O | The Online Writing Workshop for SF, F & H Newsletter, May 2003
W | http://sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com
W | Become a better writer!
| - - CONTENTS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
- Workshop News:
New membership prices
"Submit or die" challenge
Monthly writing challenge
Crit marathon prizes
Convention workshop news
Market News
Membership payment information
- Editors' Choices for March submissions
- Reviewer Honor Roll
- Publication Announcements
- Workshop Statistics
- Feedback: thank you!
| - - WORKSHOP NEWS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
This month our congratulations go out to member Susan Britton for her
first novel sale, and to members Celia Marsh and Wade White for their
first pro short story sales. More details, along with other recent
successes by our members, may be found in the "Sales and Publications"
section below!
NEW MEMBERSHIP PRICES
Unfortunately, we had to raise our prices for memberships earlier this
month. The new prices are still reasonable and, in comparison to
other online writers' opportunities, downright cheap for what you get.
(See our comparison chart for the nitty-gritty:
http://sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com/memberships_comparison.shtml).
Annual memberships are now $49; six-month memberships are $30; and an
annual membership by monthly subscription is $6/month. We've
redesigned our membership payment area to be much simpler and cleaner
to use, and have expanded our payment options as well. We still have
an active scholarship fund--thank you to all who have donated to it in
the last month or so!--and we have new Canadian pricing. We
appreciate the support of everyone who has paid for a membership,
donated to the scholarship fund, or made a bonus payment in the last
bit-more-than-a-year!
"SUBMIT OR DIE" CHALLENGE
To encourage each other to submit work for publication, mailing list
members periodically issue a "Submit or Die" challenge with prizes for
the most rejections, the first pro sale, and so on. Well, they're up
to it again, and everyone on the workshop is welcome to participate.
Rules and prizes are posted at:
http://www.thermeon.net/checkered/SOD.html
MONTHLY WRITING CHALLENGE
Members of the mailing list issue near-monthly writing challenges to
help push each other to develop their skills and loosen up their
writing muscles. At last count, around thirty challenge pieces have
gone on to be published. The May challenge is blood. The June
challenge has yet to be decided. For more information on the monthly
writing challenges, visit:
http://www.thermeon.net/checkered/Challenge.html
CRIT MARATHON PRIZES
Pen Hardy sent us the following note about the workshop's April crit
marathon after it wrapped up:
"Thank you to all of our marathoners who accomplished so much during
the course of the marathon. Between them, the 55 active marathoners
completed 1574 critiques and, perhaps more significantly, took the
list of under-reviewed submissions from the high double digits down to
hover near zero!"
The Grand Prize went to Kathryn Allen for finishing 120 substantive
crits during the month of April. But Carlos Jimenez-Cortes and C.
Scavella Burrell also completed triple digit critiques and earned some
nifty prizes. The Ilona Gordon Chocolate Award for Critting the Most
Chapters went to Carol Bartholomew. 80 of Carol's 92 crits in April
were on novel chapters. And the Dorothy Lindman Hot Cocoa Prize for
Quality went to Tara Devine for earning the most Honor Roll
nominations during the month, although Kathryn Allen, Mike Farrell,
and Jon Paradise were just one step behind.
We're always impressed by the effort of our members to help each other
with crits, and this year is no exception. Huge thanks to everyone who
participated in the marathon, and extra thanks to Pen for running it!
CONVENTION WORKSHOP NEWS
OWW Administrator Charles Coleman Finlay will be instructing the
Writers' Workshop at Context XVI in Columbus, Ohio, on October 3-5,
2003. The workshop costs $60 but that includes a full membership to
the convention. Spaces will be limited. Registration forms and full
details should be available soon at:
http://www.contextcon.com/contexthome.htm
MARKET NEWS
Donna Thiel Cook, the publisher and editor of _Demensions Magazine_,
wants everyone to know that the magazine has changed its publication
schedule and now appear on the 15th of every month. Although
_Demensions_ is not currently a paying market, it offers two annual
prizes to its authors. She invites writers to check out the
guidelines, readers to check out the May stories, and everyone to
enter the drawing for a copy of Tad Williams' new novel, WAR OF THE
FLOWERS. See: http://www.demensionszine.com
SFReader.com is providing six cash prizes up to $200 for its Second
Annual Fiction Contest. Last year's winners, with complete rules and
an address for submissions are here:
http://www.sfreader.com/story_contest.asp
Editor James Lowder seeks submissions for a new super-hero anthology,
PATH OF THE BOLD, featuring stories set in the universe of the SILVER
AGE SENTINELS role-playing game. The deadline is August 15th, length
should be 3,000-6,000 words, and the pay is at pro rates. For more
complete information, check the anthology listings at:
http://www.ralan.com
Linda Barnett-Johnson e-mailed us about _Long Story Short_, a new
e-zine for the advancement and publication of women writers. She
invites people to visit the Web site to check out the features,
submission guidelines, and writers' resources:
http://quicksitebuilder.cnet.com/mywritingfriend/
MEMBERSHIP PAYMENT INFORMATION
How to pay: In the U.S., you can pay by PayPal or send us a check or
money order. Outside of the U.S., you can pay via PayPal (though
international memberships incur a small set-up fee); pay via Kagi
(www.kagi.com--easier for non-U.S. people); send us a check in U.S.
dollars drawn on a U.S. bank (many banks can do this for you for a
fee); or send us an international money order (available at some banks
and some post offices). If none of those options work for you, you
can send us U.S. dollars through the mail if you choose, or contact us
about barter if you have interesting goods to barter (not services).
Scholarship fund and gift memberships: you can give a gift membership
for another member; just send us a payment by whatever method you
like, noting who the membership is for and specifying whether the gift
is anonymous or not. We will acknowledge receipt to you and the
member. Or you can donate to our scholarship fund, which we use to
fully or partially cover the costs of an initial paying membership for
certain active, review-contributing members whose situations do not
allow them to pay the full membership fee themselves.
Bonus payments: The workshop costs only 94 cents per week, but we know
that many members feel that it's worth much more to them. So here's
your chance to award us with a bonus on top of your membership fee.
For example, is the workshop worth five dollars a month to you? Award
us a $11 bonus along with your $49 membership fee. 25% of any bonus
payments we receive will go to our support staff, sort of like a tip
for good personal service. The rest will be tucked away to lengthen
the shoestring that is our budget and keep us running!
For more information:
Payments: http://sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com/memberships.shtml
Bonus payments and information about our company:
http://sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com/bonuspayments.shtml
Price comparisons:
http://sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com/memberships_comparison.shtml
| - - EDITORS' CHOICES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
The Editors' Choices are chosen from the submissions from the previous
month that show the most potential or otherwise earn the admiration of
our Resident Editors. Submissions in four categories -- SF, F, horror,
and short stories -- receive a detailed review, meant to be educational
for others as well as the author.
Reviews are written by our Resident Editors, award-winning authors and
instructors Kelly Link and Jeanne Cavelos, or occasionally other
writing pros. Close contenders for the EC may be listed here as
runners-up but usually won't get a review.
The last four months of Editors' Choices and their editorial reviews
are archived on the workshop. Go to the "Read, Rate, Review" page and
click on "Editors' Choices" in the Submission Selector.
Congratulations to this month's Editors' Choice authors!
Editor's Choice, Fantasy Chapter/Partial Chapter:
GHOST EATER, PT. 2: NECROPOLIS, Chapter 3 by Jeff Stanley
I very much enjoyed this chapter and felt that the novel, once completed,
would be very marketable, very publishable. The quality of writing was
professional, and the concept was unique.
I was hoping this chapter would be a bit longer--the introduction of the
Great Mother or Muria's character (based on Jeff's comments about the last
principal character being introduced here) could be more developed. However,
if the Great Mother is to be an immediate antagonist, I wouldn't write too
much more about her here -- I get a good sense that she is manipulative,
powerful, and someone to be feared.
If Muria's character is to play a vital role, her introduction seems weak.
Muria is "bound" to the Great Mother, but it's unclear what this binding
actually does to a person. Do Muria and the rest of the servants have minds
of their own or can the Great Mother (and other senior Ghost Eaters)
completely control those they've bound? If the binding has been explained in
the first part of the novel, I'd still like to see how it affects Muria. She
seems able to have thoughts and doubts of her own -- she is able to sense
the danger in Melancton, yet hide these feelings from him. And although
Muria scolds her co-attendee for questioning the Mother's actions, she also
wonders why the Mother takes the Font from the garden. She does not seem
disturbed by the "stench of decay" that surrounds the Mother, nor does she
seem saddened. The smell of death hidden beneath perfume would incite some
kind of reaction out of a loyal servant.
Muria also seems able to empathically read people:
"Melancton slid to his feet with fluid ease, reminding Muria of nothing so
much as the rising threat of a hooded serpent. Muria could almost taste the
venom within the man, the poison. A dangerous man. She suppressed a shudder
and looked away from him."
Is this a supernatural power she alone possesses, or is this something all
Ghost Eaters can do? It's unclear what Muria believes Melancton is
threatening -- is she protective of the Mother? Does she fear Melancton
simply because he's a powerful Ghost Eater?
Watch out for word choices and punctuation errors, but overall, I think
GHOST EATER has great commercial potential.
--Jenni Smith-Gaynor
Former editor, Del Rey Books
Editor's Choice, SF Chapter/Partial Chapter:
THE HORSES OF ACHILLES, Chapter 10 by Marguerite Reed
Of all the things to praise in this safari chapter, I want to draw attention
to the narrative arc that begins with one wild animal attack and ends with
another. Throughout the chapter, there's an implicit contrast between
Vashti's insistence on the inhumanity of the Beast and his behavior around
the actual animals they encounter: the varanus, the aubergine radiate, and
the bubocephale.
The attention to these creatures -- the behavior of the varanus, the
adaptivity of the aubergine radiate, and the dissection of the bubocephale
-- enriches the story on several additional levels. Along with the
descriptions of the habitat, they integrate complex world-building into the
action of the story. Each instance is also used to develop character, the
Beast's humanity, Vashti's expertise, or the offworlder's agenda. Take this
passage as an example:
"No snakes. Evolution on Ubastis seems to have followed parallels of
Earth's, with some variations, but Ubastis didn't do much with the snake."
"Is there a niche for them, do you think? If they were introduced?"
Bearce asked.
"No," I said.
The Beast spoke, and as with every time, we flinched, and looked to him.
"Yet here we are."
In four short paragraphs, we see exposition on the ecology of the planet,
Bearce's interest in modifying or exploiting the environment, Vashti's
uncompromising defense of it, and the tension that surrounds the Beast.
There are also echoes of bringing the snake, and thus temptation, into Eden,
employing the same details to develop the novel's themes. Excellent writing.
My main concern is with the characterization of the Beast. Vashti's
constant distrust of him began to feel forced, too much repetition from the
last chapter without much development. This wouldn't have been an issue for
me if the Beast had done something more ambiguous, anything little that
might be mistaken for or interpreted as a threat. But throughout this
chapter he acts in a measured fashion, always respectful, risking himself to
help Vashti. I wanted to see something specific set off her alarms.
There are several other small things. In the opening scene, when she falls
out of the tree, it wasn't clear to me whether she was talking about the
Beast or the varanus. I also didn't quite buy her reaction when she fails to
grab her gun or knife immediately either. The transition into and out of the
flashback sequence were especially well done, but I wouldn't have minded if
that passage were tightened. I also thought that the development agenda
could have been brought more to the forefront and added an important layer
of conflict to the middle scene where they're walking through the forest.
Otherwise, I might tighten that scene as well.
Finally, I understood the last paragraph of the chapter to have a double
meaning, describing a threat from the animals but also Vashti's anticipation
of conflict with the Beast. If that was intended, I thought the second
meaning a little too underplayed. A more specific reason to explain her
distrust of the Beast, combined with a clearer reference here, would have
increased the tension for me and made me turn the page that much faster.
But overall, this chapter is very readable in its current form, with vivid
description, sharp characterization, and polished prose. I'm looking forward
to the next installment!
--Charles Coleman Finlay, Workshop Administrator
and author of Nebula and Hugo Finalist "The Political Officer"
http://home.earthlink.net/~ccfinlay/
Editor's Choice, Short Story:
"The Train They Call The City" by Elizabeth Bear
This is an engaging science-fiction story in the classic mold: careful
attention to detail, clean, lively writing style, strong
world-building and extrapolation, and sympathetic characters. Right
from the very beginning, we are drawn in by the contrast of strong,
homely, sensory description of a small, familiar kind of technology --
tattooing -- with the landing of a space shuttle. There isn't much
that's new here, but the good old stuff is handled with great skill.
This is a grim but realistic kind of future, where New Orleans has
become a kind of floating city, like Venice. "Dikes and levees had
failed; there's just too much water in that part of the world to wall
away." Tattoos and colors of skin indicate castes, jobs, records, etc.
This is a future where there are space shuttles and colonies in space,
but the well-named Patience and her son Jayve aren't colonists or
rocket scientists -- they're indentured working poor. The only thing
missing is music -- this is the first New Orleans story I've ever read
that doesn't use music.
There isn't much plot to this story, and what plot there is is
familiar: mother wishes for better life for her son; son's talent
(possible way to a better life) is also son's downfall. And while the
assured, professional writing is the strength of the story, this might
still be a hard sale to most SF magazines. You could try _Analog_, but
they've probably seen it before. So how to rework it so that it's
doing something newer? You could try something more mosaic-style --
give us a series of stories, quickly, run together, and told in pieces
to play off of each other. You could certainly give us more of
Patience's own story: where she works, the lives of the the characters
on her favorite television show, the lottery tickets she buys, the
funeral of a neighbor -- the more details the better, as long as you
keep them fast and pertinent.
Beware of too many modifier-noun combinations in close proximity --
"mold-scarred chair," "bare scalp," "grimy window," "stifling rain,"
"jeweled running lamps," "massive spacelighter," "waterlogged sprawl"
-- most of them are good adjectives, but "massive" is vague, and
probably one too many in a row, and I might suggest cutting
"mold-scarred" as well. It's nice to get a different effect when we
reach the needle which "pattered and scratched, pattered and
scratched."
Try hard to not to break the rhythm of the story to show off SFnal
details, as in "Rain beaded on her nanoskin as it shifted to repel the
precipitation, and she paused on planked decking." That's a neat idea,
but when Patience pauses, it feels as if she has paused so that the
reader can take in the effect. Better, and more elegant, if you tell
us what the rain feels like on her skin, and by that means signal to
us that she has nano, as when you tell us that Patience has known the
scarrist "for years: six fingers and a thumb."
"He almost reached up a pale-skinned hand: it seemed close enough to
touch." I don't think you need the modifier "pale-skinned" here -- it
makes the point a little too plainly, and the ending a bit too pat. A
bit later, you can cut the second half of this sentence: "He groaned
and held on; strain burned his thighs and eroded his triceps." Don't
slow down the pacing unnecessarily while the boat is in danger.
When the burst of static comes over the com and Jayve doesn't panic or
attempt to contact Mad, it seems more plot-convenient than believable.
You might want to rethink this, how Jayve would actually react. And
when does the patrol show up? Why don't they contact him before he
tries Mad? Again, this seems more convenient than believable.
Finally, most importantly, when you describe Jayve's seamonster as "a
riot of sensuality and prismatic colors," you're not doing either the
seamonster or Jayve -- or the story -- justice. This is the heart of
the story. Whether or not Jayve or Patience ever makes it into space,
Jayve's seamonster will. We need to know what it looks like; we need
to be convinced that Jayve is as good an artist as Patience says he
is. You need to tell us why his seamonster is art -- maybe it rides on
the lighter like the city of New Orleans rides on the waters. The
details that you give us about how Jayve practices his craft are good
-- don't skimp, however, on describing his finished work. That's twice
as important as the nanotech.
--Kelly Link
Short story collection STRANGER THINGS HAPPEN available from Small
Beer Press
http://www.kellylink.net/
Editor's Choice, Horror:
DANSE DES MORTS--Scene 1 by by Todd Jones
I was intrigued by the opening poem, which seemed a nice way of
opening the book. I think the strongest element of this chapter is
the plot structure. The two opposing forces that I believe will
dominate the novel are quickly introduced, which is good, and the goal
of each side is established--in Sylvester's case, to protect the girl,
and in Angus's case, to kill the girl. That's clear and interesting.
This chapter raises a number of questions about the nature of these
forces and why the girl is important, which help motivate the reader
to keep reading. So all that is good. On the other hand, I feel
several elements are quite weak, which prevent the plot from
generating the excitement and power it might.
First, while the plot structure is sound, I don't believe the author
has built on top of that skeleton a specific plot that is striking and
original. Many stories are built on the same general plot structure
used here (and this would be true no matter what plot structure it
was; there are only a handful of different plots in the world). The
Prophecy movie series starring Christopher Walken has two supernatural
forces fighting in the real world--they even wear the long dusters
described here. The same basic structure also exists in the
Terminator movie series and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." If you
consider these three examples, you can see the flexibility inherent in
the plot structure, and the many different stories it can be used to
tell. Each of these three examples has something to make it stand out
from the pack, a unique way of developing this structure that makes it
seem new and compelling. Right now, I'm not feeling that in this
story. I think the uniqueness of the vision needs to be apparent from
the very first page. That uniqueness will embody a compelling force
to keep us reading, and will make the questions raised by the plot
more intriguing. As is, I know the questions and have a mild
curiosity about them, but I feel I've read this story before, so I
have the sense I already know what the answers will be, or at least
that the answers won't be terribly surprising, so I'm not as strongly
driven to keep reading as I should be.
A related problem is that the characters don't seem as strongly
developed as they should be. The characters--the good, the bad, and
the woman/victim--feel like archetypes, not individuals. Basing
characters on archetypes can give a work power, but just like the plot
structure, these skeletons need to have flesh put on them. The
archetypes need to be made into unique individuals to have power and
to gain our love or hate.
Another weak element is point of view. Generally speaking, writers
should minimize point-of-view shifts, and only shift at scene breaks.
This starts out well, sticking with Mary's POV in the first scene.
But the rest of the chapter has POV shifts and inconsistencies. Scene
2 starts with the voice of an omniscient narrator ("Darker than the
night was the soul of the one who watched Mary"). Then we get Angus's
POV ("He savored the sensation. . . . It was good to feel again").
Then we jump out of Angus's head and describe him from outside ("A
devilish sneer etched itself across his face"). Also, changing the
term of reference for a character creates a POV shift. When you call
Sylvester by name, it feels like we're in his POV. When you call
Sylvester "The Watcher," then it feels like an external POV; he
wouldn't think of himself this way. You need to pick one POV and
stick with it. My suggestion is to stay in Mary's POV until she dies,
and then switch to Sylvester's POV. I don't think Angus's POV adds
anything, and it actually makes the chapter less scary. Leaving him
more mysterious would be more effective, I think.
Establishing a strong POV and remaining in one POV per scene will
draw the reader into the action and create an emotional bond
between the reader and the POV character. Creating such a POV
means that everything you describe must be described as the POV
character would experience it and think of it.
This chapter is mainly action, and action is one of the most difficult
things to write. You need to convey through the writing the startling
nature of events, the fear, the pain, the chaotic flash of sensations
in an overwhelming experience. This does not mean using a lot of
dashes and exclamation points, or a lot of one-word sentences (you
didn't go in this direction, which was good, but many authors do). It
means using very carefully chosen images and a lot of _showing_, with
a rhythm that echoes the actions taking place. Instead, I see a lot
of telling, and rationally thought-out descriptions, such as "Mary saw
fully the hatred that boiled behind this man-beast's eyes. The thing
leered down at her, salivating like a rabid dog." I can't now go into
more detail about this issue, which I find one of the most difficult
and exciting in writing. But helpful discussions of both rhythm and
POV can be found in Janet Burroway's WRITING FICTION.
One more minor point is that you are overusing words like "as,"
"where," and "when" to connect different events. For example, "He
grinned at The Watcher's grimace as the carcass bounced off the
Mustang's hood." This sort of structure does not work well in
descriptions of action because it suggests things are happening
simultaneously and weakens the sense of cause and effect. In this
case, the events aren't happening simultaneously at all, though you
claim they are. What actually happens, as far as I can tell, is that
the carcass bounces off the car, and then the Watcher grimaces, and
then Angus grins. So "as" is the wrong word. In addition, you want
the order of the words in the sentence to reflect the order of events.
Right now, the words actually give us an order directly opposite to
the chronological order. You describe the grinning first, then the
grimacing, and then the bouncing. This makes it impossible for the
reader to experience things along with the character. Instead, I see
Angus grinning and I wonder, "Why is he grinning?" Then I see the
Watcher grimacing, and I say, "Okay, Angus is grinning because the
Watcher is grimacing, but why is the Watcher grimacing?" Then I see
the body bouncing, and I have to replay the whole thing in my mind in
reverse order. All this effort distances me from the story, and I
don't feel the impact of the body at all, because I'm so preoccupied
with simply understanding what's going on.
Those are the main issues that I feel are holding the chapter back
from being as strong as it could possibly be. I hope my comments are
helpful in the revision process.
--Jeanne Cavelos
http://www.odysseyworkshop.org/
| - - REVIEWER HONOR ROLL - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
The Reviewer Honor Roll area of the workshop recognizes members who
have given useful, insightful reviews. After all, that's what makes
the workshop go, so we want to give great reviewers a little
well-earned recognition!
If you got a really useful review and would like to add the reviewer
to the Reviewer Honor Roll, just use our online honor-roll nomination
form -- log in and link to it from the bottom of the Reviewer Honor
Roll page at http://sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com/honorroll.shtml.
Your nomination will appear on the first day of the next calendar
month.
The Honor Roll will show all May nominations beginning June 1.
Some advance highlights from the May honor roll:
Reviewer: Kevin Kibelstis
Submission: Shivery Bones, Chapter 8 by PJ Thompson
Submitted by: PJ Thompson
Nominator's Comments: Kevin keeps me straight on phrasing, plot, and
character, but also on the emotional currents of story and the
unfolding drama (or lack thereof!). And when I get lazy and fall back
on some of my bad habits, he reminds me in the nicest possible way.
Thanks (with plenty of exclamation marks).
Reviewer: Marlissa Campbell
Submission: Somewhere The Banshee Is Screaming by Mark Fewell
Submitted by: Mark Fewell
Nominator's Comments: The story is the current (and I hope final)
version of a story that _The Leading Edge_ had asked to resubmit. I
needed someone to read through it before I sent it out again. I was
specifically asking for someone to do a line-editing job for me. I
found someone (Marlissa) who's good at line-editing, which is
something I'm not good at. I'm horrible at editing my own work.
Reviewers nominated to the honor roll during April include: Dan
Strong, Carlos Jimenez-Cortes (2), suzann dodd, jo van de walle, Kim
Purdue, Lizzie Newell, John Tremlett, Brian Dunn, Chelsea Polk,
Elizabeth Bear, C. Scavella Burrell, Al Bogdan (2), Carol Bartholomew,
Damian Dydyn, cathy freeze, Christine Fravil, Leonid Korogodski, Donna
Johnson, Brad Beaulieu, Kyri Freeman, "a whole lot of critters,"
Matthew Ball, Amy Alward, Diana Cacy Hawkins, Matthew Ball (2), Alisha
Karabinus, Debbie Moorhouse (2), Keong L (3), Marlissa Campbell, Lisa
Clardy, Deb Atwood, David Bowden, Gary Peterson, Jaime Voss, M Thomas
(2), Jason MacDonald, Megan Crewe, Haylee Ocean, Darrell Newton,
Jonathan Alexander, Leah Bobet, Larry West (2), Kathryn Allen (4),
James Roarke, steve westcott, Sarah Prineas, PJ Thompson, Daniel Goss,
Gene Spears (2), Jane Luna, Penelope Kert-Kuzmich, Gill Ainsworth,
Michael Farrell (4), Hilary Handelsman (2), Tara Devine (5), Jon
Paradise (4), A.M. Muffaz, Sherry Thompson, Scott Ecksel.
We congratulate them all for earning extra notice with their reviews.
All nominations received in April can be still found through
May 1 at: http://sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com/honorroll.shtml
| - - PUBLICATION ANNOUNCEMENTS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
We can't announce them if you don't let us know! So drop us a line
at support@sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com whenever you have good
news to share.
Sales and Publications:
Leah Bobet's poem "Psyche and Eros" is up at _Strange Horizons_ this
week (http://www.strangehorizons.com), and her short story "Acts of
Monk" is up at _Planet Relish_ all this month
(http://www.planetrelish.com). She wins the Most Announcements of the
Month Award with two additional short story sales. "Dawn in Metropolis
City" will appear in the Cyberpulp anthology TRUTH, JUSTICE, AND
THE... and her story "Mavis T. Brigham's Week: September 8th to the
14th" will appear in _Full Unit Hookup_. Wow.
Susan Britton's first novel, THE TREEKEEPERS, which tells the story of
a street urchin named Bird who is entrusted with a seed for a sacred
tree, will be released by Dutton Children's Books next month. Susan
informs us that "many early chapters were helpfully critted by members
of this workshop some time ago. (I think I went by the name of Skeeter
then.) Thanks to everybody!" You can preorder it from Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0525469443/qid=1053442813/sr=
8-1/ref=sr_8_1/102-0738626-9882526?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
"The Book of Things Which Must Not Be Remembered" by C. Scavella
Burrell can now be read at _Strange Horizons_:
http://www.strangehorizons.com/2003/20030505/book_of_things.shtml
Chris Clarke sold "The Snow Queen's Risk Assessment" to the Wheatland
Press anthology POLYPHONY 3. Chris remarks that he's "pretty happy
with that one." We bet!
Kyri Freeman's short story "The Path" can be read at _Ideomancer_ this
month. Check it out at: http://www.ideomancer.com
Matt Horgan's short story "Servant of the Servants of God" can be read
in _The Fortean Bureau_ issue for May: http://www.forteanbureau.com/
Celia Marsh made her first short-story sale ever with "Wounds" to
POLYPHONY 3. She tells us "I seriously thought it was the strangest
rejection letter I'd gotten at first -- 'would like to accept your
story for publication in Polyphony 3.' Then I was sure it was a
mistake, or a mean trick. But since the TOC has been released, I've
become convinced that they really did mean my story and so I'd like to
thank my reviewers -- Leah Bobet, Hannah Bowen, Elizabeth Bear, Jeremy
Tolbert, Matt Horgan, Ilona Gordon, Kathryn Allen, Sharon Woods, Beth
Bernobich, and most of the Drowwzoo chat room who read it or at least
listened to me fret about it."
Martin McGrath sold "One Step Forward," a tale of cloned Lenins,
hologramic Stalin, an AI Trotsky, and a robot Marx caught up in a
future civil war, to _The Fortean Bureau_
(http://www.forteanbureau.com/). He told the mailing list: "Thanks to
all those who reviewed it when it was up on the OWW earlier this year
-- normally I'd have all your names but I lost them. So you'll have
only your own sense of satisfaction rather than the fame of a mention
here."
Derek R. Molata sold his poem "Pink Panties" to print magazine _Scared
Naked_ and his short story "Divine Reflux" to the paying e-zine
_Orbital Injection_ (http://www.orbitalinjection.com). Derek writes:
"'Divine Reflux' was critted on the OWW several times under the title
'Theological Retribution.' Thanks for all the help from Jaime, eBear,
Leah, Mandy, Charlie, Kevin, Bret, Mek, Jer, Cacy, Andre, Kirsten, and
Hannah! Phew! Yeah, it sure made the rounds. :P" Hey, whatever it
takes!
Ruth Nestvold's much-anticipated novella "Looking Through Lace" has
finally been scheduled for publication in the September issue of
_Asimov's_. Keep your eye out for it!
Sarah Prineas and John Borneman's co-authored submission, "A Treatise
on Elemental Magic," has been accepted for publication in _Eggplant
Literary Productions Library_
(http://www.eggplant-productions.com/library/), which publishes short
excerpts from books that exist outside our ordinary plane of
existence. Sarah explains: "'A Treatise on Elemental Magic' came about
when John wrote to me and jokingly expounded on a few of the 'rules'
and 'science' behind my elemental magic -- which I use in quite a few
of my stories. I called John's bluff and turned his 'scientific
descriptions' into the Eggplant submission." Sarah and John, who
formed their friendship critting each other in the workshop, are happy
to be published together.
Jeff Stanley's prize-winning e-book TAINTED GARDEN is available from
Random House for $2.99. This book won a Gallery contest for best
workshop novel when we were sponsored by Del Rey. You can order your
copy here:
http://www.contentlinkinc.com/ebookcover.asp?eBookID=0345459105&Type=ISBN
M. Thomas sold "The Poor Man's Wife" to _Lady Churchill's Rosebud
Wristlet_. She sends her "thanks to all who reviewed it, especially
Hank Jones who found a mistake in the money lesson!"
Jeremy Tolbert sold "Spooning" to _Ideomancer_
(http://www.ideomancer.com). He's reluctant to say anything more about
it than that, but we're looking forward to reading it. This is his
first short-story sale.
Wade White sold "See Jack Run: An Intergalactic Primer" to _Strange
Horizons_ (http://www.strangerhorizons.com). Wade writes: "This is my
first pro sale, and my second sale total since joining the OWW last
April (which, incidentally, is also about the time I started writing
seriously). Thanks to critters Mike Farrell, Adrian Firth, Diana Cacy
Hawkins, Kevin Miller, John Nolan, Chris Peterson, M. Thomas, Sherry
Thompson (and also Marsha Sisolak who gave me the thumbs up for it
offline) for their helpful input and suggestions. And thanks to the
OWW in general for creating a great place for writers to learn the
craft." You're welcome. :-)
| - - WORKSHOP STATISTICS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
Number of members as of 5/20: 637 paying, 137 trial
Number of submissions currently online: 716
Percent of submissions with 3 or more reviews: 81.3%
Percent of submissions with zero reviews: 2.2%
Number of submissions in April: 657
Number of reviews in April: 3909
Ratio of reviews/submissions in April: 5.95
Estimated average word count per review in April: 540.6
Number of submissions in May to date: 328
Number of reviews in May to date: 1524
Ratio of reviews/submissions in May to date: 4.65
Estimated average word count per review in May to date: 565.6
| - - FEEDBACK - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
TIPS APPRECIATED
Got a helpful tip for your fellow members? A trick or hint for
submitting or reviewing, for what to put in your author's comments,
for getting good reviews, or for formatting or titling your
submission? Share it with us and we'll publish it in the next
newsletter. Just send it to support@sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com and
we'll do the rest.
Until next month -- Just write!
The Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror
http://sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com
support@sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com
| - - Copyright 2003 Online Writing Workshops, LLC - - - - - - - - -|
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