Discussion: Q1 Volume 42

@toddjones, I'm also working on a doesn't-feel-WotF-y story that I really like, and chipping away at it to try and make it as good as I can. I did a tightening revision yesterday, which brought the word count down by a little over over 10% and improved some of the language, but I also realized that one emotional layer is missing from the story and making it significantly less impactful than it should be in places. So my next revision is likely going to be adding more words back in.

Round and round we go...

@doctorjest wax on, wax off

I'm in for Q1! And I've never been so unsure of any entry in any writing contest ever, but man did I enjoy writing this one.

Posted by: @marius

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I'm in for Q1! And I've never been so unsure of any entry in any writing contest ever, but man did I enjoy writing this one.

  Now for the 3.5 month wait... 😉

I just realized, it's Friday the 13th  🤡 😵 

Posted by: @doctorjest

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@toddjones, I'm also working on a doesn't-feel-WotF-y story that I really like, and chipping away at it to try and make it as good as I can. I did a tightening revision yesterday, which brought the word count down by a little over over 10% and improved some of the language, but I also realized that one emotional layer is missing from the story and making it significantly less impactful than it should be in places. So my next revision is likely going to be adding more words back in.

Round and round we go...

I'm in the same MC 'emotional' boat. I'm trying to have the MC emotional, but also carry agency. Augh. (I seem to being saying/typing 'augh' too often of late.)

Posted by: @gideonpsmith

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I just realized, it's Friday the 13th  🤡 😵 

The hobbit sets up a table full of eggnog, coffee, and holiday treats on a table outside the writting and twitches tent.

14 days left plenty of time to enter

I'm in for Q1!

And I just realized I've been MIA for a whole year now. It's been a great year though, super uneventful in terms of writing, but pretty happy in terms of family and life in general.

Writing is that one thing that I can never get rid of, so I'm hoping to stick around this time.

Good luck to everyone!

@annax Great to see you!

Glad to hear things/life is going well.

@annax welcome back to the forum. Congrats on the good year.

Well, I have more work to do than I thought, in that I've hit on a couple of details that, while I like them, I don't feel quite work--one that's critical for one of the try/fail cycles in the story, and another that's a key element of the setting I started out with, so I'm really going to have some work to do to bring this back into line. On the up side, of course, finding and fixing these things should make the story better once I'm done with them...but there are going to be some heavy changes as a result of this realization.

And on the other up side, I reached a point a few days ago where I felt okay about submitting the story as it was...but I've learned enough to think twice about that, and letting this story simmer for a few days is really helping. I'd rather have this happening while I can actually do something about it than after I've already pulled the trigger on it.

I don't expect to submit this one until very near the deadline.

@doctorjest You've got this. May your magical fingers be strong and your mind stronger. (have no idea what that means, but sounded good when I typed it. haha)

You helped me identify some big holes in my story and I've been working hard to fix them. So, I know you can do the same with your story.

Kill Your Darlings. Seriously, much ugh--but it feels better for having done it. My story's now 12% shorter, and most of the cuts were to a scene sequence that I think was significantly harming the story's overall arc. The setting changes ended up feeling not as bad, though, and added a lot to the story without needing me to make as many alterations there as I was expecting. I also changed out some dialog I really liked for some dialog I don't like nearly so much, but which much more effectively serves to maintain a specific tension across a bridge between two scenes that the earlier dialog, I think, significantly weakened. As much as I liked it, it had to go.

I cut a lot of things I liked a lot in this edit. But I think I like the draft a whole lot more, now.

@doctorjest Cutting is tough, but I've found it makes a tighter story.  Although, I've accidently cut out important stuff before and had to splice it back in. 

Posted by: @toddjones

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I'm in the same MC 'emotional' boat. I'm trying to have the MC emotional, but also carry agency. Augh. (I seem to being saying/typing 'augh' too often of late.)

Yeah, that's a dilemma. I've tried writing an MC with flaws a couple of times, and readers have objected to him not being very hero-like. One of those was captain of his own space freighter, and the readers couldn't imagine a captain having doubts. Huh? They wanted their captain to be invulnerable. Go figure.

And I am in for v42Q1. Worked several passes on this one, got some great editing help, and sooner or later you just have to say "enough." Back to the WIP novel where I'm trying to meet a deadline...

And yes, this time I made sure to remove my name. [rolling my eyes]

@ehonour I would imagine a captain having doubts all the time, but outwardly their bravado would make them seem in charge. More wars are lost by indecision than wrong choices, could be his mantra.  haha.

@ehonour I agree, sometimes enough is enough when it comes to editing. I get stuck on that rat wheel (no offense to rats) of editing and worry about clipping out a critical piece by accident.

@ehonour While your readers may be well read, it's worth considering their knowledge of writing. Any house guest might point out a puddle of water pooling in your bathroom, but that doesn't mean they'll know you need to replace the wax ring at the base of your toilet.

Early on, I had multiple readers point at some aspect of my POV narration. I never really got what they were saying though. At least, I didn't for another year or so. I was working in a small critique group when a fellow writer circled a single word in my scene. They wrote something like, "I don't feel like the character would say this." The problem was that I had yet to realize that the prose in 3rd person limited still used the POV character's language.

So while you shouldn't throw out any feedback that you think is credible, you should also consider the possibility that the suggestions are pointing in a general direction rather than directly at the problem. There's nothing wrong with an insecure captain, but there is in one that refuses or is slow to make decisions. I'd take another look at his decisiveness. Also, don't have him be outspoken about his insecurity. Even if the reader knows about it, you can't let his crew in on it. If the crew doubts their leader, said leader might not be in charge very long, especially when in a remote location.

@jtwrites I almost spit my coffee out laughing at this, "Any house guest might point out a puddle of water pooling in your bathroom, but that doesn't mean they'll know you need to replace the wax ring at the base of your toilet."  Why, because I've been the one to spot it and helped the owner fix it, since they didn't know how. And yes, more than once (different people). haha

Posted by: @ehonour

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And I am in for v42Q1. Worked several passes on this one, got some great editing help, and sooner or later you just have to say "enough." Back to the WIP novel where I'm trying to meet a deadline...

And yes, this time I made sure to remove my name. [rolling my eyes]

Mistakes happen. That's life.

But YAY on getting Q1 done and in!  

(To make you feel better though, it's one thing to forget your name on your work...and then, don't do what I did. I said I submitted my Q1 and did not actually complete the process! Thankfully, I went to go look and noticed something was off, and went to go find the problem. Imagine thinking you submitted it, and then you actually didn't! )

Posted by: @annax

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Imagine thinking you submitted it, and then you actually didn't! )

 

If I submit early, multiple times in a quarter I will suddenly think "oh no, was that *last quarter* I submitted and I'm really behind the ball for this one?" and then I go check and I'm fine. And then the next week....

I have a story that's a bit dark for WotF for Q1, so I'm rushing to finish another story. Kind of stuck in the middle (scene 1 and 2 done, along with ending mostly done, just getting the middle and knowing on the right track is tough.) Stories are about Beginnings, middles, and ends. Miss one of those and you don't have a story. I've been saying "augh" a lot lately for good reason.

Posted by: @toddjones

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I have a story that's a bit dark for WotF for Q1, so I'm rushing to finish another story. Kind of stuck in the middle (scene 1 and 2 done, along with ending mostly done, just getting the middle and knowing on the right track is tough.) Stories are about Beginnings, middles, and ends. Miss one of those and you don't have a story. I've been saying "augh" a lot lately for good reason.

 

I'm here if you want a pair of eyes to help read your story quickly! Just shoot it to my messages. I'll get it back to you in a few hours because I know you need it back. 😊 

@gideonpsmith I did that for another publication.

And, submitted--in for Q1. I think I could have spent the next five days tinkering, but I was happy with this after my last read through and edit. The only places I felt needed work I was able to clean up, and I'm fairly comfortable that I have nothing significant left to change, at least within the timeframe. (I also know that my time is about to be a lot more constrained from now until the deadline, and I'll be able to enjoy it a lot more if I've drawn a line under this.)

Good luck to all those still tinkering out there!

@doctorjest Congratulations! You finished just in time to start working on your Q2 submission!

Anyone else aiming to submit in January? Are such plans too ambitious?

Posted by: @jtwrites

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Anyone else aiming to submit in January? Are such plans too ambitious?

The last few quarters I have submitted early and have done in the distant past too. There are advantages and disadvantages, Hitting submit on a quarter allows me to be much more productive on other projects and focus on submitting to other markets, Once, and only once, after hitting submit early a couple days later I thought of something else/a change, that would have made the story even better. That's the risk. It's low if you're just a week ahead like DrJest above but if its months thats a long time for words to swim around in your head. So if you're going in early just make sure you're really done. I usually only know this if I've already been sitting on it for a month. If I'm no longer tinkering with read throughs, its done and safe to submit.

Posted by: @doctorjest

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And, submitted--in for Q1. I think I could have spent the next five days tinkering, but I was happy with this after my last read through and edit. The only places I felt needed work I was able to clean up, and I'm fairly comfortable that I have nothing significant left to change, at least within the timeframe. (I also know that my time is about to be a lot more constrained from now until the deadline, and I'll be able to enjoy it a lot more if I've drawn a line under this.)

Good luck to all those still tinkering out there!

congrats!