When it comes to fiction...

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Wordcraftian
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When it comes to fiction...

Post by Wordcraftian » Tue Apr 16, 2013 11:01 pm

Hello everybody,

I'm writing concerning the possibility of accepting fiction submissions for the newsletter, and honestly, I'm of two minds on the subject. I believe the current consensus is that it shouldn't be allowed because the editors do not feel comfortable having to reject work of that nature.

Here are my small points, I have two. One for each side of the argument:

1.) Call of Cthulhu is a popular Role-Playing game and exists at the very core of all MU Podcast related endeavors. However, we mustn't forget that this game spawns from a body of fiction; short stories and poems written by H.P. Lovecraft and his contemporaries. These serve as the the backbone and central nervous system of this game. Without their fiction, we would not have Call of Cthulhu. That being said, I feel Lovecraftian fiction is directly related to the essence of the game and deserves a place in the yet to be named Newsletter.

2.) Fiction is easy to write. Easier to write by far than scenarios, articles, and factual informative pieces (at least in my opinion). It seems everybody writes fiction or fancies themselves a poet, not excluding yours truly. That doesn't mean that I'm worth publishing. My fear is that if fiction is allowed, Keeper Murph's inbox would be flooded with little else, given the potential success of the Newsletter. He would be forced to wade through massive amounts of fiction to find the gems that the Newsletter was created to publish in the first place. It would be a nightmare for him to read story after story or poem after poem of amateur prose. I wouldn't wish that kind of torture on my worst enemy.

I do have a compromise...

Every quarter the Editors could allocate space for one or two short stories, and one or two poems. And instead of allowing open submissions along with the rest of the content, you would host a contest. For a single month of the quarter you can accept submissions up to a cap, maybe 25 or 30 short stories (less than 1,500 words each) and then chose one or two winners. The prize will be publication. This solution maintains the presence of fiction in the newsletter, as well as limits the number of amateur short stories the judges will have to choke down.

The only problem I can foresee with the contest idea is if a single person submits work, then they win by default and if that work is... frankly... bad, then it will become a pock mark on the newsletter.

So then, we can solve that issue by allowing open submissions of fiction and poetry along with the other content UNTIL it starts to get out of hand... then we invoke the contest.

Thoughts?
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KeeperMurph
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Re: When it comes to fiction...

Post by KeeperMurph » Tue Apr 16, 2013 11:22 pm

I'm open to this. If people want fiction we can have fiction, that would mainly be determined by the responses in this thread. The reasons that Wordcraftian listed are true and there is another reason to boot that I forgot to mention. I plan on securing at least one piece of professional fiction in each issue, and I don't want to appear as competition to other industry standard mags.

So far that doesn't seem like it will be an issue so let's see what you guys want! ;-)

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Re: When it comes to fiction...

Post by Nvision » Wed Apr 17, 2013 12:03 am

Yes, please! I find short fiction often the most powerful, especially with horror.

Wordcraftian
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Re: When it comes to fiction...

Post by Wordcraftian » Wed Apr 17, 2013 9:42 pm

KeeperMurph wrote:I plan on securing at least one piece of professional fiction in each issue, and I don't want to appear as competition to other industry standard mags.
Wow. That's awesome! You guys have always had a very high production value, even from episode one of the podcast. I really can't wait to see what this Newsletter becomes. It's very exciting.

I think any fiction that you decide to publish would be to flavor the Newsletter, not dominate it. A few short stories, or even just one or two would be enough. I really like where the primary focus is, and it's something the Lovecraft/gaming community needs. I don't feel there's any real direct competition to speak of with any of the Lovecraftian story based publications.
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Re: When it comes to fiction...

Post by KeeperMurph » Thu Apr 25, 2013 10:06 pm

I haven't forgotten this. If we do open submissions for fiction, it is going to be open. I will have to be a bad guy to some of you. And there is the possibility of a story being good, but not fitting in with the overall content. So. I will likely send out one of two canned responses. Yeah you're in, or shit you didn't make it.

So keep an eye out and I hope to have another call for submissions up this week. :smile:
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Re: When it comes to fiction...

Post by lexicon » Tue Oct 08, 2013 4:45 am

Wa???? We can submit fiction???
Judge for yourself its believably and then try to tell yourself, wherever you may be, it couldn't happen here.

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