NEW USERS! INTRODUCE YOURSELVES!

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone! Luxury yachts sound really cool. I design HVAC systems for surface ships. Are we allowed to submit stories that get critiqued here?

Phil,
Not sure what you mean by submit. Did you mean if you get a critique forum member, can you submit to the contest? Yes. The most important thing is that you don't reveal details of your story here.

Wrong:
Can someone critique my 5000 word story of a princess who turns a frog into a prince with a kiss?

Right:
Can someone critique my 5000 word traditional fantasy story?

And what Wulf said, a good way to get crits is to offer returns.

Okay thanks I just posted!

Figured I should drop an introduction here. My name is Shane Raben, known online as RabenWrites. I’ve studied the craft of writing for some time not don’t have a huge amount of hands-on experience. Last year I finally started getting serious, taking a college writing class and starting a twitch channel where I stream creative writing. That was enough impetus to get me my first NaNo win after several years of failing to push through.

I’ve never submitted anything anywhere beyond class assignments, and figured WotF is as good a place as any to get my feet wet and learn the ropes.

Appreciate the opportunity and hope that I can grow and possibly help others to do the same.

Welcome, Shane! Happy to have you here.

I'm Irene. I've written for myself for a long time, but never really pursued publication until recently. I entered WOTF for the first time this quarter, and here's hoping it goes well.

Welcome aboard, Shane Raben and Irene! You've taken an important step. You found a group to support you, and you've submitted to the Contest!

Do post to the quarter you enter, do take advantage of critique swaps, and we look forward to sharing with you in our community!

Have fun!

Wulf Moon
Forum Moderator

Hello everyone! My name is Jarom Strong. I just submitted to the contest for the third time, and am currently sitting on pins and needles waiting to hear back from the 3rd quarter. I'm currently a Psychology student and I'm very glad to be able to be a part of this community! I look forward to interacting with you all.

Welcome aboard, HalRydner!

Glad to see you recognizing this is a marathon, and not giving up! Lots of support here to help you run the course to the finish. Enjoy the info on the boards, and do be sure to post in the quarter you enter. Most of the support happens there.

We've probably got at least another week for Q3 results. Hang in there and go write your next!

Cheers!

Wulf Moon
Forum Moderator

Welcome Audrey!

Thank you! I am completely new to the use of the Forum format - sorry for the delay. I appreciate the welcome.
37: ? ?

I hope I did that correctly. I've submitted to two quarters. Awaiting results!

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY!

Wulf Moon
Forum Moderator

Thank you, Wulf! I am new to using the Forum so I missed your wonderful Welcome! Thank you!

37: ? ?

Submitted to two quarters, awaiting results. Very enthused!

LA

Hey All! I'm Mandy Wallace. New to the forum but not to the contest. I've submitted twice, my first ages ago and my second in Q3 which was just rejected (womp womp). I wrote a story for Q4 and didn't finish it in time to submit. My big goal is to submit a short story to WotF per quarter. And I'm looking forward to learning from everyone here in the forums. I'm up for critique swaps anytime 😀

Excited to be here!

Hello, I've decided to dip back into the forum after a long 5 year hiatus.

Welcome aboard, Mandy, Mack, and Mike!

Submitting every quarter is the best way to win, especially if you’re writing fresh stories. Great way to grow!

Take advantage of critique swaps, and of the collective mind. You will be assimilated!

Cheers!

Wulf Moon
Forum Moderator

Hi ya'll! My name's Tony, but I think I'd rather be published as 'TR'. I always liked the ring to it, and I'll respond cordially if you refer to me as TR, Tony, Sparks-Johnson, etc. I'm 27 years old, Sagittarius sun/ Libra moon. He/him pronouns.

Anyways, I got cold feet submitting back in my undergrad days, and I find myself sitting on three short stories I feel have decent potential and would fit in with the Writers of the Future Contest (have read multiple volumes, and now that the pandemic is here, I finally understand why Mark Twain's biographies always mention that he was hard to motivate to write if he didn't really need the money! I have found the motivation to subject myself to potential rejection - oddly freeing, really.

I currently work in an urban public library in the Midwest. I've never been paid for fiction publication, though my undergraduate literary journal gave me a double feature as poet and short story author my junior year, and I've also been published in a local alternative newspaper when I did profile pieces on some comedians that came through town (these were paid freelance gigs).

I was diagnosed with adult AD/HD a few weeks ago so if I 'ghost' this thread for a few days (or weeks!) at a time, sorry ya'll! I'm figuring it out, and am very fortunate to have a supportive and loving wife.

I tend towards reading 'literary' sci-fi (although the terminology makes me uncomfortable) - stuff like Ling Ma's Severance, anything Dick, and Gravity's Rainbow is probably my favorite sci-fi book. My favorite books to read are a little niche, but are very inspiring for writers - I absolutely devour non-fiction written by political revolutionaries of the 20th century. Whether your politics align with these writings isn't the most important thing as a writer looking for inspiration - you can feel the passion and urgency bursting off the pages... it's riveting! But don't worry, folks, I also have a deep love of Dashiell Hammett, Stephen King, and Frank Miller. And I love stupid action movies as much as the brilliant ones, so while I tend towards readings that are more common in college courses than those in genre-lovers paperback collections, you won't have to worry about dealing with snobbery from me. A grown man who enjoys Mission Impossible 2 has no room to talk in that regard!

Let's write some good sci-fi and fantasy!

Welcome aboard, TR!

Sounds like you have wide interests to tap into for your writing. Tap into the collective to help you write winning stories! We’re here to help.

Cheers!

Wulf Moon
Forum Moderator

Hello, all. I am new here, though I have been knocking around for a time, looking about. I first submitted to the contest...long, long ago...way back in 1997. I received a very nice rejection in the form of a letter from Algis Budrys. For whatever reason, I didn’t submit again until the fourth quarter of 2016...and received a rejection because I somehow forgot to eliminate my name from the electronic manuscript. (I removed it from the title but forgot it was still at the top of every page.) Embarrassed, I didn’t submit anything until this year. I received an Honorable Mention for my first story (for Quarter Two) and a Did Not Place for my submission for Quarter Three, which was somewhat baffling since I received a personal rejection on that story from the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction stating my world building and fight scenes were good (based on that story...and I presume the others I submitted in vain hope...and that it would at least get honorable mention...but alas! no.) But anyway... I submitted a story for Quarter Four...and hoping.

Hello, all. I am new here, though I have been knocking around for a time, looking about. I first submitted to the contest...long, long ago...way back in 1997. I received a very nice rejection in the form of a letter from Algis Budrys. For whatever reason, I didn’t submit again until the fourth quarter of 2016...and received a rejection because I somehow forgot to eliminate my name from the electronic manuscript. (I removed it from the title but forgot it was still at the top of every page.) Embarrassed, I didn’t submit anything until this year. I received an Honorable Mention for my first story (for Quarter Two) and a Did Not Place for my submission for Quarter Three, which was somewhat baffling since I received a personal rejection on that story from the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction stating my world building and fight scenes were good (based on that story...and I presume the others I submitted in vain hope...and that it would at least get honorable mention...but alas! no.) But anyway... I submitted a story for Quarter Four...and hoping.

Welcome, an_endless_now, and good luck with your writing!

I am often surpised with my placement as well. Sometimes it really just comes down to an editor's personal opinion.

And I hope you have submitted the story that got disqualified because it had your name on it again. Keep on keepin' on.
-Eagerink

Hello, all. I am new here, though I have been knocking around for a time, looking about. I first submitted to the contest...long, long ago...way back in 1997. I received a very nice rejection in the form of a letter from Algis Budrys. For whatever reason, I didn’t submit again until the fourth quarter of 2016...and received a rejection because I somehow forgot to eliminate my name from the electronic manuscript. (I removed it from the title but forgot it was still at the top of every page.) Embarrassed, I didn’t submit anything until this year. I received an Honorable Mention for my first story (for Quarter Two) and a Did Not Place for my submission for Quarter Three, which was somewhat baffling since I received a personal rejection on that story from the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction stating my world building and fight scenes were good (based on that story...and I presume the others I submitted in vain hope...and that it would at least get honorable mention...but alas! no.) But anyway... I submitted a story for Quarter Four...and hoping.

Welcome aboard, an endless now!

All the way back to AJ, that’s something! The first judge was kind and fatherly and continues to be missed.

If you wonder why a story gets passed on that appeared to do well elsewhere, you might want to read my Super Secrets. There’s things expected in those first five pages by Dave that other editors might not be as concerned over. Doubtful, it’s all vital, but it’s good to examine your story in question against them. But it’s better to go write your next.

Quarter after quarter, keep firing those arrows. That’s how I did it. Don’t be stopped because one missed.

Do take the WotF online course! It’s taught by the judges!

Have fun!

Wulf Moon
Forum Moderator

Hi everyone
I’m new to this forum and to the WoTF contest in general. Heck I’m also a new writer. I really wanna go for this thing, but I’m pretty nearvous. It’s a pleasure to sign up here, I hope that I can get some help from some very talented writers.

Hi everyone
I’m new to this forum and to the WoTF contest in general. Heck I’m also a new writer. I really wanna go for this thing, but I’m pretty nearvous. It’s a pleasure to sign up here, I hope that I can get some help from some very talented writers.

Welcome aboard, MichaelH!

Dive in, there’s lots of info to help you, and plenty of experience to tap! Do post in the quarter you are entering so members can cheer you on!

Cheers!

Wulf Moon
Forum Moderator

Oh! You mean I should put which quarter I’m going to enter?

Oh! You mean I should put which quarter I’m going to enter?

Most of the support occurs in the quarter you plan to enter. This is where everyone cheers you on, talks about how their entry is coming along, and where you will soon say, "I'm in!" It gives some accountability when you state your goals to others. It gives others the chance to support you as well. Of course, there's plenty of other places in here to lodge a comment, and to learn how to write professional stories.

Enjoy!

Ah!
Well I plan to enter this quarter. Is there a place I’m supposed to put this info?

Not technically a new user but I've been gone so long I feel like I need to introduce myself again. I was able to secure 2 HMs way back in Volume 29, but then between my job and being an adult college student found I had no time or creative energy to do much writing anymore. Now I've graduated and have a new job that sucks less of my energy and will to live away from me and I want to buckle down on my writing again, so my first stop was back to the welcoming bosom of WOTF. I look forward to getting to know everyone again and sharing in the great creative energy here!

Welcome back!

Good ol' V.29
I think there's still an active thread around here somewhere.

Ah!
Well I plan to enter this quarter. Is there a place I’m supposed to put this info?

Under Discussion, Quarterly Topics.

Here's the one for Q1, Vol. 38.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=8037

People post their goals for the quarter, and then when they've submitted in each quarterly folder. If they're having a hard time finishing, they can find encouragement from others to cheer them on. It's a great way to get accountability and support.

Cheers!

Not technically a new user but I've been gone so long I feel like I need to introduce myself again. I was able to secure 2 HMs way back in Volume 29, but then between my job and being an adult college student found I had no time or creative energy to do much writing anymore. Now I've graduated and have a new job that sucks less of my energy and will to live away from me and I want to buckle down on my writing again, so my first stop was back to the welcoming bosom of WOTF. I look forward to getting to know everyone again and sharing in the great creative energy here!

Welcome back, trdixon!

Jump right in! You know the drill!

Best,

Wulf Moon
Forum Moderator

Welcome back!

Good ol' V.29
I think there's still an active thread around here somewhere.

I saw that and couldn't believe it! I've got some posts in it, too.

 

Hi everyone! My name is Myra and I just created my account here after learning about the forum from the latest email tip 😀
I'm looking forward to talking with other writers some more. I had a blast attending World Fantasy Con last week, much more than expected since it went virtual.

I've been writing a long time but never buckled down and gotten serious about it. I submitted once directly to Tor just to try it out (but that book was really rough so it wasn't so much of a 'rejection' as a milestone). This year is my 12th Nanowrimo and I've completed them all, tho you'd never guess by looking at my word count this year (500 on day 6, truly awful :p).

I submitted to my first Writers of the Future contest this year (Q4) which was exciting. Got an HM and was like "not sure what that MEANS" but I keep marking the email 'unread' so I can keep being happy when I look at it.

I have a pretty serious question: Is it WotF or WOF?

Welcome aboard, Myra! Glad you found us!

All that writing counts! That's hundreds of thousands of words over twelve years. Nice! No wonder you got an HM for your first try. HM means you wrote a good story that got sent to Dave by the first reader. He gave you an HM because your writing shows promise and he wants to see more from you. Thousands from around the world submit each quarter. Only a few hundred get those (except this time--it was a crazy good quarter and it will be way up from normal). Put it on your wall and be proud!

It's WotF, but no biggie. Others do WOTF.

Enjoy all the knowledge and support here. Do post on the quarterly topic you are entering. And there's a folder where you can do critique swaps as well.

Dive in and have fun!

Wulf Moon
Forum Moderator