I've got some people getting their heads sliced off, and also soldiers being blown to pieces. I don't really go into description on these things other than simply stating that this happened. Of course, there's some blood as well here and there but I don't describe anything in a grizzly way, like spraying or anything worse.
Thoughts?
- My destiny awaits! 🏆
Who knows. I did get a SF from a military vs blood magi that summoned creature. It had some violence in it. Creature getting blow up, but I didn't focus on it or go splash-gore.
Writers of the Future:
2026 V43: HM, Submitted (HM Resubmit), Dreaming up ideas
2025 V42: RWC, HM (HM Resubmit), HM, SHM
2024 V41: RWC (HM Resubmit), HM, RWC, Finalist (RWC Resubmit)
2023 V40: HM, HM, R, HM
2022 V39: SHM, HM, Semi-finalist, HM (HM Resubmit)
2021 V38: -, -, -, HM
2020 V37: -, R, -, -
Other Achievements:
2026: 46th "On The Premises" short story contest: HM and Published in HTML format
2025: Southeastern Writers Association: 1st in Crime Fiction and 3rd in The Lighthouse Prompt
Todd S. Jones
"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right."~ Henry Ford
Who knows. I did get a SF from a military vs blood magi that summoned creature. It had some violence in it. Creature getting blow up, but I didn't focus on it or go splash-gore.
Would you care to share an example or two? I can do the same.
- My destiny awaits! 🏆
Great thread to start, @lambenttyto. I'm new enough that I haven't yet received a rejection and my entry for this quarter has some bloody scenes as well, so I'm curious to see how to compares to scenes from others here. Happy to share my examples, too!
Writers of the Future stats:
2026 V43: Q1 - HM, Q2 - Submitted
Stories published in:
Raconteur Press Anthology - Pogue, Too
Raconteur Press Anthology - Crashed Landings
The slushers have voiced that they dislike gratuitous violence. If it isn't related/necessary for the plot, or if you go into extreme detail, it's likely to hurt your chances.
That said, my story (Ashes to Ashes) in V40 had someone futuristically chop off their own arm and also a fade-to-black suicide. I.e., the actual suicide wasn't on the page, but the character's intentions and method were and the story cut away at the last moment. But both were critical to the plot.
If you want an example of the most violence/gore you can get away with, I'd suggest Squiddy by J. E. Schleicher (@jeschleicher) in V40 is a good example. It's a fantastic story and there's as much gore in it as any other WotF story I can recall. If you don't have V40, J.E. might be able to sling you the PDF if you asked real nicely.
VOL 40 2nd Quarter: Third Place ("Ashes to Ashes, Blood to Carbonfiber")
Past submissions: R - HM - HM - HM - HM - HM - SHM - SHM
www.jd-writes.com
Kindle Vella - Ashes to Ashes, Earth to Kaybee
These are excellent insights, @ease. Thank you for taking the time to share them! I've got V40 sitting on my shelf at home, so I'll have to give both stories a read over the next few days!
Writers of the Future stats:
2026 V43: Q1 - HM, Q2 - Submitted
Stories published in:
Raconteur Press Anthology - Pogue, Too
Raconteur Press Anthology - Crashed Landings
