Science Fiction Microstory Contest discussion
***JANUARY 2022 SCIENCE FICTION MICROSTORY CONTEST (Comments Only)***
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Tom
(last edited Dec 27, 2021 07:03PM)
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Dec 27, 2021 06:58PM
Happy New Year!
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Tom, did Goodreads block you from a posting a crique page again? I guess we could just post them here, if anyone chooses to write one.
Enjoy...
Happy New Year everyone! Tom, great story to finish off 2021.Onwards!
Jot wrote: "Happy New Year! Got my story written, created as a side story from my novel Perpetual Words of Hatred.Tom, did Goodreads block you from a posting a crique page again? I guess we could just post t..."
I didn't try, Jot; I just assumed we weren't doing that anymore.
Justin wrote: "Happy New Year everyone! Tom, great story to finish off 2021.Onwards!"
Thank you, Justin. Onward and upward!
Mod
Jot wrote: "I think the criques are an amazing part of this contest and I apologize for not writing them myself hardly at all. Wish I had the time. Today mission is to keep my new job, which I have yet to be t..."I miss the critiques myself; I just got the impression that with a few exceptions, most of the participants either didn't have the time or weren't interested, so I haven't taken the lead in a while.
Best of luck with the new position; hope you find your way in and realize your full potential very soon.
Hi guys, this is off-topic, but have any of you knowledge of how one might replace one's (Samsung Galaxy S4) phone with a newer model, *without* having to go into a "Verizon store" (or possibly a T-mobile store) to get help putting in and checking/registering/(or whatever one has to do) a new phone card? Also, does the change affect one's Windows account or require changing *any* settings/functions/anything involving Windows (Windows 10, in this case)? --I'm very bright and I am, or was, very good in abstract math, but I'm not good at tech (soft- or hard-ware) stuff, and totally lost re the corporate interfaces/interactions with these. And I know some of you are experts in these areas. Thank you so very much for any advice, especially if it can be step-by-step/detailed, with instructions of what problems or extra steps may arise and what to do if problems (in this time of rampant pandemic, limiting onsite interactions). Thank you.
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I would recommend backing up any photos, audio files, etc., before transferring.I took mine in (Galaxy S5 to A32) and they transferred most of my stuff but lost a few photos. Since I had a backup, I just copied them back to my phone.
Tom wrote: "Jot wrote: "I think the criques are an amazing part of this contest and I apologize for not writing them myself hardly at all. Wish I had the time. Today mission is to keep my new job, which I have..."I appreciated the reviews, if only to hear what people really think of my writing (good, bad or ugly). I know I have not reciprocated much in terms of reviewing others as well. I've been doing so much voiceover work that my free time is really filled up with that.
Greg, thank you. How does one do that? I figure one sticks a USB drive onto the plug on the end of the phone--but then what? (n.b., this phone no longer has any Net connection functions). Thank you for the good info. Also, is there a way to save one's phone numbers, messages, etc., too?Greg wrote: "I would recommend backing up any photos, audio files, etc., before transferring.I took mine in (Galaxy S5 to A32) and they transferred most of my stuff but lost a few photos. Since I had a backup..."
Jot wrote: "I had bought it online, independent of Verizon. However, since you still pay for their service, they still need to support your usage of the plan. A great online store for fully refurbished iPhones..."Thank you very much!
Agreed re the critiquing. It is good to get a sense of how people are responding to, interpreting, understanding stories, and of course practice in critiquing others' tales sometimes is good for the critiquer's skills.Justin wrote: "Tom wrote: "Jot wrote: "I think the criques are an amazing part of this contest and I apologize for not writing them myself hardly at all. Wish I had the time. Today mission is to keep my new job, ..."
It's been a while, but I finally got one posted.
Mod
I realize that we have become very comfortable here on GoodReads but that may be a problem. Our group appears to be shrinking and there is a new kid in town: Substack. It is both a discussion and publishing site. The discussion length is far more than adequate for our stories and there is a very active author community there. The added benefit is we can publish our stories there as well and even get paid if desired. Thoughts?
I suggest looking over the various author sites/groups/communities on Substack first. Are there many groups/authors involved, and are the authors/groups ones that some/all/few here feel like being in a community with? (I do not know--haven't yet looked--suggesting this as a factor to consider.) And HOW NEW is this site? (Framing this as "comfortable" vs. "risky" is probably not helpful n.b.). And of course we w0uld want to be *very* careful about what sites we, or some of us, might use as a publishing platform--what ope-in/opt-out options exist on it, what if any reviews/ratings it has, if any-- especially with Preditors & Editor, etc. Also, is the reason for this group's shrinking a matter of people not finding it, or of perhaps a sameness in the stories and/or in the winning stories--and, if so, would people here wish that to change? I'm sure others here can think of other questions. Another question, of course, is whether Substack requires any new software, complex password/other entry maneuvers, or the like--any of which will cut down number of interested participants. These are all questions to consider, and I'm sure others here have other questions as we go ahead and look further into this option.
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Chris wrote: "It's been a while, but I finally got one posted."Welcome back, Chris. Missed you.
Thank you, Jot. It's nice to be back.
Tom wrote: "Chris wrote: "It's been a while, but I finally got one posted."Welcome back, Chris. Missed you."
Thanks, Tom. I'll admit that this pandemic has wreaked havoc on my schedule. It's good to get something in this month.
Chris wrote: "Tom wrote: "Chris wrote: "It's been a while, but I finally got one posted."Welcome back, Chris. Missed you."
Thanks, Tom. I'll admit that this pandemic has wreaked havoc on my schedule. It's good..."
An interesting concept, too. Reminded me of Dr. Who and the council of time lords. Good devices, and good action towards the end.
Paula wrote: "Hi guys, this is off-topic, but have any of you knowledge of how one might replace one's (Samsung Galaxy S4) phone with a newer model, *without* having to go into a "Verizon store" (or possibly a T..."I had an SIII when I bought an S10 in 2020. I cabled the phones together and got the transfer working by trial and error. I downloaded a Samsung app to the old phone to do the transfer but soon discovered my OS was too old and the phone couldn't be upgraded to a higher one. But I kept at it and found that if I started receiving on the new before sending on the old, it worked. An S4 should actually be easier because anything above 4.4 should be compatible with synced transfer. I called Credo, my mobile carrier, and they shipped me out a chip that I had to insert into the new phone and activate on the Credo website through a step-by-step procedure. I found the right transfer cable by asking the electronics guy at Target. I transferred everything I needed: apps, contacts, photos, documents, and messages. But I first backed them up on my desktop computer.
Thanks, J.F. That all makes good sense--if one has any idea how to go about it, which I confess I don't. However, it is very very good to know it can be done. Also to know that Credo still exists as a mobile carrier.
Paula wrote: "Thanks, J.F. That all makes good sense--if one has any idea how to go about it, which I confess I don't. However, it is very very good to know it can be done. Also to know that Credo still exists ..."
Paula, the easiest way to switch phones is to backup your phone to your Google account. The link below shows you how to do it. Your phone is older so the steps may be slightly different, but you can do it.
The backup will record all of your files, photos and contacts.
https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/mo...
Once you've done that you can probably purchase a new phone and ask them to activate the new phone and restore from your Google account before shipping it to you. That will mean you have to go a few days without a phone while it ships. (Your old one won't work any longer.)
That's pretty much it.
Kalifer wrote: "I realize that we have become very comfortable here on GoodReads but that may be a problem. Our group appears to be shrinking and there is a new kid in town: Substack. It is both a discussion and p..."Kalifer, substack looks a lot like Medium to me. I use Medium and like it, but I don't think they have anything like our contest. (Thaddeus is on Medium, as well. He might have other input.)
That said, I have a contest site up and running for Carrie's fiction writer's group (www.undertowpress.com) It works great for the group, I think. I could easily duplicate it. It even uses C's voting scheme (or something close) and automatically tallies votes and winners. You should set up an account and look it over.
Then we could go back to the LinkedIn Sci-Fi groups and invite people to enter the contests. I think it might stir some interest.
My idea with the site was to treat it like a magazine that is published once a month. Members can see all of the stories submitted and comment on them and rate/critique them. The top 3 stories by votes get published each month for the public.
Paula,Here's the Samsung app I used. Install it on both phones. All you need to do is cable the phones together with a cable that has the right connectors at each end and the app will step you through it. You may even be able to do it with wifi because your O/S is more recent than mine was. Have Verizon send you the chip for the new phone. You shouldn't have to be phoneless except for the period when you are activating the new one which is under 30 minutes.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/de...
Once you get the new chip, the hardest part is opening the little tray for the chip. Samsung phones are notorious for being difficult with that but there are youtube videos that show how.
Wrote and sent a quick story, of sorts. Not sure it got under the wire on time; hors de competition is fine with me if it's too late.J.F., thank you for all that information and the step-by-step instructions. Definitely should help, though I usually get stopped by any step that begins "Contact a Help operator" at Verizon [or at Microsoft, re its apps and equipment, of course], but perhaps this time. Thank you very much, J.F.
Paula wrote: "Wrote and sent a quick story, of sorts. Not sure it got under the wire on time; hors de competition is fine with me if it's too late.J.F., thank you for all that information and the step-by-step i..."
----And Jack, I may just go ahead and do that, OTOH. I'm sure this stuff becomes easier and easier with practice, though.
Thank you guys so much for all the information and helps!
For any of you interested, Carrie has moved the Fiction Writers Group contest to Undertow Press. Stories can be of any genre and 1200 words. I put the site together a while ago but hadn't done anything with it. Voting (thanks, C) is tallied immediately after you vote and you can rate a story at any time.Also, the top 3 stories each month get included in the public issue.
https://www.undertowpress.com/
THIS MONTH WAS FIRE. Y'all wrote some fabulous stories.
If I feel better I will write what I loved in these tempest-tossed tales of temporality.
That is all.
Hoping you are feeling better very soon, Thaddeus.Thaddeus wrote: "THIS MONTH WAS FIRE.
Y'all wrote some fabulous stories.
If I feel better I will write what I loved in these tempest-tossed tales of temporality.
That is all."
Two questions re the Carrie contest--if any others here are interested & if asking this is not too off-topic, Jot, of course.(1) Is the contest/publication for "[Monthly] Speculative Fiction Stories," or is it for all genres? (2) The vote tallying gets done even while some other stories may not yet be posted(?)--so folks can change their votes over time?
Good of you to have put together the site for Carrie's contest, Jack. (Btw, folks, Jack has done the pre-press production for a couple of books of mine; his work is highly professional and impressive-looking both on these and on Carrie's contest, imo.)
Jack wrote: "For any of you interested, Carrie has moved the Fiction Writers Group contest to Undertow Press. Stories can be of any genre and 1200 words. I put the site together a while ago but hadn't done anyt..."
Vote tallies are hidden until you vote on a story so you don't really know where things stand until the end.
Nice work!Jack wrote: "Vote tallies are hidden until you vote on a story so you don't really know where things stand until the end."
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We might be able to re-submit to LinkedIn as a writing group to get more people.
Thanks Jack! Glad you could use this. I hope the grading paradigm works to improve overall readership and contribution activity since it's quick and easy. Also an analysis of trends over time should prove to be quite enlightening and entertaining.-C
Jack wrote: "For any of you interested, Carrie has moved the Fiction Writers Group contest to Undertow Press. Stories can be of any genre and 1200 words. I put the site together a while ago but hadn't done anyt..."
Yeah, I have it set up so that I can output the story rankings for a month or for all time. Should be pretty cool. If we want to move to the site, I can run multiple contests at one time. Carrie's fiction contest and the Sci-Fi contest can both go on without any issues.I haven't heard anyone else comment on this, but I like making the top three stories part of the public "magazine" issue. If the site ever makes money it could go toward the winners. But I still like the idea of the site working as a writer's group.
It's a terrific-looking site, Jack.Frankly, people, I don't see how a contest in which only "the top 3 entries" (in the opinions of the largest number of folks in the group) each month get public exposure or (if ever $) remuneration can work for any sense of group mutuality or solidarity. We can all remember (or those of us who were then in the group can) what a negative impact on group morale occurred when the second issue of The Future Is Short limited most participants to 2 stories each, with 3 or 4 stories each for those who'd "won" the most months' votes. If there were contest judges known for their literary and critiquing skills running the competition, then such allotment might make sense, but even then it definitely runs strongly counter to the spirit of a real writers group.
Thaddeus wrote: "THIS MONTH WAS FIRE. Y'all wrote some fabulous stories.
If I feel better I will write what I loved in these tempest-tossed tales of temporality.
That is all."
Best wishes on a speedy recovery, Thaddeus.
Mod
We should continue this discussion into the next month, unless a majority can come back approving the transition to the other site.
Well, I agree, Jot, the matter needs far more discussion before any decision.
