Ongoing Submissions: (mac)ro(mic)
Payment: $15
Theme: works that focus on expressing, not impressing
We want your heart, your soul, the pieces that are a part of you. We want stories that are worlds in words, pieces that tell a (mac)ro story in a (mic)ro word count. We want works that focus on expressing, not impressing. Above all else, we want stories that connect. Our only restrictions? It has to be either flash fiction or creative nonfiction, 1,000 words or less. Other than that, surprise us.
We pay $15 per accepted piece.
Got something that fits? Send it here.
Want to know more about what (mac)ro(mic) is looking for? Check out my interview with Jim Harrington of Six Questions For… here.
SQF: What are the top three things you look for in a submission and why?
NO: Honesty, voice, and clarity. I’m not picky when it comes to POV, tense, perspective, genre, etc. What it comes down to is that I’m looking for powerful work, and in my experience, powerful work comes from honesty. If not factual honesty in the form of creative nonfiction, then emotional honesty. I can tell when a writer really feels what they’re writing, when they’re pouring themselves into a story, and I can usually tell that within the first sentence or two. I live for that. After that, voice and clarity tend to tag along automatically when you’re writing with honesty.
SQF: What most often turns you off to a submission?
NO: The intent to impress rather than express. Vocabulary is great, and a witty style is fun to read, but it all has to be in service to the work. If it veers too far into look-ma-no-hands territory, it quickly takes me out of the story. Once immersion is lost, that’s pretty much it.
SQF: What do you look for in the opening paragraph(s)/stanza(s) of a submission?
NO: I look for a hook, a hint toward theme and tone, and a character/situation that I need to know more about. I tend to have one of my old college writing professors in my ear while I’m reading submissions, with questions like: Why does this story need to be told? And: Why now? I don’t need or want those questions to be answered right away, but I want to have some possible answers of my own when I finish the story. Also: never, ever, ever underestimate the power of an excellent first sentence.
Via: (mac)ro(mic).
