Discussion: Q3 Volume 38

Congrats to all who got kudos!

Posted by: @earthkeeper78

Definitely wasn't expecting to score a SHM, but I'll take it. This is my highest placing in the contest so far. Things can only get better as I hone my craft. Congrats to everyone who placed, and especially to the winners. Good job, everyone!

Nice work, earthkeeper! Don’t forget Dave has said he often gives Silvers so he can see the story again. A Semifinalist kills the story with WotF because you get a critique from Dave. So get this—you may even have ranked higher than a Semifinalist, but Dave hoped you’ll try it again in another Q. Congratulations on hitting so close to the mark. You were in the running!

@chwalter 

Don't be too discouraged. Just looking at the list and the time to review, I'm guessing this was a monster quarter for entries. That probably means if the intro wasn't spot on, it got passed over. Those first few sentences may be the difference, and if your instinct is that the overall story was better, you're probably right. 

Posted by: @scribblesatdusk

I am that Yelena Crane. My experience (even same days) is like Becky’s. It’s been hard seeing all the suffering for results in here even as I knew mine and had to keep mum. 

I was very shocked about the finalist. Shocked and terrified because surely it’s a fluke and I’ll never be able to top this. 

A big thank you to DoctorJest who saw huge flaws in my story and whose critique made me make changes. To Dustin for helping with my first 1000 (and everyone in the 450 group). To Ania, my wonderful writing partner.

Congratulations to all who submitted for q3, regardless of result! 

That's awesome! Congratulations! And yeah, I feel the same way about mine. 😀 It was a fun story at its heart, I hope I'll get to read the final version some day!

As for me...

I still think it's a great story, and for a number of reasons, I had already suspected it might not be a great Contest entry in its current form. So I'll set it aside, and decide whether I want to revise it in the future for a new run at the Contest later, or if I'd rather polish it and send it out with other markets in mind.

Another HM for me. Congrats to everyone here, and especially the finalists!

An SHM for me. ?

I didn't get an email, but the blog post says I'm a semi-finalist! Congrats to all! 

I submitted this story two years ago as my first entry into WotF and earned an R. I decided to fix that beginning. Glad it got into Dave's hands this go around. Congrats to all those getting results! Keep on keepin' on! 

No email yet but my name wasn't anywhere in there so ...  

I thought this story was reasonable. I'll have to skim back over it, check the opening and close, then send it on out to a different market.

Sigh. Back to it.

Congrats to all with your results!

Silver Honorable Mention for my dark fantasy!

Congratulations to everyone who won and placed! Fantastic work! Onward!

EDIT: In case anyone finds this info useful, this story got a rejection the prior quarter. I had faith it was a good story. I woke up in the middle of the night on the last night of the quarter on fire with knowing what had to be done. I chopped the first five pages completely. They were a classic example - almost literally - of walking to the story instead of starting where the story started. I attribute the R to SHM path to cutting off the beginning, even though I was in love with my words lol. That is all!

Honorable Mention for my story "Legal Incontinence," a strange detective story in a future world/country where the laws change too fast for the detectives to enforce them.

I'm pleased. First submission to WotF. I'll keep coming back; I have one in Q4 also.

Trying to keep up, but I must get back to editing for clients. A HUGE number of you got your first HMs, and that is WONDERFUL! You hit the target! From there, it's just honing in on that bullseye. Some of you even turned former Rs into Silvers! That's the result of growth and knowledge. Well done!

Congratulations to everyone who submitted; learning, building a world, writing a story, editing it, and finishing to make the deadline is a feat many wish for but one that you achieved.

Congratulations to those who placed. You know how far you've come since reading your favorite authors with stars in your eyes. Now a best-selling author and editor has read your work and found it worthy. Keep pushing higher.

Congratulations to the finalists and winners. Finalists, you are our inspiration. Winners, you're heroes.

My story received an SHM.

I'm going to have some fun.  

@rschibler thank you!  

So the proverbial feline has been out of the bag for a little while for some of you. I am excited and still a bit shocked that I'm a winner for the third quarter. 

I already had a market selected for this story to submit to but thankfully waited for the results. When Joni called me to tell me that I was a finalist I thought it was for my Q4 submission and was confused that it was this story. I honestly wasn't sure that this story, which was different than anything else I've ever written, would be a good fit for WOTF. But it only proves that sometimes it pays to take a gamble. 

When Joni called to tell me that I had won third place I was sitting in the workshop on imposter syndrome at Fyrecon. I didn't believe her. That is the truth. I was stunned, I still am.

But I am incredibly grateful for this forum, which has meant more to me than you guys know.

And, seriously, you all work your asses off and put your hearts into your stories. Congratulations to everyone who gets a certificate, but an equal congratulations to all of you who got an R and are hard at work at your next story. Your perseverance will pay off.

And just because I will never get to post this again...  

Woot and huzzah, a shiny new HM for me! I got an R last time, so this is plenty welcome for my ego-rebuilding efforts!

But that's not the big news at my house. Not by a long mile.

After some prodding and pleading, this is the first quarter in which I finally got my wife to submit an entry.

And what did she get?

What... did she... get?

First try, right out of the gate, she got Finalist!   

I couldn't be more proud of her!

Congratulations everyone!!!! 

Posted by: @nvhaskell

@rschibler thank you!  

So the proverbial feline has been out of the bag for a little while for some of you. I am excited and still a bit shocked that I'm a winner for the third quarter. 

I already had a market selected for this story to submit to but thankfully waited for the results. When Joni called me to tell me that I was a finalist I thought it was for my Q4 submission and was confused that it was this story. I honestly wasn't sure that this story, which was different than anything else I've ever written, would be a good fit for WOTF. But it only proves that sometimes it pays to take a gamble. 

When Joni called to tell me that I had won third place I was sitting in the workshop on imposter syndrome at Fyrecon. I didn't believe her. That is the truth. I was stunned, I still am.

But I am incredibly grateful for this forum, which has meant more to me than you guys know.

And, seriously, you all work your asses off and put your hearts into your stories. Congratulations to everyone who gets a certificate, but an equal congratulations to all of you who got an R and are hard at work at your next story. Your perseverance will pay off.

And just because I will never get to post this again...  

Congratulations! I'm glad we finally get to give out our proper congrats to the victorious!

Posted by: @derbestin

Woot and huzzah, a shiny new HM for me! I got an R last time, so this is plenty welcome for my ego-rebuilding efforts!

 

But that's not the big news at my house. Not by a long mile.

 

After some prodding and pleading, this is the first quarter in which I finally got my wife to submit an entry.

 

And what did she get?

What... did she... get?

First try, right out of the gate, she got Finalist!   

 

I couldn't be more proud of her!

Congratulations to you both! Of course, we have to ask ... WHO IS YOUR WIFE?  

Posted by: @nvhaskell

@rschibler thank you!  

So the proverbial feline has been out of the bag for a little while for some of you. I am excited and still a bit shocked that I'm a winner for the third quarter. 

I already had a market selected for this story to submit to but thankfully waited for the results. When Joni called me to tell me that I was a finalist I thought it was for my Q4 submission and was confused that it was this story. I honestly wasn't sure that this story, which was different than anything else I've ever written, would be a good fit for WOTF. But it only proves that sometimes it pays to take a gamble. 

When Joni called to tell me that I had won third place I was sitting in the workshop on imposter syndrome at Fyrecon. I didn't believe her. That is the truth. I was stunned, I still am.

But I am incredibly grateful for this forum, which has meant more to me than you guys know.

And, seriously, you all work your asses off and put your hearts into your stories. Congratulations to everyone who gets a certificate, but an equal congratulations to all of you who got an R and are hard at work at your next story. Your perseverance will pay off.

And just because I will never get to post this again...  

There's the one I've been waiting for. WE HAVE A WINNER! WELL DONE, NV HASKELL! YOU DO THE FORUM PROUD!

Of course we are happy for all that entered, and all that placed. Thousands enter every quarter, and it takes courage to put your work out there to be judged. But you did achieve the ultimate goal, and we commend you for this stellar accomplishment. I look forward to seeing you next April in Hollywood! It's going to knock that imposter syndrome down and stomp it into the ground. You will go away from that event changed. 

It makes you BELIEVE.

CONGRATULATIONS, NV HASKELL!

Posted by: @nvhaskell

@rschibler thank you!  

So the proverbial feline has been out of the bag for a little while for some of you. I am excited and still a bit shocked that I'm a winner for the third quarter. 

I already had a market selected for this story to submit to but thankfully waited for the results. When Joni called me to tell me that I was a finalist I thought it was for my Q4 submission and was confused that it was this story. I honestly wasn't sure that this story, which was different than anything else I've ever written, would be a good fit for WOTF. But it only proves that sometimes it pays to take a gamble. 

When Joni called to tell me that I had won third place I was sitting in the workshop on imposter syndrome at Fyrecon. I didn't believe her. That is the truth. I was stunned, I still am.

But I am incredibly grateful for this forum, which has meant more to me than you guys know.

And, seriously, you all work your asses off and put your hearts into your stories. Congratulations to everyone who gets a certificate, but an equal congratulations to all of you who got an R and are hard at work at your next story. Your perseverance will pay off.

And just because I will never get to post this again...  

Congrats! I'm so happy for you! I can't wait to read your story! 

Posted by: @dnorthmartino

I didn't get an email, but the blog post says I'm a semi-finalist! Congrats to all! 

Way to go!

Posted by: @derbestin

Woot and huzzah, a shiny new HM for me! I got an R last time, so this is plenty welcome for my ego-rebuilding efforts!

 

But that's not the big news at my house. Not by a long mile.

 

After some prodding and pleading, this is the first quarter in which I finally got my wife to submit an entry.

 

And what did she get?

What... did she... get?

First try, right out of the gate, she got Finalist!   

 

I couldn't be more proud of her!

Wow! That's so cool!

Looks like an HM for me!

First, congratulations to everyone who placed, and especially to the winners! To those who got rejected, don’t give up! I got rejected six times in a row. When I hit submit for V38Q3, I thought this one wouldn’t be any different. Why should it? 

But it is. 

SQUEEEEEE!!! I GOT AN HM!!! ON MY SEVENTH ATTEMPT!! I never thought I'd be able to post this, but now I am! 
So keep trying, y'all. As Moon always says, perseverance yields rewards. 

@nvhaskell — YAY!!    

It's so good to see someone from the forum take a win. Well done! ♥

No email still, but according to the blog ...

Now I must decide what exactly about this story needs tweaking so I can make it even better! 😀

HUGE congrats to everyone! Those who placed and those who didn't. I have a fair share of R's under my belt, and in looking back (after the sting has subsided) I can say I learned more from my R stories than I did from my HM's (with HM's it's hard for me to tell WHAT was right and WHAT was wrong, and often I didn't even know where to start touching them up, you know 😉  )

Crazy day, huh?

And we get to do this all over again in a week or so maybe, LOL

Keep the forts up, the pillows fluffed, and the hot cocoa flowing!

~A. ♥

@aliciacay Congrats! SHM is a huge deal! It sends shivers down my spine to think about Q4. Lol. That's gotta be the quickest judging in wotf history!

YOU GUYS!!!

Reading through all the results in the forum this morning, and you guys all rocked! I didn't enter Q3 this year — Q4 only — so NOW I can start twitching, although it won't be much twitching since Kary said she was much stricter than normal for passing on Q4 stories to Dave. I absolutely loved my story for Q4, but I know there are a tremendous number of terrific stories coming into this contest every quarter, and Dave only has so many slots to fill in the annual anthology (@ 13, actually).

So proud of everyone for entering, sharing experiences, supporting each other on and off the forum, and for just being solid life anchors during these crazy turbulent times. Whether you won, placed, rejected, or partially wrote a story and didn't quite make the deadline, everyone here is the coolest!

Congrats to all! Each and every one of you have pulled off amazing feats this year. I haven't been as active on the forum because... life. But I'm going to make it a goal to come on here more often for sure! The support you guys give to each other is unparalleled.

NVHaskell got 3rd place! Woot woot! Just in time for the holidays too! Super congrats!

As for me I got an R, which I was expecting. It was a story I whipped up  a couple days before the deadline. Some said they really liked it. But I can see how it wouldn't be a fit for this market.

As a side note, Joni mentioned she would be emailing within the week for Q4 results. Emailing! Ha! At first I got the sneaky suspicion she's secretly giving me my results, but then I realized it was a form rejection and everyone who got an email probably got the same verbage . . . Or not?  

Posted by: @wulfmoon

Posted by: @derbestin

Woot and huzzah, a shiny new HM for me! I got an R last time, so this is plenty welcome for my ego-rebuilding efforts!

 

But that's not the big news at my house. Not by a long mile.

 

After some prodding and pleading, this is the first quarter in which I finally got my wife to submit an entry.

 

And what did she get?

What... did she... get?

First try, right out of the gate, she got Finalist!   

 

I couldn't be more proud of her!

Congratulations to you both! Of course, we have to ask ... WHO IS YOUR WIFE?  

 

None but the lovely and talented Cara Giles! So incredibly excited for her!

People have asked me if I was at all jealous when she got the call from Joni. Not at all; I think jealousy implies surprise, and I've been telling her for years that her stories are leaps and bounds ahead of mine. So it came as no surprise to me that she did so well. Delight, elation, buckets of joy, but no surprise.  

Of course, now that she's got a taste of that sweet, sweet victory, I don't expect that it'll take as much convincing to keep entering. Onward to the next quarter!

I am that lucky wife! And this wonderful man of mine dashed out to buy the whole family lunch the day I learned I'd made finalist, because I was WAY too excited to cook.

Who'd have thought that one of my proudest achievements would be earning an F? 

Great job, everyone! Fingers crossed all around for quarter 4!