story throughline

We are starting to work through our slush pile for the marvelous May 2016 issue of Electric Spec. Sometimes a story starts of strong but then sort of falls apart. :( I hate it when that happens.

Authors should consider: what is your story's throughline? There are several different definitions of 'throughline.' Don't get bogged down in definitions. The point is: what is the central idea of your story? It needs to be evident in the first scene and in the last scene.
A story that peters out often starts with one central idea and then, somewhere in the middle, switches to another idea. This rarely works.

Personally, I tend to use the protagonist's main problem with its emotional component. Remember, one of your jobs as an author is to affect readers' emotions. Thus, scene one at least alludes to the protagonist's main problem and shows his/her/its accompanying emotions. The middle of the story is essentially the protagonist acting to solve the problem. The last scene is the solution to the problem with the accompanying emotions.

You don't have to do what I do, but you should have a throughline--some kind of consistency from the beginning to the end of your story.
Your central idea can be anything!

I look forward to reading what it is. Send us your story.

please don't query

We've been getting an uptick in the number of queries we get about submitted stories. Please don't do this. We get hundreds of stories. We don't have the manpower, er, personpower to answer queries about stories. Thanks!

Happy weekend!

suspension

I've heard it said that readers of fantastic fiction must suspend disbelief. Some sources attribute this to Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1817:
...procure for these shadows of imagination that willing suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith...
I do think readers need poetic faith to enjoy any fiction. Authors should also play their part, however, by creating an internally consistent world.

When it comes to science fiction, it is additionally important for readers to suspend confusion. If can be hard to get into a SF story when new worlds, new technologies, new jargon are being thrown at you. But, SF readers, never fear! It's worth it, if you persevere. :)

These different approaches are due to the inherent and deep-seated differences between fantasy and SF. Fantastic fiction is the earliest type of fiction. To some extent, all fiction is fantastic.
Modern SF, on the other hand, originated in the 17th and 18th centuries' Age of Reason with its scientific discoveries. Thus, at its core, SF is rational. All phenomena should be explained, or at least be able to be explained.

Here at Electric Spec we love both fantastic fiction and SF!
Send us your stories!

writing rules

There are a lot of writing rules, tips and suggestions out there. (I give them all the time. mea culpa) Probably the most famous for Electric Spec readers and writers are Robert A. Heinlein's rules for writing:

1. You must write.
2. You must finish what you write.
3. You must refrain from rewriting, except to editorial order.
4. You must put the work on the market.
5. You must keep the work on the market until it is sold.

SF Author Robert J. Sawyer adds
        6. Start working on something else.

Personally, I agree with all these rules.

But...absolutely, positively, the only rule of writing you need to follow is:
There are no rules of writing.
Writers can get bogged down reading writer's blogs or chasing down the best methods or rules. Don't fall in this trap.

Just do whatever works for you!

Write it! Submit it!

Phew! We're all still basking in the glow of the fabulous February 29, 2016 issue of Electric Spec.

*glow*

Check it out if you haven't already!

I went to a very interesting short story workshop recently in which we were forced to write and submit a bunch of short stories in a relatively short time period. I gleaned some things which I want to share with you all.

1. Write the (first draft of the) story! There's no magic potion or circumstance you need to write a short story. Just do it!
   I've blogged here many times about how to write a short story, for example, see Short Story Cheat Sheet. In a nutshell, you need a protagonist, a problem, and the protagonist needs to do something to try to solve the problem.

2. Revise the story. I am a strong believer is following your muse. Part of that is figuring out what writing method works for you. Some people can dash off one draft of a story and have it be perfect. I am not one of those people. I need at least one reader to set eyes on it and tell me things like, "This character is too stupid to live." And then I can say, "Now that you mention it, oh, yeah..."
   So, figure out what writing method works for you. FYI-every writer has their own method.

   Be warned, however, don't get trapped in revision. Don't let this step stop you from the next step.

3. Submit the story! Again, there's no magic potion needed here. Find a market and send it out! A helpful place to find markets is ralan.com.

   Of course, we would love to get your story here at Electric Spec. :)

Good luck!

Thanks!

Huzzah! The February 29, 2016 issue of Electric Spec is live!

Thank you very much Authors Kate Sheeran Swed, Patricia Russo, Nina Shepardson, Tiffany Michelle Brown, and Daniel Brock.

Thank you very much Artist Ron Sanders.

Thank you very much Associate Editors Minta Monroe, Candi Cooper-Towler and Chris Devlin.
I don't know if it's strictly kosher, but I'm also going to thank Editors Nikki Baird and Grayson Towler.

Finally, thank you very much readers!

Huzzah for all of you! We couldn't have done it without you.

Huzzah!

Huzzah! We're Live!
Check out the new issue of Electric Spec!

new issue next week!

We are getting close now! We'll publish a new issue of Electric Spec next week: February 29, 2016! We've already mentioned "Catch and Release" by Tiffany Michelle Brown and "Posthumous" by Daniel Brock. In addition to these we'll have "Where everybody Knows Your Name" by Kate Swed, "The Wish of a Child of Wishes" by Patricia Russo" and "Gifts from a Newlywed Husband to his Wife" by Nina Shepardson.

"Where Everybody Knows Your Name" is a unique and fun take on a more traditional fairy tale--with a nod to a famous TV show. "The Wish of a Child of Wishes" is a unique fantasy tale involving a very empathetic child and her accomplishments. "Gifts from a Newlywed Husband to His Wife" is a haunting and lyrical romance. Read them!

In addition, we'll have an extremely helpful article "Story Endings, How They Torture Me" from newly-promoted Editor Nikki Baird. She's been working in the trenches for quite a while and has a lot of expertise. Check out her article which includes the basics, sizzling recommendations, and a very helpful checklist.

I strongly recommend you check out everything in the issue on February 29! You won't want to miss it. :)

from Author Brown

We're excited to publish the story "Catch and Release" by Tiffany Michelle Brown in our February 29, 2016 issue of Electric Spec. Here's what Author Brown has to say about her story:

---

The show Lost Girl, my proximity to water (I live in San Diego, California), and my lifelong love of Greek and Roman mythology are what inspired me to write "Catch and Release."

You know how some people go gaga over vampires? That’s how I feel about sirens. But you don’t see too many contemporary stories about them (or am I simply not looking hard enough?), so I challenged myself to create my own interpretation of the classical siren. In modern times. In a bar in Florida. Out on the hunt. Because sirens need to eat, too, and why should vampires and werewolves have all the fun meddling in the human world?

During this particular hunting trip, Theron, my protagonist, doesn’t enjoy his usual routine—walk into a bar, find a snack, go home to Persephone. Unexpectedly, he meets another mythological creature. One to be reckoned with. And that’s when the fun begins.

When I wrote "Catch and Release" last year, it was an anomaly. At the time, I was writing a lot of straight-up horror. In lieu of gore and ghosts and creepy campfires, I embraced sensuality, folklore, and different kind of tension than fear. "Catch and Release" started out as a challenge, a writing exercise, and it progressed into something I’m rather proud of.

"Catch and Release" was a gateway drug, because since, I’ve been writing a lot more in the fantasy/magical realism vein. A few weeks ago, I finished a story about Death personified, but instead of the customary black robe and a scythe, Death shows up wearing the likeness of a past love (and isn’t a terrifying presence—friendly and comforting, in fact). I just finished a happily never after story inspired by The Frog Prince, which features a talking pigeon and sexual addiction (separately, I promise!). And now I’m working on a Japanese folk story adaptation that involves aliens, bamboo, and interplanetary love.

With fantasy and speculative literature, there are no limitations. You can be sexy or funny or absurd. You can create new creatures and species. You can play with gender tropes and social norms and inhuman emotions. Anything goes.

Even darkly attractive sirens in well-tailored suits who sip fruity cocktails at beach bars.

I hope you enjoy "Catch and Release."

---

Thanks, Tiffany!

Check out the issue on February 29, 2016!

from Author Brock

We're excited to publish an SF tale from Author Daniel Brock in our February 29, 2016 issue. Here's what he has to say about his story "Posthumous":

"For me, ideas come and go so fast I can barely keep up with them, let alone remember how they came about. Most of them begin as small, fickle things, little more than a vague notion of something I think would be cool, that slip away unless I capture them in ink first. Posthumous, on the other hand, was one of those ideas that slipped away and just kept coming back. I’d get excited thinking about it, then lose faith and put it on the backburner. It was a bit of a struggle, but because of this, it is one of the few stories I can say for sure where the idea came from and how it evolved.

At first it was just the title. Posthumous, meaning awarded or occurring after death, always made me think of Grammys awarded after death, so the musician coming back from the dead was always a part of the story. That was the “coolness,” but for the longest I couldn't decide how to make it an actual story. Eventually, I thought the best thing to do was address the two main characters and let them drive the plot. I think for this version, that was the right thing. The inspiration for the characters came from my own music idols. Though the explosion of publicity Michael Jackson’s music received after he died played a big role in the early days of “Posthumous,” Billy Strat and his story were heavily inspired by my newfound love of Alice in Chains and my wish that Layne Staley could still be singing now. His voice alone influenced this story more than anything.

So that, in a Nutshell (ha! :D), is how I came up with “Posthumous.” One more thing, before I go. I submitted this story exactly one week before David Bowie passed away. I worked on it during Lemmy Kilmister’s last days, and was toying with the idea when they found Scott Weiland. Though I didn’t witness any of these men in their prime, the mark they left on music and entertainment has probably influenced me in ways I don't even know. This story isn’t about them, but for some reason I feel it should be, so I’ve dedicated this story to these three men and all the others we’ve lost. It’s the least I can do.

May they continue to Rock in Paradise."

Thanks Daniel!

first 2016 production meeting

We are well on our way to producing the first issue of 2016! Woohoo! Thank you, authors for sending in your stories. We appreciate it. I believe all authors should have heard back from us one way or another if you submitted before the Jan 15 deadline. If you didn't hear from us (and you submitted before Jan 15), please submit again. We do want your story! I did disable the auto-reply for the submissions email--it was causing trouble.

The discussion amongst editors was very spirited. Grayson, Nikki and I had fun discussing the latest spec fic books, TV shows, movies and the Broncos (we like them! Go Broncos!). The story discussion for the issue itself was surprisingly agreeable. We pretty much agreed about everything, but it was spirited because we like the stories a lot! :)

For Editor's Corner Nikki's going to give us all some tips on writing endings. Yay! Unusual fact: we didn't get much SF this time. In terms of food and drink, nothing too weird except my dish...I got 'Breakfast Nachos.' Have you ever heard of this before? I hadn't. Let's just say it was an adventure in itself!

Hopefully, we'll have some blog entries from our authors the rest of the month. Stay tuned.
Look for the new issue February 29, 2016!

tips 2

Here's the second set of tips for 2016. Last time ended up being a bit negative with all the "don't's" so here are some "do's."

• Do write with a unique voice. Ideally this comes from creating a unique character. Not sure what I mean? Check out "Tried and True" by Daniel Brock for an example. "Ghostalker" by T.L. Huchu is another great example.
• Do come up with a unique premise. This is a problem, i.e. a plot, that hasn't been seen before. "Cruising in an Event" by George Schaade is a very good example of this.
• Do create a unique world. Actually, all the examples above illustrate unique worlds. Another great example is "Kites and Orchids" by George S. Walker.
• Do come up with a unique solution. A great example of this is "In the Belly of the Beast" by Larry Hodges.

What do all these "do's" have in common? Uniqueness. Good luck creating your unique story!

Next time I'll blog about the first production meeting with the new editors. Should be interesting!

the first tips of 2016

As you're reading this, the submission deadline for the first 2016 issue of Electric Spec has passed. I hope you got your story in! (If not, don't fear: we are accepting submissions for the second issue of 2016.) We are hard at work on the new issue.
Here are some tips which may or may not pertain to your particular story:

• Do obey the submissions format guidelines:
  • Submit an rtf file, not a doc file (or anything else).
  • Use the subject line: SUBMISSION: Story Title by Author's Name (Word Count). The word SUBMISSION is particularly important so it gets through our spam filter.
  • Do stay within the 250 to 7000 word limit.
  • Don't do any unusual formatting, such as unusual fonts, headers, pictures, etc.
• While we're on the topic of guidelines...
  • Please don't query us on the status of your story.
  • Please don't ask us to join your LinkedIn network or anything similar.
  • Please don't send a query about submitting your story. Just send the story.
  • Please send one story at a time.
  • Since we have a variety of editors reading slush, you can address your submission letter to "Dear Editors." But, be aware, this can annoy editors at other markets.
• Know your market! By this I mean be aware of what stories we have published in the past at Electric Spec. Every zine is different. Some tips for us, which may not be relevant for other zines include:
  • Show us the story! Very generally, narrative is telling. To me, telling reads as a summary of a story rather than as a story. Your story should probably have some dialogue--notice this is showing.
  • I understand creative folks might not be aware of very common tropes, plots, openings, so for your convenience, consider avoiding vanilla versions of the following:
    • The protagonist wakes up in the first scene.
    • The (male) protagonist kills his wife/girlfriend/random woman.
    • The protagonist is revealed as some kind of nonhuman at the end. Surprise! (Not.)
    • The epic male protagonist kills the monster and wins the female.
  • Your story must have a clear speculative element. It is popular in mainstream fiction to write stories which might have a speculative element. See, for example, The Best American Short Stories, 2014. We don't want ambiguity about this.
• Probably, the biggest tip I can give for stories in general: start your piece at the beginning of the story. We often see stories that contain a lot of setup and filler in the first paragraphs. Look carefully at your story. Ask yourself what it's about, and where does your piece start addressing this?

This is getting a bit long, so I'll end it here.
Thanks for sending us your stories! We appreciate it!

Feedback

For the last month or so and continuing for the next month or so, I've been writing one short story a week. It's an interesting exercise. With limited time I really have to think about the story before I begin writing. Some elements I consider:

• Who is the main character? What is his/her/its external and internal problem initially?
• What does he/she/it do to solve the problem(s)?
• What is the external plot resolution?
• What is the internal plot resolution? What is the emotional oomph of the story?
• What is the theme, setting, world, time, big-picture of the story?

I do this all mentally; I don't write anything down until I know the general answers to these questions. IMHO, once you start writing, you've committed/trapped yourself into something. Then, when I finish the first draft I ask What is this story really about? Usually I can't answer this last question until I've finished the first draft. Often I have to edit the second draft to make it fit in a little better with this really about answer. So, at the end I'm left with what I think is a decent story.

And then...

When I submit a story to my critique group every time they raise good questions. Every time! Like "Why does the protagonist do this? It's not motivated." or "This plot point is unecessary." or just "This part is confusing."

I relate all this to illustrate the crucial importance of feedback. IMHO every writer needs to get some other eyes on their work. Every writer! Writer friends are ideal for this. Significant others, BFFs, parents, kids, neighbors also work.

At Electric Spec we really wish we had the resources to give feedback on every submission, but we don't. Here on the blog, we will give some general feedback (based on slush) for the rest of the month.

Emotional Complexity

I've been pondering what makes a story great. Yes, I have pondered this before. About this time last year, I blogged about genre versus literary fiction. The editors I quoted there have some significant insights.

Of course, you can't go wrong in reading what awesome authors say about the issue. I quoted Norman Spinrad in true literature. I quoted Ursula K. Le Guin on Fiction.

Back in the beginning of 2011 I also considered a great story?. And in 2006 I considered Short story first lines. A great first line does hook the reader. You can't show off your great story if no one ever reads it.

Here and now in 2016 I think the one thing that makes any story great is emotional complexity. This works for short stories, and for 'TV' shows and movies as well. For example, in a recent movie a protagonist has to chose between love and personal safety. The creators of this work successfully created a character, a person, that has a whole host of emotions. Personal safety would be the safer, and probably easier, choice. What does the character do? He does what he has to do.

As you write your stories, consider: do they have emotional complexity? Does your character have to chose between options he/she/it has strong feelings about? If not, work on it. Good luck!

The deadline for our first 2016 issue is Jan 15, midnight (US Moutain time). Get those stories in!

Editor Changes

We have some new Electric Spec Editors! I'm very excited to be working with these folks.

Nikki Baird has been promoted from Associate Editor. She writes science fiction, fantasy, and horror, both long and short form. Her short horror story, "Devastation Mine" was published as part of the anthology Broken Links, Mended Lives, which was nominated for a Colorado Book Award. She has been a finalist in the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers' Colorado Gold contest for the two years in the Speculative Fiction category, and is a regular contributor to Littleton Writers Critique Group, an open critique group in southwest Denver. She is currently trying to place her second fantasy novel with a publisher.

Grayson Towler is a brand-new Electric Spec Editor. He has had a lifelong fascination with dragons, dinosaurs, magic, and the telling stories. His first book, a middle-grade fantasy titled The Dragon Waking, is due to be published in Spring 2016 by Albert Whitman & Company. The book was a finalist in the 2012 RMFW Gold contest.
         Grayson has worked as a copy writer since 2004 for Sounds True, a publishing company for books and audio programs concerning meditation, spirituality, and self-help. He is also an illustrator, and he has been writing and drawing an urban fantasy webcomic, Thunderstruck, since 2004. He also created "Tales from the Vault" --a popular collaborative fiction website active from 1996-2001.
         In addition to writing, Grayson has also been a web designer, substitute teacher, comic artist, and small business owner. He and his wife, Candi, live in a house owned by three relatively benevolent cats in Longmont, Colorado.

We also have two new Associate Editors. One is Candi Cooper-Towler. She was raised in the desert of Southern Nevada and now lives in the high desert of Colorado. She has been writing haiku seriously for about five years and finds the short form a perfect fit for her minimalist style. She is accompanied by her novelist husband as well as a horse, three cats, and a dog. She is a spectacularly fast reader.

Our second brand-new Associate Editor is Minta Monroe. She writes darker fantasy, particularly involving the occult or supernatural. She is the author of The Mound Dwellers and several collections of short stories. One of her stories will appear next year in Haunted, a Fiction River anthology. In addition to fantasy, she writes science fiction and mystery under other pen names.

And, thankfully, Chris Devlin agreed to stay on as Copy Editor. She's a writer, blogger and copy editor. She runs Devlin Author Services, a full-service writer support agency. She's the Contest Chair for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer's Colorado Gold contest and has years of experience as a copy editor and critique group moderator. Her Young Adult speculative fiction novel, St. Vitus Academy Book One: The Lazarus Rock, finaled in the Pikes Peak Contest 2012.

Welcome aboard, everyone!

Peace on Earth

Today is the solstice, the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. (Fun fact: today is the longest day of the year in the Southern Hemisphere.)

I thought it would be an appropriate occasion to pass along some wisdom from the late SF author Clifford D. Simak speaking of his work:

The series was written in a revulsion against mass killing and as a protest against war... It was filled with the gentleness and the kindess and the courage that I thought were needed in the world.

We wish you gentleness, kindess, and courage.

And in the new year: Peace on Earth.

tips from slush

The excitement of the most recent issue of Electric Spec hasn't faded when we already have to start working on the next issue. We, The Editors, have been reading slush. As you may have guessed I have some tips...

• MARKET. Know your market. If you are submitting to Electric Spec, we are your market. And you're in luck: you can read every story we've ever published for free! This will tell you some things about Electric Spec:
  • Your story must have a speculative element.
  • Your story must have a protagonist.
  • Something must happen in your story.
  • We prefer showing rather than telling. (If you don't know what this means, say something in the comments here and I'll do a blog post on it.)
• We do accept flash fiction, but it still has to be complete story and not just the beginning of a story or the outline of a story.
• Don't send us stories we've read a million (okay, a bunch of) times. These include:
  • The protagonist wakes up in the first scene.
  • A man killing his wife/girlfriend/mistress/all-of-the-above/etc.
  • Straight-up regular vampires or werewolves with regular problems. We like vamps and weres but show us something different.
  • Standard quest stories. Again, we like quests, but show us something original.
• We'd love to see
  • Unique epic fantasy.
  • Steampunk.
  • Genre mashups.
  • Your original idea here. :)

Do send us your stories! We appreciate you, authors!

Thank you!

good stuff

Wow! The new issue of Electric Spec has a lot of good stuff in it! Have you finished perusing it? If so, you must have gleaned many interesting facts...

• How many stories have we published in the last decade?
• What famous author is part of our tech support team?
• Why did we start Electric Spec?
• What gets a story sold?
• Who or what is Itsumi in Levenson's story?
• How does Jillian survive in Miller's story?
• What cause's Taylor's change of heart in Boden's story?
• What in the world happens to Bobby at the end of Grey's story?
• What does Sheri do to Molly in DeHaan's story?
• Who or what is Doyle in Smith's story?
• What motivates the character Li-lin in Boroson's novel The Girl with Ghost Eyes?

Don't know the answers to all of these questions? Maybe you better check-out the issue again! :)

New Issue!

As promised, we published a brand new exciting issue of Electric Spec yesterday! Huzzah!
Thank you very much Authors Levenson, Miller, Boden, Grey, DeHaan for the excellent stories! Thank you very much M.H. Boroson for the intriguing interview! Thank you very much Artist Sanders for the captivating cover art! Thank you very much Associate Editors Baird and Devlin for associate-editting! :) Thank you very much Hardlight Multimedia for tech support!

Thank you very much Editors Dornbusch and Hughes! For those of you who haven't read the Letter from the Editors yet, they have a huge announcement: they're stepping down as ElectricSpec Editors. It's been a great decade working with you! Best wishes on your new adventures! Check out their letter it's very interesting.
(And don't worry, ElectricSpec is continuing. More about that later in the year.)

Most of all: Thank you Readers! We wouldn't exist without you!

Huzzah!