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FICTION POTLUCK
October Challenge:
Romantasy
up to 6,000 words
Deadline: November 15
Find submission links below the rules
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A Tip from Allison:
Romance movies are a holiday staple for many. Their tropes are iconic. Give me those 'aww' moments, those romantic overtures, and butterflies. Tough times followed by happily-ever-afters... with a twist. Give me stories with a romcom feel but seeped in magic. Universes with more than 'Christmas Magic'. It doesn't have to be Christmas themed, but the chosen trope should weave nicely with a magical twist. Both things should work together in harmony to heighten the butterflies, romantic overtures, and those 'awww' moments.
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Submission links are below the submissions guidelines.
One entry per person.
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Read past winners here:
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October Guest Judge
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Allison Rott
Allison Rott, (pronounced 'wrote') lives in Illinois. A voracious
reader from childhood to the present she hasn’t lost her love of stories or the many ways of telling them. Other pleasures outside of writing and reading include playing video games and listening to podcasts, which are just two more ways to devour tales. allisonwrote.com is the place to find her blog and the information on the seven short stories already published.
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The Basics
Fiction Potluck is free to enter and open to fiction writers of all ages around the world. One entry per person per challenge.
Submissions are accepted through Dropbox, Duosuma, and email (submissions [at] writersworkout.net).
Submissions are accepted six weeks at a time, starting in January, April, July, and October. The challenge and guest judge will change each open period. The guest judge picks the challenge—we never know what we'll get!
The selection team reads all entries that follow the submissions guidelines as explained below. Entries are read blind. The team chooses the finalists and contacts everyone.
Finalist author names and bios are posted on this page and announced in our monthly mailer.
The guest judge reads the finalist pieces and chooses three winners. Each of the three winning pieces is published on our blog and linked through this page. Winning entries will be published as received.
The Writer's Workout is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit run by volunteers.
We provide accessible, free creative writing education through competitions, workshops, and publication opportunities. Check our donations page to learn more about how The Writer's Workout strengthens the global writing community.
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General Rules
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All entries must be in English and original works of fiction.
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One entry per person per challenge.
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The competition runs on UTC time, beginning and ending at midnight.
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You must keep your entry private until after we post the top three winning stories.
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The judges' decisions are final.
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The judges will contact everyone who includes the Title Information listed below.
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The judges cannot provide feedback for every piece submitted.
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Winning entries will be published as received.
The following are not accepted:​
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Simultaneous submissions (sorry, it's for anonymity. You'll know within 15 days of closure if you can sub somewhere else!)
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Previously published works (see above)
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AI-generated content
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Fanfiction, erotica, religious, or political content
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Pieces longer than the word count limit
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Pieces submitted outside the competition month
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Pieces submitted in .pdf or pasted into the body of the email
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Pieces without the correct Title Information (below) will be rejected unread.
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Submissions
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October: up to 6,000 words
Keep formatting professional. You can find recommended settings on the submissions page.
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Entries must include this Title Information in this order at the top of the document body, aligned left:
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Name or Pseudonym, email
Entry Title
Fiction Potluck
Word Count
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Accepted file types: .doc, .docx, .odt
Live, unlocked Google Docs or Microsoft Word links are accepted via email (submissions [at] writersworkout.net). We must be able to download your file. We will not request access and we are not responsible for locked docs.
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Rights
Your submission grants The Writer's Workout (WW) exclusive electronic rights for 90 days. WW reserves non-exclusive rights to digitally publish winning entries indefinitely. Winning pieces will be published as received.
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Seth Cupery
Seth is a freelance writer and editor with a bachelor’s degree in the humanities and a history minor, hoping to help other writers improve and find their audience. Born and raised in rural Wisconsin, Seth still tries to learn as much as he can about the wider world so that he can better understand the people he shares a planet with. He enjoys works of fiction, historical facts, weird information from around the globe, and a well-drawn illustration or map.
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Theresa Green (emergency only)
Theresa is a co-founder of The Writer's Workout, a crime fiction writer, and the editor at Premier Literary Services.
premierliterary.com
Will Kelly
Will is a 5th grade English teacher from Las Vegas, Nevada. He needs a deadline and a prompt to write, so he joins just about any creative writing he can find. Most of his stories tend to be set in the real world with adolescent characters at the forefront. Will prefers to read psychological thrillers and mysteries, but is a sucker for meaning of life stories. When not reading or writing, you can find Will at pub trivia, a stand-up comedy show, or rooting on the San Francisco 49ers.
Cassell Presnell
Cassell is an undergraduate studying creative writing, rhetoric, and psychology. In addition to being a full-time student and writing consultant, she’s a fantasy writer and wannabe poet. Every free moment of her day is spent writing, reading, or playing with her little black kitten, Mosi—he rather enjoys watching people type! Cassell also enjoys teaching and helping others, which led her here, and will inevitably lead her to law school in the near future.
Josie Queen
Josie writes short stories in a variety of genres, but tends to gravitate towards horror. Her TBR pile is slowly taking over the small house she shares with her husband, 13-year-old, and their cranky 9-year-old cat. She's working on a rewrite of a middle-grade fantasy novel, but is so intent on procrastinating, she recently went and adopted a puppy.
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Be our guest!
Do you have a big release coming soon? Spread the word by being a guest judge.
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