Speculative fiction is becoming more and more popular. Many budding and professional writers are constantly trying to break into this fantastic genre. If you’re new to SpecFic, you’re probably wondering, what is speculative fiction? Or what are the best examples of speculative fiction? 

Horror, science fiction, alternate history, and black speculative fiction all fall under the genre of speculative fiction. But do they sometimes converge and diverge in some stories? Where can one find such examples of speculative fiction?

If you’re seeking answers to these questions, you’ve come to the right place. Here, prolific speculative fiction writer, Simbiat Harouni addresses frequently asked questions like:

• What is speculative fiction?

• What’s the difference between science fiction and speculative fiction?

• And more.

Simbiat’s comprehensive definitions of speculative fiction, will be followed excellent examples, a deep analysis of the genre and tips on how to write. Ready? Let’s read on. 

Everything You Need To Know About Speculative Fiction: Definitions, Tips And Examples.

Books (and stories) can do so much more than provide an experience for the reader. They can immerse you into a whole new life and a completely new experience. They can transport you to a new world, showing you perspectives that you never considered. 

One typical genre of such beautiful stories is the speculative fiction genre. It consists of so many sub-genres that it is hard to properly assess and categorize them all. When people ask about examples, they’re often referring to the subgenres. Rarely story samples.

The sub-genres or examples are so many. They include but are not limited to:

Science fiction.

Science fiction is a sub-genre that often takes place in a dystopian setting with marked technological advancements interwoven into the story. In many cases, science fiction cases take place many years in the future.

“Adjustment Team” is an example of a science fiction short story. It was written by American writer Philip K. Dick. The award-winning movie, The Adjustment Bureau, was based on this science fiction short story.

More examples of science fiction novels:. 

1. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, 

2. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, 

3. The Martian by Andy Weir; 

4. I, Robot by Isaac Asimov; and 

5. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline 

Fantasy:

One common example of a fantasy novel is St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves. Written by Karen Russell, this fantasy short story about children who were born to werewolf ancestors. Her novel Swamplandia!was a 2012 Pulitzer prize finalist .  

Horror. 

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is another example of a horror novel and film. ;English author, Mary Shelley, wrote Frankenstein in the 19th century. It was published in 1818.

Superhero fiction. 

Superman, wonder woman, batman and black panther are examples of superhero fiction comics, books and films.

Alternate history. 

This is another interesting sub-genre. Common examples of alternate history novels include:

• Mallory Blackman’s 2001 novel, Noughts and Crosses.
• Philip K. Dick’s 1962 novel Man In The High Castle.

Utopian 

This genre explores ideal worlds in which the rules of engagement are different from those of the real world’s.

Ursula K. Le Guin’s novel Always Coming Home, Is a good example of a Utopian novel.

Dystopian fiction,

This sub-genre features stories that portray human misery. George Orwell’s 1984 is arguably the most popular dystopian science fiction novel.

Lesley Nneka Arimah’s dystopian fiction short story Skinned won the Caine Prize in 2019.

Supernatural fiction, 

In this genre of, supernatural themes are explored in creative ways. Most of these stories explore themes that go against naturalist laws.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot are good examples of supernatural fiction.

 Science fantasy.

This is a combination of two speculative fiction genres. Stories under this subgenre mix elements of science fiction and fantasy. Star Wars is a good example of a science fantasy story.

Of all these examples, fantasy is the oldest sub-genre, going back thousands of years. A look back at the earliest civilizations such as the Greek civilizations finds that they told stories in the form of fantasy even then. 

After fantasy became popular, other sub-genres slowly came into the limelight. This happened with science fiction leading the way. Science fiction has gained popularity in recent centuries. 

As the speculative fiction genre is growing, writers such as myself have found ourselves wondering, what the right definition is.

Also, what exactly does it take to write good speculative fiction stories and excel in this exciting climate. 

So What is Speculative Fiction?

Speculative fiction is a broad category of fiction. It’s used for work that doesn’t qualify as literary fiction and also doesn’t completely fit into the science fiction or fantasy genre. 

Because of the sheer broadness of the speculative fiction genre, some people have even taken to calling it the “super genre”.

Speculative fiction can accommodate literary fiction with elements of fantastical events. It can include the aforementioned sub-genres.

However, there are some writers that don’t consider horror to be a good example of speculative fiction. To properly understand this, let’s explore the history of this genre.

A Brief History Of Speculative Fiction.

Speculative fiction started a long time ago when poets and writers started to reimagine reality for their art. According to the Oxford Research Encyclopedias article on speculative fiction, the term Speculative Fiction was coined by the writer, Robert Heinlein in 1941.

 It wasn’t until 1947 though, that he popularized the term in his essay, ‘On the Writing of Speculative Fiction’. In this essay, he defined Speculative Fiction as,

[N]arratives concerned not so much with science or technology as with human actions in response to a new situation created by science or technology, speculative fiction highlights a human rather than technological problem.

Now, the term has been expanded to capture the true meaning more accurately. 

Wikipedia gives another apt definition of speculative fiction as,

a genre of fiction that encompasses works in which the setting is other than the real world, involving supernatural, futuristic, or other imagined elements.

Here’s my definition of speculative fiction.

Speculative fiction is a genre of literature where a writer explores real-world situations through a fantastical or speculative lens. It is basically asking, “What if?”

Because writers are constantly willing to ask these important questions, several aspects of speculative fiction have been born. These include:

• Fantasy,
• Science fiction,
• Horror and so many more genres. Some of which are not as well known as others. 

Speculative fiction has spread to so many areas of life and literature. So wide is its appeal that it cannot be classified as a mere medium. It has now graduated into a group.

A testament to its popularity is the fact that it’s being used across a wide range of media including:

• movies, 
• Short stories
• comic books, 
• games, 
• art, 
• and other forms of storytelling and entertainment.

In the article, will share my time-tested tips for writing great speculative fiction. But first, I’d like to discuss the most common reasons why people, like me, write speculative fiction.

3 Good Reasons To Write Speculative Fiction?

People write speculative fiction for so many reasons. Just like any other career path, more than one road can lead to your destination. 

Here are good reasons to write speculative fiction. 

You Are Inspired By Folklores You Once Heard. 

My journey to speculative fiction was sparked by popular folktales. I particularly recall those about the Tortoise’s adventures in the animal kingdom. 

Myself and my siblings – sometimes cousins too – would sit in a semicircle in front of my grandma. And she would regale us with tales of these beings. Of course, we knew that these animals could never climb up to heaven. 

And of course, we know they couldn’t make special sweets with which they tricked each other. But the stories did a good job of opening up our minds to the possibility of more.

Perhaps, you heard these mind-boggling stories. It’s one reason to consider writing speculative fiction.

You Are Inspired By The Examples Of Speculative Fiction You Read.

After grandma stopped telling these stories, I started reading about the old Yoruba kingdoms and about juju. I learned about the almost unbelievable things that happened in the past. 

These stories were fascinating and they led me to start writing my own short stories in the form of plays. This is how I started writing speculative fiction. 

Perhaps, you’ve read some fascinating fiction or non-fictional stories. And perhaps, these stories have inspired you to write yours. 

To Explore The Unknown, And The Strange Thoughts That Run Through Your Mind.

Occasionally, strange ideas cross my mind. And I do my best to put them to paper.

I succeed only a handful of times because speculative fiction is a special kind of fiction writing. Yes, it is. 

Didn’t I make this clear when I addressed the question, ’What is speculative fiction’?

A story in this genre needs to have all the elements of fiction while satisfying the demands of speculative fiction. 

The elements of fiction include: (characterization, language, theme, and all the rest). But the demands of specific include:

• Worldbuilding, 
• Factual storytelling, 
• Emotional triggers required to connect readers to the story. 

Seamlessly, combining both the elements of fiction and the demands of SpecFic requires some sort of expertise.

What Is The Difference Between Fantasy And Science Fiction?

What is the difference between fantasy and science fiction? I would say that this is a fairly simple question. And that it is as simple as what is speculative fiction. Except that it is really not a simple question. 

These two sub-genres of speculative fiction are nuanced and interwoven so that a more intimate look is required to properly assess their differences. On the surface, it is easy to classify and define them.

Science fiction is a sub-genre that often takes place in a dystopian setting with marked technological advancements interwoven into the story. In many cases, science fiction cases take place many years in the future. 

On the other hand, fantasy stories particularly feature mythical beings like ghosts and gods. And the characters in these stories display some sort of supernatural power. 

The writer, Orson Scott Card explained it best in his science fiction definition:

Science fiction is about what could be but isn’t while fantasy describes what couldn’t be.

However, these two share many differences in three areas:

• Their believability,
• Their settings, and
• Their characters. 

Believability: 

One major difference between science fiction and fantasy novels is their differing levels of plausibility.

In fantasy novels, it is generally understood by the writers and readers alike that no matter how much they may want it to be so, the characters and even the places described in the books can never be real.

I remember how I felt while reading Brandon Sanderson’s ‘The Emperor’s Soul’, and wished that I could somehow transport myself into the book.

I longed to see the wonderful description, live in that land by myself. But no matter how I wished for it to be so, it couldn’t happen.

 In fact, it will never happen. That’s because nobody can actually do the things that were described in that book. 

On the other hand, science fiction takes its roots from the real world. In a number of years, it could be possible for someone to develop and wield the lightsabers used in Star Wars. Maybe. 

Settings

Settings of science fiction and fantasy stories often differ a lot too. In science fiction, the stories are usually set in a dystopian, high technological setting. 

In fantasy stories, however, the story features a wide range of mythical beings, places, and settings.

In some situations, the settings can look like the real world. But they always have a twist or two, especially in high-grade fantasy stories. 

Characters 

Finally, the characters in fantasy and science fiction can be somewhat different too. From what I have read of science fiction, there is usually a wide array of characters.

They include aliens and more advanced species, in addition to some human characters which may be present in the story. After all, Aliens, robots, and the likes are what science fiction is made of. 

On the other hand, the characters in fantasy stories are mostly humans or close to being so. They can have a few distortions to their looks like dwarves or fairies.

They can be beings who look like Gollum from ‘Lord of the Rings’. These characters are rarely found in science fiction stories though. 

But, even with all of these differences, there are certain things that tie these two sub-genres together. These things can be divided into the following:

• The problems that their characters have to face
• The lessons that they learn. 

Certain things are common to all stories, whether they are speculative or not. Things like war, famine, racism, government, and family struggles are common to these stories. 

Examples Of Science Fiction Stories and Books.

Usually, people who ask what is speculative fiction often want examples. For more context, below are some examples of science fiction novels:. 

1. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, 
2. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, 
3. The Martian by Andy Weir; 
4. I, Robot by Isaac Asimov; and 
5. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline 

These are all examples of science fiction novels. And they’ve themes, settings, and characters that fit into the science fiction description. 

When considering fantasy novels, on the other hand, you can think of such books as:

1.  The Lord of the Rings by J. R.R. Tolkein, 
2. Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, 
3. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, 
4. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, 
5. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, and 
6. so many other books by other brilliant authors including Nnedi Okorafor, Tochi Onyebuchi, Helen Oyeyemi, Ben Okri and others. 
7. You can read recommended fantasy short stories by Simbiat Haroun and Pemi Aguda for free online. 

Many things set these stories and books apart from each other, like the very fabric that makes up the stories and the settings and such.

But at its root, they have similarities, like every other story that has ever been written, speculative or not. 

Understanding How To Write Speculative Fiction: A Detailed Guide.

Now that you understand everything there is to know what speculative fiction is. How can you succeed as a speculative fiction writer.

Is there a magic trick?

Reading will teach you the tips and essentials of writing speculative fiction. 

There is no special trick or magic potion to learning how to write speculative fiction.

However, yo improve your chances of excelling as a speculative fiction writer, if you:

• read, read, read a lot of speculative fiction. You can star with the read the recommended examples of speculative fiction on our list
• And you need to write a lot of work in this genre as well.

It’s not enough to have an answer to the question, ‘what is speculative fiction’. You have to put in the time.

Whether you are writing speculative fiction or regular literary fiction, these essentials remain the same, as far as I know. 

These speculative fiction writing essentials include:

Get Your Theme Right. 

Your story should have a central theme whether it is a fantasy or science fiction story. What does the story revolve around and what are its main themes?

In the Harry Potter series, we saw a boy grow up alongside his friend while facing off against an all-powerful enemy.

Themes in this series include coming of age, power, love, family, and many others. Consider this when you are writing your next story. 

Create Rounded Characters 

If your story does not have interesting characters, then it will not be very interesting to your readers.

It is usually the interesting characters that draw readers into the story. And they do this even before the writing or the conflict has a chance to draw them in.

Ensure that your characters are nuanced and interesting. Nobody wants to read about cliche characters or one-dimensional characters that are hard to connect with. 

An important example is the characters in the Harry Potter series. They are multi-dimensional and interesting enough so that years later, people continue to connect with the characters. Sometimes even more than the story.

Be Creative With Your Setting

This is one of the most important parts of your story and will make or break its believability.

Whether you are writing fantasy or science fiction, the settings in your story must be flawless and beautifully described. 

Before you start writing your story, try to plan the special features of your setting in order to spare yourself the headache while editing.

Highlight You Character’s Conflict

 The key to every great story, more than nuanced characters and a wonderful setting is conflict.

Explore inner conflict within your main character, small scale conflict between characters, as well as large scale conflict in the story itself. 

Define The End Goal Of Your SpecFic Story 

What is the end goal of your story? What is the whole thing working towards? And, what are your characters fighting for? Answer these questions and you have yourself a wonderful story. 

Opportunities Available For Speculative Fiction Writers

There are several opportunities available for speculative fiction writers. 

Online magazines that publish and promote speculative fiction stories include 

• Omenana magazine, 
• Fireside Fiction magazine, 
• FIYAH Magazine,
• Nightmare
• The Dark
• The Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy, 
• Asimov’s Science Fiction, 
• Clarkesworld Magazine, among others. 

 You can also subscribe to Creative Writing News and submittable. This will grant you access to calls for submissions as soon as they are issued. 

Speculative fiction writers can also take advantage of:

• Funds,
• Grants,
• MFA degrees (some programs are tailored to speculative fiction writers), 
• Fellowships, 
• Prizes, and other opportunities. 

Common Mistakes To Avoid When Writing Speculative Fiction.

If you’re asking the question, what is speculative fiction, you’ll probably want to know common mistakes to avoid. Common mistakes to avoid when writing a specific story.

There are several mistakes that you can make as a beginning speculative writer. But the majority of these mistakes lie in your craft. Some of them are:

Writing cliche stories and characters 

There is a reason why nobody wants to read cliche stories anymore. No one wants stories that have been over flogged and boring.

Don’t kill your story with overdone ideas. Think of fresh and exciting stories and your reader will appreciate that.

Speculative fiction podcasts will spark your imagination just as much as books will. Writing Excuses and Unexplained Mysteries are good examples of such podcasts.

Not properly planning your story setting. 

Your story setting is one of the most important things in your spec-fic story. 

If there are places and things that are not properly explained, your reader will definitely notice. Ensure that your story setting is as flawless as it can possibly be. Ensure that the reader is not thrown out of your story. 

Going overboard with story description

Many definitions of speculative fiction emphasize the description. This often gives writers the false impression that spec-fic is all about descriptions.

Avoid this mistake. No matter how clearly the story comes to you, you must be able to identify which part of the description makes it to the page and which part stays in your head.

You don’t want your reader to get bored. 

Letting your style take over your story 

This is something that I learned during a writing workshop. Let your writing skills shine through without letting it take over your story.

Chances are high that the readers are there more for the story than for your writing. Even so, you can wow the reader with your writing without necessarily detracting from the story.

Choosing overly complicated names for your characters

Resist the temptation to give your characters names that are too complicated. It is hard to keep track of characters when you can’t even remember their names. Remember that. 

Wrap Up On What Is Speculative Fiction? Examples and Tips For Writing SpecFic.

Stories are the foundation on which a lot of things in life are built on. There’s hardly anything you can get away with doing in today’s world without being told to ‘tell a story’

. One of the most interesting branches of storytelling is speculative fiction. I hope you understand what speculative fiction is. I also hope you learned everything you need to know to excel in the speculative fiction genre. 

Don’t forget to use your imagination, don’t burden your reader with pages of description. Also, read the stories and books recommended in this resource. Feel free to suggest more examples of speculative fiction stories and books.

Have you ever asked the question, What Is Speculative Fiction? What kind of answers did you get?

And have you tried to write speculative fiction? What has your experience been? How have you overcome the challenges you faced while trying to break into the SpecFic genre.

Also feel to share other examples of speculative fiction you absolutely loved. We’re looking forward to hearing examples we forgot to mention.

Author’s Bio:

Simbiat Haroun lives in her head and when she is not writing, she is silently watching, thinking about what next she will turn into a story. She is a graduate of Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus Creative Writing Trust Workshop.

We’ll be publishing more feature stories from other writers. Keep visiting CWN. Or better still, subscribe for our newsletter and you’ll get updates right in your inbox.

Want to write for us? Great! Read the submissions guidelines on our Write for Us Page

The post Speculative Fiction: Everything You Need To Know About This Genre {Definitions + Tips + Examples + Opportunities.} appeared first on Creative Writing News.

You can learn how to write a novel, if you work hard at it.

Writing a novel isn’t rocket science. It can be learned. Yes, you can learn how to write a novel from start to finish. And that’s what this comprehensive book writing guide will teach you.

Study this guide, if you are open to learning:

• everything accomplished novelists have to say about the novel writing process
• from writers whose expertise has come from experience and learning
• how to write a novel like the award-winning writers you admire

The lessons here were gleaned from the Aké Festival Novel Writing Workshop at the Ouida Book House, Lagos on the 25th of October 2018. It was facilitated by renowned British Author and Screenwriter, Ben Aaronovitch. The course was geared towards:

• helping young writers learn how to write a novel.
• teaching writers to stay creative and to overcome writer’s block
• Giving aspiring tutors a teaching guide they can use to instruct emerging and professional writers.

Are you ready to read all the novel-building tips and tricks I learned from Ben Aaronovitch?

We’ll be discussing the novel writing process, step by step, in a minute.

This guide will be broken into subtitles. Each of these will enumerate the most important things every writer should know about designing, building, and writing a novel.

Kindle Your Desire To Write A Novel.

If you truly desire to write a novel, nothing on earth can stop you. Not even the travails that dog the trail of everyone who tries to start writing a book.

Desire is the major qualification for writing a novel. It is an ‘open sesame’, a gust of possibility. A strong desire kills doubt and procrastination.

• What story do you desire to tell?
• Are there issues that bother you? What are they? Would you like to portray these issues in your book?
• What themes do you want to raise awareness about, albeit in a fictitious way?

Get a (working) title. Go for the story. Grab it.

A Comprehensive Step by Step Guide On How To Write A Novel.

Without much ado, here are the steps to writing a fiction book from start to finish.

Summarize Your Novel Into A 30-Second Elevator Pitch.

One easy way to write a novel is to draw up a summary. Or a 30-second elevator pitch.

Yes, you may want to begin by writing a summary of the story you want to tell. It is important to write this down, no matter how short it may be.

Here’s an example of a novel summary: Jack meets Jill (Where and how did they meet? Why call them Jack and Jill?) Then, Jack and Jill decided to go up the hill (Why a hill?

Which hill? What time of the day?) After three days, Jill comes down from the hill alone, eyes focused on nothing at all (My God? What happened to Jack? Oh! Poor Jack).

Query Your One-paragraph Story.

What are Jack and Jill wearing when they first meet? Who are they? How do they react to each other? Who sees them climbing up the hill? Is Jill wearing the same dress when she climbs down? Is that a streak of blood on her left cheek?

The more you query, the more you acquire juicy material, fuel and food for the journey.

Regard the one-paragraph story as the skeleton of the novel you intend to write. It is what holds everything else together.

Flesh Out The One-Paragraph Idea Of Your Novel.

When you start stringing words together in order to flesh out your one-paragraph idea, you might experience various stages of despair (it is part of the process). You will feel mired in the process.

But if you really care about the story, if you believe that it needs to be told urgently, you will not be deterred. You will wrestle on. You will hang on until the end.

Create A Character Profile.

Unless you drafted a character profile beforehand, you might not know your characters until you have written about them. The more you write about your characters, the more they’ll take on lives of their own. They will begin to astonish and lead you in tremendous ways. Some of them will teach you how to do secret things.

Important tips on characterization:

• Ensure your characters are plausible and fully rounded.
• It is important that you give your characters agency. Do not make them passive or just receptive. They should always be doing things that move the narrative forward especially if those things are interesting.

When people are doing routine stuff, we do not want to see them.

A house-cleaner becomes interesting when he or she has the habit of…. (Selling other people’s houses behind their backs? Tell us)

If it is important to take your character to the barbershop in the dead of a November night, let the barber turn out to be a…. (Well. You almost got it. Query more.)

Most importantly, create characters your readers will care about.

Create Internal and External Conflicts In Your Developing Novel.

When deciding how to write your novel, It is advisable that you show the conflict between what characters want and what they need.

—Girl is running. She needs to be on a train that leaves for Martian Island? In (how many?) seconds (Why?) The girl halts when she hears the enchanting tooting of a flute, turns around to see…. (Who?).

She so much wants to listen until the music fades…. (Could the music be…? Does she get on the train?)

Conflicts should be able to arrest your reader’s attention and to make them lean over.

• Let the conflict be very important. Make the stakes as high as they can possibly be.
• Always create obstacles for your characters.

There are two main obstacles. First, internal obstacles (or conflicts): Flaws, mistakes, habits, explosive passions, and so on. These are often part of the character’s personality.

The other. External obstacles: nature, government, police, a broken-down toilet, a faulty elevator, gadgets, other people, and so on. Pitch them against each other to create a beautiful cocktail conflict.

Start Writing Your Novel.

Start your novel at the point that is most convenient for you. Begin with the idea that is boiling in your head.

For example, if it hits you that there is going to be a murder on top of a certain hill, and you do not know who will be on that hill or who will be killed (Assuming, you have not conceived the idea of Jack and Jill yet.).

You can start writing the murder scene on the hill. Think of blood. Spilled blood. Caked blood. Warm blood. Think. Get a red pen (or open a word document) and start writing the bloody scene.

Before long, the story will snap into focus and your rounded characters will start to take shape. You’ll be stunned by how things will fall into place on their own.

You can always rewrite later, remember. What matters most is that you start writing your novel.

Switch Off The Voice Of Your Internal Critic.

Never allow yourself to be held back by the initial shape and form of the story. Just write. Yes, don’t be deterred from starting your novel.

Many writers agonize over their sentence structures or their spellings, or even the fonts they use. They go back to put a comma here and there, or to correct spellings.

This is unhealthy for the creative process. Story portals close up on writers who are bent on making the work perfect before they even write the words on the page.

You can always return to your sentences or your passages to tweak them after your first draft is done. When you’re just starting, turn off your internal editor. Just allow the story flow undeterred. Listen to the creative storyteller’s voice in your head. Turn off the editor’s voice.

Develop and Fix Your Plot While You Write Your Novel.

This element of fiction often forces writers to wonder how to begin a novel. And this anxiety is understandable. The most creative novels have intelligent plots.

So what makes an excellent plot?

A decent plot must follow a cause and effect sequence. X does this because of Y and so XY happens.

The plot of a novel is not separate from the characters or themes in that novel. Characters act out plots. Hence, plot is characters acting out and dealing with their emotions and/or circumstances.

Outlining Your Novel: Tips For Crafting the Beginning Of An Outstanding Fiction Book.

Some writers painstakingly plot every part of their story. This is popularly known as outlining the novel. Workshops are often agog with writers who argue that it is good or bad to outline the novel before the writer starts writing.

Is outlining a good way to start the process of writing a novel? The jury is still out on this one.

However, pro-outliners do character analyses and draw detailed outlines before they commence. Other novelists develop the story in their heads for centuries before they write.

Once upon a time’.

Anti-outliners, however, choose to go with the first blaze of their feelings and face the empty page.

My job is not to argue for or against outlining.

However, every writer must know that creative processes differ. Know what works for you and stick to it. No technique is better than the other, so long as the option yields good results for the writer.

How To Overcome Writer’s Block During The Novel Writing Process.

Writer’s block is whatever you make of it. But the easiest way to overcome this plague is through reading and listening to podcasts.

A lot of us write ourselves into corners where forward motion is not possible. This is often referred to as ‘the terrible middles.’ Another trick to getting out of the bind is by cutting out the words that led us there.

Sometimes, you have to destroy beautiful words (Chimamanda Adichie says, kill your darlings). The goal is help the work-in-progress progress culminate into a fruitful completion.

.

Know What To Cut From Your Novel.

Cutting is sculpting. It is like taking your work to the gym. Every word must sing and count.

Do not throw all you cut away. Open files for them and store them there. You may recycle them in future projects.

However, cutting isn’t something you might want to consider while you’re trying to overcome the challenges of learning how to write a novel.

Rewrite The Opening Paragraph Of Your Novel.

The first lines are usually the most important part of a novel. They are what give the reader either a green light or a red one. They must be deliberate, appealing, and inviting.

Every writer knows this and that’s why they agonize over the question, how to start a novel. Where is the best place to begin? They wonder.

But guess what? They must not be the first to be written. You do not even have to write the first chapter of your novel first. You should only consider rewriting after you’ve written the last sentence of the book.

More Important tricks (a teaching guide) On Novel Writing. This will help you figure out how to write a novel.

• Be deliberate about creating a conducive space to write in. Anything that isn’t tied to your project is a potential distraction. Get in your creative space and write away.
• A lot of people will think your writing is not important. You must ignore them. Your writing truly matters.
• Writing a novel is a question of commitment and hard work. It is a question of perseverance and pushing until you hit the finish line. You must have faith in your creative abilities.
• You must trust your creative process. Every stroke on the paper (or every punch on your keyboard) affords you a chance to get better.

• Writing can be a painful, lonely, gritty, funny, dark process. Connect with those on the same journey with you.

Collaborate with writers who are trying to figure out how to write a novel. It helps to ease the pain. It adds to the fun. Right company is light.

• Keep scrapbooks, journals, and diaries. They are important and are the fountains from which ideas flow.

They are the scaffolds you need to climb into the worlds of the novel you want to write.

• Discipline yourself. Nothing can substitute discipline, not even a fecund imagination.
• Reading feeds your imagination and dresses up your mind. Digest materials related to what you are working on.
• Create time for your writing. Writing is a slogger. Be patient with it.
• The end of your story has to be important and bigger than the beginning.
• Follow through with determination. Finish your work.

In Conclusion on How to Write a Novel.

Have an arrogant faith in what you write. Believe that it will be read and loved by many.

You must be able to judge your own work and know when you are not doing it right. A lot of suggestions will come later from beta-readers and editors but you must be the one to decide.

It is your work. You are the god of it. So criticism shouldn’t deter you from learning how to write your novel. It shouldn’t discourage you from finishing the book as well.

As you write, do not identify a target audience by saying this book is going to be for X and for Y. Or that it must benefit the theory of Feminism or Existentialism or Idealism or any other ism. Allow the book become whatever it wants to become. It has a life of its own. Do not stifle or deny it of possibilities.

Do not worry about getting published. Worry about getting the work written. You only control one part of the process: writing. Not editing or publishing. Not Selling the work or getting it applauded.

Push your work far enough. It is okay to float your boat. Learn to write a novel.

The first book you write will be the freest book you will ever write. You will think of it with great nostalgia. If the book is successful, you will lose a chunk of your will to your readers or your art managers

(Ouch! C’est la vie).

—Ben Aaronvotich, the workshop facilitator, is one of the funniest and nicest persons I have ever come across. I count myself lucky to have been under his wonderful tutelage. But for Ben’s wisdom and generosity, I wouldn’t have learned how to start writing a novel.

Bio:

Tega Oghenechovwen has published work in Litro UK, Black Sun Lit, The Kalahari Review, Afreada, African Writer, and other venues. He tweets @tega­_chovwen.

Interested in writing for Creative Writing News? See our Write for Us page. We look forward to hearing from you.

The post How To Write A Novel: Steps To Writing A Bestselling Fiction Book From Start To Finish. appeared first on Creative Writing News.

In the introduction to “The Collected Stories of Mavis Gallunt”, she wrote:

“There is something I keep wanting to say about reading short stories. I am doing it now, because I may never have another occasion. Stories are not chapters of novels. They should not be read one after another, as if they were meant to follow along. Read one. Shut the book. Read something else. Come back later. Stories can wait.”

All from Adda—two of them shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2019, the third published on the site last year—the stories I recommend this week deserve to be read just how Mavis Gallant advised: Read one. Shut the tab. Read something else. Come back later.

I hope you enjoy them.

How to Marry an African President by Erica Sugo Anyadike.

Beautiful, funny, heartbreaking—those are the best descriptions for this ‘how-to’ story that was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize in 2019; it was recently published on Adda.

This story is a story and a guide, and here and there, there are instructions, or say, anecdotes—all for the woman who wants to become an African President’s wife. From being a secretary who is forty years younger than the President, she becomes the First Lady. Though before her, there was a wife, and she was also married. Things happened. Her husband was given “a posting faraway” by the President and she never heard from him again; the President’s wife was sick, so she died. Soon, she gets pregnant, and we are taken through a series of things that she, secretary-turned-African-President’s-wife, becomes. She has a wedding that made headlines all over the country; she asks the President, in the subtle way a woman asks a thing, for her own house without asking (“You’ll pout and tell him how hard it is to live with his first wife’s lingering memory haunting the house.”); she goes from one country to another for shopping trips (“Tell him the wife of such a Big Man like him should be better dressed. Aren’t you a reflection of him and his largesse?”)

Erica’s short story, like every ‘how-to’ short story, seems very easy to pull off (Junot Diaz’s “How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl”, Lorrie Moore’s “How to Become a Writer”, Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl”, and, though this isn’t a short story, Binyavanga Wainana’s satiric “How to Write About Africa”), but it only seems so. One of the reasons why is, in a ‘how-to’ story, there is a ‘you’, there is a series of instructions, or a guide, and most of the times, the writer is writing about a whole group of people, which makes it difficult to pull off because the character must be as dynamic as possible. If not careful, the writer could descend into the obscure and stupid. So, more than anything, this form requires mastery, which is why I haven’t read a book that uses this form all through, except of course, Elnathan John’s “Be(com)ing Nigerian: A Guide”. But, in fact, each chapter of Elnathan’s book reads like a short story.

Thankfully, in How to Marry an African President, Erica shows a level of mastery, especially in how she creates her character—flawed, wanting, human. And she deserves three thumbs up because she is writing about a whole continent, and, if not all the time, most times she is right: “If you want something, someone will be immediately dispatched to go and get it. And all you’ll have to do is immerse yourself in charity work, open a few orphanages, kiss a few babies and accompany the President to state events.”

However, what makes Erica’s story good isn’t just her accurate descriptions of what it means to be the wife of an African President, but her voice, and her use of language. While, as with the Caine Prize-winning “Fanta Blackurrant” and Efua Traore’s Commonwealth Short Story Prize-winning “True Happiness”, there is no bending of language to fit the environment—it wouldn’t have worked, because there is no particular environment—it is clear that the narrator is an African, that the English here is from an African mouth. Here: “Your reception will be a who’s who of powerful people in African politics. Paparazzi will describe your wedding as outrageous and over the top. You have arrived.”  If you are Yoruba, you know that ‘a who’s who’ sounds like a translation of some Yoruba phrase: Eyan jankan jankan—and ‘You have arrived’.

Although some of her descriptions didn’t do it for me (“His skin will be pink and thin, translucent like a lizard.”), she writes very punchy sentences: “He will dispense favours like tokens at an arcade.”; “Jealous journalists will give you a nickname, something alliterative.” (note that ‘jealous journalists’ is alliterative, which is a play that implies that even the journalists desire, in the depth of their insides, this life she now has); “your fear stuck like a lump of mealie-meal in your throat.”

In this story, there is truth, and this truth is coming from a mouth that knows how to tell it well, and if anything matters, that is all that does.

The Bride by Adorah Nworah.

It opens with one of the catchiest short story sentences I’ve come across in my reading life (Nneka Arimah’s “When Enebeli Okwara sent his girl out in the world, he did not know what the world did to daughters”, from “Light”, being on top of that list):

“The man in the back seat of the powder blue Toyota RAV4 is not Dumeje Nwokeocha, the groom.

But you are the bride.”

Immediately, we are launched into a story that promises to be fun. And, coincidentally, we begin to experience what the world does to daughters, as we meet a lady whose name is Somadina, Adina for short. But even her name isn’t always her name, sometimes it is “baby, or Din Din, or the black girl, or the quiet girl, or her, or the chubby one, or bitch, depending on the mouth, or the mood.” The fact that we learn, very early into the story, that her name can change, ‘depending on the mouth, or the mood’ (of some other person, since it takes another person to call the name, which is almost always a man)—that fact is what this story builds upon. That a girl, lady, or woman must understand that whatever they are is not theirs to determine, but that society determines that for them.

However, “Today, your name is the bride, but the man in the powder blue Toyota RAV4 is not the groom.” In one sentence, the writer repeats the first two sentences of the story, probably to remind herself that this story is also about ‘the bride’ and not just about what names the society places on a woman’s head. This groom has a burn mark and scars on his arms, and one of his legs is longer than the other; unlike Dumeje who is supposed to be the groom, the original groom, whose “forehead is not just right. It is spectacularly long, or tall. It is a walking, breathing man with distinct needs and inclinations” (though I don’t get the description of the forehead as “a walking, breathing man…”, and there’s a good deal of descriptions in this story that I feel don’t work).

The thing is, while the new man is not Dumeje, he is also Dumeje. What the short story writer is driving at is, every man is not always what you thought him to be. “There is the man who is not Dumeje. His limbs are thinner and longer in this room. His lips are just as chapped as you remember them, or the man they once belonged to, or the other man”, she writes. Dumeje will always be ‘the other man’. When Adina tells her sister, “‘I don’t know him, Nono’”, she isn’t just talking about recognition; it is also a play on how a woman can never really know a man—they change.

She also makes this point earlier in the story when Dumeje, the Dumeje, asks Adina, “where do you think you’re going dressed like that?”—though the dress she is wearing is the same Herve Leger dress she wore when he met her. His comment then was, “This your dress go kill somebody, oh.”

However, she, Adina, would have that Dumeje instead of this man, but she can’t afford to stop the wedding now. One of the most brilliant dialogues, describing how parents, though they see it, too, mother’s especially—how they just won’t do what’s best for their daughters because of ‘embarrassment’.

“‘So what if the poor man’s skin is a little dull, eh?’ your mother cries, her face a crumpled note. ‘Will you now embarrass me and your father by calling off the festivities? Do you hate us this much?’

‘Ma, you don’t understand.’

‘Oh, you think I don’t see it too,’ she whispers, and her breath falls on your chest. ‘I see it all, Nne. Today, it is the color of his wrists. Tomorrow, it will be the demands he makes of you, each one harder than the next, till you are left with only those parts of you that serve his needs.’”

If there’s anything that makes this story worth the read, it is not how Adorah tries to make a joke every chance she gets in this very serious story, or her descriptions of falling saw dust as snow, or how she reminds us over and over and over and over again that “Today, your name is the bride, but the man in the powder blue Toyota RAV4 is not the groom”—what makes this story important is the theme it has taken up, and how it deals with that theme.

Beautiful by Helon Habila.

Opening with a description on “the two ways to enter Ajegunle”, Beautiful is a gorgeous story about the life of an Ajegunle-raised footballer, Buzuzu—from the time he scored the goal that was so ‘beautiful’ it could only be compared to the scorpion kick by Rene Higuita, through all the stories of the teams he played for, trying to get to a team in Europe to play for the Big League, and it follows him even after, like most Nigerian players, he returned back home to Ajegunle with “the single most important thing that has ever happened to me”.

In this short story, the prose is beautiful, elegant in fact, but there were parts of this story where I was thinking the narrator is a white person, writing for a white audience (“Here you measure distance in bus stops, not in minutes or hours, because a ten-minute bus ride could end up taking over an hour.”), as he spends the first six-hundred-and-thirty-nine words describing Ajegunle and life in Ajegunle—the girls selling gala and pure water, the traffic, the overcrowded bus. While I can relate to these descriptions, I felt some of them dragged reality a little bit (“Our bus is hardly moving in the deafening, chock-a-block traffic that has something almost apocalyptic about it.” Italics mine). But then again, the narrator is a journalist who works for Vanguard newspaper, who decided to become a sports journalist after seeing the ‘beautiful’ goal by Buzuzu—how will a journalist tell a story?

The success of Beautiful is in how it spans almost the lifetime of a character, how it presents a whole community and its people, their dreams, troubles, and the pride that comes with having one of us there. Additionally, there is a way the narrator holds the reins of his own emotions; he holds them in a way that they don’t even seep through the spaces between his fingers—though I would have loved to feel what he is feeling that he doesn’t show.

Thank you for reading. Check out other recommended stories here.

The post Recommended Stories You Can Read Online, Featuring Stories by Erica Sugo Anyadike, Adorah Nworah, and Helon Habila. appeared first on Creative Writing News.

The Sunlight Press is a calling for writers of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, reviews. They also welcome photography and reflections of artists on their crafts.
According to their site:

“We want to hear the ways people turn toward light and hope, whether it is through the arts, culture, spirituality, or humor, and also how they respond to the darkness and navigate unknown spaces. Epiphanies are born from the ordinary and the extraordinary; whether it’s a reflection unfolding during a morning walk, after the loss of a loved one, or in the middle of unexpected laughter, we want to know about these moments.”

Who is Eligible:
Anyone, anywhere in the world. All you need to do is be true to your writing and tell a great story.

General Guidelines
– Send your submissions via mail to thesunlightpress@gmail.com along with a 3-4 sentence bio, a standard headshot (JPEG), social media handles (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.), as well as a current email address and contact information.
– Submissions may be in the text of the email or in an attached Word document (docx., doc.) or multiple photographs in one submission, clearly stating the genre you are submitting.
– For personal essays, word count should be between 750-1,000 words.
– For fiction (Includes flash-fiction pieces, short stories); under 1,000 words for flash fiction; under 2,000 words for short stories
– For poetry, submit up to five poems in one submission
– For reviews (reviews of books, short story collections, essay collections, art, television, movies), word count should be between 750-1,000 words.
– For their special “Artists on Craft Series” (Interviews/Reflections by artists on their process of the art of choice; accompanying photos welcome), word count should be under 1,000 words.
– For photography, multiple photos are allowed.
– Writers would be informed if their submissions are accepted within 6-8 weeks.
– Accepted submissions would be published within 6 months of acceptance.

PAYMENT:
Selected contributors would be paid $25 per submission.

The post Write for The Sunlight Press; (Earn: $25 per piece) —Apply appeared first on Creative Writing News.

The Society of Authors: Contingency Funds
These grants are for contingencies, to help professional writers who need a boost. The grants can be for a variety of things, including replacing a failing computer or supporting writing careers affected by illness or a domestic situation. Specific grants are also available for poets and women journalists. The grants are managed in confidence.
Value: Unspecified
Deadline: Rolling
Open for: Professional writers
Details here

.

Good luck writers!

The post Apply For The Society Of Authors Grants — appeared first on Creative Writing News.

By Izunna Okafor

It is no longer a novelty that every calendar year wakes up and sleeps off with a natural book of many pages. Pages of dreams and visions, pages of imaginations and realities, pages of successes and failures, pages of joy and sorrow, pages of progress and regress, pages of victories and losses, pages of smiles and tears, among many others.

These pages indeed represent what the year holds for men.

Among many others, Nigerian Literary Industry has been a silent character that has tasted a paragraph in virtually all the pages of the natural book in the year 2018. That is to say that a lot of pages have opened and closed to the literary industry as the year 2018 blinks away.

Nigerian Literary industry has been one of the most highly revered industries in the country, owing to her gargantuan contributions towards the development of the country, coupled with the venerable caliber of people therein.

Analytically speaking, the year 2018 was neither all white nor all black for the industry, as many writers recorded while many others were recorded in different books in the year.

For Nigerian writers, the year 2018 began with good news, following the long listing of a 30-year old Ayobami Adebayo in the ‘Wellcome Book Prize’ on 9th February, for her debut novel “Stay With Me” published in 2017, making her the only African Writer that made it to the list of the highly competitive annual British Literary Award.

Shortly after this, sad news crawled in, following the shocking news of Akinwunmi Ishola’s demise on Saturday, 17th February. It was the first global sad news to surface from the corner of literary industry across the world in 2018. Prof. Ishola was a Yoruba literary scholar, novelist, playwright and culture icon whose works: Oleku, Efunsetan Aniwura, Koseegbe, Saworoide, Agogo Eewo and Campus Queen were widely regarded as among the best literary works produced by writers of his generation.

This was followed by the death of Mr Elizabeth Fagunwa, a renowned literary promoter and wife of foremost writer and author,  late Chief Daniel O. Fagunwa. Her death was described as a great loss for the Nigerian literary community, owing to the great roles she played in advancing, peaking and championing the cause of literary activities in the country, especially through the Fagunwa Literary Foundation.

Among these, the most recent and most unsavoury of all the ugly news that elicited tears from the eyes of Nigerian writers in 2018 was the announcement of Ikeogu Oke’s fall on 24th November.

Oke was a great Nigerian bard who, with his classic poem “The Heresiad”, won Africa’s biggest literary prize, the Nigerian Prize for Literature 2017, sponsored by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) at the tune of $100,000 (N37m).

On the laudatory flank of the journey, Nigerian creative industry recorded leviathan feats in the year 2018, as many Nigerian writers, both burgeoning and established, proved their worth in the field of the pen this year both nationally and internationally, thereby emblazing and embellishing the hope for the advancement of literary arts in Nigeria.

If there is any set of people that have kept Nigeria’s image alive and shiny for decades in the international community, it is Nigerian Writers. And this year is not an exception.

Several Nigerian writers toed their foot in the literary field this year while many others advanced in their echelons.

In her corner, a leading character in the Nigerian literary scene, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie indeed recorded some of her greatest achievements in the literary field this year, following her prodigious victories in various international and globally acclaimed literary contests, awards, coupled with other noble honours she received in the year.

Adichie opened the award year with the 2018 Barnes & Nobel ‘Writers for Writers’ award which she received in the fall of the quarter of the year. Shortly after that, the literati have, within a couple of months clasp several other awards and Honorary Degrees among which are: the ‘Shorty Award 2018’, Pen Pinter Prize 2018; 2018 Action Against Hunger Humanitarian Award; 2019 Everett M. Rogers Award; Thought Leadership Award from the Global Hope Coalition (GHC);

Honorary Doctor of Literature (DLit) degree, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS); University of London, UK; Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree, Duke University, North Carolina, USA;

Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree, Amherst College, Massachusetts, USA;

Honorary Doctor of Letters Degree, Bowdoin College, Maine, USA, among others.

Other great and upcoming writers who recorded great feats with their pen in the year include: Anietie Isong whose debut novel “Radio Sunrise” won UK’S biggest literary prize, the 2018 McKittrick Prize; Nigerian-German Efua Traoré who emerged the African regional winner in the world’s most global literary prize, the 2018 Commonwealth Short Story Prize; Chinua Ezenwa-Ohaeto who won the New Hampshire Institute of Art’s 2018 Writing Award, and the Castello di Duino Poesia International Prize 2018; Abimbola Dare who won the 2018 Bath Novel International Award among others. The highly coveted 2018 NLNG Prize for Literature which is Africa’s biggest Literary Prize (worthing $100,000) went to Soji Cole for his drama ‘Embers’. Be it as it may, this year’s Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature went to an Ugandan writer Harriet Anena making her the first Ugandan to win the prize, while, with her ‘Fanta Blackcurrant’, a Kenyan writer Makena Onjerika won the 2018 Caine Prize, in which three Nigerian writers: Nonyelum Ekwempu, Olufunke Ogundimu and Wole Talabi were shortlisted out of 147 entrants from 20 African countries.

It is also worthy to recall that two Nigerian authors: Chimamanda Adichie and Nnedi Okorafor were this year 2018, nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature, for the first time in 36 years, after Wole Soyinka became the first black person to win the world’s most coveted literary prize.

Though, due to some circumstances challenging the public confidence in the members of the Swedish Academy hosting the award; the winner of the prize was no longer announced this year, but postponed to next year. Nevertheless, one of the Caribbean most renowned authors, Maryse Conde was said to have won an alternative prize created to replace this year’s Nobel Literature Prize. Hence, according to the organizers, who were being torn apart by kerfuffle evolving from certain claims and accusations, two Nobel Laureates will be announced next year, being for 2018 and 2019 respectively.

Aside from awards and recognitions, many Nigerian writers, especially the young ones published internationally acclaimed books this year. Nigerian literary industry also welcomed new members this year, among whom were topnotch politicians who decided to ‘test’ their ‘fortunes’ in creative writing and hence now wear the badge of ‘author’.

The most recent of these politicians turned authors include:

H.E. Sullivan Chime who authored

“An Honour to Serve: Enugu State in the Sullivan Years” and

Former President Goodluck Jonathan, who authored ‘My Transition Hours’. Professionally as it may have been written, president Jonathan’s book surprisingly made it to the list of 15 best books published in the year 2018. Other newly published books and Nigerian authors who made it to the prestigious international list include: ‘Devil’s Pawn’ by Kukogho Iruesiri Samson; ‘When Trouble Sleeps’ by Leye Adenle; ‘When Day Breaks’ by Adamu Usman Garko (a secondary school student); ‘Children of Blood and Bone’ by Tomi Adeyemi ‘Embers’ by Soji Cole among others.

Nnedi Okorafor, Chimamanda Ngozi-Adichie, Tochi Onyebuchi, Tomi Adeyemi, Lola Shoneyin, Roye Okupe, and Chika Unigwe had earlier in the year been listed by Pulse as among the authors currently setting the pace in the literary field.

However interesting these may be, it is also more interesting to puff the sore truth that book piracy and plagiarism received a great boost in Nigeria in 2018, as reports reveal several cases of the ugly act carried out this year. Even President Jonathan’s new book was said to have been pirated by some unknown malignants, just in less than 48 hours after its launching.

However, a number of individuals, groups and nongovernmental organizations in the country played great roles in waging war against this old-centuries global issue which has pauperized many writers across the world. A most recent of this brawl was the one waged by the Anti-Piracy Society of Nigeria in her 2018 annual convention in which the MD/Editor-in-chief of the National Light Newspaper, Sir Chuka Nnabuife, who is also a renowned author and poet lectured on: “Evolving Challenges-Innovative Responses”.

It is generally believed that piracy and plagiarism trailed in the year despite the fierce campaigns truculently championed against it.

On the aspect of activities, 2018 recorded the celebration of numerous literary events and activities by Nigerian writers. The outstanding among these literary activities and events include: the 37th Annual National Convention of the Association of Nigerian Authors; 2018 CORA Book Party; NSPP Awards Ceremony hosted by  Poets In Nigeria (PIN); Lagos Book and Art Festival 2018; Return To Idoto 2018 (in honour of late Poet Christopher Okigbo), hosted by Awka Literary Society; the 2018 Chinua Achebe Literary Festival, hosted by the Society of Young Nigerian Writers (Anambra Chapter); Northern Nigerian Writers’ Summit 2018; the 2018 Ake Arts and Book Festival; Anambra Book and Creativity Festival (ANBUKRAFT) 2018; first Poetry Slam in Anambra, hosted by Poets in Nigeria (PIN), Awka Connect Centre; 2018 Carter Literary Festival, Enugu; 2018 admission of writers into the Ebedi Writers Residency, Iseyin, the only writers residency in Nigeria; among other literary activities.

Indeed, 2018 has been a historic year for Nigeria’s literary industry, given the bizarre feats and achievements recorded by the members/ Nigerian writers in the year in their quest to advance globally in the field promote Nigerian Literature and Nigeria’s image in the international community. In fact, the industry is believed to be among the few sectors that have consistently projected and upheld the image and dignity of the country until today. Ipso facto, it is optimistically believed that the sector and the actors will take even more historic dives and achieve more sleuth feats come 2019.

Bio: Izunna Okafor is a journalist, prose writer and poet. He lives and works in Awka.

The post Nigeria’s Literary Sphere: The Major Highlights of 2018 appeared first on Creative Writing News.

The Masters Reviews review is currently accepting short stories and creative non-fiction for their forthcoming publication. What makes them unique is that they encourage budding writers. In fact, the Masters Review prides itself as a “Platform for Emerging Writers.”. There is no entry fee for their “New Voices” category.

Who Is Eligible to Apply?

• Writers who are not yet established. If you are a new and emerging author who has not published a work of fiction or creative nonfiction of novel length, then you can send them your writing.
• Writers who do not yet have a full-length book forthcoming at the time of submission.

Payment/Emoluments:

The publisher pays 10 cents per word, up to $200.

Submission Guidelines:

• Send only  fiction and narrative non-fiction (or personal essays). They do accept a variety of genres and styles. However they want writers to exhibit excellence in their craft. So ensure that you wow them with your writing.
• You can write on any theme that interests you

• Make sure your work is properly edited and polished. You can get critiques and edits from members of your critique group.
• Simultaneous submissions are fine. Remember to inform the editors if your work is accepted elsewhere.
• Word count: less than 7,000 words.
• Do not send more than one submission. Multiple submissions are not allowed.
• Kindly include a cover letter alongside your publication history

How To Submit:

Go to the Masters Review New Voices Category and fill out the application forms.

Increase your chances of getting published by attending this new free creative non-fiction course being organized by the University of Iowa. .

Get inspiration from the fantastic podcasts recommended on our list. Some of them can be found on the iRadio player podcast app.

Good luck.

The post The Masters Review Is Accepting Short Stories and Essays For Its New Voices Category–Apply (Pay: $200 per piece) appeared first on Creative Writing News.

Every time you hear an advert or a slogan, do you think, arrggh! I could definitely do better? If you have ever dreamed of getting paid to write slogans, then you’re in luck. Ephemera might love your original meme enough to buy it.

Before you start writing yours, let’s tell you more about Ephemera.

Ephemera started producing novelty buttons, magnets, and stickers in the year 1980. Most of their products are sold in the best card & gift shops, bookstores, music stores, LGBTQ & left wing shops, and so on.

What kind of slogans often get accepted by Ephemera?

They particularly love satirical slogans about pop culture, politics and the president. Feel free to send them slogans about job attitudes, battles of the sexes, beverages, drugs, religious beliefs, food& drink, aging & retirement, teenagers, LGBTQ ideas,, etc. The list is endless really. Jus make sure it’s creative.

They don’t want you to limit yourself to the aforementioned topics. They actually want to be stunned.

Submission Guidelines

• Send only original, new and interesting material. Avoid sending them cliches or rehashed material. They also don’t like stereotypical coinages.
• Make your gems short, impactful and concise. Don’t forget that the slogans will be on very small buttons and magnets. The shorter the better.

According to their press release:

Ephemera has a reputation for coming up with the most irreverent, provocative and outrageously funny material on the market. We encourage you to be as weird, twisted or rude as you like. Remember, we want humor that makes us laugh out loud!

How to apply

• Send all applications via email to mail@ephemera-inc.com
  
• They prefer the slogans pasted in the body of the email. If you can, please desist from sending attachments.
• They reply to inform writers if they like any of the slogans.
• You can send as many as you like.

Payments/Emoluments:

Ephemera pays $50 per slogan  upon acceptance. Note that they require the exclusive rights to each slogan that they buy.

How many slogans do they buy?

Well, the success rate at this point is 1%. But this doesn’t mean you should try. You’ll never know until you try.

All the best.

Got more questions? Forward all inquiries to :mail@ephemera-inc.com

The post Opportunity for Writers: Ephemera Needs Slogans—Submit (Pay: $50 per slogan) appeared first on Creative Writing News.

By Izunna Okafor

The old-century dictum that ‘a great man’s feat echoes louder behind his rear’ recently attained some justification, following the rueful demise of the great Nigerian poet and literary champion, late Chief Ikeogu Oke, the winner of the 2017 Nigeria Prize for Literature.

The wave of this hideous news which started blowing on Saturday has not only quaked the literary community in its entirety but has also continued to elicit the reactions of other great literary enthusiasts in the country and beyond, who were all shocked to the marrow of their pens.

In a release by Mr Denja Abdullahi, the National President of the Association of Nigerian Author (ANA), who ratified the death, he noted that the literary connoisseur, until his death, had been ill for more than four months as a result of a protracted illness. He further described him as a gentleman and a writer whose commitment to literature was second to none, owing to his great strides and stripes in the literary field of life.

Earlier in a statement announcing the shocking departure, on behalf of the association, Mr Abdullahi noted thus:

“With deep shock and a heavy heart, the Association of Nigerian Authors ( ANA) announces the passing of the poet laureate , Ikeogu Oke , the 2017 NLNG Nigeria Prize for Literature winner, last night, Saturday, Nov. 24 2018 at the National Hospital, Abuja ,after a brief illness. Ikeogu Oke was a committed member of ANA and together we have crisis-crossed Nigeria on several literary ventures , ranging from Arrow of God @ 50 in 2014 to the recent Return To Idoto 2 which held in  Ojoto-Awka in August, 2018.Ikeogu , a friend and compatriot, was an affable , gentle and enigmatic fellow. He lived and breathed poetry. May God give his family and the literary community the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss. May his poetic soul rest in peace (Amen)”

In their separate mournful reactions, fellow literary crackerjacks have also ruefully bared their hearts on ugly development. Below are some of these bereaved literati and their reactions:

Henry Akubuiro, journalist, novelist, juvenilia author, poet and Arts Editor, Sun Newspaper:

“Ikeogu was a guest performer at the World Poetry Day 2018 celebration in Abuja. Ikoegu was one of the few Nigerian writers who lives on in his literary works.”

Diyego Okenyedo for The Splendors of Dawn Poetry Foundation and the World Poetry Movement:

“Ikeogu was a dedicated poet and a supporter of the Splendors of Dawn and WPM activities. This year, despite his busy schedule, Ikeogu was a guest performer at the World Poetry Day 2018 celebration organised in Abuja. Ikoegu was one of the few Nigerian writers who lives on in his literary works.”

Onyeka Nwelue, cultural entrepreneur, filmmaker, professor and author of The Abyssinian Boy:

“Goodbye, Ikeogu Oke.

I’m happy we reconciled before you departed. I fell out with him when I said publicly that I thought otherwise about Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe – from what everyone thinks. He called me names and insulted me and me, resorted to insulting him as well because I don’t spend much time thinking about age. Or who should be my elder? As long as you don’t start with me.

However, NLNG paid me to interview him. I had gone to Ibadan to see Wole Soyinka and drove speedily back to Lagos, to Bogobiri in Ikoyi, where he was waiting for me.
When we met, we hugged and he said: “This man, you are mature.”

We laughed. I interviewed him.
Goodnight, Mr Oke. You left a legacy”.

Sir Chuka Nnabuife, author, poet, MD National Light Newspaper:

“Mazi Ikeogu Oke is dead. I learnt he died of a cancer of the prosthesis. May God accept the soul of the fecund and prolific Bard”

Eriata Oribhabor, poet, author and President, Poets In Nigeria:

“Poets in Nigeria (PIN) mourns the passing of Ikeogu Oke, winner of the 2017 NLNG Prize for Literature (Poetry).

Ikeogu was a poet who loved and honed his art whilst serving humanity with it. 

May his soul rest in absolute peace”

Maxim Uzoatu, author, poet and journalist:

“My brother Ikeogu, I am as good as dead as I write this. On the night of the book party following your being on the NLNG Prize shortlist you insisted on buying me a very expensive beer in the posh hotel you were lodged. When the NLNG officers asked for a copy of your book before the announcement of the Prize-winner you asked me from Abuja to deliver the copy you had autographed for me to the NLNG Lagos office. When I saw you at Ojoto for the Christopher Okigbo soiree you looked ill & I was really worried. Now, this! My tears…”

John Chizoba Vincent, author, poet,  cinematographer:

“He is one of those poets I think of meeting someday

Ohafia Gini meziri?

O ga di  ma  e mesịa,  Ikeogu Oke
Jee nke ọma. Rest on great poet.
This world is worthless”.

Ikeogu Oke hailed from Ohafia, Abia State and was married with children. He had a Bachelor of Art in English and Literary Studies from the University of Calabar and an MA in Literature from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. His works include: “When I was Born” (2002),
“Salute Without Guns” (2009),
“In the Wings of Waiting” (2012),
“The Lion and the Monkey” (2014),
“The Tortoise and the Princess” (2015), “The Heresiad” (2017).

In 2010, Nobel laureate Nadine Gordimer selected “Salutes Without Guns” as Book of the Year for The Times Literary Supplement, while, in 2017, “The Heresiad” won the Nigeria Prize for Literature, Africa’s biggest literary prize at $100,000 (N37m) sponsored by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas.

The post More Tributes For The Late Award-Winning Poet Ikeogu Oke appeared first on Creative Writing News.

Are you interested in winning an all expense paid trip to the Iceland Writers Retreat? I’ve got good news for you. The Iceland Travel will grant one essayist a free spot at the Iceland Writers Retreat. All you have to do is write and submit an essay, story or poem on the theme of ‘Equality’. The retreat is slated to hold from 3 to 7 April, 2019.

If your essay is chosen as the best, you will be awarded the Complete Package. This comprises:
• Free accommodation in a hotel
• Tours,
• Most meals,
• And all workshops for the duration of the event,

Submission Guidelines
• No entry fee is required.
• All entrants must be 18 years and above.
• Entries must be in English and must be the original work of the entrant.
• Pieces that have been previously published online or in print will not be considered.
• Entrants are allowed to publish one piece

How To Apply:
• Write an essay, story or poem that reflects the theme of equality.
• Essays must be 500 words or less. (Make sure your essay doesn’t exceed the 500 word limit).
• Fill the form on the submissions page
• Paste your essay in the box provided in the form.
• The deadline to submit an entry is 23:59 (GMT) Wednesday, December 17, 2018.

Important Tip In The Press Release

Given that our competition is sponsored by Iceland Travel, and the prize is to attend the Iceland Writers Retreat, we also recommend that you mention Iceland somewhere in your entry.
Our judging panel will select one winning entry. Judges will be looking for creativity, originality, and style.
*The prize does NOT include airfare to Iceland, airport transfers, or any expenses not itemized in the delegate description.

If you have already registered to attend the Iceland Writers Retreat, you can apply and increase your chances of getting a refund.

It might interest you to know that all entries will be judged anonymously.

Increase your chances of winning by attending this University of Iowa-organized free online creative writing course. 

You can also attend this personal essay writing class by NY Times Bestselling author, Roxanne Gay.

Read and listen to the essays on out list of story podcasts for creative writers.

Want to ask questions about this award?
Forward all inquiries to iwr@icelandwritersretreat.com.

–
A few months ago, we announced the Iceland Writers Retreat Alumni scholarship. This year, the retreat features a promising faculty. The following professional writers will be attending in 2019: Louis de Bernieres, Tessa Hadley, Ivan Coyote, Chigozie Obioma, and Lina Meruane.

Good luck.

The post Opportunity For Writers: Win A Spot At The Iceland Writers Retreat 2019—Apply appeared first on Creative Writing News.