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The Workshop in a Nutshell Disclaimer: I'm not writing this to make y'all jealous or add salt to the wound. I want to fuel your ambition. The Workshop was INCREDIBLE. The cameras and interviews sucked, but having comrades-in-arms made it bearable. I spent nearly every night in the lobby talking wit...

Hot and Cold I second that suggestion. I got two rejections while I was at the WOTF workshop. Nothing like an ego-check amidst all the high-fives and glam. But the workshop definitely made it clear to me how personal the selection process is for editors. It's not about the sub-genre or mature conte...

Thank you for the additional suggestions. I doubt Tim would mind expanding his book list. I wish I'd been well-read enough to swap opinions with him. I think his main intention was to give me a broad range of stories to show what's been done before. We talked about the importance of knowing what's e...

Hey, forumites! I have a special gift for you from Tim Powers. During the workshop last week, I became painfully aware of my lack of familiarity with the sci-fi and fantasy heritage. Tim Powers throws out references like candy at a parade. He is so well read. I had to very honestly confess that I've...

amyhg wrote:Hey, got another story going through Critters this week (March 14-March 21). Look for "Little Eyes" by Amy Henrie Gillett. I'd appreciate the input!

It got pushed back a week so look for it on Mar 21st.

Hey, got another story going through Critters this week (March 14-March 21). Look for "Little Eyes" by Amy Henrie Gillett. I'd appreciate the input!

Thousands of examples. Ender's Game started as a short. Flowers for Algernon started as a short. Martin is just turning his Clarkesworld short Today I Am Paul into a novel. I can't think of a flash turned into a short--which arguably compete more than shorts v novels--but chances are it would take ...

My winning story was actually a third rewrite. It was a good learning experience for me though. I'd never seriously written before coming across WOTF so when I started submitting, I just dusted off a old short story from a college creative writing class. I at least knew from my college class that it...

You've already got a slew of suggestions for books so I thought I'd throw in some audio options if you don't already know of them. Brandon Sanderson has posted his Creative Writing college course lectures on Youtube ( https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLH3mK1NZn9QqOSj3ObrP3xL8tEJQ12-vL ). This i...

I'm just beginning to practice flash fiction, but something occurred to me... If I write a flash piece and sell it, then write a fleshed out version of that flash piece, can I also sell it or would that be unprofessional since they originate from the same ideas, characters, and/or setting?

Don't take me as any kind of example unless you too wish to spend a month coding a website from scratch for fun and entertainment! Uh...no thanks. 12 weeks Java in high school was enough to teach me that I never want to write my own code again. Stupid brackets! On another note related to this threa...

Glad you brought this up. I've been researching the issue as well and just took the plunge this week to launch an official authorial website. I figured it'd be unwise to not provide a link with my bio on the ebook version of the anthology. But Dave and Galaxy Press needed the info ASAP so I had to j...

After a year-and-a-half, this forum is still one of my favorite entertainments. If I composed a story using the personalities expressed in these threads, would I get in trouble for using direct quotes? I'm sorely lacking in wit and there's an abundance of it in these threads. Of course, I'd bury the...

Thanks for replying, y'all. Your responses have helped me "buck up" for another week. Golly gee, I love this forum. ;)

I always enjoy keeping up with this thread because it's so encouraging. You'd think that seeing other people's successes and not having one to report myself would be a bummer, but somehow it's not. It's like seeing all the successes reassures me that editors are actually accepting stories and not ju...

In a way, my winning story dealt with this theme. I think this theme requires additional conflict--in terms of why they don't feel they belong or what's stopping them from belonging--to add more complexity. For example, my story was about my character wanting to have a sense of home, but he feels he...

I tend to imagine that is what I am doing, adding important details, it's why my stories end up in the 9K-10K range. People on this forum tell me I need to cut a lot of it, too much world building haha. I am doing my best to take that advice to heart. I want to get down below the 7K range like you....

Just curious. What happens when WOTF just gets too big for Dave to handle the load? Will they get a second "gate keeper"? Does he actually have slush readers or does he really glance at every single story? I can imagine that working in the past, but with the competition gaining popularity ...

Correction: I just read the prompt again and it does not specify a place or time period. It just says "world" and "society" so I'm guessing it doesn't have to be a real-world setting.

Hey, folks! Just thought some of you American writers might be interested in this competition (only US citizens can submit). It's hosted by the Economy Security Project and sponsored by the Hopewell Fund and Gizmodo. Anyway, $12,000 to the first prize winner and $1000 to the "short list" w...

I've been poking around Flame Tree Publishing and noticed that they accept novel submissions. I've been trying to find out what novels they've published so I have an idea of what they're looking for, but I haven't been able to find any novels published by them. I know they're new to the speculative ...

So excited to see three finalists from the forum! Congratulations, all! Wouldn't it be awesome if y'all sweep the slots? So, I got an HM for 3rd quarter? ... ha. It's possible that I submitted under a slightly different name so my story wasn't pulled. Kind of cool to still get feedback. Goes to show...

Not sure if I'll be able to accomplish this or not, but I want to give it a try.

My story, The Broken Karwaneer , is now free to read on Beneath Ceaseless Skies! Check it out: http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/the-broken-karwaneer/ Just read it. Thoroughly enjoyed it too! Beautifully written. Did you use a similar style with your winning story? I look forward to re...

Thank you, everyone! Technically, I wrote this story for a college class like 8 years ago and it took over a year and 15 drafts, a round through Critters, and like 8 flat rejections to get it in shape. So totally worth it though. Even though I'm excited to have placed, I'm even more excited to have ...

And the results?

Joni giggled.

I got SECOND PLACE! *happy dance*

If I understand correctly, that removes me as a contender for the Golden Pen, which means I can officially stop twitching and kick back until April.

sounds like yours is YA, rather than a Children's Story. Yes, it probably is. So is WotF an appropriate publication for a YA story? Offhand, I can't recall reading any winning stories that were targeted for a predominantly YA audience. There's been a few that could be considered YA. Personally, I c...

I agree with pretty much what everyone else said. I think when they say, "children's stories," they mean stories whose content and themes remain only at a children's level. E.g. Peter Rabbit, The Ugly Duckling, Amelia Bedelia, or Wind in the Willows. However, it may not include books like,...

I have my desk tucked in a corner where I get lots of natural light, with the bird feeder outside the window so I can watch the birds bird while I'm searching for the right word. *cue music* A-well, a bird, bird, bird, well-a bird is a word... (wish they had a dancing emoticon) Agreed on the view o...

Conga rats dancing for you, Amy! Sorry it's not over yet; best wishes on the judges recognizing your skills. Either way, it's a hard won honor, and kudos to you! Later, you can tell us if you wrote a story about twins being betrayed by their government! Wait? Wasn't that already done by Schwarzeneg...