NEW USERS! INTRODUCE YOURSELVES!

@christinafrancine 

Welcome to the Forum, Christina!

As to your question, I know many readers hate prologues, others skip them and start at chapter one, and some will read them knowing the author had a purpose in opening that way. I doubt calling a rose by any other name will make it smell sweeter to some.

There is a folder to discuss writing craft if you’d like to continue on this topic. Feel free to post your question there. This is our folder to learn who our new members are, so thank you for introducing yourself, and welcome to the Forum!

Wulf Moon

Forum Moderator 

A hearty welcome to the forum Christina. Almost any kind of help needed by an individual can be found on the WotF forum. Dive in and get hooked.  

@disgruntledpeony hi, thanks! Pleasure meeting you as well

@wulfmoon thanks so much @Wulfmoon! I found the workshop incredibly helpful, and I’m betting a lot of others did as well, since my last few stories I’ve sent in didn’t rank! I think it great that others are writing better stories based on those clear-cut tips. 
the Critique thread sounds great, I’ll have a look. Thanks for the suggestions!

@lost_bard thanks! Pleasure to meet you I’ve been lurking for a bit but I’m looking forward to joining in the conversation!

Posted by: @clfors

@jentinag Yay!!! I’m so happy you’ve taken the plunge into the writing forum now! I think you’ll find the water is nice ? I look forward to seeing the changes you’ve made to your Silver story because it was already so good! Now we just need to entice Jason and Ang into the forum and our whole group will be here!

Our little writing group has been invaluable in getting my writing to the level it is now! Getting a solid group like ours is my first recommendation for writers who are serious about their art. Doing the workshop is high on that list as well

Hello!

My name is Nancy and I'm quite new to short fiction writing. I've a strong preference for literary and philosophical science fiction, and I'm looking to improve my craft before submitting to the competition. By day I'm a film student and I work a retail job part time, but ultimately I'd like to make my living writing across lots of different media. Nice to meet you all!

Hi Nancy. You've found an important resource for advancing your ambitions.

Cruise through the many threads and meet all the wonderful writers that are here. Enjoy

Welcome @nancypill! 

Posted by: @nancypill

Hello!

My name is Nancy and I'm quite new to short fiction writing. I've a strong preference for literary and philosophical science fiction, and I'm looking to improve my craft before submitting to the competition. By day I'm a film student and I work a retail job part time, but ultimately I'd like to make my living writing across lots of different media. Nice to meet you all!

Welcome, Nancy!

So glad you’ve found us! Being diversified in your writing career is actually a great secret as to how to make a living at writing—it allows you to say yes to so many avenues that create income stream. Well done!

To learn the foundation principles of what makes a story work, don’t miss the Writers of the Future Online Workshop. By completing that, you’ll have a story you can send in to the Contest to start the ball rolling!

Do post to the quarter you plan to enter, as that tends to be our general chat area as well and you’ll get good support there.

Welcome aboard!

Wulf Moon

Forum Moderator 

@nancypill Welcome

Thank you to everyone for the welcome messages!

Posted by: @nancypill

Hello!

My name is Nancy and I'm quite new to short fiction writing. I've a strong preference for literary and philosophical science fiction, and I'm looking to improve my craft before submitting to the competition. By day I'm a film student and I work a retail job part time, but ultimately I'd like to make my living writing across lots of different media. Nice to meet you all!

Hello and welcome! I look forward to seeing you around the forum. (I did more than a decade in the retail trenches, so I feel your pain there. Only reason I'm not still doing it is because I have twin toddlers and I'd rather do the stay at home mom thing than spend my entire paycheck on childcare so I can work all day at a job I hate.)

Hi everyone <3

My pen name is Jolie Mancinas and I'm new to this website. My mom was talking to me the other day about how she thinks it's a good idea for me to look into writing contests and maybe earn some money with my writing entrees when I stumbled onto this. 

I'm a high schooler right now, but I already have dreams of becoming an actress. The thing is, I didn't know that there are auditions that have fees. So it'd be nice having the money here with me when I'm trying out for a role once I've graduated my high school. Not just that, but to also buy me some art supplies and journals. 

I do have a few questions though. I mostly write about fictional things and stuff like that with teenagers and I'd like to know what I can do to enter a quarter... or whatever is used here. It'd be great to have a guide!

Thank you so much <3

??

Welcome to the forum Jolie. You will find the help you need here on this forum.

A good shortcut for you will be to take the online workshop. Be diligent and put in the work and you should do well.

@strawberry-frog 

Welcome to the Forum, Jolie!

The Contest has had some teen winners—we just had one in Volume 37! As mentioned, the WotF Online Course will help you understand the underlying principles that make stories work. We hope you take advantage of it.  Do remember this is a speculative fiction contest, so make sure your entry has SF, fantasy, or mild horror as it’s base, or it won’t go far.

If you’re in the U.S., I highly recommend you also check out Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. This Contest is exclusive to high school students, so you won’t be competing against adults. Not discouraging you from entering WotF, but with their categories divided by grade levels, it can make it easier for you to win. I won it with an SF story when I was 15, and it gave me my first pro sale! 

Have fun writing and being a part of our friendly forum!

Welcome aboard!

Wulf Moon

Forum Moderator 

@strawberry-frog Welcome to the forum! Dig around and you’ll find lots of great writing advice. Once you’ve completed the online workshop, be sure to check out Wulf Moon’s Super Secrets thread. The workshop gives you a solid baseline and the super secrets will take that to the next level.

Happy writing!

Hi all,

Being a textbook lurker, writing this message is probably one of the hardest things I have had to do this year (it's only March, I know, but still...). Well, the second hardest thing. The first is writing my first ever short story to submit to Writers of the Future. Typing this has my heart beating almost as fast as Shadowfax can run. I have been following the online course I found here, as well as Wulf Moon's Super Secrets (huuuuuge thanks). Both have taught me so much already, I can only imagine what else Writers of the Future will mean to me. 

Please excuse me while I go do some breathing exercises to release some of the built-up adrenaline. I promise I will pull myself together and revise my story later this evening (oh yes, I live in Belgium and it is 19:19 here) once I get over the fact I just wrote an entry on a forum full of writers which I greatly admire and respect. The hype is real.

Groetjes,

Marte

Posted by: @mdlion

Please excuse me while I go do some breathing exercises to release some of the built-up adrenaline. I promise I will pull myself together and revise my story later this evening (oh yes, I live in Belgium and it is 19:19 here) once I get over the fact I just wrote an entry on a forum full of writers which I greatly admire and respect. The hype is real.

Groetjes,

Marte

Haha! I felt like this the first time I submitted, and I still get nervous every single time I'm getting ready to submit. I think that shows how much we care about putting our best work into the Contest.

Welcome to the Forum, great to have you here!

Greetings Everyone!

I'm Kelly and I'm working on several writing projects. I hope to have something ready to submit for next quarter.

The rest is subject to change without notice.

Posted by: @mdlion

Hi all,

Being a textbook lurker, writing this message is probably one of the hardest things I have had to do this year (it's only March, I know, but still...). Well, the second hardest thing. The first is writing my first ever short story to submit to Writers of the Future. Typing this has my heart beating almost as fast as Shadowfax can run. I have been following the online course I found here, as well as Wulf Moon's Super Secrets (huuuuuge thanks). Both have taught me so much already, I can only imagine what else Writers of the Future will mean to me. 

Please excuse me while I go do some breathing exercises to release some of the built-up adrenaline. I promise I will pull myself together and revise my story later this evening (oh yes, I live in Belgium and it is 19:19 here) once I get over the fact I just wrote an entry on a forum full of writers which I greatly admire and respect. The hype is real.

Groetjes,

Marte

Hello and welcome! It's a pleasure to meet you. Try not to stress things--I know how intimidating it can feel to talk to some of the more long-term forumites when you're new (I certainly felt that way when I was in your shoes), but in the end we're all people.  

Welcome to the forum Marte. What a refreshing attitude you have. You will do well here.

Welcome Kelly. With 25 days left in this quarter you can write the next winning story.

Here's to wishing you nothing but success.  

Posted by: @mdlion

Hi all,

Being a textbook lurker, writing this message is probably one of the hardest things I have had to do this year (it's only March, I know, but still...). Well, the second hardest thing. The first is writing my first ever short story to submit to Writers of the Future. Typing this has my heart beating almost as fast as Shadowfax can run. I have been following the online course I found here, as well as Wulf Moon's Super Secrets (huuuuuge thanks). Both have taught me so much already, I can only imagine what else Writers of the Future will mean to me. 

Please excuse me while I go do some breathing exercises to release some of the built-up adrenaline. I promise I will pull myself together and revise my story later this evening (oh yes, I live in Belgium and it is 19:19 here) once I get over the fact I just wrote an entry on a forum full of writers which I greatly admire and respect. The hype is real.

Groetjes,

Marte

Welcome, Marte!

We're glad to have more international flavor in our Forum! Love your waffles!

Well, you've already found the WotF Online Workshop, so I won't tell you about that. Sounds like you created your story from it, so good for you! I'm glad you also benefited from my Super Secrets thread--I wrote it to help people like you. There's also a critique swap folder if you'd like to get feedback on your story before sending it in. And I do encourage saying hi in the topic featuring the quarter you plan on entering--lots of support goes on there, which does help. Writing can be lonely business, but the friendly people in the Forum help alleviate that. 

Remember, every writer began just like you, getting up the courage to write their first story, and getting up their courage again to send it out. The nice thing about WotF is that it's anonymous, which makes that second step easier for many. 

Keep writing, which will help you advance in your skills. Don't be afraid to ask questions--we're here to help.

We wish you the best! Welcome aboard!

Wulf Moon
Forum Moderator

Posted by: @ambiguousnomad

Greetings Everyone!

I'm Kelly and I'm working on several writing projects. I hope to have something ready to submit for next quarter.

The rest is subject to change without notice.

Welcome to the Forum, Kelly!

You know your schedule, so we wish you success whenever you get that submission ready to send in. Putting the quarterly end dates on your calendar can help you set your sites so you don't miss out. Don't forget to take the Writers of the Future Online Writing Workshop--it's free and it's taught by the best!

Thank you for saying hello, don't be a stranger, and welcome aboard!

Wulf Moon
Forum Moderator

@mdlion speaking as someone who really does sometimes have to run outside or hide in a corner, you're in the right place. 

This forum is full of helpful and understanding people. 

Hi 

I look forward to receiving my trophy.

(I think I will submit physically, so as to facilitate a $100 bill. 

If your a judge and thought I said "a" and felt that may be a typo, please let me know, so I can correct immediately.) - Yes, it's a joke.

Anyway, I am here, OO, Ahh.

Posted by: @han

Hi 

I look forward to receiving my trophy.

(I think I will submit physically, so as to facilitate a $100 bill. 

If your a judge and thought I said "a" and felt that may be a typo, please let me know, so I can correct immediately.) - Yes, it's a joke.

Anyway, I am here, OO, Ahh.

 

Hi.

Oh, '02 and not '79?

At least in context it's preferable.

Thanks.

Though I'm more of a mermaid fan myself. And most of the 90s Disney or earlier. No fan today though. There are only 3 Star Wars films, the first simply called just that (I struck a sore point, deleted the rant).

Hi!

I’m Victor and I’m from northeast Alabama. I’m a “professionally trained writer” inasmuch as I have an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. My publications include four poems, two essays, and one short story. I’ve won second place in another fiction contest but that story has never been professionally published, either. I’m very excited to be in this contest and am looking forward to completing the free course. 

Good luck to all my fellow writers!