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gettingby

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Up all night working on stories. Just submitted two new ones. I think I should be sleeping. Tomorrow going to try and finish another one. You can never have too many short stories.
 

horrorshowjack

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Third time in six weeks I've gone to submit a story, then discovered the market had closed before their Duotrope listing indicated they were closing.

Hey, at least the word count range on Duotrope was wrong also. So I wouldn't have gotten in anyway.
 

Aggy B.

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Subbed a flash piece last night to Goldfish Grimms. I'm liking the way it turned out, but it might need a little more polish. I guess I'll find out soon enough.

And everything else is crickets. Some of them young (IGMS and Strange Horizons). After a query to Tin House they told me Mother is still with a reader and I might hear something back in a couple weeks. Last story I sent them only made it to 41 days; this one is sitting at 93. I hope that's a good sign. (Been seeing a lot of 77-78 day Rs in the Duotrope feed.)
 

gettingby

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I am slipping a little. I wrote a strong opening, but I am having a hard time writing the rest of the story. I really don't want to miss a week, but man is this a tough one. It will probably be a good story when I finish it, but can I finish it in two days?
 

gettingby

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Finished the story. Love it! Sent it out. But it seems like every week I go through a bit of a panic stage doing W1S1. Does this happen to anyone else? Anyway, I have now sent out 13 submissions.
 

Nathaniel Katz

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I think I mentioned here when I got a rewrite request from BCS. Since, I still haven't heard back. The editor replied to the submission that it was in the stack, so I know they have it. They just... haven't decided yet. When they posted their last slush update, their oldest story was four days older than mine, and I'm pretty sure it's been banished from their consideration since. Which just leaves me, hanging in there still...

If you can't tell, I'm going steadily insane with this thing. Waiting in general, that I can do. But something about being so close and then just nothing is brutal.
 

alexshvartsman

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I know most of us don't like subbing to Pedestal, but in case y'all hadn't noticed they've made major changes to their submissions/publication schedule/guidelines.

I guess that knocks them off my list for good.

Aggy, doesn't do once a year magazine publications

I was already only submitting to them once a year (for the speculative issue) and will continue to do so :)
 

Eva Lefoy

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Well so far I have written (3) stories with tentacles in them, and now feel the need to switch to body armor. Hmmm.

Haven't subbed anything but flash yet. But it's only March!

Besides, I also found a really cool tentacle monster drawing that would make an awesome cover.... (end of the year hedge plans)
 

zanzjan

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Sigh. I'm really struggling, guys. I've got a short story that's absolutely insisting it be written, but it's *really* dark, and it keeps taking turns that I know are exactly where the story needs to go but are very uncomfortable to write. I'm lucky if I get a paragraph or two down a night before I just have to go do something else. Abandoning it doesn't really feel like an option, because I don't think it'll let me go, if that makes any sense.

Meanwhile I've only got two stories currently out and one is waaaaaay past average response time, the other about twice ART, and it's making me much more antsy than usual. Could use some good news, ywim? Especially since I didn't win the lottery this weekend (I know, right?)

Anyhow, just needed to whine a bit among friends.
 

Sai

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Sigh. I'm really struggling, guys. I've got a short story that's absolutely insisting it be written, but it's *really* dark, and it keeps taking turns that I know are exactly where the story needs to go but are very uncomfortable to write. I'm lucky if I get a paragraph or two down a night before I just have to go do something else. Abandoning it doesn't really feel like an option, because I don't think it'll let me go, if that makes any sense.

Meanwhile I've only got two stories currently out and one is waaaaaay past average response time, the other about twice ART, and it's making me much more antsy than usual. Could use some good news, ywim? Especially since I didn't win the lottery this weekend (I know, right?)

Anyhow, just needed to whine a bit among friends.

Whine away! I hope you push through and write more of that dark story. I like dark fiction, but only in a certain vein (more hinted than shown, psychological than visceral). If you want someone to look it over when you're done, PM me.
 

defcon6000

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Oooh, how dark are we talking about? 'Cause I don't think anything can be much darker than Pan's Labyrinth--which I love.

I say write it if you can stomach it.

Anyone else receiving a bunch of rejections today? I've gotten a total of 34 so far. Maybe the editors think it's funny to hand out rejections on April fool's. :e2cry:
 
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zanzjan

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Oooh, how dark are we talking about?

It's a future dystopia about a mining colony run by religious extremists where the vast majority of people are effectively owned by corporations and have very little realistic chances of escape. It's also a culture that's extremely hostile to women, and my MC is, in fact, female. It's fair to say a lot of the news lately keeps making the whole thing seem less and less far-fetched, which may be at least half of what really is difficult about the story, and half why I can't seem to walk away from it.
 

Sai

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It's a future dystopia about a mining colony run by religious extremists where the vast majority of people are effectively owned by corporations and have very little realistic chances of escape. It's also a culture that's extremely hostile to women, and my MC is, in fact, female. It's fair to say a lot of the news lately keeps making the whole thing seem less and less far-fetched, which may be at least half of what really is difficult about the story, and half why I can't seem to walk away from it.

Yeah, lately I've been thinking of setting up some kind of test where people are given two paragraphs and they have to decide which came from a dystopia novel and which came from the current news. It's also made me want to write some not so thinly veiled sci-fi critiques of modern times.

It can be tough to write about subjects that make you uncomfortable, but sometimes that friction is what the story needs. I think that some of the best stuff I've written started out as screams. Not 'what if...?' ideas or images from dreams or a bit of overheard conversation, but just sheer dumbfoundedness at how the world is. Writing a story is how I try to make sense of it.

Though it's also fun just to scream 'AHHHHH!' into a pillow when things get really frustrating ;).

Anyway, good luck with your story!
 

defcon6000

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As the motto goes: "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!" :D

I tend toward satire when I want to poke fun the stupidity of fellow man; it's laughable, but sad at the same time. I've been in a sort of mood to write a dystopia, too. Must be that collective conscious.

And arg, another R, this time from Vestal Review. This isn't funny!
 

O'Dandelo

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I think I've finally gathered the courage to submit to Clarkesworld! I almost did it just now, but I'm going to sleep on it and do it in the morning. Ha! That 0.07% acceptance rate out of 1500 stories is like the Eye of Sauron above the Black Gates of Mordor.
 

goldmund

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Sigh. I'm really struggling, guys. I've got a short story that's absolutely insisting it be written, but it's *really* dark, and it keeps taking turns that I know are exactly where the story needs to go but are very uncomfortable to write. I'm lucky if I get a paragraph or two down a night before I just have to go do something else. Abandoning it doesn't really feel like an option, because I don't think it'll let me go, if that makes any sense.

Try and persist.
Somehow two of my novels have led me into places I really had no intention of visiting and by the ending I felt they were literally killing me.
When I was researching for the most recent one, I stumbled upon a true case which haunts me to this day.
Only today I understand that the most terrible aspects of them were, well, my unconscious talking to me about its greatest problems.
 

Lillie

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Anyone else receiving a bunch of rejections today? I've gotten a total of 34 so far. Maybe the editors think it's funny to hand out rejections on April fool's. :e2cry:

Lol. I read that as 34. I thought you had had the worst R day ever!!!

((((Defcon)))) 4 is bad enough.
 

alexshvartsman

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I think I've finally gathered the courage to submit to Clarkesworld! I almost did it just now, but I'm going to sleep on it and do it in the morning. Ha! That 0.07% acceptance rate out of 1500 stories is like the Eye of Sauron above the Black Gates of Mordor.

"One does not simply submit their fiction into Mordor..."

OK, I couldn't help myself. Got that out of my system now.

:D
 

Sai

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I finished and subbed a horror flash piece today. It feels like it's been awhile since I subbed anything new, so I was happy with how well this one turned out :).
 

O'Dandelo

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Well, I did it. Submitted to Clarkesworld last night, aka knocked on the Black Gates. I've never written anything that would really be a fit for them, but something about this story made me give it a whirl. Not sure why. It's horrorish, set in modern-day, and has no true speculative element. But two little hobbits made it all the way to Mount Doom, so we shall see.

I see they have a setup with their submission system that facilitates nail-biting. Should be fun.