writing: July 2006 Archives

I may be a bit ambivalent about Adbusters magazine's mission,^* but I thought this call for short written submissions for their next issue looks interesting...

Dear Jammers and Creatives,

We're already hard at work on the next issue - #68, dedicated to creative non-fiction - and we're hoping that some of you will let us pick your brains. We're looking for 100 to 200 word, punchy, sad, crazy, or rude pieces inspired by a major event or epiphany in your life. It could be about anything really . . . a haiku, a poem, a travel remembrance, an anecdote about living in the post s11 era, a piece about discovering one of your family's dark secrets. We're looking for stories that provoke and that go straight to the heart, with a "slice of life" feeling to them.

We'd like to pepper these short pieces throughout our upcoming issue. One warning: the deadline is tight, so we need all submissions sent to editor@adbusters.org by July 26th. If we decide to go with your submission, you'll get to see your name in print, and we'll also pay you 50 cents/word.

Remember: keep it short, keep it true, and fire it off to us as quickly as you can.

Cheers,
The Adbusters Team.

^*I mean, I do have a pair of black Converse that I know I probably should trade in for these, but...it's just not the same.
 

If you fall a few words short of the daily goal, a slap on the wrist will do—perhaps something like the forcible removal of a pinkie nail using needle-nose pliers. Failed to produce at a satisfactory pace for a week straight? Hire a local tough to deliver a good kneecapping. (Make sure it's scheduled during nonwriting hours, and that the blow isn't so severe as to require extended hospitalization, which would take away from writing time.)

And if, for example, you're under contract to complete a writing-advice book and you still have a third of it to go with only three weeks until the deadline, chain yourself (literally) to the chair with your feet immersed in a bucket of acid (not too caustic, just strong enough for a tingling burn). Believe me, you'll have never typed faster in your life.

Read more helpful writing tips at McSweeney's Internet Tendency.