I did not know Apex did overnight rejections. I got my r this morning for the second story I submitted yesterday. That's fast.
Today's science fiction is tomorrow's reality-D.R.Sweeney
HM x5
Published Poetry
2012 Stars in Our Hearts
Silver Ships
Got you, JESchleicher! Nice job.
storysinger, yeah, they can be pretty speedy. Sorry about the R! Send it right back out somewhere else!
R, 3rd place Q4 v36!!!
Stories in Apocalyptic, Cossmass Infinites x2! PodCastle, Spirit Machine; forthcoming in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Apex Magazine, Human Monsters
Reporting in--I submitted my second story to CRES today. They opened on Oct 1, though I will admit I benefited from the extra few hours.
HM, R, HM~, R, R, SHM*, HM, R, HM**, HM, ?, ?
~"Music from the Stars"
* Finalist, 2021 Baen Fantasy Adventure Award
**"Speculation," Brave New Worlds (Zombies Need Brains, Aug 2022)
Thanks for the nice words about the workshop, but even though the contest year is over, Year 2 of the Super Secrets Workshop is not. There are still two assignments to go, and of course, our Wall of Fame is still gathering fresh blood.
YOUR SUPER SECRETS' JOURNEY ASSIGNMENT #1:
At the start of this year's workshop, I had you produce your first 250 KYD. I'd like you to make a post with your first 250, and in the same post below it, state that this is your latest (or close to it), and post one of your recent 250s. THEN, say a few words below about the differences you note. Like this:
250 Vignette at the start of the workshop:
Last Words
[250 here]
250 Vignette at the end:
Dragon's Day at the Dentist
[250 here]
And a simple paragraph on the differences you note between the two. Change the names if you plan on using this in WotF. Let's limit commentary during this time--there will be another assignment for that. Just read and enjoy everyone's comments on their 250s and what advancement they've noted by comparing the two. You've been training for a year now. I'm betting you'll be surprised how much your writing has changed. You've got until next Friday, so if you'd like to write a grand finale KYD 250, knock yourself out!
Back to prepping for my master class tomorrow: "The Secrets of a Howling Good Plot." I'm drilling down on Heart's Desire in this one! It's so important, and I haven't seen it taught in even one writing class over the many I've attended over the decades. Still time to get in on it if you hurry, just click on my signature link. Also, DEEP MAGIC, Fall 2020 is available for preorder. My novelette "Muzik Man" takes the stage in this issue! The story of an android minstrel missionary, sent to save a tone-deaf world. This time, he won't screw up!
Heh, don't tell anyone, it's my thinly veiled autobiography. Here's the preorder link: https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Magic-Fall- ... ext&sr=1-1
Finally, many of you took advantage of my notice last year about the Superstars' Scholarships, and four of my friends and challenge beasties were awarded one. No con for them this year, but I have another beauty! FYRECON! There's some great master classes going on in November, and if you are financially challenged, here's a way to take a master workshop for free! And no travel and hotel expense, their con is online this year! I'm supplying this link here for you challenge beasties and lurkers. Get on this quick, application process closes October 15th! Dave is teaching here, and so am I. If you missed my "Writing Winning Stories that Take the Gold" master class, and your funds are limited, here's another chance! This one pays special attention to the Secrets to winning Writers of the Future! See you at Fyrecon!
https://www.fyrecon.com/scholarships/
Click here to JOIN THE WULF PACK!
"Super-Duper Moongirl and the Amazing Moon Dawdler" won Best SFF Story of 2019! Read it in Writers of the Future, Vol. 35. Order HERE!
Need writing help? My award-winning SUPER SECRETS articles are FREE in DreamForge.
IT’S HERE! Many have been begged me to publish the Super Secrets of Writing. How to Write a Howling Good Story is now a #1 BESTSELLING BOOK! Get yours at your favorite retailer HERE!
I'll be brave and go first (unless someone beats me to it while I'm typing this)!
Here's my initial 250 vignette from the start of the workshop:
Setting Stars
The portal snapped shut as Balac stepped over the bodies. Orchid-scent wafted toward him. Home.
He took in the overgrown vines and drooping flowers, and the joy of return soured in his gut. Finally, retirement, after years of investing his singularly-destructive magic to a greater cause... but this wasn’t the future he’d imagined.
“You’re home.” Mala’s violet eyes found him but her smile quivered at the edges. She sank into a chair, winced, then glanced away. “I hate for you to see me like this.”
“You’re beautiful.”
“Never looked worse,” she huffed, “but better than you.”
A glimpse of her usual spark. “What can I do?”
“Plants need tending.”
Balac kissed her forehead and slipped outside.
“Mind the purple one!” she called.
Balac knelt, careful not to crush anything important, and began stripping weeds. The soil crushed into in his knuckles and fingernails felt oddly satisfying – unlike what usually covered his hands.
Dual stars slipped past the horizon, tinting the world green. Balac’s knees popped as he ambled toward the last flower bed.
The purple orchid stood proud despite weeds attempting to strangle it, so much like Mala herself. As Balac weeded and watered, the plant seemed to straighten and its violet petals deepened to a richer hue. Balac swore he even heard it let out a little sigh –
Something clattered inside the house.
Balac rushed inside to the slumped form on the floor. “Mala!”
Watery, violet-gray irises peered up at him. “Now we’ll have plenty of time.”
And a recent 250 from a few weeks ago (based on the Locked in a Box prompt):
Processing Required
My purgebox pulsed red in my palm as a screen blinked to life on the side of the Processing building. A stern-looking woman stared back at me. “Name?”
“Kylan Rogers.”
A metal tray flipped open on the door and a blinking disc clanked into it. “It will buzz when you’re next. Have payment ready.”
The sense of rejection and failure I’d tried to purge that morning, only to find the box full, churned in my stomach. The reset on my box would deplete most of my remaining credits. I’d have to skip a few meals this week. But what choice did I have? I couldn’t just carry these feelings around all week; I’d be useless.
The door to the Processing Center clanged shut behind a young woman. I caught a glimpse of her as she rushed past me, enough to see splotchy skin, red eyes, tears.
I called after her. “Were you here for Processing?”
She turned back and worried her lip between her teeth. A purgebox pulsed burgundy in her palm. “Been full for two weeks. I keep making appointments, hoping my credits will have come through...“
A reckless thought burst into a gallop in my mind. “Take my turn.” I shoved the disc at her. “I’ll pay for you.”
Her fingers closed around the disc. “You’re serious?”
“Absolutely.”
Her shoulders relaxed with an exhale. “I’m Lara.”
The churn in my chest eased ever so slightly at the relief in her eyes. I smiled and held out my hand. “Kylan.”
Comments/Comparison of the two:
Honestly, I don't notice as many changes as I might have hoped. I did manage to focus in on a more singular moment in the newer one, whereas I was attempting to condense a full story down into just 250 words at first. My original 250 started at the beginning and then kind of skimmed down to the end of the original story, rather than really isolating the "heart" of the story. But this moment in the newest 250 occurred about halfway through the original flash draft, and is a pivotal moment for the character, though I'm not sure I managed to fully convey that all that well. But still, practicing the 250s to get the focus on the "beating heart" of the story (isolating that pivotal moment) has really helped me in writing my stories overall. It's been a very helpful tool, and one I plan to keep practicing!
v35: Q4 - HM
V36: R, R, R, R
V37: SHM, HM, HM, SHM
V38: SHM, HM, HM, HM
V39: HM, R, SHM, HM
Indie author of The Lex Chronicles (Legends of Arameth), and the in-progress Leyward Stones series--including my serial, Macchiatos, Faerie Princes, and Other Things That Happen at Midnight, currently available on Kindle Vella.
Website: http://ccrawfordwriting.com. I also have a newsletter and a blog!
Short story "Our Kind" published in DreamForge Anvil, Issue #5, and also "One Shot at Aeden" published in DreamForge Anvil, Issue #7!
Hello hello, challenge beasties! Happy Friday and happy new contest year!
All right - it's time to see how many fulfilled the blood oath we all made a year ago! Of course, some folks had life obligations and health issues that kept this from happening (I mean, there IS a pandemic going on), and there is no shame in that. We love you and commend you for your efforts all the same, and also selfishly hope that every one of you keeps writing. Why selfish? Because I want to read your stories! No one writes words like you write words, so keep on casting your voice into the void!
Anyway. Ahem. As your keeper of records, I will now clean away the cobwebs *flaps ungracefully at sticky web strands* and clear off the *coughs and sputters* dust from the cave wall, and - ah! There it is. *holds up guttering lantern* The blood that dried a year ago, presented to you one final time. Keep in mind, as Moon says, there is no Box of Shame - only a Wall of Fame! Well done, all!
(As always, folks, if I've missed one of your posts, don't hesitate to let me know and I'll update the roster. I may look like an omniscient eldritch cave creature with a lantern, but I am in fact only human. Shocking, I know!)
MEMBERSHIP ROSTER
Moon's SUPER SECRET Bonus Challenge, Vol. 37 "RELEASE THE KRAKEN! How to Get Professionally Published"
To keep all ye beasties accountable, here is the list of who is in the challenge and whether they've submitted for each quarter. When the thread receives updates from you, so too shall the list. This is not going to track which markets you've submitted to. Just the fact that you've submitted.
officer
Q1: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q2: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q3: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q4: WotF submitted, other market submitted
RSchibler
Q1: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q2: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q3: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q4: WotF submitted, other market submitted
thegirlintheglasses
Q1: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q2: WotF submitted
Q3:
Q4:
Extra credit flash challenge: 3/12
SwiftPotato
Q1: both markets submitted
Q2: both markets submitted
Q3: both markets submitted
Q4: both markets submitted
Extra credit flash challenge: 5/12
AjZach
Q1: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q2: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q3: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q4: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Extra credit flash challenge: 12/12
CCrawford
Q1: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q2: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q3: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q4: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Extra credit flash challenge: 10/12
Retropianoplayer
Q1: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q2: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q3: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q4: WotF submitted
Extra credit flash challenge: 12/12
storysinger
Q1: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q2: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q3: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q4: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Extra credit flash challenge: 12/12
Peter Glen
Q1: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q2: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q3: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q4: other market submitted
einstein36
Q1: WotF submitted
Q2:
Q3:
Q4:
StarReacher
Q1: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q2: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q3: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q4: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Henckel
Q1: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q2: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q3: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q4: WotF submitted, other market submitted
JESchleicher
Q1: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q2: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q3: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q4: WotF submitted, other market submitted
AVDutson
Q1: WotF submitted
Q2:
Q3:
Q4:
zeeteebeez
Q1: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q2: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q3: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q4: WotF submitted, other market submitted
oishisushi911
Q1: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q2: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q3: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Q4: WotF submitted, other market submitted
Extra credit flash challenge: 12/12
R, 3rd place Q4 v36!!!
Stories in Apocalyptic, Cossmass Infinites x2! PodCastle, Spirit Machine; forthcoming in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Apex Magazine, Human Monsters
Original vignette
The villagers called her the mother of deception, and that was just fine. They would not make her leave. Enough of them still came to her for the rest to be afraid, not of what she could do, but of what she had already done. Even in a village cursed to speak only truth, it was hard to drive out lies.
She insisted that her customers call her nothing more special than her name: Thea. Lies were part of human nature. She was no more or less than human, no matter what the villagers thought. To her, it made a perfect kind of sense to be treated the same as the product she sold.
Thea only gave the ability to lie. She could not hide the evidence of the truth. She made this clear to the woman sitting across from her now with her face hidden in the folds of a hood. The woman looked on the boy who worked in the waiting room with a mother's love. She would still lie to him.
The woman handed to Thea the token to mark her lie: a red collar, roughly woven, "Inkblot" engraved on a metal dog bone.
Thea burned the collar with sweet incense and wondered how long until the boy noticed the dog-sized patch of freshly turned earth that had replaced Inkblot's favorite napping spot.
End vignette
Maya took a sip of the golden liquid soul in her glass. It was hard to resist the tidal pull of sunlit days and star-strewn nights on her tongue, but she knew the farm it came from. Even this small sip found uneasy rest in her belly.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Gage said. “And yet you’re still here.”
Maya smiled. “Exquisite. But I prefer to indulge only at home. I’m a private person, Mr. Gage.”
“A waste, then, to have provided our finest vintage. It is meant to be experienced. Not denied.”
She let the smile curdle on her lips and set the glass on the table.
“Of course, I’m sure ‘waste’ isn’t what you meant,” she said. “Resisting is my job. Providing the finest, I’m told, is yours.”
“Well.” Gage tugged nervously at his jacket. “I must admit I’ve never met a somm who resists.”
“Then they are amateurs,” Maya said. “When you’ve tasted a thousand souls, you’ll understand that open eyes and sound mind reveal the truth of the vintage.”
She lifted the soul to her unsmiling lips and drained the glass, resisting the caress of summer wind once again.
“For example,” she continued, “you’ve lifted memories from this one. No soul has only good memories.”
Gage’s face had gone red. Maya slid the empty glass across the table with the tips of two fingers and rose.
“Next time, I will taste your finest vintage, Mr. Gage, or I will begin to think you’re insulting me intentionally.”
Comments: So, caveat, I have discovered that I'm terrible at flash. Which means I need to practice more, I know, but time didn't really permit this year, so here we are. I think both my vignettes have their strengths and weaknesses. The prose in the original is a little stilted in places (where I was Trying Way Too Hard to have a Voice), but it has a more complete story. In the new one, I'm more confident of my voice, but it isn't really a complete story. I know my writing has improved over the course of the year because I understand better how to just let my voice do its thing, but it doesn't really show in the final vignette. It's been showing more in the critiques and personal rejections I've received and the markets that have held my stories. Overall I feel good about what I've learned and done this year even if it's not clear in the contrast here. So...take that how you will, I suppose.
R, 3rd place Q4 v36!!!
Stories in Apocalyptic, Cossmass Infinites x2! PodCastle, Spirit Machine; forthcoming in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Apex Magazine, Human Monsters
I'll comment on the workshop and results for the year at the end of the week. In the meantime, keep this assignment coming in through the week. We appreciate seeing the contrast, and your own comments on what you see between the beginning 250, and the ending 250.
On another note, OVER 333,333 VIEWS AS OF TODAY! That's a third of a million views on this workshop! People are reading and watching your wonderful results!
Keep on striding forward, challenge beasties!
All the beast,
Beastmaster Moon
Click here to JOIN THE WULF PACK!
"Super-Duper Moongirl and the Amazing Moon Dawdler" won Best SFF Story of 2019! Read it in Writers of the Future, Vol. 35. Order HERE!
Need writing help? My award-winning SUPER SECRETS articles are FREE in DreamForge.
IT’S HERE! Many have been begged me to publish the Super Secrets of Writing. How to Write a Howling Good Story is now a #1 BESTSELLING BOOK! Get yours at your favorite retailer HERE!
Hey Wulf. Dale Sprague here. Looking forward to making progress with my writing. Loved the workshop today at Fyrelite.
My 250 from last year
250, Mother's Love
"Can't I just stay here, mama?" Dyah turned her head, eyes closed, and smiled up at her mother. "Please?"
Sahmi cringed. "Don't call me that." Dyah had to move to the orphanage, or Sahmi wouldn't be able to keep her oath to the Five. Her Sight for mine. I cannot love her.
Dyah Saw the reaction and the smile fell from her face. "I'll try again."
Sahmi's heart ached. When Dyah had been small, it was so easy to comfort her and pretend she was just another baby in need of affection. The older she grew, the more Sahmi longed to talk to her, tell her stories, smooth her hair when she slept. "Get it right and I'll let you eat."
Dyah took a deep breath and opened her unseeing eyes. Quickly, she crossed the simple temple cell, stepping over a pile of clothes, going around a bowl filled with water, until she reached the opposite wall.
She spun, eyes still open, and jumped up and down. "I did it! I did it!"
Sahmi's broke into a smile of pride before she forced the feeling back down where it belonged. She waved her hand at the plate of roasted cava meat and potatoes sitting on a rug. "You may eat. But do it with your eyes open."
Dyah's smile faded, but she skipped to the rug. "Yes, mama."
Sahmi opened her mouth, then closed it. They had time. She could let that one go.
END
New 250
They came for years.
Knights in barbeque-ready chainmail, swirling swords and preening for princesses. Oh, that crunch of defeated pride. Sorcerers in ermine and leather, premixed for the serpentine palette. Magic adds spice to a meal. And armies, my favorites, wave after wave of young meat scrambling onto my table.
None could conquer me. "Slay the dragon," they'd cry before dying as had those before.
Then he came.
A peasant with a lilac bouquet and a smear of tallow in mud-brown hair. Floral perfume on a breeze, rich and impermanent as life. He stopped before my cave, not even issuing the appetizer of threats.
He sang.
His voice, neither resonant nor strong, did what no sword, no spell, no soldier could. Dragon heart, they say, is used in all manner of magic, but they never mention how empty it feels, beating solitary in a cave.
His song ended. I'd transformed, shrunken and enriched. Bronze skin replaced smooth scales, cheekbones and thin lips instead of eye ridges and razor-sharp teeth. He approached, wrapped me in a handmade cloak. It encompassed me more than all the hoarded riches.
By dawn we'd wed, the magic done.
He knew the recipe. Where he'd learned it, he wouldn't tell, even later when we'd listen to owls and crickets, when I begged to know.
"Does it matter?" he'd say, smoothing my hair. "We have one another. That's what matters."
He knew the secret. The only way to slay a dragon is by capturing their heart.
END
I don't know if I see too much of a difference. Perhaps that I told a stronger story in the second one, but I am a terrible judge of my own writing. I know my writing ability has grown enormously this year. I've written a huge amount, and my prose is so much stronger than it was even in March. I've got two forthcoming publications. I am forever indebted to Wulf for beginning this challenge, supporting us all, sharing hard-earned wisdom and boosting our ability and our confidence. Thank you, Wulf. And thank you to all of the SuperSecrets Beasties, working hard and supporting one another, and growing a community. It's an amazing thing to be a part of, and I'm humbled by it!
Best of luck with Q3 results, all, and Q1 drafting. Onwards we ride!
V34: R,HM,R
V35: HM,R,R,HM
V36: R,HM,HM,SHM
V37: HM,SF,SHM,SHM
V38: (P)F, SHM, F, F
V39: SHM, SHM, HM, SHM
Published Finalist Volume 38
Pro’d out Q4V39
www.rebeccaetreasure.com
Managing Editor, Apex Magazine
Q3 results are coming out.
V34: R,HM,R
V35: HM,R,R,HM
V36: R,HM,HM,SHM
V37: HM,SF,SHM,SHM
V38: (P)F, SHM, F, F
V39: SHM, SHM, HM, SHM
Published Finalist Volume 38
Pro’d out Q4V39
www.rebeccaetreasure.com
Managing Editor, Apex Magazine
9 x HM
V38 Q4 2nd Place
Mike Resnick Memorial Award winner 2021 https://www.galaxysedge.com/
www.ztbright.com
WOTF Stats
(2014) V31 – R
(2018) V35 – HM
(2019) V36 – HM, SHM
(2020) V37 – R, HM, SHM, Finalist
(2021) V38 – SF, SHM, SHM, HM
(2022) V39 – HM, SHM, SHM, SHM
(2023) V40 - HM, SF, tba, tba
v35: Q4 - HM
V36: R, R, R, R
V37: SHM, HM, HM, SHM
V38: SHM, HM, HM, HM
V39: HM, R, SHM, HM
Indie author of The Lex Chronicles (Legends of Arameth), and the in-progress Leyward Stones series--including my serial, Macchiatos, Faerie Princes, and Other Things That Happen at Midnight, currently available on Kindle Vella.
Website: http://ccrawfordwriting.com. I also have a newsletter and a blog!
Short story "Our Kind" published in DreamForge Anvil, Issue #5, and also "One Shot at Aeden" published in DreamForge Anvil, Issue #7!
Lookin good with those honors, folks! Good job! And nicely done getting the subs done. Keep those results coming!
R, 3rd place Q4 v36!!!
Stories in Apocalyptic, Cossmass Infinites x2! PodCastle, Spirit Machine; forthcoming in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Apex Magazine, Human Monsters
I
What a showing! Congrats all!
V34: R,HM,R
V35: HM,R,R,HM
V36: R,HM,HM,SHM
V37: HM,SF,SHM,SHM
V38: (P)F, SHM, F, F
V39: SHM, SHM, HM, SHM
Published Finalist Volume 38
Pro’d out Q4V39
www.rebeccaetreasure.com
Managing Editor, Apex Magazine
Assignment
1. 250 words
The girl, in flight from her ruined town, found eleven dead men and one dead woman down the road less travelled. They had befallen a bloody assault, and the mystery chilled the young refugee to her bones.
Autumn leaves shifted as a cold wind bit through the girl’s clothes and burnt her cheeks. She craved protection from the cold and so, without a thought to robbing from the dead, took the woman’s clothes, chain, and cloak. It may have been a rush of guilt or gratitude that made the body a rustic grave of sticks and leaves.
Now a warrior (by appearances only), the town girl, continued her march down the disused road when she was startled from behind by the rush of hooves. A rider pulled up fast before her, and the young, handsome man exclaimed with joy, “General Firth, you live! I have a message from the west!”
But the girl was confused and confessed naught. Presently, the squire thought nothing of his general’s strange behavior, as she had been through the shock of battle and the loss of her guard.
The pair rode on in tandem, camping along the side of the road for many days. Until, troubled by his thoughts, the friendly soldier asked, “My Lady, for all of these days, not once have you asked of the message I was to deliver to you in person. Are you not curious?”
He drew his dagger and asked again, “My Lady?”
2. 250 words (continuation of the same story as above)
Under the hanging tree, I stood on the jolly bench and looked at my townsfolk: my friends; my sister, Fran; Ma and Pa. Grandma was there too wrapped in her shall. Why did grandma just throw a stone at me? The pain from my shoulder brought me back to reality. These were not my folk. Mine were all long dead, and soon, that’s how I’d be too. It would be just like when me and Fran were hunting cordants in the Hevershire Bog. That one time, we caught the whole group in the cage except one. The little thing had avoided the trap, and all it needed to do was turn and scamper to freedom. Instead, it jumped into the trap with its kin. It knew that the proper place was with family. My place is with my family too. I understand that I am false and have missed my chance for a good life, a good death.
The crier rang her bell, “Here ‘ye, good people. Today we dispatch a liar who has claimed the name of one dead by her own hand. Murder! Thief!”
The crowd cheered.
The noose slipped over my head, and the hangman pulled it tight as I heard the sound of a horse at a gallop.
“Wait! By royal decree, this execution shall stop.” the man on the horse called out, I recognized his voice.
“No, I screamed. Bastard, you will not stop this!”
We rode off towards the city. Still, I was lost.
Comment
Since writing the first, there are two things that I’ve focused on: 1—emotional impact; and 2. Concise writing. Thanks to all of the SUPER SECRETS and support from the pack, I feel that I have levelled up over the year.
A mere HM for me, but at least it's a nice break from the 2019-2020 trail of Rs. Way to go everyone with the SHMs and HMs! And keep up the writing momentum even if you got an R. You may be closer than you think if you continue on.
R.J.K. Lee
WotF 2021: SHM, R, R, S-F
2020: HMx2, Rx2
2019: Rx4
2018: N/A
2017; HMx2, Rx2
2016: HMx2, Rx2
2015: Rx1
Publications:
Stone Shaper Tanukis Estranged in Dark Cheer: Cryptids Emerging - Volume Blue (Improbable Press, 12/13/2021)
Memo from the Jolly Overlords on the Weird Christmas Podcast (12/2020). I read my story at the 22:10 mark in the flash fiction contest episode.
Monthly updates on where to submit your creative work: https://figmentsdiehard.blogspot.com/
Amazing results, challenge beasties!
Will comment soon!
Well done!
Moon
Click here to JOIN THE WULF PACK!
"Super-Duper Moongirl and the Amazing Moon Dawdler" won Best SFF Story of 2019! Read it in Writers of the Future, Vol. 35. Order HERE!
Need writing help? My award-winning SUPER SECRETS articles are FREE in DreamForge.
IT’S HERE! Many have been begged me to publish the Super Secrets of Writing. How to Write a Howling Good Story is now a #1 BESTSELLING BOOK! Get yours at your favorite retailer HERE!
Website: https://www.jeschleicher.com/
Blog: https://www.jeschleicher.com/dopaminesdelight
V40: Q1 3rd Place Winner ("Squiddy")
V39: SHM, HM, HM, HM
V38: HM, SHM, HM, HM
V37: R, R, HM, HM
V36: R
WOW - look at this showing! Amazing job, you guys!
R, 3rd place Q4 v36!!!
Stories in Apocalyptic, Cossmass Infinites x2! PodCastle, Spirit Machine; forthcoming in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Apex Magazine, Human Monsters
Look at all those shiny honors! Great job, gang! Straight R for me, but I'm excited to be able to submit the story elsewhere now.
HM, R, HM~, R, R, SHM*, HM, R, HM**, HM, ?, ?
~"Music from the Stars"
* Finalist, 2021 Baen Fantasy Adventure Award
**"Speculation," Brave New Worlds (Zombies Need Brains, Aug 2022)
More to come. Don’t miss my Fyrecon scholarship post above for the financially challenged. Master classes with Dave, Martin Shoemaker, myself, and more! Plus free convention registration worth an additional fifty bucks! Closes Oct 15th so hurry!
Click here to JOIN THE WULF PACK!
"Super-Duper Moongirl and the Amazing Moon Dawdler" won Best SFF Story of 2019! Read it in Writers of the Future, Vol. 35. Order HERE!
Need writing help? My award-winning SUPER SECRETS articles are FREE in DreamForge.
IT’S HERE! Many have been begged me to publish the Super Secrets of Writing. How to Write a Howling Good Story is now a #1 BESTSELLING BOOK! Get yours at your favorite retailer HERE!
Reporting my quarter 3 result: Semi-finalist!
V35: R, R, R
V36: R, HM, R, HM
V37: HM, R, SF, HM
V38: HM, HM, HM, SHM
V39: HM, HM, SHM, RWC
V40: HM, SHM, HM, SHM
V41: RWC, ?
"The Soul of Trees" published in Third Flatiron's Things With Feathers: Stories of Hope
Reporting my quarter 3 result: Semi-finalist!
Congrats!
What an excellent showing cumulatively for the Wulf Pack!
Q4 is going to be even better!
9 x HM
V38 Q4 2nd Place
Mike Resnick Memorial Award winner 2021 https://www.galaxysedge.com/
www.ztbright.com
Reporting my quarter 3 result: Semi-finalist!
Whoa, awesome job!!! And congrats!
R, 3rd place Q4 v36!!!
Stories in Apocalyptic, Cossmass Infinites x2! PodCastle, Spirit Machine; forthcoming in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Apex Magazine, Human Monsters
Reporting my quarter 3 result: Semi-finalist!
Whoa, awesome job!!! And congrats!
Thanks!
Thanks go to Becky's help, and Wulf's for reading the opening. And of course the super secrets!
V35: R, R, R
V36: R, HM, R, HM
V37: HM, R, SF, HM
V38: HM, HM, HM, SHM
V39: HM, HM, SHM, RWC
V40: HM, SHM, HM, SHM
V41: RWC, ?
"The Soul of Trees" published in Third Flatiron's Things With Feathers: Stories of Hope
Hey guys! It’s been a while since I’ve popped in the thread here. Truth be told, I’ve felt a lot like a failure in being unable to keep up. Every time I looked at the thread for about six months, I’ve felt guilty. I thought at the start of the year I’d be able to hack it. But life changed.
At the end of Q1 I had some health news that threw me and I mean REALLY threw me. Even as a nurse, I had to put a lot of effort into research and study to make sure I knew about the procedures/tests, and then keep notes and follow through with doctors and haggle with insurance. I spent the first few weeks in an absolute daze, my creativity spent, and my energy drained. I felt like a ghost.
Luckily in Q1, I’d already done a lot of work on my subs, and was able to finish. But it’s because I was ahead. I limped along in Q2, still trailing on ideas from previous quarters I hadn’t quite fleshed out yet—and near the end, I finally got the news that things were looking good health wise. I was thinking I could catch up, get my creative energy back, start running with the rest of you...
But then Covid hit, and productivity took a major blow. I have 4 kids. 3 in school. And for a while, only 1 functioning computer. Any time I could work on the computer was at night—which had been fine in the past—but now I was the teacher and the teacher can’t take a nap in the middle of the day. Plus I already HAD to stay up to make lesson plans/packets and figure out how to teach my kids. I was running on empty and I had to get to a point where I felt okay with saying, this isn’t my time:
Writing is important but my health is more. My kids are more.
And I’ve had to be okay with that, learn to give myself grace. So my goals changed. I haven’t subbed elsewhere in ages. My last two subs (Q3 and Q4) are re-subs from over a year ago.
But here’s what I learned. When times are good, don’t be lazy, don’t put off what you can do now, be present. Focus and learn and do the work. Because sometimes life throws a curveball and you have to sit out for a while. Sometimes longer than you’d like and much longer than anticipated. Save up creative energy and ideas (those 250s) so they can be pulled down from the shelf when nothing else seems to come to mind. It’s okay to re-sub but SUB! Keep your friends close. They’re willing to help you.
I feel incredibly rusty. Trying to write a 250 for me now is much harder. But I know I can do it. We now have 3 functioning computers. We are figuring out our groove for school and while there have been a few blips on my health journey, I feel confident where I stand.
I want to thank those who’ve reached out and said kind things. Who’ve offered and given critique at the very last moment—because that’s how I roll lol. I’ve really grieved not being a part of the community and challenges this year. I love this pack and am so proud of it!!! LOOK AT THOSE RESULTS!!! Gosh, you guys are impressive!
I’m going to try to start fresh, build up my muscles so I can run with the pack as hard as the rest of you. I scored some honorable mentions this year, Q3 is my first semi finalist. We shall see what Q4 brings.
I may have lost some time, but I haven’t lost hope.
I hope no matter the results, none of you have either.
Brittany Rainsdon
R-SHM-HM-R-HM-R-F-F-HM-HM-SHM-HM-HM-SF-PF-2nd place!
Published Finalist Volume 37 Quarter 4
Second Place Volume 38 Quarter 1
First publication was "Perfectly Painted Lies" published in Deep Magic Spring 2021 and reprinted in the anthology, Best of Deep Magic Volume 2.
Learn more about me at rainsdonwrites.com