The Compass Story Cupboard

I've mentioned before that my mind doesn't always travel in a straight line.  Just the other day a story title popped into my head - "Just South of True North" - and a couple of paragraphs followed that I wrote down to let percolate for a while.

That title made me think about other titles with compass directions in them, like the movie "West by Northwest", then my mind went sideways and I thought "East of the Lemon Bars".  Great title for a children's story, or perhaps there's a women walking along a buffet table and someone approaches her when she's just east of a scrumptious looking plate of lemon bars.  Not a title but it could make a pretty decent opening line with a little bit of work.  Then I wondered what if someone was traveling just east of the Lemon Bar.  What kind of person runs the Lemon Bar?  What kind of place is it?  Maybe a strip joint with a dead girl in the parking lot?  Or maybe a bakery that just had a body delivered with the flour order?

By just adding a few compass points to a sentence or a title can give you a whole new perspective on a story, or open up a new cupboard full of story ideas.  You know, like south of the river, north of the I-80, even east of the hog wallow could work.  Just open your mind to the possibilities and start tapping away at your keyboard or jotting down notes.

Dirge - Open for Submissions

Dirge Magazine is currently open for submissions for their first print magazine.  They're looking for dark fiction with an occult theme.  Stories should be 2000 to 4000 words.  The deadline is October 31 and payment is 6cents a word.  You can find the details at their Submittable page.

Pulp Modern - Update

Pulp Modern editor Alec Cizak has announced that the submission period will not open until December 1 instead of the announced October 1 opening.  There will be no theme and he will publishing only crime fiction in the future instead of being open to other genres.  You can read the announcement here.

Dark House Books - Anthology Call

Dark House Books has opened submissions for an anthology called "Black Coffee".  They're looking for noir tales of mystery and crime.  Stories should be 2500 to 6000 words.  The deadline is December 31 and payment is a royalty split.  You can find the details here.

On a side note they seem to have solved their virus problem.

Flash Bang Mysteries - New Issue

The first issue of Flash Bang Mysteries has gone live.  Check it out here.

Mystery and Horror LLC - Open for Submissions

Mystery & Horror LLC opens submissions today for novels, novellas, and short story collections.  They also have an anthology call for "Strangely Funny III".  For the novels, etc., they're looking for mysteries of 65,000 to 90,000 words, payment is a royalty split.  The anthology is looking for funny paranormal stories of 2000 to 6000 words, payment is a $5 advance plus a royalty split.  The deadline for both is October 31.  You can find the guidelines here.

Pulp Modern - Open for Submissions

Pulp Modern opened for submissions today for Issue #10 with the theme "The South".  They're looking for stories of 2000 to 5000 words "where hillbillies DON'T sleep with relatives or eat the innocent city slickers".  They accept stories in the genres of crime, horror, science fiction, and western.  You can find the guidelines here and the announced theme here.  The deadline is December 1 and payment is 1/4cent a word.