Critters^TM Workshop

Weekly Notes

Notes for 16-Oct-2019...

This week the Critters Fund Drive is sponsored by sales of the Paperback edition of...

	HOT SKY AT MIDNIGHT by Robert Silverberg

		Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/1081734620/?tag=critters3a-20
	
	Earth in almost uninhabitable. Private orbital colonies are the luxury refuge for those who can pay. Valparaiso Nuevo is one of these colonies. Run by a shadowy dictator known only as the Generalissimo, it is haven and a center of action for hustlers, conspirators and people looking for an edge. Victor Farkas, operative of the megacorporation Kyocera-Merck Ltd., is blind but gifted with hypersensitive "blindsight." He comes to the habitat in search of a renegade geneticist of legendary skill. Back on Earth, Nick Rhodes, head of Samurai Industries, which is attempting to breed humans that can thrive in the horrendous conditions expected to prevail on Earth, struggles with his conscience as he manipulates genetic structures and lives. Paul Carpenter works for a Japanese mega-corporation, seeking promotion and survival, but loses his job as a ship captain after a mutiny. Rhodes introduces him to an acquaintance of his girlfriend Isabelle. Jolanda is a talented sculptor, a passionate lover and a secret plotter. She embroils Carpenter in a scheme to take over Valparaiso Nuevo along with Enron, an Israeli spy, Farkas, and Rhodes. Their goals are individually motivated but the deadly combination of ambition, distrust, greed, stupidity, and lust leads to a dramatic conclusion that replicates in miniature the history of man's destruction of his own living space on the planet.

A bleak picture of future Earth and a complex plot peopled with dark, rich characters, comes together as one of Silverberg's finer novels.

                                   -+-

Thanks for the donations, folks!  We are 72.3% of the way to the fund drive goal with contributions from 120 donors, leaving about $1100 to go.
Thanks especially to

	Susan Gordon
	Bill Leonard

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

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


                                   -+-
Woohoo!  Congratulations to...

	- Joel E. Roosa, who sold his (Critter'd) short story, "Red
	Planit" to Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores. {"Planit" is not
	a typo of "Planet."}

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

                                   -+-

This week's Most Productive Critter award, for 4 critiques (at time
of judging), averaging over 2800 words each, goes to...

	Francine Taylor

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
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Critters Workshop
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This week we have... [get from http://www.critters.org/private/mss.php ]...
                                                 
     Title                      	Author
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Week of 16-Oct-2019 (Crits due 23-Oct-2019):
 F   Gangland, Chapter 1                Carl Alves -#28753
 SF  Perfectly Rational Gamblers        Henry McFarland -#28754
 H   Trading It In                      Madison Estes -#28755
 SF  The Poor Man's Vacation            Steve Levandoski -#28756
 SF  Escape from an Infinite Regress    T M Heckman -#28757
 SF  Changelings excerpts revised       Liam Corley -#28758
 SF  A Fire Born-The First Dead Sun     Anthony W -#28759
 H   Bad Reflection                     Rick Moyer -#28760
 SF  Further to Fall, Chapters 2-3      Garrett Menning -#28761
 H   The Orthogonal Tunnel - Part 1     Joseph Mennuti -#28762
 F   The Wizard's Tower, Chapters 4-5   Jason Newman -#28763
 SF  Sleeper Cell                       Jen Glowaski -#28764
 H   My Nephew Will Bury Us in Trash    Ted Carmichael -#28765

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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
 
Because you might enjoy it... BOBBY'S GIRL by J. D. AUSTIN
Brilliant Hollywood director Bobby meets the woman of his dreams - an undercover alien on the run
https://reanimus.com/store/?item=1520
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Pieces up for critique in other workshops...

In the lit workshop - http://critique.org/lit :
 L   The Circle of Souls                Tom Knemeyer -#28681
 L   Development                        Abigail Rowe -#28682

In the mystery workshop - http://critique.org/mystery :
 AC  Garbage Island                     Courtney Webb -#28752

In the nonfiction workshop - http://critique.org/nonfiction :
 NO  Chapter 1. A Great man Falls       Jim Parry -#28486

In the script workshop - http://critique.org/script :
 SC  Loose Lips                         Robert Qualkinbush -#28625

In the kids workshop - http://critique.org/kids :
 YP  Saul T. Unyon: The Short End of a Tall Tale  Michelle Henrie -#28566

In the comics workshop - http://critique.org/comics :
 CG  Metropolise, Chapter 1             Carina Mchardy -#26473

In the western workshop - http://critique.org/western :
 W   A Message to Santa Fe, Chap 1-3    Frank Coombs -#25375

In the romance workshop - http://critique.org/romance :
 R   Pack Chapters 1-3                  Anastasia Bromberg -#28384

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 :
 AH  Art Man, a portrait                Robert J Cleary -#27847

In the website workshop - http://critique.org/website :
 WW  Ax-yZ The Creative Projects Platform  Charles Gull -#27088

In the critters workshop - http://critique.org/critters :
 F   Gangland, Chapter 1                Carl Alves -#28753
 SF  Perfectly Rational Gamblers        Henry McFarland -#28754
 H   Trading It In                      Madison Estes -#28755
 SF  The Poor Man's Vacation            Steve Levandoski -#28756
 SF  Escape from an Infinite Regress    T M Heckman -#28757
 SF  Changelings excerpts revised       Liam Corley -#28758
 SF  A Fire Born-The First Dead Sun     Anthony W -#28759
 H   Bad Reflection                     Rick Moyer -#28760
 SF  Further to Fall, Chapters 2-3      Garrett Menning -#28761
 H   The Orthogonal Tunnel - Part 1     Joseph Mennuti -#28762
 F   The Wizard's Tower, Chapters 4-5   Jason Newman -#28763
 SF  Sleeper Cell                       Jen Glowaski -#28764
 H   My Nephew Will Bury Us in Trash    Ted Carmichael -#28765
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You might also like... SCIENTISTS AND SCOUNDRELS by ROBERT SILVERBERG
A tour through scientific frauds and how they were exposed.
https://reanimus.com/store/?item=1618

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 discussion forums (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 .

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

Because you might enjoy it... THE BOX: AN ORAL HISTORY OF TELEVISION, 1920-1961 by JEFF KISSELOFF
An oral history of TV from those who were there 'Wondrous' - New York Times Book Review
https://reanimus.com/store/?item=1336

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