tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7808733415551134993.post1794469220659220627..comments2024-03-05T13:51:24.898-07:00Comments on Spacefreighters Lounge : IS IT LOVE? JUDGING GH AND RITAUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7808733415551134993.post-67533662596905760752014-04-14T17:01:29.968-06:002014-04-14T17:01:29.968-06:00I'm actively submitting my space opera, and ab...I'm actively submitting my space opera, and about to send it out again. I've gotten some great feedback on it through various places. It's my other thing that no one has seen. Not even my CP, except for the first chapter.<br /><br />Of course, I haven't touched it since January. I'm way too caught up in the second arc of my space opera!<br /><br />I'm also running into issue with my space opera because it's a continuancy. I have the same main characters through the first three books, and they get married at the end of the first one. It's hard to place, but I think it's worth the effort.Rachel Leigh Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16004728242824462126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7808733415551134993.post-89703665170467969192014-04-12T13:30:43.467-06:002014-04-12T13:30:43.467-06:00Ditto what Donna said, Rachel. The cost of member...Ditto what Donna said, Rachel. The cost of membership is well worth it for what you get out of it in terms of networking, support and information. <br /><br />I didn't join for many years because of the cost and realized after I finally joined that had been a very unwise decision on my part.L. A. Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01198035351359321392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7808733415551134993.post-50234087245155371652014-04-11T08:37:24.104-06:002014-04-11T08:37:24.104-06:00Rachel, I'd encourage you to join RWA and ente...Rachel, I'd encourage you to join RWA and enter GH,too. The contacts you make in the organization are invaluable (I wouldn't be here without RWA, after all!), and there are just so many opportunities to learn and grow within RWA, no matter what kind of romance you write. Space opera is still a viable option for GH, I believe, as long as the romance is clear in the story and ends in HEA/HFN. But then, that's the controversy, isn't it.Donna S. Frelickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16431686010313020234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7808733415551134993.post-32878713917690159002014-04-10T21:34:22.593-06:002014-04-10T21:34:22.593-06:00My space opera series is not something I'd eve...My space opera series is not something I'd ever be comfortable submitting to something like the Golden Heart. I'd get marked down a LOT because the plot is split pretty evenly between the romance and the finding of the hero's lost home world.<br /><br />My other series, though, would fit nicely in a contest like GH. It's about the romance, and the world building is secondary since it takes place on our Earth in the near future.<br /><br />I'm hoping to join RWA sometime in the next couple months. It's something I've wanted to do for awhile, and finances are finally coming together where I can. I need to build general market connections now. My inspirational market ones are zero help for SFR.Rachel Leigh Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16004728242824462126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7808733415551134993.post-55838501195890652082014-04-08T01:07:09.382-06:002014-04-08T01:07:09.382-06:00I've been thinking about joining the RWA for a...I've been thinking about joining the RWA for a while, but their requirements on the percentage of romance in a novel to qualify constantly makes me doubt my eligibility as a full member rather than an associate (considering the membership fee is the same regardless). But all this furore over the contest has made me doubt it even more. I try to balance the SF and the R, but the RWA emphasis on the romance side... *confused*Pippa Jayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15146591827060731958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7808733415551134993.post-78608242186995605852014-04-06T08:57:33.870-06:002014-04-06T08:57:33.870-06:00A possibly interesting side note. I went to my fir...A possibly interesting side note. I went to my first WorldCon last year. By signing up, I became eligible to judge the Hugos. Anyone who went to WorldCon could judge. <br /><br />The Hugo seems to be well respected by both authors and readers. I wonder if we are trying to do more than is actually possible?<br /><br />Training sounds good and I think EPIC tried to do that? But I'd barely have time to do the judging (assuming I entered), let alone do training.<br /><br />After thinking about this for several days, I wonder if we want it to do more than it ever can? (insert wry grin here)Paulinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06673963438671468441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7808733415551134993.post-37359566185950249392014-04-06T08:43:26.555-06:002014-04-06T08:43:26.555-06:00I agree, Pauline, that it's really difficult t...I agree, Pauline, that it's really difficult to judge something as dependent on individual taste as fiction writing. But having been a judge on the local level, I do think it's possible to set some good criteria by which you can judge impartially, though I actually think it's better if you're judging a category you have some experience with as a reader or a writer. It's better to know the conventions of SFR or historical or contemporary or inspirational, if you're judging a story in that subgenre. It's the contest directors' job to set those criteria and to train the judges so everyone's on the same page.<br /><br />And, yes, Laurie, I, too, was deemed "not a romance" by several judges in the GH before I finaled with the same ms. But since we don't get any comments we can never know WHY they said that. Not enough chemistry between H/H? I killed off the kids in the prologue? Or they just didn't like it for some undefined reason. Again, with clearer criteria and better training for judges we wouldn't have that problem.Donna S. Frelickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16431686010313020234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7808733415551134993.post-89918456870780834492014-04-05T11:13:03.019-06:002014-04-05T11:13:03.019-06:00Great summary, Donna. My skipping the GH for 2014 ...Great summary, Donna. My skipping the GH for 2014 wasn't JUST about a lack of time. I'm really concerned how the new rules will affect my entries. In SFR the romance and the SF elements should be 50/50 and I'm not sure the new weighting structure will be in SFR's advantage. Yet it clearly worked out for some of the entries this year.<br /><br />As for the whole what-is-a-romance? controversy, I'm really torn. The Outer Planets got a "Not a Romance" check box from one of the judges in 2011. The scores were high enough that it still finaled, but if one or two other judges had also clicked that box, it would have been disqualified rather than a front runner that year.<br /><br />This really set me back on my heels because I felt The Outer Planets was flawed in being too much of a romance in a setting that should have played a bigger part (onboard a planetary research vessel). <br /><br />So I really puzzled over that outcome. I *think* it may have been deemed "not a Romance" in the judge's mind because the main characters marry before the end of the story. In many romance readers' minds, Romance ENDS at marriage. No ifs, ands or buts. <br /><br />But not in my story. The H&H had some huge obstacles to overcome before they could have their HEA. To end with the marriage would have eliminated the entire closing arc of the tale. Would I change anything because of the judge's decision? Not on your life! <br /><br />The question it raises is: "Where does this leave Romances with a H&H who start out already being married?" (Think about amnesia or lost history stories, where the H&H are already married even if one or both don't realize it.)<br /><br />My point is will stories in the GH be scored down or disqualified in the GH because they don't follow "The Norm?" Doesn't this kill the chances for submissions that take an inventive approach to romance, as SFR stories often do?L. A. Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01198035351359321392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7808733415551134993.post-54504281501423616342014-04-04T13:08:16.743-06:002014-04-04T13:08:16.743-06:00I had one book final in the GH centuries ago (grin...I had one book final in the GH centuries ago (grin), but quickly realized that neither I or my books fit neatly into slots. LOL That said, I think RWA keeps running into the law of unintended consequences. You see it all over. Someone tries to swat a fly with a hammer. Or with a ion cannon. (grin) <br /><br />I've often thought it was pointless to have have lists or rules for published books. Or even unpubbed. The question for the reader is: do I want to keep reading this book? <br /><br />If the answer is no, and you're a judge, you should then ask, is that a personal thing, or is there something wrong in the writing? <br /><br />The second is, of course, the harder to answer, and one reason I resist judging. Something can be well written and not engage me as a reader. Is the missing spark on my end or in the text? <br /><br />So I tend to judge easy, because I don't want to judge wrong. So I run from judging. LOL<br /><br />And then there is the problem of judging books in your own category. That seems made for trouble, too. <br /><br />So they have this huge judging problem. Not enough judges. Not enough judges with a clue (count me on the without a clue side). <br /><br />I don't know what the answer is, but making things more complex, adding layers? Seems/feels like wrong direction for me. <br /><br />Do I have answers? Sadly no, other than KISS. A very fair blog post, btw. Paulinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06673963438671468441noreply@blogger.com