Who are you?

[Robinski he/him]

Welcome Mr. Wednesday! Your arc sounds a bit like my own, only some (cough) years earlier.

I too 'started' as a musician, and have only read Mistborn so far, although I have finished them up to date.

How far caught up with Writing Excuses are you? I've just started on Season 8 - I tend to go through spurts, but am determined to get caught up!

Looking forward to reading your work, sounds interesting and something different from what I've read on here in the 2 years I've been kicking around.

[Silk she/her]

Seems like we've actually got a fair few musicians around here. House band, anyone?

[Mandamon he/him]

I was trained on classical violin, but I've been known to do some bluegrass and irish music as well...have to shake the rust out of my fingers.

 

Robinski--have you not read any of the Stormlight archive?  I'm surprised.  

 

I'd love to see some of that story here, Mr. Wednesday.  Sounds like a good change.

[Robinski he/him]

No, not yet read SLA, it's on my shelves in a prominent position and will be up soon. Currently reading The City by Stella Gemmell wife of the late David. Must admit I'm finding it rather dry, not really rooting for any of the protags, like fantasy by numbers. Well written, but lacking passion, I feel. But I'll finish it. Hate putting a book down.

Home band, well, I've been in two or three metal bands in my time, playing guitar, but I can turn my hand to bass as it seems we would be somewhere near the lighter end of the musical spectrum. Country rock anyone? Gin Blossoms / Counting Crows are two of my many favourite bands at the moment.

[Mandamon he/him]

Well, if you don't like "The City," but like books with "City" in the title, I'm currently reading "City of Stairs," which is quite good.  It's an alternate Earth where a minor country rose and killed the main continent's gods.  Then the aftermath happens.

[Silk she/her]

Country rock sounds like a plan! I can definitely do THAT. Or jazz/swing. I have a trombone if we need more bass.

[Majestic Fox he/him]

Hi folks, 

 

Here's my intro from that other thread. I'll elaborate here..

 

Like you, I love fantasy. I think the world needs it. Really like how Brandon describes it as the language of imagination. 

 

One of my favourite authors is Robin Hobb - really admire the psychological and emotional depth she brings to her characters.

 

I've been writing since I was eleven. I've finished plenty of short stories and film scripts. Attempted a couple of longer works including a fantasy novel, but I have never finished a novel. This is my goal. Been prewriting / researching an epic fantasy for a couple of years and I'm feeling excited about it. I'm a slow writer and not very good at cranking down my internal editor. I have a tendency to re-write early chapters. Part of the reason I'm here is to create some schedule pressure and force myself to produce a bit quicker. 

 

Hope I can help others out along the way   : )

[Robinski he/him]

Delighted to have you join us, Fox and look forward to reading your stuff. Have you every tried NaNoWriMo? I'm not saying it's a cure for the eternal editor curse, but it can be very effective in motivating a person to write consistently.

[Majestic Fox he/him]

Thanks Robinski. 

 

I haven't tried NaNoWriMo. I know Dan Wells recommends it. 

The idea of writing a novel in just one month terrifies me, which is another reason to dive in and go for it. I'm writing epic fantasy (which is by far and away my favourite genre), so the first book is likely to be around 100,000 words. That's about 3,300 per day for the month of November. Hmm... kind of attainable, but my daily goal at the moment is only one thousand, and sometimes that takes eight hours. damnation that internal editor.

 

My goal is to have a first draft finished by September 18th this year - my 30th birthday. Maybe I'll use NaNoWriMo to finish a rewrite.

[Robinski he/him]

Firstly, remember NaNoWriMo only required 50,000 which is 1,667 per day - that's hard enough without doubling it!!

 

I also love to write epic fantasy. My second NaNo, I wrote 67,000 words of an epic fantasy - which was maybe half and haven't been back to it since. I also posted it here in parallel (I think? I forget now). So, upside - I wrote loads or words. Downside, it didn't get me finished, but it would get you way beyond 1,000.

 

Here's one way to think about it. There are various different styles of critiquing on here, but mostly tending towards MRK's guidance around saying what works and what doesn't but not offering specific suggestions. I'm not very good at adhering to that scheme however. So, I will promise to edit the b'jesus out of your writing from one week to the next so that you don't have to!! (They don't call me Captain Pedant for nothing, I assure you.)

 

I do sympathise with your plight. It took me about 10 years to finish my first novel (of and on, but still). It's 225,000 words and unpublishable because I didn't learn the do's and don'ts from Writing Excuses until much later. Moral of the story? You will never get it right first time - no one does - it's impossible, and why would you want to, there would be nothing to edit and your alpha and beta readers would be terribly bored ;o)

 

Looking forward to reading your stuff now - and offering motivation were possible.

[Majestic Fox he/him]

That's interesting. Why do you think you didn't keep writing it after NaNo?

 

I think you've persuaded me. I'll give it a try this coming November.

 

In terms of critiquing, I'm pretty familiar with how Brandon and co advise going about it. 

For myself, I really wouldn't mind if folk gave me as little as one sentence feedback. As long as I have a deadline that helps me keep writing, I'll be happy.

 

That said, if you feel like editing the b'jesus out of it, go right ahead : )

 

 

 

You will never get it right first time - no one does.

 

Agreed. What was it Hemingway said? The first draft of everything is rust. 

 

Looking forward to reading your work (in no way puts pressure on you to write something brilliant  ; ))

[Robinski he/him]

Wow, pretty sure that's the first time someone's invoked Hemmingway on this forum!!

I stopped writing Without Honour about 3 weeks after NaNo 2013 because there was a big fat flaw in Chapter 8, I think it was, to do with an action of the main character around which the formation of the central group was based. I felt that I couldn't go on without fixing it, and haven't gone back. That was 2013, but I will return to it.

Last year's NaNo novel Waifs & Strays, I am still working away on, 96,000 words and counting, with the indispensable help of my online writing group Start Write Now. You guys rock (they know who they are).

[rdpulfer he/him]

Welcome Heige! Great reading list - I'm a fan of most of those, especially Jim Butcher and Neil Gaiman I really need to read John Green . . . I watch Mental Floss every week and I have "The Fault in Our Stars" sitting on my iPad somewhere. I'm also in customer service too, though it's the much less technical side, but regardless . . . I do feel your pain. I spent all of yesterday repeatedly explaining why spam wasn't allowed on our website  

 

Welcome to the site! I can't wait to read some of your work! 

[Majestic Fox he/him]

@ Robinski     My secret hypothesis was wrong then. I thought that NaNo might have forced a pace of writing that ended up working against you (i.e. pressure to hit the wordcount could mean sacrificing the necessary prewriting). Do you think that's a legitimate danger? 

 

Waifs and Strays sounds like it should be nearing completion at 96,000 words then. Have you had a three quarter meltdown? (That thing where the doubt gets you).

[Robinski he/him]

I now always pre-plan my Nano now. I had 30 pages of notes going into this year, whic I wrote in October. Definitively no need to sacrifices your planning and world building. Therefore, I suppose the corollary of that is that starting presenting at Day 1 would be suicidal for my Nano writing.

Waifs and Strays is hearing the end of Part Two, so will probably be 150,000 on first draft. Whether to ends up being 220k or 120k remains to be seen!!! In my experience, stories don't usually get smaller.mas the crisis, well I've been having mini crises all the way through. I'm in an online writing group with three (heat) guys who have been hounding me from the start. We submit 3,000 words a week then sharpe our claws and have at it with the critiquing. It's really helpful, really lays things bare, not easy sometimes, but very rewarding.

My piont being that I haven't had a 3/4 crisis because I've known from early on where the major issue are and how I'm going to fix them in the edit. I should say though that, even if there's been no meltdown (this time) there are plenty of doubts. #justgetonwithit

Edited April 29, 2015 by Robinski

[Mandamon he/him]

I'm in an online writing group with three (heat) guys who have been hounding me from the start. We submit 3,000 words a week then sharpe our claws and have at it with the critiquing. It's really helpful, really lays things bare, not easy sometimes, but very rewarding.

 

 

I helped!

 

And I'll agree on the lack of 3/4 crisis.  I'm pretty much revising my work from each chapter as I get the flaws exposed.  I think it may be better than just writing by yourself and letting the doubt chew away.

[Majestic Fox he/him]

I helped!

 

And I'll agree on the lack of 3/4 crisis.  I'm pretty much revising my work from each chapter as I get the flaws exposed.  I think it may be better than just writing by yourself and letting the doubt chew away.

 

Hmm. Do you think there any danger to revising chapter by chapter? I do this myself, and consider it a double edged sword. 

 

 

 

 

well I've been having mini crises all the way through.

 

Haha - I can relate to that. Well done for getting this far. I hope you finish it.

[Mandamon he/him]

Hmm. Do you think there any danger to revising chapter by chapter? I do this myself, and consider it a double edged sword. 

 Yes and no.  I usually begin writing by reading through what I wrote the day before, and adding in any small edits that I see.  However, I usually do not make corrections based on the feedback here.  That I collect and use all at once when I go through the first rewrite.  There's a lot of things you can see at the end of the book that you didn't have worked out at the beginning, and often I find it's a waste of time to try to add them before I know how everything plays out.

[Robinski he/him]

I'm impressed that you guys were able to make any sort of sense of my last post. It was a first draft!!!!

 

Someone came into my room and I hit send without proofing and sure enough, it was almost completely illegible!

[supersoup he/him]

Hey, my name's Mitch! I've lurked the forums for a while, before I finally decided to get on my horse and ride. So to speak.

 

I write because I have a lot of time to make up for. In my younger and more vulnerable years I held a bit of a soft spot for creative endeavors, but of course, that's a big no-no when others have high hopes for your predetermined career of wealth and plenty in the computer field. I fumbled along for a while--frankly I'm not that bad at the Computer Sciences--but it was a lone Creative Writing class I managed to squeeze in that really rekindled my heart. Disappointing as many people as I possibly could, I pulled out of college completely, settled down with a day job and a wife, and started setting words to page.

 

Now, I have a novella under my belt, which shall never see the light of day aside from family coffee tables. I'm chugging along on an epic fantasy novel and short stories as they come to me, and I've even ventured into the wild and exciting world of freelance writing! I tell you, getting paid to pursue your passion . . . the amount is entirely irrelevant. It is the single most affirming thing I have ever done for myself.

 

Perhaps a bit too touchy-feely, but there it is. That's what drives me to write--finally realizing it's all I've ever wanted to do.

 

Some of my favorite books aside from Sanderson's trove:

The Redwall series, by Brian Jacques. You just can't beat the simple, repetitious formula and wide-eyed joy that Jacques infuses into his world. They never fail to cheer me up, and serve as proof that if your first book is good enough, you can copy it for decades with minor alterations and it's still worth reading on a lazy summer afternoon.

 

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I guess I just read it at the right time of life, but it really struck a chord. The characters are masterfully wrought, and it's really remarkable to me how Fitzgerald manages to weave such a strong melancholy through the entire book. If you're a fan of it as well, you have to try listening to Switchfoot's Daisy while reading the final chapter. I'm a big believer in mingling music with literature, and this pairs like cheese and a fine wine.

[Mandamon he/him]

I really want to type "soupersoup" for some reason...

Glad you've decided to submit.  It's both exciting and terrible finding out all the things that are wrong or need improvement.  But once you see how much better your writing gets afterward, it's completely worth it.

 

By the way, Tor is open once again to unsolicited novellas of 30k-40k!  I'll be doing the final bit of editing on my latest novella to submit.  I encourage anyone else who has one to submit as well.  The worst that could happen is that it's not published, and then you're right back where you are now...

 

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2015/05/torcom-is-open-to-novella-submissions#more

[Robinski he/him]

Hey Mitch.

 

I see you used 'wrought' and 'weave' in the same sentence - you're in - welcome home.

[supersoup he/him]

Hey Mitch.

 

I see you used 'wrought' and 'weave' in the same sentence - you're in - welcome home.

 

And here I was, rereading my post and thinking I came off as pretentious

Glad to be home! As I supposed would go without saying, discovering Sanderson was the last nudge I needed to really dive headlong into writing. So, in a way, I really do feel like I belong here--with everyone else who shares a similar story.

 

 

I really want to type "soupersoup" for some reason...

Glad you've decided to submit.  It's both exciting and terrible finding out all the things that are wrong or need improvement.  But once you see how much better your writing gets afterward, it's completely worth it.

 

Yeah, that's what I'm most excited about and afraid of. This is my first draft, so frankly it's still disappointing to me. I would like to start gathering feedback for future revisions sooner rather than later though, and hopefully I can identify any serious issues with the plot or character progression before it's too late to fix them. I've been churning on my epic fantasy world for years, and I would like to give it the best chance I can.

Edited May 2, 2015 by supersoup

[Kammererite]

Hello All,

My name is Bryan, and I am new to reading excuses and the forum as of last Sunday, although I have stumbled upon in a few time in the past.

I am a geologist up in Canada.

 

About 5-6 years ago when I really started reading more fantasy novels outside of D&D campaign settings, I began creating my own Fantasy world. In this fantasy world these random parts of stories beginnings would happen when I had a moment or two to relax, but unfortunately I would never get to the ending of these stories. So I decided to try and write one out and get to the end. I only got a short way into my novel before life, university, and several irreplaceable hard drive corruptions derailed me and I lot my writing momentum and fell victim to world builder disease.

So now after stumbling on Writing Excuses and spending six months trying to work up the initiative to write, I have begun work on what will hopefully be a fantasy novella.

     

I am a big fan of Fantasy with one of my favorite novels being Bloodsong by Anthony Ryan, and someone who only discover Sanderson's works 2 years ago (although i've read all but Warbreakers now).

 

Cheers

 

[Robinski he/him]

Hi Bryan, welcome to Reading Excuses. I look forward to reading some of your work.

 

We're kind of middling on the business range at the moment, there are usually two of three submissions of a Monday, so definitely room for more contributors, and we'll be very pleased to review your stuff and give you encouraging comments.

 

I'm just the welcoming committee (this time). Silk, is the boss. Best plan initially is to give the guidelines a read, if you haven't already.

 

Mandamon has just finished submitting a novel over about 20 weeks or more, and I'm in a similar position - will be submitting a prologue on Monday, so I'm sure you'll find that there's scope to submit.

 

Like you I stumbled on here through Sanderson and the WE podcast, do you partake of that?

 

Anyway, good to meet you!