O | The Online Writing Workshop for SF, F & H Newsletter, April 2007
W | http://sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com
W | Become a better writer!
| - - CONTENTS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
This month's newsletter includes an update to the Locus sales
spreadsheet for those of you hunting for agents and publishers, plus
the usual burgeoning report of sales and publications, and, under
Tips, links to a series of essays on craft written by Joshua
Palmatier, one of OWW's successful grads. If that's not helpful
enough, the OWW Resident Editors offer some very good advice with this
month's Editors' Choice reviews. Enjoy!
- Workshop News:
April crit marathon
May writing challenge
Locus spreadsheet updated
Contest news
Membership payment information
- Editors' Choices for March 2007 submissions
- Reviewer Honor Roll
- Publication Announcements
- Workshop Statistics
- Tips & Feedback
| - - WORKSHOP NEWS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
APRIL CRIT MARATHON
For the past six years, every April, as sure as taxes in the States,
OWW members have declared a crit marathon. It's a chance for writers
to hone their analytical skills by focusing on specific areas of
craft, an opportunity to return all the reviews promised
crit-for-crat, and a reason to pay forward by reviewing under-reviewed
submissions. Most marathoners try to commit to doing a review a day
for the three weeks of the marathon.
This year's organizer is Walt Williams, who, in addition to his
tallying and reporting duties, is doubling up and marathoning as well.
The participants are: Alex Binkley, Alisa Goode, Bonnie Freeman,
Brenta Blevins, Carol Bartholomew, cathy freeze, Charles Coleman
Finlay, Corey Estoll, D. Melissa Bowden, David Haseman, David Reagan,
Deb Atwood, Elizabeth Hull, Heidi Kneale, Kishma Danielle, Raven
Matthews, Rochita Loenen-Ruiz, Rhonda Garcia, Ruv Draba, Shad
Fagerland, Sierra Black, Stelios Touchtidis, Susan Elizabeth Curnow,
and Walter Williams. They're in alphabetical order by first name
because, when you do that many reviews, you all end up on a first name
basis. Under-reviewed subs have been at or near zero for about half
the month already. If you have a chance, say thanks to these folks,
and maybe even give them a review.
MAY WRITING CHALLENGE
Every one of the characters in a story is a distinct person and should
have his or her own voice. Too often in stories, all the characters
become reflections of some facet of the author and begin to sound the
same. In real life, and in really good fiction, we can distinguish
people just by their words -- people can be voluble or laconic, calm
or spazzy, obsessed with one idea or scattered across a dozen fields
of unreliable semi-expertise. We're not talking about superficial
verbal ticks or exaggerated dialects, but about the things that make
the characters truly individual: good dialogue shows the way the brain
works, it reveals secrets, and it points like a compass unerringly
toward the pole of that character's personal world, the axis on which
all their decisions turn.
So the May challenge is a dialogue challenge. Write a scene or part
of a larger chapter in which two people have an extended conversation
with no dialogue tags, but make their voices -- their interest, their
phrasing, their trains of thought, their habits of expression --
unique enough that we can tell exactly who is who.
Bonus points if you can do the same thing with three or more characters.
No one will look funny at you if use some tags, but don't let them
become crutches that carry along indistinct characters.
Stretch yourself and don't be afraid to fail -- it's better to fail
spectacularly and learn something useful than to play it safe and
never grow. Please don't post your challenge pieces to the
workshop until May first. Include "May Dialogue Challenge" in your
title so you can show off how fancy you are to all your friends.
For more details on the challenges, check the OWW Writer Space at:
http://sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com/tiki/tiki-index.php?page=Challenges
LOCUS SPREADSHEET UPDATED
Melinda Goodin has updated her Locus novel sales spreadsheet so that
it now covers the period from July 2004 to February 2007. It's
available from her new website, Crossing the Threshold, at
http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/~mgoodin68/locus.htm
Please note the new URL and change any old bookmarks. This collation
of Locus sales announcements is intended to help novelists track who
sold what to whom, via which agent. The data is available in PDF and
Excel, with links to free viewers for both formats. The Excel version
is the most versatile, if you have the full software.
CONTEST NEWS
Mary P. Hansell, the new Screenplay and Teleplay Competition Director
for the Austin Film Festival, wrote to remind us of the 2007
Screenplay and Teleplay Competition. This year, writers have the
opportunity to have their scripts considered for the Latitude
Productions Award (www.latitudeproductions.com) and Sci-Fi Award.
Latitude Productions is looking for adult character driven narrative
features with a possible production budget less than 10 million
dollars. Sci-Fi includes fantasy, horror, science fiction, surrealism,
myth/legend and fantastical storytelling. To be considered for either
Latitude Productions or Sci-Fi awards you must have your screenplay
entered in either the Adult/Family or Comedy Category. The 14th
Annual Austin Film Festival is planned to be held October 10-18, 2007.
For more information, including registration deadlines and fees,
please visit their website at www.austinfilmfestival.com, or call Mary
at 1-800-310-3378.
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| - - 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 -- science
fiction chapters, fantasy chapters, horror, and short stories --
receive a detailed review, meant to be educational for others as well
as the author.
This month's reviews are written by our Resident Editors, Jeanne
Cavelos, Susan Marie Groppi John Klima, and Karin Lowachee. 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."
Congratulations to the current Editors' Choice authors!
Editor's Choice, February, Fantasy Chapter/Partial Chapter:
GLAMOUR, CHAPTER 7 by Kelly Jones
I made an effort this month to pick something that was not a prologue
or a first chapter, so that I could talk about changes and fixes once
the writer is full-on in the novel. A strong middle chapter made
the choice an easy one.
One of the things I liked most about Chapter 7 from Kelly Jones'
fantasy novel GLAMOUR was the relationship between Annis and her aunt
Cassia. There's obviously some history between the two; Cassia is
initially dismissive of her niece's wishes and wants to keep them in
more traditional (i.e., safe) women's roles. But, as the chapter
progresses, and Annis shows her aunt that she can sew glamours,
Cassia's attitude begins to shift. It's a subtle thing, but very
powerful through the subtlety. Annis cannot succeed by sewing
glamours -- essentially creating new dresses out of only a few
stitches -- without her Aunt's help. The change felt like the type of
thing that would happen in the real world, which is important for the
style and tone of the story.
Something that I found distracting was adverbial 'said' phrases. Many
of the characters 'said quietly' or 'said decidedly' or 'said stiffly'
or something along those lines. Having gone back into the chapter,
this happens less frequently than I felt it did, but there are some
sections where the characters trade these adverbial phrases back and
forth. If there were enough for it to stick out in my mind, there are
too many. I know it can get boring to keep saying 'said' all the time
and the desire to jazz things up can be overwhelming, but writers
should make the effort to avoid using too many words other than 'said'
when people are talking and to avoid modifying 'said' in their
sentences. Rather than 'said softly' the writer could use 'said, her
voice barely above a whisper.'
Along those lines, there is a lot of dialogue in this chapter. Almost
too much. The chapter starts with mostly description, but after a few
paragraphs it is almost non-stop talking. It can be hard on the
reader to read so much dialogue. Jones would do better to even out
the distribution of dialogue versus exposition. Are the characters
merely sitting in chairs staring at each other, or are they looking
around the room? Can they hear noises from the patissiere? Does the
young man whom they spoke to upon entering the shop stick his head in
to interrupt? (And what happens to this young man? It would be
perfect in a Regency style novel for him to be listening on the other
side of the door, which would only wreak havoc later when he could
reveal their secrets at the worst possible momentÉ.)
Speaking of secrets, I like that this chapter unveils a secret that
opens up the world of Annis and Cassia. The book revolves around
secrets. Everything that Annis and Cassia do includes a secret: from
using glamours to their financial state. And now they are given an
even bigger secret that will allow them to make use of Annis' magic.
Novels about magic -- or those who have magic in them -- are prone to
use secrets and trickery as plot points. Nothing wrong with that, it
works well. However in this case, I felt that Miss Spencer's
revealing of the secret came too quickly. There was little set up to
her explaining that she led a double life, and to me little reason for
her to offer that information up. Perhaps Jones should implant some
information into the paragraphs leading up to the reveal with
something that would lead Miss Spencer to trust in these two unknown
women.
This may be a fault of my not having read previous chapters; the
phrase "Mrs. Fosselwight asked us to tell you that Mrs. Delaney sends
her regards" may have been set up earlier in the story as a sort of
pass phrase into Miss Spencer's secret world. The phrase certainly
provokes a reaction from Miss Spencer, who goes through many emotions
upon hearing it. It seems that it's only Mrs. Fosselweight's name
that helps Miss Spencer determine for what the two women are in her
shop, but this feels flimsy to me. I would like to see something
more, whether it comes in the form of Mrs. Fosselweight's earlier
appearance, or perhaps making an actual pass phrase that would give
Annis and Cassia access into Miss Spencer's trust.
I have not seen the set up of glamours, and do not know what people
think of them. Are they something many people can do? This seems
unlikely since Annis' talent is something that will help her. If
everyone could sew glamours, they wouldn't need to go to someone else
for it. Are glamours known and accepted in society? From the context
of this chapter, this would seem to be the case. However, I also feel
that Annis is not going to advertise that she makes gowns via
glamours, so it would then seem that it's not entirely acceptable to
be able to use glamours. Also, if it's something that only a few
people can do, then it becomes something people desire or fear.
Neither of which is necessarily a pleasant thing for Annis to have to
deal with. Does Miss Spencer use glamours in her business? Perhaps
this could be the thing that allows her to trust Annis and Cassia; it
could even be that they -- Annis and Miss Spencer -- feel a connection
, a camaraderie , without knowing why, and that allows them to be more
comfortable with each other.
In my opinion, glamours should be special, otherwise it shouldn't
matter that Annis can use them. I think that they need to be secret,
or again, it doesn't matter that Annis can use them. So, I think the
nonchalance in which the three characters throw the matter of glamours
around doesn't ring true. There needs to be some reaction on the part
of Miss Spencer (whether it be shock, greed, fear, etc.), particularly
if she doesn't use glamours. Also, if glamours are as secretive as I
glean from textual evidence, then Cassia should not be so ready to
throw the fact that her niece can use them into the conversation. Of
the three women, only Annis -- the one the reader knows can use
glamours -- seems reluctant to talk about them. Jones needs to be
careful how she uses her magic, and make it fit within her story.
This chapter was strong and engaging. I wish you good luck as you
revise it and press on with the rest of your book.
--John Klima
Editor of _Electric Velocipede_ and the forthcoming LOGORRHEA
http://www.electricvelocipede.com
Editor's Choice, February, SF Chapter/Partial Chapter:
BEST FRIENDS, CHAPTER 1 by Elizabeth Coley
This month's choice is a young adult novel, and while I don't write YA
specifically, science fiction YA was part of my staple diet growing up
(Monica Hughes and Douglas Hill, to name a couple), many of my readers
are teenagers, and the strategies and tactics of good novel writing
extend across the board, whether you write for teens or adults. Kids
today are pretty savvy so YA is never about dumbing things down for
the audience. This chapter was chosen for a few reasons, one of them
being the fact the author does not simplify the story or characters in
order to appeal to a younger audience.
The chapter begins with the use of second person, a direct question to
the reader. Normally this style doesn't go down well; but here it
establishes the voice of the character, Torrance, very early on and is
in keeping with her personality throughout the chapter. The main
problem with beginning this way is we are not sure what gender the
narrator is, or eveb her age. Going a few paragraphs without knowing
that creates a certain blindness to the narrative. Of course this
isn't an issue when one has bookcovers and back blurbs, but for an
editor who comes to the story cold there is some confusion at the
beginning.
Other points of confusion that could be resolved earlier is the exact
date. This is a very near future SF story and for most of the chapter
reads exactly like a contemporary one. Because we don't know the age
of the character and there aren't any real indicators that this takes
place at a different time until we're told she was born in the year of
9/11, the setting canvas is pretty blank. The internal conversation
and world-talk is well done -- Torrance is a bright and engaging
character -- but because so much of it is dumped in the beginning, we
aren't as well established in the immediate world (as opposed to the
issues of the world) as we could be. You want to ground the reader --
especially YA readers who might not have the patience to wait to
figure things out on the author's timeline as adult readers might --
as soon as possible in the age, gender, immediate setting, and
immediate "problem" of the book. The "color" of the world can be
threaded throughout but not replace these initial details.
Because Tor is so engaging and articulate, even if she is extremely
precocious, I found the voice to be far older than a middle schooler.
There was a dissonance between what the author was telling me (her age
and experience) and what I was feeling as I read the chapter. She
easily sounded like a very aware 15- or 16-year-old, even in the way
she interacted with Erich. Granted, pre-teens and early teenagers are
sounding "older" all the time, but I didn't really understand why she
needed to be as young as she was when she could just as easily be 16
and still be young enough to get the point across. A 16-year-old
narrator would still appeal to a 10- or 11-year-old reader, as kids
tend to read above their age anyway. But would a 15- or 16-year-old
reader want to read about a middle schooler? There can be vast
differences between a 13-year-old mentality and a 16-year-old one, as
it pertains to her voice.
The wonderful qualities of the story pulled me along regardless of any
dissonance. The family rang true, if a little too ideal, but families
like this do exist so why not? Tor's wit throughout was engaging
without being obnoxious. She is able to get across the basic politics
and issues of her day without becoming tedious. It's difficult to
balance precocious and smart against obnoxious and know-it-all, but
she falls successfully on the former. The contrasts to her personality
rang true: she's a tomboy but not immune to a hot guy, she's not
really into the "fashionable" gaggle of girls but she has a best
friend. Her ballet was a curious interest, since she is so tall
(especially for her age), and most female ballet dancers tend to be
petite. On a nitty-gritty scale, the use of "scat" as an expletive
didn't work for me, since it's an established word already used mostly
to shoo something away, and the book title is a little too bland for
the personality of the story. Titles, however, can easily be inspired
once the book is complete.
Erich's set up at the end of the chapter was pretty flawless and it
confirmed that it wasn't the last we'd see of him. Tying it into the
initial "problem" of the dog disease was seamless, so all of the basic
expectations of who, what, where and why are so far met but not
explained, giving a sense of suspense for the upcoming chapters. The
author has an intriguing story established early, an interesting and
fun narrator, and a sure hand with the voice. Just try not to be too
excessive in all of these areas and the book will read and balance
very well.
--Karin Lowachee
Author of BURNDIVE and CAGEBIRD
http://www.karinlowachee.com
Editor's Choice, February, Short Story:
"Waters Deep" by Ann Leckie
This story, set in an engaging and richly-realized fantasy world,
succeeds largely based on the author's ability to integrate genuinely
lovely writing with an irreverent (and delightfully commonsensical)
attitude.
The precision in language is particularly striking -- throughout the
story, Leckie employs very tightly crafted phrases that manage to be
evocative without drowning the reader in descriptive language. Little
Skink's "tiny rage", the description of the passage upriver on the
Nalendar, the stone fish-goddess, all of these are examples of the
clear and sharp use of language to sketch a large picture with a small
number of strokes. Not only that, but the dialogue feels comfortable
and natural throughout the story. The way the captain and crew of the
Reasonable Expectations tell the story of the king of Gnarr is
skillfully handled -- the dialogue has exactly the mix of
conversational tone and story-telling voice that one would expect to
find from a group of normal people relating a well-known epic tale.
Beautiful language isn't the only thing this story has going for it,
though. The plot is engaging and the characters (Little Skink in
particular) are appealing. I was particularly fond of the way Ann
Leckie portrayed the gods in this world, as beings with extraordinary
potential but still bound by certain limitations of size, power, and
contractual obligation. The religious system that underpins this story
is both whimsical and common-sense. The image that the story opens
with, of the smaller gods swarming the docks looking for patrons or
supplicants, is very effective in setting this tone. In fact, that
mixture of charm and level-headedness characterizes the
piece as a whole, making it a delight to read. Stories that deal (as
this one does) with everyday people being caught up in the current of
extraordinary events have a difficult line to walk, between the
ordinary and the epic, and this story strikes that balance
beautifully.
To the extent that I have any real concerns about this story, they all
center on Rilhat Imk. His presence and his actions drive a lot of the
plot in this story, but I never really developed a sense of him as a
character, and his appearance midway through the story wasn't just a
surprise, it felt like a discontinuity. On re-reading the story, I
noticed Rilhat Imk's appearance in the opening dockside scene, but on
my first reading of the story I missed his significance entirely, and
as a result I didn't really remember that first glimpse of him. Umri's
discussion of him with Little Skink later in the story seemed to be
less about Imk and more about Umri -- the way Umri describes the
situation is enormously revealing of her character (and, I should
mention, a very graceful way of inserting information about her
background and personality into the story) but still fails to really
convey any sense of Imk or even why he's particularly menacing.
Imk's pursuit of Umri is certainly aggressive and clumsy, but in her
description it almost comes across as more awkward than threatening.
This may be one place where the understated nature of the narrative,
which generally works to the story's benefit, instead works against
it. By the time we have more extended interactions with Imk, it
becomes clear what kind of a person he is, but I would have liked to
have had a stronger sense of that earlier on -- perhaps even as early
as the dockside sighting of him, or when Umri questions Little Skink
about him during their first encounter.
Overall, though, this was a well-constructed and interesting story,
and a delight to read.
--Susan Marie Groppi
Editor of _Strange Horizons_ and co-editor of TWENTY EPICS
http://www.strangehorizons.com/
Editor's Choice, February, Horror:
"Ellabelle" by Cory Calo
In this short piece, the first-person narrator tells of her stepsister
Ellabelle, who chews on her family members until they die. The story
has an interesting tone, at times serious, at times cheerful in sick,
creepy way. I enjoyed that. The story also does some interesting
things with rhythm, providing passages with a sing-song feeling that
add to the sick tone. At its base, this story feels like a fairy tale,
but these elements of tone and rhythm make it feel fresh and
different.
Because style is so important to the success of this story, many of my
comments are on style.
* I enjoy your use of rhythm, but sometimes your specific choices
don't work well. For example, at the beginning of the story, you
write,
Ellabelle, oh Ellabelle, what have you done?
Ellabelle, oh Ellabelle, locked us away where we can no longer see the
sun.
The first line works very well as a line of a sing-song rhyme. The
second line creates an awkward rhythm. It would read much better this
way:
Ellabelle, oh Ellabelle, locked us away where we can't see the sun.
In this version, the last phrase in the sentence has a consistent
anapestic meter.
Similarly, at the end of the story you write,
Ellabelle, oh Ellabelle, you took him as well.
Ellabelle, oh Ellabelle, my sweet stepsister, straight from hell.
The first line again works well, but the second line doesn't. You
could rewrite it like this:
Ellabelle, oh Ellabelle, stepsister from hell.
If you're unfamiliar with different types of meters, or with how to
judge where stresses fall in a sentence, reading up on this could be
very helpful to incorporating rhymes and distinctive rhythms into your
story.
* You have a few grammatical errors. On the first page,
Drooling foolishly and rambling, he still loved her without a doubt.
The opening phrase is a dangling modifier, because it refers to
Ellabelle, and Ellabelle is not named in the sentence. As is, the
sentence is saying that he is drooling foolishly and rambling. You
need to put Ellabelle (or she) into the sentence. For example,
Although she drooled foolishly and rambled, he loved her without a doubt.
* The story shifts tense several times.
* Action described in a participial phrase takes place simultaneously
with the action described by the main verb of the sentence. You write,
Sweeping her up in his arms, he ran, taking our special Ellabelle with him.
The first phrase and the last phrase in the sentence are participial
phrases. This means that the sweeping, the running, and the taking all
occur simultaneously. This is impossible. He has to sweep her up
before he can run. The running and taking can occur simultaneously;
that's not a problem. So you could rewrite it like this:
He swept her up in his arms and ran, taking our special Ellabelle away.
A few comments on other issues.
* The dance was quite confusing, with its location undefined and unexplained.
* A couple of plot points also need to be better defined. You have the
mother defending Ellabelle twice, saying she's special and needs the
family's help. You really need the mother to say/do something a third
time. There's a principle called "The Rule of Threes," which points
out that plot elements are often most successful when they appear
three times in a story: once near the beginning, once in the middle,
and once at the end. This works surprisingly well. It makes the story
feel "right." As it is with the mother, you have the first two parts,
but not the third. We need to hear the mother's reaction once
Ellabelle has put the family in the dungeon and is eating their limbs
off. Is she still defending Ellabelle, or has her dialogue changed at
this point?
You have a similar problem with the interaction between Ellabelle and
the narrator. Ellabelle says she's much uglier than the narrator at
the beginning. In the middle, Ellabelle says she's much prettier than
the narrator. At the end, the narrator thinks that Ellabelle was
always prettier. So you bring up the element three times, but the
third time is anticlimactic. I think this realization would work
better if, in the middle, Ellabelle had repeated that she's ugly. As
it is, the third part just repeats what we learned in the second part
and isn't really satisfying.
I hope these comments are helpful.
--Jeanne Cavelos
Editor of THE MANY FACES OF VAN HELSING and author of INVOKING DARKNESS
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, 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 April nominations beginning May 1.
Meanwhile, here are two advance highlights from this month:
Reviewer: Ruv Draba
Submission: Ashes Chapter 9 - What is Remembered by Treize Aramistedian
Submitted by: Treize Aramistedian
Nominator's Comments: This is for Chapters 6b and 9 collectively, but
reviews like these make me thank the stars for the Crit Marathon; I
don't they would have happened otherwise. Ruv, in jumping in the way
he did with extremely limited background in regards to the characters
and plot, pointed out things that had completely slipped past me and,
also, got me thinking from a perspective I had not yet considered. In
essence, he reminded me of all the 'other' things I should be thinking
about, instead of just focusing on the ones I had done well. And in
incredible detail, too! So, thank you, Ruv.
Reviewer: Bonnie Freeman (VC)
Submission: The Riss-human Gamble: Prologue by Clem Daems
Submitted by: Clem Daems
Nominator's Comments: Bonnie convinced me that the information in the
Prologue should be expanded (character developed) and introduced after
Chapter one (which she also read). In addition, she was conscientious
and conducted a line-by-line review which was very helpful for a
non-English major.
Reviewers nominated to the honor roll during March include: Reviewer:
James Baron, Ruth Burroughs, Susan Elizabeth Curnow, Ruv Draba (2),
Free Falconer, Charles Coleman Finlay, Bonnie Freeman (VC), Lizane
Pamer, Mark Reeder, and Sylvia Volk. We congratulate them all for
their excellent reviews. All nominations received in March can be
still found through April 30 at:
http://sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com/honorroll.shtml
| - - PUBLICATION ANNOUNCEMENTS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
We can't announce them if you don't let us know! So drop Charlie a
line at support@sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com whenever you have good
news to share.
OWW Member Sales and Publications:
Tom Barlow, part of the famous OWW Clarion class of '05, saw his story
"Call Me Mr. Positive" appear in _Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic
Medicine Show_, Issue #4, February 2007.
Elizabeth Bear reports that _Realms of Fantasy_ is buying her
obligatory nontraditional-format Rock-And-Roll Elf story, "Hobnoblin
Blues." Internationally, her story "Sounding" was shortlisted for a
British Science Fiction Association Award, while Hiyakawa purchased
Japanese translation rights for her debut trilogy, HAMMERED,
SCARDOWN, and WORLDWIRED.
Leah Bobet's story "After the War" appears in the latest issue of
_Sybil's Garage_ (http://www.sensesfive.com).
Siobhan Carroll sold "The White Isle" to _Realms of Fantasy_.
Alliette de Bodard sold her short story "Within the City of the Swan"
to _Shimmer_ for their Art issue (short stories inspired by a piece of
art). Among the critters she thanked on her livejournal were Mary
Robinette, Marshall Payne, and all the OWWers who took a look at it.
Somehow we think we overlooked the fact that Amanda Downum's story
"The Salvation Game" will be appearing the BEST OF FANTASY MAGAZINE
anthology coming out early this summer. Whoops. Glad we fixed that,
because if you missed it the first time, now you've got another chance
to see it.
Mark Fewell's story "Those Who Came To Learn And Die" was published in
the Spring 2007 issue of _NonEuclidean Cafe_
(http://www.noneuclideancafe.com/issues/vol2_issue3_Spring2007/fewell.htm).
Charles Coleman Finlay's science fiction bodymod crime noir short
story "An Eye for an Eye," about a man who has an eyeball
transplanted to his rear, appears in the June issue of _F&SF_.
Nancy Fulda's story "Pastry Run" appeared in _Baen's Universe_ #4.
Merrie Haskell's story "One Million Years B.F.E.: Diary of an
Anthropologist in Exile" appears in _The Town Drunk_.
Sandra McDonald sold "The Fireman's Fairy" to _Realms of Fantasy_, her
fourth sale to that magazine. In addition, her first novel, THE
OUTBACK STARS, was released into the wild by Tor this month.
Karen Miller's novel THE INNOCENT MAGE was the #1 bestselling SFF
title in the United Kingdom during early April.
Ruth Nestvold and frequent co-author Jay Lake saw their story
"Incipit" appear in TEXT:UR - THE NEW BOOK OF MASKS, edited by Forrest
Aguirre. Their story "The Big Ice" appeared in _Baen's Universe_ #4.
Sarah Prineas sold a reprint of her short story "The Fates Take a
Holiday" to the ANDROMEDA SPACEWAYS INFLIGHT MAGAZINE BEST OF FANTASY
anthology. Oh, and we should also mention that HarperCollins sold
French language rights to Sarah's novel MAGIC THIEF and two sequels,
at auction, to Gallimard, and Finnish language rights to Tammi.
Benjamin Rosenbaum published two stories in 2006. Ho hum, right? Oh,
wait, "The House Beyond Your Sky," which some of you will remember
from the workshop as well as its appearance at _Strange Horizons_
(http://www.strangehorizons.com/2006/20060904/house-f.shtml), will be
included in Dozois's YEAR'S BEST SCIENCE FICTION, VOL. 24. And in
Horton's SCIENCE FICTION: THE BEST OF THE YEAR, 2007. And in
Strahan's THE BEST SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY OF THE YEAR, VOL. 1.
Should we even mention that it was also shortlisted for a British
Science Fiction Association Award? (You can see the whole list at
http://www.bsfa.co.uk/index.cfm/section.shortlist2006) His other
story was "A Siege of Cranes," published in TWENTY EPICS, edited by
Moles and Groppi. It's being reprinted in Datlow, Link, and Grant's
YEAR'S BEST FANTASY & HORROR, VOL. 20. And in Horton's BEST FANTASY
OF THE YEAR, 2007. AND also in Strahan's THE BEST SCIENCE FICTION AND
FANTASY OF THE YEAR, VOL. 1. Even Ben is pleasantly stunned.
Sonya M. Sipes sold her flash piece "Sitting Fee" to _AlienSkin_
(http://www.alienskinmag.com) for their June/July 2007 issue.
Rachel Swirsky saw her poem "Disparate Parts" in the latest issue of
_Sybil's Garage_ (http://www.sensesfive.com). She also has a silly
flash piece appearing in _Spacesuits and Sixguns_, with her story "How
the World Became Quiet: A Post-Human Creation Myth" forthcoming in
_Electric Velocipede_ (http://www.electricvelocipede.com) and her poem
"Inside Her Heart" forthcoming in _Ideomancer_
(http://www.ideomancer.com/main/ideoMain.htm)
Mikal Trimm (OWW member 2001 - 2004) had three stories appear recently
in _The Town Drunk_ (http://www.thetowndrunk.org): "Cable and the
Possible God," "Cable and the Sword of Destiny," and "Cable and the
High Seas."
Jaime Voss, aka Jaime Lee Moyer, saw her poem "Farewell" in the latest
issue of _Sybil's Garage_ (http://www.sensesfive.com).
Wade White's story "The Assassin's Gentleman" sold to _Andromeda
Spaceways Inflight Magazine_ (http://www.andromedaspaceways.com). He
thanks "Annita B, Travis Blair, Eric Bresin, Rae Carson, Michael
Keyton, M. Thomas, Ruth Williams, and Eli Zaren, none of whom may
actually remember ever commenting on it since it was so long ago
(like, two years or something; the story spent a year on the shelf,
which just goes to show you shouldn't leave stories sitting on the
shelf for a year, I guess." He was also the writer for a short film
that screened in Toronto at Bloor Cinema as part of the Toronto Film
Challenge Festival.
| - - WORKSHOP STATISTICS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
Number of members as of 4/19: 566 paying, 44 trial
Number of submissions currently online: 412
Percent of submissions with 3 or more reviews: 82.28 %
Percent of submissions with zero reviews: 3.40 %
Average reviews per submission (all submissions): 5.08
Estimated average review word count (all submissions): 633.17
Number of submissions in March: 246
Number of reviews in March: 1005
Ratio of reviews/submissions in March: 4.09
Estimated average word count per review in March: 699.32
Number of submissions in April to date: 213
Number of reviews in April to date: 966
Ratio of reviews/submissions in April to date: 4.54
Estimated average word count per review in April to date: 640.74
Total number of under-reviewed submissions: 1 (less than 1%)
Number over 3 days old with 0 reviews: 0
Number over 1 week old with under 2 reviews: 1
Number over 2 weeks old with under 3 reviews: 0
| - - FEEDBACK - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
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.
This month's writing tip comes from Joshua Palmatier, long-time OWW
member and author of THE SKEWED THRONE and THE CRACKED THRONE, both
published by DAW books. Joshua recently blogged a series of essays on
craft.
His point of view on point-of-view
Setting: how did we get here?
On character
How to write a synopsis
You might want to check one or all of them out. Until next month -- just write!
The Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror
http://sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com
support@sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com
| - - Copyright 2007 Online Writing Workshops - - - - - - - - - - - |
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