Author Topic: Author In Progress  (Read 253374 times)

Offline som1luvsmi

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Re: Author In Progress
« Reply #210 on: April 25, 2009, 02:23:19 AM »
Hi Everybody! ;D

Well, it seems that I've had a little bit of a late start compared to some of the people here. I'm 28 and writing has always come pretty easily to me when given a topic, but it's not until recently that I decided to open up my imagination to others.  I have four kids  (3,5,7,and 9) so, most of my writing is done at night and in the wee hours of the morning. The story I'm working on now is, I guess, kind of an urban fantasy where all sorts of supernaturals reside along the edges of the mortal realm. The MC is a girl who's lost her memory and sets out to find her past. Obviously there's more, I just tend to get too detailed if I keep going.  :) I've actually found Jim's LiveJournal blogs really, REALLY helpful.

I'm very excited to be in touch with other writers and look forward to talking to everybody!

Offline belial.1980

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Re: Author In Progress
« Reply #211 on: April 26, 2009, 12:28:33 AM »
Hey, som1luvsmi, I'm sort of in the same boat as you. I'm a few weeks shy of 29 and have been writing on and off for most of my life. I really got interested when I took a writing course in college.

I wrote a few times a week, but didn't really start to develop good writing habits till about two and a half years ago when I started making myself write every day, even if it's just a page about how crappy my day was, lol. I've tried to read a lot more, as well, and I think that's really helped drive my imagination.

My first "manuscript" (if you want to even call it that) was basically Paradise Lost, as told through the eyes of the fallen angel, Belial. I hacked away at that for about 2 years, and somehow managed to crank out a 350 page monstrosity that's so rough it's barely even readable in some places. I like the concept and would like to come back to it, but I definitely bit off more than I could chew with that one.

My current project's coming along much better. I started about a year ago, and worked on it off and on between writing and editing short stories. After reading Jim's blog on writing, I picked it back up in February and have been at it ever since. My initial problem was that I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do, or who the antogonist was, and was trying to push too much character growth into too short of a time.

I wrote oodles of background information, and it came out much better than I'd anticipated or hoped for, and really helped set the flavor and tone of the narritive. Additionally I wrote some character bios, and without even trying to, managed to establish a lot of ties between characters, thereby giving them more motivation to do the things they do. So, at long last I've got everything pointed in the right direction. I'm about 220 pages in, and am starting to tromp through the deeper parts of "The Swampy Middle." I'm intimidated, but I know where I need to take the readers and I'll keep pushing till I get there.








Love cannot save you from your fate.

- Jim Morrison

Offline meg_evonne

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Re: Author In Progress
« Reply #212 on: April 26, 2009, 08:05:00 PM »
:) I've actually found Jim's LiveJournal blogs really, REALLY helpful.

I'm very excited to be in touch with other writers and look forward to talking to everybody!
So, at long last I've got everything pointed in the right direction. I'm about 220 pages in, and am starting to tromp through the deeper parts of "The Swampy Middle." I'm intimidated, but I know where I need to take the readers and I'll keep pushing till I get there.

Welcome to both of you.  Isn't it great that Jim's set a place for writers to share?  Delighted that you both have ingested Jim's writing craft postings.  Reading those excited me and drove me to level up on my own craft skills.  Keep us posted, okay?  Best wishes.
"Calypso was offerin' Odysseus immortality, darlin'. Penelope offered him endurin' love. I myself just wanted some company." John Henry (Doc) Holliday from "Doc" by Mary Dorla Russell
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Offline thausgt

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Re: Author In Progress
« Reply #213 on: May 01, 2009, 04:02:18 AM »
Perrin Rynning, here. 38 years old, dealing with the itch to write for most of that span. My stories tend to come directly from the role-playing game sourcebooks that I read for enjoyment. Considering that RPGs are designed to help folks create interesting characters, worlds, etc., I suppose it shouldn't be surprising. This creates its own challenges: properly attributing (or hiding) the sources.
Yes, I have a few "dark urban fantasy" stories kicking about, usually focusing on magic-wielding modern humans; not real big on vamps, and I prefer my werewolves to be shamanic defenders of nature and spirit (thank you, Werewolf: the Apocalypse).
The most common themes in my work are "overcoming flaws" and "redemption". One story in my current pipeline features a wizard who specializes in sensory magic to compensate for the fact that an earlier encounter left him with no eyes. Another is set in a culture where vengeance is considered an art and a virtue. And, of course, more than a few of my characters wear longcoats and make their living by solving other people's problems (cue "Peter Gunn Theme"...)
By and large, I get positive responses when my work gets reviewed, so maybe I actually have picked up a few tricks about what does and does not constitute good writing. I tend to get scenes, snippets of dialogue, and other fragments of good stories on a very regular basis. My "writer's idea file" holds scraps going back for at least a decade...
Now, if only I could actually finish something I write, then *choke* fame and *cough* fortune would be mine!  ;D
« Last Edit: May 04, 2009, 10:09:03 PM by thausgt »
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Offline daylightdreamer

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Re: Author In Progress
« Reply #214 on: May 16, 2009, 04:47:59 PM »
Hey all!

I'm so glad I found this forum. I've been a Jim Butcher fan for a few years now, but just recently found his live journal and this forum. In any case...

Hey, I'm Erika and I'm a soon-to-graduate (graduating a semester early in December, hopefully) English Major with an Emphasis in Creative Writing (ooo, doesn't that sound fancy?). I've been interested in writing since I was in middle school when I had to do a lot of it for one of my English classes and I also stumbled into the realm of fan fiction. My teacher at the time told me I had a lot of potential, and writing soon became about all I ever wanted to do.

I've started (and shortly there after abandoned, after either getting lost in or scared of the GSM) several novels, but just lacked the commitment to continue with them. Plus, I'll admit, they really were terrible. I've discovered that writing high fantasy and writing in the third person are both difficult for me, so now I'm beginning anew after writing several short pieces of fiction and finding my voice in first person contemporary fantasy.

I'm currently working on a piece under the working title Stars Never Rise which I hope to complete this summer (lofty goal, but I'm a college student and other than work, I'll have plenty of time). I've got about four and a half chapters, but then I realized that I really haven't outlined this story properly, so in order to avoid getting lost in the GSM, I'm taking Jim's advice and doing some serious outlining at the moment. Then I'll get back to the fun part.  ;)

In any case, Stars Never Rise is a story written from the point of view of Roderick, a vampire who's been exiled from his home territory on a false charge and his struggle to get back at the jerk who landed him out in Suburbia and get back home as well. It's a sort of Urban/Suburban fantasy set in the Chicago/Milwaukee area (because that's where I live currently and they say write what you know) and I'm really excited about it.

If you're at all interested, I've got the first chapter posted and some other random, mostly writing related journaling on my live journal, which can be found here http://starsneverrise3.livejournal.com/

Feel free to go and add me as a friend and pester me to look over your stuff if you have a live journal for similar reasons. :) I  need more writer friends to keep me on task for this whole thing and I love reading what other people are working on and I'm always willing to give feedback. I've been doing it for my major in college for a couple years now, so I've been told I'm getting pretty good at it ;)

Look at me ramble...I'll stop now.  Thanks for reading if you made it this far.

Offline meg_evonne

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Re: Author In Progress
« Reply #215 on: May 16, 2009, 04:56:04 PM »
hey, hey...  "GSM" --not only a fan, but one that read Jim's writing blog posts.  Welcome.  Enjoy your title.  It's really neat.  See you around!
"Calypso was offerin' Odysseus immortality, darlin'. Penelope offered him endurin' love. I myself just wanted some company." John Henry (Doc) Holliday from "Doc" by Mary Dorla Russell
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Offline daylightdreamer

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Re: Author In Progress
« Reply #216 on: May 16, 2009, 06:48:14 PM »
Thanks.  ;D This seems like a great community, so I'm really happy to be here.

Offline thausgt

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Re: Author In Progress
« Reply #217 on: May 17, 2009, 04:52:33 AM »
Hey all!

Welcome aboard!

Hey, I'm Erika and I'm a soon-to-graduate (graduating a semester early in December, hopefully) English Major with an Emphasis in Creative Writing (ooo, doesn't that sound fancy?). I've been interested in writing since I was in middle school when I had to do a lot of it for one of my English classes and I also stumbled into the realm of fan fiction. My teacher at the time told me I had a lot of potential, and writing soon became about all I ever wanted to do.

Congrats on going for your degree. With respect to your teacher's encouraging your talent (and the fanfiction) I'd say that you're in excellent company on this board!  ;D

I've started (and shortly there after abandoned, after either getting lost in or scared of the GSM) several novels, but just lacked the commitment to continue with them. Plus, I'll admit, they really were terrible. I've discovered that writing high fantasy and writing in the third person are both difficult for me, so now I'm beginning anew after writing several short pieces of fiction and finding my voice in first person contemporary fantasy.


Relax about the quality your first three big self-motivated writing projects. I'll freely admit that my own short stories were egregious wastes of ink and paper, though there's no other way to improve. Just keep reminding yourself that everyone writes like that at first; the "real" writers just keep going and try to do better in the next draft. As long as we all throw those crumpled pages into the recycling bin (instead of the trash), it all works out in the end.

In any case, Stars Never Rise is a story written from the point of view of Roderick, a vampire who's been exiled from his home territory on a false charge and his struggle to get back at the jerk who landed him out in Suburbia and get back home as well. It's a sort of Urban/Suburban fantasy set in the Chicago/Milwaukee area (because that's where I live currently and they say write what you know) and I'm really excited about it.


As long as he pays his tab at MacAnnaly's and doesn't cause the hardworking S.I. team any headaches, I say "Go for it!" :D

If you're at all interested, I've got the first chapter posted and some other random, mostly writing related journaling on my live journal, which can be found here http://starsneverrise3.livejournal.com/

Feel free to go and add me as a friend and pester me to look over your stuff if you have a live journal for similar reasons. :) I  need more writer friends to keep me on task for this whole thing and I love reading what other people are working on and I'm always willing to give feedback. I've been doing it for my major in college for a couple years now, so I've been told I'm getting pretty good at it ;)

Look at me ramble...I'll stop now.  Thanks for reading if you made it this far.

Always a pleasure to pass along a pint or three of encouragement to a fellow ink-slinger. Great writing on your site. Keep going, keep playing, keep writing!
« Last Edit: May 24, 2009, 04:53:30 AM by thausgt »
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Offline daylightdreamer

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Re: Author In Progress
« Reply #218 on: May 17, 2009, 05:55:48 AM »
Thanks for the warm welcome and all the encouragement. ^_^ You guys are all awesome.

Offline J. D. Ford

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Re: Author In Progress
« Reply #219 on: May 19, 2009, 12:12:26 AM »
Hey, all.

J. D.'s the name.  Writing's the addiction.  I call it an addiction because I have tried to walk away from it several times over the past twelve years and been sucked back in.  I used to hang out on Orson Scott Card's Writers Workshops years ago (as 'Inkwell').  I guess that's where I started really thinking about submissions, rejections, and publication in general.  Got a lot of that new writer awkwardness out of the way there (let's face it...they chewed me up and spit me out until I was just a piece of wordsmithing gristle). 

Submitted to the Writers of the Future contest around that time...year 2000, I think it was.  They lost the submission in the mailroom and sent me a nice letter two years later, asking what I wanted done with it.  I said to put it in the current quarter of the contest.  Now, please bear in mind that that story was complete drivel.  Complete.  Somehow it managed to make it to the quarterfinals (I think they call it Honorable Mention, now...not entirely sure about that).  I still don't know how.  Maybe a secret patron paid them off just to get it that far, though I doubt the existence of such a benefactor as I haven't seen his, her, or its hand in any of my subsequent endeavors.  I really haven't submitted any material since then.  Decided I wasn't going to try until I felt worthy of making even the most meager attempt.

Somehow, I burned myself out about three years ago.  Took eight months off from writing.  Came back and wrote, of all things, a 70,000 word short novel set in the Halo (video game) universe.  I mean...how stupid is that?  I knew it was stupid at the time, but I loved the characters and story so much that I was compelled to finish it.  I now consider it rehabilitation and practice, if nothing else...and I did manage to find my 'voice' (such as it is) whilst writing the bloody thing (which you can find through a link in my profile, if you have a lot of free time on your hands and enormous patience and/or literary charity).  I guess it's not a total loss. 

Spent another 20,000 words in that universe on a novelette before calling it quits.  Spec work is really a stumbling block to professional writing and publication. 

Just graduated from college with a B.A. in Media Communication, Emphasis in Film Studies (to satisfy my alter ego as a screenwriter/producer/cinematographer).  I've been more successful in that regard than my speculative fiction writing.  Then again, I have this potent aversion to submitting anything.  A strange condition I am desperately trying to exorcise this summer. 

Current status?  Active.  Like that volcano at the end of the film...uh...Volcano.  Not doing anything yet, but definitely brooding.  Oh yes.

Looking to submit to some e-zine markets this year.  Perhaps Baen's Universe, IGMS, et al.  Print isn't out of the question, either.  It's all a matter of how much material I can crank out and polish.

90% motivation, 10% perspiration, 11.48% inspiration, 400% caffeine, 2% glycerin, and voila...coherent garbage.  (Did I mention I'm terrible at math?)

C'est la vie.


~J. D.   
« Last Edit: May 19, 2009, 12:21:50 AM by J. D. Ford »
cacoethes scribendi

Offline meg_evonne

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Re: Author In Progress
« Reply #220 on: May 19, 2009, 02:02:31 AM »
My name is ______, and I'm a writing alcholic...  :-)  Welcome.  How many strange, unique,and individual routes we take to meet that thing inside us that won't shut up. 

...Somehow, I burned myself out about three years ago.  Took eight months off from writing.  Came back and wrote, of all things, a 70,000 word short novel set in the Halo (video game) universe.  I mean...how stupid is that?  I knew it was stupid at the time, but I loved the characters and story so much that I was compelled to finish it.  I now consider it rehabilitation and practice, if nothing else...and I did manage to find my 'voice' (such as it is) whilst writing the bloody thing (which you can find through a link in my profile, if you have a lot of free time on your hands and enormous patience and/or literary charity).  I guess it's not a total loss. 

...C'est la vie.~J. D.

A total loss?  Never!  I applaud your tanacity!  Never, ever a total loss...  Always another step along the way to improving our writing craft.  Welcome JD
"Calypso was offerin' Odysseus immortality, darlin'. Penelope offered him endurin' love. I myself just wanted some company." John Henry (Doc) Holliday from "Doc" by Mary Dorla Russell
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Offline Flashand

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Re: Author In Progress
« Reply #221 on: June 02, 2009, 02:23:01 AM »
Greetings and salutations all, I am as one would guess an inspiring... I have currently five books based on a variety of themes. However and this is the audacious (love big words but i love spell check even more :P) part of the program and i hereby invoke my arrogance!

I have been reading the files and have started "EGADS" another one. This one however i am looking for not only approval of the "jerk" err writer that got me interested in the area but help from those that live in my local area.

So here goes Mr. Butcher may I introduce into "your world" a set of personas that may or may not run into some of your characters?

About myself, i am an avid martial artist, and know the rights and wrongs of power strength utilities of mind etc. Also i have a stong faith and have on more than one occasion Lived a palidins actions as that is what Micheal and the bearers of the swords are in my oppinion. I am not however an enforcer of the law, or the church. Just the idiot in the right place at the wrong time, and did what needed to be done. Why i was there no clue!

There you are and thank all of you for your time and i appreciate all of your input, and please note some of the posts are amusing.

And as i so love cliffhangers washington state is my locale.
"There was a flash and boom there was nothing left."
"The funny thing is he went LD five minutes ago."

The adventures of gaining a nickname, a RL occurance.

Offline meg_evonne

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Re: Author In Progress
« Reply #222 on: June 02, 2009, 02:30:09 AM »
Welcome Flashand
"Calypso was offerin' Odysseus immortality, darlin'. Penelope offered him endurin' love. I myself just wanted some company." John Henry (Doc) Holliday from "Doc" by Mary Dorla Russell
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Offline desylverwyrm

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Re: Author In Progress
« Reply #223 on: June 06, 2009, 06:19:23 AM »
Ok... I've been a "member" for a few months now, but haven't posted anything here. Blame it on Meg and the rest of the writers who have kept me entertained and busy on the DV site. I've written short stories since highschool, had a few poems chosen for publishing, but really had no turn out on any of them. In highschool, my forte was spin offs from X-Men...my most beloved of comics (sorry Jim...can't replace a true love...no matter how geeky it seems.) but that quickly turned off into Sci-Fic trumphs of laughable goo that my creative writing teacher liked to take home to entertain himself with when he had boring papers to grade. The shame...the horror...the...ok...laugh it up. He liked them....thought they were hallarious. Is there really such a thing as comedic sci-fi? ... Anyway... poetry what got published, but then...I could never commit fully to writing an actual full on storyline about anything ... not with my kids climbing in my hair all day. So, for now... I think I'll stick with trudging short controversial post-story lines with the wonderful talents of Meg and the rest of the DV crew...that satisfies my creative hunger for now... besides... it doesn't matter how good of a writer you are, if you don't interact with other writers and bounce ideas off them once in a while....you just get dreary, dead and dried up crusts of what used to be a great thing.... not that Jim will ever go through that.... Jim... my asperation... my mediation...and my....ok...enough butt kissing.

Offline meg_evonne

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Re: Author In Progress
« Reply #224 on: June 06, 2009, 07:08:07 AM »
*handing DVW some tissue to wipe of the brown stuff*  LOL
"Calypso was offerin' Odysseus immortality, darlin'. Penelope offered him endurin' love. I myself just wanted some company." John Henry (Doc) Holliday from "Doc" by Mary Dorla Russell
Photo from Avatar.com by the Domestic Goddess