Capturing Every Shade of Night
Dreams vs. Nightmares
We first met Jerome on a night when clouds wisped around the stars like a thin veil of cotton. We were sitting around a proverbial campfire when he swooped in, onyx feathers set apart from the blanket of night by the dying firelight. It was then, in that clash of the fire's hazy comfort and the shadow's sinister promise hidden beasts, that Jerome dictated to use what he envisioned for Snoozine: a literary magazine that captures every shade of night, from the dreams illuminated by the full moon to the doom brought on by the new moon. And so we decided, with a helpful push from Jerome, to format each volume as a combination of two issues: dream and nightmare. For all issues, we want you to incorporate the unique mechanics of the dreamsphere, the odd sense of gravity that propels you through each turn of your innermost thoughts, but we encourage you to add a few extra filters.
Caught in the Clouds, Wrapped in Reverie
Dream Issues
For dream issues, consider the pastel embrace of sleep. Cushion your pieces in softness. Although these issues aim for a certain coziness, you don’t always have to include happy endings, nor do you have to constrict yourself to traditional representations of pleasantry. The idea of falling out of sleep into the tenderness of dreams is simply an aesthetic filter. We want to see you apply any mode you’d like to that idea. Have an idea for a cozy fantasy story? Send it to us. Got some weird science fiction tucked away in your daydreams? We’d love to see it.
Focus on Atmosphere & Comfort
Create a warm, inviting world where the reader feels at home. Emphasize elements like quaint villages, friendly characters, and magical elements that contribute to a sense of wonder and relaxation
Explore "What If"
Scenarios
Examine hypothetical situations and their consequences. Think about how changes in technology, society, or environment might affect human behavior and relationships
Build Convincing
Worlds
Whether in the future, an alternate reality, or a completely imagined world, ensure your setting is detailed and coherent. Consider how speculative elements impact the culture, technology, and daily living
Balance Concept and Character
Ensure your characters are well-developed and their personal stories engage the speculative elements. This balance keeps readers invested in both the conceptual and emotional aspects of your narrative
Consumed by the Shadows, Greeted by Terror
Nightmare Issues
Not every nightmare is terrifying, just like not every dream is necessarily good. Sometimes, a nightmare is classified by the layer of disgust slimed over the cold sweat coating your skin. For our nightmare issues, we don’t just want horror—although we are always open to traditional scares like murders and monsters. We want weird. We want unsettling. Uncanny. Think about liminal spaces and the backrooms, the sense of dread that pervades an empty and abandoned space. Get creative with your interpretation of nightmare, but make sure it affects us in the worst ways.
Blend the Familiar
with the Strange
Create a setting that feels normal but subtly introduces elements that are eerie or out of place. The uncanny often arises from the juxtaposition of the ordinary and the unsettling
Leave Room for Interpretation
Allow some aspects of the story to remain mysterious or unexplained. This ambiguity can heighten the uncanny effect and leave readers pondering the implications long after they've finished the story
Focus on Psychological Tension
Develop an atmosphere of creeping unease rather than outright horror. Use ambiguity, unreliable narrators, and psychological complexity to keep readers on edge
Fly (Into Our Submissions)!
Take the ideas in this post to heart when you submit to Snoozine. We want to your dreams and nightmares to roost somewhere in dreamland with us.