Critters^TM Workshop

Weekly Notes

Notes for 21-May-2025...

Great reading from ReAnimus Press - All benefiting the Critters Fund Drive

	THE NIGHT BROTHER by Craig Strete and Robert Wright Campbell - $5.99

		ReAnimus Press Store: www.ReAnimus.com/1751
		Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/B0DHJ8XTG9/?tag=critters3a-20
		 (available in ebook + hardcover + paperback)

	 While his drugged body slept on the operating table, Rowan's unconscious mind journeyed to a lifeless place without definite color or substance. In self defense against the death of the other that was also a death inside himself, he traveled back into the dark night of long ago, back to a time when he and the Siamese twin who was dying were as one.
 And Rowan heard voices.
 ...
 It was always awkward, being Siamese twins. Awake or asleep, it was hard to be comfortable.
 Of course, the corpse of the woman made it even more awkward.
The twin's voices were the only thing alive in the blackness of the night. Three bodies sprawled on the bed. The bed was large enough for three and seemed peculiarly suited to its occupants.
 A match flared in the dark. A candle caught and cast its shadow, banishing some of the gloom but not dispelling it. Rowan had lit the candle and he now peered through the darkness down at the corpse. How like Rowan to light a candle. As if the feeble light made anything better.
 Martin regarded the corpse in the dimly lit room.
 "Think of it, Rowan. She staggers into our room, late at night! Who knows what's in her mind! She falls across our legs, naked. Naked! Mustn't forget that. She heaves herself across us with either her last bit of strength or nonchalance and stops breathing. Curious is it not? Perhaps she was thinking of sex at the last moment, though why she would have that kind of thought in our direction is beyond me."
 Martin waved the bottle for emphasis.
 "Maybe it's some form of weird kamikaze sex? Do you think that is what she had in mind? She's quite ugly enough to want sex with us, I suppose. But death does her no favors. That stuff she takes with a needle. Too much, I would guess."
 Rowan was at end of his tether.
 He almost screamed.
 "I'll hit you in the face! I swear I'll mark you for life if you don't put that bottle down! I can feel it! I'm getting drunk! We're both getting drunk!"




[Disclaimer: Ye Olde Critter Captain also runs ReAnimus Press, sales from which help him keep Critters going as a free site.]


                                   -+-

Thanks for the donations, folks!  We are 27.0% of the way to the fund drive goal with contributions from 66 donors, leaving about $5100 to go.
Thanks especially to

	Kelly Gillette
	Matthew Miller
	David Beavers
	Rachel Messinger
	Mae Carmel Walters
	Michele Wilson

for their recent donations to help keep Critters going. Much appreciated!

Stats by month...
Jan: $564.88 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, short by $18.12 for the month
Feb: $206.5 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, short by $376.5 for the month
Mar: $320.92 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, short by $262.08 for the month
Apr: $142.18 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, short by $440.82 for the month
May: $658.02 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, met by $-75.0199999999998 for the month

=> short by $1022.5 of annual fund drive goal to date


[See https://www.critters.org/donate.php for more information.]


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(No Woohoo!s this week, be sure to report your sales/publications/etc. via the www.critters.org/telldaworld.ht web page.)


                                   -+-

This week's Most Productive Critter award, for 4 critiques (at time of judging), averaging over 500 words each, goes to...

	Adam Warnock

To redeem an MPC, visit:  www.critters.org/usempc.ht

Congratulations!  To everyone else -- Crit early and often!

(For an explanation of the MPC award, see the www.critters.org/award.ht page.)

                                   -+-

Recommended Reading...
One of the best writing books - Secrets from the 6-time Best Editor
Hugo Award Master, Ben Bova: THE CRAFT OF WRITING SCIENCE FICTION THAT SELLS 
https://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1144
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Critters Workshop
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This week we have... [get from https://www.critters.org/private/mss.php ]...
                                                 
     Title                      	Author
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Week of 21-May-2025 (Crits due 28-May-2025):
 F   Evangeline, Chapter 10             [mpc] Brian Sellnow -#31843
 F   Shrimp Girl, Part 1                [mpc] Tim Nall -#31844
 SF  Live in the Dream Chapter 1        John Francis Willems -#31845
 SF  The Faster Than Light Go-Cart ch 1  Tom Blackstone -#31846
 SF  An Orchid For Ellie                Matt Georgeson -#31847
 SF  Lucky Boy Chapter 1                Yash Upadhyay -#31848

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Recommended books on writing:

THE CRAFT OF WRITING AND SELLING SCIENCE FICTION by Ben Bova
	ReAnimus Press Store: https://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1144
	Amazon: https://Amazon.com/dp/B006MAZPEI

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR SPECULATIVE FICTION OPENINGS By (Critter member) Robert Qualkinbush
	https://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1184 | https://Amazon.com/dp/B007O272ZI

STAYIN' ALIVE - A WRITER'S GUIDE by three-time SFWA President Norman Spinrad
	How things really work in the art and commerce of publishing
	https://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1179 | https://Amazon.com/dp/B007SIC4I8

EXPERIMENT PERILOUS: THE 'BUG JACK BARRON' PAPERS by Norman Spinrad
	(A 99cent essay on SF and writing)
	https://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1180 | https://Amazon.com/dp/B007MF3MS8
 
Because you might enjoy it... FRONTIERS OF SPACE, TIME, AND THOUGHT by EDWARD M. LERNER
What's Smaller Than an Atom... And Larger Than a Universe? This book.  
https://reanimus.com/store/?item=1731
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Pieces up for critique in other workshops...

In the lit workshop - https://critique.org/lit :
 L   A Home on Neem Street              Duaa -#31825

In the mystery workshop - https://critique.org/mystery :
 M   The Library Club chapters 1, 2     Don Oestreicher -#31726

In the nonfiction workshop - https://critique.org/nonfiction :
 NP  I *Experience*, Therefore I Am     Robin niCathain -#30061

In the script workshop - https://critique.org/script :
 SC  It Happened One Christmas          Robert W. Ross -#31694

In the kids workshop - https://critique.org/kids :
 YS  The Adventures of Jack, The Rabbit  Emmanuel Agyei-Boatey -#31578

In the comics workshop - https://critique.org/comics :
 CG  Magna. logline/ synopsis           Brent Claridge -#28885

In the western workshop - https://critique.org/western :
 W   Currently Untitled                 Aleksandr Vincente Hoang -#30472

In the romance workshop - https://critique.org/romance :
 R   Niv's Love                         TONYA WASHINGTON -#31832

In the video workshop - https://critique.org/video :
 VS  The Gallery of Henri Beauchamp     Jay DeTalente -#21424

In the music workshop - https://critique.org/music :
 MP  The Shade Riders and Nocturnal Ned song  Beth Zurkowski -#21675

In the photo workshop - https://critique.org/photo :
 PH  Tea and Gossip                     Sandy Kulhavy -#30875

In the art workshop - https://critique.org/art :
 AH  Peppermint Girls                   Brian Sellnow -#31527

In the apps workshop - https://critique.org/apps :
 GM  Uptown Valkyries                   Arthur Sankey -#31757

In the website workshop - https://critique.org/website :
 WW  Charles Gull creative projects blog and website  Charles Gull -#31783

In the critters workshop - https://critique.org/critters :
 F   Evangeline, Chapter 10             [mpc] Brian Sellnow -#31843
 F   Shrimp Girl, Part 1                [mpc] Tim Nall -#31844
 SF  Live in the Dream Chapter 1        John Francis Willems -#31845
 SF  The Faster Than Light Go-Cart ch 1  Tom Blackstone -#31846
 SF  An Orchid For Ellie                Matt Georgeson -#31847
 SF  Lucky Boy Chapter 1                Yash Upadhyay -#31848
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You might also like... COSTIGAN'S NEEDLE by JERRY SOHL
  
https://reanimus.com/store/?item=1359

Standard notes:

HELP:
If you need help with anything, see https://www.critters.org/help -- there
are FAQs and a form to ask questions.

HELPING CRITTERS:
Critters is donation funded & volunteer run, so if you'd like to
help out with our current fund drive or otherwise, please visit
https://www.critters.org/donate.php -- Thanks!!

HOW TO SEND CRITIQUES:
Remember to send the critiques directly to me, critters@critique.org, so
I can forward them to the authors _and_ give you credit for your effort.
Please send only one critique per mail message (makes it easier to
archive).  Please make sure the "#" symbol and manuscript number are in
the email Subject: line, like Subject: #1234.  (Conversely, if you want
ol' Aburt to personally read the message, i.e., it's _not_ a critique,
don't put a "#" in the subject or I won't see it.  Also -- put my current
anti-spam code word in there: see https://www.critters.org/antispam.ht .)

You may also send your critiques via https://www.critters.org/webcrit.ht .

Note that all critiques will be available to everyone to read the next Saturday.

DIPLOMACY:
Remember, authors and critiquers, we're all friends here.  Be polite.  Be
considerate.  Be tactful.  You can say you thought a story was drivel in a
courteous way.  Try to point out the good and the bad; offer alternatives
if you can.  Never, ever, attack the author -- only the story.  Authors:
Remember that some reviewers may lack tact.  Try to be understanding,
but if you get any that you feel are just plain mean-spirited, too short
to be of any use, or too "feel good," let me know and I'll withhold the
reviewer's "credit" for that story and/or cajole them into something
more insightful.  See https://www.critters.org/diplomacy.ht for more...

CRITIQUE LENGTH:
If you want to send a short critique that you know is too short for
credit (200 words or less of your own meaningful content) please put
"NC#" in the Subject (NC=No Credit, like Subject: NC#1234) -and- say
something like "not for credit" inside your critique.  (Remember also that
for MPC purposes, a critique must be 300 words or more.)

CHATTING:
Comments -other- than critiques (such as discussion of the critiques,
or Woohoo! announcements, or chit chat) should be posted to one of the
official Critters discussion forums (See the https://www.critters.org/newsgroups.ht
web page for full info, guidelines, etc.)  Don't post stories or critiques
(mail those to critters@critique.org).

QUOTING:
Please pare the ms. down if critiquing in-line (don't quote the whole ms.!).
Other format rules are at https://www.critters.org/format.ht .

EVERYTHING'S ON THE WEB:
Past reviews are on the web page.  The current week's manuscripts are
also there, as are prior mss. and even some rewrites.  There's a Master
Page Index (site map) with tons of links to common items.

AUTHORS:
Authors for this week -- if you aren't getting email'd critiques from
me (as they come in) within a couple days -- ask me and we can verify
I'm sending them to the correct address.  (Send me a phone# in case I
can't get email to you.)  Check the format of your story ASAP to make sure
it's all there and readable.

EMAIL ISSUES:
If you want to change your email address or preferences (# mss. emailed,
SF/F/H type, or whether you get the huge critique batches at week's end),
point your browser to https://www.critters.org/admin.ht .  Please don't
ask me to do this by hand, it's quite a chore!  (E.g., if you're going
on vacation and want to suspend mail from me -- do this before/after
your trip.)

BACKUP SITE:
If you're unable to reach www.critters.org to get manuscripts, I've set up
an emergency backup site at https://backup.critters.org where you can get the
week's manuscripts (but not much of anything else :-).  Speaking of backups --
don't forget to back up your own manuscripts so you don't lose them!

QUITTING:
If you want to quit or go inactive, drop by https://www.critters.org/admin.ht .

DONATIONS:
Critters is funded by donations, so visit https://www.critters.org/donate.php
if you'd like to help out.

Because you might enjoy it... TRANSCENDENTAL - THE TRILOGY by JAMES GUNN
Not all the pilgrims are what they seem on their quest for transcendence
https://reanimus.com/store/?item=1666

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