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okay I am geeky enough to want to try out for this. Anyone else?
http://www.bigfinish.com/bigfinish.shtml
WRITE FOR DOCTOR WHO
Big Finish are offering new writers the chance to have their work published in one of our 2007 volumes of Doctor Who - Short Trips short story anthologies. The competition is open to anyone, of any age, who has never had a work of fiction published that they've been paid for. All entries must be received by 31 January 2007.
Since 2002, Big Finish has published numerous anthologies of short stories featuring the first eight Doctors. The Short Trips range has included writers who've written for the Doctor Who television series, the authors of Doctor Who and science fiction novels and a number of first-time authors. Big Finish have just announced their Short Trips titles for 2007 and beyond - and your story could be in one of the collections!
Your story should start from the premise "How the Doctor changed my life".
What's it like to meet the Doctor, to be caught up in one of his adventures? Perhaps your story is about someone who gets a trip in the TARDIS? Maybe it's about a bystander who watches events from afar? Whatever you choose, things are never the same once the Doctor is involved…
Your story should be no more than 2,500 words in length. You can make use of any of the first eight Doctors. You can also use any of the "classic" television companions (up to and including Ace) and any of the Big Finish companions (Erimem, Evelyn, Hex, Charley and C'rizz – but not Lucie, please).
You cannot use either the ninth or tenth Doctors, nor their companions, nor any other of the Doctor's past friends and enemies. No Daleks, no Cybermen, no Time Lords, no Drashigs or Slitheen. Your story should be wholly original.
Send your story in the body of an email (no attachments please), with the title in the subject line, to who.writers@bigfinish.com by 31 January 2007.
One winner will work with an editor to get their story to publishable standard. They will receive the standard author's contract - and rates of pay - for their story, which will be published in one of the Big Finish Short Trips anthologies in 2007.
Good luck!
Ian Farrington and Simon Guerrier
Big Finish Productions
To help get you thinking, we asked Doctor Who authors what they wish they'd been told when they first started out:
"Don't agonise about what you're going to write. Have an idea. Write it. It will be bad. Then you re-write it until it's good. Leave the worrying and discussion about what they're going to write to non-writers."
Paul Cornell
"Write original, modern fiction. There are now thousands and thousands of Doctor Who stories in different media. Do we really need another one about the Doctor, Jo Grant and UNIT stopping the Master from taking over Southern England?"
Joseph Lidster
"If you don't enjoy spending time with your characters, neither will your readers. And most writers don't enjoy writing - they like having written. Don't expect the process itself to be anything other than a long hard slog."
Rebecca Levene
"The two most important things you can do if you want to be a writer are: read and write. Okay, so that sounds a bit trite. But the more you read, the more you will understand how writing works - how the author uses the words on the page. And you'll learn from things other authors do well, or that they do badly. You don't have to be hypercritical or overly aware of what you're reading. It'll happen, by a sort of literary osmosis. Just as important - maybe more so - try to write something every day. Writing is a craft as much as it's a talent or gift. Like a sport we have to work at it, to train. The more you do, the more hours you put in, the better at it you get. It doesn't matter if it's a story or a poem, keeping a journal (or blog!) or even sending an email - it all helps."
Justin Richards
"Make your Doctor distinctive and recognisable. Every Doctor and companion has their own way of speaking and moving - what words do they use that other Doctors don't, and how do they use their hands? This of course means re-watching lots of DVDs and videos. But honestly, whatever anybody tells you, it's research."
Simon Guerrier
"Short stories don't have to be short novels. They can be about a small event that has a big effect. How will one of your characters be different at the end of your story? How have they changed, what have they learned, why, and how did they get there? The journey is usually more interesting than the destination."
Peter Anghelides
"Any piece of writing can be improved by being made shorter. So if you're writing 2,500 words, write 2,800 and then cut it down by getting rid of all the bits that are not absolutely essential."
Jonathan Morris
"There's one technique I found crucial. It proved a major turning point for me. When I first began writing, I would prepare for a project by making notes. These would be theoretical, analytical notes where I would outline the story for myself in an academic way - as if I was writing an essay. I would consider the plot, the character, the effect I was trying to achieve. And it took me some time to realize that this was not only not the best approach, it was downright unhelpful. In fact, it was poison to the writing process. This is because the analytical part of the mind is very different from the creative. The sort of dry theorizing that leads to a scholarly analysis is the enemy of the imagination. These days, instead of writing a long, detailed lifeless analysis of a character I will instead try to come up with just one line of dialogue, but spoken vividly in that character's voice. Once I've done that, I've got the character nailed down. Similarly, instead of jotting down dry factual notes for a story I try and write them as fragments of the story itself."
Andrew Cartmel
http://www.bigfinish.com/bigfinish.shtml
WRITE FOR DOCTOR WHO
Big Finish are offering new writers the chance to have their work published in one of our 2007 volumes of Doctor Who - Short Trips short story anthologies. The competition is open to anyone, of any age, who has never had a work of fiction published that they've been paid for. All entries must be received by 31 January 2007.
Since 2002, Big Finish has published numerous anthologies of short stories featuring the first eight Doctors. The Short Trips range has included writers who've written for the Doctor Who television series, the authors of Doctor Who and science fiction novels and a number of first-time authors. Big Finish have just announced their Short Trips titles for 2007 and beyond - and your story could be in one of the collections!
Your story should start from the premise "How the Doctor changed my life".
What's it like to meet the Doctor, to be caught up in one of his adventures? Perhaps your story is about someone who gets a trip in the TARDIS? Maybe it's about a bystander who watches events from afar? Whatever you choose, things are never the same once the Doctor is involved…
Your story should be no more than 2,500 words in length. You can make use of any of the first eight Doctors. You can also use any of the "classic" television companions (up to and including Ace) and any of the Big Finish companions (Erimem, Evelyn, Hex, Charley and C'rizz – but not Lucie, please).
You cannot use either the ninth or tenth Doctors, nor their companions, nor any other of the Doctor's past friends and enemies. No Daleks, no Cybermen, no Time Lords, no Drashigs or Slitheen. Your story should be wholly original.
Send your story in the body of an email (no attachments please), with the title in the subject line, to who.writers@bigfinish.com by 31 January 2007.
One winner will work with an editor to get their story to publishable standard. They will receive the standard author's contract - and rates of pay - for their story, which will be published in one of the Big Finish Short Trips anthologies in 2007.
Good luck!
Ian Farrington and Simon Guerrier
Big Finish Productions
To help get you thinking, we asked Doctor Who authors what they wish they'd been told when they first started out:
"Don't agonise about what you're going to write. Have an idea. Write it. It will be bad. Then you re-write it until it's good. Leave the worrying and discussion about what they're going to write to non-writers."
Paul Cornell
"Write original, modern fiction. There are now thousands and thousands of Doctor Who stories in different media. Do we really need another one about the Doctor, Jo Grant and UNIT stopping the Master from taking over Southern England?"
Joseph Lidster
"If you don't enjoy spending time with your characters, neither will your readers. And most writers don't enjoy writing - they like having written. Don't expect the process itself to be anything other than a long hard slog."
Rebecca Levene
"The two most important things you can do if you want to be a writer are: read and write. Okay, so that sounds a bit trite. But the more you read, the more you will understand how writing works - how the author uses the words on the page. And you'll learn from things other authors do well, or that they do badly. You don't have to be hypercritical or overly aware of what you're reading. It'll happen, by a sort of literary osmosis. Just as important - maybe more so - try to write something every day. Writing is a craft as much as it's a talent or gift. Like a sport we have to work at it, to train. The more you do, the more hours you put in, the better at it you get. It doesn't matter if it's a story or a poem, keeping a journal (or blog!) or even sending an email - it all helps."
Justin Richards
"Make your Doctor distinctive and recognisable. Every Doctor and companion has their own way of speaking and moving - what words do they use that other Doctors don't, and how do they use their hands? This of course means re-watching lots of DVDs and videos. But honestly, whatever anybody tells you, it's research."
Simon Guerrier
"Short stories don't have to be short novels. They can be about a small event that has a big effect. How will one of your characters be different at the end of your story? How have they changed, what have they learned, why, and how did they get there? The journey is usually more interesting than the destination."
Peter Anghelides
"Any piece of writing can be improved by being made shorter. So if you're writing 2,500 words, write 2,800 and then cut it down by getting rid of all the bits that are not absolutely essential."
Jonathan Morris
"There's one technique I found crucial. It proved a major turning point for me. When I first began writing, I would prepare for a project by making notes. These would be theoretical, analytical notes where I would outline the story for myself in an academic way - as if I was writing an essay. I would consider the plot, the character, the effect I was trying to achieve. And it took me some time to realize that this was not only not the best approach, it was downright unhelpful. In fact, it was poison to the writing process. This is because the analytical part of the mind is very different from the creative. The sort of dry theorizing that leads to a scholarly analysis is the enemy of the imagination. These days, instead of writing a long, detailed lifeless analysis of a character I will instead try to come up with just one line of dialogue, but spoken vividly in that character's voice. Once I've done that, I've got the character nailed down. Similarly, instead of jotting down dry factual notes for a story I try and write them as fragments of the story itself."
Andrew Cartmel