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Posted by: @mikefoley8911

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@toddsjones Thanks for the reply mate. I’m new to the forum but I think I can see your accomplishment below your message. WOW! That’s awesome.

Thank you.

Finding this forum, with the free online workshops and helpful people, was one of the main reasons I continued to write and achieved my first HM. After that WotF HM, I decided to focus on short stories and submit each quarter.

BTW: You can adjust your signature for the forum under My Profile -> Account.

Keep writing, submitting, and have fun.

Thats so good. Thanks mate.

Posted by: @pkeiiysrs

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Back to writing SF, I mean. I got a Honorable Mention in WOTF 2023 Q2 contest, then I dropped SF to write and self-publish a saga novel about my ancestors in Ireland. I am currently working on a Hard SF First Contact novel, and some short SF stories. I am an intermediate level writer, still trying to figure out what makes a good story. I am a member of the California Writers Club, hoping to learn by osmosis. I will be looking for an SF-focused critique group on WOTF soon. 

Patrick Kelly

Hi Patrick!

Sorry to miss your post--I was away for two weeks running a writing workshop and retreat in St. Augustine, Florida. Congratulations on your HM!

The group here makes earning an HM look easy, but I assure you it is not. Many writers work at it for years before they earn their first. Some never do and move on, and eventually launch successful careers. But a WotF win will boost an emerging writers' career like nothing else. It is worth every effort, more so than ever before because anyone can publish now, regardless of their skill. How do you prove you're bona fide? Win the most prestigious writing contest an emerging spec fic writer can win and professionals in the industry will know you're the real deal. You get a massive spotlight shining on you, and a team to promote you for the rest of your career. So, I'm glad you found the Forum and do stay the course!

Cool about your Irish ancestry. My paternal grandmother was a Burke, and her father came to American during the 1887 potato blight exodus. Hard times. Ireland saw a massive loss of its people not only from starvation, but from those that left for America and never returned. 

My wife is a Doherty on her mother's side, by the way. Same story, different family. We have a rocker that was her great grandmother's. We believe she brought it from Ireland.

I'm glad you recorded your family's history. We need to remember.

Now on to perfecting your short story craft to win this contest. It's a different beast from memoirs and novels, but similar principles apply. The most important?

Don't bore your reader. Keep it simple so you don't.  

I wish you the very best of success!

Wulf Moon

@mikefoley8911, Welcome, and you're in excellent company, especially with the breadth and depth of experiences we all share and can pull stories from. For instance, I've worked as a butcher, gravedigger (don't worry, not related to the previous job), and even a urine test administrator for the Department of Transportation (many, MANY wild stories from that job!). At the end of the day, my goal is to try and win the contest by 40, and the old Monty Python line is my current mantra: "I'm 37, I'm not old!"

Aside from the usual recommendations to write like crazy, submit a story each quarter, and read some of the latest stories, I highly recommend listening to the free (and ad-free) Writers of the Future podcast. There are tons of things that can be learned from the guests there, so just browse through and download one or two that have titles that catch your eye. This is one of my favorites from earlier this year, and provides great insight into simple do's and don'ts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/364-q-a-with-writers-of-the-future-first-readers/id1458235353?i=1000746438548

Hi! I write under the pen name Darius Aslani, and I'm honored to be among you. I have written quite a few speculative short stories (mostly post-apocalyptic) and two unpublished novels, heavily inspired by Persian mythology and history.

I'm from Iran. I have been writing stories since I was a teen, and I wouldn't show anyone my early works for the life of me (if I can even find those papers🤭). As a child, I was fascinated by superhero movies, The Lord of the Rings, and so on, but the funny thing is that I have been influenced by writers like Cormac McCarthy and William Faulkner rather than fantasy writers. In my hometown's writing groups, people used to see genre stories as good‑for‑nothing fiction, which made things difficult at first. However, with a lot of work, many failures, and getting better each time, I managed to change their minds, and they also helped me with learning many aspects of storytelling over the years.

Despite the growing community of speculative fiction readers in my country and the number of emerging writers, mainstream publishers are reluctant to invest in fantasy, sci‑fi, or other speculative genres.

The promising efforts in recent years and the good progress made by writers and some publishers in Iran are truly overwhelming. Still, I long for a wider audience and want to participate in a more competitive community. So I truly appreciate the chance to be among you.

I write my stories in Persian, so I face the additional challenge of translating them properly. I hope to overcome this challenge and show you a different taste of speculative fiction from this corner of the world.

🌷🌺

Welcome, @darius-aslani! Sounds like an excellent journey you’ve been on, and I can’t wait to read some of your stories. Have you already submitted for this quarter? You’ve got until the end of the month!

@addison-reid 
Thank you!
No, I didn't submit yet. Story itself is complete, but whole translation process is still going on. I think I can submit before the deadline. At least I'm trying to!

welcome @darius-aslani.

@darius-aslani You've got this! Keep pushing so you can get it submitted, my friend!

@darius-aslani 

Welcome, Mohammad!

We are glad you love spec fic and are seeking to get it published! Writers of the Future launches the careers of emerging writers from all over the world, so you've come to the right place. You mentioned you write in Persian, but your English in your post is excellent. Still, it's good to remember that submissions must be in English, so do your best to get your submissions checked by someone that's fluent in English--hopefully a native speaker. If not, you can hire a pro proofreader--they run one or two cents a word--and no, I am not a proofreader. 

Do take the Writers of the Future Online Workshop. It's free, it's taught by the judges, and it will help you compose a story in the format they are seeking.

I wish you all the best in your writing. Cheers!

@wulfmoon 

Hi
Thank you
hopefully, a noteworthy number of my friends are English teachers and I also have quite a few of them living in English-speaking countries. they would probably lend a hand in case I ask to review the translation I made. Trying to do my best!
I actually took the workshop, but didn't finish it yet.

Glad to talk with you. Wish you the best!

Hello, my name is Jeanne Taran...

Wow, I am incredibly tempted to finish this sentence with a quote from The Princess Bride, but I will control myself!

I live in South Florida with my husband, cat, and whichever member of my family has need of the spare bedroom at any given moment. This is my first year entering WotF: R in Q1, awaiting results in Q2, and polishing up my entry for Q3.

I'll probably spend a good deal of time in the Q2 results forum, twitching along with everyone else. It's nice to see some familiar faces there from the Wulf Pack Writing Group! 

Good luck, everyone! 

Posted by: @jtaran

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Hello, my name is Jeanne Taran...

Wow, I am incredibly tempted to finish this sentence with a quote from The Princess Bride, but I will control myself!

 

 

 

But I will not!!

"You killed my father. Prepare to die". 

Or in other words... welcome to the forum

Greetings & Salutations...

The forum says to start here. Here I am.

I have been writing for almost 5 decades, but now I am venturing out to the world to meet other writers and launch into the universe. I see some familiar names from Superstars.

Glad to be here.  

@miladyhawk 

Superstars!

I'm hoping to return in '28 (planning ahead). 

Welcome a-board!

Posted by: @miladyhawk

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Greetings & Salutations...

The forum says to start here. Here I am.

I have been writing for almost 5 decades, but now I am venturing out to the world to meet other writers and launch into the universe. I see some familiar names from Superstars.

Glad to be here.  

Welcome @miladyhawk. This forum is a great place to meet other writers. Have fun and keep on writing.

@jtaran welcome. Glad you are writing and submitting. If you haven't taken the free online workshops at WotF, give them a go. They helped me turn my R into my first HM. Also, there are lots of helpful people in the forum that are willing to swap stories and give constructive criticism.

Keep on writing, submitting every quarter if you can, and have fun. 

Posted by: @jtaran

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Hello, my name is Jeanne Taran...

Wow, I am incredibly tempted to finish this sentence with a quote from The Princess Bride, but I will control myself!

I live in South Florida with my husband, cat, and whichever member of my family has need of the spare bedroom at any given moment. This is my first year entering WotF: R in Q1, awaiting results in Q2, and polishing up my entry for Q3.

I'll probably spend a good deal of time in the Q2 results forum, twitching along with everyone else. It's nice to see some familiar faces there from the Wulf Pack Writing Group! 

Good luck, everyone! 

 

 

Welcome, Jeanne!

Yes, you're a Wulf Pack Writer, but it never hurts to take in more knowledge. Welcome to the WotF Forum!

I'd suggest the free WotF Online Writing Course, but Todd beat me to it.
Have fun! 

All the beast!

Wulf Moon

Posted by: @miladyhawk

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Greetings & Salutations...

The forum says to start here. Here I am.

I have been writing for almost 5 decades, but now I am venturing out to the world to meet other writers and launch into the universe. I see some familiar names from Superstars.

Glad to be here.  

Hi Marcia!

We met at last at the Denver Airport this year, as I recall. I'm glad you're reaching out into the universe. May it answer back with good things!

Don't miss the WotF Online Writing Course. It's free and it's taught by the best. 

Welcome to the Forum! May we meet again soon!

Cheers!