L. Ron Hubbard’s remarkably versatile career as an internationally bestselling writer spanned more than half a century of literary achievement and wide-ranging influence. In scope and productivity, it ultimately encompassed over sixty-three million words of published fiction and nonfiction. Esteemed as a writer’s writer, Ron was possessed with an unstinting devotion to helping other writers, especially beginners, become more proficient and successful at their craft. He also carved out significant careers in other professional fields—as an explorer, mariner and aviator, filmmaker and photographer, philosopher and educator, and musician and composer.
The culmination of L. Ron Hubbard’s enthusiastic commitment to actively fostering the work of new and aspiring writers came with his establishment in 1983 of both the Writers of the Future Contest and the Writers of the Future annual anthology. The anthology is a collection of the winning best new original stories of science fiction and fantasy. It also provides an influential showcase for winners of the companion Illustrators of the Future Contest, inaugurated in 1988 as part of Mr. Hubbard’s continuing legacy to the field.
L. Ron Hubbard’s earliest work with fledgling writers, undertaken while still in his twenties, was marked by lectures he gave at such schools as Harvard and George Washington University on how to get started as a professional.
As early as 1935, he also began to publish incisively practical “how-to” articles and essays about writing as a craft and profession, which appeared regularly in major writers’ magazines. These continue to be used today in writing courses and seminars, and are the basis for the writers’ workshops held each year for the winners and published finalists of the Writers of the Future Contest. The Contest has continued to expand and is now the largest and most successful merit competition of its kind in the world.
While the times and markets have changed, many of the challenges writers face are essentially the same. And L. Ron Hubbard’s practical advice is as relevant today as when it was written.
In 1936, L. Ron Hubbard served as president of the American Fiction Guild and as a member of that fraternity, he wrote the article that follows, titled “Boos and Taboos.” In it Mr. Hubbard challenges the restrictive “taboos” of writing for publications that bind stories in formulaic straitjackets. Urging writers to flout by-prescription storytelling, he describes his own conspicuous success in doing that, with a final, telling reflection on creative energy, sales—and writing stories that will be remembered.
For more information go to www.LRonHubbard.org and GalaxyPress.com/L-Ron-Hubbard/.