Discussion: Q1 Volume 38

Posted by: @storysinger

Congratulations to all who placed.  

Don, this makes me happy. I know you are staying the course. Keep swinging! 

Great job all! There will DEFINITELY be more news to come, but what a wonderful showing already for our Forum family! If you didn't place, don't sweat it. There's ALWAYS another quarter. If you placed, CELEBRATE your achievement! We collect many of the best aspiring writers from around the world here because they do a search on the Contest and then find the Forum. Believe me, it is a stellar achievement to get ANY certificate in this Contest (just ask Kevin J. Anderson :). It means you wrote professionally, and Dave wanted you to know that. It also means you ranked among the best aspiring writers from around the world! Just look at some of the honors members post in their tags. Some are just a sale away from being considered by the industry as being pro writers themselves. It's tough competition and yet, your story shined. So don't get discouraged. Stay the course, enter every quarter, and send your stories out to other markets. 

This is the way.

Wulf Moon

Congratulations to everyone who placed! I'm happy with my result, although I hope I do better in Q2. For those who didn't place, I hope you'll continue writing and submitting. You'll get there!

@dwh

You can ask for crits in the critique thread from the main page, and work on finding a group that works for you! I have a very full schedule, but I always have time to crit forumite stories. I owe everything to those swaps! 

oh well nearly finished first draft of q3.

Oh and congrats to Cat G. Just seen the acceptance on Grinder.  

Posted by: @pdblake

oh well nearly finished first draft of q3. 

You and me both. Next quarter

@idelaney I am taking Dave's class as well, in the Wednesday night group. I would love to trade stories with you if you are open to it. The writing group I was assigned to didn't work out and, although I am fine carrying out the assignments without feedback, I would do better with some critiquing. I feel a bit stuck as well. 

All that aside, congratulations on the HM! 

Posted by: @pdblake

oh well nearly finished first draft of q3.

 

 

Oh and congrats to Cat G. Just seen the acceptance on Grinder.  

Sorry about the rejection, but it's a rite of passage. As to the Grinder posting, that couldn't have been a WotF acceptance, which means a win (or Published Finalist, but those don't get chosen until the end of the contest year). Finalists were just called, may still be being called, and judging the eight finalists to choose the winners still has to take place. That will be another week or more. 

Posted by: @doctorjest

Posted by: @jennifleck

SHM. I knew I was kind of going "off-brand" a bit with a spec fiction piece slanted a bit more toward horror, but I wanted to get a submission in.

A SHM sure doesn't sound like it went terribly off-brand...

@doctorjest Heh heh -- well, it's definitely speculative fiction, but it has...not exactly a high-note type ending. Previously this story was also short-listed in a fairly major literary competition, so I knew it had some merit and figured...get a piece in, keep the stride going.

My entry for Q2 strikes a more optimistic tone at the end, and I wrote it especially for the contest (and while going through the workshop).

Then again, I'm sometimes surprised by some of the pieces that end up in the anthology. They are great stories, to be sure, but don't always end "ideally" for the protagonist. 

Posted by: @wulfmoon

Posted by: @jennifleck

SHM. I knew I was kind of going "off-brand" a bit with a spec fiction piece slanted a bit more toward horror, but I wanted to get a submission in.

SHM is really high. Dave says he often gives those in the hopes he’ll see the piece again, perhaps with a fix to some problem he saw. Congratulations on this high honor!

Thank you! That's certainly encouraging news. Two SHMs back to back, eep!

Honestly I wrote that piece a while back, entered it into a fairly major literary competition and was short-listed, but did not win. It was written before I (lurked and) read your amazing writing tips, went through the WotF workshop, etc., etc. It might be worth a revisit, bearing the things I've learned in mind.

I do feel good about my entry for Q2...writing it, I had a much better feel for what I think might work for WotF.

Posted by: @wulfmoon

Posted by: @pdblake

oh well nearly finished first draft of q3.

 

 

Oh and congrats to Cat G. Just seen the acceptance on Grinder.  

Sorry about the rejection, but it's a rite of passage. As to the Grinder posting, that couldn't have been a WotF acceptance, which means a win (or Published Finalist, but those don't get chosen until the end of the contest year). Finalists were just called, may still be being called, and judging the eight finalists to choose the winners still has to take place. That will be another week or more. 

Guess someone made a mistake on Grinder. 

An honorable mention for me; this calls for a limerick!

Although for the trophy I've yearned,

It's an honorable mention I've earned.

You can say what you will,

As for me, I am thrilled!

Every quarter is new lessons learned!

SHM here ? happy but not content! 

Posted by: @jcunningham

SHM here ? happy but not content! 

Silver HM is quite an honor! You were in Dave's possible winners' stack, and then he had to whittle it down. Well done! Write a fresh one for this Q and don't look back! Or get eyes on that one that have some credentials and see if there's an obvious fix and send it back. Silver often means Dave hopes you'll send it again, with an improvement he cannot tell you about. See if you can figure out what it was, or get a pro to help you.

Cheers!

Posted by: @wulfmoon

Posted by: @jcunningham

SHM here ? happy but not content! 

Silver HM is quite an honor! You were in Dave's possible winners' stack, and then he had to whittle it down. Well done! Write a fresh one for this Q and don't look back! Or get eyes on that one that have some credentials and see if there's an obvious fix and send it back. Silver often means Dave hopes you'll send it again, with an improvement he cannot tell you about. See if you can figure out what it was, or get a pro to help you.

Cheers!

Thanks Wulf. It is an honor.

I read your story SUPER MOON GIRL about the same time I started Dave's 318R class. It was about January. Since then, I've started to find my voice and your story gave me permission to be quirkier and punchier. Kind of like: if he can do that, then I can do this. A relief, you could say. 

Anyway, congratulations to everyone! To infinity and beyond. 

@wulfmoon thank you, my friend! 

Posted by: @ceciblack

@wulfmoon thank you, my friend! 

You're welcome! Good work! Hold fast and STAY THE COURSE!

All the beast!

Wulf Moon

@axeminister I didn’t know you could have a coauthor entry.

Posted by: @jcunningham

Posted by: @wulfmoon

Posted by: @jcunningham

SHM here ? happy but not content! 

Silver HM is quite an honor! You were in Dave's possible winners' stack, and then he had to whittle it down. Well done! Write a fresh one for this Q and don't look back! Or get eyes on that one that have some credentials and see if there's an obvious fix and send it back. Silver often means Dave hopes you'll send it again, with an improvement he cannot tell you about. See if you can figure out what it was, or get a pro to help you.

Cheers!

Thanks Wulf. It is an honor.

I read your story SUPER MOON GIRL about the same time I started Dave's 318R class. It was about January. Since then, I've started to find my voice and your story gave me permission to be quirkier and punchier. Kind of like: if he can do that, then I can do this. A relief, you could say. 

Anyway, congratulations to everyone! To infinity and beyond. 

We all learn from one another. Glad you enjoyed "Moongirl," and glad it helped you discover your voice. The most important asset you have is the unique way you tell your stories. No one can duplicate that, you've got the patent on it. 

Keep writing! Silver HM is right there. For all you know, Dave had it in his final selections and thought, "If I make this a Semifinalist, I'll never see it again. I'm giving this one a Silver HM and hope they touch up that rough spot and send it to me again." 

He does say the gist of this.

All the beast!

Wulf Moon

I got my first HM after coming back after a four-year long PhD break ? Feels good to climb back in the saddle!

This was everything I was hoping for! (Okay, maybe I wanted a semifinalist. I can't fool you guys.) Thank you everyone here! In specific, thank you Wulf for the Heart's Desire tip, and the other supersecrets, thank you Dustin for all your time and advice, especially that bit from KD Julicher (thank you Kate!) about tough decisions, and Matt Dovey's link on conflict (which is here). Thank you Troy (Shockhawk) and all my other critiquers. And thank you Becky, who has probably done more for my writing than anyone/anything else. 

Speaking of which, I count at least two regulars who haven't reported yet *cough cough cough*. May the best forumite win!  

Dustin already mentioned it, but it would feel weird to not officially report my results here, so SHM for our story. For me, this was my second SHM in a row (after many years of Rs and HMs), so I'm hoping the upward trend continues!

Humbug - another HM for me. I'm pretty well stuck at that level. But then this entry was humorous which i tend to think is a bigger risk.

Congrats to everyone who got anywhere - and keep trying to all those who got 'R's.

Posted by: @time

Humbug - another HM for me. I'm pretty well stuck at that level. But then this entry was humorous which i tend to think is a bigger risk.

Congrats to everyone who got anywhere - and keep trying to all those who got 'R's.

Sorry, Tim. Editors always ask for humor, but buy so little of it. One man's funny bone is another man's chicken bone in his craw. Keep swinging. I tried all kinds of genres and story types until I dabbled in YA and it won. You never know what will connect with Dave, and then it has to connect with the other judges as well.

Posted by: @bethpowers

Dustin already mentioned it, but it would feel weird to not officially report my results here, so SHM for our story. For me, this was my second SHM in a row (after many years of Rs and HMs), so I'm hoping the upward trend continues!

Happy to see this, Beth. Congrats to both of you, but there's reasons to single out special kudos to you. I know how long you've been trying to break through the HM barrier, and I've been thrilled to see this change for you recently. May the next be your winner!

Posted by: @reuben

This was everything I was hoping for! (Okay, maybe I wanted a semifinalist. I can't fool you guys.) Thank you everyone here! In specific, thank you Wulf for the Heart's Desire tip, and the other supersecrets, thank you Dustin for all your time and advice, especially that bit from KD Julicher (thank you Kate!) about tough decisions, and Matt Dovey's link on conflict (which is here). Thank you Troy (Shockhawk) and all my other critiquers. And thank you Becky, who has probably done more for my writing than anyone/anything else. 

Speaking of which, I count at least two regulars who haven't reported yet *cough cough cough*. May the best forumite win!  

Glad to be part of the solution, Reuben. I wrote the SUPER SECRETS to help people like you. You're figuring it out! Don't forget an SHM might have even placed higher than a Semifinalist, and Dave liked it so much, he didn't want to kill the story in relation to the Contest by giving it a critique. Semifinalists cannot be sent back in, but a Silver HM can. I highly recommend getting a pro to take a look at it to see if they can tell you why it might not have placed. It could be it's totally good, and Dave knew in another quarter, it would win. There's a very fine line up at the top, and you are in the top when you get a Silver. Best of success with it, here, or elsewhere!

Posted by: @david-k

I got my first HM after coming back after a four-year long PhD break ? Feels good to climb back in the saddle!

 

Yee-haw! Keep riding, David! And if that horse throws you, get right back in the saddle! Happy trails!

Posted by: @craydimensional

@axeminister I didn’t know you could have a coauthor entry.

You can. It's just rarely done. 

Posted by: @ceciblack

@wulfmoon thank you, my friend! 

Ceci,

Don't be bashful. Share that great album you created in your signature. Put a link on it so people can listen. Great work and VERY professional! LOVE your voice!

Cheers!

Moon