jaredcappel

Scrabble Victory

This past weekend I competed in what was billed as the largest Scrabble tournament of the decade. It was also the biggest Scrabble tournament I’m aware of that’s ever been held online (92 entrants from 11 countries), as online play only really took off since COVID. Despite a very competitive field, I managed to goContinue reading “Scrabble Victory”

Rejections (the better kind)

If you submit to literary journals, be prepared to be rejected. The more prestigious (and paying) magazines will only accept a small fraction of submissions (sometimes less than one percent). An overworked editor may receive hundreds of submissions and can only accept a handful for publication. Even if your story is great, chances are youContinue reading “Rejections (the better kind)”

Smokelong Quarterly

One of my favourite things about my recent excursion into writing has been perusing the different literary magazines. Some of the top publications can be somewhat dense or confusing; I’ve heard the term ‘academic jigsaw puzzle’ used to describe stories where it’s not entirely clear what’s happening. But certain publications find the right balance betweenContinue reading “Smokelong Quarterly”

The Human Experience

In 2018, I released a compilation of my short stories. I named the collection “The Human Experience” after the story that I thought best captured the overall mood of the book. Some of my writer friends told me I was foolish to self-publish, as it meant I was giving away first publication rights and thusContinue reading “The Human Experience”

Anything You Want

Published on January 1st, my story Anything You Want kicked off the year on a note of inclusion. Judy Darley, the editor at Reflex Press, commented how it was the perfect story to start the year on. I couldn’t agree more. After publishing darker sci-fi and humour pieces, it was nice to share a kinderContinue reading “Anything You Want”

Nine Minutes into the Future

I always believed in the viability of my story Nine Minutes into the Future, but I received many rejections before it was finally accepted. Two different editors told me that they enjoyed the world building, but that for a sci-fi story, they didn’t want to read about a date gone wrong. I considered tinkering theContinue reading “Nine Minutes into the Future”

Buddy’s New Friend

I had a lot of fun writing Buddy’s New Friend. Everyone who knows me knows how much of a dog lover I am. Chances are I will like your dog more than you. No offence. It’s just how it is. This story is told from Buddy’s perspective. It was fun crawling into the head ofContinue reading “Buddy’s New Friend”

Toilet Humour

Unlike virtually all of my fiction, Toilet Humour is loosely based on a true encounter. Back when I was in high school, my friends and I were eating dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory on The Esplanade (which is funny in its own right – heading all the way downtown just to eat at aContinue reading “Toilet Humour”

Paradox

I’ve been writing for many years, but I only started submitting my work to literary magazines on the suggestion of my talented writer friend Dave Brown. Dave and I both compete in the NYC Midnight writing contests, and he began taking his completed stories and finding places to publish them. When I first started submittingContinue reading “Paradox”

Welcome!

Hi and thanks for visiting my website. COVID-19 has been isolating, but it’s given me lots of time to write and find homes for my stories. In this series of blog posts, I plan to discuss each story, the magazine that published it, the editor I worked with, and much more. Stay tuned!