Writers of the Future
SPECULATIVE FICTION - deadline for Q2, March 31st - max words 17,000 - Prizes of $1,000, $750 and $500 are awarded every three months. From the four quarterly 1st Place winners each year, a panel of judges select one story as the grand prize winner. The writer of the grand-prize-winning story receives the L. Ron Hubbard Golden Pen Award and an additional $5,000 cash prize.
So, how do you win this dang thing?! I’ve had one Silver Honorable Mention (kind of a close, but no cigar) and scads of Honorable Mentions (your story is in the top 10%). But I can’t seem to win this thing, and if I make one more high-circulation pro-sale, I will be disqualified.
Many of my writing friends have won this contest, and it’s done great things for their careers. Keep an eye on my Substack because I will be interviewing
soon about his recent win.Coordinating Judge Judy Lynn Nye graciously sat down with me and answered all my burning questions about the contest for my podcast “Read Me A Nightmare.” Have a listen! (The link is at the top of this post.)
ADDED BONUS. Jody Lynn Nye also reads her story "Superstition."
Superstition first appeared in Furry Fantastic an anthology featuring otherworldly animals published in October 2006.
You can also find this story in her collection Cats Triumphant.
Jody Lynn Nye is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of fantasy and science fiction books and short stories, many of them with a humorous bent.
Before breaking away from gainful employment to write full time, Jody worked as a file clerk, book-keeper at a small publishing house, freelance journalist and photographer, accounting assistant and costume maker.
For four years, she was on the technical operations staff of a local Chicago television station, WFBN (WGBO), serving the last year as Technical Operations Manager.
In 2016, Jody joined the judging staff of the Writers of the Future contest, the world’s largest science fiction and fantasy writing contest for new authors. She is now its Coordinating Judge.
Learn more here:
https://jodynye.com/
Here are some highlights from the interview:
AF: What is the most important advice you would give to a writer?
If you have a story in mind that you want to write that's in your heart, write it, just do it, don't wait for someone's permission. You can figure out what market it's going to go to after you finish it. If you force it into a particular genre, you may lose some of the charm and inspiration that made it work for you in your mind.
If your story is not on the paper, it doesn't matter if it was in your head. All those little details, your context and your location, all of the little things that you would put into a story, put them down so that the rest of us can enjoy them.
AF: What elements in a story really draw you in?
I like a good story, and I like it when it hits the ground running. I want to know where I am in time and space, and characters that intrigue me. It doesn't have to have explosions and car chases, though my husband may disagree.
If I can picture where I am and I understand the urgency of a story, you can bring me into it. Do not let the energy drop. That's one of the things that kills me when I'm reading a good story—as if the writer seems to have gone to lunch and left the story to write itself.
It’s disappointing to read something exciting and then leave in all the boring bits, like exposition and backstory. All of that stuff should be worked in as much as possible with context.
Enter the writing contest here:
Writers of the Future
You can hear me rant about the contest in this chat with John Goodwin when he invited me to guest on his podcast. (Or, more accurately, I hunted him down at LTUE last year and begged him to consider interviewing me.) We explore my Horrorlite anthologies, Short Story Guidebook, , and personal writing journey.
https://writersofthefuture.com/podcast/episode-300/
We specifically talk about this book:
Access the original podcast episode here:
Share this post