Job Posting: Alien Witches needed at Apex Digest

Announcing the Second Annual Apex Digest Halloween Short Fiction Contest

The Essentials:

* Theme: Alien Witchcraft
* Deadline: October 15th, 11:59 p.m. EST
* Word Count: 2,500 words or less
* Submissions Address: halloween@apexdigest.com
* Entry Fee: Free to subscribers, $1.00 donation, or through the purchase of one Apex Publications product...see below
* Prizes: $200 + at least $400 in goodies...see below


Last year's winner, Nancy Fulda, says: "Winning the Apex Halloween Contest was fabulous. I felt like I was having Christmas all year long, with packages showing up on my doorstep at random intervals. The bragging rights were great, too."

First Prize:


- $200
- Winning story published in Apex Digest issue nine and an invite to the Apex 2007 featured writers anthology.
- One year subscription to Apex Digest
- Apex Global Domination Mug
- Signed copies of Inheritance and Dominion from Steven Savile
- Signed copy of Headstone City from Tom Piccirilli
- Signed copy of Deathbringer from Bryan Smith
- Signed copy of War Surf from M.M. Buckner
- MP3 audio versions of Rusty Nail and Bloody Mary from JA Konrath
- Signed art print of Judi Davidson's "Temple Part II" illustration printed in Apex issue six
- Signed art print from Aegri Somnia cover artist Michael Bielaczyk
- Trade paperback copy of Brandy Schwan's Grim Trixter
- Signed music cd Horror on the Orient Express from Alex Otterlei
- A $20 gift certificate to the Changeling Press online store
- Signed copies of Lords of Terror by Allan Cole and Nick Perumov and Dreams of Darkness by Elizabeth Burton from Zumaya Publicationss
- Signed copy of Thank You For the Flowers from Scott Nicholson
- Halloween: 25 Years of Terror DVD from Horrorview.com
- The Blackest Death: Volume II signed by Angeline Hawkes and Christopher Fulbright

And this list will grow...

Second Prize:

$20, publication in Apex Online, a one year subscription to Apex Science Fiction and Horror Digest, and an Apex Global Domination Mug!

Entry Fee:

Free to subscribers. Or, gain entry by donating $1.00 or by purchasing an Apex Publications product from The Apex Store.

Lessons from the Slushpile

I've been trying to boil down to their essences the elements of a short story. This is what I've come up with:

(a) The main character (b) has a problem (c) which is resolved at the end.

You would think that (a) would be a no-brainer, but I've read a few short stories that lacked a clearly defined main character. Rather the story is about a world or a place or, worst of all, a premise. Without a character to relate to, your reader will have no interest in your short story. Sorry, that's just the way it is.

Now, as to the problem, that's where it starts to get tricky. The problem can come in a myriad of forms. Maybe your character wants something that he doesn't have. Maybe he has something he doesn't want. Maybe he lacks something he doesn't know he needs, and the problem is that he needs to figure out that he needs this something.

Let me use as an example a story most of you are probably familiar with, O. Henry's "The Ransom of Red Chief." The main character's problem is that he needs money. He decides that the best way to get money is to kidnap the boy who calls himself Red Chief and hold him for ransom. The twist occurs when the main character discovers that Red Chief is a wretched little brat. Now the MC has two problems, and must decide which is the worst -- which one must he resolve, even at the expense of the other? In the end, he decides that Red Chief is his bigger problem and gives the kid back. It's been years since I read the story, but he might even have had to pay the father to take the kid back.

Not all stories have to have the problems compounded like that to be successful, but there must be at least one problem that the main character cares about and has to struggle to resolve. If there's no problem, there's no conflict. If there's no struggle, there's no tension. Conflict and tension are what keep your readers turning the pages after they've established a connection with the main character.

And finally, please, please resolve the problem. It can be an ambiguous resolution -- I'm okay with that. But resolve it. For instance, in the Raymond Carver short story, "Fat," the main character relates an event that seemingly has no connection with her life, but parallels begin to emerge. At the end, Carver leaves her musing as to what she will decide to do. He doesn't tell you her decision, but you can infer it by everything she's said and done up to the end. Or if you want to be a traditionalist -- and I have no problem with that -- resolve the problem clearly. But resolution is what keeps your reader from throwing your story across the room in rage at the end.

So, that's my opinion on what makes a successful short story. What's yours?

Unrequited Frost

I would like to say my latest story is now live, but it's one of my oldest stories. Yet it is mine, and you may read it at Aoife's Kiss, thanks to the editorial acumen and generosity of Tyree Campbell.

That is all.