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Kyrt Malthorn

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    An urban desert.
  • Interests
    Writing, reading, SF/F, science, literature, good stories, worldbuilding, roleplaying, and unfortunately gaming...

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  1. Ahhh... now it makes sense. I shall have to subject my sweets to a strong electromagnet before consumption. Safe if they aren't magnetically attracted? ^.^ Critique, hmm? I don't have many beta readers at present. Perhaps we should discuss further?
  2. "Your funeral." he shook his head. Daylight! She'd found the way out! "Sandwiches won't appease dragons! Come back!!" The entire ordeal, this cat slept.
  3. I was very recently struck by something Sanderson put on his site... quote from this. My takeaway was this: we've all seen most of the plot achtypes hundreds of times before - I mean, the basic ideas. Enemies-become-friends. Overthrow-evil-dictator. Stop-world-domination-schemes. Stranded-in-a-hostile-environment. Uniqueness is born not in any one plot individually - though you can certainly do it in a way you haven't seen done before - but real uniqueness is by combining plot types into something more than the sum of their parts. Think about some of your favorite books or movies, and the basic plot elements in them. Find one that fascinates you with potential, maybe one that works well with a setting or character you have laying around, and look for other plot elements that you haven't seen paired with the one you've chosen.
  4. I actually started out as a forum roleplayer! After a handful of very influential experiences at it, I drifted away from the practice when too many RP forums died, and the ones I found after that burned me with either too many rules, or too many dull players. These days I have so little time on my hands I'd rather not divide my creative attention and have to choose between a RP post someone's waiting on, and my own writing.
  5. Ya just gonna let 25,000 words go to waste? Of course you're not. That's half a novel. If you can't seem to write anything good, write it badly. Come back later and do it better. But give your ideas a long leash; most often if I find a particularly hard hump, it's because the characters are being forced in a way they don't want to go. Read an article about writing processes, motivation - whatever it is you're struggling with. Most often that's what I find I'm doing when the lights go on and I realize why I'm stuck. Most importantly: press on!
  6. Elantris was also the first I'd read - forgot about that one, it's been a while. ^^; And I can resist the temptation... until I catch wind of peanut butter cookies.
  7. Good day, Sanderson fans. Yes, I'm new here. I don't mean to stereotype, but if you're here on this very forum, I suspect have a good deal in common with me. For instance, reading. Fantasy and/or science fiction in general, Sanderson's style in particular. That's why we're here, no? I imagine a good number of you with just such an interest in the written word are also keen on crafting stories, yourselves. There, now we have something in common. We want to be writers. Well, despite my passion for writing, I don't have a lot to show for it. I have about fifty Chapter 1's laying around and a handful of Chapter 2s. My mother advised I keep reading, and when I'm not stuck in a BAD book that's easy. I have this thing about finishing the book I started, see. I was stuck for a while in this one drab science fiction I literally had to give away to get unstuck from that being 'the book I'm reading'. Shame on me for gifting inferior literature. But I was free of that, and what was I going to read next? I picked up Warbreaker. I've read first three Mistborn novels, and the Reckoners trillogy. My brother was reading Way of Kings and, based on his reaction, I'm thanking myself for staying away from it for now - I hate waiting for the rest of the series to come out. I knew I enjoyed Sanderson, but I'd been deprived of good writing for a while. Shortly into Warbreaker I was just about tearing my hair out; 'why can't I write like this!?', I begged myself. In a mere dozen pages it seemed like, I knew of two vastly differing cultures at odds with each other, had glimpsed a fabulously unique magic system, and been endeared by the poor princess being carted to an unexpected situation. There would be culture shock, the internal struggles of the princess, the politicking of states, and potential for some enormously intriguing action. This was good writing, sucking me into the universe as surely as a spaceship hull breach. On a spur of the moment, I looked up Sanderson's website and was pleased to find he'd written quite extensive posts of his own writing process. I was shocked at some of the similarities to myself I found. For one, being a linear writer - I'd always considered that a hindrance, because everyone else seemed so free to jump around and write whatever scene they felt most strongly about at the time. Me, I was stuck ponderously imagining the climactic endings while slogging through the opening moments. But being a linear writer was just such a casual mention as Sanderson described his process, it was clear it was a non-issue. Not even something one had to work around; just the way the process works for him. The way it works for me. The similarities made me sit up and pay very close attention to the dissimilarities. Yes, I read the disclaimer about everyone's writing process being personal, but I was dead stuck, willing to try anything. Several things he mentions in his process were either new to me or reminders of things I sortof knew, but hadn't fully articulated. I was able to turn new eyes on my own story ideas, pick one, and reshape it into something that got me excited about writing again. Goodness, it has been so long since I was excited about writing! So, as I said, I expect some of you are writers. I find myself stepping into this community hoping to glimpse great ideas and find out where others like me, likewise inspired by Sanderson and other great authors, commune for ideas and sharing tips and such. Maybe I'm not quite the typical fan? Or maybe I'm VERY typical, I have no idea. Maybe I'd be better off on a forum more oriented to writers in general rather than a Sanderson fan forum? Perhaps, but they all have their own tone and I don't know which would be good for me. Sanderson's style I know and love, and here I'm sure to find others who enjoy it. Maybe I talk to much? Most definitely; I shall have to work on that, because I refuse to use any sort of "TL;DR" conventions (and detest acronyms). All that said, my final word is: Greetings, fellow admirers of Brandon Sanderson! -KM
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