focusing on Flash Nonfiction: An Interview with Dinty W. Moore” on the River Teeth blog this week. Among Moore’s many hats is the editorship of Brevity: A Journal of Concise Literary Nonfiction.
In addition to sharing his expert take on crafting flash nonfiction, Moore recommends some journals that feature this type of writing. Which reminded me of two other places where one may find potential homes for micro-essays: Pamelyn Casto’s newsletter and The Review Review‘s flash fiction resource list (also useful for flash nonfiction).
I suspect that I’ll be continuing to look for nice homes for flash nonfiction (not to mention additional places to read good examples of it), so if you have other suggestions–either for resource lists or specific venues–please share! Maybe we can come up with the “Ultimate List of Magazines & Journals That Publish Flash Nonfiction & Micro-Essays.”
Erika Dreifus lives and writes in New York City. Her story collection, Quiet Americans, was published in January 2011 by Last Light Studio Books. Erika is a contributing editor for The Writer magazine and Fiction Writers Review and an advisory board member for J Journal: New Writing on Justice, and she wrote the section on “Choosing a Low-Residency MFA Program in Creative Writing” for the second edition of Tom Kealey’s Creative Writing MFA Handbook (Continuum, 2008). Erika’s writing practice encompasses fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. Erika is also the editor/publisher of The Practicing Writer, a free (and popular) e-newsletter featuring advice, opportunities, and resources on the craft and business of writing for fictionists, poets, and writers of creative nonfiction.