Discussion Q4 Volume 38

Posted by: @babooher

I hope someone here is now ineligible for V39. Best wishes

What a lovely thought!

Posted by: @babooher

I hope someone here is now ineligible for V39. Best wishes

"And just what the hell is THAT supposed to mea—
Aaawww thank you!"

Wait a minute, aren't we entering v38. My eyes glazed over when I saw v39. Please don't make me think that far ahead, I have enough reasons to twitch as it is.

Congratulations to all that entered Q4, Volume 38! You'll find that learning to meet these WotF quarterly deadlines is great training for a professional career! Best of success to each of you as we await results. Instead of twitching, go forth and conquer by writing your next story! 

And for some of you ... see you in Hollywood in two weeks! For others, I hope to see you in Hollywood next year! Winners happen HERE!

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!

I don't really twitch all that much. I'm learning to draw maps now which means, I still must read the original manuscript to have accurate locations.

I'm really looking forward to this exercise as I anticipate my story will grow as the map does. I see that world-building gives the writer boundary's and borders to work within.

My character survived a traumatic experience only to be confronted by a life-altering situation. The people that join during her journey become fast friends dedicated to each others well-being, to the point of death, if called for.

This novel was started with my first HM. I's up to 70k and sure to grow with the new territory we're entering. 

Good luck to everyone in Q4!

Would anyone mind assuaging my paranoia? I was editing and redrafting up to 22 minutes before the deadline, I had to create a new account to submit, got my piece submitted, saw the "submitted" status on the website... But I was expecting an email to let me know I'd successfully entered.

It's been a couple quarters since I entered though, so I don't remember if there even is an email that confirms submission. Now I'm chewing my nails wondering if I even got in on time. Any of y'all mind telling me "it's all gonna be okay"? 

@jwbenjamin  It's gonna be okay. You're in, you saw the acceptance on the portal.

But if you'd like to be really really sure, @jason can get you a confirmation. 

Best of success!

I didn't get a confirmation, but I did get a number close to the one I entered in the lottery.

Alas, only one of the numbers was drawn, so I'm still not a multi-millionaire.

Posted by: @storysinger

I don't really twitch all that much. I'm learning to draw maps now which means, I still must read the original manuscript to have accurate locations.

I'm really looking forward to this exercise as I anticipate my story will grow as the map does. I see that world-building gives the writer boundary's and borders to work within.

My character survived a traumatic experience only to be confronted by a life-altering situation. The people that join during her journey become fast friends dedicated to each others well-being, to the point of death, if called for.

This novel was started with my first HM. I's up to 70k and sure to grow with the new territory we're entering. 

Sounds great, storysinger. You're a bit further along than me; my first novel is only at about 20K words so far, although I've got a full outline for where it's going. I've got some synergy going; it's in the same world-building as many of my short stories. They're working toward an anthology that I'll likely self-publish before finishing the novel.

And about "twitching" … I agree with you. If WotF were the only thing I was doing, then I might be nervous enough to twitch. It would be great to win this, but it won't make or break what I'm doing even if my stories get a big, fat "reject." In the meantime, I've had enough people say they like my writing that it encourages me to keep going.

Posted by: @jwbenjamin

Would anyone mind assuaging my paranoia? I was editing and redrafting up to 22 minutes before the deadline, I had to create a new account to submit, got my piece submitted, saw the "submitted" status on the website... But I was expecting an email to let me know I'd successfully entered.

 

It's been a couple quarters since I entered though, so I don't remember if there even is an email that confirms submission. Now I'm chewing my nails wondering if I even got in on time. Any of y'all mind telling me "it's all gonna be okay"? 

Hello @jwbenjamin

Happy to confirm for you that your submission was received into Q4 for volume 38. Your submission ID was 30651167.

We are still setting up the new submission portal system and the confirmation email is on the list to be set up soon. For now I am happy to confirm you are all good.

Good luck!

Best, Jason

Sorry, Jason-I asked a few people about this, too! I didn't get a confirmation email.
But I have definitely submitted and a few other kind folk assured me that there weren't any emails sent out. I got my number when I submitted.
Thanks again for your work, Jason!

@scott_m_sands no problem. As long as you got your confirmation number you know it was accepted by the system. Will let everyone know once the auto email is set up. I did double check it and saw you number for Q4 was 30528303 so you are for sure all good.

Best, Jason

@jason

Cool. And I assume there's no issues with anonymity for you posting the number of my submission?
That would not be good!

Posted by: @scott_m_sands

@jason

Cool. And I assume there's no issues with anonymity for you posting the number of my submission?
That would not be good!

 

@scott_m_sands correct. Only the administrators of the WizeHive system can associate the email to the ID number. The judges of the Contest just see the lucky numbers in the system.

Best, Jason

So how long until they start the "weeding process?" It's been years since I've subbed anything, but it seems like they would send a "you're still in the running" kind of email at some point, right? 

Posted by: @jjcollins

So how long until they start the "weeding process?" It's been years since I've subbed anything, but it seems like they would send a "you're still in the running" kind of email at some point, right? 

There aren't any update emails, no. We haven't gotten results for Q3 yet, so Q4 is way off on the horizon. Many days/weeks/months yet. In recent years results have come on the same day (they used to come in waves), but there's no telling when. I'd guess before Q1 closes, though.

@jjcollins They let everyone know within the same day. We are never sure of day but prior years they sent out email which stated 2 1/2 months from end of submission deadline or later. We are waiting 3rd QTR results which are running later and are expected to come in after gala.

All results will be in on Thursday.

Noobs, geez.

😎

Posted by: @kent

All results will be in on Thursday.

Noobs, geez.

😎

This made me chuckle. I feel like this idea/joke is falling by the wayside as the old guard win or pro out. Warmed my cockles to see it back  

All results will be on "a" Thursday ... LOL  

And remember NNiNN! Now go write  

~A. ♥

I know we're still waiting on Q3, but today I got nervous about Q4. This was the first time I revised/rewrote something. Originally, the story got a Silver HM. I feel I made it better. Which is the cause of my anxiety! If I score worse on what I think is better I'm going to be frustrated to say the least. I know there are other factors, but now I wonder if I did the right thing. I suppose the best course of action is to know I'm pleased with the rewrite and worry about Q1 instead of the past.

@babooher I feel your pain on the waiting. The results will come soon enough I suppose.

Can't exactly blame some people for being antsy about it. I know I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for Q3 results. The story I submitted for that quarter is probably one of the strongest ones I've put out, and my beta readers raved about it, so I'm anxious to see how it did.

Don't forget (@babooher)that Dave is choosing stories for an anthology. He strives for diversity and picks what he needs for that issue.

If your story doesn't place it may not have been what he was looking for. If it doesn't win, point it at a different target.

Posted by: @babooher

I know we're still waiting on Q3, but today I got nervous about Q4. This was the first time I revised/rewrote something. Originally, the story got a Silver HM. I feel I made it better. Which is the cause of my anxiety! If I score worse on what I think is better I'm going to be frustrated to say the least. I know there are other factors, but now I wonder if I did the right thing. I suppose the best course of action is to know I'm pleased with the rewrite and worry about Q1 instead of the past.

 

I'm sure you improved your story, regardless of what result you end up with. The contest has been getting harder every year--the number of entrants has increased fairly steadily, and the competition gets stiffer as more people level up their craft. If you end up with the same placement--or a lower one--that isn't necessarily reflective of your story so much as where the contest as a whole is now compared to when you sent the story in last. (To be fair, I don't know when you sent this story in the first time, but I honestly feel like the difficulty curve is consistently getting higher.)

Posted by: @disgruntledpeony

Posted by: @babooher

I know we're still waiting on Q3, but today I got nervous about Q4. This was the first time I revised/rewrote something. Originally, the story got a Silver HM. I feel I made it better. Which is the cause of my anxiety! If I score worse on what I think is better I'm going to be frustrated to say the least. I know there are other factors, but now I wonder if I did the right thing. I suppose the best course of action is to know I'm pleased with the rewrite and worry about Q1 instead of the past.

 

I'm sure you improved your story, regardless of what result you end up with. The contest has been getting harder every year--the number of entrants has increased fairly steadily, and the competition gets stiffer as more people level up their craft. If you end up with the same placement--or a lower one--that isn't necessarily reflective of your story so much as where the contest as a whole is now compared to when you sent the story in last. (To be fair, I don't know when you sent this story in the first time, but I honestly feel like the difficulty curve is consistently getting higher.)

I suspect it could also be the current set of interests of the readers as well. Something that tweaked their interest enough for a SHM during one quarter just might not be as much their jam in another (or more their jam).

@disgruntledpeony 

Which is great on the one hand, scary on the other.
I'm trusting in the belief that my stories are worth reading. They are good enough to be bought. Even if competition gets stiff, a good story is a good story (so long as we put in the time and effort to present it well).

Back to it!

@scott_m_sands 

I'm with you on that. I believe that my stories are worth reading, and can at least provide some level of entertainment to others. Of course, not everyone is going to like them, that's obvious. But if I can make it worthwhile to at least one person, that's fine with me. Still, more is always better!

Vol 37 arrived yesterday in my mailbox. The illustrations are gorgeous! Now it’s time to dive into the stories to learn, to be inspired, and to be entertained!

@jeschleicher 

Yep! I look forward to getting mine. It'll probably be a while longer, as I live in Aus. But I've already read vol 37 (ARC reader). I must admit, I don't read most stories again purely for entertainment, but there are 2-3 in this volume I look forward to reading a second time ... maybe more!