Discussion: Q1 Volume 39

@czing 
Yours is WRITTEN! Nice work! I've only just started thinking about my Q1.
I know what you mean about multiple stories emerging from the one. Was listening to the WotF podcast (sorry, can't remember which episode) and they were saying how they had a world/scene/character that they used in various different stories. I think the character's name changed for different stories, but the basic idea of them was the same. It's not the way I'd go personally, but I like the idea of revisiting previous characters that I really connected with. 

@scott_m_sands 

I have a pretty big pile of half written pieces, or completed pieces I'm not really happy with (that need rewrites or revisions big enough to be almost a rewrite) and sometimes they'll start snagging at my thoughts. I take that to mean my subconscious has percolated them long enough to try again. Sometimes I'm wrong and it still doesn't get there - but this time it did. Still needs polishing though. Honestly, it is good I have a lot of that stuff because I've had a hard time writing fully new stuff lately.

I never really revisit a character though (at least not purposely). The only world I keep revisiting it the one from my first three novels (all trunked) - will eventually write again in that world but probably in primarily novel format.

Does anyone know if something odd is going on with the entry page? It is probably some kind of caching issue but I have tried going to the enter writing contest page for Q1 a couple times (not technically ready to enter yet but wanted to make sure my login info was working etc). It keeps just showing me a link for the Q4 period and nothing for Q1 that should be open from October 1.

Anyone else seeing this behaviour?

Posted by: @czing

Does anyone know if something odd is going on with the entry page? It is probably some kind of caching issue but I have tried going to the enter writing contest page for Q1 a couple times (not technically ready to enter yet but wanted to make sure my login info was working etc). It keeps just showing me a link for the Q4 period and nothing for Q1 that should be open from October 1.

Anyone else seeing this behaviour?

Just confirming that I see the same, and if I click the Q4 entry button, it just reloads that same view into a new tab. There's also no V.39 Q1 option under the wizehive webportal that is used for the entries at the moment. My guess would be that they're setting up the new entry quarter under WizeHive, and that they will need to update the contest entry page after it's created--it's a fairly new system for WotF, so there may be some things they still need to learn about it. 

Posted by: @doctorjest

Posted by: @czing

Does anyone know if something odd is going on with the entry page? It is probably some kind of caching issue but I have tried going to the enter writing contest page for Q1 a couple times (not technically ready to enter yet but wanted to make sure my login info was working etc). It keeps just showing me a link for the Q4 period and nothing for Q1 that should be open from October 1.

Anyone else seeing this behaviour?

Just confirming that I see the same, and if I click the Q4 entry button, it just reloads that same view into a new tab. There's also no V.39 Q1 option under the wizehive webportal that is used for the entries at the moment. My guess would be that they're setting up the new entry quarter under WizeHive, and that they will need to update the contest entry page after it's created--it's a fairly new system for WotF, so there may be some things they still need to learn about it. 

Thanks for the confirmation that it wasn't just me. I couldn't check the wizehive webportal because I have only ever gotten to it from the entry page so couldn't recall where to find it

Definitely understand all about the growing pains of using a new system (being as all my time at work for the last year has been dealing with exactly that). Hope my post didn't come off as complaining - just wanted to eliminate the possibility of it being a pebkac situation.

Posted by: @doctorjest

Posted by: @czing

Does anyone know if something odd is going on with the entry page? It is probably some kind of caching issue but I have tried going to the enter writing contest page for Q1 a couple times (not technically ready to enter yet but wanted to make sure my login info was working etc). It keeps just showing me a link for the Q4 period and nothing for Q1 that should be open from October 1.

Anyone else seeing this behaviour?

Just confirming that I see the same, and if I click the Q4 entry button, it just reloads that same view into a new tab. There's also no V.39 Q1 option under the wizehive webportal that is used for the entries at the moment. My guess would be that they're setting up the new entry quarter under WizeHive, and that they will need to update the contest entry page after it's created--it's a fairly new system for WotF, so there may be some things they still need to learn about it. 

@doctorjest you nailed it... Yes the WizeHive new V39 Q1 should be programed by the end of Monday the 4th of October. I can confirm once it is ready. Best, Jason

Al these organised people are just too keen!   
Well done, guys.

Started my draft for Q1. Internal editor is screaming. But what about this rule or that one? It's SAVE the cat, not KICK the cat! This will never work. And I'm paying attention to that guy like a football star in general English.

It's easier to edit a reality than a possibility. Write on, write on, write on.

Hello! So the submission portal for Volume 39 Q1 is now open!

Anyone that submitted in Volume 38 Q4 will already have an account in the system and you use that same account to log in and there will be a box ready for you to start your submission. (You won't have to do your profile again as it is already filled out).

I am still working on the email confirmation, but anyone that want to can PM me and I can confirm your Volume 39 Q1 goes in okay. In fact if anyone that is ready can try it and let me know I am open to feedback.

Best, Jason

P.S. I hope to have the email confirmation running up soon, but still working on it.

Posted by: @jason

Hello! So the submission portal for Volume 39 Q1 is now open!

Anyone that submitted in Volume 38 Q4 will already have an account in the system and you use that same account to log in and there will be a box ready for you to start your submission. (You won't have to do your profile again as it is already filled out).

I am still working on the email confirmation, but anyone that want to can PM me and I can confirm your Volume 39 Q1 goes in okay. In fact if anyone that is ready can try it and let me know I am open to feedback.

Best, Jason

P.S. I hope to have the email confirmation running up soon, but still working on it.

Looks like I figured out the auto email submission confirmation problem. Let me know once you submit as you should be getting them now. Best, Jason

Thanks a lot, grad school! I'm taking a storytelling class as part of my library science program, and one of my assignments just gave me a really good idea for a story to use for WotF. Now I've got my original Q1 idea plus this one, and I'm not sure which would be the stronger story.

Though tbh, the one from my class would probably incorporate a bit more humor which I can get behind.

Hello, people. Contest newbie, here. Just wondering how y'all approach the contest. Do you write just one story (for the contest) all quarter and try to perfect it? Or do you write multiple stories and winnow down to the best one? Am I being too methodical about this? Probably.....

Posted by: @lizbusby

Hello, people. Contest newbie, here. Just wondering how y'all approach the contest. Do you write just one story (for the contest) all quarter and try to perfect it? Or do you write multiple stories and winnow down to the best one? Am I being too methodical about this? Probably.....

Really, it's a matter of what you want to do and what you have time for. Many just write a single story a quarter and submit it while others write multiples, submit their best here and then send the others out to different markets.

Posted by: @lizbusby

Hello, people. Contest newbie, here. Just wondering how y'all approach the contest. Do you write just one story (for the contest) all quarter and try to perfect it? Or do you write multiple stories and winnow down to the best one? Am I being too methodical about this? Probably.....

Welcome to the contest, Liz! I vow each quarter that I'll write one story per month, but then my stories end up longer than I had planned. So for me it's usually one long-ish story for the contest, and maybe one or two pieces of flash fiction in between quarters. I had started the Ray Bradbury 52-Week Challenge a few years ago with a goal of writing one new story every single week. It was a good start, but I simply couldn't keep up. It really is a matter of how much time you have to write every day. I work full time, so my writing time is limited to whatever I can get done on my lunch hour. Good luck to you, and let us know if you have more questions or run into problems!

Posted by: @lizbusby

Hello, people. Contest newbie, here. Just wondering how y'all approach the contest. Do you write just one story (for the contest) all quarter and try to perfect it? Or do you write multiple stories and winnow down to the best one? Am I being too methodical about this? Probably.....

I've done multiple things for this myself. 

- Written one story for the Contest, refined it, and submitted
- Written several stories, chosen my favourite and submitted that, while sending others out to alternative markets
- Revised a story that previously picked up an HM or SHM, to try and improve on it, then submitted that to the Contest (the Contest is rare amongst markets in that, unless you earn a semi-finalist or higher, you can improve and submit a story you previously submitted)
- Polished an older story I had lying around from other things, then submitted that
- Expanded out a flash-fiction story at the last minute because I was running out of time, and submitted that

...and so on. Really, it's whatever works for me, my mental state, and my schedule, for any given contest quarter.

What he said applies to me also. Wow,(@doctorjest) every line of your post is something I've done at least once.

The year I was a pack member I did over twenty kyd's and at least ten short stories, so I have a large backlog of material.

I think I could take a day off, nah, not happening.

Posted by: @storysinger

What he said applies to me also. Wow,(@doctorjest) every line of your post is something I've done at least once.

The year I was a pack member I did over twenty kyd's and at least ten short stories, so I have a large backlog of material.

I think I could take a day off, nah, not happening.

I take LOTS of days off. Probably too many. I was that guy in high school and college, the one who crammed at the last minute and wrote papers the night before it was due. I try really hard not to do that now, but still...

Hi, I submitted for the first time for Q3, and am looking to submit for Q1. I am excited about my current idea and want to dive right into it, but I also don't want to lose sight of my 'main' project which is a children's story (and therefor not suitable for WOTF anyway.)

Any tips on how to manage multiple projects so none gets "forgotten"?

In a way I find that working on one can inspire the other, and ideally all the different stories can feed on each other like a happy cannibalistic family of my subconscious mind. In reality, I try to think of all of my ideas at once, get overwhelmed, and scream internally while I stare at my screen.

Anyway, sorry for the ramble. I figured maybe someone can relate, and maybe someone has advice on how to stay focused, and how to shift that focus without ending up like above. Cheers!

@tiinag It’s a balancing act you have to learn through figuring out your own system. But I believe you can never go wrong mastering your skills in short story form first. And a win in WotF can only help you in your attempts to sell a novel. Publishers do expect to see credits that prove you can write at a professional level. So I encourage you to keep seeking those by writing good stories and sending them out to respectable markets. Sales will help.

Best of success!

Wulf Moon

Posted by: @tiinag

Hi, I submitted for the first time for Q3, and am looking to submit for Q1. I am excited about my current idea and want to dive right into it, but I also don't want to lose sight of my 'main' project which is a children's story (and therefor not suitable for WOTF anyway.)

Any tips on how to manage multiple projects so none gets "forgotten"?

In a way I find that working on one can inspire the other, and ideally all the different stories can feed on each other like a happy cannibalistic family of my subconscious mind. In reality, I try to think of all of my ideas at once, get overwhelmed, and scream internally while I stare at my screen.

Anyway, sorry for the ramble. I figured maybe someone can relate, and maybe someone has advice on how to stay focused, and how to shift that focus without ending up like above. Cheers!

This struggle is REAL! And it's a great question too. I have two primary goals for my writing:

1. Write something cool
2. Finish what I start

I have very limited writing time during my day — one hour. That's it. It's my lunch hour, actually. If I had three or four hours to spend writing every day, I could probably juggle more than one project at a time. As it turns out, I don't, so I have to focus very hard on writing that one cool thing until it's done. And I don't start a new project until that one's done. If ideas come to me for shiny new stories (my idea net is always open, and stuff is always trawling in) I jot them down in my Big Idea Book then get back to my story.

If I were juggling a children's story AND wanted to enter the WOTF contest every quarter, I'd first finish my contest story as quickly as possible then use whatever time was left between quarters to work on my children's story. That's one way to do it. Or you could work on WOTF during the week and the children's story on the weekends. Or flip back and forth writing one scene for WOTF and one scene for the kiddios.

Really just depends how much time you can devote to each. Best of luck!

@morgan-broadhead This is great, thank you!

I relate to your goals. Finishing what I started has always been my biggest struggle, and I am working to change that. I think I will try this approach to have different days for different stories and see where that'll get me.

@wulfmoon This makes a lot of sense. I only 'found' short stories this past year, as in how writing them is a the greatest way to explore ideas and learn to finish stories. And it feels so good to have a finished story! 

So: I just dropped my Q1 Volume 39 submission in the slot.
Today. Eighty-something days early.
Hold on, this is my thinkin, and you tell me if I'm wrong.
As I understand it, my "amateur status" or whatever has to be current at the time I submit.
I've had a pro sale, and I have a story being "held  for consideration" now, for a pro market, -with a couple-odd tales out to other pro markets on spec. 

I reasoned -and here's the nub of it:
I might be ineligible by the end of the period, and that ineligibility could happen all at once...

Does this make ANY sense?
~M

@angelslayah Good for you getting it done and in so early! I hope one day to be so fast! Pro-ing out would be bitter sweet. You're just that good now, but now you also miss out on the award festivities and workshop. Your strategy sounds like a good way to hedge your bets though. ? 

Posted by: @morgan-broadhead

@angelslayah Good for you getting it done and in so early!  

It came back, rejected, from a pro market today -I just turned it around. I DO think it's the most "WotF" story I've ever written... But that's maybe not saying much!

Posted by: @babooher

Internal editor is screaming. But what about this rule or that one? It's SAVE the cat, not KICK the cat! This will never work. And I'm paying attention to that guy like a football star in general English.

In journalism they have a saying -or had, when I was more of a real journalist:
Write drunk, Edit sober. It does't refer to REAL drunkenness (from what I saw, journalism is really "write drunk, edit drunk") but to what you let yourself do.
Turning off that editor when it's writer's turn is good practice!

Posted by: @lizbusby

Hello, people. Contest newbie, here. Just wondering how y'all approach the contest. Do you write just one story (for the contest) all quarter and try to perfect it? Or do you write multiple stories and winnow down to the best one? Am I being too methodical about this? Probably.....

For most of my time entering the contest, I wrote one story per quarter because that's what I had the time for. Last year I had a (temporary) explosion of writing productivity due to a discovery of regular free time. As a result, I ended up with more stories than I could submit to the contest for multiple quarters in a row. (This year has been considerably harder, because the twins went from two naps down to one and I've been dealing with both an overfull schedule and some health problems. Been leaning toward flash more lately, which I never expected to do--but it keeps me writing, so I can't complain.)

I do think my writing improved a lot in that time period last year where I had regular writing time, but I'd definitely like to emphasize that you should use whatever method you have the time and energy for. If you can write multiple stories in a quarter, go for it! There are other venues to send them to, as well, so they don't necessarily have to languish on your desk and/or hard drive. However, if you only have time to write one, that's perfectly fine. Both options are good options as long as they work for you.  

Posted by: @morgan-broadhead

Posted by: @storysinger

What he said applies to me also. Wow,(@doctorjest) every line of your post is something I've done at least once.

The year I was a pack member I did over twenty kyd's and at least ten short stories, so I have a large backlog of material.

I think I could take a day off, nah, not happening.

I take LOTS of days off. Probably too many. I was that guy in high school and college, the one who crammed at the last minute and wrote papers the night before it was due. I try really hard not to do that now, but still...

 

 

I need time off in between stories, too, never fear. Sometimes I need time off in the middle of stories--which results in frequently having multiple WIPs.

I recently got diagnosed with ADHD, which... explains a lot, really, because hyper-fixation is something I've done my whole life (I was homeschooled and ADHD tends to manifest differently in women than men, so there were plenty of missed opportunities for a diagnosis earlier in life). It also explains why I have difficulty focusing on longer-term projects (although I will push past the Wall of Awful and finish a novel one of these days).

Posted by: @angelslayah

Posted by: @morgan-broadhead

@angelslayah Good for you getting it done and in so early!  

It came back, rejected, from a pro market today -I just turned it around. I DO think it's the most "WotF" story I've ever written... But that's maybe not saying much!

My winner got form rejections from something like seven or eight markets before it took first place here. How a story does at one market is no measure of how it will do another.  

Argh I feel like Im already behind for this QTR. Got to get moving. Motivation needed.