The Introduction Thread

New member introductions, suggestions for the Forums, questions about posting, and important announcements.
User avatar
sarahdee
Posts: 140
Joined: June 29th, 2010, 9:48 pm
Contact:

Re: The Introduction Thread

Post by sarahdee » June 29th, 2010, 10:35 pm

Hello there

So the lowdown on me...I'm a mid thirties British scuba instructor living in the Philippines with my husband and during low season have finally completed my first novel which is currently submitted to a couple of agents. So I am at the 'breath holding, checking email every 10 minutes' stage of writing.

And my books...this first novel is a crime thriller-ish sort of book with a dash of women's fiction (love, friendship and betrayal subplots) thrown in. Novel two which I am currently researching will be more along a contemporary fiction line and I also have a set of short stories (back to crime thriller) which I work on now and then (hopefully this will be Book 3). I also write a travel blog online but I think my only reader there is my grandma.

I found Nathan's blog when googling 'how to format a manuscript' and thus ended up here. My usual google searches are 'decomposing of dead bodies', ' 'how long do fingerprints last' and 'typical prison sentences for manslaughter' so its nice to read something a little less gory in-between.

Sarah

MarissaV
Posts: 2
Joined: July 6th, 2010, 9:17 pm
Contact:

Re: The Introduction Thread

Post by MarissaV » July 6th, 2010, 9:32 pm

Hello all,

I've been following Nathan's blog for quite some time and feel brave enough to finally come out of the shadows and join the forum. I am an aspiring writer, although I hate the word aspiring. I like to think of myself as a writer even though I haven't been published yet. I use the word yet, because like everyone else out there, my dream is to walk into Barnes & Noble and see my book on the shelf, and I know it will happen. (yes, I know you are all snickering and rolling your eyes) I'm new to this process - naive and energetic! I finished my first novel this spring. I am in the process of editing, editing and editing it some more.

I hope to pick up some tips and tricks from this forum that will improve my writing. I would also like to connect with other writers and learn more about this whole crazy process.

The optimistic one,
Marissa

justinmckean
Posts: 2
Joined: July 7th, 2010, 12:02 am
Contact:

Re: The Introduction Thread

Post by justinmckean » July 7th, 2010, 12:14 am

Hola.

I'm Justin McKean, currently a waiter/actor/comedian/General Director of a Shakespeare Festival/opera chorus member/entrepreneur.

I also write a bit.

Been reading the blog for a while and thought I'd stop in and say howdy. Nice to meet ya'll.

FatLarry
Posts: 3
Joined: July 2nd, 2010, 1:13 am
Contact:

Re: The Introduction Thread

Post by FatLarry » July 7th, 2010, 4:10 pm

Hi,

I'm Larry, forty years old, a small business owner, and resident of Jackson, WY. I have a degree in writing from the University of Colorado at Denver where I briefly studied under mystery author Rex Burns. I've always wanted to pursue a career in the field, however,I have built a life without doing so. I've come upon the opportunity to dedicate some time to a go for it, so I'm 20,000 words into my first novel, a thriller/adventure (I'm not concrete on difference between the two).

Over the years I've lurked a number of sites, Miss Snark directed me to this one.

Larry

jfw
Posts: 21
Joined: July 9th, 2010, 11:42 am
Contact:

Re: The Introduction Thread

Post by jfw » July 9th, 2010, 7:30 pm

Hi!

I've been toiling in IT for the past 30 years but last year I started a sci-fi novel in Nanowrimo and I actually finished it a few months ago. It's around 95K words. Now I'm on my second edit, working on my query letter and dipping into various writers forum sites to get some advice. This site was recommended by a writer on another forum. Did I mention my novel is brilliant? ;-)

Elsinora
Posts: 27
Joined: July 6th, 2010, 9:40 pm
Contact:

Re: The Introduction Thread

Post by Elsinora » July 13th, 2010, 3:03 am

Hello, all! I'm a Jewish woman who writes epic fantasy -- we DO exist! When I'm not writing, I'm a secretary. (And a nerd. ALWAYS a nerd.)

I'm almost halfway into the first draft of the first novel I've ever stuck with past 10,000 words. My big weaknesses as a writer are dialogue tags, verboseness (not that anyone can really tell in epic fantasy), and adverbs. Always those freaking adverbs.

One of the Mad Ones
Posts: 77
Joined: July 14th, 2010, 12:54 am
Location: southern New Mexico... almost old Mexico
Contact:

Re: The Introduction Thread

Post by One of the Mad Ones » July 14th, 2010, 1:33 am

Hello folks,

I just found this site today and have already reached obsessive levels, which should tell you a bit about my personality. I'm an MFA student in New Mexico, and even though most of my acquaintances here are writers, there's not exactly a tight-knit community of people who like talking about it (surprising, isn't it?), so I'm glad to have found other passionate people like myself who are eager to share their work and their feedback.

I just finished the first revision round of my first "real" novel. Some days I'm really proud of it, and other days I realize that it's going to be a very, very long time before it's worth submitting to agents. I've had a rough year of lots of rejections for short stories, and I'm trying to stay positive and keep learning rather than taking a break. My husband helps on that front. So does my dog. Lately, though, it's been the unexpected joy of watching baby barn swallows come to life above my back porch door. It's the little things sometimes.

The most important books in my life are these: Lolita, The Bell Jar, AVA (by Carole Maso), Mary & O'Neil (by Justin Cronin, pre-vampire saga days), On the Road (see my username), Mao II (by Don DeLillo), The Mercy Papers (by Robin Romm), My Abandonment (by Peter Rock), The Virgin Suicides, and any short story by Lorrie Moore as well as her first novel, Anagrams. I figure the titles where I haven't clarified author names are well-known enough. I would love it if the others were, too. So if you're looking for a great book... those are my recommendations.

What I write tends to make my mother feel depressed and lonely and then surprisingly amused. I'm mostly just interested in writing literary fiction, whether short or long, and I love wounded, timid, fearful, angry people - on the page mostly, but also off if they have a great sense of humor.

User avatar
Matthew MacNish
Posts: 285
Joined: March 5th, 2010, 4:31 pm
Location: Georgia
Contact:

Re: The Introduction Thread

Post by Matthew MacNish » July 14th, 2010, 4:26 pm

One of the Mad Ones wrote:I figure the titles where I haven't clarified author names are well-known enough.
Man I hope Jack's On The Road is famous enough to be recognizable since it's one of the Great American Novels. Nice to meet you Miss Mad One.

elancross
Posts: 2
Joined: July 14th, 2010, 11:49 pm
Contact:

Re: The Introduction Thread

Post by elancross » July 15th, 2010, 12:07 am

Hello Everyone!

I have been lurking on Nathan's blog for about a year, and have finally decided to get brave and introduce myself. My name is Elan. I live in Vancouver. I am in the process of making babies (actual, human babies), which means I have almost no time to write. But somehow I have managed to finish two manuscripts. The first made its rounds with a few agents and is now shelved. The second is in revisions, and is starting to come together nicely:) I write YA science fiction/urban fantasy. And I love artichokes, So You Think You Can Dance, and English mints.

Looking forward to connecting with all of you!

One of the Mad Ones
Posts: 77
Joined: July 14th, 2010, 12:54 am
Location: southern New Mexico... almost old Mexico
Contact:

Re: The Introduction Thread

Post by One of the Mad Ones » July 15th, 2010, 1:17 am

elancross wrote:And I love artichokes, So You Think You Can Dance, and English mints.
!
I don't know what English mints are, but I'm with you on the other two. Hello! :)

shanchamber
Posts: 4
Joined: July 17th, 2010, 2:47 pm
Contact:

Re: The Introduction Thread

Post by shanchamber » July 17th, 2010, 4:02 pm

I'm a little annoyed that I only just found this site. I'm Shannon. I'm a PhD student in English at Berkeley, a fact which I'm sure only hurts my writing. On the plus side, I get paid to read, which is the sweetest job I've ever had. I used to write grants at another school, and that was not a sweet job, so I recognize a good deal when I see it. I'm working on a few things right now, besides reading for my qualifying exams. One is a modern retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo, about a juvenile offender who's let off and given a crapload of money in a false imprisonment lawsuit. I'm a fan of vigilantism in general, but I think it exacts its own psychic costs, which is what the book is about. I don't really know what genre it's in. I thought adult literary, but now I'm thinking more young adult. It's about half done. I've also started a dystopian YA fantasy/sci fi/alternate history sort of thing based on Plato's Republic, and that's the one that really interests me at the moment. (I posted an excerpt in the except thread.) I'm finding writing for children/young adults/tweens/adolescents or whatever they call themselves these days liberating. Basically, I have terrible taste in literature. I've reread The Count of Monte Cristo 15 times. I hate respectable writers, especially the modernist ones that I'm supposed to like--Virginia Woolf, etc.--because I hate books where nothing happens. And I think I share this in common with kids, who also don't tolerate books where nothing happens. Most of them grow out of this. Fortunately, people keep having kids.

Anyway, I'm really enjoying the word/information ratio here.

rjkeller
Posts: 2
Joined: February 6th, 2010, 11:26 am
Contact:

Re: The Introduction Thread

Post by rjkeller » July 19th, 2010, 1:42 pm

My name is RJ Keller. I'm the author of one self-published book and am working on my second. I've been a huge fan of Nathan's for several years and signed up for the forums a few months ago, but am only now taking the "joining in the fray" plunge.
"Literature is all, or mostly, about sex." - Anthony Burgess

Callum
Posts: 20
Joined: July 20th, 2010, 11:21 am
Contact:

Re: The Introduction Thread

Post by Callum » July 20th, 2010, 11:38 am

Hello there!

*Recites an AA meeting* Hi, my name's Callum. */end*

I started doodling (can you doodle with words?!) a year or so ago and began my first ever novel a few months after. It's a very, very slow process but I'm loving every minute of it and I'm finding that for ever chapter I write, I'm re-writing another three. I'm nearing the 25K mark (out of my target of 60K ish minimum) and it's getting harder and harder to flesh out my ideas. I don't plan (as the Joker said; do I look like a guy with a plan?). I'm a med student so I don't have a lot of time to write, unlike some fellows on other courses, but I do get a creative spurt every now and then. I set up a blog yesterday which should be updated weekly about how my progress is going. I'd like the site to flourish in order for noobs like myself to help one another.

Website: CFW.

I hope to become a active member of the community and I hope you'll join and follow my blog! If not, I'll have to send the cat over. She's old. And stinks.

*shudder*
My Blog. Please follow!
Knock, Knock. Who's there? Me. I kill you.

Prince
Posts: 4
Joined: July 12th, 2010, 4:23 am
Contact:

Re: The Introduction Thread

Post by Prince » July 20th, 2010, 1:55 pm

Greetings from Ghana,

My name is Prince. I'm a Ghanaian and I write from Ghana. Currently on my first YA contemporary romance and hoping to finish soon, very, very soon. I joined this forum some days ago. Looking for how to make friends or join groups or introduce myself to everyone here but I thought it was somewhere else other than this tread and roamed about for days on the site before coming back. I love to read and write. I'm an undergraduate who studied Bsc Adm.(Accounting). But I desire to do writing and wish to become a publish author. Any advice for me as a beginner who wants to learn? And how do I get the best out of this forum? Looking forward to enjoying ya all and ya all enjoying me. You can send private mails or gmails through fiifi.kofi@gmail.com

User avatar
AMSchilling
Posts: 90
Joined: July 20th, 2010, 1:05 pm
Contact:

Re: The Introduction Thread

Post by AMSchilling » July 20th, 2010, 6:23 pm

Lurker here, finally sucking it up and coming out of the shadows.

I've been reading Nathan's blog for a while--it's kept me sane during the dreaded query process for my first novel. Perspective is a great thing, especially when it's along the lines of "Don't Panic." Can I just say that all of you who've offered up your rejection stats have really helped me put those form responses in perspective? It's easy to lose sight of the business end of things when it all feels so personal.

As for me, I somehow drifted into YA urban fantasy writing like everyone else on the planet, from my original preference for adult horror and general dark and dreary suspense. Probably because I hated all of my protagonists in those categories, so I ended up scrapping everything, but really-it's a mystery how it happened. My second book is shaping up to be in the same genre as the first, so I'm not sure where to classify my writing preference as a whole anymore. Let's leave it at: inpired by Stephen King, Jim Butcher, Douglas Adams, Neil Gaiman, Simon R. Greene and about a million others. :-)

I'm a transplanted New Yorker now living in the wild west of Colorado. By day I'm a computer geek and by night I'm about a million different things, including a writer.
-Amy

"Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open." - Stephen King

http://www.amschilling.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/AM-Schill ... 9869525150

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 12 guests