Jibber Jabber - Q1 - 29

Waiting for the IoTF is really painful. Shouldn't it be faster than the WoTH? Like "This looks nice! On to the next!"

Must be a lot of entries this quarter, because this seems to be one of the longest waits ever! Or maybe, the stories are all just so darn good that poor KD can't decide. I can't imagine we'll have to wait until May. Still, we don't even have one verified HM yet. Weird.
Preston Dennett
(HM x 2)

I know it doesn't work this way, but such a huge gap between the rejections and the results yet to be announced feels very... Metaphorical.

'This gap in time you see here? That's how much your story sucked.'

Must be a lot of entries this quarter, because this seems to be one of the longest waits ever! Or maybe, the stories are all just so darn good that poor KD can't decide. I can't imagine we'll have to wait until May. Still, we don't even have one verified HM yet.

According to my Duotrope history, this is the longest I've waited for a response since Q3 2010. I suspect we will see a flood of happy (or not, depending on your viewpoint) HM recipients this week or next.

Brad pointed out in another thread that KD was unable to teach the writers' workshop for the first time this year. It may be that whatever hindered her there (hopefully something like daughter's-big-wedding rather than scary-medical-emergency) is also holding her up on results this quarter.

Brad pointed out in another thread that KD was unable to teach the writers' workshop for the first time this year. It may be that whatever hindered her there (hopefully something like daughter's-big-wedding rather than scary-medical-emergency) is also holding her up on results this quarter.

I too had wondered if KD's inability to attend was also connected to the delayed results. I mean we can't all be getting HMs now can we? I suspect that the change in the awards show timing has just affected the norm this time. Next year when we're in the same pickle we'll be saying ... same as last year. But I too hope KDs inability to attend was because of good / more important good things for her.

Brad pointed out in another thread that KD was unable to teach the writers' workshop for the first time this year. It may be that whatever hindered her there (hopefully something like daughter's-big-wedding rather than scary-medical-emergency) is also holding her up on results this quarter.

Yes indeed, I began to have the same thoughts after reading Brad's post. Let's hope all is well with KD, for all our sakes.

I hate to sound like Martin, but with no data, it's senseless to speculate on why KD didn't teach the workshop. It could also just be that she didn't want to do it this year. Even things I enjoy, I'll skip if I'm tired. And I don't have to be sick, extra stressed, or anything to want a break.

Published finalist is made of awesome. I'd love to do the whole thing twice, mostly the workshop.

Yes! When I explain the contest to people, my long-winded rant always ends, "So ideally, I'd get published finalist and then go on to win." Should be a bit easier to win after I've gotten some lessons from the contest judges, right? Right?

ETA: Gaahh, I didn't even notice I was double-posting. Sorry.

Published finalist is made of awesome. I'd love to do the whole thing twice, mostly the workshop.

Yes! When I explain the contest to people, my long-winded rant always ends, "So ideally, I'd get published finalist and then go on to win." Should be a bit easier to win after I've gotten some lessons from the contest judges, right? Right?

ETA: Gaahh, I didn't even notice I was double-posting. Sorry.

Well, as long as you're doing it that way -- why not published finalist...another published finalist and then winner! Nobody's ever done that before! It's gonna happen sooner or later.
Preston Dennett
(HM x 2)

Waiting for the IoTF is really painful. Shouldn't it be faster than the WoTH? Like "This looks nice! On to the next!"

Ah, man, I know. Unfortunately IotF is often a full quarter of judging behind WotF.

And making pubbed finalist twice and then winning would be one hell of an acomplishment!

And making pubbed finalist twice and then winning would be one hell of an acomplishment!

I wonder if they'd actually do that. By the time they are picking the pubbed finalist it is not anonymous anymore right? And it is discretionary for a number of reasons (not necessarily just 'next best story'), so I'd bet the fact that they had already published an author would sway them towards picking someone else. Unless they wanted to do it for newsworthy purposes I guess.

I guess you couldn't be a published finalist more than four times though, cos you'd have pro'd out by then by definition! So maybe the ultimate would be to get THREE pubbed finalists, then win!

ETA - and if you did that, you would be pro-ing out AND winning at the same time WOOOP!

I didn't ask directly why IotF takes so long but I can speculate (that's what we do, right?). Here's what I think after spending some time with judges from both ranks. Both groups are very busy people but the writers are still writers--they have their set times when they do their magic. I mean, Mike Resnick might stay down in the bar until 2 o'clock in the morning (no, he doesn't drink alcoholic beverages--although someone did ask the question: Does a great writer have to be an alcoholic? I think it was Tim Powers? Or someone asked him?) but then he went up to his room and wrote. On the illustrator side--man, those guys are immersed within the business side of things and are constantly producing top-notch work under short and shorter eadlines. For example, Cliff Nielsen finishes something like 2 projects every 2 weeks while he teaches art 1 day a week. And if they work the movie/tv side of the industry (storyboarding, advertising, etc.) its like nonstop working under the "I need it done now" type of pressure. In other words, I think its harder for the art judges to squeeze in the time to take a look at the entries.

Just my guess though.

Ron Lindahn, the coordinating judge, did reveal to me that one of the things he looks for is professionalism--in that he thinks the artist who wins is right at the cusp of turning pro or is already there. The workshop for the illustrators could be called: How to survive and thrive in the professional artist's world.

Waiting for the IoTF is really painful. Shouldn't it be faster than the WoTH? Like "This looks nice! On to the next!"

Ah, man, I know. Unfortunately IotF is often a full quarter of judging behind WotF.

And making pubbed finalist twice and then winning would be one hell of an acomplishment!

I'd bet the fact that they had already published an author would sway them towards picking someone else.

That was my thought.

Well, it's Wednesday, but no more foxholes for me. If I'm going down (and I most assuredly am), I'm going down Dorothy Parker-style with a grapefruit cosmo in one hand and a plate of classy hors d'oeuvres in the other.

*Kary signals to the band to play on*

Is anyone with me?

I'm hoping not to be out in this round. I've been working on dodging rejection all week. Still holding out for a finalist position... If I do go down today, my company has it's all-hands meeting at 3pm EST. Beer and wine to follow, so hopefully I hear about it in the next two hours.

You know how when you were a kid, maybe 6 years old or so, and you didn't yet have a good grasp on the passage of time so you'd have to ask people over and over, How long until Christmas? Is is my birthday yet? You'd swear you had been waiting for years, but when you'd ask, you'd hear it was another week away and you were sure that if you had to wait ANY LONGER, you'd pop like a soap bubble and DIE in an irridescent puddle of impatience.

Remember that?

I'm so there.

Agreed. That's why I took up drinking. Well, not so much took it up as refined the practice.
Tomorrow I go back to revising my Q3 story, but the wait is killing me.

WRITE! WRITE! WRITE!

Agreed. That's why I took up drinking. Well, not so much took it up as refined the practice.
Tomorrow I go back to revising my Q3 story, but the wait is killing me.

Maybe they just lost all our submissions in some freak gasoline fight incident.

Agreed. That's why I took up drinking. Well, not so much took it up as refined the practice.
Tomorrow I go back to revising my Q3 story, but the wait is killing me.

Maybe they just lost all our submissions in some freak gasoline fight incident.

LOL!! Both of you!

This is a drill. This is only a drill.

The stories I could tell you...
The stories I could tell you...

"loads up the marshmallow shooter and draws a bead on Martin*

>POONKA, POONKA, POONKA, POONKA<

Did I git 'im?

Agreed. That's why I took up drinking. Well, not so much took it up as refined the practice.
Tomorrow I go back to revising my Q3 story, but the wait is killing me.

Maybe they just lost all our submissions in some freak gasoline fight incident.

lol Or break-dance fighting.

"loads up the marshmallow shooter and draws a bead on Martin*

>POONKA, POONKA, POONKA, POONKA<

Did I git 'im?

Hey! Watch it! That was Evil Martin! I would never tease like that!

Geez, I let him out for a breath of spring air, and he's getting me in trouble already...

I just figured if he was gonna start fires, he might as well have some marshmallows to toast. 😀

Agreed. That's why I took up drinking. Well, not so much took it up as refined the practice.
Tomorrow I go back to revising my Q3 story, but the wait is killing me.

Maybe they just lost all our submissions in some freak gasoline fight incident.

lol Or break-dance fighting.

My Q1 submission was Blue Steel. If that doesn't work, then I'm going to have to bust out Magnum for Q2.

Unless Hansel enters the contest...

My Q1 submission was Blue Steel. If that doesn't work, then I'm going to have to bust out Magnum for Q2.

Unless Hansel enters the contest...

Unless Hansel enters the contest...

He's so hot right now.

I just realized Evil martin may get me in even more trouble. Now if results start coming in tonight, you're all going to accuse me of knowing something ahead of time.

Honest, he's just a troublemaker. He doesn't really know anything.

You think this is bad... You shoulda been there the time he got me into a fight with the two Klingons and the Gorn. He laughed about that one for three weeks...