Welcome to Forward Motion from the Site Owner

Home Forums House of Creativity Welcome Mat: The Spot for Newcomers Welcome to Forward Motion from the Site Owner

Viewing 15 posts - 31 through 45 (of 62 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #232685
    Magic Seeker
    Moderator
      0 Pirate Gold Coins

      Hi Rogue! Welcome to FM. Congratulations on finishing your novel!

      You don’t need to edit all 50k during NaNo, just to write the first draft. That’s still a big challenge, but not as overwhelming. :P

      I agree, non-writers just don’t get it. I’m glad you found us. We’re very happy to have someone new join the conversation.

      Happy writing,
      Deb Salisbury
      The Mantua-Maker, Quality Historical Sewing Patterns and Books
      www.mantua-maker.com

      The Art of the Hoop: 1860 - 1869, Dress, Sewing, and Clothing Care Advice
      https://www.mantua-maker.com/a---1860s-fashion.html

      Dead Wizard's Loot: Wizard Whitewing #1
      http://www.djsalisburybooks.com/Dead-Wizard-s-Loot.html

      #232686
      cupiscent
      Participant
        0 Pirate Gold Coins

        Hello Anne and Rogue!

        Rogue, I am in awe of your output, but our differences are what make us all so interesting, and community such a broadening experience. :)

        And Anne, I’m sure you already know about it, but when agent-sending time comes, I can’t recommend QueryTracker highly enough.

        #232687
        J.A. Marlow
        Moderator
          125 Pirate Gold Coins

          As Magic Seeker mentions, just worry about the first draft during Nano. Forget the corrections and editing until after! Nano is for the full exhilaration of powering through the first draft of the novel (warts and all). You’ve come to the right place for active writers. A bunch of us participate in Nano each year.

          Welcome to FM!

          J.A. Marlow
          The String Weavers, Salmon Run, Redpoint One series.

          Writer alter-ego of Dreamers Cove

          #232897
          annemag
          Participant
            0 Pirate Gold Coins

            Thanks – I am wandering around FM trying to see what is where and how it all works… Haven’t heard of query tracker so will take a look – ta

            #206104
            Indigo Writer
            Participant
              0 Pirate Gold Coins

              Thank you. I read the rules and will follow them.

              #232913
              Indigo Writer
              Participant
                0 Pirate Gold Coins

                I forgot to introduce myself in my first post. I am a self-published writer, but still feel like a newcomer in a lot of areas. I published through createspace and am in the process of re-editing my that book. My first editors were not as thorough as I had hoped they would be. I am also looking for a critique partner (will look on the appropriate boards. Presently, I am working on the sequel to the first book. I have a problem with time management, mostly. I end up on social sites so I get lost on there instead of getting off and doing my writing.
                I look forward to spending time here and finding some classes and other information to help me.
                Oh, I write spiritual fantasy. It is an universal spirituality and my characters are Indigo Children or Indigo teens. I believe fantasy can be more true to life than some non-fiction because we have to be more aware of how to create characters others can relate to.

                #232914
                Magic Seeker
                Moderator
                  0 Pirate Gold Coins

                  Hello, Indigo Writer. Welcome to FM!

                  Congratulations on self-publishing your novel! I used CreateSpace, too, and I’m very happy with the site.

                  I agree, editing is difficult. I admire you for editing a book already out there. And hooray for your work in process! I hope you have great success with all your work.

                  Happy writing,
                  Deb Salisbury
                  The Mantua-Maker, Quality Historical Sewing Patterns and Books
                  www.mantua-maker.com

                  The Art of the Hoop: 1860 - 1869, Dress, Sewing, and Clothing Care Advice
                  https://www.mantua-maker.com/a---1860s-fashion.html

                  Dead Wizard's Loot: Wizard Whitewing #1
                  http://www.djsalisburybooks.com/Dead-Wizard-s-Loot.html

                  #206105
                  marinadawnrose
                  Participant
                    0 Pirate Gold Coins

                    My name is Marina Rose. I am a technical writer but would like to write fantasy as well.

                    I created a blog where you can read more about me. It is located here:

                    http://www.marinadawnrose.wordpress.com/

                    Frankly, I’m not sure where to begin with writing a fantasy novel. Can you suggest books that will help me with plot and character development?

                    Thanks,
                    Marina Rose

                    #233965
                    Ashe Elton Parker
                    Moderator
                      38 Pirate Gold Coins

                      Welcome to FM, Marina! I hope you find the help you need here.

                      Two books I found helpful years ago (and still reread periodically) are Orson Scott Card’s How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy and Characters and Viewpoint. They’re both easy to read, explain things clearly, and aren’t so clouded with lesson-bits they may block a writer (for me, I find the more involved stuff nowadays blocks my creative juices as I try to consciously figure out how to implement them–these two books don’t do that). They’re good books to have handy. (I linked to the versions of the books I have, but there are cheaper ones available–just do a title+author search.)

                      Also, for the nuts-and-bolts of writing fiction (or anything really, but especially fiction), I find Strunk & White’s Elements of Style a nice go-to for answering grammar and other questions. (I have this in a nookbook.)

                      And, as always, a dictionary is good. I have a Mirriam-Webster unabridged print dictionary as well as use a variety of online dicitonaries:

                      Mirriam-Webster Online – for lookups when I’m in the middle of writing a scene and don’t want to step away for my print dictionary.

                      Thesaurus.com – For finding just the right word to replace redundancies in edits.

                      Urban Dictionary – For finding a definition of a modern word I don’t want to use in my own fantasy/science-fantsy writing so I can hopefully find a way to describe something I only have the modern-day term for.

                      As for where to begin with writing a fantasy novel, I suggest since you seem like you’re new to it, you begin with what you already have in mind and explore and experiment from there. One of the best things about writing fantasy is that the writer gets to do a wide variety of things and each writer begins in a different place with their stories. If you have world building knowledge (facts about the fantasy world you want to write in), write them down. If you have a timeline for some events for the world/country or even a character, write them on a timeline, either on paper by hand, or on computer (one program I’ve found extremely useful for timelining things is Aeon Timeline). If you want to know what the lay of the land is, or just have ideas for cities and geography, draw a map. If a couple characters are talking at you, write character descriptions and see if you can niggle motivations and some plot points out of them while you’re at it.

                      As you write more, you’ll get to know your writing habits better. :)

                      Ashe Elton Parker
                      "Just love me, fear me, do as I say, and I will be your slave." ~ David Bowie as Jareth in Labyrinth
                      ~*~
                      Member since 1998.
                      ~*~
                      #233966
                      Magic Seeker
                      Moderator
                        0 Pirate Gold Coins

                        Hi Marina. Welcome to FM!

                        Ashe has given so many great suggestions, the only thing I can add is check out Vision: A Resource for Writers: http://visionforwriters.com/vision/
                        It’s an ezine with years of back issues, all related to writing.

                        Happy writing,
                        Deb Salisbury
                        The Mantua-Maker, Quality Historical Sewing Patterns and Books
                        www.mantua-maker.com

                        The Art of the Hoop: 1860 - 1869, Dress, Sewing, and Clothing Care Advice
                        https://www.mantua-maker.com/a---1860s-fashion.html

                        Dead Wizard's Loot: Wizard Whitewing #1
                        http://www.djsalisburybooks.com/Dead-Wizard-s-Loot.html

                        #206106
                        RylieDal
                        Participant
                          0 Pirate Gold Coins

                          Hello. Just started poking around but it looks like an amazing site.

                          I’ve come late to this writing party. My role to play in the family dynamic was that of the academic. My Sis got to be the artist. She did it well.
                          But something happened as I was finishing my last degree (accounting). I took a creative writing class and my world exploded.
                          It felt like I’d lived all my life with a crayon box of 8 colors and was suddenly handed a box of 32… and THEN told that if I worked hard I could earn a box of 64….. I was hooked and I haven’t looked back.

                          I’m blessed to have a supportive husband and tolerant, if somewhat bemused coworkers, who are used to me grabbing scraps of paper (or napkins) and jotting down notes, or gasping in the middle of meetings and blurting out, “That’s it! That’s how they can get off the planet.”

                          I’ve written 3 novels and numerous shorter pieces but have never published anything. While I love writing, I get queasy at the idea of showing my work to others. My thought was that joining this site might help me get past this fear. Or at least let me meet writing minded people.

                          #234113
                          Magic Seeker
                          Moderator
                            0 Pirate Gold Coins

                            Hello RylieDal! Welcome to FM!

                            I love your analogy comparing writing skills to a box of crayons. It’s wonderful to earn more and more colors. B)

                            You’ll find many like-minded writers here. Feel free to join in the discussions. And if you have any questions, please do ask.

                            Happy writing,
                            Deb Salisbury
                            The Mantua-Maker, Quality Historical Sewing Patterns and Books
                            www.mantua-maker.com

                            The Art of the Hoop: 1860 - 1869, Dress, Sewing, and Clothing Care Advice
                            https://www.mantua-maker.com/a---1860s-fashion.html

                            Dead Wizard's Loot: Wizard Whitewing #1
                            http://www.djsalisburybooks.com/Dead-Wizard-s-Loot.html

                            #206107
                            kathy
                            Participant
                              0 Pirate Gold Coins

                              Well I guess this is where I introduce myself. My name is Kathy. and I am a retired senior living in the south coast area of British Columbia. A friend mentioned this group to me so i thought i would check it out and see what yoou hve to offer an aspiring writer.
                              I write F/F paranormal romance. So far i have one unpublished novel and two or three short stories that are still in productions. I am also going to participate in the NaNowrimo compteition next month. I have a story plotted out already so just waiting for the green light.

                              so, having got that out of the way.. Hello!

                              #234327
                              Ashe Elton Parker
                              Moderator
                                38 Pirate Gold Coins

                                Welcome to Forward Motion, Kathy!

                                This is a great place for writing tips and help. Also visit chat, for real-time discussion and assistance.

                                I was a bit confused with F/F – I’m so used to seeing M/M that it threw me and it took me a few seconds to realize what you meant.

                                Re: being an aspiring writer. I think differently. If you have written (and you say you have one completed novel and several shorts in production), and if you still write, you are a WRITER. I label all those who only talk about all their story ideas but who do not actually write their stories as aspiring writers.

                                It’s good to see another person who writes LGBT-themed stories with regularity, so you won’t be alone. As far as I know, Catp, Inkling, and I write LGBT MCs (main characters). We three can be found in chat at various times of the day. There may be other writers who write LGBT MCs, but we seem to be the ones who do so pretty frequently.

                                Ashe Elton Parker
                                "Just love me, fear me, do as I say, and I will be your slave." ~ David Bowie as Jareth in Labyrinth
                                ~*~
                                Member since 1998.
                                ~*~
                                #234329
                                kathy
                                Participant
                                  0 Pirate Gold Coins
                                  Ashe wrote:
                                  Welcome to Forward Motion, Kathy!

                                  This is a great place for writing tips and help. Also visit chat, for real-time discussion and assistance.

                                  I was a bit confused with F/F – I’m so used to seeing M/M that it threw me and it took me a few seconds to realize what you meant.

                                  Re: being an aspiring writer. I think differently. If you have written (and you say you have one completed novel and several shorts in production), and if you still write, you are a WRITER. I label all those who only talk about all their story ideas but who do not actually write their stories as aspiring writers.

                                  It’s good to see another person who writes LGBT-themed stories with regularity, so you won’t be alone. As far as I know, Catp, Inkling, and I write LGBT MCs (main characters). We three can be found in chat at various times of the day. There may be other writers who write LGBT MCs, but we seem to be the ones who do so pretty frequently.

                                  thsnks for the input Ashe.. nice to know there are others here who write LGBT themed stories. Look fwd to chatting with you at some point.

                                Viewing 15 posts - 31 through 45 (of 62 total)
                                • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.