Discussion Q4 Volume 38

@bethpowers That’s a nice collection, Beth! Close to the bullseye again! Congratulations!

@jennyperrycarr Really happy for you, Jenny! A level up moment! You were close! And if you did it once …

Cheers!

Posted by: @chwalter

Woo hoo, broke my R streak!  I don't know if this happens without tremendously useful input from @kent and @aliciacay.  Credit also to everyone who recommended The 10% Solution (it was painful, but it sure helped).  This was submitted with under an hour to go.  I'm so glad all the real-life distractions that caused the time crunch didn't tank my chances.  Best of luck to those who haven't heard yet.  Hope we have some finalists hanging around.

Way to go, Coder. Always happy to help.

We're having fun!

Bit gutted this morning. I got my first "R". It was a rewrite of a SHM, which I thought I had improved quite a lot (obviously not!). So, my downward trajectory continues...SHM>HM>R   Third time is not lucky for me it seems  

Anyways, onto Q1 and a new year ahead!

HM here. I expected more from this one to be honest but, onward we go. 

And congratulations to all who placed  

Congratulations to all to those who placed. HM for me.

"And don't call me Shirley."

Or in this case, Sterling. My streak of above HM ends at 5. 

HM this time around. 

Fitting for my effort and execution, but disappointing in the content. This was a deeper meaning story, not quite allegory, but a modern retelling, so in that, I am bummed for the mark miss.

But excited for Beth! Go you!

.

In general I'd love to get back to doing more critiquing and story swaps. Hopefully my job lets up a little and I can get those stories in... 

On my second try. I'll try and keep getting better and better.

I believe I was rejected in Q3. I didn't get an e-mail but I'm also not on the blog's list.

@jennyperrycarr awesome.

@bethpowers congratulations 

Got my email this morning!

Dear Writer,

Congratulations! Your story has been judged and is a Semi-Finalist for the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest 4th quarter (entries received between July and September of 2021).

WOOT WOOT!

Posted by: @karyenglish

Hey, all!

Here's some general info about how results work.

It takes me about a month to get through a quarter's submissions. Three weeks is about the fastest I can do it, and if there's a convention or something going on, it can take me six weeks.

Dave needs around 2-3 weeks for his side of things. Four if he's also got other events going on.

Finalist judging can take as little as 48 hours, or up to six weeks (and let me tell you, those were six long, hard weeks!).

After that, emails and phone calls are up to Joni's schedule. Occasionally, she's got something else going on that takes all of her time, so emails have to wait until whatever it is finishes. Dave and I won't always know if that's the case.

I'm hoping this helps everyone understand how it can happen that I might say I'm done with my side, or I might hint that Dave is done with his, and then you don't hear anything.

Waiting is hard, and sometimes hoping is harder.

I'm not posting this because of any particular event or anything, just - I know there can be some frustration when you have to be barricaded in the pillow fort for weeks on end. It's a toss-up whether it's kinder for us to hint that results are coming and then face the risk that they don't come as fast as we thought they would, or if we should keep quiet so we don't raise anyone's hopes.

Hang in there. Q4 will be wrapped up soon. I still think you'll hear this week, but that's a guess on my part.

Thanks, Kary. It's really no big deal and, honestly, all part of the fun and excitement. Those of us who have been in this contest a while are familiar with the process and know about how long it takes. Thank you so much for all your hard work and being so active on the forums with us!

@morgan-broadhead awesome work

First of all:

To @karyenglish - Way to throw us a curveball (plot-twist), love. Here we were thinking that it would be another week or so, after reading your post. You definitely had us going (or maybe it's just me).

To all the 'R's - we totally commiserate. We have all been there and felt it hit us hard when we thought that our stories were super duper awesome, and that we should have done better. All I can say is to look back over your story, several times if need be, and go through it with a fine-tooth Wulf Moon Super Secret list, as well as other tools.

To all the HMs - (of which I am one, and there are simply too many to list) - Big Congrats - Awesome work folks

To @babooher, @FolkLoremIpsum, @jennyperrycarr, @bethpowers - Super Congrats on the SHMs

To @morgan-broadhead - Super Duper Congrats on the SF - That is totally awesome! Man, I hope I get there some day soon

Now on to Q1-v39 (Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!)

Although - And it's sad to say because I should be over the moon - HMs and SHMs are starting to feel like Rs. When did that happen?

Wow, y'all, congrats on all these certs! And commiseration and love to all who were hoping for different results. The most important thing: you wrote something, and you finished it, and you submitted. You're committed to improving your stories. Maybe that sounds pithy, but it's not. Writing is a perseverance game. You keep putting words on paper, you keep on doing the work, and that's how it gets done. Take the time to care for yourself if you're disappointed - that's important, too, or you'll burn yourself out. The words will be there when you're ready.

R for me. Darn, not sure I've ever had back to back Rs before--following an SHM no less! Then again these two stories were extremely experimental. That's what I get for trying new things, I guess.  

Congrats to all who placed! Onward to Q1! If anyone is interested in swapping stories, please send a PM.

Hey everyone, first post here although I've lurked for some time. These last two quarters were my first 'serious' submissions (knuckled down, put the work in, etc.) and I was pleased to receive SHMs for both. But the question remains: how to progress further? I've heard John and other WOTF-affiliates speak about the finalist/winner divide; how at that stage it can be a matter of personal taste, but what about lower down?
I'm worried there's something I'm not 'getting'. Any advice for me? Do others feel the same?
Much appreciated, and congratulations to all on their results.
Sam x  

@gmanwriter  - My very first submission was an SHM, then I got a STRING of Rs like forever. It was very disheartening. Then, I got an HM. More Rs. Another HM. SHM and so on for the back and forth thing. Thanks to this forum and my good friend Wulfy, things began looking somewhat better. But with the influx of new writers submitting to this contest, it's not so easy to move up anymore. So, we have to up our game. This means we need to be better than those 10000 submissions coming in every quarter and go full Tim Powers (et al) on our stories. Not always that easy, I know, with everything else happening in our daily mundane lives.

Oh! I didn't realize that was the Q4 result email. I was thinking it was Q3. (Read the topic line Chuck).

HM for me.

@chuckt 🤣 🤣 

Congrats on the HM bro!

@dragonchef Good point! I've realized that I tend to do better in the contest if I only submit twice a year as opposed to trying to make it in for all 4 quarters. My job being as demanding as it is (also working on my novel) makes it difficult to hit all 4 with high quality stuff.

On the bright side an agent is interested in one of my books which David critiqued the first 25 pages in last year's WIFYR class. So it's not all black licorice in the candy jar.

Posted by: @gmanwriter

On the bright side an agent is interested in one of my books which David critiqued the first 25 pages in last year's WIFYR class. So it's not all black licorice in the candy jar.

Super nice! What's WIFYR? Too old for all these new newfangled acronyms. Despite the fact I do that myself 😀 

@dragonchef Writing and Illustrating For Young Readers. 

@morgan-broadhead Great news on the Semifinalist, Morgan. That’s a level up moment! You’ll get a critique from Dave as well. Kills the story for WotF again, but shows you what you can do to improve. That’s worth a lot, and not just on that story. Keep aiming for that bullseye. You were right there!

Great work, Forumites! I told you Joni called me, why I knew Thursday cometh. And here it is! More news to come! Keep logging in your results! It’s not over yet!

😊

Posted by: @wulfmoon

@morgan-broadhead Great news on the Semifinalist, Morgan. That’s a level up moment! You’ll get a critique from Dave as well. Kills the story for WotF again, but shows you what you can do to improve. That’s worth a lot, and not just on that story. Keep aiming for that bullseye. You were right there!

Thanks, Wulf! Can't wait to see what Dave has to say about it; I'm anxious to revise and get it out the door to another market. Already working on my Q1 story, although I'm in danger of missing the Dec 31 deadline with holidays and all. Gonna be a close call.

Congratulations to all the HMs, SHMs, and SFs! It is wonderful to see so many leveling up and achieving recognition for their hard work.

If you didn't achieve the result you hoped for, do take Kary's note seriously and consider resubmitting the story in a future quarter. Writing is subjective at the best of times--don't give up! I believe in you!

Posted by: @shallion1191

Hey everyone, first post here although I've lurked for some time. These last two quarters were my first 'serious' submissions (knuckled down, put the work in, etc.) and I was pleased to receive SHMs for both. But the question remains: how to progress further? I've heard John and other WOTF-affiliates speak about the finalist/winner divide; how at that stage it can be a matter of personal taste, but what about lower down?
I'm worried there's something I'm not 'getting'. Any advice for me? Do others feel the same?
Much appreciated, and congratulations to all on their results.
Sam x  

Actually, you’re doing great, Sam. Two Silvers after knuckling down? Nice! While we do have some overnight successes, most work their way up the line. That’s because practice really does make perfect. Look at the signatures with everyone’s results. Most have been at it for awhile before they finally master their craft and skills to win. 

You will survive the process if you view the writing journey as a marathon, rather than a sprint. That said, there are ways to speed up your training so that you’re working smarter, not just harder. Take the WotF Online Writing Course—it’s free, and the principles of craft and storytelling are all there. If you’ve done that, check out my Super Secrets. I wrote those to help you guys, and many have won or gotten published following them. Swap manuscripts, with those ahead of you in the race if you can. They’ve done it, so they’ll have the best advice. Buy recommended books on writing craft. Go to writer cons and seminars, and take craft classes. Hire a pro editor if it’s in your budget, at least once, but be sure they’ve got good credits, and solid results for those they’ve edited. Finally, READ. Read the Volumes, study what wins. And read voraciously outside WotF in all genres. 

If you’re not doing all of this, you can bet someone else is. Guess who will pull ahead in the marathon?

Heres my own quote for you: If you wish to be a champion, do the work of a champion.

Sounds like that’s what you’re doing. Keep it up, and find ways to expand on that. And Welcome to the Forum! Do introduce yourself under the topic New Users Introduce Yourselves.

Glad to have you with us. Cheers!

Wulf Moon

Forum Moderator

Posted by: @morgan-broadhead

Posted by: @wulfmoon

@morgan-broadhead Great news on the Semifinalist, Morgan. That’s a level up moment! You’ll get a critique from Dave as well. Kills the story for WotF again, but shows you what you can do to improve. That’s worth a lot, and not just on that story. Keep aiming for that bullseye. You were right there!

Thanks, Wulf! Can't wait to see what Dave has to say about it; I'm anxious to revise and get it out the door to another market. Already working on my Q1 story, although I'm in danger of missing the Dec 31 deadline with holidays and all. Gonna be a close call.

My recommendation? Take your time with it. Dig deep into what Dave tells you, work hard to apply it to your manuscript. Get smart eyes on it after you’re done, and give them Dave’s edit to review it with. Find the thing that held your story back. It’s likely holding your other writing back as well. Fix the issue, and you can win this Contest. You almost did!

I took Dave’s critique on my Semifinalist from him, applied it to the story and my overall writing, and won the Contest. The day I came home from WotF, I received a contract from Deep Magic for the story Dave gave me the edit on. The editor, Jeff Wheeler, said it would be the most literary story they had published in the history of Deep Magic, and they’ve published the biggest names in the biz! That would never have happened without taking my time to meditate on and make solid application of Dave’s edit.

Best of success with what he reveals! Congratulations for obtaining what is one of the greatest unsung rewards of this Contest. Cheers!