Write the Story: August 2020

The stories from July’s  Write the Story! were amazing. Incredible what the muses stirred up at the image of a desert mountain. If you missed any of the terrific WTS! stories last month, check out the July 2020 archives.

Writers Unite! started this project to assist all of us to gain followers to our blogs, websites, and author pages and to gain experience as writers. We didn’t do this for accolades or critique but for enjoyment and to share our work with others. Now in the second year of WTS!, we thank all writers who have participated and all who have read and supported the authors. The admins appreciate the positive support you have given the authors.

August 2020 Prompt!

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Here’s the plan:

Based on the image provided, write a story of 3000 words or less (doesn’t matter, can be 50 words or a poem) and post it on the author site that you wish to promote. Please edit these stories. We will do minor editing but if the story is not written well WU! reserves the right to reject publishing it.

Send the story and link to the site via Facebook Messenger to Deborah Ratliff. Put “Write the Story” in the first line of the message. You may also email your story to writersunite16@gmail.com. WU! will post your story on our blog and share across our platforms, FB, Twitter, Instagram, etc. We do ask that you share the link to your WU! Write the Story! post so that your followers can also read the works of your fellow writers. The idea is to generate increased traffic for all. It may take some time but it will happen if you participate. The other perk of this exercise is that you will also have a blog publishing credit for your work.

Periodically throughout the month, we will post the current prompt as a reminder. DO NOT post your story to this prompt. The idea is to have your STORY or poem published on your site, the WU! blog and shared to gain followers for your writing. We will not accept a one- or two-line caption. For the most part, we are fiction writers and poets…. please write a story or poem, not a caption. If you have any questions regarding this, you may ask the question in the comments. Thank you.

(Please note: all images used are free-use images that do not require attribution.)

Writers Unite! Anthologies: Dimensions of the Wild West

Welcome to Writers Unite!’s sixth anthology volume.  We invite all writers of westerns or any writers interested in the western genre to submit a story to our Dimensions of The Wild West anthology.

Ah… the western… say the word and cowboys and horses and saloons are the images you recall. The traditional western contains several expected components and themes—good vs. evil, bad guy redeeming himself, sheriff fighting off the bad guys threatening his town are among them. The tropes abound. While traditionally, the period for westerns is between the late 1800s and early 1900s, a resurgence of the western has found its way into present day.

A new sub-genre, the neo-western, has gained popularity. We will post a workshop about the western genre this week, beginning today, and we will discuss the neo-western in more detail. This sub-genre takes the characteristics of a western, its themes, characters, and locations but placed in a modern-day setting. Also remember, the sub-genres are plentiful. You can write a romance (a lot of western romance novels happen in present-day), paranormal, thriller, science fiction, or a good old train robbery. You may set your story in the old west or the modern-day west. Your character can ride a horse and wear a Stetson or drive a Cadillac and wear a Stetson (or not) and take place in the western US or the western Australian Outback, but we will require these genre components.

• Western location
• Western theme
• Characters based on the standards in the genre

If you are interested in submission, you must be a member of Writers Unite! on Facebook.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/145324212487752/
If you have questions, please email writersunite16@gmail.com.

Submission information:  

• Submissions open on August 1, 2020, at Noon EDT
• Submissions close on November 15, 2020 at 11: 59 pm EDT
• All stories must be emailed to the Publisher at writersunite16@gmail.com
• Please type “Wild West Submission” plus your name and the story title in the subject line. Each story submission must be in a separate email.

Link to Guidelines for the Dimensions of the Wild West: https://bit.ly/3fh7zgr

We are providing extended time for submissions as this Is a genre that is regaining its popularity. Please note: The publisher will begin work on this anthology after January 1, 2021 when the selection committee will review the submissions for inclusion. Publication expected in early Spring 2021.