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Post by Ian McArdell on Jul 8, 2021 21:08:44 GMT
I did but didn’t hear back 😕 I am keeping my fingers crossed that it did go through 🤞 Did anyone else not get an email confirmation when they submitted their entry? I am glad I have that other audio drama competition to enter soon it makes waiting to hear about Paul Spragg seem less nerve wracking. If Paul Spragg doesn’t work for me this year maybe the other one will. Or vice versa. Or better yet both competitions (hey, I can dream😉)! Sidenote: Good luck to all who entered!😊 Update: BF just emailed 😊 they did receive my submission! That’s a relief! I'm really pleased to hear that timegirl, it would be awful not knowing if it arrived or not. At least now you're in the same boat as the rest of us! Fingers crossed eh?
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Post by timegirl on Jul 8, 2021 21:09:41 GMT
Update: BF just emailed 😊 they did receive my submission! That’s a relief! I'm really pleased to hear that timegirl, it would be awful not knowing if it arrived or not. At least now you're in the same boat as the rest of us! Fingers crossed eh? Aww thanks 😊 fingers crossed for everyone!🤞
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Jul 8, 2021 23:02:54 GMT
I will keep saying it, Massive tip of the hat and respect to everyone who enters this competition. It's a real labour of love, the art of writing. No doubt it's stressful as you would constantly go back and critique every word, sentence, paragraph, "tone" etc..
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Post by timegirl on Jul 8, 2021 23:11:00 GMT
I will keep saying it, Massive tip of the hat and respect to everyone who enters this competition. It's a real labour of love, the art of writing. No doubt it's stressful as you would constantly go back and critique every word, sentence, paragraph, "tone" etc.. Thanks 😊 Oh definitely! You don’t how much I over examine my creative projects! I agonize over every line of dialogue and direction sometimes! On my other project I am waiting to hear back about I had a direction I had added in later on that I agonized for over a week if I should keep it or not. Sidenote: I did keep the direction 😉
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Jul 8, 2021 23:42:57 GMT
I will keep saying it, Massive tip of the hat and respect to everyone who enters this competition. It's a real labour of love, the art of writing. No doubt it's stressful as you would constantly go back and critique every word, sentence, paragraph, "tone" etc.. Thanks 😊 Oh definitely! You don’t how much I over examine my creative projects! I agonize over every line of dialogue and direction sometimes! On my other project I am waiting to hear back about I had a direction I had added in later on that I agonized for over a week if I should keep it or not. Sidenote: I did keep the direction 😉 If only it was as easy as Stephen King, still churning out novels, sometimes multiple, every year. Then you have George R R Martin who takes forever !
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Post by butler on Jul 9, 2021 7:25:01 GMT
Fellow entrants, how do you weigh up the pros/cons of your entry this year? I'm posting mine mostly as a reminder to myself for what to work on next year.
Pros: Original idea that turns on a bit of DW lore that hasn't been explored previously. Good effort at constructing a streamlined story (two characters, single setting). Opening excerpt set the tone well and had a couple of decent jokes in there.
Cons: Didn't make a strong case for how the story would fit into the word/time limit (I'm confident it can, but BF might beg to differ). Opening excerpt should have given a bit more description of the setting and the characters' relationship instead of trying so hard to end on a punchline. Synopsis was very 'event-focused' and didn't really describe the emotional arc of the characters.
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Post by Lafayette on Jul 10, 2021 6:14:02 GMT
I definitely wish I would've started mine sooner; I'm pretty happy with what I put forth, but as time went on after the deadline, I couldn't stop thinking of the story and how I could have condensed it. I could have also taken out a character and made the focus more refined! Definitely learned something from the experience.
I do think my story was decently original and exciting, at least enough to motivate me to keep writing it afterwards anyway!
Before all of that, I had a fun idea that explained something meta about Who. And as the story evolved, it was becoming harder and harder to keep that aspect intact because it just didn't fit well. It looked tacked on, because at that point, it essentially was. So, making changes for a better story wins out, easily.
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Post by edwardgrove on Jul 16, 2021 2:03:20 GMT
Anyone know when they typically start notifying people?
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Post by timegirl on Jul 16, 2021 2:09:17 GMT
Anyone know when they typically start notifying people? I was wondering the same thing!
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Post by timegirl on Jul 16, 2021 2:12:13 GMT
Anyone know when they typically start notifying people? By July 31 they will contact the winning entry🙂
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CTxCB
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Post by CTxCB on Jul 16, 2021 10:32:26 GMT
I submitted mine about two days before the deadline, and I only started working on my submission about five or six days before that! I just totally forgot about the Paul Spragg Competition this year until really late, having sent submissions usually after a month or so of work, with a week to go. Ironically, this submission is the one I've been most confident of. Although, I'm not really sure if the guys at Big Finish will like it, or if they believe I can get everything I promise in the full 5K words if it were to be commissioned. I'm hoping, though... After three or four submissions over previous years, I'm starting to feel like I'm getting nowhere.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2021 16:22:55 GMT
I submitted an entry to the competition just before the deadline. I’m hoping it was up to their standards. I wasn’t 100% clear on the rules I will admit.
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Post by butler on Jul 25, 2021 8:33:29 GMT
Anyone know when they typically start notifying people? By July 31 they will contact the winning entry🙂 They also usually tweet when the winner has been contacted so that everyone else can stop pestering them wondering.
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Post by doctorkernow on Jul 25, 2021 19:54:33 GMT
I submitted mine about two days before the deadline, and I only started working on my submission about five or six days before that! I just totally forgot about the Paul Spragg Competition this year until really late, having sent submissions usually after a month or so of work, with a week to go. Ironically, this submission is the one I've been most confident of. Although, I'm not really sure if the guys at Big Finish will like it, or if they believe I can get everything I promise in the full 5K words if it were to be commissioned. I'm hoping, though... After three or four submissions over previous years, I'm starting to feel like I'm getting nowhere. Hello again fellow wordsmiths,
I didn't even get anything completed to send in, so you are one ahead of me, CTxCB. Like you I have submitted most years and after the initial disappointment, you have to relax. First of all lots of fellow hopefuls take part in this opportunity, so you have not, (so far) been successful. There are other opportunities advertised on BBC Writers Room if you see yourself as a potential script writer. Alternatively, if like me, prose is more your scene, there are short story opportunities from time to time. I've found this website an interesting read: www.christopherfielden.com/short-story-tips-and-writing-advice/short-story-magazines.php
You have to think that every time you submit anything to any competition or submission opportunity you have come up with an idea, you have completed a synopsis which is not an easy task and you completed the work before the deadline. Meeting deadlines is an important part of demonstrating you are a serious writer. As others have said on the very informative threads: tips from the pros and the writing for Big Finish you need to have a focus. What's your aim as a writer?
Mine for 2020/21 was to complete a submnission for a charity Who anthology, finally complete my children's fantasy novel and send submissions to the Big Finish Paul Spragg Oppotunity and the Divergent Wordsmiths Unbound Imaginings anthology. Now, I had a good start to the year and completed the charity anthology submission on time, I just about managed to send an entry to Big Finish but in the middle of the year, I had a major family emergency and was unable to submit to the Wordsmiths. I enjoyed reading their finished anthology and still have the work I did manage to do on the stories ready to fight another day.
Now, in November, with the family a bit more settled, I was able to take part in Nanowrimo, a month where you set yourself a word count and try to reach it by the end of the month. To my surprise, I managed to complete my fantasy story. From then, I did a lot of research about how to edit and format a manuscript, how to write a pitch, a letter to an agent and managed to send submissions to 5 agents. Only one replied with a thoughtful and interesting letter which was a polite no, but I will continue to work on the story and try again.
I really wish you well CTxCB in all your writing endeavours. There are many of us on the forum who harbour the writing ambition. You will feel discouraged at times but writing well is like any skill, you have to work at it. Keep pushing at doors, always reply politely t oany rejection letters, read, watch and listen to all you can and all my very best.
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Post by nucleusofswarm on Jul 25, 2021 19:58:18 GMT
Although, I'm not really sure if the guys at Big Finish will like it, or if they believe I can get everything I promise in the full 5K words if it were to be commissioned. I'm hoping, though... After three or four submissions over previous years, I'm starting to feel like I'm getting nowhere. Actually, now there's something I can give that's useful: williamsfan had a similar question about writing on Who and, lo and behold, writers on the forum chipped in to help him out with writing and career advice if you'd like some ways forward that go beyond PS:
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Post by timegirl on Jul 30, 2021 13:31:25 GMT
I can’t believe they are contacting who ever will be the winner tomorrow! Good luck to all who entered!🤞😊
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2021 14:03:35 GMT
Amazing how quickly this month has gone. Good luck to everyone who's entered the competition. Whatever happens next, remember this -- you've done well.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2021 14:19:07 GMT
They did say by 31st July, but then again... I don't care if I don't win. All the best to everybody, nonetheless!
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Post by Ian McArdell on Jul 30, 2021 14:25:02 GMT
Anyone else assiduously checking their inbox today, just in case? ;-)
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Post by timegirl on Jul 30, 2021 14:33:25 GMT
Anyone else assiduously checking their inbox today, just in case? ;-) Me! All this week....
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