Joni called today . . .
Alas, I wasn't home, but she talked with my wife. My Q109 story for WOTF placed in the semifinals--the top 18. I look forward to the critique from Kathy Wentworth. Hopefully, I'll be able to shape the story into a masterpiece primed for professional publication . . .
Showing posts with label Writers Of The Future. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Writers Of The Future. Show all posts
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
WOTF Volume 24
Thanks to a tip from Sarah L. Edwards's blog, WOTF24 is up on Audible. Check out the link "Download the accompanying PDF to see the illustrations." Even better, purchase and download.
http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1758423313.1219201284@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccceadeemelhjggcefecekjdffidfmf.0&productID=BK_ADBL_000313
http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1758423313.1219201284@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccceadeemelhjggcefecekjdffidfmf.0&productID=BK_ADBL_000313
Friday, July 18, 2008
WOTF 24: The Cover
On Amazon, the cover to Volume 24 has been revealed:
http://www.amazon.com/Writers-Future-Ron-Hubbard-Presents/dp/1592123740/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1216347136&sr=1-6
It's exciting. It's almost as if I had a story inside the anthology. Wait a minute--I almost did! Last year, I landed in the Top 8 and the Top 20. Of course, it's also exciting because I look forward to reading the stories inside. Over the past few years I've had a blast reading Volumes 21, 22, and 23(especially Volume 22). Whereas many of the pro SF&F publications often print esoteric works that don't grab me(often by pros resting on their established name), I find that these stories appeal to me more.
http://www.amazon.com/Writers-Future-Ron-Hubbard-Presents/dp/1592123740/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1216347136&sr=1-6
It's exciting. It's almost as if I had a story inside the anthology. Wait a minute--I almost did! Last year, I landed in the Top 8 and the Top 20. Of course, it's also exciting because I look forward to reading the stories inside. Over the past few years I've had a blast reading Volumes 21, 22, and 23(especially Volume 22). Whereas many of the pro SF&F publications often print esoteric works that don't grab me(often by pros resting on their established name), I find that these stories appeal to me more.
Monday, January 7, 2008
WOTF Published Finalist Watch
http://dr-phil-physics.livejournal.com/135598.html
In Writers of the Future Volume 24, Dr. Philip Edward Kaldon will be the sole published finalist with his 14k word story, "A Man in the Moon". In 2007, he was a finalist twice, giving him double the odds. Obviously, being a physicist gives him the home-team advantage in writing hard SF.
In Writers of the Future Volume 24, Dr. Philip Edward Kaldon will be the sole published finalist with his 14k word story, "A Man in the Moon". In 2007, he was a finalist twice, giving him double the odds. Obviously, being a physicist gives him the home-team advantage in writing hard SF.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Writers Of The Future: The Envelope Please...
It'll be announced here shortly: http://wotfblog.galaxypress.com
But from what I've pieced together, the waveform has collapsed thusly:
First Place: Erin Cashier
Second Place: Sonia Timms/Helbig
Third Place: Jeannette Cheney
Congrats!
Of course, the published finalists, if any, are yet to be determined...
Update per Sonia: the judges this quarter were Larry Niven, Tim Powers, Kevin J. Anderson & Nina Kikiri Hoffman.
But from what I've pieced together, the waveform has collapsed thusly:
First Place: Erin Cashier
Second Place: Sonia Timms/Helbig
Third Place: Jeannette Cheney
Congrats!
Of course, the published finalists, if any, are yet to be determined...
Update per Sonia: the judges this quarter were Larry Niven, Tim Powers, Kevin J. Anderson & Nina Kikiri Hoffman.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Schrödinger's Finalists
Since hearing my story was in the finals, I've had some sort of strange writing block. Instead of thinking about my next story(or writing it), I find myself easily distracted. It seeps into my dreams. On the up side, I was surprised by the number of well-wishing, not only from among the fellow finalists, but from other writers, and from those with no aspirations to write(those seem most satisfying of all).
In obsessing over my odds, I've created a fiction of sorts, backed by spurious calculations to help me sort it all out. In essence, eight stories sit in Schrödinger's Box, each in a superposition of states. When a measurement is made, by judging, then the superposition will collapse.
While, perhaps, there may be one Hugo-worthy story(not mine, obviously) that will outshine the rest, until it is measured--we don't know. And there is the likelihood that several are equal in quality and it might come down to subjective taste or even mood. Of course, professional writers are doing the judging, and as Gurney Halleck in Dune said, 'Moods are a thing for cattle and love play!' Obviously, they won't let traffic jams and finicky cats cloud their judgment.
The point is there is great uncertainty. But it is sane to keep in mind that there are a finite number of states the superposition can collapse into, accompanied by its own set of odds:
59.03% : Nonwinning, nonpublished finalist
03.46% : Nonwinning, published Finalist
37.50% : Third place
25.00% : Second place
12.50% : First place
03.10% : Gold
Discounting published finalists, there are 56 winning groups that could emerge from the quarter(if you include who-wins-what that would up it to 168 combinations). Pick from the 56 and there's only a 1.79% chance for that combination. The odds of any two, say two Virginians, both winning are 10.7%. But the good news is that that odds for a Virginian to win this year are 64.3%.
How will the superposition collapse? We will have to wait and see.
To be continued...
In obsessing over my odds, I've created a fiction of sorts, backed by spurious calculations to help me sort it all out. In essence, eight stories sit in Schrödinger's Box, each in a superposition of states. When a measurement is made, by judging, then the superposition will collapse.
While, perhaps, there may be one Hugo-worthy story(not mine, obviously) that will outshine the rest, until it is measured--we don't know. And there is the likelihood that several are equal in quality and it might come down to subjective taste or even mood. Of course, professional writers are doing the judging, and as Gurney Halleck in Dune said, 'Moods are a thing for cattle and love play!' Obviously, they won't let traffic jams and finicky cats cloud their judgment.
The point is there is great uncertainty. But it is sane to keep in mind that there are a finite number of states the superposition can collapse into, accompanied by its own set of odds:
59.03% : Nonwinning, nonpublished finalist
03.46% : Nonwinning, published Finalist
37.50% : Third place
25.00% : Second place
12.50% : First place
03.10% : Gold
Discounting published finalists, there are 56 winning groups that could emerge from the quarter(if you include who-wins-what that would up it to 168 combinations). Pick from the 56 and there's only a 1.79% chance for that combination. The odds of any two, say two Virginians, both winning are 10.7%. But the good news is that that odds for a Virginian to win this year are 64.3%.
How will the superposition collapse? We will have to wait and see.
To be continued...
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Writers Of The Future Q407 : Finalist!!!
http://wotfblog.galaxypress.com/2007/11/4th-quarter-writers-of-future-finalists.html
I feel I should say something insightful, something profound, but right now my mind is all a jumble. In fact, if I were the first man on the moon, those would probably be my words upon stepping out of the Eagle: "Um--uh--my mind is blank!"
Of course, there's only a 37% chance that my story will place first, second, or third. The judges will have to weigh my story's merits against 7 others. I am pleased to see a fellow Virginian among the finalists. It's a possibility, albeit a slim one, that we'll both be in the workshop and our stories in the anthology. Wouldn't that be a good way to represent Virginia!!!
Though I haven't yet made it, I have to say, crafting a publishable story isn't easy. It takes work and there are many dimensions of consideration. Style, characterization, plot, clarity, pace, suspense, ect, ect--and in SF&F there is the added burden of worldbuilding & making the unreal credible-seeming. This particular story went through 3 drafts. Then, since mistakes abound, two rounds of proofreading. Hours and hours of work over many months.
None of this would've been possible either without solid feedback, which I recieved from my wife and Paul Comstock, a fellow Hatracker, Critter, and Writers Of The Future semifinalist. Many thanks to them!
Incidentally, here's a link to Paul's site, which contains many helpful tips on writing:
http://www.paulallancomstock.com/
I feel I should say something insightful, something profound, but right now my mind is all a jumble. In fact, if I were the first man on the moon, those would probably be my words upon stepping out of the Eagle: "Um--uh--my mind is blank!"
Of course, there's only a 37% chance that my story will place first, second, or third. The judges will have to weigh my story's merits against 7 others. I am pleased to see a fellow Virginian among the finalists. It's a possibility, albeit a slim one, that we'll both be in the workshop and our stories in the anthology. Wouldn't that be a good way to represent Virginia!!!
Though I haven't yet made it, I have to say, crafting a publishable story isn't easy. It takes work and there are many dimensions of consideration. Style, characterization, plot, clarity, pace, suspense, ect, ect--and in SF&F there is the added burden of worldbuilding & making the unreal credible-seeming. This particular story went through 3 drafts. Then, since mistakes abound, two rounds of proofreading. Hours and hours of work over many months.
None of this would've been possible either without solid feedback, which I recieved from my wife and Paul Comstock, a fellow Hatracker, Critter, and Writers Of The Future semifinalist. Many thanks to them!
Incidentally, here's a link to Paul's site, which contains many helpful tips on writing:
http://www.paulallancomstock.com/
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Q107 Writers of The Future: The Envelope Please...
In late December, I sent out “Foregleamer” to the Writers of The Future contest/anthology, the third story that I've sent there. The last two times, the stories placed in the quarterfinals, which meant that they were, “in the top 10--15% of all entries received for the quarter”. According to Kathy Wentworth, first judge and reader, "Quaterfinalist means that I did get all the way through it, and it had one or more elements that I considered well done: setting, idea, characters, plot, prose, voice."
Last week, while my wife and I were vacationing in NYC, the result rolled in. “Foregleamer” placed as a semifinalist. That, according to what I can gather, puts the story somewhere in the Top 20, though of course, NOT in the top 8. I received a page long critique on why it was one of the last cut from the potential list of finalists. I plan to absorb the critique, begin revising and mail it to another potential publisher.
Last week, while my wife and I were vacationing in NYC, the result rolled in. “Foregleamer” placed as a semifinalist. That, according to what I can gather, puts the story somewhere in the Top 20, though of course, NOT in the top 8. I received a page long critique on why it was one of the last cut from the potential list of finalists. I plan to absorb the critique, begin revising and mail it to another potential publisher.
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