Author Topic: Your Background  (Read 72946 times)

Silk

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Re: Your Background
« Reply #390 on: May 27, 2010, 04:56:45 AM »
When TWG started I think it had something to do with The Leading Edge, which is the speculative fiction magazine that BYU puts out... um... however often they put it out. (I think I remember reading this somewhere, but I could be totally wrong--mostly because I'm too lazy to go back and look. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.) That and the number of Utah authors that frequent here probably bring in some local traffic. *shrug*

Recovering_Cynic

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Re: Your Background
« Reply #391 on: May 27, 2010, 05:03:41 AM »
I found out about TWG through writing excuses and I found out about writing excuses through Brandon Sanderson's website and I found out about Brandon Sanderson's website when it was announced he would be finishing the Wheel of Time series.  The fact that he happened to have gone to the same school as me was just icing on the cake.  I don't think he actually started teaching there until right after I finished law school which is a shame.  I was an English Major once upon a time and I would have LOVED to have taken a class from him.
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Comatose

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Re: Your Background
« Reply #392 on: June 15, 2010, 12:01:21 AM »
Hi, I'm Comatose, known in some worlds as Matt Wiens.
I write fantasy, and have done several short stories, but am currently working on a novel.

This project started a few years back (three I think- yikes!) when I entered a portion of it in a contest.  I got second place, and the short story, entitled Sin's of a Hero was published in the anthology "Fledglings" for young fantasy writers between the ages of 11 and 16.  Now I'm 19, and still have not finished the blasted novel (and am not yet halfway done I might add).  I've come to Reading Excuses for a couple reasons.  First I think a regular submissiosn schedule would keep me motivated and writing every day (or as close as I can get).  Second, all though I've spent years (all my life basically) honing my imagination and planning process through endless day dreaming and the like, I feel my prose and style could use some serious work.  I've come away after re-reading a section numerous times thinking it fell short of what I intended it to be, so any help with that would be great!

My entry currently has the working title of River Lord, and you'll find more out about that when I get my first submission in.

I look forward to sharing my work with you, and reading yours as well :).
"Look, I'm just trying to change the world, okay?  I don't have time for a grudge match with every poser in a parka!"
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Renoard

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Re: Your Background
« Reply #393 on: June 15, 2010, 08:19:03 AM »
Good to meet you Comatose.
You can always get what you want if you never count the cost.

Valkynphyre

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Re: Your Background
« Reply #394 on: June 24, 2010, 07:54:29 PM »
Hi, My pen name is Kirk Vaunter. And... I don't think I've ever eaten a fish...


I lie a lot, too.

I'm an aspiring writer, still working on my first book... 2 years and 3 chapters down... But lots of worldbuilding done. Got several notebooks filled with maps and short excerpts. Haven't typed much up since Access t oa computer with Microsoft Word is limited. ARGHUBUBBLE!

Hoping that having deadlines will help me with that. Not the Word thing, the Worldbuilders Disease. Working title for the book is Val'Kyrie, but that'll have to change. Best contender for title: Gold, Steel, and Gods. Nah, maybe Gold, Steel, and Fire. But once I post some, I'll be open to suggestions.
Bow before The Worldbringer, Squirrel King![/color]

Silk

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Re: Your Background
« Reply #395 on: June 24, 2010, 07:58:18 PM »


I lie a lot, too.
[/b]

Well, yeah. Lying is pretty much what we do here. ;)

Welcome to the group.

Renoard

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Re: Your Background
« Reply #396 on: June 24, 2010, 10:32:05 PM »
I on the other hand never lie.  It's just the missing pieces that confuse the audience. :P

Hey Kirk.
You can always get what you want if you never count the cost.

Comatose

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Re: Your Background
« Reply #397 on: June 27, 2010, 03:04:00 AM »
I always lie and never tell the truth.
"Look, I'm just trying to change the world, okay?  I don't have time for a grudge match with every poser in a parka!"
- Dr. Horrible

"There's always another secret..."
- Kelsier

wisteria_purple

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Re: Your Background
« Reply #398 on: July 14, 2010, 06:26:09 AM »
Hello, I just found myself here, so I might as well introduce myself.

I'm a college student who's just starting to get into the meat of his chosen major. I dabble in a lot of things and writing has always been sort of a pipe dream. Exposure to critique should help, eh? I do favor reading to writing so I'm particularly looking forward to seeing everything this group has to offer.

hubay

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Re: Your Background
« Reply #399 on: July 14, 2010, 06:56:07 AM »
Hey there, you can call be hubay, if you want. I'm a junior advertising major at Marquette in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I've been trying to get as much writing done over the summer as possible, since my schedule will get pretty hectic come september. I'm having trouble staying on track though, so I'm hoping this helps my productivity.

The novel I'm writing is secondary world  fiction that I've tentatively titled Fathers of God, but we'll see if that sticks. I'm fascinated with the ancient to medieval middle east - not that I'm remotely middle eastern myself - and it shows in my writitng. I'm less interested in the sort of "arabian nights" style of story so much as the older myths of the semetic peoples. I'm also intrigued by early gunpowder warfare, so when that all combos together you get a world influenced pretty heavily by the ottoman empire.

I enjoy writing about politics more than straight warfare, though war definitely takes a prominent role in my stories. I spend more time working on the causes of war - when it's more than mere aggression - than the war itself. Anyways, I'm about  17,000 word into my novel but a lot of that isn't connected. I'm looking to start churning out words on a regular basis, and maybe improve my critical eye along the way.

Edit: After perusing the forums for a little while, I realized that the name for god in my book is EUOL (variant on judaic El) Don't tell Mr. Sanderson.
« Last Edit: July 14, 2010, 04:10:19 PM by hubay »

Daddy Warpig

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Re: Your Background
« Reply #400 on: July 15, 2010, 05:03:22 PM »
Hi. I just ran across Reading Excuses while pillaging the Writing Excuses website, looking for info on a Utah writer's critique group. RE seems like just what I was looking for.

I'm a former radio talk show host and newspaper columnist, currently between jobs. I've been writing for a long while (home brew RPG, mainly), but only started focusing on fiction recently. I'm piecing together a novel, my first, and would like some feedback.

The novel is called When Gods War. It is a "second world" fantasy novel. Here's the pitch:

Captain Karrus thought his war won.

Well-educated, wealthy, the son of a famed hero, he seemed destined for greatness. Unjustly convicted of treason, he was sent into exile and spent ten years fighting bandits and raiders on the frontier.

Unexpectedly placed in command of the armies of his nation, he led them to victory against the gravest threat his country had ever faced. Then, on the eve of his triumph, he was stripped of office and ordered back into exile.

That night, a massive cataclysm destroyed whole cities and rewrote the geography of a continent. In the aftermath, Karrus once again found himself unexpectedly in command, leading a band of refugees out of the desolation, towards home.

I'm looking forward to participating in RE. Cheers!
« Last Edit: July 15, 2010, 05:08:08 PM by Daddy Warpig »

Aeriim

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Re: Your Background
« Reply #401 on: August 11, 2010, 10:15:16 PM »
Hi everybody!

I've been on this site for a couple of years, actually. I just never bothered to venture outside of Brandon's main forum. : )

I'm a recent high school graduate who's headed off to BYU - Provo this fall. I'm currently working as a technical writer and editor for a local scientific laboratory, editing scientific journal submissions and writing up fact sheets and various other communicative materials. The job is kind of a love-hate relationship - yes, I get to spend the entire day writing professionally, but writing technical papers about cellulosic biomass for biofuels isn't exactly my preferred genre. ; )

I plan on going into Animation in college, and hope to one day work at Pixar. In the meantime, I write simply because I love doing it. Not that I wouldn't love to do it full time, of course. : )

I've been writing since I was a little kid, but got more seriously involved in creative writing towards the end of my high school career. I've focused mainly on short stories, but I am currently in the planning stages for a new novel idea I recently had. It's very heavily fantasy, with a good dash of post-apocalyptic. It's still kind of hazy, detail wise, so I'll provide a more concrete description once I get the change. Hopefully  I can start the actual writing of the story within the next month, so that I can get everyone here to help me along.

OH. Also, since I'm completely new here, I would be happy to edit anything that's already been sent to everyone else. Just send me an e-mail, and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I possibly can.

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Re: Your Background
« Reply #402 on: August 19, 2010, 04:16:10 AM »
Last December I discovered Writing Excuses (I don't recall how ???) and I listened to the podcasts.  I enjoyed them so much ;D and saw how helpful they could be that I went back to the beginning and listened to them all.  And it has been worth it for both entertainment and advice.

Since the genres of the three talented authors who bring us the podcast are not my preferred genres for entertainment, I knew little of the titles they referred to.  I did make it a point to read Dan's I Am Not a Serial Killer, and the first three books of Brandon's Alcatraz series (I'll get to the fourth).  Also, I am following Howard's Schlock Mercenary web comic.  This has helped some.

It was from the postings at the WE that I found this site.  I don't need a guide for wasting time, I'm among the best already. 8)  I don't do it with RP or video games.  But I do need honest critiques for my stories.  And that is why I'm here.

About me.  Although I've never owned one or raced in one, I am called Derby.

I dropped out of college :( before most of you were born.  Meant to go back the next fall but still haven't made it :-[.  I had written a few stories back then but nothing became of them.  I recently took one of the concepts of a story from that period of my life and rewrote it.  It came out much better and will be posted here soon.  A long time ago I wrote a few dozen poems.  Don't really do poetry now except a very rare short poem which I would like to say falls in the style of Ogden Nash. ;D

Not really sure what genre my stories fall under but I'll be submitting them and the critics can decide for me. They won't all be the same, I suspect.

Somewhere down the line I hope to write a full length novel.  Not an epic nor a trilogy, just a story.  Time will tell. 

I will be happy to critique any short stories of any genre and may do some chapters.  I don't know that I have the knowledge to critique on a number of aspects that I've heard about on the WE podcasts.  Still, I hopefully can be of some use to other writers here.

Many times I have heard and read that it takes a good ten years to become a published/successful author.  Time is not on my side so, since I'm out of excuses, I'm going back to write. :)

Zardog

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Re: Your Background
« Reply #403 on: August 19, 2010, 11:00:00 PM »
Hello there.  I've recently started writing fiction again after many years of ignoring my creative writing side.  So, I guess that would make me fairly new, with a lot of experience in other areas.  I have a CS background which pays the bills, but is no longer related to anything creative.

I've spend many years reading, from Asimov to Zelazny and many in between.  I've been reading some of the new authors, like Peter Brett, Rothfuss and Sanderson.

So, I consider myself in "learn" mode and I'm attempting to iron out my prose more than anything else.  I have been looking at different forums and asking around about writing groups trying to find the right fit.

I have a blog I started in July dedicated to what I am reading and writing.  A few short stories, an ongoing first draft for two novels that I'm posting as I go.  One fiction and one non-fiction.  I also have a couple of private novels that I plan to look at selling one day.

I'm happy to exchange emails and do test reads of chapter samples to give my feedback.  Reviewing others and seeing how things go from first-draft to final-draft, examining prose, structure, etc. is what I'm after here.

Hopefully I can contribute and learn at the same time.  If your interests are similar, please feel free to contact me.

My blog: Zardog
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Kierlionn

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Re: Your Background
« Reply #404 on: September 02, 2010, 03:42:05 AM »
Hey, I'm Cardon, but in a lot of the RPGs I play I go by Kierlionn. I am a junior in High School and I am hoping to improve my writing skills and perhaps write a small book. (Very small, under 200 pages.) I actually don't plan to go into writing as a career but I absolutely love to read, I plan to go into computer programming.

Even though I love to read Sci-Fi and Fantasy I have never quite considered myself creative, I excel at writing factual papers but when asked to do anything creative struggle quite badly. Through doing this I am hoping I can overcome that struggle and greatly improve in my creative writing abilities.
« Last Edit: September 02, 2010, 03:44:13 AM by Kierlionn »