Your Background

[Shivertongue]

Ah, who doesn't love the obligatory 'introducing yourself to people on a forum' post...

The name at the side says Shivertongue, but I also respond to Shiver, Knifey and Will - the former two are actual nicknames with stories behind them, only one of which is appropriate for younger audiences. 'Shivertongue' comes from my self-created Discordian pope name - Shivertongue Von Slamdance VI - which, obviously and cleverly, combines 'Shiver' with 'tongue'. The PG version of the explanation to which is simply that I have a considerably long tongue that I take great pride in. Make of that what you will...

I am currently starting school again, attending MATC in Madison, WI in the Graphic Design program (since this school does not offer a creative writing major, although there are classes I hope to take at some point in the future). Before this, I spent two and a half years at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, majoring in Animation, before the culmination of a series of events and circumstances led to my dropping out/being kicked out during my junior year. The easiest explanation as to why is to blame my ex girlfriend.

I've been writing as long as I can remember - and, oddly enough, I recently found notebooks filled with stories from elementary school. I'm currently trying to find one from middle school, in an effort to discover when I started incorporating actual dialogue (Somehow, my third-grade story 'Windows of Time' went thirty pages with not one character saying a thing.) Regardless, as one might be able to imagine, getting kicked out of art school has the effect of killing the artistic drive for a while, but not the desire for creative outlet. I thus began writing again, returning to stories I'd started in high school as well as taking up, um, fanfiction.. *coughs*.  I soon discovered that, whereas before , my writing supplemented my art, my art soon began to supplement my writing - which, for me, made for much better stories.

I write fantasy, for the most part - Epic Fantasy, Modern Fantasy, etc - with occasional touches of mystery, steampunk, humour and horror, and the odd sci-fi. Basically whatever seeds are planted from the innumerable daydreams that bombard me throughout the day. I have yet to finish a book, although several short stories have actually been finished (most of these, however, have since begun to grow in to larger, more complex novels..). I have yet to submit to a publisher or magazine or, um, anything, mostly due to time and the whole 'needing to finish something' thing... You know, trivial matters.

I enjoy critiquing and being critiqued, though, which is one of the primary things that has brought me to this little corner of the interwebnet. Fun fact: art school critiques have had the dual effect of allowing me to sit through the most brutal of criticism without taking offense, and given me the ability to tear something to shreds whilst simultaneously letting the target know exactly what works and what doesn't. So, when I get around to submitting something, be as brutal as you like. None of you can match Mr. Yi; he made people cry. (He also made them better artists at the same time; I'd still like to punch him, though..)

And it appears that, similar to my novels, I'm having trouble coming up with an ending for this post. (Even worse, I'm rewriting parts of it... ) Hmmm... "LOOK! A monkey!" *clicks 'post' and runs off*


~Shivertongue

[LongTimeUnderdog]

An artist turned writer with art that supplements writing.  Could I finally have met someone as anal about having everything drawn before it hits the story as I am?

[Shivertongue]

Actually, the way I work is more often along the lines of drawing the parts of the story that I'm having trouble writing. More often than not, writers block, for me, can be broken by drawing the scene I'm having trouble with. Something about being able to see, even just a small piece of what I'm trying to depict, works wonders for me. The big problem is when I have artist's block when I have writer's block...

Characters, however, must be drawn before they are written. If I don't know for certain how they look, it begins to nag on me as I'm writing them. Worlds must be mapped as well, not to mention any major cities where stuff may be happening.


~Shivertongue

[LongTimeUnderdog]

wow, it's like . . . my long lost brother . . . Anyway  I could con you into emailing me some of those pictures?

[Shivertongue]

XD Sure thing, as long as we work on a basis of equal exchange. If you do the same or similar, I'd love to see some of your pre-writing artistry. Send me a PM or something if you wanna hash out details.

[KhyEllie]

I started writing little stories with a group of friends when we were ten, pertaining to some characters we had created in a Sonic video game(If you know what I'm talking about, we all had several of our own chao). They wrote little info guides and life stories for their characters, but I discovered that I couldn't write two-page stories and started on one that ended up at about fifty(typed). Since then I've been writing fantasy and changing that original story into people(not chao) and fixing the storyline so I might one day have a good book to sell.
I've always been a stronger reader than writer, so I'm not planning on ever doing full-time writing or anything, just as a pastime.

[ubiqe]

Hi all. I've been lurking around here for some time now, but I guess it's time for me to introduce myself... My name is Aga, I'm a PhD student at the moment - hopefully not much longer. And I don't write  Well, not really. I don't have any writting background (you guys have some impressive history in that regard  ), I didn't write any stories as a kid, nor I have any plans of becoming a writer. Unless you count in scientific papers. But that's boring as hell.  Well, I have always read a lot  - mainly fantasy and I always had my own ideas for how the books should develop. But I didn't get down to writting anything (apart from some fanfics) cause other people seemed to be better at that - and it's so much easier to read other peoples hard work, isn't it? But some weeks ago I had this nice idea for a story and I decided to finally produce something on my own (I really should be writting my thesis instead  ) That's what brought me here. I'm a total beginner and I hope for some constructive reviews. My main problem is of course the language - I'm not a native english speaker so writting in english might not be the best idea, but it's not like I try to make money with it...
And hopefully I can submit something quite soon.

[Aginor221]

Hey, I'm Aginor (yes, WOT reference), but I'll go by Tyler too, doesnt really matter. I've been lurking for a while on the writing threads so I decided to join. I'm a senior in high school and applied to university of south Florida with the intent of majoring in creative writing and minoring in English.
   I write fantasy with magic but no elves, dwarves or other Tolkien related propaganda. I'm currently working on a middle grade fantasy, actually thats kind of the wrong word. To say I'm "working on it" is wrong because I haven't actually seriously written it yet. I write the outlines and think of what I want going on, but I never get past the opening before writers block. So hopefully I get pushed into actually finishing my brainchild. I did some writing in elementary school - entered a contest for screenplays and wrote a monster that made absolutely no sense about space monkeys and flying hamburger rockets.
   Yea I know, anyway I stepped away from writing after that and read a lot more, and came back to it in my freshman year. Where -  lo and behold, I wrote another monster that made no sense. I have since joined a journalism class and two college English classes, and I think my writing has significantly improved.

[Chuck M]

Man, this hangover is killing me. I hate waking up from a three-day bender with no idea where I am or how I got here. This is the last time - third last time this month. Or is it four? Does anybody have a cigarette and a Valium?

If my head clears for an extended period of time, I write. My work is incoherent gibberish. I can barely see the lines on the page through bloodshot eyes and a cloud of smoke.

This seems as good a place as any. I think I will stay a while. Just prop me up at the bar and play some Doors on the jukebox.  Pour me a stiff drink. Scotch, if you've got it. Hold the ice and leave the bottle.

Call me Chuck.

[Talyn]

Hey there

I'm squeaky new to TWG (found it from Writing Excuses actually), but after poking around a bit, I think I'd like to join this group. As it's monday, I probably missed the email for this week, but that works too. I'll just settle in and see how things work, and maybe I'll have a submission for next week.

I'm a discovery writer, which has caused some interesting continuity problems, but I also have a issue with editing. I literally have pages and pages of notes on things to fix. I cannot allow myself to do more than that or else I end up in an endless editing cycle. It's what killed my last three or four novels. Maybe one day I'll resurrect them.

My current novel is a humorous fantasy told in first-person. I find it easier to write in first-person, though I know it's not everyone's cup of tea. Look forward to working with you all!

[Justice1337]

I've been participating for just a couple of weeks now, and I like what I've seen.  I think I'll stay here for a while.

I grew up reading Fantasy and Sci-Fi, mostly the greats of the 80's.  I've spent most of my life in school up to this point, with a JD and one other graduate degree, but oddly I've never felt seriously enough about my writing to take any coursework on it.  So, most of my writing education comes from the old How-To's at the bookstore.

As for what I write, I like speculative fiction a lot.  Starting with your own world is really good I think if you want a blank canvas.  And that's really the only way I feel safe in exploring certain things that I like to write about, such as war, politics, prejudice, government, etc.  I prefer Fantasy to Sci-Fi because I find science to be often too intertwined with its own philosophy.  So, most of the Sci-Fi I write comes out really unconventional.

I also write Romance and what I suppose could be called "Mainstream", although the paranormal makes it feel sort of like Steven King, from what I've been told anyway.

I've entered some contests before on a small scale, but I'm working on my first novel that I feel confident enough to submit to the major publishers.  I've got a feeling I'll need a strong writing group to encourage me through the incoming tide of rejection letters.  I look forward to getting to know you all. 

[Recovering_Cynic]

Yay!  Another lawyer!  Evil forces of the world unite!  Where did you get your JD?  Have you done anything with it?  Law was my plan to pay the bills while I wrote on the side.  I've found it harder to write on the side than I thought though.  How do you make it work?

[Justice1337]

Woot!  A fellow barrister.

I got my JD from USF (University of San Francisco), and I've been a member of the California bar about 2 years.  What's your story?

Writing on the side is tough, but I think working in the public sector is a bit easier than being an associate at a law firm, if that's your bag.  Where I'm at, it's a traditional 9 to 5 with very little work to do outside the office.  And being able to open Word and edit while at work helps too.  Weekends are a gift from heaven.  I've gotten as much as 10,000 words done in a given weekend. Often though, my writing on the weekends uses a foundation in idea-workshopping that it takes the whole week to lay.  Oh, and writing quickly for me leaves a piece riddled with things to edit, which is maybe not as large of a problem because I find editing do'able at work.

But yes, it is slower than it would be if I had no bills to pay   Maybe one day we'll both be able to write for a living!  That would be nice (provided I can get my wife to undertand).

[Recovering_Cynic]

Same boat different ocean.  Got my J.D. at BYU in 2008.  Finishing a clerkship with a judge in Texas, but haven't found anything to do after its done here in three months.  Market is tough as I'm sure you know.  I also want to write full time, but convincing my wife of that will be . . . interesting, even if I do manage to sell a book.

[Justice1337]

Brigham Young?  Doesn't Brandon Sanderson teach creative writing there? 

A lot of people here seem to be from Utah, is that because of writing excuses?