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Discussion: Q3 Volume 40

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Michelle J. Diaz
(@michellejdiaz)
Posts: 70
Bronze Star Member
 

Thanks, @einstein36.
Yeah, it takes a lot of hard work. What do they say? “Genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration.”
There is always another quarter to shoot for. giggle

V42: WIP, ___, ___, ___
V41: HM, Finalist, HM, SHM
V40: HM, HM, RWC, HM
V39: R, R, R, HM
V38: R,

 
Posted : September 14, 2023 11:21 am
Preston Dennett, crlisle, K. Z. Richards and 2 people reacted
Saint Rupert
(@bzelger)
Posts: 21
Bronze Member
 

The story I wrote for this quarter was terrible, so I instead lightly edited (but materially improved!) a previous SHM and resubmitted. That garnered a RWC. I confess to being a little startled by that outcome.

 
Posted : September 14, 2023 11:37 am
catherine, Wulf Moon, Joel C. Scoberg and 3 people reacted
pdblake
(@pdblake)
Posts: 499
Gold Star Member
 

Posted by: @delliot

Got a Silver and just signed up to say it! This was my first entry and I'm sure I'll be back.

Could some kind person link me to a page that explains the different possible results (HM, SHM, etc)? I'm sure I read something about them when I entered, but that was awhile ago and I can't find it again now. Silver Honorable Mention sounds nice enough that I'm satisfied with it, anyway Smile

 

SHM is great. Next up is semi finalist, then finalist, then the top three. 

Well done. 

 

R:6 RWC:1 HM:9 SHM:3
My Blog
Small Gods and Little Demons - Parsec Issue #10

 
Posted : September 14, 2023 11:45 am
MountainSpud, Preston Dennett, Doc Honour and 3 people reacted
storysinger
(@storysinger)
Posts: 1543
Platinum Plus
 

An rwc.  

Congrats to everyone that placed.

Today's science fiction is tomorrow's reality-D.R.Sweeney
HM x5
Published Poetry
2012 Stars in Our Hearts
Silver Ships

 
Posted : September 14, 2023 12:12 pm
Preston Dennett, Joel C. Scoberg, Adrian and 3 people reacted
(@einstein36)
Posts: 85
Bronze Star Member
 

@michelle-d 

Exactly....but as I like to do, 1% inspiration, 110% perspiration...LOL.....

 

 
Posted : September 14, 2023 12:27 pm
Michelle J. Diaz
(@michellejdiaz)
Posts: 70
Bronze Star Member
 

Congratulations to everyone who entered! I see a lot of people whose hard work is paying off.  clapper  

V42: WIP, ___, ___, ___
V41: HM, Finalist, HM, SHM
V40: HM, HM, RWC, HM
V39: R, R, R, HM
V38: R,

 
Posted : September 14, 2023 12:36 pm
Doc Honour
(@ehonour)
Posts: 139
Silver Member
 

  semi

Yay hooray! After a bunch of HMs, this is a big jump! I am pumped, and ready to do more. Strange thing was ... I wasn't really very confident about this story. But there you go.

Write so long as words keep flowing...
http://www.DocHonourBooks.com
FWA RPLA: 2021:Fx2; 2022:1st place Gold, 2023: 1st place Gold novel
V38 HMx2; V39 HMx2, RWC, DQ (oops)
V40 SF(!), HM; RWCx2; V41 HM, RWCx2, DQ (what, again!)
V42 Q1:Sub

 
Posted : September 14, 2023 12:48 pm
J. Watt, catherine, Wulf Moon and 23 people reacted
Michelle J. Diaz
(@michellejdiaz)
Posts: 70
Bronze Star Member
 

Posted by: @einstein36

@michelle-d 

Exactly....but as I like to do, 1% inspiration, 110% perspiration...LOL.....

 

laughing   Too true.

 

V42: WIP, ___, ___, ___
V41: HM, Finalist, HM, SHM
V40: HM, HM, RWC, HM
V39: R, R, R, HM
V38: R,

 
Posted : September 14, 2023 12:48 pm
Michelle J. Diaz
(@michellejdiaz)
Posts: 70
Bronze Star Member
 

Posted by: @ehonour

  semi

Yay hooray! After a bunch of HMs, this is a big jump! I am pumped, and ready to do more. Strange thing was ... I wasn't really very confident about this story. But there you go.

Great job! That is an amazing achievement. whoa  

 

V42: WIP, ___, ___, ___
V41: HM, Finalist, HM, SHM
V40: HM, HM, RWC, HM
V39: R, R, R, HM
V38: R,

 
Posted : September 14, 2023 12:51 pm
Doc Honour
(@ehonour)
Posts: 139
Silver Member
 

Posted by: @dommichaels

My impression is that they're getting a lot of pro-level entries in this contest, things that are worthy of being published in the right market. The problem right now, even for professionals (my sister is a professional fiction writer) is that the market overall is terrible. Trad publishing is all but dead except for celebrities and big names. Amazon is a mess. Lots of really good, frustrated writers out there these days. Hang in there, there will be a sea change at some point.

Looking at the screen writers' conflicts, it appears the sea change in the next five years may well be low-end stories hacked out by AI. Don't know how beginning writers will get a chance to become famous if the bottom end is filled with robots. (Maybe the next "well-known author" will be ChatGPT?)

 

Write so long as words keep flowing...
http://www.DocHonourBooks.com
FWA RPLA: 2021:Fx2; 2022:1st place Gold, 2023: 1st place Gold novel
V38 HMx2; V39 HMx2, RWC, DQ (oops)
V40 SF(!), HM; RWCx2; V41 HM, RWCx2, DQ (what, again!)
V42 Q1:Sub

 
Posted : September 14, 2023 12:55 pm
Physa/ Guthington/ Amy
(@physa)
Posts: 430
Gold Star Member
 

No sign for RWC, but rejection  

Congrats to all who entered and to all who placed HM and higher.

WOTF results:
Vol 41: Q1 HM, Q2 HM, Q4 HM
running totals to date:
WOTF: 6 Rs, 3 RWCs. 8 HMs
IOTF: 4 Rs, 3 HMs
Check out my new website: https://www.amyrwethingtonwriterofspeculativeworlds.com/
According to Winston Churchill, "success is going from failure to failure with enthusiasm"
Somehow I lost my Guthington profile, but it's me. Amy Wethington = Guthington = Physa

 
Posted : September 14, 2023 1:11 pm
Cray Dimensional
(@craydimensional)
Posts: 720
Gold Member
 

rejection

Flat out R on this one. I guess it's time to send out to another market.

Congratulations to all those who placed.

Small steps add up to miles.
5 R, 4 RWC, 6 HM, 1 SHM
"Amore For Life" in After the Gold Rush Third Flatiron Anthology
"Freedom’s Song” in Troubadour and Space Princesses LTUE Anthology
"Experimenting with the Dance of Death" in Love is Complicated LUW Romance Anthology.

 
Posted : September 14, 2023 1:50 pm
Ramya (Writhmic)
(@writhmic)
Posts: 108
Silver Member
 

silverhm

I'm pleasantly surprised on this one! I really thought I'd get an HM or RWC on this one since I'm aware of it's flaws. Editing it should be simple, now.

V39: -- / SHM / SHM / RWC
V40: HM / SHM / SHM / SHM
V41: RWC / HM / SHM / WIP

A product of sweat and tears: www.starspunlit.org

 
Posted : September 14, 2023 3:08 pm
(@einstein36)
Posts: 85
Bronze Star Member
 

hm
Thank you to Wulf Moon and to the invaluable resources here at the Writers of the Future site to help inspiring writers like me to continue honing one's craft.

 
Posted : September 14, 2023 3:13 pm
Preston Dennett, slreno, James (Ease) and 5 people reacted
Todd Jones
(@toddjones)
Posts: 725
Gold Star Member
 

Posted by: @bzelger

The story I wrote for this quarter was terrible, so I instead lightly edited (but materially improved!) a previous SHM and resubmitted. That garnered a RWC. I confess to being a little startled by that outcome.

I was a bit confused on getting a story rejected this time, since my test readers felt it was a top 5 story of mine.

It wasn't really a WotF content, but then again my SF was a military story and that didn't seem like WotF either.

Posted by: @Anonymous

rejection

Flat out R on this one. I guess it's time to send out to another market.

Congratulations to all those who placed.

Same here.

Well, I'll try sending it out to other markets and see.

Signed sad and disappointed grumpy  

 

"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right."~ Henry Ford

2025 V42: Final Draft Review
2024 V41: RWC (Resubmitted "HM"), HM, RWC, Finalist (RWC Resubmit)
2023 V40: HM, HM, R, HM
2022 V39: SHM, HM, Semi-finalist, HM (HM Resubmit)
2021 V38: ---HM (R Resubmit)
2020 V37: -R--

 
Posted : September 14, 2023 3:43 pm
Todd Jones
(@toddjones)
Posts: 725
Gold Star Member
 

Posted by: @ehonour

  semi

Yay hooray! After a bunch of HMs, this is a big jump! I am pumped, and ready to do more. Strange thing was ... I wasn't really very confident about this story. But there you go.

Congrats. That is a big deal. 

 

"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right."~ Henry Ford

2025 V42: Final Draft Review
2024 V41: RWC (Resubmitted "HM"), HM, RWC, Finalist (RWC Resubmit)
2023 V40: HM, HM, R, HM
2022 V39: SHM, HM, Semi-finalist, HM (HM Resubmit)
2021 V38: ---HM (R Resubmit)
2020 V37: -R--

 
Posted : September 14, 2023 3:48 pm
(@selsozhu)
Posts: 11
Bronze Member
 

semi

First time submitting to WOTF, and I'm honestly kind of shocked. Such a motivating contest, though, and I'm really looking forwards to participating more. 

Q3V40:SF Q4:HM
Q1V41:HM Q2:HM Q3:SF Q4: RWC

 
Posted : September 14, 2023 4:29 pm
LeaW
 LeaW
(@leaw)
Posts: 9
Advanced Member
 

congratulations to all who entered! exciting to see a few SFs in the forum. #goals

silverhm

"Celebrate rejections, because rejections make you a working writer..." -Mur Lafferty
V38: SHM, R
V39: SHM, RWC, HM, HM
V40: —, HM, SHM

 
Posted : September 14, 2023 5:10 pm
K. Z. Richards
(@kz_richards)
Posts: 187
Silver Star Member
 

@selsozhu That is incredible! Way to go!

V39: - - - HM
V40: SHM, HM, SHM, HM
V41: HM, SHM, SHM, F
V42: WIP

Stories published in Triangulation, Neo-opsis Science Fiction Magazine, Flash Fiction Magazine, and others.
https://kzrichards.com

 
Posted : September 14, 2023 7:19 pm
Irene Liang reacted
Joel C. Scoberg
(@joel-c-scoberg)
Posts: 366
Gold Member
 

Posted by: @bzelger

I instead lightly edited (but materially improved!) a previous SHM and resubmitted. That garnered a RWC. I confess to being a little startled by that outcome.

@bzelger been there, got the t-shirt. I still think my R is better than my SHM giggle  

I couldn't finish my intended Q3 so amended a previous HM. Completely different ending, completely the same result

hm

I think the story is better, but I'm guessing either it is not better or it is just not better enough to place higher. I must really finish my Q4 as time is ticking

Congratulations to all who placed, and to all who entered. Now it's time to see who the winners are popcorn   and hoping for another strong showing from forumites.

 

3rd Place Q3 Vol 41
Submission record: R x 2 / HM x 7 / SHM x 2 / W x 1
Stories published in Daily Science Fiction, Every Day Fiction, 365tomorrows, and Gwyllion Magazine.

 
Posted : September 14, 2023 11:48 pm
Todd Jones
(@toddjones)
Posts: 725
Gold Star Member
 

@selsozhu Congrats, good job.

"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right."~ Henry Ford

2025 V42: Final Draft Review
2024 V41: RWC (Resubmitted "HM"), HM, RWC, Finalist (RWC Resubmit)
2023 V40: HM, HM, R, HM
2022 V39: SHM, HM, Semi-finalist, HM (HM Resubmit)
2021 V38: ---HM (R Resubmit)
2020 V37: -R--

 
Posted : September 15, 2023 2:49 am
Gideon Smith reacted
(@morgan-broadhead)
Posts: 471
Gold Star Member
 

hm

 

Looking forward to scrolling through everyone's results today!

"You can either sit here and write, or you can sit here and do nothing. But you can’t sit here and do anything else."
— Neil Gaiman, Masterclass

Drop me a line at https://morganbroadhead.com
SFx1
HMx5
R/RWCx5

 
Posted : September 15, 2023 3:40 am
Alex Harford
(@alexh)
Posts: 309
Silver Member
 

SHM for an edited previous entry.

A relief after my first R in a while (for a previous HM) but kind of disappointing, because I submitted too early and came up with a way better idea for part of the story before the deadline date.

Good work for entering everyone, whatever the outcome!

35: - R R R | 36: R HM R R | 37: HM HM HM SHM | 38: HM HM HM HM | 39: HM HM HM SHM | 40: HM R SHM SHM | 41: R HM SHM R
5 SHM / 13 HM / 9 R

 
Posted : September 15, 2023 4:08 am
Cray Dimensional
(@craydimensional)
Posts: 720
Gold Member
 

OK. Done licking my wounds a HM, RWC, and the R after an SHM. I don't expect anything from QTR 4. It was not as good as QTR 3 which got an R. I'm going to do some reading to try to get back in line with what WotF wants for stories.

Meanwhile, I will start looking for finalist / winner announcements hoping to see people I know.

Small steps add up to miles.
5 R, 4 RWC, 6 HM, 1 SHM
"Amore For Life" in After the Gold Rush Third Flatiron Anthology
"Freedom’s Song” in Troubadour and Space Princesses LTUE Anthology
"Experimenting with the Dance of Death" in Love is Complicated LUW Romance Anthology.

 
Posted : September 15, 2023 4:47 am
Physa/ Guthington/ Amy
(@physa)
Posts: 430
Gold Star Member
 

Well.... As for my Q3 RWC it stings, but I'm not that surprised. I knew it wasn't as good as my Q2 story [which got an HM]. It's nice to get results this early as I have yet to send in a Q4 story. I have a great story in my mind, but not a lot of time to get it right. AND I have a backup story that needs a bit more tweaking and additional details to increase the verisimilitude. Anyway, I have 2 weeks to figure it out. I was all set to tweak my backup story, but given my Q3 result perhaps I should dig deep and do this other story instead.

I can't really speculate on what it takes to get past an HM other than to recognize that there is tough competition for those SHMs, SFs, Fs, and of course first, second, and third. I'm definitely a much better writer of short stories than I was two years ago. And I still find the challenge fun and engaging. 

And I have no clue how A.I. tools are going to change the market. I'm old school and want to do all of it myself.

I'm also a lot more tough on myself and picky about my early drafts so with an increase in quality comes a decrease in quantity. 

So very happy for the HMs.

Impressed with the SHMs.

Humbled by the SFs [and jealous of that feedback y'all get from Jody].

And am in anticipation to hear of the Fs and those who took first, second, and third! May your second call be the one that will change your life!

Keep writing everyone! And remember... it's just one of many markets for the stories you write.

WOTF results:
Vol 41: Q1 HM, Q2 HM, Q4 HM
running totals to date:
WOTF: 6 Rs, 3 RWCs. 8 HMs
IOTF: 4 Rs, 3 HMs
Check out my new website: https://www.amyrwethingtonwriterofspeculativeworlds.com/
According to Winston Churchill, "success is going from failure to failure with enthusiasm"
Somehow I lost my Guthington profile, but it's me. Amy Wethington = Guthington = Physa

 
Posted : September 15, 2023 5:25 am
(@sandy)
Posts: 44
Bronze Star Member
 

silverhm

I wrote this story in three days and submitted it without any feedback, since there wasn't any time. I plan on reading it to my critique group before I send it out again.

 

Congratulations to all who placed and commiseration for the R's. Got an R from another market just moments before the WotF email came through. It was a story that had passed the first reader and I had my fingers crossed. Dang.

Looking forward to seeing some finalists and winners in the forum over the coming days. clapper  

Write without fear.
Edit without mercy.

......................................................................................................................
V38 1Q NA 2Q SHM 3Q R 4Q HM
V39 1Q NA 2Q SHM 3Q HM 4Q RWC
V40 1Q SHM 2Q SHM 3Q SHM 4Q HM
V41 1Q TBD

 
Posted : September 15, 2023 7:10 am
Todd Jones
(@toddjones)
Posts: 725
Gold Star Member
 

Posted by: @sandy

silverhm

I wrote this story in three days and submitted it without any feedback, since there wasn't any time.

Congrats.

I really need to kick my pantser style and learn to write faster. Writing isn't so bad, but the editing and re-editing time kills me.

 

"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right."~ Henry Ford

2025 V42: Final Draft Review
2024 V41: RWC (Resubmitted "HM"), HM, RWC, Finalist (RWC Resubmit)
2023 V40: HM, HM, R, HM
2022 V39: SHM, HM, Semi-finalist, HM (HM Resubmit)
2021 V38: ---HM (R Resubmit)
2020 V37: -R--

 
Posted : September 15, 2023 9:32 am
catherine reacted
DoctorJest
(@doctorjest)
Posts: 865
Platinum Member
 

Posted by: @toddjones

Posted by: @sandy

silverhm

I wrote this story in three days and submitted it without any feedback, since there wasn't any time.

Congrats.

I really need to kick my pantser style and learn to write faster. Writing isn't so bad, but the editing and re-editing time kills me.

Dustin may have something to say about that, he's an editing behemoth, rode that revision style all the way to a win.

 

DQ:0 / R:0 / RWC:0 / HM:15 / SHM:7 / SF:1 / F:1
Published prior WotF entries: PodCastle, HFQ, Abyss & Apex
Submitted for Q1 V42 / Drafting Q2 V42

 
Posted : September 15, 2023 12:46 pm
Beth Powers
(@bethpowers)
Posts: 167
Silver Member
 

HM for me this time around!

Beth Powers
-----
Silver HM x 6
HM x 21
Entries x 68
-----
Collected Stories:
Sorcery & Widgets
Runes & Rivets

 
Posted : September 15, 2023 9:13 pm
MountainSpud, catherine, Wulf Moon and 7 people reacted
Dustin Adams
(@tj_knight)
Posts: 1445
Platinum Plus Moderator
Topic starter
 

Posted by: @doctorjest

Posted by: @toddjones

Posted by: @sandy

silverhm

I wrote this story in three days and submitted it without any feedback, since there wasn't any time.

Congrats.

I really need to kick my pantser style and learn to write faster. Writing isn't so bad, but the editing and re-editing time kills me.

Dustin may have something to say about that, he's an editing behemoth, rode that revision style all the way to a win.

 

Yup. Every story I wrote and submitted without feedback was R-eturned.
Every story I rewrote a dozen times won. ? 

 

Career: 1x Win -- 2x NW-F -- 2x S-F -- 9x S-HM -- 11x HM -- 7x R
Like me: facebook/AuthorTJKnight

 
Posted : September 16, 2023 12:31 am
MountainSpud, catherine, K. Z. Richards and 6 people reacted
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