Author In Progress

[Drew]

I hope so too.  I like how it came out.

[Dusty Black]

I have been off the boards for a while, so here's an update. A wonderful agent accepted my manuscript and most of my free time has been spent editing and getting it ready for evaluation by an editor. Wish me luck!

Good luck!

(I'm late to the party, as usual!)

I'm an aspiring author (duh), and I have recently finished my first novel.

It's about a normal dude, who opens a mental block inadvertantly revealing a "Strange Aura" that causes all manner of bizarre things to be drawn to him.  He has run-ins with the ghost of a novelty songwriter, a werewolf, bigfoot, and a secret society of senior citizens (say it three times fast!).

If anyone's interested in checking out, I've linked it below.  It's called Beyond the Graves, and I am currently seeking representation for it.  Also, I just like getting feedback for it.  So if you decide to read it, let me know what you think.

Also, if you know anyone in "The Biz" who'd be interested, send me a message (fat chance, I know, but I have to try!)


http://rapidshare.com/files/100053009/Episodes_1_thru_5_COMPLETE__single_space_.doc.html

[Kristine]

Also, if you know anyone in "The Biz" who'd be interested, send me a message (fat chance, I know, but I have to try!)


http://rapidshare.com/files/100053009/Episodes_1_thru_5_COMPLETE__single_space_.doc.html

check on craigslist

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/

sometimes the ultra low budget indies are looking for scripts - but they don't usually just want to option the story - they want a fully developed script.  The pay is crap and alot of times they want it for nothing but if you want to try to get your name out there...it's up to you.

[Drew]

check on craigslist

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/

sometimes the ultra low budget indies are looking for scripts - but they don't usually just want to option the story - they want a fully developed script.  The pay is crap and alot of times they want it for nothing but if you want to try to get your name out there...it's up to you.

Try www.Mandy.com too

[sluice]

To Dusty Black: 


Your idea, and no offense meant to anyone else on, is by far the best in this thread.

I think most of us have the same problem; all these sci-fi/fantasy influences, the desire to write in these genres, yet an enormous difficulty in creating a truly "original" idea.

So much has been done. Honestly as soon as I read words like "FBI, special ops, private detective, hidden magic, dark lord," and even at this point just "vampire" and "werewolf" I tune out. This idea you have of removing this "mental block" and things happening to him/encounters is like nothing I've heard before. I don't know where you can take it, but by all means keep writing/submitting.

[Dusty Black]

To Dusty Black: 


Your idea, and no offense meant to anyone else on, is by far the best in this thread.

I think most of us have the same problem; all these sci-fi/fantasy influences, the desire to write in these genres, yet an enormous difficulty in creating a truly "original" idea.

So much has been done. Honestly as soon as I read words like "FBI, special ops, private detective, hidden magic, dark lord," and even at this point just "vampire" and "werewolf" I tune out. This idea you have of removing this "mental block" and things happening to him/encounters is like nothing I've heard before. I don't know where you can take it, but by all means keep writing/submitting.

Thank you so much for your positive feedback!

I keep submitting it after several rejections, which tells me that my query letter must need help.  It seems no one wants to take a chance on anything that even lives next door to Sci Fi, even though mine is closer to comedy with a bizarre slant.  I've often been compared to Christopher Moore, although I wouldn't dare make that connection myself.

[meg_evonne]

There is a site where you may post your query to get feed back.  I've been told it's a good spot to let others help you peg that query down.  It's at writersnet.com, then go to forum.  Good luck! 

[sluice]

Just keep at it. It took Jim years to sell Storm Front.

[purenightshade]

Hi all!
So I write. I write a lot. I've finished a few small things while others are still works in progress. While I do indulge in the writing of fanfiction, I do write original stuff. Here's a rundown of what I'm working on.

Sword and Sorcery
My main project. if all goes well, this will be a trilogy. It's the story of ten college students who find themselves accidentally transported to a new world. They become caught in the middle of a conflict that has been going on for hundreds of years. Sword is pitted against sorcery in a struggle for dominance of the the world of Keverynn. Their arrival is the trigger to an ancient prophecy. Will sword or sorcery triumph? Will Keverynn be returned to a peaceful state or will it be forever plunged into darkness?
Book 1 ('Path if the Warrior') has been completed and sits at 100, 532. It still needs some work, but a friend of mine is an editor and she's already agreed to look at it for me when I can afford it.
Book 2 ('Path of the Sorceress') is in progress.

Some of the story is up at http://ss.keverynn.net but note that not all of it is there.

Angels of the Night
This project is much less developed than the previous one. I haven't been working on it for as long. It's presently undergoing some reworking in the earlier chapters.

Over a thousand years ago, Ardren, the mainland of the world of Melphor, was wracked by a centuries long bloody war referred to in the Histories as the Wars of the Roses, an endless struggle to rid the world of the forces of darkness. For countless centuries, the two countries fought before the country inhabited by the forces of the light called upon its neighbor countries and formed the Soulforge Alliance. Together, they beat back the darkness and reclaimed their lands. The land of the dark things became a forbidden place to go as the evils would corrupt your soul, and all who went there did so upon pain of death.

The year is now 1172, 1177 years after the creation of the Soulforge Alliance. Rumors of creatures long thought destroyed over a thousand years ago are being whispered about in the Alliance, creatures that once served the Dark One, creatures that, if they really did still exist, threatened the stability of the Alliance with their very existence.

The Knights of the Rose, the protectors of the Alliance and the world of Melphor, swore to exterminate them at the end of the war and, if the rumors were true, would rid the world of the evil once again and preserve the peace.

This project is located at http://aotn.keverynn.net

Miscellaneous
http://fiction.keverynn.net/
I keep all of my other original works here.
Poetry - some of this stuff is really old, dating back to junior high
Children of the Tiger - I'd call this a short story, but I'm not really sure how to describe it. Fantasy genre.
Stars of Destiny - This is an attempt to convert a fanfic into an original story. It's kind of corny, but it was fun. It's not really a serious project, just something I did to see if I could
Dragon's Flight - I'm in the process of converting this one over to the world of Keverynn. Eventually, it will be called 'On Dragon's Wings' to avoid any Pern imagery. It's pretty terrible plot wise right now.
Chaos Cycle - this was my NaNoWriMo project a couple years ago. I didn't get very far, but it's completely plotted out and just needs a small bit of tweaking in the fine points and needs to be written out completely. Otherwise I'm happy with this one.
Short Stories - 'Crazy' is one that I'm really proud of, but the other two... 'Torene's Story' will also soon be converted over to the world of Keverynn and is actually pretty important to the 'Sword and Sorcery' story line. Not directly, but it's still fairly important.

Also, feel free to poke around my domain at http://keverynn.net for my other, less original writing projects if that's where your tastes are.

[sluice]

Here's a question I asked in the "ask Jim" thread, and for lack of a better place to ask I'll ask it again here, to the general sci-fi/fantasy fan:


Which type of setting do you like better,  Dresden Files style, where the general public is unaware, or an Anita Blake style world where everything is out in the open? Other choices would be a fflat out fictional world, which I've rarely seen in contemporary fantasy, though I guess China Mieville, Glen Cook, or something like the Lord Darcy series, where history is completely re-written.

Which do you think is the best (better) setting?

[Drew]

The Dresden setting.  Most people are oblivious to things around them and would be able to relate more.

[ailishsmom]

I like both for different reasons. Although I prefer Kim Harrison and Simon Green's worlds over LKH.
I think if I HAD to make a choice it would be the 'out in the open' settings. I like seeing how authors make the paranormal act normal.

[Paranoid Wizard]

I never know how to describe the book I'm writing, it's my downfall. Honestly, if it gets published, I'll have to pay someone else to do the summaries for me because for some reason, I have a mental block on them.

Anyway. I suppose, if I had to summarize, I would say this; the novel is about two teenage girls who are, essentially, witches. Through their craft, they contact a vampire, who, in turn, more or less kidnaps them. He takes them in the middle of the night, and when they wake up, they're in an elaborate room, completely with miniature chandelier and scaling windows. Of course, the fact that the room is comfortable doesn't change the fact that they're in a rather sticky situation.

As the story continues the reader is introduced to a myriad of different vampires, each having their own unique personality, powers, and motivations. This novel is a love story, a mystery, a fantasy epic detailing a private war amongst vampires and humans alike. Factor in plot twists, and hidden agendas, and eventually you'll see everything as it is meant to be seen.

... And, damn. That really doesn't sound as good as I'd like it to.

Anyway. Currently, it's at about 70 pages. I send it to a published writer, Michael Koryta. He's my, mentor, of sorts, and he's helping me along with it. Personally, I think it's going along rather well. Maybe it will be on the shelves some day soon!

[Mycol]

No books in Progress, something like 30 Short Stories on my COmputer and at least 3 or 4 notebooks at home on a book shelf of horrible hand written stuff. Including a few written in teh Field in my Army Days ^^
One day I might have to sit down and jsut write a book. ^^

[Paranoid Wizard]

It sounds like you have a lot of writing experience though. Maybe you should sit down and write a book sometime.