Hi everyone, just thought I'd let everyone know that the short story group has been streamlined and decluttered (there were a lot of absent, long gone members that were filling it up), now a few new members have joined it to give it a kick start :)

If anyone wants to join, any new members would be welcome. Hopefully we can get the group going again, it used to be a great hive of talent and activity, and hopefully can be again. :)
Edited by Bazz at 18:20:00 on 11 October 2015

*gives thread subtle bump when no one's looking*

I feel like the short story group has really come back to life, any new members will always be welcome :)

Thought I might post this in case people haven't seen it.

Might be a good incentive to get writing?

Stephen King short fiction competition

Hi Kirsty, thanks for the link. Be great to see you using the group again, if you're working on anything. I see you've got a story in the group, but I wasn't able to access it, I don't know why...
 

Hi Bazz
I am working on something just now and I will be sure to post it once it's done. I need to catch up on commenting too. I have read a few of the stories that are live, I just need to gather my thoughts and pass on what I think.

I would say that some of the longer stories might be too much for me, as I don't always have enough time to read everything, but I will certainly try! Good to see this group making a recovery.

Cheers, Kirsty 

That's great, be good to read more from you :)

We do have an unofficial 5k word limit in the group (i think that's fair), I know that anything longer can put people off.

Hi Felix,
Thanks for the info on the Stephen King Competition. I had a look at the conditions and, please correct me if I'm wrong, 12.1 effectively allows them to publish any entry AND you renounce your moral rights to your story?
This seems to happen a lot in comps ie the runners up agree to have their story published in an anthology but receive no recompense (except a copy of the book if they are lucky).
I had considered entering but not if I'm interpreting this 'theft' correctly.
.

you grant the Promoters a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence to use and publish your Competition entry in electronic format

That does seem a bit cheeky. It is a shame, a lot of writers struggle to get work published anywhere, and most never get paid much for it. I guess they're meant to be thankful for the publicity (which can, of course, be beneficial). The only prize here is publication on a website, does seem like they could have done a bit more.

The first prize is a two day masterclass with Stephen king's UK editor actually . It's the non-winners I feel sorry for.

Hi Tassie 
Well that does seem cheeky I agree, I only noticed the first prize. Can't imagine why they would do that really.... Hmm! Thanks for pointing this out for me and others.

Cheers, Kirsty

Yes, I read the terms and conditions of the Stephen King competition the other day, and by the time I'd finished I was thinking "You're 'aving a larf, mate ... " - they are more than usually mean. It's run by the Guardian, too - they should know better than that. And a masterclass with a good editor is fine, but I think they ought to give some prize-money, too.

I'm very glad to see that the Short Story group has revived. No one will believe this, but I really want to start participating again. I'm getting to it. Honest ...

I'm very glad to see that the Short Story group has revived. No one will believe this, but I really want to start participating again. I'm getting to it. Honest ...

Yes, great to see so many new stories there. Hope to see you there soon :)

Hullo. I think I might like to join the group as well. I'm not in a place where I can commit to writing whole stories just now, less still offer critiques (toddler and my own health issues mean that just getting near the keyboard is a major achievement). but I can't stop writing in my head, and now and then I'm getting some of it down. I don't want to clutter the place up being all inactive (i'm aware i'm doing that in 2 other groups already - really sorry guys, life kinda went upside down for me for a lot longer than anticipated). but i'm hoping that membership of the group would provide a bit of motivation to get back in the groove.

Hi, you're welcome to join the group, and I hope you find it helps to motivate you. I know you'd get a lot of feedback and encouragement. Hopefully you'd have time to comment on some of the other stories as well :)

Thanks Bazz, I've hit the button to join up :)