Thanks and Good Luck Nikki!

We are working hard behind-the-scenes at Electric Spec! We're almost done with slush for the wonderful November 2022 issue! We have the Production Meeting coming up this weekend. Stay tuned for more info about the new issue next week!

In other news, one of our editors of many years, Nikki Baird, is moving on. Nikki started out as a slush reader and associate editor many years ago and was promoted to Editor years ago. We are sorry to see her go.
Thanks so much for all your years of hard work, Nikki! You rock! Good luck with all your exciting new challenges! We look forward to seeing all you accomplish! Woo hoo, Nikki!

Tips from an Editor

The submission deadline has passed so we are working fast and furious now on the fabulous November 2022 issue of Electric Spec. We get a lot of slush--which is great. But it also means we have a lot of work to get through it all. Here are some tips for publication that other editors might not admit. Sadly, when push comes to shove, we may be looking for reasons to reject you.

• Follow instructions.
  • Do submit your file in the format we request.
  • Do include some kind of cover letter.
  • Do obey word-length rules.
  • Don't include weird formatting.
• speaking of Word-length...
  • Submitting the maximum number of words will make success more difficult, because editors don't really want to edit such long stories.
  • Conversely, submitting less than 1000 words will also make success more difficult, because it's difficult to tell a full story in so few words.
• Genre.
  • We get a lot of dark, depressing stories. I guess it's because we accept 'macabre.' Personally, I'm tired of murder stories. If you submit a more positive story you might be more successful.
  • other genres we don't get as much include: steampunk (basically, any kind of punk), alternative history, cli-fi, magical realism, and any kind of genre mashup. Less common genres will be more successful because they seem more fresh and fun.

I guess that's enough for now. I better get back to work!
If you submitted: Good Luck!

Deadline Looming!

Phew! Where does the time go? The Fall season is well underway which means the submission deadline for the notorious November 2022 issue of Electric Spec is looming! It is October 15, 2022.
In particular, we're looking for genre mashups, alternative history, steampunk, cli-fi. magical realism and other fun stuff! Get those stories in!

Thank you!

Writing Race

Another potential conundrum for authors is writing race. In Craft in the Real World Matthew Salesses also addresses this issue. Check it out if you can.

I've pondered writing race quite a bit. Some writers specify the races of all characters. Some writers specify the races of no characters. Some writers give descriptive details and let the reader decipher races for themselves. I must admit I've tried all methods with varying success. What do you prefer?
I think the takeaway should be to treat all the characters consistently re. race descriptions (unless there's a conscious choice not to).

The deadline for the awesome November 2022 issue of Electric Spec is fast approaching: midnight U.S. mountain time October 15, 2022!

Writing Culture

Continuing the discussion of Matthew Salesses' Craft in the Real World, he makes a great point about writing about one's culture. When workshopping you can get confusing advice about writing the sensory details of a culture:

1. Choose "striking" or "lasting" or "unusual" (or so forth) details.
2. Leave out unnecessary of "common" details.
3. Defamiliarize the familiar.

I say write what you want, and don't explain anything. At Electric Spec we have had many writers from numerous different countries and if a reader is occasionally a little confused, so be it. :)
What do you think?

What is a story?

What is a story? I recently read a very interesting book Craft in the Real World: Rethinking Fiction Writing and Workshopping by Matthew Salesses. Salesses says "Craft is part of the history of Western empire...What we call craft is in fact nothing more or less than a set of expectations. ...These expectations are never neutral. They represent the values of the culturally dominant population..."

Wow! While this is very obvious in hindsight, I'd never thought about it this way before.
A writer (in the culturally-dominant Western population) might say a story is: a protagonist with a problem acts to solve that problem and either succeeds or fails. Said problem could be: man against man, man against nature, or man against self.
The idea that the protagonist has power over his/her life is definitely part of this culturally-dominant paradigm.

In fact, a story could be something, anything else.
What do you, think a story is?

Basking in the Glow

We're still basking in the glow of the awesome August 2022 issue of Electric Spec. There's so much fun fiction to enjoy!

• "Widow's Pass" by Si Wang
• "Speak Me in Passing" by Tyree Campbell
• "The Tailor of Gloomwick" by Lisa Voorhees
• "For the Love of Earth" by Dawn Bonanno
• "A Brief Accounting of All the Times I Thought I Was Pregnant" by Rachel Rodman
• "VEND3000" by Hannah O'Doom

Which is your favorite? I can't decide! :)

From Author Rodman

We are excited to feature "A Brief Accounting of All of the Times I Thought I was Pregnant" by Author Rachel Rodman in the awesome August 2022 issue of Electric Spec. Rachel was kind enough to send along some comments about the story.

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“A Brief Accounting of All of the Times I Thought I was Pregnant” began as a twin to a second story, “Men I Have Given a Fish”: https://brilliantflashfiction.com/2022/01/31/january-2022/. I wrote both in the spring of 2021.

I continue to think of both as featuring the same character, shaped by different story conceits. In “A Brief Accounting…” the creative challenge in each section was to succinctly present a pregnancy scare/hope, while also moving the larger story forward. In “Men…”, the challenge in each section was to succinctly intertwine a description of a dysfunctional relationship with a different fish, while also moving the story forward.

In the end, though, these became very different stories. What absolutely defines the main character in “Men” is still important in “Brief.” As composition proceeded, though, this trait evolved to become almost a misdirection. In the end, what really defines this second character, through space, time, and a series of increasingly weird hobbies, cults, jobs, and social groups, is her absolute dedication to something—someone—else.

The stakes in each story are also very different. In “Men” they are personal; in “Brief,” they are cosmic, spiritual, AND personal. At the same time, each story ends on a similar note. Whether everything--or anything--will work out is unclear. In each case, too, the character and the reader perceive this ambiguity differently. Where the character is hardwired to hope, the reader is more skeptical.

For the writer, of course, both of these stories have the same sort of happy ending: publication. Both twins found excellent homes. I was delighted to have “Men I Have Given a Fish” accepted by Brilliant Flash Fiction and I am delighted that “A Brief Accounting of All of the Times I Thought I was Pregnant” will appear in Electric Spec.

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Thanks, Rachel! Very interesting!
Be sure to check out "A Brief Accounting of All of the Times I Thought I was Pregnant" and all the rest of the August 2022 stories!

New Issue Available!

Huzzah! The awesome August 2022 issue of Electric Spec is live!

We need to thank our excellent cover artist and authors. Hurray for our creatives!
We need to thank our excellent editors and tech staff. Thank you for all your hard work!
And most of all, we need to thank our readers! Woo hoo! We wouldn't exist without you!
Thank you, everyone!

From Author Campbell

We are excited to feature "Speak Me in Passing" by Author Tyree Campbell in the awesome August 2022 issue of Electric Spec. Tyree was kind enough to send along some comments about the story.

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After being heavily and emotionally influenced by Longfellow's poem and the specific quote that goes "Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, only a signal shown, and a distant voice in the darkness; So on the ocean of life, we pass and speak one another, only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence," I was struck by the utter solitude of it. I wanted to capture that in a character, and to do so I chose the last dragon, still eking out life after life and now in the modern world. He always has to hide his true self, he seldom can risk showing his true form. But he is old now, even for a dragon, and must die again in order to become someone else...or not.

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Thanks, Tyree! Very interesting!
Be sure to check out "Speak Me in Passing" and all the rest of the stories on August 31, 2022!

From Author Bonanno

We are excited to feature "For The Love of Earth: It's not over til it's over" by Author Dawn Bonanno in the awesome August 2022 issue of Electric Spec. Dawn was kind enough to send along some comments about the story.

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A lot of my stories are born of the 'what if' question, plus something warm and fuzzy. In this one, an elephant is our warm and fuzzy, and proof of what humanity can do when it chooses: taking care of each other. Some people call me naïve. I call it having faith in my people.

However this world formed (take your pick: science, religion, or a combination of both), like everything that has a beginning, it will eventually endure its end. No one wants to think about that, but considering everything that's happened in the past 50 years, I did just that in writing For the Love of Earth.

When considering our end, the questions of utmost important are how, why, and when. I won't address those possibilities today, but instead, I call upon humankind. We have accomplished too much, overcome so many challenges, that if we just all turn our focus to saving our world, we can do it. There are enough people who love our world, our home, that we can slow down the damage done to our planet. We have time to heal the wounds. Not much, I understand, but it isn't too late. Not yet.

As in my story, the 'hourglasses' of water and trees hold the world up, but what holds it together is love. Love for human kind, love for the gentle and fierce creatures that we share this world with, and love for the very Earth itself. Many of us the share passions of the guardians in this story. I look forward to the day when we can celebrate Earth's revival together.

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Thanks, Dawn! Very interesting!
Be sure to check out "For The Love of Earth" and all the rest of the stories on August 31, 2022!

From Artist Candiotti

We are excited to feature "Gem City" by Artist Barbara Candiotti in the awesome August 2022 issue of Electric Spec. Barbara was kind enough to send along some comments about the piece.

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The overall color of this artwork is pink. From a metaphysical perspective, pink is considered a healing, peaceful, harmonious color. Thus the tone of this artwork, "Gem City," represents an otherworldly destination for repose, meditation, and healing.

In the lower-left corner, a lone horseman on a cliff overlooks a valley covered in dense pink fog and mist. The horseman is partially blurred as if in a dreamscape. Is he real, or is this a dream of his making? Rising out of the shrouded valley are immense purple and pink mountains. The mountain peak in the center-right of the picture emanates a pink beacon of light/frequency from its top extremity. This gem-like beacon represents an intangible siren song beckoning those on a quest for spiritual knowledge, whether in the dream state or waking state.

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Thanks, Barbara! Very interesting!
Be sure to check out the whole issue on August 31, 2022!

From Author Voorhees

We are excited to feature "The Tailor of Gloomwick" by Author Lisa Voorhees in the awesome August 2022 issue of Electric Spec. Lisa was kind enough to send along some comments about the story.

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At their heart, stories are images translated into words. My inspiration for "The Tailor of Gloomwick" began with a Norman Rockwell type drawing of a tailor seated in his workshop, mending hearts with a needle and thread. I sat with the image for several weeks, allowing the story to unfold in my mind.

Gradually, the characters began to come into view, followed by pieces of the plot. Once I was ready to write, the first version of the story did not transpire from the point of view of the Tailor, but rather Louis, his future apprentice.

Early critiques on the story came in. I was disappointed to discover the story did not have the resonance I was hoping for and that I thought I had worked hard to achieve. I went back to the drawing board. Determined to portray the story as I experienced it so deeply in my heart, I brainstormed slavishly over how to convey the spark of inspiration I had gleaned from the drawing.

And then it came to me.

Although Louis was a prominent character, he wasn't the central figure in the story. The Tailor of Gloomwick was. The story belonged to him.

The story underwent a major rewrite, and the current "Tailor of Gloomwick" was born.

I will leave you with this little piece of writing advice: if you are having trouble achieving the kind of impact you want your story to have, try telling it from another character's perspective. It may be all the change your story needs to shine.

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Thanks, Lisa! Very interesting!
Be sure to check out "The Tailor of Gloomwick" and all the rest of the stories on August 31, 2022!

Aug Production Meeting

Over the weekend we had a great Production Meeting for the awesome August 2022 issue of Electric Spec! We had an unusual number of excellent stories to choose from--leading to a spirited discussion. Yes, Editors have different opinions about stories! Authors perhaps don't know editors have to consider things like genre balance, as well. This time we had a lot of wonderful fantasy stories--so, they couldn't all make it into the issue. The editors also discussed pandemic stories and decided ...we're not ready for them yet. Some markets may be; but wait a little while yet to send us your pandemic story.

So, all authors should have received an email from us with either a 'Yay,' or 'Nay,' by now, along with a contract and other info. We haven't heard back yet from all the authors, so check your spam folder(s)!
If you think you sent us a story by the issue deadline of July 15, 2022 and you haven't heard from us--you're story may be lost in cyberspace. I don't know why, but sometimes we don't get stories. :(

In other news, at least one of the editors will be at the annual rambunctious Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Conference in Denver in early September 2022. Writers conferences are awesome opportunities to learn more about the craft of writing and to have loads of fun! There's lots of info online about many, many conferences. You can also check with your public library for resources in your local area.

Next time we'll start bragging about the new issue! Be sure to check it out!

Slush finished!

Oh my gosh! We had so many good stories submitted for our awesome August 2022 issue of Electric Spec! If you submitted: thank you very much!
We recently finished reading stories in the slush pile. Phew! Thank you to all our editors, including associate editors!
Consequently, all authors should have received their first email from us by now, either 'Sorry, no.' or 'You made it to the final round; stay tuned.'

Right now, the editors are reading the finalist stories and ranking them. We have the Production Meeting coming up this weekend. So...next week I will have even more info to pass along. And soon after that, we can start bragging on the stories upcoming in the next issue! Woo hoo!

Working on awesome August issue!

The submission deadline for the awesome August 2022 issue has passed. (But, don't worry. You can submit for the awesome November 2022 issue!) As usual, we got hundreds of submissions. We've already discovered many excellent stories. Thank you for submitting!.
Authors are starting to hear back from us regarding 'Hold for voting,' or 'Thanks, but no thanks.'

Next steps are: finish reading the slush pile, and send out the rest of the initial emails.
Did I mention the pile was huge? :)
More behind-the-scenes updates next week!

Our Type of Horror

We are working on our sensational Electric Spec slush pile! One awesome thing about Electric Spec is all our stories are free and online. Authors can peruse any of them at any time. Of course, this is an awesome idea. :)
Sometimes there's a bit of author confusion about what kind of horror we like. We like spooky horror, rather than bloody horror. We like stories that give us goosebumps, chills, shivers. We like stories that make us question realities, dreams, imaginations.
If your story involves a lot of blood and/or body parts--we might not like it. If your story has a huge body count--we might not like it.

Good luck with your horrific story!

Happy Fourth of July!

Put it on the page

We are working hard behind-the-scenes on the awesome August 2022 issue of Electric Spec.
I've been reading a lot of slush. A few times recently I've been quite confused about what happened in a story or what a story meant. I think in those cases, the author had a wonderful story in his/her mind but it didn't quite all make it to the page. In that case, unfortunately, we're going to pass on a story. You don't want to confuse your editors!
Luckily, this is an easy problem to solve. Have a friend, relative or writing partner read the story and then ask them: What happened? If your reader can't tell you, you probably need to put more on the page. (We've all been there.)
Good luck with putting it on the page!

Thank you, Submitters!

Wow! We continue to receive hundreds of submissions for each Electric Spec issue!
Thank you, Submitters!

We are working behind the scenes on slush and soon will really gear up for the awesome August 2022 issue. Stay tuned for more info.