Discussion Q2 Volume 39

@jmabey I’m glad you’ve pointed this out ? We don’t have robots judging and administering this contest. All the love and patience and support is in order here. The results will come in due time.

@clfors <The results will come in due time.> Probably an outbreak of SharkPox holding things up in LA

Posted by: @scribblesatdusk

I personally wish more people would submit on the shorter side to make room for more published finalists.

I don’t understand what the shorter side is. Can you please explain it to me? Sorry. I’m just getting back into being part of any kind of circle with writers. It’s been like, 15 years for me.

I think part of it is also submitting everywhere. Just try and submit and chances are, someone will love your writing as much as you do. You just have to find them. ?

@dragonchef shhhh…you’ll scare people! I’m 60 miles north-east of LA and the Sharkpox is no joking matter out here!

Posted by: @annax

Posted by: @scribblesatdusk

I personally wish more people would submit on the shorter side to make room for more published finalists.

I don’t understand what the shorter side is.

So you've got flash fiction, which I don't think WotF accepts. These are super short stories, around a thousand words or under. Short stories are around a thousand words to eighty-five hundred words. Novelette is the next form, longer than a short story and up to seventeen-thousand five-hundred words. The novella comes next, longer than a novelette (hate the term for this one when it should be called 'short novel') up to but not exceeding forty-thousand words. Anything at or above forty-thousand is considered a "novel."

I might be slightly wrong on some of these lengths. It's been a while since I've learned them, but its a good baseline for the different terms.

 @clfors

< I’m 60 miles north-east of LA and the Sharkpox is no joking matter out here!>

 

That puts you somewhere near El Mirage? Where all sharks go to drop their pox bubbles before they mate with the California Pangolinaroo (nasty little buggers that roll into an iron ball before they kick the living shazbot out of ya). I think I've been there.

@lambenttyto

Posted by: @annax

I don’t understand what the shorter side is.

So you've got flash fiction, which I don't think WotF accepts. These are super short stories, around a thousand words or under. Short stories are around a thousand words to eighty-five hundred words. Novelette is the next form, longer than a short story and up to seventeen-thousand five-hundred words. The novella comes next, longer than a novelette (hate the term for this one when it should be called 'short novel') up to but not exceeding forty-thousand words. Anything at or above forty-thousand is considered a "novel."

I might be slightly wrong on some of these lengths. It's been a while since I've learned them, but its a good baseline for the different terms.

Apparently they do accept flash, though it would have to be some REALLY good flash to compete with longer stories. When I say shorter side I'm thinking in the 3-6k range.

@dragonchef exactly right. <nods emphatically> I’m surprised you know the area…most people don’t.

I think between 5k and 7k is an ideal target for WOTF. 

I heard the shortest winning story was about 2,800 words, but I think that would be rare.

Posted by: @wahlquistj

Posted by: @martin-l-shoemaker

Every editor will tell you that what they most want is a unique voice.

Some editors will also tell you to cut, cut, cut, with newspaper terseness.

They cannot see the contradiction here. They're cutting voice.

I agree with @clfors, I enjoy tasty words. To me, the author’s voice is as important as any other part of the book. At the same time, I’ve been enjoying making my writing ‘tighter’, shuffling the building blocks of sentences around to create the most empathy in the least amount of space.

I don't think they're mutually exclusive. I know that I've gone back through some of my "best" writing and found lots of excess words, often unnecessary, that I could cut easily without changing my voice. 

Ex after editing: They're not mutually exclusive. I've gone through my writing and found many words I could cut without changing my voice. 

Lots more impact in the same statements after editing.

Posted by: @physa

[peeks into pillow fort]

[lights another candle for the recently fallen]

[kneels down to pray]

[a crescendo of refresh clicks fills the air]

[wipes fresh tears from my eyes]

[another long day, I expect]

[ Enters pillow fort after a day's work, carrying laptop. Time to write.]

Re: writing long and voice. Learning to write short and tight makes your longer works stronger, because each word is used intentionally, I think. I see a lot of value in honing our craft to a point we can write capably at any length, but for me, learning to write short made my longer pieces that much stronger. You learn to layer meaning, make each word do multiple things, imply meaning, etc. As the editor for a microfiction contest I've seen pieces that developed whole worlds in 250 words while packing enormous punch with voice. I love novels and the novelette length in particular, but I am still glad I worked on flash and shorter pieces in addition to lengthier works.

Hey everyone,

It's been a pretty hectic time for me since my last post on the Forums, but I've finally gotten a chance to sit down again (thank goodness).

So, my question is, has anyone actually received a Finalist call yet? I submitted for the first time in Q2, and while I know my odds are pretty slim for that exact reason, I haven't given up hope that I may yet receive a call (and, of course, there are no calls for SHMs and HMs, so I could also get one of those and never know until it comes out). But as the days go by, I can't help but get a liiiiiitttttle anxious ?

I assume everyone gets their Finalist call on the same day (or at least around the same time) so if anybody has received one, I would very much like to know about it or else my brain won't let me rest until the day the results come out

That's all I've got time for at the moment. I must away to strange and mystical lands! If my writer's block/procrastination habit will let me.

See y'all (hopefully) soon!

P.S. I realize that Finalists might not be allowed to tell anyone that they are Finalists. Does anyone know if that's the case? I don't want to go asking the wrong questions now *wink, wink*.

@ben-t-j-martin Sorry, Ben. Wink or no, finalists are told not to share the news when they get the call. You'll find out when we all find out: when Joni posts the official news, or if you get her email before that. Hang in there! I know it's not easy. 

@ben-t-j-martin Kary said there was one call already, on the 28th.

Pops head out of fort to see if anyone has emails.

Posted by: @craydimensional

Pops head out of fort to see if anyone has emails.

None so far! Keep the night-fires burning, friend.

Posted by: @ben-t-j-martin

I realize that Finalists might not be allowed to tell anyone that they are Finalists.

Exactly this. For the one time I was a Finalist, my specific instruction was to not reveal it publicly until after other folks had been notified, and I'd started to see people posting here about how they'd placed. I would expect something similar in place for current Finalists, though of course, the specifics may vary.

Also, there have (occasionally) been issues with getting in touch with one or several Finalists, at least once I believe when one was away on a hiking vacation and cut off from all communication. And because they do like to contact all the Finalists before the results go out, that can potentially play havoc with the timing. Even if seven of eight have been reached, there's no saying just how many wrenches that eighth one might chuck into the works around this. From the outside, it may seem like all should be well, but you never know what kinds of goblins are playing silly buggers on the inside.

My approach is pretty much the same as ever--stay patient, and work on the next story. There's nothing quite like writing something new to ease all the tension around waiting for results!  

Since everyone here has already turned in for Q2, has there been a time after your submission that you suddenly questioned your story? Which part did you worry about (as in grammar and spelling or mistakes, someone else having a better story, etc)?

The other day, I was critiquing stories and I read this really brilliant story. I can’t say anything except there were no errors, I thought the storyline was perfect, there were no extraneous information, and everything was tight, compact, and well done.

After that story, I started to worry about mine. I also started to read the winning entries in Writers of the Future so I could get a reference as to what the judges liked. I think that’s also why I had the crazy dream about stressing out about results. 

I’m finally back into believing what I entered was great because I loved it and I wanted to share a story I loved with everyone. 

Does comparing your work to other’s make you worry or does it have the total opposite effect?

1. @ehonour definitely not mutually exclusive! I think it depends on the goal of the editing. I aim for tight writing but keep what feels right.

@annax all the time. It's the curse of learning.

There was a story that I submitted a few quarters ago that earned a SHM. I couldn't see what was wrong with it. I submitted it to another publication and received a rejection stating that the middle dragged. I still couldn't see it.

Fast-forward six months and I pull the story out to submit to an anthology. I begin to read and I see it instantly. It's like someone turned a glaring spotlight on where I went wrong.

I'm already questioning my Q3 story. I know the beginning is a little information-heavy and if I revise it again I will be fixing that.

@craydimensional I just got my results for Illustrators from Joni. A semi-finalist this time. I’m not sure how emails for illustrators relate to email timing for writers. Usually I get them around the same time but we all know writers is delayed some just now for good reason.

@annax sometimes I read my work and it feels brilliant but other times I read others work and doubt my own. Over time and learning it gets easier to see the flaws. 

I think I can tell my stronger pieces though. 

@clfors Congratulations ? 

Posted by: @annax

has there been a time after your submission that you suddenly questioned your story?

hahahaha, there has not been a time I've not questioned a story of mine

@wahlquistj I question my entries all the time.

@clfors 

Congratulations! That's GREAT!!!! 

@clfors congratulations!!

Posted by: @annax

Since everyone here has already turned in for Q2, has there been a time after your submission that you suddenly questioned your story?

This story, this time, no. I took and extra month instead of putting it in Q1 to got through it and have an inordinate amount of readers tuck into it before entering. I'm glad I did, because it made the story much better. I was confident in the story already, but mostly the readers nitpicked details and phrasing, not the plot. I found suggestions in all of them that helped, an they strengthened my world. That's why I said that if I didn't win, I'd just flesh it out into a novel.

Today is my Thursday. I got an honorable mention for Writers this time. I am glad it wasn’t a return but was really hoping for tangible progress this time. 

I just got notification that I didn't place. As I thought. Oh well...