WRITERSoftheFUTURE.com

I sold my one SHM from this contest to InterGalactic Medicine Show - after an R&R request. The editor there, like Dave, felt the story needed just a little something. Both of them were right, and the resulting story came out great. The only story I have resubmitted to this contest was an outrig...

Wulf Moon wrote:
https://www.writersofthefuture.com/educator-resources/

Very cool. Thanks!

There are only twelve reports in the Grinder for WOTF this quarter. That leaves about 16 more to go. Given that Grinder users are only a tiny fraction of WOTF submitters, I doubt the unreported Grinder entries account for all the finalists and semifinalists. I therefore conclude there is at least on...

An HM for me.

My standard cover letter is very similar to those given above. Some markets will also ask for a writer's bio, so you may want to develop one. Write it in third person and maybe mention your occupation, where you live, family, pets, etc. Insert a link to your web page if you have one. Keep it to two ...

I pulling for sometime in June, then I can have three entries in at once. That's only happened for me once before and it really heightened the twitching. If they delay it to July, we can all go for a Four Twitch Slam.

storysinger wrote:

Dustin Adams wrote:It is interesting to watch the high post-counters win and move on. Makes one think there's a correlation.

Let's do one better and have three forumites win and meet in LA.

There are still twelve slots open for this year. Let's take them all!

FWIW, I got an HM on a story of 1900 words and an R on a story of 800 words. Putting length aside, I would say the 1900 word story was a better fit for WOTF and may be why it placed higher. Those are the only two I have entered with less than 6000 words and I only entered them because I had nothing ...

Thanks. So far, no one has said a piece of dialogue is boring. I certainly try to avoid that! However, I will take another look to see if it can be compressed. Good to get this many responses to one problem. I'm sure it is not! I use the technique I described when I have a character doing a lot of ...

If the character speaking at length is not the POV character, consider fading out to the POV's internal thoughts and then back in when something else interesting is said. This will give it a more natural feel and avoids boring the reader while still capturing the verbosity of the long winded speaker.

I'm in.

I feel this way often. I use a couple different things to get through it. First is the mantra, trust the process, trust the process ... Stories are complicated and their elements do not coalesce all at once, so it is common to feel as if I'm wading through a swamp when I'm half way through the first...

For those who do not get Dave's newsletter: Illness On Sunday, March 10th, after teaching his very fun “And the Plot Thickens” workshop, Dave suddenly collapsed from a combination of pneumonia and a heart attack. Dave is in the hospital recuperating and will most likely be getting a pacemaker in the...

My Q2 WIP will likely slip to Q3, but I have a flash piece I'm working on I can send in Q2. Write on, everyone, and see you in Thursdayember.

It depends on what you mean by central question. Typically, I start with a concept, which is probably what you mean. For genre fiction, this would be the what is unique and interesting about the world you are building, be it magic or technology or societal construct. I usually require two or three s...

Very cool. Thanks Kent!

I'm 250 words into mine. It'll probably be about 8000 when all is said and done.

Entered 12/17/2018.
HM 4/18/2019

I'm in. As for the earlier discussion about editing, I agree with Wulf, less is more, but with the caveat when we are first starting out, it takes a few extra passes to get all the necessary ingredients into the story. I also have found that I've become more and more a pantser rather than a plotter....

I've PM'd you.

Congrats!

R for me, but that was expected. My piece was just a tiny slip of a thing. It might sell in a flash market, though. Good luck to everyone and congrats on the HMs coming through.

Submitted Sept 29.
R on Nov 15

Amos, I'll probably still be around for Magic in the 4th, v 36. Ha! I really want to get in this Q. I got a silver for 2/35, then an R. That's my year. Not very satisfying. I've got a great story that just needs time and attention. And I've got three months. Fingers crossed! p.s. Thanks Gruffbane. ...

HM for me. I'd hoped for more, but it is my first non-R in two years, so something to build on.

I'm in!

The sad thing is, I forgot my cell phone today. Or maybe that's a good thing. I need only watch my email. Less twitchy that way.

I just want to write again. Life has derailed my writing. Such a bummer. Been months since I wrote a word. Miss it terribley... See! I can't even speel! Let me know if you want to do "Magic in the First". The magic story I intended for the fourth quarter is still in the works, I'll hopefu...

Odds are an HM for me, because so far I've either received an early round R or an HM and I'm past the early round...
That said, my first readers both said this is my strongest story yet, so maybe, just maybe, I'll break that HM barrier this time.

This challenge caused two of my four stories this year to be created in the eleventh hour. Didn't know it could be done, but I pulled it out somehow. Thank you for setting this up, Dustin.