Discussion: Q2 Volume 37

Thank you, Beth Powers. I was positive the results used to come in waves, but no one else seemed to think so. Kind of liked it that way better. Oh well, back to a draft.

Working on my Q4 as we wait in twitchery.

Get thee to a Twitchery!

I am going to channel Martin Shoemaker and tell all you twitchers this:

WRITE! WRITE! WRITE! WRITE!

And good luck on the twitching. May you hear soon!

Enjoying all these comments.

They are humorous, and help ease the REALITY OF PANDEMIC LIFE stuff, which are the only things which make me "twitch."

Best of luck to all, and if there are any Finalists who've already been notified, Congratulations.

Best,

Retro

Enjoying all these comments.

They are humorous, and help ease the REALITY OF PANDEMIC LIFE stuff, which are the only things which make me "twitch."

Best of luck to all, and if there are any Finalists who've already been notified, Congratulations.

Best,

Retro

Yo Retro! Tickle those keys to a dance tune so we don't look like a freakshow standing here twitching in our shoes.

Dragonchef, thank you, later today, I'll play my piano, and imagine I'm back in Pre-Pandemic days, before the State I live in was declared by The New York Times to be the worst in the entire world at this time.

Best,

Retro

Dragonchef, thank you, later today, I'll play my piano, and imagine I'm back in Pre-Pandemic days, before the State I live in was declared by The New York Times to be the worst in the entire world at this time.
Retro

Yikes! Where DO you live?

Arizona. Ugh. Sorry to hear.
Saw the Phoenix mayor pleading for PPE this morning on the news.
I'm in NY, so, been there...

How are the winners announced? Q2 was my first submission.

How are the winners announced? Q2 was my first submission.

Finalists get a call. Others get emails. Sometimes the results all kind of come out at once, other times in waves. The official, public announcement goes up much later than the actual notification of results to the entrants.

The acronym for Every Day Is Thursday is EDIT.

Maybe it's a higher truth, telling us to stop twitching and get back to work 😉

Best of luck to all. Results should be soon, I think.

I'm not even submitted for this quarter but that's such a hilarious acronym that I couldn't resist commenting on it.

It also reminds me of how the book Contact ends. Without going in to detail, encoding information inside of naturally occurring patterns is a really fun idea to play around with!

More to the point: good luck with your Q2 results, everyone! (And to Retro and anyone else who is in a bad area for the pandemic, stay safe! I'm wishing good health for all of you.)

How are the winners announced? Q2 was my first submission.

Finalists get a call. Others get emails. Sometimes the results all kind of come out at once, other times in waves. The official, public announcement goes up much later than the actual notification of results to the entrants.

Lately, the Finalists' calls are a few days before rejections come out. The calls seem to take a day or two and typically they are asked not to say anything until results come out. Honorable Mentions and Silver Honorable Mentions come out the same time as rejections. Via email. All that may occur over a two-day stretch. Semi-Finalists are sometimes left in limbo for a week (I think). And, of course, the finalists have to wait another week or so to find out if they win.

I gather this has not always been the scenario and there is no guarantee it will continue to unfold in a similar fashion. Also, sometimes a hiccup occurs and Joni doesn't get through to a finalist. Or you don't get your email the same time as everyone else. I can't recall hearing of anyone completely dropping through the cracks though. (Note: I've only been entering this year and last. Others have way more historical knowledge).

Let me know if I got anything above wrong or if I'm off a bit.

How are the winners announced? Q2 was my first submission.

Finalists get a call. Others get emails. Sometimes the results all kind of come out at once, other times in waves. The official, public announcement goes up much later than the actual notification of results to the entrants.

Thanks. I guess I will have to keep my phone off of silent for now.

Anyone know the area code from whence the joyous news comes? Oh wait-I seem to recall someone mentioning it showed up as blocked or unknown or something like that?

How are the winners announced? Q2 was my first submission.

Finalists get a call. Others get emails. Sometimes the results all kind of come out at once, other times in waves. The official, public announcement goes up much later than the actual notification of results to the entrants.

Thanks. I guess I will have to keep my phone off of silent for now.

Not a bad idea, though Joni would probably leave a message. Congrats on your first time entering, by the way!

Anyone know the area code from whence the joyous news comes? Oh wait-I seem to recall someone mentioning it showed up as blocked or unknown or something like that?

Probably 323
And more to the point, probably from 323-466-3310

Anyone know the area code from whence the joyous news comes? Oh wait-I seem to recall someone mentioning it showed up as blocked or unknown or something like that?

Probably 323
And more to the point, probably from 323-466-3310

Why does knowing that make me suddenly twitch harder?

Anyone know the area code from whence the joyous news comes? Oh wait-I seem to recall someone mentioning it showed up as blocked or unknown or something like that?

All but one time, my call from Joni has been from an Unknown number.

All but one time, my call from Joni has been from an Unknown number.

That could be the sneakiness of the WotF Author Services to freak you out right after you say, "Uh, hello?"
Author Services: "Is this the party to whom I am speaking?"
You: What the... "Of course it is."
Author Services: "Sorry, I must have the wrong number."

Anyone know the area code from whence the joyous news comes? Oh wait-I seem to recall someone mentioning it showed up as blocked or unknown or something like that?

All but one time, my call from Joni has been from an Unknown number.

Well, you would know! I can tease you since you won right?

Anyone know the area code from whence the joyous news comes? Oh wait-I seem to recall someone mentioning it showed up as blocked or unknown or something like that?

All but one time, my call from Joni has been from an Unknown number.

You would also know this: When do published finalists find out their story will be in the Volume?

Finalists get a call. Others get emails. Sometimes the results all kind of come out at once, other times in waves. The official, public announcement goes up much later than the actual notification of results to the entrants.

Thanks. I guess I will have to keep my phone off of silent for now.

Not a bad idea, though Joni would probably leave a message. Congrats on your first time entering, by the way!

Thanks! I was able to submit to Q3 as well, but I am far less confident in that story than my Q2 submission.

I'm dying to hear the results. The waiting wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't struggling on my current work-in-progress. After a great run writing everyday, the words just stopped flowing.

Thanks. I guess I will have to keep my phone off of silent for now.

Not a bad idea, though Joni would probably leave a message. Congrats on your first time entering, by the way!

Thanks! I was able to submit to Q3 as well, but I am far less confident in that story than my Q2 submission.

I'm dying to hear the results. The waiting wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't struggling on my current work-in-progress. After a great run writing everyday, the words just stopped flowing.

I feel very similar. Like my Q2 entry, not so keen on my Q3 one, and am struggling to write anything new due to stress at work that is stifling my creativity.

Thanks! I was able to submit to Q3 as well, but I am far less confident in that story than my Q2 submission.

I'm dying to hear the results. The waiting wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't struggling on my current work-in-progress. After a great run writing everyday, the words just stopped flowing.

I feel very similar. Like my Q2 entry, not so keen on my Q3 one, and am struggling to write anything new due to stress at work that is stifling my creativity.

This was butchering my efforts too, work stress on top of the ever growing multitude of other daily delights. Fortunately, disgruntledpeony gave me a kick to dig through my archive of older stories, and see if I could pull out anything that might be worth brushing up for another try -- I was able to do that, which is the only reason I have a Q3 entry at all. My Q4 is what could have been my Q2, and was meant to be my Q3. It's frustrating to be working on a story I love, but to still be struggling with it, mostly for reasons that have nothing to do with the story.

Thanks! I was able to submit to Q3 as well, but I am far less confident in that story than my Q2 submission.

I'm dying to hear the results. The waiting wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't struggling on my current work-in-progress. After a great run writing everyday, the words just stopped flowing.

I feel very similar. Like my Q2 entry, not so keen on my Q3 one, and am struggling to write anything new due to stress at work that is stifling my creativity.

This was butchering my efforts too, work stress on top of the ever growing multitude of other daily delights. Fortunately, disgruntledpeony gave me a kick to dig through my archive of older stories, and see if I could pull out anything that might be worth brushing up for another try -- I was able to do that, which is the only reason I have a Q3 entry at all. My Q4 is what could have been my Q2, and was meant to be my Q3. It's frustrating to be working on a story I love, but to still be struggling with it, mostly for reasons that have nothing to do with the story.

You have my sympathies, I know how bad that feels.

I submitted in the last days of Q3 as I had intended to submit another story that I quite like but had sent it elsewhere and was waiting to hear back. They promised a reply by 1st June, then 30th June, now they’re saying another 2-3 weeks. Assuming they don’t want it, I can revise and submit for Q4.

Anyone know the area code from whence the joyous news comes? Oh wait-I seem to recall someone mentioning it showed up as blocked or unknown or something like that?

All but one time, my call from Joni has been from an Unknown number.

You would also know this: When do published finalists find out their story will be in the Volume?

After all the winners have been chosen and the publisher decides if there's room. Call it Nov-February. I got asked at the start of Feb, but that was pretty late!

Thanks! I was able to submit to Q3 as well, but I am far less confident in that story than my Q2 submission.

I'm dying to hear the results. The waiting wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't struggling on my current work-in-progress. After a great run writing everyday, the words just stopped flowing.

I feel very similar. Like my Q2 entry, not so keen on my Q3 one, and am struggling to write anything new due to stress at work that is stifling my creativity.

This was butchering my efforts too, work stress on top of the ever growing multitude of other daily delights. Fortunately, disgruntledpeony gave me a kick to dig through my archive of older stories, and see if I could pull out anything that might be worth brushing up for another try -- I was able to do that, which is the only reason I have a Q3 entry at all. My Q4 is what could have been my Q2, and was meant to be my Q3. It's frustrating to be working on a story I love, but to still be struggling with it, mostly for reasons that have nothing to do with the story.

I did a similar thing when my word blockage started at the end of last month. I didn't have a short story ready, but I did have my first novel finished. Since it was more of a practice novel, I took a section from a character's backstory, and edited it into a self-contained story on the last day. I think it is pretty good, but I forgot one edit I wanted to make and I think the subject matter might be on the borderline for the competition.

Call it Nov-February. I got asked at the start of Feb, but that was pretty late!

Holy Last-Minute Batman! LOL. I'm amazed they can get the book out before the Gala if they are still adding stories in February! Someone(s) must be working their butts off.

Q2 was my first time entering the contest so I'm enjoying the veterans of the contests insights! I actually like my story for Q3 better than Q2, so don't have expectations of winning this quarter, but I'm twitching anyway.

My Q4 story is a combination of historical fiction with fantasy so I'm mostly reading, researching and taking notes this month. I plan to dive into the outlining and writing in August. This is the fun part for me!