Most Valuable NYCM Nugget |
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shanan187
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 18 Aug 2014 Location: AZ Status: Offline Points: 1698 |
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I just choked on my lunch. Bwahahahahah |
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Lookit There
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 20 Feb 2014 Location: Portland, OR Status: Offline Points: 3920 |
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Partner and I have this conversation EVERY SINGLE ROUND! This one was no exception.
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FFC1 12 Gay-ngry Men
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shanan187
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 18 Aug 2014 Location: AZ Status: Offline Points: 1698 |
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My husband and I have definitely had this conversation as well. Usually if I get to that point, he'll go, "Okay... time to step back, do something else for a while, and come back to it." Strangely enough, the last 4 or 5 rounds, I've been eerily calm. Chalk it up to working in an agency setting for a couple years, I think. Everything is always past-due before it's assigned. You just kind of get used to writing with the clock ticking.
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stephenmatlock
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 05 Sep 2013 Location: Seattle Status: Offline Points: 10422 |
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#3 - ALWAYS be kind. You might find the need to whirl the words out in frustration or anger over a misunderstanding or an offense--but save that for your blog post or your FB friends. Be careful here, and kind. Treat writers as humans who are doing exactly what you're doing--trying to put true words with true feelings onto the screen so they can tell the story only they know. People are going to screw up, misunderstand you, not get the point you're making. Assume good faith, assume good meaning, and assume that humans are going to just get it wrong about as much as they get it right. #4 - PAY IT FORWARD. Unless you're the Lord God Himself who created the universe by a word, you are not entirely original. You learned how to speak and write, you learned to see the story, and you're learning to tell the story. When you get a good insight or you gain a new skill, share it with others who are not as far along the way.
I can't speak to sootfoot5's growth as much as I can say I have been incredibly blessed and encouraged and even -- ahem -- corrected by someone whose passion for writing and compassion for people is exemplary. Be that person to someone that you wished you had when you first typed out the words "It was a dark and stormy night...." |
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Pithy sayings are for the apt. For a longer message, you need a condo.
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Mumser
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 04 Feb 2018 Status: Offline Points: 4269 |
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This is a great thread! I’ve only done NYCM since last year, 2 short story comps and this is my second flash. Still I feel my learning curve has been huge.
1. I’ve learned to think about my story idea for at least a day before writing. I’m an intuitive writer and if I’m not feeling my characters my story will be so much more difficult to write. 2. Write the end first. I learned this after over writing one story and vowed never again. For me it works marvellously. For flash the story is usually completely written by the time I’ve written the ending! 3. Yes be the kind person you want to receive reviews from. We’re all in this together! I’ve learned that instead of pointing out typos and line edits it’s much more helpful to communicate my experience as a reader, for example which parts of the story drew me in or out of the story and why, or at which point I figured out who dunnit etc. It’s a skill that takes a lot of practice and I’m still learning. |
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nixie
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 01 Aug 2015 Location: Seattle, WA Status: Offline Points: 9048 |
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I've learned many "big" and "inspirational" things here - but in answer to the question I am going to offer a "small" and "essential" one that was given to me by the lovely @jenspenden in my first-ever crit. In my house we call this a BFO (Blinding Flash of the Obvious), and it is a truism every writer can use:
"Short sentences build tension." Edited by nixie - 25 Jul 2019 at 4:11pm |
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manifestlynot
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 02 Jan 2018 Status: Offline Points: 4480 |
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I love all the advice listed so far. All I can add is that my first NYCM contest (SSC 2018) taught me that submitting work that I thought was poor was not the end of the world. My perfectionism has killed many a story before they were written. But being forced to write a thriller with a tour guide and planted evidence, and submitting it even though I wasn’t satisfied, was a huge lesson for me. The HM I got let me know that even if I don’t think my work is up to my standard, it can still be worth mentioning.
On the fish advice - I went to a writing conference this year (thanks to the bravery granted by this contest) and one of the workshop leaders told us that aspiring novelists always bring in their third chapter for critique, because it’s their favorite. They spent two chapters getting into the story and are finally engaged by chapter three. She was usually successful in convincing them to cut the first two chapters
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Rhyming R1: Lionheart (Hist fic)
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justmel
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 25 Jan 2015 Location: Wisconsin, USA Status: Offline Points: 2114 |
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Everything you said in your post is dead on, but I read this one out loud to my husband and he's still nodding and laughing because the same conversation goes on here--every single time. It's so nice to know we're not alone! Thanks!
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justmel
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 25 Jan 2015 Location: Wisconsin, USA Status: Offline Points: 2114 |
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I agree with almost everything I've read in this thread, but in addition, I have to say the most valuable thing I've learned in these comps (and am still working on) is to have the courage to let others read my work. This was probably my 15th+ NYCM round and it's still soooooo scary.
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Lookit There
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 20 Feb 2014 Location: Portland, OR Status: Offline Points: 3920 |
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It's only in the last couple years that my post doesn't start with me apologizing for my story and/or saying that I don't like it.
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FFC1 12 Gay-ngry Men
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