Looking Ahead: Muncie, Bloomington, and Other Parts of Indiana

 Just culling from my open tabs here:

 FREE Summer Concerts All Season Long in Delaware County  - Destination: Muncie

The Ultimate Hoosier Bucket List Indianapolis Monthly 

Proof: A Midwest Lit Fest - Indiana Humanities 

Granfalloon: A Kurt Vonnegut Convergence: Indiana University Bloomington 

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Once More Lagging Behind: Rejections, Ideas, Submissions

 8/6

I find myself tired and dealing with insomnia this week. It has gotten in the way of reporting my days.

Last Saturday was my most active day out of the apartment. Laundry, the farmer's market, a quick lunch at Popeye's, and the car returned was the morning. I got back here around 1 PM. Then I found out my friend DM was in town for DWNTN Muncie. He and I grabbed lunch at the Downtown Farmstand. He agrees they have great pizza. That took up about two hours. I arrived here a bit achy.

I have photos that will appear in a separate post. 

Sunday, I managed Liturgy but only Liturgy. A little weak doing all that standing, but also from the sitting and standing up.

I need to get out today. I seem to have lost my pants on Saturday. Confused by that.

I woke around one and went back to sleep around 5 AM and then back up around 10.  

Emails and Star Trek Discovery dealt with.

I started a new short story.

Onto other things. 

8/3

I went to the grocery, I think. Certainly to the convenience store. Watching Star Trek shows on YouTube.

8/4

I started this post.  

Stayed put, a convenience store walk. Working on the MS.  

Reminded last night of something unpleasant: Murder of Sylvia Likens. This I did not know about until my forties. One may smile and smile and be a villain indeed.

8/5

I meant to spend the day out. All I did was get to the writer's group and in the evening to Walmart.

 

 

 Readings:

‘I want to be ripped to shreds’: writers flock to MFAs - but does it breed elitist literature? (The Guardian) touches on a sore point for me: MFAs running the show and me not having one.

These days, the writerly lone wolf is more a myth than it is a reality. Most of today’s celebrated authors are trained in the profession and their qualification is the MFA (master of fine arts). Percival Everett received his from Brown, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie studied at Johns Hopkins University, and Jhumpa Lahiri went to Boston. Great writers, now, are less rare animals discovered in the wild and more elite thoroughbreds, meticulously trained and set up for the race ahead.

 But is it a good thing?

While the idea that the workshop is de facto a magical, hermeneutic space where mediocre writing turns into something great is a lie, it can be a tool. For the most part my workshops were generous and generative spaces where people read plentifully and with grace. A writer who is forced to confront her work regularly through the eyes of others must think about what it is she wants to write and why, and this inevitably leads to writing that is more thoughtful and ambitious. Of course, learning who to listen to is a skill in itself. 

One rejection came with a critique and a recommendation to workshop my story. Okay, could it be that workshopping also offloads editorial work? 

What seems to be the consensus is that an MFA teaches you style as opposed to soul. A focus on craft, on how to write, creates automatons who can turn a good phrase, but whose writing is stripped of something essential. Pulitzer prize-winning Robert Olen Butler, interviewed by Edward J Delaney for the Atlantic, sums it up: “creative-writing students, who are typically trained almost exclusively in craft and technique […] don’t know the first thing about [being an artist].” Jo Ann Beard told me she could recognise an Iowa Writer’s Workshop graduate anywhere. There was something honed, particular and controlled in the writing. Perhaps the imprint MFAs have had on fiction feels more forceful at a time when the gulf between literary and popular fiction has never been wider. Do MFAs guard the ivory tower of literary fiction while “untrained” writers produce popular fiction for the masses? Or more generously, do MFAs protect a dying art?

While it is true that spending hours in a classroom under the influence of certain teachers can create similarities in style among a cohort, in my classes students submitted widely: magical realism, noir, historical, auto-fiction. They had epic aspirations.

Yet there is a sense that contemporary fiction conforms to a similar style. Is this because MFAs encourage that? I’m not sure. Or is it rather the influence of narrow trends, which force certain books into the public eye at certain times. That many of the most popular authors today have MFAs, and that those novels might have a similar style or focus on a similar subject is a bit like saying fire engines cause fires.

But a shared education may implicate a shared philosophy. Or it could be a shared culture beyond the MFA program creates a shared world view, or just a shared set of cultural touchstones. What I write about seems to be slightly outside what MFA writers latch upon.

You can drive yourself crazy trying to say exactly how an MFA influences writing, and whether it is worth it. The truth is, an MFA isn’t a magic pill. It’s much harder to pastiche a style than you think; spending hours on anything takes stamina. Doing an MFA puts you in a rigorous environment for several years where, hopefully, you can learn how best you write. As Everett put it in Brown’s alumni magazine: “Brown allowed me to really just be who I am and just work.” 

Ideas:

The Greek Tragedy Behind Suddenly Last Summer - JSTOR Daily

Structurally, The Bacchae and Suddenly Last Summer are dominated by two key monologues, and, specifically, Violet’s and Catharine’s monologues turn Sebastian into the subject of a performed drama. “Sebastian himself, of course, exists only within the competing dramatic accounts of Catharine and Violet,” says Morra. “These expressions are themselves contained within a work that calls continuous attention to itself as drama, vehemently anti-realist and self-consciously subjective. The play refrains from staging or confirming the violence of Sebastian’s demise; even more so than The Bacchae, it contains its narrative at the level of language rather than action.”  

Frame-Breaking: When Stories Step Outside Themselves – The Hemlock Journal

 Description 

If writing descriptions intimidates you, consider breaking the concept down to just remaining mindful. Reflect on what the protagonist is thinking, feeling, and perceiving as they advance through a scene, whether or not you know the “perfect” language to describe that. Then, it will be up to you to decide which of these details are most relevant to convey the tone you’d like a scene to have. Including each of the five senses all at once is rarely necessary—in fact, doing so will work against you by reducing the impact that your words have—so be sure to prioritize what feels like it best fits the moment.

***

A complete lack of description, on the other hand, isolates the reader from the characters, environment, and plotline that they’re meant to bond with by leaving them in the figurative dark. If the reader is given no visuals, sounds, scents, or other details to ground them in a narrative, very little remains for them to connect with to envision our scenes as real. Dialogue and exposition alone, while both incredibly valuable skills for writers, cannot reach their full potential without the aid of description, and the same may be said vice versa.

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With all of the above in mind, it’s also vital to remember not to rely solely and excessively on description to elevate our writing. Doing so is often referred to as writing purple prose, which many readers prefer to avoid, making it a distinctly unflattering label to have attributed to our narratives. Similarly, utilizing an abundance of repetitive descriptions may begin to fall into the territory of cliché. Because of this, it’s necessary to be mindful of how our descriptive writing works alongside other storytelling aspects like pacing and dialogue, as depending too heavily on descriptions may lead us to neglect equally necessary skills. 

Untranslatable Food Words (Vittles) there is something here, even if it is only a reminder of language's limits.

I really think Mike Bloomfield represents a story that needs telling and “It’s tragic the way he died. He made the blues accessible to a lot of guys like me.” Bob Dylan and Jorma Kaukonen on the 1960s guitar icon who led an electric blues revolution and died alone and unknown (GuitarPlayer) reinforce this idea.  

Rejections 

 8/1 for “The Unintended Consequences of Art”

 Thank you so much for your submission to the Submission Pit’s July ‘26 window.

I regret to inform you that your short story did not win this month but fear not! You’re more than happy to submit for August immediately.

And don’t forget to subscribe to the Submission Pit Substack below if you haven’t already.

Also if you have had a recently published short story elsewhere (or forthcoming) feel free to let us know about it and we'll give you a special shout out in next month's statistics post.

8/3:

Thank you for trusting us with "Agnes." After a close reading, we've decided that the story isn't the the right fit for us at this time.

Sincerely,

StoryBottle Co 

8/4:

Thank you for letting us consider "Pieces About A Small Indiana Factory Town, 1976 – 1984" for publication in the Missouri Review. We enjoyed reading your work, and though it doesn't quite fit our needs at this time, we wish you excellent luck with it and hope we will have the chance to read more of your writing in the future.

Sincerely,

The Editors
The Missouri Review 

Submissions 

8/4:

BoomerLitMag (Agnes 2026-06-26)

Thin Skin (Agnes 2026-06-26)

Passager Books (A Heart’s Judgment Judged)

The Fanatic (After Making Landfall)  

For Page & Screen (Pieces About A Small Indiana Factory Town, 1836 -1990)

Planet Scumm (The Psychotic Ape)

8/5:

I was looking at a possible submission of One Dead Blonde. Only it required another 2,000 words. That took most of the day. 

EPOCH (After Making Landfall) 

Blue Mesa Review  (After Making Landfall)

MIAMI UNIVERSITY PRESS NOVELLA PRIZE (Plain Tales From The Flatlands)

The Iowa Review (After Making Landfall)

 

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Rejections - 3/22/2026

 "Pieces About A Small Indiana Factory Town, 1976 -1984" submitted on 2/8/26 and rejected 3/21/26.

Thank you for submitting your work to MudRoom for review. We are grateful for the opportunity to engage with your writing and thinking. Unfortunately, we do not have a place for this piece in our upcoming issue. We hope it finds a loving home.

All the best,

Kiera Wolfe

MudRoom Mag

Another for "Pieces About A Small Indiana Factory Town, 1976 -1984" submitted on 3/2/26 and rejected 3/21/26.

Thank you for sending us your work. After reviewing it, the editors feel it's not right for After Happy Hour Review at this time. For that reason, we have decided to pass. 

Sincerely,

After Happy Hour Review

Submitted 11/08/25 and rejected 3/22/26

Thank you for sending us "Coming Home". We really enjoyed this piece, but we didn't feel it was right for One Story.

We hope that you will continue to send us your work.

Sincerely,

The Editors of One Story

sch 3/22 

 

Rejections 3/17/2026

[Moving stuff back from my abandoned WordPress blog.]

“Pieces About A Small Indiana Factory Town, 1976-1984” got two more rejections; the first from today and the second from Sunday:

Thank you for your interest in Sand Hills Literary Magazine. Unfortunately, after our editors' careful consideration, we decided that this particular work would not be the best fit for this issue. We are grateful for the opportunity to review your submission, and we wish you the best of luck in placing it elsewhere. 

Thank you again for thinking of our magazine and submitting your work to Sand Hills. 

Sincerely, 

The Sand Hills Staff

This came in from Socrates on the Beach:

Thank you very much for the submission, but it's not exactly what I'm looking for. I wish you well with it.

My best to you,

SCH 3/17

 

Latest Rejections 3/16/2026

[Moving stuff back from my abandoned WordPress blog.] 

No one has liked “Agnes” except my friends, and it has been rewritten several times over the years. The following rejection came from a submission made on September 14, 2025. There were 3 revisions after this submission; I cannot say I feel rejected.

Thank you for sending us "Agnes". We appreciate the chance to read your submission. Unfortunately, we must decline it.

Thanks again. Best of luck with this, and with all your creative endeavors.
Sincerely,

Mount Hope Magazine

“Agnes”, again, from yesterday:

Thank you for sharing your work with us. We often have to turn down well-crafted writing, and while "Agnes" isn't quite right for our current needs, we appreciate the time and effort which goes into every submission we consider. Thank you for sending your work.

We're all writers too at Sequestrum and appreciate how hard this process can be. So we want to say thanks for trusting us with your work. As a token of respect, feel free to take advantage of 75% off our usual subscription price. That's not something we advertise, but it's something we try and offer writers when possible. As a potential contributor, subscribing means more than just access to great literature: It's the best way to get an idea of our current editorial focus; as an added bonus, subscribers can make free general submissions (limit one pending at a time).  Please feel no obligation. If Sequestrum is a home for literature you enjoy, we'd love to have you.

This was one of the revisions made after the first entry above. Furthermore, it was submitted on January 17, 2016. Almost a 60 day wait for rejection.

sch 3/16 

 

Rejections for the week ending 3/14/2026

[Moving stuff back from my abandoned WordPress blog.] 

“Pieces About A Small Indiana Factory Town, 1976 -1984” rejected:

Thank you for your interest in Sand Hills Literary Magazine. Unfortunately, after our editors' careful consideration, we decided that this particular work would not be the best fit for this issue. We are grateful for the opportunity to review your submission, and we wish you the best of luck in placing it elsewhere. 

Thank you again for thinking of our magazine and submitting your work to Sand Hills. 

Sincerely,  

The Sand Hills Staff

***

Thank you for sending us your work. We appreciated the chance to read it. Unfortunately, we could not find a place for it in our upcoming issues.

We wish you the best of luck in finding a home for your work.

Sincerely,

The Editors

Southern Humanities Review  

***

And I heard from Cold Caller about my last remaining submission of “The Revenger’s Tale”:

Thank you again for your interest in Cold Caller. While we are declining this piece, I appreciate your consideration in sending it to us.

Thank you again for your interest in Cold Caller. While we are declining this piece, I appreciate your consideration in sending it to us.


Due to the high volume of submissions we receive, I regret that I’m not able to send specific feedback on your work. That said, we wish you the best of luck finding a home for this piece and for all your future endeavors.


Best,
Alex 

***

And a blast from my past for “Irretrievable Breakdown”:

Thank you for thinking of Subnivean. We realize it's been eons since you submitted work, and apologize for the delay: in some reading periods, when we receive a substantial volume of work and many pieces are beloved by editors who really go to bat for them, it takes us longer to come to a consensus.

Although, ultimately, this submission won't find a place in the magazine, we appreciate your skill and hope you'll submit again should you deem other works a good match.

Meanwhile, we wish you all good things: may spring 2026 treat you kindly.

Yours sincerely,

Subnivean

That was submitted on 12/28/24. 

Thank you for your submission to Sunspot Literary Journal. Although we must decline, please know that selecting works for publication can be guided by pieces we've already accepted for the current issue, a focus on specific issues, and other elements that change rapidly. The fact that we have declined your work should in no way discourage you from continuing on this path you've chosen for your life. We greatly appreciated the chance to consider your work.

Creatives like you can change the world. Your perspective is unique. Your efforts to generate something that makes an impact is difficult, and can feel heavy when you work so hard without recognition. Please keep going. The world needs to see things from your perspective. 

Sincerely,

LC

Sunspot Lit

3/13/2026:

Thanks so much for sending your work to Conjunctions. We appreciate the opportunity to have read it, and are sorry to say that it didn’t quite work out for us to publish at this time. We wish you all the best for your writing going forward.

Kind regards,

Conjunctions

***

We appreciate you taking the time to send us your story, "Saved By The Georgia Peach". After careful consideration we've decided to pass on this story. There are many reasons a story is not accepted, most of which are subjective in nature. We wish you the best of luck on finding a publication for this story.

Thank you,

Editorial Team
Factor Four Magazine
www.factorfourmag.com 

“Going for the Kid” got another rejection on 3/13:

Thank you very much for your submission. While we were glad to have the chance to read your work, we do not have a place for it at this time.  We wish you all the best with your writing.   

Sincerely, 

The Editors 

Solstice:  A Magazine of Diverse Voices

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Another story published!

I have been remiss thanks to the surgery and recuperation to mention the Academy of the Heart And Mind publishing Ahab In The Moonlight!

Another piece from my long-gestating “Chasing Ashes”.

It is free. I would love to hear any comments.

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