Discussion: Q2 Volume 41

Joni slipped into my email at 1am this morning to tell me of yet another HM. I shouldn't be disappointed; HM is very good. And yet I had higher hopes for this one. Ah, well. My purpose here is to write, so I think I'll go do some more writing. With a smile.  

Posted by: @ehonour

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Joni slipped into my email at 1am this morning to tell me of yet another HM. I shouldn't be disappointed; HM is very good. And yet I had higher hopes for this one. Ah, well. My purpose here is to write, so I think I'll go do some more writing. With a smile.  

Ah, but first...I took the time to send the story off to a market. HM is good enough some editor might think it's great.

  SHM for me. I'm pleased with it for this story, which was a bit of an experiment.

Another R. Congrats to all who placed.

RWC

I will study on this.

 Congrats to all who entered! I’m really hoping for good news from those who have posted yet. Mine got a SHM, which surprised me. It’s my first time getting silver for a sci fi story, so I’m feeling very encouraged.

@kz_richards congrats!  

you see, and you said you were less optimistic about this piece. Never self-reject 😉 congrats!!

Posted by: @tj_knight

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@pdblake Sorry, man. I've been there. Had three in a row early on with Dave. Hard to push on after that, like, stories take forever to craft and perfect and bam, R.

Let me know how the current one goes, k? Are we connected on FB?

I'll let you know. I'm not on Facebook. I do hang out at Absolute Write though. 

Might have to go back to trolls lol. 

Posted by: @storysinger

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Posted by: @pdblake

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it's obvious my work doesn't fit with the new judge

RWC for five of the last six quarters for me. I share your thoughts on my style not fitting the new judges.

I don't plan to quit over it though, it's too easy to write a short story and submit. Never give up.

It's not so much quitting as sending things where they'll fit better. The turn around for this is so slow too. I know the prize is big but it's not worth the wait when I can see my writing is not a fit anymore. 

Posted by: @pdblake

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Well that's my third straight rejection. I've entered for the last quarter but it's obvious my work doesn't fit with the new judge. I won't be bothering again. The wait is far too long anyway. 

Sorry to hear that.  I'm willing to read through your story and see if I can spot any constructive criticism other than R.

I've been extremely disappointed in (I guess myself) the ratings of my stories for this year. All my test readers said my Q2 submission was my best work. It got a HM, but I don't know what else I can do that would connect MC to reader or give the reader a more satisfying story.  I'm glad for the HM, but I'm stumped.  I said to myself, after my phone was quiet for so long, that I'd stop entering if this one was rejected. I really don't have more skill in me to write a better story.

This was a re-sub story. It got a RWC back in vol.40 Q1. After 4 more rejections I got some personal feedback from the folks at "Cosmic Roots & Eldritch Shores" that allowed me to revise the story by adding more tension, cut some words from the opening, clarified a few things, and importantly, added over 1000 words to the ending. It's now much improved and the HM is the reward! I'm very pleased with this.

Now I'm off to sub it somewhere else  

Congrats to everyone who entered and for those that placed!

Finally, I didn't get a R or RWC!! Whoohoo! Thrilled!

Posted by: @ehonour

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I shouldn't be disappointed; HM is very good. And yet I had higher hopes for this one. Ah, well. My purpose here is to write, so I think I'll go do some more writing. With a smile.  

Same with me. I'm going to try and hang onto your optimism and keep writing.

Posted by: @Anonymous

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Another R. Congrats to all who placed.

Sorry to hear that. Keep the faith and keep on writing.

Congratulations to all who placed! Even if you only got an Honorable Mention, that means that you were in the top 10% out of all the entries submitted.

If you got a RWC or R, don't let that get you down either. Study the comments letter, double-check Martin's unwritten rules here on the Forum, and try again. Keep writing, keep growing, and never let rejection shelve your passion. If you care about what you write, it'll show.

Posted by: @pmg

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This was a re-sub story. It got a RWC back in vol.40 Q1. After 4 more rejections I got some personal feedback from the folks at "Cosmic Roots & Eldritch Shores" that allowed me to revise the story by adding more tension, cut some words from the opening, clarified a few things, and importantly, added over 1000 words to the ending. It's now much improved and the HM is the reward! I'm very pleased with this.

Now I'm off to sub it somewhere else  

Congrats to everyone who entered and for those that placed!

Congrats

@kz_richards Congrats. Adding to your collection is always a good feeling.

@toddjones Thank you! And congrats on your HM!

Another one of these! I'm pleased, as I have since realized things this story lacked, and things that could have been stronger. Might see if it's worth revising and sending somewhere else, but for now I'm focusing on outlining my current story. 

This is my fourth overall. I think the story was well-written, but I wonder now (after reading V40) if it was my originality of premise that didn't stand out enough to place better.

3 in a row. Of course always wanting to break through, but glad to at least be consistent. Congrats to all who are happy with their results, and for those who, like me, aren't as happy, let's hang in there and keep studying and practicing and rooting for our fellow writers! You guys are awesome! 

HM for me this time. 

Congratulations to all that entered Q2, and kudos to those that placed. Writers of the Future is the most prestigious writing contest for an aspiring speculative fiction writer to win. No other spec fic talent search contest comes close to the international scope of this, nor the rewards offered. The most talented emerging writers in the world enter it, many with two and even three pro sales already accomplished (it’s your fourth *publication* that disqualifies you).

To even get an HM in this contest is a big deal. To get an SHM, super impressive because SHM means you were up at the top of thousands of writers. Semifinalist? You were in the mix for the win and someone did their job just a little better than you, or they already had too many stories like yours, or the judge was just sick to death of zombie stories and yours wasn’t fresh enough on the idea. And finalist? You won, even if you didn’t. Top eight out of thousands from around the world? You got skillz. You got game. You’ll have a career if you keep going, with or without this contest (but I hope you win, there’s nothing else like this).

And if you win? You beat all odds against winning. You impressed some significant judges, some of the best in our field. That will get you recognition and publicity you can use to launch your career. It has for many … some of them the very judges now judging your work.

Stay the course. Nothing of this much value ever comes easy. Winning this contest is worth the fight. And every time you write a fresh story and send it in, you have won. Because you pushed your creative boundaries and skills once again.

Cheers! 

Congrats to all who placed in this quarter’s competition. Unfortunately, my story didn’t, this time. Also, I didn’t receive any comments on it so I’m not sure about the reason for the R. But, this was my first entry (in any short story writing contest) so I’m not going to stop trying. It’s a little heartbreaking but I’m trying to keep in mind that, with writing, there will be far more rejections than wins. For someone with a detrimental fear of rejection, I have to say that just submitting a story to a contest is a win for me!

@knyghtstyk I'm glad you won't stop trying. I got an R for my first submission, too. And I'm glad I didn't stop trying, either.

To all, congratulations! Regardless of your result, you submitted, and that's not easy. 

For those not awaiting a second call, I say, "Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!"

@ease, thanks for the encouragement!

Looks like this one was a straight rejection.  The next quarter's will certainly be, but maybe this quarter will be different.

@wulfmoon thanks for this post of encouragement to all of us Wulf, keeping it positive is hard but essential in this game:) this post hits all the right notes