• Video - Author Jonathan Wood explores the four ways to make your characters fail (and which is the juiciest)
• Markets and contests with submissions open or opening soon.
• JANUARY 31 - Mastering Structure And Plot: The Blueprint Of A Story led by award-winning author Lavie Tidhar. Discount code!
• Care to drabble with us? Each week our drabble community writes 100 words (or they don't—their call) to a single-word prompt.
• This Week's Prompt. An interesting item from the news to provide you with fodder for your creativity. This week, sound waves, magnets and electricity can all lift items off the ground.

The Four Ways You Can Make Your Character Fail

Markets and Contests

• 📝 Shenandoah is open to submissions of short stories and novel excerpts of up to 8,000 words. No submissions fee! 💰Paying market!💰

• 🧚🏼‍♂️ The Fairy Tale Magazine is open to submissions of stories and poems on the theme of “Green Man/Woman”. Send them stories between 900 and 2,000 words, or poetry of up to 500 words, before January 21st. No submissions fee! 💰Paying market!💰

• ☠️ Baubles From Bones is open to submissions of sci-fi and fantasy stories between 1,000 and 8,000 words, and poems of up to 40 lines, until January 29th. No submissions fee! 💰Paying market!💰
• 💞 Heartlines Spec is open to submissions of short stories and poems that feature steady relationships. Note that they prioritise Canadian writers, but accept submissions worldwide. Send them stories of up to 3,500 words, or up to five poems, before January 31st. No submissions fee! 💰Paying market!💰
• 📜 The Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award is open to entries of sci-fi stories that explore near-future space travel. The winner is paid at pro rates along with some sci-fi swag. Submit stories of up to 8,000 words before February 1st. No submissions fee! 💰Paying market!💰
• 🎶 The Jerry Jazz Musician Short Story Contest is open to entries of short stories of up to 4,000 words, though under 3,000 is preferred. The winner receives $150 and publication. Many of their stories centre around music and culture, although other themes are considered. The contest closes on January 31st. No submissions fee! 💰Paying market!💰
• 🔥 Bonfire Books is open to submissions of full-length novels, novellas, nonfiction work, illustrated children’s books, and poetry collections. For prose writing, send them a full manuscript of at least 12,000 words; for poetry, at least 40 pages; for children’s books, a full manuscript and art sample. This window closes on January 31st. No submissions fee! 💰Paying market!💰

• 👑 The Royal Court Theatre is open to submissions of full-length plays and dramatic monologues, approximately 50 and 25 to 30 pages, respectively. Send them a completed query form and full manuscript. No submissions fee!

• 🥀 Belladonna’s Garden is open to submissions of short fiction and poetry on the theme of “Poison Blooms”. Send them stories of up to 5,000 words, or up to three poems of any length, before January 31st. Note that they may close early if they reach their maximum number of submissions. No submissions fee!

• 📰 The Dilettante is open to submissions of poetry, prose, art, and everything in between. They have no real submission guidelines, so have a look around their site to get a sense of what they publish. No submissions fee!

• 💻 Double Dutch Magazine is open to submissions of poetry, music, and art. Unusually, they accept AI-generated work that complements your own creativity in some way. Send them up to three pieces in any style. No submissions fee!

• 🖋️ Ink in Thirds is open to submissions of flash fiction and poetry. Send them mini stories of up to 600 words, or up to three poems, before January 31st. No submissions fee!

• 🍒 Little Fruits Magazine is open to submissions of short stories and essays of up to 2,500 words until January 31st. No submissions fee!

• 🐖 Porkbelly Press is open to submissions of poetry, prose poetry, and flash fiction chapbooks. Send them a full manuscript between 12 and 26 pages before January 31st. Note that payment is in author copies. No submissions fee!

Mastering Structure And Plot: The Blueprint Of A Story

• Paragraphs as the smallest building blocks of fiction: action, dialogue, description
• The Rule of Three
• The who, what, why, where and how of fiction
• The difference between short, novelette, novella and novel and how it affects the writing of each
• Characters and their goals
• Names and their significance
• The role of the narrator
• Writing the perfect shape short story
• Time and its relation to narrative

Care To Drabble With Us?

This Week's Prompt