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Valkyrie

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  1. Valkyrie

    Reader's Choice - 2023

    By Valkyrie,


    Announcements
    Instead of an anthology blog this week, we're bringing you the revival of an old GA feature... the Reader's Choice Awards!  Myr opened up nominations for our first category - First Love stories - a few days ago, and there is already an impressive list of stories that have been nominated. It's not too late to nominate your favorite, but you'd better hurry since the thread closes tomorrow, February 10th at 8:00 AM EST.  Voting will open later that day and close on February 13th, with the results being revealed on Valentine's Day.  
    So check out the thread, the amazing stories already nominated, add your own, then vote!  And stay tuned for the next installment of the 2023 Reader's Choice Awards!  There is definitely more to come, so start thinking of your favorite stories and nominate them when the appropriate genre is announced. 
     
  2. Valkyrie

    Poetry Prompts

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthology
    No, I didn't mix up the days and post the wrong blog  Even though Friday is Prompt Day, I thought it would be a good idea to feature a series of prompts created by GA poet @AC Benus several years ago.  These prompts are a perfect stepping stone for anyone thinking of giving poetry a try, and are also useful exercises for more experienced poets.  Start at the beginning, for each prompt builds upon the rest.  Post your results here, or else in the Poetry Writers Club.  There are a lot of great resources for poets in that club, and it's also a great place to get feedback on your poetry.  
     
     
  3. Valkyrie

    Let's Go Exploring

    By Valkyrie,


    Prompts
    Let's do a bit of a flip-flop with today's prompts and push ourselves out of our comfort zones.  In honor of our upcoming Poetry Anthology, I thought it would be fun to feature a couple of prompts that can be used for either poetry or stories.  If you are a poet, then try writing a paragraph, short story, or vignette.  If you are a non-poet, then give writing a short poem or two a try.  The anthology theme is Exploration, so let's explore writing styles that may not be in our wheelhouse.  You never know what you might come up with. 
     
    PT Prompt #109 - Write a poem or paragraph about colors without naming any colors.  
     
    PT Prompt #110 - Write a poem or story about the following image:  an elderly couple holding hands on the beach, staring out at the water. 
  4. Valkyrie

    2023 Poetry Anthology - Announcement

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthology
    Due to feedback I've received about the poetry anthology, the guidelines have been revised to eliminate the limitation on number of poems submitted.  There is now a maximum word count instead.  The one poem per chapter rule has also been abolished, so multiple poems may be posted in one "chapter", with a maximum of five chapters.  Please review the revised guidelines and let me know if there are any questions.  I have also created threads in the anthology section of the Writer's Club for discussion, links to anthology submissions, and the guidelines.  
    https://gayauthors.org/forums/forum/298-anthologies/
  5. Valkyrie

    Poetry Revisited

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthology
    I'm still working on fine-tuning the details for this year's poetry anthology - Exploration, so stay tuned to next week's blog for further information.  In the meantime, I thought I would feature our last poetry anthology, which was eight years ago!  Hopefully this will inspire some of you to explore the realm of poetry and participate in this year's anthology. 
     
     
  6. Valkyrie
    Writing Events in 2023! 
     
    We have an exciting lineup of writing events happening in 2023!  We're still fine-tuning the details, so stay tuned for further information about each event.
     
    4 months from now we're bringing you a Poetry Anthology - Exploration!  All Submissions due Saturday, April 1
    Many of the usual anthology procedures will still apply, but ask questions below, and we'll make sure the information is included in the Rules/Discussion topics posted soon! 
    7 months from now we're having a Secret Author Story Contest! All Submissions due Saturday, July 1
    More info on theme and rules to follow soon, so make sure you follow the Site Fun and Games blog to learn more. But above all, it's a secret... so shh!
    10 months from now we're having the Leap of Faith Anthology! All Submissions due Sunday, October 1
    Stories between 1,000 and 20,000 words and poetry collections of up to five poems will be accepted, with most of the usual rules in effect (some may be subject to change). Anthology topics will be posted soon, as usual, but some posting guidelines or details may change so keep following the Anthology blogs and topics!   
  7. Valkyrie

    Let's Get Technical

    By Valkyrie,


    Prompts
    I love the challenge of technical writing prompts.  So here are two that hopefully you will like as well. 
    PT Prompt #103
    Choose a setting and an emotion.  Write about the setting in a way that evokes the emotion without explicitly naming it. 
     
    PT Prompt #104
    Two characters are having a conflict with each other but refuse to acknowledge or talk about it.  They are playing a game (can be any kind of game), and their true feelings keep sneaking out.  Write the scene.  
  8. Valkyrie
    I'd like to extend a huge thank you to all who voted in the anthology theme selection survey. I'm pretty blown away by the turnout we received! It was quite a nail-biting race, especially in the beginning, but eventually a winner leapt ahead.  So without further ado, here's the announcement we've all been waiting for... 

     
    Leap of Faith 
    Please remember that the link to the theme can be tangential - it doesn't have to smack you in the face, as long as it's in there somewhere.  We want the anthology to be inclusive, not exclusive.  Here is the link to a great blog post written by @CassieQ about writing to themes:
     
    Stories between 1,000 and 20,000 words and poetry collections of up to five poems are due to the proof team by October 1, 2023.  It's never too early to start working on anthology submissions!  I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with next year.  
    Please stay tuned to upcoming blogs for further information about the 2023 Anthology - Leap of Faith!
  9. Valkyrie

    There's Still Time to Vote!

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthology
    Happy Holidays!  Whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanza, Festivus, or something else, I wish you the best the holiday season has to offer!  A large part of the US will be facing a pretty nasty winter storm this weekend, my area included, so fingers crossed everyone can still celebrate as planned. 

     
    Thank you to all who have voted in the anthology theme selection poll so far.  The poll will remain open until midnight EST on 12/27/22, so there's still time to vote if you haven't done so.  I won't give any clues as to which one is currently in the lead, but will say it's a pretty close race! If you are unable to access the Google form, please send me a PM with your choice between: Too Soon, A Second Glance, Leap of Faith, Hidden, and Star Crossed, and I will record your vote on your behalf.  
    https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1BVqr8MUJjM1T21Ylro18ITkQ9R0_Kjvs5aImfpfzUr8/edit
    I will reveal the winning theme next Thursday, 12/29/22, so stay tuned! 
  10. Valkyrie

    More Holiday Prompts

    By Valkyrie,


    Prompts
    It's the holiday season and it's a merry time for some and not so great time for others.  Here are two prompts to reflect both moods.  
     
    PT Prompt #97
    You are gifted a magic snow globe.  What happens when you shake it?
    PT Prompt #98
    You are spending the holidays alone.  Describe your day and any celebration or lack thereof.  
     
  11. Valkyrie

    We Need Your Vote!

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthology
    The anthology selection committee did a great job with suggesting themes and then narrowing them down to a top five for the GA membership to vote on.  It was difficult selecting our favorites, but we have five great themes to choose from.  One of these will be our theme for the 2023 anthology! I'd like to extend a huge thank you to @Aditus@kbois @Mrsgnomie @northie @raven1 and @CassieQ for their input and discussion regarding next year's theme.  You guys are awesome! 
    Voting will remain open until midnight EST December 27th.  On December 29th, I will reveal the winning theme.  Please visit the following link and select your favorite of the five themes. 
     
    https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1BVqr8MUJjM1T21Ylro18ITkQ9R0_Kjvs5aImfpfzUr8/edit
     
  12. Valkyrie

    Seize the Day!

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthology
    Anyone who's watched Dead Poets Society is familiar with the phrase carpe diem.  Even if you haven't watched this iconic Robin Williams movie, Myr featured this phrase as one of his Words of the Day last week.  Carpe diem was also the theme for the Summer 2009 Anthology.  So seize the day and reacquaint yourself with the stories from this past anthology. 

     
    https://gayauthors.org/stories/browse/category/22-2009-summer-carpe-diem/
     
  13. Valkyrie

    2023 Anthology Theme Selection

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthology
    Thank you to all who volunteered to serve on the anthology theme selection committee!  I had six people volunteer, so all six will be included on the committee.  I have contacted these individuals, and we will begin the process of selecting and narrowing down themes for the GA membership at large to vote on.   This process will take place over the next two weeks, December 1-14, and on December 15th I will open up voting to the GA membership to ultimately decide the theme for the 2023 anthology.  Voting will remain open for two weeks and will close on December 28th.  Look for the winning theme announcement on December 29th.  I'm looking forward to seeing what the committee comes up with! 
  14. Valkyrie

    Happy Prompt-Day!

    By Valkyrie,


    Prompts
    I hope everyone in the US who celebrates Thanksgiving had a wonderful day yesterday and has enough leftovers to make more yummy things like turkey soup.  I know I will have stuffed myself into oblivion (no comments on that one, Steve  ), but there's always room for more, right?  We have another holiday of sorts today... Alles Gute zum Geburtstag, that's Happy Birthday in German, to our resident wolf, @Aditus! In honor of Addy's birthday, I've decided to feature a couple of birthday-ish prompts.  Now let's have some cake!  

     
    PT Prompt #91:
    Point of view:  Describe the same birthday party from three different points of view.  For example, a child, a middle-aged person, and an elderly person. 
    PT Prompt #92:
    Genre switching:  Take a character who typically belongs in one genre and place them in another.  For example, take a horror villain and put them in a contemporary romance. It may or may not feature a birthday.  
  15. Valkyrie

    2023 Anthology Announcement

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthologies
    After taking into consideration the results of the polls I conducted about the anthology, the team has reached a decision about what we’re offering next year. 

     
    In 2023 we will be offering two site-wide events for authors to participate in – one anthology and one secret author contest.  Stay tuned for further details on both!
     
    People overwhelmingly voted to have one theme for the anthology, and the majority wanted a committee to decide on themes, but also wanted to vote on themes.  So here is how we will be handling theme selection for next year’s anthology:
    I will form a committee who will suggest themes and then narrow them down to a top five.  Once the top five have been decided, I will create a poll for the GA membership to vote on.  The top choice from that poll will be our theme for 2023. 
    Anyone can become a member of the theme selection committee. I will be limiting the committee to five members, so if I get more volunteers than that, I will use a random generator to select the members.  If you are interested in participating, please send me a PM before midnight EST on November 30th, and I will add your name to the list. 
    Once I have selected the five committee members, I will invite them to the Anthology Development Club, where the discussion will take place.  My goal is to have the theme for next year decided by the end of this year. 
    A huge thank you to all who participated in the polls and discussion!  Your feedback was instrumental in the development of the 2023 site author events. 
  16. Valkyrie

    Anthology Flashback - 2010 No Going Back

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthologies
    I'm on vacation this week, so decided to re-feature one of our past anthologies.  Check out the stories from 2010's anthology "No Going Back".  Also, please be sure to vote in the two current polls in the Anthology section of the Writer's Club.  Both polls close on November 17th.  
    https://gayauthors.org/stories/browse/category/27-2010-fall-no-going-back/
     
     
  17. Valkyrie

    Wordplay

    By Valkyrie,


    Prompts
    I love a good play on words, which is why I like Dad jokes and memes with puns.  Don't judge me... someone has to laugh at them!   Disclaimer: I'm not responsible for any eye strain or facial bruising caused by excessive from any stories inspired by these prompts.  
     
    PT Prompt #85:
    Sometimes words have very different meanings across languages.  For example, the word "gift" in English means something given to another person without expectation of payment, synonymous with "present".  In German, however, it has a much darker meaning - a "gift" in German means "poison".  Write a scenario where your character uses a word incorrectly in a language foreign to them and what happens based on the miscommunication.  
     
    PT Prompt #86:
    Everybody loves a good pun, right?  Write a story riddled with puns.  The more groan-inducing and facepalming the better.  
  18. Valkyrie

    More Anthology Voting

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthology
    Based on the results of the polls I created a couple of weeks ago, I have created two new polls to further narrow down our choices for next year as far as number and type of anthologies/contests, and what you would like to see as far as themes go.  The polls will be open for two weeks, then will be closed.  
     
  19. Valkyrie

    Happy Prompt-aversary!

    By Valkyrie,


    Prompts
    While it feels like just yesterday when I approached Aditus and Cole Matthews about working together to continue offering GA prompts on a weekly basis, it’s actually been one year!  To celebrate our one-year anniversary, we thought we’d pay homage to GA’s late prompt guru, Comicfan, by choosing our favorite prompts created by Wayne. 
     
    Aditus:
    Comicfan’s prompt #213 made me put my toe in the water and write a very short story. I got so many encouraging comments that I dared to write an anthology story a few months later.
    Since then, I’ve always looked forward to reading the prompts. Many times, they helped to get my lazy muse in motion. I don’t know if I’d otherwise ever become an author here on GA. Thank you, Wayne.
    My favorite prompt is#892.
     
    Cole Matthews:
    This prompt is my favorite, because not only did this prompt give me a character sketch to start a story.  It created an entirely new storyline with some of the best characters I've ever created.  For some reason, this 'first line' prompt gave me a vision of a man being berated by his son.  The prompt I wrote is called The Truck, and it gave me a precocious teenager scolding his father, who we discover is gay and has been hiding it.  It was a coming out by a father to his son, a very different tack to the usual trope.  Not only did this provide the beginnings of "The Art of Being Gay" but it led me to start viewing characters and storylines in a completely different direction.  Comicfan's prompts provided me with the challenge, and the creative spark, to get me to take more chances, try new things, and I grew enormously because of his help and dedication to writing.  
    Valkyrie:  
    It's almost impossible to choose a favorite out of Wayne's prompts.  His prompts inspired me to start writing, and the feedback I received encouraged me to continue.  My first multi-chapter story was inspired by a prompt, but I chose one that inspired my second story instead.  It's one of my favorite prompt stories from my early collection.  I always enjoyed Wayne's word lists and seeing how I could fit them all into a story in a natural way. 
     
  20. Valkyrie

    Writing for a Theme

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthology
    I'd like to thank everyone who participated in the polls I posted last week about the number of themes and anthologies for next year.  There was some interesting discussion, and I will be taking a close look at all the comments and the poll results this weekend and will open up further discussion in next week's anthology blog.  This week, we have a guest blog post written by @CassieQ about her take on writing for themes.  She's given us some great food for thought when it comes to writing for anthologies.  
     
    So, you’re thinking about writing for the anthology.  Awesome.  They are a lot of fun, a great way to expand your skills and garner new readers.  Go for it.
             The problem?  The themes.
             I get it.  Sometimes the themes are awesome and resonate with you and you can’t wait to get words on paper.
             Sometimes, they just don’t.  That’s what I’m going to talk about.
             First point, please remember the anthologies are inclusive and not exclusive.  If your story only kinda matches the theme, it’s fine.  It doesn’t have to be a literal interpretation, unless that is what you like, in which case, go for it.  You do you. 
             Every year, we vote on themes, and every year, I look at them, sigh and think I can’t write for those.  18 anthologies later, here I am.
             Before I get into the brainstorming section of this, I want to note that these methods work for me when trying to come up with story ideas, and that they may not work for everyone, and there are many different ways to come up with ideas.  Furthermore, I am very much a pantser when it comes to writing and abhor planning of any kind.  Therefore, I would love to hear from other people about their brainstorming methods, and especially from plotters. 
             So, you have the themes in front of you and you’re not crazy about them.
             First, decide between the two themes.  You may not like either one of them, but there is usually one that is worse than the other.  Get rid of that guy.  (Unless you want to write for both, in which case, go for it.  If you know a way to do so without feeling like your brain is melting, hit me up). 
             Okay.  So you have a “meh” kind of theme.  I have 2 methods for coming up with ideas.  The one I use the most often is the less exciting.  I just toss it the in back of my mind and let it marinate there for a while.  Think about it absently when doing other things…showering, driving, walking the dog, pretending to listen to your boss/teacher, stuff like that.  After a few days, I’ll usually get an idea about a scene or character that I can start building from.  You can outline from there, if you are an outliner, which I am not, so it’s usually just a messy jumble for me, but it’s something I can work with. 
             I like that method because I’m lazy and it’s easy.  There are some things I like to be hard, but this isn’t one of them.  (Yes, I 100% meant that the way it sounded).  If that method doesn’t work, then I go for the mind map.  (I don’t know if my method is genuine mind map, but it looks close enough for me). 
             So, I am going to describe the methods I used for coming up with an idea for a themed contest using a mind map.  I busted out a large sheet of paper and some markers because it’s more fun that way.  The theme was “Summer”, so I wrote that in the middle.  I already knew I was going to look at summer vacation themes, so I wrote that down too.
             Then I drew fours lines branching off from the main theme, like the spokes of a wheel and labeled them.  The labels were “camping” “road trip” “beach” and “meeting a summer fling”, all things that can happen during the summer.  The camping idea died first.  I’m not a fan of camping, nor of writing about it.  Nothing wrong with camping, I’m sure it’s fun for some people, I am just not one of them.  The “road trip” idea spun into an idea about fixing a troubled relationship and then into four more spokes about what might cause a troubled relationship.  It was an interesting concept to explore but didn’t really excite me.
             That left “meeting a summer fling” and “beach”.  I elaborated on both of them.  The “beach” idea had another spoke that lead to “friendship into lovers”, then two more off from that idea: “near drowning” and “drunken escapades”.  Sounds like fun. 
             The “summer fling” idea had two lines branching off, one reading “fall in love” and another reading “solve a mystery?” (I guess I had reservations about it).  From the “solve a mystery?” idea was another line, leading to an idea about a light house mystery.
             I ended up going with the lighthouse mystery as my main idea, but I liked the ones from the beach idea so much that I ended up including those (with the exception of drunken escapades, as my characters were teenagers).  Those ideas developed into a novella called Geist, which is up in the Premium section.
             I used this a lot when I was staring out, but not often now.  I typically utilize it when I am struggling to come up with idea.  It’s fun, though, because it often yields ideas I wasn’t otherwise considering.  At this point, some writers could start planning or outlining.  If you’re me, it’s throwing words at the paper and hoping they make sense.   
             So, if someone is struggling with the themes, I hope this helps you out.  If not, then I just spent 20 minutes typing to myself, which is fun too.  Also, please let me know your methods of brainstorming in the comments, I would love to hear from other writers!
            
                
  21. Valkyrie

    What's in a Theme?

    By Valkyrie,

    Themes can make or break an anthology, as our recent Anniversary anthology showed.  The theme spoke to a lot of site authors and exceeded my challenge to have twenty stories for GA’s twentieth anniversary.  The next few anthology blogs will be focusing on theme selection, writing for a theme, and submitting ideas for next year’s anthology.  I’m excited to announce we have a guest blog post for next week.  CassieQ has written a great article about how to write for a theme, so be sure to check it out next Thursday. 
    So, what makes a great anthology theme?  It needs to be broad, concise, and open to interpretation.  Anniversary is a perfect example of this.  There are many different types of anniversaries, as the stories featured showed.  When I say concise, I mean it needs to be between one and three words.  Here at GA, we limit the theme to a maximum of three words because it gets too clunky otherwise, and we risk losing the broadness of the theme.  On the Road is one of our past themes which fits the above criteria.  Now imagine if had been On the Road – Tales from Vacation. Still open to multiple interpretations, but far less broad.  Now how about On the Road – Tales from Vacation in France. Very limiting, and also difficult to fit onto a banner. 
    In the past, we’ve featured two themes per anthology, and recently started offering potluck themes as well, which gave authors a larger variety to choose from.  I’d like to hear thoughts about how many themes authors would like to have for the anthology.  Keep in mind that our anthologies are inclusive, not exclusive, so the theme does not need to hit the reader over the head.  A tangential link to the theme is just fine.  Cassie will go into more detail about this next week. 
    I’ve created two polls to get opinions about next year’s anthology(ies).  Please check them out to help the anthology team decide if we are featuring one or more anthologies, and also how many themes those anthologies will encompass. 
    https://gayauthors.org/forums/topic/48114-number-of-anthologies-for-2023/
    https://gayauthors.org/forums/topic/48115-number-of-anthology-themes-for-2023/
     
  22. Valkyrie

    The Final Countdown

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthology
    Today is the last day to submit stories to the proof team for inclusion in the anthology. I feel like we need a New Year’s Eve type countdown as we approach midnight, EST, complete with champagne and confetti.  Of course, there’s still work for the proof team to do, but we’ll be able to take a break soon.  Maybe. 

     
    So the big question with this year’s anthology is “did we reach the goal of twenty stories?”.  Well, I’m going to let the question go unanswered until the antho goes live.  But I will say give yourselves a round of applause and a giant pat on the back because whether we met the goal or not, we’ve got quite an impressive and unique variety of stories and poetry for your reading pleasure.  I will also say we’re very close to twenty, but I won’t say which side of the number we’re on.  You’ll have to tune in over the next few weeks to find out. 
    I’d like to extend a huge thank you to everyone involved in the anthology.  The proof team, @cia, @myr, authors, poets, readers, editors, beta readers, and everyone who commented on my anthology blogs.  You guys are all rock stars!
    Now I’d like to issue another challenge.  Now that the stories are written and ready to go live, it’s time for readers to step up. Instead of reading only the stories written by your favorite authors or poets, read all of them and give the anthology your full support.  React to the story, chapter, and leave a comment.  Authors love hearing from readers.  The stories will be spaced out over the course of a month, so that will make it easier to read all of them.
    Finally, another reminder for authors/poets to post the links to their works once they’re returned from the proof team.  PM either me or Cia and we’re happy to help with any issues. 
     

  23. Valkyrie

    Prompt Day Sept 2, 2022

    By Valkyrie,


    Prompts
    Between editing, proofreading, and writing for the anthology, along with things being crazy at work, my brain is a bit on the crispy side at the moment.  So let’s get right into this week’s prompts.
     
    PT Prompt #79
    You are hiking through the woods when you encounter a wooden sign with the following words written in red, dripping paint:  I’d turn back if I were you.  Do you turn back or continue on the path?  If you continue, what do you encounter? 
    PT Prompt #80
    Your character is a stay-at-home parent who sleepwalks.  Use the following phrases to lead you into a story about that character:  awfully big shoes to fill, and the quest continues. 
  24. Valkyrie

    We Need Your Support!

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthology
    The anthologies are an important part of GA, and have always been eagerly anticipated by both authors and readers.  We’re in the final stretch for this year’s anthology, with the deadline for submission to the proof team a week away.  That’s still plenty of time to complete the final edits and get stories to me by or on September first. I’m going to let the final number of stories be a surprise, so you’ll have to wait until it goes live to find out if we met our goal of at least twenty stories.
    The anthology wouldn’t exist without the support of site members, and that can happen in a variety of ways:
    Authors and Poets – write, write, write! We want to read your stories and poetry, and, as we discussed last week, it doesn’t need to be a 25k novella (unless that’s what you want to contribute), but can be a 1k flash fiction piece or anything in between.  Writing for the anthology is a great way to get new readers and also to give back to a site that has given so much.  The link to the theme can be tangential, so if the theme isn’t speaking to you, it doesn’t have to smack the reader in the face as long as it’s there somewhere.  But that’s a topic for another blog post.  The anthology is open to all site authors and poets, so even if you’re new to writing, give it a go!  We’ve had authors/poets contribute their first stories to the anthology before.  So as long as it fits into GA’s story guidelines and has gone through an editor, send it on! 
    Readers – read, read, read!  Authors love reader feedback. At the very least, leave a reaction or recommendation.  Remember to leave a reaction for both the story and story chapters.  Story reactions help get authors recognized on the recommended stories list.  Even better, leave a comment and/or review. 
    Editors – edit, edit, edit!  In the months leading up to the anthology, there are usually quite a few requests in the Writer’s Circle from authors looking for editors.  Stories must be edited before being submitted to the proof team, and it can be difficult at times for authors to find someone to edit their story, so stepping up to help make these stories the best they can be is a fantastic way to support the anthology.  Another way for editors to contribute is to join the proof team.  Having more proof team members will help ease the backlog we sometimes experience when a lot of stories are submitted at once.  Anyone interested in joining the proof team can feel free to message me, and we’ll go from there.
     
    Finally, I wanted to give anthology authors/poets a reminder to post the links to your story in the anthology links thread in the Writer’s Circle once they’re returned from the proof team.  If you have any questions about the process, message either myself or Cia and we’ll be happy to help.
  25. Valkyrie

    Does Size Really Matter?

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthology
    A couple of questions that come up for discussion frequently here are “How long should I make my chapters?” and “How long should my story be?”.  The truth is, there is no right answer.  My response would be, “Long enough to tell what you want to tell.”  It’s a bit of a glib response, but I’m going to go more in-depth in this blog post. 
    In terms of the anthology, there is a right answer.  It needs to be between 1,000 and 25,000 words. So how do you decide if your story is going to be a 1k short or a 25k novella?  I would say a lot of that decision comes down to personal preference and writing style.  Some writers have difficulty constraining themselves to only 25k words, while others are quite comfortable in the 4-6k range.  A 1k word story needs to pack a punch and have every word count, since the story is being told is so short.  Short doesn’t mean bad or unfinished—I’ve read some phenomenal flash fiction pieces in the 1k range—so don’t skip reading those stories because of the low word count.  Those 1k stories are a great way to work on descriptive writing and character sketches. 
    Conversely, if you’re going to write 25k words, make sure what’s going on the page is relevant and interesting.  Is every scene necessary to the story, or are there infodumps and scenes that don’t move the story forward? Not every reader likes reading stories that long in one go, so something to consider is breaking up a story that length into chapters.  While it helps keep the reader engaged, it’s certainly not a requirement.  Good writing itself keeps the reader engaged, regardless of story or chapter length.  So, readers, don’t be intimidated by the lengthy word count.  You might find yourself sucked right into the story and reach the end before you remember you just read 25k words. 
    Now back to the first question “How long should I make my chapters?”.   Again, there is no right answer or magic number when it comes to chapter length.  It needs to be long enough to accomplish what you want for that particular point in the story, whether it’s 2k, 4k, 6k, etc.  It’s a good idea to try and be consistent with chapter length, but that doesn’t mean it’s not ok to have some variation.  Personally, I like chapters in the 2-4k word range, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate a longer, well-written chapter, especially if it’s at crucial point in the story.
    So, how does all this relate to the anthology? Write to your strengths and personal style.  Don’t worry about the word count as much as telling a good story.  The word count only matters if it’s below 1k or above 25k.  There is still plenty of time to write a short story and get it sent to the proof team.  We are very close to making our twenty story goal, but that doesn’t mean we have to stop there!  Over twenty would be icing on the cake!  
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