NEW USERS! INTRODUCE YOURSELVES!

Um, hi! I'm new on this forum, heck, I'm new to the website, and I already find myself amazed by it all. I'm thinking maybe I'm too young for all of this, everyone's already an adult, and I'm a senior in high school. But I guess I can wait and continue to work on a story for a future quarter.

Welcome aboard, ERain! And don't worry, we've had young people do well in the contest before. You're by no means too young. I only wish I had gotten serious about writing when I was your age.

Um, hi! I'm new on this forum, heck, I'm new to the website, and I already find myself amazed by it all. I'm thinking maybe I'm too young for all of this, everyone's already an adult, and I'm a senior in high school. But I guess I can wait and continue to work on a story for a future quarter.

Just wanted to say hi, and good luck to everyone entering this quarter.

Hi, and welcome, ERain! And, don't self-reject because you're young. I started entering when I was still in high school, and there's no reason you couldn't win.

Um, hi! I'm new on this forum, heck, I'm new to the website, and I already find myself amazed by it all. I'm thinking maybe I'm too young for all of this, everyone's already an adult, and I'm a senior in high school. But I guess I can wait and continue to work on a story for a future quarter.

Just wanted to say hi, and good luck to everyone entering this quarter.

Hi, and welcome, ERain! And, don't self-reject because you're young. I started entering when I was still in high school, and there's no reason you couldn't win.

Um, hi! I'm new on this forum, heck, I'm new to the website, and I already find myself amazed by it all. I'm thinking maybe I'm too young for all of this, everyone's already an adult, and I'm a senior in high school. But I guess I can wait and continue to work on a story for a future quarter.

Welcome aboard, ERain! And don't worry, we've had young people do well in the contest before. You're by no means too young. I only wish I had gotten serious about writing when I was your age.

What they said.

Seriously, what's the worst that will happen if you submit? Your story won't win. What's the best that will happen if you don't submit? Your story won't win.

So... if you send it off, and don't win, what have you lost? Nawwwwwwffin'!

(More importantly, you'll improve as a writer just from writing a few stories every quarter. You can also check out the "critique" sub-forumif you want to get feedback on how you compare to other entrants--although it's probably a bit late for that this quarter, what with all the holidays.)

Hello, everyone.

I am a poet/short story writer/children's story writer/playwright from Greece. I'm actually considered quite good in Greek literary circles; I've got about 50 prizes & distinctions in literary competitions in Greece in the last three years (and a few in Cyprus and Australia). As the market in Greece is almost non-existent, however, and it's very hard to become a professional writer here (actually is impossible to become a professional writer with poems and short stories and I haven't been able to find the time to write a novel yet), I always thought the only way to make it as a writer is to make it in UK or US - and since I heard about WOTF about a month ago I reckon it's the best chance I have.
I have no idea how good I am compared to American writers, of course, or if my English is actually good enough for such a contest, but I guess there's just one way to find out.

So, let's wait and see. Good luck to everyone.

Welcome, george nik.!

I think you'll find that non-native speakers are generally well accepted in the American speculative fiction community, and I see no reason why you couldn't excel here. Good luck!

Welcome aboard, george nik.! If you hadn't told me English isn't your first language, I never would've guessed. I think you'll do fine.

Welcome, George!

Welcome George and ERain! =)

Welcome, george nik.!

I think you'll find that non-native speakers are generally well accepted in the American speculative fiction community, and I see no reason why you couldn't excel here. Good luck!

Welcome aboard, george nik.! If you hadn't told me English isn't your first language, I never would've guessed. I think you'll do fine.

Welcome, George!

Welcome George and ERain! =)

Thanks a lot for the welcome!

I think I'm becoming more and more excited about this contest.
I'd still prefer to win, of course, but even if I don't I'm quite enjoying the whole atmosphere of the competition, the various kinds of distinctions awarded, and most of all this very nice community of writers - I've actually got quite a lot of friends who are poets, many of them very good indeed, but very few short story writers - so just reading this forum is very interesting and I hope I'll manage to find the time to comment on a few topics as well...

George Nikolopoulos
WOTF: 1 SF, 1 SHM, 4 HM
Fiction (EN): 43 stories sold, 29 published
Fiction (GR): c.10 stories published & a children’s novel
Amazon Page

 

Welcome Erain and George--

Erain-- I think there is no age limit on what is too young to start writing and improving! It just means you'll get there faster.

George-- Add me to the list of people who never would have been able to tell you're not a native speaker. Welcome and good luck!

Thanks, Tina!
And good luck to you too - I was reading on the other thread yesterday about your tribulations trying to submit on time and I could only sympathize since I always leave things for the last moment myself. I actually submitted electronically on the 31st also, but fortunately late in the evening in Greece was still morning in the US so I was on time.

As for my English, well, I've lived in London for a few years, I've been reading novels in English practically forever, plus I've worked for a few years both as a teacher of English and as a translator - it's just that I haven't been writing in English for a very long time and I actually had written the story I submitted in Greek before I found out about WOTF and decided to translate it ... and I just hope it doesn't have too much of a "translated" feel about it - from what I've been reading in the forum, any number of details could make the difference between a winner and a semi-finalist or an HM and a rejection - but, anyway, there's much more to worry about than this, I guess. (And that has been a very long sentence.)

So let's just keep our fingers crossed and wait for a few months.

Thanks George! It was quite an ordeal getting that story in (any you're lucky to have gotten yours in early!).

Your English is probably good too because you're from another country. After all my travels I've found that people in other countries speak English better than we do here...and know a handful of other languages too! I lived in London for a while too, it helped improve my English grammar after getting corrected all the time.

Your English is probably good too because you're from another country. After all my travels I've found that people in other countries speak English better than we do here...

Well...maybe they speak "better" because they have learned English as a foreign language and are more conscious about the grammar. Most of them, however, lack the "feel" of the language altogether (or rather most of us, I should say, being a foreigner myself, though I hope this one is not true for me), and I think for a writer that's far more important than being 100% grammatically correct.
And that's what I've been anxious about. Believe it or not, I've actually been googling phrases to verify that they are often used and they are not "Greekisms"!

I've actually been googling phrases to verify that they are often used and they are not "Greekisms"!

I wouldn't worry about it. Remember, the primary reason we immerse ourselves in speculative fiction is to be transported to other places, other cultures. As long as you're not trying to write 21st-century Americans, any "otherness" in how you express yourself will simply be part of that other world you've taken us to. (And if you do need to write 21st-century Americans, simply find a few Americans willing to beta read for you and flag things that don't sound right to them.) Don't get in the way of your own, unique voice!

Well, thanks, Kyle, this sounds like good advice.
I guess I'm just looking for things to worry about. We've got a long waiting ahead of us, so any distraction might be welcome.
I could also worry about the quality of my writing, about whether the theme of my story would fit KD's interests, whether there are elements of my story that could annoy her, whether the science bits in my story are plausible enough, whether she would like my ending which is not at all positive I guess (well, if, hopefully, she gets to read the end of my story) - I've been reading a lot of the threads recently and people worry over too many things...
And yes, I do worry about all of them. But I'm optimistic by nature, so I'll wait it out and see what happens.

Believe it or not, I've actually been googling phrases to verify that they are often used and they are not "Greekisms"!

Oooh... Ugh... Owww... I almost think that's a bad idea. One way a writer really stands out is a distinctive voice; and your "Greekisms" might be something that contributes to your voice. "Often used phrases" are often cliches, whereas uncommon phrases (if they make sense) can surprise and delight a reader.

I would have to see some examples of "Greekisms" to be sure; but I think you might do better by simply getting a native English speaker to read the work and point out if something seems odd in a bad way. (Odd in a good way is, of course, good!)

This is were someone (ME!) plugs the critique forum on this site. You can always post a request for someone to read (or do an exchange) of your story and give you honest feedback. You can find out what works and doesn't, what parts need to be clarified or don't make sense. Just make sure you get several readers so you can get a big sample size (sometimes one person points out a problem area that ten others will say is the best part of the story...so then you know that one person might be an outlier....everyone has different tastes.)

Also be sure to be specific what kind of feedback you want. Some people on the board follow Dean Westly Smith's advice on no rewriting/revising--just editing for grammar and sentence flow--if you tend more towards this style then you might just want a quick read through pointing out confusing areas. So you can choose if you just want a trusted first reader to give overall impressions or a full blow critique.

Believe it or not, I've actually been googling phrases to verify that they are often used and they are not "Greekisms"!

Oooh... Ugh... Owww... I almost think that's a bad idea. One way a writer really stands out is a distinctive voice; and your "Greekisms" might be something that contributes to your voice. "Often used phrases" are often cliches, whereas uncommon phrases (if they make sense) can surprise and delight a reader.

I would have to see some examples of "Greekisms" to be sure; but I think you might do better by simply getting a native English speaker to read the work and point out if something seems odd in a bad way. (Odd in a good way is, of course, good!)

Well, Martin, I guess you're right. I shouldn't really need to do this. Anyway, I only did it a couple times and I was satisfied by the results. As I was telling Kyle a few posts above, I'm really just over-worrying. I'm not really concerned about writing odd English, I'm just being nervous about the contest.
By the way, what I mean by "Greekism" is where you just translate a Greek expression word-by-word to English where no similar expression occurs, which is just absolute nonsense and definitely not something useful to a story. For example, when we want to say (in Greek) that somebody was badly beaten up, we say "he took the beating of his year", or when it's very cold we say "it does the cold of the bear". I obviously wouldn't do such ridiculous mistakes, I was worrying about much more subtle stuff, but anyway I shouldn't be worrying and I've pretty much gotten over it.

This is were someone (ME!) plugs the critique forum on this site. You can always post a request for someone to read (or do an exchange) of your story and give you honest feedback. You can find out what works and doesn't, what parts need to be clarified or don't make sense. Just make sure you get several readers so you can get a big sample size (sometimes one person points out a problem area that ten others will say is the best part of the story...so then you know that one person might be an outlier....everyone has different tastes.)

Also be sure to be specific what kind of feedback you want. Some people on the board follow Dean Westly Smith's advice on no rewriting/revising--just editing for grammar and sentence flow--if you tend more towards this style then you might just want a quick read through pointing out confusing areas. So you can choose if you just want a trusted first reader to give overall impressions or a full blow critique.

Tina, that's a good idea!
A great many people have read my stories in Greek and I have had a lot of critiques, but it would be nice to know what people make of my English stories. So... I guess you mean the "Story Critique Exchange" forum? I might check it out soon, then. Meanwhile, if somebody is interested in reading my story and/or me reading his/hers, please PM me anyway.

By the way, what I mean by "Greekism" is where you just translate a Greek expression word-by-word to English where no similar expression occurs, which is just absolute nonsense and definitely not something useful to a story.

Fair enough. But...

For example, when we want to say (in Greek) that somebody was badly beaten up, we say "he took the beating of his year", or when it's very cold we say "it does the cold of the bear".

...I kinda like those two. The first one is so-so. In English we might say "the beating of his life" in similar circumstances, but I think the Greek version is also interesting, if a little strangely formed. I might avoid it, but I wouldn't necessarily rule it out.

But the second one I love! I'm not sure about "does" as the verb; but "was" makes it a nicely exotic metaphor that gets the point across without sounding like an English cliche (even if it is a Greek cliche). In fact, I may adopt it, because I think people will take to it. In particular my brother-in-law, nicknamed "Bear", will get a kick out of it.

Out of deference to you, I won't use it in a story. But if I haven't seen you use it (or a variation of it) in a story in five years, I may take back that promise.

I've seen a lot of Indian science fiction (as in Asia) in crit groups and in magazines the past couple of years. I like it because I've worked with a lot of Indians and I appreciate their culture. I've also seen African SF and others. More than just the cultural aspects that come through in these stories, I appreciate the occasional unique phrasing and voice that comes through. I even see some of that from the Australian writers who nominally speak the same language as me.

Frankly, I am delighted by the globalization of science fiction. Not that I mind plain old American SF from someone who's practically my neighbor; but just as I enjoy international variety in my food, I enjoy it in my reading.

I understand what George is saying, and though I agree with you, Martin, that "it does the cold of the bear" sounds delightful, what it doesn't sound is English. It would only work for representing a non-native speaking the local language, to highlight their non-nativeness. If you tried to use it "straight," I suspect most readers would begin to question your ability to speak English, and start to worry about your ability to tell the story.

George, your English is absolutely phenomenal. I've seen only one thing at all that might tip me off to your not being born to the language, and that was "We've got a long waiting ahead of us" -- the expression I'm familiar with is "We've got a long wait ahead of us." That said, perhaps the British use your expression; there are plenty of differences between US and UK (and AUS and CAN and...) English I still haven't discovered yet.

On translating your own story from your native language into another one -- in my experience (I'm a translator, too), the Dutch I write "straight up" is infinitely better than the Dutch I translate from my native English. Somehow the English gets in my way when I translate my writing into Dutch, whereas I can properly "think Dutch" if I just start from scratch.

(For the record, I only translate into my native language for clients -- and, since an early website experience, I don't even translate my own words into Dutch anymore! Instead, I write the piece in Dutch and translate it back to English.)

Anyway, it's a pleasure to have you here, George, and good luck in the contest!

I've seen only one thing at all that might tip me off to your not being born to the language, and that was "We've got a long waiting ahead of us" -- the expression I'm familiar with is "We've got a long wait ahead of us."

And bear in mind, too, that minor things like that, an editor/copyeditor is happy to flag for revision. It's when the story is riddled with incomprehensibilities that you go into the "auto-reject" pile.

Hi, it's me again.
I'm beginning to become a bit embarassed - I feel I've been monopolizing the "New users introduction" thread. Well, I guess this happens because there are not many non-native English speakers around the forum, plus there hasn't been any newer user to take away the limelight. Anyway, I can hardly resist responding to advice / compliments / etc, so here I go again.

Out of deference to you, I won't use it in a story. But if I haven't seen you use it (or a variation of it) in a story in five years, I may take back that promise.

Well, that's fair enough, I guess! Be my guest! I could even provide you with more Greekisms, if you wish!

Frankly, I am delighted by the globalization of science fiction. ... just as I enjoy international variety in my food, I enjoy it in my reading.

I couldn't agree more with that!

I've seen only one thing at all that might tip me off to your not being born to the language, and that was "We've got a long waiting ahead of us" -- the expression I'm familiar with is "We've got a long wait ahead of us."

Well, that's the kind of thing I was worrying about. Though I have to agree with Kyle that it's minor.

On translating your own story from your native language into another one -- in my experience (I'm a translator, too), the Dutch I write "straight up" is infinitely better than the Dutch I translate from my native English. Somehow the English gets in my way when I translate my writing into Dutch, whereas I can properly "think Dutch" if I just start from scratch.

My thoughts exactly. I was afraid that translating from Greek might spoil it; on the other hand, it was too good a story to pass up the opportunity to use it in the contest.

Anyway, it's a pleasure to have you here, George, and good luck in the contest!

Good luck to you, too, Grayson, and to everyone in the forum!

U see, the funny thing here is that I'm only 13. Hi, my name is Lucy. Just came here to win the prizes in the contests. So wat up peeps :). Btw, my pen name is Tia Brown

U see, the funny thing here is that I'm only 13. Hi, my name is Lucy. Just came here to win the prizes in the contests. So wat up peeps :). Btw, my pen name is Tia Brown

Welcome aboard, Lucy/Tia! We've had young contestants around here before, but you're the youngest I've encountered in the forum. I envy you for taking your writing seriously at such a young age. When I was your age, I mostly hid my writing under the bed so nobody could read it. Don't be like me!

Welcome, and good luck, Lucy!

Welcome, Lucy. Good luck with the contest! It's great to start out so young!

Welcome aboard, Lucy!

Hello,

My unreal name is Akasha. I'm turning twenty-three this month and I love science fiction and fantasy. My favorite themes are space opera trilogies and exploration of the unknown. I get inspiration from dreams and philosophy. My goal is to develop a story that inspires the imagination and is based on some of my ideas, but has core science to back up the theories. I have yet to write a novel that encompasses what I've been mulling over. I'm still in the process of developing my world, characters, etc. I'm looking forward to meeting people on here and sharing ideas for writing.

I have a few subjects to learn more on, but I'm not sure if mentioning them would give away anonymity.

Welcome to the forum, Akasha!

And, yes, if you even might submit a story based on one of those ideas, don't mention it here. (As a general rule, I tend to believe in keeping ideas to oneself anyway, since there's no way to copyright an idea. If you share it, someone else might write and sell it first.)

Welcome, Akasha!