The W1S1 Short Fiction Check-in Lounge and Bar

[MattJ]

Anyone have any insight on Flash Fiction online? They've been closed for subs for a few months.

[Izz]

Originally Posted by MattJ

Anyone have any insight on Flash Fiction online? They've been closed for subs for a few months.

Not particularly. I get the impression they're way behind on things, but other than that, no, no insight. I am intrigued, though, as to where they're at, for other reasons.




Also, have i told you peeps how awesome you are today?

No?

Then, let me tell you now: you're all Mega-Awesome. With a capital MEGA!

That is all. Carry on as you were.

[alexshvartsman]

Originally Posted by MattJ

Anyone have any insight on Flash Fiction online? They've been closed for subs for a few months.

Matt,

What is it you want to know about FFO?

They are a somewhat controversial market due to the editor's views (I am sure Rose or others will be along to explain shortly). Personally I only ever submitted once, before they closed to subs over six months ago, and got a very slow but nice and detailed personal rejection.

[Nathaniel Katz]

Originally Posted by alexshvartsman

Matt,

What is it you want to know about FFO?

They are a somewhat controversial market due to the editor's views (I am sure Rose or others will be along to explain shortly). Personally I only ever submitted once, before they closed to subs over six months ago, and got a very slow but nice and detailed personal rejection.

Can you elaborate? I just started submitting in November, so I've almost no knowledge of FFO online and don't know of any controversy.

[Gray Rose]

Originally Posted by alexshvartsman

Matt,

They are a somewhat controversial market due to the editor's views (I am sure Rose or others will be along to explain shortly).

Ehh, I honestly don't care how they fare. The editor publicly expressed anti-gay views.
ETA: queer viewpoints, non-conservative views of God/religion, and profanity also seem to be a big no for the editor. Original discussion here: http://crossedgenres.com/blog/sff-ma...-our-lgbtq-ad/

I lost interest in them from that moment on. It might not be a dealbreaker for you, but it is for me. I'm not, however, on a crusade against that market There are many other markets to submit to, markets that match my worldview better.

That said, FFO been extremely slow for about a year, I hear, and have been closed for a while. That in itself is not an indicator of a market in trouble. Some editors overbuy in a fit of editorial greed, and then close submissions for a long time to balance the inventory.

In short, I have no clue.

[zanzjan]

Originally Posted by Gray Rose

queer viewpoints, non-conservative views of God/religion, and profanity also seem to be a big no for the editor.

Drat, there goes my chance to sell my Gay Jesus with Tourette's story. )-:

-Suzanne

[shelleyo]

Originally Posted by zanzjan

Drat, there goes my chance to sell my Gay Jesus with Tourette's story. )-:

-Suzanne

Thanks for the info about Flash Fiction Online. I didn't know that. I'd never submitted there, but wouldn't now.

I was always going to read Ender's Game--had it on a list but never got around to it. Now I'd never enjoy it, so I won't bother. I can't imagine I'd ever submit to the Intergalactic Medicine Show either, not that they're missing out, cause I probably would never get accepted anyway. For me, it's the principle.

Shelley

[Izz]

For all you weekly folks (and anybody else wanting to throw a progress report up on the blog), it's Week 13 check-in time.

[soapdish]

Anyone have any experience with Subtropics? I sent something off to them in early Jan. They only take snail mail submissions and I never got a confirmation that it was received (which is fine, I know that's common). They say on their site that they try to respond quickly and their stats on Duotrope say that the longest response time was 65 days (if I understand the stats correctly).

I am itching to send an email, but hate to do that. *sigh*

I was aiming really high on this one, I know, so chances are I was rejected, if it even made it to them in the first place...but still...JUST WANT TO KNOW SOMETHING/ANYTHING!

Do you sense my frustration there?

[Izz]

Originally Posted by soapdish

Anyone have any experience with Subtropics? I sent something off to them in early Jan. They only take snail mail submissions and I never got a confirmation that it was received (which is fine, I know that's common). They say on their site that they try to respond quickly and their stats on Duotrope say that the longest response time was 65 days (if I understand the stats correctly).

I am itching to send an email, but hate to do that. *sigh*

I was aiming really high on this one, I know, so chances are I was rejected, if it even made it to them in the first place...but still...JUST WANT TO KNOW SOMETHING/ANYTHING!

Do you sense my frustration there?

I don't know anything about them. Nada. Not a bean. But, $1k is a nice pay-rate. It looks like there might be a few stories that've been there longer than 65 days, so possibly you're in the consider pile.

[soapdish]

Originally Posted by Izz

I don't know anw ything about them. Nada. Not a bean. But, $1k is a nice pay-rate. It looks like there might be a festories that've been there longer than 65 days, so possibly you're in the consider pile.

that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. (those are happy tears forming, btw )

Yeah, wouldn't that be AWESOME *dreams about that*

[Izz]

Well, it appears the novel ideas i've set aside so as to focus on short fiction this year are shoving at the gates and demanding to be heard.

One is a story based on a dream i had, but now i've got ideas for a workable setting and an actual plot. w00t!

The other is an idea that's been percolating for over a decade. Every year or so it pokes its head through the bars and tells me to write it. And i always start, then decide my skill level's not quite where it needs to be to tell the story the way i want it to and put it away again. One day, one day.

Anybody else got stories they put off writing?

[soapdish]

Yes, three trunked novels and a novella. Grr.

I'm equally attached to all of them (with the exception of the UF novella right now) and they all fight for space within my head.

Write1Sub1 has been a nice break from them. Usually when they demand to have work done to them, I jump into that mode--my skill level is not where I want it to be to carry this off.

Then I feel HORRIBLE because I'm not being productive.

But with W1S1, I fill that need to be productive and lately the holes have been filling in for me on the novels

I think just relaxing and taking some pressure off to complete them has allowed the ideas to flow a little more freely.

Just last night I was working out some issues with the scifi/fantasy one and was pretty pleased with my results.

Only, I've yet to open my journal this morning...so it could all just look like gibberish

[Aggy B.]

Originally Posted by Izz

Anybody else got stories they put off writing?

A bunch of novels. (I do mean "bunch". I have at least eight in various stages of development ranging from nearly finished/edited/polished to still in the first draft stage.) Most of them have a general framework but the details haven't solidified yet. And one or two that are in that "I don't think I have the skills for this yet" category.

Which reminds me...

*puts Gaslyte back on the writing agenda*

[MattJ]

Re: Novels.

Some one pointed out that if you can write 250 words a day, you'll have a novel in a year. 500 is a novel in six months.

I have one almost ready to start. Of course, I still haven't finished the first draft of my novella, so my track record is not good.

[AlwaysJuly]

I actually have quite a few short stories in the hopper for W1S1 that I'm putting off because I need to do more research before I write them.

I have a sci-fi novel that I'm dying to write that I'm putting off until I finish rough draft of WIP #2 and revisions on WIP #1. It's such a bright shiny idea and it's what I want to be writing, but it's the light at the end of the tunnel when I finish what I started, darnit. I outlined the thing and am now trying to ignore it.

[Aggy B.]

Originally Posted by MattJ

Re: Novels.

Some one pointed out that if you can write 250 words a day, you'll have a novel in a year. 500 is a novel in six months.

I have one almost ready to start. Of course, I still haven't finished the first draft of my novella, so my track record is not good.

My problem is I write about 2 - 3k a day. (On the days that I write.) Turning out rough drafts of anything is not much of a problem. Finding the time to edit those rough drafts (which is a much slower process for me) is.

That's one thing I'm hoping W1S1 will help me with - sharpening my editing skills so that it doesn't take six months to edit a 7k word short.

[SmallThing]

I have a novel I keep putting off as well. Not because of the length -- I'm actually more comfortable writing novels than shorts. This particular one requires a much better grasp of a branch of epidemiology than I currently have. The research aspect keeps me from moving forward.

Which is odd, as I love research and enjoy explaining it. Somehow it just doesn't mesh well with fiction for me.

The awesome thing about novels though? They're much more forgiving then something short. And kind of fun to edit. Or maybe I'm a freak...

[Sagana]

I have a bunch of stories in everything from the 'just an idea' to a few decent scenes. Sometime last year, I told myself I was going to finish things and started working on a middle-grade novel. And realized I really didn't have the skills for it. So I got serious about actually learning to write. And realized it might be something one (namely me) can learn.

I started a novel by doing a minimal outline (so I knew where it should go) that was somewhat simpler (to me) than the other.

And all that is going well and w1s1 is helping a lot with the writing. I set a schedule and am not having much problem sticking to it. The novel is at 47,500 words (or so) and I have 4 finished shorts, 2 little tweet things and have started this month's short and it's going well (1662 words so far). I was worried about dividing my time between the novel and short stories, but that hasn't really been an issue.

But I'm having that editing trouble, so I'm behind on the subs (well technically I'm up to date because I submitted the two twitter pieces, but...) I told myself over the weekend I *had* to learn to do this or I couldn't be a writer and that helped some. But it's still not done. I'm hoping I'll get better at it as I go along.

I think I know what to do (with the help of betas) but not quite how to do it. And also, words that are written at the same time flow and I lose the flow of the sentences when I try to add things...

Anyone else have that problem?

[Aggy B.]

Originally Posted by Sagana

I think I know what to do (with the help of betas) but not quite how to do it. And also, words that are written at the same time flow and I lose the flow of the sentences when I try to add things...

Anyone else have that problem?

Yes. That's why I rewrite the whole story - referring to a paper printout - when making edits. (Unless they are really minor.) As you might imagine with longer projects (i.e. novellas and longer) that can get a bit tedious. (Another reason why my typing speed is usually pretty high because otherwise I'd never get anything done.)

For those who are not as masochistic about editing, you can always try rewriting just the paragraphs before the major changes. I find that when I do that it smooths out a lot of the glitches I used to get when inserting "new" material.

And rewriting things sometimes helps me improve sentences that when reading through, I thought were just fine. (Something about being able to focus more on the mechanics of the story-telling once I have the basics of the story down.)

Your mileage may vary.

[Nathaniel Katz]

Originally Posted by Izz

Well, it appears the novel ideas i've set aside so as to focus on short fiction this year are shoving at the gates and demanding to be heard.

One is a story based on a dream i had, but now i've got ideas for a workable setting and an actual plot. w00t!

The other is an idea that's been percolating for over a decade. Every year or so it pokes its head through the bars and tells me to write it. And i always start, then decide my skill level's not quite where it needs to be to tell the story the way i want it to and put it away again. One day, one day.

Anybody else got stories they put off writing?

This describes both of my novels. I've tried one three or four times and the other two. I still think that both are excellent ideas, but none of the drafts have yet made it (even if I have occasionally gotten damn far). I've no doubt that, when I next attempt a novel, it will be one of those two. I have managed to do something with the SF one, though. With two or three exceptions, all of my SF shorts are based in that world, which has really helped flesh it out.

[Nathaniel Katz]

Originally Posted by Sagana

Anyone else have that problem?

I'll try to help, though I'm not sure how much of my editing process I can articulate. Like writing itself, it's all practice. Edit everything, and after a while it won't be so difficult anymore. Then it will, eventually, be just as easy as the writing. I'd advise printing out your work and reading it aloud. When something sounds strange, make changes. Read it through with the changes and fiddle with it till it sounds good. Remember, there is nothing sacred about the first draft. The compulsion to preserve original structures, no matter how awkward, is something I still find myself doing all the time. Also, wait a bit before editing. Right now, changes feel weird because you're still in the mindset of the first draft. After a week, you'll be more detached and able to view it more objectively. Once you've grown more familiar with viewing work in a critical light, you can move that period up, though I'd still advise waiting at least a day.

[AlwaysJuly]

Originally Posted by Sagana

And also, words that are written at the same time flow and I lose the flow of the sentences when I try to add things...

Anyone else have that problem?

Yes, I have that problem too. I can fix one little thing but if I start doing major re-writing, it tends to sound very stacatto in comparison with the lines around it.

I don't have an awesome solution for that besides yet more re-writing. :)

[zanzjan]

Originally Posted by SmallThing

This particular one requires a much better grasp of a branch of epidemiology than I currently have. The research aspect keeps me from moving forward.

Hmmm. I have a novella-length thing stalled for much the same reason, because I need to do some serious research on the architectural history of the Vatican and I just haven't found the time.

That said, the novel I'm currently working on, which also, coincidentally, involved doing some research on epidemiology and microbiology (and will require a *lot* more before the thing is ready to go out the door) was moving along fairly well until I got bonked on the head last week.

I think, and I'm sort of trying to figure this out as I type so bear with me if I make no sense, that in the case of the novel, while the science is absolutely critical, it's also of a sort than can be temporarily handwaved from a slightly-better-than-Wikipedia level of knowledge as I get the plot itself written down and the characters doing what they need to do. I expect to go back on a final pass and spend a *lot* of time getting the science right, but I know enough now to get the placement of the science right. Later, when I go back, the science will be the sole focus so I'll be able to put the time and attention into it without being distracted by needing to herd characters around at the same time. In the case of the novella, the research will dictate action closely enough that I can't get away with that.

I don't know if the nature of your story, or of your writing process, will allow you to skimp on your research for this draft knowing you're going have to go back to it later (some people can't stand that) but if so, it might be worth trying. Make sh*t up, fix it later, is my favorite early-draft writing mantra (-:

Dunno if that helps any, sorry.

-Suzanne

[soapdish]

I have my idea for this month's write1

It's loosely based off the life of the artist Edward Curtis

But horror. And sooo loosely based, it'd be unrecognizable, I'm sure.