Valerie Posted December 26, 2020 Report Share Posted December 26, 2020 @C_Vallion hi back! Always happy to find another Bujold fan. I love her 5 gods series, especially Pen and Des. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snakenaps Posted December 26, 2020 Report Share Posted December 26, 2020 1 hour ago, C_Vallion said: Megan Whalen Turner My mom is on Return of the Thief. My friend got me completely addicted to the series and I have passed along the love to everyone I can. Also, welcome! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginger_reckoning Posted December 26, 2020 Report Share Posted December 26, 2020 (edited) Welcome @Valerieand @C_Vallion! @Valerieit sounds like you have your hands full, but I'm glad you still find time to write! I know it is super scary to put your writing out there for others to read, so I can empathize with you there. But I think you will find that it's worth it to do so! (and I promise we dont bite...most of teh time ;-) ) Also, i totally agree with you on the horror thing. I don't really like reading about torture extensively *shudder* @C_Vallion you have described my experience with the rona quite perfectly XD. Excited to read your stuff as well! What kind of audio drama is your husband involved in? Could it perhaps be found on spotify or other sound apps? Welcome and happy holidays! Edited December 26, 2020 by ginger_reckoning 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_Vallion Posted December 26, 2020 Report Share Posted December 26, 2020 (edited) 12 hours ago, Snakenaps said: My mom is on Return of the Thief. My friend got me completely addicted to the series and I have passed along the love to everyone I can. Also, welcome! I had somehow gone without realizing that the last two existed until recently. Thick as Thieves is currently somewhere in the USPS system with everyone's delayed Christmas gifts, and I have Return of the Thief sitting on my end table patiently waiting to be read @ginger_reckoning he only has a couple short projects available for public listening at the moment. https://m.soundcloud.com/mayhemopus He is currently working on a longer original project involving pirates and piratey magic, but it's still in the early writing stages. Edited December 26, 2020 by C_Vallion 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinski Posted December 26, 2020 Report Share Posted December 26, 2020 Hi @C_Vallion and @Valerie, Welcome to the group. I hope you find this a useful please to be. I think you will. We don't pull our punches, but I trust the feedback is always constructive Looking forward to reading your stuff at some point. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_Vallion Posted December 26, 2020 Report Share Posted December 26, 2020 1 hour ago, Robinski said: Hi @C_Vallion and @Valerie, Welcome to the group. I hope you find this a useful please to be. I think you will. We don't pull our punches, but I trust the feedback is always constructive Good! I'm sure I will hate some of that, but I know it's needed! I have a few good friends who have helped with some initial reading, and they're awesome, but they are looking at it like friends and readers, and I definitely need people who are looking at it more critically. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinski Posted December 26, 2020 Report Share Posted December 26, 2020 15 minutes ago, C_Vallion said: I definitely need people who are looking at it more critically. You are in the right place then 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snakenaps Posted December 26, 2020 Report Share Posted December 26, 2020 5 hours ago, C_Vallion said: I had somehow gone without realizing that the last two existed until recently. Thick as Thieves is currently somewhere in the USPS system with everyone's delayed Christmas gifts, and I have Return of the Thief sitting on my end table patiently waiting to be read Hit me up when you've finished! I have a signed first edition of Thick as Thieves that I got on a complete fluke. I'm very proud of it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_Vallion Posted December 26, 2020 Report Share Posted December 26, 2020 34 minutes ago, Snakenaps said: Hit me up when you've finished! I have a signed first edition of Thick as Thieves that I got on a complete fluke. I'm very proud of it. Ooooo. Jealous. Partly that you have any copy at all at the moment (lol) but that's really awesome 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shatteredsmooth Posted December 27, 2020 Report Share Posted December 27, 2020 On 12/25/2020 at 7:30 PM, Valerie said: My main motivation for joining this group is to try and improve my writing with an ultimate goal of eventually writing something good enough to submit to the Writers of the Future Contest. I first learned of it when I was 11 or 12 and have dreamed of entering. Why haven’t I? That's a nice goal and this group is a great place to improve! On 12/25/2020 at 7:30 PM, Valerie said: so my forum posts will be littered with typos and such You are not alone in the typo club. My post are often full of typos, and I admit, some of my submissions have more errors than other people's. My ADHD brain really struggles with the kind of focus I need to see missing words and when I'm using the wrong form of a word, and if there is a high chance critiques will lead me to deleting half of what I've written, I will only spend so much time searching for those errors. The last thing I sent, an opening to a short story, was 1500 words and I will likely trim it down to 500 now that I have feedback. On 12/25/2020 at 8:23 PM, C_Vallion said: It certainly has a lot of work to go (the wordcount is way too high. There are a number of magic system and worldbuilding details that need to be introduced earlier on. For starters), but it's pretty cool to have it at the point where recruiting other people to look at it is going to be more useful than having me sit here and stare blindly at it for the foreseeable future. It does sound like a good time to get feedback, especially if you are trying to figure out what to trim. :-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitefulmage Posted June 13, 2021 Report Share Posted June 13, 2021 Hello there! I'm Roody. Man, this place hasn't seen posts in a while. I really enjoy writing as a creative outlet, and I recently decided to put scattered ideas and daydreams onto actual paper. My hunt for a proper writing group and decent feedback led me to this forum, where I hope to get useful critique. While writing is only a hobby for me, I do hope to publish a novel by the next decade. Right now, I plan to post short stories from the world I am building, to further flesh out ideas and also improving my skills as a writer. Oh, and lastly, my favorite authors are Steven Erikson, L.E.Modesitt, Neal Stephenson, Isaac Asimov, Terry Pratchett, Scott Lynch, Robin Hobb, Robert J. Bennett, Andy Weir and of course, Mr. Sanderson. See you guys around! I hope to get to know more members of this community in my journey. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedBlue Posted June 14, 2021 Report Share Posted June 14, 2021 Hi @spitefulmage! Always good to have new people around. Looking forward to seeing those short stories of yours! We don’t pull our punches with critiques around here, but that’s what makes it useful. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snakenaps Posted June 17, 2021 Report Share Posted June 17, 2021 @spitefulmage Welcome! We need some more short stories in this group! I recently finished Terry Pratchett's Going Postal and Monstrous Regiment. I love his work. They're humorous but surprisingly deep. And always so inventive! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonsilver Posted June 25, 2021 Report Share Posted June 25, 2021 Hey, there's a new moon in town. I tip my hat at you all. I'm a long time 17th shard lurker and listener of WE. I've got the 2nd draft of my first arcanepunk novel that I'd like to start submitting to you good folks, after I get a few critiques under my belt. I'm a creative writing major that never got anything published outside of college magazines. I love to write and I resonate with Brandon in my appreciation of epic fantasy, magic systems, and world building. I'm into many geeky things, such as comics, anime, gaming, and D&D. I am also a wine geek and sommelier, which I try to use in most of my stories. I have 3 cats named after literary characters. Their names are Yorick, Arthur (Dent), and Bast. I also have a bearded dragon named Merlin, because I'm incredibly original like that. I also have a tank of freshwater fish that I can't tell the difference between, so I just call them all Hoid. When I'm not being literary, I like to go camping and fishing, I'm a beach bum, and I'm a foodie and amateur chef. Some of my favorite authors are, in no particular order(Sanderson is assumed, duh): N.K. Jemisin, Patrick Rothfuss, Scott Lynch, Lev Grossman, Jim Butcher, Phillip Pullman, Mary Shelley, William Gibson, Douglas Adams, Ursula K. Le Guin, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Phillip K. Dick, Isaac Asimov, Kurt Vonnegut, Joe Abercrombie, Robin Hobb. My favorite movie is Gattaca, which is partially explained by the fact that I'm a sucker for a good underdog story that makes me cheer. Things currently swimming in my writing playlist are the Daft Punk Tron OST, anything by Hans Zimmer, anything by Thomas Newman. I look forward to getting the opportunity to read and critique some of the community's work and getting to know everyone. See y'all around the forums. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karamel Posted June 26, 2021 Report Share Posted June 26, 2021 22 hours ago, Moonsilver said: Hey, there's a new moon in town. I tip my hat at you all. I'm a long time 17th shard lurker and listener of WE. I've got the 2nd draft of my first arcanepunk novel that I'd like to start submitting to you good folks, after I get a few critiques under my belt. I'm a creative writing major that never got anything published outside of college magazines. I love to write and I resonate with Brandon in my appreciation of epic fantasy, magic systems, and world building. I'm into many geeky things, such as comics, anime, gaming, and D&D. I am also a wine geek and sommelier, which I try to use in most of my stories. Hello! Welcome to the group! That's awesome that you're a sommelier! I'm gonna be honest that I had no idea what that was until I looked it up just now. But very cool! Stoked to read your stuff! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonsilver Posted June 26, 2021 Report Share Posted June 26, 2021 2 hours ago, karamel said: Hello! Welcome to the group! That's awesome that you're a sommelier! I'm gonna be honest that I had no idea what that was until I looked it up just now. But very cool! Stoked to read your stuff! Hey, thanks, nice to meet you. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_Vallion Posted June 26, 2021 Report Share Posted June 26, 2021 (edited) Welcome to both @spitefulmage and @Moonsilver! On 6/13/2021 at 4:10 AM, spitefulmage said: Right now, I plan to post short stories from the world I am building, to further flesh out ideas and also improving my skills as a writer. Oh, and lastly, my favorite authors are Steven Erikson, L.E.Modesitt, Neal Stephenson, Isaac Asimov, Terry Pratchett, Scott Lynch, Robin Hobb, Robert J. Bennett, Andy Weir and of course, Mr. Sanderson. See you guys around! I hope to get to know more members of this community in my journey. Looking forward to reading some of your stories. I feel like every time I see Pratchett in someone's favorite authors list, I'm reminded how much I love his books and how many I still haven't gotten my hands on to read. The Moist Von Lipwig books and the Tiffany Aching series are probably my favorites thus far. On 6/25/2021 at 1:45 AM, Moonsilver said: I love to write and I resonate with Brandon in my appreciation of epic fantasy, magic systems, and world building. I'm into many geeky things, such as comics, anime, gaming, and D&D. I am also a wine geek and sommelier, which I try to use in most of my stories. Nice! I do love some fun magic systems and world building . Looking forward to reading your work! I will freely admit I don't know a ton about wine beyond knowing what my favorite bottle under $20 is. I'm married to a cocktail geek/mixologist, so we spend more time on that side of the liquor store. Our only geeky pet name is Appa, who is the 115 pounds of fluff seen in my profile image thing. He doesn't fly, but he does drool and sleep a lot. Spoiler Edited June 26, 2021 by C_Vallion 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonsilver Posted June 27, 2021 Report Share Posted June 27, 2021 Hah, Appa, that's a fitting name. He just needs the arrow and some horns. And another set of legs. Wine is fine, but liquor is quicker, right? I'm a sucker for negronis and most things with bitters or gin personally. I haven't explored much of Pratchett, I tried reading Colour of Magick and wasn't very into it. But then I read Mort and enjoyed that. And I've read Good Omens, which I know he cowrote. I've been thinking about reading Going Postal, but I've also heard the Tiffany Aching books are his best. I suppose I'll put them both on the TBR bookshelf. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedBlue Posted June 27, 2021 Report Share Posted June 27, 2021 I definitely recommend Going Postal and the Tiffany Aching series. The early Discworld books are the weakest for sure, and not necessary to enjoy the rest of them. My favourite Discworld books are probably the Sam Vimes ones. They’re a really fun take on how policing would work in a fantasy city. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snakenaps Posted June 28, 2021 Report Share Posted June 28, 2021 On 6/26/2021 at 7:27 PM, Moonsilver said: I've been thinking about reading Going Postal I recently read Going Postal and loved it. It's a wacky but weirdly heartwarming book. I also recently enjoyed his Monterous Regiment and am currently reading the (non-Discworld) Bromeliad Trilogy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mythranor Posted January 20, 2022 Report Share Posted January 20, 2022 If writing stories was as hard as writing a personal introduction, I'm not sure anything would ever get published. I am a software developer by day, and a family man at night, and lately I've been trying to fill in the cracks in between with some writing. I started writing in elementary school (if not earlier) but have always had problems getting out of the first act of a story. I'd get an idea, get excited, write the first few chapters, lose my momentum, start revising and editing and never get any further. I mostly stopped writing about ten years ago after getting married and trying to at least pretend to be an adult, despite my wife continually begging for me to write down the stories I tell her. About a year ago, YouTube randomly suggested one of Brandon Sanderson's college lectures to me, which was weird because I hadn't even thought about writing anything for at least four or five years. Out of curiosity, I decided to watch it. Then I watched every other lecture I could find (and reading his books, I hadn't heard about him as an author before that YouTube suggestion). With his ideas on plotting and planning out stories I've finally been able to start finishing some of my old projects and my wife has convinced me to try geting some (less biased) feedback on my writing. As far as favorite authors / books; outside of Sanderson (Words of Radiance and The Final Empire are my favorites of his), I love Dumas (Count of Monte Cristo remains my favorite book of all time) and Tolkien. I enjoy Jordan and Rowling. I love adventure stories like Shogun (Clavell), Scarlet Pimpernel (Orczy), Arsene Lupin (Leblanc), and Dealing with Dragons (Wrede). I am always looking for more lighthearted treasure hunt mysteries (ie the Goonies) and feel like that style of story is sadly under-represented in fantasy as a genre. When it comes to writing, most of my stories are YA or 'new adult' and I'm a fan of Sanderson's theory that in fantasy you can write any type of story you want plus you get to have dragons and everyone loves dragons (or magic or whatever your brand of fantasy is). The stories I've been working on include a story about two people shipwrecked on a mysterious island that find themselves transforming into wild beasts every night when the sun goes down and have to uncover the truth behind the curse on the island, a noir detective story set in a non-earth Victorian era world where anyone who indulges too much in certain behaviors / emotions (based on the seven deadly sins) transforms into a literal monster, and a story set in a near modern non-earth world (around the time of the first personal computers) where the main hero tries to use new technology to solve a hundred year old mystery and find a lost treasure, which happens to involve discovering that magic really exists in said world. I'm excited to start reading and critiquing some of the work here and hope to have a short story to submit sometime in the next month or so. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mwindaji Posted January 23, 2022 Report Share Posted January 23, 2022 Hi there everyone! I've wanted to join this group for a while now, but always felt like I don't have the time to write as much as I want to, or to critique for that matter. I guess that's what being in college and working does to you, not to mention I also want to spend some time with my wife, as well as my dogs Zuko and Azula. I'm a senior in college, finishing up my geology degree this December. I really love rocks and the outdoors. As a bonus, they inspire me to write! I want to be a paleontologist (in case anyone is wondering what I want to do with geology) and in fact, I've recently started volunteering at a local museum in a fossil prep lab (just another thing to take my time). I've been setting aside some time from my busy schedule to write (and hopefully soon to critique as well), but if this is the only thing you hear from me until the current semester ends, just know things got too busy... I've been writing since middle school, though I do remember making up stories since elementary school. Lately, what writing time I have has been devoted to my epic fantasy manuscript, which has reached about 75k words. I love Sanderson's writing advice, be it in his lectures or podcast, and (I assume like many others) that's what drew me to this site and group. Lots of things inspire me to write. I already mentioned the outdoors, but I'm also easily inspired by books and movies. I spent a couple years in east Africa (Kenya and Tanzania specifically) which is an absolutely beautiful place in so many ways. So some of my writing and settings may take some inspiration from there. I also picked up Swahili as a second language while there, so some Swahili words and names may pop up from time to time. Some of my favorite authors besides Brandon Sanderson include J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert Jordan (though I haven't read all of the Wheel of Time, I enjoy his writing), J.K Rowling, C.S. Lewis (specifically for the Chronicles of Narnia, which I read dozens of times growing up), and Brandon Mull. I really enjoy Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island and other books like it. I also appreciate historical books and find history quite fascinating, and biographies like Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand tend to draw me in pretty quickly. Well, sorry if I've been a bit long-winded! I'm glad to be here and hope to start participating soon. I'm excited to get to know you all through your writing! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mwindaji Posted January 23, 2022 Report Share Posted January 23, 2022 (edited) Hi @Mythranor! looks like we're both new here! I just have to mention that I once walked into a library, found a fun book in which a princess runs off and finds a dragon to capture her (or something along those lines). I proceeded to sit in the library and read it all then and there, absolutely loving it. Since then, I've wondered from time to time what that book was, and it wasn't until you mentioned Dealing with Dragons, and I looked it up that I was able to figure out what book it was, so thanks for that! Edited January 23, 2022 by Mwindaji 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shatteredsmooth Posted January 23, 2022 Report Share Posted January 23, 2022 Nice to meet both of you!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_Vallion Posted January 23, 2022 Report Share Posted January 23, 2022 Welcome, @Mwindaji and @Mythranor! Good to have you here. Also, Mwindaji, I'll see your Zuko and Azula and raise you an Appa (he's my profile pic). Still working on teaching him to fly. On 1/20/2022 at 5:22 PM, Mythranor said: Dealing with Dragons (Wrede) 16 hours ago, Mwindaji said: Dealing with Dragons Loved this series! And I'm way overdue for a reread on it. Thanks for the reminder, both of you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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