2020 Writing Exercise Series #242: Ekphrastic Foggier 14

The Notebooking Daily 2020 Writing Series is a daily writing exercises for both prose writers and poets to keep your creative mind stretched and ready to go—fresh for your other writing endeavors. The writing prompts take the impetus—that initial crystal of creation—out of your hands (for the most part) and changes your writing creation into creative problem solving. Instead of being preoccupied with the question "What do I write" you are instead pondering "How do I make this work?" And in the process you are producing new writing.

These exercises are not meant to be a standard writing session. They are meant to be productive and to keep your brain thinking about using language to solve simple or complex problems. The worst thing you can do is sit there inactive. It's like taking a 5 minute breather in the middle of a spin class—the point is to push, to produce something, however imperfect. If you don't overthink them, you will be able to complete all of the exercises in under 30 minutes.

#242

Ekphrastic Foggier 14

For today, we're going to write a poem or prose piece inspired by another piece of art, or an ekphrastic piece. The piece of art in question is this digital art piece titled "The Mechanic" by artist Caleb Worcester. Also check out his merch at Redbubble if you dig his style.

No handholding today. You have the lighthouse with the glowing door, the man seemingly walking on water, the door extending into the water, no light from the beacon itself... You tell us, in the world of your piece, you're the one in charge. 

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If you'd like background writing music, try this "Endless Sunday" lofi playlist on this monday, and just pretend it's still the weekend.

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2020 Writing Exercise Series #241: 3x5x7 Wordbank Sprints 33

The Notebooking Daily 2020 Writing Series is a daily writing exercises for both prose writers and poets to keep your creative mind stretched and ready to go—fresh for your other writing endeavors. The writing prompts take the impetus—that initial crystal of creation—out of your hands (for the most part) and changes your writing creation into creative problem solving. Instead of being preoccupied with the question "What do I write" you are instead pondering "How do I make this work?" And in the process you are producing new writing.

These exercises are not meant to be a standard writing session. They are meant to be productive and to keep your brain thinking about using language to solve simple or complex problems. The worst thing you can do is sit there inactive. It's like taking a 5 minute breather in the middle of a spin class—the point is to push, to produce something, however imperfect. If you don't overthink them, you will be able to complete all of the exercises in under 30 minutes.

#241
3x5x7 Wordbank Sprints 33

For today's writing exercise complete the following steps. The wordbank exercise has changed so be sure to take a peek at the new 'rules'. I recommend using the timer on your phone or computer and setting it for 1 minute. Each time you write a sentence, quickly reset the timer. If it goes off before you're finished with the sentence—wrap it up ASAP!

In order to complete the large number of sentences demanded of this exercise it is imperative that you write fast. Don't think too much at all until you've reached the final exercise. The process of this quick production is to thrust past second guesses or other stumbling blocks that sometimes impede your writing. You're aiming to write 23 sentences in at most 20 minutes so you have ten minutes to organize and write that actual piece, so you're going to be writing more than a sentence a minute.

WRITE FAST, DON'T OVERTHINK

1. Pick one word from each of three groups and write a sentence that includes all of the words, feel free to change tense, pluralize, gerund etc. Repeat the process five (5) times using different combinations. No dawdling! 
2. Now write three (3) sentences that are six (6) words or fewer in length that use any two (2) words from the wordbanks.
3. Now write three (3) sentences that use four (4) or more of the words.
4. Now write five (5) sentences which begin with one (1) of the words and contain a second one (1) of the words.
5. Now write five (5) sentences which are fewer than ten (10) words in length and conclude with one (1) of the words from the wordbanks. Remember, keep up the pace! Don't overthink!
6. Now rephrase two (2) of your sentences from exercise #1 in either a more efficient or more descriptive manner.
7. Now write a piece of fiction or poetry that uses at least three (3) of the sentences you've written throughout this process of exercises. Try to use as many of the (good) sentences as you can, or parts of the sentences if the whole thing doesn't fit or works better altered.

Word Bank 1:

• Enterprising
• Collaborators
• Fraud
• Idiotic
• Fraught

Wordbank 2:

• Rattlesnake
• Slime
• Espionage
• Soybeans
• Slushy

Wordbank 3:

• Enemies
• Violin
• Dope
• Clotting
• Moth

Bonus writing exercise: Include the word "Fire" (or firing) in your opening sentence, and in the piece you must include the name of a professional sport or sports team.

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Want some unobtrusive background writing music? Try this "lost summer | nostalgia vibes" playlist from what might be a new lofi friend

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2020 Writing Exercise Series #240: Erasing "The Island of the Fay" 2

The Notebooking Daily 2020 Writing Series is a daily writing exercises for both prose writers and poets to keep your creative mind stretched and ready to go—fresh for your other writing endeavors. The writing prompts take the impetus—that initial crystal of creation—out of your hands (for the most part) and changes your writing creation into creative problem solving. Instead of being preoccupied with the question "What do I write" you are instead pondering "How do I make this work?" And in the process you are producing new writing.

These exercises are not meant to be a standard writing session. They are meant to be productive and to keep your brain thinking about using language to solve simple or complex problems. The worst thing you can do is sit there inactive. It's like taking a 5 minute breather in the middle of a spin class—the point is to push, to produce something, however imperfect. If you don't overthink them, you will be able to complete all of the exercises in under 30 minutes.

#240
Erasing "The Island of the Fay" 2

For today's exercise we have split paths for fiction and poetry, though I highly recommend that even fiction writers try the poetry exercise, because erasures can be a blast!

For poetry do an erasure or black-out poem from the following selection of Edgar Allen Poe's short story "The Island of the Fay".

Edgar Allen Poe is considered by some to be the writer that solidified the short story genre as, well, a genre. Not the first writer of short stories, or even popular short stories, but he wrote enough of them that with the stories of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Charles Dickens, Irving Washington and others, critics were finally like—fine. Short stories can be a thing.

An Erasure/Blackout is really simple: you take the given text and remove many words to make it your own new piece. One way to go about the erasure that I like to do is to copy the text and paste it twice into your document before you start erasing or blacking out (in MS Word set the text background color to black), that way if you get further into the erasure and decide you want a somewhat different tone or direction, it's easy to go to the unaltered version and make the erasure/black-out piece smoother. Another tip is to look for recurring words, or themes.

In this example there are multiple 'sound' words, and mentions of being alone or in solitude, these could be a good touchstone for your piece. This is a relatively short section, so it will likely be a pretty short poem/section, so keep that in mind while composing.

If you insist on fiction, write a piece with one of these six titles taken from this section:

1. On Every Hand
2. The More Ignorant of the Priesthood
3. Space Itself
4. Madly Erring
5. Speaking of the Tides
6. A Thing That Does Not Exist

Erasure Selection:

from "The Island of the Fay"

Our telescopes and our mathematical investigations assure us on every hand — notwithstanding the cant of the more ignorant of the priesthood — that space, and therefore that bulk, is an important consideration in the eyes of the Almighty. The cycles in which the stars move are those best adapted for the evolution, without collision, of the greatest possible number of bodies. The forms of those bodies are accurately such as, within a given surface, to include the greatest possible amount of matter; — while the surfaces themselves are so disposed as to accommodate a denser population than could be accommodated on the same surfaces otherwise arranged. Nor is it any argument against bulk being an object with God, that space itself is infinite; for there may be an infinity of matter to fill it. And since we see clearly that the endowment of matter with vitality is a principle — indeed, as far as our judgments extend, the leading principle in the operations of Deity, — it is scarcely logical to imagine it confined to the regions of the minute, where we daily trace it, and not extending to those of the august. As we find cycle within cycle without end, — yet all revolving around one far-distant centre which is the God-head, may we not analogically suppose in the same manner, life within life, the less within the greater, and all within the Spirit Divine? In short, we are madly erring, through self-esteem, in believing man, in either his temporal or future destinies, to be of more moment in the universe than that vast "clod of the valley" which he tills and contemns, and to which he denies a soul for no more profound reason than that he does not behold it in operation.*

* Speaking of the tides, Pomponius Mela, in his treatise "De Situ Orbis," says "either the world is a great animal, or" etc.

These fancies, and such as these, have always given to my meditations among the mountains and the forests, by the rivers and the ocean, a tinge of what the everyday world would not fail to term fantastic. My wanderings amid such scenes have been many, and far-searching, and often solitary; and the interest with which I have strayed through many a dim, deep valley, or gazed into the reflected Heaven of many a bright lake, has been an interest greatly deepened by the thought that I have strayed and gazed alone. What flippant Frenchman was it who said in allusion to the well-known work of Zimmerman, that, "la solitude est une belle chose; mais il faut quelqu'un pour vous dire que la solitude est une belle chose?" The epigram cannot be gainsayed; but the necessity is a thing that does not exist.

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If you'd like some background music to write to, try this ambient "Summer Surf Chill Mix" from our buddies at Chillhop Music.

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2020 Writing Exercise Series #239: First Line Bonanza 10

The Notebooking Daily 2020 Writing Series is a daily writing exercises for both prose writers and poets to keep your creative mind stretched and ready to go—fresh for your other writing endeavors. The writing prompts take the impetus—that initial crystal of creation—out of your hands (for the most part) and changes your writing creation into creative problem solving. Instead of being preoccupied with the question "What do I write" you are instead pondering "How do I make this work?" And in the process you are producing new writing.

These exercises are not meant to be a standard writing session. They are meant to be productive and to keep your brain thinking about using language to solve simple or complex problems. The worst thing you can do is sit there inactive. It's like taking a 5 minute breather in the middle of a spin class—the point is to push, to produce something, however imperfect. If you don't overthink them, you will be able to complete all of the exercises in under 30 minutes.

#239
First Line Bonanza 10

For today's writing exercise write a piece that begins with one of the following first lines.

1. Everything was on fire.
2. It seemed like the bottle fell forever.
3. Few souls remained around the bonfire.
4. A third child balances on the backs of his brothers in the faded Polaroid.
5. "Tectonics plates do not care about your day plans!" he shouted.

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Bonus Exercise: You must include the following five words in your piece: Armful, Doubted, Gushed, Varnished, Envelope.

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If you'd like some background music to write to, try this "Solitude" lofi mix from our friend Dreamy.

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2020 Writing Exercise Series #238: Three Things Together 38

The Notebooking Daily 2020 Writing Series is a daily writing exercises for both prose writers and poets to keep your creative mind stretched and ready to go—fresh for your other writing endeavors. The writing prompts take the impetus—that initial crystal of creation—out of your hands (for the most part) and changes your writing creation into creative problem solving. Instead of being preoccupied with the question "What do I write" you are instead pondering "How do I make this work?" And in the process you are producing new writing.

These exercises are not meant to be a standard writing session. They are meant to be productive and to keep your brain thinking about using language to solve simple or complex problems. The worst thing you can do is sit there inactive. It's like taking a 5 minute breather in the middle of a spin class—the point is to push, to produce something, however imperfect. If you don't overthink them, you will be able to complete all of the exercises in under 30 minutes.

#238
Three Things Together 38

For today's writing exercise you will write a piece of poetry or prose which contains the following three things, Nice and simple. Today's Three Things come from the current prompt at 3Elements Review, so if you like your result, send it to them! The deadline is August 31st, 2020.

1. Trapeze
2. Pinprick
3. Calico

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Bonus 'Beginning and Ending' Exercise: Begin your piece underwater and finish your piece somewhere cold.

If you'd like some background music to write to, try this "Sweet Life" lofi mix.

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2020 Writing Exercise Series #237: Beginning & Ending with Fire 27

The Notebooking Daily 2020 Writing Series is a daily writing exercises for both prose writers and poets to keep your creative mind stretched and ready to go—fresh for your other writing endeavors. The writing prompts take the impetus—that initial crystal of creation—out of your hands (for the most part) and changes your writing creation into creative problem solving. Instead of being preoccupied with the question "What do I write" you are instead pondering "How do I make this work?" And in the process you are producing new writing.

These exercises are not meant to be a standard writing session. They are meant to be productive and to keep your brain thinking about using language to solve simple or complex problems. The worst thing you can do is sit there inactive. It's like taking a 5 minute breather in the middle of a spin class—the point is to push, to produce something, however imperfect. If you don't overthink them, you will be able to complete all of the exercises in under 30 minutes.

#237

Beginning & Ending with Fire 27

For today's writing exercise you will write a piece of poetry or prose which begins with one image, scenario, line of dialog or place and ends with another, and an optional additional requirement.

Begin With: Someone shouting at an inanimate object.

End With: A night beach bonfire.

Extra Credit Requirements: Include, somewhere in the first two paragraphs/stanzas, the phrase "Steam Lifted"; and somewhere in your piece include the words: "Nylon" "Trawler" "Wren" "Boxing" and "Dolly".

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If you'd like some unobtrusive background music try this "Lo-fi Summertime Beats to Social Distance To" mix from... Will Smith? Yep, the Fresh Prince, that Will Smith. Go figure. Good background music for writing, thanks Will Smith.

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2020 Writing Exercise Series #236: Title Mania Plus 37

The Notebooking Daily 2020 Writing Series is here! These are daily writing exercises for both prose writers and poets to keep your creative mind stretched and ready to go—fresh for your other writing endeavors. The writing prompts take the impetus—that initial crystal of creation—out of your hands (for the most part) and changes your writing creation into creative problem solving. Instead of being preoccupied with the question "What do I write" you are instead pondering "How do I make this work?" And in the process you are producing new writing.

These exercises are not meant to be a standard writing session. They are meant to be productive and to keep your brain thinking about using language to solve simple or complex problems. The worst thing you can do is sit there inactive. It's like taking a 5 minute breather in the middle of a spin class—the point is to push, to produce something, however imperfect. If you don't overthink them, you will be able to complete all of the exercises in under 30 minutes.

#236
Title Mania Plus 37

For today's writing exercise you will write a piece of poetry or prose which uses one of the following as its title. Before you write, first read the poem from which the titles are selected. For a bonus challenge use the additional exercise of five random constraints.

Today's titles come from Kendall Cairoli's poem "Dirty Water" from The Alembic October 2018. Go read it!

Titles:

1. Cocked Backwards
2. Flies
3. Knees in the Wet Dirt
4. The Tracks That Once Carried Franklin D. Roosevelt
5. In Leather Seats
6. Bird-Like Creature

Bonus Exercise: Three Things

(Your piece must also include the following three 'things')

1. A Sandal
2. A Crutch
3. A Washing Machine

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If you'd like some background music to write to, try this "外人 GAIJIN II - Tale of Rai" Japanese lofi album by producer Elijah Nang.

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2020 Writing Exercise Series #235: Erasing Roger Ebert 6 "Blame it on Rio"

The Notebooking Daily 2020 Writing Series is a daily writing exercises for both prose writers and poets to keep your creative mind stretched and ready to go—fresh for your other writing endeavors. The writing prompts take the impetus—that initial crystal of creation—out of your hands (for the most part) and changes your writing creation into creative problem solving. Instead of being preoccupied with the question "What do I write" you are instead pondering "How do I make this work?" And in the process you are producing new writing.

These exercises are not meant to be a standard writing session. They are meant to be productive and to keep your brain thinking about using language to solve simple or complex problems. The worst thing you can do is sit there inactive. It's like taking a 5 minute breather in the middle of a spin class—the point is to push, to produce something, however imperfect. If you don't overthink them, you will be able to complete all of the exercises in under 30 minutes.

#235
Erasing Roger Ebert 6 "Blame it on Rio"

For today's exercise we have split paths for fiction and poetry, though I highly recommend that even fiction writers try the poetry exercise, because erasures can be a blast!

For poetry do an erasure or black-out poem from the following:  Roger Ebert's review of the 1988 film "Blame it on Rio" (1 Star) starring Michael Caine.

Roger Ebert has been the stereotypical film critic for decades, and he's written thousands of reviews. Because of their nature, almost their own bit of ekphrastic art, this series of erasures will be lots of fun!

An Erasure/Blackout is really simple: you take the given text and remove many words to make it your own new piece. One way to go about the erasure that I like to do is to copy the text and paste it twice into your document before you start erasing or blacking out (in MS Word set the text background color to black), that way if you get further into the erasure and decide you want a somewhat different tone or direction, it's easy to go to the unaltered version and make the erasure/black-out piece smoother. Another tip is to look for recurring words, in this example 'bingo' occurs multiple times and could be a good touchstone for your piece.

If you insist on fiction (or just feel like writing a "Title Mania" piece), write a piece with one of these six titles taken from this section:

1. A Cynical Sitcom
2. Old Enough to Take Care of Herself
3. A 1940s Bongo Comedy
4. More Appropriate to a Brazen Hussy
5. Quite Frankly, Yes
6. The Prurient Interests of Dirty Old Men of All Ages

Erasure Selection:

Roger Ebert's review of "Blame it on Rio"

As a general rule, I think it's wrong for a married man of forty-seven years to have an affair with his best friend's seventeen year-old daughter. Don't you? And especially if the girl has emotional problems. I can imagine a movie being made about the situation, and indeed the right movie might even be sensitive and poignant.

But to make a cynical sitcom out of it is questionable. That's what they've done with "Blame It On Rio." This movie is clearly intended to appeal to the prurient interests of dirty old men of all ages. It starts with the basic idea of "10" (an unhappy man flees to a beach and discovers an agreeable nymphet of startling sexuality). But in "10" Bo Derek was old enough to take care of herself, God knows, and her affair with Dudley Moore was handled with at least some wit and sophistication.

"Blame It On Rio," however, has the mind of a 1940s bongo comedy and the heart of a porno film. It's really unsettling to see how casually this movie takes a serious situation. A disturbed girl is using sex to play mind games with a middle-aged man, and the movie get its yuks with slapstick scenes where one guy goes out the window when the other guy comes in the door. What's shocking is how many first-rate talents are associated with this sleaze. The director is Stanley Donen, of "Singin' in the Rain." The man having the affair is Michael Caine, one of my favorite actors. His friend (the father of the girl) is Joseph Bologna. The girl is played by a zaftig model named Michelle Johnson, who is set up as the new Bo Derek.

The plot is the usual silliness: Two families are planning a vacation in Rio, but then Caine has a disagreement with his wife, who decides to go to Club Med instead. What finally happens is that the two fathers and their teenage daughters go to Rio, where Johnson shamelessly seduces Caine with techniques that seem more appropriate to a brazen hussy than to a seventeen year-old kid. The rest of the movie alternates uneasily between the girl's neurotic attempts to manipulate Caine with sex, Caine's real qualms, and wildly inappropriate screwball scenes. Sample: Caine thinks Bologna has found out the secret. He has to listen as Bologna reads from his daughter's diary. The daughter mentions her new lover's great teeth. Caine tries to hide his teeth with his lips while he talks. Funny, sure, but not in a movie where the underlying subject is so potentially serious.

Does the movie have redeeming qualities? Quite frankly, yes, it does, but not the kind it makes you proud to enjoy. Johnson could indeed be the next Bo Derek: She has a winning way, a cheerful personality, and a body that the camera never tires of exploring. Caine does as well with the material as we could possibly hope; in the hands of a lesser actor, we wouldn't be uneasy over the material, we'd be appalled. A lot of skill has gone into the awkward subject matter of this movie, and it's thought-provoking that "Blame It On Rio" sometimes almost works.

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If you'd like some background music to write to, try Shakuhachi [The Japanese Flute] - Kohachiro Miyata.

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2020 Writing Exercise Series #234: Six Word Shootout 24

The Notebooking Daily 2020 Writing Series is a daily writing exercises for both prose writers and poets to keep your creative mind stretched and ready to go—fresh for your other writing endeavors. The writing prompts take the impetus—that initial crystal of creation—out of your hands (for the most part) and changes your writing creation into creative problem solving. Instead of being preoccupied with the question "What do I write" you are instead pondering "How do I make this work?" And in the process you are producing new writing.

These exercises are not meant to be a standard writing session. They are meant to be productive and to keep your brain thinking about using language to solve simple or complex problems. The worst thing you can do is sit there inactive. It's like taking a 5 minute breather in the middle of a spin class—the point is to push, to produce something, however imperfect. If you don't overthink them, you will be able to complete all of the exercises in under 30 minutes.

#234
Six Word Shootout 24

For today's writing exercise write a piece that includes the following six words. While it perfectly sets you up for a sestina, and I've chosen homonyms, feel free to write whatever you'd like (but ya know, maybe give that sestina a shot!). Also feel free to make slight alterations to the required words if you want to avoid that eye-pokey repetition you can find in sestinas sometimes.

This one's for the hive!

Required Words: 

1) Bear

2) Hail

3) Nun

4) Cash

5) Carrot

6) Rain

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Bonus Exercise: Include the following three things in your piece: A paper cut, The Golden Gate Bridge, A $2 Bill.

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If you'd like some background music to write to, try this "OSAKA" Japanese lofi playlist from our buddy the prolific producer Dreamy.

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The Journal Submission Journal Issue 5—Dog Days, Rolling Submissions 8/23/20

The Journal Submission Journal Issue #5 
8/23/20
Dog Days, Rolling Submissions

22 Journals That Read Free, Year-Round Submissions

This friggan year, amirite?! So much happening. I've been reading my face off for my own journal so I haven't been posting or submitting as much as I might have otherwise done, aside from... Eyes Forward. I put a tonnnnn of effort into a long essay and 'big list' about experimental literature and the journals that are currently publishing it to some extent (over 225 active literary magazines!). Please check it out, send it to all your writer friends, because I spent an exorbitant amount of time putting it together, I just want people to benefit from that effort.

Eyes Forward: Avant-Garde Literature and Literary Journals in 2020

And of course, from earlier in the summer I hope everyone read "Poems to Quarantine With: National Poetry Month in a Time of Pandemic".

What else... um, I started a little video-themed column for ekphrastic writing called Jukebox Sundays, and I posted another Friday Flash Fiction with more microfiction, both of which will be continuing in an irregular fashion. Annnnnd, onto the good stuff. Check the bottom of the post if you'd like some more awesome resources to find hundreds of additional journals to submit your poetry, short fiction, nonfiction, hybrid or anything in between.

22 Journals that read Free, Year-Round Submissions

on the accessible side

Apple Valley Review From the Journal: "The Apple Valley Review is an online literary journal.  It is published twice each year, once in spring and once in fall.  Each issue features a collection of beautifully crafted poetry, short fiction, and essays. Prose submissions may range from approximately 100 to 4,000 words.  Shorter pieces stand a better chance of being published, but we are not strict about word counts and will read and consider slightly longer work. Preference is given to short (under two pages), non-rhyming poetry."

They also give us their 'hard sells' which is always a useful tool. They say: "We are very picky here.  Please do not send us—true genre fiction (though literary pieces with genre elements are welcome); work that is scholarly or critical, inspirational, or intended for children; erotica or work containing explicit language; or anything that is particularly violent or disturbing. 

Blue Earth Review From the Journal: Blue Earth Review publishes fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry. We try to publish the very best submissions we receive. Blue Earth Review is Minnesota State University, Mankato’s literary magazine. Before being wholly revamped and renamed in 2003, BER was published under such titles as Medicine Jug, The Muse, and Minnesota River Review.

ND Note: They have little in way of guidelines online, sorry.

Chestnut Review From the Journal: We are always interested in work that speaks to the season, even if it is in unusual and contradictory ways, but that is in no way a requirement. We are an open journal that accepts any artistic work which interests us. We do not judge based on the reputation, origin, or experience of the author, nor do we solicit written submissions: 100% of our selected work comes from the open calls. We seek storytellers—not just for fiction, but in all the genres we publish. We love clarity in art, but that doesn’t necessarily mean simplicity. Tell us a story. It could be a story in a poem, an essay, an image, but it is still a story. You tell it because it needs to be told. If you can make us feel the same way, we’ll work together to bring that story to the world

Craft Literary From the Journal: CRAFT explores the art of prose, celebrating both emerging and established writers. We focus on the craft of writing and how the elements of craft make a good story or essay shine. Established in 2017 as a literary magazine for fiction, CRAFT has grown in 2020 to include creative nonfiction as well. We explore how writing works, reading pieces with a focus on the elements of craft, on the art of prose.

Dodging the Rain From the Journal: Dodging The Rain has evolved into a poetry journal, having been founded and edited by MA graduates of NUI Galway and Uversity. It provides an internet platform that showcases poetry to the world. Galway, Ireland is its spiritual home.

From the editor of DtR: “I want poetry that feels – each poem to have its own personality and voice. Writing that experiments and challenges our preconceptions of poetry, that looks forward. Don’t pay tribute to poets past; hit me with concision, directness, ‘new.’ “I lean towards first-person poems with intense or unreliable narrators, third-person poems that are remarkably precise, and poetic experiments that may surprise and engage our readers.

Front Porch Review From the Journal: "We publish thoughtful, provocative fiction, poetry, essays and visual arts. Fiction can be up to 5000 words. It should be relevant to a general audience, compelling and thought provoking. Finally, it should contain a protagonist with a positive, articulated, universal goal (e.g., freedom from oppression) who actively struggles to achieve that goal, overcoming emotional obstacles in the process. We expect the protagonist’s values and beliefs to be reflected in his or her behavior, which behavior initiates conflict with other characters. Ideally, the protagonist is motivated by a past wound which he or she attempts to heal. By story’s end the protagonist learns something significant about human behavior. Essays can be up to 5000 words. We do not publish essays which are life stories. We do publish essays which express perspectives about topics of general, timeless interest. That is, we are not interested in essays about current events but are interested in essays about the vagaries of human behavior. We are interested in poems which contain vivid images, resonating voice, rich language, discernible rhythm and thoughtful messaging. An example of of these attributes is Mary Oliver’s Wild Geese.

K'in Literary Journal From the Journal: Experimental, traditional, playful, prayerful, celebratory, challenging: human—try us. Show us a new way to tell one of the millions of stories under that glorious sun.  Fiction: We welcome short stories of all shapes and sizes, from the mind-blowing traditional story to fiction that blurs the lines between forms, genre fiction, experimental fiction, etc. We also welcome flash and micro fiction. Please submit only one story or flash fiction totaling to no more than the word limit at a time. Nonfiction: We're looking for slow burns in a world of hot takes, questions asked instead of answers proved. We welcome a wide variety of nonfiction—traditional essay, narrative nonfiction, micro/flash memoir—and encourage experimentation, though not at the expense of factual truth. Too many true stories go untold, and we want to offer space to honor those voices. Please submit only one essay or flash  totaling to no more than the word limit at a time. Poetry: 3-5 poems, open to content, form, structure. Submit all poems in one document. Do not submit individual poems separately. Please don't forget the power voice, sound, and time can have in poetry.

Lily Poetry Review From the Journal: The Lily Poetry Review is interested in promoting contemporary poets, poetry, art, flash fiction and literary citizenship. Lily Poetry Review features work with great imagery and authenticity, work that surprises both the writer and the reader a little bit, work that lifts off the page to follow the reader home.

Sow's Ear Poetry Review From the Journal: A beautiful, distinctive, cohesive venue linking poetry and kindred fine arts in print. Based in Winchester, Virginia, Sow's Ear Poetry Review (SEPR) has been publishing since 1989. Our mission is to: Encourage and give voice to fine poets and artists. - Move, delight, and humanize our readers. - Support fresh ways of writing, understanding, and using poetry. Sow's Ear Poetry Review welcomes submissions of fine poetry in any style and length.  We want work that is carefully crafted, keenly felt, and freshly perceived.  We like poems with voice, specificity, delight in language, and a meaning that unfolds.

The Sun From the Journal: The Sun is a reader-supported ad-free magazine. We’ve been described in many ways: celebratory, fierce, unflinching, thoughtful, truthful, dark, darkly funny, tender. We publish personal essays, fiction, and poetry. Personal stories that touch on political and cultural issues are welcome. Surprise us; we often don’t know what we’ll like until we read it.

ND note: The Sun has one of the largest circulations of any magazine that publishes creative writing, and they also strongly discourage simultaneous submissions.

Thrush Poetry Journal From the Journal: THRUSH – a journal of poetry that will appear 6 times a year. (January, March, May, July, September and November) We believe in showcasing the best work we receive. We will present a select number of poems per edition. We recommend reading current and archived issues to familiarize yourself with the poetry we select for publication.

ND note—They ask that you don't submit again for 6 months after receiving their response, and they respond quickly.

on the experimental side

A Velvet Giant From the Journal: A Velvet Giant is soft & ferocious. Goofy & smart. Gorgeous & gross. A Velvet Giant likes to feel unsure. A Velvet Giant is an online literary journal. We love ambiguity: flash pieces, found pieces, cross-genre experiments, the "poem" that thinks it might be a story, the "story" that thinks it might be a poem. Retellings and reimaginings. Work that chips away at institutional structures. Work that breaks everything down so that it can build. A Velvet Giant is a collective space for work that exists outside the boundaries of genre. We recognize that it can feel impossible to talk about writing without categorizing it. When we say genreless, we don’t mean apolitical. Writing that resists binary categories such as fiction/nonfiction or poetry/prose is inherently queer and inherently political. We want writing that exists in the world, that resists tradition and expectations to build towards new ways of creating, feeling, and being.  

Bitter Oleander From the Journal: We believe in bringing our readers and writers face to face with each other, with the reality of our uncommon world, like the one that exists in grape seeds blown by hurricanes into hidden corners doors form when closed. We publish well-known, little known and unknown poets and writers side by side. Published in English, most if not all of our translations include their originals. We demand a serious poetry. A poetry devoid of clichés and predictable twists of well-worn or entrenched truths. We prefer a heightened music driven by a profound linguistic rhythm. We strive to preclude the conventional issues and sentiments on which mainstream poetry thrives, with a poetry not only rich in its imagination but one that treats words as sacred rather than vehicles to the same intersections and experiences over and over again. As always, your work should be as imaginative as possible, not bound by any conventional attitudes outside yourself, while inspiring yourself as you write. Once you've done that, slip those exact poems (no more than eight please) or pieces of fiction into the appropriate file and attach it for our consideration.

CALAMITY From the Journal: CALAMITY is a poetry & art journal. Send us something new, something urgent. Send us something that will wreck us. Send us your best disasters. Send us ghosts. Weird us out & confuse us. Make us uncomfortable & ashamed. Send us a middle finger (a symbolic one, please not an actual severed one). Make us laugh or sob or both simultaneously. Baptize us in the gauntlet of your art then release us out the other side gleaming & disoriented.

Clade Song From the Journal: Clade Song is a space dedicated to the literary examination of the animal world and all of its behavioral niches from the bacterial mat to the predation of the auk, all of which impact and interrelate with the humanosphere. We are curious about how animal behavior shapes meaning for own species and how it informs moral minds both anthropic and not. We are attentive to how the consciousness of an animal is defined and how systems of social justice are developed as a result of the definitions. At Clade Song we are interested in the evolution of poetry from the phoneme outwards, from raw, exclamatory yelping to the insect hymns sung to enshrine the concrete and the nonce. The drive to the herd found in individual expression. Fusion of eye and ear and mind. We believe writing of necessity must evolve at all points—from syntax to the kinds of interactive changes that take place between an animal (writer) and its environment. We promote a deep ecology which accepts poetry’s resistance to the paradigm of use value.

diode From the Journal: We welcome all types of poetry (including, but not limited to, narrative experimental, visual, found and erasure poetry). We also accept poetry in translation, and collaborative poems. 

Figure One From the Journal: Figure 1 is a digital poetry journal founded in 2017. We’re committed to writing that reconfigures how we see the world. We aim to publish new and underrepresented voices that push against any slack thinking in the current literary scene. Send us poems, send us sharp-edged word-objects you can’t quite call poems. 

Graviton From the Journal: GRAVITON wants your finest POETRY or ART that is based loosely around science. Send a third-person bio & in one sentence your favourite conspiracy &/or theory. NO JERKS ALLOWED.

Indefinite Space From the Journal: from minimalist to avant-garde---open to innovative, imagistic, philosophical, experimental creations---poetry -  drawings  -  collage  -  photography -   paintings. reads year round. guidelines do not exist

Oxidant|Engine From the Journal: Oxidant|Engine is a journal of contemporary poetry that publishes online two times a year.  We have eclectic tastes.  It's not that we don't have aesthetic preferences; it's just that we can't settle on what they are.  Check out our online issues to get a better sense of what we like. 

Rascal From the Journal: Rascal is an ecology, literature and arts journal operating out of several parts of the world as a movement of the Earth. We publish poetry, essays, photography and art, along with a smattering of genre-blending and genre-defying work. We want work that steals the breath out of your mouth, punches you in the gut, or both. Our overriding aesthetic is fourfold: 1) quality craftsmanship, 2) heightened attention, 3) good sense, and 4) good health. Work that induces care, enhances lives and contributes to vital efforts of sustainability is overwhelmingly encouraged. So is work that takes a broader-than-human perspective on its subject. Themes that will always catch our eye include attention, affection, ecology and human-to-nonhuman relationships. More themes we like: holonic or holistic investigation, original mythology, non-dualism and poetics. Art for art’s sake isn’t for us. Work that exhibits a strong ethical spine is. Pith and concision will increase your chances. So will correct punctuation, grammar and capitalization. Hifalutin language should be used sparingly and only when essential to an aspect of craft. We love the concrete; we love the abstract; both should refuse to relinquish our attention. Passion and compassion are your guiding stars.

Rumble Fish Quarterly From the Journal: Rumble Fish Quarterly is a Richmond, Virginia-based publication founded in February 2017. We started this thing for a multitude of reasons, some of which are romantic and made up to impress you, others of which are slightly more honest. We wanted writing that would entrance us, whisper in our ear at midnight, and seemingly infuse itself in our coffees and vodka tonics alike. It is nothing short of a rendering of artistic conscience of the highest order.

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A Confluence of Chapbook Contest/Submission Deadlines

August 31

Autumn House Press 2020 Chapbook Contest 
Entry Fee: $20
Manuscript length: 15-30 pages
Final Judge:  Danusha Laméris 
Genre: Poetry 
Winner receives $1,000 and publication 

Fjords Review Summer Chapbook
Submission Fee: $20
Manuscript Length: Poetry up to 46 pages, short fiction up to 68 pages, hybrid work up to 68 pages, flash fiction up to 50 pages, unclassifiable works up to 60 pages.  
All submissions receive a free download link to our latest print edition featuring an interview with Philip Metres. 

Star 82 Press Chapbook
Do you have a strong, publication-ready manuscript of short fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry and/or art? For its inaugural chapbook, Star 82 is looking to publish one author, artist, writer/artist, or a two-person collaboration of a writer and an artist. We value kindness, humor, subtlety, and fresh imagery, but enjoy a sly edge, too.
Submission Fee: $7
Manuscript Length: 50-100 pages.
Genre: Poetry, Flash Fiction, Flash Creative Nonfiction; High-contrast black and white photographs, prints, paintings, collages, erasures, spot comics, or drawings

Tebot Bach Poetry: Clockwise Chapbook Competition
Entry Fee: $25
Manuscript Length: 24-32 pages
Genre: Poetry
Winner receives $500
Winner announced November 1, 2020 with publication in March 2021.

Judge: Gail Wronsky

Munster Literature Centre: Fool for Poetry International Chapbook Competition
Entry Fee: $27
Manuscript Length: 16-24 pages
Genre: Poetry
Winner receives $1090

September 1

American Poetry Journal: Chapbook Series - Summer Reading Period
Every year, American Poetry Journal will publish a number of chapbooks from new and established poets. We're looking for work that knows itself, and we simply can't to put down.
Submission Fee: $15
Manuscript Length: up to 42 page.
Genre: Poetry 

Steel Toe Books Open Chapbook Submissions
Steel Toe Books will publish 1-3 chapbooks of poetry, short stories or other types of literary or hybrid work. 
Entry Fee: $25
Manuscript Length: 20-50 pages. 
Prize: Authors of selected submissions will receive ten copies of the book, a $50 honorarium, and a $200 value promotional campaign.
Genre: Poetry, Short Stories, Hybrid.

Summer 2020 Poetry International Chapbook
Poetry International prides itself on featuring chapbooks (or “portfolios”) both in English and in translation. We have featured Jane Hirshfield, Carolyn Forché, Jacquelyn Pope, Christian Wiman, Amy Gerstler, Bob Hicok, and new translations of Anna Swir, Osip Mandelstam, Yannis Ritsos, Tomaz Salamun, and René Char. We would be delighted to have the opportunity to include your name in this list!
Entry Fee: $20
Manuscript Length: 7-24
Genre: Poetry

*

Other Lists

Photo by Sebastian Herrmann on Unsplash

Entropy Mag's list of where to submit is a great resource and while this is the list for June/July/August, there' s a good amount of places that have rolling deadlines or aren't until sometime in the summer.
Derek Annis' Submission Calendar. He has a long list of journals with rolling submissions and a calendar with journal openings linked in the calendar (not closing, when they start reading). Very useful resource.
Zebulon's Flash Fiction Submission Guide. Yeah, I'll admit I referenced this, I put a lot of work into it, and though it's almost 5 years old and needs an update, there are a lot of smaller and lesser known journals I reminded myself with using this guide.
Duotrope. Always. A great search and browse function.
Submittable Discover Tab. Good for deadlines. There are a few June deadlines and definitely some end of the month/July 1st ones to keep your eye on.
Poets & Writers Contest Calendar. If you've got a little extra scratch and want to enter some contests this is one of the best places to go. 
New Pages Calls for submissions. New Pages is a tremendous resource, they have lots of supplemental information about hundreds of journals including lit mag reviews, which you don't see too many places.

Check out the lists and get your work out there! I'd love to hear other journals you fine folks have found recently, or are your favorites too. And if this post or my blog in general has been helpful, I'd really appreciate any donations you might be able to spare. Submission fees can add up for me too.

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2020 Writing Exercise Series #233: 3x5x7 Wordbank Sprints 32

The Notebooking Daily 2020 Writing Series is a daily writing exercises for both prose writers and poets to keep your creative mind stretched and ready to go—fresh for your other writing endeavors. The writing prompts take the impetus—that initial crystal of creation—out of your hands (for the most part) and changes your writing creation into creative problem solving. Instead of being preoccupied with the question "What do I write" you are instead pondering "How do I make this work?" And in the process you are producing new writing.

These exercises are not meant to be a standard writing session. They are meant to be productive and to keep your brain thinking about using language to solve simple or complex problems. The worst thing you can do is sit there inactive. It's like taking a 5 minute breather in the middle of a spin class—the point is to push, to produce something, however imperfect. If you don't overthink them, you will be able to complete all of the exercises in under 30 minutes.

#233
3x5x7 Wordbank Sprints 32

For today's writing exercise complete the following steps. The wordbank exercise has changed so be sure to take a peek at the new 'rules'. I recommend using the timer on your phone or computer and setting it for 1 minute. Each time you write a sentence, quickly reset the timer. If it goes off before you're finished with the sentence—wrap it up ASAP!

In order to complete the large number of sentences demanded of this exercise it is imperative that you write fast. Don't think too much at all until you've reached the final exercise. The process of this quick production is to thrust past second guesses or other stumbling blocks that sometimes impede your writing. You're aiming to write 23 sentences in at most 20 minutes so you have ten minutes to organize and write that actual piece, so you're going to be writing more than a sentence a minute.

WRITE FAST, DON'T OVERTHINK

1. Pick one word from each of three groups and write a sentence that includes all of the words, feel free to change tense, pluralize, gerund etc. Repeat the process five (5) times using different combinations. No dawdling! 
2. Now write three (3) sentences that are six (6) words or fewer in length that use any two (2) words from the wordbanks.
3. Now write three (3) sentences that use four (4) or more of the words.
4. Now write five (5) sentences which begin with one (1) of the words and contain a second one (1) of the words.
5. Now write five (5) sentences which are fewer than ten (10) words in length and conclude with one (1) of the words from the wordbanks. Remember, keep up the pace! Don't overthink!
6. Now rephrase two (2) of your sentences from exercise #1 in either a more efficient or more descriptive manner.
7. Now write a piece of fiction or poetry that uses at least three (3) of the sentences you've written throughout this process of exercises. Try to use as many of the (good) sentences as you can, or parts of the sentences if the whole thing doesn't fit or works better altered.

Word Bank 1:

• Vole
• Slimy
• Channel
• Climate
• Sunk

Wordbank 2:

• Polled
• Slop
• Wheelhouse
• Troop
• Quince

Wordbank 3:

• Qualities
• Viable
• Giraffe
• Zebra
• Vest

Bonus writing exercise: Include the word "Nomad" (or nomadic) in your opening sentence, and in the piece you must include the name of a continent.

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Want some unobtrusive background writing music? Try this Fantasy Bard/Tavern Music Compilation

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2020 Writing Exercise Series #232: Three Things Together 37

The Notebooking Daily 2020 Writing Series is a daily writing exercises for both prose writers and poets to keep your creative mind stretched and ready to go—fresh for your other writing endeavors. The writing prompts take the impetus—that initial crystal of creation—out of your hands (for the most part) and changes your writing creation into creative problem solving. Instead of being preoccupied with the question "What do I write" you are instead pondering "How do I make this work?" And in the process you are producing new writing.

These exercises are not meant to be a standard writing session. They are meant to be productive and to keep your brain thinking about using language to solve simple or complex problems. The worst thing you can do is sit there inactive. It's like taking a 5 minute breather in the middle of a spin class—the point is to push, to produce something, however imperfect. If you don't overthink them, you will be able to complete all of the exercises in under 30 minutes.

#232
Three Things Together 37

For today's writing exercise you will write a piece of poetry or prose which contains the following three things, Nice and simple.

1. Milk leftover after cereal
2. A Teabag
3. A Solar Flare

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If you'd like some background music to write to, try this beat mix from lofi hip hop producer Invention_, brought to us by our friends at Chillhop Music.

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