NEW USERS! INTRODUCE YOURSELVES!

@aliciacay

Dear Alicia,

Nice to meet you.

I love happy stories)

the most important thing is to create and visualize the beauty of human soul and moral principles.

I really like the idea to create happy stories about protecting human rights)

If you can recommend any publishers, my pleasure for your advice.

So! My first post in the WoTF forum! I'm Cebo Hadebe, but I prefer the pen name: C.S. Hadebe.

I'm a 22-year-old fantasy writer (though I do soft Sci-Fi and Horror, too) based in South Africa. Quite excited to be here, occupying the same space as some of the past (and present) greats in speculative fiction writing. This is the place I want to be. I want to be among the best speculative writers as the years go by, and not placing in my first entry in Q1 is a tell-tale sign that more work and more words still need to be done! I think this is the place to culture that hunger into something that will last.

Privileged to be here! Happy learning and even more writing everyone.

Posted by: @cs_hadebe

So! My first post in the WoTF forum! I'm Cebo Hadebe, but I prefer the pen name: C.S. Hadebe.

I'm a 22-year-old fantasy writer (though I do soft Sci-Fi and Horror, too) based in South Africa. Quite excited to be here, occupying the same space as some of the past (and present) greats in speculative fiction writing. This is the place I want to be. I want to be among the best speculative writers as the years go by, and not placing in my first entry in Q1 is a tell-tale sign that more work and more words still need to be done! I think this is the place to culture that hunger into something that will last.

Privileged to be here! Happy learning and even more writing everyone.

Welcome C.S.!  

We're happy to have you here, and dare I say, you've come to the right place. ?

~A.

@cs_hadebe Welcome C.S.

Welcome to the forum,  C.S. Hadebe

You have a good attitude for elevating your skills. This is the place to do that, enjoy.

@cs_hadebe 

Welcome C.S. Hadebe!

Your attitude is great. Improve your writing. I also like that you mentioned 'years' and something that 'will last'. Most don't achieve high success in a matter of days or on their first attempt. Have a look at Kevin J. Anderson who got a STACK of rejections before getting published. Look at him now! Persistence is a sensible-- and necessary--choice.

You've probably already browsed the forums C.S., but be sure to check out Wulf Moon's Super Secrets. There's also some great, practical tips in the 'AMA' thread, where contest judges were interviewed.

Be sure to ask any questions you have. Have fun writing!

Posted by: @aliciacay

Welcome C.S.!  

We're happy to have you here, and dare I say, you've come to the right place. ?

~A.

Thank you for the warm welcome, @aliciacay ! I can already feel it in the air that I've come to the right place

Posted by: @storysinger

Welcome to the forum,  C.S. Hadebe

You have a good attitude for elevating your skills. This is the place to do that, enjoy.

 

 

Thank you for the welcome, @storysinger!

Posted by: @scott_m_sands

@cs_hadebe 

Welcome C.S. Hadebe!

Your attitude is great. Improve your writing. I also like that you mentioned 'years' and something that 'will last'. Most don't achieve high success in a matter of days or on their first attempt. Have a look at Kevin J. Anderson who got a STACK of rejections before getting published. Look at him now! Persistence is a sensible-- and necessary--choice.

You've probably already browsed the forums C.S., but be sure to check out Wulf Moon's Super Secrets. There's also some great, practical tips in the 'AMA' thread, where contest judges were interviewed.

Be sure to ask any questions you have. Have fun writing!

@scott_m_sands, thank you for the welcome! And I'll be sure to do all those things you've written down!

Writing is a bittersweet journey. The WoTF contest is an elite speculative fiction arena, a place where the best are published and the greats are discovered from all over the world. I feel entitled for absolutely nothing. If anything I relish the cutthroat competition, fierce writers are the only way to get the best writings out of myself. I've already primed myself for rejections and disappointments. If the great writers had to go through the road paved with rejections and hard writing to get to where they are now, I'm more than willing to bleed with a smile on my face.

And I'll do that! (Asking questions and writing away!)

@cs_hadebe 

Welcome C.S.! This is a great place to feed that hunger. In addition to Scott’s advice on browsing the forum, be sure to go through the Writers of the Future workshop. It’s free and has advice on story, formatting, plotting and more given by three fantastic SF/F authors.

Glad you’re here!

Posted by: @jeri_lerhold

Hello everyone, I'm glad to be here

My name is Jeri, short for Jeremiah. At the moment I am working as an analytical writer for a company that produces software employee monitoring. But in my free time I am fond of writing and creating illustrations and really hope that someday my hobby will become a full-fledged work.

Welcome, Jeri!

We’re happy you found us! You’re already working in writing nonfiction, and words are words. May you be able to shift those words into fiction as time goes on! 

Do post to the quarter you plan to enter, take advantage of critique swaps, and don’t forget to take the WotF Online Workshop. It really helps!

Welcome aboard!

Wulf Moon

Forum Moderator 

@cs_hadebe 

Welcome, CS!

We’re always happy to see writers from another country and culture—it adds   diversity to our community, and to the rich tapestry of storytelling.

I see you’re already enjoying commenting elsewhere, glad you dove right in! Don’t miss the WotF Online Workshop, it really helps! Did you watch the gala? It’s been recorded. I wrote the daily blogs to give you a feel for being there, I encourage you to check those out as well, especially Day 7.

May you always be hungry for growth. Welcome aboard!

Wulf Moon

Forum Moderator

@jeri_lerhold welcome

Hi everyone,

I'm Storm Humbert. I'm a winner of the Writers of the Future contest. My story, "Stolen Sky," appeared in the Writers of the Future Anthology, Volume 36. I've never been active in the forum before, but I had such an incredible experience at the workshop that I want to be here to help however I can. Moon invited me to help out, and I leapt at it. As I said in my speech at the gala, I am the product of a long line of fantastic teachers and mentors, so I would really like to be that for anyone here as much as I can. I look forward to interacting with you and helping you along in your efforts to improve your craft.

@storm 

Welcome, Storm! It's great to have you here. And I think your attitude of wanting to help others will fit in perfectly with others on this forum.
Btw, if you'd like to let us know when your working on something else, we'd love to hear about it.   

Scott

@storm 

Welcome, Storm! 

Congratulations on your win in Writers of the Future, and thank you for asking me after I addressed the workshop on where you could help out. You’ll find plenty here sincerely trying to advance their skills so that they can be published and read. Having spent some time with you already, I’m certain you’ll give them great advice.

Thank you for turning around and helping those just behind with the knowledge you have gained. That embodies the spirit of this Contest, and we warmly welcome you!

Welcome aboard!

Wulf Moon

Forum Moderator

@storm Welcome Storm. Thank you for joining us.

Welcome to the forum Storm. We forumites that plan to stand at the podium you visited in LA will be more than happy to glean every bit of knowledge you wish to share. Thank you for offering your insights.

@storm Welcome! We’re excited to have you and learn from your experience. One thing I’m loving about this writer’s community is how people give back and pay it forward. 

@storm 

Welcome Storm! It's great to have you in the forum. It's so helpful for us budding writers to have people further down the road lend us some of their advice and wisdom.

@cs_hadebe 

Welcome, C.S! We're stoked that have you here! Looks like others have already pointed you to some great resources. Another competitive advantage, in my opinion, can be found by subscribing to Dave Farland's newsletter at https://mystorydoctor.com/ He frequently sends out emails with tips on how to spin a great speculative story. From these you can continue to hone your craft, & importantly, from these, you can get insight into what he's looking for in a winning story. 

Posted by: @storm

Hi everyone,

I'm Storm Humbert. I'm a winner of the Writers of the Future contest. My story, "Stolen Sky," appeared in the Writers of the Future Anthology, Volume 36. I've never been active in the forum before, but I had such an incredible experience at the workshop that I want to be here to help however I can. Moon invited me to help out, and I leapt at it. As I said in my speech at the gala, I am the product of a long line of fantastic teachers and mentors, so I would really like to be that for anyone here as much as I can. I look forward to interacting with you and helping you along in your efforts to improve your craft.

Hi, Storm! I loved "Stolen Sky." With its vivid descriptions, lovely prose, and poignant theme about exploitation, it certainly has stuck with me. And as an aside, what an awesome illustration by Anh Le to go with it! 

I know I speak for many to give thanks for you wanting to pay it forward! Welcome! 

hi! just wanted to say hi, as you do. i'm really nice, honest. for the record, i think humans have a long way to go before they will be admitted into the next phase of evolution. so let's get there quicker than those ETIs think, eh? otherwise, they will prevent us...

that wasn't a nice post, i have just realised. this is my nice post. i love this competition. it has made me disciplined with my writing. so thank you, wotf. i have started to think 'what must the reader think of this' i reckon, once you start thinking like that, that's when you are a writer...?

@dk Welcome to the Forum, David!

You're writing, so you're a writer. When you start thinking about readers and editors, you are considering who might enjoy your writing and where to send it to be published. To get published, you do have to get some mastery of craft and story mechanics. That's where the Writers of the Future Online Workshop can help! Don't miss that, it's taught by the same instructors that teach the winners when they come to Hollywood for their workshop and award ceremony. It will help you hone your craft!

Welcome aboard!

Wulf Moon
Forum Moderator

Posted by: @cldeming

Hi! I'm newly registered for the forums.

I've been lurking for the past couple of weeks. I entered the contest for the first time for Q4 and am anxiously awaiting the results.

Clare  

Welcome, Clare. I think waiting for results is half the fun 😉

Let us know if you need help with anything, and you can always PM me too; resources, links, places to submit, random questions, and I do proofreading for people's WotF contest entry stories, always free to forumites.

Warmly,
~A. ♥

Okay, also wow! Lots of new people coming in, so Welcome everyone! 

My offer above stand for all, btw.

Do let us know if you need help with anything, and you can always PM me too; resources, links, places to submit, random questions, and I do proofreading for people's WotF contest entry stories, always free to forumites.

Warmly,
~A. ♥

I really need to start being more active in here again. Welcome, everyone!  

Welcome @storm, and congratulations on the volume 36 win!

Really appreciate the offer and the pay-it-forward attitude ? 

(I attempted to post a reply earlier, and it looks like it didn't go through--sorry if this is a duplicate)

  @wulfmoon, @disgruntledpeony, @aliciacay

Thank you for all the work you do to support and build the community.