Note that the first writing exercise about climate and ecological changes in the place you live or love is still open.
What is it?
The second contribution call is for personal narratives, ranging from 500-2,000 words, about any climate-related experiences you’ve had, ranging from storms to disasters. This exercise is ongoing indefinitely and has no deadline. Submissions will appear at the site once they’re approved. All submissions must be free of typos and engaging and may be subject to editing. Because this site is voluntary, no monetary payments will be made. You may send a brief biography with links advertising your work.
It is possible that work contributed in writing exercises may one day be considered for an anthology, but only if you, the writer, agrees to the terms, which would be made at some time in the future, dependent on interest. Rewilding Our Stories is affiliated with Dragonfly Publishing in Canada.
Why should you write an essay?
- It’s a chance to be creative and practice writing with prompts.
- It allows you to be a part of the Rewilding Our Stories Discord’s network of writers and find others with similar interests, including climate action through writing.
- Freely promote your other work by adding links to your social media, books, art, and so on. Send links when you submit your piece.
What should you write?
You do not need to include all of the below, but these are some prompts to get you going.
- Write a personal narrative type of creative nonfiction that engages others.
- Describe the type of climate-change-related event you have been impacted by. This could be a storm, flood, wildfire, storm surge, or other event.
- Did you have warning, or did the experience unfold without warning? Describe when and where this happened.
- Hone in on a couple interesting tidbits, such as what was the area like before and later, government and other resource availability during the event, emergency alerts, and so on.
- During this event, what other “normal” life things were happening that added to your personal challenges?
- Write with passion for the outdoors. Describe ongoing ecological changes since the disaster took place. What was recovery, and is it still ongoing?
- Share knowledge you gained during the event; this can include personal tips you learned about that saved you or practical resources you found from others, including news, books, and other media.
- Integrate the human experience in these changes. How have you and others been affected by this event? Did you become more invested in your community or make new friends?
- A high-resolution image is helpful to illustrate your essay. This must be one that you photographed or created. If you licensed the art for use, that is fine too, as long as you provide the proof.
Where should you send your essay?
Please send a Word file to us. In the email, include any links to promote your work.
When is the due date?
This is not a contest nor a deadline-driven event. Any essays sent in will be published here soon after they’re received, as long as they follow the guidelines.
Rules
- Must be a member (rewilder role, so be sure to introduce yourself after joining) of our Discord.
- Please keep the word count between 500-2,000 words.
- Write in first-person and ensure that the piece is nonfiction.
- Follow the prompts and explanations above.
- Permission to publish at this site must be given at the time of submission, but we will not request any print rights.
- Your piece should not have been published before unless the publisher holding print rights also gives permission to reprint here.
- Do not plagiarize any writing or artwork.
- Please send your writing in a MS Word attachment. Do not send an essay in the body of an email.
- Check your piece for grammar, typos, spelling, word choice, and other editorial integrity. Avoid jargon, memes, and cliches.
- Content not accepted: AI generated content, NSFW, illegal, scientific denial, hatred, discrimination of any kind, misinformation, and erotica.
- See the Style guide.