Discussion: Q4 Volume 39

@vrlass 

'Reported' this post? for what reason? i do not understand what your own post is trying to say/imply/suggest. Perhaps you could explain a bit more?

I'm not being sarcastic by the way. I really, genuinely don't get what you mean.

DM
EDIT FOR CLARITY:
I thought your post could be linked with the story, and that would be a DQ for you. 
I raported it fast so that it could get removed, before harm can be done.

It was late time on my side and I overreacted, but i just wanted to spare you the “DQ, because of question about DQ”. I think that’s the worst kind or fate.

Posted by: @eviekb

Just realised, with horror, i forgot to include header with story title and page numbers.

 

Can someone in a position of authority please reassure me that my silly mistake won't get me a DQ?

 

This story is definitely going to win.

 

Trust me... it's beautiful...

 

But with much love to everyone and best of luck! xx

 

Now i'm off to binge watch some boba fett... if only jon favreau had written episodes 7-9 they wouldn't have been such a tragedy and a travesty and an insult to George... imho...

Your story in the system looks fine, has a title and no name on it so you are all set. I can't say the title of the story, but it is in the file you submitted for Q4 (Cycle 39D). Good luck!

Posted by: @eviekb

"This story is definitely going to win.

 

Trust me... it's beautiful..."

 

" Like my Q4 entry made me cry when i wrote it."

Had to repost these notes because YEAH manifest that success! You got this! If you're not crying when you write, you're not doing it right!

Best of success if you don't believe in luck.

I believe in luck, because in the end it's subjective right? One quarter a story may particularly resonate with a judge over quarter due to events in their own life; or maybe they were feeling sluggish after lunch and missed your overwhelming grammatical errors like my Q3 entry ? ; or maybe there were ten thousand mermaid stories this quarter and even though yours was amazing, maybe they're thinking they can't handle one more gah dang mermaid story for the next century.

So I'll also wish you luck out from my own personal woo woo stash ?.

@jason Thanks for the reassurance. Much appreciated...

Got a restricted call yesterday only to find out it was a crank call. The one thing I used to never do before this contest was answer restricted calls.

Posted by: @craydimensional

Got a restricted call yesterday only to find out it was a crank call. The one thing I used to never do before this contest was answer restricted calls.

I didn't answer my finalist call for this reason--I had been sick to death of robocalls about my car's extended warranty (and it didn't actually show as a restricted number, just an unknown one). I have answered many more junk calls since then...

When do we find out results? Maybe end of November, mid December? I wish everyone the best! Go team! ?

Posted by: @doctorjest

Posted by: @craydimensional

Got a restricted call yesterday only to find out it was a crank call. The one thing I used to never do before this contest was answer restricted calls.

I didn't answer my finalist call for this reason--I had been sick to death of robocalls about my car's extended warranty (and it didn't actually show as a restricted number, just an unknown one). I have answered many more junk calls since then...

I hung up on Joni when she first called on a Friday night for this reason. This one persistent person would call and start yelling at me about donating to a fire department. I just had to give him my credit card number... I figured it was him and didn't even look. She called back Monday afternoon.
Maybe this is why it takes longer to reach everyone sometimes.  

Posted by: @annax

When do we find out results? Maybe end of November, mid December? I wish everyone the best! Go team! ?

My guess is mid November based on the pattern I've noticed in the last several quarters. We usually get a cryptic message from Kary about when she was done on her end and what Jody is contemplating. At any rate, I imagine the tent has been set up and is being stocked for twitchers... Anyway I predict Q4 results will be well before the Q1 deadline [which is a goal on their end so they can get the anthology edited, etc. although with the division of labor it may not be as important of a goal. But still... lots to do before volume 39 is released]. Looks like Kary and Jody have managed a good groove for judging, 😉

Cool to hear from past finalists [@axeminister, @doctorjest] what it's like to get a call from Joni. It's hard to know which entry will skate that far up to the top...

@physa I figure end of November, although I am not sure how QTR 4 story will go though since I didn’t have time for a review.

Posted by: @craydimensional

@physa I figure end of November, although I am not sure how QTR 4 story will go though since I didn’t have time for a review.

Not a bad guess. Guess we'll see. I can't believe November is NEXT week... I wonder how the tent prep is going...

I won't be twitching while we await results for this quarter. I took Joni's advice and submitted my first HM that Dave so graciously awarded me. It has no spec up front, it's nonstop action from start to finish. Dave liked it, I love it, but rules are rules. Best of results for everybody that subbed.

I've sometimes scrambled to finish my WotF story in time to submit it, so I thought I'd share this opportunity. This Tuesday, Nov. 1, from 7 pm to 8 pm (Eastern time) Orange County Library (Orlando) is having a free, online Zoom workshop: "Fast Drafting for the Not-So Speedy Writer." Anyone can sign up for it. When registering they may ask for your library card number, but you can leave that blank. They just need your name and e-mail. Here's the description:

Posted by: @storysinger

I won't be twitching while we await results for this quarter. I took Joni's advice and submitted my first HM that Dave so graciously awarded me. It has no spec up front, it's nonstop action from start to finish. Dave liked it, I love it, but rules are rules. Best of results for everybody that subbed.

I might twitch a little. It's the last quarter of volume 39 and it would be awesome to go out with a bang. All I can say is that it was fun to write and my peeps seemed to enjoy reading it. It's a lot different from my other stories this volume cycle. Depends on when I submit my Q1 vs. when we get word from Kary that she's done on her end. Still going through a round of edits on my Q1.

Posted by: @physa

I can't believe November is NEXT week... I wonder how the tent prep is going...

I am running away to a convention this week to avoid thinking about results. However, when I return, if there is as yet no tent, I will offer the underside of my dining table as a fort filled with pillows and a plate or two of cookies. 

I will be accepting cookie flavor recommendations up to and until the erection of a tent and/or assembly as said pillow fort.

I vote snickerdoodle! Warm, cinnamony goodness. They somehow make me nostalgic for childhood even though I grew up in a chocolate chip cookie house.

I wasn't expecting our Q3 results until around Thanksgiving, so it's all going ahead of schedule from my point of view!

@jvashley I vote for peanut butter kiss cookies. My favorite for the holidays.

Posted by: @jvashley

Posted by: @physa

I can't believe November is NEXT week... I wonder how the tent prep is going...

I am running away to a convention this week to avoid thinking about results. However, when I return, if there is as yet no tent, I will offer the underside of my dining table as a fort filled with pillows and a plate or two of cookies. 

I will be accepting cookie flavor recommendations up to and until the erection of a tent and/or assembly as said pillow fort.

Hope your convention is productive and fun! Looking forward to those trays of cookies. When you get back, I can slide over my dining table and get more pillows. Oh! and hot chocolate! Fingers crossed I'll have my Q1 story polished enough to enter by then. It's been quite a year...

Hey, all!

I finished my side of Q4 earlier this evening, so twitching season will begin soon. Jody will need around a week to finish her side of things, then another week for the final judging. My guess is that results will be out before Thanksgiving.

The internal deadlines for Q4 are always super tight, so we reject hard in Q4 simply because it's faster. As always, if you think your story deserves more than it got, feel free to submit it again in V40.

Some thoughts on Q4:

Hitler trended. Who knew?

We had lots of stories that featured wolves and / or dying wizards. We all miss Dave very much.

Circuses and dragons are still trending.

The quarter was very fantasy-heavy.

We're seeing an uptick in diverse characters and non-Western storytelling, and we love it!

We had lots of stories that challenged our ideas about worn out tropes. Good werewolf stories, good vampire stories, good dragon stories, etc. We love that, too!

Keep those cards and letters coming!

Cheers,

Kary

FYI - forgetting your header or leaving the page numbers off won't DQ you, and we see it enough that mentioning it won't either.  😉

"My guess is that results will be out before Thanksgiving."

So wishbones won't help this year.

Posted by: @karyenglish

We had lots of stories that featured wolves and / or dying wizards. We all miss Dave very much.

It would be fitting for one of the winning stories to feature either (or both!)

Posted by: @karyenglish

Hey, all!

I finished my side of Q4 earlier this evening, so twitching season will begin soon. Jody will need around a week to finish her side of things, then another week for the final judging. My guess is that results will be out before Thanksgiving.

The internal deadlines for Q4 are always super tight, so we reject hard in Q4 simply because it's faster. As always, if you think your story deserves more than it got, feel free to submit it again in V40.

Some thoughts on Q4:

Hitler trended. Who knew?

We had lots of stories that featured wolves and / or dying wizards. We all miss Dave very much.

Circuses and dragons are still trending.

The quarter was very fantasy-heavy.

We're seeing an uptick in diverse characters and non-Western storytelling, and we love it!

We had lots of stories that challenged our ideas about worn out tropes. Good werewolf stories, good vampire stories, good dragon stories, etc. We love that, too!

Keep those cards and letters coming!

Cheers,

Kary

 

 

Sweet, sounds like my Haiku about vampire Hitler being defeated by a half-wizard half-wolf ringleader and his dragon circus has it in the bag!

[Wow! thanks for the heads up, @karyenglish]

[enters the tent]

[looks all around at everything I can see]

[lot of half dead wizards looking for renewal]

[lot of folks nervous about the full moon]

[is that a punch bowl with blood for the vampires?]

[a crowd has gathered around a three ring circus]

[lots of creepy clowns going in and out of a tiny car]

[is that a time vortex? is there a way to kill Hitler as an infant?]

[grabs a handful of treats and leaves a fresh bowl for others to enjoy]

[Happy Halloween everyone!]

[And happy twitching]

Posted by: @karyenglish

Hey, all!

I finished my side of Q4 earlier this evening, so twitching season will begin soon. Jody will need around a week to finish her side of things, then another week for the final judging. My guess is that results will be out before Thanksgiving. 

ACK!!!
@karyenglish, you throw this at me before World Fantasy Con!

All right, folks. The pillow fort will be enacted immediately!
I see we need snickerdoodles for @folkloremipsumum and peanut butter kiss cookies for @craydimensional. I am On It! And a big Thank You to @physa for doubling the pillow fort area and for providing hot chocolate! We are prepared. Let the twitching begin!

Oh man, I'm not trendy at all.  

Ah well, maybe next quarter I can be cool like everyone else.

[just noticed the dragon station where you can get your marshmallows flamed]

[yes, I'd like mine burnt please]

[puts charred marshmallow between graham crackers with a nice dark chocolate bar]

[yum!]

[thanks fire breathing dragon! you're the best]

Posted by: @aivanther

Oh man, I'm not trendy at all.  

 

Ah well, maybe next quarter I can be cool like everyone else.

Me neither, but it just means our stories are much more unique and will stand out more

@karyenglish Thanks Kary.

Ok going to have some candy left over to bring to the pillow fort.