Telling Lies for Money - Best Fiction

When I was a kid, one of my mom's sayings was, "You can go to Hell for lying the same as you can for stealing."

Mom said that usually when she thought one of her little "angels" was telling a fib. Mom's strong words and seering gaze rarely failed. Whichever one of us had something to hide would spill our guts. If that didn't work, she used the ultimate threat--to tell our dad when he got home from work and get a spanking with "Dad's Army belt."

With mom's "look," the threat of a spanking, Catholic guilt from time spent on Saturday afternoons in the confessional--and being taught by nuns, who were experts on catching an untruth--telling lies does not come easy to me.

Maybe that's why I like to write fiction. It's liberating to lie without fear of getting in trouble--and getting paid to do it (sometimes). And that's why I get excited to find a fiction market that pays.

Best Fiction is a paying online publication of "brilliant stories" that is open for submissions of short fiction as well as photographs and art work.

Payment for short stories between 1,500 to 7,500 words is $25. According to their website, their tastes are fairly broad. For complete details, visit the Best Fiction submission guidelines section.

I found this market through Duotrope's Digest, which is a great resource for writers looking for markets for fiction, nonfiction, even poetry.

I'm not sure, but I think Mom would be proud to know her encouragement to tell the truth helped channel my tendencies to exaggerate or sometimes fib into something positive--writing short stories--and on occasion getting paid to do it.