[Slow Ben]

QuickTidal, on 21 January 2016 - 04:43 PM, said:

Last year I submitted to the biggest Short Story contest in my city to try to get into the top 3.

I didn't. Not sure what place I would even have come in within all the entries (would have been nice if I'd known if I was on track or not).

Anyways, not the point. This year before submitting or even penning a piece to submit, I decided to read the entries that won the top three prizes in the previous 5 years.

In doing this I discovered 2 things that are GLARINGLY obvious.

1. MOST of the stories are by authors who have a history/capacity of writing and being already published in some way (screenwriters, people with writing degrees ect.). This makes me think that there is probably NO WAY that I (as yet unpublished in the fiction category) am ever going to rate when thrown up against heavy hitters who do this for a living. Not to say that's unfair (they have as much right to submit as I do), but it's hard to not feel like it's a waste of time submitting.

2. Not ONE of the 15 stories I read are really that good to me. They are alright, but I think most of them hit up either weird value or shock value coupled with weird turns of phrase. It's literally like the most obtuse story ideas, written in that elite literary way that makes it almost obscured behind the text. If that makes sense? Like I'm convinced that if Stephen King or Neil Gaiman wrote a short story for this contest, they'd lose to some nouveau-literature snob who thinks they just shat out gold and it's really just a bunch of pretentious nonsense.

It messes with my groove, because every year I feel like I want to enter, and now after seeing what they usually choose to win...it just makes me wonder who exactly gets enjoyment out of these chosen stories? It also makes me wonder if what I've written just isn't quirky or prose-dense enough to even get close. Makes me feel dejected.

Shenanigans!

[QuickTidal]

Apt, on 21 January 2016 - 04:52 PM, said:

I think I would ask you why you are even doing it?

The way I see it, unless you are trying to win one of these contests as a way to pad your resume and maybe get your writing noticed by a agent/publisher, what is the point of the exercise?

If your answer is for the money, then there's probably better ways to earn money from writing.

If your answer is because I like to write and I like to challenge myself, then really, it doesn't matter who wins or where you place. It only matters that you got something out of it yourself. It's an exercise in creativity and skill.

It seems like this contest is simply a reflection of the general state of literary publishing. It seems like who gets noticed and published is completely random and often times the most deserving or most interesting will never be picked up. Meanwhile the literati will continue to masturbate over what ever artistic, pretentious bullshit is currently fashionable.

Meanwhile I am sitting over here reading Jim Butcher because explosions.

How it is that APT...the guy who has the craziest list of favourite movies ever...is the voice of reason to make me smack myself and go..."You know what? He's right."

I completed a short piece of fiction and that's what I should focus on.

I don't think it was ever about the money or the prize. To me it was about having someone read it and say that it entertained them. You're right, there are other ways to go about that.

Thanks man.

[Andorion]

QuickTidal, on 21 January 2016 - 05:14 PM, said:

Apt, on 21 January 2016 - 04:52 PM, said:

I think I would ask you why you are even doing it?

The way I see it, unless you are trying to win one of these contests as a way to pad your resume and maybe get your writing noticed by a agent/publisher, what is the point of the exercise?

If your answer is for the money, then there's probably better ways to earn money from writing.

If your answer is because I like to write and I like to challenge myself, then really, it doesn't matter who wins or where you place. It only matters that you got something out of it yourself. It's an exercise in creativity and skill.

It seems like this contest is simply a reflection of the general state of literary publishing. It seems like who gets noticed and published is completely random and often times the most deserving or most interesting will never be picked up. Meanwhile the literati will continue to masturbate over what ever artistic, pretentious bullshit is currently fashionable.

Meanwhile I am sitting over here reading Jim Butcher because explosions.

How it is that APT...the guy who has the craziest list of favourite movies ever...is the voice of reason to make me smack myself and go..."You know what? He's right."

I completed a short piece of fiction and that's what I should focus on.

I don't think it was ever about the money or the prize. To me it was about having someone read it and say that it entertained them. You're right, there are other ways to go about that.

Thanks man.

Post it here. Then Apt can critique it

But seriously though I get you grievances. Some of the 'fashionable' stuff nowadays... my favourite short stories are from a collection by Tolstoy. So simple yet so moving. Then there were the older sci-fi ones that came out in anthologies.

I have taken part in a few contests myself, and I have read the winners and my experience comes close to matching yours. Guess thats the mainstream.

[Aptorian]

Andorion, on 21 January 2016 - 05:29 PM, said:

Post it here. Then Apt can critique it

I am sorry but I only review vampire weredolphin romance novels.

[worry]

The way to win is clearly to write a parody of the style so good it's indistinguishable from the real thing.

[Abyss]

Apt, on 21 January 2016 - 10:01 PM, said:

Andorion, on 21 January 2016 - 05:29 PM, said:

Post it here. Then Apt can critique it

I am sorry but I only review vampire weredolphin romance novels.

Oh yeah? I'll post my soon to be selfpub'd trilogy then. I look fwd to your comments and praise.

[Maark Abbott]

Emailed an agent last night as they're accepting queries. Bit nervous and resultingly slept poorly for the excitement. I'm too old for this.

[worry]

Is your book good?

[HoosierDaddy]

Thought I was joking with other people earlier about being stuck in Kentucky. Not so sure now. Rain at 34 degrees = ice very quickly, and there's supposed to be 8-10 inches of snow over that. Really don't like that rain on my hotel window.

[Maark Abbott]

worry, on 22 January 2016 - 04:35 AM, said:

Is your book good?

I would say it's damn good. But then I look at it with the pride of a parent who lives vicariously through their child who had an aptitude for what the parent could never do.

[Andorion]

So I finished the slogging legwork for my paper. Now I need to sit at home, read everything and produce something coherent.

Except I can't. I had the entire day, the house to myself, and I got 0 work done. I don;t know why I procrastinate, it always ends badly, but I always do this. How to get out of this funk?

Also I have a random headache from hell that just turned up in the last hour

[Egwene]

Andorion, on 22 January 2016 - 12:53 PM, said:

So I finished the slogging legwork for my paper. Now I need to sit at home, read everything and produce something coherent.

Except I can't. I had the entire day, the house to myself, and I got 0 work done. I don;t know why I procrastinate, it always ends badly, but I always do this. How to get out of this funk?

Also I have a random headache from hell that just turned up in the last hour

Maybe you work better when the deadline is looming. Too much time and your brain does not want to get going yet?! Maybe that is the cause of your headache... put your feet up, have a coffee and leave the bad conscience behind, knowing that you'll do better as the deadline gets closer!

[Andorion]

Egwene, on 22 January 2016 - 03:36 PM, said:

Andorion, on 22 January 2016 - 12:53 PM, said:

So I finished the slogging legwork for my paper. Now I need to sit at home, read everything and produce something coherent.

Except I can't. I had the entire day, the house to myself, and I got 0 work done. I don;t know why I procrastinate, it always ends badly, but I always do this. How to get out of this funk?

Also I have a random headache from hell that just turned up in the last hour

Maybe you work better when the deadline is looming. Too much time and your brain does not want to get going yet?! Maybe that is the cause of your headache... put your feet up, have a coffee and leave the bad conscience behind, knowing that you'll do better as the deadline gets closer!

Sigh... you are probably right, its just that I would rather put in 6-7 hours of work a day everyday for three weeks rather than 14 hours in 5 days, but my stupid brain has other ideas.

Well tomorrow is a new day and coffee has never betrayed me yet!

[Traveller]

Andorion, on 22 January 2016 - 12:53 PM, said:

So I finished the slogging legwork for my paper. Now I need to sit at home, read everything and produce something coherent.

Except I can't. I had the entire day, the house to myself, and I got 0 work done. I don;t know why I procrastinate, it always ends badly, but I always do this. How to get out of this funk?

Also I have a random headache from hell that just turned up in the last hour

I once took my keyboard apart while writing an essay with a next-day deadline. I had one key that was sticking.. I'm not sure what I was thinking, but soon it was all over the place.

Procrastination is an art..

[worry]

The key is to set your own personal deadline of midnight tonight and if you don't make it you owe me $50, and so on for each subsequent midnight.

[amphibian]

worry, on 22 January 2016 - 09:37 PM, said:

The key is to set your own personal deadline of midnight tonight and if you don't make it you owe me $50, and so on for each subsequent midnight.

If you change $ to Rs, this might actually be doable.

[worry]

I don't take rupees. I already have the largest bomb sack and arrow quiver, and I don't really care if Like Likes eat my shield.

[HoosierDaddy]

HoosierDaddy, on 22 January 2016 - 05:12 AM, said:

Thought I was joking with other people earlier about being stuck in Kentucky. Not so sure now. Rain at 34 degrees = ice very quickly, and there's supposed to be 8-10 inches of snow over that. Really don't like that rain on my hotel window.

Guess who's stranded in Kentucky. Snow plows were sliding off the roads and my rental had nearly an inch of ice on the damn thing.

[Tiste Simeon]

Apt, on 21 January 2016 - 10:01 PM, said:

Andorion, on 21 January 2016 - 05:29 PM, said:

Post it here. Then Apt can critique it

I am sorry but I only review vampire weredolphin romance novels.

That is the only thing QT writes and the real reason he never wins!

[Abyss]

Traveller, on 22 January 2016 - 07:40 PM, said:

Andorion, on 22 January 2016 - 12:53 PM, said:

So I finished the slogging legwork for my paper. Now I need to sit at home, read everything and produce something coherent.

Except I can't. I had the entire day, the house to myself, and I got 0 work done. I don;t know why I procrastinate, it always ends badly, but I always do this. How to get out of this funk?

Also I have a random headache from hell that just turned up in the last hour

I once took my keyboard apart while writing an essay with a next-day deadline. I had one key that was sticking.. I'm not sure what I was thinking, but soon it was all over the place.

Procrastination is an art..

You win.