Editorial - Kailhofer Flash Fiction Editor

Tell us what you thought about the April 2009 issue!
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Megawatts
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Post by Megawatts »

Congratulation Nate. Good one. It's a nice exercise and I'm going
to have to try!!
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Robert_Moriyama
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New word count ranges?

Post by Robert_Moriyama »

Are we adding "Flash" to the button bar and list of sections? If so, should we now add "flash@aphelion-webzine.com" to the Contacts page, and define a new LOWER limit for Short Stories word counts? (Apparently, the current Guidelines indicate that Short Stories submissions should be at least 1,500 words, but I have accepted a couple that are even BELOW 1,000 words.)

On the other hand, if we are just formalizing Nate's role as High Priest of Flash Challenges, Nate will have to come up with a new schedule so results of the previous Challenge and details of each new Challenge fit in with the rest of our (spotty) "publication schedule". This could mean that the window between opening of a Challenge and cutoff for submissions may have to be even shorter than has been the case up to now...

Opinions? Comments? Cash donations? Negotiable bonds?

RM
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doc
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Post by doc »

I think it is approriate that we recognize Nate for all the work that he's doing on the zine. I don't see any reason to change the working forumla, though. The original purpose of the contests was to draw people to the forums. The forums should remain the home for that endevor.
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kailhofer
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Thank you

Post by kailhofer »

Thank you, Dan, and thank you all.

It's nice to have friends and even nicer to feel so appreciated.


What "Flash Fiction Editor" entails is a little uncertain. At the time, I asked to shepherd the Aphelion Explorer series, and added that I'd love to make the challenges an official part of the zine. I didn't know I'd gotten the job until I read the editorial. It's probably the pixie in Dan, wanting to surprise me. And it did, pleasantly.

If it would be more apt to say "Challenge Editor", then I'll make growing all manner [Edit: Ok, Tao, you caught me on 'manor'.] of writing challenges my goal. If instead I can better serve by receiving & handling flash stories like other editors do in their respective categories and then put them in html pages under a flash section, then I'll do that. If, as Robert said, it's kind of High Priest of the challenges thing, I'm fine with that, too. At this point, I'm for whatever best serves the zine and the Aphelion community.

Point me in a direction, Boss, and I'll set sail, proudly waving the Aphelion banner wherever I go.

Absolutely, I would love a button for Flash. What exactly it should point to is a little less certain. Moving all the existing stories outside the forum, I'm not so sure about. Forum code and html are not the same. That might be a monumental task for 150 stories. I've assumed it was a conflict in the order of nested formatting that was keeping IE7 from working right, and have been straightening that out. I don't have an IE7 PC from which to test it.

Honestly, A Flash Challenges button that points to the Fun and Games folder would be ok by me. The challenges evolved as a forum creation. Part of what makes them work is the back and forth that happens in the threads. And as Rob pointed out, they were supposed to draw people to the forum, and I might add, to keep us all feeling creative & loyal to our favorite zine. That was the point of it. Creating a hell of a lot of great fiction was a byproduct.

The quality of 'byproduct' is a lot of the problem. All your stories deserve to be seen by more people.

Perhaps 'splitting' a flash folder would be better. Since the index is linked by message id number rather than folders, I don't think that splitting the topic would actually mess up the index. I could be wrong, however.

If I have to rebuild the index, regardless of form, I will. I keep copies of the index posts and all the stories that make it up, just in case it needs to be built again. I had to do it once before, if you recall.

How about this: maybe there should be a flash button, but it could point to a separate html page that explains the challenges, then offers links to the F&G or Flash folder and the index messages. It could also be a place to post the names of the winners like Robert has been doing at the bottom of the Shorts page. That would be very much like the rest of the zine. A separate html index should (in theory) be creatable from the forum one... I think. So Maybe we could have more than one version of the index without too much trouble.

The Explorer series page needs to be updated & stories added, so learning how to do one should allow me to do the other each month. That is, if that's how things are done. I don't have my key to the executive washroom yet.

Nate
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kailhofer
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another plug

Post by kailhofer »

I just wanted to add that for anyone who hasn't looked at the challenges in a while, this one has the fewest rules since we started doing them.

It's kinder & more gentle, while still a challenge.
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kailhofer
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presentation question

Post by kailhofer »

I'm throwing this question out to the authors who entered in the Aphelion Project challenges, and also to any other authors who may be interesting in writing future stories.

I'm thinking through some ideas on how to present the stories. In the series pages, there's generally an archive page that lists each of the separate stories and the authors. I certainly will want to do that, but what I'm toying with is also presenting the stories a different way, as a continuously updated novel as well. All the authors would be given credit up front of course, then the stories intermingled chronologically to make a complete tale. If another story (or section of a story) is written later that fits in-between, then it would be added in the correct spot.

I've heard a little about this from Hero because it came up during a separate discussion, but I would like to know the opinions of the rest of you. Would that be agreeable to you? Is that something you'd like to see? Conceivably, if someone else wrote something that happened on the same day in the same setting, it could be spliced into the middle of "your" section of the story in the 'novel' version. That is, let's say someone wanted Gode and Doc to have a scene foreshadowing something that would happen later, but it happens at the same time Archana and Curtis are discussing Ophelia's pregnancy. Then the new scene would be spliced in right after Archana was dismissed. *** markers would delineate the scene shifts/splices. I would not allow things like adding dialog to existing conversations or an extra action in someone's scene, etc.

Obviously the stories would be listed separately as well, so you'd always be able to refer to what exactly was your work, but I want to make sure no one has a problem with that. I would add that every later story would not be allowed to alter the events of a previous story.

Myself, I kind of like the idea of trying a Aphelion Explorer/Project novel, especially one that could be different every time you read it, but just because I like it doesn't mean it's a popular notion. Maybe it will get disjointed, but I think it would be an interesting thing to try.

So, what do you all think about that?

Nate
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Robert_Moriyama
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Lots o' flash submissions...

Post by Robert_Moriyama »

It seems that allowing stories in the flash fiction length range (i.e., 1000 words plus or minus...) has led to quite a few submissions of that length. Nate, once you have all the appropriate access privileges, would you like to see them, or should I continue to handle them? You would be getting odds and ends from new authors, but also from veterans like Joe Vadalma...

(If we do hive off the 1000 +/- x stuff, we'll need a new button and set of folders, of course...)
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kailhofer
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Re: Lots o' flash submissions...

Post by kailhofer »

Robert_Moriyama wrote:It seems that allowing stories in the flash fiction length range (i.e., 1000 words plus or minus...) has led to quite a few submissions of that length. Nate, once you have all the appropriate access privileges, would you like to see them, or should I continue to handle them? You would be getting odds and ends from new authors, but also from veterans like Joe Vadalma...

(If we do hive off the 1000 +/- x stuff, we'll need a new button and set of folders, of course...)
Is this an all of the sudden thing, or has it been building over time?

That last bit, the button, pages, and new folders, will probably be the crucial point. New sections of the zine have to be created by Rob as I understand it, so in the end it would probably be up to him if it will happened or not. I'm certainly available to discuss it, email, PM, or otherwise.

I took Dan's message to mean that I'm more of a high priest of writing challenges, but I'd be happy to handle the flash stories if we had a place to put them. I like flash. I like reading them. (I have no idea how much work that would actually be, but I am eager to help out around here.)

Nate
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Robert_Moriyama
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Give 'em an inch...

Post by Robert_Moriyama »

I think it just "growed", like Topsy. The official guidelines apparently said something about a LOWER limit of about 1,500 words, but I accepted a few that were shorter than that. Once the little devils noticed, the number of sub-1,500 word submissions started to increase. The reason I mentioned it just now is that the December 2008 submissions had several flash-length entries (running only a couple of single-spaced pages)...

As you say, it will take an act of Publisher/Editor-in-Chief and Webmaven to actually implement a new section.

RM
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kailhofer
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ftp

Post by kailhofer »

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Dan. No, I have no intention of screwing anything up, if for no other reason so I don't have to fix it later.

If there will a flash challenge page, Rob and I will have to work out some procedures & timing, since challenges usually come out a week after the rest of the zine, and I don't want him to have to do more work because of me. Maybe that means the challenges will change when they come out, maybe they won't. I sent him a PM about it earlier, and I'm sure he'll let me know the way he wants it. I'm seeking a harmonious relationship there.

Robert, it sounds like for now, they're still yours to handle as you see fit, unless enough come in it warrants a change to adding a flash story section. That is, unless you don't want to take care of them, in which case I'd be happy to help with them. Those stories are your turf right now, and I'm certainly not looking to step on your toes.

Mark, the Audacity works fine. Though I can't tell if I'm any good at what I'm doing with it or not. I don't have much frame of reference for what makes a good recording. However, I don't have a lot of time to experiment with it at the moment between trying to figure out Nvu, writing the new series bible, and coming up with next month's challenge. I will work on it when I have the time.

But yes, I firmly believe that some of the flash stories that have been submitted for the challenges would make excellent audio offerings, and would encourage their authors to try.

Nate
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Bill Warren

Post by kailhofer »

I just received a message from Bill Warren about this universe, and I'm very, very happy to report that Bill's on board, and is still willing to create art for completed stories. Plus, he said he'd lend a hand with artwork for the series bible.

Authors, Bill really liked your stories. He hadn't known they existed until 2 days ago, and he read them all in one sitting when he found out. He's hooked on what he's read, the characters and situations.

Home run, everybody!

This is going to be such a cool series...

Nate
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