Critters^TM Workshop

Weekly Notes

Notes for 25-Mar-2020...


Thanks for the donations, folks!  We are 92.0% of the way to the fund drive goal with contributions from 163 donors, leaving about $300 to go.
Thanks especially to

	Jon Bodenshot
	Philip Lindeman

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

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

                                   -+-
The Critters Fund Drive is supported this week by sales of the new release of a great hard SF book:

	PROBE by Edward M. Lerner - $3.99

		ReAnimus Press Store: www.ReAnimus.com/1667
		Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/B085PS6M7K/?tag=critters3a-20
		 (available in both ebook and paperback)

	
What if First Contact doesn't come the way we expect it--or with the sort of aliens we expect? When both sides have secrets within secrets to keep, how is anyone supposed to know the truth--or live long enough to tell it? Will it turn out to be the greatest discovery of all time... or the biggest hoax?
 Bob Hanson, the chief scientist of a major aerospace corporation, has made an incredible discovery: a wrecked alien spacecraft adrift in the Asteroid Belt. The evidence is compelling--but turns into
 much more than he had ever bargained for. Is the truth something really unimaginable?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Author of fifteen SF novels (five of them collaborations with Larry Niven) and dozens of shorter works, Edward M. Lerner won the inaugural Canopus Award for fiction "honoring excellence in interstellar writing." His stories have also been nominated for Locus, Prometheus, and Hugo awards.

"Edward M. Lerner is the quintessential Analog writer, combining well-researched scientific and technological speculation with compelling characters and thought-provoking plots."
--Analog Science Fiction and Fact

"Leave it to Edward M. Lerner to take a notion, run with it, squeeze every ramification out of it, and put it altogether in an irresistible page-turner."
--Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of Red Planet Blues

"Edward M. Lerner ... is one of the best kept secrets in SF."
--Tangent Online

                                   -+-
Woohoo!  Congratulations to...

	- Richard Zwicker, whose (Critter'd) short story, "Repeat as
	Necessary" is now out in the current issue of Hybrid Fiction.


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

                                   -+-

This week's Most Productive Critter award, for 7 critiques (at time
of judging), averaging almost 1000 words each, goes to...

	Adam Pitts

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 25-Mar-2020 (Crits due 1-Apr-2020):
 SF  Rosie's Friend                     Henry McFarland -#29032
 F   The Wizards of Llandwellyn: Part 2: Chapters 15-16  Eric Wilson -#29033
 SF  Premium Resurrection Pack - $99    Renan Bernardo -#29034
 SF  The Pleading Eyes of the Screaming Lettuce  [@] Larry Hodges -#29035
 H   After the First Death              Andrew Giffin -#29036
 SF  Further to Fall, Chapter 7         Garrett Menning -#29037
 F   The Sheenseeker: Chapter 1 - Vesper  Heather Gaither -#29038
 F   Shift, Chapters 1-2                Julia Kell -#29039
 H   Commencement                       Amanda Niehaus-Hard -#29040
 H   The Beachcombers                   Rachel Meza -#29041
 SF  The Hostage Protocol               Eli Cepeda -#29042
 F   The Nova Cycle                     Chris de Boer -#29043
 H   Drown Me, Obsidian, Chapter 1      Ryan Ring -#29044
 SF  Bots Don't Lie                     Todd Moody -#29045
 SF  The Reverse Time Capsule           Ben Coppin -#29046
 SF  Cosmobourous                       JC Crochet -#29047

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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... SECRET OF THE MARAUDER SATELLITE by TED WHITE
New space school grad Paul gets the dangerous jobs, but there's more up there than anyone knew...
https://reanimus.com/store/?item=1587
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Pieces up for critique in other workshops...

In the lit workshop - http://critique.org/lit :
 L   Unlikely Helpers                   E.V. Zukowski -#28966

In the mystery workshop - http://critique.org/mystery :
 M   Southern Gems Chapters 1-5         Jim Steele -#29004

In the nonfiction workshop - http://critique.org/nonfiction :
 NO  Belief in Proportion to the Evidence, Cha. 7 Without any Loss or Dishonour  Jim Parry -#28884

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  Magna. logline/ synopsis           Brent Claridge -#28885

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 :
 SF  Rosie's Friend                     Henry McFarland -#29032
 F   The Wizards of Llandwellyn: Part 2: Chapters 15-16  Eric Wilson -#29033
 SF  Premium Resurrection Pack - $99    Renan Bernardo -#29034
 SF  The Pleading Eyes of the Screaming Lettuce  [@] Larry Hodges -#29035
 H   After the First Death              Andrew Giffin -#29036
 SF  Further to Fall, Chapter 7         Garrett Menning -#29037
 F   The Sheenseeker: Chapter 1 - Vesper  Heather Gaither -#29038
 F   Shift, Chapters 1-2                Julia Kell -#29039
 H   Commencement                       Amanda Niehaus-Hard -#29040
 H   The Beachcombers                   Rachel Meza -#29041
 SF  The Hostage Protocol               Eli Cepeda -#29042
 F   The Nova Cycle                     Chris de Boer -#29043
 H   Drown Me, Obsidian, Chapter 1      Ryan Ring -#29044
 SF  Bots Don't Lie                     Todd Moody -#29045
 SF  The Reverse Time Capsule           Ben Coppin -#29046
 SF  Cosmobourous                       JC Crochet -#29047
----------------------------------------------------------------------

You might also like... HOT SKY AT MIDNIGHT by ROBERT SILVERBERG
Greed comes home to roost in a future Earth and her colonies, and the renegades look to take over.
https://reanimus.com/store/?item=1617

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... KAHEESH by JERRY SOHL
  
https://reanimus.com/store/?item=1365

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