Hollywood Bound

This morning, I fly to Hollywood.

Yep. I loved writing that sentence. It’s years in the making. I first found out about the Writers of the Future contest in 2019 when attending a panel at my local science fiction and fantasy convention, MisCon. David Farland, then the coordinating judge for the contest, was a Guest of Honor that year and extolled the countless reasons why short story writers should submit their stories to the contest. Considering myself a novelist then, I came to the panel out of curiosity. Little did I know, I’d leave the panel with dreams in my eyes and a different, shorter form of storytelling to cut my teeth on.

Writing about David Farland, I have a lump in my throat, which comes from gratitude and grief intermingled. He has since passed. A most lovely and acclaimed writer—also a kind gentle soul—what many readers don’t know is how he mentored thousands of writers. Thousands is no exaggeration. Nicknamed the Story Doctor, he taught many classes on the craft. I’m fortunate to call myself a former student.

So motivated from that chance panel at MisCon, I submitted my first short story to the contest in September 2019. It earned a rejection. Or rather, the email said the story didn’t place. Toe-May-Toes, Toe-Ma-Toes. Two subsequent entries were also rejected. I kept writing. I kept learning. I discovered the Writers of the Future forum where many like-minded writers, aiming their sights on the contest, discuss craft, commiserate on each other’s setbacks, rejoice in each other’s successes, and swap stories for critiques. Basically talk (type) shop. Quite the delightful community from which I found friends and another mentor, Wulf Moon.

Wulf Moon, a winner in Volume 35 with one of my favorite stories from the Writers of the Future volumes, “Super-Duper Moongirl and the Amazing Moon Dawdler”—talk about a hook of a title! —started sharing with the forum wisdom he learned from years in the writing trenches. Story gold in them thar hills! I mined all I could and joined one of his writing-workshop groups. Lo and behold, my short stories began to place in the contest, first receiving Honorable Mentions, then Silver Honorable Mentions. 

To any writer wanting to know those secrets: I got you. Well. Truly, Wulf gots you. He wrote his secrets in a gem of a book. Here’s my copy:

Order yours and also discover the writing workshops taught by Wulf Moon here.

Last year in late March, I got the call from Joni Labaqui, the director of the contest, that my story, “Squiddy” was a finalist and that I’d find out within a week or two whether I’d won. More than a week, thick-with-insomnia, later, she called again. I was filing our taxes. This is how the call went:

"Is this Joni?" I asked. 

 "It is."

 "Okay." I exhaled. "I'm on the edge of my seat."

“And you're about to fall off it. Congratulations! You're 3rd place!"

She was right. I fell to my knees. That's a real reaction, I now know, not just written in stories for dramatic effect. After years at the craft with hundreds of rejections from various markets, it was the first story I sold. And from my dream market to boot! So exactly how I hoped to break into this lovely fiction racket. 

So what did I win? First off, self-belief I can write a damned good story. That in itself is worth the weight of an elephant turned into gold. Damnit, Midas! Stop touching the wildlife! 

Each year, thousands of writers enter the contest with their short stories. It’s free to enter. You can enter each yearly quarter. Judging is anonymous, so make sure your name isn’t on the manuscript because that will earn yourself a rejection, no matter how good your story is.

Each quarter, the top eight stories are chosen as finalists by the coordinating judge, currently Jody Lynn Nye, and sent to a rotating panel of judges, made up of other industry greats.

Of the eight finalists, three stories win, earning first, second, or third place. By the end of the year, twelve stories win, are paid pro rates for each word, which is on top of the prize money, and are published in an anthology. 

“But wait! There’s more!” said in my best infomercial voice.

The contest flies the winners out to Hollywood, expenses paid, to attend a workshop taught by said industry greats and treat them to a gala award ceremony that’s a red-carpet affair. Doesn’t take a math wizard when adding up the in-kind payments with the monetary payment to conclude that, as far as short story markets go, Writers of the Future is the cream of the crop.

Oh! Do you want to hear something else cool? There’s an ancillary contest for illustrators, the winners of it attending their own workshop, getting their own prize money and trophy, and eating at the same award-dinner gala. And this gets me super excited: Each winning illustrator is paired with a story to illustrate. The illustrations for each story are included in the anthology. Goodness, I can’t wait to see the illustration for “Squiddy”, which will be revealed to me at the workshop. Although trying not to be outdone, my talented brother-in-law illustrated this masterpiece of fan art as a birthday present, truly a delight:

You best believe this illustration is a keeper!

Want to read my story, “Squiddy?” See its illustration by the winning illustrator, Tyler Vail? The anthology comes out May 7th, 2024, but preorders are available now. And if you can preorder the anthology, that’s lovely as it helps out the anthology and its authors because those all-mighty algorithms heavily weigh them. View them as offerings or something of that sort. And Barnes & Noble is having a big preorder sale of 25% off. The sale ends today. Here’s the link.

So, I’m flying to Hollywood. In fact, I might be in our friendly skies right now, depending on when you are reading this. I am full of many big feelings about it. Nerves. Gratitude. Excitement. Etc... I’ve heard many past winners compare what they learned during the workshop to drinking from a firehouse. Perhaps I’ll try to unhinge my jaw for it. Cuz, you know. Dedication. 

Afterward, I’ll have a plethora of delights to share with you. And throughout the week if I have any spare time, I’ll share pictures, musings, and insights from the week on my socials, Threads & Instagram.

Please mark your calendars for Thursday, April 25, 2024, at 7:00 PM PST (10:00 PM EST), for the award ceremony will be streamed live on the Writers of the Future website where I’ll accept my trophy and give a speech of thanks to the many who helped me along this journey. My wife, kiddo, parents, and sister will be in the crowd. The smart money says I won’t keep it together while on stage if I make eye contact with them. Which reminds me, I gotta go write a speech. Good thing I dig writing.

Until next Dopamine’s Delight….