Originally posted by Dan Hocker
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Originally posted by peteOcha View PostHey, that means you read mine!CD Email: [email protected]
Non-Work related social media and what not:
Instagram
Buy my stuff! - https://www.etsy.com/shop/HockersWoodWorks
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I have obviously offended you which wasn't my aim. If you are only looking to publish short stories in various markets, then I agree that social networking is not as important. If we were talking novels and such, then it would be more beneficial to you. Good luck!
It is this dominating philosophy that I was objecting to more than anything. I certainly didn't view what you said as an attack on me, especially since no one on here is privy to my networking dispositions."Phnglui mglw nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah nagl fhtagn!"
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Originally posted by the_last_gunslinger View PostPerhaps my reaction was slightly misconstrued. I have no problem with you or what you said, and I don't really feel offended. My torrid response was directed more at the whole concept of social networking, a phenomenon that annoys me tremendously. There is nothing wrong with liking it, but for me, I kind of hate how the world is getting to the point where it feels you need a Facebook account just to get by.
It is this dominating philosophy that I was objecting to more than anything. I certainly didn't view what you said as an attack on me, especially since no one on here is privy to my networking dispositions.CD Email: [email protected]
Non-Work related social media and what not:
Instagram
Buy my stuff! - https://www.etsy.com/shop/HockersWoodWorks
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Originally posted by Dan Hocker View PostEspecially if you can get it in front of the right person to read it.
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In regard to hating the writing process:
I hate it. I've always hated it. But my mentor once told me, "Who said writing was fun?" And the answer was...nobody. The only writer I've ever talked to who actually enjoyed writing process was Salmon Rushdie (sorry to name drop, we're not pals or anything, it was just a public Q&A). Beyond that, almost without exception have I encountered writers who find the process pretty painful. I forgot the name of the writer, but I read a wonderful quote from someone who said "Writing is easy. All you have to do is sit down and stare at the blank page until drops of blood start to form on your forehead). The only time I begin to really enjoy writing is on the 7th or 8th draft, when the junk on paper starts to resemble what was in my head, if I'm lucky.
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In regard to what I look for in these contest stories: Everything that I look for in a published story. Which isn't to say it has to be as good as those, but it needs to share the same qualities which I enjoy in professional fiction, and which I think most people look for in their reading lives: quality of voice, interest in the narrator (not compassion, per say, but interest), and overall technical craft. But what matters to me most, is that I want to finish it. If a story doesn't grab me, in the contest or in life, it's hard for me to care about it, because there's so much other stuff that I could be reading. That's what I come to suspense fiction for: to be drawn in with a good, solid, narrative stranglehold, and to not be let loose until the writer is damned ready.
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So without reading all 26 pages here, are some people saying they've had people sign up just to vote for them? Are these people reading all other entries then? No need to answer that. We all know the answer is no. So that's a little...unfair. This is a writing contest, not a voting contest, right?
There are over 100 stories entered, thus every story should have at least that many reads for it to be fair. Yet some have little more than 20 views. Clearly even the participants aren't going to read every entry. Which is a bummer. That was my misunderstanding, of course, thinking only the entrants would be doing the reading/voting. I was wrong.
Anyway, I would hope that anyone voting would do the honest thing and vote for quality fiction. Hope and reality rarely meet, though. =(
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Originally posted by the_last_gunslinger View PostAnd this begs the question then: Why do we do it?
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I do it for the same reason my Grandfather did when he told me stories as a kid. Truly, there is nothing better for any artist/creative type then when someone "gets" it. Or at the very least enjoys it.
I do use social networks, although I have been toying with deleting my myspace account, as it appears defunct. I met many writers through social networks, and many of them have helped me out along the way. I don't think it is a requirement however. I have read about people who still use typewriters even, or longhand. You can limit who you socialize with though, and what content gets to you. So you could barebones your network to say a writing circle only. But, to each their own, and I say good for you to be able to abstain for the temptation. Perhaps there is a local group you can meet with that serves the same function? Ask around on forums.
I do believe my family will vote for me, and so I will be guilty of that much. I have called and emailed them all, to ask that they only vote for mine if they think it is the best--not that they will. that's just how I roll though. The reason being, there is far more worth in an honest opinion to me, than one that comes biased. I'll get no where if people make believe my stories are full of glistening vampires that will make me millions. Sorry, bad joke. I value everyone's comments and criticism to better myself. That being said, no one should expect any different when asking my opinion.
Of the stories I have read so far, most have been pretty good and enjoyable. It makes the voting difficult.
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Why do I write? I really don't know. I guess I have that burning desire to contribute in some way to the large body of literary canon. I'm a literature major, so I'm exposed to a great deal of writing and it makes me want to do it too. I'm not even longing for bestsellerdom, though it would be a dream. I just need to say I published something in the speculative fiction genre before I die. I think it would be a sort of validation, like a fulfilled calling, as trite as that may sound. But to create my own worlds and characters and creatures, my own mythos...well, that holds a strange allure and despite my constant fretting over the quality of my stories, I can always count on eventually being drawn back to finish what I keep starting."Phnglui mglw nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah nagl fhtagn!"
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Originally posted by ozmosis7 View PostI do it for the same reason my Grandfather did when he told me stories as a kid. Truly, there is nothing better for any artist/creative type then when someone "gets" it. Or at the very least enjoys it.
I do use social networks, although I have been toying with deleting my myspace account, as it appears defunct. I met many writers through social networks, and many of them have helped me out along the way. I don't think it is a requirement however. I have read about people who still use typewriters even, or longhand. You can limit who you socialize with though, and what content gets to you. So you could barebones your network to say a writing circle only. But, to each their own, and I say good for you to be able to abstain for the temptation. Perhaps there is a local group you can meet with that serves the same function? Ask around on forums.
I do believe my family will vote for me, and so I will be guilty of that much. I have called and emailed them all, to ask that they only vote for mine if they think it is the best--not that they will. that's just how I roll though. The reason being, there is far more worth in an honest opinion to me, than one that comes biased. I'll get no where if people make believe my stories are full of glistening vampires that will make me millions. Sorry, bad joke. I value everyone's comments and criticism to better myself. That being said, no one should expect any different when asking my opinion.
Of the stories I have read so far, most have been pretty good and enjoyable. It makes the voting difficult.
And on the topic of writer friends, I'd really like to make some. That's why I feel that everybody who entered this contest is already a winner. There is much more to this contest than the prize being offered.
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It is pretty evident in some of the groups that some stories have been 'ballot stuffed,' but I'm like MLD, I don't want to win anything by asking for folks to vote for me specifically. I want my work to stand out because it's good. At any rate, it is what it is.
I tend to call things the way I see them and the best thing about this is that 110 people entered and many of those were probably written specifically for this contest. Anything that gets folks writing is always a great thing.
AJ
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