Friday, January 6

Posted by Laurel Garver on Friday, January 06, 2012 18 comments
Happy Epiphany! Today's the day of celebrating the Magi's visit to the Christ child and the official end of the Christmas season. In parts of the world, today is when gift-giving happens.

I certainly got a nice gift today--publication of a vignette, "New Hues," in the inaugural issue of Vine Leaves Literary Journal. This new venture aims to fill a gaping hole in the lit mag field--vignette pieces, or "snapshot" or "element focused" writing. It's not about plot, but about focusing on other aspects of writing, such as description, setting or character.

The first issue is jam-packed with pieces--several from my blogging friends and my poetry group. Hope you swing by to check it out!

And if you like to write short, focused studies that you know aren't quite stories, but are beauty you want to share, consider submitting to future issues. And yes, they take novel excerpts! Guidelines are available HERE.

If you were to write a focused exercise, what element would you most like to explore? Description, setting, character? Perhaps a symbolic dream or poetic musing?

Side note: I've changed my schedule for 2012 to Tue, Fri posting.

18 comments:

  1. Can't wait to read them all! Congratulations on being published, Laurel.

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  2. Wow, I don't know. It's a fascinating idea! I'll have to think about it.

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  3. Congratulations Laurel! That's very cool. And definitely something to think about . . . because I haven't before. :)

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  4. Congratulations Laurel! I look forward to checking out the publication. I'd write description, a moment in time where the story does not move forward--stillness.

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  5. Jessica: Thanks for accepting my piece. The inaugural issue looks amazing!

    Glynis: Ditto, my friend. I just quickly read through about half the issue. Glad to be published with you!

    Christine: they take novel excerpts! But its also a good venue for short 'study" -type pieces that don't make it wholly into a manuscript.

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  6. Janet: thanks so much! The editors are wonderful--I highly recommend trying out a focused short and submitting.

    Lynn: sounds lovely and intriguing!

    JEM: Thanks, friend! Have a good weekend.

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  7. HI, Laurel,

    Happy New Year and Congratulations.

    Vine Leaves LIterary Journal sounds like an amazing publication. Since much of my writing features beautiful description, this may be a great avenue for my stories.

    Thanks for the info and much happiness in 2012.

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  8. Hooray, I just read it. Loved it! I think I recognize those characters from the chapter of the novel you once sent me... :)

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  9. I'll be over to read it right away. Sounds like a great journal...I'll definitely be digging through some old notebooks to see if I have anything worth submitting. :)

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  10. (Just did read it. It's so lovely and an excellent bit of writing!)

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  11. Congratulations! I read your piece. Did you write it after the version of Dani's book that I read? Because it seems to me I can see growth here. You were writing well before, but this one especially soars.

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  12. Michael: Happy New Year to you, too. Descriptive vingettes are just the thing for this venue. Hope you do submit in the future.

    Melissa: This was a killed darling. Oh how I hated to pull it, but it took my novel's pacing to a crashing halt late in the story. I was ECSTATIC to give it life again.

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  13. Faith: It's a great venue, especially for beautiful bits of stories that had to be cut for pacing reasons. And thanks for the kind words about my "killed darling," given second life. :-)

    Jenn: Thanks for your kind words. This was in the early 102K version of the novel. It was creating pacing problems, so I cut it. I'm not sure if it could be folded back in seamlessly at this point. But this is its second resurrection. I also spun off two sections as poems that placed in a poetry contest.

    Kittie: Thanks. It's a cutting room floor save from my novel, so there's definitely more to be read about these characters.

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  14. Congratulations on your published piece! Especially when it's something that has been cut! It just shows you should never throw things away because you never know...

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