NEW USERS! INTRODUCE YOURSELVES!

@luckycharms welcome. Glad you are submitting. HMs are a great honor in this contest. 

I just started writing cop/detective stories and I'm finding it fun. If you feel like sharing some advice, PM me.

Hey Everyone!

I'm Shannon Steffen and I'm from KY! I'm going to be honest with you: I got into writing because I was running Dungeons and Dragons campaigns for my friend, and I am still having trouble taking my own writing seriously and finding time to write. I'm hoping this will help me with that! 

@sasteffen Welcome Shannon. I think you will find there are more than a few of us that started with D & D campaigns

Welcome @sasteffen Shannon.

Look around the forum and check out all the free advice/training. I found this place a couple years ago and my writing has improved for it. You have to do the work to get better, but have fun and write. 

Posted by: @sasteffen

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Hey Everyone!

I'm Shannon Steffen and I'm from KY! I'm going to be honest with you: I got into writing because I was running Dungeons and Dragons campaigns for my friend, and I am still having trouble taking my own writing seriously and finding time to write. I'm hoping this will help me with that! 

Welcome to the Forum, Shannon!

I'm an old D&D campaigner from back in the days when TSR was in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Our team used to compete in the annual tournaments held there, and we came one round away from the final round where Gary Gygax himself presided. The hardcover Monster Manual was released that year. Yippee! We'd never have to think up our own monsters and hit points again! LOL 

Do keep learning what makes up a working story--the WotF Online Workshop can help you with that. And don't be afraid to swap stories with members in the Forum. Everyone is here to learn, and here to help. Now get that story written and don't be afraid! Send it in. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

Cheers!

@sasteffen Awesome! Welcome to the forum!

Hi all! 

I’m new here in the forum. I love to write and all forms of storytelling! And I love this contest! 

I haven’t been so much on the forum yet but I plan to start, so here’s my intro!

I’m Swedish and I enjoy writing in both Swedish and English. I’m also a singer, musician and songwriter, so other than writing stories I do a lot of lyrics and poetry as well.

Art in all forms is my passion in life, also acting and dancing is very close to my heart.

So far I’ve listened a lot to the Writers of the Future podcast, which I think is an amazing and inspiring resource!

Also working on the great online workshop. 

I received an Honorable Mention in Q1 2024, and I’m very excited to see the results from Q2

I very much look forward to meet you all!

All the best,

Patricia Ahlborn

Welcome @patricia-a.  Congrats on the HM.

Welcome to the forum (@patricia-a), enjoy the resources and amazing people that are here.

@toddjones Thank you! I see you have an impressive list of those, and even a Semi-Finalist! Cool! Best of luck for Q2!

@storysinger Thank you! Very nice to meet you!

@patricia-a Hello Patricia and welcome to the forum! It's always great to have so many wonderful creators from around the world.

Hello!

My name is Kay, and I'm joining the forums with the hopes of meeting other writers and maintaining conversations and friendships with them. I'm a baker/cat lady/sewist and a thoroughly failed gardener. I've submitted to this year's 2nd Quarter and am going to aim for writing at least one short story per quarter. It feels like a good self-imposed deadline that's neither too lenient nor too imposing. 

Nice to meet you all!  

@spencer_s Thank you so much! 

I was actually just recently listening to an interview with you on the Authors Quill, I'm listening to those as well as the Writers of the Future podcast. Looking forward to read the book version of your short story when it comes out!  

@fourleanhounds Nice to meet you! Good luck with your Q2 story!

Hello friends! My name is Saroj. I'm 26 years old and I'm working on becoming a writer. I love stories. Day by day I'm getting better at it. I'm glad to be a part of this group. It looks like there are lots of aspiring minds and fruitful imaginations around. I'm looking forward to putting things out there!

@sschin Hello Saroj, and welcome!

@fourleanhounds welcome and good luck on your entry.  There are lots of helpful people participating in the forum.

@sschin welcome. I wish I'd found this forum when I was your age. There are a lot of free workshops in the forum and many helpful people. Explore and have fun.

@sschin Nice to meet you! That's great! Have fun!

Posted by: @fourleanhounds

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Hello!

My name is Kay, and I'm joining the forums with the hopes of meeting other writers and maintaining conversations and friendships with them. I'm a baker/cat lady/sewist and a thoroughly failed gardener. I've submitted to this year's 2nd Quarter and am going to aim for writing at least one short story per quarter. It feels like a good self-imposed deadline that's neither too lenient nor too imposing. 

Nice to meet you all!  

I, too, bake. The proof is in the ... story intro in 39. Oh, and I mention my cat, but not my failed gardening. So I'm with you on 3/4. (I don't sew ... yet?)

Welcome!

Hello everyone!

My name is Dannie, and I have been telling stories pretty much all my life, playing pretend with my brother as a little kid, and then with my first dive into D&D as a high-schooler. I have always had the writer bug in me, poking me to get up and do something, and just before the new year, it finally bit really hard. So I'm gonna try some stuff out and see where it takes me.

I'm in my mid-thirties, and I live in North Carolina with my wife and my little boy. I discovered the contest through a friend of mine that I LARP with who has become my writing partner. Mainly because we dont have many other people around that are as serious about writing as we are/want to be. I'm currently working on something for the second quarter submission. (I discovered the contest literally 2 weeks before the first quarter deadline.)

Personally I cant believe I have never heard of this until now. Many of the authors that have inspired me were judges for it! My main inspirations are Roger Zelazny, Anne McCaffrey, Frank Herbert, Tolkien, CS Lewis, Neil Gaiman, and plenty of others! Special shout out to Roger Zelazny, who is definitely the main reason I ever got into scifi/fantasy in middle school.

Other than that I have a couple novels percolating in my head while I write for my first entry into the contest. I hope to smash as much knowledge and wisdom as I can shove into my brain. It's been a dream for a long time to write and publish for a living. In my earlier years, due to confidence, and parental guidance on the importance of a "real job" I never really pursued it. Now, though, I realize I really CAN do anything I want, I just have to work hard enough for it.

So, first goal, is to submit to Writers of the Future every quarter until I win. The ones I get honorable mentions on, I'll try to sell. If it never happens. . . well, at least I get to write my stories.

See you guys around!

(I want to add how super excited I am to see a legit active online FORUM! I haven't done stuff like this since 2007!)

@degray Welcome to the club Dannie, it's great to have you! What you say certainly resonates with me, I stumbled across this contest and couldn't believe I hadn't heard of it before, and the community on here is great! You have a solid plan: write, write, write (for yourself first and foremost), submit until you win - and beyond, I'm sure. You never know. I was totally surprised when I won, and I was on the verge of not submitting that quarter. I would offer advice, but in my opinion you have one of the best lessons already - that no matter what happens, you get to write your stories. If you write first and foremost because it matters to you, because it is part of you, because it's meaningful in its own right, then every word is a victory, and no one can take that away from you. I look forward to your success

Welcome to the forum Dannie. This community helps build relationships and skills that can launch a career as a writer Enjoy.

Welcome @degray. The forum has a mix of active and passive members; either is okay. The key is to utilize the forum and all the free (yep, free) workshops and advice.  

You are taking the first step by setting goals and it's great one of the goals is to submit to WotF each quarter.

Write, have fun, and submit.

Wow! Thanks for such a warm welcome everyone! I'm still poking around and reading the different posts, but I will start interacting with everyone soon enough! 

@patricia-a 

Welcome to the Forum, Patricia, and congratulations on your HM! What a great sign! Stay the course. You’ll see most built up their skills over time, as proven by the rising rank of their certificates! 

To help with that, don’t miss the free WotF Online Workshop! Learn from the best!

Enjoy the many threads here and members ready to help! Welcome aboard!

@fourleanhounds 

Welcome to the Forum, Kay!

Committing to writing a fresh story every quarter is an excellent program that leads to success. Fresh stories for the win! We grow with every story we write.

Welcome aboard!

@sschin 

Hi Saroj! Welcome to the Forum!

Just to put your mind at ease, you’re already a writer. And you’re seeking to improve your writing so that it can be published. You’ve come to the right place. Well done!

Dont miss the free WotF Online Writing Course. Those instructors can give you the tools you need to craft winning stories. Study hard, write hard, and the future is yours!

Welcome aboard!

@degray 

Hi Dannie! Welcome to the Forum!

I’m happy to see you play D&D. I’m an old campaigner myself, dating back to playing in the championships held at TSR HQ in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Our team made it one round away from the final with Gary Gygax as DM. They released their first hardcover, The Monster Manual, that year. We’d never have to think up our own monsters and stats again!

Yes, commit to submitting every quarter, and may I suggest with fresh stories each quarter? That’s what changed everything for me, and far beyond this contest, too. Do send them all out to markets after. Don’t trunk a single one! Heinlein’s Rules for the win!

Best of success! Welcome aboard!