10/31/20

2020 Writing Exercise Series #302: Title Mania Plus 46

   


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.

#302
Title Mania Plus 46

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 have no theme. I swear.


Titles:
  1. Above the Clouds
  2. Dark Black Clouds
  3. Scattered Clouds
  4. A Cloudless Sky
  5. Clouded
  6. Cumulonimbus Clouds

Bonus Exercise: Three Things
(Your piece must also include the following three 'things')
  1. Socks
  2. A Butterfly
  3. A Cactus
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If you'd like some background music to write to, try this "it's 4am and i can't sleep" mix from our lofi pal Dreamy.

10/30/20

2020 Writing Exercise Series #301: Erasing Roger Ebert 13 "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"

 


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.

#301
Erasing Roger Ebert 13 "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"

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 1968 drama "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" (4 stars) starring Sidney Poitier, Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn.

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  titles taken from this section:

  1. There are Serious Faults
  2. Made More Poignant
  3. With a Brogue so Fey
  4. Drawing Room Comedies
  5. "Ineligible" Suitors
  6. Even a Spinster
  7. What it Means to be in Love
  8. Implied Attacks on Their Masculinity


Erasure Selection:

Roger Ebert's review of "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"


Yes, there are serious faults in Stanley Kramer's "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," but they are overcome by the virtues of this delightfully old-fashioned film. It would be easy to tear the plot to shreds and catch Kramer in the act of copping out. But why? On its own terms, this film is a joy to see, an evening of superb entertainment.

Entertainment, I think, is the key word here. Kramer has taken a controversial subject (interracial marriage) and insulated it with every trick in the Hollywood bag. There are glamorous star performances by Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy made more poignant by his death. There is shameless schmaltz (the title song, so help me, advises folks to give a little, take a little, let your poor heart break a little, etc.). The minor roles are filled with crashing stereotypes, like a Negro maid who must be Rochester's sister and an Irish monsignor with a brogue so fey and eyes so twinkling he makes Bing Crosby look like a Protestant.

And there is the plot, borrowed from countless other drawing room comedies about "ineligible" suitors. Only this time the controversial suitor is not a socialist ("Man and Superman"), a newspaper reporter ("The Philadelphia Story") or even a spinster ("Cactus Flower") -- but a Negro.

Of course, the negro is Sidney Poitier. He is a noble, rich, intelligent, handsome, ethical medical expert who serves on United Nations committees when he's not hurrying off to Africa, Asia, Switzerland and all those other places where his genius is required. During a vacation in Hawaii, he meets Katharine Houghton, and they fall in love and come home to break the news to her parents.

Miss Hepburn takes the news rather well ("Just let me sit down a moment and I'll be all right"), but Tracy has his doubts. Although he is a liberal newspaper publisher and a crusader against prejudice, he doesn't want to be hurried into making up his mind. And that's the trouble. Poitier has to catch the 10 p.m. flight to Geneva, you see, so Tracy has to decide before then.

It is easy to ridicule this deadline as contrived and artificial: and it is easy to argue that Poitier's character is too perfect to be convincing. But neither of these aspects bothered me. The artificial deadline is a convention of drawing room comedies. It provides automatic suspense and keeps the action within a short span of time. And Poitier's "perfect Negro" is no more perfect than Miss Houghton's perfect liberal daughter, Miss Hepburn's perfect Rock of Gibraltar mother and Tracy's perfect Spencer Tracy.

The things that did bother me were more subtle. Despite Poitier's reluctance, Miss Hougton insists that HIS parents also be invited to dinner. They are a pleasant middle-aged couple (played by Roy E. Glenn Sr. and Beah Richards), who turn out to be the most believable characters in the story. But their presence leads to two troublesome scenes.

The first occurs when Poitier (who has been unfailingly polite and deferential to Tracy) backs his own father into a corner and lectures him. The Negro father, like the white one, opposes interracial marriage. And Poitier, who has already agreed to abide by Tracy's decision, cruelly attacks his own father's position.

The words ring false. Poitier accuses his father of being an Uncle Tom: "Your generation will always think of itself as Negro first and a man second. I think of myself as a man." In a cruel switch, he threatens to disown his father if he opposes the marriage. This speech doesn't seem consistent with Poitier's character elsewhere in the film. Contrasted to Poitier's awe of Tracy, it seems to establish the older Negro as a second-class father.

The second bothersome scene is similar to the first. Poitier's mother lectures Tracy, informing him that he really opposes the marriage because he has forgotten what it means to be in love. Tracy has successfully weathered all other arguments, but this one shakes him. After a long period of thought, he agrees to the marriage.

What it boils down to, then, is that the two fathers are overcome by implied attacks on their masculinity. The race question becomes secondary; what Tracy really had to decide is if he feels inadequate as a man. Kramer accomplishes this transition so subtly you hardly notice it. But it is the serious flaw in his plot, I think.

Still, perhaps Kramer was being more clever than we imagine. He has pointed out in interviews that his film does accomplish its purpose, after all. And it does. Here is a film about interracial marriage that has the audience throwing rice. The women in the audience can usually be counted on to identify with the love story. I suppose. But what about those men? Will love conquer prejudice? I wonder if Kramer isn't sneaking up on one of the underlying causes of racial prejudice when he implies that the fathers feel their masculinity threatened.

All of these deep profundities aside, however, let me say that "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" is a magnificent piece of entertainment. It will make you laugh and may even make you cry. When old, gray-haired, weather-beaten Spencer Tracy turns to Katharine Hepburn and declares, by God, that he DOES remember what it is like to be in love, there is nothing to do but believe him.

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If you'd like some background music to write to, try this "Code-fi" lofi playlist.



10/29/20

2020 Writing Exercise Series #300: Three Things Together 49

      


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.

#300
Three Things Together 49

F
or today's writing exercise you will write a piece of poetry or prose which contains the following three things, Nice and simple.
  1. A Flattened Traffic Cone
  2. Sunscreen
  3. A Face Mask
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Bonus 'Five Words': Include these five words in your piece: Grouping, Drowned, Ape, Roe, Wax.

If you'd like some background music to write to, try this folk album "Béla Fleck / Zakir Hussain / Edgar Meyer ‎– The Melody Of Rhythm /2009".


10/28/20

2020 Writing Exercise Series #299: 3x5x7 Wordbank Sprints 41

    


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.
#299
3x5x7 Wordbank Sprints 41
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:
  • Linen
  • Atoms
  • Navy
  • Glinting
  • Fleck
Wordbank 2:
  • Oxygen
  • Placating
  • Typhoon
  • Peach
  • Quail

Wordbank 3
:
  • Lilac
  • Silo
  • Relic
  • Pontoon
  • Salamander

Bonus writing exercise: Include the word "Discipline" in your title or opening sentence, and in the piece you must include someone or something going down stairs.

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Want some unobtrusive background writing music? Try this Ghibli and Chill lofi mix. 

10/27/20

2020 Writing Exercise Series #298: Beginning & Ending with Trees 30



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.

#298
Beginning & Ending with Trees 30


F
or 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 WithSomeone (finger) painting a tree.

End WithA pile of leaves being jumped into.

Extra Credit RequirementsInclude, somewhere in the first two paragraphs/stanzas, the phrase "like a hippo"; and somewhere in your piece include the words: "Funky" "Element" "Standing" "Carting" and "Net".

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If you'd like some unobtrusive background music try this "A ghostly spooktober. 🎃 (a chill halloween lofi mix)" playlist.



10/26/20

2020 Writing Exercise Series #297: Title Mania Plus 45

  


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.

#297
Title Mania Plus 45

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 have no theme. I swear.


Titles:
  1. Rising from a Mound of Ashes
  2. Rising in the East
  3. Rising with the Sun
  4. Rising above the Fray
  5. Rising Dough
  6. Rising to the Lowly Occasion

Bonus Exercise: Three Things
(Your piece must also include the following three 'things')
  1. A Carrot
  2. Sin
  3. The Equals Sign (=)
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If you'd like some background music to write to, try Medieval Fantasy Music – Medieval Market | Folk, Traditional, Instrumental from Grimm World Music.



10/25/20

2020 Writing Exercise Series #296: Six Word Shootout 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.

#296
Six Word Shootout 32

For today's writing exercise write a piece that includes the following six words. While it perfectly sets you up for a sestina, and while I am a sucker for homonyms(—NOT TODAY!), 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.

Required Words: 

1) Light
2) Hail
3) Lap
4) Clip
5) Weather
6) Pull

-
Bonus Exercise: Include the following three things: A Flashlight, An Earthquake and A Crushed Soda/Beer Can.
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If you'd like some background music to write to, try this "Space meditation" lofi playlist



10/24/20

2020 Writing Exercise Series #295: Three Things Together 48

     


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.

#295
Three Things Together 48

F
or today's writing exercise you will write a piece of poetry or prose which contains the following three things, Nice and simple.
  1. A Mop
  2. A Billboard
  3. A Puddle
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Bonus 'Five Words': Include these five words in your piece: Groom, Dial, Grape, Elevator, Kids.

If you'd like some background music to write to, try this "Autumn Rainy Days" lofi playlist from our buddy Dreamy.



10/23/20

2020 Writing Exercise Series #294: Erasing Roger Ebert 12 "El Dorado"

 


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.

#294
Erasing Roger Ebert 12 "El Dorado"

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 1967 Western "El Dorado" (3.5 star) starring John Wayne and Robert Mitchum.

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 Professional Gunman
  2. In the Saddle Once Again
  3. Drunk and Disheveled
  4. A Touch of Paralysis
  5. Symbolic Scene
  6. With all of his Shadows and Kerosene Lamps and Murky Atmosphere and Dark Alleys

Erasure Selection:

Roger Ebert's review of "El Dorado"

"El Dorado" is a tightly directed, humorous, altogether successful Western, turned out almost effortlessly, it would seem, by three old pros: John Wayne, Robert Mitchum and director Howard Hawks. You could call it, of course a "John Wayne Western." I guess that means it has the Duke in the saddle once again, drawl and all, making his laconic comments on the state of the universe and marching through old Western cliches. But "El Dorado" is more than that. It is a very good John Wayne Western.

It is long, but it is quickly paced. Howard Hawks is too good a director to depend upon stereotyped violence to keep the interest of the audience, and his well-made scenes between Wayne, Mitchum, Arthur Hunicutt and James Cann never lag for a moment.

Wayne plays a professional gunman who comes to town to take a job from a rich rancher who wants a poor rancher's water (who says the plot has to be original?). But the sheriff turns out to be his old buddy, Mitchum, and so he turns down the job. Then the rich rancher hires another gunman (Christopher George), and Wayne sides up with the drunk and disheveled Mitchum.

Duke's team isn't exactly made of heroes. Mitchum has been hitting the bottle for two months, his deputy (played with charm by Hunnicutt) is a windy old Indian fighter, Wayne has a bullet near his spine that causes a slight touch of paralysis now and again, and his sidekick (Caan) is a kid who carries a shotgun instead of a pistol because he's such a lousy shot.

Hawks fashions scene after scene of quiet, earthy humor from this situation. Without great care, the movie could have degenrated into a put-on, but Hawks plays it straight and never allows his actors to take that last fatal step in overacting. For fans of the Western, there's a light-hearted but symbolic scene where Wayne tries to teach the kid the tricks of the cowboy trade. For students of the cinema, Hawks ribs François Truffaut in a scene where Mitchum shoots, not the player, but the piano. For people who like well-made, entertaining movies with suspense, violence, horses, colorful characters, lots of shooting and a few pretty girls, "El Dorado" is about the most entertaining Western to turn up this year.

A footnote: Pauline Kael, the New Republic's film critic, claims "El Dorado" has the second worst lighting she's seen in a movie. That's not bad lighting, that's good old Howard Hawks with all of his shadows and kerosene lamps and murky atmosphere and dark alleys (remember "The Big Sleep" (1946)?). Miss Kael needs her glasses scrubbed.
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If you'd like some background music to write to, try this "Sad Wizard Vibes" lofi playlist.

10/22/20

The Journal Submission Journal Issue 6—Contesting Collections in Fall 10/22/20

 


The Journal Submission Journal Issue #6 
10/22/20
Contesting Collections in Fall
20 Poetry Book (and 8 Chapbook) Contests with Deadlines Before December

The year from outer space continues! And it is a crazy one. How crazy? So crazy that I'm hardly going to rattle on here. I have been slacking on the submissions with so much reading still to do, but I've tried to get a few in each week. Substantially, at long last I've posted the first two issues of "Spy in the Slushpile" which interviews literary magazine editors with a special eye to giving potential submitters a good idea of what the editors want in a submission.
 
Issue One: Pithead Chapel
Issue Two: SCAB MAG
Issue Three: After the Pause (coming soon)

Then of course Eyes Forward is still very useful on the regular for those folks that are interested in experimental/avant-garde literature. Eyes Forward: Avant-Garde Literature and Literary Journals in 2020

On the experimental literature tip I just wanted to add that I am supremely honored to have won the Gulf Stream Literary Magazine 2020 Summer Contest with my poem "[START AT THE BEGINNING]". It's not the easiest poem to read, so I'll give the advice of starting in the top left box, and follow the lines which will direct you through the poem. And yep, that is a triolet in the top left boxes. Try your own triolet with our guided poetry prompt here! Anyone can do it!

I have launched a literary magazine recommendation service called "The Submission Wizard" after a writing group member jokingly called me that for my frequent and accurate journal suggestions. I concocted three 'tiers' of surveys which will give me an insight in the piece/s you want to submit and what you want in a journal. I want to help everyone that needs help so I've adopted the 'tip' model, keeping the base price of the service extremely low and asking folks consider tipping based on how happy they are with the results. 

And I mean very low prices: $3 for a sampler of the service, $5 for the 'full' service which gets at least 10 journal recommendations for lit mags I think would be appropriate for what you're submitting and are actively reading. Check out the surveys, consider it, pass it along please. All fees and tips will be 100% cycled back into literary magazines through my own submissions.

Then one last thing before we get to the point already, I'm really pushing my first collection this fall, I would love to win a prize with it. I have over 300 pages of published poetry that I'm wrassling into three variations of one concise collection. But in order to enter all of these contests I'd be forking over $690 (well, minus the contests I do not qualify for) which, while it would be awesome to be able to donate that much to small presses, but it's also far outside my submission budget. If anyone would like to sponsor my entry fee to any of these contests via donations I would not only be eternally grateful, but when the book does eventually get published I will 100% give you a shout out in the 'Thank you' section of the collection. 


I feel very dirty now, but I just really want this first collection published already. But that's enough. Let's go.

20 Poetry Book (and 8 chapbook) Contests with Deadlines Before December

This isn't for everyone, but it will hopefully be useful for enough people for me to take the time here.

10/13/2020 deadline
FULL COLLECTIONS
Press/Sponsor: American Poetry Review / Copper Canyon Press
First Book Contest? Yes
Page Restrictions: at least 48 pages 
Entry Fees: $35
Grand Prize: $3000, royalties
Judge/Other Notes: Ada Limón

Press/Sponsor: Conduit Books & Ephemera
First Book Contest? No
Entry Fees: $25
Grand Prize: $1000 (and 25 copies)
Judge/Other Notes: The Conduit editorial board

Press/Sponsor: Elixir Press
Page Restrictions: at least 48 pages
First Book Contest? No
Entry Fees: $30
Grand Prize: $2000
Judge/Other Notes: John Nieves

Press/Sponsor: Indiana Review Indiana University Press
Contest Name: Blue Light Books Prize
Page Restrictions: 48-75 pages
First Book Contest? No
Entry Fees: $20
Grand Prize: $2000 (The winner will also receive travel expenses to read at the 2021 Blue Light Reading in Bloomington, Indiana)
Judge/Other Notes: Nadi Comer

Press/Sponsor: Persea Books
Page Restrictions: at least 40 pages
First Book Contest? Yes 
Entry Fees: $30
Grand Prize:  $1000 (The winner also receives a six-week, all-expenses paid residency at the Civitella Ranieri Center in Umbria, Italy)
Judge/Other Notes: Prize is only open to "self-identifying women who have yet to publish a full-length book of poems"

Press/Sponsor: Red Hen Press
Page Restrictions: 48-96 pages
First Book Contest? No 
Entry Fees: $25
Grand Prize: $3000 (and a four-week residency at PLAYA in Summer Lake, Oregon)
Judge/Other Notes: Jeffrey Harrison

Press/Sponsor: University of North Texas Press
Contest Name: Vassar Miller Prize
Page Restrictions: 50-80 pages
First Book Contest? No
Entry Fees: $25
Grand Prize: $1000
Judge/Other Notes: Leigh Anne Couch

CHAPBOOKS

Press/Sponsor: Black Lawrence Press
Page Restrictions: 16-36 pages
Entry Fees: $15
Grand Prize: $500 (and 10 copies)
Judge/Other Notes: Poetry or Prose

Press/Sponsor: Comstock Review
Contest Name: Chapbook Contest
Page Restrictions: 25-34 pages (max 38 lines per page including blank lines between stanzas)
Entry Fees: $32.50
Grand Prize: $1000 (and 50 copies)
Judge/Other Notes: Mike McAnaney

Press/Sponsor: Finishing Line Press
Page Restrictions: 16-36
Entry Fees: $15
Grand Prize: $1000 (an royalty contract)
Judge/Other Notes:

Press/Sponsor: Kissing Dynamite
Contest Name: The Microchap Series
Page Restrictions: up to 15 pages
Entry Fees: No Fee
Grand Prize: $50 (and 10 copies)
Judge/Other Notes:

Press/Sponsor: Tupelo Press
Page Restrictions: 20-36 pages
Entry Fees: $25
Grand Prize: $1000 (and 25 copies)
Judge/Other Notes: Mark Bibbins

November 2 Deadline
FULL COLLECTIONS

Press/Sponsor: Alice James Books
Contest Name: Alice James Award
Page Restrictions: 48-100
First Book Contest? No 
Entry Fees: $30
Grand Prize: $2000
Judge/Other Notes: Author must be a US resident.

November 10 Deadline
FULL COLLECTIONS

Press/Sponsor: Cloudbank Books
Page Restrictions: 60-90 pages
First Book Contest? No 
Entry Fees: $25
Grand Prize: $1000
Judge/Other Notes: Christopher Buckley (Poetry &/or Flash Fiction)

November 15 Deadline
FULL COLLECTIONS

Press/Sponsor: Nightboat Books
Contest Name: Poetry Prize
Page Restrictions: 48-90 pages
First Book Contest? No
Entry Fees: $28
Grand Prize: $1000 advance (also royalties and 25 copies)
Judge/Other Notes: Kazim Ali

Press/Sponsor: Perugia Press
Contest Name: Poetry Prize
Page Restrictions: 45-85 pages
First Book Contest? Yes (or second book)
Entry Fees: $27
Grand Prize: $1000 (and 10 copies)
Judge/Other Notes: Author must identify as a woman

Press/Sponsor: Academy of American Poets
Contest Name: Academy of American Poets First Book Award (formerly the Walt Whitman Prize)
Page Restrictions: 48-100
First Book Contest? Yes
Entry Fees: $35
Grand Prize: $5000
Judge/Other Notes: Claudia Rankine

Press/Sponsor: Yale University Press 
Page Restrictions: 48-64 pages
First Book Contest? Yes
Entry Fees: $25
Grand Prize: $1000
Judge/Other Notes: Rae Armantrout

November 30 Deadline
FULL COLLECTIONS

Press/Sponsor: BOA Editions LTD
Page Restrictions: 48-100 pages
First Book Contest? Yes
Entry Fees: $25
Grand Prize: $1000
Judge/Other Notes: Aimee Nezhukumatathil

Press/Sponsor: Green Linden Press
Page Restrictions: at least 45 pages
First Book Contest? No
Entry Fees: $12.50-$30
Grand Prize: $1000
Judge/Other Notes: The Wishing Jewel Prize honors a manuscript that challenges expectations of genre, form, or mode while engaging the rich possibilities of lyrical expression.

Press/Sponsor: Small Harbor Publishing
Contest Name: Laureate Prize
Page Restrictions: 50-80
First Book Contest? No 
Entry Fees: $25
Grand Prize: $300 (and 35 copies)
Judge/Other Notes: Karen Craigo (Books centered around a unifying theme will be given preference)

Press/Sponsor: White Pine Press
Page Restrictions: 60-80 pages
First Book Contest? No
Entry Fees: $20
Grand Prize: $1000
Judge/Other Notes:


December 1 Deadline
FULL COLLECTIONS

Press/Sponsor: Meadowlark Books
Contest Name: The Birdy Poetry Prize
Page Restrictions: 
First Book Contest? 
Entry Fees: $30
Grand Prize: $1000 (and 50 copies)
Judge/Other Notes:

Press/Sponsor: Ohio University Press
Page Restrictions: 60-95
First Book Contest? No
Entry Fees: $30
Grand Prize: $1000
Judge/Other Notes:

Press/Sponsor: Waywiser Press
Page Restrictions: 48-88 pages
First Book Contest? Yes (or second collection)
Entry Fees: $29
Grand Prize: $3000 (The winner will also be invited to give a reading at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles in spring 2022)
Judge/Other Notes: 

CHAPBOOKS

Press/Sponsor: Bateau Press
Contest Name: Boom Chapbook Contest
Page Restrictions: 20-30 pages
Entry Fees: $14
Grand Prize: $250 (and 25 copies)
Judge/Other Notes: "THE SEXY BATEAU STAFF" (open to Poetry / Fiction / Nonfiction / Hybrid writing)

Press/Sponsor: JuxtaProse Literary Magazine
Page Restrictions: 20-40 pages
Entry Fees: $20
Grand Prize: $1000 (and 50 copies)
Judge/Other Notes:

Press/Sponsor: Slipstream Press
Contest Name: Poetry Chapbook Competition
Page Restrictions: up to 40 pages
Entry Fees: $20
Grand Prize: $1000 (nd 50 copies) 
Judge/Other Notes:

*

Journal Researching 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.



2020 Writing Exercise Series #293: Between a Fact and an Exact Place 25

  


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.
#293
Between a Fact and an Exact Place 25

For today's writing exercise you will write a piece of poetry or prose which contains the following place (either as the setting, referenced or some aspect of it described) and the following fact in some way (its discovery, used as a metaphor, witnessed etc).



As an additional assignment, should you choose to incorporate it, is as follows: Also include the words "Pine" "Atom" "Velvet" "Geyser" and "Haughty".
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If you'd like some background music to write to, try this "Life is Beautiful" lofi mix from Feardog Music.

10/21/20

2020 Writing Exercise Series #292: Three Things Together 47

    


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.

#292
Three Things Together 47

F
or today's writing exercise you will write a piece of poetry or prose which contains the following three things, Nice and simple.
  1. Cattails
  2. A Skate Park
  3. A Bottle Rocket
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Bonus 'Five Words': Include these five words in your piece: Toothless, Fringe, Molten, Brain, Creation.

If you'd like some background music to write to, try this "close your eyes" lofi playlist.

10/20/20

2020 Writing Exercise Series #291: 3x5x7 Wordbank Sprints 40

   


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.
#291
3x5x7 Wordbank Sprints 40
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:
  • Filet
  • Durable
  • Onion
  • Bitter
  • Hedgehog
Wordbank 2:
  • Jaguar
  • Wiley
  • Reaches
  • Polled
  • Bike

Wordbank 3
:
  • Magic
  • Shadow
  • Lark
  • Pirated
  • Swarthy

Bonus writing exercise: Include the word "Exit" in your opening sentence, and in the piece you must include someone burning food.

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Want some unobtrusive background writing music? Try this Kingdom Hearts lofi mix. 



10/19/20

2020 Writing Exercise Series #290: Six Word Shootout 31

  


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.

#290
Six Word Shootout 31

For today's writing exercise write a piece that includes the following six words. While it perfectly sets you up for a sestina, and while I am a sucker for homonyms(—NOT TODAY!), 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.

Required Words: 

1) Break
2) Ail
3) Cup
4) Slide
5) Peel
6) Palm

-
Bonus Exercise: Include the following six words additionally: Renew, Fix, Relish, Slippery, Oil, Obnoxious.
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If you'd like some background music to write to, try Cuba Café - The Very Best Of Cuban Music 



10/18/20

2020 Writing Exercise Series #289: Title Mania Plus 44

  


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.
#289
Title Mania Plus 44

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 have no theme. I swear.

Titles:
  1. Whipped into a Frenzy
  2. Whipped into Stiff Peaks
  3. Whipped Cream Pie to the Face
  4. Whipped, Bound
  5. Whipped 
  6. Dole Whip

Bonus Exercise: Three Things
(Your piece must also include the following three 'things')
  1. A Cartoon Character
  2. A Necktie
  3. A Parrot
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If you'd like some background music to write to, try jazz pianist Hank Jones' Greatest Hits Volume 1.