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Tulivu: So hard to get started, where to begin?
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Aliasalpha: The writers greatest enemy is a blank page, describe the characters, summarise the story, write the scene that gave you the idea in the first place, hell fill it with crap if you have to but its just a matter of starting
This^. Just write a little bit everyday. Try playing a scene like a movie and describe it. Just do it. From there branch off with the characters, setting, do something! To find inspiration look at H.P. Lovecraft's work or g to the tvtropes for inspiration that is what i do.
*raises hand*. Working on the final project ("dissertation") for my MA in Writing, atm.
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Mnemon: *raises hand*. Working on the final project ("dissertation") for my MA in Writing, atm.
Can I look at it after you submit, kind of interested in what MA grade writing looks like.

Also nearly done with Chapter One of The Adept of Argantos short story/novella. Will post it soon after.
Post edited April 29, 2011 by MrWilli
Poems almost exclusively.
I like to write. I'm just a bit lazy to do it.
I run a small forum roleplaying site if that matters. Though to be honest theres not a whole lot due to schedule issues and laziness. But join, we can do stuff <3
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Mnemon: *raises hand*. Working on the final project ("dissertation") for my MA in Writing, atm.
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MrWilli: Can I look at it after you submit, kind of interested in what MA grade writing looks like.
I still have five months to go ... :]. I am into literary fiction and poetry; what's required for MA level writing differs as much as varying genres differ. Except for the underlying notion that your writing has to be really polished (it's only a 15,000 word submission - most of these five months I'll spend on editing, research, rewriting) to a high standard; you have to be conscious of what you do in your writing; there needs to be internal consistency and good grammar. And, by all means, no sloppy use of cliché. Look at first novels by people that studied for an MA. Quite frequently those are an extension of their final work for the course. It's a step along the road; one that can be major if you use the time to really go for it.

What Creative Writing programmes train you in is to become a lot more aware and understanding about how you compose and edit - and getting a lot insights in how the publishing industry works and operates. None of that is something that you can't learn on your own, but it is much easier having an external framework helping you along. And programmes like that help building a network of writers that are serious and focused on writing as a lifestyle choice. For me that's probably been the most - long term - important aspect. I've made friends that I'll connect with and exchange ideas with and who are on a professionally similar wavelength for (well hopefully) much of the rest of my life.

-C.
Post edited April 30, 2011 by Mnemon
I'm interested in screenwriting and I'm an avid reader of sci-fi & fantasy. I'm working on a pilot episode for a sci-fi series I'm planning. Not that I expect any studio will pick it up soon ;-) but its good practice and I don't have much else to do.

If you want any book recommendations, I highly suggest reading the Leviathan series by Scott Westerfeld if you're into steampunk. I also love the old pulp authors like Robert E. Howard (Conan), Doc E.E. Smith (Lensman) and H.P. Lovecraft. Can't really go wrong (imho) with any of the older sci-fi writers, like Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke, Theodore Sturgeon, Philip K Dick and others.

If you like fantasy, I would also recommend the Tales of the Otori series by Liam Hearn.

One more thing, if you like Firefly like I do, I recommend the free e-book My Own Kind of Freedom.
Post edited April 30, 2011 by GothikOrk
Well here is what I have so far. Just a foreword there is some foul language:

The Adept of Argantos

Chapter One: Talking in the Sky

A man in a black trench coat and matching fedora stands on top of a skyscraper, looking outward as a new cold autumn day starts with dark blue giant, Solserth, peeking over the horizon in the west as always, although for the man in black trench coat today was a bittersweet for him. Today, he would become an Adept, an honor bestowed upon only a few people. With that honor, however, came a price.

When a man became an Adept, he would more than likely be alone nearly all the time, working wherever the government needed him, whenever they needed him. Friends would be scarce and rare in his trade, with friendships often ending abruptly, sometimes even violently. Many tales told of two Adepts becoming lovers during a co-operative mission between two city-states, then ending up having to kill the other one less than week later when the mission was over. Even having friends within a city-state was often looked down upon, because more than likely those friends would be kidnapped, tortured, and killed to get to the Adept. Yes, the life of an Adept was one in which death was not only commonplace, it was expected.

"If I only I didn't have this damn curse," the man mumbled to himself was he looked outward, toward Solserth. He sighed as he looked at his right hand covered by a single long piece of white bandage tape wrapped around it. "What good does mopping do? There is no way I can change the past and I’ve gone too deep to turn back now."

“Well that part is obvious.” The man in the black trench coat turns around to see an olive skinned woman wearing a single black-dress, wearing a simple tan coat. He smiles as he realized who it was.

“Veronica,” the man said, his voice touched by some joy. “So you’re finally up.”

Veronica chuckles as she walked up to the man in black. “I don’t get up five in the morning just to watch the sun rise, especially after last night.” Veronica stopped, and straightened the man in black’s collar.

“Drank too much?” he asked as he raised an eyebrow. Veronica stops straightening his collar and punched his shoulder. The man in black gave a small laugh as he turned around to look back at Solserth. Veronica stepped up beside him and looked at the blue giant as well.

“So today is the day Nicholas in which you become Seeker Adept,” Veronica commented as she glanced at Nicholas. Nicholas breathed in and stretched his arms over his head.

“Does it look like I have a choice?” Nicholas was about to add something else before noticing small dots rising in the distance above towers that were much like the one he and Veronica were standing on. “Well seems like Long’s transportation service is starting another day.” A cool breeze brushes the two on the tower.

“Another cold autumn day,” Veronica commented as she grinned. “It is the three hundred sixty-fifth day of the autumn year.”

“I’m going to hate the winter year so much,” Nicholas replied before laughing. Veronica smiles in reply at her friend’s casual manner.

“What did I say?” Nicholas asked as he turned to look at Veronica.

“Seems like the entire death, keeping secrets from family and friends while they are still alive or not your enemy, thing seems to have no effect on you,” Veronica answered while looking at the blimps and airships. “Although what we have been through together, our lives more than likely won’t change.”


“True at that, we have survived Pragatos knows how many wars, survived the streets of Argantos, and survived, scratch that, excelled at the hardest damn training we could get in Argantiian city-state.” There was a long moment of silence.


“Mister Johnson would be proud of me, and completely and utterly shocked at you. Especially after you slept with his daugher,” Veronica added.

Nicholas sighed and replied, “She was a whore. A hot whore. But still a whore.”

Nicholas soon regretted that as Veronica through right hook that knocked him on his ass.

“Sorry, forgot she was your sister,” said as he lay on the ground.

“Yes she was, so I demand you still respect her.”

Nicholas pushed himself up, and sat cross legged, still wearing his fedora. “Veronica, she is dead.”

“No shit.” Veronica’s voice was mixture of frustration, anger, and annoyance.

“You have to let go eventually. They wouldn’t want us mourning after them after all these years.”

“I know.”

Another moment silence followed, as the two looked at new dawn, peaking over the towers of Argantos, each one a giant reaching for the sky. Nicholas got up and turned toward stairwell. Veronica looks at him, her eyes looking to see what he would do next.

“I’m going for a walk,” Nicholas replied before walking down the stairwell.

Chapter 2: The Curse I Hold

Nicholas steps onto the golden yellow carpet of twenty-second floor of The Tower Hotel. He looks down the hallway; the floor and walls matched the carpentry. As Nicholas walked down the hallway, he noticed yet again near insanely perfect symmetry of the hall way. It was a habit of his, always checking each time he went through a place more than twice. Scan, analyze, everything, and everyone, seeing how things have changed and who was there. Maybe it was the training, maybe it was him, maybe it was natural, but for whatever reason he did it. It was part of who he was.

He finally came to his room, number two thousand two hundred fifty nine, pulled out his keycard, and unlocked the door. He opens his door to see his humble and bare room designed in an archaic reminiscence of pre-diesel era with wooden flooring walls, hexagonal chandeliers, and a writing desk for studying and reading which on either side was a pile of books stacked to nearly waist height.

Nicholas sighed as he looked at his large living room, empty besides the chandeliers, and the writing desk. As he entered the room he noticed his window was open, however he knew there was no intruder if someone tried to enter they would more than likely activate a magical trap that would destroy the nerve, cardiovascular systems in a mere blink of an eye.
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MrWilli: I am just wondering who rights fiction? Just curious because I need to read and I feel cheap. :)

Anyways, I'll tell you what I'm working on. I'm working on a diesel punk short story serial about an Seeker Adept, a specialized agent that actively seeks out and destroys the occult.

I working on the first short story, The Adept of Argantos, which is basically about the Seeker Adept being introduced into the society of Adepts, which is one the encourage being daring, intelligent, swift, and decisive, and his first mission hunting down a rogue demon.
May I suggest a little Cory Doctorow, he gives away his stuff for free at http://craphound.com/

Also, Baen Free Press is, well, free: http://www.baen.com/library/defaulttitles.htm

As well, you have Project Gutenberg, http://www.gutenberg.org/ , if you don't know what to read here I would suggest starting with some Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World may be a good pick.
I've written a few myself and left several others unfinished. It's certainly a nice way of stretching the imagination.

Wolfmen is my first story I've ever done and am quite proud of it.

Henrick Gleeson is going to be much longer and I am using it to improve my writing skills.
Post edited May 05, 2011 by Aniketos
I'm always reminded that I do want to get back to writing, but the muse has not been with me for so many years that I wonder if it's dead. :( I mainly stuck to sci-fi\cyberpunk. Had a full trilogy planned with each story a different perspective of three characters in a given amount of time. Unfortunately it never really got past the planning point since what was planned for the last story changed drastically as life things altered my thinking and the way I wanted the characters' stories to play out come the end.

Who knows, maybe I'll go back to the drawing board someday. Writing was something that always helped me make sense of my mind (I firmly believe writers do their best work when they put a bit of themselves into their characters because it allows for self analyzation), I'd just have to remember how to get those creative juices going.
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MrWilli: I am just wondering who rights fiction? Just curious because I need to read and I feel cheap. :)
Published twice with fiction, once with poetry (blech), and hundreds of times with non-fiction if we're counting press releases and interviews. :P

But the real reason I jumped in here is to recommend the Baen Free Library, with litterally hundreds of fantastic free epubs. I've made extensive use of it on my Kindle since I moved to Warsaw, and I've bought a good dozen or so books from them to encourage them to keep giving away free copies because it's awesome.

Edit: Didn't even see Orcishgamer's post. Bad TheEnigmaticT for not reading the whole thread before posting. :/
Post edited May 05, 2011 by TheEnigmaticT
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TheEnigmaticT: But the real reason I jumped in here is to recommend the Baen Free Library, with litterally hundreds of fantastic free epubs. I've made extensive use of it on my Kindle since I moved to Warsaw, and I've bought a good dozen or so books from them to encourage them to keep giving away free copies because it's awesome.
+1

The Baen free library really is amazing. I recommend anything by Keith Laumer or Eric Flint.

One thought though, admitting you write fiction may not be wise for the head of PR :-D
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Wishbone: One thought though, admitting you write fiction may not be wise for the head of PR :-D
Was that a burn?

Yes, yes it was. :P