Writerpedia discussion

Hello Everyone. I'm new to the group. My name is Ashley and I am 21 years old, 22 in May. I'm currently in college, studying to be a teacher.My main passions are reading,and writing. This group will come in handy for me when I'm writing my novels. I look forward to getting to know everyone.

Hey, I'm 30 (soon to be 31) and blissfully single with 3 cats and grand delusions of being a writer someday. Right now, it's just for fun and not for fun AND profit. *sigh* Graduated with a Master's Degree from the University of Florida (Go Gators!) back in 2002 and am actually working in the field I studied for, amazingly enough.

Hi, I'm Veronica. I am 14 and I am not going to be 15 very soon. I am stuck in middle school, but sometimes I don't mind it. Language arts is in fact near the bottom of the list of my preferred classes(which is always 6 long). The only reason I can even stand the class is because I like reading and writing so much. It is one of those i hate my teacher things. I to dream of being a writer someday...my secret goal is to be a published teen author.

Hey there.
I'm 30 too! Haha. My first book, VIOLET ON THE RUNWAY, is out now, and my second, VIOLET BY DESIGN, comes out tomorrow (Tues). ;) Can't wait to chat about writing!
Melissa
melissacwalker.com

Hi every one! My name is Kat, but my username is Bookworm. I'm 13 years old and am in the 7th grade due to a late b-day (Aug. 20) I really love to read and write. I am a total math geek! I'm in the 7th grade am already doing algebra! Um... I have a cat named Ellie and a greyhound named Winker. Oh, and I love Guitar Hero 3!

Hi Veronica, have you read Sword Quest? The writer is 14 and has already published two books, her name is Nancy Yi Fan. Don't "dream"of being a writer. Say to yourself I am a writer and just write!
I'm looking forward to getting to know you. I know what you mean about "being stuck in middle school". However, one day you'll realize it wasn't so bad after all.

Marcia

Hey Veronica,

You're "secret" goal is awesome! Don't be afraid to tell people about it! You'll find that many people are very willing to help you achieve your goals if you're passionate about them.

Haló, my name is Alexej Gray Magura Vojáček. I've been writing for three and a half years now.

Hi, I'm McKenzie. Though, my user name is Kenzie. You can call (type) me either. I am writing my own series that I hope to publish and am writing other stories on the side. I am a huge book reader. I almost always am either reading, or writing.

hi guys, I'm Rainy. I have been writing short stories off and on for about two years and i just love it. I'm also a huge bookworm, what i love better than writing is reading.

Hello all...

My name is Hilda, I'm 44 years old and I'm a Technical Writer living in beautfiful Miami, Florida.

Another life time ago I used to write a column for a local alternative bilingual newspaper. This was back when the Internet was a relatively new concept to the majority of people, so I would visit different web sites and review them - it was a lot of work but also a lot of fun. I've also written freelance articles for journals - specifically about art and music.

Some day I hope to write a book of essays, in the style of Sarah Vowell, David Sedaris, Barbara Kingsolver, etc.

Hi, I'm Kristen. I am fifteen or so...and I love to write. That's why I'm here. Hullo Ashley! Anyway, I pretty much have the same story wherever I go. Writing was natural to me. Not easy, natural. I still have to force myself to sit down and try to capture human emotion correctly. Isn't writing such a strange thing? You can't be too overreactive, or too apathetic. It's like balancing a pin on a table. But, I'm up for the challenge.

Hello group! I am a teacher/artist living in Central Florida. I love writing, reading, and art. I have enjoyed the give and take, sharing and poking around in bookshelves on Goodreads!

Kat, I created a group called Education Professionals. It's just a group where you can discuss education issues that are hot on the news, radio,etc, talk about stuff inside and outside the classroom, get advice, ideas ,tips, etc. Feel free to join. :) And if you have any friends here on good reads who are teachers, tell them to join too. Hope to see you in the group.

Amazed and inspired by the much younger nature of this group. Keep writing, the payoff later in life looking back at those writings is a treasure chest. Each is something that will perhaps spark a novel or poem in your future. That is when you're old like me ;)

I'm 38, a published poet. My profile explains it better.

I am re-learning to read, and trying to write best I can.

hello,

i am prasanth, i am a post graduate student in visual communication, right now. but my love always rests in words and literature....

HI, I'm Kevin! I like to write. Have trouble finding agents who will accept unpublished authors, and even more trouble finding publishers that will accept unsolicited work. :sigh:

I have posted two of my short stories on my profile. Pls feel free to read and discuss or give me a review or something ^_^

I am upset with the disgustingly poor implementation and user unfriendlyness of Urbis, so I am looking for a group of writers who enjoy reading and critiquing. ^_^

Hey everybody!

I am Andi. I am in school for writing. I did some short stories and poetry in one class. I couldn't keep up with it later (school). I have a long break from college. I am from January through August. I prefer poetry, but I need money coming in, so I am going to write short stories for a while. Hopefully, when I have enough of them published, I will write a novel and hope it will be published.

Hilda,

Just a short piece of advice (take it or leave it).


Don't try to write (or imitate) ANYONE ELSE; DEVELOPE YOUR OWN VOICE AND WAY OF WRITING, YOU'LL BE BETTER OFF FOR IT; it will flow more naturally. You never heard of Faulkner trying to copy Hemingway's style; they are 2 different kinds of writers. ALSO, AS YOU BECOME MORE PROFICIENT, YOU WILL BEGIIN TO ADMIRE YOUR STYLE AND APPRECIATE THAT IT IS YOU, NOT SOMEONE YOU ARE COPYING.

ALSO, WRITE ABOUT WHAT YOU KNOW. YOU
live in Miami, AND THAT HAS A WEALTH OF STORIES AND LOCATIONS YOU CAN USE FOR STORIES; I KNOW I WAS IN THE REAL Miami Vice down there and used my experiences to write a new book that just came out: REFLECTIONS FROM THE PIT.

Maybe you would consider reading my book. I think it is very unusual: funny and sad; mixed with the most unusual situations and characters with weird personalities: the types you will never see on TV. They are the types of stories cops tell other cops in a bar after work.

I would certainly appreciate any feedback you have on my book (positive or negative); sometimes, what is funny or sad to one person may not be to another. It’s always good to get advice from readers. Every little bit helps you to improve your writing skills.

MICHAEL BERISH
The REAL Miami Vice!
Author of: REFLECTIONS FROM THE PIT
For more information on the author, his book, and how you can obtain a copy, visit his website at:
www.realmiamivice.com

"The universe is full of stories, not atoms."

Kevin,

Get in line, Kevin: you will find that it is HARDER TO FIND AN AGENT than it was to write the book. (They aren't taking on new clients, they are not looking for your type of writing, etc., etc., etc.). Remember this: John Grisham wrote 8 books before he was even picked up; then, an agent liked what he did, published one of his books; it became a hit and then, he went back and re-edited the other 7 and sold them; and lots were made into movies.

Remember: it may not be, or don't think your writing stinks, they just don't want to take on a newcomer; they'd rather stick with the tried and true.

Maybe you would consider reading my book; I think you just might enjoy it. It is very unusual: funny and sad; mixed with the most unusual situations and characters with weird personalities: the types you will never see on TV. They are the types of stories cops tell other cops in a bar after work.

I would certainly appreciate any feedback you have on my book (positive or negative); sometimes, what is funny or sad to one person may not be to another. It’s always good to get advice from readers. Every little bit helps you to improve your writing skills.

MICHAEL BERISH
The REAL Miami Vice!
Author of: REFLECTIONS FROM THE PIT
For more information on the author, his book, and how you can obtain a copy, visit his website at:
www.realmiamivice.com

"The universe is full of stories, not atoms."

Hello, my name is Lisa. I am a graduate student working on my thesis, but in my spare time (emphasis on the word spare) I like to write fiction. I have one short piece posted on my profile.

I am not published, but I hope to be someday. If anyone has any tips on how to achieve this, I'd be most grateful. Writing fiction is something I have become interested in fairly recently.

~Cheers

Michael,

Hello and thanks for your comments, but you misunderstood me. I don't intend to "imitate" anyone. I mentioned those authors to give everyone an idea of the *type* of writing I want to do. Rather than say "essays" which might be construed as more serious than what I have in mind, or non-fiction which is too broad a category.

Now some advice from me to you - take it or leave it - can you please take the caps lock off? In standard "netiquette" it is interpreted as shouting.

Hello all. My name is Terry Reschke. I have two published books so far working on many others at the same time. My books are on amazon. A Dragon's Birth For children. The Attic Above for tweens to adults. I have a sample of my fantasia novel that I am currently working on in my profile page. Let me know what you think of it so far.
Thanks;
Terry

Michael,

While I agree with developing your own style, I will say that sometimes you have to imitate someone else first. That's how I learned to write and how to begin to develop my own voice. In grade school I read R.L. Stine and copied his writing style. Eventually, I started reading a broader range of genres and styles. Reading, reading, reading, and imitating others has help me develop my unique style.

Amanda

Hi,

I'm Linda; a freelance writer, author of two guidebooks, and (at long last!) a novelist. Star-Crossed (Knopf;2006),an 18th-century adventure, was included in the New York Public Library's "Books for the Teen Age -- 2007," and will be released in paperback this August.

I'll be participating in the up-coming Colorado Teen Literature Conference April 5, in Denver. My workshop is focused on the all-important query letter.

My problem is balancing my time between marketing and creating new material. And I seem to have a log jam of characters and plots for several different novels all crying to be developed, and I flit from one to the next, rather inefficiently.
I feel like I need to commit -- but to which project first?

I'm an old lady named Maud who has been writing for a while, but haven’t had any luck attracting a publisher or an agent. When I contacted publishers about my first novel, The Founding Five, they responded that no one wants to read political fiction anymore. I was totally committed to getting the message out about the dangerous road this country is traveling, so I self-published it with iUniverse. Unfortunately, sales have not been as good as I had hoped.

My second work, Confessions of Liberal Lover, is chick lit and since it was both funny and sexy, I thought I wouldn't have any trouble attracting a publisher. This time I discovered the hard way that there is little interest in publishing novellas, although several of the responses commented that it sounded like an interesting project.

Now I am looking for magazines or other venues to publish my short stories while I complete my third book, a thriller about a serial killer. Maybe the third time will be a charm. Even if it isn't I'm going to keep writing, because I love it and believe I really have something worth saying.

Michael --
I know what you mean.

I'm finished with 3 novels, 2 incomplete soon to be finished, I've got over 3 books worth of short stories and have been looking for an agent and publisher for the better part of 8 years.

The rejection letters which piss me off are not the ones who read my work, but rather, the jerks who packaged up my submissions without even removing the cover letter.

One time, the guy misspelled my name and didn't even get my story right.

It costs just over 7 bucks every time I send a submission, the least some of those jerks can do is read two pages. :sigh:

I did misunderstand; sorry. You sound like you're headed the right way. I am also sorry about that cap lock thing. I ususally write in word and go to fast on the keyboard on the interent. I have these big fingers (ring finger is 16 1/2 and 10 1/2)and when ever I go over by the a or s , I accidentally hit the caps button and I've written 2 or 3 paragraphns before I realiz it. I'll have to look up how to permanent shut it off. Thanks.


Mike

I agree with you 100 percent on reading other authors, especially the ones in your genre; you get ideas on how they say things, punctuate, etc. I just menat to incorporate what you like about them into your own style.


mike

Best to try sending your query letter to those agents over the internet first, to save on all that expense. If they are interested, they will write back and tell you so, and then send the manuscript.



mike

I know of maybe 3 agencies which accept query letters over the net. They're unreliable, unprofessional and are usually rude.

Hello everyone, I just joined the group. I am the recently publshed novelist of JANEOLOGY (April 2008. It only took 20 years. I'm also a stay-at-home mom to two. I'm looking forward to reading and sharing writing advice. What works for me? Usually lots of coffee and having a lazy dog at my feet. She only growls when I write adverbs.

All the best,

Karen

Maud -- Good for you! I think your attitude is in the right place for sure!! I'm sure that someone will pick up your work...just keep doing what you're doing:) I think it's great that you write different genres too...you sound super creative & passionate about what you do (like all of us of course!) Keep of the good work:)

Hello, I'm Pamela. I am a published author. :D The only two books i got up on my profile for now is my books. One is an anthology I have a story in--Travel Guide to Haunted Mid-Atlantic Region, the other is my nonfiction ghost book, Haunted Richmond, Virginia. I have others and write erotic and sweet paranormal, fantasy and SF romance as Sapphire Phelan too. I also read a lot, though not as much as used to, thanks to writing more these days.
I'm not younger like many I seeing posting here, but I've always loved writing since i was eight years old and published when I was 17--three poems.

Hi all, I'm Dele, a 32 y.o. woman who is currently writing my first novel. My goal is to finish it within the next year. I have written most everything, including journalism, editorials, essays, and poetry (I posted one of my poems on my profile).

I look forward to sharing work with and learning from all the aspiring and accomplished writers in this group.

Introduce me? *pfft* why not?

I go by many names that are not my own so know me as Ephona, Vivian or Anita. Anyway, I am in 8th grade in an audition choir and ceramics. I WANTED to get into creative writing but there's always next year. Right now I am at a Fan Fiction stage of writing so, therefore, they probably won't be published at all >_< But aside from that, I mainly write adventure, fantasy and science fiction. I have one super long series I am revising right now called the Hero Association which is about wizards in training in a far away planet. It actually has cool characters. One of them has been my pseudonym, Anita! I also have my Fennik series which is about small magical dog and cat like animals, an untitled story about a war between kingdoms and some citizens from the kingdom having to unite to throw over an evil prince, and a story about mythological goddesses. I have scrapped stuff too but I could pull stuff out of that junk...I love the Nintendo Mario games especially Paper Mario and The Thousand Year Door which is what most of my Fan fictions are based on.
Overall, I'm just a new, budding writer with a strong focus on my future. I'd really appreciate any tips or story ideas!

Hi, everyone. I'm Amrita, and I'm new to the group. Rain, I know how you feel, I'm only twelve too. I feel so inexperienced in this crowd of experienced writers. I LOVE books, and writng. I've written several short stories and am trying to write a novel. I'm thinking of posting a story in the Writing section of Goodreads.
Like Ephona, I would appreciate any tips or story ideas.

I'm Nitescribe, 34 y.o., female...what else?

I have a Masters in Creative Writing. I've pulblished a bunch of short stuff (poetry, stories, articles, essays, etc.), and I edit an online magazine of weird fiction called The Abacot Journal at http://abacotjournal.wordpress.com . I'm currently working on my second novel.

I guess that's it. Hello everybody!

Hello to the group. Like everyone else here I love the written word. I'm a professional sports writer and I've written about 80,000 words of a novel and have one finished that I'm now trying to figure out how to rework the ending. I honestly don't know much about how to even get started with finding an agent etc... so I'm sure I'll get plenty of good advice here. Good luck to everyone with their writing.

Hello and nice to meet you too fellow writers! My name is Calvin, I published my first novel in november 2007, prior I won the Jakarta Art Council Novel Competition in 2006. Thanks to that award, I got my novel published by the local publisher :)

The title of my novel is Juxtaposition: Tale of Dead god, a story loosely inspired from the phrase "god is a girl". The genre is surrealism, and if I could say, theosophism? This is actually an "if" version from my working-in-progress other fantasy novel. Because I haven't finished the plot, I decided to take all the available characters and creating an alternative story.

I also used a constructed language for artistic purpose, because I think gods possibly speak in some sort other divinic language that human still looking for.

I'm planning to translate and publish it for the english market as well, but I'm bit inconfident whether it will appeal the audience or not though.

Mcloveday -- What kind of sports do you cover? I used to be a sportswriter & I even "went to the other side" and did PR for a hockey team for a few years. But I miss the writing & I've been thinking of getting back in the game. I was just curious to hear more about your world (and of course what your novel is about since you didn't really mention that!)

Hey, my name is Katie Cannon. I'm seventeen years old, and have been writing for thirteen years. (But you know...) My mission began probably four years ago.

Anyway, I've posted several stories and a children's chapter book on my profile, and all of them need editing despite what may have been done. So, enjoy yourself with that... :D

There seems to be alot of neat people on this group, as far as I have read. Nice!
I have alot of experience with short stories, so if anyone wants a personal opinion, I can try to make time for it.

Good luck, fellow writers!
See you in the publishing arena. :D

Hi All, I am Amy and I've always been a sideline writer. I'm only recently taking it seriously and trying to be more involved in the writing process. I'm interested in learning your methods and stories.

Hello Everybody, I am new as of a week ago to Goodreads.com. I have been discussing on the other page, “Who Writes History?”

I am interested in History, WWI, WWII, The peoples stories; Life of the down troted, science, philosophy and politics
My Favorite books include: Minds At War,Poetry and experience of WWI; Gulag Archipelago Solzhenitsyn; Rise and fall of the Third Reitch; Shirer; 1984 George Orwell; The Fabric of The Cosmos, Brian Greene; John Adams Vol 1&2 Page Smith

I Struggle to understand why we do the things we do. Why we think so small when the world is so big.

Hitler said that people are not motivated by sound reasoning but by emotions and feelings. He must have been right for it’s the only thing that explains how stupid people can be. However, I must admit, I have been one of those people.

I am presently writing a historical novel on the Fall of the Philippines 1942, and America’s internment of Japanese Americans. It is not a glorified look on the battle we lost, but instead a look at the human impact of those who witness, and participated in this horrid battle and its impact on Japanese Americans on our west coast.
It has been one hell of a journey over the last four years and I have no idea when I will be finish. After many rewrites, I am hovering around 125,000 words with maybe 50% of the book completed. It would be nice if I knew what the hell I was doing! When finished, there will of course be the next phase of rewrites. But even if I never publish this work, I will still consider it worth the journey.

Your want-to-be-writer

Charles

Hello! My name is Brigid and I'm fifteen years old. I just joined this group like two seconds ago. I have two stories on this site, which are both excerpts from novels I am working on (actually, one of them is completed, the other one isn't). They're called "Destiny" and "The Chosen One" and I'm looking for some feedback. thanx :)

Hi! My name is Sella and I'm almost fourteen years old. I joined this group a month or so ago. My passion is writing; I love it more than anything else, and really want to be an author when I grow up. I am working on a book at the moment called Tulip's Cozy Tea. The first chapter is on this site. I also love to read, and play the piano/guitar. My favorite color is blue and my favorite food is CHOCOLATE!!!!!! Please don't judge me because of my age.

Hi, I'm Nicole and just joined. I've published 5 short stories in various small publications and am working on getting novels published. I posted 3 of my short stories and the first chapter of my first novel in my profile. I just turned 31 and have been writing since I was 12. My day job is in PR for videogames.

Hey there EVERYONE! I just joined yesterday. Looks like I'm in the company of some wonderful literary minds. I'm excited to be here.

My debut novel, "And It Goes Like This..." was published Oct 2007. I received my first royalty check Feb 2008. No megamillions jackpot, but it was enough to take my kids and mom out to a nice restaurant, and I treated Mom to a manicure, pedicure, and facial. Of course Mom embarrassed me something terrible telling the waiters and everyone at the salon to buy my book. To seal the deal, she brought her copy along and shoved it in their faces. Good ol' Mom.

So the moral to this story is: check with Mom before hiring a publicist.

Hi! Am new here and just wanted to introduce myself. My novel, "The Butterfly's Dance," just won 2nd place in the romance category of the 2007 ReaverViews Reviewer's Choice Award! I am very excited about the award! And I look forward to learning a lot from the writers in this forum!

Congratulations Christyna on your book and it winning second place. Let me be the first to say, welcome to the group. :)- Ashley