Happy Spooktober, students! Have you been watching your favourite authors from a distance, wishing to join their ranks? Do you yearn to improve your writing skill, but lack an idea of where to start? The SFNW has a solution for you!

Each month we're holding a Class, a writing event focused on improvement through personal tutoring and jolly cooperation. Participants will have 30 days to write a short story between and 3,000 and 5,000 words. The SFNW Professors will be ready to provide personal advice and commentary throughout the submission period, taking every participant's strengths and weaknesses into account. Fellow students will also be available for feedback, brainstorming and support along the way! We'll also be sending out reminders to write your 100 words for the day on the Discord chat, so join it!

At the end of the month ALL participants will get a final review of their creation. Titles will also be handed out to commemorate the most accomplished and improved among our students during the Class.

This isn't a competition; it is simply an opportunity for students to write and receive live feedback from the professors. So no need to stress about comparing your writing to others!

We hope you'll enjoy it!

1. Join the SFNW Discord.
2. Check out the prompt! (See below for this month's prompt)
3. Start writing your story! (Between 3,000 to 5,000 words by the end of the month. 100-200 words a day would be a perfect pace for new writers.)
4. Visit the SFNW Discord for advice and questions: Send us your ideas or what you've written so far (gdocs works best) and ask for advice from both the professors and your fellow students!
5. When your story is finished, submit it to the October Submissions folder in this group! (And feel free to send it to us on the SFNW Discord as well!)

Horror is a bit of a muddy genre to write. Indeed, it's easy to take it at face-value and write a story full of monsters and zombies that jump and scream at the characters, with a good hefty dose of gore and blood to complement the carnage. Those stories are common, and rely mostly on shock value.

However, there is one aspect of horror stories that is often overlooked: the characters themselves. What good is it to have a spooky monster stalking the characters from the shadows if the readers aren't invested in the characters? As the characters are our window to the story, having the audience care about them and their struggles is essential in making the emotions you're trying to convey strike true. Moreover, there is an added complexity to using more than a single character as focal point in a horror story that can add true depth to the narrative and can enhance the intended feel of the story. Indeed, showing how two or more characters interact brings their personalities to the forefront, makes them relatable, and can (and should) affect the story in a meaningful way, especially if they are confronted by something that would shake somepony to their very core.

By "relationships", we don't necessarily mean "romance". It can be a strong friendship, camaraderie, a bond between parent and child... essentially any kind of relationship that shows the dynamic between the characters.

This prompt is due for October 31st.

This is a public invitation for all willing new writers to join the School in our Discord server! Come discuss the prompt, write your 100 words or more every day, and take this opportunity to get personal advice on how to improve from our esteemed Professors! You won't find a better learning environment anywhere else on FimFic.

7009219
I'll bite.
Don't worry, the fangs are plastic.

Oh, wait.
What's the criteria for 'new'?
This way, I don't waste your time.

7009271

What's the criteria for 'new'?

It doesn't really matter how new you are, the important thing is that you want to improve.

7009219
I’ll go for it.

Sign me up

7009271
Everyone is "new" to writing in a way, and in any case you wouldn't be wasting our time by giving us a story to read!

Honestly, even when you have 20+ years of experience in writing, you'll have more to learn. Thus, our criteria for "new writers" is simply anyone who wishes to improve. Welcome to the group

I'm interested in participating! I'm not sure if I would be allowed or not but if I am, let me know! I'm not exactly new. I've been writing for a while but I feel like I still need help.

Horror isn't really my thing.

By the way, is the 100 words/day enforced for competition participation? I take 24 hours off per week from any work between sundown Friday and sundown Saturday.

7009459
Thank you.

All I need now is a good idea that fits within 5.5k words.
Got an idea, but it might be cramped within that limit.
Maybe.

7009536
Nope. 100 words a day is just a suggestion, it's an easy way to have 3000 words by the end of the month. It doesn't matter if you write it all in the last few hours before November (though for your story's sake I don't recommend it).

Can the characters be original, or do they have to be from the show?

7009547
I recommend you see how it works and then adjust the story as needed. We aren't too picky with the limits, it's just an easy range to achieve so we use that.

7010289
We strongly recommend using canon characters, as those already have an established personality, making it easier to develop a plot around them. And if you need a blank slate, there's a plethora of background ponies to chose from. We don't reject original characters. However, they usually could simply be replaced by a canon character to the same effect, but with a familiar face for the reader to ride along with. For example, if you want to write a story about a Pegasus weather worker, you can use the multitude of those we already saw in the show, some of them are just waiting to be given an interesting personality and story. If you want to tell the story of a posh Canterlot noble, you can use Fancy Pants, or Fleur-De-Lis, or any other noble we saw in the show. OCs tend to be looked at with more scrutiny, especially when they aren't given a very well-rounded personality.

In short, yes, you can use an original character. However, my personal recommendation, and those of many of our members, would be to stick with canon characters. But whatever you chose to do, you're welcome to ask us for help and submit your stories.

7009351
Welcome to the club then! Don't be afraid to join the discord server and ask any question you want there.

7009304
Perfect, I wish you the best for your story!

7011609
How many words must it have?

7011948
Between 3-5k by the looks of it.

7011961
Ok