Discussion: Q4 Volume 41

Can you believe it? Q4 is (almost) here!

Four months to get that story or those illustrations in ...

...

...

Go!

@tj_knight honestly, have already written it.... just waiting for the portal to open for it.

Q3 on the other hand still needs work. Funny how that happens. I think they call it displacement when you work on the project that doesn't have a close deadline in favor of the one that does 🤣 

The submission portal for Q4 is now open! This is cycle 41D (Volume 41, 4th quarter).

Good luck to everyone!

Okay, time to put aside my Q3 story submission disappointment and pick something new to write about.

Hmmm.

Horses, horses that talk, horses with wings, centaur, centaurs with wings.

Okay, now I know a few things I'm not going to write about for Q4.    

Posted by: @toddjones

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Okay, time to put aside my Q3 story submission disappointment and pick something new to write about.

Hmmm.

Horses, horses that talk, horses with wings, centaur, centaurs with wings.

Okay, now I know a few things I'm not going to write about for Q4.    

what about horses riding centaurs, eating buffalo wings? 😉

yay. I'm in. Now the hardest thing? Not think about it for 5 months.... 🤣 

Posted by: @gideonpsmith

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yay. I'm in. Now the hardest thing? Not think about it for 5 months.... 🤣 

What a nerd. I mean, "Congrats, Gideon!"

Posted by: @morgan-broadhead

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Posted by: @gideonpsmith

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yay. I'm in. Now the hardest thing? Not think about it for 5 months.... 🤣 

What a nerd. I mean, "Congrats, Gideon!"

 

'nerd' is the *highest* compliment 😉

@gideonpsmith You are soaring so high I can't even see you.

Oh well, time to make a story and finish it hopefully at least a day before deadline. 

My 4th quarter sub will hopefully be a story I've got some feedback on from my writing group. I just need to finish the edits.

Currently waiting on results of the 2nd and 3rd quarters!

I (hopefully) will finish school in three weeks and am planning on writing my Q4 story EARLY, unlike the Q3 story which I had to write in 2 hours and not even proof it before I sent it. This will be my first time getting to enter when I only have to worry about work, not work AND school. So, if in mid August, you haven't seen me post that I've submitted, someone here write me and say, "That's enough of that easy life. Get your story done." 

@annmarieinlr finishing school, congrats. Good luck on Q4. 

I'm one of those people who hated school. High School was okay, since I had auto shop off campus at a trade school and then a community college for 3hrs a day. College was a good place to learn enough to know when you need help. For me, it was like beating a dead horse. My brain doesn't learn that way.

The holiday is over and now it's time to brainstorm a new story for QTR4. This is the most tense time of writing for me.

@toddjones While I do like school, this has been an intense semester and I'm ready to be done. I've actually found I learn more by learning on my own where I can explore my own ideas instead of pigeon holing everything into the box of my assignments.

@craydimensional I am so with you, there. I have four very vague ideas any one of which could be great if my brain weren't so exhausted. I need to just pick one and run with it.

Posted by: @Anonymous

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The holiday is over and now it's time to brainstorm a new story for QTR4. This is the most tense time of writing for me.

Good luck on the idea.

My issue is trying to calm the storm of my brain.  

@toddjones Calm?

Heck no! Let that storm blow wild on a piece of paper! We can clean up the debris after the fact.

@degray

I'm going through the online workshop a second time (first time was two summers ago and resulted in my first contest submission--which earned honorable mention) and the story that comes out of it will be my Q4. So far I've finished my research. Next step is outlining. My most favorite part. /sarcasm

@gideonpsmith  Honestly, Im not a writer but I just think that you are very dedicated to your goals and that's an excellent thing, so power to youand onward you go and go ! 👍🌝

@jose77sanchez Thank you Jose! That is so kind. One of the things that makes this forum so special is the supportiveness of the members and I really appreciate this comment. I echo it back to you that it is your resilience that will lead to future success, and this kind of positivity that will make the journey there happier!

@gideonpsmith I have found the best way to do that is just to write your next thing.

@gideonpsmith No problem man- anytime and you are absolutely right especially about the "positive thinking" aspect of all of this. I mean, from what Ive experienced since 1998, this contest is really, really hard to win. I can only imagine how difficult it is for you and the other writers here as well. It takes A LOT of brain power and skills and that alone in its own right, should really be something that is at least acknowledged by the judges. I say, walk in your fellow creators footsteps to really KNOW what they go through every quarter that they enter either as writers or artists.

@tj_knight Q4... A personal favorite of mine.

Posted by: @Anonymous

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The holiday is over and now it's time to brainstorm a new story for QTR4. This is the most tense time of writing for me.

Werd. I struggle immensely with this too. Some people have no problem coming up with ideas. Some people have entire notebooks filled with potential ideas they can draw from. My experience usually sounds something like this:

"Let's write about this cool thing."

Nah. That's stupid, and it's been done a million times.

"Okay. Well, what about this one?"

Lame. No one wants to read about that.

"This one?"

<Yawn> Ho hum.

The struggle is real.

Posted by: @morgan-broadhead

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Posted by: @Anonymous

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The holiday is over and now it's time to brainstorm a new story for QTR4. This is the most tense time of writing for me.

Werd. I struggle immensely with this too. Some people have no problem coming up with ideas. Some people have entire notebooks filled with potential ideas they can draw from. My experience usually sounds something like this:

"Let's write about this cool thing."

Nah. That's stupid, and it's been done a million times.

"Okay. Well, what about this one?"

Lame. No one wants to read about that.

"This one?"

<Yawn> Ho hum.

The struggle is real.

 

yes, the difference is, you are discerning. Its not that we have more ideas, its just I don't realize all those ideas are lame and so I write them in my aforementioned notebook 😉

@morgan-broadhead My mentor and I were just talking about this because I was worried my idea was too similar to something else or that I wasn't clever enough to make it interesting in a different way. He took me through Orson Scott Card's 1000 story ideas in an hour. By the end of that time I had real depth and a great story. Are you familiar with the process? If not, it is in Card's Book "Characters & Viewpoint"

Posted by: @gideonpsmith

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Posted by: @morgan-broadhead

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Posted by: @Anonymous

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The holiday is over and now it's time to brainstorm a new story for QTR4. This is the most tense time of writing for me.

Werd. I struggle immensely with this too. Some people have no problem coming up with ideas. Some people have entire notebooks filled with potential ideas they can draw from. My experience usually sounds something like this:

"Let's write about this cool thing."

Nah. That's stupid, and it's been done a million times.

"Okay. Well, what about this one?"

Lame. No one wants to read about that.

"This one?"

<Yawn> Ho hum.

The struggle is real.

 

 

yes, the difference is, you are discerning. Its not that we have more ideas, its just I don't realize all those ideas are lame and so I write them in my aforementioned notebook 😉

 

OMG this made me laugh so hard!

Posted by: @annmarieinlr

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@morgan-broadhead My mentor and I were just talking about this because I was worried my idea was too similar to something else or that I wasn't clever enough to make it interesting in a different way. He took me through Orson Scott Card's 1000 story ideas in an hour. By the end of that time I had real depth and a great story. Are you familiar with the process? If not, it is in Card's Book "Characters & Viewpoint"

That is a great book, and I am familiar with that process. If only I had access to a classroom full of grade-schoolers to brainstorm ideas with! LOL