Discussion: Q2 Volume 40

I've got some fires in the iron. Hopefully one of them will un-backwards itself and become an iron and then a kick-ass sword (and not a kick ass-sword), all by March 31st.

Well, I may not be done with my Q1, but I am done with my Q2! It's all done and ready to roll, just as soon as submissions open. Now, I just need to get back and finish adding the refinements and polish to this Q1 story of mine...

I'm excited to tackle Q2. 

I’m so excited to work on QTR2v40. I’m entering this as well as Resnick so I have 2 stories to write this QTR.

Good luck to any and all (and to @craydimensional specifically, since they have announced their proud candidacy) entering the Mike Resnick Memorial! I'm disqualified from that one, so I get to cheer on everyone else without prejudice--best of luck to all Forumites trying to tackle it at the same time as a Writers of the Future quarter!   

Posted by: @craydimensional

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I’m so excited to work on QTR2v40. I’m entering this as well as Resnick so I have 2 stories to write this QTR.

Good luck on both! I know you can do it!  

Now that my first novel is on the street (Not Like Us), I'm back to working some short stories. An anthology is in the works that needs two more stories—so Q2 will definitely see a new story from me.

But hey, I've got another three months before it's due...

Posted by: @craydimensional

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I’m so excited to work on QTR2v40. I’m entering this as well as Resnick so I have 2 stories to write this QTR.

That sounds like a good goal for 1st quarter of 2023. I'm in too. 

I'll work on a new story for WotF and an updated previous Science Fiction submission to WotF that earned me my first HM for Resnick contest.

Portal for Q2 Volume 40 is now open. (Cycle 40B).

I added some copy on the submission form to ensure everyone knows that until you get the email confirmation your submission is not completed.

Remember you have to upload your story in the form, then once this is complete, you still have to select the Submit button to finish.

If any technical issues DM me or email me at jason@authorservicesinc.com.

Good luck to everyone!!!

Submitted! I'm entered for Q2, with no technical problems -- thanks, @jason!

Right, I'm in.

Congrats, @pdblake! I wish I had your timeliness. I'm way ahead of my normal schedule, being 90% done with the first draft already, but so far behind where I want to be.

Got a question for those that can recall the last few volumes of the contest: I know gratuitous/extreme violence is DQ worthy, but what if it's not violence per say so much as graphic gore? What's the goriest story you can recall? I feel like a fool asking this question, having recently read V38 and beta-read V39, but my mind is blanking on this particular query right now.

I can recall 0 and I've easily read over half the stories. Early on things may have been different, and my reading does tend to skew newer (starting more around XXI). There's even some language in the early volumes.

Dave's story struck me as surprisingly graphic. Otherwise the gory stuff happens off camera, as it were (From my recollection).

Maybe @prestondennett can help.

I am still writing my QTR2. Hopefully I can finish early so I can get started on Resnick.

This may seem dumb, but I'm really struggling with this. If writing a near future story, is it okay to use real cities/countries if the depiction is negative? Here's my issue: I wrote a near future story some time back where it was important that a character came from a messed-up, poverty-ridden country. I had a particular country in mind. But a friend of mine is an immigrant from that country. I realized that if she read the story, she (and others from there) might feel insulted at my description of her homeland. So I made the character come from a fictional country. Not a big deal, as he just had to come from a messed-up country to move the story along - which country didn't matter. But now I'm working on another near future story where a key part is that the U.S. is in conflict with...well, do I name the country or not? By depicting a real nation as a future enemy of the U.S. am I hate mongering, feeding fears, etc.? If I use a fictional country does it lessen the impact (and near-futureness) of the story? If a fictional country is an obvious stand-in for a real one, am I still promoting fear/hatred of that country? Would love some advice...   

@elainemidcoh 

I say write the story you need to write, with honesty and courage, and to hell with what the critics say about it. In one recent story, which earned an Honorable Mention in the contest, I had a hidden space complex located "somewhere in the western former United States." The story showed a clear societal collapse in the US and the world at large, but it was the story I needed to tell.

Agreed. Write it as you imagine it and don't slow down. If an editor feels like that matters, you can work on it with them. But for now, tell your story, make your art.

Thank you @Morgan and @Dustin Adams. Appreciate your comments. I think I will just write the story as I imagine it (with real country in mind) and then, after story is done, decide whether to switch to fictional nation. Really, I appreciate the advice. Thanks!! 

@elainemidcoh - some of my favorite novels, by Patrick Robinson, focus on real-world tensions, largely between the US and Russia/China/Iran. It never felt distasteful (though I read them over a decade ago and times they are a'changing), and I think that was because he (mostly) avoided caricatures and demonization. The US was always 'the good guys,' but the others were given real motivations for doing what they did, and it was never chaulked up to 'because they're bad guys.'

Perhaps you could find someone from the country in question and ask them to be a sensitivity reader?

Thank you at @Ease ! I like your advice to avoid caricatures, which I would try to do anyway - buy may go extra step - possibly make one character from "enemy" country into a good guy, who still acts in favor of his own country...hmm-think I can do it...and would make story more interesting too. I am truly appreciative of the advice from you three (@Ease, @Morgan, @Dustinadams). You are helping me to think through the story and to deal with the concern that I expressed. Many thanks!!

Allo! Wow, people have already submitted for the quarter! That's awesome!!!

My first submission was a last-minute decision done by the skin of my teeth, and I have no plans on repeating that experience. I have a few story concepts rattling around the brain pan and one is in a weird half-draft/half-bullet point state. I had a plan going in, and then the characters changed their minds and now I have to convert the incident report into something that others will enjoy reading.

Best of luck to everyone submitting!

Yesterday was awesome. A prior story prompt 'The Beast Within' commanded my attention and took me to the zone.  

I wasn't able to leave except for an occasional walkabout to stretch my legs.

So, story I'm working on now ends on a moment of terror and dread.  My first impulse, based upon past readings, is this would not do well in WOTF.  If I recall, they have even gone on record as very much wanting stories to end on an up beat note, though that might have just been a preference.  Any thoughts on that?  Am I missing something/wrong/etc?

It's tough to recommend how to end a story - however, given you're already aware of what the contest likes in general, and if you've read several or a bunch, etc. of the published stories - I can suggest not leaving the reader hanging.

Ending on a moment of dread sounds unfinished or incomplete to me (Any denouement?). The WotF endings don't have to be happy or upbeat. Sometimes the MC dies, sometimes they fail, but the story itself has to resolve.

@annaliess    I need to let story ideas percolate. If I try writing the story too soon, I don't get anywhere and get frustrated. YMMV of course.

Posted by: @pegeen

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@annaliess    I need to let story ideas percolate. If I try writing the story too soon, I don't get anywhere and get frustrated. YMMV of course.

For me, it depends on the story. Some stories naturally come together quickly, and don't need to give them too much time--my Finalist and my first ever published story were both of that sort, and they fed on that initial energy, that initial idea that I was excited enough about to want to get my teeth properly into. In those cases, I think percolation would have hurt them.

Others, though, can take weeks, months, or even years to fully come together--and both my semi-finalist and my On Spec/PodCastle story were in that bracket instead. They both had a slower pace, and were longer pieces that benefited from more consideration and revision to get them into their best form. I think these were less reliant on that initial energy burst, and were definitely more products of craft and patience instead.

So, my own mileage varies, even story to story! But generally, I find that over time I've gotten better at knowing when a story is ready to be written, regardless of how long it takes me to get there.

@pegeen, @doctorjest, thanks for your input! Usually, one of the three bits comes to me fairly well developed - character, world, story concept - and I end up chasing down the central conflict, even as I am putting ink to page.

It is a relief to hear that others also struggle with their stories, sometimes for years. My first submission was a long journey of write, rewrite, flail in self-doubt, edit, rewrite, frustration rage, add stuff back in... and I was beginning to worry that all of my short stories were going to be so time-demanding and troublesome!

@annaliess The more we write the easier it gets. 😊

I'm almost done with the first draft of my Q2 Volume 40 story. It still needs a lot of work.  Nonetheless, yeah me for not procrastinating.