WRITERSoftheFUTURE.com

I was thinking "rewrite" meant no editing (or touch-ups, as Wulf put it) at all. Dean Wesley Smith mentioned writing stories without any rewriting (which I took to mean editing) - just sending them out straightaway.

Wulf Moon wrote: Remember Heinlein's rules.

How seriously do you take those rules? Do you never rewrite your stories?

The reason I ask is I have a story (not sff) set in the 90s about a teenage girl who practices ballet but would like to become a pro wrestler. I signed up for a Duotrope trial after not finding suitable markets. As the market for young adult novels is big, I wrongly assumed there would be at least s...

Speaking of sentence length, does anyone remember “Purposes Made for Alien Minds” by Scott R. Parkin in volume 31? Every sentence was 5 words. It's the only WotF story I found unreadable, and I didn't reach the end, which however extreme, I think reinforces the point about varying sentences. There w...

I was advised to mention I'm a new writer by an editor of a well known pro publication, despite the fact I've been writing on and off for around 10 years (otherwise my template is almost identical to the examples above), but I'm not sure whether to include that any more. I've been submitting regular...

Thanks - I've read Dave's article on turning HMs into winners, but yeah - maybe I shouldn't over analyse it too much for risk of my head exploding. I completely agree about writing stories that interest you. I've only written one story I didn't like and haven't submitted it anywhere as I don't want...

Thanks - I've read Dave's article on turning HMs into winners, but yeah - maybe I shouldn't over analyse it too much for risk of my head exploding. I completely agree about writing stories that interest you. I've only written one story I didn't like and haven't submitted it anywhere as I don't want ...

It's great to see the excitement and success in this thread. Congratulations everyone! I got my first HM! It's the first story I entered I didn't write with WotF in mind (and is only about 1,200 words). As it's completely different to anything else I've written, and I don't know how I wrote it, I do...

I've used the Contact link in the footer, so fingers crossed, otherwise this'll be my last post for another few weeks.

Thanks for your response above Wulf Moon, and a belated congrats on the win if I didn't congratulate you elsewhere! I almost failed this month, but I've submitted a new story, despite the easier way being an older revised one. It's a flash - there's no chance I'll finish one of my two longer pieces ...

If anyone noticed me congratulating last Quarter's winners 3 months late, it's because I can only reach the forum on a tablet I don't access often. wotf008 I've tried the password reset function a few times but never receive the e-mails. They're not in my spam. Is anyone aware of a problem? It took ...

I'm signing up for 4 in 36. I don't like to commit to things I don't think I can achieve, and starting the year it looked like I'd enter 2 or 3. Now it's looking like I can enter all 4. Also, a couple of Wulf Moon's posts inspired me. :)

I got in a day early, as always (though I didn't think I'd be in this quarter). I'm too much of a scaredy-cat to leave it until the last day so always treat the penultimate day as my last day. One time it actually was, as I finished my manuscript while waiting for a flight to China... :) I didn't ha...

Good luck everyone! I didn't think I had anything for this month, but I recently had a positive rejection from elsewhere: "The story hasn't been selected on this occasion, but I did want to send a note because I thought it was a brilliant effort for such a new writer... given the calibre of thi...

I'm late to the party but congratulations Wulf Moon! It was great to see a name I recognised. :D

I thought Brittany's achievement to finish the story under those circumstances was epic enough, so even more congratulations on being a finalist! :D

My top 5 are:
Stars That Make Dark Heaven Light - Sharon Joss
Switch - Steve Pantazis
Memories Bleed Beneath the Mask - Randy Henderson
The Jack of Souls - Stephen Merlino
The Minarets of An-Zabat - Jeremy TeGrotenhuis

I wish I'd never read this thread (the bits about Q4 results coming earlier).

Interesting range of approaches in this thread. I let a bunch of ideas brew for a while, sometimes months or years, and then pick whichever ones vow to hold my interest long enough to make into stories. I realise I do that too, but less often than writing shortly after an idea comes. A few stories ...

When I have an idea, I start writing. I don't usually know what's going to happen next, who the characters are or where scenes will take place. I've found a little advance planning can help, such as listing a few character traits (which may change as I write the story). Next, I make passes for vario...

Some of the best, most powerful stories I've read are flash fiction. There's always a chance, but I understand Dave's reasoning. I can't find the link but remember reading something about flash having less words to impress the judges. It may have been the article Wulf Moon quoted above, or be from D...

They're without feedback from David, but $89 for this set of workshops seems too good to miss for those who can afford it? https://mystorydoctor.com/online-workshops/ I've read about many of the topics in David's excellent Daily Meditations e-book, but I imagine these workshops are more in depth. Th...

I haven't read much of F&SF so I couldn't specifically say, but Clarkesworld doesn't give me any impression at all that anything but the quality of the story matters. The best advice I've been given/read about cover letters is to keep them short, but if the market asks for personal information t...

I had my first personal rejection from a pro market this week (I posted about being 3rd in the queue for ages a couple of weeks ago). They'll reconsider if I make changes! Now I just need to figure out those changes...

Not games or apps, but I've seen related questions and knowledgable people on the likes of https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/worldbuilding/

Congrats on the HMs everyone, especially the first timers. wotf008 R for me too. Deciding I really don't like the addition of the "still in the running" emails.... I appreciated knowing. When were they introduced? If it was before Q3, it means I did better in Q3 than Q2 (my first entry). I...

I can't get Word to read any text.

There are websites that do it too, including: https://www.naturalreaders.com/online/

The voices sound so weird anyway, I don't find it helpful. I have a slightly sore throat from reading my own story out loud today.

I'm refusing to acknowledge Volume 36 will be published in 2020 until I get my full set of rejections for Volume 35. How time flies... Follow up... has anyone ever won both illustrator and writer for the same quarter and wound up illustrating their own entry? That sounds unlikely - the authors don't...

I'm in! Previously, I've been a day early, but I kept working on this story. I've been up until 2-3am for four nights in the past two weeks, mostly cutting words (I cut 800). I'm exhausted! It feels like the best speculative story I've written over 1,500 words, so it was worth the effort. My entry w...

I've enjoyed two of the Legends fantasy anthology series (I'm not sure if they're the only two) - they contain some very famous names. I've discovered the Best British Short Stories series this year and they contain some excellent stories (a mix of genres). Ray Bradbury Stories Volume 1. The Mammoth...

Thanks for the tips, Kary.

I didn't realise first-pass was so close to HM. That makes the first-pass e-mail I had one quarter even more exciting!