Where should I submit creative work?

You wrote a thing! Now what? Well, you can always graffiti it in an abandoned warehouse, or chant it around a bonfire under the light of a full moon, but perhaps you want a bit more exposure. Maybe even money. I’ve got a couple things to say about this, but take this post with a whole …

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Creative Writing Submission Do’s and Don’ts

As of this writing, I’ve racked up about 230 submissions and 23 acceptances (which is a super weird coincidence in terms of numbers. I swear, I wasn't aiming for a 10% batting average). If you didn't know how many rejections I'd received, you might assume I wake up every morning and walk around like I rent …

Hey White Americans (Part II)

Even if you’ve been living under the rock that is quarantine, you’ve probably heard about the George Floyd protests erupting across the world for the last week. The purpose of these posts is to break down the stuff I’ve seen white people posting in response to this movement. In Part I, I covered topics like …

Hey White Americans (Part I)

I want to specify that this post goes out to those living in the good, old U. S. of A. If you're Canadian, sorry not sorry. You probably feel like you're watching a dump truck full of tires and fireworks explode from the safety of your own COVID-19 dumpster fire right about now and let …

One Handful at a Time: Reflections of Daily Writing

If I’ve learned anything in quarantine, it’s that I can still polish off a gallon of goldfish crackers like I’m back in middle school with nothing but a weekend of gaming ahead of me. It’s done in fist-fulls, usually distracted by some kind of screen, until I’m so numb to the sensation of eating that …

Why do I write?

It’s different every day. Today, for instance, I feel like an entire hive at work within me. Bees have partitioned my bones into their waxy cubicles. Their buzzing is the backdrop rhythm of a city in motion and my thoughts are a sweet elixir on my throat. Writing lets me do this; pour honey from …

Rejected

Well, they pulled the trigger and I can’t say I’m surprised. It’s hard to think what I have to say is important when every letter has “sorry to inform you” in the second line. What am I supposed to do with that? Pull up the planks of those sentences and nail together a raft as …

Friday

This hour seems truly godless. This dark hour alone, when everyone is asleep or crying through their prayers, and sweating blood isn't a problematic symptom. Everyone's sweating blood now. Get a wipe, get a mask. You're not special in your suffering. This hour seems truly godless. This loud hour when the masses are the murderers. …

Saturday

What is it about these days that used to be so sacred and intimate? How I’d measure my time between settlements, watching diligently for the anomaly of civilization among the weeds until I finally arrived at their gates? How every moment between was just a matter of waiting, not being, not real like my Saturdays? …

The Fairy with the Plastic Wand

Lucy took a deep breath in and held it. This time it would work. She could feel it.  She hit the button on her toy wand. The pink star lit up and the wand sang its muffled, pre-recorded track. Lucy held her arms out like in the pictures and drew swirls in the air. When …