WRITERSoftheFUTURE.com

For me, Rule 4 needs adding: that the critiquer should be thanked for his/her time and effort regardless of what the writer thought of the crit. I spend 3 or 4 hours or more on each crit. If I don’t get a simple thank you within a few days, I spend another half hour or more re-reading it to see what...

I noticed some people use a space at either side of the em dash, and some don't. I was under the impression, no space. I'm fond of the em dash and I suspect I'm guilty of inconsistency with spaces around the em dash. I don't uses spaces when i use em dashes to show an action interrupting dialogue. ...

I'm working on the next quarter's story and could use some fresh eyes. It's hovering around 2500, which is a different problem than my norm. I tend to go WAAAY over. I started this with a Wulf Moon KYD and it's like the thing needs a shot of growth hormone. Does anyone have time? 2500 shouldn't tak...

Hi everyone! My short story that I'm considering for Q4 finally finished making its rounds in my writer's group, and I would like another pair of eyes on it, if anyone would be so willing. Any kind of feedback would be welcome. I wrote it based of a random prompt challenge and I'm really proud of w...

I liked Steering the Craft - thanks for the reminder - I should go and revisit some of it! My response was meant to be to both of you. Couldn't see how to quote more than one. Having just read DF's Million Dollar Outlines and as I avidly follow his tips, I imagine KDJ's recommendation for DF's Ench...

Can anyone recommend resources for upskilling my line-by-line prose? Any thought or strategies you’d like to share that have helped you? Have you read Ursula K. Le Guin's - Steering The Craft...? It might help. Just contemplating buying it myself. The opening chapter - The Sound of Your Writing - l...

Twenty-five minutes to produce something publishable - Blimey! Well done.

So - no one is going to help that 13 yr old girl, just because she's a bot?

I guess the nature of help might change a little. Not sure how you tell a bot when writing 'rules' can be bent.

Recently my daughter(she is 13y.o.)said to me that she wants to be a writer and asked me for some recommendations. But I don't know what to advise her. Maybe someone has any thoughts? I'd hoped you would get more replies to this. I suggest you look out for competitions aimed at youngsters. In the U...

Bullshit and gobbledegook - best way to pull the wool over people's eyes.

I had langa-weasels who could read the Broca’s area and angular gyrus and equivalents in brains of any creatures and thereby learn languages. They were bred to be interpreters and dependant on their owners and they couldn't be trusted. It was part of my one attempt at humour and only got HM.

I've got a 6 pack.

(In the fridge waiting to be drunk.)

Dustin Adams wrote:Looking for 1 or 2 Alpha readers.

Does that make me an alpha male?

Dustin Adams wrote:Looking for 1 or 2 Alpha readers. Grammar should be good, commas, are all over the place, but does the story work? 4400 words. I can return an under 10k swap after Aug 5th.

I'll take a look if you like. You should have my email address.

Congratulations, Bartleby. And I agree that those little measures of success and improvement in the form of WotF awards are great encouragement.
Well done.

Are any parts confusing at all and need a little more explanation? As per Dave's tips on character arcs - do you have The Lie, The Wound, New Action, Wants and Needs covered. Do you have a theme? Does it need more work? Is the setting well described, does it play a part in the story? Do you have eno...

Third pro sale sounds good. Have you stopped telling people you're a writer and now say a professional writer?
Well done.

Someone I crit recently had posted her email as per the rules. First thing I said in my response was to delete her email, which she did.
You seem to agree that Rule 2 should be changed.

1. You cannot mention anything of the story you need critiqued if it is an entry or potential entry for the Writers of the Future Contest. 2. You must, basically, initiate a call for critiquers to look at your story via a post with your e-mail and any other contact information they want to share. 3...

BrandieJ wrote:Hey guys. I don't post a lot here, rather keeping to the shadows. But I found out I'm a finalist for this quarter. I am so excited and so nervous. And then excited again.

Well done. Fingers crossed for you.

empressed wrote:HM for me as well.

If yours is the one I read, I really rated it. Shows what I know!

Ania wrote:Thank you!! I'm sorry for not mentioning it earlier, but please be prepared, the story is 10,000 words long...

Not a problem

I'll take a look Ania, PM me.

Congrats to everyone that got HM and above - and for those that got an R, I say don't feel so bad and keep writing. I thought some of my early R's were better than my HM's but it took me a while to work out what WotF are looking for. Haven't seen the result for one story I crit for this quarter that...

Well done, Milo. And from an HM - that's interesting.

I'll take a look if you wish. PM me.

A personal rejection from Analog! "suggest you try us again" and "like your style of writing." (swoon) Analog and Asimov's are at the tippy-top of my most-wanted list. A sale would have been great but I'm on cloud nine this morning. Seems odd to congratulate someone on a rejecti...

nreavis wrote:I actually just cranked out a story over the past few days that I liked much better than one I started at the top of June, it's going through my writing group now, and I'm hoping to get it turned in soon :)

It's good when you write a story and it feels right. Good luck.

I'm in. So I can stop editing and write something new.

[quote="somereason" I have a story I've been working on for this quarter but it doesn't feel ready. On the other hand, I have a story that got a silver honorable mention a few quarters ago that I polished up and I'm tempted to resubmit, but I've turned that story into a novel, and the shor...