I have never started one of these and this might be a bit early, but I have something to say about Q4 so using a quote from Q3:
Anybody entering a story for Q3? Or anybody want to accept the challenge to get one ready? I'll start the crit group here. Who wants to join?
This thread/group is a good place to: -Update/vent about your progress on your Q3 story. -Ask for/offer crits on Q3 stories. -Encourage each other to get our Q3 stories polished and finished. -Pool our knowledge and help each other rise to our best stories.
Submission due date for Q3 is June 30. 1 rule (which Dr. Bob was nice enough to teach me last quarter): don't include more than a general genre description and story length when discussing your story on the forum, to avoid disqualification from the contest.
Just reply to join the group.
Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :
Okay, now what I want to say,
I will be doing Q4, but what I also want to say is that I may have part of the story, but that may not be enough.
I had a dream about a WotF story the other night. For once when I dreamt about writing, I recall a portion of the story. Someone with a catapult was throwing rocks at someone. One catapult and it wasn't a military battle--that's it, all I remember. But what is significant is that I had gotten the story back from WotF and was reading comments by Dave. In the dream it hit me, hey he only critiques semi-finalists that means this is a semi. I had received no word how far the story had gotten before receiving the story back and evidently nothing with the story to say, so I assumed it was a rejection.
Now if I can do a story with, from what I can recall, one page or so of writing.
Posted by Dirk Hairychest (Member # 10105) on :
Hey, I'm in for Q4. I got a late start and missed Q3, so I will begin work on a new story I've been thinking about and choose the lesser of two evils. And now that I think if it, it will be the lesser of 3 evils. I have a previous story of mine that was rejected that I would like to rework, the one I just had LD crit for Q3, and a my new one!
Posted by Kent_A_Jones (Member # 10234) on :
Count me in again. Send something my way whenever you like.
Does receiving two rejections and two HM's out of four submissions mean I'm exactly half bad?
Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :
Earlier I could say--and did elsewhere--that I had nothing yet for Q4. Not even an inspiration--totally zero.
Well, I do have something after all, while I was waiting for my laptop to boot up a few hours ago, then for it to open a forum--the laptop is slower then this computer--I was thinking about an idea for a new novel and trying to decide when to start it. I thought: maybe a novella or short stories would be better. The short story made me think of WotF and Q4. Hmmm, my idea has some originality to it, two or three try-fail cycles come with it. Setting, the five senses, a strong ending, and anything else I need would be up to me. Hmmm, I know the opening already--a setting there would be easy. We shall see--I may start it this weekend. So how much more work--if any--I have to do with my files on smashwords and CreateSpace.
Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :
Oh, boy just came up with another idea. Thought about it and it could be better than my other idea in one way. It would be shorter--not super short though.
So I may go ahead and save the original idea for a novel.
Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :
Okay I changed the story I am writing for Q4. In a way it's related to the story I sent in for Q3, but completely different characters, scenes, setting etc.
Posted by Steve 46th (Member # 10113) on :
After not having submitted anything to WotF in over a year (probably longer), I might actually have a story this time around.
However...I've workshopped it a few months ago on the 1st 13 short story board. I'm thinking that act might be enough to disqualify this story from WotF consideration. What say you?
S!
Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :
Depends on what you mean. If you sent it to people to read it, as I think you mean. That should be okay.
If you placed it on a forum like this one, that would be different. It might depend on if it was password protected or one a lot of pro writers go to.
Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :
Putting only 13 lines on this forum should not disqualify your WoTF submission.
If you intend to submit it with the title you gave the 13-line topic here, that could affect your anonymity, but you can change the title here on the forum topic, and that should suffice.
Posted by Steve 46th (Member # 10113) on :
quote:If you intend to submit it with the title you gave the 13-line topic here, that could affect your anonymity
Not an issue, since I didn't give it a title. But, I'm wondering since, in the critiqies, a main character's name was mentioned more than once. I personall don't see such a scenario being a deal breaker, but I do know there are benefits to being paranoid.
S!
Posted by wetwilly (Member # 1818) on :
I'm in. Not sure what story I'm going to write, but I'll come up with something.
Posted by axeminister (Member # 8991) on :
Steve, I'm sure you're fine. I imagine the 13 will change anyway...
You should be able to edit your own post, so you can do that, unless someone copied the whole thing. Still, it's buried and, I don't think one of the judges will come and read it and say, that Steve 46th dude is Xxx Xxx in real life and he's a finalist this quarter so he's toast.
Nah, you're good. Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :
The opening for my story will be redone. If Dave didn't like my Q3's he won't like this one. Instead I may end up sending in a reject from a couple of quarters ago. It's the one I mentioned on a previous thread that may not have had the pages numbered. If it gets a good check over that may help it.
I will wait and see by this weekend though.
Posted by Kent_A_Jones (Member # 10234) on :
Take two fun ideas that are as far apart as you can imagine them and smash them together for your setting; one should be dug into SF like a tick. Then force a character to do something within this smashed together universe that the character either can't do physically, can't do psychologically, or can't do emotionally; the more cognitive connections you can make, the better. Making hard decisions makes the character (Scrooge was very hard to convince).
Hard SF, like WotF reportedly favors, forces the character to do something that only the SF setting will allow, and often has something to do with mechanical stuff (I Robot doesn't happen without the robot).
Within these parameters, I think of something that I can get jazzed about, and I start writing. My target isn't WotF, it's the audience that WotF sells to. Then I finish the story I'm jazzed about.
Dave is a ravenous, sharp toothed, bespectacled dragon who eats breaded and crispy fried SF writers for breakfast. I've heard we can be baked into scones, too. Dave gives out free advice because he knows that good writing is very hard and scares writers away. Yes, he does it to attract a continuous supply of new writers so he won't go hungry.
Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :
Okay, did my reboot of my Q4 tale. Now it's at 501 words.
Again I have everything Dave wants in the first 13 lines.
Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :
Kent_A_Jones, I am certain that Dave would get quite a kick out of your assessment of him.
May I share it with him? (Besides, I like your advice about writing science fiction and think he might want to quote you, as well.)
Posted by Kent_A_Jones (Member # 10234) on :
Kathleen, You have my permission. Kent
Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :
quote:Originally posted by Kent_A_Jones: Take two fun ideas that are as far apart as you can imagine them and smash them together for your setting; one should be dug into SF like a tick. Then force a character to do something within this smashed together universe that the character either can't do physically, can't do psychologically, or can't do emotionally; the more cognitive connections you can make, the better. Making hard decisions makes the character (Scrooge was very hard to convince).
\
I read this part too quickly the last time I was here. After rereading in now I say that I was told to do that with a certain story. I took an online writing workshop by Dean Wesley Smith. He had us do various openings as practice. I believe he told us all to smash together a story. But he sent me a note in connection to one specific opening I did that explained what he meant more.
I tried to smash three types of stories together, but I'm not sure how well I did. What I mean is that it turned into my take on what is a cliche-ish idea. I hope I put at least one twist to it. I still need to finish that story and I've thought seriously about sending it in to WotF whenever I do.
But at the same time Dean seems to be the only editor that likes me openings.
Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :
Oh getting back to Q4 I thought about sending in my Q3 story again. It looks like I forgot to put on the page numbers which means the rejection may have more to do with me breaking the rules than Dave not liking it.
Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :
Doesn't seem to be any action on this one so I thought I would say that I finished my Q4 tale last night. Still needs to be revised but all the way done.
Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :
I have set a deadline to have my Q4 tale revised and ready to go by this wednesday. Anyone want to trade crits?
Mine will be somewhere around the 6,000 to 7,000 range.
Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :
So tonight I start the final revision of my Q4 tale. I might be able to get it done by Saturday bed time, but that is just a maybe. Evidently it has a lot of stuff that needs fixing. Which while disappointing isn't all that much a surprise.
We shall see how I do on the revision, but it doesn't look good for it even with the help I have already received on it. If the last two readers are right I would have to say it's another dud. But we shall see how I can make this revision better than I usually do on revisions.
Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :
Well, this time I may have jumped the gun a bit with my comments here. It turns out that the first page or so was a mess. Earlier went over it to try to fix some of that, but I either missed some of what I was looking for or it didn't get changed. And other stuff was being in too much of a hurry. That still leaves some bad writing though so we shall see how it comes out without the extra garbage.
But it's cleared up now---I hope.
Posted by Brendan (Member # 6044) on :
Good luck guys. I wont get one in this quarter, too much study, but hope you all do well.
Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :
So mine is submitted.
Again I think I did what he wants--mostly at least. Listing just a couple of things for sake of time. The setting is original and the MC is somewhat. Of course it's possible that he will get a bunch of stories pretty much in that setting, but not likely I think.
Three try-fail cycles.
I believe the opening has what he wants too, but we shall see about that. As we shall see about the most important thing he wants.
From the lack of posts here I wonder how many made it this quarter. Still have a few hours yet-depending where you live.
Thanks to one person over at the WotF forum, at least the grammar, nitpicks and such are what I like to call clean. Not sure why I like to call it that but sometimes it seems to fit. And thanks to her, and two others, the writing is stronger.
Posted by Kent_A_Jones (Member # 10234) on :
Made it. It's original. I think I'll kick back and look at some stars.
Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :
Only Two of us this time???
Wow, but at least it will be easy to watch of both of them. Posted by wetwilly (Member # 1818) on :
I'm in, too.
Posted by axeminister (Member # 8991) on :
I'm in.
It's Q1 that I have no clue about. Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :
Well for the four of us who submitted look out.
There are reports of rejections already over at the WotF forum. Just a trickle or so two reports say. So, umm, well look out. Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :
More evidence that rejections are slowly going out this time.
Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :
Still not sure if any really went out. Only a couple seem to have been reported.
But if so it looks like everyone here and on the WotF forum was missed.
Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :
Okay it's twitching time for sure. At least a couple of Rejects have gone out and if I understand right a couple of HMs.
Posted by Jed Anderson (Member # 9863) on :
Too late to get involved in something?
Posted by wetwilly (Member # 1818) on :
Jed, did you enter a story in WOTF for quarter 4?
Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :
Rejections are coming in for sure. In case you all didn't get the E-mail this is the earliest they have judged a quarter. Some people have gotten "You passed the first pass" type of note. And finalists will know very soon. Mine just said it will be judged soon.
Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :
Evidently there has been a slow down with rejections, but they should be more showing up if they do Finalists this week.
Mine R is one that is slow in coming this time around.
Posted by Kent_A_Jones (Member # 10234) on :
I received an email from Joni last week:
galaxypress <mailer@wizehive.com>
Nov 12 (5 days ago)
Dear 4th Quarter Entrant,
We are on the fast track to have this quarter judged as soon as possible. Your story has not yet been judged but will be very soon. We will have our finalists chosen within the next week! (this will be our fastest quarter judging ever!!!)
I'll be in touch one way or another, soon!
best,
Joni Labaqui
Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :
I crashed and burned this quarter, completely blew it even though I worked on not doing that bad.
Posted by axeminister (Member # 8991) on :
Louis,
I'm sorry to hear it. You're one of the hardest working writers among us. I was really pulling for you this time, especially after surviving the first few rounds.
Do you have something cooked up for Q1?
Axe
Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :
Thanks, I blew it badly again; there is something needed I am not seeing I guess. Something I don't understand or Dave hasn't really talked about. Maybe I'm trying too hard with what I do know. There is no way of knowing for sure.
And yes I have a story 80 percent done for Q1. I'm working on NaNo though so more than likely I won't finish it until next month, or earlier if I finish the novel before the end of the month. Which I might.
Posted by Kent_A_Jones (Member # 10234) on :
I've watched the above TED talk a few times and recommend it to friends.
Fifty thousand words before the end of the month LDWriter2? Go get 'em, and good luck.
Rejection today for me.
LDWriter2, you mention that you "blew it badly again," Unless you're getting critique that I'm not getting, you can't know how your story was evaluated. False pessimism is a killer. Smile. Posted by axeminister (Member # 8991) on :
Sorry to hear, Kent. Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :
Kent, from experience of how other editors react to my WotF stories and how many times this has happened, along with the fact even though I gave Dave what he asked for in an opening, I couldnt get even a HM, I can say I blew it. Of course I don't know if he read the whole thing, stopped before he got to the first 13 lines or at the first five pages, but I do know that what I did wasn't even good enough for a HM.
Of course, speaking of giving him what he wants, it is possible that I gave him too many impossible things. I think his limit is three even though I forget if that is for the whole story, the opening or what. If so we might have a disagreement on what is impossible. But other than that or with that I blew it somehow.
[ November 21, 2014, 10:24 PM: Message edited by: LDWriter2 ]
Posted by Brendan (Member # 6044) on :
Go axeminister, finalist this time. I hope that you win it. As you can see from above, he is still rooting for you guys, so its good to see his number come up. FYI, he has been through a few of these groups, back when Dan led them. So you never know when your story will hit the finals. Keep improving.
Posted by axeminister (Member # 8991) on :
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