Discussion: Q1 Volume 36

wotf058

And didn't win. This is my life :p Congrats Brittany on your making finalist too! Better luck next time!

Congrats. That's 5 now? Awesome!

I have now passed Scott Parkin as the most-losing finalist ever. He won on his fifth try. That's definitely something! Persevere, everyone, and you'll make it.

Congratulations, KD! Commiserations, KD!

Five times finalist means you hit Dave's target bullseye again and again. It means he thinks you are the best of the best--but that's where his personal belief ends and it goes to members of the collective to decide, and that's anyone's dice roll on what each likes and dislikes. Consistently impressing bestselling author and writing teacher David Farland? Against what's likely around 10,000 submissions in the totals of those quarters you got finalist? That's pretty amazing. I still hope you win before you pro out--you deserve it, but your fourth publication is coming up fast, I hear. We've watched others in here pro out before winning, and it's a great thing--they became pro authors--but also a bit of a sad thing, they wanted to achieve thier goal. Either way, you win, but as a long-time contestant, you want the win.

The good news is that you've been a published finalist, you've been to the workshop--I've seen you on that stage. So even though you're about to pro out, you got to soak up all the benefits, and you can be proud of that too. It's great for all of us to see people in here doing the work achieving professional status, because it reminds us this is the path, and although it's steep, the summit is acheivable. Once up there, you see all the other summits, but you have to get atop this one--getting past amateur/intermediate status--to be able to reach the rest. Well done on that goal! It takes tremendous focus and stamina.

Here's to hearing more good news from you in the future, whether here, or elsewhere. Cheers!

All the beast,

Wulf Moon

wotf058

And didn't win. This is my life :p Congrats Brittany on your making finalist too! Better luck next time!

Congrats. That's 5 now? Awesome!

I have now passed Scott Parkin as the most-losing finalist ever. He won on his fifth try. That's definitely something! Persevere, everyone, and you'll make it.

Darn, I was so hoping it was your quarter. Congrats on the finalist

Congratulations Brittany and KD on making finalist. Seven times between the two of you. Ya'll rock.

Congratulations/commiserations to Brittany and KD! That much sustained success in an anonymous contest is a pretty amazing accomplishment!

5 times a finalist?! I can't even fathom that level of consistent awesome. The sheer difficulty of that has got to be on par with the Golden Pen. WoTF Legend.

Mass Congratulations.

(And congrats to all who gutted it out this quarter!)

Thanks for the congrats, everyone! (Now onto twitching for Q2, eh? XD)

And congrats, Brittany and KD, on finalist! Wow, such an accomplishment!!! You guys are SO close.

Congratulations on your semifinalist placement, Hannah! To get into Dave's final stack, you wrote an original idea, and executed it well. The critique kills resubmit, of course, but it's still invaluable in getting some insight into what Dave likes about your work, and what he finds lacking in this piece. That knowledge can be put to very good use in your next work. Not to be overlooked is the opportunity to create a fresh story in the same world, wrapped around similar concepts, but explored through a different character or different method. You already know you nicked the bullseye with the one you sent.

All the beast,

Wulf Moon

Thanks, Wulf! And it's funny you mention that because that is exactly what I'm doing for Q3. (Ironically I had planned on it even before I discovered the story in the same world got SF) His critique definitely gave me some good ideas for this new one. Plus, I'm psyched to put a pro critique to work revising the other story and then shopping it out.

Also, side note: I read your story in volume 35 and LOVED it! Moon-Dawdler was hilarious and I legit almost cried at the end. XD All the feels. Nice work.

Hello Wulf Moon,
I always read your answers to other writers with great interest.
I have an off topic question. I have this story that gets nice personal notes already 7 times from various anthologies but still rejection. In one of the last responses the editor said relatively cozy narrative of the story kept it from making a deal. Can you please explain me what it means?

Hello everyone.

I've already posted over in the "I'm new here" thread, but wanted to pop in on this thread as well. After submitting 3 times previously, my submission for 1st Quarter 2019 received a Silver HM. So while I am absolutely thrilled, I am reading this indicates I was close to making semi-finals and with some additional scrubbing might be able to resubmit this story and take it further. I've already confirmed by reading your posts on this thread, and by going back and reading some posts from Joni, that we are encouraged to resubmit. Has anyone done this? Is there any negative impact to doing so I should be on the lookout for?

Also, I see folks swap stories here to give each other feedback. Is there a specific thread / area for that?

And can I just say, it's really REALLY good to be here. 😀

--Tracy

Hello Writergirl,

Glad you made it here! Congrats on your silver HM. The contest coordinating judge, David Farland, sets aside about 30 stories that he views as the cream of the crop. He then has to get that pile down to eight finalists to send off to Joni, where she selects four other judges to choose the winning three stories out of those eight. He describes the decisions process as very tough, as there is often nothing wrong with a story, but for the quarter he may have a better space opera piece, or he's already bought too much SF and needs some fantasy, or the stories he has already selected might be heavy on male protagonists, and he needs some female ones to balance it out. Truth is, when you are in that top 30, you wrote a professional story, and there may be nothing wrong with the story--Dave just couldn't use it for the anthology as it stands for the current contest year. He is, after all, an editor, assembling an anthology for sale.

So the rest of the "almost" pile gets split into those Dave thinks would benefit from a little constructive criticism--the semifinalists--and the others get silvers. A semifinalist disqualifies the story from resubmission because of the critique. So Dave is banking on helping a writer to see what they need to work on for their future stories, and also to fix the rejected story so a writer may submit it elsewhere with success. He does note at times his belief it will sell elsewhere with his suggested changes.

That leaves the silver HMs. They obviously were good, and quite close to winning. Could a change and resubmit make all the difference? Perhaps. Some have worked a single story up from rejection, to HM, to silver, to semifinalist, to finalist and the win. It has happened, and if you really feel you know what the fatal flaw was in your story (and you are likely not qualified to know that, because you already thought it was good enough to send in the first time), it's possible a change and resubmit might improve its odds. It's also possible you could ruin a perfectly good story. Worse, you might labor and labor over it for years, and wind up with nothing new in your inventory, and one story to your name. Tough to build a writing career off that, as you lose your skill to create new, fresh stories.

What's the takeaway? It's your call. If it were me, I'd shelve the story for a bit, just to give Dave some time to forget about it so it will reappear fresh with the revisions. And I'd only turn to it in a bad quarter where life got in the way of writing a fresh story. Fresh stories are where you grow. They are where you employ the things you are learning, they are where you excercise your writing muscles to become better. And I've said plenty about that in my SUPER SECRETS topic, so I'll spare everyone here. : )

All the beast!

Wulf Moon

congratulations Hannah,
Wow aside from being pretty attractive blonde turns out you are a talented writer.

Congratulations on your semifinalist placement, Hannah! To get into Dave's final stack, you wrote an original idea, and executed it well. The critique kills resubmit, of course, but it's still invaluable in getting some insight into what Dave likes about your work, and what he finds lacking in this piece. That knowledge can be put to very good use in your next work. Not to be overlooked is the opportunity to create a fresh story in the same world, wrapped around similar concepts, but explored through a different character or different method. You already know you nicked the bullseye with the one you sent.

All the beast,

Wulf Moon

Thanks, Wulf! And it's funny you mention that because that is exactly what I'm doing for Q3. (Ironically I had planned on it even before I discovered the story in the same world got SF) His critique definitely gave me some good ideas for this new one. Plus, I'm psyched to put a pro critique to work revising the other story and then shopping it out.

Also, side note: I read your story in volume 35 and LOVED it! Moon-Dawdler was hilarious and I legit almost cried at the end. XD All the feels. Nice work.

Congrats KD! Saw on Submission Grinder that you sold to Deep Magic. Can't wait to read it.

The results for quarter one have been released! They are now posted on the blog!

https://www.writersofthefuture.com/writers-of-the-future-contest-1st-quarter-2019-winners/

Looks like a massive quarter with like 225 honorable mentions! That's the most I've ever seen.

Congrats all! And onto the next quarter. You can win! Don't give up!

Aidanka wrote:

Hello Wulf Moon,
I always read your answers to other writers with great interest.
I have an off topic question. I have this story that gets nice personal notes already 7 times from various anthologies but still rejection. In one of the last responses the editor said relatively cozy narrative of the story kept it from making a deal. Can you please explain me what it means?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi, Aidanka! Without talking to that editor, it's hard to know for sure, but I get the gist. The editor is telling you it doesn't have enough tension for them to buy it. If this is a crime mystery you are writing, there is a whole sub genre there called "the cozy." What's a cozy? "The cozy mystery (sometimes simply called a cozy) is a subgenre of crime fiction that gives readers a chance to delight in vicariously solving a murder—without graphic violence or sex." Think along the lines of a tea sipping spinster that looks out her window and wonders why the neighbor's lights go on in the middle of the night, and she hears a gunshot. For the rest of the tale, she toddles around, snooping out little clues that makes her believe something nefarious did go on, and the reader toddles along with her, feeling safe and secure with grandma and tea and crumpets as they solve a mystery together and finally call the local constable and he does all the dirty work thanks to granny getting her nose in where it shouldn't belong, and she goes back to her cozy life of sipping tea and reading obituaries.

All well and good if you're trying to sell to a "cozy" anthology. But for the general marketplace, TENSION drives story. CONFLICT drives story. DANGER drives story. These are all plot tools that ratchet up the stakes so we read sitting on the edge of our seat, because the dear protagonist you have created for us MIGHT DIE! So, I believe the editor is telling you your story as is, is too comfy, does not have enough tension. It's good they took they time to tell you. Because you can fix that, either in this story, or another. Conflict drives plot. THINGS GET WORSE drives plot. High stakes drive plot. A ticking clock drives plot. If you aren't writing a "cozy," go back and ask yourself what you can do to put your protagonist through hell. If you're familiar with the old Columbo detective shows, stop having your protagonist come up with witty questions as they search their pockets for their keys, and make your hero RUN FOR THEIR LIFE from a killer.

All the beast,

Wulf Moon

Congratulations on your semifinalist placement, Hannah! To get into Dave's final stack, you wrote an original idea, and executed it well. The critique kills resubmit, of course, but it's still invaluable in getting some insight into what Dave likes about your work, and what he finds lacking in this piece. That knowledge can be put to very good use in your next work. Not to be overlooked is the opportunity to create a fresh story in the same world, wrapped around similar concepts, but explored through a different character or different method. You already know you nicked the bullseye with the one you sent.

All the beast,

Wulf Moon

Thanks, Wulf! And it's funny you mention that because that is exactly what I'm doing for Q3. (Ironically I had planned on it even before I discovered the story in the same world got SF) His critique definitely gave me some good ideas for this new one. Plus, I'm psyched to put a pro critique to work revising the other story and then shopping it out.

Also, side note: I read your story in volume 35 and LOVED it! Moon-Dawdler was hilarious and I legit almost cried at the end. XD All the feels. Nice work.

Hannah, much success on applying Dave's counsel. He has a trained eye, the eye of a bestselling writer, and possibly the eye of the greatest writing teacher alive today. Even Kevin J. Anderson, who makes the top 100 bestselling writers list year after year, goes to Dave when he's having trouble with something in his writing career. Pay close attention, not just to that story, but what he's really saying about your writing. You have a chance to fix something in your blind spot that may be currently holding you back.

Glad you liked "Super-Duper Moongirl and the Amazing Moon Dawdler." I've been getting nice comments like yours every day, and I'm happy so many have access to to the story, and are being moved by it. Here, this one is funny, a friend read it and wrote this yesterday: "Which reminds me...Screw you, man! You made me cry in public with your story and I'll never forgive you! Also, I loved your story. So there's that. 😛 "

Keep finding ways to make Dave cry. That's my SUPER SECRET advice to you. Shhh. Don't tell anyone else. Keep it between us.

And I call upon everyone to leave a review on Amazon on the anthology, please. Even just a brief one if that's all you can do. It really helps us with their algorithm, getting the anthology more exposure. And tell your friends on your social media this bestselling anthology of science fiction and fantasy is on a special promo of 99 cents for the Kindle version right now. The success of WotF volumes is YOUR success, because one day, your story will be in it. Plan for your future by helping the anthology out today.

Many thanks to all of you for your support!

All the beast,

Wulf Moon

Yaay big response from Wulf Moon, that made my day
Yes I didn't mentioned it was a mysteryş Thanks to you İ found out it's called cozy. I'm also conspiring its about the ethnicity of antihero that editors fear to get sued. I'll change his ethnicity and shop it around to cozy mystery market.

One more question: I know WOTF books are marketed for teenagers too. But I want to write a story for this quarter where raping an animal, and incest are key points ofthe backstory i can't hide them, at least not the rape. I know it sounds horrible. But i'll make them as soft as possible. maybe mentioning in a sentence or so. Do you think that might get my story disqualified or narrow the chances to get listed?

I just got 35th volume. I'm so excited I'm going to read your story and definitely leave a review on Amazon. It's the 1st time I'm going to read from a writer whom I know (although virtually).

Congratulations on your semifinalist placement, Hannah! To get into Dave's final stack, you wrote an original idea, and executed it well. The critique kills resubmit, of course, but it's still invaluable in getting some insight into what Dave likes about your work, and what he finds lacking in this piece. That knowledge can be put to very good use in your next work. Not to be overlooked is the opportunity to create a fresh story in the same world, wrapped around similar concepts, but explored through a different character or different method. You already know you nicked the bullseye with the one you sent.

All the beast,

Wulf Moon

Thanks, Wulf! And it's funny you mention that because that is exactly what I'm doing for Q3. (Ironically I had planned on it even before I discovered the story in the same world got SF) His critique definitely gave me some good ideas for this new one. Plus, I'm psyched to put a pro critique to work revising the other story and then shopping it out.

Also, side note: I read your story in volume 35 and LOVED it! Moon-Dawdler was hilarious and I legit almost cried at the end. XD All the feels. Nice work.

Hannah, much success on applying Dave's counsel. He has a trained eye, the eye of a bestselling writer, and possibly the eye of the greatest writing teacher alive today. Even Kevin J. Anderson, who makes the top 100 bestselling writers list year after year, goes to Dave when he's having trouble with something in his writing career. Pay close attention, not just to that story, but what he's really saying about your writing. You have a chance to fix something in your blind spot that may be currently holding you back.

Glad you liked "Super-Duper Moongirl and the Amazing Moon Dawdler." I've been getting nice comments like yours every day, and I'm happy so many have access to to the story, and are being moved by it. Here, this one is funny, a friend read it and wrote this yesterday: "Which reminds me...Screw you, man! You made me cry in public with your story and I'll never forgive you! Also, I loved your story. So there's that. 😛 "

Keep finding ways to make Dave cry. That's my SUPER SECRET advice to you. Shhh. Don't tell anyone else. Keep it between us.

And I call upon everyone to leave a review on Amazon on the anthology, please. Even just a brief one if that's all you can do. It really helps us with their algorithm, getting the anthology more exposure. And tell your friends on your social media this bestselling anthology of science fiction and fantasy is on a special promo of 99 cents for the Kindle version right now. The success of WotF volumes is YOUR success, because one day, your story will be in it. Plan for your future by helping the anthology out today.

Many thanks to all of you for your support!

All the beast,

Wulf Moon

Yaay big response from Wulf Moon, that made my day
Yes I didn't mentioned it was a mysteryş Thanks to you İ found out it's called cozy. I'm also conspiring its about the ethnicity of antihero that editors fear to get sued. I'll change his ethnicity and shop it around to cozy mystery market.

One more question: I know WOTF books are marketed for teenagers too. But I want to write a story for this quarter where raping an animal, and incest are key points ofthe backstory i can't hide them, at least not the rape. I know it sounds horrible. But i'll make them as soft as possible. maybe mentioning in a sentence or so. Do you think that might get my story disqualified or narrow the chances to get listed?

I just got 35th volume. I'm so excited I'm going to read your story and definitely leave a review on Amazon. It's the 1st time I'm going to read from a writer whom I know (although virtually).

I don't think that's a wise choice of subject matter for this market.

I agree but if you do plan to submit it you should edit your comment to delete any reference to your story - judges sometimes browse the forum and you don’t want to get disqualified. However, that wouldn’t be the right subject matter for WotF. Sex - explicit or otherwise - seems to be a lot more taboo for this market than violence.

Aidanka wrote:

Yaay big response from Wulf Moon, that made my day
Yes I didn't mentioned it was a mysteryş Thanks to you İ found out it's called cozy. I'm also conspiring its about the ethnicity of antihero that editors fear to get sued. I'll change his ethnicity and shop it around to cozy mystery market.

One more question: I know WOTF books are marketed for teenagers too. But I want to write a story for this quarter where raping an animal, and incest are key points ofthe backstory i can't hide them, at least not the rape. I know it sounds horrible. But i'll make them as soft as possible. maybe mentioning in a sentence or so. Do you think that might get my story disqualified or narrow the chances to get listed?

I just got 35th volume. I'm so excited I'm going to read your story and definitely leave a review on Amazon. It's the 1st time I'm going to read from a writer whom I know (although virtually).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To Aidanka: Good you figured out the sub genre you are marketing to. Seeing the target clearly helps you in aiming for the bullseye. If you're selling cozy mysteries, you need to read cozy mysteries, especially the ones put out by the publisher you are selling to. I wish you much success.

In answer to your question, David Farland is very clear the WotF anthology is marketed, in addition to adult, to YA (Young Adult). It's a #1 Amazon bestseller in some YA categories. Bestiality and incest are not topics he will likely consider. I would explore a new topic that would not get you immediately rejected. Even when I wrote a story about a bare-breasted mermaid (earned semifinalist), and had a sea captain describe her breasts, Dave cited me on it in his critique and said I had "too much breast imagery." Had I realized how PG this market is (although it seems to be swaying nowadays), I would have been a finalist and possible winner four years ago. I am awaiting final contract revisions right now for that story to a very nice market, but would I rather have had my shot at winning four years ago? You bet! So know your market, and do your best to send what the editor or judge is calling for.

I'm happy you got Volume 35, Aidanka. It's the only way to truly know what Dave is currently selecting for the anthologies. It does vary over time as the coordinating judge's tastes flux, the market fluxes, gender issues flux, as well as social and political fluctuations in any given year. Keeping current and reading each issue from cover to cover will give you an edge. I say this to all. The anthology is still on promo at Amazon for 99 cents in the Kindle version. If you don't read the anthologies, you've just dropped your chances of winning drastically. Get the anthology. And many thanks to those that, like you Aidanka, plan on leaving a review. I've seen a few of you have already done so, and I commend you. This is your future, and reviews help the anthology succeed, because the algorithms note how many reviews a book achieves. Thanks for helping.

And I do truly hope you are moved by the stories in the book, and of course, by "Super-Duper Moongirl and the Amazing Moon Dawdler."

All the beast!

Wulf Moon

Thank you, yes I decided to go with the another story I initially planned. No explicit content even remotely. Sigh sigh. If there was anyway to hide the backstory and sound real I'm sure it would land me at least an HM.
Yes, reading anthologies is important, because my 1st submission (Q3 last year) was far away from having SF&F content. Sure, I did eventually sold it to another market but lost 3 months waiting for a reply.

Regarded reading, I try to read fiction a LOT. The past two years I've spent reading English literature for 5-6 hours a day. When I start to read I can't stop for days so it's a huge problem for me. (Now I read Moon's Super secret and I don't think I can do any writing before I finish it) English is my 4th language so I try my best to sound native. I have tried to write in other languages some time but for some reason I can't. i know there are certain things that sometimes I can't understand like cozy mystery. Even though I've been learning English since I was 5 I know I sometimes sound off for a native speaker. Being a native speaker is a real privilege that I'll never have.

Aidanka wrote:

Yaay big response from Wulf Moon, that made my day
Yes I didn't mentioned it was a mysteryş Thanks to you İ found out it's called cozy. I'm also conspiring its about the ethnicity of antihero that editors fear to get sued. I'll change his ethnicity and shop it around to cozy mystery market.

One more question: I know WOTF books are marketed for teenagers too. But I want to write a story for this quarter where raping an animal, and incest are key points ofthe backstory i can't hide them, at least not the rape. I know it sounds horrible. But i'll make them as soft as possible. maybe mentioning in a sentence or so. Do you think that might get my story disqualified or narrow the chances to get listed?

I just got 35th volume. I'm so excited I'm going to read your story and definitely leave a review on Amazon. It's the 1st time I'm going to read from a writer whom I know (although virtually).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To Aidanka: Good you figured out the sub genre you are marketing to. Seeing the target clearly helps you in aiming for the bullseye. If you're selling cozy mysteries, you need to read cozy mysteries, especially the ones put out by the publisher you are selling to. I wish you much success.

In answer to your question, David Farland is very clear the WotF anthology is marketed, in addition to adult, to YA (Young Adult). It's a #1 Amazon bestseller in some YA categories. Bestiality and incest are not topics he will likely consider. I would explore a new topic that would not get you immediately rejected. Even when I wrote a story about a bare-breasted mermaid (earned semifinalist), and had a sea captain describe her breasts, Dave cited me on it in his critique and said I had "too much breast imagery." Had I realized how PG this market is (although it seems to be swaying nowadays), I would have been a finalist and possible winner four years ago. I am awaiting final contract revisions right now for that story to a very nice market, but would I rather have had my shot at winning four years ago? You bet! So know your market, and do your best to send what the editor or judge is calling for.

I'm happy you got Volume 35, Aidanka. It's the only way to truly know what Dave is currently selecting for the anthologies. It does vary over time as the coordinating judge's tastes flux, the market fluxes, gender issues flux, as well as social and political fluctuations in any given year. Keeping current and reading each issue from cover to cover will give you an edge. I say this to all. The anthology is still on promo at Amazon for 99 cents in the Kindle version. If you don't read the anthologies, you've just dropped your chances of winning drastically. Get the anthology. And many thanks to those that, like you Aidanka, plan on leaving a review. I've seen a few of you have already done so, and I commend you. This is your future, and reviews help the anthology succeed, because the algorithms note how many reviews a book achieves. Thanks for helping.

And I do truly hope you are moved by the stories in the book, and of course, by "Super-Duper Moongirl and the Amazing Moon Dawdler."

All the beast!

Wulf Moon

Thank you guys, I don't know how on earth I thought it could be appropriate for the contest. About deleting references to the stories we send to the contest, is writing about your stories on the forum gets you disqualified or it is regarding my story project?
I know I ask dumb questions but I'm new to the contest and obviously there are lots of things I don't know.

I agree but if you do plan to submit it you should edit your comment to delete any reference to your story - judges sometimes browse the forum and you don’t want to get disqualified. However, that wouldn’t be the right subject matter for WotF. Sex - explicit or otherwise - seems to be a lot more taboo for this market than violence.

Thank you guys, I don't know how on earth I thought it could be appropriate for the contest. About deleting references to the stories we send to the contest, is writing about your stories on the forum gets you disqualified or it is regarding my story project?
I know I ask dumb questions but I'm new to the contest and obviously there are lots of things I don't know.

I agree but if you do plan to submit it you should edit your comment to delete any reference to your story - judges sometimes browse the forum and you don’t want to get disqualified. However, that wouldn’t be the right subject matter for WotF. Sex - explicit or otherwise - seems to be a lot more taboo for this market than violence.

Well, you've just said you are deleting those references. So you're good. No judge would know it's you.

You do very well for not having English as your first language. And that you know all those others. But we can still tell you aren't fluent in English, which means judges can tell as well, and it would appear as errors. I highly recommend you find someone that is fluent to proofread your manuscripts. Or pay a proofreader. Your manuscript must be error free, and even improperly using a word you think is correct tosses a reader out of a story as they wonder about the strange word choice. For instance, I see many foreigners talk about "hot love." We don't use that terminology. We might say "heated love" or "intense love." Come to find out, the foreigner thought they were saying something like "warmth" or "deep affection." But it totally jars to an English reader, and there are many other incorrect word choices of similar nature. This is not to discourage you from communicating here. It's just to remind you that you are competing against fluent English writers and speakers. So you will need a helping hand from someone that's fluent if you hope to get higher marks, or the win.

I do hope that came across right. Just trying to help.

Hot love!

Moon

Yes, thank you. Your notes are always helpful. Especially, Dave himself even noted one time how using words incorrectly might get you R. And I know it might sound completely illogical when I heard it from my Russian professor. But the more languages you speak the less you have a chance to correctly express yourself in a single one (words from other languages, and grammar keeps coming to surface) so it's a huge hazard. I'm having hard time to sound native even on my own 1st language.
Whenever I send my work to critique I always mention that I am not a native speaker and need a help to sound so . I hope I'd be able to find a native speaker buddy with whom we can swap stories for critiques.
I hope in few years I'll manage to get over the language barrier (by rigorously watching movies, TV shows, reading etc.)
Thank you again, I literally take notes from your posts on threads here.

Thank you guys, I don't know how on earth I thought it could be appropriate for the contest. About deleting references to the stories we send to the contest, is writing about your stories on the forum gets you disqualified or it is regarding my story project?
I know I ask dumb questions but I'm new to the contest and obviously there are lots of things I don't know.

I agree but if you do plan to submit it you should edit your comment to delete any reference to your story - judges sometimes browse the forum and you don’t want to get disqualified. However, that wouldn’t be the right subject matter for WotF. Sex - explicit or otherwise - seems to be a lot more taboo for this market than violence.

Well, you've just said you are deleting those references. So you're good. No judge would know it's you.

You do very well for not having English as your first language. And that you know all those others. But we can still tell you aren't fluent in English, which means judges can tell as well, and it would appear as errors. I highly recommend you find someone that is fluent to proofread your manuscripts. Or pay a proofreader. Your manuscript must be error free, and even improperly using a word you think is correct tosses a reader out of a story as they wonder about the strange word choice. For instance, I see many foreigners talk about "hot love." We don't use that terminology. We might say "heated love" or "intense love." Come to find out, the foreigner thought they were saying something like "warmth" or "deep affection." But it totally jars to an English reader, and there are many other incorrect word choices of similar nature. This is not to discourage you from communicating here. It's just to remind you that you are competing against fluent English writers and speakers. So you will need a helping hand from someone that's fluent if you hope to get higher marks, or the win.

I do hope that came across right. Just trying to help.

Hot love!

Moon

Aidanka wrote: Whenever I send my work to critique I always mention that I am not a native speaker and need a help to sound so . I hope I'd be able to find a native speaker buddy with whom we can swap stories for critiques.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Since you are not a native speaker and English is not your first language, in your case, it appears to be a pretty essential need. There's always someone willing to swap stories in here. But I highly recommend you find a writing partner that is fluent in English, hopefully born into it. They will understand the subtle nuances to word choices that you might miss. A miss shows up as an error, and in a writing competition this stiff, you'll only get a pass on a couple before the story will likely be rejected.

Congrats to all those that placed!

As to the first quarter results - that's a staggering number of Honourable Mentions!

Welcome, Tracy, and congrats on the SHM!!!

So from what I've seen, I think I'm in the minority that is all for resubmissions? I feel like if you have a concept that you're really invested in and you're willing to put it through the ringer, it could be worth it to resubmit - especially if it's this SHM. (Maybe it's just me, but I feel like DF is ASKING for a resubmission with SHM, since it's just below the rung where you can't anymore) I've heard of quite a few people revising the same story until it made Finalist/Top Three. And personally, the story I just got SF with was originally an HM. ...Though I've also had plenty of resubmissions that didn't amount to anything. And similarly, I've heard of people whose resubmissions placed LOWER than they originally had.

So really, it's a gamble, but a gamble I feel is worth taking as long as you don't become so obsessed with perfecting that one story that you don't submit anything new. (As such, I limit myself to two resubmissions max per year.) In any case, best of luck with your SHM!

Thank you!!!
I totally agree with you that it has seemed as if they are asking for resubs. Hence my initial drive to spit-shine the heck out of this SHM piece and see if I can get this baby to fly. Especially when there are no worries I'll become obsessed with perfecting. Thank you for taking the time to drop me a note and share your opinion.

And CONGRATS to you on your SF, too!!! Super-Incredible-Wowzer good luck on Q2! Maybe we'll manage to be at an award ceremony together in the future.

Tracy

wotf058 yay! I am happy to get this gag off my mouth and officially say I made finalist. I can also officially say I did not win. Still makes me feel like I'm on the path. Onward!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! Great job! Hopefully you are still celebrating, and wildly excited.

Tracy

wotf058
And didn't win. This is my life :p Congrats Brittany on your making finalist too! Better luck next time!

Oh my goodness, KD. This must be incredibly exciting and also frustrating for you, but mostly exciting. That's AWESOME. And I think I saw somewhere else you sold to Deep Magic! Congrats! My first published story was with them, and I can tell you they are great people to work with. And just plain great people, too. Keep us posted on what issue!!!

Tracy