Critters^TM Workshop

Weekly Notes

Notes for 15-May-2013...

[Resending this since the manuscript emails didn't go out to everyone.
Sorry for any duplication! --aburt]

Hardware crash update:

So, whew, we're now running live on the unexpectedly new Critters server!
There are almost certainly bugs lurking in the system (and we'll all find out
momentarily here how the first time sending the weekly batch will go-- eek!)
It's been a real whirlwind getting the new server acquired, configured, and
put in place under the gun of the old one imminently failing, but we beat
the Blinking Amber Light of Death and we made it.

Thanks for everyone's patience and donations! Thanks to you all we've
covered about 60% of the cost of the new server this past week. We were also
at about the 60% mark on the original fund drive itself (to cover ongoing
costs like network bandwidth and such), so we're on target.

The new server is also waaaaay faster than the old one, which should resolve
the numerous complaints I was receiving of how slow the site was. I'm sure
there's more shaking down to do -- there always is when you move to system
software that's 8 years newer -- so just let me know of any web pages or
whatnot that fail to work properly.

(And just when I thought I could sit down and breath, Nyx's main server next
decided to take a swan dive. What is this, Death to Servers Month?!? So I'm
now replacing that one. I've scheduled sleeping, eating, and breathing for
June 1st. :) Anyway, Critters' server is alive and kicking fairly correctly,
so at least the two events were mostly serial, rather than parallel!)

Again, let me know of bugs with the transition, and thanks for all your support!

                                   -+-

BALTIMORE SCIENCE FICTION SOCIETY AND SCIENCE FICTION WRITERS OF AMERICA
PRESENTS A WRITERS' GALA AT BALTICON

The Baltimore Science Fiction Society (BSFS), and the Science Fiction and
Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) are pleased to announce a joint event:
a Writers' Gala at the science fiction convention Balticon on Friday,
May 24th from 5 - 7 P.M.

Both BSFS and SFWA invite everyone to join professional and aspiring
science fiction and fantasy writers from all across the nation as they
socialize, snack, perform readings, and listen to musical performances.
Nebula, Sapphire, and Prism Award winner Dr. Catherine Asaro will host the
event, with music by the jazz ensemble, The Greg Adams Trio. There will be
giveways of books and other prizes. The event will be held in Frankie and
Vinnie's and is free to enter, though you must buy a convention membership
to attend the rest of the convention.

Contact: (Critter member and) BSFS Social Media Coordinator Alexander
Mathew Harris, AHarris@Bsfs.Org

                                   -+-

Thanks for the donations, folks! We are 59.2% of the way to the fund
drive goal with contributions from 126 donors, leaving about $1900 to go.
Thanks especially to

	Ian Creasey
	Brian Burt
	Aaron Schutz
	Catherine Heartfield
	Kara Hartz
	Rupa Bose
	Dominic Dulley
	S Wilcock
	Matthew Champine
	Eden Mabee
	Eleanor Wood
	Ann Schrage
	Michael Heald
	Antha Adkins
	Frank Coombs
	Janice Clark
	Juliana Rew
	Daniel Swenson
	Linda Robbins
	Alexander Harris
	Aisling Brooker
	Holly Schofield
	Jenny Green

for their recent donations to help keep Critters going.  Much appreciated!

[See http://www.critters.org/donate.php for more information.]


                                   -+-
Woohoo!  Congratulations to...

	- Andrew Richardson, who sold his (Critter'd) novel, "The Torridon
	Witches" to Damnation Books.

	- Fiona Howland-Rose (writing as Fi Michell), whose (Critter'd)
	short story, "Shoeless" is now out in the current issue of
	Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine. {Thanks to everyone who
	gave me feedback and helped make this happen.}

	- Eleanor Wood, whose (Critter'd) short story, "Dark Keys,
	Light Keys" is now out in the current issue of Sorcerous Signals.

	- Paul Baughman, who sold his short story, "Minstrel" to Nameless
	Magazine. {First Sale!	Thanks to everyone who crittered my
	stories. Although this one didn't go through the queue, the
	crits of my previous stories made this one better. Minstrel
	will be published in the Spring 2014 issue (it's a semi-annual
	publication) in print and online at http://namelessmag.jasunni.com }


Please report your Woohoo!s via the www.critters.org/telldaworld.ht web page.

                                   -+-

This week's Most Productive Critter award, for 12 critiques (at time
of judging), averaging almost 500 words each, goes to...

	Jacob Steponaitis

To redeem an MPC, visit:  www.critters.org/usempc.ht

Congratulations!  To everyone else -- Crit early and often!

(For an explanation of the MPC award, see the www.critters.org/award.ht page.)

                                   -+-

Recommended Reading...
One of the best writing books - Secrets from the 6-time Best Editor
Hugo Award Master, Ben Bova: THE CRAFT OF WRITING SCIENCE FICTION THAT SELLS 
http://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1144
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Critters Workshop
----------------------------------------------------------------------

This week we have... [get from http://www.critters.org/private/mss.php ]...
                                                 
     Title                      	Author
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Week of 15-May-2013 (Crits due 22-May-2013):
 SF  The Thinking Man's Game            [mpc] Evan Witt -#22546
 SF  Reb Riley and the House of Secrets  Jeff Cates -#22547
 H   Normal, Considering the Weather    Rayne Hall -#22548
 H   The Repositioning                  [@] Gio Clairval -#22549
 F   The Little Dog Ohori               [@] Anatoly Belilovsky -#22550
 F   The Unfamous Dead                  Stephanie Bittner -#22551
 SF  The Data Merchants                 Gary Goodson -#22552
 F   The Grey Khaeil                    S G Batham -#22553
 SF  Rinderpest                         Carl Grafe -#22554
 F   The Antikythera Mechanism          Sara Puls -#22555
 F   The Return of the Sorceress, Chapter 1  Andrew Mower -#22556
 F   King's Reward                      Robert Ryan -#22557
 F   A Veilless Mourning                Samara Lo -#22558
 F   The Baron of Geid, Chapter 3       Bethany Rae Salway -#22559
 F   Storm Girl                         Sharon Crosheck -#22560
 SF  Amy, or A Tragedy Of Small Steps   Matt Dovey -#22561
 F   Amanda's Tale                      Moshe Siegel -#22562
 H   A School Day in the Morgue         William Ritchey -#22563
 H   No Reflection                      Trung Nguyen -#22564

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended books on writing:

THE CRAFT OF WRITING AND SELLING SCIENCE FICTION by Ben Bova
	ReAnimus Press Store: http://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1144
	Amazon: http://Amazon.com/dp/B006MAZPEI

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR SPECULATIVE FICTION OPENINGS By (Critter member) Robert Qualkinbush
	http://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1184 | http://Amazon.com/dp/B007O272ZI

STAYIN' ALIVE - A WRITER'S GUIDE by three-time SFWA President Norman Spinrad
	How things really work in the art and commerce of publishing
	http://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1179 | http://Amazon.com/dp/B007SIC4I8

EXPERIMENT PERILOUS: THE 'BUG JACK BARRON' PAPERS by Norman Spinrad
	(A 99cent essay on SF and writing)
	http://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1180 | http://Amazon.com/dp/B007MF3MS8
 
Suggested reading... ESCAPE! by BEN BOVA
No end to Danny's sentence, watched by a sentient computer, and no way out of the escape-proof prison, there was only one thing to do...
http://reanimus.com/store/?item=1198
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pieces up for critique in other workshops...

In the lit workshop - http://critique.org/lit :
 L   Mathematical Girl                  Heather McLoud -#22543

In the mystery workshop - http://critique.org/mystery :
 M   Pawned, Chapters 1-3               Doug Elerath -#22498

In the nonfiction workshop - http://critique.org/nonfiction :
 NP  Holding Down the Fort Chapter 1    Briana -#20954

In the script workshop - http://critique.org/script :
 SC  Lily, Part Five                    A. R. Braun -#22355

In the kids workshop - http://critique.org/kids :
 YA  Short Synopsis for The Binding     Elizabeth Johnson -#22544

In the comics workshop - http://critique.org/comics :
 CM  Kia Book 1 Trapped in this World   Carissa Farland -#20448

In the western workshop - http://critique.org/western :
 W   The Things a Puncher Does For Money  Frank Coombs -#22499

In the romance workshop - http://critique.org/romance :
 R   KAUAI â€" Where Romance is Still in Style: Murphy and Raquel  Wayne Halm -#22545

In the video workshop - http://critique.org/video :
 VS  The Gallery of Henri Beauchamp     Jay DeTalente -#21424

In the music workshop - http://critique.org/music :
 MP  The Shade Riders and Nocturnal Ned song  Beth Zurkowski -#21675

In the photo workshop - http://critique.org/photo :
 PH  Dry Mud and Cinder Cone            Bill Wight -#19627

In the art workshop - http://critique.org/art :
 AO  Wild White Horse                   Fran Eisemann -#21370

In the website workshop - http://critique.org/website :
 WW  Powerscript Website                Ronald Hurst -#22230

In the critters workshop - http://critique.org/critters :
 SF  The Thinking Man's Game            [mpc] Evan Witt -#22546
 SF  Reb Riley and the House of Secrets  Jeff Cates -#22547
 H   Normal, Considering the Weather    Rayne Hall -#22548
 H   The Repositioning                  [@] Gio Clairval -#22549
 F   The Little Dog Ohori               [@] Anatoly Belilovsky -#22550
 F   The Unfamous Dead                  Stephanie Bittner -#22551
 SF  The Data Merchants                 Gary Goodson -#22552
 F   The Grey Khaeil                    S G Batham -#22553
 SF  Rinderpest                         Carl Grafe -#22554
 F   The Antikythera Mechanism          Sara Puls -#22555
 F   The Return of the Sorceress, Chapter 1  Andrew Mower -#22556
 F   King's Reward                      Robert Ryan -#22557
 F   A Veilless Mourning                Samara Lo -#22558
 F   The Baron of Geid, Chapter 3       Bethany Rae Salway -#22559
 F   Storm Girl                         Sharon Crosheck -#22560
 SF  Amy, or A Tragedy Of Small Steps   Matt Dovey -#22561
 F   Amanda's Tale                      Moshe Siegel -#22562
 H   A School Day in the Morgue         William Ritchey -#22563
 H   No Reflection                      Trung Nguyen -#22564
----------------------------------------------------------------------

You might also like... THE SIGIL TRILOGY (OMNIBUS VOL.1-3) by HENRY GEE
'Great stuff... everything you yearn to find in a very good contemporary SF novel.  Really enjoyed it!'  - SFWA Grandmaster Michael Moorcock
http://reanimus.com/store/?item=1260

Standard notes:

HELP:
If you need help with anything, see http://www.critters.org/help -- there
are FAQs and a form to ask questions.

HELPING CRITTERS:
Critters is donation funded & volunteer run, so if you'd like to
help out with our current fund drive or otherwise, please visit
http://www.critters.org/donate.php -- Thanks!!

HOW TO SEND CRITIQUES:
Remember to send the critiques directly to me, critters@critique.org, so
I can forward them to the authors _and_ give you credit for your effort.
Please send only one critique per mail message (makes it easier to
archive).  Please make sure the "#" symbol and manuscript number are in
the email Subject: line, like Subject: #1234.  (Conversely, if you want
ol' Aburt to personally read the message, i.e., it's _not_ a critique,
don't put a "#" in the subject or I won't see it.  Also -- put my current
anti-spam code word in there: see http://www.critters.org/antispam.ht .)

You may also send your critiques via http://www.critters.org/webcrit.ht .

Note that all critiques will be available to everyone to read the next Saturday.

DIPLOMACY:
Remember, authors and critiquers, we're all friends here.  Be polite.  Be
considerate.  Be tactful.  You can say you thought a story was drivel in a
courteous way.  Try to point out the good and the bad; offer alternatives
if you can.  Never, ever, attack the author -- only the story.  Authors:
Remember that some reviewers may lack tact.  Try to be understanding,
but if you get any that you feel are just plain mean-spirited, too short
to be of any use, or too "feel good," let me know and I'll withhold the
reviewer's "credit" for that story and/or cajole them into something
more insightful.  See http://www.critters.org/diplomacy.ht for more...

CRITIQUE LENGTH:
If you want to send a short critique that you know is too short for
credit (200 words or less of your own meaningful content) please put
"NC#" in the Subject (NC=No Credit, like Subject: NC#1234) -and- say
something like "not for credit" inside your critique.  (Remember also that
for MPC purposes, a critique must be 300 words or more.)

CHATTING:
Comments -other- than critiques (such as discussion of the critiques,
or Woohoo! announcements, or chit chat) should be posted to one of the
official Critters newsgroups, found on the news server news.sff.net.
(See the http://www.critters.org/newsgroups.ht web page for full info,
guidelines, etc.)  Don't post stories or critiques (mail those to
critters@critique.org).

QUOTING:
Please pare the ms. down if critiquing in-line (don't quote the whole ms.!).
Other format rules are at http://www.critters.org/format.ht .

EVERYTHING'S ON THE WEB:
Past reviews are on the web page.  The current week's manuscripts are
also there, as are prior mss. and even some rewrites.  There's a Master
Page Index (site map) with tons of links to common items.

AUTHORS:
Authors for this week -- if you aren't getting email'd critiques from
me (as they come in) within a couple days -- ask me and we can verify
I'm sending them to the correct address.  (Send me a phone# in case I
can't get email to you.)  Check the format of your story ASAP to make sure
it's all there and readable.

EMAIL ISSUES:
If you want to change your email address or preferences (# mss. emailed,
SF/F/H type, or whether you get the huge critique batches at week's end),
point your browser to http://www.critters.org/admin.ht .  Please don't
ask me to do this by hand, it's quite a chore!  (E.g., if you're going
on vacation and want to suspend mail from me -- do this before/after
your trip.)

BACKUP SITE:
If you're unable to reach www.critters.org to get manuscripts, I've set up
an emergency backup site at http://backup.critters.org where you can get the
week's manuscripts (but not much of anything else :-).  Speaking of backups --
don't forget to back up your own manuscripts so you don't lose them!

QUITTING:
If you want to quit or go inactive, drop by http://www.critters.org/admin.ht
for your choices.

DONATIONS:
Critters is funded by donations, so visit http://www.critters.org/donate.php
if you'd like to help out.

Suggested reading... ESCAPE! by BEN BOVA
No end to Danny's sentence, watched by a sentient computer, and no way out of the escape-proof prison, there was only one thing to do...
http://reanimus.com/store/?item=1198