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As of tomorrow, we're all on the docket to being open for crits. Myself included, even though I still haven't finished my first draft. School's been kicking my butt, and I don't even have any classes to take. Just research these days. Ugh. I'm going to do some banging away on the story in the next few days though. So, we'll see how things progress.
Looking forward to seeing some good things this quarter.
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Maybe this will help, recovering. See the envelope above this text? That is my email address. Almost everyone on this forum allows their email address to be placed in there. Just click on owasm's envelope, then click on his email address and Wa-La! Should work, if not curl up into the fetal position and start sucking your thumb.
Posts: 3072 | Registered: Dec 2007
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Owasm has changed his email address from a few days ago and has a typo in it. The last four letters should be changed to net.
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Er... sorry about the spam, but I realized that my ending needed a little polishing. I got a little punchy and over-excited when I finished and mailed it off with a revision. Keep the second email and delete the first.
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No worries, cynic. Thanks for the heads up.
So, I have one scene left and then the first draft of my story will be complete. It's a long one though, and I don't think I'm going to be able to get it done until this weekend. So, look for my story next Monday. Honestly, I'm having difficulty coming to terms with the fact that I'm going to be done so close to the real deadline. Crazy.
Feel free to start sending first drafts out to everyone in the group now. You should see your inboxes start to fill up with stories-to-crit. Thanks for being part of the group, everyone. This is really what's going to help us become better writers and winners of this dang contest in the end.
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Dang recovering_cynic, I just read your story , and I am really impressed with your ability to write dialogue.
Everybody else, If you haven't sent me your story yet, send it please.
I've got a lot of good comment from the people I've sent my story to, and I'm now working on the second draft. So If you haven't read my story yet, I'll be sending a better version when it is ready. Which will not be today. ~Sheena
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My personal status update is about halfway (2000 words) completed. Hoping to finish it this weekend.
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I might be about a week from finishing. There's a chance that I'll be using most of the 17,000 words for this story. The scary part is that this is a shortened version of the concept.
I have a question though. It's very clear that there shouldn't be sex scenes in the story. No argument there. But what about mentioning that two people have been together, if it's relevant to the story? Do you think that would be a deal breaker?
quote:I might be about a week from finishing. There's a chance that I'll be using most of the 17,000 words for this story. The scary part is that this is a shortened version of the concept. I have a question though. It's very clear that there shouldn't be sex scenes in the story. No argument there. But what about mentioning that two people have been together, if it's relevant to the story? Do you think that would be a deal breaker?
KD Wentworth just spoke again on the SFF forums on this. I added it to the WOTF Advice thread. http://www.hatrack.com/forums/writers/forum/Forum1/HTML/005988.html Basically she said just think PG-13. I think references to being together would be perfectly fine, especially if it is integral to your story whether that be through plot lines, character development, or whatever reason you feel the story would suffer without it.
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I hope I didn't get read into as being impertinent. I guess I'm just a little excitable at the moment. Too much caffeine. ;)
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I just didn't want anyone to think that I wasn't taking their crit seriously. And sometimes while you're waiting it helps to know that there's and end date where you're guaranteed a response.
I'm truly excited to read everyone's stories and I want to give them the attention they deserve.
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I think I'm going to have leave this group. My story is nowhere close to being finished and I think I'm going to aim for next quarter instead. Sorry for leaving kind of at the last minute but I was giving myself extra time to see if I could put something together.
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quote:I think I'm going to have leave this group. My story is nowhere close to being finished and I think I'm going to aim for next quarter instead. Sorry for leaving kind of at the last minute but I was giving myself extra time to see if I could put something together.
Use your Cinders winning story. You already have 13 crits on it
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Sorry anyone who's waiting for a crit, I was away last weekend and didn't have time. I'll get them done this week. I think I only have five or so in the queue, so if you haven't yet, feel free to send me your story.
My own story will be sent out soon. It's the one from snapper's contest, so I want to do a quick revision based on those crits first. Look for it by the end of the weekend.
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Can I join the fun? I have an old story that needs a little cutting to meet the word limit (its about 18000 now), but I don't quite like the end and need some inspiration of where I went wrong and how to fix. It's ready for critiques.
I just posted a link to Vonda McIntyre's article on manuscript preparation in the initial post for this thread (I'm going to add it as a permanent posting for all of our future WotF groups). If you're new to the publication-submission game, this is a great article to reference when formatting your entries for any kind of publication-submission. This is a generic format, but is a good base to start from. Always check on special formatting necessary for each place you submit. I thought it'd be a good idea to have this information readily available. It can only help after all.
I should be finishing my story tonight. Always something else to get in the way... Later all.
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So far, I've only gotten one story to critique (from BenM). Where are the rest? Supposedly there are like five that are read...
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Okay. I've sent out my first draft. I didn't even give it a once over for stupid little stuff that I'd obviously catch on a read-through, so I hope that it's okay. If anyone doesn't get it, let me know and I'll re-send.
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My story is driving me crazy. I know what needs to happen, but I'm stuck halfway; the story refuses to go where I want it to go. Grrr.
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recovering cynic. I always crit stories in the order in which they are received. I've read your story and have a few ideas for you, but there is a story in front of yours. It takes time, but I promise I will crit every story that is sent to me. I sometimes can only do one story a day.
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Kitti: Instead of wallowing in the mud, let the story go where it wants to (or at least look in that direction) and see if that place is worthwhile. Otherwise, you may have a problem earlier on in the story. If you want a pre-read of what you already have, I'm open for it.
Cynic: I've received three stories so far: from you, Doug, and Ben.
From what I can tell through past posts, stories from these users have been sent out previously: Brendan Shimiqua Owasm Teraen
Can we get a re-up people? Just want to make sure we all get the most bang-for-our-buck this quarter.
Also, a redo of the current list as we had two members drop out for this quarter and the previous list doesn't reflect this.
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I was wrong when I said I had 5 in the queue, in fact I only have 3. So I don't think you are missing any cynic, we're just behind schedule Posts: 238 | Registered: Jul 2009
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Okay, I've gotten everyone's crit done that sent to me except Writer Dan's which I just got today. But my eyes are getting blurry from staring at the screen so I think I'll stop for now.
If anyone has questions about my comments, please feel free to ask me about them. I am happy to discuss my crits.
I've just got a few thousand more words on mine and then I'll be sending it out. Hopefully that will happen before the weekend is up.
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I'm starting a deconstruction and rework of my story, so if anyone in the group hasn't read it yet, then I'd suggest don't start now - I would appreciate having a fresh pair of eyes available to read the second draft when the time comes. If you have read it, then please critique away - further input will still be handy.
In the meantime I'm always happy to receive stories to critique and will get them back to you as promptly as possible.
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I changed stories (surprise!), and sent out my first draft. If you didn't get it, and want it, please tell me. ~Sheena
Posts: 1201 | Registered: Jan 2008
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BenM ~ great story. I would rather work from your most recent revision copy, so if you want to send it I will make comments and get it back quickly. To all ~ Had a brief flurry of activity which made 'time' hard to come by. I have read all the storys and will do the comments early this week. I am learning a lot just by reading your work.
Sheena ~ Fire it over... I liked the first one and would love to read the second.
[This message has been edited by dougsguitar (edited January 24, 2010).]
Rather than trying to coordinate multiple emails back and forth, I had an idea. Problem is, I don't know if it is a good one or not. I thought we could start an email account on Gmail or some free service, like Hatrackwritingpeoples @ gmail.com or whatever, then upload drafts into their online writing program.
Then, whenever someone wants to crit, they just pull a story that has been submitted and email it to the author from that same email account. Bingo! Instant feedback. And no longer dost one have to worry about who has recieved drafts.
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I'm a bit ambivalent about the idea (but this is only my first crit group, so who knows, my tune may change). But services like gmail already have document collaboration stuff anyway - you can upload your doc to your gmail account and share it with selected users as it is.
However, I'm quite liking my spreadsheet that shows who I sent which version on which date, who I've received crits from, what everyone's email address is and whose stories I've received and critted. Given that I eventually want to track submissions, developing a system I could get used to seemed like a good idea.
If you do set up something with a shared password, just be aware it can be abused - if one user changes the password, or makes it known publicly, you might find your story has gone outside the group, which would be a really sad outcome. Of course, trust can be abused with any system anyway. *shrug*
[This message has been edited by BenM (edited January 26, 2010).]
posted
Honestly, I think I prefer the e-mail method. I don't know that I feel comfortable putting my story on someone else's server. That's what we'd be doing, right?
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Teraen - I know some online writers groups that work like that (and have participated in some of them). I personally prefer the email method, even if it only gives me the illusion of controlling who has access to my drafts.
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So I've been having some problems with my email and certain emails have not been getting through (isp problems). If you've sent out a story in the last week or so, you might need to send it to me again.
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Hey, guys. I want in. I went looking for the "Regular Timetable" group, and it looks like there isn't one this quarter. So, it will be a few more days before my new story is ready to send out, but I can read some.
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Woohoo! I finished my first draft. Give me a day or so to proof it and I'll be sending it out.
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Welcome Christopher, send it through when you're ready.
So how is everyone doing? It seems to have gotten a little quiet lately (I'm guessing I'm not the only one furiously editing away?). Are some of us still aiming at second drafts ready for crits in a week?
I've still not received stories from a couple of people, so if you want some fresh eyes, send 'em through. And I feel compelled to add that if I sent you an unhelpful critique, let me know. I'll not learn otherwise.
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School's been kicking my butt, and I don't even have any classes to take. Just research these days. Ugh. I'm going to do some banging away on the story in the next few days though. So, we'll see how things progress.
