NEW USERS! INTRODUCE YOURSELVES!

Welcome, Sherri! I’m sorry that happened, but you’ll do better now.

Hi, I am Owen. I am a student who has been wanting to write a book for a long time. I've never done it though. Hopefully this contest and workshop could help me get there! My favorite book is The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. You should read it, its great!

Welcome, Owen! I haven’t read that one, but The Lathe of Heaven by LeGuin is one of my favorites.

Good luck!

@martin-l-shoemaker That was my first Le Guin book, it got her to be my favorite writer! I love that one as well.

Posted by: @abeona

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Howdy!  New to the group.  20 years ago, I wanted nothing more than to be a writer.  Not long after that, my best friend read one of my first drafts.  In no uncertain terms, he declared it "trash" but didn't offer anything constructive.  It was a book I was working on and about 10,000 words into it.  I lost interest in writing and he ghosted me not long after that.  He's only partially to blame, but as a "fine art" painter, I expected a little more appreciation of "first draft" or sketch shortfalls.  Since then I have been enthralled with my navel in philosophical obsession which I have found to be a soul-sucking endeavor.  A new friend has re-ignited my desire to write so I'm here to pick up where I left off 20 years ago... determined to be published in WotF!

I now live on a farm in rural Tennessee, not far from Nashville where the peace, quiet, visual beauty and abundant local artistic talent is most inspiring for a renewed relationship with my word processor.  I look forward to being a member of the WotF community!

Hi Sherri!

You've come to the right place to get support and encouragement in your writing, especially in your WotF submissions! And yes, there will always be those that enjoy bursting balloons and crushing your dreams. Hang out with positive people that understand the process and avoid those that don't. You have to find ways to protect your flame from the wind so you can stay the course and keep that desire to be published burning bright!

Don't miss the WotF Online Workshop. It will help you in crafting a winning story! And to share in the other folders--lots of contest knowledge to help you in them.

Stay the course! And welcome to the WotF Forum! Cheers!

Posted by: @owenh

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Hi, I am Owen. I am a student who has been wanting to write a book for a long time. I've never done it though. Hopefully this contest and workshop could help me get there! My favorite book is The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. You should read it, its great!

Hi Owen!

We're glad you've found us. We'll be happy to encourage you in your novel endeavors, but don't forget this is a short story contest. It's actually a great idea to learn your craft in short stories--many of the skills you learn, such as tight writing, can cross over to your novels.

I do recommend the WotF Online Workshop. It's taught by the best in the biz, and it's FREE!

Cheers!

@owenh Welcome, Owen!

@abeona Glad to have you aboard, Sherri! If you ever want constructive feedback on your work, there are many here on the forum who would be happy to give you feedback, including myself.

Hi, my name is Scott. I’ve submitted a few times over the years. I earned an honorable mention in 2018. Didn’t know what that really meant. This year I’ve already entered quarter 1 and will enter every quarter in 2024.

Welcome, Scott!

@owenh @scottmaiorcs and @abeona welcome!

Owen, that's a great book to have as your favourite!

Sherri, I'm sorry you received such unconstructive feedback. You will get lots of support and constructive advice here, and as @wulfmoon said, check out the WotF online workshop - it's awesome and awesomely free too!

Scott, best of luck with your submission for Q1 and a HM means you've got a strong story on your hands. Polish it up and send it out to find a new home.

Posted by: @scottmaiorcs

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I’ve already entered quarter 1 and will enter every quarter in 2024.

Welcome to the forum Scott. A very worthy ambition. 

@joel-c-scoberg thanks!  Already completed the workshop.  Some good stuff in there.  Plus, I'm picking through Wulfmoon's thread too!

@abeona welcome.

Don't let critiques with no advice on why get you down. Constructive crits are another story all together, because they 'usually' involve time and thought. If the person didn't care, they wouldn't have spent that time letting you know what turned 'them' off on the story or a section of the story.  I say 'them' because all crits are opinions and what someone doesn't like others may love. You can't please everyone, so write to please yourself.

BTW: This forum is full of good advice and free lessons that are helping me on my journey to becoming a better writer. Seek them out and grow your skills.

@owenh welcome.  Glad you found the forum. Lots of lessons and helpful people here.

@scottmaiorcs welcome. HM is a great recognition. Out of thousands of entries a quarter, you made it near the top. My understanding is that HM means your story made it through a full read, not to the final judges, but good enough to get a read. That is a huge deal when you consider WotF is the largest international writer's contest out there for non-professional writers. Congrats and glad to read you are submitting.   

@toddjones thanks for the pep talk.  I was overly sensitive then.  I have the confidence in my opinion and am not easily offended anymore.  A lot can change in 20 years.  Interestingly, a friend, somewhere between inner circle and casual acquaintance stopped by with her boy friend.  She's an anthropology prof at Vanderbilt.  They stopped by this morning to drop off a little gift.  I only just discovered that they are both huge fans of sci-fi/fantasy and SHE is an EDITOR!  I asked if they'd read the first 350 words of my Q2 WIP.  They were reluctant.  They've lost friends over crits.  They read my piece and wasted no time ripping it apart!    I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciated it!  I don't have a good source for unbiased feedback.  Most of what they'd said I was already of a mind myself.  At one point she said, "I felt really irritated when I read..."  I must have looked foolish, I was smiling so big!  But, they both made various positive comments as well and said I need to keep writing it.  It now appears I have an editor!

@abeona You're better at taking crits than me, it sounds.  Yes, having people read and say they liked it doesn't help. My wife is brutally honest and she can see how deflated I get at her comments. I have to force sometimes to thank her for her comments as I walk away grumbling. BUT, the next day when I sit down after thinking through her comments, I gleam gems of wisdom. Those gems have helped me break through what I knew was wrong, but just didn't know where to start improving the story.

My wife's bday is coming up in Feb, maybe I'll buy her some fresh red pens. haha.  I better come up with something better than that or I'll be in hot water.   

There is a section in the forum for swapping the first 450 words to help each other fine tune the intro. 

I've learned on short story intros from this forum to have; a character with a flaw if possible, in a place that hints of a larger world, with a heart's desire, and a problem/person preventing them from getting their heart's desire. Start the story as close, or even in the middle of, the problem/inciting incident and make sure the character is actively working toward solving the problem and not just swept along for the ride.

Sounds easy, right? Well, not really. If you figure that out, let me know how.  

Posted by: @toddjones

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Sounds easy, right?

Yup... piece of cake! 🤣 🤣 🤣 😀 🤪 

Posted by: @scottmaiorcs

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Hi, my name is Scott. I’ve submitted a few times over the years. I earned an honorable mention in 2018. Didn’t know what that really meant. This year I’ve already entered quarter 1 and will enter every quarter in 2024.

Hi Scott!

An HM in this contest is no small thing, even though we make it look easy in this group. Well done!

Keep aiming for that bullseye! The free WotF Online Workshop will help!

Welcome aboard!

Hi there, my name is Emma and I'm an emerging artist from Australia. I am self-taught and have mostly hung around the game art community spaces but I want to pursue illustration. Hope to take the plunge and work on submitting something. 

Welcome, Emma! It’s always great to have an Illustrator join. We get a lot more Writers.

@owenh yes, one of my very favorite books as well!

Posted by: @emnida

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Hi there, my name is Emma and I'm an emerging artist from Australia. I am self-taught and have mostly hung around the game art community spaces but I want to pursue illustration. Hope to take the plunge and work on submitting something. 

Hi Emma!

We have illustrators that have joined the Forum, but we'd love to have more. There are some topics on the Illustrators' side of the contest. Hunt those down and find your people! It's great to have support, and that's what this forum is all about.

All the best!

@emnida Welcome to the forum, Emma!

@scottmaiorcs Welcome, Scott! Happy to hear you'll be submitting this year. I look forward to seeing your name on the lists

Welcome @emnida

@ellis It's actually in Atlanta Georgia, and yes it was pretty expensive. I saved up a good chunk of change for it, not including the price of tickets! Though I will say a day pass is a lot cheaper if you just want to go for the artist ally or a panel here or there. It's a lot of fun but definitely something I recommend planning ahead for.

Hi, folks. I'm Robert J. Sawyer. I've been a judge for the Writers of the Future contest since 2005. I live just outside Toronto and I'm looking forward to seeing this year's winners in Los Angeles in April.

A brief bio:

Robert J. Sawyer has won the Hugo, Nebula, and John W. Campbell Memorial Awards, all for best novel of the year, as well as the Robert A. Heinlein Award, the Hal Clement Award, the Skylark Award, and more Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Awards ("Auroras") than anyone else in history. Rob is a member of the Order of Canada, the highest honor bestowed by the Canadian government. The ABC TV series FlashForward was based on his novel of the same name; his latest novel — his twenty-fifth — is The Downloaded.

@robert-j-sawyer is a man you all can learn from, and a gracious gentleman as well.