Writing is beneficial

My writing group has had numerous discussions during the last two years about the benefits of writing. There are tons of articles, etc. about this. For example, see "Writing Can Improve Mental Health" over at The Conversation.
Of relevance for this venue, creative writing can be very beneficial. Short stories can explore a myriad of scenarios and help authors deal with their thoughts and feelings. I've read stories related to the Black Lives Matter movement and to the global pandemic. Such stories can help authors decide what actions they want to take now and in the future.
I've written spec fic 'feel good' stories about how I wish things were right now. Some of them have revisited some of my favorite original characters. These aren't necessarily going to be published, but they make me feel better.

We're accepting stories for the marvelous May 2022 issue of Electric Spec through April 15, 2022.

Don't overedit

We have started working hard on the upcoming marvelous May 31, 2022 issue of Electric Spec! This means we are enmeshed in slush.
I recently read a story that had perfect grammar, spelling, clarity, punctuation, conciseness, and all the rest. You might think this would be a dream story for an editor. But, nope. It read like a robot had written it. The rules for some of these elements, such as spelling and punctuation, are more strict. But, some, such as clarity and conciseness, have a little more flexibility.

So, my tip for authors is: don't overedit. To overedit is to edit too much. The problem with this is it removes the author voice. As an example, I've been rereading one of my favorite spec-fic series and it's chock-full of things a strict proofreader might remove. To illustrate, a sentence from page one of book one:
But rural northern Louisiana wasn't too tempting to vampires, apparently; on the other hand, New Orleans was a real center fot them--the whole Anne Rice thing, right?
There's a reason this series is fun to reread. :) Wonderful writing! Wonderful voice!

Good luck with your imperfect stories!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Of course, Saint Patrick's Day has a long and distiguished history in Ireland and elsewhere as a cultural and religious celebration of Saint Patrick.
But, as a speculative fiction ezine, Electric Spec enjoys holidays with possible speculative elements...

basking in the glow

At Electric Spec we are still basking in the glow of the fabulous February 2022 issue!
Huge thanks again, to all our creatives!

You may have noticed we mentioned 'voice' twice in the issue: once in the Letter From the Editors, and once in Nikki's Editor's Corner essay.
This should not be a suprise. I've actually discussed voice multiple times here.
For example "Voice, voice, baby" in 2020, and "slush tips: character and voice" in 2016, to name just a couple.

While still basking, we have started working on the marvelous May 2022 slush pile. Consider sending us a story with strong voice!

Fabulous February Issue!

If you haven't checked out the fabulous February issue of Electric Spec check it out!
We present

• The Dream-Quest of Sphinx by Bruno Lombardi
• Furnace Dreams by Jasmine Arch
• Grave Miscalculation by Kayla Severson
• Pride & PTSD by W.M. Chan
• The One Girl by Gillian Daniels
• VOCSS by Cora Ruskin
• Editor's Corner: What is Voice and Why Should Readers Care? by Nikki Baird

Woo hoo!