23 Comments

I am never again going to write to somebody’s tastes … but I am in for the prompts! Submitting will depend on the prompts (it is good to have two choices). I’m looking forward to the prompts the most, to be honest, so I am very glad there will be new ones next week!

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Thanks for the feedback, Leanne. I'm excited about the prompts, too. Looking forward to your participation!

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‚Get to know the judges' work before submitting your stories. Writing to their taste may help your chances of winning.‘ 😐

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I've retracted this statement as I didn't consider it thoroughly and do not think writing to anyone's taste is a good idea. Thanks for expressing concern!

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When I finished my screenwriting studies, I had a final chat with my professor. He told me he admired the fact that 'I did my own thing' instead of trying to write something that would please him. For example, writing a screenplay placed in Ireland because he was Irish.

It had never crossed my mind to do that! I had a very clear picture of what I wanted to write during those studies and nothing could've stopped me. 😂

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Yes! It’s super important to bring all of what makes you you to your writing and to these types of awards. It’ll bring more originality and style to each entry, rather than more of the same. I have confidence in the judges’ ability to make that determination.

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The judges will always like what they like and that is absolutely fine, especially because you plan to bring in people with experience and to rotate the judges. This will ensure variety.

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My tutor at university warned me that my final dissertation was risky because it was 'too entertaining'. Didn't change a word and still got a good review, but it always amused me that the chief criticism at the earlier stage was something that I considered to be a compliment.

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looking forward to joining the horror round when it comes!

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Excited about this! Just to make sure I’ve understood correctly.. we can submit once per round if we like (fantasy, horror, sci-fi) but no-one can win more than one round?

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Correct! Unless you choose to turn down anthology publication, then you may submit again in Part Two, which is the second half of the season. I’m just trying to make sure more writers have publication opportunities.

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Hi Winston. Like the comp structure, even if SF is last to go 😭 - more time to craft! Two comments:

- It would be great if you could include the specific date of when the "Prompt Quest will return after the start of each round" in each genre competition schedule. Many writers like to get their writing ducks lined up.

- The phrase about "writing to [the judges'] taste" might be misunderstood. I know what you mean and 100% objectivity is impossible to achieve. I also do consider this element when writing for competitions, especially with sole judges – and I believe it's a worthwhile 'hack' to consider. But I think that it needs to be clarified that it's themes, settings, structure, character traits, etc rather than actual 'style' which might count - and this is where any prompts help greatly, as the judge is in effect providing guidance on their preferences. It's much easier to change *what* you're writing about than *how* you write - i.e. your style or 'voice'. Maybe an alternative is just to delete this specific guidance and let people make their choices according to what you've outlined with excellent clarity and have fun writing however they see fit.

I'm very much looking forward to contributing, competing and reading other writers' work, as with every other Lunar Award. Thank you so much for taking up the baton so smoothly. The speculative stars remain aligned! ✨🌟💫

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Hey Johnathan, this is great feedback! I'll definitely add the dates for the Prompt Quest. I was considering starting it a day or two after the award round, or should it just go hand-in-hand with the award round? That way, there's the same amount of time to enter your story as others not participating in the quest. Open to your thoughts.

As for the second point, I agree that the statement's meaning was not fully considered when I wrote it. It was meant to be a helpful hint from an awards perspective but not advice from a writer's perspective. I don't want people altering how they write for the sole purpose of winning an award. Write to your own taste, and the rubric will attempt to make the judging as objective as possible.

Thanks for clarifying those points and for helping make the Lunar Awards the best it can be!

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Thank you for responding so promptly (no pun...!) and fully to feedback, Winston. IMHO: It's still a bit of a faff trying to go back to previous announcement Notes or bookmark posts in Substack. So, for me, hand-in-hand is probably the best option for the prompts info, so you only read that cycle's launch announcement once and can then plan. (And the judging rubric is a good idea - full transparency etc.). Hopefully, others will chime in. Too much from me already!

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Thanks for the input and share

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Sounds great Winston, thanks for the opportunity. I'll definitely try the Science Fiction round. But horror? Why not! We'll see :-)

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Awesome! Glad to hear it, Michael. Why not both?! Sci-Fi Horror blend is one of my favorites haha. Can’t wait to read your stories.

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Yeah, why not? I'll give it a shot. Thanks, Winston!

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Looking forward to it!! I’m very excited for Prompt Quest to return as well—I never finished a story in time to participate in it last year, but it did give me several good ideas as well as stretching my skills a bit, so I’m glad to know it’s still around!

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That's great to hear! I never participated in it either, but I wanted to. This will be a neat way to still interact with the community and produce great fiction!

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Hi Winston—quick clarification: are entries only allowed to be standalone short stories? Or can a first chapter of a serial be included?

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Hey Tom, we are looking for standalone short stories at this time. I’m still figuring out how the first chapter award will function, so if that’s your jam, stay tuned! But feel free to link to a short story on the first round post to enter.

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Cool. I’ll keep my powder dry for now. Best of luck winnowing the deserving contestants down to only thirty!

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