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Ember wrote:I made a sale to DSF recently. It is my second sale there, but the first that will count as SFWA qualifying as the first one was so short.

Congratulations!

Thanks, all!

Forgive me for popping back onto the forum after too long an absence just to make a bragpost, but I can't help it. The March/April issue of F&SF , containing my story "The Long View," is now on sale. I had to see it at a newsstand with my own eyes, before I could be sure the whole thin...

I'm at 205 days with Weird Tales. I should probably send a note to them asking what's going on soon, but seems like they've gone underground. No one is reporting responses. Makes me worry about the health of the magazine. Hmm. They changed editors too recently I believe. There was much ill-feeling ...

I suppose "serious consideration" is good, but it will just be that much more disappointing if it finally gets rejected. And sure enough, Gordon rejected the story after a four-month wait. He did send a very complimentary note, which would have thrilled me a year ago. But that's why this ...

I suppose "serious consideration" is good, but it will just be that much more disappointing if it finally gets rejected.

I queried last month, and he said it's still under consideration . . .

Good show! May I ask when you submitted the piece? Gordon has been holding onto one of mine for four months now, and I'm curious if others are experiencing a wait like that.

They've now posted a day-by-day near-final program with descriptions and participant names, which means the rest of my workday is shot . . .

I know at least 3 Writers of the Future will be at Chicon . . . Mike, I think the former winners will number more like three dozen . wotf007 I spotted 19 in a quick scan of the list of program participants, and at least another dozen in the list of registered members (although some of those could b...

At least he said it could Keep his attention but still my best writing and story-after a bunch of extra help-and it barely moves on his scale. I got to that level by myself with Lisa reading, of course only to that level. All those improvements and nothing. Hey, if you're receiving any feedback bey...

Nice set of tocmates there, Alex!

Strycher wrote:According to Duotrope F&SF has an acceptance ratio of only .17%.

In the words of Han Solo: Never tell me the odds!

Thanks for the good wishes, everyone!

wotf054 A long and depressing streak of rejections for me has ended in style: My story "The Long View" just sold to The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction . My goal since WOTF27 has been to sell a couple stories to Asimov's or F&SF , so I guess I'm halfway to having to come up w...

I'll probably give mine to an empty room. :-) Fat chance! I'm figuring on arriving early, to have any hope of getting a seat. By the way, Mike, "The Homecoming" is terrific. It reminds me of "One Perfect Morning, with Jackals," one of my all-time favorites. You're in a tough cat...

I originally wrote "his rocket" but changed it to avoid the double entendre. I guess I underestimated the group's ability to find inuendo . . .

I'll be there, and Brad promised I could polish his Hugo Award if he wins.

Hi, I'm Sarah. I'm a little shy about BBs like this, so bear with me if I post something lame. I've entered WotF once, in Q4 of Y26, and received a Semi-Finalist Award. Then I stopped writing--I had a baby, graduated from law school, took a bar exam, and dove headlong into an empty job market, all ...

Well done, Annie! GigaNotoSaurus has two stories on the current Nebula ballot, so that's a great market to place a story.

And now the Spring Bracket is up. The four seeded books this time are Christopher Fowler, Hell Train ; Ken MacLeod, The Night Sessions ; Ben Marcus, The Flame Alphabet ; and Saladin Ahmed, Throne of the Crescent Moon . I think that's a nice mix of horror, science fiction, literary contemporary fanta...

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W46jeJMxgw0/TxUJzE_OlVI/AAAAAAAAA_c/POGO4mPaQBc/s320/Range%2Bof%2BGhosts.jpg And this bracket is complete. Over at the Fantastic Reviews Blog , we have announced the Championship Round of the Winter 2012 Battle of the Books . The winner of this bracket was Range of Ghosts ...

Example #2, from "The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains" by Neil Gaiman. Our first-person protagonist has hired Calum MacInnes to lead him to a fabled cave in the black mountains, on the Misty Isle, which MacInnes has been to once before. Here is a passage of beautifully written dialo...

OK, my Example #1, from "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula K. LeGuin. By the way, I agree with Grayson that Orson Scott Card usually goes for clarity rather than beautiful language (although there are exceptions where he writes in a more elaborate style, including "Unaccom...

As I work my way through these suggestions I'm finding that the problem seems to be that I lack taste. Many (maybe all) of them are lovely/brilliant/beautiful stories, but I can't put my finger on a line of prose I'd call pretty. You may just be focused on story rather than wordsmithing. I agree wi...

I'm just reading an advance copy of Elizabeth Bear's forthcoming novel Range of Ghosts, and the writing is wonderful.

I'm going to list some short stories that I think are great examples of beautiful prose. I'm hoping this gives you a more manageable reading list than if I listed novels, but let me know if you want me to name some novels (or just find novels by any of the authors below, and chances are it's going t...

The first round is complete. All the results so far have been posted at the Fantastic Reviews Blog, and the updated full bracket is here.

I've read a lot of terrific opening sequences -- I hope I'm learning something.

Yes, I should have started this thread out with, "Apologies to Jonathan Swift." I feel like such a yahoo . . .

Your match is posted, Tom. No hard feelings, I hope . . .

The first round is under way, beginning with When We Were Executioners by J.M. McDermott vs. Eyes Like Leaves by Charles de Lint. Feel free to post here or at the Fantastic Reviews Blog if you care to let me know what an idiot I am or for other comments.