An abundant assortment

Wow! We are grateful for the abundant assortment of stories we've received for the marvelous May 2023 issue of Electric Spec. Thank you!
Reading slush, we are as busy as bees buzzing spring blooms... Bzzz!

I've been reading so much I do have some tips. These are suggestions.

• Do not start your story with your protag waking up. We get so many of these.
• Do not start your story with several pages of description, aka 'telling.' It slows down the beginning of the story.
• Do not start your story with loud cussing, yelling, screaming, etc. On the first page readers don't care about the characters yet.
• Do not use weird fonts, colors, font sizes, spacing, or any other odd formating. It makes it seem like you don't know standard formats.
• Do use the file type and formatting we request.
• Do grab our attention with your unique character, world, and/or situation. A great way to do this is with voice.
• Do include some speculative fiction element(s).
:)

We still get a few returned emails when an author's email software automatically rejects us. Aw! :(

Next week I'll stalk about the production meeting right here!

It's crunch time

As you know, the submission deadline for the marvelous May 2023 issue of Electric Spec just passed. That means it's now crunch time for the editors.

Did you know it takes 8 editors to put together an issue? You can read more about the editors here.
Some editors read slush stories every week. (Like me!) Some editors wait until the submission deadline has passed and do all their reading in one two-week blitzkrieg.

We all have to finish reading in time for the Production Meeting at the beginning of the month. The senior editors have to rank all the final stories. And, then, the wrangling really begins as we decide what final stories make the cut. Phew! Sometimes the friendly collegial 'discussion' gets very heated.

If you submitted: Thank you! We appreciate you!

Next week I'll impart more behind-the-scenes info.

Is Death Necessary?

We are neck deep in all the great slush you guys are sending in. (Keep 'em coming!)
You would not believe how many stories we get where a character dies at the end. Seriously, it's a lot. I guess it's not surprising for horror/macabre. And I know death is very dramatic. But for your story, is death necessary? It's difficult to stand out when we have so much death in our slush pile.

Consider: there are worse things than death. I'll leave that for the author's imagination.

If you are going to kill off your darlings, make an effort to make the reader care about the character(s). An effective writer's trick is the 'Save the Cat.' Show the character saving a kitten or puppy or baby and reader will care more about them. Making the character an underdog also works, for example, being bullied, or being diagnosed with cancer, or your_idea_here. Another trick is show the character is necessary/important. For example, the character is killed but his/her/their baby is sitting alone in the next room... Dark! Dramatic! The reader is hooked!

Good luck with your lethal, or nonlethal, story!

Writers read

The deadline for the marvelous May 2023 issue of Electric Spec is fast approaching: April 15, 2023! Get those stories in, ASAP! This means we are very busy reading the sensational slush stories. :) I've given at lot of tips here in the blog over the years, including 'Show, don't tell,' which is still relevant. Check out the old blog entries.

Today, though, I want to encourage writers to read. All writers, or aspiring writers, should read regularly. Read in your genre. Read outside your genre. Read short fiction. Read long fiction. Reading will improve your writing. The more you read, the better you'll write. As you read, think about what's working and what's not working. Then you can translate it into your writing.

Of course, the best resources for reading are libraries. Support your local library! Do this by checking out books (and obviously returning them on time), buying 'retired' books at the library bookstore, contributing to fundraisers, voting for local library-related ballot measures and other activities. Plus, librarians are amazing! They can help you find the perfect book, or do research or your_task_here.

Good luck with your reading! And your writing, too, of course!