I’m pleased to have a new story freshly published in the latest issue of DarkWinter Literary Magazine.

DarkWinter Literary Magazine publishes fiction and poetry online, with new works every week. My story, “Everything Goes Wrong,” came out on Monday, and it’s my second story in their digital pages. (My story, “Social Animals” was featured last year.)

DarkWinter publishes short works by new and emerging writers, and they especially like pieces with a twist. All the stories in this fab litmag are under 2000 words (the poems are under 500), so you can fit them easily into your reading day. It’s free to read online, so check out DarkWinter.

If you’d like your story or poem featured in a future issue, check out the DarkWinter Literary Magazine guidelines and look for their next open submission call. (As well as the magazine, DarkWinter Press publishes novels, novellas, and collections of fiction and poetry — check out the DarkWinter Press guidelines.)

“Everything Goes Wrong” began with a point-of-view prompt: to address a killer in second person. The story doesn’t exactly comply — they’re prompts, not instructions, right? — but it is written in second-person and it is about a murder. Sort of. It’s the only story I’ve ever written in second person, and figuring out the narrative voice was intriguing.

I rarely use prompts, but I always enjoy the process when I do it. It’s kind of like yoga that way. And in some cases, like this one, the effort eventually snowballs into a story. So if you’re looking for a writing prompt, I recommend this one: write a story in second person where the “you” you’re addressing is a murderer. (Or sort of.)

Among my many files is another story I’m working on that began with a point-of-view prompt, this one to write in first-person plural. Yup, that’s “we.” It’s a super creepy narrative voice, unless you’re talking royalty (which has its own sort of creepiness). I highly recommend that one, too. Try it. As soon as you start out with “we,” you’ll get a little creeped out. And that’s always a fun writing experience.

I’ll be writing more stories this year, thanks to a creation grant the Canada Council for the Arts awarded me to complete and compile a collection of stories about aging. (“Everything Goes Wrong” is not about aging. It won’t be in this collection. Maybe the next one.)

Have a fabulous Friday.

I acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.