It’s January—which means every fiction writer on the planet is either:
Setting loosely-planned writing goals they’ll abandon by March, or
Avoiding goal-setting entirely because it feels overwhelming and pointless
I used to be both of those writers.
But now, instead of writing a glorified to-do list, full of arbitrary goals that are unrealistic and/or impossible to measure, I reverse engineer my daily routine from a big-picture vision.
Fiction writers need a multi-faceted approach to goal-setting—one that honors the psychological and intuitive aspects of the work, not just the word counts and deadlines.
That’s why I created the Ultimate Author Planner.
It’s not just another productivity worksheet. It walks you through:
Your Writer Manifesto — Connecting to your deeper purpose (because that’s what keeps you writing on the hard days)
A Chance to Discover Your Writer Archetype — Understanding how you naturally approach your work (so you stop trying to fit into a box)
Your Vision of Success — Defining what “making it” actually means to you (it’s probably not what you think it is)
The 9 Steps to Building Yourself as an Author — Breaking down the journey from where you are now to where you want to be
5-Year, Yearly, Quarterly, Monthly, Weekly, and Daily Planning Pages — Because big dreams need small, daily steps that lead to real progress
I’m hosting a live Zoom planning session Monday, January 12th at 11am EST.
You’ll get clarity on your 2026 goals while connecting with other fiction writers. You will leave feeling excited about 2026 because you finally have a roadmap you know you can follow, one that is aligned with your values and vision.
Just click here to send me an emailand say “I’m in!” to get your free spot for the live planning session on Monday, January 12th at 11am EST.
Let’s make 2026 the year you bring all your stalled projects to life and evolve into the author you were meant to be.
Until then, feel free to leave a comment with any questions you have about the planner. I would love to hear about your writing goals.
Add these contest deadlines to your calendar and get your stories ready! This article also provides tips on how to submit and increase your chances of winning.
You live to write and have numerous short stories to prove it. Best of all, people other than your mother love and praise them! But because your name doesn’t happen to be Danielle Steel, no publisher is currently knocking down your front door to rip manuscripts from your printer before the pages even cool. So what is an aspiring writer to do? Apply to a writing contest, perhaps?
If you were a singer, you could try out for American Idol; if a dancer, you could apply to So You Think You Can Dance. But let’s face it, a television show where you typed at your keyboard is not must-see TV.
Even so, there are numerous (non-televised) writing contests where you can display your skills and improve your writing. Plus, if you win, you might receive some well-deserved critical acclaim—not to mention a cash award and potential future writing contracts.
In this article, you will learn:
How to enter a writing contest and increase your chances of placing or even winning
Which contests are reputable
Which contests are currently accepting submissions
Richard Thomas spent twenty years in advertising before coming back to writing. Since then he’s been an author, editor, teacher, and publisher. He’s the award-winning author of three novels, three short story collections, two novellas, and over 150 short stories.
In addition to teaching at the Storyville, he’s also taught at the University of Iowa, LitReactor.com, and Story Studio Chicago.
He’s been a panelist, teacher and/or guest speaker at Stokercon (Los Angeles), Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, Inc. (Oklahoma City), The Horror Writers’ Workshop (Transylvania), Columbia College (Chicago), University of Wisconsin (Baraboo), Mystery Writers of America (Chicago), Off Campus Writers’ Workshop (Winnetka), University of California-Riverside (Palm Desert), Writers Retreat Workshop (San Antonio), Lakefly Writer’s Conference (Oshkosh), Novel-in-Progress Bookcamp (West Bend), and FOCUS on the Arts (Highland Park High School).
He was the Editor-in-Chief and Gamut magazine and Dark House Press, and has been a member of the Horror Writers Association since 2012.
His story “Golden Sun” co-authored with Kristi DeMeester, Damien Angelica Walters, and Michael Wehunt will be included in The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Eleven. He’s been nominated for the Bram Stoker, Shirley Jackson, and Thriller awards, won contests at ChiZine and One Buck Horror, and has received five Pushcart nominations to date.
About Storyville
“We believe in the power of story. We believe in the capacity of dark storytelling to bring light to the world. Narratives grip us, thrill us, and lift us to new heights. A good story can transform us, giving us a roadmap to navigate the world, and the courage to face the challenges that greet us.
The road to publication can be a hard one. Storyville grew out of a desire to share and give back to authors making their journey. We want to encourage strong voices, to lift them up so they can lift others. We focus on a balance of real world, contemporary examples and authors, as well as classic methods of writing and expression, a mix of genre and literary fiction, craft books and academia, personal struggles and successes.
Our goal is to help you grow, evolve, and find your voice—the one that is unique to only you. We want to help you write the stories you want to tell, in the ways that you find exciting and fulfilling.
We have a wide variety of classes and programs to choose from, so whether you’re just beginning, or you’ve been writing for a while, we have a place for you. Come, find a community of writers to support you through your journey, and learn the skills to take you where you want to go.
This is a great time to be a writer.”
Online Writing Classes by Richard Thomas
Short Story Mechanics (LitReactor) Beginner (or At Your Own Pace, offered here)
Contemporary Dark Fiction Intermediate
Advanced Creative Writing Workshop Advanced
Novel Workshop 365 Advanced
Flash Fiction (LitReactor) Intermediate/Niche
Day of Reckoning–Day of Reckoning is a one-day Skype session that takes place on the second Saturday of each month. Composed of seven classes that run from 9-12 AM and then 1-5 PM CST, each month brings a different mix of instructors and classes. Richard Thomas will be moderating.
Testimonial
Richard Thomas’s Contemporary Dark Fiction class was the best investment I’ve made in my writing. The reading assignments opened me up to a whole new world of dark literature. His taste is impeccable and eclectic, giving students a huge pool of examples of what can be done in dark fiction across genres. The assignments were challenging, forcing me to stretch my talent and create work I didn’t know I was capable of. The weekly class meetings and live Q&As with featured authors made the class a fun and engaging, and workshopping each other’s stories was extremely enlightening and helpful, providing a wide array of insights on how to improve my work. Richard Thomas is the kindest and most generous of teachers. He is passionate, knowledgeable, honest, and unbiased. He critiques every piece turned in for the class and is always available to help. His feedback and advice were what I needed to level up as a writer. I’ve produced more short fiction during the four months of this class than I have since I began writing, and with my new knowledge, I feel confident and excited about the quality of work I will be submitting and publishing. I call Richard Thomas the Mr. Miyagi of writing. I will be taking every class he offers! Christa Wojciechowski
Originally hailing from the UK, David Antrobus makes his home in the Vancouver area of Canada. He is an eclectic editor and writer who works with many aspects of the written word, from all types of fiction to most types of nonfiction.
Though his editing and writing interests are comprehensive, his greatest love is working hands-on with authors in the genres of crime and speculative fiction, helping to hone and polish their manuscripts to their full glorious potential.
His skills include developmental editing, substantive/stylistic editing, copyediting, and proofreading.
David likes to claim he is fluent in three languages: UK English, US English, and Canadian English.
The Web of Words
“Why a web? Well, you could have the tiniest filament of an idea, one that may require a significant amount of spinning, or you may have a fully-developed lattice of the finest silk, one that only requires a few drops of dew and just the right light. I am able to do either, and everything in between. To switch metaphors, I will engage in your project at any stage, whether you need me to create (or help create) the recipe, to bake the cake, or to merely add the icing.
In more concrete terms still, I can pore over your written work, fixing spelling and grammar, adjusting syntax, suggesting vocabulary, establishing tone, and overhauling structure. Or, where appropriate, I can tweak the formatting (fonts, font sizes, tables, spacing, alignment, etc.) for consistency. And, plainly, the gulf between these requirements demands flexibility in pricing. You can be assured that I will discuss, ahead of any job, the criteria within which your unique project is framed, ensuring prior mutual agreement.
Bottom line: I care about the written word. My words, your words, everyone’s words. Without imposing my own, I will do my utmost to work with you and help your unique style shine as brightly as possible.”
David Antrobus was a finalist in Let’s Get Published’s Spring 2019 Writing Contest with his story, The Nowheres.
Animated book covers get more social media engagement than still covers, increasing your chances of making more sales and of getting word out about your book.
The reason? Simple. Elements in motion drive the eye to focus on it longer as there’s more to see. And because people have to linger longer, they’re more likely to retweet/share, like, reply and/or check out the book on Amazon and other sites.
Animated covers is a marketing trend that’s becoming more and more popular. And eye-catching covers deserve recognition because the reality is that most people do still judge a book by its cover. It’s the first thing readers see and the first thing that makes them decide whether to check out the book or not. And since animation jumps out, having an animated cover ensures that future readers will hover over your book instead of just scrolling past it in their social media timeline.
Morgan Wright is the upcoming fantasy author of “The Traitor’s Gambit”, the first book in an ongoing series, and editor/contributor of the “Calendar For Writers 2019-2020” which became a Top 10 Bestseller in the USA, Canada, Germany, Spain and the UK. Morgan has been writing stories since age 7, her earliest imaginations sparked by the fantastic tales of C.S. Lewis and Gothic oeuvres such as Dracula by Bram Stoker and The Sandman by E.T.A. Hoffman. Thus inspired, she mainly writes medieval fantasy with a dark (and possibly morally-dubious) edge.
In March 2017, at age 18, she joined Twitter in the hopes of hitting the 1000 follower-milestone within a year. 10 months later, through the help of Twitter’s loyal #WritingCommunity who have supported her in ways she never imagined possible, she became a Twitter influencer with a current following of over 80.000 people.
Morgan recently graduated with honours from her BA (Honours) English Literature and Creative Writing which she began at age 16, and her short story “Unchained” was Longlisted in the “Let’s Get Published – Spring Writing Contest” while another short story, “The Bad-Wisher’s Lament”, was chosen for publication in Fantasia Divinity’s “Wishes of Illusion” Anthology.
In August of 2019, Morgan launched her now-in-high-demand Book Cover Animations service which brings book covers to life through animation. VISIT MORGAN’S PORTFOLIO HERE.
Joseph Sale is an editor, novelist, writing coach and co-host of Monaghan & The Mindflayer. His first novel,The Darkest Touch, was published by Dark Hall Press in 2014. He currently writes and is published withThe Writing Collective. He has authored more than ten novels, including his dark duologyGods of the Black GateandBeyond the Black Gate, and his love-letter to fantasy:Save Game. He grew up in the Lovecraftian seaside town of Bournemouth.
He edits non-fiction and fiction, helping fledgling authors to realise their potential. He has edited some of the best new voices in speculative fiction including Ross Jeffery, Emily Harrison, Christa Wojciechowski, and more. His short fiction has appeared in Tales from the Shadow Booth, edited by Dan Coxon, as well as in Idle Ink, Silver Blade, Fiction Vortex, Nonbinary Review, Edgar Allan Poet and Storgy Magazine. His stories have also appeared in anthologies such as Lost Voices (The Writing Collective), Technological Horror (Dark Hall Press), Burnt Fur (Blood Bound Books) and Exit Earth (Storgy). In 2017 he was nominated for The Guardian’s ‘Not The Booker’ prize.
He is obsessed with Attack on Titan and Community.
Joseph Sale is not only one of the most brilliant modern minds in fiction, he is a passionate and hardworking editor. He has an incredible sense of story and thorough knowledge of classic literature, as well as a finger on the pulse of contemporary fiction. He won’t let you make your story anything less than the best it can be.
