My Wattpad Profile

This is the link to my Wattpad profile page. I've got some writing posted there. I'm so active on Wattpad these days, but I do check in once in a while.

https://www.wattpad.com/user/SteveBHoward

Fiction Emotional Arcs

Pretty interesting article on the 6 main emotional arcs in fiction.

https://psmag.com/the-six-core-emotional-arcs-that-underlie-our-favorite-fiction-440639b76d4e#.vbkzo3xjy

Nagoya Comedy at KJ's in Gifu Dec 3rd

Announcing our Grand Prize 3,000 yen bar tab, courtesy of KJs bar and grill in gifu, open mic 5 minute contest at 8pm sharp, picked by random raffle, followed by the hardest working comics on the island. Come see Nagoya's hardest working comics and try it for yourself as we have another open mic at the beginning of the show and the Nagoyacomedy guys bring a buffoon blizzard to Gifu. Admission is only 1,000 yen and if you come from Nagoya, join us on the crazy train to Gifu contest and win a free drink on the way to the Gifu gig. Contact nagoyacomedy fb page to join the Nagoya Crazy Train. Dec 3rd Saturday, KJs bar and grill in Gifu. Don't miss it.

30 Writing Contests for November

30 writing contests for November in various genres. All free to enter!!!!


http://publishedtodeath.blogspot.jp/p/free-contests.html

Good info for Writers in the Market to Publish

A little disheartening, but overall a very solid and short description of the main ways into print these days. Though Vanity Presses should be avoided at all costs, I think.

http://www.authorspublish.com/how-publishing-really-works/

Great List of Lit Journals Looking for Submissions!

Another great list from Authors Publish! I highly recomend all writers out there to subscribed to their mailing list. Always lots of great sources for publishing your work there.

http://www.authorspublish.com/thirty-literary-journals-tha…/

Stand Up Comedy Clip

A short clip from my comedy set last night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leCPbyxTuGo

Seeking a Literary Agent?

Some really good articles and contact lists for those seeking lit agents.

http://publishedtodeath.blogspot.jp/p/agents.html

Carve Mag. Rejection Letter

Swing and a miss. Carve Magazine liked my short memoir, but it didn't quit make the cut. Got this nice e-mail from them though. Always nice to get comments from editors.

Steve,

We appreciate the opportunity to read your work, but we will not be publishing "Purpose?.”

We'd like you to know that overall, your piece was well-received by our reading committee. They have some comments and notes listed below. We hope you find them helpful as you continue to revise or resubmit your piece elsewhere.

--COMMENTS--

The piece has some very nice imagery and descriptions, and this is helped by the voice. However, the writing is a little loose in places, and ultimately it relies too much on the separate episodes and functions less as a whole. Thank you for sending the piece, and we encourage you to send more in the future.

--END COMMENTS--

We’d love to feature your work in our Decline/Accept feature when it's published elsewhere. Learn more at http://carvezine.com/submit#DA.

If you'd like additional or more in-depth feedback, such as line-by-line edits, please visit http://www.carvezine.com/editing for more information.

Warm regards,

Editor and Staff
Carve Magazine
www.carvezine.com

You can go here to view the submission:
http://carve.submittable.com/user/submissions/6186087

Comedy Night at KJ's in Gifu Oct 1st

KJ's II. This time it's personal. Lots of great comedians. I'll be mcing this one.
NagoyaComedy returns to KJ's Bar and Grill on Saturday, October 1st! 

http://www.nagoyacomedy.com/

Nagoya Comedy Website!!!!

This is our comedy website for Nagoya, Japan. Lots of funny comedians here. We will have some clips up soon.
http://www.nagoyacomedy.com/

Handling Rejections

Great blog post about handling rejections when submitting to agents or publishers.



https://trishhopkinson.com/2016/09/04/riding-the-rejection-roller-coaster-guest-blog-post-by-daniella-levy-2/

The Mother load!!!!!

200 no-fee Lit journals looking for work! Once again Trish Hopskin shares an awesome list.


https://trishhopkinson.com/2016/09/01/where-to-submit-in-september-by-entropy-filtered-for-no-fee-only-the-list-of-all-lists/

Come see Nagoya's hottest comics surf through their sets at Atlantika bar and cafe. We are bringing our unsafe space style comedy to Toyohashi's shores, get your advance ticket now by PMing Nagoyacomedy for a 500 yen discount, tickets 2,000 yen at the door.

The Center of Centers

The Center of Centers

And this is what would be said. A voice older than language, before vowels or consonants were dreamed, a voice of all that lived and even beyond, a song that stones could understand, that called the ocean home, and whispered the moon to sleep.

The call to creation from the void where no sound could live and yet all sound was born; a word faster than light because it is light's mother and the nursery of all color.

So powerful and deep, seemingly so distant. But, sit oh child of this voice, listen to this song of vibrations and know that your source is the Source and your center is the Center.


(c) Steve Howard

My Daily Dragon to Slay

Insect Hot (mushi atsui)

A little early summer haiga.

Inspiration For Writers

Nice article about why we write and why if you want to start writing you should.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michelle-ghilotti/there-is-no-right-way-just-write_b_5619037.html

30 Writing Conferences

Never actually been to one. Always wanted to. There are several in the summer in WA and OR. Well, maybe if my novella sells well I can do it in the future, lol.

http://publishedtodeath.blogspot.jp/2016/06/30-great-writing-conferences-in-july.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+PublishingAndOtherFormsOfInsanity+(Publishing+...+and+Other+Forms+of+Insanity)

25 Publishers that Accept New Authors

I'm not a new author exactly, (been writing and publishing short works for over a decade) but I am fairly new to publishing longer works. This look like they could be extremely useful for all the struggling authors out there.

http://www.authorspublish.com/the-top-25-publishers-for-new-authors/

Stand Up Comedy July 2nd Gifu, Japan!!!!!

All aboard! The next stop for NagoyaComedy is KJ's Bar and Grill in beautiful 岐阜市役所／Gifu City on July 2nd! See you there! 次は岐阜。岐阜です。7月2日に発車します。

Useful websites for Indie Authors

Good article about 10 very useful sites for Indie Authors.


http://publishedtodeath.blogspot.jp/2016/06/top-10-sites-for-indie-authors.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+PublishingAndOtherFormsOfInsanity+(Publishing+...+and+Other+Forms+of+Insanity)

GC Live May 28th Comedy Show 8pm

Kokobancho Street

Kokobancho Street from my collection of poems "The Dead Along the River Speak to Me".

https://store.kobobooks.com/…/the-dead-along-the-river-spea…

Jessica Barkdale Inclan and Kelly Dulaney: These two authors kindly answered some questions I had about publishing

These authors were kind enough to answer some questions I had recently. As way of thanks I'm using my meager social media and internet skills to promote their books. Please check out their books.




http://www.jessicabarksdaleinclan.com/home.html
http://www.amazon.com/Jessica-Barksdale-Inclan/e/B001HMRFR6/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1



https://kellydulaney.net/
http://www.amazon.com/Ash-Kilgore-Trout-Kelly-Dulaney/dp/0993769063/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1463972509&sr=1-1

List of Agents Looking for Authors and a Cool Looking Blog

Just found this blog today. It looks like it will be very useful. The author includes a very long and very good list of literary agents looking for authors to represent.


http://publishedtodeath.blogspot.jp/p/agents.html

Opportunities for Journalists and Bloggers

I've been slacking on this blog lately, so I thought I would post a link to some writing opportunities. These are more geared towards journalists and bloggers who have some knowledge about the specific regions or subjects the magazines are looking for. Hopefully they are useful for some writers though.

http://www.freedomwithwriting.com/freedom/uncategorized/7-magazines-that-pay-450-or-more-per-articles/?utm_source=MailingList&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=FWW+Publishing+Opportunities+2016-05-10

Inspirational Story of a Self Published Author

http://selfpublishingadvice.org/inde-author-success-story-how-i-do-it-j-m-forster/

GC LIVE Comedy Nagoya Japan April 29th

GC LIVE Comedy Show April 29th

RIP Prince

Another Meme

Brain Mill Poetry contest

These guys gave me some very kind feedback on a novella I submitted to them about six months. Thought I would share this with any writers out there looking for a home for their poetry.

http://www.brainmillpress.com/poetry-month/

Sakura Again

My Five Year Old Son's drawing

I took my five year old son to see The Good Dinosaur yesterday. It was his first movie in a theater. I think he was impressed.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter!

A Pic from My March 19th Standup gig

Before and After Diet pics

Before and after pics. In December I weighed about 165lbs /75 kg. On January 1st 2016 I stopped eating candy. cookies, ice cream, ect. Now as of March 15th I'm down to 150 lbs/ 65 kg. I still eat a lot of chips and drink juice occasionally, but cutting out a lot of the processed sugar sure made a huge difference for me.

SCOTUS

Another Gig Under My Belt

Just a pic from the last comedy show I did on February 20th. Not sure what joke I was telling here though. 

RIP Pat Conroy

I was very sad to hear Pat Conroy passed away over the weekend. He was one of my favorite authors. I don't think it is a stretch to say he was one of the great Southern writers right up there with Faulkner, O'Connor, and Lee. This part of my collection. I have The Boo and The Water is Wide somewhere, but they seem to be buried somewhere in my bookshelf right now. I haven't read "My Losing Season" yet, but I intend to soon.

For any writers out there looking for a model to help them learn how to write descriptions Pat Conroy's novels are a fine teacher.

Sleepiness and Creatvity

Very interesting article. Though I often can't sleep because creative ideas fire through my brain right before I try and call it a night. Makes for some long days teaching when my mental gas tank is way beyond the empty point.  


http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20131205-how-sleep-makes-you-more-creative

Bukowski's Bastard is in print!!!!!

My short story "Bukowski's Bastard" is now in print!!! Click the link below to read it.



https://t.co/ASKw2uF4YL

100 Posts and 1000 Views today!!!!

Thanks everyone that reads my blog. I appreciate it.

Fight the Good Fight

Great read on the struggle of chasing publication and losing your love of writing. I'm still in the hunt for the most part, though I've had some publishing success over the years. But I feel the same way. I know I will write regardless and I'll keep trying to get my stuff out there, but publication and the potential economic rewards that come with it aren't primary for me anymore. Starting a writing project I'm excited about and finishing it is my main goal these days.

https://brevity.wordpress.com/2016/02/19/why-im-giving-up-on-being-published/

Quick Responding Lit Journals.

Pretty good list of Lit journals that get back to you fairly quickly.

http://www.authorspublish.com/ten-literary-journals-that-respond-within-a-month/

50 Free Ways to Promote Your Book

Some of these apply more to non-fiction, but there is some useful info for fiction writers as as well.



http://authorunlimited.com/50-ways-to-promote-your-book/

Stand Up Comedy

                                             Next Stand Up gig this Saturday. Time to practice.

Myths about litmag submisions

A really great blog post about keeping your expectations about submitting to literary mags in perspective.


http://themfayears.com/2016/01/31/some-myths-about-your-litmag-submissions/

Bill Clinton Meme

GC LIVE FEB 20th Stand Up Comedy

I think I put this up on most of my social media sites, but I'll add it here just in case.

63 Best Websites for Promoting your Book

Very useful info in this blogpost. I've used some of these, but there a lot more I want to try in the near future.

https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/08/01/63-top-websites-to-announce-your-book-for-free/

Steinbeck vs Hemingway

I think I remember reading a similar story in the giant Steinbeck biography. But I thought in that version it was Steinbeck's birthday and the walking stick that Hemingway broke over his head had been a birthday present. And I think that version also said Steinbeck was ready to fight Hemingway and had to be restrained. Not sure which one is true, but both are interesting.

http://articles.latimes.com/1989-04-09/books/bk-1963_1_john-steinbeck-john-o-hara-hemingway-and-faulkner

100 Word Short Micro-Fiction

A couple of 100 word Micro-fictions



No god, no? "

Hallelujah," the crowd roared. And the minister let her drift with John the Baptist and Jesus. She let the illusion sweep over her. Life had beat the atheism deep into her, the junkie shakes, no god no, husband's teeth busting fists, no god no, death of, um um, that hurt, no god no, but a big old hole. She was going to float in it, real or not. Then he drew her out of the water and she felt his hands on her breasts and saw that "come on girl" flash in his eyes, no god, no god.

White Swan Freedom

The stairs were hard on his crippled feet. The apartment building was glacially cold and ugly as frostbitten toes. But it wasn't White Swan. The Boeviks fighting amongst themselves had left the walls peppered and fresh blood stains covered their execution wall at the bottom of the staircase. But it didn't bother him. He simply wore a tank top whenever he went into the basement exposing the Vor stars tattooed on both shoulders. Their vendettas didn't concern him anymore. Only shooting Afghanistan into his veins to escape White Swan memories mattered.

Pinterest Marketing Tips

I don't use Pinterest as much as  I should to promote my writing, but I have been thinking about giving it more attention. These are a couple of pretty good tips, though I don't know how useful they are if you don't have a Pinterest business account.


http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/4-ways-to-increase-your-pinterest-visibility/?awt_l=6vOQY&awt_m=3ViyX0cVowr.ILT&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=NewsletterIssue&utm_campaign=New

Fifth Time Doing Stand Up

I tried stand up comedy again for the fifth time on 1/15/2016. It went pretty well. It was a small and friendly crowd that night. As you can see from the pic I've put on a nice layer of winter blubber. I'll have to try and lose some of that before my next performance. And I'm going to try and put up a short video clip soon.

SOTU

Rebel, Rebel....

The world will miss you Ziggy Stardust. Thanks for all the great music and movies.


And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of that they're going through

 -David Bowie

Published in 2016!!!! in The Round Up

These guys were kind enough to publish one of my short stories!!! Thanks Ed for considering my work.

http://www.roundupzine.com/