Discussion: Q1 Volume 39

Posted by: @doctorjest

So I have my first draft done now, and it's come out...rough. Some I'm happy with, but there's some serious work to be done here--time to pull out the big hammers.

I'm not sure what kind of draft I have finished, but I finished...something. I've got several starts of various lengths and details, but I was getting frustrated with any kind of ending. So, today I wrote an outline with all the details I think I'll need. With the fragments I have and the outline, I think I should have a draft presentable for some writing groups by the end of the week. Hopefully, I'm not going to be too intrusive with the holidays.

Posted by: @disgruntledpeony

Good work! There's nothing wrong with a rough first draft, because that still gives you a baseline to work from. I've had (and continue to have) far more rough first drafts than clean ones.

Mine too--I've very rarely had anything approaching a very clean first draft. I was pleased that all the major notes seemed to work, so I'll take that as a broad plus, but there's definitely some hefty remodeling needed around the execution.

I'm getting a booster jab tomorrow, too, so fingers crossed I don't get any major side effects that might screw around with my end-of-year efforts...

I woke up in the night realising that without a few extra words my story potentially had a minor logical flaw. I like it when my sleeping brain does some proper work instead of just creating weird dreams.

Something happened that was totally unexpected. I wrote a 51,000+ novel in November.

A couple of weeks ago I had an idea, separate the character arcs into their own folders.

A little tweaking and voila, a short story that stands on its own. 

Doing this filled a major gap in the original novel, so when I get back to writing in that world, everything will be much more cohesive.

Posted by: @doctorjest

Posted by: @disgruntledpeony

Good work! There's nothing wrong with a rough first draft, because that still gives you a baseline to work from. I've had (and continue to have) far more rough first drafts than clean ones.

Mine too--I've very rarely had anything approaching a very clean first draft. I was pleased that all the major notes seemed to work, so I'll take that as a broad plus, but there's definitely some hefty remodeling needed around the execution.

I'm getting a booster jab tomorrow, too, so fingers crossed I don't get any major side effects that might screw around with my end-of-year efforts...

I've discovered the unbridled wonders of the "Zero Draft", the love child result of an outline hooking up with a first draft. I love it. Gets me through the story faster so I can see how things are going, helps me spot plot issues faster, still loose enough that I have freedom to make changes, but also gives me guidance while writing the official First Draft.

Posted by: @morgan-broadhead

Posted by: @doctorjest

Posted by: @disgruntledpeony

Good work! There's nothing wrong with a rough first draft, because that still gives you a baseline to work from. I've had (and continue to have) far more rough first drafts than clean ones.

Mine too--I've very rarely had anything approaching a very clean first draft. I was pleased that all the major notes seemed to work, so I'll take that as a broad plus, but there's definitely some hefty remodeling needed around the execution.

I'm getting a booster jab tomorrow, too, so fingers crossed I don't get any major side effects that might screw around with my end-of-year efforts...

I've discovered the unbridled wonders of the "Zero Draft", the love child result of an outline hooking up with a first draft. I love it. Gets me through the story faster so I can see how things are going, helps me spot plot issues faster, still loose enough that I have freedom to make changes, but also gives me guidance while writing the official First Draft.

I sometimes write a "Zero Draft" in screenplay format, and it's definitely helpful for me when I need to get something out of my head in a hurry. That's how I've been drafting my novel-in-progress. (YMMV on this one, of course--I already knew screenplay format because my mom was super into screenwriting when I was a teen, and I devoured a lot of her resources on the topic.)

@disgruntledpeony 

It's entirely possible I first heard about zero drafts from YOU!

I'm in. Good luck everyone.

Me too, @time !! Now on to Q2 - Get those fingers walking, folks (just a stroll, though. No need to power walk yet)

Dumb question. Are there any taboos on resubmitting a rewritten version of my Silver Honorable Mention from Q4, Volume 38? After getting the silver, I gave it a cold hard look over and found several weaknesses/problems which I think I've fixed. But is this bad form to submit fundamentally the same story like this? Thanks!

Still slogging away on my Q1 effort. I'm impressed with everyone who has already submitted for this quarter and am in awe of those already working on their Q2. Eight more days... Hoping to break my R streak.  

@physa If you're in need of a late crit, I'll probably be able to do it. Drop me a line if you need someone.

Posted by: @time

@physa If you're in need of a late crit, I'll probably be able to do it. Drop me a line if you need someone.

That is most kind and generous of you! Will let you know if I can finish it quick enough for a last minute crit.

I'll be around all next week for first five pages crits. No need to message me to ask first, just send the document. (No need to cut five pages either, I'll just stop!)

Subbed!

Posted by: @hyperion88

Dumb question. Are there any taboos on resubmitting a rewritten version of my Silver Honorable Mention from Q4, Volume 38? After getting the silver, I gave it a cold hard look over and found several weaknesses/problems which I think I've fixed. But is this bad form to submit fundamentally the same story like this? Thanks!

Matthew, not a dumb question, it's one many have asked and contemplated in the Forum.

You can resubmit anything except a Semifinalist, and a Finalist that didn't place. David Farland has said more than once that he sometimes gives a story a Silver HM so that he will see it again in a different quarter. There can be many reasons why he'd whittle it out of his top-tier stack in one quarter, but might not in another. By the time he gets to Q4--which is the case with this Silver HM of yours--he has a good idea of the balance of stories in the anthology and will be looking for certain types of stories to fill it out. If the anthology is heavy in fantasy, he might be hunting for a great hard SF story. If he's got a lot of stories with male protagonists, he will likely seek more with female protagonists (my winner was a Q4 and Dave said he was certain he had chosen a story written by a woman because it was "dripping with estrogen." Hah!) Word count can be a big factor, especially in Q4 because he knows how much room is left. I just heard Dave say in a Zoom meeting that he sees a lot of great stories that are simply too long and he doesn't have room for them. And yes, he has commented that he does see those with one or two issues that he hopes the author will spot and fix, so he gives it a Silver HM to leave it open for another chance. Unfortunately, he can't write you a note to tell you what the issue was, so it's up to you to figure it out. 

But you don't have to figure it out on your own. Get sharp eyes on it other than your own. That's my recommendation. You are likely blind to the issues that caused Dave to pass on it. 

Many of us also recommend a cool down period. Here's why. Fresh wins. Fresh is new. Might be a good idea to give him a breather before you hit him with it again. 

Best of success with it, whether here or elsewhere! Silvers are strong stories.

Posted by: @hyperion88

Dumb question. Are there any taboos on resubmitting a rewritten version of my Silver Honorable Mention from Q4, Volume 38? After getting the silver, I gave it a cold hard look over and found several weaknesses/problems which I think I've fixed. But is this bad form to submit fundamentally the same story like this? Thanks!

The only stories that can't be resubmitted are semi-finalists and finalists. I say go for it!

@wulfmoon Thanks! This is very helpful!

Man, that was hectic--a lot more time spent on Christmas than I anticipated. Wonderful, delightful, warm, and exhausting--and I have a few days now to get this story knocked into shape. I hoped and expected to be further along than I am by now, but I should still have time enough to take care of business. I think the unexpected should all be behind me.

There are parts to this story that I love every time I read through it, parts that I feel I really nailed. Other parts, like the beginning and ending...not so much. They're in the right ballpark, but they're definitely not playing the right game. So I know where a lot of my effort needs to go.

This one's going to be down to the wire for me, I think.

With my one thousandth post, I'm in for Q1/39.

This entry was more labor intensive than any I've ever written, best of luck to everyone.

In again, last night!

I like this story and have good hopes for it. But then, I seem to like every story I write, at the moment I'm done with it. Sometimes I go back later and wince a bit.

I had an interesting experience with this one, because through another online crit group (Other Worlds Writers Workshop, https://groups.io/g/OWWW which I recommend), I ran across a Winner from WotF v36 (Sonny Zae). He was so interested in my submission that he gave it an extra two passes of critique in the final week. Of course, when I asked him about his experience, he had no idea why his specific story was selected in 2019; he could only say that he'd help me make mine the best it could be.

Posted by: @ehonour

In again, last night!

I like this story and have good hopes for it. But then, I seem to like every story I write, at the moment I'm done with it. Sometimes I go back later and wince a bit.

I had an interesting experience with this one, because through another online crit group (Other Worlds Writers Workshop, https://groups.io/g/OWWW which I recommend), I ran across a Winner from WotF v36 (Sonny Zae). He was so interested in my submission that he gave it an extra two passes of critique in the final week. Of course, when I asked him about his experience, he had no idea why his specific story was selected in 2019; he could only say that he'd help me make mine the best it could be.

What a nice honor, Doc! That’s the spirit of this Contest, and I’m always happy to see winners reaching back to help other writers up the mountain. Mentoring others behind us on the path was the focus of my presentation to the winners at the WotF workshop this year. Brittany Rainsdon also chose it as the subject of her podcast interview. And I just wrote an article about it in DreamForge magazine. Paying it forward is really a form of mentoring, using knowledge gained from our own experience to help someone that’s still struggling with the lessons we’ve already learned. May that relationship continue to blossom, and best of success with your Q1! We look forward to seeing your results!

I'm in for Q1!

I have a draft. Two days to revise. So ahead of the curve!

Write on, write on, write on.

I think I have a story for my Q1 that's mostly finished now--I'm taking a break from it, and I'm going to revisit for a final edit sweep before actually submitting it. I have in mind a couple of things I want to hit for my revision, but all in all, I think I'm pretty happy with the end results, and I've reached this point just a little earlier than I expected to.

I like my story. Yeah, yeah, I usually think my latest entry is my best, but if this one doesn't get Silver or above then I'm a monkey's uncle. (Get the bananas ready.)

I feel like this quarter was a hard fought battle, but I made it. Q1 is in. On to Q2.

Congrats to everyone who's submitted so far! Best of luck to all!

Did anyone else who has already submitted for the quarter get an email 'friendly reminder' to submit? I got it on Dec 27th

Posted by: @czing

Did anyone else who has already submitted for the quarter get an email 'friendly reminder' to submit? I got it on Dec 27th

I got a friendly reminder to submit. I think it was just a default mailing list thing.