Editor's Note

I didn't take a vacation this summer. Time has really been getting away from me these past few months, with my real job, and now with the journal. Our submissions rate has been increasing with every issue, as has the quality of the work we've received. Therefore, I felt it only fair to spend some extra time on the journal during these heated months to give you a better showcase for your work.

The redesign, as evidenced most clearly on the actual story and poem pages, is evolving. Next issue I hope to make permanent section headings and journal banners to accompany each piece, to make something that is visually appealing and easy to print out for posterity. I want the journal to be as bold and striking as the work inside it. Take our five stories this issue, for instance. Their styles and structures cannot be more different from one another. Yet, they are all effective and compelling. The structure of a story often gets overshadowed by plot, but it's just as important, if not more. Most stories we receive have a plot, often a very carefully considered one. However, not as much consideration is given to the actual framework supporting it: narrative voice, pacing, diction, plot organization.

Catherine has discussed on our blog the importance of reading one's stories aloud, and I second this. The cadence of a story cannot be appreciated by the eyes. Each story has its own pulse and rhythm, and it's easy to hear when it's off. Similarly, create a story tree for your paragraphs. Indicate which paragraphs are present tense, which are flashback/backstory. Is there a good balance? Or, if not, is there a good reason? Have you spent ten pages on backstory and two on plot? Mark each paragraph as having a main character. Are there three paragraphs on a character who's not pivotal, yet only one paragraph on one who is?

Writing is a lot like building a house: its framework is just as important as its design. After all, you wouldn't buy a house that's pretty on the outside with flood damage within. Speaking of building, JMWW also is growing! We welcome two new editors to the journal, Lee Donelson and Megan Calhoun, and we also introduce two new sectons—Biography, which showcases a noted writer each month, and High Five, in which a noted author or poet discusss five stories/poems or authors/poets and why every writer should read them. Biography submissions are currently welcomed; submit as you would a story or poem. Our Biography this issue showcases Charles Bukowski, and Jake Adam York of storysouth takes on his five favorite poems/poets.

Finally, we are proud to announce Jenny Sadre-Orafai's newest chapbook, Weed Over Flower, which can be ordered online at www.finishinglinepress.com

Jen Michalski, Editor