Discussion: Q2 Volume 42

@amstard That how I was feeling. Just keep at it.

@chwalter You'll get there

Quite consistent

And, another RWC for me.

I think I have an idea why this would be the case for this story, but even so, drat and blast and other rude words to go with it! I suspect it's another case of bad fit for WotF, though. I know why my Q1 wasn't right, and my Q2 probably wasn't either, but this one was one of those roll-the-dice gambles where maybe it'd go down a storm, or -- if not -- then maybe it'd do...well, this.

Poo, as my father would have said.

@doctorjest I know how you feel. Keep up the writing.

Not to be ungrateful, but I thought that this story had a chance to do better than that, so have to admit, this deflated me. I'm a bit sick today, so I'll take a day to absorb and see if any lessons can be learned from this, other than the reader didn't like it as much as I thought they might.  

Posted by: @adrian

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Not to be ungrateful, but I thought that this story had a chance to do better than that, so have to admit, this deflated me. I'm a bit sick today, so I'll take a day to absorb and see if any lessons can be learned from this, other than the reader didn't like it as much as I thought they might.  

both congrats and commiserations - and IMHO its not 'ungrateful' to have feelings. You are entitled to them. I know - I've been there ("ungrateful") many times. It's ok. Feel your feelings, whatever they are. And then come back stronger when you are ready to re-connect with this community and write your next one. We'll be here, ready to congratulate or commiserate or both

@craydimensional  I'm with you, Cray. HM #18 breaks a streak of poor showings.

Best of luck to those who are still in.

Have fun!

What's the order of operations for notifications? First winners, then finalists, then honorable mentions, then straight rejections? Some other order? Or totally at random? I still haven't heard anything, so I'm wondering how to interpret that. 😂

@stricklandia In the past, the top 8 stories are usually notified first that they are in contention for prize, they are not allowed to say anything. Then SHM and below are notified. SF are usually notified last in case on of the finalist has an issue. Then after judging the top 8 are notified if they are winners or finalist and released of gag order.

I resubmitted my DQ and got an HM, which is about what I expected from that story.

Congratulations and commiserations to all! Results can be an emotional whirlwind, but our best stories are yet to come, regardless of the outcome. Cry, celebrate, brush it off or take it to heart, then get back out there and write something you love. 

HM for me! Just in time to create a dilemma of whether to submit this instead of something else for another (non-WotF) deadline. It's going to be an interesting weekend!

RWC for me and it's completely beyond me why. Q3 is the first quarter I haven't entered for years, I have ideas for Q4, but - this has got too painful.

I'm grateful that my last 3 subs have been HM (6 total), but I was hoping this one would be the jackpot I even imagined what the illustration might've been  

Need to get back to revisions on my Q3 entry now. Onto the next one.

Considering that I wrote the final 3000 or so words (out of ~12500) in a rush on the day of the deadline, I'm pretty chuffed with this.  

@jcunitt Nice one! Well done!

@time Keep trying. Don't give up

One more! Starting a collection lol

Posted by: @stricklandia

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What's the order of operations for notifications? First winners, then finalists, then honorable mentions, then straight rejections? Some other order? Or totally at random? I still haven't heard anything, so I'm wondering how to interpret that. 😂

well the key difference is the top 8 are notified by phone. Joni calls from a private number usually 1 to 3 weeks prior to everyone else hears. 

If she couldn't get you by phone I am sure she would have sent at least a cryptic email by now, but maybe check your spam as all other results are released at the same time as far as I know. If you still don't find anything, maybe contact Joni at the contests email the results usually come from. 

As Cray said, the top 8 are under gag order until the winners are selected, so often finalists post here after everyone else.

my second one!

  It's technically a resubmission of an HM, however after receiving professional edits from Scot Noel and Wulf Moon, it became a much different story. Tighter and more focused. I should also mention that shortly after receiving these pro-edits, I became so sick I had to take long break [close to a year] from writing and taking this story and employing these major edits was my way of coming back out of a long dark tunnel. I'm happy to report that I'm much improved after receiving 8 months of chemotherapy and am still undergoing immunotherapy treatments for stage 4 bladder cancer. Chemo-brain is a thing and I'm happy to be clear of it [finally]. I was able to concentrate on editing old stories before I could fully concentrate on something new.  

  With the return of my story with such a nice ranking, I'm free to send it out to other markets. It's on the short side for WOTF stories [but way longer than flash] so there are lots of possibilities for it finding a home.

Meanwhile, I'm on the last set of edits on what will be my Q3 story. Many thanks to Wulf Moon for helping me visualize how to change a novel beginning into a competitive WOTF short story. Many thanks to Candice for reading edited versions of it and cheering me on. So many wonderful and valuable resources at our disposal on this forum. I urge everyone to take advantage.

I can't wait to find out who the finalists, semi-finalists, and winners of Q2 are. Whoever you may be, know that I'm thinking happy positive thoughts your way!  

For the Rs, remember this is a market and not just a test of how good your writing is.

For the RWCs, hang in there. Maybe there's something easy to fix and you can resubmit for a higher result.

For the HMs, remember... top 10 or so percent of all entries [and by my estimate, thousands per quarter]. 

For my fellow SHMs, yay, a returned story that can be sent out with great hope.

Got an RWC, which is better than the previous rejection I got, but I was hoping for at least an HM. Unfortunately, I can't wrap my head around exactly why this was rejected. Violence? I figured maybe that was it, or perhaps a common trope. Who knows. I wish that by RWC, the comments were a little more constructive and personal to the story.

Posted by: @shounenbat

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Got an RWC, which is better than the previous rejection I got, but I was hoping for at least an HM. Unfortunately, I can't wrap my head around exactly why this was rejected. Violence? I figured maybe that was it, or perhaps a common trope. Who knows. I wish that by RWC, the comments were a little more constructive and personal to the story.

How long is it? If you are really feeling lost on why I'm happy to look and try to give a best guess if its under 6k. If its over I'm still willing to look at the first few pages if that would be helpful (not claiming any expertise - sometimes just a second set of eyes helps)

I am surprised and chuffed!   Writing has been so hard for the past few months (which is why I'm skipping Q3) but getting my second silver is making me cautiously optimistic. Gotta get back to writing!

Congratulations to all who submitted (because no matter the outcome, yey you wrote a story!) and all who placed. Hoping to hear some winner reveals yet to come!

Posted by: @time

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RWC for me and it's completely beyond me why. Q3 is the first quarter I haven't entered for years, I have ideas for Q4, but - this has got too painful.

I know that pain. A hollow space opens in my heart and wants to swallow up every last breath I take. My intellect piles on to tell me that everything I've done to this point has come to nothing. It laughs in my father's voice and tells me I should do anything else. And the knife twists when my mother's soft, urgent voice asks me if I really have to keep doing this to myself.

Well, I do have to keep doing this. There are a million reasons that help me overcome the pain but the single overriding reason for continuing through rejection after rejection is that I have chosen to do this. I have chosen to succeed. I want to entertain people because I know that I can. I want to transport people into worlds where they can experience wonder and excitement.

Whatever the reason, writers choose to write. It is that unique act of choice to forego other pursuits and actively write that bonds us together in conference theaters, on forums, and in imaginary sofa cushion forts sipping tea (or tequila). We are a community of people who support each other through the pain and raise our lucky few in triumph.

Though it may feel like it in the depths of rejection, no one is alone in the writing world. You are not alone. Take advantage of every opportunity you have to help others and help yourself. Continue your work because the world needs you. We need you.

And have fun!

Kent

I'm very happy with this, especially since last quarter was an R. This story is very special to me and it was a bit experimental.

Congratulations to everyone on your HMs and SHMs and to all who submitted, that in itself is really well done 🌟💫✨ 

And best of luck with Q3! 🤞✨

Lest certain people, who shall remain nameless, begin wondering whether my silence means I received a phone call this quarter.... I did not.

, only because I couldn't find a grumpy emoji holding this sign.

Congrats to all. Whether getting an R or Finalist or anything between, you are inspiring...why? Because you submitted. You created some world, some characters that never existed before in human history. How cool is that?! And for those disappointed with results, remember there can be a multitude of reasons. Maybe WotF is not a good market for your tale. (This is a real possibility - I had one R, two HM's and one SHM accepted elsewhere.) Or - my personal go to excuse when one of my stories is rejected - maybe the slush reader had a migraine. (Based on the number of rejections I've received, migraines are a major public health crisis.) Again, congrats to ALL submitters - you created something and thus, by definition, you are awesome.    

Posted by: @kent

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I know that pain. A hollow space opens in my heart and wants to swallow up every last breath I take. My intellect piles on to tell me that everything I've done to this point has come to nothing. It laughs in my father's voice and tells me I should do anything else. And the knife twists when my mother's soft, urgent voice asks me if I really have to keep doing this to myself.

Totally get that, as my mom in particular is the queen of 'be practical.' It's the reason my youngest brother gave up on pursuing theater after high school; she managed to talk him out of it, and he was really, really good. That's actually why I haven't told anyone that I enter this contest... or that I've two novels in the works... or that I'm busy working on my own indie game. It's hard to find time, but I think it's important to keep pushing towards your dreams. I don't want to be full of regret, and I've already spent too much time trying to be practical.

Not that there isn't a time and place for that (I've got bills to pay), but I think it's possible for practicality to become a form of pessimism.

Once again. Number 8 at HM or above in 14 submissions. After one SF a year-and-a-half ago, I'd been getting too-high hopes that disappointed me each time I wasn't that high again. But I'm back to being very pleased with a judgment into the top 10% of thousands of submissions. It reminds me that this truly is a BIG DEAL, and encourages me to keep writing.

Congrats to all those others who placed, at whatever level. Bask in the glow of achievement!