General Introduction:
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The WriteGallery Creative Writing Web Site(SM) is an on-going collection -- a gallery -- of creative writing
that focuses on prose and poetry by writers who are young
in their craft, and well may be young in age. WG would not,
however, exclude older, seasoned writers, and certainly would
not refuse a submission from any such established writer.
An exact definition of "young as writers" is
elusive. It's reasonable that Tim O'Brian, for instance, doesn't
fall into our category of young in writing; whereas,
Jaime Morelli does.
Surely Mr. O'Brian would still assert that he is still growing as
an author. Yet, the WriteGallery focus is on "newer" writers
of merit.
However, it's important to note that, strictly speaking, this is
not a juvenile writing site and some work here deals with
adult themes using adult methods, and adult language. The
WriteGallery has and will post work by juveniles, when that
work is of good merit -- and you'll find a bit of good
juvenile writing here -- but, WG does not shy away from
material more suited for, or specifically directed at, adult readers. The WriteGallery
will not, however, publish pornographic work, unless it is
incredibly literary (which is a markedly rare occurrence).
Eroticism is another story; WG has published work that uses
such as an element, and will continue to publish such. Overall, The
WriteGallery doesn't censor. There is very adult language and
situations in many of the works posted here. With only very
few exceptions, WG would not turn work away based solely on
disagreeing with the ideology or philosophy of the work. And,
the last thing intended is to be restricted by the
thought-prison of political correctness. But, there is always
a line. Hateful agendas would be over that line. Angry agendas
would not necessarily be -- (Angry agendas have often
changed the world for the better). Expect, as well,
anything which is obviously libelous to be rejected.
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What WG Publishes:
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The WriteGallery is most interested in literary fiction and
poetry. But WG also accepts other forms of writing, some quite
journalistic in nature. The WriteGallery accepts essays or
articles about creative writing, or interviews, articles, or
profiles of writers or writing programs/projects. And, finally,
WG accepts personal essays and genre fiction.
Be sure to read the
"Submission Guidelines"
page also. How to submit is as important as what to submit.
You should also know the copyright agreement for publication here.
And concerning plagiarized work: as soon as it is evident that
a person has passed-off as her or his own, the work of another,
that work will be pulled. I (K.L.Storer) will also
provide any information in WG possession about the alleged
plagiarizer to the duly appointed legal representatives of the
rightful copyright owner. If the stolen work is in public
domain, it will still be pulled. And, in either case, no future
submissions from the thief will be considered. If the theft is
caught before the work is posted, future submissions from the
thief will still not be considered.
But, as far as what the WriteGallery is looking for in terms
of the writing ---
Literary fiction:
The whole spectrum is attractive, from the classic
American short story form to magic realism. If it
speaks to the human condition, and is within the
realm of the theme being called for, WG is interested.
Poetry:
Rhyming poetry is acceptable, but,
obvious rhymes are rarely acceptable -- most especially
words which have been paired in rhyme, ad infinitum,
for years (or centuries). Whoever it was who said,
"Don't send rhyming poetry unless you're as good
as Robert Frost," got to the heart of this
sentiment. And, it must go to the theme being called for.
Essays/Articles on Writing:
The essays/articles category calls for those which are
somehow reasonably related to writing. That's an open
field, but, prose which do not somehow cover some
aspect of writing is outside the scope of the
"Essays/Articles" area. The articles can be
interviews with a writer, profiles on a writer or
writers, or on a writing program, or any other form of
feature article on writers or writing.
This particular category is dealt with as an anomaly
to the themes of the chapbooks. Though writing in this
category is fair game when it addresses the theme called
for in a theme-based chapbook, there is also a general,
year-round open call for essays and articles not specific
to chapbook themes. Such will be posted independently
and periodically as they are received and accepted. No
more than three general submissions like this in a
six-month period, though, please.
Here is a small sampling of the sort of topics
appropriate for the general call:
- "The Writing Life," by Molly Youngkin
- "Lebenswelt American Life-World Writing," by Stan Blakeman
- "An Interview with Steve Alten," by Owen Hollifield
- "Art Of Poetry" by Durlabh Singh
- "The Exercise of Writing Sudden Fiction" by K.L.Storer
K.L.'s note: this is not an
exhaustive list of ideas appropriate. It's simply some
examples. You are welcome to pick an idea close to or
far afield from these. You can even argue with an essay
already here. See
Essays/Articles on Writing
for all such prose at the WriteGallery.
Personal Essays:
Being a "personal" essay dictates that it be
close to the author -- a personal writing. Submissions
of memoirs are acceptable as personal essay material.
The only stipulation is that the essay/memoir somehow
address the theme currently called for.
Though previously not accepted, topical essays, even
when not personal essays, will be considered for chapbooks
when they can be seen as touching the theme called for.
In terms of personal essays, here are some examples of
what can be done, as per styles and approaches to writing:
- "The Knowing In Me" by K.L.Storer
- "The Bazaar Side of Catholicism" by Robert F. Walsh
- "Supper Time," by Stephanie Howarth
- "I Married a Beautiful and Sexy Woman," by David Watkins
- "The Maharishi of Telegraph Avenue," by Anthea Jay Kamalnath
Genre Fiction:
Any category of genre is welcome. But, the story should
ultimately touch upon humanity, even if there are no "humans"
in it. And the story must touch on the theme of the call.
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How WG Edits:
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Here is K.L.Storer's policy for editing the work accepted at
the WriteGallery:
Prose:
- I do not edit prose deeply without contacting the author. In that case, I make
suggestions, sometimes quite specific ones. These situations can be as over-arching as
suggesting a change of tense or person. In one specific case it meant suggesting a radically
different context for the story. Most often, however, the suggestion is to cut or change a sentence
or paragraph, usually at the end or beginning of a story. Whether or not the author's agreement
to suggested changes will make or break the publication of the work at the WriteGallery is
determined case by case.
- However, I otherwise assume some discretion to edit prose. This mostly means that I clean
up prose (ie: fix obvious errors, such as "their/there/they're") without contacting the author.
And the fiction stories must meet the theme called for.
Poetry:
- Usually, an accepted poem is posted as is, down to the word. I will however, sometimes
contact the poet about minor changes I think will help the poem. The changes are almost
always at the discretion of the poets. They sometimes make a change that is similar to
my suggestion but not exact. They sometimes approve a change, exactly as I suggested it.
They sometimes insist on no changes.
- Occasionally, I need a change to be made in a poem before I can publish it. Such poem
has what I believe to be a flaw or flaws I see as interference with its
effectiveness. And, as part of the editorial process of maintaining the WriteGallery, I
contact the poet with my thoughts and try to negotiate a re-write or revision.
And the poetry must meet the theme called for.
Feedback on work submitted:
- I only give feedback as a part of the editorial process for work which has been
accepted, or will be accepted pending specific changes I'd like. If a piece of writing has not
been accepted, I send an email message that simply states the work will not be used.
- Time does not permit reading work for the sole purpose of feedback or instruction.
NOTE: I am also not too proud to have my editorial errors (misspells, grammar errors, etc) brought to my
attention. Please feel free to click on an "info@thewritegallery.com" button or link, on
a "Report Site Problems" link, or on my email link, and let me know where I goofed.
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WG Update Schedule:
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The WriteGallery has moved to the posting of theme-based
virtual chapbooks which will not have regularly scheduled
posting times. However, there will be a special Halloween
and Winter Holiday features. There may occasionally be other
limited features, as well.
Also as the rule, general essays and articles on the art,
process and world of writing, which are independent in theme
and from inclusion in theme-based chapbook, may be published
at any given time during the year.
And special chapbooks featuring the work of a specific author
will, as always, be produced and published at any time.
The From K.L.'s Desk
page is scheduled for at least one update per month. Occasionally,
there will be more in a one-month period.
K.L.'s Blog: A Diary of Artful Things
is often updated daily, and rarely goes longer than one week
without a new entry.
General maintenance updates, the updates of main pages such as
this one, etc, and addition of links will be done as needed.
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About the WG Buttons:
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Here are the pages where the WriteGallery buttons and links
will take you, and what will be there.
First, there is a site index at the bottom of every page. In
the top, right-hand corner of almost every page is a hot button
to the site index:
It can be clicked on to go directly to the site index.
Here are what the buttons in the site index, and a few others,
are about:
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Takes you to the index page, which lists all the latest
literature to be posted at the site.
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Takes you to the index page for all virtual chapbooks.
Each is a special collection of prose, poetry, or both.
Each has its own look and feel, and many have been
fully illustrated. They are essentially mini-web sites.
Be advised that most are graphically intensive, with
some of the image files being quite large. Many
browsers may take some time to fully load some of the
pages. The newer chapbooks also use the new PNG image
format, which older browsers will not read.
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This button is associated with most of the virtual
chapbooks at the site. Most chapbook pages have
"Print-Friendly" versions, which are pretty much
text-only. The "Print-Friendly version"
button is usually found just above the Site Index, or
somewhere else close to the bottom of the page.
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This button is also associated with most of the virtual
chapbooks at the site. The pages of the
"Print-Friendly" versions have this button,
to take one to the graphically intense -- or more
illustrative -- version. The "Graphically
Intense Version" button is found in the same spots
as the "Print-Friendly version" button would
be, on the other version of the page.
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Takes you to the index page for all fiction at the site,
except for any which is part of an individual author's virtual chapbook.
Work in the theme-based chapbooks will still be listed in this index.
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Takes you to the index page for all poetry at the site,
except for any which is part of an individual author's virtual chapbook.
Work in the theme-based chapbooks will still be listed in this index.
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Takes you to the index page for all essays and articles
about writing at the site, except for any which is part of an individual author's virtual chapbook.
Work in the theme-based chapbooks will still be listed in this index.
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Takes you to the index page for all personal essays at the site,
except for any which is part of an individual author's virtual chapbook.
Work in the theme-based chapbooks will still be listed in this index.
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Takes you to the index page for all genre fiction at
the site, except for any which is part of a virtual
chapbook.
Work in the theme-based chapbooks will still be listed in this index.
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Goes to a comprehensive index of all authors who
appear at the site, and lists all the titles they have
here. If there is biographical information, there will
be a button that is linked to the author's "About
whomever" page.
The "Author Information" index is the way to
see all work listed by author, though the categories
are not separated out on the "Author Information"
index.
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As well as being with the authors on the "Author
Information" index page, this button will be with
each piece of writing by the author. It is the button
that leads to the author's personal bio page. It is
only present for writers with a bio page.
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If there is no bio information, this button shows in
place of the "about the author" button on the
"Author Information" index page.
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Leads to the editorial-type page, authored by the site owner
and producer, K.L.Storer. It has a "What's New"
and a "What's Coming" area. It also sometimes hosts
K.L.'s latest essays relating to writing or the site
itself. Most previous essays are listed on the
"Essays/Article on Writing"
index page.
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Brings you to this page. Every where but this page, the
button is in color. Here it is black-and-white because
it is not a hot-link button. None of the buttons are
hot on their own page. Thus they are black-and-white
when cool. Think of it as a subtle "you are
here" sign.
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If you are planning on submitting work to the
WriteGallery, read this page. When you submit work here,
you are subject to the terms specified on this page,
whether you have read it or not.
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The general statements of copyright are on this page,
as well as various and a sundry of credits due. A
comprehensive list of copyright and trademark notices
for the icon images on the "Hot Links to
Cool Distractions" page is also here.
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Feb 16, 2005: The form for Guestbook entries has been getting hit lately by
some untolerably obnoxious messages by a spambot. Until I have added code to
stop spambots from taking advantage of this page, I am closing the addition
of new entries. I do not care for my visitors to see the obscene messages that
of late have been about as bad as they can get. However, past, legitimate
entries to the Guestbook are still posted -- K.L.
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K.L.'s Blog: A Diary of Artful Things focuses on site owner K.L.Storer's
personal artistic endeavors, which is as much about his return to acting as about
his writing. It is an on-line journal of whatever artistic projects he is
currently involved in, at any given time. It is not always a daily blog, but,
there is usually at least one entry per week.
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"Literary Links" does not always mean a link
to a site with work available to read on-line. It may
be a site that deals with literature in another manner.
Project Gutenberg
is the best example. However, most sites in this
category do have fiction or poetry directly available
for consumption. Some are personal pages. Most others
are sites similar to the WriteGallery.
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"Toolbox," is a cacophony of different things
helpful to writers: on-line workshops, information on
awards and contests, to name two things prominent.
Embedded on this page are links to Writegallery sub
pages, one with links to Arts Council web sites
(mostly in North America, but, not exclusive to),
and one with links to useful copyright information,
for authors and web builders alike.
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The "Virtual Reference" page could be known
as "Toolbox part 2." It is quite simply a
grouping of electronic versions of reference-library-type
resources, including dictionaries, grammar guides, and
facts.
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"Hot Links to Cool Distractions" is a
page of thumbnail icons, all linked to web sites
somehow related to their icons. As indicated on the page, some icons go
to sub-pages with multiple links to other web sites.
These are all selected by K.L.Storer (WriteGallery's owner and producer).
He does not take suggestions for new sites or
categories on the main page -- but he will accept site suggestions for
the sub-pages that already exist.
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The page has information on link exchanges with us and
an on-line form for submitting your site to us. You may
not have a site, but, just want to suggest a site --
that's all right, too.
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If your browser supports email software, clicking on
this button will open that application and you can send
an email to the WriteGallery general email address.
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As it suggests, you are taken back to the main page of
the WriteGallery Creative Writing Web Site.
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How to Contact WG:
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general email address: info@thewritegallery.com
postal mail:
email K.L.: K.L.Storer@thewritegallery.com
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The WG Reporter newsletter:
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