Since it was always my intent, upon entering wotf, to place in the contest or win, I started with research. After buying some 5-10 different copies of the anthology’s past years, I sat down and analyzed the stories. I placed them in categories according to how ‘literary’ they were, vs. being of a more commercial, action/adventure bend. If there was a significant moment of growth for the character, and/or a moral to the story. Whether they were SF or F, and if so, what style of SF and F.

I don’t have the notes to hand, but I definitely found strong trends, and also realized that virtually all of the stories are fundamentally different in tone, etc., from the stories I most enjoy writing and gravitate toward. For me, writing a story I intend to be a strong contender with wotf is either a very infrequent thing (once, twice in my ten plus years writing) or something I do while feeling that I’m wearing someone elses clothes, and walking in someone elses shoes.

The trouble is, I don\’t want to write those kind of stories anymore, and don\’t want to expend my writing time and energy on the contest. Entering the contest was always just a means to an end, and has now become a distraction from the end goal.

I don\’t really have a problem with that, per se…I just don\’t like walking away from something before I\’ve mastered it. Or at least made my mark, or achieved that goal.

It\’s just something I\’m going to have to get over.

But don\’t let my grousing disturb you. Congrats on your Honorable Mention, and good luck!