Paula’s Comments (group member since Oct 28, 2015)

Paula’s comments from the Science Fiction Microstory Contest group.

Jack wrote: "Justin wr ---ote: "Paula wrote: "I'll try to get one in. I've been swamped with an editing project plus preparing the 2nd edition (self-published [1st edition was published by Lillicat Publishers])-- o..."
Bien sur, and of course, as fans of Maia[sp?] know, the entire "'60s," not unlike time itself, was, or "is," a deeper-than-Deep-State hoax. That said, I want again to express my appreciation for the help of Jack--and previously of former group members Andrew Gurcak and Carrol Fix--in enabling publication of my '60s novel. So[,] there.

My story's up.
Tom, Justin, thank you,
Tom--yes, hard times for everyone. I think what those of us--probably most of us in science fiction--who've done plague or other pandemic or other "apocalyptic" narratives have missed is the everyday, recurring, grindingness of it, even in the outskirts areas before--and, hopefully, instead of--the more horrible aspects close in. ---Which reminds me, have you all read Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum"?--

John, Eileen, and the Spritzer’s Little Joanie’s Ombrei
Copyright © 2020 by Paula Friedman

“Some of them can adapt. Marcie Ann’s little Joannie’s trained her Ombrei to eat cat food.”

Ellie paused, not wanting to sabotage her own argument. Her and John’s daughter, Erica, had been begging for an Ombrei ever since the Spritzers had bought one for their little Joannie.

But the Spritzer’s little Joannie had a million dolls and a zillion pets, including a half-wild Balinese, Fang (“Only $3100 pre-spayed”), so of course little Joannie had been first in the neighborhood to own an Ombrei—$16,000,000 and counting for an Elder, sky’s-the-limit for a fresh-in Primo, with its (his?) spacious arcing frame, space-muscly limbs, working “sting”-pendix (though the actual purpose of that tube had yet to be determined), and voca-trix full-throbbing sounds precisely like those heard across the whole of Gurn—or Planet 9, as colonists on surface there called it.

“Fondly call it,” Ellie stressed. “Dear, fondly. They’re fond of it.”

John—“O.C.-D.C. John,” as his colleagues referred to him, “Another O.-C. bio-chem researcher from D.C.—that is, D.C., U.S.A., Earth/Terra, . . . x-y-z, just keep things in their cubbies and clean, clean, clean, if you know what we mean”—looked up from washing his hands again. “Ya think?”

“The Spritzers bought the whole thing, John—its Planet 9 Habitat, too, and every retrofit, all six-packs of firenado, earthquake, and nuke emergency adapter kits.” Eileen paused again. John could be a hard man to de-convince of things, one reason she’d always loved him. “Marcie Ann’s told me, ‘I’m sure, yes. Those habitats are A.I.-run, with unhackable exit-shields. Joannie can’t enter it—nobody can. And no Ombrei could ever figure how to . . . “

John wiped the washbasin with another Pur-Clen, He wrapped the Clen inside a steri-pak. “They’ve adapted to cat food.” He smiled at Eileen tenderly, and placed the steri-pak in the incinerator lock-it. “How'd it get into the habitat?”

[310 words]

Very grabby story, Justin--especially the first segment. And the academia section was snarky and fine. The ending resolves things nicely, satisfactorily, yet I think it's missing a sharp "oomph!"--maybe simply the sort of drama, the clear stake (like a rock on the shin, or some other threat--by no means necessarily physical--to something specific and valued by the protagonist and/or the reader) that we can see endangered and at stake in the final 50 words or so. On the other hand, perhaps you intend the slightly abstract quality of the ending as a reflection of development from childhood to academia and then beyond to creative discovery, in which case, great.

I'll try to get one in. I've been swamped with an editing project plus preparing the 2nd edition (self-published [1st edition was published by Lillicat Publishers])-- of my '60s novel, The Change Chronicles. As some of you know, Jack McDaniel has designed this new edition and is helping me navigate this, my first, self-publishing venture. May have time to get a story out in the next 2 days, too; I shall try.

Tom, that is wonderful. I shall check it out sometime this or next week. Looking forward to it!

Great last line, Jack. Grabby sort of story, spot on.

Wow, lots of creativity happening in this group! This is super.

C. wrote: "Congrats Paula! Great job."
Thank you so much, C. I really appreciate your good opinion.

J.F. wrote: "Congratulations, Paula! Wonderfully evocative writing!"

Joseph, how great to hear from you! And I am so glad you like my story--much appreciative.

Chris wrote: "Congrats Paula! :)"

Chris, thank you so very much. Glad you liked this tale.

Jot wrote: "Just let me know when you post a new set of threads Paula, and I'll move them to the top."
They're up, Jot. I posted them really, really, really late last night! Hoping people enjoy these.

To help polish our skills and present a flavour of our art to other members in the group, I am continuing this friendly contest for those who would like to participate. There is no money involved, but there is also no telling what a little recognition and respect might generate. The rules are simple:

1) The story needs to be your own work and should be posted on the goodreads (GR) Discussion board, which is a public group. You maintain responsibility and ownership of your work to do with as you please. You may withdraw your story at any time.

2) The stories must be 750 words or less.

3) The stories have to be science fiction, follow a specific theme and potentially include reference to items as requested by the prior month's contest winner.

4) You have until midnight EST on the 22nd day of the month to post your story to the GR Science Fiction Microstory Contest discussion. One story per author per month.

5) After, anyone from the LI Sci-Fi group or the GR Science Fiction Microstory Discussion group has until midnight EST of the 25th day of the month to send me a single private vote (via GR or to author.jotrussell@gmail.com) for a story other than their own. This vote will be made public once voting is closed. Voting, and reading each story before voting, is required. If you do not vote, your story will be disqualified from the contest. You don't need a qualifying story to cast a vote, but you must offer the reason for your vote if you don’t have an entry.

6) To win, a story needs at least half of the votes, or be the only one left after excluding those with the fewest votes. Runoffs will be run each day until a winner is declared. Stories with vote totals that add up to at least half, discarding those with the fewest votes, will be carried forward to the next runoff election. Prior votes will be carried forward to support runoff stories. If you voted for a story that did not make it into the runoff, you need to vote again before midnight EST of that day. Only people who voted in the initial round may vote in the runoffs.

7) Please have all posts abide by the rules of GR and the LI Sci-Fi group.

8) For each month, there will be three discussion threads:
a) Stories - For the stories and the contest results only.
b) Comments - For discussions about the stories and contest. Constructive criticism is okay, but please avoid any spoilers about the stories or degrading comments directed towards any individuals. If you want to suggest a change to the contest, feel free to start a discussion about the idea before making a formal motion. If another member seconds a motion, a vote can be held. I will abstain from voting, but will require a strong two-thirds majority to override my veto.
c) Critiques - Each member can provide at most one critique per story, with a single rebuttal by the author to thank the critic and/or comment to offer the readers the mind set of the story to account for issues raised by the critique. Critiques should be of a professional and constructive manner. Feel free to describe elements that you do and don't like, as these help us gain a better perspective of our potential readers. Remarks deemed inflammatory or derogatory will be flagged and/or removed by the moderator.

9) The winner has THREE days after the start of the new month to make a copy of these rules and post a new contest thread using the theme/items of their choosing. Otherwise, I will post the new contest threads.

Jot Russell
Contest Creator/Director

August Theme: Obsessive--an obsession, obsessive thought, obsessed with something or someone or some idea or . . .
Parameters: future setting, narrated in third-person

To help polish our skills and present a flavour of our art to other members in the group, I am continuing this friendly contest for those who would like to participate. There is no money involved, but there is also no telling what a little recognition and respect might generate. The rules are simple:

1) The story needs to be your own work and should be posted on the goodreads (GR) Discussion board, which is a public group. You maintain responsibility and ownership of your work to do with as you please. You may withdraw your story at any time.

2) The stories must be 750 words or less.

3) The stories have to be science fiction, follow a specific theme and potentially include reference to items as requested by the prior month's contest winner.

4) You have until midnight EST on the 22nd day of the month to post your story to the GR Science Fiction Microstory Contest discussion. One story per author per month.

5) After, anyone from the LI Sci-Fi group or the GR Science Fiction Microstory Discussion group has until midnight EST of the 25th day of the month to send me a single private vote (via GR or to author.jotrussell@gmail.com) for a story other than their own. This vote will be made public once voting is closed. Voting, and reading each story before voting, is required. If you do not vote, your story will be disqualified from the contest. You don't need a qualifying story to cast a vote, but you must offer the reason for your vote if you don’t have an entry.

6) To win, a story needs at least half of the votes, or be the only one left after excluding those with the fewest votes. Runoffs will be run each day until a winner is declared. Stories with vote totals that add up to at least half, discarding those with the fewest votes, will be carried forward to the next runoff election. Prior votes will be carried forward to support runoff stories. If you voted for a story that did not make it into the runoff, you need to vote again before midnight EST of that day. Only people who voted in the initial round may vote in the runoffs.

7) Please have all posts abide by the rules of GR and the LI Sci-Fi group.

8) For each month, there will be three discussion threads:
a) Stories - For the stories and the contest results only.
b) Comments - For discussions about the stories and contest. Constructive criticism is okay, but please avoid any spoilers about the stories or degrading comments directed towards any individuals. If you want to suggest a change to the contest, feel free to start a discussion about the idea before making a formal motion. If another member seconds a motion, a vote can be held. I will abstain from voting, but will require a strong two-thirds majority to override my veto.
c) Critiques - Each member can provide at most one critique per story, with a single rebuttal by the author to thank the critic and/or comment to offer the readers the mind set of the story to account for issues raised by the critique. Critiques should be of a professional and constructive manner. Feel free to describe elements that you do and don't like, as these help us gain a better perspective of our potential readers. Remarks deemed inflammatory or derogatory will be flagged and/or removed by the moderator.

9) The winner has THREE days after the start of the new month to make a copy of these rules and post a new contest thread using the theme/items of their choosing. Otherwise, I will post the new contest threads.

Jot Russell
Contest Creator/Director

August Theme: Obsessive--an obsession, obsessive thought, obsessed with something or someone or some idea or . . .
Parameters: future setting, narrated in third-person

To help polish our skills and present a flavour of our art to other members in the group, I am continuing this friendly contest for those who would like to participate. There is no money involved, but there is also no telling what a little recognition and respect might generate. The rules are simple:

1) The story needs to be your own work and should be posted on the goodreads (GR) Discussion board, which is a public group. You maintain responsibility and ownership of your work to do with as you please. You may withdraw your story at any time.

2) The stories must be 750 words or less.

3) The stories have to be science fiction, follow a specific theme and potentially include reference to items as requested by the prior month's contest winner.

4) You have until midnight EST on the 22nd day of the month to post your story to the GR Science Fiction Microstory Contest discussion. One story per author per month.

5) After, anyone from the LI Sci-Fi group or the GR Science Fiction Microstory Discussion group has until midnight EST of the 25th day of the month to send me a single private vote (via GR or to author.jotrussell@gmail.com) for a story other than their own. This vote will be made public once voting is closed. Voting, and reading each story before voting, is required. If you do not vote, your story will be disqualified from the contest. You don't need a qualifying story to cast a vote, but you must offer the reason for your vote if you don’t have an entry.

6) To win, a story needs at least half of the votes, or be the only one left after excluding those with the fewest votes. Runoffs will be run each day until a winner is declared. Stories with vote totals that add up to at least half, discarding those with the fewest votes, will be carried forward to the next runoff election. Prior votes will be carried forward to support runoff stories. If you voted for a story that did not make it into the runoff, you need to vote again before midnight EST of that day. Only people who voted in the initial round may vote in the runoffs.

7) Please have all posts abide by the rules of GR and the LI Sci-Fi group.

8) For each month, there will be three discussion threads:
a) Stories - For the stories and the contest results only.
b) Comments - For discussions about the stories and contest. Constructive criticism is okay, but please avoid any spoilers about the stories or degrading comments directed towards any individuals. If you want to suggest a change to the contest, feel free to start a discussion about the idea before making a formal motion. If another member seconds a motion, a vote can be held. I will abstain from voting, but will require a strong two-thirds majority to override my veto.
c) Critiques - Each member can provide at most one critique per story, with a single rebuttal by the author to thank the critic and/or comment to offer the readers the mind set of the story to account for issues raised by the critique. Critiques should be of a professional and constructive manner. Feel free to describe elements that you do and don't like, as these help us gain a better perspective of our potential readers. Remarks deemed inflammatory or derogatory will be flagged and/or removed by the moderator.

9) The winner has THREE days after the start of the new month to make a copy of these rules and post a new contest thread using the theme/items of their choosing. Otherwise, I will post the new contest threads.

Jot Russell
Contest Creator/Director

August Theme: Obsessive--an obsession, obsessive thought, obsessed with something or someone or some idea or . . .
Parameters: future setting, narrated in third-person

Thank you, Chris--so very much!

J.J., thank you. I am deeply honored. Thank you.

Justin, thank you. I liked your beautiful story this month, too!
---Okay, now I have to figure out a theme for next month. Something fun and a bit . . . stretchy, in a sense . . . I think.

Tom wrote: "Congratulations, Paula. Very well done."

Thanks, Tom. This is so kind of you--appreciated.

Jeremy wrote: "Congrats Paula!"
Jeremy, thank you. I do very much appreciate your opinion and your praise--honored.