Time for Ceramic DM? (judge-free commentary thread NO JUDGES ALLOWED AS OF NOW :) )

[Macbeth]

Ack! My mind is blown right now. I have posts for our game to write up, I have two posts for my game I want to write up. I have game prep for tomorrow to worry about. Overload!

Tell you what, I will try to take some time to look back over your stories and worst case scenario, I'll tell you what I think tomorrow night at gaming.

Don't worry about it, I know everybogy is busy, I just wanted some thoughts other then my own.

 

[BSF]

Actually, I am kind of thinking that maybe I ought to look at your stories from the Fall 2003 tourney. It seemed like there was something there to work with for a serialized story.

 

[orchid blossom]

Oooh, I'm feeling VERY familiar with that phase. If I were judging me right now, I'm not so certain I'd pick me. I'd probably not, for that matter. *nervous nervous* I -know- I can usually write better than what I've got there.

I was looking through my entry today and saw all sorts of things I'd like to make adjustments to. It always goes that way. You know, it's not that it's so hard to write the thing in 72 hours, it's that there's no time to let it sit so you can come back and edit a couple days later.

 

[Zhaneel]

MacBeth,

I recently went through something like this when I looked at the last round for a story to workshop. I ended up choosing Vritra's Return for the following reasons:

1. Hardest one to write.
2. Went over the best with most people who read all three.
3. Most unique [how many Indian based mythology fantasy story have you read recently].
4. Most room for improvement [in my opinion]

As for your stuff, I don't have it very well on my brain, but I would say go with your gut. If you really like Art Memoir [and it isn't just the most recent and therefore most on the brain] go for it. That would be hard to break up. How many words does your newspaper want to run in a single go? That would help you know how to shorten/lengthen it up for multiple episodes.

As for the publicaton thing: It is a matter of rights. If the newspaper buys First North American Rights, you shouldn't give it to the PDF. If they buy other rights, you'll have to look into it.

Zhaneel

 

[Noskov]

Hot Damn!

Not that this is important, but it's just blowing me away how much you guys know about publishing and stuff.

Zhaneel,

When I said I hope I did you justice, I meant because it looks as though you are a writer and/or editor. Unfortunately, I don't have enough time right now to read everyone else's older stories, so I really don't know how good they are. I was just judging from everyone else's reaction to you and what you said about your work. Heck, I barely had enough time to fill in for you. Of the 72 hours I had, I only spent about 4 on the final story that made it (I had spent 4 on another story that was scrapped.) I just didn't want to drop out because I was a fill in myself and because I wanted to at least give it a try.

I noticed that more people here seem to be writers or have some published work. I feel totally out of my league in this contest...I didn't even do well in high school english!

Anyway, just an observation.

 

[Noskov]

....I feel totally out of my league in this contest...I didn't even do well in high school english!....

Not that I'm just going to roll over or give up either!

 

[Macbeth]

I noticed that more people here seem to be writers or have some published work. I feel totally out of my league in this contest...I didn't even do well in high school english!

Ha! Being published in my school papaer is no big deal. I'm not doing it so much becuase I want to get my work out there (which I do), I'm doing it because they pay $25-$50 per article, and I can churn out decent stuff on a regular basis. I wouldn't be intimidated by anybody here. Sure, there are some really good writers, like PCat, BardStephenFox, Orchid Blossom, Zhaneel, Arwink, and our judges Barsoomcore, Mythago, and alsih2o, but it's not worth being intimidated.

 

[Zhaneel]

For the record: I have not been published.

I have been studying the publishing industry of SF/F for about 7 years (since 1998 or my first year in college). I have 12 rejections from pro & semi-pro magazines for my short fiction. So, I'm working on being published, but I'm not yet.

Noskov, I haven't had a chance to read over your story, but I'm sure you did a wonderful job. 4 hours is more than I had to spare, so I'm glad you were able to get it in there.

MacBeth: Stop making me blush. ;-) I think PCat, Mythago [and I'll note she did] & BSF (& Sialia!) can all outwrite me any day. I only read the one kick-butt story from OrchidBlossom and I haven't seen Arwink's stuff.

Zhaneel

 

[BSF]

Wow, I appreciate the company you guys keep trying to put me in. I'm not sure I deserve to be there, but it is very generous of you. I need more practice.

Noskov, I found my first entry in Ceramic DM to be very difficult. It took a while to get it written and at one point I almost dropped out. I wanted something good to post up against Sialia and I just felt I wasn't there. In the end though, I felt that I had to push myself and post something up there or I would never have the courage to try again. I owed it to my competitor (Sialia), to the judges, and to everyone else that might want to read a story. It was nice to bear down and hang in there. In the end, I was happy with the story. I lost, but that is part of the learning experience. So, I applaud your desire to "at least give it a try". Whether you win or lose, you will learn something and you can join in the fun with the next competition.

Now, all that being said, I don't want anyone to think I am taking a swipe at Zhaneel, or even Arwink. Dropping because you can't commit the time is completely different than being a coward. That first time for me, it almost seemed too hard to write the story. It would be easy to go back to just reading a book, or surfing the net, or even just watching TV. Writing the stories is tough, but it is also fun. If you are reading this (still) and you think you might want to try the Ceramic DM, I fully encourage you to give it a shot!

 

[arwink]

1. Are any of my entries from this Ceramic DM or the Spring 2004 tourny publishable?

Yes.

I vaguely remember making comments to that affect while judging.

4. If I submitted something, how would I go about changing it/making it better?

My suggestion would be to start with the older stories, and take the time to re-read them again now that you've had the time away from them. Read the judges suggestions again, then re-write and edit without the time limit. Give it a day or so while you work on something else, then repeat.

Once you've got that done, look for comments again.

5. Since it would likely be serialized, how would I break it up into more episodic parts?

It would depend on the story, and how long you'd like the serial to run. Serials are trickier than short stories in a lot of ways, because you need to maintain the tension and keep the reader interested from week to week. To look at the most basic elements. I'd suggest looking at Dickens and paying particular attention to the way he's putting together stories - the reason his novels are so long and unweildy is because they were originally serialized. Or watch an episode of a soap opera and ask yourself how they try to maintain tension between scenes.

I understand that everybody probably has better things to do then help me out, but any feedback would be very much appreciated.

PM me if you want my e-mail - I'm happy to give things a read through and make some comments once you've picked the story you want to submit.