First, be sure to read the pages and absorb the existing history and lore. Then create your own piece of it. Take any of the settings, any character - or invent your own within the established parameters. The ideal length is 150 to 400 words. We won't reject it just because it's longer, but try to keep to that if you can. Our focus is vignettes and flash fiction.
What's a vignette, you ask? It's a piece of a story, a moment in time. It doesn't need the traditional beginning, middle, end. Just transport us to the scene of a sentient dolphin's joy-dance, or a beggar child listening to a wizard's tale, or a hunter stomping the ash plain with only his thoughts for company. Eclectia is a big world to play in!
You may also take an existing vignette or story, and build on it. On the character page, links will filter all stories that include that character. Settings and individual authors likewise.
Send submissions to avenireclectia at gmail dot com, as a .doc or .rtf attachment, with the title and author clearly in the email subject line. They will go through a queue and if accepted, light edits will be applied. We reserve the right to edit for grammar, in-house style preferences, and adherence to existing world lore. You will be sent the edited version, and if you approve it, your story will be queued for posting on the blog.
SUBMISSION FORMATTING
- .doc, .docx or .rtf
- block paragraphing: no indents, and a blank line between paragraphs (created by hitting Enter twice, NOT paragraph spacing commands!)
- Garamond 12pt
- single-spaced
- Include title and author in the top of the document (not a header)
- If you are writing a series you may use a series title as well as an episode title, e.g. "Divers 1: First Day"
Please NAME your characters (including last names if at all possible), and explain any new piece of background info that appears in your story, such as a specific location or technology. Generally speaking, we'd like you to keep inside the "current-day" timeframe; you may also write a "flashback" scene as background to your contemporary story, but be sure to label it as such. Another thing to consider is that while stories are short, they can and should be intense. Make us feel the moment!
YOU MUST READ THE BACKGROUND INFO AND PRIOR STORIES RELATING TO YOUR THREAD, AND ENSURE YOUR SUBMISSION DOES NOT CONTRADICT EXISTING LORE.
Other writers may use your characters in their stories, so please forgive them if they get some detail wrong. If that should happen, let us know - it can be fixed. Killing off other people's characters will not be tolerated.
We suggest using Duotrope's Digest to track and report your submissions to us: http://www.duotrope.com/market_5686.aspx ("Submission/Response" link at right). This will help us gain respectability in the writing community. There's also an Editor FAQ from me over there that you should read.
Avenir Eclectia is a project of Splashdown Books in conjunction with fine authors from outside our publishing house. When we have enough stories for a book, a print anthology will be arranged from Splashdown Books. We will work on a no-royalties basis, but contributors will be able to buy heavily discounted copies.
By submitting your work, you agree in advance to allow Avenir Eclectia to publish it online and in print if accepted.
Please keep the tone family-friendly.
This page is subject to change.
Come play in our world!
