NEW USERS! INTRODUCE YOURSELVES!

Welcome, Paul and Henckel!

Yes, I said western - stop laughing. Let’s be honest, who amongst us, hasn’t pursued our own Dark Tower?

You'll be pleased to hear that I know of at least one weird western which made finalist.

Ok scBaker, now I'm interested. Do tell.

Welcome, Paul and Henckel!

Yes, I said western - stop laughing. Let’s be honest, who amongst us, hasn’t pursued our own Dark Tower?

You'll be pleased to hear that I know of at least one weird western which made finalist.

Ok scBaker, now I'm interested. Do tell.

Well... basically just what I said.

Or maybe it was semi-finalist? I can't remember now. Anyway, my friend sold it to Beyond Ceaseless Skies after it didn't win the contest, but I don't think it's appeared there yet.

Greetings!

I am A. Kalish and I'm looking forward to participating in the writing contest! I was wondering when the next one will be open for submissions?

Greetings!

I am A. Kalish and I'm looking forward to participating in the writing contest! I was wondering when the next one will be open for submissions?

Welcome, A.!

If you have a finished story, you can submit right now: http://writersofthefuture.com/submit-your-story

The contest is on a rolling submissions schedule, so basically the door is always open unless you've already submitted for a given quarter. This quarter ends on March 31st, so you'll have to wait until April to submit another story if you've already entered since January 1st.

It says applications are currently closed...

Greetings!

I am A. Kalish and I'm looking forward to participating in the writing contest! I was wondering when the next one will be open for submissions?

Been a while since I said hi to new person.

So Hi to you and good going in entering the contest.

It says applications are currently closed...

I'd be inclined to give it a few more days for admin to cope with closing Q1 and the holidays. They don't really expect too many people to wish to submit in the first week of a new quarter, I think.

Welcome anyway. You can always try one of the faster turnaround markets whilst you're waiting to submit here.

It says applications are currently closed...

I'd be inclined to give it a few more days for admin to cope with closing Q1 and the holidays. They don't really expect too many people to wish to submit in the first week of a new quarter, I think.

Welcome anyway. You can always try one of the faster turnaround markets whilst you're waiting to submit here.

Hmm, that's odd. Normally it should open up straight away. That said, there have been problems with the electronic submission system in the past.

Ishmael's advice is good (try Lightspeed or Clarkesworld, which both have turnaround times in the 1-3 day range), or you can always submit to the contest by snail mail, if you don't want to wait for the online system to turn itself on again.

Here's the address:
L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future Contest
PO Box 1630
Los Angeles, CA 90078

and remember the following for hardcopy submissions:

Entries submitted hardcopy must be typewritten or a computer printout in black ink on white paper, printed only on the front paper, double spaced, with numbered pages. All other formats will be disqualified. Each entry must have a cover page with the title of the work, the author's legal name, a pen name if applicable, address, telephone number, email address and an approximate word count. Every subsequent page must carry the title and a page number, but the author's name must be deleted to facilitate fair, anonymous judging.

ETA: As of 12:15pm PST on 1/6/2014, I was able to access the submission system, so it looks like they fixed the error.

Hello. I am Rebecca Birch's son and her home review helper. I will be entering high school next year. I am interested in writing professionaly and I am starting my online journey here because mom said it would be a good place to look for information. I like to build complex worlds with histories and maps, or plan out a whole short story and revise it in my head before even starting. I write Sci-Fi and Fantasy.

Hello. I am Rebecca Birch's son and her home review helper. I will be entering high school next year. I am interested in writing professionaly and I am starting my online journey here because mom said it would be a good place to look for information. I like to build complex worlds with histories and maps, or plan out a whole short story and revise it in my head before even starting. I write Sci-Fi and Fantasy.

I am way behind on welcoming folks, so welcome to everyone I've missed!

Also, welcome, I.Q., I'm glad you came to the forum. There are so many fabulous writers here (many of whom you know by reputation, because they're so cool that I talk about them all the time.). You'll learn a lot! Welcome aboard!

Welcome to the forum I.Q.

Sounds awesome!

One thing I have to ask is...

Does the I.Q. change randomly, or was it set once to a random value, and is now stable? I have to know!

Welcome Random IQ. Just think, you and your mom could be the first mother-son winners of the Writer's of the Future. Be sure to enter every quarter, no matter what! No excuses!
Good luck!

Sounds awesome!

One thing I have to ask is...

Does the I.Q. change randomly, or was it set once to a random value, and is now stable? I have to know!

I believe my I.Q. is so low that I can't respond well, but maybe I'm just saying that because my I.Q. is higher and I want to be witty. Or maybe I can't figure it out because I have now idea what my I.Q. is, considering it is random. Make a guess and my I.Q. may increase or decrease based on your response. Of course...

Keeping it in the family Welcome, I.Q! You've taken a big first step. Never stop writing, never stop submitting, and there's no limit to what you can achieve!

Make a guess and my I.Q. may increase or decrease based on your response.

Sounds like an application of quantum cryptography principles to the measure of intelligence. Apt.

Sounds awesome!

One thing I have to ask is...

Does the I.Q. change randomly, or was it set once to a random value, and is now stable? I have to know!

I believe my I.Q. is so low that I can't respond well, but maybe I'm just saying that because my I.Q. is higher and I want to be witty. Or maybe I can't figure it out because I have now idea what my I.Q. is, considering it is random. Make a guess and my I.Q. may increase or decrease based on your response. Of course...

An excellent response in all particulars.

Thanks for the welcomes and support. I have already had an accidental idea reading random people's introductions.

It's amazing how educational this is, my I.Q. is increasing by the second.

Welcome Random! Great to have you here!

Hi Everyone!

My name is William Petersen, I'm glad I'm able to participate this quarter. This is my first shot at the WOTF contest and I'm totally excited!
Oh...oh...pick me, pick me!!!

Good Luck Everyone!

W.P.
"Mythical" - A different type of fantasy.

Welcome to the forum William.
Your first post and I've already gained knowledge by clicking on Mythical.
Looks like an interesting story. Thanks for the info.

Welcome to the forum William.
Your first post and I've already gained knowledge by clicking on Mythical.
Looks like an interesting story. Thanks for the info.

Thanks! Great to be here. I love the concept of "Mythical", it's my favorite of all the stories I've written and the only fantasy themed story. I just need to keep developing my skills to tell it well. I was lucky enough to have an established fantasy writer look it over and give me some pointers. I wanted to submit it to the contest, but it is too long and I can't seem to shorten it, without taking critical elements out of the story. Oh well...lol

W.P.

Entering it would also get you disqualified on two counts, since it's already been published, and your name is on it. (The contest is for unpublished works, and is also anonymous. Make sure you don't give away any details of your entered stories!)

Good luck and welcome to the forums!

Or maybe it was semi-finalist? I can't remember now. Anyway, my friend sold it to Beyond Ceaseless Skies after it didn't win the contest, but I don't think it's appeared there yet.

There was one about a candy shop in the volume before Brad's--is that 25? 26? Anyways it takes place in a weird west setting.

Also welcome to William and Random IQ!!! So excited to see a family grouping on the board, Random IQ. Any one else got cousins, siblings they'd like to drag aboard? We need new victims, er I mean board mates.

…maybe Kary wasn't too far off about the us needing to wear tartans thing...

…maybe Kary wasn't too far off about the us needing to wear tartans thing...

No, not really, but just for you, when I win I may be persuaded to wear the complete 18th century romantic's idea of Scottish costume, including kilt, Montrose doublet and lace jabot. However, when conducting spontaneous interviews in LA I shall have to substitute a proper daywear jacket, because we aren't allowed to wear a Montrose before sunset on pain of being visited by the ghost of Bonnie Prince Chairlie (SIC).

Now if THAT doesn't guarantee victory, nothing will!

Greetings to IQ, and tak heed that ye ignore the advice to seek a joint victory. As they say (wi'oot bein' at all sizeist) in a' the fitba' stadiums hereaboots, "GO YERSEL WEE MAN!"

Hello, everyone.

I just recently discovered the contests and all this, and it's actually quite a challenge for me to write something this..short..it should be fun though. And really, that little quill trophy is just lovely.

By the way, I'm allowed to participate in both writing and illustration contest, yes?

See you around~

Welcome Aria! Good luck with your entry! If you need practice writing short, I suggest checking out some flash fiction websites. Writing a complete story or vignette in under 1k can be some great training in economy of words.

And yes, you're definitely allowed to submit to both contests. We had one author/illustrator recently who won both contests in consecutive years. There's no reason why you can't do the same.

Welcome Aria.
Good luck as a writer and an illustrator.

Good luck, Aria! And welcome!

Welcome Aria!

I've posted on the forum a few times, but I never introduced myself. In order not to be completely antisocial, I will now do so. I am a lawyer near Washington, DC. I have entered the contest twice so far, although nothing but rejections have been forthcoming. I don't have so much time to write, but when an idea strikes me, and I do write a story, I will try my luck with WOTF. I think I will enter this quarter.