Discussion: Q1 Volume 40

And I'm in! I didn't get to do near as much editing as I normally do thanks to other deadlines I had at work, but I got it in after missing V39 Q4. Good luck to everyone!

Sick as a dog and feeling sheepish about the editing process, but I'm in. Best of luck to everyone.

Happy New Year's from east coast. Don't panic yet there is 2hr and 50 min left since midnight deadline is pacific time.

?

I'm in at the last minute with a soft Sci-Fi entry.

New story. Our contemporary universe, so I kind of cheated in the world building phase.

But it took me five whole days to write!  

Happy New Year. Eat more fiber.

Best of luck to everyone and have fun.

@watt_writes 

While it's not speculative fiction, "Trainspotting" is written entirely in a really thick Glaswegian (I think) accent and dialect, not just the dialogue. It didn't do that book any harm.

If it's consistent then the reader will become adjusted to it. I get knocked out of stories where the accent is inconsistent because I start expecting certain words to be written in an accent and when they are not, it's harder to get back into the accent. It breaks the flow. If you can keep it consistent and fluid, I imagine it would stand out as a unique voice in the pile. 

@storysinger I bet you gained a great insight, although did it make you second guess your own story if it wasn't in line with the trend?

I've not compared previous volumes to see if trends cross / continue, or if each volume has its own trend. I tend to read a story or two in  etween books or when I have a spare half hour so have never sat down and studied them. Perhaps that should be my new year's resolution this year!

Yes, I did indeed get a story in for Q1, about a week ago. Same story, with new edits (always new edits!), that I inadvertently submitted for Q4 with my byline still attached.

Good luck to all!

But the reason I've been rather silent here is a big one. My first novel is RELEASED and available on Amazon. 

Look for Not Like Us by Doc Honour, in which Jake Palatin has to escape from total socialism to prevent the global war his own antimatter bomb might create. It's planned as book One of the Empathic Humanity series.

Posted by: @ehonour

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But the reason I've been rather silent here is a big one. My first novel is RELEASED and available on Amazon. 

Look for Not Like Us by Doc Honour, in which Jake Palatin has to escape from total socialism to prevent the global war his own antimatter bomb might create. It's planned as book One of the Empathic Humanity series.

Congratulations! As you seem too modest to link it yourself, I'll do it for you  

Not Like Us - Doc Honour

Congratulations Doc. Looks like it will be a good read.  

@ehonour Congrats dude! I'll definitely pick up a copy! I wish proing out upon you soon so we may all have a chance ?. My novel got its first rejection letter for 2023 this morning (total rejections almost has me in the 20 rejections club) -- I may be joining you on the Amazon adventure soon but that somehow seems more scary to me haha.

@ehonour congratulations! How exciting

Posted by: @ehonour

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But the reason I've been rather silent here is a big one. My first novel is RELEASED and available on Amazon. 

Look for Not Like Us by Doc Honour, in which Jake Palatin has to escape from total socialism to prevent the global war his own antimatter bomb might create. It's planned as book One of the Empathic Humanity series.

Congratulations, Doc! Write the whole series! ?

I just joined. I don't know what I'm doing. Nonetheless, I submitted a story to V40-Q1. Didn't have time to run it through Grammarly. But I reread it a few times and fixed mistakes, so I don't think Grammarly would have found much.

Then I started reading the forum and strategies.

I was inspired to submit after reading Patrick Rothfuss's webpage. He cut down a novel and entered. Great idea! So I cut down my novel-in-progress and did the same.

I think entering every quarter will improve my productivity. Already I started off 2023 with a bang!

@pegeen Heeeeey another Pat Rothfuss inspired competitor! That's what got me goin here too. I wouldn't stress your WC, a couple of my HMs were just shy of the 17k limit, granted my lower WC piece placed better. Still, if the story's good, and keeps the reader glued to the page, doesn't matter. As far as grammar, my SHM was written on a whim in less than 24 hours with some grammar issues that I would cleaned up if I gave myself more time. I think, so long as it doesn't glaringly distract from the story, they'll forgive a typo or two. 

Best of luck for this quarter! Get started for next quarter and try to challenge yourself with something new! It's fun!

P.S. I'm a total Vonnegut fangirl, love the quote.

Thank you @watt_writes for your encouraging words.  I much enjoy Rothfuss's work.  I don't mind that he's taking his time on the next book. He's under a lot of pressure.  It must be super-awsome-great due to all the anticipation.

I will try to be more strategic next quarter.    

@pegeen Welcome and congrats on getting your entry in! I agree that entering every quarter will help improve your productivity.

Posted by: @pegeen

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Then I started reading the forum and strategies. Mine is [OH, SOME NUMBER OF] words, which I discovered is [SOME KIND OF] short story strategy.  Plus mine is a [STORY, WHO CAN POSSIBLY SAY WHAT].  Not the preferred genre, but I don't write [AARDVARK FAN FICTION] and don't plan on starting.

Hey, @pegeen! You may want to redact some of the salient details about your entry while the Quarter is still open. Mostly, we wait until the judging is done before we share or discuss specifics about our entries, mostly due to the anonymity thing--the more specifics you give, the less anonymous your entry is.

It's probably just paranoia, but still...

Horrors! Never occurred to me that judges read this forum. Thank you @doctorjest for the tip.  

Trying to block out Q1 and moving on to Q2 story.

Posted by: @toddjones

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Trying to block out Q1 and moving on to Q2 story.

That's definitely for the best! Right now, Writers of the Future is preparing the next volume, and getting ready for the next gala. Where Q4 results come quickly, you can expect a wait for Q1, generally at least.

It always helps to have your eyes on the next thing, that's definitely true. Total focus on one thing can work, but it definitely doesn't own towards any degree of emotional comfort where this is concerned.

I try to set aside previous quarter entries, assume that they won't win, and look to the next with all the energy I'd need to try and outperform my previous submission.

"Moving On" is one of the lessons I've appreciated most from participating in WotF. Write a story, make it the best you can, submit it, then move on to writing the next story. I used to obsessively fuss and fiddle and rewrite stories to death. They say (whoever "they" are) it takes a million words to become an expert at writing, but that has to be a million different words; I can't just keep writing the same words over and over again. I have no control over whether anything actually wins or gets accepted or published. I only control the writing part, and I want to write as many new stories as possible.

Write it, submit it, forget it. If and when it comes back stamped Rejected, swat that thing right back out to another market.

@morgan-broadhead 

Well done, Morgan. This is the hardest lesson for aspiring writers to learn. We grow and push our boundaries through writing fresh, original stories. It doesn’t mean we don’t edit them for quality control. But constantly twiddling on the same story trying to perfect it means we are standing in place instead of moving forward. It becomes a trap, hindering our advancement.

Posted by: @morgan-broadhead

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Write it, submit it, forget it. If and when it comes back stamped Rejected, swat that thing right back out to another market.

I must be getting really good at this then. I had to look at Grinder to remind myself which story I submitted.  

Posted by: @pdblake

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Posted by: @morgan-broadhead

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Write it, submit it, forget it. If and when it comes back stamped Rejected, swat that thing right back out to another market.

I must be getting really good at this then. I had to look at Grinder to remind myself which story I submitted.  

 

The Grinder is really helpful for stuff like that. "Oh wait, I can't submit that story there; they already rejected it."

@morgan-broadhead 
Yep.
"But there should be another five markets open right now!"
(checks grinder)
"Oh, I've already submitted the story to those."

Posted by: @scott_m_sands

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@morgan-broadhead 
Yep.
"But there should be another five markets open right now!"
(checks grinder)
"Oh, I've already submitted the story to those."

"There's another six markets I can send it too, if I can just shave another thousand words off it." 

Hey y'all while we all await the upcoming Thursday of reckoning, I'm gonna pitch my fantasy novel in the #IWSGPit event on Wednesday. If you're on twitter check in and retweet my pitch (leave likes for agents) ::sweaty anxiety noises:: If you have a novel to pitch and you're on twitter lemme know and I'll add you to my list. @watt_writes

PS I finally reread hitchhiker's guide (read like 20 years ago lol) and suddenly get the Thursday jokes LOL. 

@pdblake haha, that's exactly how I feel. My stories tend to be on the longer side, and there's usually a difference of a few thousand words that keeps me from submitting to most markets. It doesn't help my odds either - if they have two great stories, one 5k and the other 10k, they'll almost always choose the 5k one because it costs them less money and takes up less space / time to edit. C'est la vie.

Who else can't wait until we get the list of everyone who placed and the winners?

I can't wait to know!