There is no need to write a heavy-duty novel, only to fall into a depression after your first rejection letter. Building your fiction fanbase can be easy and a lot of fun. Below are some of the best websites that can help.

BY CARMEN WENZEL

 

Want Constructive Feedback? Try FanStory

FanStory is still one of the fastest ways to get real feedback on your writing. It gives you a place to write, learn, and connect, you share your work, get feedback, and join a community that’s supported writers for more than 25 years. Joining is free, and you can start reading and connecting right away.

There are over 90 contests open at any given time, many with cash prizes, and every contest is included with membership, no extra entry fees. If you want to dip a toe in first, you can join free and unlock everything later for as little as $1.99 to start. Post poems, short stories, novel chapters, memoir or scripts, and other members will review your work, which, yes, also feeds a ranking system if you want to bring out your inner competitor.

 

Try Reedsy for Weekly Prompts (and Real Prize Money)

Reedsy Prompts has grown up since 2018. Every week they send five new prompts, and if you respond with a short story, you’re now in the running for $250, up from the $50 on offer when this article was first written. To officially enter the weekly contest and be considered for their Prompted magazine, there’s now a $5 submission fee, though any writer over 18 can submit regardless of experience level, and stories need to run 1,000 to 3,000 words.

Reedsy has also added a bigger ticket option: the Reedsy Literary Prize, where writers get three months to write and polish a single short story of 2,000 to 5,000 words, with longlisted entries reviewed by a literary agent judge, for a $1,500 top prize. It’s a nice ladder: enter the free weekly prompts for practice, then aim for the bigger prize once you’ve got a story you’re proud of.

 

 

4TheWords for a Wordy Journey

If you’re not interested in posting your novel for feedback, but would rather just keep it somewhere safe and still have fun typing, then this site is for you.

Battle snarky monsters with your word count and a timer and collect the loot after they’re defeated by your mastery of words as well as your *cough* extra fast typing skills.

Register for a 30-day free trial and after that you can choose if you want to pay the $4 fee to continue your epic wordy journey.

 

Actually Build a Fanbase

If your real goal is readers rather than practice, it’s worth adding Archive of Our Own (AO3) to your list. It’s a nonprofit fanfiction and fanworks archive with over 10 million registered users and remains one of the biggest reader communities for serialized fiction online. Sites like FanStory and Storium are terrific for craft and feedback, but AO3 (or Wattpad, if you write original serialized fiction) is where a lot of writers actually find the audience.

 

Role-playing with Storium

If role-playing is more your style, then give Storium a try. It can help with story ideas as well as writing practice. Registration is free and there are games for beginners, but once you feel the need for something more challenging, think about upgrading and you’ll get the option of playing more than three games.

Whichever site you decide to use, or hell, why not all of them, there’s a whole writing community just waiting to cheer you on in your writing career.

 

About the Author:

Carmen Wenzel is a Writing for the Web graduate at The Writers College. Read her blog here: http://www.writelounge.com/