KW Anthology - and this time we mean it!

[Alynna Lis Eachann]

I don't suppose there's room for another proofreader? I seriously doubt I'll be in any position to submit anything worthwhile in the next few months (those killer ideas I used to have got crowded out by neo-liberal economics and deer, go figure), but I'd love to help with this. If you need me, let me know! If not, well, I guess I'll go sulk or something...

[Dragonlily]

More than one proofreader is actually a good thing, because not everyone is going to catch everything. I was hoping Fist would want to do it, too.

[Avatar]

I've heard mention of poetry being included in the anthology, but nothing definitive. Are we adding poetry to the short stories? I should say now, I'm not qualified to edit poetry. I don't know anyone who is, actually. It's so personal.

Good question, and perhaps we can get a descision on this from the committee? Chances are I'll only have a submission if it is poetry or a short, (about a page) essay-style prose pieces.

I'm easy either way though, so just let us know.

--Avatar

[Myste]

Poetry is tough to edit--but I think if we leave it up to the selction committee to decide whether or not a particular poem should qualify for inclusion, then it'd be pretty easy to take care of. Poetry would still need proofreading, and assuming we can discuss with the author any questions we have about meaning and so forth, it shouldn't be a problem.

That does lay the burden of the job on the selection committee, but I'm sure they can handle it.

Forest Dreamer, it sounds like you're in! Welcome!

As for anyone worried about somebody taking their ideas--you can't copyright ideas, you can only copyright the expression of them. Since there are only 7 plots in the whole world, literature would be nowhere if people couldn't borrow ideas. Bono says "Every artist is a cannibal; every poet is a thief." And it's true.

As for protecting your particular mode of expression, well, anyone who publishes anything is in danger of being plagiarized. I don' t think that a person who would pass someone else's words off as their own is going to look for the © sign, see it, and say, "Whoa, better not plagiarize that!"They're going to do it no matter what. And if they get famous off of it, and make lots of money, all you need to do is hire a lawyer, show him your copy of the KW Anthology--which will have the date of publication on it--and show him that you actually wrote it first. The the Evil Plagiarist will have to give you some money, and you'll get a book deal of your own (especially since you'll have lots of free publicity at the expense of the Plagiarist) and you'll be golden. If someone steals your words and publishes a book and becomes a big flop, at least you'll know your words weren't that great to begin with, and you should try again. It's all very simple, really.

Or you could just go to a notary.

[Nathan]

Since there are only 7 plots in the whole world

I thought there were 5.
Have two more been invented since, or did I just miss them first time?

[Myste]

The 7 Basic Plots:

1. [wo]man vs. nature
2. [wo]man vs. man
3. [wo]man vs. the environment
4. [wo]man vs. machines/technology
5. [wo]man vs. the supernatural
6. [wo]man vs. self
7. [wo]man vs. god/religion

Alternative 7 Basic Plots:

1. overcoming the monster
2. rags to riches
3. the quest
4. voyage and return
5. comedy
6. tragedy
7. rebirth

Of course, there are some people who claim there is only 1 basic plot, ever: Conflict.

And there are some who claim that there are, in fact, 36 basic plots.

However, since there are roughly 7500 novels published each year in the US alone, it doesn't really matter how many or few they are, because they're all going to get recycled one way or another.

[Nathan]

It's meaningless to divide them up into categories really, because it all depends where you place the divisions.

[Myste]

Precisely. The division of the seven basic plots is the most arbitrary thing since the invention of the "minute", which is made up of something called a "second." How long is a second, exactly? Who decided?

In which case (and to put us back on track), any schedule we could possibly create for this project is essentially meaningless, since divisions of time are so very arbitrary. If we want to be honest, we must decide a) all language belongs to everybody, therefore no one can really steal it and b) all concepts of time are purely individual, in which case we must each set our own schedules.

The problem of course is that in order to coordinate our efforts to the production of a book, we must all agree to conform to a single concept of time. But whose? Greenwich's? The atom's? Eastern Standard?

[Worm of Despite]

Precisely. The division of the seven basic plots is the most arbitrary thing since the invention of the "minute", which is made up of something called a "second." How long is a second, exactly? Who decided?

The sun?

The problem of course is that in order to coordinate our efforts to the production of a book, we must all agree to conform to a single concept of time. But whose? Greenwich's? The atom's? Eastern Standard?

I humbly suggest Eastern Time (US & Canada), because I live there.

[Myste]

The sun?

Difficult. I believe the sun sets much earlier in some parts of the world than others, due to the roundness of the earth and its habit of axal rotation. Therefore trying to coordinate a due date of "sixty suns from now" might lead to a number of submissions coming in at differing "times", thereby confusing me entirely and making me lose track of which sun I'm under.

[CovenantJr]

Precisely. The division of the seven basic plots is the most arbitrary thing since the invention of the "minute", which is made up of something called a "second." How long is a second, exactly? Who decided?

In which case (and to put us back on track), any schedule we could possibly create for this project is essentially meaningless, since divisions of time are so very arbitrary. If we want to be honest, we must decide a) all language belongs to everybody, therefore no one can really steal it and b) all concepts of time are purely individual, in which case we must each set our own schedules.

Two questions about submissions to the anthology:

1) Is 858 words too few? Something came flowing out through my typing fingers, and it ended my customary length of around 850 words.

2) Is more than one submission a problem? I'm thinking of submitting the thing I wrote today, but I also have an epic (by my standards) in progress. It's so long I'll probably never finish it, but this self-contained segment is shaping up to be between 2000 and 5000 words. If I finish writing said segment, and I'm happy with it, I may want to try submitting that. Should I hold off on today's story in case, or would it be ok to send both?

[hierachy]

Well, I am iminantly going to send the proposed selection guidelines to the selection committee, and it does cover this issue...

So, here's what the submitter will need to know:

There is no minimum word limit, but it would probably be advisable to submit something slightly more substantial.

You can submit two stories, but the selection comittee is advised to select a maximum of one per person--depending on the number of overall submissions--unless they are both of exceptional standard.

[Dragonlily]

It's possible for a story to change length during the editing process. I don't see that causing the story to be disqualified.

Also, I know of at least one longer story by a Watcher that should definitely be included if we find ourselves with room for more -- and if the author will finish it.

[hierachy]

Submission guidelines:

1. Try to keep your entry under 10,000 words, but don't worry if you're a bit over.

2. Try to keep to a SF/fantasy genre. Other types of story will be considered, however.

3. You can send as many submissions as you wish, but the selection committee will be unlikely to select more than one of them for the final anthology.

4. All submissions should be sent by 31/1/05 (or for people that have their dates the wrong way 1/31/05 ). The deadline may be extended if requested.

All submissions should be sent to KWAnthology@gmail.com

[Forest Dreamer]

Myste et al

just let me know when you need me and what you want me to do

forest dreamer

[Myste]

Thanks, Forest Dreamer! Dragonlily and I are still discussing exactly how we're going to do work out the technical stuff. Another Quarker will come in handy, especially when we get to page comp!

[Dragonlily]

Committee, have you gotten any submissions yet?

Has it occurred to anyone we might have enough good stuff for two books?

[Juan Valdez]

....quick note on copyright information for anyone concerned...the easiest and most cost effective way to copyright your work....of any media.....is to...obtain a package...anything from envelope manilla folder...or box..if need be....and mail it to yourself.....step two....dont open it...ever....when any package or letter is sent...it has a postmark date from a govt. office..(us postal).....this makes it a legal document of sorts....and will stand up in any court.....so if copyright issues ever creep up...or outright theft......all you do...is go to court on your appointed date...if you so choose to take it that far.....place your UNOPENED and POSTMARKED....package or letter etc....before the judge....he sees it is unopened...and untampered with.....and the postmark date...if it is truly your material you will most likely have taken these precautions before the other party.....and upon opening the package....the judge sees the work therein....and well..as long as it pre-dates any other evidence brought before him.....(again if it truly is yours...it will almost assuredly predate anything else)....then the case is yours......



hope this helps.....someone....


take care all....


-Juan Valdez

[kevinswatch]

I don't suppose there's room for another proofreader? I seriously doubt I'll be in any position to submit anything worthwhile in the next few months (those killer ideas I used to have got crowded out by neo-liberal economics and deer, go figure), but I'd love to help with this. If you need me, let me know! If not, well, I guess I'll go sulk or something...

Yeah, if you're still looking for an editor/proofreader, I'd vouch for Alynna. She's one of those English class nerds who's always making everyone else look bad with her essays. Hehe.

I think I'll send out my short story now, heh. It's not like I have to do anything else to it, I wrote it four years ago. And sadly it's the only work of short fiction I've ever done. Or maybe because it's so bad, it's not quite so sadly. It's not quite SciFi or Fantasy... Well, it could be sort of SciFiy. But definately not Fantasy...heh. Anyway, whoever is part of the selection group can read and find out.-jay

[Forest Dreamer]

I agree with Juan Valdez (Hi ), but to make it most effective you should also sign across the seal and make sure it is posted registered mail then it will have not only a maybe readable date stamp but will have a record of despatch and receipt.

Emailing it to yourself does effectively the same thing - or at least it does in Oz. Your email contains a number of headers and footers etc. that effectively date stamp your document with not only your machine time but those of the mail servers handling it.

two cents worth

forest dreamer