I used to get pretty confused by the random terminology that publishers and writers use to describe the editing process. What’s the different between an edit and a copy-edit? Do I really need all of these stages? What on earth is everyone on about? Step 1: Writing the book This is Draft 1 to Draft “I lost count”, and then Edit Version 1 to infinity…and you’ve written the ending! It’s done! Now what? Step 2: Alpha read When you’re ready, you hand it over to someone (either a friend or an editor) to have a first read. This is usually the plot holes, “does this make sense?” and “is my story any good?” This can be a complete change of plot, or entire sections deleted; or this can be smaller details, where you’ve got most of it right already. The story might go back to draft versions at this point, or may go on to the next stage… Step 3: Beta read This is the character motivation, minor plot holes, small details; where the gun got left in the house yet is suddenly to hand; you forgot to mention that the hero has any skills at animal-taming yet is suddenly amazing at it; they’re in completely the wrong sector of space to have seen that star formation; and why on earth is he talking to her? He hates her! This is where the story and plot are ok, with no major holes, but there might be some smaller flaws. That said…I’ve had stories at the beta-read stage that have needed chunks added or even complete re-writes! Every reader brings something different, and you might find that even when a story is finished…it’s not. So these two stages can be interchangeable, but you’ll usually find things have a flow; your first… read more →

Paul Dawson is this year’s short story competition winner with his eclectic short story Rosebud. Paul has been writing poetry and stories since he was young. Recently his reading and writing habits have been leaning towards a more literary style. He likes the idea of a story being more than just entertainment, and his interest in philosophy and classical works has broadened his outlook on what a story can be. He has had his work published in Under the Bed, Beyond Imagination and several other smaller independent magazines, including being on the shortlist for the Broken Worlds anthology released by Almond Press last year. He is currently working hard on a dystopian novel about a walled city shut off from the rest of the world, and of course nothing can keep him from writing short stories. At any one time he finds himself juggling many stories in his head, and is excited by the challenge of getting them out into the world.   Emma Petfield: When did you first begin writing, and why? Paul Dawson: I was in English class in my first year of high school and we had to write a poem. I can’t remember now what the poem was about, but I felt a sense that the words and rhyme came quite easily to me, and I realised that even though I was young, I had a lot to say about the world around me, and poetry was the first medium through which I could express that. Thinking back now, I guess that was when I first found a way to channel something that was always inside of me, but I never knew how to release it before. It was at first a place to explore my own feelings, and then more recently it’s become a part of my own identity and an important part… read more →

Have you ever toyed around with the idea of submitting your short story to a publication, but felt too overwhelmed or uncertain to actually send in your manuscript? Creating a strategy for myself based on the five questions below helped me prepare one of my short stories (which I’ll lovingly refer to by the alias of Fantasy Story #1) and ready myself for the submission process. First, I had to ask myself: I. Have I made my story the best it can be? The rest of this post continues under the assumption that you have already gone through the steps to thoroughly edit your short story. Whether you’ve hired a freelance editor, consulted with your beta readers, or participated in your critique group, make sure that you’ve got at least one other pair of eyes to look over your story. Even if the thought of having your work critiqued isn’t exactly fun, you’ll be thankful later on for the chance to improve your story before you start sending it out. When I was preparing Fantasy Story #1, I submitted my draft to a writer’s critique group that I had joined a few months prior after doing some self-editing to my manuscript. I received valuable feedback from around 6 other members of the group, which I then reconciled and used to improve my draft. Specifically, my critique group caught a plot hole that I was able to fix in my second round of editing. II. Have I created a solid organizational system? Before moving onto the next step and looking for markets to submit your work, I would recommend creating a system for recording details of the stories that you plan to submit and information on the publications you are interested in. I’ve experimented with a some submissions tracking software, but… read more →

**Spoiler Alert** “He tells her that he trusts her and she throws herself around him, enveloping him in feathers and bones.” Felix gets up, goes to work, spends his weekends drinking and dancing with his friend/ work colleague, Michael and repeats. After a traumatic childhood experience Felix is left with a dispassion for life. However his affinity for the sea is what sees him through his day-to-day routines. Featherbones is a story of childhood, guilt, grievances and sexuality. The narrative invites an array of avian metaphors, the biggest of which is revealed to Felix towards the end of the novel. Felix’s biggest demons are his subconscious feelings. He looks back on aspects of his childhood; meeting Harriet and her horrific death by drowning, his counselling sessions with his father’s friend and the constant feeling of being different. He’s haunted by dreams of his school days and as a result his mental health is unstable. One point in the novel that struck me, were his two attempts to drop his phone from his balcony. To me this symbolises two particularly low moments in Felix’s life and is almost a metaphor for his own suicide; as if watching his phone drop to its demise will solidify his need to let go. Discussion about Felix’s lack of interest in women is a common subject between him and Michael. It is not entirely prevalent in the novel until he sleeps with Angela. His regret in having done so is a powerful moment at which point his grasp on reality drops and his connection to Michael takes on a new level. It isn’t until Felix visits his hometown and leaves Southampton for the first time since graduation that he starts to let go of his past. The catharsis of being told his nightmares were normal… read more →

Almond Press publish a variety of short stories, so I thought I’d take a look at some classical short stories that everyone should read.

We are constantly working to develop this list and keep it up-to-date. If you’d like to add an event to our list of creative writing journals please let us know using this submission form. Publication Country Categories accepted Submission Fee Washington Square US Fiction, Poetry — Phoebe Journal US Fiction, Poetry, Nonficion, Visual Art $2 Third Coast US Fiction, Poetry, Nonficion, Reviews, Interviews, Drama Free flyway US Fiction, Poetry, Nonficion, Visual Art Free Barnstorm Journal US Fiction, Nonficion, Poetry Free The Fourth River US Poetry, Literary short fiction, Creative nonfiction, Visual art Free Connotation Press The Internet (?) Poetry, Fiction, Creative nonfiction, Play writing, Screenplay, Interview, Book review, Music review, Video Free TriQuarterly US Fiction, Creative nonfiction, Poetry, Short drama, Video essays, and Hybrid work Free new south US Fiction, Poetry, Essays, Short drama, Reviews, Interviews Free View the full list   Subscribe to our mailing list and receive updates about future dystopian short story competitions and new releases (we don’t send spam) [mc4wp_form]

The world is – and always has been – full of stories that describe the world after an apocalypse. In religion it’s often a way to start over. In the bible it’s up to Noah, to built a new post-apocalyptic world after the flood has washed away all civilization. When ‘Ragnarok’, de final battle in Scandinavian mythology, has ended up in the death of almost all the gods, creatures and people, it’s up to two people hiding in a tree to climb down and reshape their world. And so we can continue throughout history, reading the stories of new worlds and life after the decline. We can go all the way from the bible to ‘the hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy’ and ‘The Road’. A rise in post-apocalyptic novels Since the success of ‘The Road’, the praised novel by Cormac McCarthy, there has been a rise in the popularity of post-apocalyptic writing. Jason Heller gives an extensive list of examples in his article ‘Does Post-Apocalyptic Literature Have A (Non-Dystopian) Future?’ Since then, there are numerous new ways the world could end, and a lot of novels have been adapted for the screen. In ‘I am Legend’, based on the novel by Richard Matheson (1954), 90% of all humans are infected with a virus after a researcher tries to find a cure for cancer. But also major floods, wars between species, climate change and genetically modified ‘super humans’ pop up in all kinds of stories. There are also a lot of novelists that create their stories in a world after a devastating event. In “The Bone Clocks” by David Mitchell we not only have to deal with elements of fantasy but also with a society that – in the near future – has fallen apart. Global society has reached the age… read more →

I grew up watching Star Trek, The Original Series. I would stay up until midnight to watch it in the darkness of my bedroom when everyone else was asleep. In many ways it greatly influenced my writing, demonstrating to me the power of science fiction. One of the things I found fascinating was their interpretation of the future of medicine. Medical care was done by rectangular gadgets that made buzzing noises or beeped and had readouts (which we couldn’t see), but revealed to Dr. McCoy exactly what was happening in the body of the patient. Cures came in the form of hypos that shot medicine through the skin without the need of a piercing needle. There were rare instances of surgery, and that was just as clean, antiseptic and invisible. There was no blood, and extraordinary things could occur, such as reattaching Spock’s brain. Years later, when I was writing a dystopian science fiction play, I revisited these forms of “hands off” and “antiseptic” medical procedures and took them to, what I felt, were their logical conclusions. In my play, medicine of the future would be dominated by technology, to the extent that medics (individuals who functioned as a hospital, ambulance and doctor all in one) had no authority to touch a patient. The machines were the only allowable, legal contact. This technologically miraculous medicine would be available only to the upper classes. With the rise of advanced technology came with it a rise in cost: these nearly-guaranteed cures would be expensive and not affordable to everyone. Those who lived “Uptown” were the rich and could afford medical technology. Those “Downtown” had to resort to traditional medicine. And what was traditional? Surgery with scalpels and circular saws, injections, psychotherapy, meditation, herbs, teas, and mercury and arsenic to cure syphilis. It… read more →

One of the worst feelings for any writer is staring at a blank page, yet it’s a task I found myself doing more often than I would have liked, especially the first page of every new chapter. My problem wasn’t lack of ideas, or motivation. My problem was I didn’t use a detailed outline. I did have an outline. Sort of. Somewhere, lost in a pile of notes you’ll find a loose sheet of paper with one or two words for each chapter (well . . . at least ten chapters) and a story are sketched out on the other side of the paper, usually accompanied by coffee stains. Because that works for me. All writers fall into two categories, either you’re an outline writer or an organic writer. I’ve also seen them called plotters and pants writers, and George R.R. Martin refers to them as architects and gardeners. Discussing the pros and cons of both might take all day, but in short, an outline writer plans their stories, with meticulous detail, while an organic writer plops their characters on a blank page and allows the story to develop freely. An outline writer rarely keeps the page of any chapter or scene empty for long. I’m an organic writer though, which means I end up staring at a lot of blank pages. I might know what big event needs to happen in the scene, but the details are floating around in the air waiting for me to pull them out. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. My characters love the potential in that emptiness. Sometimes they love it so much, they have a hard time moving. I’ve spent many mornings writing the first couple paragraphs of a scene, only to delete them and start all over again. Twenty times… read more →

Books covers are a tricky issue when you are self-publishing. They are also a personal gripe of mine! There are some absolutely amazing book covers out there, but just as many (if not more!) utterly terrible ones. Overcoming this hurdle as a self-publisher is quite a difficult and very technical task. Like it or not, most folk do judge a book by its cover, so this is one of the first things you really need to get right (as well as writing an absolutely amazing book, no pressure!). There are a lot of companies and artists now springing up on the internet who specialise in the design of book covers for self-published writers. This is a great idea in my opinion. It helps artists get their work out there also, and as long as you are both thinking along the same lines there is a lot of potential. Having said that, some of the offerings I have seen out there probably would not grip me and convince me that I have to read this book immediately. It’s very tricky. My advice So…my first piece of advice is to be really careful when approaching the issue of your book cover. As we have established, it’s a massively important task. You want to ensure you have something professional that really captures the spirit of your book, reflects yourself as a writer and stands out to prospective readers. I’ll be honest – I’m still not entirely happy with my own book cover. It’s sort of an ongoing project – I’ll fiddle with a few ideas every so often, send various designs to people and ask their opinions, before going back to what it was originally, with a few minor tweaks. I have images in my head of what I would love it to… read more →